The Strongest Clan’s Master Is the Weakest and Most Evil Support Class - Chapter 18

After my daily morning training, I washed off my sweat in the shower and just as I was returning to my room, there was a knock on my door.

「Noel, I’ve come to pick you up」

My visitor was Alma. I didn’t have anything in particular planned for today, so I promised Alma that I would show her around the imperial capital. Alma called it a date, but of course, I didn’t think of it in that way.

I was going to show her only the places that were useful for Seekers. I had told her in advance that she should find sightseeing and recreational spots by herself.

Opening the door, I saw Alma standing at the entrance with a raised right fist.

「Good morning」

「Good morning. Here, come in」

Alma entered the room and looked around with great interest.

「It’s a good room after all. I wanted to live here too」

In truth, the plan was for Alma to also rent a room here at the Stardrop inn. But as there were no available rooms, she had no choice but to choose another inn.

「What about your inn? Are you used to it yet?」

「For the most part. It’s also a good inn, though not as good as this one」

「It’s good as long as you’re comfortable. But aren’t you here too early? It’s only a little past nine. None of the stores are open yet」

In the first place, Alma was the one who said that she would come and pick me up. I had said that it would have been fine to meet up at an appropriate spot, but there was someone who had no patience for that and said that she would expressly come and pick me up.

I could understand her feelings of being excited after having just arrived in the imperial capital. As someone who had been in her shoes, I could let it pass, but even so, I wished she would do something about her timing.

「Even though you’re happy that you got to see big sister earlier. Noel isn’t being honest」

「Shut up. I’ve said it countless times, but you’re not my big sister. Or rather, if you were going to come early anyway, then join me for training」

「Impossible. I can’t get up at 5 am」

「……What a half-cocked person. You’re going to get fat instantly if you reduce your exercise regime so drastically」

「It’s fine. All maidens have a maiden combustion engine, so they won’t get fat」

「What on earth is a maiden combustion engine……」

Alma ignored my exasperated glare and flopped onto my bed.

「Haa, I’m bored. Noel, tell me something interesting」

「Drop dead. I’m not your clown. Read this if you’re so bored」

I handed Alma a book that had been on my table.

「What’s this, Noel’s autobiography?」

「You were close. It’s not an autobiography, but a record of the battles thus far. Every battle from when Blue Beyond was formed till the battle with the bandits the other day is detailed here」

「That’s amazing. Give it here」

Alma laid prone on the bed and began to read while flapping her feet.

「Hmpt! There’s no love scene between Noel and me!? This is a fake record!」

「Such history does not exist. Read silently. Also, if you add something strange without permission, I’m going to smack you again, got it?」

「……tsk」

Why did you click your tongue? Don’t tell me you really intended to add stuff? ……What an unbelievable idiot. The fact that she is five years older than me leaves me tongue-tied in shock.

While Alma was reading the battle records, I sat on a chair and opened a technical book on organization theory. Naturally, I hadn’t given up on establishing a clan. I would learn the knowledge that I would probably need while I continued my work as a Seeker.

My plan was to establish a clan once I got one more excellent ally.

I would end up paying most of the money that would be needed out of my pocket, but I didn’t mind. Unlike before, there was no reason to be stingy with the money so long as I was the leader.『Thanks』to Lloyd and Tania, I had plenty of money as well. If I wanted, I could establish the clan anytime I wished.

But there was no point in establishing the clan when we were unable to go into Abysses. To establish the clan, the presence of a new ally was an indispensable requirement after all.

For the time being, we were still doing the recruitment in the central square. I was also thinking of submitting requests to publish recruitment advertisements in the imperial capital’s newspapers. It would be great if excellent applicants appeared, but if none appeared, I would probably have no choice but to switch to headhunting.

The preparations to recruit the one I wanted most as an ally, the Puppeteer Hugo, would still take some time. Which meant that I would need to find other people to headhunt, but I wouldn’t be having so much trouble if they were easy to find.

Isn’t there some miraculous encounter that had fallen on the side of the road?

I was having such a hard time finding new allies that I was starting to think such incomprehensible things……

「……I got bored of it」

Around 10 minutes later, Alma closed the battle records that she had been reading.

「Isn’t that a little too quick?」

「That’s not true. If you keep reading books all the time, you will turn into a book-worm」

「Looking at what you said from another angle, aren’t you admitting that you don’t even have the brains of a worm?」

「It’s just your imagination. Rather than that, I’m bored again. Noel, I have a favor to ask of you」

「I’ll at least listen to what it is. But, choose your words wisely」

「Let me touch your body」

「That’s you choosing your words wisely!?」

To throw sexually harassing comments straight like a fastball despite what I just said, just how much of a muscle-brain is this idiot woman? Even the sexually harassing old men at the bars use their heads more than this.

「Then, I’m going to start touching, alright?」

「Wait! I don’t allow it!」

It seemed like she had no intention of respecting my wishes from the start. Alma, who had gotten up from the bed, reached out to grope my body. But I wasn’t going to let her touch me so easily. I grabbed Alma’s hands just before they reached me and I used all my strength to push them back.

「Stop it! Don’t touch me!」

「Impossible, just give up and let big sister touch your nice body」

「Like I said, you’re not my big sister……Guarghh, st, strong!」

What arm strength! Despite her small, thin arms, she is putting out the same or more strength as my full strength. What’s more, that refreshing expression is proof that she isn’t even using half her strength.

「Fufufu, it’s impossible. A little brother that is superior to their big sister does not exist」

「Stop messing around, idiot!!!」

I ground my teeth and tried to push Alma back, but as expected, she didn’t even budge. Despite her small body, it felt almost like I was going up against a huge boulder.

「……Desperate Noel is also cute. Can I give you a kiss?」

「Huh!? Obviously not!!」

「I’m going to kiss you~~」

「No, stop it!! Idiot, stop!!!」

Alma was getting closer with her puckered lips. At this rate, my lips were in danger from this useless-boobies-idiot-woman. But just when I thought that it was all over for me, the door swung open forcefully.

「Mister Noel! What’s all the racket!?」

The one who had entered the room was Mary, the poster girl of the Stardrop inn. She widened her eyes when she saw us wrestling with each other and dropped the laundry basket that she was holding.

「N, no way…… To think that Mister Noel is going to kiss with a woman……」

「No, no, it’s against my will! Rather than that, help me pull this idiot off me! I’ll give you more pocket money!」

However, it seemed like my words had not reached Mary, who started trembling all over.

「Why…… why aren’t you kissing with other men!? You can’t kiss with a woman!!! Handsome men have to kiss with other handsome men!!! Uwaa, Mister Noel, you traitor!!!!」

Mary, crying due to a reason that was totally impossible to understand, ran off.

「Wh, what is that bizarre creature?」

It was such an abrupt event that even Alma was left stunned with her mouth agape. Using that opening, I released my hold on Alma’s hand and gave her a knifehand to the top of her head.

「Guu!」

Alma lost consciousness with a single blow. I was released from her evil clutches and could finally breathe. But my heart was still dark and heavy.

「Why aren’t there any normal women around me……」

†

†

The unconscious Alma woke up immediately after. Apparently, she seemed to have lost her memory of what happened after she had entered my room, and when I said that she had probably fallen asleep, she didn’t doubt me.

Thus, my chastity was protected.

「Where are you showing me first?」

Quite a bit of time had passed during our slapstick routine so Alma and me headed out. The imperial capital was as lively as ever and a wide variety of races and carriages flowed like a large river.

「First, let’s start with the arms shop that I’m on good terms with. This is a shop where the owner is a dwarf craftsmen who obviously has good skills, but also charges reasonably. He may have a bit of a difficult personality, but he is a nice guy once he opens up to you」

For Seekers, who made their living through fighting, nothing was more important than equipment. Alma seemed to have excellent weapons and armor, but if she didn’t maintain them properly, they would quickly become unusable. An arms shop that could be relied on at any time was something that was indispensable.

「After the arms shop is the item shop. I know that this is also a shop can be trusted, so you should get to know the shop owner」

Various combat items, including potions made by alchemists, were necessities that were essential for Seeker activities. Because they also made magic bullets, I was a frequent customer because of my Silver Flame.

「It’s a shop that deals not only with finished products, but also with materials, so it should definitely be useful for Alma, who is a Scout. Don’t Scouts have Skills that make poison and medicine from their blood? The effects of those Skills change depending on what is eaten by the user immediately before, so you need all sorts of poisons and herbs, right?」

「Yup, this helps. Gathering herbs is fun, but it’s better if I can buy them in bulk. I still haven’t fully grasped the distribution and locations of herbs in this area after all」

Scouts could create poisons and medicines from their blood. Most of the effects could also be replicated by alchemists, but the important thing was the fact that they didn’t have to carry anything cumbersome.

For Scouts, whose agility was their biggest weapon, there was no skill more useful, even considering the cost in blood. It was truly the Scout’s signature Skill because it allowed Scouts to handle every type of situation without having to carry a single item.

「After the item shop is the Appraiser Guild. As you know, it’s a place where you can appraise and rank up Jobs. You can also browse the information on each Job, so you can consider your rank up destination based on this information. There is a viewing fee, but it’s a necessary expense, so I’ll pay for it」

「Got it. Is that all the places we’re going?」

「No, I’ve saved the best for last. The last place we’ll go is the Skill-book Alley」

Through training, when a person became able to learn a new Job Skill and the necessary elements were in place, as if a new function had been discovered inside the brain, the new Skill would become usable. For that reason, Seekers described this Skill learning process as a『Flash』of inspiration.

A Skill-book was what encouraged this『Flash』externally. The learning of Skills required lengthy training originally, but through the power of a special book made from Beast materials, the knowledge and sensation of the Skill would be directly implanted into the brain of the reader, forcibly causing the『Flash』.

For Seekers, Skill-books were a dream item. Although they were very expensive due to their high production cost, many Skill-books were in circulation due to high demand.

「In the imperial capital, most of the Skill-books are gathered in the Skill-book Alley. We should each buy a Skill-book there and strengthen our fighting ability」

「Is that also a necessary expense?」

「Of course. The money will be paid by me, who is managing the party funds」

「Wow, you’re so generous」

The expense for that was large, but the returns were correspondingly big as well. Considering our future activities, it was definitely a no-loss investment. What I paid would be recovered in no time.

「Do you understand today’s schedule? Well then, don’t get separated and follow me properly」

「Understood」

We visited each place in turn.

At the arms shop and the item shop, there was no particular plan to buy anything, so we left after simply introducing Alma to the shop owners. Both of them rated Alma highly, and it seemed like Alma could expect special discounts from them in future.

Exceptional rookies were welcomed simply for being what they were, but in addition to that, Alma was a young, good-looking woman. And she had big breasts. It was natural for her to be well-received by old men.

At the Appraiser Guild, I looked into the destinations for Alma’s rank up.

For me, I would like her to become a rearguard attacker, but I also couldn’t ignore Alma’s own intentions and values. She should get a rank up that she wouldn’t regret after basing it on ample knowledge.

There were four Jobs that Alma could rank up into. The vanguard attacker Jobs were Assassin and Torturer, and the rearguard attacker Jobs were Chaser and Bandit.

After browsing the information on each of those Jobs, Torturer and Bandit were excluded because they were not suitable for Alma, and Alma was left wavering between Assassin and Chaser.

Emotionally, the Job she used to aim for, Assassin, probably won out slightly over Chaser. However, she didn’t seem to have an obsession with it, so it appeared that she would stick to the original plan of deciding between Assassin or Chaser according to our future party composition.

When we left after finishing what we came to do at the Appraiser Guild, it was past noon.

「I’m hungry~. Noel, let’s go eat」

「You’re right. For the time being, let’s take a lunch break」

We could go to Skill-book Alley after we had eaten.

As I searched for a place to eat, something suddenly jumped into view that gave me pause.

「……Alma, I’m sorry, but go ahead and eat by yourself first. I have a small matter to attend to」

「Eh? What happened all of a sudden?」

「I have many things of my own to deal with. Once I’m done, I’ll send you a communication via Link, so tell me which store you went to. See you, I’m heading out」

「Ah, wait! Noel!」

From behind me, I heard Alma calling for me to stop, but I ignored her and ran.

Alma back to her usual antics. But knowing what we know now, she probably doesn’t know the proper boundaries because of her childhood.

Poor Noel, he was lucky Mary came to his rescue. （≧∇≦）

Start of a long arc, and it looks like something happened at the end there. Stay tuned! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)