Safely teleported to Hydrangea via Etrangé.
Once the residential area was set up, Nekia moved right away to the second-floor bedroom.
"Home really is best."
Nekia grinned and rolled around on the bed.
Her family home, huh. Meanwhile, at the workspace, the witch was groaning away at her work.
Apparently she had a bunch of items with looming deadlines. Hang in there.
From there, Etrangé headed to the lab's storage bay.
The lab's storage bay. It looked exactly like a storage bay I'd seen somewhere before.
Like something straight out of an old sci-fi movie from my past life memories.
The kind of place that practically begged for a death struggle with aliens.
From the storage bay, we moved into the lab. It'd been quite a while since I'd last been here.
The lab was, as always, a simple space.
Surrounded by rounded, mouse-gray inorganic walls, with the front wall entirely glass-paneled.
Near the center of the room, there were four square, table-like things in white.
There were lights in the ceiling, and the room brightened the instant we stepped inside.
On the glass-paneled front wall, there was some kind of control panel.
And not push-button either—it was a touch panel.
Beyond the glass.
A silver disc. A mysterious container, connected to a mass of wiring.
And then the massive mysterious sphere.
No wait, that sphere— I recognize it now.
A dungeon core.
There was no doubt about it. That was a dungeon core.
Still, the square, triangular, and round things floating around it were a mystery.
It was also submerged in some kind of liquid, and that liquid was a mystery too.
Even so, a dungeon core.
Having one in a lab was something that made you think.
Well, thinking about it wasn't going to make me understand any better, but I'd tuck it away in the back of my mind.
A white-coated Haiern sat in the chair placed in front of the touch panel.
She noticed us. It had been a while since I'd seen her in her white coat.
"What's this, what's this. That's a rare combination."
"It's been a while, hasn't it."
"Lupinus. Has it been a month?"
"Yes. First, I'd like to thank you for the Battlecry Relic."
She bowed her head politely.
Haiern nodded.
"How does it feel to use?"
"It's a little embarrassing, but it feels very nice. I feel like I've gotten a bit closer to what you called a 'tank' before."
I had explained the concept of a "tank" from my past life memories to Lupinus before.
Drawing enemy aggro to act as bait while protecting allies with that defense.
That's right — it's that "tank."
Lupinus was deeply impressed by my explanation of a "tank."
She'd been struggling with something. How she should lead as the head of Torquetam.
She wanted to hold firm to the idea of protecting everyone with her shield. But she didn't have any concrete approach.
After all, that kind of role is rare even in this world.
Her Lord Denton family was actually known for offense that leveraged their sturdiness.
The Relic skills Shield Bash, Shield Attack, and Parry — that sort of thing.
But she didn't have any such Relics.
For her, the concept of a "tank" was nothing short of a revelation.
This was the way she wanted to live.
— So, I've obtained the Blue-Green Crystal just as promised. Please, forge me a shield fit for my "tank"!
— ...Ah, oh, right. The shield. You did well collecting that.
The rabbit's long ear twitched. This guy. He'd forgotten, hadn't he.
Lupinus placed the shield and the Blue-Green Crystal on the lab table.
Haiarn hopped up onto the table. As expected of a rabbit, at least.
Once on top of the table, he looked at the Blue-Green Crystal.
— This is certainly impressive.
— Then I'll leave it to you.
— ...Before that, let me check the Archive.
Hayan hopped back into the chair and started working the touch panel.
"The shield is... this one. Hmm, hmm. All the materials are gathered— oh?"
"What's wrong?"
Hayan stared intently at the data on the screen.
Then he let out a deep sigh.
"I'm terribly sorry. There's one thing missing."
"What is it?"
"A magic crystal."
"...That is quite the rare item, isn't it."
"I'm truly sorry."
Hayan bowed his head.
Lupinus looked disappointed for a moment, but quickly put on a smile.
"If we have that, you can make the shield this time?"
"Of course."
"Here, then. Take this."
I pulled the magic crystal out of my pouch and set it on the table.
One person and one creature stared back and forth between me and the crystal.
"W-what is that!?"
"W-what's the matter?"
The shock was too great.
A moment later, Lupinus and Hiaan looked surprised.
"I happened to come across an opportunity to obtain one."
And then Lupinus prostrated herself.
With a fluid, natural motion, she placed her hands on the floor, bent her knees, and lowered her head.
Both hands extended forward in a triangle, she pressed her forehead against the floor.
Beautiful. Wait—huh, why the prostration!?
Hiaan murmured in shock.
"...Soil Under Occara...!"
Hiaan knows about it, then.
Soil Under Occara — the highest form of greeting among the nobility.
Before, too,
this spectacular prostration
had been bestowed upon me by Lupinus.
"Please, name your price! I'm begging you!!!"
"No, no, this one is free of charge. Please, take it!"
"Th-that is... you mean, complimentary...?"
Lupinus raised her face, looking thoroughly puzzled.
Her long elven ears were twitching.
"Yes. It's free."
"B-but, that's... surely, I mean..."
"I'm happy about that."
"Happy?"
After a moment of confusion, Lupinus blinked at me.
I gave a small nod.
"Yes. I'm happy that you said you'd be my 'tank.'"
That was a sincere feeling.
Someone willing to inherit my aspiration of being a 'tank.'
That was truly something to celebrate.
That was why I could hand over this magic treasure crystal.
Hmm? Wait. That's odd.
This magic treasure crystal... was it black?
"Yes. My path in life is the 'tank.' Drawing in monsters and protecting everyone — it is truly a fighting style befitting my way of life. All of the Torquetam will reach Rank I. To that end, I would like you to take this heirloom shield of the Achilleans, passed down through generations, and make it worthy of my role as 'tank'!"
Still kneeling, she looked up at me with shining eyes.
Hiarn, who had been silently watching our exchange, spoke up.
"...Then, the materials are all gathered. Shall we get started on the shield?"
"One moment, please."
With that, Lupinus pulled something out from her chest.
It was a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Hiarn.
Without hesitation, Hiarn pressed the paper to his nose.
"Oh. Hmm. A fine milk scent."
"Hey."
"I know, I know. Is this... a shield idea?"
I leaned in to look. The paper was packed with writing.
Reading through it, it was definitely a shield idea.
"These are the ideas Wof mentioned before, all written down."
"...I see."
I said that?
I... don't remember.
Hiarn studied the paper while typing it into the console panel.
Lupinus and I watched on through the plain, painstaking work.
That was when I noticed.
"Lupinus. Wouldn't it be fine to stand up by now?"
"...Y-Yes, I suppose so."
With pointed ears and slightly flushed cheeks, Lupinus broke out of her prostration.
Even after standing, she still looked embarrassed.
"Whew..."
Hiarn exhaled and stopped typing.
It looked like the data entry was done.
"Good. Synthesis success rate... passing threshold secured."
He gave the console panel a light, crisp tap.
"Do you think you can pull it off?"
"How does it look?"
Lupinus and I asked in unison.
"Don't worry. I'm the genius alchemist Haiarn, you know. Of course I can do it. Cauldron system, activate. Administrator name: Haiarn Megalopolis."
As he spoke the words, the glass-enclosed space behind him blazed with a vivid silver light.
The strange spheres, squares, and triangles at the center all began rotating in unison, and the hum of machinery filled the air.
In an instant, the materials and the shield lined up on the table vanished along with the light.
(Aaaagh!)
"Hm? Did I just hear something?"
"I thought I heard something like a voice as well..."
"It must be just ambient noise."
Is it? Maybe it is.
Yeah, right.
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The comic adaptation of *My Dungeon, My Life* Episode 3 is now live!
That character has made their appearance!
It's on SQUARE ENIX's Manga Up!
Art by Okada Samurai.
Updated every Tuesday.
Please check it out!