For a while, Damian and Alfaera looked at each other in silence, with Tristan watching by the side in silence to see what the final verdict was.
Similar to Valyr, he was not a sword user by any means. Aside from that, even if he was given the choice to change to the subclass attached the scroll, he would decline. After all, he had already spent a long time getting used the skills of his subclass to the point it eventually became second nature.
He was certain that he would take far longer to get used to the new subclass since it meant having to change his main weapon of choice to a blade.
Eventually, both Damian and Alfaera had come to their respective decisions, voicing them out for Valyr to hear. Though the responses of the two were exactly the same in terms of intent, the problem was that…
Their intent was for the other person to get the subclass.𝒐𝑽𝐿xt.𝑐𝑜𝚖
“I think it would be better for you to give Damian the subclass,” said Alfaera, taking the initiative to tell Valyr what she thought. “After all, if you compare the two of us, he’s done more for the village than I did, being the one responsible for coordinating everyone during monster tides. Plus, he’s the current guard leader of Astarto Village. It only makes sense for him to be the one to receive the subclass.”
Hearing Alfaera’s words, Damian lightly shook his head. “Though that may be true, I’d suggest you give the subclass to Alfaera instead, Valyr. Sure, I may be the guard leader of the village, but if I were to obtain that subclass, wouldn’t it seem like I was the one leading the village instead of Alfaera? As the village chief, it is only proper for you to obtain the subclass. After all, even the book mentioned by Valyr said it would go to you.”
“But I’m not even a sword user,” said Alfaera in response, causing a light frown to appear on Damian’s face soon after. Seeing the frown on Damian’s face, an expression of slight triumph appeared on Alfaera’s face as she opened her mouth once more.
“I’m sure we’ve both seen the name of the subclass through [Analysis] earlier, no? With the fact that the book Valyr mentioned that the subclass should go to a sword user, which I am not, it should only be right that the subclass goes to you.”
After listening to the reasons the two of them had given him, Valyr felt like the subclass would be given to Damian. However, unlike Damian and Tristan, whose main weapon of choice he knew, Valyr did not know what Alfaera’s main weapon of choice was. Recalling the conditions Riekan had given him while he was in the dungeon earlier, he decided to pose the question to Alfaera. “What weapon do you usually use, Alfaera?”
“Me?” Pointing at herself, Alfaera pondered over the question for a bit. “Well, I generally use a rapier while fighting. What about it?”
“Just when I was about to come to a decision…” Hearing Alfaera’s response, Valyr could not help but bitterly smile. “I was about to finalize my decision of giving the scroll to Damian since he was a sword user. However, the book also mentioned that the user does not necessarily have to wield a sword to be able to obtain the subclass. Any blade would work with the subclass, actually.”
“And so we’re back at square one,” Tristan could not help but say, to which Valyr let out a sigh in response before nodding in agreement.
“I really hope the two of you could come to an agreement since I don’t really want to be the one to decide on who gets the scroll.” Valyr lightly scratched his head with a slight frown. In response to his words, both Alfaera and Damian looked at each other once more as they thought about who should get the scroll.
“Seriously, Alfaera. You should get the subclass,” Damian told her sometime later. “Although I’ve lived most of my life so far in this village, it wouldn’t be right for me to claim the subclass. After all, Valyr mentioned that the subclass is an inheritance meant to help Astarto Village prosper. As the village chief and as a member of the founding family of the village, don’t you think it’s only right for you to obtain it.”
“But that doesn’t mean you should downplay your contributions like that, Damian.” Alfaera slightly frowned. “Compared to all of the guards the village has had over the years, you are the only one to have invested so much time and effort towards the safety of the village, even going so far as to lead the defense against the monster tide. With a subclass like the one on the scroll, don’t you think the village would have an easier time defending?”
“Haah.” At this point, Valyr could not help but let out a sigh once more, heading towards Alfaera before giving her the Subclass Change Scroll. Naturally, Alfaera could not help but feel a bit bewildered at the fact that Valyr had decided to give the subclass to her, with Damian nodding in agreement.
However, just as the two thought the problem was over, Valyr went ahead and clarified the reason why he had given the scroll to Alfaera. “Since the two of you can’t make up your mind yet on who gets the Subclass Change Scroll, I’ve decided to just give the scroll to Alfaera, given that she is the rightful inheritor of the scroll anyway.”
“From here on out, it’s up to you on who you give the subclass to.” A solemn expression adorned Valyr’s face as he looked at the woman before him. “Of course, there’s always the choice of using the scroll on yourself, but that’s solely up to you.”
For a while, Alfaera’s gaze shifted between Valyr and the scroll she had received a few times. Though, in the end, she eventually let out a sigh before nodding, telling the three that she would eventually come to a decision that the three of them would agree with, to which the other three nodded in response.
With that, the four continued heading towards the village once more, eventually heading past the village gates by the time the sun had fully set.
Heading their separate ways, Damian made his way to the barracks, while Valyr decided to accompany Tristan since he would still have to remove the armor he was wearing. As for Alfaera, she decided to accompany the latter two, to which Damian nodded in response as he told them to take care before heading off to the barracks on his own.
While the three were heading their way to Tristan’s smithy, Alfaera moved closer to Valyr before initiating a conversation with him. “Hey, Valyr.”
“Hmm?” Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr looked at Alfaera beside him.
“Since you’re the one that cleared the dungeon, would it be fine if I hold a celebration regarding this achievement tomorrow? After all, you’re more or less the reason why Astarto Village is finally going to expand into a town.” Listening to the words that came out of Alfaera’s mouth, a slight frown could not help but appear on Valyr’s face.
“Does the village really have to celebrate it?” Valyr could not help but ask soon after, to which Alfaera nodded in response.
“It has to. After all, expanding into a town is a great milestone,” said Alfaera, leaving Valyr no choice but to let out a sigh as he acquiesced to the celebration. Though Alfaera was glad that he eventually agreed, she swiftly noticed the somber expression on his face, prompting her to wonder what she could do to remove that.
Attracting his attention, Alfaera then gave Valyr a proposal. “How about this? In exchange for the celebration happening tomorrow, I’ll give you the rewards from the quest now, and even multiply some of them. Is that fine with you?”
“You’ve got yourself a deal, Alfaera.” At the very instant Alfaera was finished with her proposal, Valyr swiftly agreed as he grinned, causing a weird expression to appear on the former’s face.
“That… was easier than I thought.”