If the 66th floor''s tribe serving the World Tree and guarding the Amber Lantern was overall a village of agile scouts, then the 67th floor''s tribe serving Stone Hoof and guarding the Crystal Shield was decidedly a village of sturdy warriors.

    It was obvious what kind of tribe they were, considering they demanded a "dialogue of bodies" despite the fact that the World Tree tribe had brought us as honored guests, and we possessed both the fairy emblems and the blessing of the Amber Lantern.

    But conversely, their straightforward warrior nature meant that the moment we proved ourselves worthy, their attitude would flip completely. Katie, who was nearly suffocating, could certainly attest to this.

    "Gah, hmmph, just... a moment...!"

    "Wow, so small and soft! Yet such a fierce warrior."

    "They say winter snowflakes are cool yet gentle, and that''s exactly what you are!"

    The crowd surrounding us demonstrated that "cow" meant not just bulls and dairy cows but also water buffalo and bison, and likewise, "horse" included various types of equine beast-kin I couldn''t even name. The diverse horns and ears on their heads showed just how varied they were.

    The tribe''s female warriors had swarmed around Katie, apparently amazed that a girl smaller than a child had faced their champion warrior head-on in honorable combat. With breasts larger than Katie''s head pressing in from all directions, it was literally a burial mound of flesh.

    It was like they''d constructed a human barrier by filling the gaps between muscle bricks with breast cement. Katie''s hand trembled as she flailed desperately for help from all sides, sending a clear distress signal.

    Even though they were female warriors, they were so tall that they were literally smothering Katie''s face with their chests.

    "Alright, that''s enough. Even a great warrior needs time to rest."

    "Guhk, huuuaaaaah—!"

    Left like that, she might actually suffocate to death. These female warriors had probably never dealt with small-bodied humans who weren''t beast-kin, and were literally about to smother her to death with their chests.

    I pushed through the crowd, grabbed Katie''s flailing hand, and pulled her up. Having finally gotten some fresh air, she gasped desperately for breath while cradled in my arms.

    It was quite the contrast from her majestic appearance when she''d summoned her ancestor''s spirit to fight. Nearly suffocating from being smothered by breasts—wasn''t that something from an outdated, adult-oriented manga? The viewers who had been discussing Katie''s new abilities were now each tossing in amusing comments.

    -Honestly I usually envy Teacher the most but right now I''m so jealous of the kiddo I could die, what must that feel like

    -Attention weebs, the new target is the 67th floor Stone Hoof tribe. Think you can reach it within 5 years?

    -If you''re a sad 2★ companion it probably won''t happen even in 5 years lolololololololol

    -At this point a global event that brings beast-kin ladies outside the Tower would be faster lol seriously

    -So did the kiddo just change class from knight to necromancer or what? Ice plus summoning, it looks like her job completely changed

    "I know, right? Ice armor and family swordsmanship—that was textbook knight build. I didn''t expect her to suddenly summon an ancestor. Though, the Northern Duke''s ancestor being a Viking does seem historically plausible... I mean, they are from the north after all?"

    As usual, Han Se-ah responded to the viewers'' nonsense with nonsense of her own. I carried Katie over to her, and Grace and Irene immediately gathered around.

    Even in a fantasy world overflowing with magic and wonder, seeing a frozen ancestor return as an ice spirit was surely a first for them. They surrounded Katie with eyes mixing worry, curiosity, and pride.

    "Are you hurt anywhere? Let me give you a massage. Even if you weren''t taking the hits directly, you should have dodged more."

    "You''re still connected to your ancestor''s spirit even after removing the armor? Your head doesn''t hurt or anything?"

    Irene tended to Katie with holy-infused hands, gently pinching her cheeks and checking for injuries, worried about the effects of that straightforward, no-dodging fistfight. Meanwhile, Grace worried that Katie might have gone from having haunted armor to being haunted herself.

    Katie seemed to enjoy all this affectionate attention from the two. After flashing a small smile while surrounded by them, she sidled up to me.

    Whether from the afterglow of battle or from being smothered in flesh, her cheeks were flushed pink and her eyes sparkled brightly. With no trace of her earlier sulking, she proudly stuck out her chest. Before she could open her mouth, I placed my hand on her small head.

    "You did well. Much better than I expected."

    "Hehe, right?"

    Her silver hair felt soft against my fingertips, my gauntlets now removed. Perhaps because she''d fought while summoning a blizzard, she wasn''t even sweaty despite the intense duel.

    I gently stroked her hair like praising a puppy seeking approval, and she smiled broadly, relaxing against my palm with complete trust. As I smiled back, feeling the weight of that trust in my hand, suddenly applause erupted around us.

    The female beast-kin warriors who had lost Katie to my grasp were now surrounding us and clapping.

    ...What in the world? They weren''t middle-aged women obsessed with TV dramas—why were they crowding around when we were having a moment?

    ※

    After comforting Katie, whose cheeks had reddened for entirely different reasons due to the unexpected applause, we moved into the Stone Hoof village, leaving the howling viewers behind.

    "Well done, warriors! You have proven yourselves, and the path you walk shall not crumble!"

    "Here, Winter Warrior, take this."

    While the female warriors gathered to bury Katie in their breast mound, the bull beast-kin had already retrieved the Crystal Shield from what looked like a shrine. Without the slightest hesitation, he presented the Crystal Shield to Katie—a shield so beautiful that its practicality seemed questionable.

    Just as the Amber Lantern was literally a lantern made of amber, the Crystal Shield appeared to have been carved from one massive crystal, making it feel more like a sculptural artwork than actual armor.

    And setting aside its artistic appearance, it was small. My shield was one of those oversized RPG-style ones, but this Crystal Shield was a small, round buckler like Captain America might use. Exaggerating slightly, it wasn''t even large enough to cover my forearm.

    "Roland, I''ve never used a shield..."

    "Never used one at all? It''s too small and inconvenient for me anyway."

    Unlike my shield, which could be planted into the ground as a barricade if needed, this one belonged to the category that required an agile swordsman to wield precisely for parrying.

    I use a tower shield large enough to cover an entire person, while Katie doesn''t use a shield at all, freely wielding a one-handed sword. This had that classic RPG syndrome of "why do the rare items for other classes always drop for me?"

    It''s like that strange jinx where playing as a warrior gets you an ultimate staff, playing as a mage gets you an ultimate bow, and playing as a rogue gets you an ultimate shield.

    ''Come to think of it, there are hardly any sacred relics we can actually use.''

    The lantern was a navigation tool, so that was fine.

    We had the Lightning Spearhead which was a polearm, but nobody in our party used spears. The Foam Fang was a dagger, but we had an archer instead of a rogue. Even if we let Grace use the Invisibility Helmet as our guide, who in our party would use the spear and dagger?

    Was this the Goddess''s fault or the World Tree''s? As I was having these irreverent thoughts, Han Se-ah crept up quietly. Judging by her greedy gaze fixed on the shield, she must have received some mission.

    A beautiful shield that looked like it had been carved meticulously from pristine crystal. It was so large and beautiful that it could be mistaken for a platter-sized diamond, but would a player really lose their mind over just that?

    "Can you feel something, Hanna?"

    "Hmm, it''s not meant for a warrior''s hands. But since we''ve come this far together as companions, I suppose it doesn''t matter."

    As the curious Katie handed over the Crystal Shield, the bull beast-kin who was watching snorted with apparent discomfort. It seemed that the Stone Hoof tribe was fine with people using mana, but they didn''t much care for mages who didn''t train their bodies.

    That would explain why the mages who had investigated the gate and followed us to the beast-kin village were being treated coldly and lingering outside.

    ''No wonder they weren''t bothering the beast-kin inside the village—they must have been ignored and chased away while we were dueling.''

    After all, they were uncoordinated folks who couldn''t run properly even with mana-enhanced bodies. To the Stone Hoof tribe, who seemed to value physical beauty above all, mages probably looked like barely human entities.

    If Han Se-ah and the viewers had heard these thoughts, they''d undoubtedly complain about staff holders and mage discrimination. While I was thinking this, Han Se-ah carefully caressed the Crystal Shield. Since I''d been focused on Katie, I''d missed what was being discussed on the broadcast and didn''t understand why she was acting this way.

    Still, knowing Han Se-ah, she had probably received some strange mission. She wasn''t stupid enough to break a sacred relic just for a mission, so—wait, what?

    "Huh? What, what''s happening?"

    "A light full of life force... this is close to holy power, isn''t it?"

    As Han Se-ah extended the Crystal Shield toward Irene, the shield suddenly began glowing with a pure white light and started to merge with Irene.

    ...She didn''t break it, did she?

    Enjoy the chappy!