Setting aside the knight who’d somehow mistaken me for a demon, our negotiations eventually bore fruit. We settled on the rewards for a successful mission: a few sets of armor, some boots, and several swords.
Valeria looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, "What's the difference between that and a pair of socks?" But look, armor and weapons can be broken down for materials or sold to a shop for a decent profit, right?
Actually, come to think of it, if there were a shop that bought socks, then socks would be just as good. I’d heard that even second-hand clothes sold well, so there was probably a market for them... though the resale value would be a world apart from plate mail.
Besides, Pen-pen’s merchant friend did say he’d "buy anything." In that case, there really wasn't a difference. Is that why she was looking at me like that? I see.
"I have arrived, Lord Spirit!"
When I tried summoning Tria-chan, she actually appeared. She was raring to go, her breathing heavy with enthusiasm. I hadn't really doubted the system, but it did make me wonder: what would happen if I summoned her while she was in the middle of using the bathroom?
"Wh-Where did she just come from?!" Valeria stammered.
"Eh? From the menu."
"Hm? Who is this woman? Lord Spirit, shall I eliminate her?"
"Wait, Tria-chan! No! She’s like a younger sister!"
She was the client this time, so I had to make sure Tria didn't "eliminate" her.
With that sorted, it was time to head out and crush the enemy. Oh, right—I should switch my controlled character to Tria-chan first.
Accompanied by the recovered Valeria, we set off toward what appeared to be the enemy base.
Apparently, there was a fortress a few days' journey from the village. I wondered how the border situation worked, but since this was a game, I figured it wasn't worth overthinking. We just used Fast Travel to get there.
When we arrived, the knight looked absolutely spent. I wondered if she was going to be okay.
"Hah... wheeze... huff..."
"Valeria-chan, you're so cute! There, there, you poor, feeble thing!"
To be that exhausted just from moving... maybe it was the poison aftereffects? Since I’d only used a Beginner Antidote Potion, she probably hadn't made a full recovery.
She seemed to be the type of NPC who tagged along for an event but didn't actually join the party—a classic trope. I suppose she was just a guide for the Fast Travel system. Either way, it was probably best not to count on her as a fighting force.
"Lady Miti... I am... not feeble... You, no, the Lord Spirit and his followers might not understand, but humans... require rest and sleep...!"
"Is that so? How frail! There, there! Big sister and the others will go slaughter every last one of the enemies for you, so you just stay here and rest! Mwah, mwah!"
Miti-chan was showering her cheeks with kisses. It didn't look like the ethics code was triggering, so I guess that level of affection was permitted. Or maybe it was triggering slightly, but she was just too busy doting on her to care.
I thought about pitching a tent for her to rest in, but the Home would be much better. I clicked the icon and deployed it in the shadows.
"Wh—?! What on earth is that?!"
"Miti-chan, go put Valeria-san to bed in the Home."
"Okay! Come on, Valeria-chan, let's go!"
"A-Ah..."
Well, once we’d sufficiently trashed the enemy base, I’d have Valeria confirm the results as the client.
Now, as for the enemies... It would be fine if they were the kind I could kill without a second thought, but it would be a huge pain if there was some villainess heroine mixed in there. Plus, there was always the chance an enemy would be too strong for Tria-chan to handle.
The base itself was built into a rocky mountain, using the natural stone walls as a defense. By nestling it between valleys, they had solid walls on both sides and only had to focus their defense on the front and back.
In a situation like this, Alto would be a massive threat just by raining rocks down from above, but...
"Lord Spirit. I don't have any rocks, but I have plenty of turtle shells in the inventory."
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, throwing those massive shells would be quite a threat..."
"I think I can send them flying better with a kick," Tria suggested.
I see.
Kicking turtle shells into enemies was a time-honored tradition in gaming history. Adopted!
Man, if only these were Spiked Great Turtle Shells, it might have been a one-shot explosion. Then again, if I’d managed to get a shell like that, it would be a rare material, so I wouldn't want to waste it anyway. For now, I decided to use just five shells. I’d try to recover them afterward.
"Lord Spirit, I tucked Valeria-chan into bed!"
"Great. Then let's circle around to the top of the base and start our shooting. Oh, I'll stow the Home for a moment."
"Wait! Valeria-chan is still inside! Is that okay?!"
...I’d already stowed it.
With trembling hands, I deployed the Home once more and had Miti-chan check inside. Worst case scenario, I’d have to rename this the "Valeria Avenging Battle"... Oh, she was safe? Thank goodness. As long as she was okay. I stowed the Home again.
Come to think of it, materials kept in the inventory didn't get crushed, so the Home should be the same. It was fine, totally fine. Phew, that was a scare. This wasn't the real world, after all; everything was conveniently designed.
I’d just put it back out once we reached the top.
Actually... would it be okay to just leave her in there until the job was finished? Yeah, let's go with that. She wouldn't be in the way, and she’d be safe.