Lupinus

Lupinus (full name Lupinus Lord-Denton) is a high-born Elf, the fourth daughter of the Lord-Denton viscount house, one of the elite 'Elf-Lord' noble lineages. A Class III Explorer and the leader of the party Torquetum, she serves as its main tank behind her party-mates: the cat-beastfolk elemental caster Pakira and the enigmatic swordswoman Riv. Tall, blonde and sharp-featured, she is frequently mistaken for being older than she is, a sore point she reacts to with comic indignation, insisting at length that she is only eighteen. She wields the ancestral Oreparts of her house, Achilaine's Shield, a great round shield, together with her Relic 'Solid' (Kengo), which fuses her body with the shield to greatly raise her defense at the price of added weight.

Her role in the story begins with catastrophe: while training for the Class II trial, Torquetum encountered a rare white albino Chimera on the 33rd floor of the dungeon and was effectively wiped out, only to wake unharmed with no memory of being saved. Investigating, they discover their party was rescued by an anonymous benefactor who spent a priceless Elixir to heal them and used a return stone to send them home. Determined to learn who did this and why, Lupinus drives the search that eventually identifies the boy Wof, the witch's apprentice, as their savior. She insists she does not want to interrogate or pressure him, only to thank him and speak with him honestly, and she becomes one of the party's most earnest advocates for building a relationship with him.

Personality-wise Lupinus is the picture of a proud, stubborn, image-conscious noble lady, prone to sharp, blunt remarks, especially awkward around men, whom she pushes away by putting on airs. Beneath that facade she is dutiful and warm: she is an excellent cook and quietly handles the household chores her party-mates neglect, is fond of children, and takes her responsibilities as leader seriously (though she is chided when she makes unilateral decisions, such as accepting the Tasan Marquis House's female-explorer sponsorship on Megadia's recommendation without consulting the others). She dislikes her own family and speaks in an ornate, formal register ('desu wa').

Over her arc, Lupinus settles Torquetum in Hydrangea as their base and secures the powerful Tasan Marquis House as a patron, with the ambition of raising the entire party to Class I. Her equipment becomes a recurring focus of Wof and the artisan Haiyaan, who study her tank role and rework Achilaine's Shield, adding countermeasures against the Chimera's Evil-Eye Relic and improving both its defense and usability. She grows into a recurring, dependable ally in Wof's orbit and even acquires her own fans among admirers of the party.