《Fairy Tale Chronicles》
Volume 1, Prologue
Volume 1, Prologue
_______________________________________________________________
Trantor: Reflet
_______________________________________________________________
Fane Arc
Prologue
¡¸It¡¯s pretty darn surprisin¡¯ to see that you also yed Fairy Tale Chronicle¡¹
¡¸Not really. Nowadays, you don¡¯t have to just be an otaku to y VRMMOs after all. The real shocking thing is the fact that you went all the way to advanced crafting¡¹
¡¸See, I was fed up with all the congestion on the first day of service, so as I was grindin¡¯ and avoidin¡¯ those crowds as a way of escapin¡¯ that reality, I just became absorbed in it and reached an advanced level naturally¡¹
The boy and girl were heartily discussing the unlikely situation as well as how unexpected it was for fellow ssmates like them to be meeting each other. The scenery that surrounded them was that of an online game, a VRMMO that, over the years, had thoroughly swept its way to consumers all over. It was nothing that unusual.
The name of the boy who spoke in the Kansai dialect was Azuma Hiroshi. He was a third-year high schooler whose body type could be summed up as a medium build with a height of 171 centimeters, whose looks weren¡¯t anything special other than having thick eyebrows, whose clothing sense wasn¡¯t particrly strange, nor was it worn out, and yet no matter what he wore, he lookedme, and people would still say he was unpolished and was emitting the aura of a loser from his entire being.
Despite being in the middle of entrance exams, he was hooked on games, but you didn¡¯t need that to know that he was the type of person to go with the flow and that his hobby besides games was reading (particrly of the light novel variety) ¨C in other words, he would be ssified by society as an otaku.
The girl¡¯s name was Toudou Haruna. She had a higher-than-average staturepared to Japanese girls of 167 centimeters, and characteristic of the fact that foreign blood was partially flowing through her, she had natural long, blonde hair as well as transparent-like blue eyes- a girl whom no one would have any issue with calling beautiful.
Because her mother¨Ca singer¨Cwas a Nikkei (non-Japanese of Japanese descent) woman from Ennd carrying one fourth Japanese blood, this girl had three-eighths English blood mixed in, making her lineage rather tough to convey.
As if her English blood were speaking for her, her body line was enough to pick a fight with a full-bodied gravure idol and win, which caused males to have their eyes glued to her. She was seventeen years old and in the same ss as Hiroshi, and she had a bright future ahead of her.
¡¸I¡¯m not one to talk, but is really okay for you to be ying games at a time like this?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m happy that yer worryin¡¯ ¡¯bout me, but despite how it might look, I¡¯m still goin¡¯ to prep school, n¡¯ I did just barely manage to get an A appraisal for my first choice of schools. Plus I was just gonna get one more skill level up n¡¯ then take a break. Probably don¡¯t hafta even ask this, but what about you, Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸I guess you could call it taking a breather? I hardly ever logged in since thest spring break¡¹
As you can understand from this conversation, it wasn¡¯t like they were both hooked on games and neglecting their entrance exams. Although the school theymuted to was public, the grades in the school were top-ss even in their prefecture, so their academic level was certainly not low.
Haruna had inherited superior memory from her parents, she was consistently ranked in the three-digit area even for nationwide mock examinations, holding a firm grip on the A appraisal for getting into her university of choice.
Hiroshi was also trying his best at his studies every day, his grades rivalling Haruna¡¯s in some of the curriculum. In the first ce, he was the type who was always fiercely conflicted with difficult courses, feeling uneasy at certain times that he might fail.
There was the amiable and considerate beauty, then there was the light otaku who unleashed a loser aura. Even if they were ssmates, other than conversations rted to obligatory things, they would have never interacted with each other.
Of all the possibilities, the slightly awkward fact that they had bumped into each other in an online game may have actually been the one saving grace in this particr problem they were wrapped into.
¡¸Still, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever get to properly talk to ya before we graduated, yet here we are talkin¡¯ ¡¯bout games. Life really is mysterious¡¹
¡¸Plus you had this aura like you didn¡¯t want to associate with me¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t really know ¡¯bout all that. ¡®S just been my experience that it ain¡¯t never good to be seen with popr girls, so I just prefer to avoid any girl like yer kind¡¹
¡¸¡¡Wow. What you¡¯re saying about me is supposed to be horrible, and yet I find myself strangely agreeing with you¡¡¡¹
Haruna looked slightly depressed. Hiroshi became slightly concerned about what she had said. They were talking about real life problems, but he didn¡¯t want to get dragged into all that. He moved further away from her.
¡¸Ya sound like you¡¯d happen to know somethin¡¯ ¡¯bout that. Maybe I should just let sleepin¡¯ dogs lie¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, I don¡¯t think you have to worry about that in this situation¡¡¹
¡¸True. Guess I¡¯ll stop avoidin¡¯ the real issue and go over the current situation again¡¹
As he said that, he surveyed his surroundings. This was not the weak, anime-esque scenery of your typical VRMMO. The way it looked with its fresh hues, the way it felt, and the smell of the air. The living beings modeled unlike anything in the real world. And most importantly, the extremely sharp, unrestricted, real pain that you would feel when you got attacked.
¡¸Definitely not possible in a game, right?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s clearly Fairy Tale Chronicle, or a world that closely resembles it, I¡¯d say¡¹
In such a ruthless situation, they sighed and faced each other while saying the same thing:
¡¸What do we do¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Whadda we do¡¡?¡¹
Haruna and Hiroshi pondering what to do
And just like that, while sorting through the realistic remains of a bear in front of them as the game had taught them to, they were reminded again that this was reality. The loser and the talented girl discussed this with each other with no idea as to what they should do.
***
From Hiroshi¡¯s perspective, it all began approximately four hours earlier.
¡¸Suuup¡¹
¡ºOh, Hiro-san, ¡®evening?¡»
¡ºYo?¡»
Faithfully following his promise to his parents, Hiroshi had finished an hour of his study for the mock entrance exam, finally leaving some time for him to cheerfully put on his headgear, logging into the usual VRMMO, ¡°Fairy Tale Chronicle¡±. When he sent a greeting into the group chat, the various members of the formed party began greeting him back.
The game called ¡°Fairy Tale Chronicle¡± that they were ying was a VRMMO that had officially began service when he was in middle school, with slogans like ¡°Hunting? Farming? ¡®Tis all up to You!¡±, ¡°From Survival to Slow Life¡±, ¡°Items Within this Game are all Craftable¡±, filled with a kind of volume that defiedmon sense from the day it was released and bing a popr topic for its degree of freedom that was just as advertised, utilizing a promotion system that was a hybrid of character level and skill proficiency in a world that did not define upations in the traditional sense of an RPG.
This game had already aplished a grand, unfathomable feat by cramming in maps and elements packaged from day one that would normally require three or fourrge-scale updates, with even the field information taking a year to gather, and with only tworge-scale updates, it had achieved evolution into a gargantuan title that no one other than the producers themselves could fully grasp all the elements of.
However, the biggest shock of all was probably that despite having all that capacity, no real bugs or server outages had urred even once. Undoubtedly, the greatest reason as to why it was umting user support was that despite undergoing hardly any bnce regtions, in exchange for giving a portion of one¡¯s skills to the automatic training system while logging out, it would contain all varieties of outer tools and macros in order to implement a firm administration security that had never once allowed any breaches by hackers, no matter what methods they were using.
Despite having already begun service five years ago, this game was still running along at top ss in regards to both user numbers and yer satisfaction. This was what ¡°Fairy Tale Chronicle¡± was.
¡ºHiro-san, Hiro-san¡»
¡¸What up?¡¹
¡ºGot any healing potions and mana potions in your inventory?¡»
¡¸Let¡¯s see. At the moment I got a stack of level 6s in storage. That alright?¡¹
¡ºGood enough. Heck, there wasn¡¯t anything higher than level 4 appearing in the marketce¡»
Hiroshi had no choice but to agree, seeing as he hadn¡¯t used street stands or auctions for a long time, thinking that the goods that appeared were low leveled. Level 4 potions in the first ce were often dropped by humanoid small fries monster. It would be great if all they did was drop them, but there were also those who, despite being monsters, had no issue with using said potions and heal themselves. So those who hunted them wouldin about it being the most annoying thing ever.
Due to certain circumstances, the craftsmen in this game did not release the items they made into the marketce. As a result, the only things that appeared in booths or auctions were drop items or quest rewards. Additionally, because advanced raw materials could only be obtained by advanced craftsmen disassembling monsters, not even those raw materials made it into the marketce.
Once you got to a certain level,works between fellow craftsmen were firmly set up. So, it was normal to exchange the remaining raw materials with them directly. Consequently, craftsmen like Hiroshi almost never made use of booths or auctions, causing them not toprehend the rare value of their products.
¡¸That right? Well, ya need to have intermediate level proficiency maxed out if ya wanna make Level 5 potions¡¹
¡ºYeesh, didn¡¯t know it was that difficult¡¡¡»
Friend A groaned at Hiroshi¡¯s words. Incidentally, being maxed out, in online game terminology, indicates that one has reached the upper limit. In this case, it was the same as saying that you need to have mastered intermediate level.
¡¸Well, craftin¡¯ does require adaptation, resignation, and patience after all. So how much ya need?¡¹
¡ºFor now I¡¯d a hundred of both. You have that much?¡»
¡¸In plenty, in plenty. If ya want a hundred then I don¡¯t mind givin¡¯ ya Level 8 ones too¡¹
He pointed at the highest level items that could be made with the Potion-Making skill, which he had made a mountain of in order to raise his skill over winter break. He would honestly prefer that someone take them off his hands, since they were taking up a third of his entire storehouse.
¡ºNo no, 6 is plenty. And the day I use something like Level 8, I¡¯ll stick out like a sore thumb. So how much?¡»
Hiroshi didn¡¯t know about this, since he only ever delved into dungeons to gather raw materials, but his Level 8 potions currently boasted a higher healing rate than top-yer healing magic.
Having only one of those didn¡¯t make much of a difference in this harsh game, but as long as you were to partner with a skilled attacker, it was good enough to win against an intermediate dungeon boss without using healing magic.
Most of all, in this game where for a certain reason yers training their crafting skills were extremely few, Level 5 potions and above were quite valuable, as they could not be obtained without crafting or stealing them from rare humanoid monsters.
Level 6 potions were viewed as the highest level by the majority of people, and no matter the variety of potion, the advanced groups in the marketce would buy them up the moment they came in. In addition, Hiroshi¡¯s friends were among the majority of yers, so none of them were likely to know the market price. Not only that, but for some reason, NPCs wouldn¡¯t buy any potions over Level 5.
¡¸Lessee¡eh, I only made ¡¯em to level up my skill, so I¡¯ll say five hundred per bottle¡¹
¡ºCheap!!¡»
¡¸Well uhh, to be honest, if they ain¡¯t appearin¡¯ on the market, ya can¡¯t determine the official prices. Since the NPC won¡¯t have ess to them, then there may as well be no such thing. Everyone¡¯s campaignin¡¯ for the drop-rted materials anyway¡¹
¡ºWell, I¡¯m not particrly well-off, so I¡¯m happy that I can even get it this cheap¡»
¡¸Then I¡¯ll have it delivered right now with payment on delivery¡¹
¡ºUnderstood. Thanks as always¡»
He sent the potions he had taken out of storage, specifying that they go via express home payment delivery. Incidentally, the price he had set of five hundred for one bottle was the maximum amount that one could normally buy from NPCs ¨C for the price of a Level 2 potion.
It was a recovery agent that would be essential for initial-game medium-game hunting, but at a particrly hefty price. Nevertheless, that would merely lead people to think that it was better to save up with hunting and quests and then craft them yourself. However, it must be pointed out that the circumstances at the beginning of the game were quite unfortunate for crafters.
¡ºHiro, my cousin says she wants to start ying this game now that she has ess to VR. Got any equipment that¡¯d be good for beginners?¡»
¡¸Lemme think. Outta the top of my head, I have a knife and a set of clothing that¡¯re a bit better than small-fry drops. That good with ya?¡¹
¡ºLet me see the specs¡»
¡¸This is what I mean¡¹
He transcripted the data of the clothing and knife that he had fished out of storage, sending it via mail.
¡ºI dunno about this one¡¡»
¡¸Didja want somethin¡¯ better?¡¹
¡ºQuite the contrary. Might be a little too advanced for a beginner to handle¡»
¡¸If it¡¯s anythin¡¯ worse than this, ya might as well buy it from an NPC¡¹
¡ºYeah? Got it. Then, I¡¯ll just buy the cheap stuff initially, but then give these to her at the right time. How much?¡»
¡¸Lemme think. Normally it¡¯s 1,500 to sell to NPCs, so I¡¯d say 3,000?¡¹
¡ºThat¡¯s still really cheap, yeesh¡»
¡¸All it¡¯s doin¡¯ is eatin¡¯ up space in storage, so don¡¯t mind ¡¯bout it. Heck, I¡¯ll even give ya stacks of leftover practice potions and Level 0 potions¡¹
He said, pushing out the lowest level potions that had hardly any recovery capabilities to be useful. They were the type of potions that truly demonstrated how unfortunate crafting skill was at the beginning.
At the start, it was essential in the initial stage of the game toplete the tutorial and beginner quests. But in order toplete those quests sessfully, it was necessary to have Level 2 potions handy. Thus the merchandise became high in demand.
Not to mention that the potions had a so-called ¡°poison¡± system, with mana potions and stamina potions in particr having a high poison rate. So, there are lots of these low level potions left over from tutorials or beginning-game quests.
Selling these left over potions to NPCs didn¡¯t work, as the contents weren¡¯t useful enough. You also couldn¡¯t re-use the containers after using the potions. Hiroshi and the other craftsmen had simrints that for a game that praised freedom, in other ways it felt more like it was trying to shoo away beginner yers with how you had to use another skill to craft containers.
The main reason as to why the majority of yers kept away from crafting was something simple: Gathering the materials necessary to make anything was extremely difficult.
After all, at the beginning stage, even if you got your hands on a de of grass, you have to check it properly and correctly take from it whatever was useable. This process took a lot of stamina. Even with one¡¯s stamina being full at the start, once you did enough of those operations it would run out, and you could not continue working until you rested for five minutes.
The expenditure of MP or stamina was particrly harsh for manufacturing raw materials, but as you couldn¡¯t progress in the first ce without materials, the overall process is just very difficult to maintain.
Not to mention that it was a masochistic procedure, since one of the features of this VRMMO made yers actually feel tired and unable to move. On top of that, the more the stamina decrease, the efficiency or sess rate for manufacturing would fall right before your eyes.
So without resting a good five minutes, it wouldn¡¯t even end up being a very productive manufacturing. Once your proficiency went past a certain point, those sorts of problems would get more and more scarce, but until that point, it was truly agonizing.
_______________________________________________________________
Trantor: Reflet
_______________________________________________________________
Fane Arc
Prologue
¡¸It¡¯s pretty darn surprisin¡¯ to see that you also yed Fairy Tale Chronicle¡¹
¡¸Not really. Nowadays, you don¡¯t have to just be an otaku to y VRMMOs after all. The real shocking thing is the fact that you went all the way to advanced crafting¡¹
¡¸See, I was fed up with all the congestion on the first day of service, so as I was grindin¡¯ and avoidin¡¯ those crowds as a way of escapin¡¯ that reality, I just became absorbed in it and reached an advanced level naturally¡¹
The boy and girl were heartily discussing the unlikely situation as well as how unexpected it was for fellow ssmates like them to be meeting each other. The scenery that surrounded them was that of an online game, a VRMMO that, over the years, had thoroughly swept its way to consumers all over. It was nothing that unusual.
The name of the boy who spoke in the Kansai dialect was Azuma Hiroshi. He was a third-year high schooler whose body type could be summed up as a medium build with a height of 171 centimeters, whose looks weren¡¯t anything special other than having thick eyebrows, whose clothing sense wasn¡¯t particrly strange, nor was it worn out, and yet no matter what he wore, he lookedme, and people would still say he was unpolished and was emitting the aura of a loser from his entire being.
Despite being in the middle of entrance exams, he was hooked on games, but you didn¡¯t need that to know that he was the type of person to go with the flow and that his hobby besides games was reading (particrly of the light novel variety) ¨C in other words, he would be ssified by society as an otaku.
The girl¡¯s name was Toudou Haruna. She had a higher-than-average staturepared to Japanese girls of 167 centimeters, and characteristic of the fact that foreign blood was partially flowing through her, she had natural long, blonde hair as well as transparent-like blue eyes- a girl whom no one would have any issue with calling beautiful.
Because her mother¨Ca singer¨Cwas a Nikkei (non-Japanese of Japanese descent) woman from Ennd carrying one fourth Japanese blood, this girl had three-eighths English blood mixed in, making her lineage rather tough to convey.
As if her English blood were speaking for her, her body line was enough to pick a fight with a full-bodied gravure idol and win, which caused males to have their eyes glued to her. She was seventeen years old and in the same ss as Hiroshi, and she had a bright future ahead of her.
¡¸I¡¯m not one to talk, but is really okay for you to be ying games at a time like this?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m happy that yer worryin¡¯ ¡¯bout me, but despite how it might look, I¡¯m still goin¡¯ to prep school, n¡¯ I did just barely manage to get an A appraisal for my first choice of schools. Plus I was just gonna get one more skill level up n¡¯ then take a break. Probably don¡¯t hafta even ask this, but what about you, Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸I guess you could call it taking a breather? I hardly ever logged in since thest spring break¡¹
As you can understand from this conversation, it wasn¡¯t like they were both hooked on games and neglecting their entrance exams. Although the school theymuted to was public, the grades in the school were top-ss even in their prefecture, so their academic level was certainly not low.
Haruna had inherited superior memory from her parents, she was consistently ranked in the three-digit area even for nationwide mock examinations, holding a firm grip on the A appraisal for getting into her university of choice.
Hiroshi was also trying his best at his studies every day, his grades rivalling Haruna¡¯s in some of the curriculum. In the first ce, he was the type who was always fiercely conflicted with difficult courses, feeling uneasy at certain times that he might fail.
There was the amiable and considerate beauty, then there was the light otaku who unleashed a loser aura. Even if they were ssmates, other than conversations rted to obligatory things, they would have never interacted with each other.
Of all the possibilities, the slightly awkward fact that they had bumped into each other in an online game may have actually been the one saving grace in this particr problem they were wrapped into.
¡¸Still, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever get to properly talk to ya before we graduated, yet here we are talkin¡¯ ¡¯bout games. Life really is mysterious¡¹
¡¸Plus you had this aura like you didn¡¯t want to associate with me¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t really know ¡¯bout all that. ¡®S just been my experience that it ain¡¯t never good to be seen with popr girls, so I just prefer to avoid any girl like yer kind¡¹
¡¸¡¡Wow. What you¡¯re saying about me is supposed to be horrible, and yet I find myself strangely agreeing with you¡¡¡¹
Haruna looked slightly depressed. Hiroshi became slightly concerned about what she had said. They were talking about real life problems, but he didn¡¯t want to get dragged into all that. He moved further away from her.
¡¸Ya sound like you¡¯d happen to know somethin¡¯ ¡¯bout that. Maybe I should just let sleepin¡¯ dogs lie¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, I don¡¯t think you have to worry about that in this situation¡¡¹
¡¸True. Guess I¡¯ll stop avoidin¡¯ the real issue and go over the current situation again¡¹
As he said that, he surveyed his surroundings. This was not the weak, anime-esque scenery of your typical VRMMO. The way it looked with its fresh hues, the way it felt, and the smell of the air. The living beings modeled unlike anything in the real world. And most importantly, the extremely sharp, unrestricted, real pain that you would feel when you got attacked.
¡¸Definitely not possible in a game, right?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s clearly Fairy Tale Chronicle, or a world that closely resembles it, I¡¯d say¡¹
In such a ruthless situation, they sighed and faced each other while saying the same thing:
¡¸What do we do¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Whadda we do¡¡?¡¹
Haruna and Hiroshi pondering what to do
And just like that, while sorting through the realistic remains of a bear in front of them as the game had taught them to, they were reminded again that this was reality. The loser and the talented girl discussed this with each other with no idea as to what they should do.
***
From Hiroshi¡¯s perspective, it all began approximately four hours earlier.
¡¸Suuup¡¹
¡ºOh, Hiro-san, ¡®evening?¡»
¡ºYo?¡»
Faithfully following his promise to his parents, Hiroshi had finished an hour of his study for the mock entrance exam, finally leaving some time for him to cheerfully put on his headgear, logging into the usual VRMMO, ¡°Fairy Tale Chronicle¡±. When he sent a greeting into the group chat, the various members of the formed party began greeting him back.
The game called ¡°Fairy Tale Chronicle¡± that they were ying was a VRMMO that had officially began service when he was in middle school, with slogans like ¡°Hunting? Farming? ¡®Tis all up to You!¡±, ¡°From Survival to Slow Life¡±, ¡°Items Within this Game are all Craftable¡±, filled with a kind of volume that defiedmon sense from the day it was released and bing a popr topic for its degree of freedom that was just as advertised, utilizing a promotion system that was a hybrid of character level and skill proficiency in a world that did not define upations in the traditional sense of an RPG.
This game had already aplished a grand, unfathomable feat by cramming in maps and elements packaged from day one that would normally require three or fourrge-scale updates, with even the field information taking a year to gather, and with only tworge-scale updates, it had achieved evolution into a gargantuan title that no one other than the producers themselves could fully grasp all the elements of.
However, the biggest shock of all was probably that despite having all that capacity, no real bugs or server outages had urred even once. Undoubtedly, the greatest reason as to why it was umting user support was that despite undergoing hardly any bnce regtions, in exchange for giving a portion of one¡¯s skills to the automatic training system while logging out, it would contain all varieties of outer tools and macros in order to implement a firm administration security that had never once allowed any breaches by hackers, no matter what methods they were using.
Despite having already begun service five years ago, this game was still running along at top ss in regards to both user numbers and yer satisfaction. This was what ¡°Fairy Tale Chronicle¡± was.
¡ºHiro-san, Hiro-san¡»
¡¸What up?¡¹
¡ºGot any healing potions and mana potions in your inventory?¡»
¡¸Let¡¯s see. At the moment I got a stack of level 6s in storage. That alright?¡¹
¡ºGood enough. Heck, there wasn¡¯t anything higher than level 4 appearing in the marketce¡»
Hiroshi had no choice but to agree, seeing as he hadn¡¯t used street stands or auctions for a long time, thinking that the goods that appeared were low leveled. Level 4 potions in the first ce were often dropped by humanoid small fries monster. It would be great if all they did was drop them, but there were also those who, despite being monsters, had no issue with using said potions and heal themselves. So those who hunted them wouldin about it being the most annoying thing ever.
Due to certain circumstances, the craftsmen in this game did not release the items they made into the marketce. As a result, the only things that appeared in booths or auctions were drop items or quest rewards. Additionally, because advanced raw materials could only be obtained by advanced craftsmen disassembling monsters, not even those raw materials made it into the marketce.
Once you got to a certain level,works between fellow craftsmen were firmly set up. So, it was normal to exchange the remaining raw materials with them directly. Consequently, craftsmen like Hiroshi almost never made use of booths or auctions, causing them not toprehend the rare value of their products.
¡¸That right? Well, ya need to have intermediate level proficiency maxed out if ya wanna make Level 5 potions¡¹
¡ºYeesh, didn¡¯t know it was that difficult¡¡¡»
Friend A groaned at Hiroshi¡¯s words. Incidentally, being maxed out, in online game terminology, indicates that one has reached the upper limit. In this case, it was the same as saying that you need to have mastered intermediate level.
¡¸Well, craftin¡¯ does require adaptation, resignation, and patience after all. So how much ya need?¡¹
¡ºFor now I¡¯d a hundred of both. You have that much?¡»
¡¸In plenty, in plenty. If ya want a hundred then I don¡¯t mind givin¡¯ ya Level 8 ones too¡¹
He pointed at the highest level items that could be made with the Potion-Making skill, which he had made a mountain of in order to raise his skill over winter break. He would honestly prefer that someone take them off his hands, since they were taking up a third of his entire storehouse.
¡ºNo no, 6 is plenty. And the day I use something like Level 8, I¡¯ll stick out like a sore thumb. So how much?¡»
Hiroshi didn¡¯t know about this, since he only ever delved into dungeons to gather raw materials, but his Level 8 potions currently boasted a higher healing rate than top-yer healing magic.
Having only one of those didn¡¯t make much of a difference in this harsh game, but as long as you were to partner with a skilled attacker, it was good enough to win against an intermediate dungeon boss without using healing magic.
Most of all, in this game where for a certain reason yers training their crafting skills were extremely few, Level 5 potions and above were quite valuable, as they could not be obtained without crafting or stealing them from rare humanoid monsters.
Level 6 potions were viewed as the highest level by the majority of people, and no matter the variety of potion, the advanced groups in the marketce would buy them up the moment they came in. In addition, Hiroshi¡¯s friends were among the majority of yers, so none of them were likely to know the market price. Not only that, but for some reason, NPCs wouldn¡¯t buy any potions over Level 5.
¡¸Lessee¡eh, I only made ¡¯em to level up my skill, so I¡¯ll say five hundred per bottle¡¹
¡ºCheap!!¡»
¡¸Well uhh, to be honest, if they ain¡¯t appearin¡¯ on the market, ya can¡¯t determine the official prices. Since the NPC won¡¯t have ess to them, then there may as well be no such thing. Everyone¡¯s campaignin¡¯ for the drop-rted materials anyway¡¹
¡ºWell, I¡¯m not particrly well-off, so I¡¯m happy that I can even get it this cheap¡»
¡¸Then I¡¯ll have it delivered right now with payment on delivery¡¹
¡ºUnderstood. Thanks as always¡»
He sent the potions he had taken out of storage, specifying that they go via express home payment delivery. Incidentally, the price he had set of five hundred for one bottle was the maximum amount that one could normally buy from NPCs ¨C for the price of a Level 2 potion.
It was a recovery agent that would be essential for initial-game medium-game hunting, but at a particrly hefty price. Nevertheless, that would merely lead people to think that it was better to save up with hunting and quests and then craft them yourself. However, it must be pointed out that the circumstances at the beginning of the game were quite unfortunate for crafters.
¡ºHiro, my cousin says she wants to start ying this game now that she has ess to VR. Got any equipment that¡¯d be good for beginners?¡»
¡¸Lemme think. Outta the top of my head, I have a knife and a set of clothing that¡¯re a bit better than small-fry drops. That good with ya?¡¹
¡ºLet me see the specs¡»
¡¸This is what I mean¡¹
He transcripted the data of the clothing and knife that he had fished out of storage, sending it via mail.
¡ºI dunno about this one¡¡»
¡¸Didja want somethin¡¯ better?¡¹
¡ºQuite the contrary. Might be a little too advanced for a beginner to handle¡»
¡¸If it¡¯s anythin¡¯ worse than this, ya might as well buy it from an NPC¡¹
¡ºYeah? Got it. Then, I¡¯ll just buy the cheap stuff initially, but then give these to her at the right time. How much?¡»
¡¸Lemme think. Normally it¡¯s 1,500 to sell to NPCs, so I¡¯d say 3,000?¡¹
¡ºThat¡¯s still really cheap, yeesh¡»
¡¸All it¡¯s doin¡¯ is eatin¡¯ up space in storage, so don¡¯t mind ¡¯bout it. Heck, I¡¯ll even give ya stacks of leftover practice potions and Level 0 potions¡¹
He said, pushing out the lowest level potions that had hardly any recovery capabilities to be useful. They were the type of potions that truly demonstrated how unfortunate crafting skill was at the beginning.
At the start, it was essential in the initial stage of the game toplete the tutorial and beginner quests. But in order toplete those quests sessfully, it was necessary to have Level 2 potions handy. Thus the merchandise became high in demand.
Not to mention that the potions had a so-called ¡°poison¡± system, with mana potions and stamina potions in particr having a high poison rate. So, there are lots of these low level potions left over from tutorials or beginning-game quests.
Selling these left over potions to NPCs didn¡¯t work, as the contents weren¡¯t useful enough. You also couldn¡¯t re-use the containers after using the potions. Hiroshi and the other craftsmen had simrints that for a game that praised freedom, in other ways it felt more like it was trying to shoo away beginner yers with how you had to use another skill to craft containers.
The main reason as to why the majority of yers kept away from crafting was something simple: Gathering the materials necessary to make anything was extremely difficult.
After all, at the beginning stage, even if you got your hands on a de of grass, you have to check it properly and correctly take from it whatever was useable. This process took a lot of stamina. Even with one¡¯s stamina being full at the start, once you did enough of those operations it would run out, and you could not continue working until you rested for five minutes.
The expenditure of MP or stamina was particrly harsh for manufacturing raw materials, but as you couldn¡¯t progress in the first ce without materials, the overall process is just very difficult to maintain.
Not to mention that it was a masochistic procedure, since one of the features of this VRMMO made yers actually feel tired and unable to move. On top of that, the more the stamina decrease, the efficiency or sess rate for manufacturing would fall right before your eyes.
So without resting a good five minutes, it wouldn¡¯t even end up being a very productive manufacturing. Once your proficiency went past a certain point, those sorts of problems would get more and more scarce, but until that point, it was truly agonizing.
Adding to those strangely real settings, whenever your crafting product rank went up, it was possible that you would need other crafting skills in order to create high rank products or that you¡¯d even need to use multiple crafting skills at one time in order to process them.
Since these sorts of things that required ridiculous dedication were apparent, even for those who managed to ovee the barrier of the initial stamina and cumbersome procedures, half of the intermediate level yers would just give in and quit.
To make matters worse, as mentioned previously, at intermediate level, all you could make were things that could already be bought from NPCs. Thisck of a sense of aplishment would usually quickly drive anyone out who wasn¡¯t seriously stubborn and deeply devoted to it.
To cut straight to the point, this vulgar process of crafting was the one majorint of the users of Fairy Tale Chronicle. Not only that, but in the same way that the crafts people were no longer allowing their products to go into the marketce, the number of people in the crafting upation wereparatively fewpared to other games.
This was why countless times, requests were made asking the developers to at the very least make the crafting levelling up process slightly easier.
¡ºI¡¯ve always thought this, but I really would like to see all of the contents of your storage, Hiro-san¡»
¡¸I don¡¯t mind showin¡¯ ya, but it¡¯s filled with manufactured products and raw harvested materials, so there ain¡¯t many valuable items¡¹
¡ºOh,e on. Those Level 8 potions that you say you have a mountainful of are already valuable items, mate¡»
¡¸Everyone who does advanced crafting pretty much all have storages that resemble one another. I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if there were an immediate price copse if we were to sell ¡®em¡¹
¡ºYour storages are all that ridiculous?¡»
¡¸Welp, I mean there are like twenty-four peeps who can make Level 8, n¡¯ each one o¡¯ them has ten thousand of each variety, so at the very least, just using one of those sections from their storage would make a total of a minimum of two million one-hundred forty-thousand bottles¡¹
At a nce, these were staggering amounts, but if you were to think about it from the perspective of the total number of yers and amount of consumption, you couldn¡¯t really say it was all that much. After all, in just one trip through a dungeon, you would normally expend fifty to a hundred potions.
¡ºWell, moving on. Hiro-san, wanna delve into a dungeon right now?¡»
¡¸Ooo, that sounds good. I was just about to run outta raw drop materials, and I was nnin¡¯ to rest a bit today or tomorrow for the entrance exam, so once I¡¯m done with the work right here then I¡¯d be d to join ya¡¹
¡ºWhat are you making right now?¡»
¡¸I¡¯ll save the surprise forter¡¹
Insolently jesting, Hiroshi continued his work as his friends tentatively set the meeting ce and start time. ncing at them from the side, he continued his work¡¡
¡¸Alriiight, skill maxed out!¡¹
Having achieved the objective of his work, he confirmed that he had mastered the unique skill that he had recently obtained from a quest. After he had taken out a transition stone and some other things in preparation for going to the meeting ce, the sound effect for receiving mail rang.
¡¸Mm?¡¹
Peeking at his mailbox, there were three letters with odd titles and clearly garbled text. He immediately sought to delete them, but just in case, he reached out to only his acquaintances and friends.
¡¸Hey. Did anyone send me mail just now?¡¹
¡ºNo, I haven¡¯t. Why?¡»
¡¸Ya see, I just got three letters with garbled text¡¹
¡º¡¡You¡¯d best not touch those¡»
The oldest member warned Hiroshi.
¡¸Seemed suspicious so I didn¡¯t intend to look inside, but why?¡¹
¡ºLately, there have apparently been several cases of trouble with clients being destroyed due to garbled mail. Even the public has picked up on it¡»
¡¸Whaaat? That the first time such a fatal bug came in? Oh shoot, yer right. There¡¯s a notification from management¡¹
¡ºSo once you contact management, you need to make sure to avoid touching them, even if it means not erasing them¡»
¡¸Understood. Thanks fer lettin¡¯ me know¡¹
He thanked him, thereafter contacting the GM regarding the garbled mail. He also reported the bug to management with a screenshot attached. Just in case, he made a backup that didn¡¯t include the aforementioned garbled mail, then activated the transition stone to finally delve into the dungeon, when all of a sudden, an irregrity urred.
¡¸The heck is this!?¡¹
The garbled mail began filling up his mailbox,mencing its invasion even through the other windows.
¡ºWhat¡¯s wrong?¡»
¡¸The garbled mail just started pourin¡¯ outta the mailbox!¡¹
¡ºThe hell!?¡»
¡¸I dunno! Wha, why did it just open without me touching it!!¡¹
The chat members heard Hiroshi¡¯s cry, and they hurriedly tried calling out to him. However, he wasn¡¯t even allowed to answer them as the garbled mail began piling up more and more in his vision. A new location in garbled letters was added to the location selection for his transition stone and was automatically chosen.
¡¸Hold yer horses! Movement cancel!¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s scream was futile, the transition stone was activated, and all he could see were errors and alerts filling up the area. When those two warning disys enveloped his field of vision like a magic circle, Hiroshi¡¯s consciousness faded.
===
¡¸¡¡The heck is this¡¡¡¹
He muttered, grimacing as he looked at his surroundings. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw that he was lying down in a familiar, yet unfamiliar sort of forest. Well, it was a forest, but it soon became clear that he hadn¡¯t gone too far in after he walked in the direction of the light and saw open grasnd. Though it wasn¡¯t clear as to where the entrance was, he didn¡¯t think there was any issue with registering it as being within that vicinity.
¡¸Seriously, what¡¯s goin¡¯ on¡¡¡¹
Paying close observation to his surroundings, he sighed at how ridiculous the situation was. It would have been no issue if the nts that made up the forest were all unknown to him. He didn¡¯t quite have enough knowledge to differentiate between vegetation, yet he found himself recognizing nearly all of their names. It went without saying that the majority of them were not found in the real world.
¡¸And in this outfit? Ya¡¯d never catch me in this¡¡¡¹
His clothing was not what he was wearing before putting on the headgear, nor was it what he had been wearing in-game: A simple shirt with something like a monk¡¯s tunic over it, pants that were of much too insultingly rough making to be called cks, and shoes that were a step above having no shoes at all, but with soles that made you question whether it made a difference. He remembered what this was: the clothing set you start out with in Fairy Tale Chronicle. It was quite honestly shabby.
His possessions were no different: other than his clothing, he had only one shoddy knife. He had no purse nor satchel. Even in the clothes he had previously there was no purse, so a knife was at least better than nothing, but this was still going to be a tough situation.
¡¸Now then, the heck do I gotta do first¡¡¡¹
Ending his escape from reality that had also functioned as confirming the situation, he grumbled as he searched for something that might give him an idea as to what he should do for the moment. Joking aside, there was a chance that his life was in danger, so he made it a priority to search earnestly.
As he was doing all that and closely observing his surroundings, all of a sudden, he heard something akin to a female shriek. Since it was a female voice, Hiroshi had instinctively thought to escape in the opposite direction of the voice, but the situation itself was quicker.
¡¸No©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`!!¡¹
¡¸What in tarnation!¡¹
Not even ten seconds after hearing her voice, he saw a somewhat familiar-looking blonde girl rushing desperately out of the deep forest while screaming. As she ran along at a speed unfathomable for normal humans, he saw that behind her there was a gigantic bear of about three meters.
Hiroshi, who had been shaking as he looked at the girl, lost bnce with his footing, and before he knew it, he had tumbled in between both the girl and the bear who had nearly caught up.
¡¸Run!!¡¹
Before the attractive girl with the familiar voice and appearance had even yelled that out, he had instinctively drove the knife into the bear¡¯s stomach with all his might, causing it to fly away. The inside of his head was by this time a nk te, and the shaking from his entire body would not subside.
Faced with the deep trauma associated with the beings known as ¡°females¡± on one end, and with the imminent danger of a gigantic bear on the other end, his reason and emotions should have withered away in fear, but he did not instinctively acknowledge the bear as a threat. He stepped forward precisely because he was more frightened of the other.
Though quivering with uncontroble fear, Azuma Hiroshi was pushed by his instincts to stop the giant bear in its tracks.
===
¡¸So ya had garbled mail sent to ya too, Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸So you also received it, Azuma-kun¡¡¡¹
¡¸In my case, seems like the transition stone was the trigger, but what about you, Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸For me it was when I tried going through the eastern Wulls transportation gate¡¹
After dissecting the bear, the two of them had roughly split apart the meat and cooked it, discussing the events prior to this as they filled themselves up. They were still conversing at quite the distance, and Hiroshi was clearly still guarded, but Haruna got why that was the case, so she decided not toment on it.
¡¸They just brought us over here without no equipment, items, money¡Not cool, man, not cool¡¹
¡¸Seriously. And I just had a Berserker Bear pop up out of nowhere as I was searching for safety¡¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re not all that lucky after all, Toudou-san¡¹
¡¸Seriously¡¡¡¹
Recalling what it was like to reunite with Hiroshi, she expelled a deep sigh. Just like Hiroshi, she had been sent over here, running in a panic as fast as she could after being attacked by a bear in the middle of searching for a safe area.
However, no matter what abilities you had, once you got into a panic, you would not be able to use those abilities efficiently. As a result, she had only run for a bit when she tripped on a rock and the bear had nearly caught up to her, which had happened just earlier. As they were both present for everything after that, there was nothing more to be told.
For the battle itself, she had noticed Hiroshi¡¯s quivering attempt to stop the opponent¡¯s attack and had followed up with support magic, thereafter managing to both attack it with their weak startup knives and make it through with nothing more than light bruises.
For better or for worse, they retained the abilities and skills from the game, easily managing to put an end to this boss bear even with their meager equipment.
¡¸Actually, in retrospect, it wouldn¡¯t have been difficult to defeat that thing solo with this knife¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yup. Thankfully, our levels, skills, ¡®n parameters seem to have been carried with us¡¹
He nodded, recalling the battle from earlier and their healing up afterward. The Berserker Bear was in actuality a field boss meant to kill first-time yers, but from the standpoint of most yers, it was nothing more than an inferior low-level dungeon enemy.
¡¸Umm, Azuma-kun¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I recall messing with the appearance of my avatar a good amount, but what do I look like now?¡¹
¡¸Uhh¡other than yer clothing, yer still the old Toudou-san who was the ss moodmaker¡¹
¡¸¡¡Thought so¡¡¡¹
Haruna said with a sigh. Hiroshi wasn¡¯t sure what the matter was.
¡¸I don¡¯t really see why ya¡¯d be worryin¡¯ about your appearance when we were suddenly blown into this odd situation¡¡¡¹
¡¸You say that, but¡in this game where personal information is abundant, I¡¯m a little hesitant to walk around without makeup¡¹
¡¸Ohhh, in that sense, it would probably be best for ya to be careful, yeah¡¹
¡¸So you understand?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Plus your parents are famous and all¡¹
He looked at Haruna once more as he was speaking, recognizing another issue.
¡¸Now that I think ¡¯bout it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¹
¡¸The startup clothing in this game would leave a lot to be desired in real life¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Now that you say it¡¡¡¹
They weren¡¯t concerned about it when they were in their avatar forms, but the game¡¯s startup clothing was designed to be loose, which left a surprising amount of gaps. Although it was crafted so that nothing major could be seen, depending on the pose or angle, it wasn¡¯t difficult to be able to see cleavage.
And as of now, Haruna¡¯s body type was not the washing board it had been for the whole time she yed, but was instead her real body that could beat a gravure idol any day¡¡
¡¸There really are quite a few issues with fantasy clothing¡¡¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t mind makin¡¯ ya some clothing if ya want¡¹
¡¸You sew?¡¹
¡¸Sewing? Heck, as a crafter, you kinda hafta be decent at everything if ya wanna aim for advanced level¡¹
¡¸Seriously?¡¹
¡¸Really¡¹
Due to various circumstances, it wasn¡¯t well-known what required crafting or what could be aplished by crafting. At the very least, it wasn¡¯t likely that anyone other than craftsmen knew that the slogan ¡°Everything in the Game can be Crafted¡± was in fact true.
¡¸Well for the time being, what would we do ¡¯bout money if we wanted to go to town?¡¹
¡¸This whole penniless situation with this startup equipment is seriously sucky¡¡¡¹
¡¸And we don¡¯t even have shoes¡¡¡¹
As they were grumbling, they took notice of the bear¡¯s pelt that they had roughly dealt with. They had been thrown into this situation with nothing but the clothes they had on, so the remains of the bear were like a mountain of treasure to Hiroshi as he contemted all the things he could make.
¡¸Well, I say I could make shoes with this¡¹
¡¸You can do that?¡¹
¡¸Without too much difficulty, yeah. For now I¡¯d need string and a needle. For the string, I can make do with the fur of those rabbits wandering around here, and for the needle¡¡I saw a river back there, so I could probably make do with fish bones¡¹
¡¸So that¡¯s all you need¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, at least for makin¡¯ shoes. So with that being said, I¡¯ll take care of the rabbit fur string, but sorry, would ya do me a favor and grab some fish bones? Ya seem like yer cookin¡¯ skills are better than mine¡¹
¡¸Roger. May as well make dried food while I¡¯m at it¡¹
After hearing her say that and seeing her off to the river, he made use of the nearby rabbits and began weaving string. The rabbits in this region were like Angora rabbits in that they had fluffy fur, so they were ideal for making string.
To put it into further perspective, with a high-level weaving skill, even without tools it was possible to weave a minimal line of string. Of course, it would still be difficult to weave cloth.
¡¸At this rate, we gotta think ¡¯bout wilderness survival¡¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s how it has to be for now¡¡¡¹
He grumbled while weaving thin string to the limit with his bare hands. After handling the fish she had caught, Haruna moved onto preparing it for smoking as she expressed her agreement with a sigh.
¡¸For now, once we¡¯ve gathered a certain amount o¡¯ tools, we¡¯d be able to make some seble medicine and whatnot, so I guess we may as well start from there¡¡¡¹
He let out a deep sigh as he had finished weaving the necessary amount of string and had given it the minimum processing, needle in hand. While being fed up at how far they had to go, this was how the first day of their fantasy life began.
Volume 1, 1
Volume 1, Chapter 1
Trantor: Adam Seacord
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸So, what now?¡¹
¡¸Now?¡¹
¡¸Not about money, or anything else immediate. What¡¯s our goal here?¡¹
¡¸Aw, shucks¡¡¹
They had spent the previous day in denial of their reality by making bags of other items, but it was too pathetic to just walk around without a destination. They had to face the world in front of them and figure out what they had to do.
¡¸Well, our ultimate goal should be to head on back to Japan. The first thing to do, I reckon, would be to gather all sort of information.¡¹
Hiroshi said, as he frantically struck the rocks in his hands on each other. Haruna gave a quick nod.
¡¸Even just to gather information, we¡¯ll have to find a town, first.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but they could tax us just to get in. We betta get some stuff worth a buck or two¡¡¹
¡¸We can talk to them first to see?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s all dandy, but I just want to process these guts here into potions before we go. These materials rotted in the game after a while, too.¡¹
With that, Hiroshi pointed at a few of the organs from the bear they cut open the day before. Hiroshi would say that he was only desensitized to the grotesque disembowelment of the bear, thanks to the disembowelment skill that anyone would obtain in the game.
¡¸What can you make from them?¡¹
¡¸A level 3 special potion. I could use it for any level 5 potion, but we don¡¯t got materials to make bottles for it. Besides it don¡¯t look like I could make anythin¡¯ more than a level 3 potion with the stuff around here. So I decided to put it towards special potions.¡¹
¡¸What kind of special potions?¡¹
¡¸A Strength potion from the heart of a bear or wolf over a certain power level, a Vitality potion from the liver, and from a bear, maybe an Antidote from the stomach.¡¹
¡¸A Berserker Bear meets that power level, then?¡¹
¡¸Bears, more so than other animals, are good for making potions. I mean, there¡¯s a heap of materials required¡ For example, a basic level 2 potion requires about five different materials, and double that for aplex potion. Ya have tobine that many different materials. If we take into ount the materials I sprinkle in to make it my own, there really is an infinite number of variations.¡¹
To what seemed like too vague an answer, Haruna wanted to ask if Hiroshi was sure. Before she could, he added:
¡¸Well, I think they just group all the potions that have simr effects and call them level 2s. Like they do for some stuff in reality, too.¡¹
¡¸Hmm¡ I guess so. So, what have you been making over there?¡¹
¡¸A joke of a mortar. I can¡¯t make a bottle without one.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been wondering, but¡ Howe you can only carve the bigger rock down? They look like the same material to me.¡¹
¡¸Right. I pumped up the smaller with a short-hand enchantment. Can¡¯t do it ¡®til you¡¯ve got at least intermediate in Enchantments, along with Manufacturing or Crafting, by the way.¡¹
Haruna, absorbing all the new crafting information, nodded with amazement. She knew that Hiroshi had reached Advanced Crafting when she watched him collect all sorts of unfamiliar materials when taking apart the bear, but she didn¡¯t quite grasp how much depth there was to it.
¡¸You can really do a lot with these things, can¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Actually, your skill level don¡¯t go up much without doin¡¯ all sorts of things.¡¹
¡¸Sounds like a lot of work¡¡¹
¡¸The knack for crafting¡¯s repetition, routine, and eptance of futility.¡¹
Even as he said so, Hiroshi finished the mortar, albeit rough around the edges, which could serve their purpose.
¡¸So, Toudou-san. How much harvestin¡¯ do ya do?¡¹
¡¸Around Novice 15. Then I gave up to go walk around town.¡¹
¡¸So, like, average?¡¹
¡¸Yep, average. Sorry.¡¹
¡¸No, no. If everyone could make it to intermediate and advanced, I¡¯d lose my only edge.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. And it looks like I¡¯m much better at cooking and singing.¡¹
Hiroshi agreed, and brought back the derailed conversation.
¡¸Then, I¡¯d hate to ask, but could you help me gather some materials? Anything you can grab is just fine, and I don¡¯t need that much.¡¹
¡¸Sure thing. I haven¡¯t practiced much, though. So don¡¯t hold your breath.¡¹
¡¸We can¡¯t carry around too much to begin with. Take it easy.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
Haruna waved him off, walking off into a bush. After watching her leave,
¡¸Alright, then. Let¡¯s get into it.¡¹
Hiroshi said with a stretch as he began the very work he suggested.
By digging a quick hole and stacking some rocks, there was a furnace. Then, Hiroshi repeatedly collected some select stones from the river bed, which he crushed in the mortar to line up the ingredients for ss. After a certain amount was ready, he shoved a load of firewood, which he had processed in some way, causing a fire too powerful to be just burning on wood.
Then, he finished the ss in this mock-up furnace, shaped them, until he had about thirty bottles. After collecting all the vegetation he could from around their campsite, Haruna, wearing exhaustion on her face, came back with a pile of grass and leaves she could barely fit in her arms.
¡¸Would these be enough to- You made the bottles already!?¡¹
¡¸Just now.¡¹
¡¸Aw. I wanted to watch you make it¡¡¹
¡¸Maybe next time. I threw together a pot, too. I¡¯ll whip up ¡®em potions.¡¹
With that, he did some odd motions after crushing and mixing the ingredients, then bottled what he had cooked down in the pot.
¡¸It makes a decent amount.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. The leaves aside, if a bear¡¯s heart could only fill this tiny thing, there¡¯ll be a riot.¡¹
With that, he whipped up ten bottles each of the three potions, before finally plopping down, with a tired look finally creeping up on his face.
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
¡¸Phew, making all the tools from scratch was a little much¡¡¹
¡¸If I were you, I would have given up halfway through.¡¹
¡¸Hold up. I¡¯ve been thinkin¡¯ while I was craftin¡¯¡ You sounded like your Bard skill level¡¯s pretty high?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve got an Extra Skill, so I would be lying if I told you it wasn¡¯t high.¡¹
Hearing the keyword Extra Skill, Hiroshi looked impressed. Seeing that, Haruna was now sure of an inclination she had. But, she decided to hold off asking about it, and let Hiroshi finish.
On a side note, an Extra Skill is a skill with unbound powers obtained through meeting certain requirements and beating a dedicated quest. There were many different Extra Skills, from an ultimate attack of an ancient hero, the perfect defense that disables any attack, to a dance for the gods, but all of them had inmon that the triggers for the quests were never made clear, and that just possessing the skill provides all sorts of ridiculous modifiers.
¡¸Well, if you got an Extra Skill an all, I just thought what the heck we¡¯re doin¡¯ here making measly bags and potions, instead of bamboozlin¡¯ past the guard and have you sing a ditty in the za.¡¹
¡¸But even if I do¡ We couldn¡¯t carry much of that money without a bag, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, guess you¡¯re right.¡¹
¡¸Besides, the heart would rot without making it into potions, too, so it¡¯s not a waste¡ What do you think?¡¹
¡¸Right, that¡¯s why we were making ¡®em potions. It was like raising cows to make cheese, I forgot all about that.¡¹
In response to Haruna snorting out a chuckle to this urate yet ridiculous metaphor, Hiroshi returned a half smile as he passed her one of thepleted bottles.
¡¸Here¡¯s a Vitality Potion for starters. You don¡¯t seem like the type for brute strength, Toudou-san.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve never used these kinds of potions before. What¡¯s it like?¡¹
¡¸In-game, it gives you a bonus modifier to your Armor for twelve hours. I can¡¯t promise it¡¯ll taste any good, but I didn¡¯t fail the crafting process so it should work the same.¡¹
¡¸Twelve hours? Theyst a while, huh?¡¹
¡¸The full boost onlysts three hours, tops. The effect gradually wears off, until it¡¯s miniscule after six to nine hours, and finally gone after twelve hours.¡¹
¡¸That game really puts the devil in the weirdest details, doesn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸The devil himself. Well, they didn¡¯t seem to implement any effects frombining potions, so I¡¯ll whip up some Magic Potions, too, next time.¡¹
He said, judging that Haruna rather leaned heavy toward magical skills.
¡¸Yes, please. So, Azuma-kun.¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Why don¡¯t we show each other our cards already?¡¹
¡¸Our cards?¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. Like which skills you acquired at which Skill Level, or what Level you are now, or how far you¡¯vepleted the main quest?¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s eyes wandered into thought.
¡¸Hate to tell you, but I don¡¯t got my stat screen. I don¡¯t remember the details.¡¹
¡¸Your best guess is fine. I don¡¯t remember everything about my own stats or skills, either.¡¹
One of the reasons thatpelled them to believe that they were in reality was the fact that, while they could use any powers from the game just fine, they couldn¡¯t see their stats. As for skills acquired in the game, muscle memory would tell them how tired they would be after how much of work to yield how much results. However, it was inconvenient to not be able to see the numbers on the skills they haven¡¯t maxed out in the game.
¡¸Hmm¡¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know what¡¯s on your mind, Azuma-kun, but from here on out, we¡¯re in this together.¡¹
¡¸Yeah¡ Well, I did already whip ¡®em potions up. And I don¡¯t think you would¡¡¹
¡¸I would what?¡¹
¡¸Back in the day, there was some drama going ¡®round craftin¡¯. It was during my breaks so I didn¡¯t get involved myself, but it ended with one of them not bein¡¯ able to y the game no more. Bunch of other folk quitted crafting or the game itself. All the Craftsmen, including me, we¡¯re more careful ¡®bout showin¡¯ our skills. Earlier, it felt so much like an emergency that I stupidly over made ¡®em potions.¡¹
Haruna, sensing the gist of said drama, simply replied sorry. She finally grasped why there were almost never any rumors of anyone with high Crafting skills. All she knew was that something happened during the time of high school entrance exams.
¡¸To start with, do you know how many craftin¡¯ skill there are, Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸Wha? Oh, let me see¡ Excavation, Harvest, and Fell, for the materials. From there they branch into Refinement, Weaving, Building, and Crafting. Then you finish the product with Forging, Sewing, Metalworking, Compounding, and Tool Building¡ I think? ¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the ballpark. Besides that, there¡¯s Carpentry, Furniture Makin¡¯, Ship Building¡¯, Construction, and Tinkerin¡¯. Categorically, there¡¯s also Cookin¡¯, Fishin¡¯, Enchantin¡¯ and Farmin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸I could see Cooking, but Fishing and Enchanting, too¡?¡¹
¡¸Yes ma¡¯am. Well Enchantin¡¯ also counts as magic, so that¡¯s affected by Magic Skill Levels, too.¡¹
Looking at this way, Crafting, or even Manufacturing skills, were vast. Aside from Tinkering, Haruna had never even heard of skills like Carpentry, Construction, or Ship Building. By the way, Fishing and Cooking, out of these skills,ck ranks, in exchange for a higher maximum Skill Level.
¡¸The Manufacturin¡¯ skills I haven¡¯t maxed out are Cookin¡¯, Fishin¡¯, Farmin¡¯, and Construction. And I still need the Extra Skill for those, plus Enchantin¡¯ and Furniture Makin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸¡Excuse me!?¡¹
¡¸Nothing to write home ¡®bout. All the skills in the first processin¡¯ branch will max out on your way to getting¡¯ to Advanced Craftin¡¯, and once you¡¯re past Novice 70 for the Manufacturin¡¯ and day-to-day kinda skills, although it¡¯s only one skill per log out, will go up on their own while I¡¯m logged out even without materials.¡¹
¡¸Still, it¡¯s just¡ Unbelievable.¡¹
Chuckling at Haruna¡¯s face, he decided to show her inside the magician¡¯s cap some more.
¡¸I don¡¯t know what your impression was, Toudou-san, but Craftin¡¯ Skills are, other than Attack skills when hunting down the big boys, take the shortest time in total to raise their Skill Levels. It¡¯s real, real, simple. Everything except the work is mindnumbin¡¯ and hard, that once you get the materials and all sorted out, it¡¯s a pretty quick climb to Advanced. Other than a few exceptions, you gotta work on them all at the same time to get the materials, anyway.¡¹
¡¸Still¡ You know?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s more tricks to it. Once you get all the Novice Craftin¡¯ skills to 50, you get a skill called Making Mastery that shortens work time and load, increases sess rate and yield, along with the amount of materials gained when gatherin¡¯. Once you get this skill, the times you can use those skills skyrocket, so it¡¯s so much easier to get your Skill Levels up.¡¹
¡¸I had no idea¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not known too well. I mean, there was a guy who didn¡¯t know about, or missed this skill and couldn¡¯t get past Intermediate. So, if you put like two years into it after getting this skill, as long as someone helps you hunt materials that is, anyone could max out the skills you listed in Advanced.¡¹
All Haruna could take away was that this particr skill seemed backwards. The design seemed malicious in holding back the skill until the worst part was over. Through the Craftsmenmunity, he knew that forty yers had gained some sort of Extra Skill (in a non-harvesting skill). Fifteen of them have maxed out all major Crafting skills.
While Hiroshi had the most Extra Skills out of all the craftsmen in the game, there was one more lunatic who had mastered all Crafting skills (other than Extra Skills), which was more than Hiroshi could say, and this person also had the Extra Skills for Enchanting and Construction as well.
Long story short, Crafting in this game bes easier as a yer levels up.
¡¸Backwards, ain¡¯t it? But if this skill was too easy to get, Craftin¡¯ could get too easy to do¡ So I think it works out in the end.¡¹
¡¸I guess you¡¯re right¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s better for me, anyway. Now for thest trick¡ Carpentry, Ship Buildin¡¯, Construction, Farmin¡¯ and Fishin¡¯ all benefit more than other skills from leavin¡¯ them alone. ¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Especially for Carpentry, Ship Buildin¡¯, and Construction, since any task can take five consecutive in-game days once you¡¯re intermediate, so for these skills, they calcte the in-game time rather than real time for leaving the skill on when you¡¯re not logged in. They don¡¯t take as many uses to get the Skill Levels up, too.¡¹
That made sense to Haruna. Time in Fairtytale Chronicles pass at four times the speed of real life. Any other Skills, when left alone, applied the Skill Level increase to real time, on to which any modifiers from the Skill Level or Making Mastery were applied. If a yer wanted to get to Advanced Compounding by leaving the skill on during log outs, it will take more than a few years.
While the Crafting department was rich in hidden gems that make grinding easier, anyone without the mental capacity to devote the entire four hours (the limit to consecutive game-time, built into the VR system itself), or sixteen in-game hours to gathering and processing materials, save for healing Stamina and MP, had no chance of reaching Advanced.
In other words, as long as the yer had such a mind, and had the right information, even a high schooler could reach to Hiroshi¡¯s level in, say, five years. For better or worse, the design only calls for simple repetition.
¡¸So, for Construction and Carpentry, I raised them up during high school entrance exams ¡®cus I got some jobs building castles for Guilds or NPCs. All I had to do was pop in once a month, and I could package up any adjoinin¡¯ facilities at once, which let the Skill Levels fly up. Besides, only when building a castle or a house, you can set up the Construction on the foundation and the building process at once.¡¹
Before Hiroshi started studying for entrance exams, there were no drama regarding the Craftsmen. So, there was still enough room for these kinds of requests. Most likely, in the current climate of the game, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy.
¡¸You can make castles, too¡¡¹
¡¸Castles, too. ¡¹
¡¸It takes ridiculously long, and can¡¯t shorten it much by Makin¡¯ Mastery either, but I could do ten or twenty of ¡®em at once, not countin¡¯ the add-on facilities.¡¹
¡¸Did you max out Ship Building the same way?¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. Toward the end of the high school entrance exam period. That one I raised with a fleet buildin¡¯ quest from an NPC, and one of the guilds I made a castle for joked about making a battleship, so I hopped on it.¡¹
Haruna came to realize she had only been scratching the surface of the game, mentally shaking herself for not knowing about such an exciting quest.
¡¸As for the Extra Skill, it was when I maxed out Forgin¡¯. I took a weird quest from this NPC I got to know through the years, and kept wonderin¡¯ around like I was told until they told me to make a weapon out of these materials I never saw before, ¡®front of a temple. Once I did, I got a skill called Weapon of the Gods. So I had a hunch and popped in here and there. Sure ¡®nough, I got a bunch through the same process.¡¹
¡¸Oh, that¡¯s like I how I got mine. Mine¡¯s Song of the Gods, by the way.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve heard of a self-proimed h dancer who made an armored version of a h skirt get a skill called Dance of the Gods.¡¹
¡¸I guess the other day-to-day skills are the same way, at this rate.¡¹
¡¸I doubt they¡¯re all that way, but most Extra Skills in thest stage of craftin¡¯ are Something or Other of the Gods.¡¹
Other day-to-day skills included Acting, Comedy, Musical Performance, Laundry, Animal Training, Negotiation, Bartering, and much, much more, but their effects were varying, to say the least. There was even a theatrical guildprised entirely of yers with Carpentry, Acting, and Comedy skills.
Hiroshi once helped build borate sets tantamount to those on sketchedy shows on TV. He had relished the depth of Fairy Tale Chronicles in the flexibility to create such things.
Also, most day-to-day skills aren¡¯t separated in ranks, but simply have a high maximum Skill Level. Still, unlikebat skills, very few people maxed these out. Many are rumored to not even have an Extra Skill.
¡¸I guess those are my cards. As forbat skills, my Attack and Taunt are at Advanced, and I¡¯m past the halfway mark on Smash, and the rest are all Novice.¡¹
¡¸How about magic skills?¡¹
¡¸I just couldn¡¯t get ¡®round to it. Other than day-to-day magic that helps Craftin¡¯ and Craftin¡¯ magic themselves, they¡¯re untouched.¡¹
¡¸Okay. But since you have so many Extra Skills, I bet your parameters are through the roof.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, for Armor, Constitution, and Stamina. The rest are well, average for my level, I reckon. Oh, I finished the first chapter of the main quest, and I¡¯m level 124.¡¹
Haruna was shocked all over again hearing his level. Much higher than she thought. It was easy to exin his high Armor, Constitution, and Stamina, since all Crafting skills (even Enchanting and Cooking) for some reason, all raised Armor and Constitution. Perhaps as a carrot to get yers through the initial torture of the process, their modifiers were considerable.
The game had no cap on the Character Level of a yer, once they beat the first chapter of the main quest, until which they are limited to level 100. Although, even the infamously difficult main quest set the bar for beating the first chapter rtively low.
Any yer could beat it smoothly if they yed through the game straightforwardly. So, most people dwelled between levels 100 and 200. However, Crafting skills didn¡¯t raise the yer¡¯s Character Level, so most craftsmen had lower Character Levels. A friend of Haruna¡¯s gave up on Crafting after going through Novice Compounding, and their levels were already 40 apart at that point.
¡¸Not too bad, ain¡¯t it? I go into dungeons to gather materials, so it went up on it¡¯s own. I¡¯m mostly on the front, or tankin¡¯ actually. So I got a higher Taunt and base Attack.¡¹
¡¸Ah, that makes sense. We might be a good team, after all.¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh? I pegged you for a long-range type.¡¹
¡¸More of a swinger, I guess. I¡¯m in the middle with buffs and debuffs. I have the maximum skills for those, too. Other than the Extra Skills. My level¡¯s 153.¡¹
¡¸I see. How ¡®bout your Skill Levels?¡¹
¡¸Only maxed out Goddess¡¯ Blessing. The rest are 70 percent, I think? Just over half way on all the Status Disruptions.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s impressive.¡¹
Hiroshi was very impressed, hearing that she had mastered the post powerful of the well-known support magic skills. Support magic had weird conditions to raise their Skill Levels, which made them surprising difficult to grind. In addition, their contribution in a party is set low, which made raising the Character Level more difficult than the Skill Levels.
To top it off, it consumed a lot of MP, and often needed to be used multiple times. Many yers had given up on these skills along the way. While not as neglected as Crafting, it was still a skill branch that suffered from areas outside of their effects. Of course, it didn¡¯t contribute to Character Exp.
Unlike Attack skills that gain Skill Levels faster by beating up stronger enemies, or Healing skills that grow faster by healing arge amount of damage, Support magic Skill Levels only rouse at a certain rate. This contributed to the small number of yers using these skills, despite their importance in a party.
Although, the silver lining to grinding Support magic was that, as the Skill Levels and effects increased, the basic cost of spells never increased (while they even asionally decreased). That¡¯s why any yer who could take care of themselves inbat, and who could use high-level Support magic are wanted more than healers, and often had priority for drop items, as well.
¡¸Goddess¡¯ Healing is halfway, too. And I¡¯ve maxed out some Intermediate Attacking Spells, and Intermediate Magic Sword. My favorite ss of weapon is the Rapier, I think.¡¹
¡¸So your edge is the number of cards in your hand. You really are well-bnced.¡¹
¡¸Yep. Someone told me this style was cool, so I got talked into it.¡¹
Seeing Haruna¡¯s embarrassed grin, Hiroshi reevaluated the attractive girl in front of him. He didn¡¯t expect her to have a side that could be talked up to making a big decision. Her looks certainly matched her fighting style of overwhelming the opponent with the number of cards at her hand, with a magic rapier at the center of it, but judging from demeanor at school, he would have pegged her for a patient, not shy, but careful fighter, using Status Disruptions and slowing down the opponent before going in for the kill.
The Combat skills and Magic skills are the most diverse of all of the skill branches in Fairy Tale Chronicles. Only basic Attack and basic Archery, along with each weapon skill and Arcane Knowledge are separated into Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced.
The other skills, which are more like techniques, provide the yer with powerful moves as they meet the requirements for them, in lieu of a rank system. Unlike skills that are divided into ranks, the yer doesn¡¯t necessarily need to obtain the weaker skills in the branch as a prerequisite.
The general flow for obtaining moves and spells were to learn them from an NPC after meeting set requirements, but there are other methods. A yer could invent their own, retrieve it from artifacts, have another yer teach them, etc.
However, inventing a skill was extremely difficult, which only the top three yers in the game have achieved, once or twice each. Rumor has it that one of them has an Extra Skill, but the truth of the matter is unknown.
As a side note, the maximum Skill Level of non-ranked Crafting and day-to-day skills were 500, and the rest maxed out at Skill Level 100.
¡¸Other than that, I have a bunch of little skills, the Extra Skill for Singing¡ And I¡¯ve mastered Cooking.¡¹
¡¸If you got the extra skill for Singin¡¯, why don¡¯t you use Cursin¡¯ Songs?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s reaches such a wide range and I can¡¯t choose the targets¡ It¡¯s awkward to use.¡¹
¡¸Right. Come to think, the H dancer said the special dance was awkward ¡®cus it affected everyone watchin¡¯.¡¹
For better or worse, Fairy Tale Chronicles was the game that put the devil in every detail. As a result, there were more than a few dud skills out there. Despite Singing and Dancing each having an Extra skill, they have devolved into mere tricks of the trade for taking a few coins from NPC.
¡¸And those are my cards.¡¹
¡¸So if something goes down, I hold up the target while you take care of it? Like with the bear?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what it looks like. Sorry to give you the more painful end of the stick.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s all right. It¡¯s better for the world if a guy like me gets beat up rather ¡®an a cute girl like you.¡¹
¡¸Cute or not, I think I¡¯m too old for you to call me a girl, don¡¯t you think?¡¹
Hiroshi ponders for a moment.
¡¸Don¡¯t you think ourte teens are on a blurry line when ites to terminology?¡¹
¡¸True.¡¹
¡¸¡Semantics aside, why don¡¯t we get something to eat?¡¹
¡¸¡Yes, let¡¯s.¡¹
Ditching the derailed train, they decided to tackle the issue at hand.
¡¸It¡¯s a pretty far treckin¡¯ to town¡¡¹
¡¸Sure is.¡¹
The next day, they cleaned up the campsite where they stayed two days, and started walking towards a town. Two whole days spent in a patch ofnd with no roof over their heads. Although they had enough bear belt left over to make nkets for both of them after making the bag, it was less than the careful strategy.
After their conversation, they decided that it was an awkward time of day to move camp, and Haruna requested for Hiroshi to make more potions because she wanted to see him craft the ss bottles.
In the end, Hiroshi crafted all sorts of level 2 potions, which were easier to make, until he copsed. Although it was much easier than the first batch of special potions since he had all the equipment necessary.
It appeared that, despite the less than optimal conditions, Hiroshi didn¡¯t fail any level 4 and below potion, thanks to his Extra Skills Brewing for the Gods and Medicine for the Gods, but Hiroshi didn¡¯t mention it as he couldn¡¯t verify that fact.
¡¸Come to think of it, a Berserker Bear meant we¡¯re pretty far from town.¡¹
¡¸What a weird spot to be dropped in, you and I.¡¹
¡¸Ya said it.¡¹
In order to find the town from their vague memories, they kept on the small pathways that looked like people used regrly. It wasn¡¯t paved like a main road, but more defined than a single footpath. Needless to say, Hiroshi kept an abnormal distance between him and Haruna.
Their surrounding vegetation wasn¡¯t tall enough to call it a forest, nor short enough to call it a teau. They agreed, judging by thendscape, types of vegetation, and wildlife, that they were near Wulls, the capital of Fane.
The disagreement arose, however, when it came to the direction they should head in. They settled on going in the opposite direction of where the Berserker Bear came from. Backtracking the bear¡¯s path would drive them further into the woods.
Wulls was also the starting point of the game, and the oldest location that had been implemented since Beta. Even in Beta, the entirety of Fane was more than vast. No one traversed the entire region during the Beta period.
¡¸Isn¡¯t that a main road?¡¹
¡¸Sure looks like one. Now, which way are we goin¡¯¡?¡¹
¡¸No signposts that I can see¡¡¹
While it was only natural, there were no signs that showed where this little road was headed. Even Hiroshi, who remembered grinding around this area back in the day, never remembered a signpost.
Although it was five years ago, this road was often used by the neighboring people and adventurers who wanted ingredients for some medicine. The forest up ahead consisted of a simrndscape, too.
¡¸Which was it, now¡?¡¹
Walking up to the center of the wide road, they looked around for any clues.
¡¸You remember this ce, Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸Not at all. I haven¡¯t really walked through this area in four years. I haven¡¯t even been to Wulls in two.¡¹
¡¸I ain¡¯t much better. I was a hermit out in the middle of nowhere. Up untilst year, I went to Wulls a lot diggin¡¯ for quests, but I didn¡¯t really need to get out of the city.¡¹
¡¸I was based in Darl, so I don¡¯t know my way around these parts anymore.¡¹
They sighed in unison. If anyone else were there, they could have asked them the way, but unfortunately no one on the street. Normally, caravans and the like would be passing by, but it looks like they hit a pocket of dead time.
¡¸All right, let¡¯s tip a stick¡¡¹
¡¸And what if it goes fallin¡¯ down the middle?¡¹
¡¸Eeny meeny miny moe?¡¹
¡¸Why don¡¯t we eeny meeny from the start?¡¹
Haruna gave a nod to Hiroshi¡¯s observation. While they were bantering, a silhouette appeared ahead.
¡¸Toudou-san. Someone¡¯s over yonder.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go talk to them.¡¹
They walked over to the approaching silhouette with the zeal of finding an alien on a new. With precautions for confrontation, of course.
¡¸They don¡¯t look all right.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, they¡¯re in a hurry.¡¹
¡¸The one bein¡¯ carried looks horrible.¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯ll talk to them.¡¹
Determined, Haruna approached the pair. Ready to jump in between them if need be, Hiroshi followed her, hand floating near his knife. They were aware that Haruna was much better suited for the breaking the ice with strangers.
¡¸Excuse me¡¡¹
¡¸My apologies. We¡¯re in a hurry.¡¹
¡¸What happened to him?¡¹
¡¸wed by a Venomous Wolf. I treated the wound, but once the venom circtes, he¡¯s done for. So, excuse me¡¡¹
The man spat out in a hurry without slowing his feet as he continued in the direction Hiroshi and Haruna came from.
¡¸Azuma-kun, can¡¯t we use the antidote you made for a Venomous Wolf¡?¡¹
¡¸It should work.¡¹
Despite feeling a tinge of uneasiness at the convenience of the situation, they still decided that letting this character die wasn¡¯t worth one of their antidotes.
¡¸Do you know any Antidote spells, Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸Nothing that will work on a Venomous Wolf¡¯s. It¡¯s pretty rare to get wed, and most people are immune anyway, so I didn¡¯t really spend the time.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.¡¹
Status conditions like Poison and Paralysis are less effective to, and easier to cure for yers with higher resistance or immunity. Poison and Paralysis both have various causes, and requires either an antidote that matches the source, or a Cure-All potion only avable to Advanced crafters, or else a spell that matches the particr status condition or a high-level healing spell.
Whenbating status conditions, which included over five variations of poison alone once a yer was out of the introductory area, most yers decided to build resistance rather than healing every time they were afflicted.
Therefore, other than yers who had been healers since the approach of building resistance was poprized, not many yers had an arsenal of spells that could heal physical status conditions. Hiroshi, in fact, just carries around a bunch of Cure-All potions.
In addition, his originalpound of the max-level Cure-All potions can prevent all status conditions for the next six hours. Which only drove status-healing magic away from his peripheral. Of course, most yers had no ess to such ridiculous potions, so in high-level dungeons, the spells carried certain weight.
However, for yers like Hiroshi and Haruna, who are in the middle of the curve when ites tobat, it was just not prioritized. It was difficult to grind for (drinking less effective antidotes resulted in the resistance growing faster than the Skill Level of healing spells), which left these branches often abandoned. In fact, being poisoned on purpose and using HP healing spells to survive until it wears off was easier and more effective for building resistance.
¡¸So, try givin¡¯ this to him.¡¹
¡¸¡Will it really work?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s an antidote made from the stomach of a Berserker Bear, so it¡¯ll work dandy with slow-actin¡¯ poison.¡¹
Although still suspicious, the man apparently decided to take his chances, since the two strangers didn¡¯t seem malicious. He lowered the man from his back, and carefully pulled the bottle up to his mouth. The poisoned man, barely conscious, started drinking the liquid inside. His breathing gradually calmed.
¡¸Toudou-san.¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm.¡¹
Haruna, who took a nce at the man¡¯s wound while he was drinking the antidote, activate a Novice healing spell to close up the wound.
¡¸He should be all right, now.¡¹
¡¸That was quick.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s an adventurer¡¯s blend, so it can¡¯t be too slow treatin¡¯ a little poison.¡¹
The man nodded in agreement. The afflicted man slowly stood up as they watched.
¡¸That potion really works well¡¡¹
¡¸You two are a life-saver.¡¹
¡¸Please. We just happened to have the antidote.¡¹
¡¸Yessir. I just whipped ¡®em up ¡®cus I didn¡¯t want the materials goin¡¯ bad. Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout nothin¡¯.¡¹
The men stared back at the two teenagers who didn¡¯t seem to understand how valuable it was to be able to create potions at such a high caliber just to make use of materials at hand. The men couldn¡¯t help but look at these strangers up and down.
Their first impression was they were very young. Judging by their stature, they seemed to be adults, or fifteen, but just barely. The men were confident that the boy and girl were under twenty.
They had an immature attitude about them that made the men question how they could make such an effective potion. If Haruna¡¯s body was closer to the Japanese average, they would have believed that she was twelve years old.
¡¸Anyway, thank you. I must pay you for the potion. How much do I owe you?¡¹
¡¸I got no idea of the market value right now. How ¡®bout enough to eat for a couple a days, and you show us the way to the closest town?¡¹
¡¸¡No problem.¡¹
Hiroshi answered honestly. The first man gave them half of what he was preparing to pay the doctor. Frankly, they were ripping the kids off quite a bit, but the men could tell that the boy and girl knew that fact, and didn¡¯t mind too much.
¡¸So, what are you two doing in these parts?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re a little lost, ya see¡¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re unfamiliar with thend, so we don¡¯t know which way to go to get to town¡¡¹
¡¸To top it off, we¡¯re broke. We ain¡¯t even sure we can get into town once we¡¯re there¡¡¹
The men look at each other, witnessing that not only did these kids not know they of thend, but any general knowledge about this country. They were opportunistic enough to shortchange them for the potion, but they weren¡¯t rotten nor damaged enough to leave these kids, who saved one of their lives, to rot. They were on their way to Wulls anyway, so they decided to have the kids tag along as they figured out how much they needed to teach them.
Not to mention that, the soft-looking guy aside, the girl looked like a decent fighter. It was possible that she could take both of them down. Judging from pieces of their conversations, the girl might be the sheepish-looking guy¡¯s bodyguard.
¡¸I understand. We were on our way to Wulls, anyway. Come with us.¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹
¡¸No, we have to be thanking you. Oh, we haven¡¯t introduced ourselves yet. I¡¯m Randy, and that¡¯s Kurt. We¡¯re adventurers based in Wulls.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna introduced themselves in return. The poisoned one was Kurt, and Randy was carrying him. They were both of a muscr build, and didn¡¯t seem to possess much magical powers. Neither of them seemed to use much magic. Kurt seemed to be the more approachable one, but their difference in character seemed minimal.
ording to them, they were ss 7 adventurers, third from the bottom. In other words, they were just entering intermediary levels. These settings seemed to be carried over from the game, as Hiroshi was also a ss 7 adventurer. Haruna was ss 5, but rumor has it that, even some of the addicts of the game, who had made it halfway through the notoriously difficult fourth chapter of the main quest, still stuck at adventurer ss 8 or 9.
¡¸So, what happened that you¡¯re lost and penniless around these parts?¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯ real strange happned and we cked out. When we came to, we were at the entrance of that forest over yon¡¯.¡¹
¡¸¡I get that a lot,tely.¡¹
¡¸¡You know other folk like us?¡¹
¡¸Only in rumors. In Fane, the court has ordered to take in those individuals. You should check in at the pce, soon.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna couldn¡¯t help but raise a brow in confusion. While the phenomenon that urred to them was treated like mere rumors, the court had issued a decree to take people in afflicted by it. Strange.
¡¸That means that the higher-ups in the country reckon these oundish rumors are true¡¡¹
¡¸Indeed it does.¡¹
¡¸Doesn¡¯t anyone pretend to be affected by it?¡¹
¡¸Apparently, they have a way of telling who¡¯s really been through it.¡¹
Kurt answered Haruna¡¯s question¡ Which only raised more questions.
¡¸If they can tell, that means that there was at least one person who¡¯s really¡?¡¹
¡¸Ain¡¯t sure. I ain¡¯t sure, but it don¡¯t sound right.¡¹
¡¸I wasn¡¯t expecting it to go over without a hitch, but it¡¯s getting moreplicated than I expected.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re in for a load of trouble, ain¡¯t we¡?¡¹
It seemed all too convenient. The thing with the antidote was, at best, a very lucky coincidence, but someone was behind the royal decree. Although, Hiroshi and Haruna foresaw that it would be difficult to get through this without getting themselves involved.
¡¸In any case, we gotta fill our pockets, so we gotta figure out how to make money¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll try singing for a bit. It¡¯ll be acape, so I don¡¯t know how well it will work out, but¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, do you sing, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Somewhat, I guess.¡¹
¡¸Do you mind doing a quick song for us?¡¹
Haruna nodded to Kurt¡¯s request, and took a deep inhale before echoing her clear, pleasant voice through the area. Even the animals wondering by stopped to listen. Song of the Gods, held its power.
¡¸¡Who are you two? Really.¡¹
¡¸Just two lost kids.¡¹
¡¸Just two kids from the country who don¡¯t know left from right, who might be starvin¡¯ to death tomorrow if we don¡¯t get no one¡¯s help.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna gave their non-answers to muddy the water¡ About a lot of things.
Volume 1, 2
Volume 1, Chapter 2
Trantor: Adam Seacord
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸That¡¯s Wulls, the capital of Fane.¡¹
After walking two hours along the road since joining the adventurers, Hiroshi and Haruna could see arge gate up ahead. Apparently, that was the East gate to the city. Two hours for adventurers meant that any civilian would have taken an extra hour.
It didn¡¯t seem too far of a distance, but the road winded around a hill on the way. If the road was straight the entire way, they could have almost seen the gate from where they were first standing.
¡¸It¡¯s hard to tell if we were close or not, ain¡¯t it?¡¹
Consider the pace at they were going and the distance to the gate, it would take them an additional half an hour or so until they were in Wulls.
¡¸Two and a half hours, one way¡¡¹
Haruna, who had been timing their journey with a simple spell, answered with an indecisive expression. Both of them knew that, considering their physical endurance, that they could shorten the trip by at least half an hour, even if they were carrying a pack full of items. Although, they wouldn¡¯t enjoy walking a long distance that fast.
¡¸Speakin¡¯ of, how far are we from other towns?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see¡ From Wulls to closest vige would take an adventurer about eight hours. Kalsus and Marije are the closest cities. Five days¡¯ journey by foot. Much faster on horse or carriage, of course.¡¹
They nodded to Randy¡¯s estimation. In the game, it was a two days¡¯ walk from Wulls to Kalsus or Marije. It seemed that these locations and the distance between them were slightly different from the game. Also, pocket watches are avable at a reasonable price in Fance, and they are necessities for adventurers Intermediate and above. The reason was simple. Often, there would be deliveries and other events at a certain time.
¡¸So, I gotta ask the big question here¡¡¹
¡¸Generally, if you¡¯re registered as a resident, it won¡¯t cost anything to get in and out. The exception are some of the protected sses and adventurers. The caravans have to have their cargo inspected anyway, so they usually pay there.¡¹
¡¸So we¡¯re going to have to pay, this time.¡¹
¡¸Right. Well, it¡¯s not much anyway. We¡¯ll pay for you two, today.¡¹
¡¸Of course. You saved my life. And you even sang us a song.¡¹
Randy and Kurt chimed in, nonchntly. Hiroshi and Haruna continued to ask more questions to figure out the difference between this world and the game. The most noteworthy point for Hiroshi were the different names for potions. Apparently, people in this world ranked potions by ss rather than level. For example, a level 2 potion was a ss 7 potion.
The weakest potions were ss 8, but those that have healing properties but are very weak are all grouped in as unssified. Unssified potions are created by practicing potion makers, sold dirt-cheap to adventurers just starting out. In addition, one could find a couple of them in any house¡¯s first-aid kit.
The ssification of potions were decided with the best potion to ever exist, created by a wizard, who is the friend of the current King of Fane (the nation with the oldest history), to be ss 1. Based on those potions, taking into consideration their ease for production and their effect, all other potions were ssified.
To anyone who may question the existence of any potion stronger than ss 1, the ss 1 potion can bring back the current king (the most powerful warrior in history) from the brink of death, and then some. Any potion stronger than that was considered wasteful and unnecessary. Considering the difficulty of production on top of that, they thought it was safe to say that any strong potion will not be in the market enough to warrant a ssification.
Another difference between the game and real-life was the existence of Tirol, the currency below the in-game currency of Chrone. In the game, some foods were weirdly expensive at hundreds of Chrones, or a night¡¯s stay at an inn was weirdly cheap, or most drop items sold at 5 Chrones or so. Hiroshi and Haruna didn¡¯t question the new currency too much.
1 Chrone was the equivalent of 100 Tirols, and the 1 Chrone silver coin seemed to be like a ten dor bill for most yers. It may seem extravagant that the lowest form of currency was worth ten dors, but it was a video game, after all.
¡¸Speaking of, what¡¯s the best potion a normal guy could get his hands on?¡¹
¡¸Hmm¡ If price isn¡¯t an issue, the Adventurers¡¯ Association sells anything up to ss 7. But those are too expensive for a civilian, so a potion shop would only carry up to ss 8. No one but the potion makers that work for the government can even make ss 6 and above to begin with, so those are never out in the market.¡¹
¡¸Hmm. It sounds like a ss 1 potion could sell for an astronomical price. ¡¹
¡¸As far as I know, there¡¯s no one alive who can make ss 1 potions right now. Money isn¡¯t even a question. The mere existence of a ss 1 potion could cause international turmoil.¡¹
¡¸For just a potion? Jeez¡¡¹
Hiroshi chuckled at the absurdity. But,e to think of it, level 5 potions and above always required a drop item, and for level 7 and 8 potions, he always needed to take down a pretty tough foe for the materials. In addition, in order to use any drop item as an ingredient, it the corpse had to be dissected by someone who knows that said material can be used (barring significant luck).
If anyone with Intermediate and Advanced Compounding skills are in the custody of the government, it was very likely that almost no potions of level 5 (or ss 4) and above existed in this world.
What Hiroshi didn¡¯t know is that potions above level 6 (ss 3) have the ability to regenerate lost limbs. Hiroshi was unaware of this, because despite Fairy Tale Chronicles¡¯ endless pursuit of realism, there was no system for a yer to be dismembered (monsters, on the other hand, were regrly dismembered).
So, even if an attack strong enough to drain a yer¡¯s HP hits them in the arm, they were only incapacitated while their arm remained intact. ss 1 potions were distinguished by the ability to heal three or more dismembered limbs, even years after they were cut off or crushed.
While that example was for a Healing potion, a Mana potion would return magical powers and MP (that may have diminished from age or recoil) to what they were to the user¡¯s prime. A Stamina potion can heal diseases (without limb loss) and any sequ. Of course, the higher the ss, the more they could heal. A ss 1 potion is seen as a dangerous artifact that could even trigger a war.
¡¸That¡¯s how important potions are.¡¹
¡¸Like, I get it, but¡¡¹
Hearing the astonishingly low standards for crafting, Hiroshi internally curled up into a ball. Haruna still had hope, but Hiroshi could barely use any of his skills. If potions were such a big deal, he shuddered to think of the repercussions of crafting weapons and armor.
While anything a yer can make at a forge was nothing out of the ordinary (or so the Hiroshi and the other craftsman yers thought), an Advanced craftsman could create, without drop items nor enchantments and only using lower-level materials from rtively safe locations, weapons and armor twice as powerful as anything an ordinary NPC was selling.
Judging by the armor on Randy and Kurt, Hiroshi determined that the equipment on the market wasparable to what the NPC sold in-game. While Haruna wouldn¡¯t have the same revtion, Hiroshi was the artisan for the gods. As easy as breathing, he could determine the quality of these items.
If what he saw on them were the standard equipment, if the lot of his crafted equipment tossed aside in his in-game store like garbage were given to a single nation, it could destroy the power bnce between nations.
¡¸All right. We have to go do some paperwork. Hang tight for a sec.¡¹
¡¸Okay!¡¹
¡¸Yessir.¡¹
Before they knew it, they were close enough to have a loud conversation with the gatekeeper. While Randy and Kurt paid and filled out paperwork for two, Hiroshi whispered to Haruna what was on his mind. Now that they were closer, he could feel his goose bumps prickle and his legs shake, but he knew he had to stick it out.
¡¸Hey, Toudou-san. It might be somewhat precarious to sell those potions.¡¹
¡¸It feels that way. But to be honest, we could maybe use the level 3 special potions, but all the level 2 potions are just bag weights, aren¡¯t they?¡¹
¡¸Yep. That¡¯s our problem, here.¡¹
If these were ordinary level 2 potions, they could easily sell them off. The problem was that Hiroshi was the one who made them. They knew that any item created with a Crafting skill has a modified effect ording to the skill level of the Crafting skill used. The different would be less noticeable if the skill was Intermediate or so, but Hiroshi was a top-notch craftsmen with skills like Brewing for the Gods and Medicine for the Gods.
While it wouldn¡¯t quite reach the effect of the potion a level higher, they were undoubtedly more powerful than the potions on the market. It woulde down to how much of the modifiers the thrown-together equipment would cancel out, but Hiroshi didn¡¯t have much trouble using them, so fat chance.
¡¸¡You just want to risk it and sell them?¡¹
¡¸¡I guess we gotta¡¡¹
Considering the other options for them to earn money, they realized that any of them wouldn¡¯t be much less dangerous after all. They decided to roll with it, and think optimistically that they wouldn¡¯t be wanted that soon, and could probably get away with feigning ignorance if it came down to it. More urately, they considered their meals and lodging for the foreseeable future worth the risk of getting into international emergencies.
¡¸Hey guys,e over here.¡¹
Kurt called, and they jogged over to the gatekeeper. They seemed to interview any first time visitors, as the gatekeepers asked them some question. They didn¡¯t know how to answer many of them, but they decided to heed the warning of Randy and Kurt, and answered honestly to all of them.
¡¸Visitors from the unknown continent, I see.¡¹
¡¸The unknown continent?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what they call it in court when, while very rare, people like you pop in from gods-know-where.¡¹
¡¸Does everyone know that?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not that well-known, I don¡¯t think. Kind of like an urban legend among the adventurers.¡¹
As Hiroshi and Haruna nodded, the two gatekeepers smiled and watched. They were very friendly.
¡¸Um. Doesn¡¯t anyone fake it?¡¹
¡¸Never seen anyone like that, so far.¡¹
¡¸If someone did, how could ya tell?¡¹
¡¸Those questions earlier. People from the unknown continent don¡¯t know most things about ournd. You couldn¡¯t answer some of the questions, could you?¡¹
They nodded again in understanding, as the soldiers watched with brimming smiles. Still smiling, they gave Hiroshi and Haruna an advice:
¡¸Anyone from the unknown continent can receive a lot of help from the court. We¡¯re getting you a letter right now. You should go tomorrow, if you can. And this voucher will let you stay at an inn for free. Anywhere adventurers use.¡¹
¡¸Wow, thank you so much.¡¹
¡¸Just doing my job.¡¹
They took the travel permit and letter from the surprisingly friendly soldiers, and walked off as they waved.
¡¸Well those gatekeepers were mighty friendly.¡¹
¡¸In some sense, they do represent the country.¡¹
¡¸Fane is bustling with trades, so there¡¯s no sense in intimidating anyone with no reason just to earn a bad reputation.¡¹
Once that was exined, Hiroshi and Haruna were rushing to have them refer an inn to stay.
¡¸Where can I go to sell potions?¡¹
As soon as they arrived at ck Cat¡¯s Eye, Randy and Kurt¡¯s favorite inn, Hiroshi asked the critical question for their future.
¡¸The Adventurers¡¯ Association, for sure.¡¹
¡¸Because?¡¹
¡¸They won¡¯t rip off newbies like you. Sometimes you can negotiate with them, and they don¡¯t buy anything at an unreasonable markdown.¡¹
¡¸The Association also helps adventurers get on their feet. Barring any issues in the talent department, if they keep the new adventurers from prospering by ripping them off, it¡¯ll juste back to bite the Association, anyway.¡¹
Wise words from the moderately seasoned adventurers.
¡¸I know. Why don¡¯t you register as adventurers while you¡¯re at it?¡¹
¡¸Both of you can take care of yourselves in a fight, can¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Well, we can handle a Berserker Bear¡¡¹
¡¸If you can take care of a Berserker Bear in that gear, no problem. We have to take care of something, and we¡¯ll show you around once we eat. Why don¡¯t you go register?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯lle in handy when you want to negotiate for anything on sale.¡¹
And so, they decided to register. While they were clueless why something called the Adventurers¡¯ Association was built or to what end it was operating, it was apparently an organization that was run without borders. It seemed pointless to dig into these backstories that seemed questionable even in-game.
¡¸What¡¯s it cost to register?¡¹
¡¸A handling fee of 5 Chrones.¡¹
¡¸Oh, and there¡¯s a little test, but if you¡¯re in the line a work, it¡¯ll be a walk in the park.¡¹
¡¸I see. In that case, should I try to sell the Berserker Bear hide after I register?¡¹
¡¸That would make sense. You can pay the fee theter, but we¡¯ll take care of it. Of course, they might waive it like they did your entrance fee, since you¡¯re from the unknown continent, or whatnot.¡¹
This nation seemed to pay a lot more attention to visitors from the unknown continent then they had thought. Hiroshi and Haruna couldn¡¯t help feel uneasy at the shadow that seemed to lurk behind the whole thing.
¡¸In any case, we gotta go through and register as adventurers.¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. The food was delicious, by the way.¡¹
After enjoying their first seasoned meal in two days, they set out into town. The cityscape of Wulls carried a unique atmosphere, like a love child between the architecture of Europe and Asia, a mix of stone and brick, and wooden buildings. Apparently, any city in Fane, while there were some variance, all looked simr to this.
There wasn¡¯t much trash on the streets, and gave off a hygienic impression. Water and sewer pumps were set up throughout the city, and sewage treatment was integrated, eliminating the stench from human waste.
Wulls, the capital of the giant nation of Fane which was elongated north to south (although even its width exceeded the length of California), was a port city near the dead center of the country. A veryrge one, at that. The Wulls Castle wore the towering mountains to the north on its back, and the cityyered around the main street that lead from the castle to the port in the southwest of the city.
One of the few cities in this world with a poption of over a million. Consider the fact that the poption of Fane (one of the three populous nations in the world) didn¡¯t even reach one hundred million (on paper) to grasp the rtive size of Wulls.
Originally, there was the castle town of Wulls and the port town of Agurina, but by the time the seventh king took the throne, the two towns had grown to the point where it was a three hour walk from Wulls to Agurina, gate-to-gate. So they performed arge-scale public construction that merged and organized the towns into a single city.
While it was a huge expense to the national treasury, numerous workers flooded in from in and out of the country, who then stimted the city¡¯s economy and rapidly boosted the poption. The investment was returned in fifteen years, instead of the estimated one hundred.
In this giant city, where it would take a civilian a day to walk from the East gate to West gate, or from the castle to the canal, there were numerous canals crisscrossing the city, serving as the people¡¯s road. Onnd, there were stops for shared carriage rides all over, and additional carriages and horses roamed the city, delivering people and packages.
As an additional transportation, while a little expensive for everyday use, there were a few transportation gates set up. The people used the transportation system that served the needs of their day. The transportation from one city to another aside, transportation inside the city was rather plentiful.
ck Cat¡¯s Eye, where Hiroshi and Haruna were staying, was located fifteen minutes from the East gate by canal. They was still quite a distance from there to the ocean, and they couldn¡¯t smell it in these parts of town. However, if they travelled an hour south by horse of boat, they would start to see the ocean. Also, from the watchtower of Wulls Castle, one could easily look over the port. After all, Wulls was a city by the ocean.
¡¸Hmm¡ Adventurers, huh?¡¹
¡¸If at all possible, could we kindly keep our safety a priority?¡¹
¡¸I know. We can¡¯t jump into some difficult job right off the bat, anyway.¡¹
¡¸Actually, we gotta start by gettin¡¯ our clothes and equipment sorted out, before anythin¡¯¡¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s interjection, Haruna clenched here brows, reminded that she was, and had been, wearing her only outfit all this time. Frankly, getting a change of clothes was a dire matter that she wanted to take care of by the end of the day.
The good news was that Fane was abundant with water, which meant that they could easily find a bath. There were bathhouses all over town, and many inns and ts, for a fee, offered private bathes as well.
¡¸If we¡¯re going to be adventurers, I can¡¯t wear different clothes every day, can I¡?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Fraid not. We can only carry a finite amount of clothes to begin with.¡¹
She couldn¡¯t argue. As long as they didn¡¯t own a house, they would be constantly carrying all of their possessions around. Clothes, in addition to being bulky, were surprisingly heavy. And no matter what style of clothes they chose to wear, the details of which didn¡¯t matter much if they were going to wear them under their armor. Of course, from a physical and financial standpoint, she couldn¡¯t have a different armor on every day.
¡¸Speakin¡¯ of, what about weapons and armor?¡¹
¡¸Once we have enough money, I was thinking of picking up some cheap and steady ones. What did you used to use, mainly?¡¹
¡¸Nothin¡¯ in particr. What I used a lot were axes, pickaxes, scythes, knives¡ Hammers, sometimes.¡¹
¡¸¡You mean¡¡¹
¡¸I think we both know what I mean. Hold on. I need to buy a pickaxe, at least.¡¹
Randy and Kurt, who kept one ear open to Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s conversation on the way to the Adventurers¡¯ Association, the word pickaxe hung on them.
¡¸What the heck does a potion maker need a pickaxe for?¡¹
¡¸A bunch. The thing I need the most are quartz for the bottle to hold the potions, and sometimes I need to make a special bottle, so I would want the pickaxe to mine the stones I need for that process.¡¹
¡¸You make the bottles, too¡¡¹
¡¸You gotta start with the bottles. When I make potions above a certain grade, I gotta tweak the bottles to begin with.¡¹
Chuckling at the adventurers who had obviously never heard of such methods, Hiroshi exined that it was the way he was taught. While they were having this conversation, Haruna, who had peeking into this store and that, checking the prices of things, let out a sigh.
Since ss wasn¡¯t too scarce in Fane, many stores, like contemporary cities in America today, had a ss window with disys inside. While ss wasn¡¯t cheap, they weren¡¯t too expensive for a shop or house to have a few panes.
¡¸These clothes are up there¡¡¹
¡¸How much?¡¹
¡¸About 15 Chrones average for an outfit. It¡¯s enough for two nights at ck Cat¡¯s Eye with a long-term contract.¡¹
¡¸¡It¡¯s a toughy¡¡¹
As for the payment at the inn, they had a free first night, and Randy and Kurt had paid for the next six nights. There was a discount for staying a week, which brought down the price to 7 Chrones per night. They had booked separate rooms for Hiroshi and Haruna, so the total of their stay for a weekes out to 84 Chrones.
In addition, Randy and Kurt had given them 20 Chrones in cash for any expenses. It was enough money to make them feel guilty about asking for anymore just for the potion. Randy and Kurt would tell them that the money included a tip for Haruna¡¯s song as well.
When it came to food, breakfast was included with the stay, but the dinner menu was simr to the lunch they just had, which was soup and sd with bread, along with grilled dried meat or sausage, or asionally grilled fish.
Apparently they served stew some days in lieu of soup and meat, but that didn¡¯t make much of a difference. If they wanted something better to eat, they had to bring their own ingredients or pay an additional fee. Breakfast, in fact, was just bread and soup. Considering that they would have to prepare their own lunch, 15 Chrones for an outfit was a lot to spend.
¡¸Maybe I just outta make ¡®em¡ It¡¯s gonna be tough without a loom, though¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what you think of first¡?¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi mumbled out of Randy and Kurt¡¯s earshot, Haruna interjected with a chuckle, from a safe distance.
¡¸If we can do it for free, we should. But I guess I can¡¯t really work on yours¡¡¹
¡¸Why not?¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t wanna tell a guy you never really knew your measurements, do ya?¡¹
¡¸¡A little awkward, if I¡¯m being honest¡¡¹
¡¸A coat, maybe¡ But underwear¡?¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t help but twist her face to Hiroshi¡¯s mumbling, and decided to ask, just to make sure:
¡¸¡You can make them?¡¹
¡¸I never had, but I did have a recipe with me, so if I wanted to¡¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m sorry. My want for clothes and my dignity are duking it out right now¡¡¹
¡¸Wait, I can handle jackets and all, but I wouldn¡¯t know how to go about making your underwear¡¡¹
¡¸¡Sorry, I wasn¡¯t thinking about that¡¡¹
As they were talking, they arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Association.
¡¸It¡¯s much homier than I thought¡¡¹
¡¸I mean, they don¡¯t really need much retail space.¡¹
A forty minute walk from ck Cat¡¯s Eye. Randy entered the building with familiarity, as he chuckled at Hiroshi¡¯s first impression. While Hiroshi called homey, there were several facilities (including the shop) integrated, which meant that the building boasted a considerable size and height. While its size wasn¡¯tparable to a castle or fort, it wasrge enough to fit a few houses or ts.
This facility in particr was muchrger than other locations of the Association, since it was the headquarters for all locations in Fane. Wulls was also home to three smaller locations of the Association, scattered around the city.
¡¸Oh, Randy-san. Kurt-san. I thought you were off to Merije on guard duty.¡¹
¡¸Something¡¯se up. The client sent us back out of the group, so we can deliver a message, too.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s a horde of Venomous Wolves near the vige of Leit. To be honest, we couldn¡¯t get through while keeping our objective safe. We had the objective stay back at the vige while we took down the horde.¡¹
¡¸¡Is that true?¡¹
¡¸Yes. It¡¯s processed as an official request. Here¡¯s the form.¡¹
The receptionist checked the request form Randy provided, and nodded.
¡¸Any casualties?¡¹
¡¸Two trying to get the objective to Leit, and three more when we broke through the horde. The vige is safe, protected by a monster-deterring barrier, but we can¡¯t leave them alone for long. There¡¯s not enough food, for one thing. So, the vige elder and those trapped there are going to submit a request for us to kill or chase away all the Venomous Wolves in the area.¡¹
¡¸They can¡¯t pay until after the fact, because, you know. But here¡¯s the request form from the vige elder. Could you process this, please?¡¹
¡¸Sure thing.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna could only watch idly as the conversation implied a rather serious situation. Venomous Wolves are monsters that were originally wolves that have been afflicted. A single Venomous Wolf was much weaker than a Berserker Bear, for example, but, like any wolf, they almost always appeared in packs. Add to it that they had an, albeit slow-acting, fatal venom.
The Venomous Wolf had be infamous as a newbie-killer monster in the early stages of the game, in a different sense than a Berserker Bear. The worst part was that the venom could enter from both their ws and fangs, and especially when bitten, the dose of venom would be fatal.
The thing was, a slowly-acting poison like that of a Venomous Wolf was perfect for building resistance on. Most yers had hunted them as long as they could with an antidote ready to use at the brink of death in order to gain enough resistance rather quickly. They were only a real threat in the very beginning stages of the game.
That was why Haruna didn¡¯t know an Antidote spell for the strand of venom found in Venomous Wolves. In addition, a yer like Hiroshi who had an almost inhumane Armor rating was barely affected by status conditions, even with no resistance. In other words, a poison that yers of their caliber couldn¡¯t resist would easily kill any newbie or civilian without resistance, even just by inhaling it from afar, let alonee in contact with it.
¡¸Hey, Randy-san. Kurt-san.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸It sounds like you guys are in quite a pickle. You sure we had time to be eatin¡¯ lunch all leisurely?¡¹
¡¸It crossed my mind, but it was nothingpared to how long it would have taken to carry Kurt to a doctor and get him fixed up.¡¹
¡¸Besides, we also wanted you guys in a good mood before¡¡¹
They inferred from what Kurt had said. Taking care of a horde of Venomous Wolves would cost a considerable amount of Antidotes. They must have been itching for fast-acting Antidotes like the ones Hiroshi had, which acted almost like a spell.
¡¸And they are¡?¡¹
¡¸Oh, they saved Kurt¡¯s life. It seems they have been transported here with some weird magic.¡¹
¡¸Ah, guests from the unknown continent. Saved his life?¡¹
¡¸They gave us an incredibly potent Antidote. Without it, I don¡¯t even know if Kurt would have made it back here. He already couldn¡¯t walk by the time we came across to them. Do you have any more?¡¹
¡¸Nine more. I could make as many as you want as long as I got the ingredients, but it¡¯ll take some time.¡¹
The receptionist looked dubious of this im. It wasn¡¯t easy to believe that this teenager, barely an adult, could craft an Antidote potent enough to counteract the venom of a Venomous Wolf that had circted enough to render Kurt immobile, enough to the point where he seemed unaffected, not a dayter.
¡¸Come on, don¡¯t give him that look. It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s really the one who made them. Focus on the fact that he had an Antidote of that caliber, and he didn¡¯t hesitate to give it to us.¡¹
¡¸¡Excuse me. May I take a look at one?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course. I wanted to get ¡®em sold anyway. You want the recipe, too?¡¹
¡¸No, thank you. No one avable in the guild right now could verify the recipe, anyway.¡¹
Chuckling at the receptionist¡¯s overtly on-alert tone, Hiroshi took out an Antidote, with a reddish green hue to it. Now that there was more people involved, his hand was slightly shaking as he handed it over.
They took it and ced it onto a funny-looking equipment on the counter, and maneuvered it this way and that. Seeing the result, the receptionist and the woman in charge of buy-outs were both dumbfounded.
¡¸I very sorry. Please allow me to apologize for my tone, earlier. You can really make an infinite amount of these?¡¹
¡¸If I got the ingredients. Oh, right. I was hopin¡¯ you would buy these, too.¡¹
¡¸¡Are those ss 7 potions?¡¹
¡¸I whipped ¡®em while I was at it. I thought it might cause a ruckus, so I wasn¡¯t sure about sellin¡¯ ¡®em, but if we¡¯re gettin¡¯ into all this with the Antidote, I might as well.¡¹
With that, he lined up thirty or so of them on the counter. A rookie adventurer would consider this a small fortune.
¡¸I get that you didn¡¯t know how much ss 7 potions go for¡ But did you have to make so many?¡¹
¡¸Toudou-san wanted to see me make the bottles, so I got carried away. I could have made a hundred or two, but we couldn¡¯t carry all that, so here we are.¡¹
¡¸Well, I did want to see it¡¡¹
They chuckled at Haruna¡¯s embarrassment, and decided to end the subject. Hiroshi had already made them, and it would be a waste to throw them away.
¡¸Jeez. ss 7 potions are mighty expensive, huh?¡¹
¡¸Sure. One of these couldplete heal a ss 9 or so adventurer from the brink of death.¡¹
¡¸A three of these wouldpletely heal one of us from pretty much anything, too. Unless we¡¯re dead, of course. They¡¯re worth their price.¡¹
Hiroshi was trying to imagine what kind of potion would be worth 5,000 dors a pop, but their assessment seemed to justify it. In-game, a Level 1 character (with no skill except basic Attack) would have an HP of 50 or so. The base healing amount of a Level 1 potion was 100, and a Level 2 potion healed 500.
In addition, there were modifiers put on to that amount based on Armor, the skills of the maker, and the tweaks in thepound. Randy and Kurt were beingpletely honest. Considering that in-game, most civilians (NPC who weren¡¯t adventurers or soldiers) were Level 5 at best, no household would need anything more than a Level 1 potion, and considering that they can heal someone back from the brink of death for 500 dors¡ 50 Chrones for a bottle of Level 1 potion was hardly overpriced.
While these potions are unbelievably potent by the standards of the real world, no magic is added to Level 1 and 2 potions. Novice potion making is the process of multiplying the natural magic and vitality of the ingredients to a new level. Potions are often drinkable simply because they produce more effect when consumed rather than applied.
¡¸That being said, any adventurer over ss 5 seem to need these to keep them well.¡¹
¡¸So that¡¯s why these ridiculously expensive potions are bein¡¯ sold here in the open.¡¹
¡¸The Association is working to make them a little cheaper, but¡¡¹
Hearing the woman in charge of buy-outs say this with a sigh, Hiroshi and Haruna gave each other a look. So, Haruna asked why they couldn¡¯t. On a side note, this woman seemed to be in charge of selling their items as well.
¡¸Why can¡¯t they?¡¹
¡¸The demand is high, of course. But worse yet, there are barely any potion makers who can make ss 7 potions. If that weren¡¯t enough, they apparently need special ingredients and can only make so many in a day.¡¹
¡¸Ah-huh. I think I understand¡¡¹
All she could was sigh to the expected answer. ording to Hiroshi, he couldn¡¯t make level 2 potions reliably until he practically mastered the Novice skills. Haruna knew how much work that entailed. She could understand that the vast majority of people would never make it to that point.
¡¸By the way, Azuma-kun. Didn¡¯t you make those with grass around here¡ Around where we took down the Berserker Bear, at least?¡¹
¡¸Right. It¡¯s aplex recipe, so I could manage with ingredients for ss 8 potions.¡¹
¡¸If you gave them that recipe¡¡¹
¡¸I doubt it would help.¡¹
After questioning his response for a moment, Haruna remembered their conversation from the previous day.
¡¸You told me¡¡¹
¡¸Right. They¡¯ll need some skills in Metalworkin¡¯ and Enchantin¡¯ in addition to Compoundin¡¯. Although, for Enchantin¡¯ they just gotta pull off the easiest skill without fail.¡¹
¡¸That sounds really hard,ing from you¡¡¹
¡¸With no prior knowledge, it would take ¡®em at least a month to get a hang of it¡¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s analysis,ing from his own experience, inadvertently dashed the hopes of everyone there.
¡¸Then, could you contract with us and provide the Association with the product regrly?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d prefer not to.¡¹
¡¸Why not?¡¹
¡¸It might just be me over-analysin¡¯, but my potions may be a lot more effective than your normal ones. If they are, I could hurt the livelihood of the people makin¡¯ the potions, now.¡¹
The woman fell silent. As Hiroshi pointed out, his potion was shown to be nearly double as effective as an ordinary bottle. If this became the standard, any potion created by another potion maker wouldn¡¯t sell.
¡¸Putting a pin in the in-depth business talk¡ Ann, could you register these two, please?¡¹
¡¸¡Yes. Please fill these out.¡¹
They filled in what they could in the paperwork provided. Both Hiroshi and Haruna could read and write thenguage of this world with ease, but they had decided not to dwell on it.
¡¸Right, I¡¯d been meanin¡¯ to ask¡¡¹
¡¸Yes?¡¹
¡¸About how much of the poption here¡¯s literate?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see¡ In Fane, nine out of ten can people in the city are, but the majority of people out in the country can only read numbers, I believe. Recently, we have been getting more schools out in the farming viges, but nationwide, less than half of us are literate.¡¹
They nodded to Ann (the receptionist)¡¯s exnation. While they weren¡¯t sure if they were surprised by how low or high the rate of literacy was, it was at a line where neither being nor not being able to read and write would stand out.
¡¸What do you do when someone illiteratees to register?¡¹
¡¸We fill out the paperwork for them, and teach them basic reading and writing during orientation. Until they can read them, we would read the request form out loud, as well.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
¡¸So then, a reckless boy who ran from his farm won¡¯t be lost on the streets without a chance ¡®cause he can¡¯t even register?¡¹
¡¸Not always. Most people who work while receivingbat training and literacy sses give up halfway through.¡¹
She responded thoroughly while taking the mostly empty batches of paperwork. After a quick interview, she writes more on the paperwork. She had gotten a sense of their character from their exchange earlier, but rules were rules, and most importantly, these two didn¡¯t know much about thews of Fane.
Some misdemeanors that they could get away with aside, it was too dangerous to run the risk of having either one of them break a seriousw because they were unfamiliar with the body ofw or culture of a particr location. She had to determine that they wouldn¡¯t end up costing the Association that way.
¡¸All right. Let¡¯s move to the field test. Permissions to enter dungeons are granted once you reach level 8, or by apanying someone who has permission. Today, I¡¯ll only be looking at yourbat capabilities.¡¹
After discerning their character further, she moved to the field test. While she was astonished by their surprisingly adeptbat prowess, they returned an exmation of surprise:
¡¸Anne-san, you¡¯re strong.¡¹
¡¸You could probably go down to dungeons yourself.¡¹
¡¸All guild members receive basicbat training. Hold on. Don¡¯t you have an address?¡¹
¡¸Well, we just came here today.¡¹
¡¸I see. If you¡¯re going to remain in Wulls for over a month, please register an address at City Hall. If you show them your Adventurer card, they won¡¯t ask for any previous addresses or the like.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s all we gotta do?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what the Adventurers¡¯ Association provides.¡¹
They couldn¡¯t help but nod to the weirdly persuasive answer as they received their card with ¡°ss 10¡± inscribed on them, as proof of their registration. Then, they received some basic orientation on how to use the Association¡¯s facilities, how to take requests, and how to move on to the next ss.
After that, they sold the materials taken from the Berserker Bear, concluding their tasks for the day. Randy and Kurt had left for the castle to request emergency back-up right when Hiroshi and Haruna began their registration process.
¡¸15000 for everythin¡¯ including the potions¡¡¹
Hiroshi wasn¡¯t sure what to make to make of the money Haruna had handed him. While it seemed like they had made too much money right off the bat, it was a little bit short of what they would need in order to buy everything they need. For the time being, they simply split it between them.
¡¸They were all very neatly processed, so we put a little extra in there.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a heck ton of money at first nce, but I ain¡¯t sure what to make of it¡¡¹
¡¸Me neither¡¡¹
They whispered back and forth, as they scrutinized the equipment sold at the Adventurers¡¯ Associatoin. On the cheap end was 50 Tirols, but the other end of the spectrum exceeded 10,000 Chrones. Of course, the expensive price tag did reflect its quality.
¡¸Why don¡¯t we go back to the inn and rest for the night?¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t agree more. I¡¯m mighty tired from all this¡¡¹
¡¸Thank you for your business. And, if it¡¯s all right, could we ask you to start making Antidotes, perhaps tomorrow, to help exterminate the Venomous Wolves?¡¹
¡¸¡Yeah. It¡¯s toote to pretend I didn¡¯t hear nothin¡¯. ¡®Cept, I ain¡¯t got no strength left to collect any more ingredients. Can you folks do that for me?¡¹
Keeping an awkward distance from Anne, Hiroshi suggested.
¡¸Absolutely. All of us will gather as much as we can.¡¹
¡¸Well for Venomous Wolf poison you won¡¯t need no special ingredients, so you should gather a few batches¡¯ worth.¡¹
Hiroshi said, as he scribbled down the recipe, which Anne took and began talking to the workers in the back and in other parts of the facility. After watching her and letting out a sigh, Hiroshi and Haruna began browsing the items they had for sale, once more.
Apparently there were more than a few adventurers with some knowledge of basic Compounding and Metalworking, which resulted in some equipment for potion making being sold here.
¡¸I guess we outta grab a mortar and a pan, at least¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll leave that up to you.¡¹
After a moment, Hiroshi and Haruna decided that they were not going to use either piece of equipment that night, and to just head back to the inn.
===
¡¸¡What a day¡¡¹
Haruna is in her room at the inn. Throwing the carrying bag, which had been nearly emptied save for the few pairs of underwear she had bought on their way back to the inn (separately) under the table, Haruna plopped down on her bed.
Hiroshi had told her that she he had bought some fabric, string, and sewing utensils, and intended to sew his own clothes. It was all toote for her to regret not mastering at least Novice Sewing. She had just resigned herself to have at least Hiroshi craft her some everyday wear in the future.
¡¸It¡¯s all¡ So weird¡¡¹
On the third day since they had been transported here, it was the first time Haruna had found herself with some safe, alone time. During the two days in the woods, she could barely sleep. And yet her physical vitality had been healing more than expected. Her body was pretty unreal that way.
What was really weird, however, was what she saw as she casually pretended to be asleep (in her insomnia) and observed Hiroshi. Not to borrow his words, but he was someone that Haruna didn¡¯t expect to have any conversation outside of school matters. Although she knew his general character, she couldn¡¯t trust him enough to be confident that he wouldn¡¯t do anything crazy. In fact, that concern kept her up more than her fear of being attacked by monsters.
But, Hiroshi acted much differently than she had expected. He kept a considerable distance between them, and continued to do something non-stop until it was her turn to keep watch. He never even tried to look at her face while she slept, except when he came to wake her for watch duty, and he just kept sewing the carrying bag, carved out the mortar, and polished the bear ribs in a sort of zen.
Never once did he even seem interested in Haruna. While she admired his persistence for trekking on with the tedious work, albeit with a little bit ofining, but hisplete and utterck of any inkling of interest in her? Despite the fact that she didn¡¯t have the slight inkling of interest in him, her pride was somewhat hurt.
To boot, this man was would not budge. Even when she eximed that she would go bathe and doundry in the river, she only returned to find him in the exact same spot continuing the same work he had been doing. The little pride she held in her womanhood had been obliterated in a matter of two days. He had only ever turned his gaze to her body when the discussion of clothes came up. Until Randy and Kurt ogled at her rather obviously, she hadpletely lost her self-esteem.
¡¸Of course it¡¯s better than jumping me without a second thought¡¡¹
All she wanted was a hint of acknowledgement. She didn¡¯t want to be assaulted nor get into any romantic situation with him, but it was a little too much to not only have him show no interest in that way, but have him act like he aggressively wanted to distance himself.
It doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯m the only one he¡¯s like that with, though¡
That was her conclusion as she recalled the scene at the Adventurers¡¯ Association. It seemed like he didn¡¯t want to interact with any female whatsoever. The exception was when he was holding normal conversation with the owner of the inn. It seemed that he was okay with a woman above a certain age, with whom he only had business-like conversations.
Considering his age and the severity of his aversion for women, perhaps he had been traumatized rather seriously in some way. Haruna knew that, at the very least, he wasn¡¯t into men, judging from the conversation he was having about dating simtor game or the other (which she had overheard as she passed by him in the ssroom) and from his line of sight while they were talking about clothes.
Still, his insistence on keeping his distance from women, physically and emotionally, was so obvious to the point where, when he was speaking to thedies at the Adventurers¡¯ Association, all color had drained from his face. While thedies across the counter hadn¡¯t noticed, given the gravity of the situation they were in, his knees were clearly buckling.
With that severe of a female-phobia, Haruna had to be careful how to interact with him moving forward. Initially, in her frustration from his horribly disinterested attitude, she nearly executed the ¡°oops I didn¡¯t realize I was thrusting my breasts against you¡¡± but something inside of her told her that if she did, it would really spell the end for the both of them. Thinking back on it, Haruna thought she deserved a pat on the back for holding back.
¡¸I want to ask him some detailed stuff tomorrow¡ I wonder what he would think¡¡¹
She wanted to tell him a few things she had held back from mentioning for her uncertainty of them, and ask his opinion on the matter, but she wasn¡¯t sure that he would be in a mental state to handle such a conversation. Moreover, they would have to have this conversation where it was less public. Somewhere where it was least likely for anyone to eavesdrop.
For Hiroshi¡¯s sake, Haruna wanted to find somewhere where they could keep their distance, where he could still work on something. Whether or not she could find such a ce, she was determined to for them to share each other¡¯s information and opinions sooner rather thanter.
Because, well, so far they were only on the same page about not receiving any handouts from the court for ¡°visitors from the unknown continent,¡± and that they should keep a low profile moving forward, while they may not have had a choice today.
¡¸In any case, it¡¯ll be after making those Antidotes¡¡¹
ording to Randy, whom she had ran into on the way back, a deal had already been struck with the court, through the court magician¡¯s familiar. He had joked that, if the familiar wasn¡¯t a flying creature, he would have had to make a hard trek to deliver the message.
Leaving time to prepare various aspects, they would initiate the mission to exterminate the Wolves at noon, tomorrow. The vige of Leit was rtively close, so they would be able to execute the mission while the sun was high even if they left at noon, as long as they were on horseback. Still, the most critical aspect was the Antidotes. They had set things in order as to have everything ready as soon as Hiroshi¡¯s work was done.
¡¸Big day tomorrow. We better get dinner over with.¡¹
Haruna knew she couldn¡¯t help much, but there had to be something she could do. To maximize their rest, she decided to eat dinner right away, so she went to call Hiroshi.
Their work the very next day would, in utter betrayal of Hiroshi¡¯s hopes, end up as one of the causes for getting them wrapped up with the court in the most troublesome and irreversible manner. At this point, they didn¡¯t have a clue how they were about to get involved with all of it.
Volume 1, 3
Volume 1, Chapter 3
Trantor: Reflet
_______________________________________________________________
That day, the Adventurers¡¯ Association was in an uproar from the early morning onward.
¡¸First ya need to gather ¡®n separate Dulk branches ¡®n leaves, tearing the bark off them branches. Then ya mince the Age stems ¡®n Dulk leaves into fine pieces and and crush ¡¯em till they look like this. Ratios matter here, so don¡¯t make the mistake of mixin¡¯ ¡¯em. Whatcha need are only Aslin roots ¡®n Age stems, so dispose of anything else as ya see fit¡¹
Following Hiroshi¡¯s instructions, Haruna and the other members had been facing off against the mountain of materials they had scraped up yesterday. Several potion makers hade to assist them in dividing up the materials.
¡¸So everything other than the Aslin roots are just your everyday first-aid antidotes¡¹
¡¸That they are. That type of antidote has always been weak, but can still work against most poison because of itsposition¡¹
¡¸Then what about this Aslin Root?¡¹
¡¸It works very well against miasma-type poison, but it¡¯s still a powerful medicine, so its regr effects as an antidote hafta be weakened. But if ya just mix ¡®n brew it then it¡¯ll lose some of its effectiveness against miasma-type poison, which is why there¡¯s a need to make some adjustments via alchemy¡¹
While answering questions from the youthful potion makers, he began skillfully processing the Aslin roots. Even though he had thergest amount of raw material, he was the quickest among any of them in processing the ingredients, disying just how far apart their skill levels were.
¡¸This is a processing method that has not been seen before. What exactly is it?¡¹
¡¸Right. Well, actually, as long as ya have rudimentary knowledge ¡¯bout alchemy ¡®n enchantin¡¯ then it ain¡¯t difficult, so I encourage ya to study it when ya got the time. ¡®Course, I can tell ya whatcha needa know, but a little learnin¡¯ is a dangerous thing, so I rmend learnin¡¯ it from the proper individuals. And if ya properly learn it then it¡¯ll spread around¡¹
¡¸Understood¡¹
Smiling wryly at the facts that Hiroshi was saying, the youthful potion makers showed their agreement.
¡¸Azuma-kun, what do we do with this bark?¡¹
¡¸Just leave it after ya finish tearin¡¯ it off. Cause we need that ¡®n the roots for a bit of special processing¡¹
¡¸Roger. And then we just grind the leaves and stems, right?¡¹
Receiving instruction from Hiroshi, Haruna proceeded to begin grinding. While ncing at her doing that, he finished processing the roots and began working on therge amount of bark. He used magic to dry it, minced it, then grinded it, making it into powder and measuring the amount. Voices of admiration rang out as they watched the skilled process unfold.
¡¸Where¡¯s the distilled water?¡¹
¡¸We have it prepared here¡¹
¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll do that work instead, so please do me a favor and prepare a hearth and cauldron¡¹
¡¸Understood¡¹
He gave instructions to Anne, earnestly grinding the thinly-minced leaves. The members who were not potion makers were taking at most fifteen minutes¡¯ worth of breaks, yet Hiroshi was able to continuously do it faster than them without taking a single break. And of course he had an amount of work to do that was many times more than them. While true for any field, there was a hopeless gap between veterans and amateurs in skill level.
¡¸Now that the preparation¡¯s over, just gotta brew it all together¡¹
While carefully measuring it, he began tossing the ingredients into the now-boiling distilled water. First he tossed in two cups of the grinded Age stems into the two-handled pot, stirring for ten seconds for them to mix. Afterwards, he mixed in the bark of the Dulk branches, stirring them again for about fifteen seconds. Once he confirmed that the color of the mixture had shifted, he tossed in simultaneously the grinded Dulk leaves and crushed dried Aslin roots as he softened the me, pumping in magic while stirring it earnestly for about forty minutes. Gradually, the color began to change, and he removed the cauldron from the fire once it was a light blue hue.
¡¸After that ya put the respective amounts in bottles and yer done¡¹
While absorbing away the heat via magic, he divided them into unused or washed two-handled pots for bottling and proimed it nearly finished.
¡¸I¡¯ll help. How much should I put in?¡¹
¡¸A bit before the top. Ya don¡¯t hafta be super precise¡¹
¡¸Roger that¡¹
Just as Hiroshi had instructed, they continuously filled the bottles using adle and funnel. As expected from Hiroshi or the potion makers, despite directly pouring from the pots, nothing escaped the containers, flowing smoothly through. All of the guild members also put the lid on tight, sealing the bottles fairly well. Three hours after the procedure, around eleven o¡¯clock, over three hundred antidotes had beenpleted.
¡¸I think this is more ¡®n enough, but whadda bout you?¡¹
¡¸Yes. This should be good enough, even considering the amount of knights on campaign¡¹
¡¸Well, in terms of both ingredients and equipment, anything more ¡®n this is a bit too difficult, so if it doesn¡¯tst then I¡¯d say give up¡¹
¡¸Understood. I will convey that¡¹
Once he had told Anne what was necessary, he moved to the Association¡¯s store corner, looking for a pickaxe and hatchet he could use for excavation or harvest.
¡¸I think I¡¯ll go with this ¡®n this for now?¡¹
This was only up until he began making them himself, so he merely selected whatever looked distinct enough. He followed up by using discretion to find a burly bag that could fit a lot of ore in it.
¡¸Speaking of which, ain¡¯t there a ce that lends out tools fer forgin¡¯ and whatnot?¡¹
¡¸And if there isn¡¯t?¡¹
¡¸Well then I¡¯d have no choice but to make makeshift ones and step it up a bit at a time¡¡¡¹
¡¸But that¡¯ll take us longer¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ we can do ¡¯bout that. Either way, if we need good equipment then eventually we gotta procure decent weapons ¡®n tools¡¹
She sighed at Hiroshi¡¯s words. In this case, procuring proper equipment meant using a workshop and making the equipment yourself. So basically they would have to quickly get out of the inn and search for a wide-enough building. Or they would have to buy just that muchnd, gather resources, and build it themselves.
¡¸Excuse me¡«¡¹
¡¸Yeees?¡¹
The woman in charge of the store, Myuzzel, rushed over to the counter in a big fuss when she heard Hiroshi¡¯s voice.
¡¸So this is all I want¡¹
¡¸All right. Please wait a moment, okay?¡¹
She started calcting it on some ckboard. It wasn¡¯t like it was a t fee, and all she had to do was add the prices, so why was she throwing multiplication in there?
¡¸Pickaxe and hatchet along with two bags in total will be sixty-five Chrones¡¹
¡¸Why so cheap?¡¹
¡¸We entrusted you with a rather sudden job, so think of it as a little service. As for the reward, we are currently in the middle of negotiations with the country, so pleasee again another day¡¹
¡¸Got it. Guess I¡¯ll dly take the discount¡¹
Of course there was more to this, but it also wasn¡¯t anything to be on guard about. He had already stood out too much yesterday and today, so of course people would have their eyes on him. So there at least shouldn¡¯t be an issue with taking the merit.
¡¸So I have a question¡¹
¡¸Okay, go ahead¡¹
¡¸Is there anyce near here where you can get iron ore and whatnot?¡¹
¡¸Ore, you say¡¡¡¹
Myuzzel thought to herself a bit when Haruna asked that.
¡¸Right, so I hear you can find a little bit midway up Mt. Renne up north in the cliffside area¡«¡¹
¡¸A little bit?¡¹
¡¸Yes. No doubt you can find some, but apparently the quality and mass are nothing special, so it never really made it as a mine¡«¡¹
When Myuzzel said that, the two of them thought a bit.
¡¸So why ore?¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s nothing important, but we were thinking we might get cheaper equipment if we brought along the ingredients. Also, ording to Azuma-kun, there seem to be alchemy or enchantments that you can use ore for, so we thought if we gathered them, it would be a good first step to bing independent¡¹
¡¸Ahh, I see. I was under the impression that you intended to procure the armaments yourself as well¡¹
The two of them couldn¡¯t keepplete poker faces after Myuzzel had said that. Her smile was now a little different, and they realized their slip-up, but it was toote. However, this much was to be expected of a member of the Adventurers¡¯ Association, no matter how unsuspecting they seemed to be.
¡¸Well actually, though it is rare to see anyone of Azuma-san¡¯s capacity, it isn¡¯t all that unusual to see some adventurers who to a certain degree make their own potions or armaments¡«. There are even those amongst the potion makers who have be adventurers in order to gather ingredients themselves or those who are learning how to forge in pursuit of easier-to-use tools¡¹
¡¸What are you getting at?¡¹
¡¸There are things rted to forging in the Association¡¯s equipment, so if necessary, please do let them know¡¹
¡¸¡¡Understood¡¹
They were after all two young high schoolers. Even if they had more than enough battle prowess, they were not sly enough to outwit an adult in this fashion. Hiroshi and Haruna realized it was futile to hide things from the Adventurers¡¯ Association, so they gave up.
***
¡¸Around here¡¹
Upon reaching the area they had been told about, Hiroshi mumbled as they looked up at the cliff. It was the sort of mountain where normally only hunters or people in search of ingredients for potions woulde, and there was almost no trace of what you would call a path, so the two of them had ended up having to walk endlessly along the animal trail. Since they both had higher-than-average resistance than regr people, they did not sustain any injuries from branches or thorns, but Haruna¡¯s clothing was frayed here and there, still desperately ripping a branch off from the tips of her hair.
There had certainly not been small issues like this in the game, so even inevitable things like this were enough to convey that this was reality, and that was enough to overwhelm them. There were of course elements in which clothing could get dirty, but not to the point where sleeves or cuffs would loosen. Of course, this did happen from time to time in battle with destruction, but they would never end up catching onto tree branches or anything like that. It was deeply frustrating.
¡¸I guess it¡¯s to be expected that in a ce they say doesn¡¯t even have any promising prospects, there wouldn¡¯t be any proper trails¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well yeah¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, I¡¯ve seen you sweeping around with that hatchet. Have you been gathering potion ingredients?¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯ like that. Well not just potions, but there are also things that can be used fer alchemy or as catalysts fer processing clothing¡¹
Hiroshi said as he gazed up at the cliff. He seemed to have immediately begun excavation. To put it bluntly, Haruna had no clue as to what area had ore, but doubtless, the eyes of a craftsman were different.
¡¸So you found some?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s nothin¡¯ special, but I bet if we purify it then we can use it¡¹
That unreliable response was all that returned to her when she had inquired from Hiroshi as he was beginning to dig into the cliff with his pickaxe. With that being said, he had a fine smile on his face and she found herself astonished that such a loser could make a face like that.
¡¸You can keep doing what you¡¯re doing, but I want you to hear what I have to say¡¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I figured I¡¯d apologize while I still can. I¡¯ve been telling a bit of a lie until now. Sorry.¡¹
¡¸What kind of lie?¡¹
¡¸Remember how I initially said that I practically didn¡¯t retain any familiarity with thend here?¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, ya did say that¡¹
On the third day as they were moving to Wulls, Haruna had definitely said something like that.
¡¸So half of it was true, but half of it was false¡¹
¡¸What¡¯re ya getting at?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t easily forget about ces I¡¯ve been to once or things I¡¯ve heard or seen. So I actually remember the majority of the geography of Fane. It¡¯s true that it was more than four years ago when I walked around that area, and that it¡¯s been around two years since I¡¯ve been to Wulls though, so I really don¡¯t know anything about the buildings¡¹
¡¸I seee. But don¡¯tcha think it¡¯s a little weak to say you were lying based off of some buildings? Plus ya really didn¡¯t seem to know the roads very well¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ve been studying me, I see¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s cuz firmly observin¡¯ ¡®n keepin¡¯ suspicious feelin¡¯s in the back of yer head is the trick to protectin¡¯ yerself from yer natural enemy¡¹
¡¸Natural enemy¡¡¡¹
Haruna was shocked that Hiroshi would say something like that. Did he seriously hate being with her that much?
¡¸And I ain¡¯t really singlin¡¯ ya out, Toudou-san. I just in principle don¡¯t like to associate with gals¡¹
¡¸¡¡I did get that vibe when you talked to Anne-san or Myuzzel-san¡¹
The first time as well as the recent incident, Hiroshi was after all quite visibly pale and had goosebumps whenever Anne or Myuzzel would get close. The only time when he wasn¡¯t like that would have been when he was focusing mostly on what he was working on. Leaving aside Anne, who could have easily mistaken it for regr anxiety on the first day, Myuzzel likely knew that Hiroshi not only had anthropophobia, but was also suffering from a serious degree of fear toward females.
¡¸Maybe yer the one who¡¯s studying me¡¹
¡¸Well we are in the same boat. If we don¡¯t figure out things about each other like who we are, what we like/dislike, and what kinds of burdens we have, it¡¯ll lead to potential unnecessary trouble and disaster¡¹
¡¸Right. Sorry that ya have to deal with me in the same boat¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t be silly! I really am d that you¡¯re my partner, Azuma-kun!¡¹
She panickedly denied what Hiroshi had just mumbled self-depreciatively. In all honesty, it was no exaggeration that she was extremely fortunate to have Hiroshi as her partner in thisnd where you couldn¡¯t tell your right from your left. Even if he did have gynophobia, that meant she would never have to worry about her chastity being threatened, and even if that weren¡¯t the case, he was the most trustworthy person in this situation, and best of all, he made most things himself. Haruna could not find it in herself to do something as evil asin about such an amazing partner.
¡¸Don¡¯t hafta be so polite. I¡¯m aware that it¡¯s incredibly rude to ya when I call ya my ¡°natural enemy¡±¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t intend to press further, but something crazy must have happened to you before, right? So if that¡¯s how it is then it can¡¯t be helped¡¹
¡¸Sorry ¡¯bout that¡¹
¡¸If anything I¡¯m the one who¡¯s sorry. I want to avoid putting any pressure on you, but I can¡¯t really do anything about¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, I say there¡¯s nothing fer ya to apologize about. If anything I almost want ya to say somethin¡¯ like ¡°If yer a man then act like one!¡±¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, I can¡¯t say that¡¡¡¹
From Haruna¡¯s viewpoint, Hiroshi¡¯s ¡°issue¡± was at the point where he needed to see a counselor or get psychosomatic medicine. She could seriously feel a sense of danger about his situation, like if she even made one step out of line, he might retreat into being a shut-in or quarantined in a psychosis ward. To be in the same ss as himst year and not realize whatsoever that such a precarious person was in her vicinity, she was reminded that she had a long way to go in terms of observation and understanding.
¡¸So, returning back to the other topic. What didja mean by sayin¡¯ that you remembered the way but didn¡¯t remember it as well as ya thought?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s of course the fact that VR and real life are different things, but the biggest reason is that the terrain was different from how I remembered it¡¹
¡¸I see, I see. Like what?¡¹
When Hiroshi asked that question, she thought of an easy example.
¡¸There was a hill on the way to Wulls, right?¡¹
¡¸Yup¡¹
¡¸Well that wasn¡¯t there in the VR version¡¹
¡¸Ya sure?¡¹
She nodded with a serious face at Hiroshi¡¯s skeptical words. At that time, she had tried acting gung-ho with everything they did, but internally, she had actually been in quite the shock at how clearly different the terrain was from her memories.
¡¸Yeah. The minute we stepped onto the road, the castle gate should have been visible, but I confirmed that the topography was different when I saw that hill blocking the view¡¹
¡¸So when ya tried to previously go in the opposite direction of the road¡¡¡¹
¡¸It was because if we cut through that way, it should have been possible to make a shortcut to Wulls¡¯s northern gates. But if we had gone that way, we would have definitely ended up lost¡¹
¡¸¡¯S that right¡¹
Hiroshi could care less about what she was saying, so he merely went along with the conversation while continuing the excavation. Noticing that, Haruna sighed and cut to the chase.
¡¸So Azuma-kun, how much do you remember about the initial game settings?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d say practically nothin¡¯¡¹
¡¸Which means you didn¡¯t remember hearing the term ¡°Visitors from the Unknown Continent¡±?¡¹
¡¸Was that even part of the game?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. By the game¡¯s terms, we¡¯re supposed to have faster growth than that of the average person in this world¡¹
Hiroshi was impressed by Haruna¡¯s recollection. Although he had said that he didn¡¯t remember trifling details about statuses so that the conversation would go by smoothly, it went without saying that he certainly had a firm grasp on Haruna¡¯s statuses and the lower decimal points of her skill levels. Although there wasn¡¯t really any use remembering them¡
¡¸Well, if ya think ¡¯bout it, even if ya pack in twenty years o¡¯ trainin¡¯, it don¡¯t mean that yer skill level will rise proportionately¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I agree. So leaving aside the fact that we can use the abilities we learned in-game, the next issue is whether abilities or skills can still grow quickly¡¹
¡¸Yer right. But before that we hafta figure out how we even check that. Not like we can just check our statuses like before¡¹
¡¸Very true. Even if we were to test it out by practicing, it¡¯s not like we can tell the difference without an objective way of measuring it¡¹
¡¸There wasn¡¯t never any significant difference between raising one or two attributes after all¡¹
Haruna nodded wryly as she watched Hiroshi digging into the cliff. Before she knew it, there were arge amount of boulders rolled over at Hiroshi¡¯s feet. He appeared to be differentiating them as he dug, since looking closely, there were two mountains of boulders that had formed.
¡¸And anyway, even if we did train, when attributes get higher, the time it takes to gain points and the growth rate for one session just get worse ¡®n worse¡¹
¡¸Mhm. That¡¯s another problem all right. I mean, I bet our parameters are quite a bit higher than the average person even if we¡¯re at the lowest¡¹
In the game of Fairy Tale Chronicle, there were three crucial methods for raising attributes without equipment revision. They were raising your character level, raising your skill level, and doing a task that trains the attribute you wish to raise. There were exceptions among expendable rare drops like ones that permanently raised an attribute point by one, but these were the rarest of rares in the game and only four had been found in five years, so there wasn¡¯t much point in listing them.
Incidentally, it was possible for Hiroshi to make said items, but because of the astronomical toll it took on ingredients, he had never made them. There was also the possibility of raising attributes through quest bonuses from time to time, but not only were these scarce; they had a high hurdle of which you had to havepleted every grand quest from the second chapter onward, so it was safe to say that it also wasn¡¯t an optimal method.
At a time like this, merely raising a specific ability could only be done by doing tasks rted to using your lowest-priority attributes. Since you typically raised attributes when levelling up based on skills or prior tendencies and automatically allotted points to those attributes, low abilities would always be low. And the attribute bonus that you could get from raising your skill points generally strengthened two or more abilities. Also, since the actual task of training your skills was also connected to attribute training, it wasn¡¯t unusual to suddenly find your attributes raised without regard to skill point bonuses.
As you can see, even in the game, where it was rtively easier to do what you pleased than in reality, you still couldn¡¯t perfectly control things while looking at your status, so there was no way that in this reality you could just blindly train without an idea of what your stats were. There would be no way to check for growth.
¡¸In the first ce, you weren¡¯t able to subjectively see any effects in ¡®FairChro¡¯ until after ten or so attribute points, and yet from everyone else¡¯s point of view, even one point higher made a significant difference¡¹
¡¸Is that right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. For example, if you had a strength of around 150, then once it increased to 151, basic attack power would go up by about 15. From your own standpoint it would be just 15 measly points, but in terms of weapons, that would be like your attack power having a starter knife added to it. Then when your strength gets to be 300, your basic attack power would increase by 30 or so. It may not seem like a big deal, but when youpare the two proportionately, the average person would see a severe difference with even one point, wouldn¡¯t they?¡¹
¡¸That they would. But wow, Toudou-san. You really know your miniscule number details¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s cause there was a time when I worked together with an acquaintance in order to calcte the corrtion between attributes and derivation parameters. By the way, the volume zone at the start of service was from 120 to 180 in terms of character level, and the lowest attributes were from around 150 to 200¡¹
¡¸Which is why ya made the example with attribute points of 150¡¹
¡¸Exactly¡¹
When Hiroshi had stopped digging to marvel at her, Haruna puffed her chest out as she answered a bit pridefully. Speaking of character levels, Haruna herself would also be in the volume zone. Leaving aside the influence of extra skills, attribute points were the highest at 250. Having mastered severe training with support magic and cooking as well as having mastered extra skills rting to lifestyle, her attributes had surpassed the volume zone and were in the lower top category. She had a vast amount of skills that she had learned, and it was impressive to think that she could raise multiple skills in just one battle.
Without skill modifiers, the growth rate for attributes would suddenly worsen once it got past 30, and once it was past 50, there would no longer even be growth apart from levelling up and skill bonuses. Then around 70, levelling up would no longer increase attribute points, and then once past 100 in terms of base points, they would almost not rise at all when levelling up. Since even skills when mastered could only get a total of 15 modifiers, nearly everyone¡¯s attribute points would cap at 200.
This bonus, with the exception of crafting skills, advanced support magic, and every extra skill, wasrger than anything else. Each of them had a ridiculous amount of attribute point modifiers that corresponded to difficulty of acquisition or difficulty of training.
Above all, extra skills had a vast amount of modifiers, and mastering them would already give you 4 regr attack-rted advanced skills as a bonus. Of course, this only meant that the attribute points with thergest amount of modifiers were high, and it wasn¡¯t like there was a huge difference between the things that rose via support as opposed to normal skills. After all, there was pretty much no skill that only raised one attribute.
Of course, by the time you became enough of a shut-in to where you got to Level 500 or 800, you would easily have enough attribute points to strike 500, 600, etc. In addition to the amount of trainingpared to the density being different, it was normal to take all of the quest bonuses.
¡¸I don¡¯t care that much, but outta curiosity, what¡¯s the highest attribute as of now?¡¹
¡¸From what I head, the top one is 765, although I¡¯m not sure as to what it corresponds to¡¹
¡¸¡¡Is that right¡¡¡¹
Based on Hiroshi¡¯s dubious expression, Haruna figured that he had 800 or some other staggering amount of attribute points. He did after all have tons of extra skills from crafting, so she wouldn¡¯t be particrly surprised if his armor and constitution had gone beyond a thousand.
¡¸Well anyhow, leaving aside all that¡¹
¡¸Yeah¡¹
¡¸Whaddya think will be affected over here as a result of that?¡¹
¡¸Affected? Well, I have my own thoughts on that¡¹
As Hiroshi resumed digging for ore, Haruna replied while wondering how she could continue the conversation.
¡¸If memory serves, at the beginning of the game, yers were dispatched to random locations and began their journey after the surrounding soldiers approached them and took them to the castle¡¹
¡¸I vaguely remember that, but if I recall, ya epted various tutorial-like chores around the castle, and then when ya got money fer arrangements as a reward, the game started¡¹
¡¸And that¡¯s where I¡¯d like to start talking about¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¹
¡¸I know it¡¯s a bitte for this, but I¡¯d like to consult to you about whether we should follow along with the flow of events at the start of the game¡¹
Hiroshi let out a wry smile at howte it was to bring this up. Haruna was the one who had suggested they avoid going to the castle because it was questionable in the first ce. With that being said, Hiroshi would have probably brought it up even if Haruna had not.
¡¸Seriously, this is superte¡¹
¡¸I know, I know. And it¡¯s not like we even need arrangement money or any of that¡¹
¡¸I think fer now we should do as nned and start by procuring weapons¡¹
¡¸If you¡¯re fine with that, then I have no objections, but I just feel a bit bad for relying on you and having you shoulder all of the risk¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nothing to be done ¡®bout that right now. Besides, if I were the average fighter character, I would¡¯ve had to rely on you fer livin¡¯ expenses and everything in general¡¹
The day-to-day skills were rather looked down upon in the game, but in actuality, if you were blown into the game world, rather than being able to use powerful magic, being able to cook delicious meals would benefit you by far. Rather than having sword techniques that could fell a dragon in one hit, it was a given that it was better to be able to make swords that could kill a dragon and make much more for a living.
They just so happened to be two people who excelled at day-to-day skills, but if they were something like your typical serious fighterbination, they would have unmistakably found themselves in a dreadful situation. Take right now for instance: Haruna had put some light effort into making tasty bread and dried meat she had brought along with them for lunch. If she didn¡¯t have such a skill, she wouldn¡¯t even be able to do this.
¡¸So we know the weapons we want, but what ¡®bout armor?¡¹
¡¸What about it?¡¹
¡¸Toudou-san, I¡¯m guessin¡¯ that ya aren¡¯t the type to wear metal armor?¡¹
¡¸Before we even discuss that, is it even possible to make metal armor with what you¡¯ve dug so far today?¡¹
¡¸Probably not with one trip. We still hafta make my tools after all¡¹
¡¸I thought so¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s answer, she briefly entered into thought.
¡¸Well, if yer fine with metal armor, then ya don¡¯t hafta hold back. It¡¯s not like we have enough ingredients to make other things, so we¡¯ll haftae back to dig probably one or two more times¡¹
¡¸Yeah? Well, I certainly don¡¯t need armor all over my body, but in the chest area sounds like it might be decent¡¹
¡¸Breastte? I nned to do the same fer myself, so I¡¯ll work somethin¡¯ out fer us¡¹
¡¸You sure?¡¹
¡¸I toldja. Said we¡¯d haftae back here a couple more times. But lemme just say that the materials around here for reinforcing the armor ain¡¯t all that light. It¡¯s gonna be pretty rattly when you walk around. You fine with that?¡¹
¡¸Not like we can help that. I¡¯m grateful to you just for making it for me¡¹
¡¸Understood¡¹
He answered, proceeding to continue on what appeared to be thest part of his excavation work. In the middle of all this, he had taught Haruna the gist of excavation so that she could also begin digging into the cliff, and she had eventually gotten a fair amount of ore piles at her feet. As she worked on this, Haruna became fed up with her hair and very begrudgingly tied it up, which was something new. It was quite different from her usual appearance, but the loser Hiroshi hardly paid it any attention, simply focusing on seeing what he could harvest, so it was practically meaningless to put her effort toward changing her hairstyle, as it would¡¯ve been left unnoticed.
***
¡¸So I¡¯d like to use a smelting furnace and a smithy¡¹
The next day. After finishing up the resident registration they had forgotten, they heard from Anne that yesterday¡¯s suppression n had gone well as she gave them the reward of 6,000 Chrones. Hiroshi immediately went to the crafting institution administrator, breaking it to him nice and clear.
The man was in his prime, so he never showed any sign of being taken aback. Incidentally, the selling price of the potions was 50 Chrones for one bottle, itemized as 10 Chrones as payment for ingredients as well as to the cooperative workers, and the remaining amount was to be split between Hiroshi¡¯s group and the Association.
The other portion of the money from the 300 bottles was to be circted amongst the cooperative workers. Being that the effects were instant, they were able to be sold for a higher price than regr antidotes, they were told.
¡¸The furnace will be 20 Chrones with firewood included, and the smithy tools will be 10 Chrones with heat source included¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well ain¡¯t that a dandy price¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s cause once you have the temperature high enough to refine the ore, you need a lot of firewood. Adding to that, you can¡¯t raise the temperature that high in such a short amount of time, which is why we use a special material for processing the firewood. If you¡¯ll be doing something about the heat source yourself, then it would be 8 Chrones along with the smithy¡¹
He did the calctions in his head when the youthful personnel said that. Thinking to decrease the usage of this ce as much as possible, he decided on the more difficult method.
¡¸¡¡Alright. Can ya buy the regr firewood here?¡¹
¡¸Oh? So that¡¯s what you decided on. For regr firewood, hm¡For the amount that you need, it would be 50 Tirols, I¡¯d say¡¹
¡¸Then, I¡¯ll also pay 1 Chrone as hush money to prevent anyoneing in, so I¡¯ll get the firewood right now¡¹
¡¸Roger that. Once you¡¯ve brought it over, I¡¯lle see you, so let me know when you¡¯ve started using the smelting furnace¡¹
¡¸Gotcha¡¹
Hiroshi began carving something into each log of prepared firewood. In the middle of his work on thisrge volume of goods, the cheap knife he had brought with him had broken. It wasn¡¯t good enough quality for maintenance in the first ce, so he had neglected it as it declined.
¡¸Toudou-san, couldja gimme a knife?¡¹
¡¸Yes¡¹
He continued his work upon receiving the knife from Haruna. Her knife¡¯s de also ended up faltering near the end, but it seemed that he had ended the necessary process. Even without a discount, it was after all an inferior good that could be bought for 50 Tirols, and after using it to fend off and disembowel Berserker Bears, harvesting various things, and scraping off this and that, it was an expected oue.
Other than the firewood he had finished carving up, there was powder left at the smithy (probably a fire extinguisher), and he used it a bit in order to paint a magic circle on the ground, starting a confusing ritual. Right after it wasplete, blue light gleamed within the firewood, then the emblem engraved in the surfaces disappeared. Confirming that, Hiroshi breathed arge
sigh. After about thirty minutes since the personnel had left, the preliminary arrangements mentioned by Hiroshi had finally ended.
¡¸I¡¯mma go call the man¡¹
¡¸Kay. I¡¯ll clean while you do that¡¹
¡¸Please do¡¹
Watching Hiroshi as he went out of the smithy, she gathered wood chips with a broom that were scattered about the floor. The magic circle had disappeared once the ritual had ended, so once she was done disposing of this trash then the erasure of evidence would beplete.
¡¸¡¡You seriously dealt with everything by yourself in this amount of time?¡¹
¡¸It really ain¡¯t that impressive though¡¹
¡¸Well, I have heard from Anne and Myuzzel that you can use enchanting¡¡¹
¡¸Exactamundo. Either way, I¡¯d like to keep usin¡¯ the smelting furnace and smithy tools from now on if that¡¯s alright¡¹
He said, handing ten Chrones over to the personnel. He nodded once at the money he had received, then Hiroshi tossed firewood into the smelting furnace and lit the fire. It was evidently arger me than what they were usually using, but as if expecting this, the personnel wasn¡¯t partcrly surprised.
¡¸Ya don¡¯t seem perturbed¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re talking about a guest from the Unknown Continent, it¡¯s to be expected that they¡¯re a bit removed from the average skill level¡¹
¡¸That right?¡¹
He made a wry smile at the man¡¯s reaction, tossing in ore one after the other. Once he had finished throwing in what Haruna had carried over, he also tossed in the knife that had lost its edge along with the hatchet and pickaxe he had used today once he had removed the handles.
¡¸¡¡I get the knife, but was it seriously okay to throw in the rtively new hatchet and pickaxe?¡¹
¡¸Well, I was gonna make ¡®em all today anyhoo. Oh, right right. The leftover files or chisels might not be in such good condition afterwards, so I¡¯ll pay upter¡¹
¡¸Just what do you n to do with them¡¡¡¹
Neglecting to answer the grumbling of the seasoned man, he drew a magic circle midair with his fingertips. Drawn by the light of magic, the design was sucked into the smelting furnace. Hiroshi then aimed the palm of his hand at the furnace, concentrating.
The man and Haruna gazed at this sight as thin cold sweat ran down them. Hiroshi continued the usual refinement procedure as he rushed magic into the furnace. After a decent amount of time had passed with him continuing the procedure with techniques the man was unfamiliar with, he pulled out melted metal from the furnace, putting portions of it into molds of varying sizes and hardening them, creating ingots. It was peculiar to see the usual loser aura he emitted actually vanished at times like these.
¡¸Now then, what next?¡¹
¡¸I think it might be good to make tools first?¡¹
¡¸Darn skippy. Alright, we¡¯ll start with a knife and hammer¡¹
¡¸Knife?¡¹
¡¸Because ya can¡¯t make the hammer handle unless ya make a knife first¡¹
Right after he had finished saying that highly persuasive line, his movement flowed with technique that prevented anyone from opening their mouths in amazement, bringing forth two knives. More experienced people could tell at a nce what was happening. Each time he struck the materials, magic would pour into the de. It would seem that enchantment was not only necessary for the refinement procedure, but for the forging procedure as well.
¡¸This does it for the knife. Next is hammer?¡¹
Finishing the quenching and tempering of the de in the blink of an eye, he neatly arranged the shape of the de with a whetstone. Normally you would make iron and steel metals and affix them to the forge to obtain more rigidity and sticity, but this time around, he had already enchanted this and that, which was apparently a shortcut.
¡¸Makin¡¯ it the regr way ain¡¯t gonna give us enough time, so I think I¡¯ll appropriate from the hatchet for the handle¡¡¡¹
As he said that, he began procuring tool after tool after extending the time twice midway. The materials he was working with were hard, which just as he had said, contributed to two files and one chisel going dull, but he had already prepared a substitute with the lumber remnants, so it didn¡¯t be anything serious. That being said, the man¡¯s face was twitching from beginning to end.
¡¸Now here¡¯s the real kicker. How much length ya want?¡¹
¡¸Mm, well¡¡¡¹
After he had finished making the hatchet and pickaxe, he began forging the remaining ingots while listening to Haruna¡¯s requests. He began working on it more delicately than before, creating it with a prayer-like sincerity. The amount of magic that he put into it when striking it was also a step above the rest. As they were captivated by by his earnest expression and magnificent handiwork, the beautiful silhouette of the de wasplete. He then created a handle and sheath with the remaining ingredients in the blink of an eye, and there in front of them appeared a sharp, narrow sword with an appearance more magnificent than anything the Adventurers¡¯ Association could supply.
¡¸Mind swingin¡¯ it around a bit?¡¹
¡¸Mm, alright¡¹
She timidly epted the rapier, carefully unsheathing it from the sheath, and took enough distance before tracing the basic movements. After she had developed a wrinkle in her brow and red at the de¡¡
¡¸The centre of gravity seems a bit too strong? Also, it would be a bit morefortable if you could maybe make the pinky area a little more narrow¡¹
¡¸Got it. Let me see it again¡¹
Answering Haruna¡¯s request, he made various minimal adjustments, and by the time that the lengthened time was reaching its end, he had managed to finish the revisions.
¡¸How¡¯s it feel now?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, it¡¯s perfect!¡¹
She lightly waved the new de around like a martial arts demonstration as she said that. Lastly, checking the circumstances of the light-type magic sword when activated, she furrowed her brow in a different manner than earlier.
¡¸What¡¯s up? Somethin¡¯ bad happen?¡¹
¡¸Not exactly bad, I just didn¡¯t get it¡¹
¡¸Whaddya mean didn¡¯t get it?¡¹
Wondering how to answer Hiroshi¡¯s question, she decided to start with her own question.
¡¸These are just makeshift ingredients, right?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah. I fiddled with them a bit, but the materials theye from ain¡¯t very good in the first ce¡¹
¡¸¡¡Then I definitely don¡¯t get it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Seriously, get what?¡¹
¡¸Just the fact that these are better than the ones we used before¡¡¡¹
With her saying things that he had no idea how to resolve, Hiroshi was at a loss for words.
¡¸¡¡Well, I¡¯ll at least hear out yerints and grievances as we go back to the inn¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Nothing worth discussing here anyway¡¹
¡¸For now, please make do with these recements for the broken file and chisel. Also, I¡¯d appreciate it if ya kept this between us¡¹
¡¸¡¡I know. No one would believe me even if I did tell ¡®em, man¡¹
The man nodded while wryly smiling at what Hiroshi had said. To put it precisely, Haruna¡¯s rapier was more high-functioning than any weapon in the Association, but it wasn¡¯t like there wasn¡¯t anything better. For weapons crafted even cheaply by skilled dwarven artisans, if you were to apply voracious enchantments, it might not be easy, but you could create superior weapons. However, when it came to weapons crafted from thecking ore in this area, things were different. No one would see this weapon with all of its enhancements and think it to be merely ¡°makeshift¡±. They would dismiss it as idle gossip.
¡¸We¡¯ll be takin¡¯ our leave now¡¹
Hiroshi lowered his head. After seeing him off with a sigh, the personnel began scraping off the ashes from the heat source section of the now-cool smelting furnace. All of the firewood had been extinguished.
¡¸Seriously, what was all my effort worth? I sooo need to vent¡¹
They were returning home. They were secretly talking using the functions of the Adventurers Card, which in game terms was essentially party chat. Haruna began thrusting her irritated feelings with all her strength at Hiroshi.
¡¸Not much I can do about that though¡¡¡¹
¡¸I struggled toplete a quest and finally got my hands on Chivalrous Thief Alvan¡¯s Rapier. I saved up as much as I could and refine it to +6. Yet now! Do you realize how much of a shock it was to see my precious old weapon that I had cultivated with enchantments just get easily beaten by a weapon that was only made using the ingredients around this first-timer area?¡¹
¡¸Hold up a sec¡¹
He couldn¡¯t bring himself to let that statement go by, so Hiroshi decided to stop her there to confirm.
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Wasn¡¯t Chivalrous Thief Alvan a humanoid unique boss?¡¹
¡¸I think so. What about him?¡¹
¡¸The NPCs were sayin¡¯ he was caught. Were you the one who did that, Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸I guess that¡¯s basically how it went?¡¹
After wryly smiling at Haruna¡¯s answer, he decided to hear what had transpired. To sum up what Haruna told him, it had begun when she was doing her normal za performances for money. She had asked if there had been any strange urrencestely, and then a quest had just emerged with a crime notice. It must have been one of those unique quests that only appeared once in the game¡¯s entirety.
This was yet another strange quest. Suddenly, the chivalrous thief Darlid eyes on her, and both him and Alvan hadpeted for Haruna. After he had won, he had pressed on her to be his bride since it was the winner¡¯s right, so she had struck him unconscious and sent him to the authorities. In so far that he was a unique boss, Alvan was absurdly strong, but thankfully, he had revealed nearly all of his attack patterns and cards in his fight with the thief Darl, so she had managed to hold out by countering her opponent¡¯s moves and barely overcame him, or so she said. Another plus was that his physical resistance and magic resistance were low for a boss.
¡¸Yer a tough one, Toudou-san¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s only because I was well-matched. I bet if I were as tough as you, I could have struck him down as soon as his stamina ran out, so wouldn¡¯t this be easier for you?¡¹
¡¸Even though I¡¯m rather removed from that sorta thing, that does not sound righttoo pretty¡¹
¡¸Nah, the winner is always right!¡¹
Hiroshi had meant it as self-depreciation, but Haruna tried and failed to reassure him.
¡¸But I still can¡¯t believe that the starlight I got my hands on after so much trouble would lose to a makeshift rapier, even with its added effects¡¡¡¹
¡¸W-Well, try ¡®n bear with it. As an apology I¡¯ll give ya any enchantment ya want as long as it doesn¡¯t require a catalyst¡¹
¡¸Now that just makes me feel even more frustrated or something¡¡¡¹
Haruna had resumed her grumbling. Hiroshi decided tofort her.
¡¸W-Well, y¡¯know¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸If ya¡¯d brought somethin¡¯ like a fully-enchanted god steel rapier, yer rare drop wouldn¡¯t be worth nothin¡¯¡¡¡¹
¡¸Something like that exists too? Wait, and you can make it?¡¹
While taking some distance from Haruna and her rather serious face, he fearfully replied. To further illustrate the situation, he had been continuously keeping his distance the same from her even as she pressed closer.
¡¸If I tell ya, try not to get angry¡¡¡¹
¡¸What now?¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s a rapier we¡¯re talkin¡¯ bout, the necessary amount of ore is slim, so I think I made three of ¡¯em for trainin¡¯ and left ¡¯em rolled over in the storehouse¡¡¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, I feel like your existence is enough to make most of the yers¡¯ struggles meaningless¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ya say it like it¡¯s easy, but ya realize there ain¡¯t no way that it¡¯s easy to make a god steel rapier that ya can cast full enchantment on right from the raw material stage, right?¡¹
Haruna deeply sighed at Hiroshi¡¯sckluster statement. If he couldn¡¯t easily make them, then why on earth were there even so much as three of those sitting in his storehouse?
¡¸And I don¡¯t mean to brag, but even that rapier was quite difficult to make, I¡¯ll have ya know¡¹
¡¸Saying that after the fact, do you really think that¡¯s going to sound persuasive?¡¹
¡¸Still, in actuality, makin¡¯ them with those ingredients is impossible without advanced forgin¡¯ and advanced refinement. Ya need like fifteen years in-game of studyin¡¯, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸Maybe so, maybe so, but¡¡¡¹
Even if making them was up there in difficulty, onlookers would just see it as a pretty easy task. So that was probably why Haruna took such issue with it.
In actuality, most of Hiroshi¡¯s normie friends in the game were intimidated by the difficulty of obtaining the god steel and the necessary quantity and had not ordered full enchanted equipment.
There was also the added fact that the monsters which the rare materials came from were very deadly. Therefore, unless yers happen toe across them while hunting for raw materials, they would never purposely look for them.
In addition, he would stand out too much, so he didn¡¯t really use it other than when hunting with close friends. Thus, nearly no one knew he even had such equipment. 24 people in advanced crafting already had their storehouses branded as liable to destroy the game bnce. However, if you were to gather up everything in there, there was maybe only 5% god steel inparison to the actual yers poption.
Furthermore, unknown to them, boss drop equipment from humans or demihumans would change in number and quality depending on how high quality the weapons the yers had from stalls or auctions, as well as the number of yers. Therefore, being that nothing was really being sold above the average market price, even the famous sword of the chivalrous thief Alvan wouldn¡¯t match god steel equipment. Heck, it wouldn¡¯t even be as good as a fully enchanted makeshift weapon using Carpentry for the Gods.
¡¸Well, that aside¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mm¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s somethin¡¯ I wanna doter, so I¡¯d like ya toe with me after we get a bite to eat¡¹
¡¸Sure, but what do you want to do?¡¹
¡¸Search for a base of operations that has plenty of space for a workshop, as well as checking for food ingredients, seasoning, etc¡¹
Understanding what Hiroshi was getting at, she nodded earnestly.
¡¸I estimate it¡¯ll be 20,000 Chrones for all the effort. Normal houses are cheap and ya can usually easily get 5 of them, but when ites to workshops, it¡¯s more costly¡¹
¡¸Even in the game, trying to get things like big shops required an extra digit, right¡¹
¡¸Even saving up would be difficult if ya don¡¯t know how much ya need. That¡¯s why we¡¯re startin¡¯ by confirmin¡¯ that¡¹
¡¸Depending on the amount of money, I assume that my singing will alsoe into y?¡¹
¡¸Exactly. And then we hafta put some effort into takin¡¯ requests¡¹
Other than Haruna being in a bad mood today, they had taken too much time on manufacturing and this wasn¡¯t the best time to get your hands on requests, so they hadn¡¯t bothered doing their typical adventurer tasks.
¡¸So what about the checking for food ingredients and seasoning?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not sayin¡¯ it¡¯s bad or unsatisfying, but the inn¡¯s food is overall sorta sketchy and repetitive with its seasonin¡¯, don¡¯t cha think?¡¹
¡¸I agree. If we¡¯re going to be here in the long stretch, I really want more food taste variety¡¹
¡¸So for that reason I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ we should see what kinda food ¡®n seasonin¡¯ is around and make as much as we can ourselves¡¹
¡¸You can make stuff?¡¹
¡¸Ya¡¯d be helpin¡¯ me a lot, but I do think that I can hold my own with most seasonin¡¯¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s reassuring statement, she put on a face more earnest than ever before as she nodded. She honestly wasn¡¯t so desperate that she had to eat Japanese food, but she wasn¡¯t about to put up with food that only had salt, sugar, and spice added to it.
It was hardly better than her great-grandparents¡¯ home country¡¯s food. Even the cooking methods consisted only of stew or roast, whereas she had yet toy her eyes on fried or steamed meals. Apparently, even in regards to fermented food, there was just salt pickling, smoking, cheese, alcohol, and then ck tea. There was also fruit vinegar from fruit alcohol, but they saw it as dposed and had abandoned it.
In regards to fermented products, fermentation was always a thin line with dposition, so it was natural that you had to risk tasting it in order to progress. As long as convenient, widespread enchantments like Prevent Rot were around, there might not even be a need to make preserved foods. So she could see why fermented foods were such a strange category.
In addition, even though you could always steam things with a certain amount of knowledge and specialized tools, it didn¡¯t sit right with him that most people didn¡¯t fry anything, even though oil for meals had been mass-produced for a while. But it was pointless to question it. That was how things stood, so he decided to do something about it himself.
Happily enough, he knew from yesterday and today¡¯s meals that sugar, spices, etc, were easily going around for evenmoners. Also, all of the Fane region had clean water that could be drunk as is, and since there were all sorts of regions within the country other than desert with their own climates in addition to there being a big port within the city, they could expect rich variation in food ingredients. It wouldn¡¯t necessarily be identical to how Japan was, but doubtless with a few tweaks it would work.
¡¸So in order to enjoy superior food, we best secure a cookin¡¯ ce as our first step¡¹
¡¸Right. Let¡¯s do it!¡¹
It had started out as a rtively serious problem, but the two of them deviated further and further from their goal. They ended up devoting any free time at night to make curry powder and mayonnaise, in which the process was going to take a week toplete.
Volume 1, 4
Volume 1, Chapter 4
Trantor: Adam Seacord
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Eesh¡¡¹
Haruna muttered inadvertently as she faced the very unpleasant situation in front of her.
¡¸Azuma-kun¡? This is a little too¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s all right. Despite their looks, they ain¡¯t that aggressive. They won¡¯t make a move unless we trip their web.¡¹
¡¸Okay, that¡¯s not the problem though¡¡¹
With a futile interjection, Haruna looked up once more with disgust.
¡¸Eek¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, Toudou-san. You keep goin¡¯ that way, you¡¯ll trip the web.¡¹
¡¸What? For real? Where?¡¹
¡¸Right there.¡¹
¡¸That was too close¡¡¹
Startled by the web a step away, Haruna scurried away. She reevaluated her situation, and ended up speechless.
¡¸Err¡¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹
Picking up on the difference in her tone from her disgusted groans earlier, Hiroshi asked.
¡¸I made eye contact¡¡¹
¡¸No problem. These types don¡¯t pick their targets from visual cues.¡¹
¡¸It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s going to attack me or not. It¡¯s already ridiculously disgusting¡¡¹
¡¸You say that¡¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t know spiders could be so repulsive when they¡¯re big¡¡¹
Masterfully ignoring Haruna¡¯sment, Hiroshi gripped his weapon-sh-excavation-tool hand axe. His expression made it clear that his current state of mind consisted entirely of how to efficiently collect materials, and how to efficiently remove what¡¯s standing in the way for him to do that. Frankly put, he couldn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s rear end about how Haruna felt.
At the very moment, they were witnessing a giant ho caught in the spider¡¯s web being encapsted into a feeding cocoon. They had wandered into a cluster of Giant Spiders, each asrge as a grown man. It was a half-day¡¯s journey, with the traversing speed of adventurers, through the woonds from where they encountered the Berserker Bear on the first day.
¡¸¡How did we get here¡?¡¹
In the absurdly jarring situation of confusion, Haruna couldn¡¯t help but avert her eyes from reality and into a shback.
***
It all happened two nights ago, when Haruna said:
¡¸I kind of want another outfit¡¡¹
¡¸An outfit, huh¡¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm. One of them¡¯s stained with curry and oil¡ And it won¡¯te out.¡¹
¡¸All right. You wanna get one for workin¡¯ at the shop?¡¹
¡¸I could, but looking at our sales, it seems a little frivolous.¡¹
A month had passed since the Venomous Wolf fiasco. Hiroshi and Haruna had established a rather reliable livelihood. The biggest change in their lives was that they had rented a room, at the lowest pit of the market in Wulls (so small that they didn¡¯t understand how it could be legally described as a two bedroom t).
Staying at the inn for an extended period of time would have just been too expensive. Besides, developing seasonings in an inn seemed rather futile. It wasn¡¯t too encouraging when they had no opportunity to use the seasonings they had created. Even if they wanted the inn to use them, they couldn¡¯t make enough for the entire kitchen. So, with a rather side-tracked motivation to contribute, they decided to rent a small room as soon as they could.
In other news, for additional ie, they opened a food stand to run in down times in between taking on requests. Their best sellers were curry bread and corn dogs. This doubled as recycling the curry powder they made too much of, and sharing their new seasonings.
asionally, they had been selling some bison (or other wild animal) meat they had hunted during one of their quests, fried on a skewer. The steak sauce and ketchup they had brewed wereing in handy. They sold the curry bread at 35 Tirol a piece, which seemed close to a rip-off, but it had recently been selling hot as their signature dish. Sometimes, they nearly forgot if their real upations were adventurers not food stand owners.
¡¸Right. The best day we had on the stand was 100 Chrones when we worked the entire day.¡¹
¡¸Taking out the cost of the ingredients and the registration fee for the stand, our profit was 50 Chrones, tops.¡¹
Still, as a side hustle, these adventurers were doing quite well with their food stand. Normally, even after a full day, a food stand in the city would only sell about 70 Chrones. They wereing to terms with how lucky they were to make 20,000 Chrones in their first two days in the city.
One of the reasons why their food stand was booming was their implementation of a never-before-seen cooking method of coating food and frying them in oil. While the concept of frying food wasn¡¯t unheard of, consumable oil that remained in liquid form for a sustainable time was a raremodity, and it was only in the past few years, that enough liquid cooking oil to dip entire pieces of food in had be readily essible in the market. This was true for the entirety of this world, even outside of Fand, and in any country, ¡°cooking with oil¡± meant cooking with animal fat or butter. While there was a form ofrd-like fat, not much of it was produced until recently, which didn¡¯t encourage the development of fried food, either.
Of course, there were many cooks and food stand owners who tried to copy-cat them, but fried food had rarely been seen before, even on a noble¡¯s dinner table. Therefore, there were barely any cookware that had been developed for frying food (like the wok, for example). While it seemed that it would be poprized one day as word of mouth spread, it looked like fried food wouldn¡¯t hit the table of an average family for a long time. That being said, the desire for delicious food transcends time periods and dimensions. Fried food may be a staple of anyone¡¯s diet in, say, a half a year.
On another note, the concept of steaming food itself was not a thing in Fane. At this time, the Iron Nation of Forrey had barely been introduced to it, and they had just started steaming bread buns with nothing inside them. Even in Forrey, no one had a steamer that could be used at a food stand. Once Hiroshi and Haruna discovered this, they had began discussing selling steamed meat buns at the food stand once it was a little colder.
¡¸So, Azuma-kun. You can make clothes, can¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Well, sure. That¡¯s easy.¡¹
¡¸Can you make them more resistant to stains?¡¹
¡¸No problem. I just gotta enchant the clothes with a stain-resistin¡¯ spell.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s that easy, huh¡¡¹
Haruna was sincerely impressed by Hiroshiying out such a convenient option with ease.
¡¸I mean, it¡¯s a little awkward castin¡¯ it on a finished product¡ Besides, it wasn¡¯t a popr enchantment in the game, either.¡¹
¡¸Well, it does eat up one of the precious Enchantment slots. I can¡¯t me them.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s like, three slots tops when you get a NPC to do it, ain¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸Just about. It didn¡¯t seem to take up a slot if it was already enchanted, so those equipment were very popr. Is it any different when a yer enchants something?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s just a matter of sess rate, but if I wanted to, I could p on ¡®bout five of the convoluted ones. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a max to how many I could put on at once.¡¹
¡¸Cool.¡¹
¡¸I mean, it spikes up the difficulty and the chance of damagin¡¯ the equipment for no reason, so I¡¯d only put up to 3 Advance Enchantments¡ Novice Enchantments are a different story, and I could put 5 or 6 with a realistic sess rate if I really wanted to.¡¹
Haruna listened, interested in asked what caught her mind:
¡¸Can you make anything pre-enchanted, like a drop item?¡¹
¡¸Can I? Your rapier¡¯s exactly that, Toudou-san.¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s actually real easy. I just had to enchant the materials and while I was processin¡¯ ¡®em. When I made that, as a high-level refinement, I used magic to improve its quality as I enchanted the materials with automatic-restoration. Then, when I took it out of the furnace, I added a Durability buff. And while I shaped it, I threw on Elemental Attack (ALL) and +75% Parry.¡¹
¡¸Elemental Attack (ALL) and +75% Parry!? Those Enchantments are ridiculously expensive!¡¹
¡¸I thought you¡¯d want ¡®em anyway, since it¡¯s a rapier, after all. ¡®Cause of the quality of the materials, I couldn¡¯t really throw in more enchantments in the craftin¡¯ process, so there ain¡¯t no base Attack or other stat bonuses.¡¹
That¡¯s more than enough! Haruna nearly shouted. The base specs of the swords had already surpassed that of Starlight, a rare equipment. Anyone would have interjected that four pre-set enchantments on top of those specs would make this piece of weapon broken.
¡¸Okay, I¡¯d been meaning to ask you¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Why don¡¯t the enchantments you put on during crafting not affect the enchantment processter?¡¹
¡¸rodin¡¯ to the NPC who taught me the Advanced stuff, now I don¡¯t get all the mumbo jumbo, but when you process an enchanted material, the bonus bes a characteristic of the material, instead of an enchantment. So, technically speakin¡¯, your sword only has unique abilities. Not enchantments.¡¹
In other words, since characteristic can¡¯t normally be erased, melting these weapons for purposes of reusing them were difficult, although not impossible. That being said, Hiroshi had almost never performed it.
¡¸Any who, goin¡¯ back to the stain-resistin¡¯ enchantment¡¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh.¡¹
¡¸It would be easier to put on the fabric or rather ¡®an the outfit. Same goes for Auto-Repair and Improved Durability.¡¹
¡¸Which means?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯ll be a ton cheaper if we just gather the ingredients for string to begin with.¡¹
Not again¡ Haruna nearly thought, before admitting to herself that this was a very attractive offer. While it wasn¡¯t impossible that this would end up as her only outfit for a while, she couldn¡¯t carry around many different pairs of outfits, anyway. So, she had decided that the best course of action would be to carry as much durable, longsting, and rtively stain-resistant clothes as possible. One of the reasons why they couldn¡¯t take on too many quests at the moment was because they were unable to gather ingredients for an armor due to their damaged clothes.
And, no offense to Hiroshi, but an artisan of any trade is useless without ingredients. In Hiroshi¡¯s case, hispleted products were too powerful, so Haruna couldn¡¯t have him making them willy-nilly, even when he had the ingredients. To boot, while Hiroshi had ridiculously high stats in the adventure department, his skills werepletely useless in the field, making him a wall at best. In-game, in fact, his stats as an adventurer was below average. Even at the food stand, while his cooking skills were on par with a three-Michelin-star chef, they were noticeably worse than Haruna¡¯s. His debilitating fear of women prevents him from doing even an eptable job at the cashier. Come to think of it, he seemed more and more useless.
Although, all the equipment in the food stand and its kitchen were created by him, and considering that they were easier to use than the cookware in their real world, let alone the average of this world, Haruna had to recognize the strength of his Extra Skill in Tool Building. It helped a lot that he used all sorts of scrap materials they scrambled around for, keeping the cost at a minimum. If Haruna were to start a food stand without Hiroshi, she would have spent more money for cookware that were harder to use.
A man whoes in handy backstage, but useless in action. That¡¯s who Hiroshi Azuma was at the moment. Of course, Haruna would never have such a cruel impression of him, but that was the objective truth.
¡¸Speaking of, what kinds of enchantments can you put on it?¡¹
¡¸Lessee¡ Temperature Control, Auto-Repair, Stain Resistance, Rash Control, Heatproof, Acidproof, and Improve Armor, I think. Also, clothes get a bit of Defense modifier for each enchantment, so if I put a bunch of enchantments on good materials, it could end up with a higher Defense stat then most pieces of armor, even without any Improve Defense enchantments.¡¹
Something in the list of enchantments ignited a spark within Haruna. She didn¡¯t seem to hear the rest of his sentence.
¡¸Rash Control? Can you put that on underwear?¡¹
¡¸I can¡ But there¡¯s a huge problem with craftin¡¯ underwear.¡¹
¡¸¡What is it?¡¹
¡¸For some reason, I can¡¯t put on Auto-Size-Adjust to underwear.¡¹
¡¸Oh¡¡¹
That was a huge problem. If Hiroshi were to make it, anyway.
¡¸Not today, I guess¡¡¹
¡¸Thanks a bunch. I¡¯ll put it on the clothes, just in case.¡¹
¡¸Please do. But Auto-Size-Adjust¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸In the game, it was super-duper rare if it came on a drop Armor.¡¹
Hiroshi didn¡¯t quite understand.
¡¸You could throw on Auto-Size-Adjust to any ol¡¯ armor.¡¹
¡¸Sure, but it uses up an enchantment slot.¡¹
¡¸Then just have ¡®em adjust the size to ya.¡¹
¡¸A lot of the times, NPCs can¡¯t handle drop armors.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm.¡¹
The unreasonably detailed Fairytale Chronicles had it so no one could use a weapon unless they recalibrated the bnce, and no one could use an armor unless they had it tailored. While the weapon could still be equipped even if its bnce was off from the user was used to, and many used them anyway, it was a different story for armor.
Even with robes and other clothes, which had the loosest size restrictions, followed the set restriction for body size. Wearing an attire much bigger than one¡¯s body would make them look¡ off-putting, to say the least, and the wearer would suffer major penalties. If the piece of attire was smaller than one¡¯s body, the yer couldn¡¯t put it on at all.
When ites to leather and metal armor, the yer had to have them urately tailored in order to equip it at all. And once the size is adjusted, it has to be retailored before anyone else can wear. In addition, some methods of size adjustment prevent any further adjustments. Tailoring an armor through an NPC came with considerable risks.
In addition, only certain NPCs could handle drop equipment, and there were heavy restrictions even when they could (most equipment found in upper-level dungeons could only be slightly refined or improved, for example) making it surprisingly difficult to get armor of one¡¯s body size.
While yers with Advanced equipment crafting skills can easily adjust even the strongest equipment avable in-game (that can be obtained in the highest-level dungeon dubbed The Inferno), but those yers were hermits, secluded from the presence of most yers. As a result, rare drop armor pieces ubiquitously required Auto-Size-Adjustment and Auto-Repair.
Some Guilds of dedicated addicts to the game had noticed the importance of Crafting from the earlier stages in the game, but it was apparently a slow process since they had none of the critical information, starting with the existence of Making Mastery. Another problem was potion poisoning.
The fact that they couldn¡¯t drink one Stamina Potion after another to keep gathering materials and processing them was a major setback when it came to power-leveling new artisans. Mana and Stamina potions were especially keen to causing poisoning, and all potions heal a set amount. Frequently drinking potions to heal at the rate at which new yers lose Mana and Stamina, soon caused a poisoning. Otherwise, one of these guild members would have mastered the Advanced sses all ready.
¡¸That being said. Our problem is getting¡¯ our ingredients.¡¹
¡¸Any thoughts?¡¹
¡¸nts are out. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a hemp field ¡®round here, and I don¡¯t know if cotton¡¯s bloomin¡¯ this time of year. Can¡¯t do sheep or rabbit, either.¡¹
¡¸Why not?¡¹
¡¸There ain¡¯t any wild sheep ¡®round, and we¡¯d have to hunt down every single rabbit in the area if we wanted to get enough thread for an outfit.¡¹
Haruna groaned in agreement. She was realizing that making a single piece of attire was quite the ordeal back in the middle ages.
¡¸Then what are we going to do?¡¹
¡¸Lessee. Not that I can rmend this to any normie, but we can use spider webs.¡¹
¡¸Spider?¡¹
¡¸Right. Spider Silk.¡¹
That made sense. Silk dide from an insect. Ordinarily the material woulde from silkworms, but Haruna had read somewhere that spider webs could be substituted.
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be a lot of work to get spider webs, though?¡¹
¡¸I got a lead there, don¡¯t worry. The only thing is, you¡¯d need an adventurer strong enough to handle it. Really, it ain¡¯t for a normie.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I¡¯m getting a really bad feeling about this. How strong are we talking here?¡¹
¡¸Considerin¡¯ the worst case scenario, someone who can take down a Berserker Bear mano-y-mano in two seconds t.¡¹
While that wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as Haruna had imagined, but it wasn¡¯t easy, either. Haruna would have no problem, but Randy or Kurt may not be. As for Hiroshi, his issue lied with damage output. He wouldn¡¯t die, but two seconds t was a hard ask. Unless he prepared a real weapon, he couldn¡¯t get it done with a scythe or axe that he primarily used to gather materials.
¡¸¡I have a general idea, but what do you mean worst case scenario?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s a field boss, Piaranork the Grand Arachnid. This one¡¯s easily twice as strong as a Berserker Bear, and it don¡¯t got any venom, it¡¯s got an annoyin¡¯ ability. So it¡¯s tough unless ya can take down a Bear like that. That bein¡¯ said, it don¡¯t heal more than the Natural Heal amount. It¡¯s easy to take care of if ya take ya time.¡¹
¡¸¡I know the answer already, but I¡¯m asking you anyway. Where are we going?¡¹
¡¸In the deep end of the forest where the Berserker Bear was, there¡¯s a nest of Giant Spiders. A bunch of insectile mobs, too. We should gather some potion ingredients and rare spices.¡¹
¡¸Insectile¡ It¡¯s getting worse and worse.¡¹
Young girls, maybe, but not too many seventeen year olds have an affinity for insects, regardless if they are full-blooded Japanese or three-eighths British like Haruna. While she wasn¡®t quite so disgusted by them to not be able to look at spiders or centipedes, but in no way did she want to voluntarily go near some giant bugs.
¡¸Yeah, it ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ you¡¯d be excited ta see. If you don¡¯t wanna do that, I¡¯ll buy some thread from the market, and weave ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸¡But these are silk, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Lot more durable than normal ones, too.¡¹
¡¸¡We should do some adventuring once in a while, shouldn¡¯t we?¡¹
In the end, Haruna had decided to traverse to the nest of spiders, blinded by desire. While she had gathered all camping supplies since Hiroshi told her that they would need to spend the night along the way, she was still optimistic. Until she witnessed the circle of life at their destination.
***
¡¸So. How do we collect the webs?¡¹
¡¸That¡¡¹
To answer Haruna¡¯s question, Hiroshi scurried to an area away from the webs, and started throwing a rock at a giant grasshopper to chase it away. Before Haruna could voice her concern, he chased it into a web. The grasshopper was caught square into the web, and soon wrapped into a ball of web by the Giant Spider.
¡¸And we make a bunch of these silk balls.¡¹
Leaving alone the spider that started reconstructing its web, Hiroshi trapped a mantis onto another web. He trapped one bug after another into webs, turning them into balls of silk, until there was 20+ plus of them. Then, he changed course.
¡¸Once there¡¯s plenty of ¡®em, we take care of the spiders and gather the thread.¡¹
¡¸Oof¡¡¹
Haruna did know that she should be impressed at how ruthless it was. The true, human way of things.
¡¸While I¡¯m at it, I can take apart the little guys suffocated inside and make some extra money. Two birds with one stone.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s dirty. You are an artisan, after all. That¡¯s real dirty.¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t make a livin¡¯ without gettin¡¯ your hands dirty.¡¹
Jesting as he were, he ruthlessly took care of the spiders. Even his harvesting axe, now that it was gilded withyers uponyers of enchantments, easily broke through the spiders¡¯ exoskeletons like he was cracking eggs. Haruna was almost worried that he would extinct the spiders at this rate, but it was their habitat after all, and there were enough around her to not make her want to count them.
¡¸All right. Let¡¯s take these spiders apart.¡¹
¡¸Spiders first?¡¹
¡¸It won¡¯t be fun if any of the buggers inside the silk balls were still alive. They¡¯re all dying from suffocation or bein¡¯ crushed, anyhow.¡¹
Bugs are pretty resilient, ya know. Hiroshi said, to which Haruna nodded and started taking the spiders apart. From time to time, Hiroshi held up some part of the insect and processed it in a strange way. All Haruna could tell was that they were going to serve as material for something. After taking apart most of them, they just separated the harvested materials out of the way and into their bag. While the catalysts were a little more heavier than expected, they had enchanted the bag with Increase Capacity, Decrease Weight, and Prevent Rot. Even after shoving a decent amount of goods in there, it could fit plenty more.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s get to the entr¨¦e.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s not much I can help from here, is there?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t think so. Weavin¡¯ the thread with our portable equipment may be too much for your skillsets.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t have Weaving to begin with. I¡¯ll try my best to learn it by next time.¡¹
¡¸Sure. I¡¯ll teach ya soon. You can practice with Rabbit fur.¡¹
¡¸Thanks.¡¹
No matter what the skill, having it was better than not. As Haruna was helping out Hiroshi here and there, her harvesting skills and Potion Making were improving somewhat, but just barely to the point where she could start epting some quests that require those skills. On her own, she could manage to create some practice-level potions, and at best, 30% of those actually had the effect of a potion.
Hiroshi had been down that road, so he didn¡¯t mind even when Haruna would end up not being able to put in work when he was. They handled different tasks to begin with, so he was in no ce toin, anyway. Hiroshi could barely work the front end of the food stand, after all.
¡¸I¡¯ll just gather up some potion materials.¡¹
¡¸Watch out for Piaranork, it might be out there.¡¹
¡¸Will do. I just need to watch out for the webs, right?¡¹
¡¸No, Piaranork is the same as any other active monster. It uses its web to look for prey, too, but it¡¯ll catch you by eye sight and heat signature, too. Other than the fact that it wraps its prey into a ball, it acts the same as any carnivorous active monster.¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t control her exasperated expression hearing the tiresome detail.
¡¸It sounds like you know a lot about it. Have you fought it before?¡¹
¡¸Three times, maybe. To be honest, it ain¡¯t that strong, but takin¡¯ it down can be more work than a dungeon boss. It¡¯s aI¡¯s the same as ¡®em, but it moves just like a spider.¡¹
¡¸¡Like a spider? ¡Does it fly?¡¹
¡¸With its web. Considerin¡¯ where we¡¯re at, it¡¯s moves around three dimensionally, pretty much. It¡¯s a 3 feet tall, 15 feet long spider on a flying harness. What a joke.¡¹
It was sounding more and more tiresome, and Haruna¡¯s face showed her dread for it. Unlike where the Berserker Bear was, they were now in an area where most yers never had a reason toe to, let alone new yers. So, it was never known as a newbie-killer field boss. Haruna didn¡¯t understand why all these tiresome monsters were gathered rtively close to Wulls.
¡¸So, yeah. Watch out for it. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d have a problem takin¡¯ it down, though.¡¹
¡¸Roger that.¡¹
If possible, even Haruna didn¡¯t want to take on such a creature.
¡¸Won¡¯t you know, just because we talked about it, I¡¯m going to run right into it, aren¡¯t I?¡¹
Hiroshi responded with a chuckle to Haruna¡¯s muttering. This won¡¯t be much of a story if it never showed up after these two spent so long talking about it. That would almost be as bad as a gun that had appeared in the first act of a y never going off. Clich¨¦s are clich¨¦s for a reason.
¡¸¡I knew I shouldn¡¯t have mentioned it¡¡¹
The clich¨¦ struck again. She had gathered some leaves and grass for potion making when she came across a giant next with a whole load of massive silk balls. In the center of it, scuttled an enormous spider, almost as tall as Haruna even as it kept low to the ground. Bam. Their eyes met.
Azuma-kun. Azuma-kun.
Did ya find it?
Yep. We made eye contact.
I¡¯ll be right there.
After their conversation through the feature of their Adventurer Cards, Haruna drew the Piaranork towards Hiroshi¡¯s direction. She had to choose her route carefully, as to not provoke the other spiders. She carefully began walking back.
The Piaranork was formidable.
¡¸Goin¡¯ your way, Toudou-san!¡¹
¡¸Aye-aye!¡¹
The massive spider flew through the air. Without being distracted by the bizarre sight of it, Haruna cast a spell to set a trap where it wouldnd. As soon as itnded, a pir of me erupted, torching the spider boss.
With what sounded like grinding, the spider, an epitome of rage, charged towards her. Haruna dodged it by a thread, and blew it away with a Smash attack, as if to steal Hiroshi¡¯s thunder. Even as it lost bnce, Piaranork spun its web in order to catch itself. Jumping into range, Hiroshi charged with another Smash attack, rendering itpletely immobile.
¡¸Pile on it, now!¡¹
¡¸Aye-aye!¡¹
Returning the role of the distraction to Hiroshi, Haruna shot out a flying Magical Sword (Light), Aurora Bird. It was a Novice Magical Sword, that prioritized a quick draw over damage output, butbined with Haruna¡¯s own skills and the caliber of the rapier, along with its ¡°Elemental Attack (All)¡± bonus, it easily prated Piaranork¡¯s exoskeleton.
¡¸You¡¯re goin¡¯ down!¡¹
Clenching his shaking arms, Hiroshi mmed his axe with his all his might into Piaranork¡¯s face. While he didn¡¯t havebat skills, his physical strength had been buffed by all the modifiers from skills like Harvesting, Excavating, Forging, and Building, bulking up Hiroshi¡¯s base Attack stat to nearly double of Haruna¡¯s. While his damage output per second was much less impressive, mainly because his attack speed were slow and he hadn¡¯t learned any attack moves. Still, it was powerful enough to wound a boss monster. Overall, his damage was still above the average of adventurers in this world.
However, despite the high base Attack stat, hecked the explosiveness of attacking skills; he wouldn¡¯t match up to an adventurer who¡¯s skill sets were developed forbat. In the end, he wasn¡¯t up to par inparison to an adventurer. Even this attack, while it prated the spider¡¯s exoskeleton, it just wasn¡¯t as effective at Haruna¡¯s attack. The fact that he disabled the spider¡¯s fangs were more meaningful than the damage he put out.
¡¸Another one!¡¹
As Piaranork reared up, enraged, Hiroshi flipped it over with a Smash attack.
¡¸Toudou-san!¡¹
¡¸sh of Blood!¡¹
In response to Hiroshi¡¯s call, Haruna shouted, and developed an Intermediatebo attack with her rapier to tear open the spider¡¯s gut. In session, she precisely retraced the cut again with her Intermediate magical sword, Dance of mes, to torch its insides. Piaranork writhed in agony and mmed its front leg into Haruna, which was elegantly brushed aside by her precise swordsmanship, preventing it from dealing any damage to her.
¡¸I can get in one more!¡¹
Lunging towards the Piaranork, which had lost its bnce from the parry, Haruna held high her Magical Sword (Light), Saint¡¯s de. However, Haruna had forgotten something.
Her enemy was a spider, which could move without using its feet.
¡¸Toudou-san, don¡¯t!¡¹
Hiroshi had called out a moment toote. Haruna ended up cutting off the leg she had just blocked, and taking a massive hit by the giant spider while she was vulnerable in the follow through of her swing.
¡¸Aaah!¡¹
With a girlish scream, Haruna was blown away. She had instinctively guarded with her rapier to avoid a direct hit, but she waspletely thrown to the ground.
Immediately, Piaranork tried to pin Haruna down with what were now its seven legs. Once she was caught, she would be wrapped into a silk ball in no time. Struggle, and the spider may shatter every bone in her body. Then, she was done for.
¡¸Not so fast!¡¹
Striking in between the spider¡¯s gut and chest, where Haruna had sliced and burned, as it was about to jump onto Haruna, Hiroshi urately blew away the spider.
With the self-awareness that he didn¡¯t have much cards in hand, Hiroshi was determined to stick to defense and buying time. Until Haruna could gather herself up so she could protect herself, Hiroshi had to guard the line. If the spider were to make it past him, that would be the end.
¡¸C¡¯mon!¡¹
Desperately trying to keep his knees from buckling, Hiroshi shouted as loud as he could to draw the spider¡¯s attention. Truth be told, Hiroshi was terrified of facing off this one, unlike the Giant Spiders from earlier. It¡¯s size was intimidating, too, but it just had so many moves in its arsenal, and each of them were painful. It didn¡¯t matter that he wouldn¡¯t even bruise from the attacks, they still hurt.
¡¸Azuma-kun!¡¹
¡¸Toudou-san, ya all right?¡¹
¡¸Yes!¡¹
After blocking a few attacks and countering a blow from one of its legs, Haruna called back as she seemed to have gotten back on her feet.
¡¸Azuma-kun. Any rare materials in this spider?¡¹
She asked, as Hiroshi was flipping the spider over with Smash attacks to set up an attack from her.
¡¸In its gut, but don¡¯t worry ¡®bout it.¡¹
¡¸So if I cut off all its legs and head, you can go in for it?¡¹
¡¸Well, yeah.¡¹
Nodding, Haruna chugged a Mana potion and a Stamina potion, and started pouring magic into her rapier, holding it up.
¡¸I¡¯m going to go big. Buy me a little more time, would you?¡¹
¡¸¡Sure thin¡¯.¡¹
Feeling the pressure in Haruna¡¯s tone, Hiroshi nodded and did an uppercut to the Piaranork, charging towards him. With a swing of the axe, he swing down with all his might to chop off the leg he damaged earlier. Now, all this giant spider could do to attack was to spin a web or charge, nothing else.
Still, the Piaranork recklessly charged to crush Hiroshi and Haruna. While internally taken aback by its determination, Hiroshi had to fight for his life. Judging that it was about to spin a web and jump up, he shed through the string with his knife. The spider¡¯s body, already halfway up, stumbled to the ground on its back.
¡¸Azuma-kun, ready!¡¹
¡¸Alright. Don¡¯t push it!¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry!¡¹
With a chipper response, Haruna activated the spells she had been simultaneously processing. Multiple Harunas appeared, and the ground erupted under Piaranork¡¯s feet.
¡¸Let¡¯s go! Elemental Dance!¡¹
All the Harunas called in harmony, then lunged at Piaranork in session. The first cut off a leg with a magical sword of fire, then a second one froze the wound with a magical sword of ice. The third swung the de of Wind, and the fourth broke off a leg with Earth¡¯s Fang. And so, they continued to tear up the spider, and when all legs were cut off, all the Haruna¡¯s merged back into one.
¡¸Finale!¡¹
A de that aplished the ridiculous task ofyering every element cleanly sliced the spider¡¯s gut in half. Even the king of the Giant Spiders couldn¡¯t survive this. It twitched for about a minute, and the base of where legs used to be were still moving, but the spider soon became immobile.
¡¸Agh, I¡¯m exhausted¡¡¹
¡¸Ya all right?¡¹
¡¸¡Yeah sure no problem¡¡¹
Even as she said so, Haruna crumpled down where she was, and leaned back against a nearby tree, as if to say that she couldn¡¯t lift a finger. Elemental Dance was an Advanced Magical Sword. It always hit any enemy that had an element with the element they were weak against.
Combined with the fact that the damage went through regardless of any resistance to a particr element, this was rumored to be the skill to have the best damage output (save for Extra Skill attacks). But, it came with various downsides that prevented many yers from using it.
The first of which was that the conditions to learn the skill were difficult and convoluted. A minimum Speed of 150, along with mastering two Novice Magical Swords and one Intermediate Magical Sword, and to have a skill level of 50 or more for each element, on top of knowing two Intermediate element-lessbo attack skills and one Double spell or skill, each at skill level 75 or above. The skill itself doesn¡¯t require a rapier, but many weapons can¡¯t fulfil these conditions without learning skills dedicated to rapier. Realistically, anyone who could use this skill mainly used a rapier.
The second drawback was that the yer had to create their doubles before activating the skills, which wasn¡¯t included in the motion of the skill itself. There was always a beat or two before the attack, which it made it difficult to m in this attack immediately when the enemy presents an opportunity while fighting it with a party.
Thest (and worst) drawback was that it consumed a ridiculous amount of MP and Stamina. Perhaps because the yer had to pay the cost for all the Magical Swords the doubles used, their MP and Stamina (already depleted from preparing for the spell) were drained almost to itsst drop.
Not unlike a harvesting task in the beginning of the game, a yer with average Stamina would have to rest for at least five minutes after firing this move off. It was terribly high-risk. Even an addict towards the top of the pyramid wouldn¡¯t be able to use it a third time during a singlebat. This was truly a trump card.
¡¸That just eats up my Stamina¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it sure looked like it¡¡¹
¡¸But, maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been helping you outtely. My MP and Stamina weren¡¯t full, but it feels better than thest time I used it.¡¹
¡¸You may have a point there.¡¹
To wait for her to recover, Hiroshi stood as close as he could to Haruna maintaining some distance to avoid his phobia acting up, as she slumped with an exhausted look. While no insects were as bad as a Piaranork, there still could be some aggressive bugs around.
¡¸¡Well, we did it. Let¡¯s take it apart, shall we?¡¹
¡¸Ya good to go already?¡¹
¡¸Still a bit out of it, but I could take on a Giant Mantis or something. No problem.¡¹
¡¸All right.¡¹
Nodding to Haruna¡¯s proposition, Hiroshi asked for her to take apart the legs, where there wasn¡¯t anything too important. There were a bunch of materials that could be harvested for potions and catalysts around the torso, most of which required a certain degree of knowledge to collect.
¡¸There. I¡¯m done with the torso, so I¡¯ll go turn this guy¡¯s silk balls into thread.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I¡¯ll join you once I¡¯m done with the legs.¡¹
¡¸Thanks. I don¡¯t got good feelings about those balls, anyhow.¡¹
Nodding in response, Haruna went to take apart the third leg. Since she had torn them apart with the big move, just digging around for them was a chore in itself. In addition to its exoskeleton (which felt like something more than a chitin) rigor mortis had set in on the flesh in the legs. If it weren¡¯t for the especially sharp knife Hiroshi had crafted, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to get anything out of the corpse.
When Haruna had finished taking apart thest leg, she hear Hiroshi call. With everything worth selling packed into the bag, Haruna ran to Piaranork¡¯s web, where Hiroshi was supposed to be.
¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹
¡¸Trouble. As expected.¡¹
With that, he gestured to a girl with tinum blonde hair, who was apparently found from one of the silk balls. She looked to be around eleven or twelve years old. On course with the rest of the people of Fane, whose stature were rtivelyrger, she was only a little bit shorter than Haruna.
She was wearing an elegant and detailed (obviously expensive) dress, undoubtedly signifying that her family held considerable wealth and status. As she was barely breathing, her chest (adorned with a pair of breast that had just begun to grow) was barely moving, either.
¡¸¡Okay. Is she alive?¡¹
¡¸She is, yeah. In aa, though.¡¹
Nodding, Haruna observed what she could. While it was faint, her life force itself was present. Some sort of magic (she couldn¡¯t tell what) was cocooning her, and most likely keeping her alive.
If they dispelled this magic, the girl would probablye out of thea, but unfortunately with Haruna¡¯s Dispelling spells, she couldn¡¯t dispel a special spell of this level that was thisplex, at least without a catalyst. It would be a piece of cake for a yer that specialized in support, but¡
¡¸Without a catalyst here, I can¡¯t bring her back here.¡¹
¡¸Same with me. I can craft an item that negates all this, but ingredients aside, the equipment we got ain¡¯t up to snuff.¡¹
¡¸We have the ingredients?¡¹
¡¸I can make it work with the stuff from the bugs ¡®round here.¡¹
Haruna nodded.
¡¸Can we get the equipment in order once we get back to Wulls?¡¹
¡¸Not with what we got, but the one they sell at the Association will do.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Do you want to call it for now?¡¹
¡¸Hold on. There could be more survivors in the other ones. The problem is, we¡¯re in an awkward spot if there¡¯s a bunch more survivors when we take ¡®em out here. So, I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ of taken all the ball, the ones over there too, back to the camp and makin¡¯ ¡®em into thread over the night.¡¹
¡¸All right. So I can take her to camp, right?¡¹
¡¸Please do. I¡¯ll gather as many balls as I can.¡¹
Nodding in response, Haruna hung the bag on her arm, and carried the girl on her back and out of the nesting areas. It was a rtively openke they had passed on the way. While there was some wildlife, the area only consisted of less aggressive species. As long as they set up Hiroshi¡¯s barrier items and kept the fire going, there was no chance of being attacked. Truly the ideal campsite.
¡¸This is starting to smell fishy¡¡¹
Noticing the outfit of the girl on her back, Haruna couldn¡¯t help but mutter that to herself. Bad vibes were crawling under her skin. Truth be told, like Hiroshi was saying, she only ever felt weary of the silk balls all along.
¡¸What do I know about the nobles around here¡?¡¹
As she carried on towards the campsite, she recalled all sorts of rumors she had heard while she worked the food stand or singing in the streets. Like the rivalry between Duke Alsus and Marquis Powell. Like the battle for the throne between the Crown Prince, his younger sister, along with their illegitimate older brother taking ce under the surface.
And perhaps because of that, there were no rumors whatsoever about the Crown Prince¡¯s bedroom. Like the fact the current court has three children of the king and queen, and five illegitimate children of the king. There were some suspicions regarding the queen¡¯s current pregnancy as well. However, everything except the number of royal children and their gender were all just rumors without proof.
A rumor that might have any bearing on Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s lives was one that the second princess, the older sister of the Crown Prince, was sick and weakening by the day as they couldn¡¯t find a potion to cure the ailment. Still, Haruna couldn¡¯t imagine that this had anything to do with the situation they were facing. The fifth princess (a legitimate heir) was close in age to this little girl, but even if the ingredients needed to cure the second princess was around these parts, there was no reason for a princess in line for the throne (albeit she was near the back of the line) to risk her lifeing down here.
¡¸I guess I have to wake her up and ask her for the real story¡¡¹
She knew so little she couldn¡¯t even form an educated guess. While she didn¡¯t want to consider this young child surviving such an attack as a burden on her, Haruna wished she could celebrate the fact without any reservations about her own situation.
I swear, if this girl got into this mess because of some scheme¡ Whoever¡¯s behind it is going to see hell.
Haruna decided that, if they were going to get mixed into it anyway, she would rather focus on imagining how to beat up whoever was behind it. With how things were going, they were definitely getting roped into some political struggle, nine out of ten times. So, she was determined to make whoever was behind this regret roping her into this. With that image in mind, she hastened her step.
¡¸Three total, huh¡¡¹
¡¸For bein¡¯ caught by Piaranork, three out of eight is pretty lucky.¡¹
In response to Haruna¡¯s disappointment, Hiroshi could only respond with a sigh. Three warrior-looking men, a schrly man, and a woman who looked to be a servant were found dead. While they weren¡¯t expecting any survivors to begin with, seeing the corpses was a bit of a downer.
¡¸Where they only just eight of them?¡¹
¡¸Not sure, but this ¡®counts for all the balls.¡¹
Out of the people found within the silk balls that Piaranork was holding, only three of the eight humans were found alive in aa, including the first girl they found. The other survivors were a twenty-something woman, and an older man. Each of them was adorned with a thick set of metal armor.
¡¸Something¡¯s off, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸Ya think so too?¡¹
There was no sense in brooding over what they couldn¡¯t do anything about. It was true that they couldn¡¯t save the rest of them, but it was almost a miracle within itself that any one of them came out alive; it didn¡¯t seem right to feel guilty about that. Partially as a distraction, they decided to analyze what caught their mind.
¡¸The other two that survived are obviously knights, right?¡¹
¡¸Judgin¡¯ from the quality of their equipment and their build, they¡¯re didn¡¯t buy their rank, for sure.¡¹
¡¸Do you think they would get caught by Piaranork without a fight?¡¹
Hiroshi clenched his brows. While they couldn¡¯t tell the true prowess of these knights without fighting them, Hiroshi and Haruna had just taken down Piaranork with barely any equipment. If they had earned their ranks as knights, it certainly seemed possible.
¡¸A trap wouldn¡¯t be a stretch¡¡¹
¡¸For example?¡¹
¡¸Lot of times, the folks out front can be less resistant to status condition spells. If they been caught with Paralysis or Bindin¡¯, they could have been taken out one-sidedly.¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. That would make sense why they were caught without any signs of a struggle.¡¹
¡¸They coulda been here under someone else¡¯s volition to begin with, too.¡¹
Hiroshi nced at the servant girl and the schrly man. Neither of them would have wound up here under any normal circumstances.
¡¸Well, there¡¯s no use worrying about that.¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
¡¸So, how are we getting home?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the problem. Even if we give up on carryin¡¯ the bodies back and only take back keepsakes and identifications after cleansin¡¯ and buryin¡¯ ¡®em here¡¡¹
¡¸The problem is, how do we carry the three survivors.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded.
¡¸I mean, I got somethin¡¯ in mind.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸There were some bags in Piaranork¡¯s web, must have been left behind by the adventurers it ate. They¡¯re almost out of magic, but there were two Transportation Stones left.¡¹
¡¸Can we use them?¡¹
¡¸If we put some magic in ¡®em, I bet we can get everyone, even the bodies, back to Wulls at least.¡¹
With that Hiroshi, started converting the rest of the silk balls (that entrapped the insects) into thread. It was a form of escapism to avoid overthinking what was lurking behind all of this, but his nearly inhumane mental endurance also aided in his escape as well.
¡¸I can take apart the bugs?¡¹
¡¸Just leave the hos. Those make some potion ingredients.¡¹
Once the n was set, Hiroshi switched right back into his usual gear. As she chuckled at this, Haruna began taking apart the bugs from inside the silk balls, to help get her mind off the possibleplications thaty ahead of them.
Volume 1, 5
Volume 1, Chapter 5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸I¡¯m home.¡¹
¡¸Wee back.¡¹
Three days had passed since they returned from the nesting area of Giant Spiders. In order to take care of the three survivors (who still haven¡¯te out of theira), Hiroshi and Haruna were taking turns going to work. As for the five who didn¡¯t survive, it wasn¡¯t something they could take care of by themselves, so they took the bodies to the Adventurers¡¯ Association for them to handle. When they had to carry them there, they had asked Randy and other adventurers they knew, after telling them what happened honestly. Of course, everyone involved were more exasperated than surprised upon hearing that Hiroshi and Haruna not only went down to faces the spiders just to save some money on clothes, but that they faced Piaranork and survived without wearing so much as an armor.
They had only been operating the food stand when Hiroshi returned early, or when Haruna was out working. Of course, the main reason was that Hiroshi could not work the front end, but another contributing factor was the fact that buying supplies was more difficult because they couldn¡¯t go out at the same time.
The three survivors had taken over a bedroom. The t they had rented was small, but still a two-bedroom. Needless to say that Hiroshi refused sleeping the same room as Haruna, and Haruna couldn¡¯t allow one of them to sleep in the dining room (that sounded exhausting). After much debate, they had finally found a new room that met the criteria of being the cheapest t in the city with at least two bedrooms in addition to the kitchen and dining room. They had to use a shared toilet for the floor, but there was rarely a crowd since there were only two other residents on their floor. They used the public bath house every day.
The t was barely separated into three spaces (including the eat-in kitchen), each bedroom barely had enough room for a bed. Still, two woman could manage to share a room. Haruna slept on a futon, crafted by Hiroshi, in the dining room, which she managed to fit by putting the dining table away. Hiroshi slept in a sleeping bag on the veranda. Part of it was that he didn¡¯t want to spoon an old dude, but even if he wanted to, that man¡¯s build was too muscr. The kitchen was flooded with things like spices and treated herbs to the point where it was no environment for anyone to sleep at, let alone the fact that it was connected to the dining room, making it a deal breaker for Hiroshi.
While Haruna felt guilty that Hiroshi was taking the short ends of all the sticks, but even when they camp, Haruna was the only one in the tent, and he would be in the sleeping bag under the elements.
This may not be so different from that situation, after all. It wasn¡¯t too long ago that she watch Hiroshi as he crafted a catalyst and treated his sleeping bag with some obscure enchantment called Rainproof, just to avoid being in the same tent with her. It was bittersweet, in a sort of way.
¡¸How are ¡®em folks?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re all breathing steady, but no one¡¯se out yet. How are you doing?¡¹
¡¸Work ain¡¯t much different. I gathered up some food when I went to bunch of ces for work, so look forward to that.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
Haruna answered, as she cleared the table. There wasn¡¯t much to do when staying home, so she had been working on new menu items (as far as ingredients could permit) and preparing materials for Compounding and Metalworking as part of her practice.
While it was only three days (one of which she had gone out to work), it seemed that she had gotten enough practice in to solidify the knacks she was already beginning to grasp. She had even finished processing some that were quite tricky at a Novice level.
¡¸So, anything interesting happen today?¡¹
¡¸Before I get into, I¡¯ll go check on ¡®em for a sec. They looked like they¡¯d bein¡¯ out of it soon.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
Nodding, Haruna prepared the tea set. Spreading out some sweet-potato-ish snack on the tray, she boiled some water to a perfect temperature for some Houjicha tea, using Hiroshi¡¯s magical kettle. Just like the electric kettles on Earth, and kept the water warm after it was heated to the desired temperature, and best of all, it wouldn¡¯t keep running on empty because it was powered by magic.
As for the Houjicha, they had found and purchased tea leaves that were not fermented, and prepared it themselves. Fermentation in this world had been developed rather lopsidedly. While there was barely any progress with bread or other foods, when it came to alcohol and tea, it wasparable to that on Earth during the 18th century. Apparently, ck tea had been idently developed during the process of trying to create herbal liquor, which meant that the history of tea here had followed a slightly different path than on Earth.
¡¸How are they?¡¹
¡¸Lessee. This ol¡¯ man woulde out of it with some sort of trigger, at least. I just can¡¯t be sure, so we shouldn¡¯t go shakin¡¯ him or castin¡¯ spells on him, or tryin¡¯ to get him to react to immediate danger or somethin¡¯ like that.¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. And the other two?¡¹
¡¸Toudou-san. You wanna kill me?¡¹
¡¸They won¡¯t get on your case just because you check on them medically.¡¹
¡¸Nah-uh. That¡¯s where you¡¯re idealistic, Toudou-san. That¡¯s only applicable to a specific species of god¡¯s gifted men with the sort of face that counteracts any exudin¡¯ eroticism. Watch ¡®em wake up to my ugly, useless face. They¡¯ll go berserk, no doubt. ¡°What were you going to do to me, you pervert!?¡± they¡¯d scream through the roof.¡¹
¡¸I-I don¡¯t think that¡¯s likely¡¡¹
Taken aback by his visceral reaction Haruna still attempted to dispute the core misunderstanding, but Hiroshi just shook his head, pathetically. This pansy seemed to have lived a life that lead to him losing all trust in women.
While it wasn¡¯t polite, to say the least, to describe people he had only just met, with whom he hadn¡¯t even spoken to, but imagining that he had gone through events that justified his remark to him, even Haruna couldn¡¯t say much about it.
¡¸In this world, ya see, there are a bunch of women who, despite a crowd of eye witnesses sayin¡¯ you only picked up somethin¡¯ they dropped, go ahead and cause a scene screamin¡¯ ¡°Did you steal this!?¡± treatin¡¯ me like a thief.¡¹
¡¸No there aren¡¯t.¡¹
¡¸Six times.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s how many times that someone, even though they must have seen me pick it up, made a scene like that and called me a thief.¡¹
Five of those incidents took ce while Hiroshi was in middle school, and once after he entered high school. After that, even when someone would drop something right in front of him, he never picked it up unless he gathered eyewitnesses that would confirm he wasn¡¯t a thief, first. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to be nearly made into a thief with same pattern of events after movin¡¯ all the way cross the country,¡± Hiroshi said with a bitter face, and Haruna couldn¡¯t respond. Thanks to the fact that he either never attended school (or went to the nurse¡¯s office when he did) for the majority of 9th grade, and to the school-wide scandal that caused his year-long absence in a way, the misunderstanding in his records that he had sticky fingers had been reconciled.
For the record, after the second incident while in middle school, Hiroshi had ignored anything that anyone had dropped, but once his homeroom teacher (a woman in her thirties to forties) saw him and reprimanded him for it, which lead to Hiroshi reluctantly picking it up. Which lead to him being called a thief once again. It was a painful memory for him that even the teacher, who saw the whole thing, started using him of stealing (whether she knew what was going on her was in it from the start). This event was the nail in the coffin for Hiroshi to stop trusting any woman under the age of forty.
The one incident in high school was caused by a ssmate, who had heard from her friends that attended the same middle school as Hiroshi, starting a rumor. While he dodged the worst case scenario of being called a thief and having the school call his home, it was something that neither Hiroshi nor the school wanted to acknowledge that he nearly stopped going to school again.
The school, in particr, was aware that Hiroshi had been treated this way even by his teacher, and had expected awsuit. Truth be told, Hiroshi was only spared because all of the other ssmates had defended him, and even osted the girl who started the rumor (unlike his ssmates in middle school). If a few more ssmates had went along with it, Hiroshi would have walked straight out of the normal realms of society, never to return. Not to mention that it would have been a devastating scandal for the school.
While the atmosphere of his school saved him from that fate, it had nearly negated three years (in real life) of VR therapy. While Hiroshi had been able to manage his phobia at a level where it didn¡¯t impede upon his day-to-day life, if things had urred a little differently three years ago, even his current lifestyle would have been impossible.
¡¸In any case, I couldn¡¯t help it when I pulled ¡®em out of the web, but I would like to go on without stickin¡¯ my nose in ces where it might get nicked off.¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry¡¡¹
Haruna almost wanted to apologize for her gender. While people who would do such a thing were undoubtedly in the minority, that wasn¡¯t much of a constion to someone who was apparently destined to meet so many of these mentally unstable individuals.
After the exnation for each of the six incidents, no one could me Hiroshi with any fault in them. The incident was put out after it red up outside of his ssroom, and as Haruna was in a different ss, she waspletely oblivious to this. Hearing the details of the other incidents, Haruna wanted to apologize again for having to be stuck together in this world.
At the end of the day, even the ssmates that had defended him didn¡¯t consider the incident a big deal, and as such had mostly forgotten about it. The only time they were reminded of it was when Hiroshi would insist upon witnesses when picking up something that had been dropped.
The majority of people who were in a different ss in 10th grade, and who rarely talked to him, didn¡¯t know about the incident at all, despite being in the same ss as Hiroshi now. Besides, it only approached the realm of a big deal simply because of Hiroshi¡¯s history in the first ce. Isted incidents like these had urred asionally in practically every ss.
¡¸So, at least until they get up, I¡¯m never ever goin¡¯ near ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸I understand. Come to think of it, it wouldn¡¯t be a far stretch if they wake up to a strange man tearing off their armor and changing them¡¡¹
¡¸Even if they were smeared in spider webs, and couldn¡¯t get ¡®em down in the bed otherwise.¡¹
Everything that they had been wearing had been neatly washed and fixed and now hung on their bedside. Unfortunately fixing the young girl¡¯s dress was nothing Haruna could handle, so Hiroshi had taken care of that, along with the armor.
As for the weapons and armor, he had tinkered with them (without using Enchantments) while he was fixing them, which had turned some of them intopletely different equipment that just happen to look the same as they used to.
¡¸Anywho, I¡¯ll tell what they told me at the Association and what I gathered over some tea.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I have some sort of¡ Sweet-potato-ish snacks ready. Hold on.¡¹
With that, Haruna went to the kitchen and poured tea into the pot. Haruna had crafted this pot in her own time as part of her practice for Tool Building. She had finally created something she liked after a dozen or so of failed attempts. (The failed products, by the way, were reverted back into their materials by Hiroshi¡¯s Metalworking, because they would be a waste otherwise). Starting with the giant fold-up table almost upying the entire dining room, most furniture in the t were crafted by Haruna for practice, and then modified by Hiroshi.
Truth be told, Haruna herself had no intention of mastering Crating, but she at least wanted to bump her Sewing to a decent level. So, she had Hiroshi teach her some pointers at least until she could acquire Making Mastery.
¡¸First, what they told me at the Association.¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh.¡¹
¡¸They want us to say that we only found five of ¡®em silk balls at Piaranork¡¯s web. They already told the same to everyone who helped out.¡¹
¡¸That means¡¡¹
¡¸They probably don¡¯t want people knowin¡¯ those people are still alive at this point.¡¹
Haruna responded with a nod.
¡¸This spells a pair of good news and bad news for us.¡¹
¡¸The good news is that the Association is trying to protect us, and¡ The bad news is that we¡¯re already way too deep into this mess, huh.¡¹
¡¸Right. We can¡¯t drop ¡®em off somewhere now, and there¡¯s only so long a gag order canst.¡¹
¡¸Our edge is that we flew straight back to this room with the Transportation Stones, so even a loose gag order can buy us some time.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. The other thing is that it won¡¯t look weird if we borrow another room, since people know we run the food stand. We can make an excuse that we need it for our equipment and supplies.¡¹
¡¸It would be cheaper to rent two of these ts than renting a single one with enough rooms.¡¹
With a nod, they decided that they would wait and see where things were going with this before taking any action.
¡¸Now, though, it¡¯s all good news.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah?¡¹
¡¸I gathered up some seaweed, kelp, and nori.¡¹
¡¸What? What??¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t contain her surprise. She couldn¡¯t find them at the seafood market, so she had dismissed that they didn¡¯t exist in this world.
¡¸It looks like seaweed, especially kelp and its strong vor, weren¡¯t too popr in Fane. They¡¯re only used in selected locations.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I see.¡¹
That made a lot of sense to Haruna. It wasn¡¯t umon for Japanese people to dislike kelp itself, even if they enjoyed kelp broth. Besides, even if a food source is avable around the world, many of them may be part of the culinary culture in one continent but not in the other. In Fane, for example, seaweed was avable but still not a part of their culinary culture.
¡¸To be honest, they probably didn¡¯t feel like they gotta munch on seaweed when they got so much good food from the ocean and the mountains.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.¡¹
¡¸Although, they¡¯re still eatin¡¯ octopus and squid, so it¡¯s a pretty intrestin¡¯ culinary culture they got here.¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s not like octopus and squid weren¡¯t enjoyed in some parts of Europe, either.¡¹
Hiroshi chuckled to her retort. At this point, seaweed is treated pretty much like garbage in Fane. If any viable cooking methods or uses were to arise, a pile of garbage would turn into a pile of money. Many fishermen were on the lookout for such a fortune. Apparently, since they had gotten to know Hiroshi through him fixing their boats and whatnot, they dly sun-dried these for him.
¡¸And on top of that, I got us a bowl of soba noodles.¡¹
¡¸Wha-wha-wha¡?¡¹
With that, Hiroshi spread out his spoils of the day onto the table. His choice seemed very intentional, considering items like a fresh shrimp prime for tempura. Haruna cheered upon seeing the treasure trove in front of her.
¡¸Azuma-kun.¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸How are we doing on our soy sauce and bonito kes?¡¹
¡¸Still a little green if ya ask me, but we could definitely give ¡®em a taste today.¡¹
Hiroshi was well aware of the state of their condiments in mid-production. If he didn¡¯t, even if they could just keep them in their spoil-proof bag, he would have never bought thesebination of foods. It¡¯s worth mentioning that Hiroshi had no intention of spending more time than needed on any condiment that requires aging. The first cooking equipment he crafted was an elerator for aging food. Many high-level potions required fermentation, so this particr piece of equipment was vital for crafting those potions inrge quantities, anyway.
¡¸So, maybe we should check the broth before we dive into cooking.¡¹
¡¸I agree. Don¡¯t want to be disappointed if it turns out it ain¡¯t ready.¡¹
¡¸So, do you want to make the noodles? I don¡¯t mind doing it.¡¹
¡¸No no no, you can concentrate on the broth, Toudou-san.¡¹
Hiroshi was quick to hold back Haruna, who implied that she really wanted to do it herself. In the end, Hiroshi lost a game of rock-paper-scissors, and ended up grinding buckwheat into soba flour before extracting the starch from some potatoes.
***
An unfamiliar, appetizing scent tickled her nostrils. The little girl rapidly climbed out of her deep sleep in reaction.
Where am I¡?
In a room more simple than any other she had been in before, barelyrge enough for two people to sleep in, but on a bed strangely well-made for a such a room, she had realized that she had been lying there with the female knight, who had been guarding her. Even though she was starting puberty, her still childlike stature prevented her from being too ufortable next to an adult. However, considering their background, this treatment was utterly uneptable.
A quick nce of the room showed that it was a very, very tight room. It was barely big enough for the bed they were lying in, with no room any other furniture. The room was clearly only meant for sleeping and no other activity.
Why am I here¡?
She had never had any experience with such a room (smaller than a broom closet, she thought), and couldn¡¯tprehend her current situation. She sat up, careful not to wake the knight beside her, and observed the room some more.
It was still rather empty. Anything that belongs to the room, other than the bed, were the potted nt on the window sill, and a magic-poweredmp by the bed. Other than that, there were nice pairs of clothes (which they must have been wearing) on the coat hangers on the wall, and the knight¡¯s set of equipment in the corner of the room.
While it couldn¡¯t help but seem drab due to its spatial constraints, this room still exhibit various efforts to improve thefort of its upants. It was just strange that everything from the bed to the magic-poweredmp obviously outssed the room itself.
Themp, especially, while it was simply designed with little to no adornments, its quality wasparable to ones used in the castle, and in nobles¡¯ quarters at that. The little girl wasn¡¯t able to grasp the mary value of it, but she could tell that it, at the very least, did not belong in this room. In fact, she had no grasp on such mary concepts, but she wasn¡¯t sheltered enough not to see the distinguishable quality in these things.
The little girl found herself more and more mesmerized as she observed the room.
What do I remember¡?
Holding back her mind, panicking from being in a mysterious room, she focused on trying to recall what had happened before she came to where she was. Soon, she recalled a man (whom she had always pinned as suspicious) appear in front of them as they were finishing up their daily duties, and transported all eight of them to the Giant Spider webs.
The knights on guard were ensnared with powerful Binding spells, which caused them to be wrapped up in silk to be eaten, without a fight. Her servant that had been with her to take care of errands, and the schr who had been following her to execute paperwork didn¡¯t have any strength to fight back to begin with. Even without a Binding spell on them, they would have been preyed upon in a sh.
Only the older knight and the female knight (who was lying beside her) weren¡¯tpletely affected by the Binding spells, and could buy some time, but not much, in their conditions where they could barely move. The only one unimpeded in the group was the little girl, who possessed a high rank and high resistance for magic. s, just like the schr and servant, she had nobat skills. To boot, excluding a certain set of spells ssified as Hereditary Magic, all of her spells were not up to par.
Naturally, she had no hopes of dispelling Binding spells strong enough to overpower the nationally renowned fighters beside her. So, as a desperatest resort, she activated a spell that would stop the flow of time in each of them, which she was required to learn because of her status.
The fact that she was alive signified that her gambit had resulted in some sess, the three of them must¡¯ve survived. However, as long as she didn¡¯t know what kind of person this room belonged to, she couldn¡¯t tell how much this small victory was worth.
First of all, it wasn¡¯t too easy to dispel this particr spell. The fact that she was out of hera meant that there was someone here powerful enough to pull that off. It was too early to call them an enemy, but she was not so na?ve as to assume that just because this person saved her life, that they would be her ally.
Let¡¯s see if I can move without hindrance, at least.
Whatever she would decide to do, she didn¡¯t have much options if she was still incapacitated. She didn¡¯t know how they dispelled her magic, but if it wasn¡¯t the official method, she could have been out of it for days even after her body was healthy again. She presumed that, since she could get up rather easily, that she hadn¡¯t suffered much physical deterioration, but she couldn¡¯t be too sure.
Quickly checking the state that she was in, and confirming that she hadn¡¯t lost much muscle mass at least, she climbed out of the bed as quietly as she could. Perhaps because of her immacte upbringing, she subconsciously stepped into the pair of slippers by the foot of the bed.
Judging by the room, the building itself couldn¡¯t be toorge either. It was possible that the moment she opened the door she could face the residents of this ce. If they were on her side, or at least not an enemy, this would be fine, but it would only spell trouble if they were a viinous figure.
***
¡¸¡Yeah, this one was a little too premature.¡¹
¡¸Well, there¡¯s a first time for everything. It can¡¯t be helped.¡¹
¡¸Guess you¡¯re right. It ain¡¯t all too bad, and the next one¡¯s promisin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the spirit.¡¹
As the little girl eavesdropped through the door, she could hear this conversation between a young couple. Quite ominous, she thought. She imagined what any girl on the brink of her teenage years might, which lead to all colors being flushed from her face. Her body didn¡¯t feel any different, but since she was growing up, it wasn¡¯t unthinkable.
¡¸In any case, I¡¯m feelin¡¯ confident to move on to my next conquest.¡¹
¡¸Conquest?¡¹
¡¸We got nori and bonito kes, and they sell octopus everywhere¡ That only makes one recipe in my book.¡¹
¡¸¡That¡¯s your first thought right now?¡¹
¡¸Why not? We ain¡¯t got rice, anyhow, so anything we make¡¯s gonna be flour-based.¡¹
¡¸No, I meant¡ With everything else that¡¯s going on, that is your first thought¡?¡¹
Now, the little girl didn¡¯t know what to make of their conversation. Considering the mention of octopus, they seemed to be talking about food¡ But she was puzzled by ¡°premature¡±¡ It could be code for something, but they seemed ratherckadaisical for that kind of conversation. The man had an interesting ent. Truth be told, she couldn¡¯t imagine these people doing to her what she had feared they had, but even good people can be tempted into crime.
As she let her thoughts wander, she could smell another appetizing scent (that of a fried dish, she presumed) apanied by a festive, bubbling sound. She carefully cracked open the poorly built door and peeked through. She could see a blond woman working in the kitchen, and a sheepish looking man clearing up this and that from the giant table, who, despite his perfectly ordinary outfit, looked shabby, somehow.
¡¸Tada!¡¹
The woman joyfullyid bowls onto the table. That seemed to be the source of the mysterious scent from earlier. In the center of the table, she could spot a te with some kind of fried dish loaded onto it. Taking the bowl, the man gleefully shoved a pair of thin sticks into it. As she watched with anticipation, some dark-colored noodles emerged from the bowl. They pulled that up to their mouths without hesitation, and loudly slurped it down.
¡¸This is what I¡¯m talking about!¡¹
¡¸Sure, it¡¯s a little early, but boy, does it hit the spot!¡¹
¡¸You said it!¡¹
Continuing their conversation as such, they bit down on the fried goods that seemed to be in the bowl from the start. As the little girl watched them intently slurp down the noodles, her hunger and appetite were approaching their limits. Despite the obnoxious vition of table etiquette, the way this couple devoured this dish was clear evidence of the quality of the food. One could only watch for so long. Finally, when the couple had held the bowl up to their mouths directly, the little girl¡¯s empty stomach made an adorable growl in protest.
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
While it wasn¡¯t particrly loud, it echoed more than expected in the room, where the loud slurping of noodles had just stopped.
¡¸Hey, she¡¯s awake.¡¹
When her eyes met the sheepish-looking man¡¯s, she finally gave up and entered the dining room. At the end of the day, as small as these rooms were, she had no hope of escaping without them stopping her, unless they werepletely asleep.
¡¸¡What are you going to do with us?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t know what we¡¯re into, so we ain¡¯t sure yet.¡¹
¡¸Oh, we have food¡ But first¡¡¹
The woman put something in a cup, and put it down in front of the girl. Perhaps to show that there was no ill intent, the little girl thought, the woman took a spoonful from it in full view of the girl before putting it in her mouth. After waiting long enough to show that there was no fast-acting poison, she continued:
¡¸I don¡¯t know if you can go right back on to solids, and I don¡¯t want to risk you being allergic to buckwheat, so try a sip of this, won¡¯t you?¡¹
While the little girl had never heard of the word ¡°allergic¡± before, she knew that some people¡¯s bodies reject certain foods. She presumed that the food on the table were one of these foods that can cause a particrly visceral reaction. Nodding, the girl took a small sip of the dark brown liquid in her mouth, as if she was being lured in by the savory scent. Controlling herself from swallowing it in a gulp, she first silently counted to fifty. Making sure that there were no physical reactions, she gradually drank the rest of the soup from the cup.
¡¸¡It¡¯s delicious.¡¹
¡¸Good to hear. How¡¯s ya stomach?¡¹
¡¸Are you in pain at all?¡¹
¡¸¡No.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I¡¯ll go boil the noodles, hold on.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I¡¯ll do that.¡¹
The man didn¡¯t seem to want to be in close proximity to a girl he doesn¡¯t know well. He reheated the water and boiled the noodles, and plopped them into a bowl with the reheated soup, before sprinkling some tiny toppings into it before cing it on the table with a fork and spoon.
¡¸I don¡¯t think you can handle eatin¡¯ it with chopsticks, so this is all we got. Oh, and obviously, it¡¯s hot. Watch out. And we don¡¯t know how well your stomach¡¯s doin¡¯, we¡¯re savin¡¯ the tempura shrimp for next time.¡¹
¡¸Thank you for your generosity.¡¹
¡¸Ah, we just wancha to know a taste of our homnd. Don¡¯t sweat it. Some of the ingredients were a little premature, so I hope ya like it, still.¡¹
The man said, keeping some distance from the girl and the woman. The girl was more confident of her first impression that, these two didn¡¯ty a finger on her. In fact, this man was actively avoiding women. However, she put aside her observation to focus on the product of a vastly different culture in front of her. She surmised that the soup was the origin of the savory liquid she just drank, and was relieved that, at the very least, this wouldn¡¯t taste so bad to the point of being unstomachable. Concealing her anticipation, the girl carefully stuck the fork into the bowl, and twirled some noodles on it.
With her heart pounding, she blew on it to cool it down, and timidly put the pasta in her mouth with anticipation and nervousness. A sensation spread in her mouth, which the girl didn¡¯t have the vocabry necessary to describe,bined with the bonus of her hunger, the noodles oozed of supreme taste. She couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. The only thing she was able to do was keep a semnce of etiquette as she desperately held back from chowing down the bowl in a breath.
Watching the girl intently eat the soba without a word, albeit with excellent etiquette, Hiroshi and Haruna sipped on their soba tea. While they were in Japan, neither of them would have drank the broth, worrying about their sodium intake, but life on this side could get a little rough to the point where they were depleted of sodium from time to time, so they had stopped depriving themselves of that.
¡¸Ya good?¡¹
¡¸¡Yes.¡¹
The girl nodded, after sipping everyst drop of the soup with her soup, and now looking at thepletely empty bowl. She seemed like she wanted to have more, but she also seemed to understand that she shouldn¡¯t eat too much aftering out of such a long sleep. After praying to the Goddess in thanks for the meal, the girl sighed and bowed to Hiroshi and Haruna.
¡¸I guess she liked it.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s dandy. I¡¯ll gather up somethin¡¯ a little unique tomorrow, too.¡¹
The girl¡¯s eyes gleamed with obvious excitement. She seemed to have really taken to their cooking. Watching her joyful expression, they ponder their recipe for the next day.
¡¸Lessee. She likes the broth, how ¡®bout some oden?¡¹
¡¸Ooh. That¡¯s good. Once it gets colder, we can put it out on the food stand, too.¡¹
¡¸Food stand?¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. In between our adventuring gigs, we sell some food out of our stand.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll show ya what we got tomorrow. You¡¯d wanna eat it if I showed ya now, won¡¯t ya?¡¹
The girl nodded up and down in agreement. She was hitting her growth spurts , after all, and it seems that the controlled portion given to her was a little more than a little too small.
¡¸Wow¡ You¡¯re adventurers but you have a food stand, too¡?¡¹
¡¸I wanna ce big enough suited for a workshop. Truth is, it ain¡¯t very efficient if we were to try and do that with just adventurin¡¯. So we do a bunch of odd jobs ¡®round the city, and gather some side ie from the food stand.¡¹
¡¸We could use the facilities at the Association, but long story short, they have their eye on us¡ So we want an environment where we¡¯re as isted as possible.¡¹
The girl¡¯s expression froze. Noticing this, Haruna exined:
¡¸It¡¯s not like we made something illegal or anything like that¡¡¹
¡¸Then why do they¡?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m hoping you have a good eye for things when I ask you this¡ Don¡¯t you find this room strange?¡¹
¡¸The room¡?¡¹
With that, she looked around the room. She had nearly forgotten while she was busy satiating her hunger, but now she could recognize the same odd sensation as the one she had felt in the bedroom. Everything from the table she ate on to the chair she sat in, the magic-poweredmp illuminating the room, to the equipment and the kitchen and everything else she could see in the room were, albeit simple, created with an incredibly rare caliber of craftsmanship. Save for the materials, they were on par with the best she had ever seen. If they could have a set of furniture like these, it seemed to the little girl that they should be able to easily afford a workshop.
¡¸Wow, you two have wonderful furniture.¡¹
¡¸Weird that they¡¯re in a t like this, huh?¡¹
The little girl didn¡¯t know how to answer Haruna¡¯s question, asked with a chuckle. Seeing this reaction, Haruna skipped to the answer:
¡¸They¡¯re all homemade. I didn¡¯t make them, though. Azuma-kun did. This guy right here.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
The girl was speechless. She couldn¡¯t believe it. On the other hand, the girl understood why they ¡°had eyes on them¡± now. It was only natural if he could craft magical tools of this caliber. Come to think of it, at least one of them had the power to dispel the girl¡¯s magic. What was weird was that they werepletely unknown to her until this point.
¡¸Well, we got sidetracked there. Let¡¯s introduce ourselves, shall we?¡¹
¡¸Oh, please excuse my transgression.¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t gotta be so uptight. I¡¯m Hiroshi Azuma. Azuma¡¯s my surname. Hiroshi¡¯s my first name. ss 10 adventurer. Call me whatever ya like.¡¹
¡¸Haruna Toudou. Toudou is the surname, and Haruna is the first. I¡¯m also a ss 10 adventurer. And you can call me anything you like, as long as it isn¡¯t too weird.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-sama and Haruna-sana. My name is Aearis.¡¹
After reading the adventurer cards to check that they were not lying, the girl started out by stating her name.
¡¸There is something I want to ask you.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸How did you find us?¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯all remember gettin¡¯ attacked by a Giant Spider?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
The question concurred with the girl¡¯s recollection, so she nodded.
¡¸Every single one of y¡¯all were trapped in that spider¡¯s ball of web. As prey.¡¹
¡¸If we had found you a littleter, you may not have survived¡¡¹
¡¸I see. What brought you two to their of Giant Spiders?¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna looked at each other, chuckling in response. While this may not affect the story, Hiroshi had situated himself on the farthest point of the room from Hiroshi and Aearis, and remained on his feet. This was a cause of some uneasiness for Aearis (unlike Haruna who understood his conundrum), but she didn¡¯t know whether she should mention it or not.
¡¸Our goal was simple, ya see.¡¹
¡¸We wanted thread to make some clothes.¡¹
¡¸Clothes¡?¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. I couldn¡¯t get the stains out the outfit I had been wearing at the food stand anymore.¡¹
¡¸Curry and oil stains¡ No ordinary detergent¡¯s gonna take care of that.¡¹
While Aearis didn¡¯t know what curry was, she had heard from a servant that oil stains were very difficult to get out. Still, Aearis fell speechless learning that these two had gone all the way to ayer of Giant Spiders just for a pair of clothes.
Why didn¡¯t you just buy some? She wanted to exim (naturally) but Aearis knew that, if these two hadn¡¯t gone down there following their peculiar thought process, it was very likely that her and herpany would have been melting in a spider¡¯s stomach by now. She had no choice but to be thankful of this stupid, stupid motivation.
¡¸Can I ask ya a question, too?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸It was eight of y¡¯all that were trapped by that spider. Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¡¹
¡¸As for the most of ¡®em, it¡¯s not good news.¡¹
Aearis understood that not all of them had survived. Her chin fell.
¡¸Only three of y¡¯all had survived, includin¡¯ you. Thedy you were sleepin¡¯ next to, and a buff, older dude.¡¹
¡¸I saw Rayna¡ I see. Lord Douga made it, too.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry. It was toote to do anythin¡¯ about the others by the time we got ¡®em out of the web.¡¹
Aeris shook her head. Truth be told, she never felt like her spell had reached the other five. She assumed that they were already dead by the time they were entrapped in the web.
¡¸You don¡¯t need to apologize, Hiroshi-sama. That fact that any of us made it out alive is a miracle in and of itself¡¡¹
She was right. It was miraculous. It would be too greedy of her to ask for more, Aearis thought. What sort of ungrateful lowlife would use someone, who not only had saved her life but fed her, that they should have been able to save the others as well.
And yet, Aearis couldn¡¯t keep it all in. Tears started rolling down her cheek.
¡¸Scoundrels! What have you done with the princess!?¡¹
As they watched Aearis, who was sniffling in tears, the woman jumped out of Haruna¡¯s room.
¡¸R-Rayna!?¡¹
Aearis¡¯ tears cut dry, surprised by her guard jumping in out of the blue. Her mind was reset from the absurdity of her intrusion at this very moment.
¡¸You!¡¹
With a single flourish, she hurdled over the table, drew her sword and mmed Hiroshi against the wall without hesitation, as she held her de against his neck.
¡¸Rayna, stop it!¡¹
¡¸Princess! Don¡¯t let them deceive you!¡¹
Aearis was looking to and fro, unsure how to deal with Rayna (who was clearly misunderstanding something). She hadpletely forgotten her sorrows from a moment ago.
¡¸Rayna, let go of Hiroshi-sama!¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t obey, Princess!¡¹
ring at Hiroshi as she said so, she continued with a harsh tone:
¡¸I know you¡¯re colluding with him! What do you want!?¡¹
¡¸Rayna!¡¹
Rayna continued to ignore Aearis¡¯ reprimand as she continued to threaten Hiroshi. Haruna was losing blood from her face watching this take ce. Hiroshi didn¡¯t look good. All color had drained from his face, and she could see that goosebumps covered him all over. His eyes were out of focus, and his entire body was clearly shaking.
Haruna was afraid that he would break at this rate. But if Haruna were to jump in between them, she could put more stress on Hiroshi. No matter what she did though, unless this woman named Rayna backs off, it would keep hurting Hiroshi unnecessarily.
Hiroshi Azuma had developed inhuman mental strength sinceing here. Still, like Siegfried, who despite being baptized by dragon¡¯s blood to gain immortality was in by a single leaf, some mental scars were difficult to heal, regardless of mental durability.
While Hiroshi¡¯s had improved through living with Haruna, for someone like Hiroshi (who, quite frankly, was a miracle that he readjusted to normal society at all) a strange woman ignorantly using him of a crime he hadn¡¯tmitted was an act that dug deep into his mental trauma.
¡¸Your face looks scummier and scummier by the second. I don¡¯t know what kind of evil conspirator you think you are¡ This is all it takes to make you quiver like a bird, you coward? You underestimated us, since we were women¡¡¹
But Rayna couldn¡¯t finish. She was forced to parry an attack, deployed with terrifying rage. Just as Rayna barely parried Haruna¡¯s piercing blow, she took an overwhelming blow, and flew across the room.
¡¸I¡¯m sorry, Aearis-san. I¡¯m really regretting saving you guys, now.¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m terribly sorry, Haruna-sama¡¡¹
¡¸Why should you apologize, Princess!?¡¹
¡¸¡Rayna. How much disrespect do you intend to disy against those whom we are indebted to?¡¹
Rayna saw Haruna, who despite her cool expression, was radiating rage from her entire body, and Aearis who looked at her as if she despised her. A shiver ran down Rayna¡¯s spine.
¡¸P-Princess! They are deceiving you! That man must have toyed with our bodies while we were unconscious!¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t know Hiroshi-kun! Don¡¯t you dare talk about him that way!¡¹
Behind Haruna, Hiroshi was shaking, his eyes unfocused, as he mumbled incoherently in between hurls that turned into dry heaves. Keeping him directly behind her, Haruna approached Rayna with electrifying rage.
She still had no inkling of romantic feelings for this man, but she still liked him enough to share a t, and trusted him as her partner, and perhaps was fond of him enough to call him her best friend. Haruna wasn¡¯t well adjusted enough to hold back when a man like that had been humiliated, and even treated as a capital criminal with no evidence except this woman¡¯s ignorance.
¡¸Creepy young men, they¡¯re all the same! You just happened upon coincidentally!? Impossible!¡¹
¡¸Silence!¡¹
As Rayna continued to try and justify herself, the buff man around his fifties hade out of Hiroshi¡¯s room to settle the wreckage.
¡¸L-Lord Douga!?¡¹
¡¸Listen to yourself! Even if I did excuse your initial attack, it is inexcusable that you persist in defiance of the princess!¡¹
¡¸B-but¡¡¹
¡¸Besides, what would you do if this woman turned her de to the princess right now!?¡¹
Rayna couldn¡¯t answer. It was clear from Haruna¡¯s prowess that she could easily strike Aearis before Rayna could get to here from this position.
¡¸Rayna, I know that you have a difficult time trusting men. The thought even crossed my mind, so I don¡¯t me you for making that mistake.¡¹
¡¸Princess¡¡¹
¡¸However, that issue is inconsequential in light of my orders to stand down.¡¹
Rayna becamepletely sulky after being scolded by her two bosses. Ignoring her, Douga bowed to Hiroshi and Haruna.
¡¸My deepest apologies. Any punishment you may offer, I will take.¡¹
Sighing in response to Douga¡¯s attitude, Haruna steadily sheathed her sword.
¡¸This is your only warning.¡¹
¡¸My apologies.¡¹
¡¸Is Hiroshi-sama all right?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not sure. I knew he¡¯d get like this, so I tried to put as much distance between us as possible¡¡¹
As Hiroshi managed to get a grip on his irregr panting and failed to stumble back on his feet repeatedly, Haruna watched him with anguish.
¡¸He had been through some terrible things. His life could have been threatened at one point.¡¹
¡¸¡He seems like a nice man. That may be why people have tried to take advantage of him.¡¹
When Hiroshi had just managed to get on his feet, and grabbed a rag from the kitchen to clean up his own vomit, Douga stopped him.
¡¸I¡¯ll do it.¡¹
Taking the rag off Hiroshi as he shook his head, Douga began cleaning the vomit without another word.
¡¸Azuma-kun. Here¡¯s your change of clothes.¡¹
cing a set of clothes she took out from Hiroshi¡¯s bag in the center of the table, Haruna, along with Aearis, dragged Rayna to the front door in attempted to gain as much distance between them as possible. Hiroshi silently took the clothes, and changed in his room before dragging his sleeping bag out onto the balcony, as if to shut out the rest of the world.
¡¸I¡¯ll sleep out there tonight.¡¹
Said Douga.
¡¸Just leave me alone, will ya¡?¡¹
Hiroshi replied, with a hoarse voice as he turned his worn out back. He climbed right into the sleeping bag, and closed the sliding door before jamming a stick in it to keep it from opening. As if to kick him when he¡¯s down, rain started sprinkling, and turned into a decent downpour in no time. The three watched with guilt and pity, as Rayna finally seemed to grasp the repercussions of her usations, and began to turn blue.
Not only did she disrespect the man who had saved her life, she had dug into the wound of his trauma nearly to the point of no return. This incident had set in stone the power bnce between the two adventurers and the three rescued individuals. In some sense, this incident would linger long into the days ahead of them.
Volume 1, 6
Volume 1, Chapter 6
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Good morning¡?¡¹
¡¸Mm, ¡®mornin¡¯¡¹
It was the early morning of the following day from when Aearis and the others had woken up. The sun had barely risen. Perhaps because of already getting a lot of sleep, Aearis had woken up earlier than usual. Surprised to see Hiroshi as he worked on something, she timidly greeted him.
¡¸Hiroshi-sama, is everything all right with your body?¡¹
¡¸Ye¡¯d think I¡¯d be the one askin¡¯ you instead usually¡¹
Hiroshi continued working as he gave a bitter smile. Aearis had been concerned about even being able to interact with Hiroshi after the painful events of the previous night, but from what she saw, he seemed to already have put the events ofst night into the past. What tremendous mental fortitude he had!
¡¸I am very sorry for what happened yesterday¡¹
¡¸Nah, don¡¯t worry ¡¯bout it. It ain¡¯t like yer in the wrong, plus the way things were yesterday, it was objectively easy to be mislead¡¹
¡¸But¡¡¹
¡¸Honestly, I wanna forget about it as soon as I can, so if yer really sorry, then can ya quit bringin¡¯ it up?¡¹
She nodded with an apologetic face, making sure to not carve in his wounds any further.
¡¸Umm, what about Haruna-sama?¡¹
Rposing herself, she asked him the next thing on her mind. Haruna should have been sleeping here yesterday night, but she couldn¡¯t see her anywhere.
¡¸She¡¯s gone to the mornin¡¯ market to replenish stock. We generally buy a hefty amount, so we usually go together, but there¡¯s somethin¡¯ I gotta make today. I feel bad about it, but I gotta have her go alone today¡¹
¡¸Is that right. And is that what you need to make?¡¹
¡¸Darn skippy¡¹
¡¸What sort of thing would that be?¡¹
Something he had gone out of his way to make, even so far as to leave the hard work to Haruna. Curious as to what it was, the question came unconsciously out of her mouth.
¡¸Tools to disguise appearance. You three are all pretty well-known, right?¡¹
¡¸¡Yes. Aside from me, those two are certainly¡¹
¡¸Also, the people from the Association are tellin¡¯ us to keep y¡¯all a secret, so that¡¯s why I figured we could start with appearance¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m sorry that you have to go so far for us¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ve gone this far in, so don¡¯t worry ¡®bout it. Plus I¡¯d feel bad about kickin¡¯ ya guys out as soon as ya woke up¡¹
Hiroshi gave a pleasant response, despite all that had happened yesterday. That only served to increase her apologetic feelings, though. She felt really bad when she saw how he was guarding himself when talking with her. She even had the audacity to think that maybe getting kicked out would be more reassuring.
¡¸Incidentally, I haven¡¯t seen Lord Douga or Rayna anywhere. Might you know where they are?¡¹
¡¸The old man Douga¡¯s contactin¡¯ someone in the room that he¡¯s borrowin¡¯. Rayna-san is in the same room, takin¡¯ some sorta punishment for yesterday¡¹
¡¸I-Is that right¡¡¹
Aearis nodded, wondering what in the world Hiroshi could be doing, especially since he sounded oddly reserved. This time around, it was different from his usual gynophobia. As they were discussing all of this, the entrance door opened and someone entered.
¡¸I¡¯m back¡¹
¡¸Wee back. Thanks for the hard work¡¹
¡¸There were all sorts of good-looking ingredients, so I stocked some unnned things¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. We¡¯ve gone so far as to get soy sauce and bonito kes, so let¡¯s think up a good Japanese food menuter¡¹
She nodded, taking out only the necessary things for the cart¡¯s inventory from the bag. Seeing that, Hiroshi cleaned up the table.
¡¸Finish the essory?¡¹
¡¸If I obsessed over it more, I could probably touch it up some more. But eh, not like it needs to be shy or nothin¡¯. This¡¯ll be fine. I made some internal medicine just in case¡¹
Hiroshi said as he showed the current product. Sure, it was a step below what he usually made, but it wasn¡¯t any less than apleted product. There was also the issue of how effective it would be, but as it didn¡¯t require walking into the public eye, there wasn¡¯t especially a need to fine-tune it.
¡¸What¡¯ll we do for breakfast?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re already on the subject of inventory, so how ¡¯bout the stuff from the cart? Everyone seems to like it¡¹
¡¸Got it¡¹
The conversation over, he gently cleaned up the rest of the table and took out cooking utensils, dexterously beginning preparations. That being said, they were already stewing the curry from the curry bread daily, and the dough was also plentiful in the storage from what they stocked in yesterday. Truthfully, this stocking was a type of insurance in the case of a scenario where they wouldn¡¯t be able to stock up. Times like these were when Prevent Rot enchantments truly shined.
Aearis had worried about a rift developing even between Hiroshi and Haruna due to yesterday, but she breathed a sigh of relief as she stood from a safe distance watching the two of them converse as per usual. Though it had only been a month, it seemed that the fruits of theirmunal lifestyle and respect for each other boundary had been enough to not let their rtionship be shaken by something like yesterday.
¡¸I do apologize for requesting something so selfish, but I¡¯d like to discuss yesterday with you. Could food preparations wait forter?¡¹
As he was getting ready to prepare breakfast, Douga interjected as he came out of the room, apanied by Rayna. Behind him, Rayna¡¯s face was painted with apology and regret, and there was no hint that she had ever been so hot-headed as yesterday.
¡¸I¡¯d prefer it if we didn¡¯t drag it up¡¡¹
¡¸I honestly would rather not talk about something that would make the meal unpleasant¡¡¹
¡¸However, if we go through with breakfast like this, the atmosphere might be too lenient. I did give her a punishment, but what happened yesterday was too dire to let her off¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna drew their breath, realizing that he had seen through their intentions to let it go. Honestly, Japanese people are the type to not enjoy judging individuals too much. They didn¡¯t want to deal with any potential problems for letting their emotions get the better of them in the heat of the moment.
It would be much too difficult to deal with any lingering resentment spurred on merely because of giving too harsh of a punishment. Some might scoff at them for giving too light of a punishment, but in the end, they were carefree adventurers. All they had to do was mercilessly cut off said person the next time they got arrogant.
To put it bluntly, from Hiroshi¡¯s point of view, Rayna was quite preferable to the people in his middle school days, since she at least showed signs of reflection and regret. With there being plenty of people in the world who would continue attacking even after all they did, she at least admitted her faults without holding unjustified resentment, even if that was partly due to sanctions imposed by Douga, so she was still redeemable. It wasn¡¯t unusual for people in the world tosh back.
And in the case of Haruna, she saw that Hiroshi, the victim, no longer cared. She was not the type of person to go so far as to dig it back up just to fulfill her own emotions. Only victims have the right to speak from their emotions, after all. Even if involved, if a third party were to give their own heated speech, nothing good would be of it. It would be a lie to say that she was entirely fine with this, but as she had quelled her wrath to give Rayna a second chance, she could not vite her own rules by bringing it back up again.
¡¸Ye might say that it be good for us to judge our own people, but it would be a problem if someone were to say that we lightened the punishment because of that. Plus it would not be surprising if the victim were to settle things out of their own wrath. I know that this be mighty self-serving, but I¡¯d like ye to tag along with me briefly¡¹
¡¸¡If we don¡¯t settle things, then it will hinder us, I see¡¹
¡¸Aye¡¹
Douga was apologetic, but unrelenting. The two of them nodded while sighing.
¡¸Now then, though there certainly is an inclination for blood to rise to her head, she is usuallyposed enough to protect Her Majesty¡¯s life. So why did you repeatedly disobey orders and let your emotions take control?¡¹
¡¸It was all due to personal sentiment. I am painfully aware that I am not just a failure as a knight, but also as a person¡¹
¡¸Ye might call it personal sentiment, but know that the title of knight is not so cheap that we would leave affairs to people who race on ahead from their mere hatred of men. I know it might be difficult, but ye must fill us in¡¹
Rayna lowered her head in response, repeating the gesture once more to Hiroshi and Haruna. Then, organizing the reasoning in her head, she chose the words that would most precisely describe it.
¡¸The circumstances are simple and extremely shameful. Right before said incident, there was some worthless trouble that we were having with the private army of Mack, which was what pulled us into it. When I woke up, I felt powerless and had lost myposure, so when I saw Her Majesty crying there, I could no longer hold back at all¡¹
The blood seemed to rise in her head as she recalled what had happened, which was why as opposed to her facial expression, her tone of voice was cid. She was desperately trying to keep her cool.
¡¸Indeed. Well, I daresay that I can guess as to what kind of trouble that was with the private army. But that is a bit weak for a reason¡¹
¡¸I must also regretfully inform you that the person heading the Mack army, umm¡¡¹
She seemed to be quite hesitant to say it, but realizing that she could not fool them, she strived to open her mouth. Furthermore, the private army of Mack was essentially a privately owned knight¡¯s order headed by someone by the name of Count Mack. It was privately owned, but its existence was still publicly epted, so they had permission toe and go as they pleased in the imperial castle. They had a long, proud history as a group, but what with thetest two generations of feudal lords, they had fallen, now treated as private troops.
¡¸And I am really sorry to say this, but that man strongly resembles Hiroshi-sama¡¡¹
¡¸¡Is that so. Now that you say it, leaving aside his true nature, his face and atmosphere do resemble him a bit. Doubtless, you can tell them apart, but in the sort of situation where blood has rushed to your head, I suppose it is not unreasonable that you would consider him to have the same face¡¹
Douga acknowledged what she had to say to a certain extent. As Rayna said, the man she spoke of was certainly the kind of person who would have no issue with doing such a thing. If she had mistaken him for that person, then it was understandable why she would plunge into this situation.
In addition, he had previously made various things dreadful for her in the past, so it could be said that he was the perfect candidate for mentally rubbing her the wrong way. Incidentally, being that Douga and others had skillfully isted themselves from him, Aearis knew nothing about that man.
The gist was that both sides were simply out of luck.
¡¸When I thought that vulgar man had made Her Majesty cry, the blood immediately rose to my head¡¡¹
¡¸Leave it at that¡¹
With a difficult expression of a mix of frustration and apology, she brought herself to say more, as if spitting out blood. Hiroshi had cut in, shaking his head and insisting that she need not say more.
¡¸Be as it may, I feel that if it were an utterly different person up close, ye¡¯d realize¡ but I guess it be pointless to say that to a hot-headed person¡¹
Rayna further shrunk as Douga eximed, ¡°How pathetic¡±.
¡¸Well, it¡¯s true that everyone¡¯s got someone they have bad blood with, and narrow-mindedness isn¡¯t somethin¡¯ ya can stop once it starts¡¹
¡¸Thank you for yourment. However, no matter how young she might be, there is no knight who would let go of their senses over something like that. There is nothing to be gained¡¹
Rayna nodded in response to Douga¡¯s severe words, as if agreeing. From what he had heard thus far, it sounded like she was too thorough in her habit of fiercely plunging ahead to the target. This was why she could not easily change trajectory once a decision was made.
¡¸Hey, okay if I ask ya somethin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸What might that be?¡¹
¡¸Ya say she¡¯s young, but just how old is Rayna anyway?¡¹
¡¸She turned fifteen about four months ago. From what I can see, ye might also be mistaken about the age of Her Majesty, so I¡¯ll fill ye in there too. Her Majesty be ten years old¡¹
While surprised upon hearing Aearis and Rayna¡¯s actual age, in another sense, it also made sense to him. He had initially thought Rayna to be a bit hopeless for being in her twenties, but if she was actually younger than him, things were different.
Fifteen years of age was after all middle school third year level in Japan. Sure, she was more capable than that of her Japanese counterparts, but still not adult level. Judging from this, her youth and reckless nature likely bolstered her to revolt against all of Aearis¡¯s orders and she ended up not being able to hold back. Of course, he was a bit concerned about her being the knight of a kingdom, but he had no choice but to leave that issue to Aearis and Douga.
Even for Aearis, his initial impression of her from her firm responses and appearances was that she was a bit older, but hearing her actual age and carefully observing her, it certainly wasn¡¯t out of the question. He hadn¡¯t noticed so much yesterday, but her stature was quite shorter than what he recalled from saving her. Nevertheless, she was right in the middle with 150 centimeters, so judging by her age, she still had good upbringing.
¡¸Well, I think I understand a lot better. Sorta feels like yesterday was just waitin¡¯ to happen¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Putting aside personal feelings, I at least get that there wasn¡¯t any way out of that one¡¹
The two Japanese people concluded upon hearing everything. In Haruna¡¯s case, she seemed to still not quite look impressed, but she felt obliged to observe what Hiroshi had said rather than say anything out-of-hand to avoid creating pressure.
¡¸Be as it may, I still do not think it¡¯s wise to end it like this¡¹
¡¸Well, we ain¡¯t gonna touch on that. You guys can go ahead and deal with personnel affairs on yer own¡¹
Douga nodded at Hiroshi, turning to Aearis.
¡¸Unfortunately, I have not a shred of discretionary power. Though I may be able to say what I desire, rather than saying this and that, it would probably be better for Lord Douga to make a verdict¡¹
¡¸Understood. However, unfortunately as it stands, there would be no point in dismissing you. For now we shall have her continue with her punishment, then make a verdict once she is safely back in her official position, if that is all right. I realize this is selfish of me, but unfortunately, as this is a situation where she would be liable to be treated as a rebel, I cannot currently give an effective penalty. Besides, since it is unclear if we would even have enough backing personnel as of now, I must make do with a personal intermediary. Because of that, though she be a fool, it would be difficult to release her since she has more than ample battle prowess. There will certainly be a punishment, so please do be content with this for now¡¹
¡¸Well, yeah that makes sense¡¡¹
¡¸For the time being, just hold the reins and do your best to make sure that she doesn¡¯t revolt¡¹
The leader and her retainers nodded gravely at Haruna. The conversation ended as Rayna rubbed her head against the ground in apology.
¡¸Well, let¡¯s leave all that aside¡ Couldja tell us why you were caught in the first ce?¡¹
It was finally the end of yesterday¡¯s events, albeit at the minimal line of things, and a thin air of rxation took ahold of the room again. It would seem that Hiroshi and Haruna had also resigned themselves to getting into something troublesome. It had been but more than a month since they had flown into this alternate dimension. The two high-schoolers had atst begun their firstrge-scale quest.
¡¸¡My apologies, but I have still not decided whether it is fine to tell you everything. Normally, we would be obliged to discuss everything with you as ye have saved us, but there are circumstances that do not allow us to easily do so. I realize it is selfish after putting ye through so much, but might ye give us a bit more time?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d expect as much, though¡¹
¡¸However, we can confidently say that we do not consider you enemies¡¹
¡¸Ain¡¯t that a little too rxed though?¡¹
¡¸You had three days. Were you an enemy, ye could have done as ye pleased, no?¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna unconsciously gave bitter smiles. They certainly could have done anything in those three days. But it wasn¡¯t like anything good would havee of it.
¡¸And this may sound a bit extreme, but¡ If ye youngsters had tricked us and we had betrayed ye, it would have likely all been over for ye¡¹
¡¸Yikes, that sounded super convincing¡¹
Hiroshi, with his loser aura, and Haruna, with ample caution, yet with a good-natured persona and clothing to match. It would definitely have all ended if this lot had betrayed them. After all, thanks to their experience over thisst month, they had struggled for their lives to gain enough caution, but in all other aspects, they were likely trying to get peace at any price.
They did notprehend in the slightest just how guarded those around them would be for breaking through Aearis¡¯s magic. If only they understood the weight of them making all the furniture or tools scattered about the house, they would have probably not so boldly created the magic tools like this.
If anything, the real reason why Douga could not trust either of them was because of how ill-prepared they were. Not just in their sense of values, however. The problem was far bigger than that.
From what they had discussed, they were not just selling whatever they could get their hands on for their livelihood, but in the sense that they were able to make and even sell their own tools in the stand.
¡¸Well, with that, I suppose we should decide where to go from here¡¹
¡¸Right. First off, Aearis and everyone else have to hide their identity still, right?¡¹
¡¸Indeed¡¹
¡¸Then, we¡¯d best prepare some fake names, I¡¯d say¡¹
Douga and Aearis nodded. Only Rayna looked dissatisfied.
¡¸Now, what sort of names would be good?¡¹
¡¸If they¡¯re too far off from yer real names, ya might not react when called, so¡ Alright, would Elle work for ya, Aearis-san?¡¹
¡¸What a cute name. Let us go with that¡¹
¡¸If yer cool with that. What ¡¯bout you, old man?¡¹
¡¸Could I use the name I used a while back? It¡¯s Dojison¡¹
¡¸I won¡¯t even ask why the heck ya made a fake name in the first ce¡¹
Douga had burst out upon hearing Hiroshi¡¯s somewhat drawn-back quip. To put things bluntly, with someone as talented as him, there was many a time when he was forced to do a strange job or two. Since using his actual name would have been dangerous, it was necessary to use that sort of odd name.
¡¸Well, not like it¡¯s guaranteed to be safe here, so rather than reusing it, how ¡¯bout we go with Doul?¡¹
¡¸Aye. Then, I shall be Doul from now on¡¹
¡¸That sort of resembles my own name¡¹
¡¸Is it disagreeable to you?¡¹
¡¸No. It makes me feel like I am your grandchild, which is in itself fun, I say¡¹
Rayna unconsciously frowned at the two of them delighted over their fake names. While not unnoticed, they all decided to ignore it and continue the conversation.
¡¸¡¯N then we have Rayna. Any ideas?¡¹
¡¸If we need something not too far off, then maybe Reena?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what they say. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸¡Well, I don¡¯t really feel like calling myself something fake in the first ce¡¡¹
¡¸Circumstances are circumstances. Gotta ept it¡¹
Rayna grudgingly nodded at Hiroshi. They all felt a tinge of unease at how she was acting. With that reaction, he came up with just one policy.
¡¸So for what¡¯s gonna happen from now on, Elle will generally do things together with either the old man or Toudou-san. And as a general rule, Reena must under no circumstances be with Elle¡¹
Hiroshi had immediately started calling her by her fake name, so she frowned for an instant. Upon realization of the crazy thing he had just said, there was no dy in the blood that rose to her head.
¡¸Why not!?¡¹
¡¸Cuz, ya¡¯d always call her Your Majesty in front of other people, right?¡¹
Not expecting Hiroshi to point that out, Rayna was at a loss for words. Even she had confidence in herself easily making such a mistake.
¡¸¡¯N now, to discuss what¡¯ll happen from now on¡¹
¡¸But I need to go to work today. We do thister, after all have a lot to negotiate¡¹
While slightly battling with her reluctance to leave Hiroshi here, Haruna had decided to go to work as per scheduled. Sure, she was worried, but there was no meaning in both of them being in this cramped room. She had of course thought of having Hiroshi be the one to go out, but if there were the sorts of people like yesterday mixed in with the unknown quantities, that was even more unbearable. Comparing the risks, it would doubtless be much better to leave Hiroshi here with Douga as an intermediary.
¡¸Please do. I¡¯ll prepare whatever I can make here. Anythin¡¯ happens, just contact me via card¡¹
¡¸I know¡¹
¡¸What¡¯ll ya do for morning and noon?¡¹
¡¸If I prepare anything right now, it¡¯ll gette, so I¡¯ll just eat whatever once I¡¯m over there¡¹
Upon answering his question, she carried the rapier and belongings, immediately leaving the room. After seeing her leave, he began various preparations for breakfast. Once they had finished eating the quite well-acimed curry bread, he began various preparations for filling their stock.
¡¸What are you starting on there?¡¹
¡°Well, quite a few things¡± he said as he continued working on whatever this was. It seemed like he was making daily necessities.
¡¸Is that all you¡¯ve been researching since arriving here?¡¹
¡¸There are honestly other priorities, but what with havin¡¯ to procure equipment, secure locations, and the issue of ingredients, I hafta wait on those. ¡¯N I don¡¯t wanna waste my time, and those priorities are gonna be time consumin¡¯, so we¡¯re researchin¡¯ lotsa things like the food situation around us or countermeasures for skin trouble¡¹
¡¸Hm. Might I ask what sort of things ye must prioritize?¡¹
¡¸Gotta find a way to return to our own country. ¡¯N I bet y¡¯all already get the picture of our situation, yeah?¡¹
¡¸You mean that you are guests from the Unknown Continent?¡¹
Hiroshi nodded once in response. This was the perfect opportunity to ask what needed to be asked.
¡¸The two of you will have been here around one month, yes?¡¹
¡¸Yup¡¹
¡¸And why do you not ept the protection of the country?¡¹
¡¸Toudou-san is also in agreement with this, but how should I put it¡ I could just smell somethin¡¯ troublesome¡¹
¡°As you¡¯d expect, right?¡± said Hiroshi. Aearis couldn¡¯t deny that, looking down. As he smiled bitterly at her mannerism, he got started on preparing the curry bread.
¡¸Anyhoo, hopefully this satisfies ya. We were free, plus we seeded in rescuin¡¯ ya¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s true. It¡¯s just a little dissatisfying to think that what brought it on was because of an issue in cooking this curry bread¡¡¹
¡¸What might ye mean?¡¹
¡¸Mm?Ohh. See, this curry bread, when making it, it easily gets on yer clothes. And this ain¡¯t any ordinary dirtyness; it doesn¡¯t wash off very easily, so we thought to make some strong resistant clothing by gatherin¡¯ threads, ¡¯N then we went to git some easy-t-git thread from spider webs¡¹
No matter how many times they heard the reason, Douga and Rayna made dubious faces. Normally, they would figure you¡¯d just go and buy work clothing, but not in the case of this loser otaku. He probably thought something unnecessary, like making them was cheaper or something.
There was also the fact that not just in Fane, but in the majority of the world, making your own clothing wasmon practice, which was why clothing was high priced. However, since spider webs were made of silk, and if you were to make and sell the string and buy work clothing, it would be easy to get more than enough clothing. Was it just their imagination?
¡¸Well, thinking back on it, I do realize that it¡¯s super luxurious to want to go to all the trouble of making silk clothin¡¯ from spiders when we stock up or sell bread at the stand¡¹
¡¸¡So have you finished the clothing yet?¡¹
¡¸Nope. Gotta make the sewing machine first, but it¡¯s a little cramped here, so we stopped at the part where we had to gather the ingredients¡¹
Douga felt like he wanted to interject and ask if he gathered the ingredients, but felt like it would be a losing battle, so he shut his mouth. These two had so much talent and ability, yet they had the audacity to waste it. Aearis and the others couldn¡¯t help but feel anxiety at what was toe.
As circumstances would have it, once you advanced past a certain threshold, the conversation would ze through at astounding speed. But despite being right in the middle of one of these troublesome conversations, Haruna, who was supposed to be working outside, brought in something even more bothersome.
¡ºAzuma-kun, can you hear me?¡»
¡ºWhat¡¯s up?¡»
¡ºSome trouble sprang up at Merizza¡¯s ce. I don¡¯t think I can handle it all by myself, so could you maybe lend a hand?¡»
¡ºLemme talk it over with the old man¡»
Feeling something slightly different from Haruna¡¯s tone, his face grew grim. Stopping his work on cooking the fish-paste cakes, he moved them aside before turning back to Douga. Furthermore, Merizza was a merchant they hade to know from various requests, most of which were misceneous affairs, buttely, things had been going quite favorably.
¡¸Old man, got a moment?¡¹
¡¸What be the matter?¡¹
¡¸Seems like Toudou-san¡¯s been mixed up in some sorta trouble at her destination. Seems likely that she won¡¯t be able to handle it by herself, so is it alright if I go out a bit?¡¹
¡¸Ye need not pay heed to us. Ye already fed us, and it isn¡¯t like I¡¯m too senile to look after the ce¡¹
¡¸Yeah? Then sorry, please stay put here. Eat some fruit or whatever ya want¡¹
Hiroshi left him with that, bringing a bag with various tools and a hand axe, then dashed out of the room. Incidentally, since he didn¡¯t really know what was happening for lunch, he had prepared Kansai-style hotdogs with curry-vored cabbage inside. Needless to say, his home-made sausage and ketchup had high ratings.
¡ºWhere do we meet up?¡»
¡ºCan youe to the east gate? It¡¯s because you have to go out of the gate once¡»
¡ºRoger¡»
Following Haruna¡¯s guidance, he used up arge amount of discardable amplification items he had made via alchemy, dashing over all the way to the east gate. From how Haruna had sounded, he didn¡¯t have the leisure to wander around, plus even if he were to use a canal or stagecoach, there was no guarantee of finding one perfect for his destination. In addition, this wasn¡¯t Japan, so those sorts of rides wouldn¡¯t have regr departure times. As the transportation gates couldn¡¯t be used without going to the central za, it was a bit of a gamble. Which was why it was fundamental as an adventurer to cut unnecessary costs.
In order to move as quickly as possible, he dashed full speed along the back streets. He did so not only because it would obviously decrease the distance to his destination, but also because there were a lot of people in the main street and running at this speed might endanger them.
¡¸Toudou-san!¡¹
¡¸Azuma-kun, that was pretty fast¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s cuz I came here full speed¡¹
He said, taking out and showing her this variety of movement speed amplification items that could be stacked. Haruna saw them, nodding satisfactorily. With Hiroshi¡¯s stamina, even moving along the canal with 20 minutes to his destination wouldn¡¯t be difficult to maintain top speed. To an adventurer, obstructions like slow movement could easily be solved by amplification items. To add further, he was only slowpared to other adventurers, but was more than double the average person.
¡¸So, what¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸She says that Lumina-chan went out to gather medicinal herbs and hasn¡¯te back¡¹
¡¸When¡¯d she leave?¡¹
¡¸Apparently, early this morning. She left with adventurers and the other girls, but ran into some trouble and fled, and it seems that some of them weren¡¯t there when they got back¡¹
¡¸Well that sucks. How many were there?¡¹
¡¸We know of three. All girls¡¹
While arranging for their departure, they exchanged all necessary information. Incidentally, it wasn¡¯t all that rare for the children of shop owners to gather herbs or fruit from trees. The Adventurer¡¯s Association was regrly sending out gathering requests for things like medicinal ingredients or longsting food ingredients, but unless they were in quite the emergency or had to travel far for certain things, they would normally take on a number of requests alongside adventurers, as the Association¡¯s prices were high depending on the quality. Providing that it wasn¡¯t the sort of business that required going to multiple towns, even the children of the bigger stores quite often would just go to collect things.
Furthermore, at times like these, the majority of adventurer¡¯s fulfilling these gathering requests were experienced people, rather than upstarts. Or rather, startingpletely from scratch wouldn¡¯t get you many requests until you passed the test from the personnel. In other words, the adventurers who set off at times like these were generally people who had a decent amount of battle prowess and had their wits about them to a certain degree. This time around as well, there were adventurers with quite a bit of results in the gathering area.
This meant that they had ran into the kind of trouble that not even that level of adventurer could handle.
¡¸Incidentally, what kind of trouble?¡¹
¡¸They say a rather strong monster appeared a bit closer to the mountain¡¹
¡¸Another fishy story, I see¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Plus I¡¯ve been hearing not-very-good rumors recently¡¹
¡¸I heard from Anne that the number of missing children¡¯s increasing. Might be another one o¡¯ those again¡¹
As they went to the ce that Haruna had heard about ahead of time where adventurers would end up fist fighting with monsters, they exchanged their thoughts. Other than them, there were several adventurers under Merizza¡¯s patronage on the search. The reward for this sort of request was usually nearly nothing, but there weren¡¯t too many adventurers who turned it down because of theck of mary rewards. On the contrary, there were mostly adventurers who were willing to act even without a reward if it meant helping their patron in times of trouble.
Incidentally, Hiroshi and Haruna were also being favored by Merizza because they had gone gathering with Lumina for some good quality materials. As ofte, since Merizza would sell more with wholesalepared to the rate of the Association, she would sell materials solely gathered from punitive work. There was many a time that they epted her requests directly as part of that rtionship, and she was also just a friendly partner to them.
Furthermore, the work that they took the most was tool repair/modification and chores like mending shops, so in terms of battle prowess, because of their equipment, they weren¡¯t sought after much. This time around, they were sought out because of their above-average tactfulness. After all, this situation required as much help as possible.
¡¸¡Toudou-san¡¹
When they had only half more of the distance to the warce, Hiroshi had suddenly stopped, calling Haruna.
¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹
¡¸That ce is unnaturally distorted¡¹
Haruna frowned as she looked where Hiroshi was pointing. Certainly, the vegetation was a bit out-of-order, but she honestly only felt it to be slightly odd. She wouldn¡¯t think it strange for it to just be her imagination.
¡¸You sure?¡¹
¡¸At least that¡¯s how it looks to me¡¹
Perhaps because of the difference inposition and ability points, Hiroshi had far more keenness with these things. However, it was still bad to go by themselves. They decided to call a few adventurer¡¯s over.
¡¸Is this the ce you said feels off?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Looks a bit unnatural¡¹
¡¸¡You, might be right¡¹
The young man answered with a grim face. He was the type of adventurer called a thief or scout, good at tracking or finding/dissolving traps, but not suited forbat, training only his crucial skills.
¡¸Seriously?¡¹
¡¸There are footprints. And they were left rtively recently. Also, they¡¯re in disguise¡¹
¡¸But of course, that just makes it all the more strange¡¹
Added the thief, and everyone¡¯s expressions grew stiff.
¡¸Might this be a bit dangerous?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. But if we all went together, that would be bad if they held one of those missing children hostage. Plus it could be a false lead. I¡¯ll investigate a bit with the others over here, and I¡¯d like you guys to check the other areas just in case¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ll be alright with them?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Haruna can use her support magic, and these guys are pretty good at concealing their presence, maybe from all the gathering they¡¯ve been doing. They can even ambush on asion. Rather than wear slow armor, it¡¯s better to travel light to avoid being detected¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna wryly smiled at what he said. True, they were good at erasing their presence, constantly avoiding useless fights by only silently moving behind favorable monsters. It was almost strange why they didn¡¯t go a step further and open locks or break traps. Also, not just them, but the majority of Fairy Tale Chronicle yers knew how to make soundproof barriers for the necessary quests. They were actually well-suited for these stealth missions.
¡¸We¡¯ll start out making soundproof barriers, but with more people, movement would be difficult, so I guess it¡¯s for the best that there are few. And when we find something, we contact you?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. You can also give us your location¡¹
¡¸Then how about the three of us go? Cause we can manage with both firepower and defense as it is. Plus I have a bit of a bad feeling about this. It would be seriously bad if we got confused about anything¡¹
The other adventurers nodded seriously at Haruna as she tied up her hair. They took no time in splitting the teams and scattering off. It was as if there were some rule that mandated they move promptly as soon as their directions were decided.
¡¸We can go¡ºtransparent¡», but whaddya say?¡¹
¡¸Can we still see each other?¡¹
¡¸We can see whoever allows us to see them. However, I used cheap materials from leftovers, so ya can guess how much time itsts¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s try them until the effects wear off¡¹
¡¸Roger¡¹
¡¸Anything else?¡¹
¡¸I brought all sorts of bags, so there¡¯s a lot to choose from regardless of the amount. I¡¯ll give a brief exnation while we move¡¹
Haruna and the thief nodded. It wasn¡¯t like they were just researching about cooking and seasoning for thisst month. The items were all within the outskirts of Wulls, and they had already checked what they could make, so they had provided storage in ordance. Anyhow, it would be clumsy to waste time checking usable items when there was nothing but a bad feeling in the air. The three of them formed a temporary party,municating as quietly as possible while pursuing the footprints at lightning speed.
***
Tatsuya Kazuki and Mio Mizuhashi were out of luck. After all, as they were ying Fairy Tale Chronicle, the screen had suddenly filled with errors, and when they came to they were tied up.
¡¸Well this isn¡¯t good¡¹
¡¸Agreed¡¹
Shackled hand and foot, they had been thrown into a jailhouse together with two other kidnapped people, talking offhandedly about their situation without letting their voices be heard. Plus their voices were worn out, not having ess to water for a long time.
¡¸Tatsu-nii, is this what I think it is?¡¹
¡¸Yep, it¡¯s gotta be¡¹
¡¸Which means you were actually lucky for not being killed?¡¹
¡¸Hey, don¡¯t put it like that¡¡¹
Tatsuya didn¡¯t even try to hide his tired expression. He was quite down when Mio had said exactly what he was thinking out loud.
Tatsuya and Mio had also realized that they hade to Fairy Tale Chronicle or a world resembling it. They had various reasons for thinking that way, but the biggest one of all was that Tatsuya had managed to use magic as they were testing their escape.
¡¸So. Since this is the situation and all, any idea on how to get through this?¡¹
¡¸Seems like we can use our skills, but not bare-handed. What about you, Tatsu-nii?¡¹
¡¸I was able to use magic, but it¡¯d be pretty terrible if I couldn¡¯t hit them directly¡¡¹
¡¸True¡¹
Mio only sighed at what Tatsuya had said. If they used attack magic in a ce like this, there was no guarantee what would happen to the people around them
¡¸But this really gives me mixed feelings¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¹
¡¸The girl who was taken off earlier, probably¡¡¹
¡¸Ohhh, yeah, probably¡¡¹
The two of them only looked down as they felt the painfulck of power in this disgusting situation. The bunch that had thrown them in here weren¡¯t the best looking people, taking with them a girl in herte teens, not especially cute or hot but with aparatively voluptuous body. They had probably judged that as she was neither the cutest or prettiest female in the area, her product value wouldn¡¯t drop no matter what they did to her.
¡¸And I wasn¡¯t chosen because I don¡¯t have much flesh on me, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, probably¡¹
As he said that, he looked again at his cousin¡¯s appearance. She looked no different from when she was in bed connected to an IV. With some assistance she could barely move her mouth and eat things, which was possibly why she had a slight woman-like bulge in her chest area, but her hemiplegia confined her to the bed, so there was nearly no muscle on her body. She normally had a cute, orderly face, but when she was this thin, it was quite difficult to say she was appealing. Being bedridden, her hair wasn¡¯t taken care of properly, and it stretched down unkempt.
Just based off of the register, judging by how she was at the age of transferring to middle school, if her body were to heal and she ate properly, there was still a chance that her stature or chest would have much potential for growth. But he knew that she had practically given up. Anyone would feel hopeless after being in both an ident and sustaining an incurable disease.
¡¸I wonder what would¡¯ve happened if I was healthy?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t think about it too much. Not like you¡¯d reach a pretty conclusion¡¹
¡¸Mhm. But I¡¯m hungry¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, since we haven¡¯t eaten anything for two days¡¡¡¹
Their captors apparently had no inclination of giving them food. He questioned why they would starve their goods, but in their case it made sense. They probably felt like cleaning up after them would be a drag, or that it was a waste to buy food for them since they¡¯d be sold soon. They might even be thinking that if someone died, they could just replenish their stock.
They had only been there two days, but there were others who had been there longer. To put it bluntly, the other people were far from making boisterous noise- they didn¡¯t even seem to have enough energy to move their bodies. Thinking of how a normal human could at most endure 72 hours of abstaining from food and drink, it was a given that they would be that exhausted. The only ones who were still well were maybe the three girls who had been locked in here earlier.
¡¸Seems you lot are still kickin¡¯, maggots¡¹
Feeling hunger and closing his mouth, he was contemting stealing at least some food when a fierce-looking man called out to the jailhouse in a very sadistic voice. He must be the leader. Of course, no one dared respond. The people who had been in there a while were doing all they could to keep living, so there was no way they could give a proper response. The girls who had been freshly brought here were swallowed by the antagonistic atmosphere, shaking fearfully as they cowered.
¡¸I¡¯ll be calling over your new masters now. However, they aren¡¯t gonna buy all of you, of course, so the leftovers will be disposed of. If ya don¡¯t wanna die, then you¡¯d best make sure they choose you¡¹
The leader-like man said as he brought out some underlings. As they left the jailhouse, the remaining person went out of their way to leave a phrase that shattered their hopes.
¡¸Oh yeah. Don¡¯t make the mistake of wanting to escape. This ce is in the middle of the forest, so it¡¯s teeming with monsters. And we have some skilled people loitering around, so don¡¯t think that you maggots can do anything about that. Although you probably don¡¯t even have the strength in you¡¹
Hearing that, he realized the other reason why they hadn¡¯t given them food. Even if someone here had battle prowess, if left without food or drink for three days, they probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to fight.
¡¸Wow, this sucks¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mm¡¡¡¹
The two of them whispered to each other powerlessly as they gazed at the men leaving. Honestly, though not necessarily right off the bat, it was highly likely that they would be disposed of. If they had at least eaten something, they¡¯d have enough energy to repay their captors, but definitely not now. They hadn¡¯t even thought that humans could be thiscking in motivation just from being deprived of food and water.
¡¸I really don¡¯t like dreams where I¡¯m hungry, but at this point we kinda have to hope that this is just one of those dreams¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Hm?¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
Mio looked like she sensed something, and Tatsuya questioned her. But before Mio could answer, a familiar voice of disappointment and anger rang out.
¡¸Seriously, why the heck did it have to pan out like this¡¡¹
They had heard this voice numerous times. The owner of said voice had helped them on many an asion. At least in Tatsuya¡¯s case, he and Hiroshi had a give-and-take rtionship. Thinking of the area where the voice was heard, he should have been visible, but there was no one in sight.
¡¸¡¡Is this, Hiro?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Sensei?¡¹
¡¸Mm? If ya know that name, are ya guys yers?¡¹
Along with those words, an ipetent-looking young adult appeared. His hair and eyes were different colors, and his height was a bit taller than they remembered, but that person was none other than the crafting maniac Hiro. Next to him was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl with beauty and mor. They had some distance between them.
£¨We might be in good hands£©
He knew Hiro well. He didn¡¯t have anything on him resembling armor, but his body wasn¡¯t so weak that he could get hurt by bandits. Of course, this bad situation only happened because Tatsuya and Mio were bound up from the beginning, and no one had felt them to be a threat. He was confident that with the knife he had from the outset and no hostages to hold him down, he could easily win against humans.
¡¸Azuma-kun, let¡¯s leave that forter. Let¡¯s first think of how to help these people¡¹
Hiro nodded, looking around. The female seemed to have a quite higher level. Feeling the uncertainty slip away to certainty, Tatsuya and Mio decided to remain silent for the time being.
***
Hiroshi was tempted to exchange information that wasn¡¯t currently necessary, so Haruna stopped him where he was. There would be a need to make various preparations to save these people from that scale of an organization. If they didn¡¯t prioritize the right sequence of steps, they would end up regretting it.
¡¸But ya know it ain¡¯t feasible to just take everyone here at once. There¡¯s too many of ¡®em to carry with one transportation stone, and there¡¯s only three, so even if we treated some of ¡®em like luggage, we¡¯d still be left with half the amount o¡¯people¡¹
¡¸Seems like Jade-san called for relief, so I think we just need to buy time here until then¡¹
¡¸Then we¡¯d best get to barricadin¡¯ this ce¡¹
Hiroshi said as he fished through his bag and looked around. He wanted to get to it, but they didn¡¯t have anything to set traps with. To add to it, Jade was a member of a different party of bandits. He was currently elsewhere, investigating things like other potential hostages and how strong the enemy was.
¡¸Sensei, if you let us out of here, I¡¯ll set the traps¡¹
¡¸Yeah? Then I better open this up first¡¹
While grumbling things like ¡°but I can¡¯t open locks¡¡±, he was checking the jail doors to see what could be done when Haruna called out to him.
¡¸If you could hold up a soundproof and silencing barrier as a precaution, I¡¯ll knock off the keys¡¹
¡¸Alright. You got this¡¹
Nodding at Haruna¡¯s proposal, Hiroshiunched a silencing barrier. Seeing from the flow of magic that the barrier was erected, Haruna put her all into a beam of light that precisely lopped off the key. Furthermore, the soundproof barrier made sure that no sound escaped from a set area, while the silencing barrier erased sound from a set area. Either one could be adjusted depending on the power exerted, so for precaution, he had put heavy emphasis on both.
¡¸Hold still for a sec¡¹
Opening the cell, he shattered the hand and feet cuffs of the two Fairy Tale Chronicle yers. If they were yers, then it was highly likely that they had yer character skills. Even without the typical adventurer skillset, they had to have the basic attack skills, and the parameters were certainly higher than the average person. If everything went well they would be a huge help, and even if not, they could still guard. He didn¡¯t remember either of them, but they seemed to know him. Then they would definitely have more of a skillset than the average adventurer and should be able to defend themselves.
At least that was why he had saved them, but his expectations were delicately broken.
¡¸Oof¡¡¡¢I can¡¯t get up¡¡¡¹
¡¸Didn¡¯t think my empty stomach would affect my feet, damn¡¡¡¹
He looked around as they said that. Come to think of it, there wasn¡¯t really any scent of excreted matter in this jailhouse. They probably hadn¡¯t been given nearly any food or drink. To add further, there were some who looked as if they had been assaulted. Not that it was strange for those tools to be lying around.
¡¸We haven¡¯t been given anything to eat since we were captured¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sorry, Sensei¡¡my legs and loins just aren¡¯t working¡¡¡¹
Sighing at the two of them with their anemia, he handed some water and bread to them out of his bag. Incidentally, the main reasons why they couldn¡¯t get up were certainly hunger and dehydration, but being in the same position for a long time also contributed to muscle atrophy and numbness of the feet in their case.
¡¸Everyone else, please wait a bit longer for food. I can¡¯t feed all of ya with what we got here¡¹
¡¸So work for what you ate, okay?¡¹
The two of them took out all the water they had as they spoke. After all, from what they could see, mostly everyone was dealing with dehydration. The hostages¡¯ eyes widened as they saw the kegs and cups that came out of the bag. After all, most people don¡¯t go around walking with these things in their bags.
¡¸Okay, what can you two do?¡¹
¡¸Well, if you¡¯re Hiro, then I think you¡¯d understand if I said that I¡¯m Obaba, right?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m Mick¡¹
¡¸¡¡Obaba and Mick? For reals!?¡¹
Befuddled at their introductions, Hiroshi practically groaned. The girl was constantly referring to him as ¡°Sensei Sensei¡±, so he figured that of his three pupils, she was ying the opposite sex, but her character was thergest and the most handsome, so it was still surprising to see a girl behind such a masculine character. On the other hand, he thought from the beginning that Obaba was a different gender. But he certainly didn¡¯t see him being such ady killer. He had after all yed as a magic-wielding old woman, plus he was super into the roley.
¡¸Ah whatever. Mick, ya said ya¡¯d do somethin¡¯ ¡¯bout the traps. Can ya move soon?¡¹
He decided to consider the situation and push away personal feelings.
¡¸¡¡Sorry, it¡¯s still a bit difficult¡¹
¡¸I think I have leftovers from request potions I made. Would that work?¡¹
¡¸Dunno. This is our first time experiencing a lot of things after all¡¹
Hiroshi nodded at Tatsuya in agreement, going ahead and handing a leftover potion to them. They took it and downed it at once, and then the two of them checked their conditions.
¡¸I think I can move now¡¹
¡¸No confidence, but may as well try¡¡¡¹
Nodding at them, Hiroshi proceeded with the preparations for traps and barricades. During the procedure, they heard footsteps from further back. That being said, Hiroshi and Mio were the only ones able to hear them, as their sensory ability points were quite high.
¡¸Someone¡¯s here. Mick, Obaba, ya guys just wait inside. From the amount of footsteps I hear, seems like there¡¯s a lot o¡¯peeps at the entrance, so I¡¯m countin¡¯ on ya for back there, Toudou-san¡¹
¡¸Roger that¡¹
Quickly finishing assigning them roles, the two of them prepared for their first inter-personal battle. At the same time they were readying themselves, the back wall at the back of the cave crumbled with a tremendous sound. Beyond it was a mass of skinhead muscle, the body type of which rivaled that of an ogre or troll. In its hands were a club and a beat-up, unconscious Jade. Throwing Jade somewhere, the skinhead made a truculent grin as it saw Haruna, swinging the club around as if trying to intimidate her. Overwhelmed by its presence and sudden appearance, the two of them regained their bearings and readied themselves for battle.
¡¸Toudou-san!¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m fine, leave it to me!¡¹
Haruna stopped Hiroshi, who was ready to charge to the front and push back this boss-level opponent. Quite honestly, this type of opponent was the easiest for Haruna to defeat.
¡¸Right. Leaving this area open wouldn¡¯t be good¡¹
Seeing the amount of peopleing down from the passageway, he muttered while clicking his tongue, confronting this group of bandits, shaking as per usual. With an unexpected start, the curtains rose on their first inter-personal battle.
Fending off the club that was swung down, she countered weakly on purpose. For the skinhead, who had muscle like steel, it was no more than a light bruise, but she had managed to confirm that without using a magic sword, it was possible to damage him normally. To add further, he did not seem to have regenerative capabilities like Hiroshi where the wounds would heal right before your eyes. With that information, Haruna began with two attacks against her opponent¡¯s one attack, chiseling off his stamina.
Along with a beast-like groan, the club rumbled as it was swung around. If a normal human were hit by this, they would probably be minced in an instant. However, such a wide swing wasn¡¯t all that difficult to monitor. Since Jade was unconscious nearby, she would have to mind where she dodged, but other than that, nothing else.
¡¸Hah! Tei!¡¹
She lightly cut through the arm holding the club twice. If she were to cut too deeply, the muscle might solidify the grip. Therefore, it was fundamental to graze the surface when stabbing. And honestly, she wanted to just avoid messing up and killing him. It was highly likely that this would be a battle of attrition, so it was no good to use special moves when unnecessary.
A swing came down from the right. She lightly stepped away to evade it. She dug into his chest and nk. Slipping under the level swing, she once again cut the same area with precision. A punch from the left arm. She evaded it by cutting his arm. She cut him a third time, then escaped from his bosom. Magnificent and sweet, she danced as she led her opponent by the nose, racking up damage on him little by little.
It seemed like the skinhead did not take kindly to the unanticipated prowess of this little girl, small enough to blow away. Howling like a beast, he swung down the club with full power, moaning vexingly as that, too, was easily fended off. The rapier should have smashed the moment it hit, but no matter how many times they shed, the club was always flung away. His attacks were stupidly powerful and each swing was sharp, not to be underestimated, but Haruna¡¯s body was not even scratched.
If not for Haruna¡¯s skillset, even with Hiroshi¡¯s specially made rapier, it would have probablysted only up to the third parry. And even with Haruna¡¯s skillset, the average weapon would have absolutely broken long ago. That was just how powerful the skinhead was. This huge man was strong enough to where even a knight would have to have a great amount of skill to avoid having the tables turned on them.
It was just that in this case, he went up against the wrong opponent.
£¨I¡¯d better have this regted soon£©
After several more rounds of ¡°hit and away¡±, she decided to leave a good amount of distance between them, reconfirming the location of everything. Calmly determining the locations, she quickly decided where she would incite him to. As she had to attack whilst running around, she was being chased into a strange position. However, at least there was no worry of a stray bullet flying toward Jade. After that, all she had to do was guide him toward the jailhouse front and then focus on battle without worrying about the small things, away from the unreliable area she was in. Of course, it was bad to have the jailhouse to her rear. Her opponent¡¯s attacks could miss, striking the ground and scattering rubble, which had enough power to cause damage in close-quarters.
Several times, she had felt the flow of mana from the entrance, characteristic of when magic was usually activated, but she listened to Hiroshi and forced herself to cool down. She also figured that at worst, Obaba and Mick would support her to some degree, and if she screwed up then that would be what would weigh Hiroshi down. At times like this, without panicking, she must firmlyplete her role. That was the greatest way to contribute to the entire party.
¡¸Hmph!¡¹
¡¸Not good enough!¡¹
One who knows little often repeats it. She elegantly parried her opponent¡¯s downward swing, leading him on to where he lost sight of her. She flowed from that to behind him, unleashing her special attack skill, Break Hit. It was a subspecies of Smash with the objective of fiercely crushing the opponent¡¯s stance, which sent the skinhead to fall straight forward. As soon as she had retreated to the correct nned-out spot, she smashed him from the side and sent him flying.
At first nce, Break Hit may appear convenient, but unlike Smash, which was practically a guaranteed down for superrge-framed opponents, half-heartedlyunching the attack would do nothing more than halt their movements for an instant at best. If you were looking to guarantee a break in your opponent¡¯s stance, on top of dealing a decent amount of damage, you would have to drive it into them with the right timing. Meeting this particr timing was unexpectedly difficult, plus you could just down the opponent with Smash or its extension skills. There wasn¡¯t much reason to use this move.
But as it came out faster than Smash and could be used without hardly having to move, if you used it properly, it was one of those exceptionally effective skills that revealed the yer¡¯s talent, and Haruna enjoyed using it against humanoids and beasts. The biggest reason as to why she didn¡¯t use it in the fight with the piaranorks was because she hadcking experience with bugs or crustaceans. Especially against things like spiders, with a low centre of gravity, she wasn¡¯t sure how to strike them down because of their secure footing, so even for Haruna, an effective application of it was difficult. There was also the fact that as long as Hiroshi was there as the vanguard, there was no point in going so far as to solo things, and she had merely resorted to using attack skills.
¡¸Shadow Saber!¡¹
She cut through him with a dark-type magic sword that took off more stamina and MP than it did HP. It was an advanced magic sword with the special effects of Stun, Confusion, Fear, and Bind; four types of status irregrities, perfect after striking an opponent¡¯s weak point. Needless to say, on top of everything other than Bind barely working against insect-based bosses, even Bind had shallow effects.
¡¸Just in case, I¡¯ll give him another strike¡¹
Just in case, Haruna drove another strike into the fallen, fainted skinhead that resembled the previous. After he convulsed with a twitch, the skinhead stopped all movement. After she checked for some sort of life sign, she tied him up with the wire in her bag. If one were to ask why she were carrying such a thing around, it was because it was useful for all sorts of things, such as securing lumber in a trunk, using the principle of leverage to hang things up, or temporarily securing things for carpentry. Incidentally, this was something that Haruna had made with Hiroshi¡¯s guidance, enchanting it.
¡¸And with this, it¡¯s good¡¹
Confirming that he was in no condition to move, she went to assist Hiroshi when she noticed the thick scent of blood drifting through the air.
¡¸Azuma-kun!?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s alright, it ain¡¯t my blood!¡¹
While shivering as per usual and brandishing the axe, he replied to Haruna in a shaky voice. When she looked, she saw the corpse of a man who looked like a bandit near the entrance, an arrow stabbed through his chest, and arge pool of blood flowing from his chest.
Other than that, Hiroshi¡¯s feet area was pretty messy. After all, knives, arrows, and pebbles were rolling about the floor inrge amounts, the tip of the sword¡¯s de broken and scattered, and there was a fallen corpse whose shoulders had been stabbed by arge amount of arrows. It looked like the whole body had been burned to a crisp (otherwise it would have been in fine shape). When she looked deep into the passageway that Hiroshi had been blocking, she saw one person who had been sent flying back, eyes rolled back, three people who had been hit by said person as they were sent back, utterly grounded, and one of their necks was facing the wrong way.
£¨¡¡Could it be!?£©
Judging from the situation, other than the corpse that had been pierced by arrows, Hiroshi had probably killed the other ones. To put it more urately, their neck had probably been broken the moment they wereunched away, or perhaps they had hit it in a bad ce and ended up dying. She wasn¡¯t exactly shocked by Hiroshi having killed someone, given the circumstances, but whatever happens once can happen again. She was concerned that history might repeat itself. The minute she sought to somehow ease his burden, Hiroshi stopped her.
¡¸It¡¯s fine the way it is!¡¹
¡¸But!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s alright! Reinforcements arrived!¡¹
¡¸Correct!¡¹
The voice of an unknown woman rang out, the same time of which two screams of agony rang out. Taking advantage of the confusion, she smashed the prideful-looking boss man and the fat ve trader, smacking the tip of their jaws with her longsword¡¯s handle, knocking them out.
¡¸Thanks for all the help¡¹
¡¸Sorry for beingte¡¹
The woman had apprehended all of the survivors. Well-proportioned in every sense of the word, with an average outward appearance, she praised their efforts. From her facial structure, hair, and the color of her eyes, she seemed to be a Japanese person. She was probably also a yer. To their further shock, a disguised Rayna appeared from behind her.
¡¸Thanks a lot. You were a big help¡¹
¡¸Even if I hadn¡¯te, in just 5 more minutes, you two would¡¯ve overpowered them, right?¡¹
¡¸I am seriously sorry for being sote¡¹
¡¸Nah, we¡¯re super happy that ya came. Thanks to you, Toudou-san managed to avoid killin¡¯ anyone¡¹
The two of them nodded meekly. They didn¡¯t seem to want Haruna to kill people either. From Rayna¡¯s viewpoint, after everything that had happened yesterday, it was also bad enough that Hiroshi had to kill someone. She couldn¡¯t regret it enough.
¡¸But how should I say this¡¡¡¹
With a pale face, Hiroshi had barely managed to conceal his quivering, but spat out words withplicated emotions.
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s probably the same reason why I don¡¯t hesitate when dissectin¡¯ monsters, but the fact that I felt literally no shock when I killed a person is honestly a gigantic shock to me, ya know¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ahh, so I¡¯m not the only one¡¡¡¹
¡¸You the same way, Onee-san?¡¹
¡¸Mhm. Well, this isn¡¯t Japan, and all you did was resist bad people who attacked you, so no one¡¯s gonna me you¡¹
Nodding lightly as she spoke reassuringly, the woman approached Hiroshi. He instinctively took his distance. Seeing his strange actions, she furrowed her brow in displeasure.
¡¸Hey, what¡¯s the big deal?¡¹
¡¸Ahh, sorry. See, I¡¯m super ¡®fraid o¡¯females¡¡¹
The woman made an indescribable face as she sighed.
¡¸I already heard it from Reena. You really do have it bad, eh? Thanks for the kind of answer that¡¯ll put Ae-I mean, Elle into a state of extreme unease toward her guardian¡¹
¡¸Hah? If yer bringin¡¯ that name up right now¡¡?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m Mikoto Mizoguchi. Seventh-ss adventurer and one of Doul-oji-san¡¯s trump cards. Nice to meetcha¡¹
Unsure of how to react to Mikoto as she grinned at them, Hiroshi and Haruna looked slightly perturbed. Furthermore, after they got back to Wulls and Haruna had finished her bath, she got right back to selling curry bread at the stand with the remaining time as if nothing had happened. Mikoto would exim with an exasperated face:
¡¸You worried about that loser all the way back! The hell ya doin¡¯, selling curry bread like you don¡¯t care!¡¹
But that was another story for another time.
Volume 1, 7
Volume 1, Chapter 7
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Fold it. Mix it. Twirl it. Fold it. Mix it. Twirl it.¡¹
It was time for today¡¯s snack. As Aearis waited with anticipation for the sweet of the day, some weird looking powder and water was presented to her by a sketchy olddy in a witch¡¯s costume.
¡¸Mix it and twirl it, it¡¯s Mixytwirly.¡¹
Aearis watched speechless as the old woman dissolved the powder into water and knead it into a paste, singing an off-putting song. The mysterious interjection of strange sound effects only added to the utter sketchiness of it all.
¡¸Mix it and twirl it, mmm, so good! It¡¯s Mixytwirly!¡¹
With a strangely enthusiastic deration, the woman put the gel into her mouth. Aearis was overwhelmed with questions, and she didn¡¯t know where to start. Who was this old woman, anyway? What was this little sketch for? Most importantly, Aearis wonder if she could survive ingesting that strangely colored gel-like substance.
While she had a mountain of questions and interjections to offer, Aearis was brought up with manners, and was over all a quiet child. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t really tell whether she could say anything or not.
¡¸What in the world are you two doing¡?¡¹
Aearis was saved from her frozen-from-confusion state by Makoto, who had just returned to form an outing. Hearing that there was a sweet, Mikoto had decided to stop by and join them, just in time to witness Obaba mixing and twirling. Rayna (who had been with Makoto the whole time since the previous night) wasn¡¯t sure how to react to this scene.
¡¸What do ya mean, what? It¡¯s Mixytwirly.¡¹
Hiroshi (who had been providing the strange sound effects) replied nonchntly. Mixytwirly, for those who may be unaware, is the most popr of ¡°educational treats¡± (a category of snacks that utilize chemical reactions) where Hiroshi and Haruna came from. Its texture was simr to that of mousse, and it really wasn¡¯t as sketchy as it looked, but the gimmick of mixing a strange powder with water just caused a lot of people to be skeptical about it.
¡¸Yeah, I know that. Why Mixytwirly, though? You even dressed Tetsuya up for this?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Cus it¡¯s a traditional Japanese educational treat. Duh. This is a crucial experience to understandin¡¯ Japan.¡¹
¡¸How is that¡¡¹
An eptable answer!? Makoto wanted to shake Hiroshi for an hour or so, but all she could do was just slump down, exhausted. Hiroshi ced the strange powder in front of Makoto, too. Of course, Tatsuya had been performing themercial for Mixytwirly, and dressing the part. The Mixytwirly Witch, as she is called, has a strange backstory that gives her a hobby of mixing powder into paste.
¡¸¡Why, oh why, am I eating Mixytwirly in Wulls¡?¡¹
¡¸Mizoguchi-san, don¡¯t you miss Japanese cuisine, yet?¡¹
¡¸Just call me Makoto. In fact, if you call me just Mizoguchi or by my full name, or Tiger Cannon or something, I¡¯ll crush you into paste.¡¹
A certain fighting game had been revived during her teenage years, which lead to Makoto¡¯s name being mocked continuously by those around here. As a result, Makoto hates herst name.
¡¸Also, I don¡¯t miss Mixytwirly. Don¡¯t you feed this to Elle. It looks so unhealthy.¡¹
¡¸You got it twisted. There ain¡¯t anythin¡¯ in here that¡¯s bad for ya.¡¹
Makoto and the old woman (Tatsuya) stare at Hiroshi, shocked. Chuckling, he exined:
¡¸I used the coagtion process of milk. And I didn¡¯t put it in this time, but the color-changin¡¯ ones use the same trick as Litmus paper, essentially. Lotta natural pigments change color by reactin¡¯ to acidic or base substances.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Yep. Like the pigments of purple cabbage, for starters. You can read about that in textbooks, even. Hydrandrea, too. The petal, or the calyx, changes color based on the ground¡¯s acidity. And I don¡¯t remember which fruit it was, but you can drip lemon juice onto a jello of it and change its color. Not all ingredients are on a neutral pH to begin with, either.¡¹
¡¸Still, you went through so much trouble to recreate such a¡ mediocre thing.¡¹
¡¸Why not? You gotta have this much yfulness to make it through life, ya know?¡¹
Makoto frowns at this. She could see Hiroshi (or Hiroshi and Haruna, rather), derail themselves and never look back from their ¡°yfulness.¡± Hiroshi especially, had a specific talent for derailment that was quite different from the way a conversation between girls could derail, for example. Worse, this man was one of the top craftsman in the world, giving him a monopoly on resources. While Mio still had top notch craftsmanship (several notches below Hiroshi, of course), she was unfortunately this sheep¡¯s apprentice. Which made it unlikely that Mio would stop him when he runs straight off the rails.
¡¸¡Wow. Wow wow wow.¡¹
As Makoto was contemting how to retort, she could hear Aearis in a strange tone of amazement.
¡¸¡Elle. It¡¯s beautiful that you¡¯re pure. But do you have to be so trusting?¡¹
Makotomented on Aearis, who was twirling the powder with shimmering eyes. Makoto was losing grip on the situation, fast. In fact, she didn¡¯t expect Tatsuya to hop on their derailing train. When they had spoken the day before, he had been the one to bring Hiroshi and Haruna back on course. The betrayal. What reinforced her headache was that Aearis, who usually kept the train in-line, had a tendency of being kidnapped into derailment when it came to food.
¡¸Tatsuya. You just had to fuel fire to the mes, didn¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Well, when they ask you ¡°What would Obaba do?¡±¡ You know.¡¹
Makoto sighed once more, and she was running out of them. Come to think, this was a man who put real effort into roleying back in the game. She should have known he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist taking part in such an opportune gag.
¡¸Ya don¡¯t look too happy.¡¹
¡¸You guys were hustling hard because you wanted the workshop, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
¡¸And the first thing you make in that workshop is a Mixytwirly¡?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s life for ya.¡¹
Another blow of confident nonchnce from Hiroshi, perhaps aided by the plentiful distance between him and Makoto. It crossed her mind to approach him, but the entire thing seemed too trivial to make her want to exploit his detriment. Besides, Rayna had done that not too long ago. Makoto taking on Rayna as a roommate would have been all for naught if she went on and did the same.
Seeing that Hiroshi knew all this in his jestering, Makoto had to reaknowledge that Hiroshi was more durable, or less of a man. In either case, she saw him as someone difficult to handle.
¡¸Fine¡ I¡¯ll take it for today¡¡¹
Makoto said, and began mixing the powder. She clumsily followed instructions to mix them together, and grunted at the paste showing a strange reaction. Haruna and Mio returned as she was twirling, and eximed:
¡¸Oh, I remember these!¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve always wanted to do this!¡¹
And began mixing with glee, which exhausted Makoto further. The taste of her first Mixytwirly in several years¡ was so-so, at best.
For arresting the ve traders, Hiroshi and Haruna had earned arge, live-in workshop that belonged to Merizza. More urately, they were renting it for free. By the way, most nations including Fane had ouwed ve possession and trading, so they received some bounty from the government, as well.
Apparently, the building had gone three years without a lease, and they were considering taking it down entirely to build a different building on the lot, but in exchange for the asional freebor and product, they decided to rent it out to Hiroshi and Haruna. The freebor use was proposed by Hiroshi and Haruna, and there was a cap to the scale of each request and the frequency of requests (on paper, at least).
The very first request was for two hundred unssified healing potions (with ingredients provided already), because they clearly knew that Haruna had been practicing Potion Making. Truth be told, for a workshop this size, they would have barely made enough for a month¡¯s worth of property tax from an order like this.
Still, it wasn¡¯t like Hiroshi and Haruna had buyers for their potions. No skin off their back if they take the unssified potions Haruna made for practice in lieu of tax. In any nation, the buying and selling of potions required a special license, and selling them on a food stand, for example, was out of the question. Any civilian (including adventurers) generally could only purchase potions from a licensed shop or the Adventurers¡¯ Association. There are some exceptions, when Hiroshi gave Kurt the antidote or whenever they use the potions they crafted on their own, for example, where personal gifting and usage are epted, albeit in an unspoken manner.
If Merizza had gifted them the property, they would have had to earn enough to pay taxes. But, if they were to sell the unssified potions (which the Association didn¡¯t buy out) they would have to sell them to Merizza anyway, and two hundred wouldn¡¯t cut it in that case. Also, they were renovating the building this time around, but the building was going to be maintained by Merizza to a certain degree, free of charge. Hiroshi and Haruna were way in the ck, all in all. Merizza didn¡¯t mind theck of rental ie, either, since she could take advantage of Hiroshi¡¯s outrageous craftsmanship somewhat.
Needless to say, there was a push and pull behind the scenes, which should never have took ce between a merchant and adventurers under any normal circumstances, where each side strove to increase the profits of the other party.
¡¸I only got two hands, so, what should we start on?¡¹
Hiroshi started, after everyone had settle from moving and purchasing the bare necessities. On a side note, the table they were sitting at now was arge one left behind in the dining hall of the workshop.
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸Should we be prioritizin¡¯ equipment makin¡¯, like a furnace, loom, and workbench, or should we start with our day-to-day stuff, startin¡¯ with the kitchen?¡¹
Haruna had to think about this. The other members couldn¡¯t make a snap decision, either.
¡¸Mio-chan, how much crafting can you do?¡¹
¡¸She can make furniture just fine, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯s up to addin¡¯ or renovatin¡¯ a buildin¡¯ this size. Can¡¯t go too wild with machinery, either.¡¹
¡¸I started intermediate Carpentry. I can design and build a house that¡¯s a tiny bit better than a log cabin. As for Tool Building, I can¡¯t modify a furnace or anything like that.¡¹
Haruna was nodding in response.
¡¸I think you¡¯ll use the kitchen the most, Toudou-san. Don¡¯t ya want a smart kitchen sorta thing?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t need that much, but it does feel pretty inconvenientpared to what we had.¡¹
¡¸Then why don¡¯t we start there. And if we¡¯re gonna toy with waterworks, you want me to fix up the bath, too?¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s proposition, the women in the room gave him back an intense look. In Fane, where bathing had been rtively normalized, a bath was a rather important piece of a house.
¡¸Look at y¡¯all¡¯s faces, I better dig deep. Should I make it big enough so all the girls can take a bath at once?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s always nice to have a big bath.¡¹
¡¸And I better set it up so the bath can be drawn mighty quick.¡¹
With that, Hiroshi whipped up a sketch. A ratherrge bathtubrge enough for ten, and about ten sets of faucets and shower heads. While their current bath was by no means meager, it certainly wasn¡¯trge enough for something like this.
¡¸How are you going to build this? Our bathroom isn¡¯t this big right now.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m gonna change the boiler to a magic-powered one, so I think I can manage with that spacebined. Of course, we gotta expand the changin¡¯ room, too, so theyout of the ce is gonna shift a bit.¡¹
¡¸That sounds like a big job. Can you handle all that?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll get it done in three days.¡¹
¡¸You can get it done in three days, huh?¡¹
¡¸The rest would be furniture, but I¡¯m leavin¡¯ all that with you, Mio. For the time bein¡¯, Makoto-san, Doul, Brother and Reena should rotate guardin¡¯ Elle and buyin¡¯ buildin¡¯ materials. Toudou-san, could you help me or Mio? I¡¯d like ya opinion on things, too.¡¹
¡¸Okay. So, all of that aside¡¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸You call Makoto-san and Mio-chan by their first name. Why do you still call me Toudou-san?¡¹
¡¸If I get used to callin¡¯ ya by your name and I idently call ya that way when we get back home, I could see some problems arisin¡¯.¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t help but sigh at this. She could easily foresee that future. Yet, it did already seem toote for her, in some sense. While she had no idea how many years it would take or what type of situation they would be in when they get back, but even if time hadn¡¯t passed in their original world until they returned, as long as they had these memories together, it was clear to her that they would inevitability exude their closeness.
While Haruna was patient and had finesse in many ways, she didn¡¯t have enough self-control, especially when it came to social aspects, to not let it bother her when she had to keep her distance and almost act like a stranger, even though they were on good terms. She was the type not to be too dependent on anyone physically or mentally, but the truth was that she would get rather lonely.
She could read the room, of course, but she would have a hard time spending time with a ssmate and keeping it secret. She felt bad for Hiroshi and his phobia, but she knew they had nothing to be guilty about, much less a romantic rtionship. Haruna saw nothing wrong in openly maintaining their friendship.
There was no other reason why Hiroshi called Mio by her first name other than to avoid the mutual awkwardness of calling his apprentice by herst name. Of course, now that Hiroshi had discovered that Mio was a woman (unlike in-game), he would seldom get close enough to make physical contact with her.
He called Tatsuya ¡°Brother¡± after a long night of man-talk. It just came to him. Of course, Hiroshi was heterosexual, so there were only tonic implications here. Like addressing an older friend in the neighborhood.
¡¸Well, I think that ship has sailed beyond the horizon. It feels like I¡¯m being singled out as untouchable, and I don¡¯t like it. Just give up and call me Haruna already. I¡¯ll call you Hiroshi-kun, too.¡¹
¡¸Haruna-sama. I recall you calling Hiroshi-sama that way the other day¡¡¹
¡¸That was just the spur of the moment.¡¹
Hiroshi listened with a puzzled expression. Of course, she had screamed it a step away from him, but that was one of the memories he didn¡¯t retain from that incident due to his physical ailment.
¡¸So, is that okay? Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸¡Yeah, sure.¡¹
Haruna clenched her fist in victory.
¡¸Are you two done with your sweet romance for now?¡¹
¡¸Get a room, won¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸I ain¡¯t got the guts for anything like that.¡¹
¡¸You guys were acting like a new couple, just now.¡¹
¡¸Tell it to Toudou¡ Haruna-san, then.¡¹
The group couldn¡¯t help but give an understanding nce, hearing Hiroshi¡¯s genuine disgust. They could see that any woman unfortunate enough to fall in love with Hiroshi would be troubled with all sorts of turbulence. The silver lining may be that,bined with his phobia for the opposite sex and his (albeit not ugly) not exactly attractive looks, said woman would not have to worry about infidelity on his part.
¡¸Returning to our original subject¡¡¹
Dougan interjected.
¡¸What do you want to do for the rest of the day?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll start a temporary remodelin¡¯ of the kitchen with the machines we¡¯ve been usin¡¯. Haruna-san, maybe you can take Makoto-san or Brother and go buy some food. Doul and Reena-san, and Mio, please gather up as much construction materials as y¡¯all can. Sorry, Elle, you gotta stay in. And if there¡¯s time left I¡¯m gonna take down the bathroom, so go bathe at the public bathhouse for the night.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I¡¯ll take care of shopping. Stay here, Tatsuya.¡¹
¡¸All righty.¡¹
With duties assigned, everyone sprang to action. Dinner that night was stew full of meat and vegetables, cooked using arge y pot.
***
¡¸So, here¡¯s the problem.¡¹
¡¸What is?¡¹
¡¸We ain¡¯t got too much of the spider silk.¡¹
Seeing where the conversation was headed, Haruna sighed.
¡¸So what¡¯s the problem, now?¡¹
Tatsuya joined in.
¡¸The clothes, ya see, I can only whip up five or six outfits, tops.¡¹
¡¸So what¡¯s the matter¡ Oh, I see.¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t make enough for everyone. Makoto-san¡¯s got her own clothes since she weren¡¯t restricted, Elle, Doul, and Reena-san are all walkin¡¯ around in smocks, basically.¡¹
The group nearly grunted, hearing this. He was only nning for two to begin with. In fact, Hiroshi¡¯s initial n was to craft three outfits for both of them so they could rotate them. Suddenly, there were five more people in the picture, throwing a giant wrench in the whole n.
¡¸For starters, since we gotta pretend like y¡¯all ain¡¯t here anyway, I¡¯ll make a set of work clothes for me and Toudou¡ I mean, Haruna-san. The question¡¯s what to do with the rest.¡¹
¡¸In that case, could you make them two a pair, and craft one for Elle?¡¹
Doul proposed.
¡¸Ya sure?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re used to going without a change of clothes for days. We shan¡¯t wear anything of a higher quality than our master, either.¡¹
¡¸Another way to see it is that people on the frontlines should get the good equipment?¡¹
Douga shook his head with a chuckle. Clothes is clothes, he thought. While it would be stronger than an ordinary set of leather armor onceyers of enchantments were put on it, but Douga figured it still couldn¡¯t be more protective than a set of metal armor. It only made sense to give it to Aearis, who couldn¡¯t wear an armor to begin with.
¡¸Can¡¯t you go get more ingredients?¡¹
¡¸Sure. It just takes three days or so to go there, gather ¡®em ande back.¡¹
¡¸So, what if we split up the group to do that? We have enough people.¡¹
As Makoto suggested so, Hiroshi contemted and observed the group¡¯s reaction. It didn¡¯t seem that anyone would be in too much trouble if Hiroshi left the house for three days.
¡¸If that¡¯s fine with y¡¯all, I¡¯ll head out once I finish the bathroom. I can¡¯t imagine that Piaranork would havee back already. I doubt we gotta pack too much of a punch,bat-wise.¡¹
The group nodded in response. These types of bosses were often individuals that were mutated by being heavily afflicted. No matter how many times they were in, they were eventually revived. Also, for some reason, there was only one species that would mutate in such a way in each area. So right now, Hiroshi could safely assume that there would only be ordinary (albeit giant) insects.
¡¸So, who¡¯sin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Considering watch duty, at least a pair.¡¹
Douga chimed in.
¡¸Sorry, I¡¯ll pass. I don¡¯t want to touch that again.¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re thinking speed and firepower, why don¡¯t Makoto and I go?¡¹
Tatsuya said.
¡¸Sensible.¡¹
Douga agreed.
And so the job was assigned, and they were to depart the day after the bathroom had beenpleted.
After they had returned, though, Makoto remarked:
¡¸No wonder Haruna didn¡¯t want to go¡¡¹
***
Makoto couldn¡¯t help but let a gleeful sigh out, as she felt her limbs stretch out and her exhaustion melt away in the bathtubrge enough to do so. She could feel herself rx in many ways. Since Hiroshi¡¯s team had left to gather the silk as soon as the renovation had beenpleted, so today was the first time that this bath was upied. Everyone had been polite, saving the first bathing.
¡¸You just can¡¯t beat a big bath.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s wonderful to bathe together, too.¡¹
Mio and Aearis finished rinsing off, and they dipped in the tub together, and started talking. Mio was apparently twelve years old, but her short and skeletal stature aided in anyone assuming that Aearis¡¯ and Mio¡¯s ages were reversed. Still,pared to Makoto (who reportedly has never needed a bra) Mio¡¯s silhouette was feminine, considering that she had what could be described as breasts. On another note, Rayna (fifteen) had pectoral muscles, more so than breasts. It was difficult to say who was more feminine, Makoto or Rayna.
Mio was small in many ways, but Makoto was only at 158cm, too. The average female height in Fane was 170cm, which Makoto was way below. She was barely taller than Aearis now, but it was a matter of time before she would catch up. As for Mio, who just reached 145, anyone in Fane could mistake her age for eight or nine.
Of course, since the male average height in Fane was 180cm, Hiroshi was rather small. That being said, the male height fluctuated more inparison to female, and most often, men in Fane would reach 175cm. A man (unlike a woman) would only begin to stand out as short once they were shorter than 165cm or so, which made Hiroshi stand out less than Makoto or Mio. In Hiroshi¡¯s case, however, his attitude and atmosphere could make him look shorter than he really was.
The reason Hiroshi and Haruna had mistaken Aearis to be taller when they rescued her was because of the impression her hair and attire gave. Aearis, in reality, was barely 150cm, so they had seen her as 10cm or so taller than her actual height.
¡¸By the way, Mio. You¡¯re super skinny. Were you eating okay back home?¡¹
¡¸I was bedridden, so, not at all.¡¹
¡¸Bedridden? What happened?¡¹
¡¸Paralyzed from the waist-down. ident. I also have this disease, so I couldn¡¯t eat much to begin with. I was already spending more than six months a year in the hospital before the ident.¡¹
Makoto regretted her questions, in fear of that she had mentioned a taboo. While she could tell what kind of disease Mio meant by that, it sounded like it wasn¡¯t something that kept her bedridden to begin with.
¡¸But you still have beautiful hair. Mine curls everywhere, and it¡¯s so dull. I¡¯m jealous.¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t take care of it at all in the hospital, so it looked horrible. I couldn¡¯t even roll over on my own, so I got so many cowlicks.¡¹
Since Makoto had started with the subject, she couldn¡¯t escape mentions of the hospital. That being said, Mio¡¯s brte hair was beautiful. If she grew a little taller (10, even 5cm) and gained some healthy weight, with her already pretty face, she would garner a double take from most people on the street.
In a different way than Mio, both Haruna and Aearis were very beautiful in their own right. Who was prettier? Haruna. But Aearis carried a mystical air about her. In five or six years, these two would exude beauty like a pair of fine art pieces. One of them lived in and where she blindly devoted so much of her passion for food, and the other was basically a starving puppy that scoffed down anything put in front of her, but those traits didn¡¯t show in their appearances.
Considering this, Makoto was hurt by how she was the only one in the group with nothing remarkable about her appearance. On top of that, she could only cook scrambled eggs at best (in-game and in real life) and shecked any other homely skills, like sewing and such, entirely. If she hadn¡¯t been swiftly found by Douga after being teleported to this world, she would have been in deep trouble, in another sense than Tatsuya and Mio would have been.
Then, she could hear a hum. It sounded like Haruna, just humming a song as she washed up. Even her humming was enchanting; all three in the tub stopped to listen.
¡¸Haru¡¯s singing is amazing.¡¹
¡¸I guess it¡¯s only natural since she has the skills for it.¡¹
¡¸ording to Sensei, her singing wasn¡¯t much different in real life.¡¹
Mio and Makoto whispered to each other when the humming had subsided. Aearis didn¡¯t understand, and just looked confused. It was only natural, since she had no concept of Skills, or even these kinds of games in general. Haruna, who had tied up her hair to keep it out of the tub, approached the bathtub holding a towel in front of her body. Rayna was with her, as she seemed to have finished washing up at around the same time.
¡¸Oooh¡¡¹
Haruna stretched in the tub, letting out a rxed sigh. Seeing this, the eyes of the group were drawn towards her chest, where two glorious mounds rose to the surface. Exuding such immense presence (far superior to that of the other four women in the tubbined) attracted even the eyes of women and held onto them.
¡¸Hey, Haruna.¡¹
¡¸Yeah? What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸Can I lop them off?¡¹
¡¸¡That sounds really terrifying out of the blue¡ What ¡°them¡±?¡¹
As she said so, Haruna covered her breasts (the stares at which she had instinctively felt) with her arms. She tried to, anyway, but her slender arms (which weren¡¯t ready for this) couldn¡¯t hide them, but instead squished her breasts into a bunch as to exaggerate their size even more. Her attempt to hide them had worked against her, as that exuded a strange sense of sensuality, triggering something within the women in the tub.
¡¸¡Haru.¡¹
Mio started.
¡¸I¡¯m scared of how you¡¯re looking at me¡ What is it?¡¹
¡¸Can I lop them off? I really think we should, actually.¡¹
¡¸But why? I ask you.¡¹
¡¸When they¡¯re that big, there will be people poking them for a power-up.¡¹
¡¸¡Personally, I don¡¯t want to be near anyone like that¡¡¹
While Haruna¡¯s interjection was justified, logic was useless against people jealous of the grass on the other side. It was a rare asion for Haruna to remain the sane one, but unfortunately for her, she was the only one at this moment.
¡¸Yep, it looks like we have to lop them off.¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. If we don¡¯t, they could shoot outsers, supplying someone with energy.¡¹
¡¸You know I¡¯m still human, right¡?¡¹
Haruna kept interjecting as she slowly walked back. She plead for some help in a desperate look with her blue eyes to Aearis, but even her (who usually would have defended Haruna) added:
¡¸Why not, Haruna-sama? You¡¯ll still have plenty left after we lop a bit off.¡¹
¡¸Et tu, Elle-chan?¡¹
It seemed that even Aearis had something to say about Haruna¡¯s immensity. She said all of that with a perfect smile, too. After Makoto and Aearis giving Rayna some looks, she finally went from being hesitate to determined:
¡¸Besides, those must get in the way of swinging your sword. Why don¡¯t we slice off the extra fat, just like Princess Aearis said.¡¹
¡¸The description are getting more vivid by the second, guys! And don¡¯t call her Princess, Reena-san!¡¹
Rayna did seem like she had some reservations about this, despite her not wanting to be treated like a woman. While Makoto guessed that that was precisely why she didn¡¯t want to be treated like a woman, she decided to let it slide, as she didn¡¯t want to derail from the current topic. Also, Haruna didn¡¯t seem to notice that Rayna had been moving in ordance with looks from Makoto and Aearis.
¡¸No one else is here, so that¡¯s not a problem.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t try to change the subject, Haru.¡¹
¡¸Okay, first of all I keep them strapped, so they¡¯re not in the way, and lopping off sounds so painful! No!¡¹
¡¸How will you see, like, change on the ground by your feet? Or anything on your belt? So let¡¯s lop them.¡¹
The group seemed to be getting carried away as they piled joke upon joke. Haruna was beginning to actually be terrified by their insistent conclusion to lop off her breasts.
¡¸Before you try to lop mine off, I think it would be more productive if you guys thought of how to make yours bigger?¡¹
¡¸That is an urate assessment.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s only urate for Princess and Mio, who still have some growing to do. Don¡¯t you think?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re still fifteen, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯m passed twenty, you know. Mine aren¡¯t getting bigger any time soon¡¡¹
¡¸Wait. Maybe Sensei can make some potion for it.¡¹
¡¸Why didn¡¯t we think of that!?¡¹
With an oundish conclusion, Makoto and Rayna left the tub. Sighing in relief that the danger of any lopping had been subsided (for now), Haruna decided to enjoy the bath a while longer. By the way, this conversation was heard loud and clear by the men of the house, so Hiroshi answered:
¡¸Sorry to pump ya breaks, but something like diet pills or full-body modifications aside, I can¡¯t whip up some potion or tool that¡¯ll mess with just her breasts.¡¹
Hiroshi had swiftly crushed the dreams of these two, who had barely dried off before putting their clothes on at supersonic speed before charging out of the changing room.
¡¸You heard us!?¡¹
¡¸Hold on, you were eavesdropping!?¡¹
¡¸The rushed construction left a w in the structure, it looks like. When y¡¯all scream as loud as you did, it all reverberates over here. I just think there¡¯s a gap that connects the rooms, so I¡¯ll check it and plug it up tomorrow.¡¹
Hiroshi stated like there was nothing to it. Hearing that, they looked at Douga and Tatsuya to feel a luke-warm, indescribable sort of nce.
¡¸Sensei, what do you mean full-body modifications?¡¹
While not as carelessly as Makoto and Rayna, Mio rushed through the drying-off process and came out with a heap of question marks floating around.
¡¸They had a paid item for doin¡¯ that, remember? Resets ya appearances.¡¹
¡¸Oh, now that you mention it. I didn¡¯t really look at them because I wasn¡¯t interested in changing my appearance at all. Wait, can you craft them?¡¹
Asked Tatsuya.
¡¸Yep. Actually, it¡¯s just thought they got nasty ingredients for ¡®em. You can actually make all the micro-transaction items.¡¹
Leaving the two girls burnt out from the knowing looks by the men, the rest continued that sort of conversation. Mio seemed to be pretending that the whole debacle didn¡¯t happen. More urately, though, she had taken a chance that they hadn¡¯t heard the rtively quiet remarks she made. Of course, Hiroshi heard them all.
By the way, most micro-transaction items in Fairytale Chronicles were mostly cosmetic, and while they were difficult to do so, all of them could be obtained without a micro-transaction, in-game. Also, changing an avatar can be done for free once a year, as long as it was submitted to admin. So, the micro-transaction items were only for the weirdos to whom the once-a-year use is too restrictive, but to whom the free route was tooborious. It was only eptable because the game charged a monthly membership to begin with, providing a sustainable ie.
¡¸While we¡¯re on it, I doubt there¡¯s gonna be an editin¡¯ screen or nothin¡¯. Can¡¯t rmend tryin¡¯ to make your breast bigger in the full-body modification screen, either.¡¹
¡¸Yep. I figured as much.¡¹
Haruna (who was taking down her blonde her after getting out of the bath) nodded with a chuckle. She figured that the item in question was a potion that changed one¡¯s appearance as imagined. Use it without a reference, and it would most likely end in a disaster.
¡¸By the way, Hiroshi-kun. How do the potions and essory work that are tweaking the appearance of Elle-chan?¡¹
¡¸I just set the appearance for ¡®em. With her face as a base, I tweaked her facial parts and colorin¡¯, and an Illusion is applied so she really looks like that. So their body type, shape, hair, and all that are all the same as the real deal. Same mechanic with the potion.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
In other words, those tricks were useless for anyone who wanted to change their body.
¡¸Life isn¡¯t easy, is it?¡¹
¡¸Ya said it.¡¹
Watching the two girls (who had be dead horses after a good kicking) Hiroshi and Haruna continued their nonchnt chit-chat.
¡¸Now. Why don¡¯t we share what we know with each other? I haven¡¯t heard what you were doing before you met us, Makoto-san.¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see. To be honest, Mio and I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s going on, so we couldn¡¯t tell you much.¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯all got registered as adventurers, and we got the bare minimum of the ce fixed up. I think y¡¯all have settled down enough that we can talk about this, right?¡¹
It was nearing bed time that night. They had asked Douga and the other people from Fane to get some rest first, so the Japanese people could talk about their situation.
¡¸Before we do, can I?¡¹
¡¸Mio-chan?¡¹
¡¸Back in the bath, earlier. Reena-san and Elle seemed a little off. What did you do, Mako?¡¹
¡¸Oh, that? A part of me was serious, and another part of me just couldn¡¯t take looking at her like that, I guess.¡¹
Makoto must have meant Rayna, who still acted like she didn¡¯t know how to interact with the group, and while she did anything she was asked of, she seldom expressed what she wanted for herself. Makoto seemed to see a time bomb in that.
¡¸It¡¯s nice that she repents for what she did, but if she keeps worrying about what the people whom that matters to don¡¯t really care about anymore, it just mucks up the vibe of the group, you know? Thought I should jump in.¡¹
¡¸Mmm¡ Sorry you had to do that.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t sweat it. It¡¯s a job for someone mature on the outside of the incident, anyway. It didn¡¯t seem like the kind of thing fit for Tatsuya, either, so I did it. Right?¡¹
Makoto, perhaps because she was always the sane one in the group, observed and acted well with the group¡¯s best interest at heart, in a different way than Haruna did. The group collectively found themselves with newfound respect for this woman. For this particr incident, Haruna couldn¡¯t do much because she was so involved in it.
¡¸Hm? Then all that before with makin¡¯ breasts bigger. Were ya yin¡¯ a part then, too?¡¹
¡¸Both of us are dead serious.¡¹
¡¸All righty then¡¡¹
It looked like wanting to lop off Haruna¡¯s breasts wasn¡¯t too far from the truth, either. Haruna kind of regretted her gratitude for Makoto.
¡¸Well, all of that, aside. Where do we start talking about things? I probably know about this country the most, but you guys probably know about our overall situation the best.¡¹
¡¸Hmm¡ I think you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s start with when each of us were transported here.¡¹
Haruna responded.
¡¸Okay. I was about three months ago. Haruna, you and Hiroshi are like six weeks in, right?¡¹
¡¸47 days, I think.¡¹
¡¸This is our tenth day, I think.¡¹
Tatsuya chimed in. Their times of transportation were quite spread out.
¡¸So, I was wondering¡¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Was it a big deal after I disappeared back there?¡¹
¡¸Not really.¡¹
¡¸Just an official announcement that said a corrupted e-mail would force-close ya client.¡¹
Makoto was slightly disappointed but understood. But, then Tatsuya dropped this bomb:
¡¸Come to think of it, when I got sent here, Hiro was logged in when I was.¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
¡¸Hold on. Makoto-san, do you remember the date you were sent here on?¡¹
¡¸April 27th, I think¡¡¹
¡¸We were sent out on April 27th, too. I was logged in, and I wasn¡¯t looking at the real-life clock, but the in-game time was 1:31:52p.m.¡¹
The group couldn¡¯t help but look aghast at Haruna¡¯s eerily detailed ount.
¡¸Wow, you remember it down to the second¡?¡¹
¡¸I pretty much never forget anything. Besides, I was in some trouble that day, runningte for an appointment so I kept checking the clock. I mean, that was the time right before I went through the Transportation Gate, so I don¡¯t know the exact time I was sent here.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded in agreement. While he couldn¡¯t recall down to the second, his foggy memory confirmed that it was about 1:32p.m.
¡¸I don¡¯t remember the time of day.¡¹
Makoto replied.
¡¸For us, I don¡¯t think it was passed 1:40.¡¹
Tatsuya added.
¡¸Okay. So it looks like the condition for being sent here is receiving a corrupt email on April 27th, and not taking care of it before going through a transportation gate, or else using a transportation spell or stone. And it looks like the difference in minutes or seconds back there tranted up to a few months over here.¡¹
The group couldn¡¯t argue with that assessment.
¡¸So, Haruna-san and I just happened to wanna transport almost at the exact same time.¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. I think we were very lucky in that sense. If we didn¡¯t meet each other, either of us could have died to that bear in the beginning.¡¹
The word ¡°bear¡± triggers a curious look from the other three. In response, Hiroshi and Haruna told their story of their first encounter with a monster rafter arriving to this world.
¡¸Not as bad as us, I guess, bad you guys were in quite a pickle, too, huh?¡¹
¡¸Well, if we hadn¡¯t been in that pickle, I might have never met Haruna-san, so it might have been a blessin¡¯ in disguise.¡¹
¡¸Uncle Doul took me in as soon as I got sent here, so I didn¡¯t really struggle much, day-to-day-wise.¡¹
¡¸And in exchange, you take on the bluntbat work.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s not much else I can do, anyway. I don¡¯t mind. Besides, I think it¡¯s a lot healthier than being agoraphobic like I was in real life. ¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna couldn¡¯t help but find strength (different from that inbat) in Makoto¡¯s confidence. Hiroshi and Haruna were still afraid of facing off most monsters (other than spiders that they could take by surprise, for example). Regardless of the actualbat prowess that supports her confidence, her ability to fearlessly dive into quests that involve taking down monsters was a show of her strength. While she said that she was agoraphobic, judging by her attitude when she went out to shop for supplies and other interactions like that, she seemed to have ovee it during her life here. What a huge difference from Hiroshi, who even with Haruna (whom he had lived in partnership with for a month and a half) couldn¡¯t get closer than a certain distance other than times when he really needed to, or was concentrating too hard to notice, without still being terrified.
¡¸My three months here were pretty uneventful. I did a bunch of quests helping out Uncle Doul and Rayna under the form of singled-out requests. Other times, I would y Elle¡¯s bodyguard-sh-friend. Long story short, it wasn¡¯t too different from sticking with an NPC in-game. Did a lot of tutorial-ish stuff, too. Pretty good way to get out of your agoraphobic habits, I¡¯d say.¡¹
¡¸All right. When we came to, we were already tied up¡ And you guys know the rest. I guess we should move on to what Hiro and Haruna aplished in their month and a half.¡¹
In response to Tatsuya¡¯s prompt, they told them as much as they could. Although, the only major events during that time was the Antidote mass-production right off the bat, and taking down Piaranork while saving Aearis¡¯ party, which urred about two weeks ago. There were a lot of things that the group wanted toment on, like running a curry-pastry and corndog food stand, or ending up taking down Piaranork only because they had to gather spider silk because of stains from said food stand, or their ever-expanding repertoire of condiments from soy sauce, miso, bonito kes, and even takoyaki sauce or hibachi sauce. At the end of the day, however, they were pretty much acting under the mentality of a slice-of-life yer.
¡¸Can I ask you guys something?¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Hiro. Haruna. Did you guys really want to get back to Japan?¡¹
¡¸Of course, Brother. We were doin¡¯ everything we could to.¡¹
¡¸You got a ce and filled up your kitchen. It seems like you guys were down to stay here.¡¹
¡¸Riddle me this, then. What the heck should we have started doin¡¯?¡¹
Hiroshi had a point, and as such, Tatsuya took a moment to retort. He had one point he could stress, though:
¡¸Getting a ce, sure. But no one needs to put so much effort into developing spices and dishes!¡¹
¡¸You haven¡¯t thought this through, Brother. Say that again after ya keep eatin¡¯ an average meal here for a week.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi, I agree. You guys overdo it.¡¹
¡¸Then, Makoto-san. Feel free to prepare ya own meals.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry. I was in the wrong, here.¡¹
A way to power is through one¡¯s stomach. Makoto couldn¡¯tst a second before folding to Hiroshi¡¯s threat.
¡¸Well, in any case, thanks to Hiro and Mio, we never have to worry about getting food and potions. And thanks to Haruna, we never have to eat a bad meal. Like Hiro was saying, we are definitely in it for the long haul, so these things are pretty important,e to think of it.¡¹
¡¸Then, let¡¯s move onto the next important question. How far along are you guys on the main quest?¡¹
Makoto asked, in part to ess everyone¡¯sbat capabilities.
¡¸Haruna-san and I¡¯ve stopped after finishin¡¯ the first chapter.¡¹
¡¸Same with me.¡¹
Mio chimed in.
¡¸I¡¯m into the second half of the second chapter.¡¹
Tatsuya added. Everyone was around or a little bit below the average of yers who mainly yed to fight. Of course, Hiroshi and Haruna had prioritized crafting and day-to-day life, so that wasn¡¯t surprising to Makoto. Tatsuya seemed to have kept his focus on roleying, and the second chapter was rather tough for a magic-wielding yer to beat, solo. The intermittent bosses and forcedbat were much more difficult in the second chapter than the first, not to mention the chapter itself was much longer. Less than half of the poption of yers havepleted the second chapter of the main quest.
¡¸Okay. Just so you know, I was stuck halfway through the fourth chapter. I couldn¡¯t get the drop item for a weapon I needed.¡¹
Makoto decided toe out that she was more of abat addict. Hiroshi picked up on her remark, though. No way would he have let that pass.
¡¸What were ya missin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Nemesis Blood and Holy Steel. I gathered a few Holy Steels, but just about no Nemesis Bloods.¡¹
¡¸Oh. I didn¡¯t know they dropped Holy Steel. I thought ya just had to dig up Holy Ore and forge ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Hold up! You can forge them!?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve made enough Holy Steel stuff to build an ind.¡¹
In response to Makoto¡¯s demanding approach (at a safe distance, of course) Hiroshi simply answered as if this was public knowledge. Thebat addicts of the game would cause a riot if they had heard him say this.
¡¸If that¡¯s the reason you¡¯re stuck on the main quest, won¡¯t ya me the ones who caused all the craftsmen to be antisocial before ya me us for it?¡¹
¡¸Everyone hates them plenty, regardless. Jeez. If that debacle hadn¡¯t happened, level 6 potions would have been out on the market at a reasonable price¡¡¹
¡¸Level 8s would have been out on the market, everywhere. Just in my storage, I had about 20,000 of each level 8 potion.¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m going to kill them all, someday¡¡¹
Makoto whispered, upon receiving this unnecessary bad news. As a reference, a level 6 potion went for about 50,000 Chrones a bottle. Anything lower was snatched up in a heartbeat. Holy Steel was worse than that, at 3 million a pop. It was a ridiculous price point considering that a quest to craft a weapon or armor would require dozens of them for each piece of equipment. Despite the fact that it would only take a craftsman two (in-game) days to gather that much through mining and forging. The fiends behind this phenomenon, who continued to harass the craftsmen (mainly through MPK) and spread false rumors about them to try to get them to quit the game, until finally (somehow) obtaining a home address and stalking them in real life, had every insulting to them.
The incident was a fairly simple one when it was all said and done. Some ill-mannered addict guilds had found some craftsmen who began to make high-level potions and equipment, attempted to take the group of craftsmen at the highest caliber among them, were rejected, and started harassing them in retaliation, in very close to illegal ways. It all began when only up to level 4 potions were out on the market, the top potion maker of the time started selling level 5 potions.
The incident caused all sorts of coteral damage (by the craftsmen who were affected and reported the incident being framed for having some kind of fault in the case), to the point where, at one point, there was an atmosphere of taboo for any Crafting in the game. Many yers couldn¡¯t handle that atmosphere and the harassment and a good number of yers switched out of craftsmen skills, despite almost reaching Advanced. This was the direct cause of theck of craftsmen in the game, currently. While only one yer was directly attacked, some yers just fell out of the game entirely because of it. The only Crafting skills that were unaffected by this were just about Fishing, Enchanting, Cooking, and the mostly unknown Shipbuilding, Carpentry, and Farming.
The incident did as much damage as it did in part, because the harassment against the craftsmen were not quite red-handed until the stalker incident, and in part because admin took too long to garner enough evidence to take care of it. In the meantime, all admin could do was to make an announcement that the craftsmen have not used any third-party cheating tool, nor rewrite any data or program on the server.
The game gaining a poor reputation wasn¡¯t good for business, of course, so admin had tried their best to quench this fire, but being short-staffed,bined with the incredible eleration of the situation, caused the stalker incident to ur before the admin could gather the evidence of the addict guild spreading false rumors and defamation. Certainly not fast enough to delete the ounts of all members involved. This incident is described as the one and only stain on the admin¡¯s reputation.
It is worth noting that the address obtained by the stalker was kind of divulged by the first victim, and not leaked by the admin. Admin has never let any personal information leak. For the second victim on, their addresses were leaked from bugs encrypted in forums and information from ythrough vlogs. As a result as the incident, all information of the craftsmen were kept hidden, and no one could me them for it.
As a consequence, any yer who would want to newly start crafting, would only get enough information to get them into Intermediate skills (at best), and they were on their own for the rest of the journey. A big blow to themunity was that this incident urred before anyone had shared information regarding Making Mastery (a big contributor to keeping the craftsmen poption down.
¡¸Come to think of it, I¡¯m sure you were one of the OGs in the game. Didn¡¯t they get to you?¡¹
¡¸I hadn¡¯t been doin¡¯ nothin¡¯ too shy since I was in the busiest time of studyin¡¯ for entrance exams. The most I did was take castle-buildin¡¯ or ship buildin¡¯ quests from NPCs and left it alone. Most of the time, the other yers won¡¯t see the stats of these quests.¡¹
The first incident had urred during Hiroshi¡¯s summer of ninth grade, hisst year of middle school. He had begun getting desperate to move away, to the point where he barely logged into the game. Thanks to the fact that he had stayed logged out for a while, other than Harvesting skills and Carpentry (which he had just mastered Advanced), and Shipbuilding (which he was actively progressing by not logging in), all of his skills were below average for a craftsman. In fact, the first production skill Hiroshi had mastered was Carpentry, and the second was Shipbuilding.
Of course, Haruna didn¡¯t know much about this incident either, since she had been offline studying for entrance exams, as well. The incident had resolved (for the time being) on October of the same year, which meant that, by the time Hiroshi and Haruna started logging in regrly again, the incident was not forgotten but treated as a taboo. They both knew something had happened, but they judged from their friends¡¯ and acquaintances¡¯ attitudes, that it would only leave a bad taste in their mouths if they¡¯d heard it. So, they each decided not to look into what everyone wanted to let be bygones.
¡¸I see. And do you still hear about that kind of stuff?¡¹
¡¸Recently, a girlst one was gettin¡¯ harassed. It seemed like the perp was an OG still believin¡¯ in all the tall tales ¡®bout craftin¡¯. Took care of him with a call to the GM, but he just changed his name and face, and ghosted. Sure, that took care of it, but it just gets so darn annoyin¡¯. And idiots nowadays don¡¯t know when to stop. Won¡¯t be funny if there¡¯s a murder or somethin¡¯ in real life.¡¹
Makoto put on a frown, hearing this. The craftsmen were in hiding simply because nothing guaranteed their safety, yet. It was only natural that neither the admin nor the police could do anything until something went south. It was difficult for admin to step in just for some in-game harassment, unless it crossed a line. The lies spread by the people who caused the incident in the first ce, which were unnecessarily convincing, had not yet lost their effect entirely. Collectively, the craftsmen recognized that it was still too early to walk under the sun.
It wasn¡¯t like some of the upper-level yers didn¡¯t get together in attempt to protect the craftsmen. However, the average top yer at the time only had Intermediate skills, which made it difficult to protect the craftsmen poption (which was toorge to protect but small enough for the perps to target), and the discussion ended with the conclusion that the best course of action was for the craftsmen to protect themselves. To boot, some of the upper-level yers were deceived by the lies, and ended up acting against the interest of the craftsmen.
The people arrested by police and publicized by admin were publically known for their bad manners already, which lead to most yers ignoring the lies spewed by them by now, and on the surface, the negative vibes revolving around Crafting skills and craftsmen had subsided.
Still, despite three years being passed after the incident, there were more than a few OGs who still saw craftsmen yers as con artists. And there were more than a few new yers believed what these OGs told them. It was ironic that once the OG craftsmen tried to defend themselves from those rumors and new yers started reaching Advanced on their own, the new yers became more noticeable and easier to target.
¡¸Meh, that kind of stuff don¡¯t matter to us no more. Once we¡¯re on the same page with our skills and the like, we should decide on what we¡¯re gonna do next.¡¹
¡¸Right. Of course, we should start by dealing with Elle-chan¡¯s situation so we can gather more information.¡¹
So, Hiroshi and Haruna decided to change the subject from one that would probably leave a bad taste in their mouths. While Haruna still didn¡¯t know much about the incident, she decided she still didn¡¯t need to stick her nose in it just yet, and decided to not ask for any details.
¡¸I¡¯m sure Makoto-san knows what¡¯s goin¡¯ on, already, but I wanna hear this kind of stuff from the horse¡¯s mouth. I¡¯ll try askin¡¯ ¡®em again, tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I¡¯ll let you handle all that. What about Tatsuya¡¯s equipment?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll whip somethin¡¯ up for Brother this week usin¡¯ the furnace and the anvil. It¡¯s just temporary, anyhow, and ya wanna practice makin¡¯ ya own, right, Mio?¡¹
¡¸Yep.¡¹
And so, the group finally decided on a reasonable n. The next day, Makoto would witness Hiroshi and Mio ¡°whip up¡± a staff, bow, and dagger, before losing all faith. But that¡¯s another story.
Volume 1, 8
Volume 1, Chapter 8
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸So we want a few things exined, already. That alright with y¡¯all?¡¹
The day after the Japanese members of the group decided on their next step, Hiroshi opened up the conversation after a breakfast together had beenpleted.
¡¸You may be right. It may be time to tell you our side of the story.¡¹
¡¸Lord Douga!? ¡¹
¡¸Call me Doul, Reena. And no need for honorifics.¡¹
After what had be a frequent recurring conversation, Douga faced the Japanese members again. That being said, it seemed that Rayna attempted to stop Douga not because she was against telling their story.
¡¸There is something I want to confirm before we begin.¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Was it you, Hiroshi-dono, who crafted the antidotes when the horde of Venomous Wolves appeared a month and a half ago.¡¹
¡¸¡Knowing ya, you¡¯re askin¡¯ ¡®cus ya already know the answer, so I¡¯ll be honest. It was me. Made ¡®bout three hundred and change of them.¡¹
Hiroshi answered Douga honestly. Aearis¡¯ and Douga¡¯s eyes clearly shifted. Aearis, especially, looked as if she wanted to say something but had reservations about asking for more, still keeping Rayna¡¯s transgression in mind. Seeing the stalemate, Haruna broke through it with a direct question:
¡¸Does Hiroshi-kun¡¯s potion making and you guys being trapped by Piaranork have something to do with each other?¡¹
¡¸Not directly. But when ites to breaking through our current situation, it may y a big part.¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯plicated?¡¹
¡¸Very.¡¹
While Hiroshi and Haruna had expected this answer, when Douga told it to their face, they didn¡¯t know what to say. Chuckling at them, Douga organized what he needed to share in his mind. As he pondered where to start, it urred to him that he may have to divulge their own identity openly if he wanted help from Hiroshi and Haruna at all.
Douga thought that, judging by their attitude, Hiroshi and Haruna had a clue as to their identity but weren¡¯t quite sure of it. It didn¡¯t seem like Makoto had told them about it, either. And Douga was sure that, from the time they had spent together, that Hiroshi and Haruna had no intention of making an enemy out of them. On that note, other than Makoto and Tatsuya, the other three Japanese members were desperatelycking in talent to deceive anyone with malice. While Douga didn¡¯t know what to make of Mio, whom he hadn¡¯t spoken to much, Hiroshi and Haruna were smarter than most, and they were sharp and wary enough to notice possibilities about being deceived or betrayed themselves, but they seemed na?ve at their core, where they would never consider shooting first.
Douga saw them as trustworthy for their character, and for their secret-keeping, somewhat. But because he saw that they were good people, Douga couldn¡¯t trust their talent in acting. While he doubted that could be tricked into spilling the beans too easily, he wasn¡¯t sure if they could refrain from giving away any tells when questioned. Then, he realized that they couldn¡¯t possibly be as stupidly honest as Rayna.
While Rayna¡¯s straightforwardness was charming, it was coupled with her detriments of a one-track mind, inability to read between the lines, and incapability of lying. She was stoic and unwavering, making her a hard target to manipte. On the other hand, once she had set her mind it was difficult for anyone to get her back on the right track. This made her susceptible to unexpected (nonbat rted) events. Of course, Rayna wasn¡¯tpletely useless. Her youth and characteristics made her unfit for politics and negotiations, but she was much more of use than the average recruit, like the third son who had no hopes of inheriting the family business.
She had only ended up cornering Hiroshi, in part, because both people who could reign her in were incapacitated. She had just be an adult, after all, and she was bound to improve with experience, somewhat. Best of all, she recognized her own ws, and was striving to improve them. Douga always thought he could afford to give her more time. Besides, Hiroshi himself was opposed to a harsh punishment. Douga was worried that if he administered an unnecessary punishment without a closer look, he could further damage their rtionship. Of course, if something like the incident were to happen again, he would have no more chances to give Rayna.
Comparing Hiroshi and Haruna to his own subordinate, Douga came to a conclusion. They were easier to handle than Rayna, very loyal, and were skilled enough to take down Piaranork with just the two of them. The same could be said for Tatsuya, except he seemed like he had also lived enough to y some politics. As for Mio, Douga doubted that she would say anything unnecessary as long as Tatsuya and Hiroshi told her not to. Of course, Hiroshi was extremely skilled in (at least) potion making, cksmithing and crafting magical items. Douga considered the risk of sharing their information, and it seemed like the benefit he would receive through honesty and gaining their trust outweighed that risk. With that conclusion, Douga was finally ready to tell the whole story, including their identity.
¡¸Are you ready?¡¹
¡¸Yes. I would like to keep what I am about to say to this house, if possible.¡¹
¡¸Lord Douga! I will not oppose telling them our story! But are you going to tell them everything, right here, right now!?¡¹
¡¸Call me Doul, I say.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t care! Don¡¯t tell them everything when we don¡¯t know who could be listening!¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s all takin¡¯ care of. Don¡¯t ya worry ¡®bout it.¡¹
Hearing this, Aearis closed her eyes.
¡¸¡Very high-level soundproofing and anti-eavesdropping, as well as irvoyance-censoring barriers are set around the entire workshop. And anotheryer around this room. Who did this?¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun made a tool for the workshop. I was doing them at first, but it was getting tiresome to do them over every day, so I ask him to make them after awhile.¡¹
Tatsuya chimed in:
¡¸This room is covered by Mio and I. We thought it could be a long story. Also, we cast Dispel on this room beforehand, so even if there was something nted here already, it won¡¯t be working.¡¹
Douga and Rayna looked impressed. All of those spells were once a requirement for a quest in-game, and actually happened to be rather useless after that one quest. The Soundproof barrier at least came in handy for neutralizing the Cursing Songs and supersonic attacks of Harpies and Sirens, but Eavesdrop and irvoyance protection was normally never used outside of a mandatory quest. To boot, some quests require a needless high Skill Level, so many yers were adept in these spells for no good reason.
Of course, they went through the trouble to set all of this up for some privacy. Information regarding Hiroshi was especially dangerous. Without exaggeration, he could turn the current international power bnce on its head. While Hiroshi himself consider that a little excessive, he was at least aware that he would be in more trouble than he wanted if word got out about his abilities.
¡¸So, unless they¡¯re super-powered, they ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ anythin¡¯ from Eavesdroppin¡¯. So spit it all out, now.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, you really have a way with words.¡¹
Chuckling at Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯sic routine, Douga began by exining some basic knowledge about themselves and the government of this nation. Aearis seemed to have trusted Douga with the tasks, and remained silent. Rayna also seemed to be satisfied, and kept to herself most of the time.
Aearis, who Rayna addressed as ¡°Princess,¡± was the fifth and youngest crown princess of the nation. By blood, she was the second daughter of the royal family. As an exception in Fane court, which had always had male rulers, Aearis was in line for the throne, although very low on the list. This was because of the duties bestowed upon her. On a side note, while every peasant to orphan had ast name in Fane, the royal family didn¡¯t. The excuse for this was that the royal line were one and only, and didn¡¯t need to be differentiated from others by ast name. Royalties of most other countries that have a certain length of history didn¡¯t havest names, mostly because they copied the customs of Fane, which boasts the longest history among the all current nations.
There was a reason why Fane¡¯s rulers have been males. For some reason, the Hereditary Spell passed down through the royal family didn¡¯t get passed down to the children of princesses. Despite being passed down to both male and female children of princes who can use the Hereditary Spell. This was why even the sons of the king and a concubine were treated better than daughters of the king and queen. By the way, (not only for Fane) any Hereditary Spell was never passed down to children born in other countries. While the reason for this was unclear, the public¡¯s interpretation was that because each nation was protected by a different god. In addition, any children of males, who happened to cut ties with the royal family (like marrying someone in another country) don¡¯t have the Hereditary Spell passed down to them. This was also true for royalties of all nations.
So, why was Aearis in line for the throne? Largely because of her title as the Priestess Princess. The Priestess Princesses of Fanemunes with the Goddess Alfemina (the protector of the country), and uses the powers of the goddess through their body and magic. They were literal shaman. Only a woman who takes this position can bear children who can use the Hereditary Spell. Of course, even their children, if they marry and birth the children outside of Fane, won¡¯t have the Hereditary Spell passed down to them.
¡¸You sound like you have a very important position. It¡¯s seems a little weird that you¡¯re onlypany is Douga-san and Rayna-san.¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯s up, I bet. It don¡¯t sound like there¡¯s only one of these Priestess Princesses per generation, either. ¡¹
¡¸My guess is that the line for the throne isn¡¯t set in stone, either.¡¹
Hiroshi and Tatsuya chimed in their guess on the royal system.
¡¸That is correct. Princess is more powerful than anyone in this generation, or the past five for that matter. But there are two more unmarried princesses above her who are qualified to be the Priestess Princess.¡¹
¡¸Besides, the Priestess Princess isn¡¯t allowed to hold any political influence. A princess who may be the Priestess Princess will study some kingcraft, but nine out of ten, they will never end up using it.¡¹
In short, they were worthless politically, and receable. Aearis herself wasn¡¯t important. Besides, since she spent most of the day in the more than well-secured Alfemina Temple, and spent the rest in the castle (the most well-secured architecture of the country) she simply didn¡¯t need too many people following her around. Both Douga and Rayna were top-ss in terms ofbat prowess. Douga, in fact, had considerable political influence as well.
The biggest reason for Aearis¡¯ck ofpanions, however, can be attributed to a servant assigned to her before Aearis took on the role of the Priestess Princess was quite a troubled person with impable talent for covering things up. Every trouble this servant caused had brought Aearis¡¯ reputation down. As a result, Aearis was extremely unpopr to most (excluding some people in the royal family and important political circles) which made Rayna (who had been with Aearis since they were children) one of the few people willing to serve Aearis.
¡¸Smells kinda fishy to me.¡¹
¡¸The king isn¡¯t stupid enough to assign that kind of servant to his own daughter, is he?¡¹
¡¸No. There were some issues that mustn¡¯t be talked about thate into y. It does have affect our current situation, but it is frankly an embarrassment to our nation, and I would like to spare you the details. I will tell you that five years ago, just when we were about to assign her her own servant, when a horde ofrge monsters appeared. We just didn¡¯t have eyes on all of our human resources. That¡¯s when she slipped through the cracks.¡¹
The Japanese members could understand the horde ofrge monsters. Even in-game, there were a few times when there were incidents like that, as an administrated event. Especially the appearance of arge horde would usually take a month or even up to three months to take care of. The longer the yers took, the wider the aftermath spread. By all means, it was needlessly realistic.
¡¸¡Uh-huh. Sounds like much more than that ain¡¯t our business, though. She ain¡¯t in the picture anymore, is she?¡¹
¡¸She has been executed, so unless shees back as a walking corpse, she is permanently out of the picture.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna sh aplicated expression at this. Apparently, the servant was caught with attempted poisoning when Aearis¡¯ position was finalized. It seemed like she had been framed, but by that time, the higher-ups knew that she had turned her back on the princess she was supposed to serve. Either way, she would have been executed sooner orter. While Fane had a very high standards for legal execution, someone who was basically abusing royalty (a young, defenseless princess at that) easily qualified.
On another note, the man who had fired many tutors (who learned of Aearis¡¯ situation and tried to rat) with his own authority in order to conceal the truth, had also been eliminated. He had enough power to do so, but not in position well enough to affect the core of the nation. Apparently, he had been spectacrly brainwashed.
¡¸I really should have been able to hold onto the reins, no matter who I was dealing with¡¡¹
¡¸Nah nah nah. I don¡¯t ken when ya started havin¡¯ her, but that kind of character would never let a preteen child ¡°hold the reins¡±.¡¹
¡¸Actually, at first I thought you were older than you are, Elle-chan.¡¹
¡¸Same with me. In fact, I think you¡¯re more mature than we are. ¡¹
Hiroshi jumped in.
¡¸Any noble¡¯s daughter with a proper education is much more mature than I am.¡¹
¡¸¡±Proper¡± being the operative word, here.¡¹
Rayna remarked, and everyone gave her a look as if that would bestow upon her some self-awareness.
¡¸Let¡¯s get back on topic.¡¹
Tatusya said, and Douga continued with a nod:
¡¸A bit of a side note, but there are two others with the qualifications of Priestess Princess at the moment. The second Crown Princess, who was born by the queen, and the fourth Crown Princess, who was not. The second Crown Princess and Aearis-sama are very close, and so are the second and fourth Crown Princess¡¡¹
¡¸But that couldn¡¯t be less true for Elle and the fourth Crown Princess.¡¹
¡¸More urately, the fourth Crown Princess despises her one-sidedly.¡¹
Douga added to Makoto¡¯s remark. They looked at Aearis for confirmation, and she nodded with a sorrowful expression.
¡¸It¡¯s kindaplicated, ain¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve always wondered why they always have so many kids. They know there are going to be rivalries. With more than one woman, too. ¡¹
The group could only truckle at Mio¡¯s innocent question. Ideally, the best situation for a royal family would be to have one heir, and one Priestess Princess, in the case of Fane, to prevent any drama. The problem was, the throne would hang on a single thread in this case. Especially since this worldcked in medical advancementspared to the real world, any royal family wanted a good number of potential heirs and back-ups to keep the bloodline from severing.
In fact, even in Japan where medicine was much more advanced than Fane, it was very possible that there would no longer be a male heir to the emperorship in the near future, due to theck of male children in the bloodline. Even risking some feuding over the throne, having a certain number of potential heirs seemed to be a necessity. In addition, a king¡¯s concubines and their children can y roles in politics as well. It would be more difficult to not have them in a country asrge as Fane.
Still, it was easy to understand that Mio, a Japanese girl of a sensitive age (with an idealized view of romance) couldn¡¯t swallow the existence of concubines and their numerous children with ease.
¡¸Amazingly, the Queen and the two concubines are very fond of each other, and all of their children, with the exception of Aearis-sama and the fourth Crown Princess, are close as well. In turn¡¡¹
¡¸That makes the rift between Elle and the fourth Crown Princess stand out even more. Sounds like a pretty big rift.¡¹
¡¸It does, naturally. She is displeased with Aearis-sama¡¯s existence to begin with, so there is not much that can be done.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s kind of weird that it¡¯s so hostile just between them. How old is the fourth Crown Princess, anyway?¡¹
¡¸She turns sixteen this year. She should be settling on a suitor in the near future.¡¹
It was an awkward age gap.
¡¸Sounds like a big hassle.¡¹
¡¸Indeed, quite a big one. To boot, the fourth Crown Princess has suddenly appointed this man as her advisor from who-knows-where.¡¹
¡¸Is he the one¡¡¹
¡¸Who transported us to Piaranork. That¡¯s the one.¡¹
The Japanese member could only wince as they sank deeper and deeper into the convoluted court drama of Fane.
¡¸Just so we¡¯re on the same page, can you outline the people in this country¡¯s court?¡¹
Haruna asked Douga, after some time in silence.
¡¸Hm. The oldest of the children is Lord Avin, son of the first concubine. He is 22 years old, but he is moving to our ally, Falldania as a prince consort, so he has lost his ce in line for the throne.¡¹
¡¸Aint¡¯ that dangerous?¡¹
¡¸Falldania was born out of Fane. The younger brother of our third king, who wanted to avoid any conflict for the throne, took his group of supporters to the continent across the Ridona Sea, and built Falldania there. So, when they are short on male heirs, we may send a prince consort. Besides, the first concubine is the cousin of the current king of Falldania, the niece to the previous king. He had the right blood for the position, anyway.¡¹
¡¸Is he cool with it?¡¹
¡¸He¡¯s ecstatic, I¡¯m sure. It¡¯s public knowledge that Lord Avin and Princess Presea, first in line for the throne of Falldania, are lovers.¡¹
The Japanese members looked pleased by the good news from Rayna. Regardless of any politics involved, it was nice to know that they were happy with each other.
¡¸Getting back on track¡ The daughter of the second concubine, Lady Magdarena, used to be the first Crown Princess. She turns twenty this year. She was betrothed to the crown prince of Darl. She recently had a daughter. There will be a celebration ball for her, next year. ¡¹
¡¸Then, the second Crown Princess Elena, daughter to the queen. She turns 19 this year. Since she is the queen¡¯s daughter, a suitor has to be chosen more carefully. As such, she is still unmarried. Since she is also the Priestess Princess, she will most likely marry a powerful noble in the country.¡¹
¡¸Then there is the fourth Princess Katrina, age 16, whom we have been talking about. Then the next-in-line, the Crown Prince Layotte, 15. And the third Crown Prince Mark, the son of the second concubine. Below them is Aearis-sama.¡¹
¡¸The son of the king¡¯s brother is also in line for the throne, but he¡¯s only 3 years old, and hasn¡¯t really taken to the Hereditary Spell. No noble is unaware of the importance of the Hereditary Spell, so there is no movement to back him.¡¹
The group mentally organized all the information Douga and Rayna had just exined. Haruna, after drawing up a simple diagram, asked to confirm:
¡¸So, the ones who might be involved in politics, at least in the country, are Elena-sama, Katrina-sama, Crown Prince Layotte, and Elle-chan. Does that sound right?¡¹
¡¸Sure does.¡¹
¡¸And any fight for power is going to be between Katrina-sama and Elle-chan?¡¹
¡¸Their rtionship is the only one with a chance to turn into such a thing, but it won¡¯t be a fight for power. Unfortunately, Aearis-sama isn¡¯t popr.¡¹
There weren¡¯t many people who have the opportunity to directly know the face and character of royalty before they be of age to attend social functions. Aearis was chosen to be the Priestess Princess, and began her life of istion in the Temple, before she was old enough to attend even the nobles¡¯ tea parties, the practice rounds for other social functions. As a result, no one but the higher-ups of the temple and the royal family, along with people who have been serving since her youth (like Douga) had a clear picture of who Aearis was.
The aftermath of the servant¡¯s debauchery was still prevalent, and the vast majority were even unhappy that Aearis was chosen to be the Priestess Princess in the first ce. The pushback for Aearis is only contained (at least on the surface) because Princess Elena and the previous Priestess Princess have unequivocally dered that no other candidate is better suited for the job than Aearis, both by virtue of powers and character. If it came down to a popr vote, more people who cast their vote for Princess Katrina or Princess Elena.
True, the Priestess Princess held no political power. But the job was a vital pir of the nation¡¯s foundation, along with the monarch. There were historical records of Priestess Princess with troubled characteristic in the past, and times were bad for the country when that happened. It was only natural that most people would oppose a child taking that position, when all they have heard about her were bad rumors.
With all of that in the background, they couldn¡¯t hire any old personnel to guard or serve Aearis. The only qualified personnel at the moment were Douga, who had proven himself through the years and made friends with every member of the royal family, and Rayna who was skilled more than enough inbat, and at the very least, who never betray her. An erroneous addition to the party just opened up the window for betrayal, or abuse of the Priestess Princess¡¯ powers. The problem was, with her reputation this bad, most people withmon sense and smarts would never work for Aearis.
¡¸So, my gut feeling is that this Princess Katrina¡¯s a brat.¡¹
¡¸We can¡¯t tell you anything about that. We wouldn¡¯t want to cloud your judgement.¡¹
¡¸At the very least, she acts like a responsibledy in public.¡¹
Douga and Rayna gave a vague response to Tatsuya¡¯s remark. It appeared that Aearis herself couldn¡¯t say much about, since she was in the midst of it. The lives of the high and noble always seemed to be tangled up in red tape, no matter which world they were in.
¡¸So, I just remembered this. How does me makin¡¯ those antidotese in y for your future?¡¹
¡¸Can we assume that, since you can make antidotes, you are well versed in poison?¡¹
¡¸A bit, I guess. ¡¹
¡¸Then, let me ask you this. Can you make a poison with no taste or smell? One that can make a target ill, without killing the taster?¡¹
¡¸Makin¡¯ the poison itself ain¡¯t hard. It¡¯s easy as pie as long as we can dose ¡®em more than once. The only trick part¡¯s adjustin¡¯ the dosage.¡¹
Frowning to this quick answer, Douga continued:
¡¸Can you negate that kind of poison?¡¹
¡¸Depends, but I could take care of most poisons out there. Unless it¡¯s toote for that. I could use an All-purpose Potion, but I gotta go far for the ingredients, and our equipment¡¯s a little shotty, and like I said, if it¡¯s toote for it, negatin¡¯ the poison won¡¯t do a thing.¡¹
¡¸Hm. How about an illness?¡¹
¡¸Same goes. I¡¯ll have to hear the symptoms and check it out for myself, but I could cure most. Now any kind of after effect for an disease or a poison is free game. I can¡¯t say how that¡¯ll turn out until I see ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
After pondering for a moment, Douga got up and prepared to leave.
¡¸Where are you going?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m going to pop in at the Association.¡¹
With that, he changed his appearance with the magical item, and swiftly walked out, leaving Aearis and Rayna behind.
¡¸So, y¡¯all know what he was talkin¡¯ about?¡¹
¡¸¡Elena hasn¡¯t been feeling well for a long time, now¡¡¹
¡¸The court doctor and magician couldn¡¯t figure it out?¡¹
¡¸Yes. They said she has a mysterious illness, but¡¡¹
¡¸We can¡¯t be too sure ¡®til I hear her symptoms and take a look at her.¡¹
Hiroshi pointed, out and Aearis nodded, and began to list the symptoms as much as she could remember. Most were shared by many illness, but¡
¡¸Tremors in her hands and feet, and phantom pains, huh? Does Princess Elena dine with everyone else?¡¹
¡¸Since about a week before her symptoms started appearing, she was always alone, except for lunch. It was in part because everyone in the family had a varying schedule.¡¹
¡¸How ¡®bout you, Elle?¡¹
¡¸I usually eat at the Temple, and eat the same things as the other priests there¡¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. Do the tasters rotate?¡¹
¡¸Yes. We have their body and conditions to consider, and to ensure there are no mistakes, there are four tasters at a time, in a differentbination of members, each time.¡¹
¡¸No one else has her symptoms?¡¹
¡¸No.¡¹
With this much information, Hiroshi was sure.
¡¸It¡¯s poison.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re sure?¡¹
¡¸There is a disease that cause simr symptoms. But, the only way to get infected is bein¡¯ scratched by a Marjin Rat. And once it infects a human, it spreads like wildfire, so a bunch a people would have been showin¡¯ symptoms. It¡¯s only got a long incubation period for the first infected person. Besides, she would have healed on her own in two weeks without any treatment or nothin¡¯. So, it¡¯s poison. No shred of doubt.¡¹
¡¸Can you make an antidote for it?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, no problem. The thing is, I gotta use ingredients that spoil fast. Can¡¯t make it right away.¡¹
Even with their Rotproof enchantment, they didn¡¯t have arge stock for all materials. Obscure materials required for potions, especially, weren¡¯t easy to get a hold of, even in Wulls, the trade port of the west.
¡¸How long¡¯s it been since her first symptom popped up?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see¡ Almost a month, I believe. It had at least been two weeks when we were trapped by Piaranork.¡¹
¡¸Was it pretty dumb goofin¡¯ ¡®round here like this?¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t say that¡¡¹
¡¸Guess ya wouldn¡¯t.¡¹
In reality, even with his track record of crafting therge amount of antidotes, there was no way that they woulde to a no-name adventurer about this. It should take two weeks or so for them to go through everyone with the appropriate credentials. Even without the Piaranork incident, it would have taken them just as long to get to and interview Hiroshi and Haruna as it took for Aearis and her party to wake up and get to this point. It was a marginal difference.
¡¸Well, we can¡¯t do much until Uncle Doules back. What do you want to do?¡¹
¡¸Sun¡¯s gettin¡¯ high. Why don¡¯t we whip up another taste of ol¡¯ Japan?¡¹
Hearing this, Aearis¡¯ expression brightened for a change.
¡¸What are you going to make?¡¹
¡¸Pork, squid, shrimp, beef tenderloin, cabbage, flour, and sweet potato. You can do the math from there, can¡¯t ya?¡¹
Hiroshi responded to Tatsuya with a list of ingredients. A man from Osaka could only be prepping for one dish with thatbination of ingredients. Needless to say, both the pork and beef were produced from an animal that taste simr, since they didn¡¯t have the same kind of animals here as they did on Earth. The ¡°pigs¡± of Fane, especially, didn¡¯t produce muchrd nor broth from its bones (it didn¡¯t host parasites, for that matter). The only simrity between them and pigs on Earth were their looks, as well as the texture and taste of the meat.
¡¸Nice. Can I request it in Modern-style?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course. I¡¯llpromise and do Hiroshima-style, but not Monja-style, I¡¯m beggin¡¯ ya. Just a matter of taste, though.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s okay. Monja-style isn¡¯t my favorite anyway.¡¹
As they discussed the details, they ced a ck t-top on the dining table. It was an industrial-sized t top that covered a third of their gigantic dining table. They could flip a dozen of Okonomiyaki pancakes at once if they wanted to. The detail of Hiroshi¡¯s craftsmanship really shows through the polished surface and special coatings for rust prevention and whatnot. Not to mention that it had been enchanted here and there to make it a magic-powered. Some serious time was spent on crafting this piece.
¡¸When did you have the time to¡¡¹
¡¸When I was checkin¡¯ the furnace. Somethin¡¯ like this don¡¯t take as much materials as it looked.¡¹
The materials, by the way, were recycled metal parts of busted tools he scavenged.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s get to it.¡¹
With that deration, Hiroshi started swiftly chopping the cabbage and expertly kneading the dough. He seemed to have some sense of pride in his work, as he prepped the entire thing alone, without even letting Haruna touch it.
¡¸What can I get ya?¡¹
¡¸Pork ball!¡¹
¡¸Modern. Scrambled. With two eggs.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, can I get some cheese on top, too?¡¹
¡¸Sure can. Comin¡¯ right up.¡¹
After taking the orders, he whipped enough everyone¡¯s dish at once. Chuckling at Aearis, who was only able to look up at Hiroshi timidly. He took it upon himself to whip her up a tenderloin scramble, his favorite. Usually, Hiroshi would work with Haruna or Mio, but today he was working alone from start to finish. After cooking up the pancakes in about fifteen minutes, he dressed them with mayonnaise and steak sauce to match everyone¡¯s request before topping it with nori and bonito kes and handing the dishes out. Then, everyone started eating them with chopsticks rather than the spat. In fact, Aearis and Rayna had gotten used to using chopsticks,tely. Rayna was rather taken aback by the bonito kes dancing by the steam, but Aearis didn¡¯t seem to be bothered at all.
And so, Aearis took another step into the depths of Japan¡¯s culinary culture.
***
¡¸I was expecting you.¡¹
¡¸Sorry for the trouble.¡¹
At the Wulls HQ of the Adventurers¡¯ Association, Douga was speaking with the president of the Association.
¡¸Is she unharmed?¡¹
¡¸She is doing well. Perhaps because she has been dining on rare delicacies, her face is brightening by the day. She looks better than ever.¡¹
¡¸Wonderful to hear.¡¹
The president sighed with utter relief upon hearing this. He was one of the few people outside of court who knew Aearis directly, and as such, one of the few people who was concerned by Aearis¡¯ horrible reputation.
¡¸And at the court?¡¹
¡¸Allow me to exin.¡¹
A young man, closer to a boy¡¯s age, jumped into answer Douga¡¯s question. A soft-looking man, tall and slender, with silver hair and somewhat of a resemnce to Aearis. Even though he only looked like a fifteen-year-old child, he carried a sharp aura about him. Combined with his always-on-alert demeanor, no one (save for the very dull) would dismiss this man as a youngling, or a weakling.
Judging by the fact that he didn¡¯t sense this young man presence until the moment he opened his mouth, Douga assumed that he had transported here with a spell or something. His opportune timing suggested that someone had notified him of Douga¡¯s arrival. Thanks in part to the fact that Layotte himself held an Adventurer¡¯s license, he had a close rtionship with the Association.
¡¸My lord¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve received your reports. You¡¯ve done good work, Ernest.¡¹
¡¸An honor, My Lord.¡¹
Douga kneeled in response, and bowed his head nearly to the ground.
¡¸We¡¯re not in public. At ease, Ernest.¡¹
¡¸Yes, My Lord!¡¹
With Layotte¡¯s permission, Douga took his seat.
¡¸My Lord¡¡¹
¡¸Elena is doing worse. ¡¹
¡¸No¡¡¹
¡¸Her life isn¡¯t in immediate danger, but she can no longer walk on her own.¡¹
Douga gritted his teeth to the news worse than he expected. Layotte continued, as if to console him:
¡¸What did the adventurer tell you?¡¹
¡¸That he would need to see the symptoms for himself, but he can cure most ailments. However, he also said that, whether it be poison or illness, it was possible that it was toote for him to do anything.¡¹
¡¸Can you trust him?¡¹
¡¸At the very least, I can guarantee that he is the best in the city.¡¹
Nodding, Layotte took out his card and contacted someone.
¡¸I called Julius. We¡¯ll be transporting out of here, so he¡¯lle here on foot. It should take him awhile. Catch me up while he¡¯s on his way. Have you eaten today?¡¹
¡¸No, sir. I intended to return presently after my report.¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s eat here. Prepare us something light, will you?¡¹
¡¸Yes, My Lord.¡¹
After watching the president leave, Layotte let out a long sigh.
¡¸We just can¡¯t get ahead, can we?¡¹
¡¸That falls on my hands, My Lord.¡¹
¡¸No, our opponent wields a long-distance transportation spell in a wide range without the High Priest or High Monk realizing. You and your team didn¡¯t stand a chance. It was our fault, actually, for anticipating some kind of attack and failing to prevent it.¡¹
¡¸If I could have only struck him back, even once, Princess Aearis would have had enough time to cast her spell¡¡¹
Layotte shook his head to interrupt Douga. His sister had no skill whatsoever when it came tobat. Even if Douga had bought her some time, she couldn¡¯t have cast a spell during the suddenmotion. In fact, he considered it a miracle that she was able to cast the spell to protect herself against Piaranork. Furthermore, a benevolent adventurering to the rescue was more than a miracle. Layotte could only exin it as an act of a higher power.
¡¸What is the scoundrel saying?¡¹
¡¸He desperately wants Elena and Aearis to step down from the position of Priestess Princess. He started moring that Katrina should be given the position, iming that Elena is bedridden and that Aearis ran away, abandoning her duties. The Temple is rejecting it for now, but who knows how long that willst¡¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
¡¸Like the previous Priestess Princess has said, Katrina can ruin our nation from that position. They can bark all they want, but as long as Alfemina-sama doesn¡¯t ept the change, no one but Aearis will serve as the Priestess Princess.¡¹
Douga nodded in sincere agreement. Then, the president of the Association returned with a light meal. A very simple te,prised of a warm soup (still steaming) and smoked meat grilled and sandwiched with ck bread.
¡¸I¡¯m afraid all we can prepare is this meagre meal¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s fine. No matter how simple, I would rather eat a fresh and warm meal than nibble from a table full of cold, borate dishes, terrified of poison.¡¹
¡¸My Lord, allow me to taste it before¡¡¹
¡¸No need. The adventurers are eating these, too, this time of the day. He¡¯s serving the same meal. If there were any poison in the batch, there would have been chaos.¡¹
Nodding in agreement, Douga and the president still ate their food before Layotte could get his hands on his. They both had a considerable carrier in adventuring, and as such, had developed some degree of resistance. In addition, with something this simple (with a straightforward vor) they could have detected most any poison on the spot from experience.
¡¸Speaking of¡¡¹
¡¸My Lord?¡¹
¡¸You tell me Aearis has been dining on some rare delicacies. Could she stand to return to the nd meals served at the Temple?¡¹
Layotte asked, as he is washed down what could only be described as meagre. Neither Douga nor Rayna had stopped to ask that question. Douga froze.
¡¸¡I must speak with the chef at the Temple. While the dishes are rare, they are not extravagant.¡¹
¡¸I see. So, do they make good food?¡¹
¡¸It may depend on one¡¯s palette, for many of their dishes. Aearis-sama and I have both enjoyed them all.¡¹
¡¸Interesting.¡¹
Layotte cracked (in some sort) an evil grin. As soon as Douga saw this, he regretted mentioning anything about food. Aearis wasn¡¯t the only one unhappy about the dining situation at the castle and Temple.
¡¸Let¡¯s see¡ We¡¯re going there anyway, can you ask them to cook us one of this strange delicacies?¡¹
¡¸¡I will ask him, My Lord.¡¹
Douga wallowed in his mistake of including food in his report, but what he didn¡¯t know, is that it didn¡¯t really matter whether he kept this from his report or not. After a quick discussion about the near future, Douga was left to describe the dishes he had eaten to Layotte with the time leftover. Then, a ck-haired man in his mid-twenties entered. In contrast to Layotte¡¯s skinny stature, this man was cool-blooded and handsome.
¡¸Julius Felnork, reporting for duty.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re here. Faster than I¡¯ve thought. Did you eat?¡¹
¡¸Military rations on the way.¡¹
¡¸Ernest.¡¹
¡¸Yes, My Lord.¡¹
Douga activated the Transportation Stones to Layotte¡¯s cue. All of a sudden, Hiroshi and the rest of the part were looking to get involved with the royal court of Fane.
***
Burning a hole into yet another steel te (in a different shape this time) Aearis was daydreaming the possibilities of the dishes about to appear in front of her.
¡¸Jeesh¡ I was wondering what you¡¯ve been doing, sneaking around¡¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon, what¡¯s the harm?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s no harm, but¡¡¹
Makoto could not have sounded more exasperated looking at the equipment Hiroshi had produced for an afternoon snack. The steel te in front of Hiroshi looked peculiar to Aearis and Rayna, with a grid of 8 by 12 half-spherical indents in it. It had been processed in all sorts of convoluted ways, radiating enough magic to tip off to most observers that the equipment was magic-powered. Of course, any Japanese person could instantly recognize it.
¡¸Hold on, do we have octopus?¡¹
¡¸Who do ya think you¡¯re talkin¡¯ to?¡¹
With that Hiroshi expertly started pouring oil into the indents. Once the heat was high enough, he filled the indents with some dough (simr but different from the dough earlier) and swiftly threw in the ingredients (including octopus, of course).
¡¸Now, watch this.¡¹
Hiroshi dered with a poker in hand, once he observed that the edge of the dough in each indent began to crisp. Weaving the poker like a swirling torrent, detaching the dough pouring out onto the spaces inbetween the indents. Pushing back the detached dough back into the indents before twirling the poker along the edge of the indent to flip over the ball with obvious expertise.
¡¸Wow wow wow!¡¹
Giving Aearis a nce, who kept uttering in a mix of awe and joy, Hiroshi kept flipping over the octopus balls. His technique wasparable to any professional vendor on the streets of Osaka.
¡¸Amazing.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know if I should be surprised or not¡¡¹
¡¸Anyone from Osaka can do this much, even a little kid.¡¹
Hiroshi continued, flipping over the balls repeatedly to cook them evenly. His movements werepletely free of hesitation or erroneous movement. He continued that for a while, and once he saw that all of them were cooked well, he ced upon a leaf, which he had turned into a makeshift tray, 8 octopus balls. Then, with expertise, topped them with steak sauce and mayonnaise, along with nori and bonito kes before sticking a toothpick into one and serving it to Aearis.
¡¸It¡¯s hot, so be careful.¡¹
Hiroshi warned Aearis, who had remained seated with excellent posture, staring at the cooking process with gaping eyes. If she had a tail, it would be wagging back and forth in joy. Before she reached for one, she did her usual nce at Hiroshi¡¯s expression, but it seemed that today she couldn¡¯t restrain herself for long, as she picked up one of the octopus balls. She apparently still heard Hiroshi¡¯s warning, however, as she blew on the piping octopus ball in her hand before carefully putting it in her mouth.
¡¸Hmm!¡¹
The dish did seem rather confusing for the resident of another world. Aearis just rolled it back and forth in her mouth, looking perplexed. Chuckling at this sight, Hiroshi ced some more onto another tray.
¡¸Mmm! This is so good!¡¹
¡¸You learned it in the Ma of octopus balls, after all.¡¹
The gang rolled the octopus balls back and forth in their mouths as they savored them, finished to a crisp exterior and a gooey filling. By this time, Aearis had recovered from the initial surprise, and began throwing them into her mouth.
¡¸Try ¡®em with soy sauce or ponzu. It¡¯s pretty good.¡¹
¡¸Really? I want to try.¡¹
¡¸Here ya go.¡¹
And so, Hiroshi threw the next batch into a couple of bowls, and topped one with soy sauce and the other with green onion and ponzu. He did not hold back.
¡¸This is delicious, too!¡¹
¡¸I remember this from thest time. Ponzu, is it? I love the crisp acidity.¡¹
As Haruna and Aearis cheered him on, Hiroshi started on his portion with a smug expression. Makoto and Tatsuya had already asked Hiroshi ¡°You made the ponzu yourself, too?¡± and ¡°How did you get the malt you need for soy sauce and miso?¡± etc., so now they simply ate in silence.
¡¸¡Does everything from your nation taste this good?¡¹
¡¸You haven¡¯t seen nothing, yet. Actually, we haven¡¯t been able to get our hands on the most important ingredient, so we haven¡¯t been able to make¡¹
Haruna countered strong to Rayna¡¯s half-serious, half-exasperated question in reaction to the ridiculously borate food she had experienced so far. What¡¯s more, the other Japanese members of the group fully agreed with Haruna.
¡¸Right. I¡¯m starting to miss rice, for real¡¡¹
¡¸I could go for curry and rice instead of a curry bun, already.¡¹
¡¸Hold it, our number one priority outta be eggs-on-rice.¡¹
¡¸How about rice balls? With bonito, mentaiko, and tuna-mayonnaise.¡¹
¡¸¡I miss the beef-on-rice bowls¡¡¹
Tatsuya whispered with all of his soul, and every Japanese member couldn¡¯t help but feel the same. They segwayed into more conversation about rice:
¡¸Chicken and egg on rice. Ooh, fried rice!¡¹
¡¸Oh, yeah. Beef curry is good, too, but I miss cutlet curry.¡¹
¡¸Sushi! Sushi!¡¹
They continued listing dishes as they finished their octopus balls. Aearis seemed to be overloaded with trying to imagine what all of these dish could possibly taste like, as Rayna enjoyed her serving of the octopus balls, while failing to contain a chuckle. Then¡
¡¸Smells delightful, as always.¡¹
¡¸Wee home, old man.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m back. I brought some guests with me. Do you mind?¡¹
¡¸Hang tight. I¡¯ll whip some up. How many guests?¡¹
Do you mind if we have a chat? Was Douga¡¯s full question.
¡¸Actually, I wanted to discuss our future.¡¹
¡¸Settle down, Ernest. He¡¯s offering, let¡¯s dly ept it. ¡¹
¡¸If you say so, My Lord.¡¹
Douga nodded reluctantly to the suggestion by the tall boy who walked in. Of course, the boy was Layotte. Seeing him, Aearis widened her eyes in a different way than before. She almost opened her mouth to speak to him, but so many words were running through her mind, that she ended up falling silent.
¡¸So, how many?¡¹
¡¸For three of us, please.¡¹
¡¸Sure thin¡¯.¡¹
Disregarding Aearis, Hiroshi nodded to his order, and expertly cooked up some more octopus balls, as before. This managed to distract Aearis, and cause her to gleefully cheer, mesmerized by Hiroshi¡¯s prowess. She hadpletely missed the chance to say something to her brother, but Layotte seemed to be satisfied seeing his sister¡¯s unaffected joy. Cracking a quick smile, he joined in watching Hiroshi¡¯s work. Even as he was distracted by Hiroshi¡¯s rather performative skills, Layotte was surprised by the almost unbelievably high caliber of the magic-powered item on the table.
¡¸This steel te is really something. Did you make it yourself?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
Hiroshi responded, flipping over the octopus balls left and right. Layotte¡¯s surprise was justified. Most magic-powered items, unlike Enchantments on weapons or armor, expend some form of energy. Hiroshi¡¯s steel te was extremely energy-efficient. Most magic-powered cookware in a household, even a simple one that heats to a certain temperature when turned on, expends enough magic that would make it difficult for an average person to use continuously for 12 hours or so. However, Hiroshi¡¯s te could be heated (even by someone with no expertise whatsoever) for 3 days straight. While Layotte had no idea of the significance of these ¡°octopus balls,¡± he could determine with no uncertainty that craftsmanship of this caliber waspletely wasted on a cookware for it.
Of course, everything Hiroshi had crafted within the past six weeks, save for a few exceptions like Haruna¡¯s rapier, were all embodiments of wasted craftsmanship.
¡¸We have another one.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m impressed you went and created two of something at such a high caliber.¡¹
¡¸¡Hmm¡ Thanks, I guess.¡¹
Hiroshi responded, still cooking the octopus balls, with some hesitation. Makoto picked up something from this, and squinted at Hiroshi and questioned:
¡¸So, you¡¯ve only made two, right?¡¹
¡¸Uhh¡ Well¡¡¹
Still keeping his hands busy, Hiroshi kept muddling his words. He was clearly hiding something.
¡¸I won¡¯t be mad. You can tell me.¡¹
¡¸Which means you¡¯re 100% gonna get mad.¡¹
¡¸All depends on you.¡¹
¡¸¡There¡¯s a third one.¡¹
With that, he reached away from the octopus balls for a moment to pull something out of his bag. Makoto raised her brow in protest.
¡¸That¡¯s it! I can¡¯t condone wasting so much ingredients on these things!¡¹
¡¸Why Taiyaki, though?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, Hiroshi-kun. We don¡¯t have red beans or cacao beans. All we can make is custard and matcha vored ones!¡¹
¡¸Curry and cheese vors, too.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi! Haruna! That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about!¡¹
Layotte pinched his forehead as if to contain a headache. Hiroshi had produced a cookware (bit of a stretch to call this one a steel te) with a needlessly detailed cast of a red snapper. There were three pairs of these casts, each connected with hinges. Each pair had a cast of six snappers total, which meant this could produce up to eighteen Taiyakis at a time.
Needless to say, this is a ridiculously ornate machine in this world, and unequivocally a huge waste of ingredients and craftsmanship. At this moment, Layotte knew that what he was told was true. This man¡¯s efforts were in the opposite direction of what it should have been dedicated to.
¡¸Ernest. Julius. Are you sure they can handle it?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t say anything, yet.¡¹
¡¸When ites down to it, My Lord, they will get the job done. Please give them a chance.¡¹
Even as Hiroshi argued over the oh-so-important semantics of his technology, he managed to perfectly cook the octopus balls and handed it over to the newly arrived guests. The longer the party revealed their usual tone, the visitors from court were made more and more nervous.
Volume 1, 9
Volume 1, Chapter 9
¡¸You¡¯ve been working alone a lot,tely. You broke up with Hiroshi, huh?¡¹
¡¸The team¡¯s intact. Hiroshi-kun has to make all sorts of this-and-that¡¯s. He hasn¡¯te out of the workshop in a while.¡¹
¡¸Heh, I¡¯ll try my luck again, some day. Oh, right. Two each of the curry buns and corndogs, please. Oh, and two of the new cutlet skewers, too.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie. That¡¯s 1 Chrone and 20 Tirols.¡¹
As she kept an adventurer of her acquaintance up to date, Haruna swiftly wrapped the freshly fried curry buns, and loaded up the leaf trey with the corndogs and cutlet skewers before handing them over, all at once.
¡¸You stuff isn¡¯t exactly cheap, but you sure sell a lot of them.¡¹
¡¸I think it¡¯s because we¡¯re the only ones to serve them in the city, still.¡¹
When there was a little gap in customers, Haruna checked the amount left for the self-serving steak sauce and ketchup as she chatted with the owners of the food stands on either side of her. This kind of neighborly rtionship was crucial to a smooth business venture. Besides, there was an important side effect of the asional tip of information, a vital key to ie as an adventurer.
¡¸Speaking of, what other kinds of food do you have in your hometown?¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re talking more than fried food, there¡¯s countless dishes¡ As for easy fried stuff, you¡¯re looking at them.¡¹
With that, she disinfected her hands with alcohol, and took out the potatoes she bought from the morning market along with a knife and cutting board. She chopped the potatoes down to handy sticks, and gave them a quick fry before sprinkling on salt. Haruna gave a serving to the owners on the either side.
¡¸¡Hey, this is good.¡¹
¡¸Makes me want to sip on something.¡¹
¡¸Here¡¯s something else you can enjoy with a drink.¡¹
She disinfected her hands again as they continued to chat, and took out the thigh cuts of a Troll Bird, which Makoto had hunted during a job while the bathroom was being renovated. After cubing the meat, she rubbed the spice (primarily soy sauce) to give it some preliminary vor. One could see the detail in Haruna¡¯s work by watching her disinfect a stic-like bag before using it to rub in the seasonings. Then she dusted them in flour. After adjusting the temperature of the frying oil, she fried them twice to a golden crisp, and had her neighbors taste them.
A Troll Bird, by the way (as its name might indicate) is arge bird at over 3 meters. It¡¯s vitality and regeneration abilities are worthy of the ¡°troll¡± in its etymology. Not to mention that it glides through the air with incredible agility. An average adventurer would barely be able to defend themselves. It has wings and legs powerful enough to fly away with a horse, and its thigh and breast meat, consequently, give off afortable softness and texture once cooked. In fact, Troll Bird meat is out on the market as a rtively extravagant food.
¡¸Mm. Now I really want a drink.¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s not a course meal or anything, this could be your entr¨¦e, too.¡¹
Despite fried chicken being one of the easiest fried food, the food stand owners still chowed it down with curiosity. This was a good representation of the simpleck of fried food in Fane.
¡¸Those aren¡¯t on the menu?¡¹
A soldier, on his way home after his guard shift, had spotted Haruna tinkering with the meat behind the counter. He was practically drooling.
¡¸Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have enough to sell them on the stand. Two Troll Birds won¡¯tst half a day, don¡¯t you think?¡¹
¡¸I guess you¡¯re right. What a shame.¡¹
¡¸Well, there¡¯s still some left. If you buy the curry bun and cutlet skewer set, I¡¯ll throw some in there?¡¹
¡¸You got yourself a deal.¡¹
And so, the soldier was hyped into making the rather expensive purchase of two curry buns and a cutlet skewer. He dly gave up 90 Tirols (enough for three frugal meals) and chowed down the fried bird with glee.
¡¸Right. Have you seen any more fried food,tely?¡¹
Haruna asked.
¡¸No other food stand is selling them, that¡¯s for sure.¡¹
¡¸The wok has been pretty popr, but the stove is the real issue.¡¹
¡¸I tried it at our stand, but my stove couldn¡¯t get the oil hot enough.¡¹
In addition to the food stand owners on either side of Haruna, a craftsman from the neighborhood (who had just bought ten corndogs), and a woman who came to buy cutlet skewers to add to her medley of vegetables, agreed with this assessment. In reality, a household magic-powered stove would have a hard time adjusting the heat to what¡¯s suited for frying food, and burns a lot of energy in the process. An industrial stove, on the other hand, were a little too big for the woks in the market. Of course, preparing something just for this purpose would cost a little too much to make it an easy decision. Moreover, most peoplecked the proper knowledge, which led to only a few brave stores trying their hands (through much trial and error) at frying food for the first time. (There were a few restaurants that already handled fried food, most of them extremely high-ss). As for the food stand industry, it was unimed territory. One could expect the same for the development of steaming food in Fane. Of course, no one here was even yet aware of the concept of steaming food, yet.
In Fane, where measurements for cooking were more of an art than science, most reputable restaurants tend to keep their culinary knowledge behind their kitchen doors. As a result, revolutionary dishes or cooking methods took longer to be poprized. The secrecy only reinforced the gap in quality between expensive restaurants and the rest of the bunch, preventing the bottom line of Fane¡¯s culinary culture from improving. This might be the critical cause to the slow emergence of fried food stands, despite oil being readily avable.
Of course, even Haruna, who wanted the cooking method to be widespread, barely shared any information about which oil to use for which dish, or how big each piece should be and how hot the oil should be and how long they should fry each dish, out of pureziness. In actuality, she had no right to whine that there weren¡¯t enough fried food stands in the city.
¡¸I don¡¯t see any dishes using curry powder, either. I told a few people how to make it¡¡¹
¡¸The ingredients are cheap, but it just takes so freaking long to make. They¡¯d have to sell it for an astronomical price.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what my potion maker said. Oh, right. Twenty curry buns and two sets of the tter, please.¡¹
¡¸Coming right up!¡¹
The assistant of a shop nearby had dropped that insight along with a big order. The tter isprised of two each of every cutlet skewer on the menu, along with a pair of corndogs. Its price varied by day. This day, there were eight pairs, including the corndogs. Some cutlet skewers went up to 20 Tirols a pop, so this day¡¯s tter came out to 2 Chrones and change.
Of course, the tter won¡¯t fit on a tray, so they were drained of thest drops of oil and wrapped. Ketchup and steak sauce were self-served, so none were included here. Of course, there was proper seasoning on all pieces, and could be enjoyed without condiments.
¡¸Here you go. Special asion?¡¹
¡¸We got a big business deal. We haven¡¯t exactly started on the project, but we¡¯re doing a little pre-celebration with the popr stuff around town.¡¹
¡¸Awesome. I¡¯ll give you a little discount them. It¡¯ll be exactly 11 Chrones.¡¹
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
¡¸I can get you ketchup and steak sauce in a little bottle for 50 Tirols each, do you want them?¡¹
¡¸That would be great.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
She handed them a small bottle of ketchup and steak sauce. At first, they weren¡¯t selling anything like these, but more and more customers had requested them. They had now be standard add-ons upon request. While the price may seem steep, it barely covered the cost to make the bottles. Truth be told, since Haruna and Hiroshi had no intention of creating a monopoly, they were almost hoping for someone who had tasted their food to copy it and spread the recipe around the city. Maybe then, there could be a new dish for them to taste.
The assistant bought this and that from the stands at either side of Haruna¡¯s, and went back to the shop. After watching him leave, Haruna opened the storage box to prepare for more orders to find¡
¡¸Eesh, we¡¯re running low!¡¹
It wasn¡¯t even halfway through the day, but she was running low on her stock of curry buns. Come to think of it, she remembered frying curry buns by the dozens constantly (as she chatted with customers) before making the French fries and fried chicken just now.
¡¸I wonder why we¡¯re so busy, today?¡¹
¡¸Maybe because your hours are unpredictable,tely. You weren¡¯t here yesterday, either, right?¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t that drive customers away?¡¹
¡¸No one else sells your stuff.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ve got a good thing going.¡¹
Even so, Haruna¡¯s neighbors were stillughing. They had been selling drinks that pair well with curry buns, and some palette cleansers fit for a desert after chowing down some fried food. They were selling some product of their own, riding the bandwagon. In fact, if Haruna¡¯s sales started dropping, theirs could go down with it.
¡¸Just a few days ago, our record was, like, 200 curry buns and corndogs each, and maybe 80 cutlet skewers¡ After a whole day.¡¹
¡¸I guess the word¡¯s spreading.¡¹
¡¸Uh-oh. I should have prepped more.¡¹
¡¸How many you got left, by the way?¡¹
¡¸30 curry buns and corndogs. For the skewers, there are 10 bison, 25 spider legs, and 40 each of the rest.¡¹
Which meant that she couldn¡¯t sell too many more tters, today. Because of the quest they had epted (or rather, had no choice but to ept) the day before, she was really hoping to keep the leftovers to a minimum, and Haruna was beginning to worry if she had been too stingy. Even as she pondered this, ten more customers hade and gone, taking three curry buns and a total of twenty or so cutlet skewers.
How¡¯s it goin¡¯?
In the midst of Haruna¡¯s realization, Hiroshi called her.
We¡¯re almost out of stock. We won¡¯tst another hour.
Alright. You want me to whip some up and send ¡®em to ya?
Send them? How? If you¡¯re going to have someone bring them, I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be fast enough.
I just expanded the sharin¡¯ function to the storage box.
Another almost useless yetplex feature. A sharing function connected multiple storage spaces, so the contents can be essed from all ends. In this case, it seemed that he had connected the food stand¡¯s storage box with the pantry at the workshop. This should have been a feature that could only have been implemented with all sharing spaces in the same ce first, but since Hiroshi had already set up a sharing connection with something else, he simply expanded it to include the storage box. With Hiroshi¡¯s skillsets, he only needed one end of the sharing space to create multiple outlets.
Since the capacity of the shared space increased with each additional outlet, this enchantment was rather vital to some upations. However, the catalyst was very expensive, and having an NPC cast the enchantment would almost always result in a failure. All in all, it was something an average use could only dream about. In this case, Makoto (who went and breezed through a hunting quest while she was bored) had brought home some guts that could be processed into a catalyst. So, Haruna was already aware that all of their bags were already connected to the storage room of the workshop. However, she didn¡¯t know that the storage box at the food stand had already been connected to something.
Needless to say, knowledge of this simply broken enchantment is hidden from the public. Unlike the in-game world, it seems that not even governments in this world were aware of it. Douga would watch with envy as Hiroshi and the rest of the party would pass food and tools back and forth through their bags. Apparently, even the Knight¡¯s Order mostly carried their provisions by foot or horse. Even if theyyered the Expand Capacity enchantment to the max, an ordinary bag would not be able to carry enough supplies tost them through long battles.
No wonder there¡¯s some stuff in here I don¡¯t remember putting in¡
So, how much do ya need?
Let me see. Hm¡ 30 curry buns, maybe? I think the more we have the more they¡¯ll sell, but that should even them out with what we have left in skewers.
Alrighty.
Hiroshi began prepping the curry buns. Haruna wondered if he didn¡¯t have to work on more tools for future gigs, but she concluded that he must have had some time on his hands since he was the one who called her. She was continuing to fry more curry buns, when¡
¡¸Gimme all your money!¡¹
A pretty buff warrior with an experienced looked was holding up a knife of a menacing size. Judging by his looks, he wasn¡¯t eating too well. The people around her screamed and ran, shocked. Haruna, frowning, sprung to action without a smidge of fear in her eyes.
Her movement was too fast, not only for the civilians around her, but even the robber. A faint and sharp metallic sound was heard as the people around them saw that the man¡¯s knife had been sliced off at the handle. Haruna¡¯s rapier, drawn out of her sheath without anyone noticing, had pieced the center of the knife¡¯s de, detaching it from the handle. Why did she disarm him in such a way? Simple. If the de had flown into a bat of oil or hit someone in the crowd, it would be a disaster.
¡¸Can I take your order?¡¹
Haruna asked, throwing the de of the knife into the ground and holding the rapier against his throat, holding up a smile all the while. She may look rather frail, but she could take on most any Field Boss. If a robber wanted to get anything from Haruna, they would have to at least be able to go toe-to-toe with the Chivalrous Thief Alvin.
¡¸¡One¡ Corndog, please¡¡¹
Understanding that Haruna was offering to let him leave unharmed in exchange for a purchase. He emptied his pockets to buy a corndog, and scrambled away with his tail between his legs. The crowd, who had been watching this ordeal, burst out in cheers for Haruna. It only took fifteen minutes after the incident for all of their merchandise, including the additional portions, to be bought up by the crowd.
¡¸Anything scary-looking around?¡¹
In the woods a little ways out of Wulls, Mio, Tatsuya, and Makoto (the gathering team) were checking their surroundings to see if there were any dangerous creatures lurking around the area. They were here because of the Crown Prince Layotte practically tying their hands to cure the Crown Princess Elena. They need arge amount of potion materials, namely for antidotes. So, they were out in the woods, doubling their time as training Tatsuya and Mio. While they wanted to bring Haruna to hone her Gathering skills, too, she had to stay back to get rid of their food stand stock, as things were heading in a direction where it was dubious whether or not Hiroshi and Haruna could continue their food stand business.
Today, they had to collect more than vegetation. They also had to collect some insides from monsters. So, they had found themselves in an area with rtively aggressive animals. Since they would be rather exposed while gathering materials, detecting any enemies in the area was a must, and they had to search more diligently than during ordinary quests. Although they were still near the edge of the woods, where they could still see a main road behind them. At this point, there weren¡¯t many aggressive creatures nor any materials worth bringing home.
¡¸Over that way, there¡¯s some sort of big lizard.¡¹
Mio dropped a rather scary answer to Tatusya¡¯s question, as she pointed in the general direction of the sky.
¡¸Which way?¡¹
¡¸That way.¡¹
They squinted in the direction of Mio¡¯s indication, but neither Tatsuya nor Makoto could spot anything like that. She was pointing up (implying that the creature was in the sky) but they couldn¡¯t even see a bird, let alone a lizard-like creature.
¡¸How far away are we talking, here?¡¹
¡¸Like, fifteen kilometers?¡¹
In other words, well beyond how far a naked eye can see. Mio¡¯s eyes, beefed up by Vision Enhancement skills, can see even beyond the horizon.
¡¸Come on. You think we can see that far?¡¹
¡¸Sensei could, maybe.¡¹
¡¸Our senses aren¡¯t heightened like yours¡¡¹
Tatusya counted. In-game, while a yer¡¯s sensory stats came into y for almost any activity, the only skills that buffed them were all of the Crafting skills and Art skills, as well as some of the Archery and Thieving skills, and maybe Detecting and Searching skills. As a result, these stats were extremely difficult to grind on purpose. Both the modifiers and the Training Bonuses for the non-Crafting and non-Art skills were much lower inparison, making Sensory stats even more difficult to raise.
Unlike other stats that became difficult to raise past 150, it was extremely difficult to get past 100 on any Sensory stat. Most yers had not reached the 150 bench mark at all. People like Hiroshi and Mio, who would chuckle at the thought of ¡°only¡± hitting 300 on the Sensory stats, were legends even among the most hardcore yers. Even Haruna¡¯s stats (top third in the party) partially in thanks to her Extra Skill in Singing, were way out of Makoto and Tatsuya¡¯s league. Tatsuya might have a shot, since he had reached Intermediate on Potion Making and Metalworking, and had been grinding his Harvesting and Felling skills. However, Makoto hadn¡¯t even gone near those skills.
¡¸Arge lizard in the sky, huh? Doesn¡¯t sound good.¡¹
¡¸What does it look like?¡¹
¡¸Torso¡¯s kind of stubby. Its front limbs are webbed wings. Pretty thick legs with big ws. Poison stinger on its tail. ck in color.¡¹
¡¸A Wyvern¡?¡¹
¡¸Looks like it.¡¹
Tatsuya frowned at Mio¡¯s response. Even though they had a considerable distance between them in Wulls, even a civilian (with the help of Speed boosting items) could travel out here and back to the city within a day. The only time a Wyvern would show up around this area in-game would be for special events.
¡¸It sees us.¡¹
¡¸¡Right. Their Detection range was nuts.¡¹
¡¸And they¡¯re carnivorous¡¡¹
With that, they stared at each other.
¡¸¡Are we gonna do it?¡¹
¡¸Makoto, can you take down a Wyvern with your equipment right now?¡¹
¡¸Piece of cake. You?¡¹
¡¸My weapon¡¯s good, at least. If I don¡¯t take any hits, I¡¯m good.¡¹
After a mere confirmation disguised as a strategy meeting, Mio silently drew her bow. Despite theyers of Extend Range and Boost Pration enchantments, it was just a bow made out of ordinary lumber. The quality of the bow made it more powerful than arge crossbow, but it was nowhere near hitting something 15 kilometers away. But, her stance to fight back seemed to have been picked up by the creature. It came charging head-on towards this group of frail prey.
¡¸10 Kilometers and counting¡ 9, 8, 7¡¡¹
¡¸We can¡¯t burn it too much ¡®cause of the materials, right?¡¹
¡¸Then the quickest way¡¯s for me to cut off its head.¡¹
Makoto dered, and Tatsuya and Mio nodded in response. Unless it was some primeval creature like a Slime, just about anything would die with its head cut off. The Wyvern wasn¡¯t an exception. If it¡¯s head were to be cut off, or its heart smashed, it would die for sure.
¡¸A kilometer. Attacking.¡¹
Staring down the Wyvern, which had approached close enough for Makoto and Tatsuya to see, Mio fired two arrows in a row. The arrows urately pierced the joints of the Wyvern¡¯s wings. It lost control of its wings, lost its bnce, and crashed onto the ground. However, because of its fast velocity, it crashed only a few dozen meters from the party, in an open area. They were in each other¡¯s range of attack.
¡¸Oxygen Ring!¡¹
Tatsuya activated a rather obscure special attack spell against the fallen Wyvern. This spell trapped the target in a confined area before generating an overload of oxygen to oxidize and/or cause oxygen poisoning on the target, or else, evacuating all oxygen from the area to suffocate it. This time, he had chosen the suffocation mode, but the Wyvern was resilient enough to even retain its consciousness. This spell would cause brain damage in a sh against a human, but the Wyvern¡¯s anatomy seemed to protect from any immediate critical injury.
However, trapped in the confined area of the spell, the Wyvern couldn¡¯t even roll over. Makoto mercifully decapitated the poor beast with her giant sword, which she had been happily wielding for three months now. While not as imprable as a dragon¡¯s, a Wyvern¡¯s skin was very tough. It shows Makoto¡¯s skill that she could so easily slice through it, without so much as a grunt. Now, she didn¡¯t get to showcase much by cutting an immobilized target, but a sessful surprise attack against a single target by a spell-wielder and an archer would steal any thunder from the closebat members in almost any situation.
¡¸That¡¯s a weird spell you got there.¡¹
¡¸It reallyes in handy when I¡¯m hunting for materials from living creatures. It preserves at least double the amount of materialspared to regr attack spells. Not to mention that the quality of the hide is much better. If I¡¯m after some organs, I might switch up the spell depending on what I¡¯m facing off against.¡¹
¡¸So you¡¯ve yed with these?¡¹
¡¸You could say that. I¡¯d be helping this gal here or Hiro a lot. I did some trial and error on how to gather as much materials as possible in the least number of kills.¡¹
¡¸Yep. I¡¯d definitely do the same in your shoes.¡¹
Makoto nodded, understanding. Mio had ignored them to observe the Wyvern corpse.
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸I was thinking¡ We get something like this, we might want to chop it up into reasonable chunks and just have Sensei take them apart.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto remembered that, ording to Hiroshi, Mio should be able to collect most of the materials from the corpse.
¡¸Mm-hmm. Some materials are better to enchant them as soon as they¡¯re collected.¡¹
¡¸Like what?¡¹
¡¸In case of the Wyvern, its hide, for example. And the stinger on its tail can be used to make poison or antidotes, but it needs to be processed a little when extracting it.¡¹
In reality, most wouldn¡¯t attempt to take down a Wyvern solo with a yer Level below 300. It was only natural that its loot required delicate handling. Of course, that was just a guideline, and a yer with the right stats, skills, and/or prowess could take one down without worrying about the number of their yer Level. In fact, Haruna was only at Level 135 when she encountered one through an event. It was a close call, but she took one down on her own. In Fairytale Chronicles, as long as the yer had enough Attack to punch through an enemies Armor, enough HP to not get one-hit-killed, and enough problem-solving skills, they could take care of most enemies. Of course, growing the problem-solving skills was the hard part.
¡¸I can do it now, but if I enchant the hide, for example, it¡¯ll be 70% the quality of Sensei doing it.¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s just chop it up and take them home. It¡¯ll fit in our bags, right?¡¹
¡¸With room to spare. Actually, he linked all our bags before we left.¡¹
¡¸Okay. He really puts the devil in the details, doesn¡¯t he?¡¹
With that, they chopped up the corpse in general parts (by each wing or limb) and stowed them in their bags. Convenient that blood stopped pouring out of the chunks as they put them away. Each hunk of meat was way bigger than the opening of the bag, but you know¡ Magic.
In fact, without the shared space, the materials from the Wyvern alone might have filled their bags to the brim. Despite the bags¡¯ capacity expanded to several times their appearance, the Wyvern had a wingspan of over ten meters. To top it off, all of the materials were quite rare in these parts, so it would have been quite a waste to leave anything behind. The link allowed them to ess the storage room and the storage box on top of everyone¡¯s bags, which allowed them to pack everything away. Without this enhancement, they might have only been able to bring home the hide.
Everyone would have so much more respect for Hiroshi if he devoted himself to useful projects like this one, but s, he often spent all of his efforts to crafting Taiyaki molds or Mixytwirly treats and all sorts of spices. That was Hiroshi Azuma¡¯s vice, indeed.
(Sensei. Sensei.)
After chopping up the Wyvern and stowing the pieces into the bags, Mio contacted Hiroshi through the Group Chat mode on her Adventurer Card, which allowed everyone in the party to join the conversation.
(What¡¯s up?)
(We took down a Wyvern. Can you take it apart?)
(Sure. You got a big one, didn¡¯t ya?)
(Mm-hm. I think it was afflicted a little more than normal.)
A few seconds of silence from Hiroshi, indicating his contemtion. After a few seconds of listening to Hiroshi do some kind of work, they could hear Hiroshi answer with some nervousness:
(Somethin¡¯ don¡¯t smell right. Watch yourselves out there. I got a bad feelin¡¯ ¡®bout this.)
(I know. We won¡¯t go too crazy.)
(Thanks. Y¡¯all can just let me handle all the materials if ya like.)
(Do you have nothing else to do, Sensei?)
(Just finished up the essories. I¡¯m just preppin¡¯ curry buns for Haruna-san right now.)
The group inferred that the food stand business was well. Of course, no one was surprised since they knew Haruna would be at it with her 100%.
(After I¡¯m done with the buns, I¡¯ll get to takin¡¯ this apart. Guess I gotta talk to Haruna-san ¡®bout how to cook Wyvern meat.)
(That¡¯s your first thought, Hiro¡?)
(Why not. No food, no life.)
Hiroshi responded with pride to Tatsuya. Although, even if it was contained to its stinger on the tail, the Wyvern was still venomous. Even without the thought that it was basically a giant lizard, most members of the party could not work up their appetite for Wyvern meat at the moment.
(In any case, we don¡¯t know when Ray¡¯s gonnae back with the patient. Don¡¯t go too far.)
(We know. I think we¡¯ll stick around for another two hours or so.)
(Alrighty.)
Hiroshi hung up after acknowledging Tatsuya estimate. Mio had already begun collecting other materials. Tatsuya joined her, leaving Makoto to keep watch. While he wasn¡¯t as skilled as Hiroshi or Mio in this department, he had still gotten his Harvesting and Felling skills halfway through Intermediate.
After two hours, Tatsuya, Mio, and Makoto were on their way home after taking down a good number of monsters, hauling more than enough materials for the entire party.
A knock on the door. Before Elena could sit up, her servant responded:
¡¸Who is it?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s Layotte. May I speak with my sister?¡¹
Hearing the Crown Prince, the servant gave Elena a look, and Elena nodded.
¡¸Please,e in.¡¹
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
With a bow to Elena, Layotte entered her territory with an elegant flow. Julius followed him, as always. Elena discerned from her brother¡¯s demeanor that there was something important he had to tell her, regarding her own wellbeing.
¡¸I¡¯ll prepare some tea.¡¹
¡¸No need. Actually, sister, I would like to speak with you alone.¡¹
Giving her servant, who had stood up to prepare tea, a look of dismissal, Elena sat up on her bed despite the pain and sluggishness through her entire body. Her fever hadn¡¯t gone down since she woke up in the morning, and she couldn¡¯t even keep down medicine or porridge. Elena was feeling worse than under the weather, to say the least, but she knew that Layotte was well aware of her condition, and she knew how busy he was. Whatever he had to say, it was important.
¡¸What is so pressing, brother?¡¹
¡¸Allow me a moment, as we need to make some precautions. Julius.¡¹
¡¸Yes, sir.¡¹
They took out something from their pockets, and started tinkering with it. In a moment, magic filled the room,pletely separating them from the outside world.
¡¸An istion barrier? This is quite the precaution.¡¹
¡¸We never know who could be listening¡ Or watching, for that matter.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve never seen one that uses so much magic. Why are you going to do, go challenge a dragon?¡¹
¡¸ording to the creator, he didn¡¯t even put his all into it.¡¹
Layotte interjected, and Elena failed to find her words.
¡¸¡Really?¡¹
¡¸After hearing what we had to say, he immediately started working on it. Seeing as he finished within half an hour, it seems likely that he barely used a fraction of his abilities.¡¹
¡¸Who in the world is this man, anyway?¡¹
¡¸He¡¯s something called a ¡°Japanese.¡± Apparently he came from the same ce as Makoto. Do you remember Ernest¡¯s apprentice? So, he is a visitor from the unknown continent, no doubt.¡¹
That made sense to Elena. She knew enough where she wasn¡¯t too surprised by the quality of Hiroshi¡¯s items anymore.
¡¸What we¡¯vee to talk about, sister¡¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸This man may be able to cure you. However, bringing the man here will prove difficult at the moment.¡¹
¡¸Why is that?¡¹
¡¸A simple reason. He ims that the treatment may be interrupted if performed here. Unfortunately, we can¡¯t deny that possibility.¡¹
And neither could Elena. She had more than enough reasons to suspect that. Especially the man lurking by Katrina¡¯s side.
¡¸So, what do I need to do?¡¹
¡¸They had very few requests for you. To notin about the barren room, think of a broom closet. To clear your te as long as you are feeling well. To notin if the treatment isn¡¯t going as smoothly as expected. And to not persecute any of them if their etiquette is unsatisfactory.¡¹
¡¸Well, I don¡¯t know how bad the room would look, but everything else seems reasonable.¡¹
¡¸We were also warned to notsh out if there is nothing he can do.¡¹
And so, Elena was faced with the possibility she was trying to avoid.
¡¸And, what do you think?¡¹
¡¸If you would allow it, sister, we would like to put you in his hands. Both father and his advisor have agreed to it.¡¹
¡¸I can see that he is skilled at crafting magical items. Does that really mean he can heal me?¡¹
¡¸What would you say if he made this from scratch as you watched?¡¹
Layotte said, as he handed his sister something. Elena looked at it, quizzically.
¡¸A vial? There¡¯s a lot of magic in for its size. It looks like a potion¡¡¹
¡¸A ss 4 healing potion.¡¹
Layotte said with almost an air of nonchnce. Hearing this, Elena nearly dropped the vial.
¡¸It¡¯s¡ Authentic¡?¡¹
¡¸It is. I had the Court Magician and Potion Maker inspect it. It is a ss 4 potion. That being said, he could only make five of them. Short on ingredients.¡¹
Hearing this, Elena closely investigated the potion in her hand. There was enough magic emanating from the vial itself that seemed too powerful to contain a mere potion. Hovering her hand over the cork, she nced at Layotte and waited for him to nod before twisting it open a crack. She realized why the existence of ss 4 potions were almost legendary. The smell that wafted out of the vial in that instance alone seemed to ease Elena of the pain from the venom in her body.
In fact, when they investigate this vial to see if it was truly a ss 4 potion, someone¡¯s minor injury had been healed, solely from smelling the potion. Then, a knight who had been critically injured during a secretiverge-scale hunt two weeks prior, was healed enough to go on another quest, albeit with some aftereffects, from a single vial of this potion. There was no other potion maker that could craft such a potion while engaging in some chit-chat in a matter of minutes. Not in Fane, nor its neighboring nations on either side, at least.
It¡¯s worth mentioning that the ingredients for this batch of potions included the Piaranork¡¯s processed guts. The other ingredients wereprised of various nts they had gathered when they returned to the site to gather more silk. In actuality, Hiroshi could only craft five vials not because of theck of ingredients for the potion, but for theck of ingredients for the vials. Of course, even Lord Layotte was oblivious to that detail.
¡¸If a man who can craft this can¡¯t do anything to cure you, I doubt anyone in the world could.¡¹
¡¸You think so¡?¡¹
Elena had to agree to that assessment. If the potion was produced from somewhere, it was still possible that this man was fooling them. But crafting the potion as they watched? There was no room for trickery there. And since the potion was effective, it wasn¡¯t crafted just to trick them. Of course, the fact that this man could really craft a potion like this made Elena timid.
¡¸If you have a hard time trusting them, some more information might help.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s more?¡¹
¡¸Aearis is quite taken with this man, and Ernest seemed to trust him more than he does most men. That being said, he seems to wander off in a world of his own to create these odd concoctions the minute you give him the chance.¡¹
¡¸Concoctions?¡¹
¡¸What I saw there were these strange cookware, but he apparently goes really nuts with food, like mysterious sweets and strange spices.¡¹
Elena wondered if she had dismissed the promise to clear her te too prematurely. However, she also knew that Layotte speaking to her in this manner meant that she didn¡¯t really have a choice.
¡¸¡I see. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not nervous about a few things, but I don¡¯t really have another choice at this point, do I? I would like to request for his help.¡¹
¡¸Good. We¡¯re about to file paperwork to do exactly that. We¡¯ll be back in an hour to pick you up. Make sure you¡¯re packed. By the way, we can¡¯t bring your servant, just in case. You¡¯ll have to get used to taking care of yourself for the most part. I apologize.¡¹
¡¸Small price to pay for my life.¡¹
Nodding in response, Layotte disabled the item and left the room. Julius bowed, and called Elena¡¯s servant back before following Layotte out.
¡¸I will be leaving the castle for recovery. Please pack my things.¡¹
¡¸Yes, Princess. Who shall apany you?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯ll have people for me there, so there¡¯s no need.¡¹
Elena exined, already exhausted. The servant¡¯s expression changed.
¡¸I¡¯m afraid that can¡¯t be permitted!¡¹
¡¸Father and the Crown Prince have already made their decision. You understand why, don¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸¡But¡¡¹
¡¸This is an order. Deal with it. I¡¯ll be leaving in an hour. Please hurry.¡¹
¡¸Allow me to apany you, at least!¡¹
Shaking her head at her servant, Elena urged her to pack. The servant protested further to Layotte when he came to pick up Elena, even putting her life on the line in the process. s, both Layotte and Elena didn¡¯t budge. Elena departed, feeling a small ping in her heart.
¡¸What are you doing?¡¹
When Layotte walked into the grounds of the workshop, Hiroshi was taking apart some sort ofrge monster. Judging by the dark hide hanging beside him, it appeared to be a reptile.
¡¸Howdy, Lay. That was fast.¡¹
Hiroshi responded, without looking up from his work. It didn¡¯t look like something he could detach himself from at the moment.
¡¸¡I can¡¯t think of anyone else who would speak so candidly with us, with or without permission.¡¹
¡¸Ain¡¯t a problem, is it? Let¡¯s leave our titles at the door, here.¡¹
Elena, still in Layotte¡¯s arms, couldn¡¯t believe her ears as she heard her brother nicknamed ¡°Lay.¡± Not only did this man address royalty in such a crude manner, he jumped and scurried away from her as soon as he had turned around. A very disrespectful man, indeed. Elena was aware that she wasn¡¯t much more than skin and bones at the moment, and knew that she would be hard to look at, but this wasn¡¯t an eptable attitude towards any stranger. Still, the fact that Hiroshi acted this way knowing that they were royalty showed respectable gusto. Elena couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge that despite her groggy mind.
¡¸So, what were you working on?¡¹
¡¸Huh? Oh. Makoto-san¡¯s party took down a Wyvern, so I¡¯d been taken it apart. Haruna-san¡¯ll be back with food pretty soon, so I had to get the venom out of the meat. ¡®Course, we gotta let it mature for a bit, so it ain¡¯t like we can eat it today or anythin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸A¡ Wyvern? A ck Wyvern? Where did it appear? Have they told you?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Round the foothills of Spirit Spire Mountain. It looks like this one¡¯s a little more afflicted than normal.¡¹
The prince and princess froze at this ominous revtion. Disregarding them, Hiroshi continued:
¡¸So, she¡¯s the Second Crown Princesses?¡¹
¡¸¡Yes. My sister, Elena.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. Well, we got a room for her. It ain¡¯t fancy, though. You mind bringin¡¯ her there?¡¹
¡¸After you.¡¹
Hiroshi navigated them to a room that was in no way extravagant, but not filthy, either. The room wasrge enough to take care of at least one patient, adorned with well-made furniture, which were arranged tastefully. A single, elegant flower in a vase on the windowsill weed Elena.
¡¸Alrighty. Mio¡¯ll be back soon, so we¡¯ll take a good look at her, then.¡¹
¡¸You won¡¯t look at her now?¡¹
¡¸¡Andy a hand on her? You wanna torture me?¡¹
This response confirmed something within Elena, who had noted his previous reaction. She timidly asked:
¡¸This may be a little personal, since we just met, but are you¡?¡¹
¡¸Afraid of women? Yeah. Enough so that I¡¯d be happy if I nevere near one for the rest of my life.¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m sorry to be such a burden.¡¹
¡¸Nah, don¡¯t sweat it. We gotta help each other. Right, let¡¯s do formal introductions, shall we? I¡¯m Hiroshi Azuma. I¡¯m the one who makes stuff. If ya need somethin¡¯, I can make it. Except for underwear and such. Just let me know.¡¹
Elena responded to the bted introduction with a light bow.
¡¸That reminds me, I heard that Ernest¡ Or Rayna, rather¡ Offended you terribly¡¡¹
Layotte started.
¡¸It¡¯s all over now, don¡¯t worry ¡®bout it. Don¡¯t look like she¡¯ll do somethin¡¯ like that again.¡¹
¡¸However¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re short-staffed, ain¡¯t ya? And she seems like the stoic type to beat herself up more when we¡¯re just nice to her, instead of min¡¯ her for nothin¡¯. She fakes it well durin¡¯ meals and all, but she looks mighty ufortable durin¡¯ the day. She¡¯s been punished enough.¡¹
At this time, Rayna didn¡¯t seem to trust herself around Hiroshi. She would barely speak to him other than to ask if there was something she could do, and telling or asking him for any information that needed to bemunicated between them. On the other hand, she neverined once to any request from Hiroshi. She went so far as to volunteer for unpopr chores, like cleaning bathrooms and taking care of sewage.
If this was anyone else, people would think that she might be faking it, but Rayna was worse at deceit than Hiroshi. Even Haruna, who was unsure of the situation for the first few days, now proactively tried to make everyone forget the whole thing happened. Rayna Northstone was a girl who acted upon her honest emotions, for better or for worse.
¡¸In any case, Doul would rip her a new one if he thinks she hadn¡¯t learned her lesson. I don¡¯t n on sayin¡¯ nothin¡¯ ¡®bout that.¡¹
¡¸I see. Then I¡¯ll speak to Ernest, soon.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s your prerogative.¡¹
With a swift end to the conversation, Hiroshi contemted something as he prepared some tools. He began to exin what was going to happen next. While the prince and princess still felt remorse, they decided to take advantage of Hiroshi wanting to move on, and prepared to observe information regarding the treatment.
¡¸Well, we¡¯ll do a former examinationter, but let me ask ya some questions, now. Oh, by the way, Lay.¡¹
¡¸Yes?¡¹
¡¸I could use some of your sister¡¯s blood to look into the venom. Can ya handle it? She can take an unssified potion to heal once it¡¯s done.¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯ll give it a try. What should I do?¡¹
¡¸So¡¡¹
While Layotte had never ¡°taken blood¡±, he could locate veins. He followed Hiroshi¡¯s instructions to poke a needle in his sister¡¯s vein, before extracting some blood and handing it over. Dipping some sort of substance he took out from his pouch, Hiroshi continued with his questions:
¡¸It¡¯s like Elle said, for the most part.¡¹
¡¸Elle?¡¹
¡¸An alias for Princess Aearis. We can¡¯t go callin¡¯ our refugee by her real name, can we?¡¹
Elena nodded in agreement.
¡¸In any case, you seem to have be very close with my siblings. They both let you call them by such strange nicknames.¡¹
¡¸Well, we did save Elle¡¯s life, albeit by chance. As for Lay¡ I got a feelin¡¯ it¡¯s ¡®cause we¡¯re one in the same, in a sense.¡¹
¡¸One in the same, you say? I see.¡¹
¡¸One in the same.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s exnation and Layotte¡¯s grinning response, Elena couldn¡¯t help but let out a chuckle. While she felt bad for Hiroshi, it was a serious issue for the royal bloodline that Layotte was one in the same as Hiroshi. While Layotte¡¯s wasn¡¯t as severe as Hiroshi¡¯s (to the point where he could go his whole life without any female interaction) he still had pretty severe trust issues and distaste for anyone of the opposite sex, outside of the family.
¡¸Speakin¡¯ of, it ain¡¯t like you were roped into this weird cohabitation. Ya doin¡¯ real good with Haruna-san and Mio, for example. Elle was real surprised.¡¹
¡¸Mio is a child, by all means. No one in their right mind would see her as a woman.¡¹
¡¸How ¡®bout Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸She is one of the most feminine person I know¡ But at the same time, she doesn¡¯t act that way. I couldn¡¯t be on edge around her if I tried.¡¹
These two couldn¡¯t see a dark side in Haruna, like they did in many women. It¡¯s not that her actions didn¡¯t reflect a feminine mind (she knew when to be calcting and when to be realistic) but Layotte didn¡¯t see the dark side he often saw in women that mored for power. He presumed that it had to do with the fact that Haruna had a very honorable code, deep down.
¡¸In any case, both Haruna and Makoto are very respectable people. Despite my distaste for the female gender, I¡¯m not so stupid as to keep these people away just because they are women.¡¹
¡¸I see what ya mean. Mm. That should be enough.¡¹
With that Hiroshi took out this and that which he had been dipping in the blood sample, and examined it with a serious expression.
¡¸As expected.¡¹
¡¸You mean¡?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s poison, no doubt ¡®bout it. But Emilrad¡? It ain¡¯t the easiest option, for sure.¡¹
¡¸Emilrad?¡¹
Layotte asked, as serious as ever. He had never heard of such substance.
¡¸A deadly poison. Tasteless, odorless, and colorless. It don¡¯t even react with silver, which is rare for a poison. It¡¯s somethin¡¯ made only to kill. The thing is, puttin¡¯ a lethal dose in anythin¡¯, food or drink, would make it real obvious, since it won¡¯t mix well. If ya did end up puttin¡¯ it in your mouth, you¡¯d gag it out before ya could swallow it. So, it takes some finesse.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸For example?¡¹
¡¸Lessee. The sure fire way would be to drip a drop in ya afternoon tea or somethin¡¯. It would take about a month.¡¹
¡¸They could put the droplets on the tea leaves?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. And at that dose, no taster would catch it.¡¹
While Hiroshi said so, he didn¡¯t believe that the poison was administered through food or drink. Not entirely, anyway.
¡¸The thin¡¯ is¡ That would get the princess for sure, but it would also poison other people, most likely. Most likely, it was another way.¡¹
¡¸What are you thinking?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s absorbed through skin, too. So it could have been spread all over somethin¡¯ that no one else uses. Small doses could have been dropped into her cosmetics and perfume, too.¡¹
¡¸Which means¡?¡¹
¡¸Unless the perp¡¯s got super-human powers, it was a group effort.¡¹
The two members of royalty fell silent. This was the worst case scenario.
¡¸We¡¯re cuttin¡¯ it close, but I can do the treatment. The thing is¡¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸The symptoms are pretty advanced. I think they¡¯ll be some serious aftereffects. The other thing is, in order to take care of this poison outright, I need a material that¡¯s hard toe by.¡¹
¡¸Tell me. What do you need?¡¹
Layotte asked, frowning. What could it be?
¡¸A fruit called Solmizen. It¡¯s prettymon in the hignds year-round, but it¡¯s got a mighty short shelf-life. It starts rottin¡¯ less than a day after harvest, at best. Within two days, it¡¯ll bepletely useless. It don¡¯t taste too good, and it needs to go through a time-consumin¡¯ process before it can be used medicinally. To top it off, it takes serious skill just to pick it. So, for the most part, no one wants it. Wulls may be the number-one tradin¡¯ city around, but I doubt you¡¯ll find somethin¡¯ this obscure at any market.¡¹
¡¸Year-round, you said?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s in- bloom year-round, so yeah.¡¹
Hearing this, Layotte made a snap decision.
¡¸Then, I¡¯ll have someone pick some. What do they look like?¡¹
¡¸In that case, it¡¯d be quicker to get our collection team on it. Still, I¡¯ll let ya know what it looks like, so you can check the markets, just in case.¡¹
¡¸Absolutely. I¡¯m entrusting you with my sister.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll do my best. I give ya my word.¡¹
With a nod in response to this, Layotte took down the characteristics of the Solmizen fruit, and used a transportation spell to get out of there. After watching him leave, Elena turned to Hiroshi.
¡¸What kinds of aftereffects?¡¹
¡¸Feebleness, overall. Without more treatment, you won¡¯t be able to live a healthy life like ya did before.¡¹
¡¸So there are some things I can do?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I prepared some stuff for that.¡¹
Hiroshi took some more trinkets from his pouch.
¡¸This ring increases your Stamina. These earrings boost your vitality. There¡¯s other junk to boost your vitality and whatnot. That,bined with a Stamina Potion should get you walkin¡¯ right now. You should be able to digest some of of it.¡¹
¡¸¡These are enchanted with powerful spells. Who in the world are you?¡¹
¡¸Just a craftsman.¡¹
Of course, that wasn¡¯t an eptable answer for Elena. Chuckling at the sight of her, he called over Aearis, who had returned (just missing Layotte) and began to dispel the illusionary spell on her.
¡¸Oh Elena, you look¡¡¹
Aearis, upon entering the room to see her sister, fell speechless at Elena¡¯s obviously abysmal condition.
¡¸I let my guard down, to be honest. I never expected anyone to try and poison me. I¡¯m just your back up at the moment¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m so sorry¡¡¹
¡¸Aearis, my sweet sister. Why should you apologize?¡¹
She pulled Aearis close, holding her head and stroking her hair. While it was clear that Aearis was in no way responsible for what had happened, it was still very true that Aearis was an integral part in the incident.
¡¸We¡¯re gonna start with gettin¡¯ your sister well enough to live her day-to-day life. After that, we can work on gettin¡¯ ya back where you belong, without gettin¡¯ you in trouble. That cool with y¡¯all?¡¹
¡¸I agree. Of course, Father and the Crown Princess can handle most of that. I¡¯m just a powerless back-up, after all.¡¹
Elena said, matter-of-factly. All things considered, she seemedpletely content with receiving treatment here.
¡¸Alrighty. I think Haruna-san¡¯s home. Let¡¯s get ready for dinner.¡¹
With that, Hiroshi descended to the kitchen, leaving Aearis behind to watch over her sister. Elena¡¯s dinner that night was a vegetable-broth soup, with a soy sauce and dashi base, with no solids. The gentle vors slowly seeped into her weakened stomach, beginning to heal her with every drop.
Volume 1, 10
Volume 1, Chapter 10
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸I want to make sure we¡¯re on the same page. What now?¡¹
The morning after Elena had arrived to the workshop, Tatsuya asked Hiroshi this question, representing the rest of the group. At the moment, their main objective was to treat Elena, and as such, Hiroshi was in charge of the party¡¯s actions.
¡¸I know y¡¯all just got back, but I want y¡¯all to go gather somethin¡¯ else. Mio, ya know what a Solmizen fruit looks like, don¡¯t ya.¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm.¡¹
The party of three nodded in acknowledgement.
¡¸While y¡¯all are out, I¡¯m gonna treat Ellie the best I can, and maybe whip some armors from the Wyvern hide if I got any time to spare.¡¹
¡¸What about me?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re on standby for now, Haruna-san. I should be askin¡¯ ya to do some stuff when we¡¯re takin¡¯ care of Ellie. I don¡¯t want us wastin¡¯ time, though, so in the meantime, could ya fill out the unssified potion orders with any equipment I¡¯m not usin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸You got it.¡¹
¡¸And, if you got time, work with Doul and Reena-san to give Elle some training.¡¹
All three of them gave a solemn nod, understanding what Hiroshi meant. There was only so much self-defense techniques a ten year old could acquire, but at this point, when someone was directly threatening her life, any technique was better than nothing. One could point out that half-baked training would only put Aearis at risk of hurting herself, but the benefit of the correct mindset for the dangers ahead may outweigh the risk.
Besides, Aearis was a wise girl. She wouldn¡¯t try to recklessly take down an attacker with her newly acquired self-defense moves. Even now, she understood the party¡¯s intention, and bowed to her trainers with reverence.
¡¸Oh that reminds me, Doul. I don¡¯t need too much of ¡®em, but can ya get me some steel ore from somewhere?¡¹
¡¸I have some leads that can make it happen. What do you need them for?¡¹
¡¸Thought I¡¯d forge a pair of daggers for Elle and her sister, for some protection. ¡¹
¡¸Are you sure you want ores? I can just buy some ingots.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m gonna melt ¡®em and tweak ¡®em anyway, so ores are better for it.¡¹
Nodding in response, Douga began nning out how to acquire said materials.
¡¸Speaking of making weapons¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Why don¡¯t you settle on a real weapon, too?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll get to it. Not right now though, we don¡¯t got the time nor materials for it.¡¹
The party couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at Hiroshi¡¯s apathy. Everyone else had already long acquired legitimate weapons, while this man was still using his felling axe, pickaxe, andrge shovel used for digging, as well as a forging hammer, out in the field. It was quite troublesome that he was ignoring these disadvantages inbat, when he could only attack with Smash attacks to begin with.
¡¸And why don¡¯t you get some training in too, Hiroshi? With our party, you¡¯re going to be the one tanking the attacks out front. Even if you don¡¯t have time to enhance your repertoire of attacks, just learning Fortress, Defensive Circle, and Outss would help you a lot in the long run.¡¹
¡¸You got those skills too, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸I do, but I¡¯m not too deep into them since I never tanked too hard. I think they¡¯re Uncle Doul¡¯s specialty, though.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. I can¡¯t teach you any axe attacks, but you could learn some of those skills and some advanced Smash attacks.¡¹
¡¸When there¡¯s time. I don¡¯t think I got enough time to even do that much, at least for a while.¡¹
¡¸Of course. Once you catch a break with the treatment, I mean.¡¹
For a change of pace, Hiroshi was in for a lot of work. In addition to treating Elena and crafting weapons for her and Aearis, he was nning to improve their arsenal of armor, which had been neglected for the most part due to theck of ingredients. He would also have to craft a potent healing garment for Elena, in case of emergencies. Safe to say, Hiroshi would not have time to go crazy on a passion project for the foreseeable future.
By the way, Fortress improved Defense, Defensive Circle provided wide-range protection, and Outss was an aggressive group taunt. All of these skills were practically prerequisites for any tanks, but Hiroshi had gotten by without them. This was partially because he had never dove into a difficult dungeon, and he could use Smash attacks and Taunts well to take down almost anything one-on-one.
Besides, a yer would naturally have less visibility in a VR MMOpared to conventional games. When a group of yers would enter a dungeon, the group would seldom have less than two tanks. So, when Hiroshi would tag along to a dungeon, no one expected him to hold off an enemy single-handedly. In fact, he proved himself to be a rather useful tank despite his skill distribution. No one had everyined for having Hiroshi in their party.
¡¸Yeah, that would take some serious dedication. Let¡¯s just get on with the treatment, first.¡¹
¡¸I agree. It would be nice if Hiro could improve on the frontlines, but it¡¯s not an emergency.¡¹
¡¸Okay. But as soon as you get a break, you¡¯re getting on this.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded with a chuckle to Makoto¡¯s insistence, and reiterated everyone¡¯s next move.
¡¸Now, what to pack¡ Mio, how long would it take up to get to where these Solmizen fruit are?¡¹
¡¸Two days, if we don¡¯t encounter anything on the way.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Food is a big issue, then.¡¹
¡¸Oh, just let me know what you need. I¡¯ll make it. We can send you anything through the link.¡¹
Haruna chimed in.
¡¸Cool. Then we just need to pack our equipment and bags.¡¹
Tatsuya said, relieved. Having ess to decent meals was a big deal. That alone made the linked bags well worth the effort. Sure, there were some problems like no one could personally hold onto an item, but everyone here was in it together, at this point. There was no point in arguing over who gets a rare item and whatnot. One of these days, the men in the party may want to acquire some¡ literature of a certain variety. But when that timees, they would just have to also acquire a bag especially for that purpose.
¡¸Speaking of, we¡¯re having Soba noodles for lunch. Let me know if you want any toppings, I¡¯ll try to make it happen.¡¹
Hearing this, Aearis brightened. Soba noodles was one of her favorite dishes. OF course, she would be ecstatic about most meals nowadays.
¡¸Awesome. Can you do curry?¡¹
¡¸Sure can. Mio-chan? Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Tempura shrimp. I dreamt about it.¡¹
¡¸Something with meat for me. But some shredded yam sounds good too. I want both.¡¹
Haruna assured Makoto that she could have both, as she chuckled at Makoto¡¯s very athletic order.
¡¸Okay. I¡¯ll have to go get the ingredients real quick. Is that okay?¡¹
¡¸Perfect. I¡¯ll get to givin¡¯ her some medicine.¡¹
¡¸Okay. We¡¯ll leave as soon as we¡¯re packed.¡¹
With their objectives rified, the team split up, inaugurating their first all-hands-on-deck project.
¡¸Now. What to do with this Wyvern meat¡?¡¹
After lunch and Aearis¡¯ first training session, Haruna had found herself with little to do, staring into the pantry. As it measure over 10 meters, it produced a lot of meat. Since the only damage done (other than the decapitation) were the arrows to the wings, most materials were collected from its corpse undamaged.
It was still quite early for dinner, but prepping for so many portions would take a lot of time. Besides, Haruna wanted to take some time to tinker with this unknown food. One might nag her to practice making those potions from earlier, but despite the sensation of her skills improving, crafting one unssified potion after another for eternity was soul-destroying. No normal human (excluding Hiroshi, of course) couldn¡¯t stand to craft potions for 16 hours straight.
¡¸I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no venom left in there¡ But I doubt it would be good raw.¡¹
While she was confident that there wouldn¡¯t be any parasites that targeted a creature like this, she couldn¡¯t be sure. So, she had to cook it thoroughly, somehow. As a side note, Haruna tended to think out loud (more than usual) while facing off a food she hadn¡¯t cooked before.
¡¸Steak or stew seem like the safest option, but maybe I should y with it? Maybe make them into jerky or something. We have so much of it, after all.¡¹
With that, she took out a decently sized chunk of thigh meat. She decided to cut off a few pieces and tried grilling them to check its taste.
¡¸¡Tastes like chicken. More like a gamecock or Rhode Ind Red, at that.¡¹
The first thoughts to her mind when it came to chicken were Yakitori skewers and fried chicken. However, she would have to prepare a sauce to drizzle on the skewers (which she thought would taste best if prepared overnight). So¡
¡¸Fried chicken it is. Kind of boring, though. Maybe I can put a twist to it¡¡¹
After checking the ingredients in the pantry, Haruna began to bring her inspiration to life. Once she had her ingredients lined up in the kitchen, someone came in.
¡¸Elle-chan?¡¹
¡¸Haruna-sama, may I interrupt for a moment?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸Elena says she is thirsty¡¡¹
Saying so, Aearis sheepishly held out the emptied pitcher.
¡¸Okie dokie. Just water? Or do you want me to make something else to drink?¡¹
¡¸Perhaps something with a little vor would be best.¡¹
¡¸Then how about¡ Some Safna juice? We have some left over fromst week.¡¹
¡¸Yes, please. She likes Safna juice, too.¡¹
Nodding in response, Haruna took out the chilled bottle of juice from the pantry. Safna was an apple-shaped citrus, with much less acidity than other citrus fruits. A ripe Safna was soft enough to be peeled by hand, and was filled with juice, enough that a ssful could be squeezed out by hand. Since it held so much juice, it wasmon to eat them unripe and juice them ripe. This citrus was also easy on the stomach. A warm cup of Safna juice was also amon beverage to drink when feeling under the weather.
¡¸So, do you think Elena-san could handle some meat for dinner?¡¹
¡¸I gave her medicine so she could. Cook to your heart¡¯s content, Haruna-san.¡¹
Hiroshi chimed in, poking his head into the kitchen.
¡¸What kind of medicine?¡¹
¡¸An appetite stimnt and a digestive aid. ¡®Course, I got her in ol¡¯ nausea medicine too. She shouldn¡¯t have trouble with somethin¡¯ a little greasy.¡¹
¡¸How about the venom?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a long road to curin¡¯ her, but we got enough out that she ain¡¯t feelin¡¯ phantom pains no more. She¡¯s good enough to go to the can on her own, so she don¡¯t need an ICU no more.¡¹
Haruna and Aearis let out a sigh of relief, hearing this. Watching them Hiroshi added a long sigh, remembering something.
¡¸When ites down to it, it ain¡¯t easy bein¡¯ royalty, is it?¡¹
¡¸¡What happened?¡¹
¡¸Judgin¡¯ from Mio¡¯s examination, Ellie was in enough pain to keep a grown man either screamin¡¯ or passed out. And there she is, actin¡¯ like she¡¯s just feelin¡¯ under the weather or somethin¡¯. She¡¯s got some serious willpower.¡¹
¡¸She was in that much pain?¡¹
¡¸If she were still bein¡¯ poisoned, there would have been a nation-wide funeral by now.¡¹
Aearis froze to Hiroshi¡¯s nonchnt assessment. She hadn¡¯t expected them to cut it this close.
¡¸Well, we did get her in time. Don¡¯t worry about the worst case scenario might-have-beens. Why don¡¯t ya take her the juice.¡¹
¡¸Oh, yes.¡¹
With Hiroshi¡¯s reminder, Aearis exited the kitchen with the pitcher a ss of juice. After watching her leave, Haruna asked:
¡¸Oh, Hiroshi-kun. Did you want something from the kitchen?¡¹
¡¸Just wanted to use the stove for a bit.¡¹
Hiroshi said, filling the wok to the brim with water before putting it on the stove.
¡¸¡What are you doing?¡¹
¡¸I wanna make some medicinal coatin¡¯ for the armor.¡¹
¡¸You finished them already?¡¹
¡¸Just some finishin¡¯ touches and enchantments left. Ya wanted soft leather, right?¡¹
Nodding in response, Haruna was impressed all over again. Truly, his craftsmanship knew no bounds.
¡¸And you, Haruna-san? Gettin¡¯ ready for supper?¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. There¡¯s a good number of eggs in everything, counting the dessert. She¡¯ll be okay, won¡¯t she?¡¹
¡¸Won¡¯t kill her.¡¹
Hiroshi said, as he continued to boil down the mysterious liquid in the wok. Chuckling at the sight, Haruna decided to have him boil some eggs in a separate pot.
¡¸I got a clue on tonight¡¯s menu¡ It ain¡¯t enough to use up all that meat, is it?¡¹
¡¸Tonight¡¯s just the preshow, my friend. Oh, right.¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Are you going to use the Wyvern bones on something?¡¹
¡¸I could take ¡®em or leave ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I¡¯ll try making a bone broth tomorrow, then.¡¹
And so, their conversation ensued in the safety of their kitchen. Anyone with even the slightest understanding of the terror of the Wyvern would not believe their ears, if they happened upon this conversation. Bone broth? Actually, they would be in disbelief at the mere thought of cooking its meat. Since an ordinary kitchen knife would swiftly deteriorate to the point of no return after a few cuts through the meat. Which, by the way, would not soften enough to make it appetizing just by an ordinary chef cooking it in their kitchen. The Wyvern, in fact, can¡¯t even be properly taken apart without the use of an incredibly sharp de under seasoned precision.
While Hiroshi and Haruna were unaware of it, the task of cooking a high-level monster like a Wyvern required extraordinary tools and skills as a prerequisite. If someone were to watch Haruna slice through Wyvern meat with a kitchen knife (which had only been reforged on a whim after seeing some wear and tear) as if she was wielding a cursed sword, they would start seeing spots. Now these two think this is normal, mostly because Douga and Rayna were used to the sight (or have given up on confronting the absurdity) and didn¡¯t say anything, but this was far from a normal kitchen in Fane.
These two, oblivious to their own absurd situation, continued discussing various dishes they could make in the future until Hiroshi had concluded his work on the stove.
¡¸That oughtta do it.¡¹
Taking the pot off the stove, Hiroshi carried it to his work space. He would cool it enough to touch before thering the pieces of armor with it. All that was left was to dry them afterward and put some enchantments on them.
¡¸And the eggs are boiled, too. I¡¯ll leave ya to it.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie. I¡¯ll make us a three-star meal, don¡¯t you worry.¡¹
Haruna said, and finished prepping the time-consuming deserts before straining the boiled eggs before mixing them in with the minced onions with mayonnaise to make a big batch of tartar sauce. After treating the Wyvern meat (chopped into reasonable sizes), she fried one after another. After there was a mound of fried meat, she separated them onto everyone¡¯s tes, and finishing off with the tartar sauce on the side. She stored the portions for the collection team in an insted container (along with separate containers for the tartar sauce) in the pantry.
Then, she took out the custard pudding she had been working on simultaneously from the steamer, and chilled it a bit with a spell before throwing them in the fridge. She also took the potato soup she was working on from the stove, and separated portions of it for the collection team, and ced them in the pantry. After whipping up a quick sd, she prepared the bread and ced everything on the cart before wheeling them all to the dining room. Of course, the bread baked in this workshop were fermented with yeast (in other words, bread from our world). Today, she had baked buttered rolls and walnut bread.
¡¸Dinner¡¯s ready!¡¹
Haruna announced through the PA system (which Hiroshi had installed for convenience). Before anyone else, Rayna came down to the dining room carrying Elena.
¡¸That smells wonderful. What¡¯s our entr¨¦e tonight?¡¹
¡¸Fried Wyvern thighs, served with tartar sauce. There¡¯s enough for seconds, so don¡¯t be shy.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s nonchnt description of tonight¡¯s specials was met with a (just as nonchnt) ¡°Well that sounds lovely¡± from Douga, who had just walked in.
¡¸¡Wyvern? Are you sure it¡¯s edible?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it tastes pretty good.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think she meant to ask you about its taste¡¡¹
Elena, dumbfounded, began to say, and saw Douga and Rayna (who had just sat her down in her chair) shake their heads.
¡¸¡I thought you were joking¡ You¡¯re really going to eat it¡?¡¹
¡¸Hey, Lay. You came.¡¹
¡¸Brother!¡¹
Layotte had entered, interjecting in Elena¡¯s stead (who had been keeping silent, unsure of what to say). Aearis turned to him, delighted.
¡¸I had heard that nothing harmful was servedst night, but I heard Elena was recovering somewhat, and had to check on her diet for myself. I insisted I had to stop by.¡¹
¡¸Will you be joining us, Lord Layotte?¡¹
¡¸Wyvern meat¡¯s great for ya constitution.¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯ll have some.¡¹
Hearing Layotte¡¯s response, Aearis brightened up even more. Watching this with a smile, Haruna ted another serving. She had made extra (just in case of an unexpected guest like this) so an extra serving didn¡¯t take away from anyone. After watching her brother take his seat, Aearis was waiting patiently for his portion to be served, but her glistening eyes were ring down the fried Wyvern through her collected expression. She had no quandary with the abnormal practice of cooking Wyvern meat. In fact, she had no clue of its absurdity to begin with. She had been told the previous night to stop worrying about what people are thinking when eating her food, and so, Aearis could now devote her full attention (fueled with the full force of her appetite) to the meal in front of her.
¡¸Now¡ Thank you for another day, another delicious meal.¡¹
Haruna announced after serving everyone¡¯s tes, and the others began to reach for the food as soon as they had finished their pre-consumption prayer. Layotte and Elena each struck one of the bite-size chunks of meat with their fork, and dipped it in the tartar sauce before timidly putting it in their mouth.
¡¸It doesn¡¯t make sense¡¡¹
Elena mumbled, with a pondering expression in reaction to the taste of the fried meat, paired perfectly with the tartar sauce. The Wyvern thighs were not too shy, but had a substantial base of vors. Its juices harmonized perfectly with the tartar sauce, and sang their delicious chorus through everyone¡¯s mouth. It tasted like happiness.
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸How can such a savage creature taste so good¡? I still can¡¯t believe you cooked a Wyvern¡¡¹
¡¸I mean, Hiroshi and Haruna are the epitome of not making sense.¡¹
¡¸For real?¡¹
¡¸Cookin¡¯ ain¡¯t hard. It just takes practice.¡¹
Right. Because anyone could cook up a Wyvern with practice. Oblivious to their powers, Hiroshi and Haruna continued to ramble off their words ofint.
¡¸Now now, Brother. Sister. It¡¯s quite delightful, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s enjoy it.¡¹
Tempered by Aearis, who continued to clear her te with a brimming smile, the two other royals at the table reluctantly conceded. Of course, their concerned expression didn¡¯tst long against the assault of deliciousness that ensued.
¡¸Layotte had told me so much, so I was worried what the food would be like, but¡¡¹
¡¸The ingredient aside, it taste fine¡ Much better than fine. You eat these kinds of dishes every day?¡¹
Elena and Layotte uttered, to which Douga and Rayna answered, with straight faces:
¡¸I don¡¯t have the palette for some of the dishes, but nothing so far was prepared poorly.¡¹
¡¸Once in a while, there will be a dish on the table¡ Where I have learned that I will be happier by not picturing the ingredients.¡¹
A prime example of such ingredients were the Piaranork legs. These too, were extremely difficult for an ordinary chef to handle, albeit not nearly as difficult as a Wyvern. It tasted like crab, minus the tang of the sea. It was surprisingly delicious, but Douga and Rayna had some thoughts about dining on something that had nearly eaten them alive.
There were many examples worthy of note, and their frequency of appearance on the dining table had skyrocketed since Makoto joined the party. The monsters she takes down during quests or collection outing are nothing that a ss 7 adventurer woulde across, much less around these parts. If these creatures lurked around Wulls, chaos would ensue. Everyone in the party could only be impressed at how she keepsing across quests of that nature.
Of course, Hiroshi and Haruna would cook everything she brought back, so they were also on another level entirely.
¡¸Alrighty, it¡¯s time for desert!¡¹
After making sure that everyone had cleared their tes, Haruna brought in the custard. It had been steamed and well-chilled. Layotte nor Elena had never seen anything like it. While this world hadn¡¯t seen the invention of custard, there were ice cream and sherbet out on the market. Different world, different culinary culture.
¡¸It¡¯s delicious.¡¹
Aearis said with full-hearted glee after swallowing the first spoonful.
¡¸Elle-chan loves custard.¡¹
¡¸Among other things, ya could say.¡¹
¡¸I love anything that Hiroshi-sama and Haruna-sama make.¡¹
Aearis eximed with a brimming smile. Out of everyone in the party, she would be the one most detached from worldly things. She had said so herself: good food trumps all.
¡¸Aearis, don¡¯t you think you should be more cautious about what you put in your mouth¡?¡¹
¡¸They would never serve me anything inedible, so there¡¯s no need for that.¡¹
When it came to dining, Aearis had grown to fully trust the chefs of the house. Of course, both of them tasted everything they made, and discard anything that didn¡¯te out right, so it was impossible for something inedible to appear on Aearis¡¯ te. Moreover, no one who prides themselves of their cooking would ever poison someone with their food.
¡¸I see they have found the way to your heart¡¡¹
¡¸Little sis, are you going to be able to resume your life as the Priestess Princess¡?¡¹
¡¸¡When I get back, I will try my best.¡¹
Even as Elena wished her sister would be more trusting, she could help but reminisce, trying to remember when it was they had a family dinner together. In fact, Elena wondered, if this could be the first time she had seen a genuine smile on Aearis¡¯ face during meal time. Elena hadn¡¯t seen Aearis¡¯ genuine smile at all for the past three years. Her smile alone was worthy of celebration, Elena concluded.
While some may be surprised to hear this, but before Aearis was banished, she had no interest in food whatsoever. Both an extravagant meal that even royalty would only indulge in on a special asion, and a meagre meal reminiscent of livestock feed held the same value to her. Aearis, who was always people-pleasing to her best efforts, always pped on a smile and cleared her te, no matter what was on it (as long as it wasn¡¯t poisoned). Still Elena doubted that Aearis had ever truly enjoyed a meal before.
Unfortunately, the only experience of a family meal Aearis had ever had was the chore of clearing her te with an obligatory smile on her face (as to not worry anyone in the room) as she desperately tried to let Katrina¡¯s insults roll off her back. As long as eating was a chore, she obviously couldn¡¯t taste a thing that she put in her mouth. Not to mention that everything served to her had gotten cold by the time it reached her. Even Layotte and Elena had never really enjoyed the food itself. It was no wonder that Aearis showed no interest in food in that environment.
And here she was, with a genuine smile, enjoying her food. Enjoying herself. Elena couldn¡¯t believe her eyes when Aearis (who had never shown any interest in the food served to her) was devouring her food with her eyes before it was even served. What¡¯s more, she was astounded by Aearis (who was much more wary of things than she looked) essentially eximing that she trusted Hiroshi and Haruna with her life. Elena couldn¡¯t help but be impressed that they had gotten her to open up so much in ten days or so.
¡¸In any case, I¡¯m sure you two are to thank for Aearis¡¯ growing interest in dining.¡¹
Elena noted.
¡¸I¡¯m still nervous if she can get back on the Temple¡¯s diet, but I¡¯m happy to see that eating isn¡¯t just a chore to her anymore.¡¹
Layotte added.
¡¸Oh yeah?¡¹
¡¸At the very least, I haven¡¯t seen her enjoy a meal like this for a long time.¡¹
Hearing Layotte say so, Aearis sulked her head with guilt. It urred to her that she was acting as if eating with the party here was more enjoyable than eating with Layotte and Elena.
¡¸Aearis, you haven¡¯t done anything wrong. Chin up. We¡¯re not osting you of anything. In fact, we are the ones who owe you an apology.¡¹
¡¸No one could me you for losing interest in food sitting at our dinner table. It was our fault for not being able to do anything about Katrina. I never saw it as some family bonding time. I would be surprised if you did.¡¹
Layotte and Elena rushed to console Aearis. But the fact that Aearis had enjoyed her meals here (with people she had just met, rtively speaking) more than the meals she had with the siblings she loved seemed to hit her hard. She kept looking down at herp, her shoulders quivering.
¡¸Y¡¯know, Elle.¡¹
¡¸¡Yes¡?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s it been, about a month? Since ya had supper with your brother and sister. Did you have fun tonight?¡¹
¡¸¡A lot of fun¡¡¹
¡¸More than thest ten dinners or so ya had here?¡¹
¡¸¡Tonight was so, so much more fun¡¡¹
¡¸Then it ain¡¯t a problem.¡¹
Hiroshi dismissed, and Aearis lifted her chin. When their eyes met, Hiroshi took his face (not ugly, per say, but definitely not good-looking) and crinkled it into a (again, not handsome by any means, but loveable) grin. Seeing this, Aearis couldn¡¯t help but crack a little smile herself, albeit still teary-eyed.
¡¸Hey, Lay.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸If ya can, pop by more often. Won¡¯t ya? It won¡¯t be all fancy shmancy, but we¡¯ll always make somethin¡¯ tasty.¡¹
¡¸¡Of course. I¡¯ll have to check on Elena as well. I¡¯lle by as often as I can. Soon, I¡¯ll bring Avin and Mark. We would love to have something unique as this dish. ¡¹
¡¸No problem. Actually, our next few dinners may by Wyvern¡ We still have a lot of it left over.¡¹
Layotte gave a little chuckle to Haruna¡¯s remark. They did take apart a flying lizard that spanned over 10 meters, after all. Naturally, a single dinner for a dozen people wouldn¡¯t put a dent in the supply.
¡¸You¡¯re in charge. As long as it tastes good, we won¡¯tin. And if you have leftovers, do you mind if I take some with me? I would love to have some over a drink with Father and Avin.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie. We have all sorts of ingredients other than Wyvern when ites to unique dishes. Don¡¯t be afraid to look forward to it.¡¹
With a chuckling snort in response to Haruna, Layotte patted Aearis on the head gently, and returned to the castle with a transportation spell, the package of fried meat in hand.
¡¸Okay. Now that we¡¯ve had dessert, let me clean up and we¡¯ll take a bath together.¡¹
¡¸That sounds wonderful. Thank you for wiping me down yesterday, but I¡¯m feeling well enough to join you today. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve taken a bath with Aearis, too.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll get these cleaned up in a jiffy, then.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I got it.¡¹
Hiroshi offered. He still had a lot of work to do like putting on the finishing touches to the armor pieces and preparing more medicine before he would get a chance to take a bath. The bath itself had already been drawn by Rayna. Because of how often they found themselves sweaty from training, bathes were usually drawn by either Douga or Rayna.
¡¸If you don¡¯t mind.¡¹
¡¸Not at all. I got some work to do in the kitchen too, so don¡¯t worry ¡®bout it.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Thanks!¡¹
After watching the girls retreat to their rooms, Hiroshi gathered the dishes and went back into the kitchen. While womening out of the bath could be lethal for Hiroshi, he had developed some immunity through his cohabitation with Haruna began a month and a half ago.
¡¸Now, I could whip up some post-bath fruitytte.¡¹
¡¸You really do think of everything.¡¹
Douga noted with exasperation as he watched Hiroshi poor 8 1/2 parts milk, 1 part fruit, and some other ingredients (like sugar) into a blender-like contraption.
¡¸Finally, we can eat¡¡¹
¡¸So many.¡¹
¡¸Jeez. A horde of these buggers can be a real chore. ¡¹
The three of them mumbled with exasperation after cleaning up the piles upon piles of weaklings. They weren¡¯t too far from a main road, and yet a surprising amount of them had attacked the party. Most of them weren¡¯t edible and offered no materials worth the effort, which resulted in Tatsuya burning off the corpses after chopping off a body part from each as proof of their encounter. They only took apart those that were tasty, had highly valued hide or skin, and those with insides that could be turned into materials or crafting. Even still, the process taken them a long time. Even though Makoto had ughtered nearly half of them with a single blow, it had left the three of them rather exhausted.
¡¸Hey, Makoto.¡¹
Tatsuya said.
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ve evere around these parts¡ In this world?¡¹
¡¸A couple times for quests. You want to know if there were so darn many of themst time? Not even close.¡¹
Tatsuya let out a frown in response. They had set up a monster-repellent barrier, which would keep them safe until the next morning, but something still didn¡¯t sit right with Tatsuya.
¡¸Something bugging you?¡¹
¡¸Hmm¡ How I should I put this¡ When we saw the Wyvern yesterday, Mio said that it seemed more afflicted, remember?¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm. It feels the same around here, Tatsu.¡¹
¡¸I thought so. What I¡¯m trying to say is that we shouldn¡¯t encounter a Wyvern this far down the mountain. At least, in the game, we never saw one outside an event unless we climbed way up the mountain.¡¹
¡¸I remember that.¡¹
The Wyvern were powerful monsters, but for some reason didn¡¯te down off of the mountains. Most formidable monsters had a small range of habitat, away from any ordinary wildlife.
Of course, this was partially due to the fact that both humans and animals avoided living near the habitat of said terrifying monsters. However, the way that most fearsome monsters kept to their specific habitat was as if there were invisible barriers that only applied to them. In addition, most of said creatures lived under extremely harsh conditions, under which humans could barely live if they tried.
¡¸Remember the robbers we were captured by? Didn¡¯t they start to control monsters that weren¡¯t native to the area using a monster-controlling orb or something? To separate their targets from the bodyguards in order to take them into human trafficking.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard.¡¹
Makoto confirmed.
¡¸Hiro and I were talking about this, too. Isn¡¯t it weird?¡¹
¡¸¡It is,e to think about it.¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t say they were third-rate, but they were definitely not up to snuff. We were in such a state of confusion back then, but we could take them down barehanded, now. You really think they could afford a monster-controlling orb?¡¹
Makoto gave a half shrug in response to Tatsuya¡¯s question. Tatsuya chimed in with a chuckling sigh and a nod.
¡¸Tatsu.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m hungry.¡¹
Mio dered, after listening in on the conversation without much interest. The sun had nearly set, and it was passed their usual dinner time. Perhaps because (unlike in Japan) she could eat all sorts of food on her own, Mio¡¯s obsession for food wasparable to that of Aearis¡¯.
¡¸You¡¯re right. It¡¯s no use specting this and that when we don¡¯t have all the pieces.¡¹
¡¸I agree. Besides, I have a feeling the big bad boss is going to be as clich¨¦ as we think it will.¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
With a nod, Tatsuya began looking for their dinner, which they assumed were prepared by Haruna.
¡¸¡Fried Wyvern thighs, huh¡?¡¹
¡¸With tartar sauce.¡¹
¡¸Fried meat and tartar sauce. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve had some lunches like that. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s weird.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto chatted as they produced their dinner.
¡¸In any case¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I think it¡¯s culinary genius to turn a flying lizard into what¡¯s essentially fried chicken.¡¹
Makoto and Mio nearly did a spit-take at this. There was nothing funny about the remark, really. It must have been the delivery.
¡¸Speaking of, didn¡¯t something like Wyvern meat require a really high skill experience to cook?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t remember. I know there weren¡¯t too many chefs with their Cooking level over 300. It¡¯s not like they were hermits like the craftsmen.¡¹
¡¸Anyway, at our level, skill experience in Cooking doesn¡¯t mean much.¡¹
Mio interjected.
¡¸Guess you¡¯re right.¡¹
Tatsuya conceded. In actuality, the difference in a yer¡¯s Cooking experience was only noticeable until it reached 50 (not ounting for any modifiers). After that, experience would not go to waste, the change wouldn¡¯t be noticeable in the dishes the yer made. Even now, when they couldn¡¯t see their exact stats, it was doubtful that there was much difference in this department. Of course, once an attribute surpassed the 50 benchmark, the change in stats were barely noticeable save through the automatic distribution while levelling up.
¡¸But boy, does it look good.¡¹
¡¸You said it. I can¡¯t believe this came from that flying reptile.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto mentioned their thoughts as they produced a table and a set of tes from their bags, onto which they served the fried meat. They twisted open the thermos containing corn soup, and served it into mugs before setting the table with them, along with bread and sd. In the end, they were looking at a spectacr dinner table that looked too good to belong in a camp. If other adventurers had been here, they would be wide-eyed, jaws-on-the-ground at the beauty of this meal, and lose sleep over it.
¡¸Well, thank you for this meal.¡¹
¡¸Thank you for this meal.¡¹
Beside Tatsuya and Mio saying so, Makoto had swiftly reached for the fried meat. She was the one who endured the most physicalbor out of the three of them. Her appetite far outweighed her patience at this point.
¡¸Mm, it¡¯s so good!¡¹
¡¸For real, these are great.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m happy.¡¹
The meat stayed warm, thanks to the proper container (with enchantments, of course). Losing control, the three of them sang praises for the food with their mouths full. Unfortunately the hike ahead of them would have made it too dangerous, Tatsuya and Makoto only need a chilled ss of beer to call this a perfect meal.
While there is an enchantmentmonly called Prevent Rot, has a slightly different mechanism than its title. This enchantment did not prevent the rotting of food, but prevented the materials under its effect from undergoing any changes. So, if a live animal would be kept in one of these bags, it wouldn¡¯t die, and warm things stayed warm and cold things stayed cold. While this enchantment did aplish a lot, perhaps thanks to the Heroes of the Old Times, who dedicated their lives to improving this spell, it could be enchanted without the use of a catalyst. An usually easy spell to cast for an enchantment.
Since it could be cast without a catalyst, one might ask why Hiroshi would go through the trouble of treating the Berserker Bear guts on his first night in this world. Well, he rarely used the spell in-game, and hadpletely slipped his mind at the moment. As for Haruna, she had no idea of most details regarding enchantments.
¡¸That winged lizard¡¯s a carnivore, right? It doesn¡¯t taste gamey.¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm. I¡¯m surprised.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m happy.¡¹
Still surprised by the Wyvern meat (which surpassed their expectation in various ways) the three of them cleared their tes in a sh, and kept that same velocity as they inhaled their custard. Then, they all looked up at the starry sky, content.
¡¸Having Hiro and Haruna on our team was the best thing that could have happened to us, considering the circumstances.¡¹
¡¸I guess their Achilles¡¯ heel is that they can go crazy with passion projects.¡¹
Makoto retorted, to which Tatsuya chuckled. Of course, the fruit of Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯sbor for the month they were here without a voice of reason was there ridiculously abundant stock of spices that clearly telegraphed theirck of intention to ever get home. No one could argue Makoto on this. In fact, she still didn¡¯t get whatbyrinth of a thought process they took to end up selling curry buns in a food stand trying to get back to their home world.
¡¸Anyway¡ Let¡¯s talk about our ns for tomorrow, shall we?¡¹
¡¸Sure. Of course, we¡¯re just climbing up a mountain all day.¡¹
¡¸How long until we get to where this Solmizen fruit is growing?¡¹
¡¸A little longer than a day¡ I think.¡¹
Mio answered, not too confidently, and the other two couldn¡¯t help but sigh. OF course, Mio didn¡¯t know where exactly the Solmizen fruit were growing. She only cross-referenced her map and her experience to find a location where, in theory, they should be growing.
¡¸So, is that just because of the distance, or are you ounting for more encounters with monsters?¡¹
¡¸Both.¡¹
¡¸Tatsuya, don¡¯t you have a spell that mighte in handy about now?¡¹
¡¸Not really. I could put up a barrier that prevents being recognized by them, but it¡¯s useless if we get locked on to first, or if they have high senses to begin with.¡¹
¡¸How about with those buggers from earlier?¡¹
¡¸Them? Unless we screw up royally, we shouldn¡¯t get spotted by the likes of them¡¡¹
Makoto frowned, guessing the rest of Tatsuya¡¯s sentence. While Makoto didn¡¯t know her way around all fields, so she didn¡¯t know too much about which field bosses to expect, and where. It was the same in their current area. It wasn¡¯t somewhere thatbat-centric yers hung around in. She had no idea which monsters to expect in the area.
Besides, this barrier wouldn¡¯t work against an abnormal urrence like the Wyvern from the day before.
¡¸Just want to check. If the same amount of those guys came attacking as the same time of a Wyvern or something just as bad, could you handle it?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s going to be tough.¡¹
¡¸Give up. Search and destroy.¡¹
Mio concluded with her extreme theory, Tatsuya and Makoto had to agree there was no other option.
¡¸We work hard, food taste good. Food tastes good, we¡¯re happy.¡¹
¡¸¡Can¡¯t argue with that, Mio.¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help butugh.
¡¸Alright. It¡¯s what we signed up for.¡¹
They had expected the trip to take three days, anyway. Even if there were no encounters to slow them down, it would have been difficult to harvest the fruit the very next day. Then, while it was a little extra work, they decided that they could get onboard to search and destroy.
With that in mind, they decided to hurry up and get some sleep.
¡¸Layotte. How is Aearis doing?¡¹
¡¸Well. And having a lot of fun, I must say.¡¹
Sipping on his light wine, Layotte answered his older brother. In Fane, one was considered an adult at age 15, and drinking alcohol was legal from that age, as well. However, there was unspoken rule to wait until age 20 before drinking any hard liquor. Even the shops would only sell teenagers wine (which were practically juice) until they were of a certain age.
¡¸Fun, huh¡¡¹
¡¸I haven¡¯t seen Aearis have fun in a long time¡¡¹
¡¸Also, maybe it¡¯s the kind environment and good food, but she looked healthier, too. Seeing her now, no one would dare call her a dummy with a painted smile.¡¹
Hearing Layotte¡¯s report, the king and Prince Avin fell silent, unsure of what they could say.
¡¸By the way, they wrapped me some leftovers from tonight¡¯s dinner. Here it is.¡¹
¡¸Hm¡ Fried meat?¡¹
The king asked, curiously investigating the food.
¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹
¡¸What meat is it?¡¹
Cracking a grin to his brother¡¯s question, Layotte dropped the big bomb:
¡¸Wyvern. ck.¡¹
¡¸What!?¡¹
¡¸What, a ck Wyvern!?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. There¡¯s even a hint of magic lingering, which confirms it. It¡¯s clearly from some kind of dragon.¡¹
The king and Avin were speechless.
¡¸¡It seems strange that we have never heard of the chef who can cook a ck Wyvern.¡¹
There were less than two dozen chefs in the entire world who could cook a high-level monster like this one. The king was suspicious that he had no idea that such a person existed in Wulls.
¡¸That¡¯s no mystery. They are adventurers, not chefs. But I doubt you haven¡¯t at least heard a rumor of them.¡¹
¡¸Rumor?¡¹
¡¸Father. Brother. Do you know what a curry bun is?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve heard of it. It¡¯s a strange bread the people are talking much about. ¡You mean¡?¡¹
With a nod to Avin¡¯sment, Layotte continued:
¡¸They really are from the unknown continent. They have little to no clue of the standards of our country. They said that anyone could cook a Wyvern with a little bit of practice. And meant it.¡¹
¡¸Things might have been different when our First King was alive, but we barely have any chefs out there who can cook a monster of that caliber.¡¹
¡¸Even the head chef of this castle may not be able to handle Wyvern meat.¡¹
¡¸First, the ss 4 potions, now this cooking. Guests from the unknown continent, eh¡¡¹
With that, the king took a piece of the (still warm) fried meat and dipped in tartar sauce before putting it in his mouth. Avin and Layotte followed suit. As opposed to the king and Avin, whose posture had crumbled in response to the deliciousness exploding in their mouths, Layotte let out a chuckle in response to his second tasting.
¡¸This really is delicious. What¡¯s wrong?¡¹
¡¸Ah, nothing. I just realized that the taste does decline after some time.¡¹
So was the way of fried food. After some time, oil coagted, and meat hardened after losing heat.
¡¸So, Aearis is eating something this good, every day?¡¹
¡¸Oh sister. I¡¯m quite jealous, to be honest.¡¹
¡¸They taste good, but the atmosphere around the dinner table was something entirely different. It¡¯s what quality family time looked like.¡¹
The other two could only respond with silence.
¡¸Katrina¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve tried my best to love you all equally, but¡¡¹
¡¸Her problem is that she believes the delusion that she deserved the position of Priestess Princess, and that Aearis stole that from her. It seems that she¡¯s particrly unhappy with the fact that Aearis had been appointed Priestess Princess, because of a divine sign that manifested the day she was born.¡¹
¡¸Katrina tends to me that as the reason why she doesn¡¯tmand any respect. But manipting Aearis¡¯ servant to be who she wanted to, and continuing to call her an evil spawn and whatnot only illuminates herck of ss. The fact that she doesn¡¯t seem to notice makes it worse. She is too stupid to realize that she isn¡¯t concealing her vile personality in its entirety.¡¹
Hearing Layotte¡¯s relentless assessment, the king and Avin could only sigh. They should have put an end to this earlier, but Katrina would always make up an excuse to dodge conversations, ande right back and do it all over again after a while. They had lost their opportunity to give her a proper scold until now, when it was far toote.
¡¸That being said, Father.¡¹
¡¸Yes, Layotte?¡¹
¡¸How far along are we?¡¹
¡¸We have the target cornered. All that¡¯s left is to strike at the right time.¡¹
¡¸What about Katrina?¡¹
¡¸On paper, she would have died from an illness. In actuality, people will know that she was executed for treason.¡¹
The king was clearly in anguish over being forced to execute his own daughter. However, there was too much proof for him to pardon Katrina. What¡¯s worse, some detailed researched had quickly revealed that every staff member around Katrina (from servant to tutor) were all tied to a sketchy collective. After a sincere attempt at speaking face-to-face with her, the king had determined that the princess was past the point of no return, in several directions. Keeping her alive could spell chaos for the country.
¡¸That makes me feel better. The problem is¡¡¹
¡¸Barold, was it?¡¹
¡¸He managed to twist the facts to make people believe we invent the evidence we have against him, after what he did and the trails he left behind. It won¡¯t be easy. To be honest, a little man like that whose only skill is survival¡ Is the worst kind.¡¹
Barold, who was the man who whispered poison into Katrina¡¯s ears, acted no different from a petty criminal, but expertly used loopholes and ambiguities in thew toe out with a decree of innocent, despite obviously being guilty of the crimes.
Even with the incident of Aearis missing, everyone who could have given decisive testimony was either missing themselves, or dead. Barold also had an alibi during the suspected time of the crime, which left him to dodge the prosecution (who were short on evidence) and in turn, criticized the royal family for manufacturing the evidence they had.
Whether he used a transportation spell or anything else, it wasn¡¯t difficult to trigger it without being there himself (with enough preparation beforehand). Unfortunately, the magic in Fane was not advanced enough to be able to track the caster from the remnants of a spell. And so, they were road-blocked by thew the previous king had established, an absolute innocent-until-proven-guilty policy, falling short of nailing Barold once and for all.
¡¸We have no idea how long they had been scheming for this, but going after Elena and Aearis means they really want to crumble this country to the ground.¡¹
¡¸Worst case scenario, as long as Aearis survives, the nation can be rebuilt. With a heavy heart, I must ask them to keep my daughter safe for a while longer.¡¹
While the king¡¯s conclusion was logical at first nce, Layotte had to interject, apologetically:
¡¸Unfortunately, we may not have so much time left.¡¹
¡¸¡What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸This Wyvern, albeit by the fastest travelers within their party, was taken down at a location a day from the eastern gate of the city, by foot.¡¹
¡¸¡How could that be!?¡¹
¡¸Then even said that the Wyvern seemed more afflicted than normal. No matter the danger, we would have to return Aearis to the Temple, soon. Even if it¡¯s temporary.¡¹
The king gritted his teeth hearing this.
¡¸As our first step, I would like to have you and Mark meet them, Avin. I don¡¯t expect you two to clear your schedule tomorrow, but please make some time as soon as you can.¡¹
¡¸Alright. I¡¯ll make it work.¡¹
¡¸Thank you. They¡¯ll be preparing food for us. Let us know when you cane, as soon as you know.¡¹
Nodding to this request, they all went to finish the rest of their food. The dish, while undoubtedly delicious, simply didn¡¯t spark the same joy it did a few minutes ago.
Volume 1, 11
Volume 1, Chapter 11
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Finally found it¡¡¡¹
In one corner of the mountain range dubbed ¡°Spirit Spire Mountain¡±, having walked about three days along the mountain road since leaving Wulls, Mio finally found what they were looking for. A little further up the animal trail from where they currently were, there were several trees with indigo-colored fruits hanging from them in clusters. This particr location could not have been found without Mio¡¯s vision and observation skills.
¡¸Finally¡¡¡¹
¡¸Seriously, even though this ce is called Spirit Spire Mountain, it¡¯s weird to just have such a bustling ce on the side of a mountain¡¡¡¹
There were heaps of corpses all around them. As they kicked them off the cliff, Tatsuya and Mikoto grumbled at Mio¡¯s report. On their way here, they had thought earnestly about how to escape when two field boss ss enemies had appeared. If they hadn¡¯t received wyvernser armor from Hiroshi the other night, they seriously wouldn¡¯t have felt like fighting.
¡¸Hey, Mikoto.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Were there ever these kinds of Dark-type monsters on Spirit Spire Mountain, not to mention teeming with miasma?¡¹
¡¸The Dark-type makes sense from the mountain¡¯s name, but I don¡¯t think there were ever ones that scattered miasma around¡¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what I thought, yeah¡¡¡¹
While feeling all sorts of unsettling things, they decided to regain theirposure and continue processing the corpses. At length, assembling all of the parts for proof of subjugation became tedious, and they ended up kicking off nearly all of the small-fries from the cliff. The only opponents that they would divide into blocks for dissection were maybe hellhounds and evil tigers. Incidentally, both of those were big field bosses, and as if that weren¡¯t enough, they would scatter miasma all over the ce. If they didn¡¯t process them fast enough, they would end up having to fight anotherrge wave of monsters, attracted by the smell of blood or the miasma exiting the corpses.
¡¸Yeah, I think we should report this to Their Majesty or Elena and check some things with them¡¹
¡¸Agreed¡¹
It was unlikely that anyone currently had a grasp on the distribution of these strange monsters in Spirit Spire Mountain. To add to that, Tatsuya and the others were not locals, so they didn¡¯t know how different it was from usual. There was always the possibility that this was normal, and the distribution in the game version was the weird one. However, judging from the vegetation and whatnot, there were quite a few oddities here. Amongst them were types that clearly belonged in the southern countries, not fit for growing on thisparatively cooler mountainside.
And most importantly of all, befitting the transformation of most of the miasma-affected monsters, a lot of them were deformed. It was a good thing that their deformations made them not-so-strong, but it still didn¡¯t feel very pleasant.
¡¸So, Mio. You think we can get the solmizen?¡¹
¡¸No problem. But it would be better for neither of you to touch it¡¹
¡¸Hah?¡¹
¡¸Why?¡¹
The two of them questioned Mio. It was just fruit, right? Mio decided to answer their queries by showing them.
¡¸¡¡Kay¡¹
¡¸Wahwah!¡¹
¡¸Wait a sec, what is this all of a sudden!¡¹
With no prior warning, Mio threw the solmizen fruit that she had cut off at the two of them. Frantically catching the fist-sized fruit, they soon realized the meaning of what Mio was saying.
¡¸The heck is this!¡¹
¡¸I only put a bit of pressure on it and it¡¯s already freakin¡¯ bruised!¡¹
¡¸Once it falls to the ground, it immediately rots. If you poke it with your finger, it rots. Even if you treat it with care, it rots within half a day.¡¹
¡¸Then just being quick won¡¯t solve this, dammit!¡¹
Mio gave a supplemental exnation without changing her expression. Tatsuya made a loud quip upon hearing how ridiculously easy it was for it to rot. Not heeding what he was saying, Mio smoothly moved up the tree, carefully selecting fruit and chopping it off. She immediately stored it in her pouch before leaping down.
¡¸This is probably the best time to eat it.¡¹
She said, taking out the solmizen that she had put away earlier and splitting it into three equal parts before handing them to the others. Watching Mio as she bit into her portion to show that it was safe, the other two bit into it with all their might. Transparent fruit juice dripped down from the white flesh. After slowly tasting it, Tatsuya and Mikoto murmured their honest feelings.
¡¸¡¡There¡¯s hardly any taste actually.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, you might even argue that water has a richer taste.¡¹
¡¸And that is the reason why solmizen isn¡¯t for eating.¡¹
The two of them couldn¡¯t reallyment on this individualistic fruit. Fruit is usually sweet for the purpose of having other creatures carry seeds. So to them, this tasteless, easy-to-rot fruit was seriously picking a fight with the structure of the natural world and the ring of the struggle for existence.
¡¸By the way, if you mix it with saliva or gastric juice or heat it up, it stops rotting.¡¹
¡¸So we won¡¯t ruin our stomachs by eating it?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Also, maybe because of the taste, bugs or birds won¡¯t prod it, and the ones growing on the trees don¡¯t rot even if you grip them tightly.¡¹
¡¸That is one weird fruit¡¡¡¹
As Mio conveyed such precise information, Mikoto spontaneously let out her own thoughts with a tired face.
¡¸Now that you understand, I¡¯m counting on you to monitor our perimeter.¡¹
¡¸Roger that. How much you need?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re great as ingredients for medicine, so I¡¯ll take as much as I can.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
Nodding at Mio¡¯s words, the two of them continued to monitor their surroundings. As they minutely kicked away the small fries, they waited for Mio to finish her work. When she had finished gathering the most ripened fruit she could get from three trees, Mio panicked as she jumped down to them.
¡¸Tatsu, activate repatriation magic!¡¹
¡¸Something happen?¡¹
¡¸Three indefinite-name wyverns have appeared!¡¹
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s get outta here.¡¹
Providing that there continued to be no small-frypanions, they could probably win against their opponent with ease, but they were seriously tired and did not want to deal with three of these creatures at the same time. Besides, they already had an abundance of wyvern material in storage. Therefore, the minute he heard Mio¡¯s report, he used repatriation magic and furtively opened a gate. The three of them leaped into the gate as fast as they could so that they could quickly return home. Deprived of their prey, the wyverns would continue to soar around and around in the sky above with roars of fury.
Around the same time that Tatsuya and the others were huffing and puffing up the mountain¡
¡¸Ya provided quite the tough stuff¡¡¡¹
Looking at the ore that had been procured, Hiroshi quipped with an exasperated tone.
¡¸Didja not think of the possibility that I might not be able to process this stuff?¡¹
¡¸Indeed, just a bit. Be as that may, I daresay that ye should be able to manufacture at least this much. Ye did after all proim that Haruna¡¯s sword was makeshift.¡¹
¡¸Well, based on our equipment, it¡¯s a mite risky to refine, but sure, I could manufacture it. But yikes, how¡¯d ya get yer hands on all this magic iron ore and mythril ore so quickly¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, you know. Once connected to royalty, always connected to royalty.¡¹
As Douga clearly dodged the question, Hiroshi let out a wry smile as he epted his answer. There was also the fact that the staff Tatsuya had made was of wood, and in Hiroshi¡¯s case, he hadn¡¯t made truly decent weapons via forgingtely, so you could say that these materials were perfect for limbering up.
¡¸Riiight. Imma borrow some ingredients for the hammer ¡®n anvil.¡¹
¡¸Help yeself. Feel free to use what remains as well.¡¹
¡¸I appreciate the thought, but I¡¯m a mite lost with what to do with this amount¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi fretted over the ore as he looked at it. Quite honestly, if he were to manufacture daggers for two people, he had to at minimum make them by using different distributions of the same metals for the anvil and hammer, otherwise the tools would beckluster. He honestly wanted to make a new smelting furnace as well, but he didn¡¯t have the materials nor the time. The minimum necessary products were a hammer, anvil, and two daggers. Thinking along those lines, it would be difficult to make a longsword, battle-axe, or war hammer, which required a lot of material.
¡¸For what I can make, I¡¯d say it¡¯s lookin¡¯ like a one-handed sword or dagger, rapier, and a spear tip¡¡¡¹
¡¸And I don¡¯t even use this sword much, so making a new one is kinda¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, yer right¡¡¡¹
Even if they were both makeshift, steel and magic iron mythril alloys were leagues apart in both offense and durability. However, there was honestly no point in only increasing Haruna¡¯s battle prowess. On the contrary, in this situation, rather than Haruna with her all-rounded capabilities with both firepower and quantity of techniques, it was more necessary for Hiroshi to have better weapons, as his only two options for attacking were to strike or smash the opponent into the distance.
¡¸Well, for now¡Let¡¯s start by makin¡¯ the tools ¡®n the two daggers.¡¹
Hiroshi conveyed his ns as he loaded the two metal ores onto the cart.
¡¸Since I¡¯vee this far, can I go ahead and watch?¡¹
¡¸Sure, but it¡¯s hot and it ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ interesting.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean? I doubt I¡¯d ever get another opportunity like this to see you making weapons.¡¹
¡¸Well, truuue, but¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi replied in a slightly tired manner to Elena¡¯s words. It wasn¡¯t like having someone watching prevented him from concentrating, but he also couldn¡¯t exactly rx when a female he barely knew was just there, watching him work. Not to mention that inparison to the time he had made Haruna¡¯s sword, the workspace here was several times more narrow. To bepletely honest, the odds were not in his favor.
¡¸Just don¡¯tin to me when ya feel hot.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I know.¡¹
¡¸I swear to Alfemina-sama that I will notin a single bit.¡¹
¡¸Yerin¡¯ too, Elle¡¡?¡¹
(Well, whatever¡) He sighed, pushing the cart close to the smelting furnace. The people from the gallery followed behind him one after the other. By this point, he already had Haruna, Rayna, and even Douga with him. Even if it wasn¡¯t to the point where it got in the way of his work, it would be quite the stifling atmosphere.
¡¸It¡¯s hot and dangerous, so don¡¯te over here.¡¹
Warning them once again about the workce, he set to putting fire in the smelting furnace as he pumped arge amount of mana in. The smelting furnace that Hiroshi had reformed with magic was ridiculously fast for being a ¡°used¡± product, and then in the span of time that was truly a blink of the eye, reaching a temperature hot enough to melt the metal.
¡¸First, for the anvil and hammer.¡¹
Muttering the procedure, he grabbed extremely rough amounts of magic iron and mythril ore, tossing them into the furnace. Then, as an addition agent for the alloy, he put a wyvern fang in,mencing refinement.
¡¸Is it really okay to mix them up?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cause I¡¯m making alloys. In actuality, mythril is after all silver, and as it is it¡¯s a bit soft and unsuitable for heating, so as a general rule, ya gotta make an alloy with some other metal mixed in.¡¹
¡¸Oho, I see.¡¹
Douga epted Hirshi¡¯s exnation. But of course you would normally never mix the natural ores together. First you would need to ensure their refinement before measuring their weight and deciding the ratios. Then you would have to melt them once again before making them into an alloy; otherwise, it would be difficult to get the highest quality products. It seemed that this time around, Hiroshi would be using that technique to its fullest with crafting magic.
¡¸Now then, this here¡¯s where the refinement of the magic steel begins.¡¹
While muttering that, he began pouring in an amount of mana that was nothing like before. Up until now, he had already been using an amount that would make the average magician gape in awe, but this time around, it was the amount on par with a ritual at worst.
That was to be expected of such a task. It expended arge amount of mana to the point where even dwarves required several at once to perform the ritual. For forging as well, arge amount of mana was required. It could be seen as the second wall in the forging and refinement skills. Therefore, it went without saying that if you had no enchanting skills, even if you could excavate, you could not manufacture nor refine it. It was precisely because this metal sucked a seemingly endless amount of mana out of you that it was dubbed ¡°magic iron¡±.
This time around he was making alloy with mythril, but as the amount of magic iron was more than that of the mythril, the necessary mana wasrger as well. Incidentally, for this world, the greatest characteristic of mythril was that it could prevent alteration. Of course the same went for rusting, and it would also prevent things like being cursed from exposure to miasma. That was whyying enchantments on it was frightening and difficult, and especially in the case ofpleted products, it was impossible to enchant it with the average skillset. In the currentposition, the endless magic-eating characteristic of magic iron was suppressed, making it difficult for it to take any curses, but on the flipside, it made enchanting somewhat easier as well as upped its resistance to miasma. Once you heated it up, the mythril would further solidify.
¡¸¡¡Looks like I managed to pull it off.¡¹
Taking out a cooled, hardened ingot, Hiroshi scrutinized the particrs and breathed a sigh of relief. To be quite honest, he did not have absolute confidence that he could do this.
¡¸It was that close of a battle?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, can¡¯t say that I¡¯m the most suited for the kiln.¡¹
And even without that, this was the metal with the troublesome nature that had barred off anyone not in the intermediate level. Though he had indeed remodeled it via magic, he had refined it via a second-hand furnace, so even with all of Hiroshi¡¯s skill, he had not had absolute confidence. In actuality, he had managed to create an alloy higher in quality than the kind that the dwarves refined with all of their equipment, but from Hiroshi¡¯s viewpoint, he apparently still felt some discontent.
¡¸Now for everyone¡¯s eagerly anticipated forgin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Although I¡¯m pretty unsure as to if you have enough tools¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, aside from the kiln, hammer¡¯s definitely out. Guess I¡¯d better make an anvil first.¡¹
Casually saying that, he applied heat treatment to the extended alloy with magic, he built up a polished alloy with a special magic whetstone. Hey the small heated ingot on top, spreading excess mana through the forging hammer and began hitting it.
While having her eyesight blocked by the sparks that scattered around with every hit, Elena shuddered at the mana being swallowed by the material. Even if she were in Hiroshi¡¯s shoes, when she contemted whether she would be sane or not with pouring all this mana in, she felt a chill down her spine.
¡¸Well, I guess that¡¯s that¡¡¡¹
When it was beginning to look like a hammer, Hiroshi muttered with a sigh as he cooled it once with time eleration magic.
¡¸Is it done?¡¹
¡¸Only roughly. After this I need to apply heat to it and then make it into the right shape. Didn¡¯t we do the same thing for yer rapier, Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸Mm, yeah, that¡¯s true.¡¹
As they chatted about that, Hiroshi red with sharp eyes at the heated hammer as its color began to change. His expression waspletely different from his usual pushover one. He maintained it at a temperature where novices couldn¡¯t really tell the difference, but when it got to a certain point, he dipped it into an unknown liquid. Making a shy sound, the liquid evaporated and the hammer cooled.
¡¸What¡¯s that liquid?¡¹
¡¸Oil for heatin¡¯. Figured I¡¯d use it eventually, so I distributed it ahead of time. It specializes with the magic iron type. Although I really didn¡¯t see myself using it so soon.¡¹
¡¸You need something like that?¡¹
¡¸Depends on the thing. With some things ya can git good results by just usin¡¯ water.¡¹
While answering Rayna¡¯s questions, he ended the heating cooling process, which was the most crucial part of forging. If you were to apply too much heat, it would be too hard and brittle, and depending on the asion it could even break on the spot. If you failed at heating and cooling, there was always the possibility of not being able to resolve the brittleness, instead making it all the more brittle. That being said, if you didn¡¯t heat and cool it, most of the metals would be too brittle and unfit for battle. There were times when you would purposefully skip the heating process, but at the very least, the metals he was using at this moment needed proper heating treatment to function as weapons.
In actuality, all metals in processing are far more delicate than how society in general views them.
¡¸Alright, this should do it.¡¹
Gazing at the hammer head once its shape looked right, he gave a nod. He proceeded to separate the hammer head he had used previously from its handle, exchanging it with the one he had justpleted.
¡¸¡¡Wooow.¡¹
¡¸Hm? What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸The old hammer over there¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, well that was the sort of hammer that¡¯d lose any day with how soft it is. I used it more than I should have, which left it all jacked up.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s words made logical sense. However, even so, if you were to look at a hammerhead that had arge amount of cracks inside and out, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to sympathize with Haruna¡¯s loss for words. To add further, this hammer was a specially-made product that Hiroshi had enchanted with Auto-Repair. It could take some damage and still heal on its own. Now that it showed no signs of repeating that process, it was made very clear what it meant to use a lower-level tool to make a higher-level tool.
¡¸Time to end the openin¡¯ performance.¡¹
After applying some more enchantments to thepleted hammer, Hiroshi proimed that with an unbelievably manly expression. Even his thick eyebrows that usually served to amplify his ipetence had served a momentary role to make him seem even more manly.
¡¸Opening performance? We just going to continue like this?¡¹
¡¸I agree, Hiroshi-sama! You have been using quite the volume of mana up until now!¡¹
¡¸Well, if yapare it to manufacturin¡¯ God Steel, this ain¡¯t nothin¡¯.¡¹
Making a statement that made everyone around him speechless, he moved on to the main objective: the manufacturing of the two daggers. As they watched him, Aearis instinctively looked to Haruna. Seeing Aearis¡¯s face and making a small bitter smile, she fished through her pocket and took out something.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I believe you when you say it¡¯s not necessary, but at least for Elle-chan¡¯s sake, just drink that much.¡¹
¡¸Hm? Oh, gotcha.¡¹
Smiling wryly at Aearis¡¯s worried demeanor, he gulped down the Level 5 mana potion that Haruna had thrown to him. Normally it would be more reassuring if he were to drink at least one more, but in the case of mana and stamina potions, if you were to drink more than three within thirty minutes, you would get fully addicted. It was quite the phenomenon, so he elected to not drink too many of them. Incidentally, in the span of 24 hours, the limit was 20.
¡¸Kay, time to git back on track.¡¹
Though it was but a drop in the ocean, he did manage to regenerate some mana. Assuming once again a firm expression, he heated the ingot with pliers and then set it on the anvil. Without letting out a voice, he swung up the hammer with spirit, driving in the first hit.
Earnest, as if praying. Fierce, as if challenging. Hiroshi continued hammering the iron. As if conversing with the unidentifiable mass in front of him, sometimes softly, sometimes firmly, he made the sound of the hammer ring out loud and clear. Just like before, with every strike, he continued to pour in a fearsome amount of mana, and when that previously-unidentifiable mass had taken the shape of the de of a dagger, he atst made the mana that he had been pouring in overflow, holding nothing back.
¡¸Alright, I finished processin¡¯ the first one.¡¹
He dered, moving on to forging the second one. Just like earlier, his was spectacr, showing how much he had trained. As if praying, as if conversing, he continuously swung down the hammer, once again causing his mana to overflow in order to firmly end the forging of the dagger. Furthermore, in actuality, there was no need to make your mana overflow in order to manufacture magic iron. He simply knew that being too carefree could lead to potential ws.
¡¸First we finish heating and shaping it, and now I guess we¡¯re at the bnce regtion part?¡¹
With that being said, the skilledbor that Hiroshi provided was one that was based off of the user¡¯s physique and figure. There was no way that it would be such an unbnced product. It was the same for Haruna before, and with polishing and a bit of adjustments, her unease had managed to go away.
¡¸Try swingin¡¯ that a bit¡Then again, I guess it ain¡¯t the precise capacity for ya¡¡¡¹
¡¸True. Plus my body¡¯s different.¡¹
It was a simple, yet pretty haft. The sheath, too, had no borate design whatsoever, and yet it somehow managed to attract the eyes of all who watched. After attaching the haft to the de, sheathing it, and handing over the dagger, the princess¡¯ siblings looked at it with troubled expressions. Seriously, just how unreasonable were Hiroshi¡¯s requests?
¡¸Well, I¡¯ll figure it all out, so just try to swing it.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll do my best!¡¹
Encouraged by Haruna, the two of them mimicked the basic movement from their memories outside the atelier. Aearis had but begun yesterday and today, so she was honestly a bit too eager in terms of bnce, but she still got the gist of it.
¡¸They¡¯re daggers after all. Pretty sure this suffices?¡¹
¡¸Indeed.¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
The two knights agreed with Haruna. It wasn¡¯t like they were assassins, and they wouldn¡¯t even fight a genuine fight with these ordinarily. Daggers were only really used for catching someone unawares with a stab or to kill oneself.
¡¸Bnce seems alright. They hard to carry?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s fine too. It fits so well that it practically sticks to my hands.¡¹
¡¸It is very easy to carry.¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯ll carve names into ¡®em and make some finishin¡¯ touches, so lemme see ¡®em for a bit.¡¹
They handed over the daggers they had just received back to Hiroshi.
¡¸Finishing touches?¡¹
¡¸The main part is finished, but there ain¡¯t no one worth their salt who¡¯d cross des like this. So I¡¯mma attach some magic tool functions.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I sort of feel like I heard something I wasn¡¯t supposed to. What now?¡¹
¡¸Well, let¡¯s just leave it at that. Time to get workin¡¯ on the finishin¡¯ touch.¡¹
He said, making a mad smile. Hiroshi lines up the over-abundant line of monster-rted materials. It would drive anyone mad to gather this much. Though she was honestly a little put-off, Haruna understood that there were no options other than what Hiroshi had said, so she decided to not make any unnecessaryments. Afterwards, when thepleted products were unveiled, Aearis¡¯s eyes glinted at all of the ridiculous functions, whereas the other four ended up regretting not blurting out their opinions. Let us leave that between us, however.
¡ª¡ª-
¡¸Ran into a bit of trouble, I¡¯d say.¡¹
After her return from the unveiling of thepleted daggers, Makoto said that right off the bat without even taking off her armor.
¡¸Trouble? Like what?¡¹
¡¸Honestly, I¡¯d like to also get My Lord in on this. Can you contact him?¡¹
¡¸Sure, I can. But be it that important?¡¹
¡¸A hellhound and evil tiger appeared in the middle of Spirit Spire Mountain. If that is a trivial issue to you, then I suppose I don¡¯t have to discuss it.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I say, that is quite important.¡¹
Making an earnest face upon hearing that, he was about to call Julius when¡
¡¸Hm, seems that he himself ising.¡¹
Skilled at searching for enemies, Mio spoke up, having picked up the presence that she felt appear at the entrance to the workshop. They had used transportation magic.
¡¸Suuup. Apart from Jul-san, I brought two others with me. But hey, you got some free time or what, Ray-chi?¡¹
¡¸Like hell I do!¡¹
Rayna retorted violently in response to Hiroshi¡¯s rudement. The bell rang, drowning out her voice. First sending off Douga for reception, Hiroshi proceeded to inspect the solmizen. Honestly, this was the main goal, whereas the search of Spirit Spire Mountain wasn¡¯t even an extra objective.
¡¸Excuse me.¡¹
When he had finished his brief inspection and confirmed that it was more than usable, Layotte walked past Douga, entering the dining hall with a familiar stride.
¡¸Lay, just the person I wanted.¡¹
¡¸¡¡What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸Seems that Makoto-san has somethin¡¯ she wants to report. And it sounds quite troublesome.¡¹
¡¸Troublesome¡¡¡¹
Layotte made an unusual grimace at what he had been told just seconds after arriving.
¡¸Well ya don¡¯t seem too happy ¡®bout that.¡¹
¡¸I came all the way here for tasty food. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d enjoy eating after hearing a conversation that would dampen the experience.¡¹
¡¸Well, true ¡®nuff. But it really is just the difference between tellin¡¯ ya sooner orter.¡¹
¡¸I know. So what did you want to discuss?¡¹
¡¸Wanted to say that a hellhound and evil tiger showed up at Spirit Spire Mountain.¡¹
Layotte showed no particr reaction to that report. The young adult of twenty some years who had tagged along also did not really change their expression. The only one who did was the youth who was around the same age as Mio, the color of their face changing as they spoke up.
¡¸But that¡¯s super serious!¡¹
¡¸Mark, calm down.¡¹
¡¸Big Brother, if anything, why are you so calm!?¡¹
¡¸Because I had already prepared myself when the wyverns hade out. Of course, that isn¡¯t a very good feeling either¡¡¹
¡¸!?¡¹
Ignoring Mark, who was gaping at the word ¡°wyvern¡±, he nced at his older brother behind him.
¡¸Before we go any further, I think it would be good to make some introductions.¡¹
¡¸Okay, although I got a purty good idea. Thedy-killer over there¡¯s yer older brother, ¡®n the handsome fe over here¡¯s yer younger brother, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. My older brother, Prince Avin, and my younger brother Mark.¡¹
Hearing Layotte¡¯s introductions, aposed Avin lightly nodded at him, and having finally gotten over the shock from earlier, Mark gave a clumsy greeting.
¡¸Hey, old man.¡¹
¡¸What might it be?¡¹
¡¸In this sorta situation, who has a normal reaction for the age of someone from 10 to 15 years? Lay or Ma-kun?¡¹
¡¸If it be the average person involved inbat in their teens, His Lordship Mark would be the archetypical one. Though it may sound a bit off-putting, His Lordship Layotte be non-standard in many ways¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ernest! Most people would look mediocrepared to my older brother! And then you, with the stupid look over there! What¡¯s up with that rude way you referred to me!?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, this is definitely normal.¡¹
In response to Hiroshi¡¯s emotion-filled words, everyone around him focused luke-warm gazes at Mark.
¡¸You see, Mark is still a bitcking in study when ites to craftsmen. I apologize on his behalf for such rudeness.¡¹
¡¸Nah, thinking about it, I¡¯m clearly the one who was in the wrong.¡¹
¡¸Sure that you aren¡¯t doing that on purpose?¡¹
¡¸No idea whatcha mean by that.¡¹
Hiroshi made it obvious that he was ying the fool in repsonse to Avin¡¯sment. Of course, it was true that Hiroshi was doing it on purpose, but there wasn¡¯t any particrly deep reason in it. He was merely checking just how far the people of Fane¡¯s royal house could handle in terms of jokes. Or rather, he was only testing Layotte¡¯s younger brother to see if he would be happy like how Layotte was with ¡°Lay¡±.
¡¸Anyhow, I¡¯ll make some tea.¡¹
¡¸Haru, I¡¯ll help you.¡¹
¡¸Before you do that, I think you should take a bath, Mio-chan¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mm¡¹
She gave an obedient nod at Haruna¡¯s suggestion. She had after all been bustling about the wild mountains. Even though she had Prevent Rot enchantments all over the things she had, Haruna felt a bit reluctant to let her in the kitchen as she was.
¡¸They always like this?¡¹
¡¸Usually.¡¹
Avin smiled wryly as he asked that question, and Douga answered with the same expression. Just how carefree were these people? Makoto and Tatsuya¡¯s faces reddened when they saw that, looking apologetic. At times like these, it was better to not havemon sense.
¡¸So, going back to what we were¡talking about.¡¹
¡¸We still ain¡¯t heard the particrs. Makoto-san, what was it like?¡¹
¡¸The particrs? Ehm, well, I think you¡¯ll get it when you look at the loot we stuck in the bags. This was before dissection and it¡¯s very strange.¡¹
¡¸And I don¡¯t think that¡¯s enough to make you understand, so to add to that, there was an unusual amount of deformed monsters, and among them, there was a high percentage of them who were Dark-type or scattered around miasma.¡¹
Layotte nodded at Makoto and Tatsuya¡¯s testimonies, deep in thought.
¡¸Deteriorated faster than I thought it would.¡¹
¡¸Oh? Lay. You have some nuisances too?¡¹
¡¸Without a doubt, this is a nuisance, yeah.¡¹
Hiroshi inclined his head at Layotte. Honestly, even with this guy saying such a thing, it didn¡¯t sound cute in the slightest.
¡¸Big Brother, I do not think this is something you can refer to so lightly as a ¡°nuisance¡±¡¡¡¹
His brother had said it so casually that Mark blurted out his own thoughts.
¡¸Even if we did discuss this seriously, the task and result will not change.¡¹
¡¸That may be so, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Now now, Milord Mark. We already know from past experience that the stories the royals bring to us regr people are generally nothing good. No point gettin¡¯ all worked up over a nuisance like this, right?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Oddly enough, when you refer to me as Milord, I can¡¯t help but feel uneasy¡¡¡¹
¡¸Then should we go back to Ma-kun?¡¹
¡¸¡¡That¡¯ll do.¡¹
His Lordship, Mark, nodded reluctantly. Let it be only known here that from then on, this nickname of ¡°Ma-kun¡± would be known by his mother, the queen, the other queens, and even his older sisters, and he would end up being referred to as ¡°Ma-kun Ma-kun¡± in all non-public situations.
¡¸Now then, getting back on track¡¡¹
¡¸Before we do that, I¡¯d like to inquire about Aearis.¡¹
¡¸Elle? Just earlier, she mentioned something about a purification ceremony and went to the bathhouse. What about her?¡¹
¡¸She did so as soon as she saw us returning.¡¹
¡¸Indeed, though she be young, she is the rare priestess princess..¡¹
Layotte beamed in admiration at Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s oddly formal choice of speech, letting out his own thoughts as well. The same time that Layotte spoke, Avin let out an emotional sigh. Mark looked as if he had found the slightest tinge of hope.
¡¸So how are these things rted?¡¹
¡¸Very soon, perhaps even tomorrow, I would like to have it taken to Alfemina temple.¡¹
¡¸And what brought this on?¡¹
¡¸There is a possibility that the priests will not be able to catch up with the purification of the earth veins.¡¹
¡¸That sounds¡kinda serious¡¡¡¹
Layotte said such a dangerous thing so casually that Hiroshi found himselfmenting in an exasperated voice. Normally, he would rather throw this sort of exchange all on Tatsuya or Haruna, but perhaps out of sympathy for his brethren, Layotte had a tendency to choose Hiroshi as his negotiation partner.
¡¸As soon as tomorrow? That definitely sounds difficult. Pretty sure you¡¯d hafta get all sorts of things ready, and most of all, things are purty exhausting what with havin¡¯ made Elle and Elen¡¯s daggers.¡¹
¡¸Oh really now? You¡¯ve alreadypleted them?¡¹
¡¸I have, but they¡¯re just daggers¡Not like I held back when I made ¡®em, but they have their limits.¡¹
¡¸Just by knowing their limits, ye be quite the man of fortitude¡¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯d be a purty darn fine line for going up against a wyvern.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s criteria were clearly backwards. As if throwing in the towel, Douga shrugged his shoulders and shook his head from left to right.
¡¸Wyvern? With a dagger?¡¹
¡¸Not sure if I should be surprised at this point, but when I talk with you, I feel as if the concept ofmon sense has gone off somewhere unknown.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s statement did not sound sane to Mark and Avin, who hadparatively moremon sense in their responses. As for Layotte, someone generally made the various weapons for the national treasury, so he didn¡¯t think there was any merit in being shocked by Hiroshi¡¯s weapons, no matter how dangerous they were.
¡¸Nah, that much is normal amongst the craftsmen I know. Besides, the equipment ¡®n everythin¡¯ was makeshift, so it¡¯s not like they had great functionality.¡¹
¡¸You make weapons of that scale and say that they aren¡¯t all that great. You are a serious piece of work¡¡¡¹
Rayna, who would normally not so much as speak in these situations, quipped along with making aplex sigh of exasperation and wonder.
¡¸So what in the world did you make?¡¹
Although he already figured that nothing was impossible for this guy to make, judging from the fact that even those who had watched were still making bbergastedments, he had figured that this wasn¡¯t something he could pass up. Layotte inquired with an earnest face.
¡¸Just a couple daggers with a bit of tasteful functionality added.¡¹
Hiroshi feigned ignorance, grinning and saying that trump cards are best when hidden. Layotte gave up, seeing that it was pointless to pursue. Tatsuya and the others could not find it in themselves to prod in. Hiroshi was always making strange things anyway, so they decided to remain silent until things settled down. It was right at that time that Haruna came back in, pushing a cart.
¡¸Putting aside the discussion of Hiroshi-kun¡¯s products, how about we briefly cool down over some tea?¡¹
¡¸Alright. And no matter how I look at it, that thing on the tea-cake te has got to be baum-kuchen. Was that over here to begin with?¡¹
¡¸At least in my case, this past half-month, I haven¡¯t seen it in Wulls.¡¹
¡¸And it¡¯s been three months since I saw it.¡¹
One of the characteristics of this team was the ability to quickly derail the conversation at times like these. However, in this particr case, it was more correct to say that Tatsuya intended to change the subject, so this was a bit different than the previous times.
¡¸Well, if anything, Hiro probably just made a bunch in his free time or something, end of story.¡¹
¡¸Honestly, if it¡¯s delicious I could care less.¡¹
¡¸Well ain¡¯t you half-hearted!¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re thest person I want to hear that from.¡¹
As they were griping with each other, Mio, who had taken Aearis and Elena along with her, came into the dining hall.
¡¸Oh dear. With more than half of the royals in this country gathered right here, if someone strikes us with some crazy magic then there goes an entire lineage.¡¹
¡¸Elena, could you not say such ominous things?¡¹
¡¸Come now, it¡¯s a joke. Besides, a normal mage couldn¡¯t just break through the barrier here and kill everyone.¡¹
¡¸Do you think so?¡¹
¡¸We all discardmon sense in this area. That includes you, Ma-kun.¡¹
¡¸Big Sister! Why did you call me that!?¡¹
Elena giggled, evading Mark¡¯s flustered question. Honestly, she didn¡¯t even have to think about the kind of name Hiroshi would call him. She knew.
¡¸Well, let us leave the bothersome details for after tea. It isn¡¯t like we can do anything about it anytime soon anyway.¡¹
¡¸Very true. Plus there are these delicious treats that Hiroshi-sama went to all the trouble to make. It isn¡¯t every day that we have the privilege of eating this.¡¹
¡¸So Hiroshi-kun made the baum-kuchen after all¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ellie just gobbled things up, so I made it partially for fun¡¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ve be quite the glutton, Aearis¡¡¡¹
¡¸Big Sister!¡¹
Used as the punchline of a joke, Aearis¡¯s face grew bright red as she red up at her sister. This was supposed to have been an emergency situation, yet Mark found himself unable toment on this exhausting atmosphere.
¡¸So do ya really hafta make it?¡¹
¡¸Yep, I do.¡¹
¡¸Why not have Mio do it?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s at least a 30% gap between the skillset of me and Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Uhh, how should I put it¡That sounds bad in all sorts of ways¡¡¡¹
After supper, they ended up agreeing to take up the remainder of the day and the next day to make various preparations, which was good, but¡
¡¸Hey, Elle. Ya sure ya wanna be part of this? It¡¯d be mighty dangerous if men were to know the shape and size of yer chest or butt.¡¹
¡¸Yes. Although I do apologize for myck of performance in those areas, still being a child and all¡¡¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s there to apologize about?¡¹
While wryly smiling, Tatsuyamented on Aearis¡¯s statement, as she didn¡¯t quite get what Hiroshi was saying.
¡¸Well, I was just saying that no one would really enjoy knowing all the particrs of my meager, childlike body.¡¹
¡¸Wait a sec, Elle. It¡¯s dangerous to jump to conclusions!¡¹
Tatsuya found himself panicking. In the present-day Japan, this sort of statement was dangerous in the wrong kind of situation. Already judging from Hiroshi¡¯s reaction, just knowing the details of a young girl¡¯s body would give him some serious shock.
¡¸Dangerous, you say?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, dangerous.¡¹
¡¸Butpared to Haruna-sama, I truly do only have a childlike physique.¡¹
¡¸Princess, that¡¯s a special case!¡¹
¡¸Elle¡¯s chest isn¡¯t all that small.¡¹
As Aearis continued to babble dangerous statements, the remarks from others kepting.
¡¸I tried to not say anything, but you truly are attached to Hiroshi, Aearis.¡¹
¡¸Do you think so?¡¹
¡¸Then let me ask you this. How would you feel about¡uhh, the same information being given to Prince Bordeaux?¡¹
¡¸¡I just got this really unpleasant feeling¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, good. d to see that you haven¡¯t stooped that low.¡¹
This wasn¡¯t exactly the kind of conversation that Tatsuya or Hiroshi could butt into, as the very thought made them exceedingly ufortable. Males weren¡¯t suited for this.
¡¸All things considered, Aearis¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mean to say the same thing as Tatsuya, but you really should take more care from now on. Besides,pared to what I recall, you seem to be garnering quite the feminine physique.¡¹
¡¸From when we first bathed together, you have be 3.5 millimeters bigger. I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if your cup size has changed.¡¹
¡¸Umm, couldja leave that sort of thing for when we ain¡¯t in the room?¡¹
Hiroshi held his head while trembling as this risqu¨¦ conversation continued. Were they purposely doing this or did they just not care if there were males in the room? Either way, the girls were certainly speaking in a carefree manner. Stimted by some rather unnecessary trauma, even preserving his consciousness was difficult.
¡¸So with that, Sensei, this is the perfect opportunity to rehabilitate as well as deal with Elle¡¯s undergarments. Thank you.¡¹
¡¸No, seriously, the hell you sayin¡¯¡¡¹
¡¸People¡¯s lives are at stake. You should make the best garments that you can.¡¹
Hiroshi continued his verbal tug-of-war against Mio, who he thought to be saying rather impetuous things.
¡¸There is no one here who would think badly of you for making some undergarments, Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Mio, I wouldn¡¯t rmend being in such a rush.¡¹
Unable to just watch as Hiroshi¡¯s face grew weaker and weaker, Elena broke in and chided Mio.
¡¸Now then, seeing as Hiroshi won¡¯t be able to do anything at this rate, let¡¯s change the subject to¡¡¹
¡¸To?¡¹
¡¸The ingredients for the medicine are all together, right?¡¹
¡¸Oh, right. There were just a lotta things people were sayin¡¯, so I forgot to be honest.¡¹
As Hiroshi lowered his head in apology, Elena told him to not worry about it as she smiled wryly. In actuality, preserving a state of abeyance, Elena¡¯s treatment, which would allow her to live daily life without relying on essories or magic tools, was not at all to be prioritized at the moment. Not to mention that as long as the ingredients for the medicine were assembled, she could get rid of the poison at any time.
¡¸Guess I¡¯ll start by makin¡¯ the antidote.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, is that fearsome fruit that quickly rots really all that important?¡¹
¡¸Oh, that? Concentrate its juices well enough and ya got yerself ingredients for a panacea.¡¹
¡¸Wha? Wait, what level?¡¹
¡¸If I try hard enough I could git it up to third-ss.¡¹
Upon hearing Hiroshi once again dere such an absurd thing, Makoto felt how painfully naive her cognition was. Elena¡¯s face made it clear that she had run out of things to say and had given up. She was murmuring about what he meant by ¡°third-ss panacea¡±.
¡¸Hey, can I ask you something?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not super close maybe, but we¡¯re talking about a fruit that¡¯s not growing too far off from here. Can you seriously make that level of a potion with such a fruit?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s how it was in the game too. Well to be honest with ya, even with all o¡¯that, there¡¯s still all the other ingredients that I need, so it¡¯s gonna be a while before I even go ¡®bout makin¡¯ panaceas or anythin¡¯ else. And in the first ce, solmizen takes a lotta time to harvest.¡¹
¡¸Ahh, okay, that makes more sense.¡¹
It was after all really easy for them to rot. It was probably near-impossible for inexperienced yers to harvest it.
¡¸So specifically, what level do you concentrate them to?¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯d say with five times the concentration I could make pretty much ss 5 panaceas. If I wanted to go to ss 3, I¡¯d hafta try and concentrate it a hundred times more.¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it taste a bit different if you were to concentrate it that much?¡¹
¡¸Mm? Pffft, that ain¡¯t gonna taste like nothin¡¯ but tasteless water, no matter HOW much ya concentrate it. But well, if ya concentrate it a hundred freakin¡¯ times, that in itself would be a panacea somewhere between ss 5 ¡®n ss 4.¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but feel exasperated at Hiroshi¡¯s words. Generally speaking, regardless of whether it was good or bad, vor was something that told you whether or not the food was good or bad for your body. In other words, medicine with effects as great as that should normally have some sort of taste. And yet it was nearly tasteless. Though it was boorish to bringmon sense into fantasy, he seriously wanted to question his reasoning.
¡¸Well, this time around we only gotta concentrate it three times the amount, and we got plenty of other ingredients, so I¡¯mma git right to makin¡¯ it.¡¹
Hiroshi said, heading to the kitchen. Maybe not for Mio, since she was still inexperienced, but for Hiroshi, this level of work wasn¡¯t even work. For this type of medicine, a special bin was usually necessary, but that was because theplete effectivenesssted no more than six hours, and for whatever reason, Prevent Rot could not prevent the effects of the medicine from going away. This time around, it would be consumed quickly after being made, so it didn¡¯t matter.
¡¸Huh? Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san, you have an errand in the kitchen?¡¹
¡¸I was thinking of trying and smoking a block of wyvern breast meat.¡¹
¡¸Yeah? I¡¯m makin¡¯ Ellie¡¯s medicine.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, I forgot.¡¹
Hiroshi wryly smiled. She could quickly remember everything she had heard and seen, but that only applied topses of memory. It wasn¡¯t like she couldn¡¯t forget about things like schedules or unintentionally skip things.
¡¸Well, I¡¯ll make it soon, so just wait a minute.¡¹
¡¸Mm.¡¹
Haruna watched over Hiroshi from a suitable distance so as to not create unnecessary pressure as he worked. He had upped his skill with making potions a bit, and Haruna could tell that he wasn¡¯t having much difficulty by himself.
¡¸Done.¡¹
¡¸Well that was fast.¡¹
¡¸Well, that¡¯s cause it¡¯s simplistic for a potion.¡¹
The current task was to make the strong, all-around medicine solmizen react with several ingredients and specialize in its effects.
¡¸But all things considered, it might really be best to use a different item for the potion making stove¡¡¹
¡¸Definitely.¡¹
As Hiroshi was cooling it down until it was at a drinkable temperature, Haruna had begun preparing the chunk of wyvern. Sealing the grill air-tight, she lit the tip on fire after pushing the smoke out.
¡¸Guess I¡¯ll start by smoking it for a night.¡¹
¡¸Kay. Well, just do it however ya like.¡¹
The heat having subsided, Hiroshi moved the medicine to a cup now that it was at afortable temperature, preparing a pte cleanser. Seeing that, Haruna took out something from the food storage. It was a gtin-like substance with a fruit about as big as a mouthful inside. Wrapped around it was a translucent, gyuuhi-like sweet.
¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹
¡¸Mana Eater Gtin and a rind pastry. I already made the other thing, so I was thinking we might as well have it with supper.¡¹
¡¸I get attention all the time, but man, Haruna, yer also makin¡¯ a buncha interestin¡¯ stuff.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but that¡¯s practically all I do.¡¹
Haruna made an excuse with a wry smile at Hiroshi¡¯sment. Incidentally, Mana Eater was just as the name suggested, a half-gtinous lifeform that ate one¡¯s mana to power up. This would normally be the natural enemy of magicians, but despite being a half-substance, it couldn¡¯t survive without oxygen, so it was also in a sense a pitiful creature that failed to consume Tatsuya and instead was brought down by him.
Digressing here a bit, since the core of the mana eater tasted like sea urchin, they were also using it in mini courses of food. Although it certainly was a strange creature, like how dying would make it fully materialize, Haruna didn¡¯t particrly care about this. Furthermore, in today¡¯s mini course meal, the centerpiece would be the small pot used to cook the dashi from the wyvern¡¯s body, as well as dashimaki that was made using eggs from a slightly strange creature, as well as things like soba zousui that substituted for rice, and other products that had the highest degree of finesse put into them. Of course, this was more of a joke in addition to being mini, so the amount of products was scarcepared to the usual amount. However, it was a little odd to just put all of the food out on the table instead of little by little, as was the formality.
¡¸I made ¡®em, for what it¡¯s worth.¡¹
¡¸Wow, that was fast.¡¹
¡¸Well after all, as long as I have the ingredients, then there ain¡¯t no task too difficult.¡¹
¡¸If it were me, then I¡¯d make the medicine using the equipment here. It¡¯d have a sess rate of about 80% though¡¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the difference in years showin¡¯. Ya just gotta give up ¡®n do yer best to train.¡¹
He said, handing the medicine that had cooled down to body temperature to Elena. Thanks to the other ingredients¡¯position mixed in, the medicine had be a vague, blueish greenish color. epting it with an odd expression, she drank it in one gulp. The taste was odd and difficult to describe. She twisted her face at the seriously weird vor for only a moment before heat raced throughout her entire body, chasing out whatever had been consuming her in every corner before. After the heat had subsided, the slight fevers, headaches, nausea, and especially that feeling of fatigue that had regrly affected her every month that symptomatic therapy had been unable to fully erase had finally vanished without a trace.
¡¸Amazing¡The headache, nausea, fatigue¡it¡¯s like I never had them¡it¡¯s all gone¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, I can¡¯t do nothin¡¯ ¡®bout the after-effects, but now ya shouldn¡¯t ever hafta die by poison like this anymore.¡¹
The rest could be taken care of with rehabilitation. There was no further treatment to be made.
¡¸Yer stamina ¡®n resistance are pretty low right now, so as a precaution, make sure not to overexert yerself, kay? Yer liver¡¯s weakened too, so take it easy on the alcohol.¡¹
¡¸Very well. You went to all this trouble to save me, so I have no intention of dying from neglecting my health.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s good. Honestly, I don¡¯t wanna see no funeral for ya,dy.¡¹
Wryly smiling at what Hirosi had said, she washed away the strange lingering taste in her mouth with the pte cleansing juice. Then, without hesitating, she brought the unknown pastry that Haruna had prepared into her mouth.
¡¸Refreshing, yet rich. What is this mysterious vored thing and the rind on the outer surface?¡¹
¡¸A mana eater. There was some wless gtin, so I did a little experiment.¡¹
¡¸¡Comes down to that again, I see¡¡¹
Letting your guard down in the slightest at their dinner table would give you the fate of eating the exquisitely distributed remains of monsters. The food was tasty and had no negative effects on the body, but it was still disturbing to hear what some of said monsters were. Wyverns, she could deal with, albeit a little surprising, but mana eaters? She did not think for a minute that she wanted to eat those.
¡¸Now then, guess I¡¯ll take a bath and sleep.¡¹
¡¸Once I finish up some other things, I¡¯ll get right on to bathin¡¯ ¡®n then sleep.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, you need to make undergarments. The shape has already been made.¡¹
¡¸Ya gotta be kiddin¡¯ me¡¡¹
Hiroshi had ended up being shut down, as in the end it would involve life or death, so he set to reluctantly working on it, thinking of what dangers to protect the clothing from and feeling like he wanted to spit out blood. The next morning, Haruna saw a bra and pair of shorts for children, made beautifully as Mio¡¯s illustration had intended (albeit rather big considering her age), as well as a deathly pale Hiroshi in the corner of the room, twitching in a spasm.
Volume 1, 12
Volume 1, Chapter 12
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
This is Snake. I see the infiltration target ahead.
Cut out the gags, will you?
The day of their infiltration mission had arrived. Hiroshi, who had been hiding out in the forest behind the Castle of Wulls since noon, had begun rapid-firing unnecessary gags with a tiny sense of reckless abandon. The party to sneak Aearis back into the Temple wasprised of Hiroshi, Haruna, and Mio. All four of them, including Aearis, were wearing capes that covered them head to toe. They were as conspicuous as could be. To make it worse, everyone but Aearis was wearing a mask.
So, how does it look?
Well, they got security¡¯s, obviously.
Naturally, the castle was very heavily guarded, taking any straightforward approach out of their options. It would have been a different story if these guards were just for show, but the soldiers on watch duty were high in both skills and morale. It seemed firmly impossible to climb over the tall walls surrounding the castle without rming them and make it through the courtyards and hallways without being spotted by the patrolling soldiers.
Besides, anything that required physical exertion wasn¡¯t Hiroshi¡¯s forte. The only skills that provide him with any modification to his Speed were Wanderlust, Advanced Sneaking, as well as Novice and Intermediate Short Sword. Save for Advanced Sneaking, all of the modifiers were negligible, putting Hiroshi far below the benchmark of 100, even after all modifiers were applied. Without Advanced Sneaking, Hiroshi would not have been able to even tag along to this mission.
So, how did Hiroshi achieve Advanced Sneaking, out of all things? Simple. It was all to avoid being detected by active monsters as he collected materials. With Advanced Sneaking, he could be excavating behind a dragon¡¯s back without being detected. It was nuts.
Looks tough, huh?
We can¡¯t sneak past them with Elle, at least. We could probably do it with just me, Hiroshi, and Haru¡
Thought so. Not being able to use magic really puts a damper in things.
Guess we gotta fall back on that hidden path¡
I agree.
Ditto.
They were told of a hidden pathway, with the stiption that they would only use it as ast resort. s, Haruna, Mio, and Hiroshi decided it was time for theirst resort. It was understandable that they didn¡¯t want the enemy finding this pathway, but being spotted on their way in would be worse.
So, let¡¯s abandon our n A of findin¡¯ an openin¡¯ and sneakin¡¯ in.
Okie dokie.
With their next move decided, they swiftly went on the move. At the moment, it wasn¡¯t like they were anywhere they weren¡¯t supposed to be, so they wouldn¡¯t be trouble if they were spotted by the watchmen. There were a few things they could pick around here that could be used for food or medicine, so some people dide out here to harvest, albeit only in a pinch.
Haruna lightly tapped Aearis on the shoulder to calm her down, as she had been listening nervously to their strategy meeting. In the meantime, Mio and Hiroshi scanned for enemies. Although they could probably get away with being spotted, staying hidden was much more favorable.
¡¸So, it¡¯s this way, right?¡¹
¡¸I reckon so¡¡¹
¡¸Here.¡¹
Mio pointed out the location, and the other two linked it to the map they had memorized the day before. They were relying on their memory as they had already burned off the map.
¡¸Yep. That¡¯s it.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, looks like the right spot.¡¹
¡¸Open says me.¡¹
With that, they expanded the opening, hidden through the roots of the trees. It was barelyrge enough for an average adult male from Fane to walk through, standing up.
¡¸Looks pretty legit. I¡¯m startin¡¯ to feel like we¡¯re bona fide adventurers.¡¹
¡¸Sensei. We are.¡¹
¡¸I mean, we¡¯ve been making our living with odd jobs, the food stand, and singing on the streets.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. Y¡¯all don¡¯t need me, then. I¡¯m out.¡¹
¡¸Sensei. Give it up.¡¹
Even as they joked around, they cautiously proceed into the pathway, with Mio at the front.
(But for real. What have we got ourselves into with this adventurer shenanigans¡?)
While he tried to keep it light and cheery with some jokes, Hiroshi still didn¡¯t like the idea of being on this mission at all. Even as he was on alert to do his job here and now, a part of his mind wandered back in time in search of where he went wrong, or what he could have argued to get out of this mission. It was all toote for those things, but nevertheless this cowardly man wouldn¡¯t stop thinking about it.
It all started the previous day.
¡¸Infiltrate? Why?¡¹
Hiroshi asked, confused by Layotte¡¯s oundish idea on how to get Aearis back into the Temple. Douga and Rayna were apparently assigned a different task, and were preparing for that elsewhere.
¡¸If we bring Aearis through the front gate, she could end up in a spider¡¯s web again.¡¹
¡¸¡Y¡¯all run this country, right?¡¹
Layotte couldn¡¯t deny the shoring on their part. Aearis¡¯ absence had harmed the Alfemina Temple more than expected.
¡¸Well, shouldn¡¯t we look into the situation and see if there¡¯s any other option?¡¹
¡¸You have a point. I suppose I shouldn¡¯t expect you guys to infiltrate the Temple inside the castle.¡¹
¡¸Well, that would make us criminals, won¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸Besides, the castle isn¡¯t a ce someone unwanted could easily sneak into.¡¹
Hiroshi and Mio both had excellent points. Besides, there would be a bigger issue on Layotte¡¯s hands if this ragtag band could simply infiltrate the castle with no guidance.
¡¸Our biggest issue is that almost no one knows what Aearis looks like. It¡¯s not like we were keeping her hidden.¡¹
¡¸Huh? Anyone could see y¡¯all are rted.¡¹
¡¸That doesn¡¯t amount to irrefutable proof.¡¹
What a bunch of bologna, Hiroshi couldn¡¯t help but mumble. In the world of politics, any obvious fact could be endlessly debated if there wasn¡¯t absolute proof.
¡¸The other hup is that Aearis isn¡¯t popr with the people. The popr opinion still viinizes Aearis. Most people think we prosecuted that servant as her scapegoat.¡¹
¡¸How does that trante to obstacles for this mission?¡¹
Haruna asked.
¡¸Easy. There are scoundrels who mor that Aearis, who, ording to their narrative, has run off to who-knows-where abandoning her duties as the Priestess Princess should not be allowed to return as a member of the royal family. The people would never stand for it, they im. The problem is, they hold a decent amount of power. If we walk right through the front gate, the worst case scenario is them iming that Aearis is an imposter, taking advantage of the fact that almost no one would recognize her, and moving to execute her as such.¡¹
The group sulked a bit. Imposter? The king and Crown Prince would testify to who Aearis was. That would seem like better proof than anything.
¡¸The Priestess Princess doesn¡¯t hold any political power, right?¡¹
Tatsuya asked, unsatisfied.
¡¸That¡¯s true, save for an event of an emergency¡ But under the right circumstances, she could represent more clout than the King himself. If your house is recognized as an ally of the Princess Priestess, things would go a lot more smoothly. So, while it may not benefit them directly, many people feel like it¡¯s worth their while to stick their noses in the matter.¡¹
Layotte responded with some backstage info of the royal family and their surroundings. Any position, with or without power, cane with all sorts of exasperating responsibilities. Even the Priestess Princess who has no power most of the time, and is receable¡ Perhaps precisely because of that nature, the responsibilities seemed to weigh heavier on her shoulders.
To boot, the new model of governing, crafted by the previous king through a revolution, had unfortunatelye back to bite them. Repeatedly. The king before him had gone mad, almost overthrowing the country in cahoots with some of the nobles. As a reaction to that event, thews established by the previous king upon stabilizing the nation heavily restricted the powers of the royal family and nobles.
As a result, no noble could easily punish a peasant, and even royalty could not eliminate a noble, no matter how much chaos they brought to politics and society as a whole, without tangible damage to the people.
Of course, they couldn¡¯t execute Aearis simply based on an usation of being an imposter, there was the risk that they could be taken into court. Aearis aside, the Japanese adventurers could be in for some trouble. While the royal family would do their best to keep them from being prosecuted for kidnapping and other crimes, but in the meantime, corruption would ensue. In the current system, even royalty didn¡¯t stand a chance against the power of the masses.
¡¸I got a question for ya.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s it matter to ¡®em if Elle keeps bein¡¯ the Priestess Princess?¡¹
¡¸Aearis is the youngest in our family, and no one paid much mind to her. So, Ernest is just about the only ally she has, save for most members of the royal family. As soon as there was a divine calling that brought her up to be the Priestess Princess in no time, House Douga had gained too much power for some. The Dougas are a loyal family that has served the king since our nation was formed. The majority of nobles don¡¯t want him anywhere near power.¡¹
¡°Jeez, what a mess¡¡± Hiroshi mumbled from the bottom of his heart. He really didn¡¯t want anything to do with all this politics.
¡¸But if that¡¯s all, can¡¯t the royal family and the Temple and overpower all ¡®em?¡¹
¡¸Not likely. Even the Temple is split down the middle. Once she¡¯s in the Ritual Room, there won¡¯t be much opposition, but with things are going now, who knows how long it will take for her to even be allowed in the Temple through the front gate. Besides¡¡¹
¡¸Besides?¡¹
¡¸The man who trapped Aearis in those spider webs could have a simr trapid out in the entrance of the Temple.¡¹
¡¸So the only way in is to sneak her in?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s why I opened with that.¡¹
The party couldn¡¯t help but sigh in despair. It seemed irrefutable. But what madness that they had to sneak in a princess back into her home, that wasn¡¯t seized by an enemy or anything. Bologna indeed.
¡¸Alright. We gotta sneak in. Are ya sure the back door¡¯s safe, though?¡¹
¡¸One of them, I¡¯m not sure. But if they have discovered the other back door, we¡¯re doomed anyway. One of the routes is a hidden pathway, known only to the King, Crown Prince, and the Priestess Princess.¡¹
¡¸¡And you¡¯re gonna let us in on somethin¡¯ like that?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s worth getting Aearis back in there. Besides, no one can even use it unless a King, Crown Prince, or Priestess Princess is actually there.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Then let us know if there¡¯s any stiptions to how we get this done.¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see. Don¡¯t use any magic. You could easily be spotted. Same goes for any magic-powered items. As much as possible, of course.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s a tough one right off the bat.¡¹
Tatsuya pointed out. Layotte could only frown and nod.
¡¸If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m automatically out of the question.¡¹
¡¸Me too. I suck at sneaking around and into ces and stuff like that. I¡¯ll hold down the fort.¡¹
Makoto dered. They both made sense, so the party simply agreed.
¡¸So, Mio¡¯s in for sure, then. Thinkin¡¯ ¡®bout adaptability, Haruna-san better tag along.¡¹
¡¸You know you¡¯reing too, right?¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
Hiroshi mumbled, taken aback by Makoto.
¡¸You¡¯re really good at sneaking around.¡¹
¡¸Sensei. You can excavate behind a dragon¡¯s back.¡¹
¡¸That don¡¯t got anythin¡¯ to do with this mission.¡¹
Hiroshi said, scrambling to disqualify himself from the mission. He couldn¡¯t believe that they were conting monsters, that only scanned for enemies instinctively, and a group of soldiers in formation, actively looking out for suspicious figures.
¡¸I don¡¯t know how well you are at these kinds of things, but if you can, I would prefer you to go with them.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah? Why¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸For one, a party of three women can be¡ Dangerous, in many ways. And I know that Aearis will feel safer with youing with her.¡¹
Hearing this, Hiroshi looked over at Aearis. In contrast to her constructed, calm look, her eyes gleamed as if to grasp for his hand, dangling from a cliff. A well-groomed dog, sitting patiently as she only pleaded with our eyes for her master not to abandon her. Hiroshi wasn¡¯t sure is he could keep pushing to be off the mission.
¡¸Besides, Hiroshi.¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸You have to go out once in a while if you don¡¯t want us to think you¡¯re agoraphobic.¡¹
¡¸A craftsman belongs in the workshop¡ That¡¯s where he works¡¡¹
Hiroshi refuted. In what world was a craftsman cut out infiltrate a castle?
¡¸You know, Hiro. You¡¯d be ruining a lot of things if you let Elle down now.¡¹
¡¸Sensei. It¡¯s not cool to let down a child.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s frown cinched tighter and tighter as Tatsuya and Mio¡¯s barrage of criticism ensued. Hiroshi nced at Haruna to see that she was Switzend, looking back without a word. Hiroshi guessed that, even if he had refused to go on this mission until the very end, Haruna would neither be disappointed nor me him for it. He hadn¡¯t spent too much time with her but enough to know that much.
¡¸To be real honest, all I can do is make stuff. Nothin¡¯ else. I can¡¯t shake the feelin¡¯ that I¡¯ll just get in the way.¡¹
¡¸But we¡¡¹
¡¸Elle¡¯s life hangs in the bnce, here. All the pleadin¡¯ and emotions don¡¯t justify a useless fool puttin¡¯ on a show and gettin¡¯ in the way. Elle¡¯s gonna be there already, but that¡¯s because she¡¯s gotta. Don¡¯t y¡¯all think two deadweights mark a suicide mission?¡¹
Hiroshi surprisingly well-thought-out argument silenced the members who had been pushing for him to go. Perhaps because of all the pains from his past, Hiroshi seemed to overthink situations, more than anyone in 12th grade should be. In this case, however, he couldn¡¯t deny that a big part of him came to this conclusion because he wanted to defend his honor while still getting out of all the trouble.
¡¸If I was just out harvestin¡¯ or somethin¡¯, it don¡¯t matter. If I make a mistake, I can make up for the losses. But this won¡¯t go down like that. Truth is, I don¡¯t want no responsibility like that. I¡¯m terrified of goin¡¯ out there with nothin¡¯ useful in my back pocket and screw up so bad there¡¯s noin¡¯ back form it.¡¹
While he was trying to get someone else to carry that very responsibility, he was sincerely considering the severity of the situation, as well as his particr skills and how he might fit into the mission. It wouldn¡¯t really be fair to say that he was spewing all of this just to get out of a job.
¡¸¡Hiroshi-sama. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re misunderstanding.¡¹
¡¸Elle?¡¹
¡¸My brother and I are responsible for anything that happens during this mission. We would never be in this predicament if I had been¡Better.¡¹
Hiroshi was quick to try and refute. Her royalty was useless when she was a ten year old child with no real power. As such, there was very little she could do on this mission. Sure, Layotte and the king may be responsible in part, but Aearis was the one who was supposed to be protected.
Although, he never ended up voicing that argument. Aearis had seen what he was about to say, and shook her head, interjecting:
¡¸Any excuses, like my age orck of political power, are useless in the face of our reality. Even now, I haven¡¯t done a single thing on my own. So, please. Allow me to choose whom I entrust my life with, and to take responsibility for the result of my choices.¡¹
¡¸¡Elle.¡¹
¡¸Yes?¡¹
¡¸You really don¡¯t sound like a ten-year-old, now.¡¹
Haruna let a chuckle slip out, hearing Hiroshi giving up. His reaction was the same as what Haruna, and what all of the other Japanese members were thinking.
Sure, most children in Fane were rtively self-reliant by the age of ten. Of course, life was much harder here than in Japan, and the very near and dire threat of monsters prevented life from bing too easy. Even so, Aearis seemed to be wise beyond her years.
When Hiroshi looked to Layotte with the intention of asking if Aearis had always been this way, Layotte looked just as surprised as the others. It seems that Aearis had grown quite a bit over the short time they were apart.
Of course, kids always grew up fast.
¡¸So, Hiroshi-sama.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re not gonna change your mind, huh?¡¹
¡¸I will not. It¡¯s not that I have any doubts about Haruna-sama and Mio-sama. Still, I need you to¡ I need you and Haruna-sama both to be with me, or I may be ovee with fear. And¡¡¹
¡¸And?¡¹
¡¸This is just a feeling, but¡ Without Hiroshi-sama, I don¡¯t think this mission will seed.¡¹
Adorning her authority as Alfemina¡¯s Priestess Princess, Aearis went in for the kill. Now Hiroshi couldn¡¯t live with himself if he were to wimp out anymore.
¡¸¡Dang it. ¡®Guess I gotta shape up¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry.¡¹
¡¸Thank yous are better than sorrys in times like these.¡¹
This was something his counselor had told Hiroshi over and over again. Aearis might have been the one to pressure him, but it was Hiroshi¡¯s decision to join, in the end. Besides, when asking for a favor, thanks shoulde before apologies. That was Hiroshi¡¯s philosophy, anyway. Although, if Hiroshi were to ask himself if he abided by this guideline? It was fifty-fifty.
¡¸Yes. Thank you.¡¹
Aearis said with a brimming smile as wide as her face. Even with a few (really) long sighs, Hiroshi began to calcte what he could do to raise their chance of sess, by any margin. The truth was, any equipment he had prepared would be pretty much useless. While there was no way to make their Wyvern leather armor work, Hiroshi nned to pull off some tricks that enabled them to at least bring Aearis¡¯ outfit and the party¡¯s weapons.
In addition, there were a few tools he could prepare that could be very useful for infiltration missions. He didn¡¯t have enough materials to make too many of them, but there were, of course, better than nothing. He acknowledge their advantage of being able to carry all sorts of tricks up their sleeves, as many as ingredients and time allowed.
¡¸Lessee. We can¡¯t go ¡®til noon tomorrow, at least. I gotta get one more thin¡¯ ready to meet your requirements, Lay.¡¹
¡¸I understand. Noon works best for us, too. They won¡¯t expect an infiltration through all of their security in broad daylight. And in order to clear Aearis¡¯ name, we want enough circumstantial evidence to warrant some suspicion for the man behind all of this.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. Then we¡¯ll take an early lunch and go right in.¡¹
This mission could easily be a very long one. They certainly needed a hearty meal to keep their energy up throughout the entire ordeal.
¡¸Let¡¯s get ready, then. Mio, can ya make us potion holders, please?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸And it would help a bunch if ya can take the magic out of the webs in the Wyvern wings. Looks like I gotta boil a bunch of stuff.¡¹
Nodding in response, Mio jumped right into action. Acknowledging that the party had begun their full preparation, Layotte left with a short goodbye. He had a mountain of things to take care of himself, and even if didn¡¯t, there was little he could do here.
¡¸What are you going to use the webs of the Wyvern wings for?¡¹
Tatsuya asked.
¡¸I¡¯m going to make a Skulkin¡¯ Cloak. We gotta be able to at least bring the clothes we¡¯re wearin¡¯ now.¡¹
¡¸You have a point there.¡¹
Hiroshi seemed ready to deploy some more convoluted techniques to solve the problem at hand. With enough time, this man could craft anything.
¡¸This Skulkin¡¯ Cloak, though will just fudge any Searchin¡¯ spells, includin¡¯ Magic Detection. It ain¡¯t like we¡¯ll be invisible or nothin¡¯. And nothin¡¯ could conceal somethin¡¯ like our Wyvern leather armor.¡¹
¡¸Still, it¡¯s something we can¡¯t go without this time around.¡¹
Haruna chimed in.
¡¸Right?¡¹
As they continued to talk, Hiroshi produced the necessary ingredients for the cloaks, and began treating them.
¡¸So, what can we do?¡¹
¡¸Nothin¡¯ right now. Sorry. Give Elle a little more trainin¡¯, maybe.¡¹
¡¸You got it.¡¹
Tatsuya answered, and went to meet Elle. Suddenly, the workshop was beginning to bustle with anticipation.
¡¸Nope. I can¡¯t think of anythin¡¯ to get me out of this.¡¹
Remembering their conversation the day before, Hiroshi had failed toe up with any valid excuse.
¡¸Sensei, really. Give it up.¡¹
Mio reprimanded Hiroshi (who was clearing clouding himself with negative thoughts about the mission) with a whisper.
¡¸I know, I know. It¡¯s just that¡¡¹
¡¸Just what?¡¹
¡¸Standin¡¯ here for real just makes me a lil skittish¡¡¹
¡¸When you act like that, Sensei, Elle gets nervous. Buck up.¡¹
Mio continued to dig deep against Hiroshi¡¯s show of cowardice. Being reprimanded by someone far younger than him has gained him back his title as Lord of the Sheep.
¡¸I mean, he¡¯s doing something outside his repertoire, here. Go easy on him, huh?¡¹
¡¸So are you, Haru. And you did an infiltration when you came to save us, too.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t goparin¡¯ their sloppy defense with the guards here. Besides, we could have taken the whole lot of ¡®em if came down to it.¡¹
Still unsatisfied, Mio decided to keep her mouth shut for now. Their situation wasn¡¯t suited for much smalltalk, and this wasn¡¯t something that anyone wanted to keep arguing about.
And so, with a slightly tainted air between them, they quietly walked through the hidden underground pathway. They walked through the obviously maze-like path, devoting most of their attention to their short term memory and selecting the correct path as told, stepping around hidden doors and trap doors, straight towards their destination. Then:
¡¸¡Sensei.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s up? Why did ya stop all of a sudden?¡¹
¡¸Can you walk out front for a little bit?¡¹
¡¸¡Sure.¡¹
Mio proposed, abruptly. With a very bad feeling for her sudden request, Hiroshi moved up front as she said, and walked for about 5 meters. There was a sense of discement that even Hiroshi, who didn¡¯t have any skills for trap detection, could feel. Hiroshi as he internally shouted as himself for being overly terrified of every little thing around him, took a step forward¡
¡¸Y¡¯all hear that¡?¡¹
Then, the strange sensation disappeared with a small, snapping sound.
¡¸ording to the map, we crossed under the edge of the church¡¯s grounds.¡¹
Mio exined.
¡¸Which means?¡¹
¡¸I think the trap above ground reaches us down here, too.¡¹
Haruna added.
¡¸¡So you knew there was a trap, and made me walk into it?¡¹
Hiroshi said, ring at them. Mio simply nodded without blinking an eye. As this conversation ensued, they marched on.
¡¸What apprentice uses their master as bait to detect a trap¡?¡¹
¡¸Actually, to disarm. I already knew about the trap.¡¹
Mio retorted without a shred of guilt, which flooded Hiroshi with exhaustion. By the way, that kind of method of detecting traps (with risk of damage, of course) was a popr method when there were no Thieves or Scouts with knowledge of traps in the party. A traditional method used since the heyday of TRPG.
¡¸Hey, Mio-chan.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
Slightly taken aback by this inhumane method, Haruna timidly asked Mio:
¡¸Are you sure that was okay?¡¹
¡¸Disarming the trap? Or using Sensei as bait?¡¹
¡¸Both.¡¹
¡¸It was safe to use Sensei. There wasn¡¯t another way through, and a high-level craftsman wouldn¡¯t trip a magical trap unless it¡¯s at a ridiculously high level. A normal spell-wielding yer could use an Ultimate spell against him, and it would just fizzle because of his high Magic Defense and Magic Resistance.¡¹
Hearing Mio¡¯s nonchnt answer, Haruna and Aearis were quite taken aback. Haruna was aware that, if the caster¡¯s Intelligence was lower than the target¡¯s Constitution by a certain margin, any low level spells would fizzle the instance it hits the target, without producing any effect. However, she only thought this would apply to Novice spells. She had never considered that Advanced, or even Ultimate spells could be fizzled.
They were shocked by Hiroshi and the other craftsman being at that level itself, but also by Mio, who casually used that fact to throw her master into a trap with no remorse. They had to admit that Mio had some serious guts.
¡¸As for disarming it, there just wasn¡¯t another way through.¡¹
¡¸Um, couldn¡¯t it have been a trap to protect this pathway?¡¹
¡¸Impossible. Besides, it felt different from the spells aligned with Alfemina. She is the goddess of time and space, after all.¡¹
Mio concluded with confidence. As a Scout, she had to learn this kind of arcane knowledge.
¡¸If ya knew that much, why didn¡¯t ya disarm it yourself before ya throw me into it?¡¹
¡¸It wan¡¯t that weak of a spell.¡¹
¡¸¡But throwin¡¯ your own master into it¡¡¹
Hiroshi grumbled lethargically.
¡¸Um, Hiroshi-sama. Are you all right¡?¡¹
¡¸I mean, it didn¡¯t hurt me none, so I guess there ain¡¯t no usein¡¯ ¡®bout it.¡¹
Even though they hadn¡¯t even reached the main event, Hiroshi already felt unusually exhausted. Although, there was no time for that, either.
¡¸So, since we blew up that trap, we gootta rush don¡¯t we?¡¹
¡¸Probably.¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s get goin¡¯.¡¹
Comining would get him nowhere. Hiroshi concluded (with brute force and his high Constitution) that he couldn¡¯t change the way his apprentice treated him, but he could decide to be productive. Internally, Hiroshi would be grumbling Why of all people do I got to do this¡ While desperately maintaining face around Aearis.
¡¸We have been expecting you. Thank Alfemina you¡¯re all right¡¡¹
Once they had passed the indescribable structure of the hidden pathway directly into the Temple corridors, there was an old man wearing an impressive outfit. He didn¡¯t exude any obsession to worldly things (as you might expect to be at a high-ranking position of a religious organization) but instead carried an air of solemnity about him. He certainly seemed like the type to have umted a lot of good karma through his years.
¡¸I¡¯m sorry to have worried you, Head Priest.¡¹
¡¸I have heard what was happened. I¡¯m so, so d that you¡¯re safe¡¡¹
The Head Priest began choking on his words, overwhelmed with emotion. Aearis gently took his hand in hers. This old man seemed to be one of the very few people Aearis could trust wholeheartedly. Quietly, they celebrated their reunion for a moment, before:
¡¸Excuse me, but I need you two to hold off on the emotional reunion scene until a littleter.¡¹
Haruna interjected, saying this with effort and a forced sense of formality. The fact that she volunteered herself to be the bearer of bad news in these situations showed how likely she was to be the type to take on all sorts of burdens without anyone seeing it.
¡¸Of course. My apologies.¡¹
Reminded of what must be done, the Head Priest sprung to action. Hiroshi and Mio observed him intently.
What do you guys think?
Can¡¯t feel any affliction on him, at least.
He wasn¡¯t lying when he said he was worried.
Hearing Mio¡¯s and Hiroshi¡¯s report, Haruna sighed in relief, internally. All in all, the Head Priest didn¡¯t seem like an enemy, at least.
¡¸Somethin¡¯ I wanna ask ya.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t mind us normiesin¡¯ with y¡¯all?¡¹
¡¸Exceptions and amodations should be made during dire situations, no matter the rule. Besides, we have had a divine sign for your arrival. No one here will have any objections to your presence.¡¹
The Head Priest mentioned some real talk (albeit while maintaining his solemnity). While the party was thankful that a person in his positions wasn¡¯t too much of a stickler for their doctrine, but there was still the lingering doubt for either the consequences of the bending of rules, or the existence of the said rules themselves.
¡¸A temple is simply the ce where our goddess provides us with guidance and protection. A priest is merely the harbinger of those things. Dogma and doctrine written by man are meaningless. If they contradict the will of our goddess¡ If theye in the way for the people to receive our goddess¡¯ blessings, then they shall be abandoned.¡¹
Perhaps catching the look of the party, the Head Priest continued to say things as if to criticize his own organization, with the same sense of solemnity. His core belief seem to have protected him from the reputation of a corrupt religious figure while being a realist about these situation to prevent the organization from bing too rigid and falling apart.
¡¸So, what¡¯s next?¡¹
¡¸The Ritual of Purification. Myself and the High Priests below me have all prepared for it.¡¹
¡¸How¡¯s that gonna clear Elle¡¯s name?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s simple, really. Aearis-sama simply performing the purification in the Ritual Room, from which Katrina-sama was rejected, will be proof enough that Aearis-sama has the necessary talent as the Priestess Princess. Also, the affliction of the mineral veins have be too severe for Elena-sama to handle, even at her best health. Aearis-sama is the only one who can turn this around.¡¹
In other words, just by performing her duty, she would have saved the country. A worthy aplishment. The disinformation regarding her character aside, her ill reputation as a failed Priestess Princess seemed easily reversible by providing some results.
The Head Priest lead them through a pathway that exemplified timeless simplicity for a while, before they arrived at an opening. While the structure was sound, thisrge spacecked decoration. On the north end of the space, however, there was arge door engraved with ornate detail, in stark contrast with the pathway they had passed through and the room they were in now. Judging from the powerful purification barrier on the door itself, they could assume that the Ritual Room was located through that door.
¡¸This is it. I apologize, but I must ask you all to remain here.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
¡¸My money¡¯s on someone trying to cause trouble while y¡¯all are in there. We¡¯ll y watch duty for a while.¡¹
¡¸Search and destroy anything that¡¯s afflicted?¡¹
The Head Priest acknowledged their response with a nod. He seemed to contemte Mio¡¯s aggressive tone for a bit, but seemed to have decided to let it alone. He gestured for Aearis before taking another bow at the party and disappearing into the Ritual Room. After the party watched them leave, they looked back towards the opening, when someone suddenly called to them:
¡¸No outsiders allowed here. Didn¡¯t you see the sign?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s up? Fellow outsider.¡¹
Hiroshi stroke back with a dismissive tone at this man, who was so nondescript that one could easily forget his face the moment they looked away from it. They had no reason to y nice with a man who was exuding far more affliction than the Wyvern.
They were in the house of the Goddess of Time and Space, after all, so all transportation items and spells can¡¯t be used here, even the transportation spell used by Layotte. Judging from the fact that the Goddess herself would be the only one allowed to transport here, this man must have walked through the other back door. Actually, the party couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that this man used his incredibleck of presence to simply walk in through the front.
¡¸Did you know that sneaking into a temple calls for a very strict punishment?¡¹
¡¸So you¡¯re in big trouble then, ain¡¯t ya?¡¹
¡¸So, I can teach you guys a lesson, no problem.¡¹
Disregarding Hiroshi, the man concluded their little conversation. Stripping the Skulking Cloaks off, the party stood on-guard. While firing off enough spells to keep his distance, the man starts preparing a spell far too powerful to cast in a ce like this.
¡¸Who uses that kind of spell in a tight space like this¡?¡¹
Haruna mumbled as she kept the man on his toes by firing off some precise bolts with Aura Bird. In a situation like this, it was Hiroshi¡¯s job to charge, and there was no point in Haruna getting any closer, which meant that her job was to keep attacking from a distance.
The man¡¯s quick-fired spellsnded straight into Hiroshi, who was now charging at the man, and promptly fizzled without showing any effect. These Dark spells, by the way, were filled to the brim with affliction, had a trajectory that was hard to read, and a direct hit to an ordinary human would cause some serious damage in all sorts of ways, but having it hit a single target before scattering had render them useless for attacking the group. Apparently, at his Magic stats, he couldn¡¯t prate Hiroshi¡¯s Magic Resistance with spells of this level.
¡¸You guys were so aggressive, I didn¡¯t have a choice. I was just trying to subdue these attackers. They were the ones who used the big spell.¡¹
¡¸¡Childish.¡¹
Mio responded, firing off arrows in a dancing trajectory.
¡¸Who can prove that it was me?¡¹
¡¸Not what I was talking about.¡¹
Without understanding what Mio was saying, the man dismissed her as a basket case (with utterck of self-awareness). He went to activate therge-scale destructive spell he had been preparing. An immense amount of magic was conjured, about to tear into this world.
¡¸Too bad! Even if you guys survive, you¡¯ll be the criminals who destroyed the Temple!¡¹
¡¸Too bad for you.¡¹
Mio said coldly as she shot another arrow at the man. Blocking the arrow, the man looked puzzled. Immediately, he noticed that something was off.
¡¸Why won¡¯t my spell activate!?¡¹
¡¸Sensei¡¯s in your range. No way that little spell would activate.¡¹
¡¸What!?¡¹
The wide-range of the spell had ironically be its downside. If there was a being within range with enough resistance to overpower the spell itself, even if that being was at the edge of the range, the entire spell was fizzled. In order to push through Hiroshi¡¯s Magic Resistance (even if Hiroshi was naked) a top-ranking yer would have to use at least an Intermediate spell.
¡¸You¡¯re goin¡¯ down!¡¹
Hiroshi immediately assaulted the man (frozen from shock) with a Smash attack. He turned the de of the axe on him rather than the butt, going in for the kill. Instinctively throwing up a barrier, the man gets thrown into a pir.
¡¸I ain¡¯t done!¡¹
With another Smash attack, Hiroshi mmed the man against the wall, and swung in one more time on the rebound. Even though this was a Novice skill, rtively easy to fire off consecutively, its dy should not have been short enough for Hiroshi to chain off one into another. This only worked because Hiroshi had the length of the dy drilled into his muscle memory, and that the enemy hadn¡¯t recovered from the surprise of having his Ultimate spell fizzled.
¡¸Argh! Knock it off!¡¹
His superior attitude had left him entirely, as he no longer concealed his irritation and jumped in for a counter blow to push Hiroshi back 3 meters. However, Hiroshi didn¡¯t seem to take any damage, and easilynded on his feet. Although it was mostly in the easier dungeons, he had yed the tank many a times in-game. Even though he didn¡¯t have many skills that boosted his Speed, he had enough prowess to stay on his feet after being blown away.
¡¸Not bad for a bunch of criminals, but don¡¯t expect that little princess to get anything done.¡¹
¡¸Guess you¡¯ve yed a trick or two on her. Don¡¯t expect ¡®em to work.¡¹
Before Hiroshi could finish, a bright light emanated from the Ritual Room.
¡¸¡What have you done!?¡¹
¡¸Simple. Just cured all their status conditions when we saved ¡®em from Piaranork.¡¹
Hiroshi answered matter-of-factly, as the man witnessed the unthinkable: a sessful ritual. Then, the man red down Hiroshi with hatred. At the time, Hiroshi didn¡¯t pick up on any spell other than the one Aearis cast to put everyone in aa, but he decided that they really didn¡¯t know what kind of status conditions Aearis could be affected by. So, he crafted the most powerful status condition healer he could make with the ingredients he had.
¡¸I think we¡¯re getting an audience. What are you going to do?¡¹
The man turned around to where Haruna gestured, where a few nobles, with a monk and knight in tow.
¡¸What took you so long? We have intruders.¡¹
¡¸We just received word that someone was attempting to disrupt the ritual.¡¹
Layotte answered with a straight face to the man¡¯s bold-faced lie.
¡¸Then why don¡¯t you take care of that.¡¹
¡¸I will.¡¹
As soon as Layotte had spoken, Julius swing his sword at the man, without so much as an indication before he sprung into movement. Despite having prated his barrier and cut open arge gash through his shoulder, the man appeared to be in no pain. The few nobles who witnessed this started osting Layotte and Julius, and the room suddenly grew cacophonous.
¡¸Have you lost your mind? They are the intruders, over there.¡¹
¡¸Now that you¡¯re here, you¡¯re an intruder, too. Besides¡¡¹
¡¸The Goddess Alfemina has already given a divine message. These people were chosen by Alfemina, and as such, belong here at the Temple.¡¹
¡¸Oh really? You have proof for that?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t exert yourself, Lord Barold. With how afflicted you have be, the ongoing Ritual of Purification must be agonizing.¡¹
¡¸Where are all these oundish ideasing from? Who¡¯s afflicted now?¡¹
¡¸Stop talking, you miserable man.¡¹
As the man continued to weasel, a girl emerged and shut him down.
¡¸Elle-chan¡?¡¹
Haruna uttered, hesitantly. Her face, hair style, and body shape all looked just like Aearis from before. Even her clothes were the same. But her silver hair and blue eyes now shone in blinding, shimmering gold. Most of all, her attitude had changed from that of a friendly puppy to that of holy authority.
¡¸I am sorry to have keep you waited. Hiroshi-dono. Haruna-dono. Mio-dono. Thanks to the three of you, thisnd has been purified.¡¹
¡¸¡Who are ya?¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-dono. You know who I am.¡¹
Someone spoke, wearing Aearis. When she said this, the party understood. The Goddess herself had arrived.
¡¸How much more will soil thisnd?¡¹
¡¸I think you¡¯re the one who¡¯s soiling thisnd.¡¹
Facing the Goddess, the man didn¡¯t back down but instead threw back brazen words of insult. Without batting an eye, the Goddess ignored him.
¡¸Hm. Thend may be purified, but the affliction remains. One more job to do here, then.¡¹
The handful of nobles, who had been intimidated by the Goddess¡¯ nce jolted in terror. Without paying any mind to their reaction, the Goddess released another round of powerful, purifying light.
¡¸Agggghhhhh!¡¹
¡¸Stop! Please stop!¡¹
¡¸It wasn¡¯t! It wasn¡¯t my fault!¡¹
As soon as the light hit the nobles, they began writhing in agony. As the party watched in shock, the Goddess continued:
¡¸Now, this is about as much as my priestess can handle. Hiroshi-dono. I entrust her with you.¡¹
¡¸Hold on now, why me?¡¹
In response to Hiroshi¡¯s dismay, the Goddess only smiled, knowingly.
¡¸Now then, Hiroshi-dono. Haruna-dono. Mio-dodno. Please give my regards to Makoto-dono and Tatsuya-dono as well. When the time is right, I should be able to tell you everything.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m askin¡¯ ya, why ya trustin¡¯ me with Elle?¡¹
Still ignoring Hiroshi¡¯s question, the Goddess left with some quasi-prophecy, purposefully putting on the show of a spirit leaving Aearis¡¯ body. As they witnessed the Goddess¡¯ form, exactly as described in legends, the holy air scattered out of the room.
¡¸Guess she¡¯s gone¡ After ignorin¡¯ me.¡¹
¡¸What just happened¡?¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna both stood there, mouths agape, still thinking of the Goddess who came and made a mess for the mortals to clean up. Watching them, Aearis stood with a smile as she was unsure what to say.
¡¸In any case, ya did it.¡¹
¡¸So you¡¯re job here is done, right, Elle-chan?¡¹
¡¸Yes. The affliction has been purified.¡¹
As Aearis said, the affliction (that had been built up too much for a single castle) had now clearedpletely. Afflictionpiled every day, so if nothing were to be done, there would be enough piled up to affect the day-to-day. But now that the official Priestess Princess cane and go through the front, that shouldn¡¯t happen again.
¡¸True, thisnd may have been tainted¡¡¹
¡¸Ugh! You¡¯re still alive!?¡¹
¡¸You little weasel!¡¹
Turning to the source of the voice, the man standing on a beam near the ceiling, halfway abandoning his human form, ring down at the party, full of hatred. It seemed that the Goddess¡¯ purification seemed to have severely damaged him, enough that he could no longer maintain his human formpletely. Still, the fact that he didn¡¯t die from it made him closer to a cockroach than a weasel.
¡¸But if I purify the tainted priestess, thisnd will be pure again.¡¹
He mumbled on, activating some sort of spell. On instinct, Hiroshi started running towards Aearis, but he was a split-second toote. A void open below Aearis¡¯ feet, swallowing her whole, and transporting her into the man¡¯s arms in the blink of an eye.
¡¸Now, priestess. Repent and serve the righteous god!¡¹
He dered, and concentrated a massive amount of affliction in the palm of his hand, which was obvious a curse, and tried to inject it into Aearis¡¯ bosom. At the veryst moment before the mass of affliction was about to touch Aearis, it dissipated with a snapping sound. It seemed like the man didn¡¯t put enough power into it to push through the protections applied to her priestess robe, sword, and undergarments. They would never discover this fact, but, if it wasn¡¯t for the underwear Hiroshi crafted (risking his life, ording to him) Aearis may not have been protected here. Just like Mio suspected, the 30% difference in quality between Hiroshi and Mio¡¯s craft was not negligible.
¡¸Dancing¡!¡¹
¡¸Elle! Don¡¯t ya y that card, yet!¡¹
¡¸Elle! Purification! On the max!¡¹
Hiroshi stopped Aearis from activating the special ability of her sword, Mio chimed in with what she should do instead. Obeying Mio reflexively, Aearis activated Purification, with maximum power. The Purification spell struck the man directly as he was taken aback from having his affliction evaporated, burning him to the core.
¡¸¡How insufferably annoying!¡¹
Forsaking his human form (and his joking attitude entirely,) the man snarled. ring at Aearis, who had gained a good distance between them even on the constricting space of the ceiling beams, and pounced towards her to finish the job.
¡¸Elle!¡¹
¡¸Coming!¡¹
Hiroshi called out right before the man reached Aearis, and Aearis jumped off the beam without hesitation, as the man¡¯s attack rips through the space where she had just been standing. Hiroshi caught Aearis with ease, and produced something from his coat. Aearis was staring at Hiroshi with intimate, shimmering eyes.
¡¸We¡¯re takin¡¯ her for now!¡¹
After ncing at the Head Priest and Layotte to see that they had nodded in response, Hiroshi activated the item in his hand. In an instance, despite no activation of a transportation spell, all four members of the party disappeared from the room. Even the Skulking Cloaks were no longer strewn about on the floor. They must have gathered them somehow. Hiroshi had used The Legendary Thief¡¯s Last Trick (dubbed the Super Jammer among craftsmen) a disposable item that disabled any and all detections against the user¡¯s party, albeit for a very short time (30 seconds, max). As demonstrated here, even when the user was right under someone¡¯s nose, or even being touched by someone, they could no longer sense the existence of the user.
¡¸What!? Where did they go!?¡¹
¡¸Take it easy. I know them well. When the time is right, they¡¯ll be back with my sister.¡¹
Layotte said.
¡¸Are they¡!?¡¹
Asked one of the allied nobles. Layotte ignored it, and looked around.
¡¸Now we have to prepare to bring them in. Our first stop, I suppose, is hunting down the demon that got away.¡¹
Layotte continued, giving out orders for their next move. As soon as the man¡¯s attack had missed Aearis, the soldiers had initiated an attack against him, but despite what appeared to be an unimpeded assault, the man had disappeared with a blinding explosion. When the dust had settled, all that was left was a broken window. The man was nowhere to be seen.
¡¸Yes, My Lord.¡¹
Everyone there knelt in obedience to Layotte¡¯s orders. And so, the nation of Fane had dodged a critical bullet, thanks to the help of a party of outsiders.
By the way, Hiroshi had kept Aearis in his arms during their entire escape from the Temple grounds, and¡
¡¸H-Hiroshi-sama!?¡¹
¡¸Elle-chan! Give him some space right now!¡¹
After they had fled back to the workshop with a special Transportation Stone, Hiroshi was in a dark corner of the workshop, covered in his own vomit, convulsing from his color-drained head to toe.
If anyone was wondering what Douga and Rayna were doing in the meantime¡
¡¸I suppose they don¡¯t know where we are, do they?¡¹
Douga said.
¡¸Jeez. Did they really think these guys could pull off sneaking into the Temple?¡¹
In front of the hidden pathway (the one that they presumed had been discovered by the enemy) Douga and Rayna had taken down a sketchy-looking gang that clearly worked for the other side. Since sending an entire troop to guard the location could cause an unnecessary scene, Layotte had assigned Douga and Rayna, two of the most skilled warriors in the country.
¡¸Still, you¡¯ll have to give these young men credit for summoning a pack of Cerberuses, instead of, say, Hellhounds.¡¹
¡¸Only three of them. And what¡¯s the point of that if they can barely control them?¡¹
The two of them remarked, as if to say the ordeal wasn¡¯t thrilling enough for their liking, as they looked at the three Cerberus corpses, and the dozen or so Summoners they¡¯d in without putting up much of a fight themselves. Watching this, the Summoner who had (just barely) survived attempted to flee in a state of terror, and was suddenly engulfed in a pir of ck me. Upon closer inspection, all of the corpses had also been burnt to crisps.
¡¸They won¡¯t give us a chance to take prisoners, huh¡?¡¹
Rayna remarked.
¡¸Even if we were to capture them, it would be difficult for us to hand them over to authorities. In a way, they saved us the trouble.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s true. What should we do with the bodies, then?¡¹
¡¸If we bring them back, they could produce some useful materials.¡¹
¡¸We kind of teared them to shreds, are they still salvageable?¡¹
Rayna pointed out, to which Douga responded by contemting for a moment. On average, by the way, a Cerberus was often more formidable than a Wyvern. Ordinarily, they would only appear in the Hell-themed dungeons, and while it was one of the weakest creatures you could face off there, that was only because the other monsters around them were ridiculously overpowered.
Looking up at the corpses of the three-headed canine, still looming taller than a horse, Douga tapped his shoulder with his shoulder with his spear (farrger and heavier than anyone could expect him to wield) and slightly regretted if he had gone too wild. On his other hand, he was holding a towering shield (also ridiculously gigantic). Despite his age, Douga maintained an impable physique. Combine that with his massive equipment, and most would run away at the sight of him. What was more impressive was that he moved so fluidly with them.
¡¸It¡¯s been a while since I got to y outside. I think I got carried away. Well, if we get them back, they¡¯ll figure it out.¡¹
¡¸Sounds good to me. No sense in making any decisions ourselves when the most materials we could identify are hide, meat, bone. And fang and w, I suppose.¡¹
¡¸Very well. Let¡¯s chop them up and throw them into our bags.¡¹
Nodding in response, Rayna began separating the corpses by body parts. After all, they were beginning to think just like Hiroshi and Haruna when it came to things like this.
Volume 1, 13
Volume 1, Chapter 13
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸The steam¡ The Smell of sulfur¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s really a hot spring, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Sure is a hot spring.¡¹
Sniffing the steaming of what appeared to be themunal bath, Hiroshi and Haruna couldn¡¯t help but conclude so. The elders around them watched, chuckling to these two teenagers be absurdly excited about the prospect. For a little rest and rxation, the party hade to Adnae, one of the most famous hot springs in Fane, located on the foothills of Spirit Spire Mountain. While they didn¡¯t have a peaceful carriage ride here, the speed of Layotte¡¯s transportation spell had its perks. Layotte, by the way, had left as soon as he had dropped the party off.
¡¸If the temperature¡¯s right, we can finally do it.¡¹
¡¸Finally¡¡¹
¡¸I get it. You guys are ecstatic. Just chill for a bit.¡¹
With Tatsuya¡¯s interjection, Hiroshi and Haruna freeze in their tracks. They were just waiting for some audience interaction.
¡¸So, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re going to make some boiled eggs?¡¹
¡¸Well, duh. What else are we doin¡¯ at a hot spring?¡¹
¡¸And if it was too hot, I was going to boil some corn or potato.¡¹
¡¸It always blows me away how far you¡¯ll go for food¡¡¹
Even as he said so, Hiroshi and Haruna were so synchronized in their thought process, that Tatsuya had second thoughts about calling them out on it.
¡¸¡¯Course the main object here¡¯s hot spring steamed buns.¡¹
¡¸I thought the problem was we didn¡¯t have red beans?¡¹
¡¸As for that, I came up with a brilliant solution.¡¹
Haruna eximed, as the Japanese members in the party (excluding Hiroshi) couldn¡¯t help but devote their full attention. Gratified by this response, Haruna puffed her chest and dramatically pointed her finger back at the group. With a satisfied look on her blue eyes, she dered:
¡¸No red beans? Let them eat white bean paste!¡¹
entuating her already ample breasts in this pose, Haruna¡¯s proposal was reminiscent of a certain French queen. The group was spared the lethal disy of the defiance of gravity since her breasts were secured with her garments. Everyone¡¯s gaze (save for Hiroshi¡¯s) were inadvertently drawn to them.
¡¸Blue bean paste is another option.¡¹
Hiroshi added another unnecessary footnote. Just like pork, it seemed that this world had ingredients simr enough for them to make these pastes.
¡¸Is that really a solution, though?¡¹
¡¸Both of ¡®em are traditional sweets, ya know. Just not as well known. We haven¡¯t cracked the Zenzai or Yokan, yet, but we should be good with Taiyaki and stuff. ¡¹
¡¸I mean, steamed buns are steamed buns. You don¡¯t really have to steam them at hot springs.¡¹
Tatsuya pointed out, to which Hiroshi and Haruna shared a grin in response. Despite the ridiculous amount of personal space between them, they were really telepathic when it came to these kinds of topics.
¡¸If the sprin¡¯ water¡¯s good to drink, we¡¯re gonna steam the buns with it.¡¹
¡¸Wait wait wait. How in the world are you going to check if it is?¡¹
¡¸We got a tester for it. Made it a while back, actually.¡¹
¡¸Just for hot spring water?¡¹
¡¸Nah. It¡¯s original use was to see if we could drink from a water source without treatin¡¯ it first.¡¹
Elena and Douga jumped on this. Even in Wulls, which prides itself in its sanitation, people were getting sick from drinking untreated water all the time, and as for the Knight¡¯s Order, some of them had boiled water of an unknown source (as ast resort) and end up consuming poison.
Why don¡¯t they produce water from magic spells or items? Well, it isn¡¯t that easy. Everyone¡¯s MP is finite, and not everyone can use a spell that produces water. And of course, it would be difficult to provide every household and expedition team with the necessary magic-powered item. For the Knight¡¯s Order, for example, were often situations where they would have to preserve as much of their resources as possible. So, obtaining resources on the go was often a matter of life and death.
¡¸How detailed is this tester?¡¹
Elena asked.
¡¸It can tell ya if the water¡¯s drinkable as-is, boiled, processed, or not at all.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean processed?¡¹
¡¸If someone with the right knowledge reads the tester, they¡¯ll know what to do.¡¹
Hiroshi kept answering Elena and Douga¡¯s barrage of questions honestly and urately. Ignoring them entirely, Aearis (with her differently blue eyes than Haruna gleaming) strutted over to her.
¡¸Haruna-sama!¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸What does a hot spring egg taste like? And a hot spring steamed bun? Is it delicious? ¡¹
Aearis asked, exuding expectations for these mysterious dishes from her entire body. If she had a tail, it would be wagging with vigorous force. In more ways than one, her family had the right to be nervous about her future.
¡¸Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll taste them soon.¡¹
¡¸Okay!¡¹
Aearis responded, with the biggest smile her tiny face could muster. Mio, who had been watching this exchange, finally said:
¡¸Let¡¯s go to the inn already.¡¹
The group nodded in response, halting mid-conversation. It couldn¡¯t hurt to at least drop off their luggage, first.
¡¸Reena, don¡¯t be afraid to say what you¡¯re thinking in situations like these.¡¹
Tatsuya said with a chuckle, after watching Rayna not able to join any conversation from the side.
¡¸Y-You expect me to jump into¡ That!?¡¹
¡¸Well, when you¡¯re bosses are headed full-speed to derailment town, the calm and collected subordinate¡¯s gotta speak up.¡¹
¡¸So rarely am I the collected one, that thought hadn¡¯t urred to me¡¡¹
Rayna said, very self-aware of her vice. The group chuckled. Rayna still seemed to be held back by that initial incident, and seemed to always contain herself from acting on her own ord.
¡¸I mean, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re midbat or anything, but I don¡¯t think Reena should be the collected one here, don¡¯t you think?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. It seems I had gotten carried away.¡¹
¡¸W-Why don¡¯t we go to the inn?¡¹
¡¸Right. What are we doin¡¯ chit-chattin¡¯ ¡®round here?¡¹
¡¸And who¡¯s fault is that?¡¹
Tatsuya interjected, as Haruna and Hiroshi tried to force the conversation to end there.
¡¸So, why did wee out here, all of a sudden?¡¹
¡¸Right. What happened yesterday, anyway?¡¹
After they had settled down in the inn for a minute, Tatsuya and Makoto brought of the conversation. While this little hot spring town had its own vacation property for the royal family, they had purposefully avoided it in favor of the best inn in town. Naturally their room was the most expensive Royal Suite. In fact, they had rented the entire inn for protection. All expenses paid for by the taxpayers¡ Or the royal family. A certain prince had told the party that, since it was off-season, it didn¡¯t take much to rent out the inn.
In reality, no one in the party knew why they found themselves on this rest-and-rxation trip, rather suddenly. The morning after the infiltration mission, Layotte had showed up at their door, and said:
¡¸We¡¯re taking Elena and Aearis for some rest and rxation at a hot spring. The inn is already booked. Get ready in half an hour.¡¹
And so, the party had scrambled to pack, and came right out here. Of course, packing simply meant putting changes of clothes and the like into their storage. However, checking to see if they had forgotten anything and checking the locks and barriers of the workshop had nearly taken them half an hour, and apparently there was no time for Layotte to exin before they left.
Of course, as soon as they had arrived at Adnae, Layotte had shoved the reservation tickets for the inn, and left them there. Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s jesting earlier was actually actualized in astonishing speed, considering the circumstances.
¡¸I don¡¯t know why he brought us all the way out here, but as for what went down yesterday¡ Thend of the country¡¯s apparently been purified and all. There was Goddess or whatnot who came out, but I ain¡¯t gonna get into all that. She said y¡¯all would see her soon when the time¡¯s right. Better ask her then.¡¹
¡¸As far as missions go, I think it was a sess. We did encounter who seemed like the big bad wolf, but he got away¡ Was getting away when we got out of there, anyway.¡¹
While this exnation was so cursory, it was just about the best they could do. It would be such a long story to exin everything, and there was so much that even the infiltration party didn¡¯t understand.
¡¸I mean, I got the feelin¡¯ he ain¡¯t no big bad wolf. He¡¯s just the lizard¡¯s tail that gettin¡¯ cut off.¡¹
¡¸I agree with Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I can see that. He, like, had a second form, but just acted like a low-level goon.¡¹
Mio and Haruna chimed in with Hiroshi. Haruna was especially brutal, here.
¡¸How goon-ish are we talking, here?¡¹
¡¸Pretty obviously. Like the first mid-boss in a game. He acts like he¡¯s a big shot, but in the end, he¡¯s just another pawn.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto got a good picture from this. In actuality, if all of the Japanese members had faced him off together, they would have finished the job, no problem. The best guess was that he was a double that happened to look like the real big bad wolf.
¡¸So, the Cerberus y¡¯all brought back. Was that on the back end of our mission?¡¹
¡¸More or less.¡¹
The previous day, Hiroshi had been pulled into taking apart the Cerberus corpses soon after recovering, which left them no time to catch up regarding this. What¡¯s worse, only the Cerberus hide and bone were usable as materials, and there were no equipment mutation that asionally urred when taking down a heavily afflicted creature like this one (a rare drop, in other words). For the work it took, he couldn¡¯t say it was worth it.
¡¸And, you got any info on who¡¯s behind all this?¡¹
¡¸There were Summoners, so I have a good guess as to who¡¯s behind it. But we couldn¡¯t take any prisoners, nor any viable corpse. So we can¡¯t be sure.¡¹
Douga exined.
¡¸Alrighty. Summonin¡¯ some Cerberuses, though? That¡¯s pretty hardcore.¡¹
¡¸On the other hand, there were a dozen or so of them to summon three dogs. Those could not have been the top men.¡¹
Summoning Cerberuses was something that didn¡¯t quite sound right to Makoto and Tatsuya, but their memory didn¡¯tpare to Haruna¡¯s. They couldn¡¯t quite ce their finger on the odd feeling, so they gave up on trying to remember it for the time being.
¡¸So, we still don¡¯t know why we¡¯re at a hot spring.¡¹
¡¸I have a general idea.¡¹
Makoto asked after giving up on trying to recall the source of her odd feeling, to which Douga answered with nonchnce.
¡¸Which is?¡¹
¡¸Naturally, there must be some group that wants to set us all up as kidnappers and execute us. From what I hear, Alfemina-sama mentioned your names out loud. It doesn¡¯t matter how well you hide your faces. The workshop will be discovered sooner orter from your names alone.¡¹
The party looked defeated hearing this. It was doubtful if they could even return to Wulls, at this rate.
¡¸Well, Layotte should be out debating those rock-headed politicians as we speak. We should take this as a vacation and enjoy the hot spring.¡¹
Elena said, leaving her brother with all of the responsibility.
¡¸Right. Ten out of ten the wolf¡¯s still out there, and we¡¯re about to get roped into the ck mire of politics, which isn¡¯t our forte. We have to enjoy the little perks while we can.¡¹
Haruna jumped on the bandwagon. She seemed to have already switched her mindset over, singing an improvised song (of a ridiculously high-caliber) about the hot spring boiled eggs.
¡¸Then, I¡¯ll go check on the quality and temperature of the sprin¡¯ water.¡¹
¡¸Thanks. We do have an in-suite kitchen, so I¡¯ll make the sauce for the eggs and the white bean paste.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty.¡¹
With that, Hiroshi and Haruna sprang into action, both following their hearts. The more mature members of the party were astonished by their finesse to bring the conversation back to their initial objective. Their dedication was worthy of acknowledgment, honestly.
Of course, they wouldn¡¯t have a defense to the fact that most of their dedication revolved around food.
¡¸Every time this happens¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Those two have only been around each other for less than two months, right¡?¡¹
¡¸¡Right¡¡¹
Tatsuya mumbled, hearing Makoto point this out. In truth, their M.O.s were so simr, that anyone wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they were lifelong best friends.
¡¸Anywho, watch some crazy woman pick a fight with him while he¡¯s on his own. I¡¯ll go with him.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
Taking out his wallet, Tatsuya followed after Hiroshi, with some sense of obligation. Other than women picking a fight with him, someone could sell him something, taking advantage of his sheepishness, or worse get mugged because of it. In fact, in his early days in Wulls, Hiroshi had often found himself in non-women-rted incidents while on miniscule quests, from which the more experienced adventurers had gotten him out of.
¡¸What should we do, then¡ Why don¡¯t we explore the town a little bit? Elle? Mio? Reena?¡¹
¡¸Okay!¡¹
¡¸Sounds good.¡¹
Aearis and Mio answered as they got up to leave. Rayna didn¡¯t particrly voice her opinion in these cases.
¡¸I think I¡¯ll take advantage of the hot spring while we¡¯re here.¡¹
Elena concluded.
¡¸Then I suppose I¡¯m holding down the fort with Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Looks like it.¡¹
And so, the day was set in motion. After all, everyone in the party would end up enjoying the sudden rest-and-rxation that was shoved down their throats, in their own ways.
Holy crap, y¡¯all!
This transmission was heard by all the Japanese members when Haruna had just about finished the dough for the hot spring steamed buns. Makoto¡¯s group had not returned yet, and the only ones back at the suite were Elena who had returned from the hot spring, as well as Douga (who stayed the entire time) and Haruna, who had been working in the kitchen. Hiroshi had already reported on the hot spring¡¯s temperature, so Haruna had begun boiling the eggs already, with the permission of the inn¡¯s manager.
What happened?
I found somethin¡¯ amazin¡¯! I¡¯ll bring back as much as I can! Meet y¡¯all back at the suite!
While Haruna wasn¡¯t sure what Hiroshi was so excited about, she decided to continue to steam the buns, as she had nothing else to do while she waited.
¡¸What¡¯s the news?¡¹
¡¸Apparently, Hiroshi-kun found something very newsworthy.¡¹
¡¸Hm. I¡¯vee to notice there¡¯s a fifty-fifty chance that what he considers newsworthy only to he and himself. ¡¹
Douga said to Haruna with a chuckle. A few chuckles could be heard from Elena as well, who had been listening in to the conversation from across the room.
¡¸We¡¯re back.¡¹
¡¸Hey, there you are.¡¹
When the first bun was just about done steaming, Makoto¡¯s group returned.
¡¸What¡¯s he freaking out about?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know, but he wouldn¡¯t call everyone together unless it¡¯s something worth the trouble.¡¹
¡¸I mean, Tatsuya¡¯s with him, right? He wouldn¡¯t act like that if it wasn¡¯t worth it.¡¹
¡¸Right?¡¹
They chatted away as Haruna took out a steamed bun. After tasting the first, Haruna took out the second one from the steam basket for Aearis, who had been extremely fidgety.
¡¸Here you go, Elle-chan. It¡¯s very hot, so be careful.¡¹
Hearing this, Aearis blew on the bun to cool it as she politely took small bits. When she bit through the weird texture of the exterior, the elegant sweetness of the white bean paste spread in her mouth. Dreamy eyed from the mysterious, new sweet vor, she finished the bun with impable etiquette as usual.
¡¸Elle-chan. You always have a st eating, don¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Seriously. Put her on a foodmercial. She¡¯ll be a celebrity.¡¹
Chuckling at Aearis¡¯ behavior, Makoto took a bit out of her bun. While this iteration utilized the lesser-known white bean paste, it was nice to have a Japanese dessert for the first time in a while. Even Mio was enjoying a freshly steamed bun with thinning eyes.
¡¸So, what happened to the boiled eggs?¡¹
¡¸I think they should be ready, actually.¡¹
¡¸Ooh, can we taste itter?¡¹
¡¸Sounds like a n.¡¹
As they nned another tasting, they handed out the buns to Douga, Elena, and Rayna.
¡¸Wow, those guys are taking forever.¡¹
¡¸You think they¡¯re in trouble?¡¹
The very ones who called for the meeting werete. As the women spected, Haruna prepared more buns while watching for Elena¡¯s and Aearis¡¯ reactions to them. Makoto simply decided to watch her. Truth be told, there was not much to do in the suite.
¡¸Sorry we¡¯rete!¡¹
¡¸Got a little greedy out there, took us longer than we thought. ¡¹
Tatsuya and Hiroshi returned when Haruna had started thinking about steaming the second batch of buns.
¡¸So what did you find, anyway?¡¹
¡¸This ol¡¯ thin¡¯ right here.¡¹
What Hiroshi produced in response to Makoto¡¯s question was¡
¡¸Is that¡!?¡¹
¡¸Rice!?¡¹
¡¸Ya betcha. A Japanese breed, at that.¡¹
The Japanese women in the room froze in excitement. If this was true¡
¡¸We can have curry on rice?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t forget ¡®bout beef and rice bowls, rice omelets, and of course, sushi.¡¹
¡¸Rice and miso soup¡ Stew and grilled fish¡¡¹
¡¸We can do ¡®em all!¡¹
Hiroshi eximed, triggering a thunderous cheer among the Japanese members. The members of the party native to Fane, however, watched this with a puzzled look. While they weren¡¯t quite sure what was happening, they could see that this was an incredible breakthrough for the all the Japanese members.
¡¸So¡ How much of it do we have?¡¹
¡¸Lessee¡ What we were able to gathers about¡ Six or seven pounds of grain?¡¹
¡¸Okay. Not a lot to spare¡¡¹
¡¸There was still a field full, so there¡¯s enough out there to get a major harvest in.¡¹
Hiroshi noted, to which the other members jumped on.
¡¸The thin¡¯ is, it was just growin¡¯ on its own. No selective breedin¡¯ been done here, ya can¡¯t expect it to taste as good as we¡¯re used to.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re not going to be picky. It¡¯s rice!¡¹
Haruna said, more serious than ever.
¡¸Speaking up, what are we doing for lunch?¡¹
¡¸Lord Layotte has told us to make our own if want any. They didn¡¯t have time to prepare lunch at the inn during the sudden arrangements.¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s borrow the kitchen to make curry on rice!¡¹
Haruna dered, erupting more cheers. Odd how Aearis joined in on the excitement of the Japanese members.
¡¸Then I¡¯ll let y¡¯all go get any ingredients we need. Brother and I¡¯ll start threshin¡¯ and polishin¡¯ the rice.¡¹
¡¸Okay!¡¹
Responding with unparalleled enthusiasm, the Japanese women left the adults of Fane behind. Elena, who had been lost in the overwhelming and confusingmotion, finally said:
¡¸What in the world is going on?¡¹
¡¸Lon¡¯ story short, we found rice, the food to our hearts, so we can finally eat curry on rice, our national dish, for the first time in months.¡¹
¡¸¡I ampletely lost¡¡¹
This didn¡¯t resonate with Elena, who had never been in a situation without a shred of her native cooking. Of course, the same went for Aearis and Rayne, but they jumped into the excitement nheless.
¡¸May I ask a question?¡¹
Aearis spoke, an important question on her mind.
¡¸What¡¯s that, Elle?¡¹
¡¸Does this dish¡ Taste good?¡¹
¡¸The best.¡¹
Hiroshi reassured her with a brimming smile. Now, expectation were set high.
¡¸Now, I¡¯ll go prep ¡®em.¡¹
He dered with the same smile as he cradled the precious cargo out, along with Tatsuya. Haruna began making a list of other ingredients required to make curry on rice. Ovee by her curiosity, Aearis followed Hiroshi out. This was the day that the party had finally acquired the biggest piece of the puzzle to recreating Japanese cuisine, rice.
The kitchen of Hotel Laguna, the most prestigious and extravagant hotel in Adnae, was taken over by a brand new, mysterious scent.
¡¸Again, thank you so much for letting us borrow the kitchen.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s not a problem, but¡¡¹
The head chef responded to Haruna, reassuring her. Some of the hotel¡¯s guests in the past were high profile (Dukes, for example) so this kind of request wasn¡¯t all that unusual. Especially for guests of the Royal Suite, many of them would request a dish prepared by their personal chef, would borrow the kitchen to make it happen.
So, this situation where an adventurer-looking woman cooking in the kitchen did not pose a problem. She even cleaned herself up uponing in, and took her ce in the corner of the kitchen out of everyone¡¯s way. The head chef saw no reason to make aint.
The problem was that he had no idea what she was making. While cooking up some mysterious white substance in the wok she brought it in, Haruna was also boiling down something in her pot. Judging by her detailed adjustments to the me below the white substance, the head chef could see that this one required a rather delicate process. The substance was producing a scent unfamiliar to the chef. It wasn¡¯t an unpleasant smell, but he didn¡¯t have absolute confidence that what he was smelling was edible.
In the pot, the chef could spot the vegetables and meat that Haruna had lightly seared earlier, simmering in a bizarre dark soup that seemed to a mixture of flour and some sort of spice blend. While it looked rather¡ weird, theplex scent of the various spices was somehow appetizing.
Since the entire hotel was privately rented out (under some powerful influence the chef knew no details about) the kitchen wasn¡¯t being used at the moment, anyway. This allowed all the chefs to observe this teenage girl adventurer cook.
¡¸What are you cooking there?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s something from my homnd. We pour it over the grain I¡¯m cooking over here.¡¹
Smiling with brimming joy, Haruna continued to check the rice and stir the pot.
¡¸Mm. A little longer on the rice¡¡¹
Observing the wok with the lid closed, she asionally stirred it around. The chef was suspicious of the white grain that showed some mysterious reactions along the way, but Haruna seemed to only be concerned with the me.
¡¸Curry looks good¡¡¹
Checking on the carrots, potatoes, etc., in the pot, Haruna put out the stove and looked at the other pot.
¡¸A little more steam, and that should be good.¡¹
And so, everything appeared to be satisfactory. Putting out the mes, Haruna took out some vegetables that could be eaten raw, and began steadily chopping them.
¡¸A sd of raw greens? Would you allow us?¡¹
¡¸Oh sure. If you don¡¯t mind.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s our pleasure.¡¹
The head chef, who had been watching in awe, jumped in when Haruna transitioned to cooking something they were familiar with (and quite frankly anyone could handle). He wanted to avoid ending up just watching Haruna prepare the entire thing.
¡¸That should do it.¡¹
Haruna said, looking into the wok after admiring the head chef¡¯s ting of the sds. When she lifted the lid off, each tiny white droplet shone with a hint of stardom. After mixing the contents of the wok with a tool none of the chefs had seen before, as if to pull out the steam, or mix the air together, Haruna took a tiny portion and tasted it.
¡¸Hmm¡ It could use a little more sweetness and stickiness. I guess it¡¯s a wild strand so it can¡¯t be helped.¡¹
¡°But not bad at all¡± she mumbled as she reached to portion them out on the tes she borrowed. Finally, the head chef decided to ask his burning question:
¡¸Excuse me, madam. What in the world is that white grain?¡¹
¡¸Oh, we call it rice. Hiroshi-kun said they were growing out in a swamp around here.¡¹
¡¸Swamp? Could it be¡?¡¹
¡¸Do you know something about it?¡¹
Nodding in response, the head chef told gave some simple background about the swamp. The short story was that there were no suitable walkways there, and there were many aggressive monsters, which kept the locals away. Adnae held argeke to its northwest, from which a river flowed (the source of all water for the town) all the way down to the port town of Merije. As a result, they almost always had plenty of food to go around. In addition, this river barely had any dangerous creatures lurking in it, despite itsrge size.
So, everyone in town was apparently aware of the wild grain in the swamp, but no one had bothered to look into what it was.
¡¸We have plenty of food, exports, and farnd, so none of us thought to go research a nt growing in a dangerous location.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
It made sense. Haruna had a feeling that Fane in general seemed to miss out on delicious things with this kind of mentality.
¡¸Well, would you like to try it?¡¹
¡¸Please!¡¹
Bursting out a chuckle at the head chef¡¯s passionate enthusiasm, Haruna ted enough rice and curry for the chefs to taste it. In these kinds of establishments, it would be more proper to serve the rice and curry separately, or half-and-half on the te, but Haruna decided to pour the curry directly on the rice, as most households would serve it.
This was the historical moment when curry on rice was discovered in Fane.
¡¸In my country, we would serve it with something called Fukujinzuke, but unfortunately we didn¡¯t expect to find rice like this so I haven¡¯t prepared any.¡¹
Haruna noted as she handed over the te with a spoon. The head chef squints at the (not visually appetizing) dish. After some moments, he inserted his spoon where there was a good mixture of rice and curry, and took a bite.
¡¸¡Despite its appearance, it tastes very refined¡¡¹
¡¸This¡ rice, was it? Holds back the spice of the sauce, just enough¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s delicious¡ I could eat a barrel full of this¡ ¡¹
The team of top-notch chefs fire offpliments left and right. Haruna seemed more relieved by this than ttered. Many westerner would not be ustomed to the taste of rice (Japanese strands, at least) but these were renowned chefs. They seemed to pick up on the faint sweetness, unique to wild-grown rice. As the chefs continued to express their impression of the dish¡
¡¸¡It¡¯s not fair¡¡¹
Aearis said, in a begrudging tone after appearing in the kitchen. Her sentence was apanied by a begrudging re.
¡¸I have been waiting with unbearable anticipation as there is no announcement for dinner, so here I am, wondering what has gone wrong¡¡¹
¡¸S-Sorry, Elle-chan¡¡¹
¡¸I am well aware how entitled this may sound, but to someone desperately longing for supper, this smell is almost unbearable¡¡¹
¡¸S-Sorry! I¡¯ll take some up, right away!¡¹
Startled by Aearis¡¯ begrudging tone, Haruna rushed to prepare the food to take up to their room. What awaited her in the Royal Suite was¡
¡¸Finally¡¡¹
Hiroshi started off.
¡¸I knew we had to wait for you to cook the rice, but that was an eternity¡¡¹
¡¸Haru¡ Curry¡¡¹
¡¸You built it up so much just to tease us¡¡¹
Tatsuya, Mio, and Makoto (collectively AKA the SJC, or Starving Japanese Children).
¡¸I-I know, I¡¯m sorry! Coming right up!¡¹
Haruna said, as she hurriedly ted the rice and curry, along with the sd.
¡¸We do have boiled eggs, too.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m going vani for my first te!¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re already ounting for seconds, huh¡?¡¹
The SJC were unstoppable. Haruna could only gaze into space in response to Tatsuya¡¯s deration.
¡¸A-Any case, let¡¯s enjoy it while it¡¯s hot.¡¹
Elena, who had been almost scared by the SJC¡¯s reaction, attempted to bring the train back on track. Even though she would never put herself out there like Aearis had, she couldn¡¯t deny her gnawing hunger.
¡¸Then, thank you for our meal.¡¹
Following Haruna¡¯s cue, the Japanese members showed gratitude for their meal, followed by the native members of Fane finishing their pre-meal prayer. While no one was waiting to start eating, they all managed to take their first bite at almost the same time.
¡¸Mmm! This is the stuff!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s so good¡¡¹
Makoto had gone three months, and even Tatsuya had gone two weeks without rice. When it came to curry on rice specifically, even Tatsuya hadn¡¯t had one in about a month. That may not sound too bad, but both Tatsuya and Makoto had been eating rice three meals a day. Most Japanese people start missing rice as soon as a week into studying or working abroad. Their reactions were not overly dramatic.
¡¸It doesn¡¯t look like it, but this dish is really refined.¡¹
¡¸The spices! I could eat a kitchen full of this.¡¹
The Fane natives were entranced by this new dish, enjoyed in a different way than the curry bun. Curry, by the way, was heavily modified through the Japanese culinary culture. As an old-timeymercial once said, even Indians would be surprised. Nowadays, curry was the dish that represented Japan, more so than India, where it originated. Haruna, a cook of the highest caliber, had put her heart and soul into this particr rendition, with no regrets in the process. There was no cause for this dish to taste anything less than exceptional. Still, seeing Elena and Aearis (who both had well-developed palettes) enjoying the dish as much as Rayna (who seemed to prefer simple, bold vors) the Japanese members couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the Fane natives had palettes for rice, after all.
¡¸¡What¡¯s wrong, Rayna-san?¡¹
¡¸Oh, no, I mean¡¡¹
Rayna had cleared her te entirely, save for a smudge of sauce, and had been staring at it with a contemtive expression on her face. It didn¡¯t look like she hadn¡¯t enjoyed the dish, only that she was hesitating to say something.
¡¸If ya want seconds, ya just gotta speak up.¡¹
¡¸¡Can I¡?¡¹
Rayna asked timidly, and Haruna took her te with a smile. Watching this, Aearis donned an expression of envy. She wanted to eat more, but she was getting full.
¡¸Will there be enough for everyone, still?¡¹
Douga asked.
¡¸Mm-hm. I made enough so everyone could have seconds.¡¹
¡¸Then, might I ask for seconds, too? I seem to have worked up an appetite after yesterday¡¯s fiasco. I¡¯m getting too old for all that.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
Haruna smiled cheerfully, hearing the raving reaction to her curry on rice. Haruna herself, in fact, didn¡¯t have seconds. Of course, Tatsuya and Makoto (especially Makoto) ate enough to make up for it.
¡¸Ahh, that was good¡¡¹
¡¸This could keep me going for another half year¡¡¹
Tatsuya and Mio had thoroughly revelled in the prodigal grains of rice, the curry they had dreamt about, and finally uttered these words from the bottom of their hearts. Even Mio, who usually didn¡¯t eat as much as the other members, had cleared two servings.
¡¸So, how much more rice can we get?¡¹
After their food had settled, Makoto asked the question on everyone¡¯s mind.
¡¸Hmm¡ A barrel¡¯s worth at best, lookin¡¯ at the size of thend they¡¯re growin¡¯ on.¡¹
¡¸How much are we talking here, exactly?¡¹
¡¸60 kilos. Definitely won¡¯tst the nine of us a month if eat ¡®em three meals a day.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s not much¡¡¹
Makoto sunk in defeat upon hearing this. She had gotten her hopes up that they might be able to eat rice again like they used to in Japan.
¡¸That¡¯s with the future in mind, ¡®course.¡¹
¡¸The future?¡¹
¡¸We can get some more now if we ain¡¯t leavin¡¯ anythin¡¯ for next year.¡¹
Makoto groaned at the conundrum.
¡¸So, Hiroshi-kun. What is it like there?¡¹
¡¸Pretty big, actually. They called it a swamp, but it¡¯s all dried up now, so we can walk ¡®round it. I asked some local folks, and they said the water dries up naturally from around this time until that start of spring, naturally. And the wateres back ¡®round the time when they¡¯d be ntin¡¯ the crops in Japan.¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t that pretty ideal?¡¹
¡¸Sure is. The natural rotation of the water and soil would allow for continuous croppin¡¯ and it seems like the climate and weather ¡®round here¡¯s simr to Japan.¡¹
Which must have lead to the wild-grown strand¡¯s simrity to Japanese rice. Elena, who had been listening in, said:
¡¸Then it may not be a bad idea to collect some specimens and grow them.¡¹
¡¸If we can convince Layotte, it would be very possible. ¡¹
¡¸I agree. What a shame tobel this exquisite dish a delicacy simply because we can only harvest one of its ingredients in the wild.¡¹
The two princesses were running amok with this idea. Hiroshi cracked a grin watching them. This was the first step of Fane developing their rice farms. Everyone here would have guessed that establishing the basic routine would take a decade (if they were lucky), but a surprising someone would provide apanying knowledge in a surprising fashionter on, which led to rice bing the most ubiquitous food in Fane within ten years. Of course, no one could foresee that much at this time.
¡¸Now, we should go enjoy the hot springs while we¡¯re here.¡¹
After some post-meal down time, Haruna saw that food seemed to settle in everyone¡¯s stomach, and asked the girls to a dip in the spring. Hiroshi and Tatsuya, by the way, had went out again to search for more rice, apanying Douga, this time.
¡¸Sure. We haven¡¯t used the hot springs once.¡¹
¡¸In hot springs¡ It¡¯s rude not to prune.¡¹
Makoto and Mio seemed to have no objections. So, the group left behind had decided to head on out to the grand bath.
¡¸I didn¡¯t expect these ssy hotels to have amunal bath.¡¹
¡¸Most people in Fane usemunal baths.¡¹
¡¸Communal baths, hot springs¡ Fane is weirdly simr to Japan in some ways.¡¹
¡¸You think so too, Mio-chan?¡¹
Sure, Fane was blessed with abundant water, but their bathing culture was still uncannily simr to that of Japan¡¯s. The notable difference was that in Fane, most household didn¡¯t quite have their own bathtub, yet.
¡¸¡?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s up, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Did you see that weird looking thing walk past?¡¹
Haruna said, as she chased after the ¡°thing¡± around the corner, to see¡
¡¸That¡¯s weird looking¡¡¹
¡¸That is weird looking¡¡¹
In front of them was a creature, with limbs directly attached to a turnip-like body, on top of which was a very chiseled face (reminiscent of the statues from Easter ind) with a spinach-looking leaf sprouting from it. It was trotting over to the bathhouse, with a towel on its shoulder (-ish appendage). Mio and Makoto couldn¡¯t contain their reaction.
¡¸I-I¡¯m terribly sorry!¡¹
As they stared at the strangely suspicious¡ thing, a female worker of the hotel came rushing to capture it. This woman had been in and out of the kitchen, earlier. The thing writhed, being dangled by its leaf in the woman¡¯s hand. It looked rather eerie.
¡¸U-Um¡¡¹
¡¸I am terribly sorry we allowed it to enter the premises!¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s okay¡ What is that thing, anyway?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a vegetable called Pomey.¡¹
¡¸Vegetable!?¡¹
Haruna screamed, taken aback. Its name was deceptively cute, but a vegetable!?
¡¸It¡¯s a specialty of this area, but unlike its taste, it has a rather tricky habitat¡¡¹
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸It multiplies by dipping in the hot spring.¡¹
¡¸Excuse me?¡¹
The group¡¯s collective jaw dropped to the floor.
¡¸Um¡ Really?¡¹
¡¸Yes. It is breeding, if you can call it that, season. If you would like to see for yourselves?¡¹
¡¸Ooh, I think I do.¡¹
¡¸I want to look.¡¹
Haruna and Makoto answered, and the princesses agreed. Encountering strange things like these is part of the fun of travelling, after all.
¡¸Then, please follow me.¡¹
Ignoring the thing (now wailing) the worker headed to the breeding ground (?) which was one of the hot spring baths. Apparently, this was an annual urrence.
¡¸Ooh¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s a lot of them.¡¹
They were countless Pomeys in the hot spring, their gruff faces rxed, floating around. Disregarding the group (observing this scene with slight terror) the work tossed the Pomey into the water. The Pomey struggled mid-air along the way, until it plopped into the water and released all tension from its face. It was quite bizarre.
¡¸Oh¡¡¹
Suddenly, a Pomey the size of an almond plopped to the surface. Multiplying must be the correct term here, but just from looking at it, the best one could do to describe this would have been to call it ¡°breeding¡± in the hot springs.
¡¸¡So, how do you eat them?¡¹
¡¸Allow me¡¡¹
The worker answered Mio¡¯s half-curious, half-dubious question with action. She started by scooping up a few grown Pomeys with a. She also scooped up a good number of newly sprouted (with no limbs but prominent faces and spinach hair) and put them aside.
The mountain of young Pomey were screeching, but the worker still paid them no mind. This was definitely not her first time doing this. She also ignored the cries of the adult Pomeys that she had hung up after scooping them out.
¡¸Frist, we cut off the leaf¡¡¹
Positioning the right over its eyes, she sliced off the leaf as if to cut off a stem. The Pomey particrly put up a fight here, but the worker¡¯s hands were steady. As soon as the stem was off, the Pomey fell motionless.
¡¸Then its limbs¡¡¹
Smoothly, she continued to slice off the limbs of the motionless Pomey, to where only the face was left.
¡¸After that, you can chop it up into bite-size, and cook them however. Sometimes, we will grind it to add some vor to a soup.¡¹
¡¸Why do you cut off the leaf first?¡¹
Haruna asked, after watching the Pomey put up such a fight.
¡¸Otherwise, they would explode.¡¹
¡¸¡Are you sure that thing¡¯s a vegetable?¡¹
Haruna, who normally say things that warrant a quizzical look like this, couldn¡¯t help but ask. Makoto was watching this with utter amazement, speechless.
¡¸If you cut off any of its limbs or try to cut it down the middle before cutting off the stem, it explodes. If you don¡¯t cut the stem off entirely, it will also explode.¡¹
¡¸Th-That sounds dangerous¡¡¹
¡¸Every year, we¡¯ll have an injury or two from the explosion.¡¹
A self-destructive vegetable that would injure the chef. This thing would bring into question the most basic definition of ¡°vegetable.¡±
¡¸I want to taste it.¡¹
¡¸Me too. But I¡¯m not too hungry, so I don¡¯t know if I can eat too much of it¡¡¹
¡¸It will be used for tonight¡¯s dinner, don¡¯t worry.¡¹
¡¸Are you sure we have nothing to worry about?¡¹
Makoto finally interjected, which caused a stir of chuckles. The problem was, the worker was not kidding. By the way, the leaf tasted like spinach, and its face like daikon radish, both without the bitterness, which made Pomey rather tasty and ptable.
¡¸Oh, and another thing worth noting¡¡¹
The work said, after exining which dishes the Pomey could be used for, and dunked the leaf back into the hot spring. Then, the Pomey started growing from the leaf in front of their eyes, and thirty secondster, a Pomey (identical to the one before) floated to the surface.
¡¸ce the leaf in the hot spring, and it will regenerate right away.¡¹
¡¸Eesh¡¡¹
The group reacted with utter disgust to the narian-like regeneration.
¡¸Are you really, really, sure that we can eat these?¡¹
¡¸Once saliva touches the leaf, it doesn¡¯t regenerate anymore.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see¡¡¹
¡¸By the way, there was this one idiot who tried to bite one whole, assuming it wouldn¡¯t explode, only to¡¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t want to hear it! I don¡¯t want to hear it!¡¹
Haruna sped her ears to protect herself from the gruesome tale with all of her might.
¡¸Anywho, what are the small ones you have set aside over there.¡¹
¡¸They are vegetables, after all. We have to weed out some of them to maintain growth and taste.¡¹
The worker answered Elena, with a more grounded reason than expected. It was weird to see its more vegetable-y characteristics.
¡¸So, you¡¯re going to get rid of those?¡¹
¡¸Yes. We will throw some spells at them to make them explode. The little ones won¡¯t cause much damage when they pop, either.¡¹
A pretty aggressive method of weeding out the crop.
¡¸Hmm¡¡¹
¡¸Something on your mind, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸It seems like a waste, doesn¡¯t it¡?¡¹
¡¸The little ones?¡¹
Haruna nodded in response to Elena¡¯s confirmation. Despite her disgust a moment ago, Haruna had already saw these things as valuable ingredients. The mindset of a professional cook.
¡¸A waste¡? They are pretty dangerous.¡¹
¡¸But they don¡¯t explode that badly, right?¡¹
Haruna said, staring at them.
¡¸May I touch them?¡¹
¡¸Go ahead.¡¹
With the permission of the worker, Haruna picked up a young Pomey. After observing it closely, a light bulb appeared over her head.
¡¸May I use the kitchen again?¡¹
¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹
She seemed to have a use in mind for the little ones, she produced a basket from her bag, and loaded some of the young Pomeys on it.
¡¸I¡¯m going to do some experiments.¡¹
¡¸Have fun.¡¹
¡¸Do what you will, but I would prefer it if we weren¡¯t roped into it.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re not off the hook, Reena-san. You¡¯re going to be the guinea pi¡ taster.¡¹
¡¸¡I have never longed to go back in time more¡¡¹
With some banter like that, the party left Haruna to herb, and returned to the suite. They had nned to y some games, with the losers lined up to taste whatever Haruna was going to cook up.
And so, an hour passed, when Haruna returned with¡
¡¸That¡¯s really creepy¡¡¹
¡¸The color¡¯s scary¡¡¹
Pickled small Pomeys in a bottle, with their stem cleanly removed, their expression of agony stained magenta.
¡¸How did you get this color, anyway?¡¹
¡¸Red grapes.¡¹
¡¸See, that part sounds nice. Looking at this thing, though¡¡¹
Elena said, drawing a chuckle from Haruna.
¡¸So, who lost?¡¹
¡¸I did!¡¹
¡¸Me too, I suppose¡¡¹
Aearis jumped up in response, in contrast to Rayna¡¯s gloom expression. Aearis was ready to enjoy her penalty.
¡¸Then take a bite together in one, two¡¡¹
They picked one out of the bottle, and plopped them in their mouths on Haruna¡¯s mark. With a crunch¡
¡¸!?¡¹
¡¸Oops, I knew there¡¯d be a few stems left on them¡¡¹
¡¸But it¡¯s so fresh, tart, and delicious.¡¹
Aearis (who was fortunate enough to have one of the non-exploding variety of Pomey) dered with a brimming smile as she reached for another.
¡¸I did taste them, so don¡¯t worry about them tasting bad.¡¹
¡¸This may be a good idea as a little game of courage during parties. Leaving in some of them with the stems still on, of course.¡¹
Makoto and Mio look at Elena aghast in response to her trigger-happy proposition. Rayna, who had be the butt of the joke for the evening, was groaning on her knees from the damage she suffered in her mouth.
Volume 1, 14
Volume 1, Chapter 14
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸We pretty much ain¡¯t got nothin¡¯ more to do in terms of healing.¡¹
Whether it be from medical interview or Mio¡¯s palpations, the results gave Hiroshi the confidence to dere Elena¡¯s state. After a week of healing in the hot springs, Hiroshi and the others had returned, immediately finishing Elena¡¯s examination.
¡¸Right. Which means I no longer have any purpose in staying here.¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
Elena murmured dejectedly, and Mio nodded with a simr expression. Though they had been there only for a short time, she had grown quite fond of the soft-spoken girl.
¡¸Well, I think it¡¯s up to Lay to decide.¡¹
¡¸Even so, I doubt that he could postpone things very much. Besides, since he instructed us to finish up the bathing ande back, that means that everything is ready for Aearis and I.¡¹
¡¸True¡¡¹
Hiroshi agreed with what Elena had said. Elenaing back meant that Aearis would also be returning to the pce.
¡¸So how far should we tag along with y¡¯all?¡¹
¡¸Not really sure myself. I think you would at least be meeting with Father¡¡¡¹
Elena made a disturbed face as she said that. Hiroshi and Mio had sour expressions. There was the simple fact that they weren¡¯t familiar with etiquette, so that would be a drag, but more troublesome than that:
¡¸From everything I¡¯ve heard, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any assurance that we¡¯lle out in one piece.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I unfortunately can¡¯t deny that.¡¹
Mio¡¯sment and Elena¡¯s reply demonstrated just how troublesome their situation was.
¡¸If Father, Layotte, and the High Priest did their parts well, then at least on the surface, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone who condemns you as criminals.¡¹
¡¸However, even if you ¡®n Elle don¡¯t bring up any issues, we don¡¯t know that there aren¡¯t other ways to fabricate cases against us¡¡¡¹
¡¸Though it¡¯s true that the monarchy allows plenty of special privileges, nobles can¡¯t just go around and fabricate crimes and felonies. The administration of justice here isn¡¯t that rotten. To add further, as long as there is no clear sign of having affronted or ndered someone, you can¡¯t be convicted of lese majeste or defamation. I at least guarantee that.¡¹
¡¸On the flipside, if theye up withpelling evidence, we could be made criminals at any moment.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cause it feels like that sorta bunch would at least perfect that. Besides, if they¡¯re liable to even practically make up defamation usations, that in itself is scary.¡¹
Clearly getting that Hiroshi and Mio did not trust the imperial court nor the government, Elena found herself sighing, unable to argue.
¡¸It¡¯s quite vexing to be utterly powerless in this regard, despite all that you¡¯ve done for me¡¡¹
The fact that she roped these generous, life-saving people into a totally unrted political war, unable to do anything to be of use to them¡To Elena, who was possessed by a strong sense of duty, this reality was harsh in many ways.
¡¸Well, either way, we¡¯re probably totally on the mastermind¡¯s radar, so it¡¯s not like we have any option other than to give it our all and jump into the fight.¡¹
As Elena wasmenting at her own powerlessness, Haruna had just returned with some tea, giving her words of console. Incidentally, this was at about the same time that Hiroshi was discussing defamation.
¡¸Mark¡¯s probably already been there since savin¡¯ Elle.¡¹
¡¸If anything, it would be weird for him not to be marked, right?¡¹
Even assuming their identity had been known fairly recently, it wouldn¡¯t be odd if their very existence was detected from when they had struck down the piaranocks. The only reason why their opponent had not acted was probably because it was unclear as to whether Aearis was alive or dead, and they had feared bringing unnecessary trouble upon themselves.
In actuality, just like the case this time, it was possible to deduce that their opponent hadid traps in the event that they were saved by unbelievably good luck. The skink lizard¡¯s tail had told them as much. The only potential w in their nning was that they hadn¡¯t envisioned Hiroshi and Haruna being high-ss enough to break through all the traps they had encountered.
¡¸Anyhoo, the biggest problem right now¡¡¹
¡¸Sensei, this would be fatal in your case.¡¹
¡¸Heck, I don¡¯t even want Hiroshi to go to any public parties. It would suck if something simr were to happen to the time when we saved Elle-chan.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s that too¡ But even before all that gynophobia business, stuff like personal connections, bargaining¡ I can¡¯t do nothin¡¯ in regards to those things.¡¹
On top of his helpless fear of women, Hiroshi was also no good at interpersonal rtionships. Even if he were to engage with only males, being forced to bear the brunt of negotiations, he wouldn¡¯t know what kinds of promises he¡¯d be forced to make.
¡¸That¡¯s where I think Tatsuya and I will have to do our best. Makoto-san states her opinion all the time, so it doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯d be suited for the kind of situation where you need to put on airs, and then with Mio-chan, before we even address her personality or the way she speaks, her age just isn¡¯t going to cut it.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d probably just be treated like an extra. So I expect a lot from Haru¡¯s beauty and Tatsu¡¯s handsome aura.¡¹
¡¸Although it¡¯s not like I have confidence in that field¡¡¡¹
Judging solely from physical characteristics, it was true that Haruna had a seriously attractive body to males, but to the astonishment of many, she had no further skill in that area. There was of course the fact that she dressed modestly, but the overlying cause was probably that she was inclined to talk about food. She ate as much as the average person, but that was exactly why she had an uncanny passion for cuisine.
On top of that, Haruna never based any of her actions off of how she thought men might view her. Of course, since she did have a firm sense of shame for her gender, she wouldn¡¯t do anything reckless either, but since she had no intention of being popr with males, she did nothing that would be seen by most females as flirting, or appealing to men. This was probably one of the main reasons why Layotte felt that she wascking in the femininity department.
¡¸Actually, I think it would be better for you to try and hang around youngdies who are upright in all they do. After all, anyone who gets bewitched by the mor of a girl and her outfits will just get in the way in this situation.¡¹
¡¸Umm, is it me, or is someone demanding something ridiculously difficult from me?¡¹
¡¸It wouldn¡¯t be difficult for someone like you.¡¹
Haruna found herself smiling wryly at Elena and her stamp of approval.
¡¸Well, we can leave the negotiating to Tatsuya-san, right?¡¹
¡¸In a sense, Tatsu is pretty specialized in that area.¡¹
Tatsuya, who had worked in the engineering business in Japan, knew all about how to ease his clients¡¯ unreasonable requests into the realm of possibility. It was all in a day¡¯s work for him to push back at unreasonable demands with his own unreasonable demands, so in the case this time, it was the perfect chance to show just how much of a wiz he was with knowledge.
And then there was Mio, who should normally be trying the hardest out of all them. Appearance-wise, age-wise, and even personality-wise, she didn¡¯t even have what it takes to socialize with a tanuki. She was more like a thief that specialized in treasure hunting, possibly an even more obvious target than Hiroshi.
¡¸At any rate, it¡¯s dependent on our next agenda, so there isn¡¯t any point deciding all the particrs right now.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Just gotta wing it.¡¹
As they were discussing those things, a bell rang, signalling the presence of two visitors they knew very well.
¡¸And we got another ¡°speak of the devil¡± moment here.¡¹
¡¸So for now, I guess we can¡¯t just be all nonchnt like we¡¯ve always been¡¡¹
¡¸If anything, we¡¯ve been TOO nonchnt till now.¡¹
A wry smile escaped Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s faces at Mio¡¯s interjection. Needless to say, they knew full well.
¡¸Well, the whole case is at its climax. May as well put some backbone into finishin¡¯ it.¡¹
¡¸Backbone!¡¹
Reaffirming their resolve, they all headed down into the reception room. The biggest story thus far in Fane began to elerate toward the end faster and faster, little by little.
¡¸Owowowow!¡¹
Haruna¡¯s screaming could be heard from the guest fitting room in Wulls Castle.
¡¸My ribs! MY RIBS!!¡¹
¡¸It is befitting of ady to be prudent. Please, do show some restraint.¡¹
¡¸D-Don¡¯t be ridiculous!¡¹
Her shoulders kicked, the corset was squeezed over her hips to the point where her ribs were groaning in protest. Haruna strained to revolt as her breath grew fainter and fainter. Makoto had already given up the prospect ofining, with faraway eyes that looked like dead fish. Meanwhile, Mio was looking at them like it wasn¡¯t her problem. After all:
¡¸This child-size corset is quite easy to get into¡¡¡¹
This was because Mio had things easy with the soft children¡¯s corset.
As Mio didn¡¯t even have enough muscle in her body to be considered healthy, she didn¡¯t have much of a waist to be constricted by the normal corset. The thickness of her hips was under the height requirement, and her height hadn¡¯t even reached that of an average child, so there was never any chance of any adult corsets fitting her. Looking at her overall appearance, although she had indeed left the toddler stage, even a Japanese person could not deny how bad her growth was. It would be a lot more effective to fill her with padding to create protrusions, rather than constrict her in a corset.
Makoto was the same in the protrusion department, orck thereof. Though she had a fairly well-shaped waist, it was a bit thicker than the ideal shape, and even wearing splendid clothes, it still looked like she could use some padding despite her body¡¯s constriction. Now, when it came to Haruna, her physical appearance and body type would always be ideal, so the sight of someone like her with all of her assets being forcibly stuffed into this was just disastrous.
Furthermore, this shouldn¡¯t even have to be said, but Haruna and Makoto had waists far thinner than the majority of waists in the world. In Haruna¡¯s case, for example, even without a corset around her, her thin waist was in the perfect, precarious bnce where it was one step away from being sickening to look at, had it grown any thicker. Honestly, they didn¡¯t have to go to all this trouble to bind her naturally beautiful silhouette, but perhaps it was best to just ept it as the difference betweenmon sense and aesthetic sense.
¡¸T-This is just temporary sewing. Was there really a, need to bind it so tight¡¡?¡¹
¡¸This is precisely because it is temporary.¡¹
Haruna was about ready to be teary eyed at this unapproachable clothing expert. Maybe not for Hiroshi, but in her case, it was rare for Haruna to be trapped in this sort of predicament. However, neither of them exactly had enough willpower left to convey their feelings about this. After all:
¡¸We already get this strained in the hip area, and now there¡¯s this freakin¡¯ false bottom¡¡¡¹
¡¸I really should have gotten yours, Haru¡¡¡¹
She said this because in order to make her dress line as exaggerated as possible, they had shoved a staggering amount of padding into her chest area. The term ¡°exaggeration¡± was truly eptable for how far they went.
Still, Mio was in a much better position, with there still being some wiggle room in her shoulder area or nk area. With Makoto and her dress open at the breast, she hadn¡¯t even been given an option in the first ce. After all, there was not enough flesh to cover her shoulder and nk areas, so she couldn¡¯t fool anyone.
¡¸All things considered, you have such remarkable proportions, yet you find the need to resist exposing yourself¡¡¹
¡¸¡Got a problem with that?¡¹
¡¸No, I was simply thinking that you truly understand the proper way to present yourself.¡¹
¡¸Wha?¡¹
Haruna¡¯s eyes became dots in response to this strange area of appreciation. She hadn¡¯t exactly reduced her skin exposure because she was fixated on ¡°properly presenting¡± herself. She just didn¡¯t feel like going out of her way to appeal to some lechers that she didn¡¯t even know, and then risk putting unnecessary pressure on Hiroshi, but it seemed that the dressers had a different interpretation.
¡¸A recent trend amongst the more well-developeddies is to skirt the edge of decency in the disy of skin.¡¹
¡¸And a vocal portion of the gentlemen have lionized such behavior, so that unfortunately served to make some of thesedies be bolder and bolder as they repeated this process¡¡¹
¡¸Going instead so far as to hide one¡¯s assets can indeed be amorous. I was waiting for someone to finally make a bold statement such as that, so when you asked for these specifications, I was especially pleased, Haruna-sama.¡¹
¡¸And so we wish to raise our overall power here and teach both thedies and gentlemen the beauty of hiding things. Clean, refined; the kind of allure that causes anyone with ill intent to hesitate. They must understand just how much more fierce the eros is thates from all these things.¡¹
The three of them drew back with all their might as they experienced the zealous feelings of duty exhibited from the dressers. That being said, since Haruna was at the brunt of all this, she couldn¡¯t just openly sympathize.
¡¸And you two. You look like this doesn¡¯t concern you, but rest assured, there is something we¡¯d like to request you do.¡¹
¡¸Wha?¡¹
¡¸S-Such as?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t have enough time on this asion, so we shall be seeing you off shortly, but as both of your materials are exceedingly good, you had best exaggerate each of your alluring points to the max.¡¹
A rather dangerous look in her eyes, the leader of the dressers had a suspicious smile on her face as she asserted this. Honestly, it was scary.
¡¸In your case, Makoto-sama, there is no material greater than this for proving that a slender, healthy body does not always have to be well-endowed to be appealing. Please do see to it that you carry yourself with the dignity of both body and soul to be a star of hope for all thedies who were not blessed with a protrusion like Haruna-sama.¡¹
¡¸No thank you! I don¡¯t wanna be a star of freaking hope!¡¹
¡¸With Mio-sama¡¯s prematurity, her charmes from her thin, dangerously delicate frame, and this opportunity won¡¯t arrive again. Which is why we had the bold thought of utilizing it to its full potential. For those debutantedies who are recklessly attempting to overreach themselves, we wanted to show them at least once just how powerful a weapon this temporary charm is.¡¹
¡¸B-But, that totally sounds like it would draw the attention of perverts or men with unique taste and I really don¡¯t like the sound of that¡¡¡¹
Elegantly dodging Makoto and Mio¡¯s clear displeasure, the dressers began basting the clothing for tomorrow¡¯s dining and evening party. It seemed that they truly were running out of time. The evening party clothing that was arguably the best chance to show their talent, and other than the order toy off on the exposure, they had roughly finished sewing decidedly orthodox dresses. At most, Haruna¡¯s dress had slightly less overall volume than the average ones.
¡¸Any minimal adjustments will be made tomorrow for when you change. So we will go ahead and end things for today.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s finally over¡¡¹
¡¸My ribs, my ribs¡¡¹
Upon realizing that they were free to go, Makoto and Haruna released voices of relief and resentment. Having finally been released from the corset and feelingfortable again, they came across an important issue.
¡¸Oh, right.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸After we change into the clothing tomorrow, would we even have any free time to enchant it?¡¹
¡¸You would have more than ample time to prepare such things before the evening party, but I do not know how much time the enchantment requires, so I cannot say much in that regard.¡¹
¡¸Is that right¡¡¹
The dressers came to realize what Haruna was concerned about, bowing their heads in apology. In actuality, thinking of their strange position, they would probably like toy one or two enchantments if it meant more reassurance. But as it was outside of their expertise, they didn¡¯t know whether or not there would be enough time. After all, even for enchantments that didn¡¯t have amazing effects, the amount of time required to bestow them was longer than you would expect.
First checking how much time they had left, they decided to ask Hiroshi if he could do anything about it, and had the dressers withdraw. Honestly, by just having fabric and patterned paper, it was conceivable that it would be faster to have Hiroshi sew them at high speed, but unfortunately, things wouldn¡¯t be that simple this time around.
¡¸Haru.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸If worstes to worst, I¡¯ll make simple enchantments.¡¹
¡¸Please do.¡¹
After the female dressers had headed off, Mio made that suggestion. It was a simple enchantment that didn¡¯tst long, but it would stillst for around the entirety of the party. The only issues would be surprise attacks and status conditions. Even for secretly bringing along healing potions, there was a limit to how much they could bring, so they made it their priority to at least prevent the especially troublesome types in advance. At worst, as long as they could prevent instant death at least once and nullify Confusion, Poison, and Bind, they could at least avoid the danger of being helplessly stepped all over.
¡¸This certainly ended up being a drag, though.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sure that these are all things that we had to deal with in order to move forward, but how should I say this¡ I feel like we¡¯re quitecking in preparation.¡¹
¡¸I think so too, but if we ept that we can¡¯t make perfect preparations, isn¡¯t this pretty good?¡¹
While quickly putting their clothes back on, Makoto and Haruna grumbled about this and that. Finally releasing a sigh once they were back in their familiar clothing, they headed to the room where they had nned to meet up, going outside without asking for any guidance.
¡¸So which room were we going to use again?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t ask me that.¡¹
¡¸Wait a moment, as I¡¯m still trying to remember.¡¹
The hallway they were walking through was meager in its physical characteristics, and the female group ended up flustered in many ways as they began to lose track of their current location. Since they had never actually been through there before, Haruna¡¯s memorization ability wouldn¡¯t be all that helpful. Eventually, thanks to Haruna remembering the route, though strangely enough still nearly wandering, they made it to the room while still managing to not run into any major difficulties.
¡¸Is it me, or does Hiroshi look kinda worn out?¡¹
¡¸Well, I guess you can say a lot of stuff happened.¡¹
¡¸You didn¡¯t run into any women, did you?¡¹
¡¸Well, uhh, how should I put this¡¡¹
The girls thought of all the possible reasons as to why Tatsuya was tilting his head, finding difficulty to say what was on his mind. After thinking about it briefly¡
¡¸Was there some issue regarding the clothing?¡¹
¡¸¡Y¡¯all are gonna know when tomorrow hits anyway, so I¡¯ll be upfront: I can¡¯t find nothin¡¯ that looks good on me.¡¹
The room filled with silence at Hiroshi as he spoke in a quite disheartened tone.
¡¸No, it¡¯s not like nothing looked good on you.¡¹
¡¸I know this is true all the time, but when I buy multiple expensive articles of clothin¡¯ and I still lookme in them? That¡¯s just depressin¡¯¡¡¹
¡¸I-Is it really that bad¡?¡¹
As Haruna said that, she envisioned having him change into various clothing, both from the other world and this world. After ¡°dressing him up¡± like a doll numerous times, she came to the conclusion that¡
¡¸¡At the very least, at the current moment, it¡¯s gonna be difficult. That¡¯s all I know.¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, I¡¯d be a lot more pleased if ya just said I lookme in whatever I wear¡¡¹
¡¸No, not that, uhh¡ how should I phrase this?¡¹
From the two months she had known him, Haruna had realized that the real issue when it came to Hiroshi was not so much appearance or physique as it was his atmosphere. Hiroshi¡¯s face had rather rich, Japanese-esque eyes, and so was his face. He wasn¡¯t beautiful per say, but neither was he unattractive. She wouldn¡¯t object to seeing him in the kind of casual-wear fashion magazines with some periodical change. But also on the flipside, Haruna could also see him looking quite decent in well-tailored, high-quality brand Western clothing.
So then, what was the issue?
¡¸In your case, Hiroshi-kun, I think that you would need some fairly precise clothing, but¡¡¹
¡¸But?¡¹
¡¸At our kind of age, you¡¯d have to be quite used to wearing such clothing, or else it just wouldn¡¯t cut it¡ is what I think I¡¯m trying to say.¡¹
¡¸I get it. From what you said, I cane to terms with my uncertainty from earlier.¡¹
It was quite true that for Hiroshi, even if on the inside he were an aplished craftsman, there was no such auraing from the outside. Though it was true that he had trained straightforwardly, he was only really skilled in-game, and it wasn¡¯t as if he had actually had real life experience. Also, this power was essentially just something he was borrowing, so it was understandable that there wasn¡¯t any sort of impressive atmosphere that apanied his skill. Adding to that, perhaps because something that had happened in the past, he didn¡¯t give off the open-hearted vibe typical of youth his age, and anything outside his field of expertise would leave him with apleteck of confidence and a negative thought process, so at the current point in time, Hiroshi was not the kind of person who could just put on an order-made suit and wear it with finesse.
On the topic of dignity, there was also the aspect of living enough years to achieve results amidst the difficulties of society. Just like how doing exceedingly well in sports, bing a sudden hit in the entertainment industry, or being born with enough money to where wearing exquisite clothing was the norm was not by any means ¡°normal¡±, there were not many people of the ages of 17 or 18 who could dress stylishly in expensive clothing brands.
On the flipside, even if he were to try and wear casual clothing loosely like others from his age range, rather than look stylish, Hiroshi would look more sloppy and unclean, so even if he tried to go the opposite route, he would just lookme and uncool. Normally, clothing looks good on people once they¡¯ve umted enough experience and confidence in that area. This mismatch was probably connected to why Hiroshi just lookedme in anything he wore.
If there was anything that he looked okay in, it was mainly in a jersey or work outfit. Wearing a work outfit wouldn¡¯t necessarily make his me¡± appearance a bad thing. Such outfits would never even be evaluated in fashion terms anyway, and it wasn¡¯t unusual for veteran craftsmen to lookme upon first nce, but because of that, it somehow made them cool in a sense. Hiroshi probably wouldn¡¯t be made fun of either if he were to try for that angle. Although it wouldn¡¯t exactly resolve this particr asion¡
¡¸Anyhow, since there definitely will be something traumatic waiting for him, we¡¯d best negotiate with His Highness or His Lordship to where Hiroshi doesn¡¯t participate in evening parties, or at the very least pulls out as soon as possible.¡¹
¡¸Right. I certainly shan¡¯t deal with Hiro being made into a mockery by these worthless people over this worthless affair.¡¹
¡¸After all, there are people anywhere who¡¯ll belittle someone¡¯s right to live just by looking at their outward appearance or atmosphere.¡¹
¡±Especially when they get to my age,¡± muttered Haruna softly. She hadn¡¯t specifically heard what had happened to him, but it was reasonable to say that she had a good grasp on his trauma. Even when Makoto was about to ask whether or not the world was actually that way, she had sensed something from Hiroshi¡¯s gloomy expression and stopped herself. Females truly had a firm grasp on many things.
Makoto found herself feeling nothing but admiration for how often he was able to keep hisposure when interacting with females. While she was sure that parameter revisions were in effect sinceing here, he still made sure to keep his distance from other females. Not just herself, Mio, and Aearis- even in rtion to Haruna, who he was the closest to, he probably didn¡¯t haveplete trust with in all the essential areas, and yet here he was, living in close proximity with them with a bit of caution. At the end of the day, much like Haruna but in a different sense, Hiroshi was quite developed as a person.
That being said, this situation before them was probably a miracle in itself, existing only because Haruna had been the person to first live alongside Hiroshi. Normally, there would be no foreseeable end to Hiroshi¡¯sints in this situation, and yet Haruna saw his mannerisms for what they were andughed it off, interacting with him as per usual, other than taking care to leave some space between them. How many females could do that sort of thing? At least in her¡¯s or Mio¡¯s case, they probably would have been assured failure in less than three days if it had not been for Haruna¡¯s cushioning. With the other group of girls, Elena and Aearis seemed like they had a bit more of a knack for it, but that was because of their positioning in society. When it came to actually living together, there was no guarantee that the people tagging along with them wouldn¡¯t make some sort of mistake, so in the end it just came down to whether everything copsed earlier orter.
¡¸Anyhow, we¡¯d best start by figuring out how to get through this unavoidable uing scene.¡¹
¡¸Tomorrow is the only day that we can¡¯t do anything about.¡¹
¡¸Right¡Well, as long as wee in there fully prepared ¡¯n duke it out, one day ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ special.¡¹
Certainly, no matter what they tried, it would be difficult to run away from the audience with nobility, the luncheon meeting afterward, and the evening party. It wasn¡¯t like there would be any women trying to find fault with him at the audience with nobility, and only the royalty would be attending the luncheon meeting. As long as they paid attention only to Katrina¡¯s speech and conduct, they could probably work something out with the first two. Therefore, the issuey with the evening party.
¡¸No matter how short we try to cut it, leaving aside the time for greetings and such, we probably have to deal with 30 minutes.¡¹
¡¸We need to know who would follow up during that time¡¡¹
¡¸If it were me, it would probably just make things worse. If Haruna or Mio were by his side, I think it¡¯d be a bit better.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. In this case, based on capacity to deal with things, Haruna should be next to him. And this is good for you too, right Haruna? You wouldn¡¯t want any half assed flirty guy approaching you.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s also the old man as a possibility.¡¹
They all began steadilyying out the best strategies for the uing situation. At length, they settled at the conclusion that Hiroshi, Haruna, and Mio should stick together at all times.
¡¸With all that out of the way, have you guys heard what we¡¯re supposed to doter today?¡¹
With advance arrangementsing to a halt, Makoto brought up the rest of the day¡¯s ns.
¡¸I haven¡¯t, but aren¡¯t we just supposed to not cause any trouble and stay here?¡¹
¡¸Right¡ In the first ce, castles ain¡¯t the kinds of ces where ya can just carelessly wander around without a guide if yer an outsider, ¡¯n if ya even so much as wander into the wrong ce, I don¡¯t even wanna know what would happen.¡¹
¡¸And it¡¯s that lord we¡¯re talking about. He wasn¡¯t the kind of person who would leave us out of the loop after all the talking was over, right?¡¹
Everyone nodded at what Tatsuya had said. This was very possible. In general, Layotte would not exin to them about this event other than what was the minimum necessary for them to know about. Judging from what had happened up till now, he would make use of the ad-lib ability of Hiroshi and the others and only discuss what had been leaked to the outside. Sometimes, ignorance was one¡¯s greatest defense mechanism.
¡¸Well, it ain¡¯t like we¡¯re gonna be waitin¡¯ for long with no news, so whenever we have free time we can y parliament or concentration or¡¡¹
As Hiroshi trailed off, there was a knock at the door.
¡¸Yes,e in.¡¹
¡¸Sorry to disturb you.¡¹
Speaking of the man in question, Layotte was the one who had showed up. Julius was standing behind him as per usual. Hiroshi and Mio thought they heard three sets of footsteps, but from what they saw, there were only two people there.
¡¸Sorry to keep you waiting.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t even worry ¡®bout it. We just finished talkin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸But this will be a burden on all of you.¡¹
¡¸Even if this is in private, ya don¡¯t hafta bow like that, crown prince.¡¹
¡¸But both kings and crown princes must bow when they have to. Especially as you have saved two of our family members.¡¹
All of a sudden, they heard a third voice from somewhere.
¡¸So Lay going out of his way yesterday to bring back the Stealth Mantle¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s exactly it.¡¹
A middle-aged man with a dignified appearance and sturdy-looking body appeared before them. You did not have to even look at the shape of his face or the color of his hair to immediately know that this man was Layotte¡¯s father, the unmistakable King of Fane.
¡¸I believe this is our first time meeting. I am the King of Fane as well as the father of Layotte, Elena, and Aearis: Regnas.¡¹
All Japanese people present did not even know how to react at such an unexpectedly casual appearance of King Regnas, dumbfounded.
¡¸Umm, Your Majesty¡¡¢what errand might you have in such a ce as this¡?¡¹
Tatsuya fearfully asked this unexpected visitor.
¡¸Please, do not feel the need to be stiff. All I wanted to do was convey my thanks as a parent.¡¹
¡¸Were you not going to do that at the royal reception tomorrow?¡¹
¡¸Do you really think that my true sincerity could be conveyed by taking such a high stance in such a high position?¡¹
¡¸Well, I ain¡¯t the king here, so sure you could do that¡¡¹
The Japanese people fretted about whether they should ask if Regnas was really okay in the head after the things he had said in response to Tatsuya¡¯s doubts.
¡¸Anyhow, we shall not worry about rank in private situations such as these, so as long as you at the very least be courteous as a human being, there is nothing wrong with going about as you always do.¡¹
¡¸You might say that, but¡¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-dono, was it? Are you not always referring to my son as Lay? Then there is no need to be formal when the king of said country is around either.¡¹
¡¸Well, what you¡¯re saying makes sense, but¡¡¹
That was very true. He was already doing things like casually referring to a prince as ¡°Lay¡±, so by this point it was a little silly to not give the king simr treatment.
¡¸Although if I¡¯m being entirely honest, I feel quite sorry for dragging a benefactor such as yourself into these troublesome matters¡¡¹
¡¸Well, we¡¯ve been long ready for this as soon as we picked up Elle. I don¡¯t see a reason for you to worry ¡¯bout it¡¡¹
¡¸Still, even so, as both a king and as a parent, it gives me extremely bitter regret to have you forcibly participating in an event that is the bane of your existence.¡¹
Hearing the king of a country apologize to him in such a dignified manner, Hiroshi found himself panicking.
¡¸Quite honestly, I do believe it to be worthless, but it is customary to reward regr people who have aplished great deeds with an audience with the king, a luncheon meeting, and an evening party. Although again, I do not in the slightest view this as the correct way to reward you.¡¹
¡¸I have also been particrly doubtful about this ¡°evening party¡± as ofte. It sounds like it was established only to make aughingstock of ordinary people who have made their way up.¡¹
In rtion to the country¡¯s top ss, this was a rather harsh evaluation. It was pretty clear from this just how they viewed high society.
¡¸Umm, so is that everything you came for?¡¹
If she let this continue, there would probably be many more negativeints. Haruna decided to slip in and shoot him a question.
¡¸No, do not worry. The main topic is something else.¡¹
¡¸I seek to inform you all of what to take heed of at the evening party.¡¹
The king and prince hade all the way here to convey precautions. This didn¡¯t make the situation sound very good.
¡¸Firstly, Tatsuya-dono and Hiroshi-dono should generally avoid conversing with any females whenever those on our side are not present.¡¹
¡¸Think of it as them getting pregnant just by you talking to them. Tatsuya, you in particr must take care.¡¹
Being told something so ridiculous, Tatsuya was at a loss for words. Hiroshi¡¯s face became deathly pale as he understood what he was trying to say.
¡¸I-It¡¯s THAT serious?¡¹
Haruna, just like Hiroshi, had immediately understood what was meant by that, confirming this with a drawn-back face.
¡¸Indeed. I cannot count the number of times that Layotte has been confronted about recognizing the danger of impregnating women by airborne infection.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, they took advantage of the fact that I can¡¯t refuse conversation and just did whatever they wanted.¡¹
¡¸And yer just leavin¡¯ it be?¡¹
¡¸Why would I do something like that?¡¹
Layotte smiled fiercely as he said that in a dangerous tone. Hiroshi seriously questioned why he would tell such a lie that could easily be investigated.
¡¸By the way, it goes without saying that Older Brother and Mark also have had simr experiences. Not as much as I, of course.¡¹
¡¸It isn¡¯t even as if the princes have had all that much sexual education. How society¡¯s standards have fallen.¡¹
Everyone found themselves aghast at thements from the two royals. There wasn¡¯t even a way toment on how low the level and disposition of high society was in this world. The current generation of royalty had a strong blood connection, and undoubtedly it would have been difficult to expand their rights and interests without entering into Layotte¡¯s or Aearis¡¯s factions, but seriously? People should honestly use their heads more.
¡¸For the time being, let me try and take Hiroshi out of the venue whenever the opportunity presents itself.¡¹
¡¸I will also leave Ernest and Julius by your side, so please hold out for one hour frommencement.¡¹
¡¸Aye aye.¡¹
¡¸Afterwards, we shall say that I tasked Hiroshi-dono with various things so that he stays away from the evening party as much as possible.¡¹
¡¸Be as that may, even with Father and I, Big Sister and Aearis, and Big Brother and Mark asking him to do various tasks, I still do not think that he will be able to be absent for the entirety of the evening party. My apologies, but please do ready yourself for such an event.¡¹
¡¸Yup, I know.¡¹
In all honesty, even in the case of the royalty, they did not really want to send Hiroshi out to the evening party. If he actually had the amount of inter-human rtion skills that Tatsuya or Haruna did, then that would have been fine, but perhaps because of his gynophobia, Hiroshi would often behave in a manner that could be considered rude when meeting someone (especially a female) for the first time. There were quite a few people who wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what was rude or what wasn¡¯t, so that in itself wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing, but on the flipside, there were quite a few ambitious houses that were seeking to bring down the authority of the royal family. They could easily see Hiroshi¡¯s demeanor as problematic and seek to execute him. That was the troubling state of circumstances.
In actuality, with the people who would say those sorts of things and Hiroshi put on the scale, Hiroshi was overwhelmingly more important, but even for those who understood that, they would not dare to oppose the current royal family, who had no issues other than Katrina. In the first ce, by just saying that he could make a ss Four Potion, that was enough to surpass the worth of more than half the nobles, but just how many of them were aware of this?
¡¸Come to think of it, what ever happened to all that involvement with that lizard¡¯s tail from when we infiltrated the temple?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, we failed at securing the perpetrator. No matter how skilled we may be, I do not think it is possible to do anything when they explode themselves.¡¹
¡¸What about the boss?¡¹
¡¸No dice in that regard either. The only reason we were able to pinpoint the bard as the perpetrator was because they had ack of facial features, making it difficult to remember who they were if you were to avert your eyes from them for even an instant. As long as the person in question was having tea with Big Sister Katrina and Mark until the event died down, even if we were to confront them about being connected to this, we would be brushed aside.¡¹
Albeit expected, it seemed that it was indeed the tail of a lizard. Although it was canceled by Hiroshi, using and discarding a human who could easily use Greater Magic as a tail, their opponent might truly be someone who was well-versed inbat.
¡¸So how far does Ellie¡¯s rtion with them go?¡¹
¡¸We have already incarcerated one who is thought to be the perpetrator. However, it does seem like it will be a bit difficult to trace their background from there.¡¹
¡¸And why¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s simple. It seems that half of the perpetrators didn¡¯t even know that they had been dealing with poisonous substances. And we have searched for the people who had handed them the poison, but once again, it seems like the people in question either don¡¯t know that they were carrying the poison themselves, or they¡¯ve vanished without a trace. Honestly, we are at a loss as to how we should deal with the majority.¡¹
After hearing Layotte¡¯s report, all who were present found themselves groaning at the difficulty of the situation at hand.
¡¸So even if we swapped people around, that wouldn¡¯t count as a preventive measure?¡¹
Haruna pinpointed the most troublesome issue from what she could affirm from the report. If they had made it seem like he was doing work as usual, it had to be enough to quell suspicion, or else it was futile.
¡¸That is essentially the idea. Well, thanks to Hiroshi, we were able to narrow things down to tea leaves and mealtime, so it¡¯s probably way better than before. At worst, he could pretend to eat the food and have you people secretly make something.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re fine with that, despite being royalty¡?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, even I think that¡¯s going a bit too far¡¡¹
Makoto held her head at how roundabout Layotte was being. Meanwhile, Haruna just said what came to mind at those strange words. By this point, they no longer felt the sort of apprehension or prudence that was apanied by royalty. Well, in the first ce, they no longer had such things around Layotte in private situations like these anyway.
¡¸Sure, but if that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t we have a more simple thang?¡¹
¡¸Simple?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, how ¡¯bout this?¡¹
Hiroshi said, and out of his belongings came¡
¡¸Instant ramen!?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s the freaking cup variety!¡¹
¡¸Hey, Hiroshi-kun. First a miso maker, now this? How exactly are you¡?¡¹
¡¸You even have the package perfectly replicated. That¡¯s Sensei for you¡¡¹
Indeed, it was a famous brand of instant ramen. Just as Mio hadmented, he had carefully and perfectly replicated everything up to the package. As for the variety, there were only two types of cup ramen and two types of bag ramen, but it was true that these were perfect for secretly eatingter.
¡¸And when¡¯d you evenplete these?¡¹
¡¸Steadily while Haruna was workin¡¯ at the stand. Like the egg pockets or the taste of the soup, it was purty difficult replicatin¡¯ all that.¡¹
¡¸I know this always happens, but why are you always fine with expending your effort in these sorts of areas¡¡¹
By this point, Makoto could only feel powerless at just how screwed up Hiroshi¡¯s priorities were. Still, despite making such ament, she did not let go of the cup ramen in her hand.
¡¸And what might this be?¡¹
¡¸Other than this miso ramen, the others are noodles that can usually be eaten within one to three minutes after pourin¡¯ boiling water.¡¹
¡¸Oh? And they¡¯re tasty?¡¹
¡¸They aren¡¯t exactly the best examples of super tasty food, but they¡¯re great for those who like them, I guess? Everything here, I personally like for the most part.¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san, I didn¡¯t know ya ate instant ramen ¡¯n the other things too. Figured yer family was super particr over the food they ate, bein¡¯ super celebs ¡¯n all, so I didn¡¯t think ya¡¯d even pay attention to these.¡¹
Haruna wryly smiled at what Hiroshi had said. True, her mother was a world-renowned million-hit singer, and her father was a popr actor, so there was no denying that they were extreme celebrities. Also, even in rtion to the daily meals, her great-grandfather from her father¡¯s side of the family was someone who had worked as a head chef at a first-rate Tokyo traditional Japanese restaurant, so it was also true that her father was super obsessed with the kind of food they ate. Even for her mother, perhaps because she ate such good meals, she was super good at cooking to the point where even Haruna and her younger sister knew how to cook meals. However, it wasn¡¯t like their parents would be dedicated to the point where they left food for both girls every time they were gone. Whenever it was just too much to cook, they would do things like put vegetables into bag ramen or even just eat cup ramen.
¡¸Well, in terms of nutritional bnce, it isn¡¯t something too good for your body, so it¡¯s also true that we never ate it all that frequently.¡¹
¡¸Hm. You say that it isn¡¯t good for your body, but it seems like everyone else doesn¡¯t pay it any mind. What¡¯s that about?¡¹
¡¸I guess it just shows that the worse something is for you, the more enjoyable?¡¹
Haruna wryly smiled as she answered Layotte¡¯s query, gazing at the three people discussing this with such fervence. In actuality, it was difficult to rmend it to anyone in terms of nutritional bnce, but neither was it so bad that it caused illness. In the first ce, the person who invented instant ramen would always eat a meal of ramen per day until they died at a ripe age of 96, so no one could exactly say that it was fatal to one¡¯s health.
¡¸Okay, so we still haven¡¯t eaten lunch. Wanna try it out?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re able to?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah. Ya just pour hot water into the cup ones, and all ya need for the non-miso ramen bags are a don ¡¯n hot water.¡¹
¡¸A don, you say?¡¹
¡¸This is what it looks like.¡¹
The king closely gazed at the donburi that Hiroshi pulled out of his belongings. There was nearly no food that was made in Fane that was piled into bowls like these. Incidentally, Layotte had already eaten soba in a workshop, so he knew about donburi.
¡¸So all we need to do is procure some hot water?¡¹
¡¸Heck, I can even get ya some right now.¡¹
As always, their conversation had totally shifted to eating. While wryly smiling at that fact, Haruna, who was the mostposed out of anyone, made ament.
¡¸It¡¯s all well and good to test out food, but are we all done with the briefing?¡¹
¡¸Ah, right. Somethin¡¯ I wanted to confirm with ya.¡¹
¡¸Confirm?¡¹
¡¸Before the luncheon and evenin¡¯ party, would it be possible to bring in and drink potions?¡¹
Layotte made a quizzical face at the word ¡°potion¡±. Meanwhile, as if sensing what he was trying to say, the king was contemting something for a bit.
¡¸Could you be more specific as to what you mean?¡¹
¡¸A few panaceas as a precaution to poison. If we mix it in a bit, it¡¯d clear away practically all poison within six hour¡¯s time. And well, from the ingredients we got on hand, we can only go up to Level 4 in terms of healin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸¡Could you maybe make some for us as well?¡¹
¡¸Yup, as long as ya lend us the tools and location it should be a piece of cake.¡¹
¡¸Very well. We will arrange all of this shortly after.¡¹
¡¸Thankie much.¡¹
Having finished addressing the first set of concerns, Hiroshi gave his thanks as he took out a pot and water. He then proceeded to discuss the next set of concerns while boiling the water.
¡¸The other set of concerns are in regards to troublesome things the gals might hafta do. There any dancin¡¯ or the like?¡¹
¡¸We have used Elena¡¯s bodily condition as a pretext for not actually dancing. However, it is also true that we cannot say for sure that there will not be any dancing whatsoever.¡¹
¡¸Kay. Also, this is sorta a simr issue, but can Haruna ¡¯n the others really fight with just special skills even while wearing dresses?¡¹
Having pointed that out, the others made startled faces, identifying various problems.
¡¸The corsets don¡¯t quite feel up to it.¡¹
¡¸And the length of the hems might prove troublesome. I am totally sure that I would trip on them during a scuffle.¡¹
¡¸And it definitely isn¡¯t possible to draw a bow with a dress.¡¹
All the answers that came back to him were quite harsh.
¡¸If that¡¯s the case, leaving tomorrow outta the equation, after that we¡¯d probably leave the undergarments to Mio and the dressmaking to me.¡¹
¡¸Right. I¡¯m sure that there won¡¯t be any sort of development today or tomorrow that involves getting into any scuffles, but those preparations of yours will be pivotal. That being said, is it even possible to make dresses that are that mobile?¡¹
¡¸Well, if we take away some aspects then dresses can change quite a bit. And in a worst-case scenario we can trick ¡¯em with some enchantments.¡¹
¡¸Enchantments really are all-powerful, aren¡¯t they?¡¹
¡¸Nah, there¡¯s also quite a bit they can¡¯t aplish.¡¹
Compared with the enchantments on weapons, there were quite the variety of enchantments to put on clothing, armor, and the like. Nearly all of them seemed to not amount to much in terms of digits, but in actuality, they were even more important than pure defense. Especially with things like metal armor conductivity preservation and inward temperature regtion, they were treated more like memes in the game, but in reality, they were indispensable to wear. Decrease Movement Hindrance was essential for full-bodied armor, long-hemmed clothing, or things like highly decorated clothing. With it, there was a huge difference in terms of penalties, and the higher up you got, you could eventually even swim in water with full-ted armor. These things weren¡¯t seen as very important in-game, but there were also cool enchantments for purposes like protecting the chest area for bow users that they were making full use of aftering here.
In the game, every time any usable enchantments increased, he would always feel exasperated with the creators (after all, you couldn¡¯t even use the majority of them), but now that the game became reality, he found himself wanting to instead thank the creators for how much they prepared for this game. Everything was so calcted. Of course, there were also things mixed in like electrical wave reception. It made him want to ask what kind of roguelike game item information this was. That was just how many unidentifiable enchantments were mixed in.
¡¸Well, let¡¯s go with that for the dresses then. I¡¯m countin¡¯ on ya for the fabric ¡¯n thread.¡¹
¡¸Let us arrange some at once. Is there anything else?¡¹
¡¸Not outta the top of my head. Oh, right.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸When we eat delicacies like this, will Elle pout if we don¡¯t call her?¡¹
Layotte wryly smiled at Hiroshi¡¯s query, using some sort of tool tomunicate with her. Aearis didn¡¯t take much time to arrive to the room after being called.
¡¸So what sort of delicacy might I be obliged to eat today!?¡¹
¡¸Wow, yer excited as always.¡¹
Nobody could hold in theirughter at how Aearis was acting. Albeit a bit sullen at how they were treating her, Aearis could not avert her eyes from the mysterious meal that Hiroshi and Haruna had prepared for her.
¡¸It would really be best to put in some vegetables, you know¡¡¹
¡¸Well, how ¡¯bout we go orthodox today?¡¹
Deciding to start with sampling everything, they prepared small bowls enough for everyone, with two cup varieties per person and pioneer bird bagged ramen with raw egg dropped into the egg holder and three cups of hot water poured in. Bagged miso ramen was more delicious when stewed, rather than just pouring in hot water.
¡¸Wow, this is, uhh¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I can¡¯t¡ I can¡¯t resist¡¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto found themselves unable to perservere as they watched him cook. Even Mio was fidgeting in some way.
¡¸For now, just go ahead and distribute it however you want, okay?¡¹
Haruna said, putting some of the pioneer bird ramen into her own small bowl as an example. Makoto had already begun stirring around the soy sauce vored cup ramen, dragging out the amount she wanted and putting it into her small bowl. Tatsuya was apparently going for the seafood variety.
¡¸Incidentally, why don¡¯t we have any curry noodles?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s cuz I put all the spice we had on that there curry bread.¡¹
Hiroshi said, happily slurping the pioneer bird ramen and letting out a sigh. As for the royal family in question¡
¡¸To think that you can produce such a vor with such simplistic cooking methods¡¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi, I implore you to spread this recipe. This food could be revolutionary to armies or adventurers.¡¹
¡¸A simple, but delicious vor.¡¹
This was one of the most cheapest, bottom-of-the-barrel food that Japan had to offer, and their eyes were lighting right up.
¡¸I dunno how much I can do in a day, so for now I¡¯ll just prepare some sorta specialized bag like these ¡¯n share it ¡¯n make just enough to go ¡¯round¡¡¹
Aearis¡¯s eyes sparkled as she nodded at Hiroshi¡¯s proposal. Japan¡¯s prized instant ramen food had now taken the royal family of Fane captive.
Volume 1, 15
Volume 1, Chapter 15
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
The visitation room in the castle of Wulls was filled with quiet tension.
¡¸At ease.¡¹
In response to the King¡¯smand, the group looked up, still kneeling. As if to judge every move of each member, the dozen or so other attendees (high-profile senators and advisors) red at them. In short, the party were not in the enemy¡¯s home turf, to say the least. The saving grace for the Japanese members were the friendly looks given from the queen (standing next to the King) and the King¡¯s concubines standing on either side of the royal couple.
The members of the party were wearing their Wyvern leather armor (which had been cleaned) for selling their adventuring prowess. In fact, Hiroshi¡¯s leather armor¡¯s refined design,bined their material, did help the members exude some presence, in a strange way. It was one of the few outfits (or equipment, at this point) that took advantage of Hiroshi¡¯s curse of looking unfashionable in all attires.
¡¸You have aplished a great deed. As King, as a father, I thank you.¡¹
¡¸An unworthy honor, Your Majesty.¡¹
Per their script, Tatsuya responded to the King¡¯s words, representing the group. In order to give the impression that he was the ambassador of the group, they had decided that Tatsuya would be the one to answer anything, unless the other members were directly spoken to. In ordance with the customs of Fane¡¯s court, the Grand Chambein ryed the words spoken by Tatsuya, and the first conversation had concluded.
¡¸At ease.¡¹
It must not look well to keep them knelt for the entire time. The group followed the King¡¯s orders, and stood straight, arms at their sides. They had asked the royal family for the correct posture in these scenarios, and the answer was that their posture just couldn¡¯t be rxed.
¡¸With such a momentum aplishment, the royal family would be ashamed to have your reward be nothing more than my words. Is there anything you wish for?¡¹
The King spoke, per the script they discussed in secretst night, and Tatsuya moved to ry his predetermined response to the Grand Chambein. Seeing this, the King added:
¡¸I permit you to speak directly. In your own words, tell me.¡¹
He must have feared that the Grand Chambein may distort the message.
¡¸Then I will, Your Majesty, with your permission. If this may be granted, we would wish for ess to all literature in the library.¡¹
¡¸That won¡¯t be a problem. Why do you ask this?¡¹
¡¸We have been transported to this country through a mysterious urrence, unwillingly. Our homnd is so distance from Fane, that we don¡¯t even know which direction to go from here. But I have a wife back home. Everyone here has family there. We are desperate to return home, and are searching for any clue that can lead us there.¡¹
¡¸I see. Guests from the unknown continent. I understand how you don¡¯t know where we are in the world. In that case, you must be in need of other assistance, too. Do you truly wish for nothing more?¡¹
Tatsuya responded with a confident nod. While they had no idea about how they got here, they didn¡¯t even know what assistance would aid them in the first ce. They were easily surviving as is, and they had no idea what their next step should be. So, the best reward they could wish for was to ess any and all pieces of literature (including those in the forbidden library).
¡¸Very well. I will grant you ess to all literature that can be read in the library. However, you must always apany the High Monk or my secretary. Some of those books are even forbidden to touch.¡¹
¡¸We are sincerely grateful.¡¹
Tatsuya said, leading the group in a synchronized bow. ording to n, this would be the end of the ceremony.
¡¸Great aplishment indeed. You may retire.¡¹
Bowing again to the King¡¯s dismissal, the group moved to leave, when one of the political leaders jumped in.
¡¸A moment, Your Majesty!¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Permission to speak directly?¡¹
¡¸Granted.¡¹
The King nodded with solemnity. The group had been warned that there may be some interjections at this point. Even as they considered this extremely tiresome, they kept theirposure and listened.
¡¸They really healed Princess Elena and rescued Princess Aearis from the spider¡¯sir?¡¹
¡¸The princesses have confirmed it, and Layotte has seen nearly the entire process of Elena¡¯s recovery. Their background has no use for suspicions, and as such, I guarantee that this is the truth. Or else, do you use Elena and Layotte of utter stupidity?¡¹
¡¸N-Never! But for such a young man to heal what our best doctor couldn¡¯t¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t judge our guests from the unknown continent with our caged mind. Even in recorded history, there are several examples where one¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t show their true powers.¡¹
¡¸This is a different story! While we do acknowledge that, save for one, no one in this group was in contact with the court, except through requests of the Adventurers¡¯ Association, and understand that the entire ordeal could not have been a hoax perpetrated by the royal family, I, and many others, will not ept these proofs when they are solelyprised of first-hand testimony!¡¹
Hearing this, Hiroshi raised his hand, rather timidly.
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸May I speak directly?¡¹
Hiroshi asked, with his thick ent. Of course, by asking this permission, he was directly speaking to the King already, but s, such were the customs of the court of Fane.
¡¸You may.¡¹
Despite Hiroshi¡¯s thick ent, no one in the room was going to mock him for it. They were high-ranking political figures, after all.
¡¸First of all, I¡¯m from the countryside, so forgive me for speakin¡¯ rudely and for my ent.¡¹
¡¸Speak freely. No one here is thoughtless enough to mock a man¡¯s ent, or deem it ill-mannered.¡¹
The political leaders nodded in agreement, as if there wasn¡¯t a doubt about it. Denouncing one¡¯s ent was to denounce their hometown, which lead to denouncing their own country. It might have been a different story if his ent made him unintelligible, but as long as that wasn¡¯t the case, no one would use a peasant ofcking etiquette for their ent.
¡¸First, ¡¯bout rescuin¡¯ Princess Aearis, I gotta have y¡¯all trust us on the base of the proof of hunt down at the Association. As for treatin¡¯ Princess Elena, I can make y¡¯all some sort of potion or another usin¡¯ materials and equipment here in the castle. What y¡¯all think?¡¹
Terrified, Hiroshi desperately formed his words to the utmost manners he could muster. The political leaders could help but look at him with a more than a hint of pity, even as they were shook by what Hiroshi was saying. The truth was, most of them weren¡¯t as suspicious of the party as they imed to be. They were only speaking up now to establish concrete evidence (lest they give some shady characters any wiggle room down the road).
They were ready to ept a ss 4 potion like the one he gave Layotte before, or any potion above ss 6 for that matter. Even a ss 6 potion was nearly impossible for an average adventurer to acquire. That, at least would prove that they were able to acquire precious potions. Having them crafted in front of them was approaching overkill.
¡¸Hm¡ Is that possible?¡¹
¡¸Depends on the ingredients here. As long as there¡¯s an expensive ingredient or two, I can wiggle ¡¯em up to ss 6 or so. If we got some stuff from ¡¯round the hills of Spirit Spire Mountain, we could get a little higher than that. ¡¯course the quality won¡¯t be as good as makin¡¯ ¡¯em with the right ingredients.¡¹
¡¸If you can make us a ss 6, it won¡¯t matter if the quality is sub-optimal.¡¹
With that, the King ordered all types of herbs and equipment in the castle to the visitation area, as much as they could fit. By ¡°quality¡± Hiroshi meant the amount of HP that would be replenished. Still, Hiroshi¡¯s potion (while not as effective as he could make it) would be much more effective than the standard potion.
¡¸We¡¯re in for a bit of a mess, aren¡¯t we?¡¹
¡¸I mean, I can¡¯t say we didn¡¯t expect this¡¡¹
In the down while the ingredients were being acquired, Haruna Tastsuya whispered to each other. In fact, they didn¡¯t worry for a second that Hiroshi would mess up the potion making. They were more worried about him going too far on some aspects.
¡¸Is this all?¡¹
Asked the King.
¡¸Yes. This is all we have.¡¹
¡¸So, what can you make from these?¡¹
Hiroshi contemted.
¡¸¡With these, and one of the equipment¡¯s I got and some off my stockpile¡¡¹
Mumbling the procedure tomence, Hiroshi was figuring out the very best he could craft with his circumstances.
¡¸If we can use a piece of equipment and two ingredients from the bags we checked earlier, I can hit ss 3.¡¹
¡¸¡Truly?¡¹
¡¸I ain¡¯t so stupid to spew a lie here. Oh darn, I gotta take out the bottles too¡ We got a fifty of ¡¯em from the Cerberus fangs, so that¡¯s ¡¯bout it, I reckon¡¡¹
The crowd turn at Hiroshi, shocked.
¡¸Cer-Cerberus?¡¹
¡¸Lord Douga brought ¡¯em back to us the other day. ¡¯Course, it¡¯s meat taste bad, it¡¯s gut can¡¯t be made into medicine, and only it¡¯s hide, bones, ws and fangs are worth anythin¡¯ from it¡¯s big lump. What a let-down monster that thin¡¯ is.¡¹
Hiroshi answered. Now that he had made up his mind on what to make, his skittishness had disappeared. The political leaders couldn¡¯t conceal their tightening expressions. Normally, a Cerberus (unless someone like Julius, Douga, or Rayna was on the scene) would require ten seasoned knights and a mage to take down even a single one of them. Now this man was calling it a let-down monster? They were speechless.
¡¸Bottles¡ From the fangs?¡¹
¡¸Yessir. And it¡¯s possible, but not very efficient at all. ¡¯Bout 50 bottles from the fangs of three of ¡¯em.¡¹
The crowd failed to react to Hiroshi¡¯s nonchnce. Sure, Douga could take down Cerberus while humming a tune, but this sounded like Hiroshi used them recently. The crowd started to wonder when the mysterious party had hunted these down.
¡¸When did you make those, anyway?¡¹
¡¸On our trip to the hot springs. They let me borrow their furnace.¡¹
Hiroshi answered Haruna as he separated the herbs into piles.
¡¸So how does that sound?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll allow it. Someone bring this man¡¯s carrier!¡¹
The King replied instantly. Immediately, Hiroshi¡¯s things were brought in. With his trusty carrier back in hand, he produced his elerator, a piece of Wyvern liver, a Solmizen, and an empty bottle that exuded stunningly threatening magic.
¡¸What is that dark-red meat?¡¹
¡¸A wyvern liver.¡¹
¡¸And that weird-looking fruit?¡¹
¡¸Solmizen, I used it for treatin¡¯ Princess Elena, too. It rots real easy, so I think most folks here have never seen it.¡¹
As he answered these questions, he boiled down and concentrated the Solmizen juice as he processed the other materials in¡ peculiar ways. The lot of the court magicians couldn¡¯t help but wince at the outrageous amount of magic that burst out every time Hiroshi treated something.
¡¸Can I help at all?¡¹
¡¸At this stage, Mio¡¯s are the baseline line of stats I need. There ain¡¯t much to make today, so don¡¯t worry and watch.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
Haruna had already guessed this response, but just wanted to check. She continued to watch his potion making, quietly. She had known from the beginning that this was out of her league.
¡¸Hoo! Hoah!¡¹
Mixing up a few herbs with vigor, Hiroshi triggered some sort of mysterious reaction with a massive input of magic.
¡¸Mio-chan. Can you tell what he¡¯s doing?¡¹
¡¸Alchemy. Mixing two materials to convert it into something different. And better.¡¹
Haruna and Mio¡¯s conversation echoed through the visitation room, where there had been no other sounds except for those produced by Hiroshi¡¯s work. The crowd was speechless at Hiroshi wrangling materials he needed into existence. By the way, he had crafted the malt required for Miso and soy sauce this way, too (Or forcibly mutated them, to be more urate). Of course, he simply cultures them now, instead of doing things the hard way.
After converting (upgrading) several materials this way, he mixed the densely concentrated Solmizen juice and Wyvern liver, and heated them up. After boiling them for awhile, he quick-cooled it with a spell before pouring it into another container and putting that into the elerator.
¡¸Speaking of, what are you using the elerator for this time?¡¹
¡¸Speedin¡¯ up the magic reaction. A week¡¯s worth of reaction in five minutes.¡¹
Haruna response to this was to be amazed at theplexity of Advanced potion making. The elerator, which had be an ace yer in the kitchen from creating all sorts of fermented foods and spices like Miso, soy sauce, bonito kes, mirin, ponzu, steak sauce and dipping sauces. This was only its second time used for creation a potion (after the ss-4 potionst time).
¡¸It outta be ready ¡®bout now.¡¹
Hiroshi said, and extracted the potion, which had changed to a clear, vibrant red.
¡¸Boom. Now, to bottle ¡®em.¡¹
With that, before Haruna or Mio could even offer to help, he bottled up 50 ss 3 Healing potions.
¡¸By the way, if ya swap out the Wyvern liver for a Mana-eater core, it¡¯ll make Mana potions instead with the same recipe.¡¹
¡¸What about Stamina potions?¡¹
¡¸Mix the Wyvern liver with the Mana-eater core, and swap out a few herbs.¡¹
Hiroshi answered, as he handed over his work. Taking the bottles, the King nced over at his doctors and potion makers. They answered with shaking voices:
¡¸It is undoubtedly a Healing potion. We are certain of that, but¡¡¹
¡¸None of us have ever seen a potion above ss 4¡¡¹
¡¸It is obvious that this is much, much more potent than the ss 4 potion we received the other day. However, the question of whether or not this is a ss 3 potion¡ Well¡¡¹
Potions of ss 3 and above are practically mythical artifacts. Recipes for them had been preserved, but there was no potion maker alive who could execute them. Besides, no one knew where the majority of ingredients these recipes called for could be found (unless they were created, of course, by a method like Hiroshi¡¯s). Even with the aptitude, a potion maker would most likely not have the opportunity to even test said recipes.
In short, they were in a predicament where it was exceedingly difficult to prove that this potion was in fact, ss 3.
¡¸ss 3. In order to confirm this¡¡¹
¡¸We just might have to have Lord Douga or Lord Felnork severely injured.¡¹
¡¸OR cut off someone¡¯s arm¡¡¹
As the conversation of the crowd moved towards the violent edge, the Japanese party could only watch with disgust.
¡¸In any case.¡¹
The King spoke up, to shut down the rather trigger-happy conversation.
¡¸Whether this is truly a ss 3 potion or not has no bearing on the matter at hand. We only had Hiroshi create the potion to prove that he had treated Elena. And this potion proves that, and some. Any objections?¡¹
¡¸¡I shudder to think what he might do next if we object to this.¡¹
¡¸¡We have no choice but to ept it, practically.¡¹
¡¸¡This was an unnerving experience, to say the least.¡¹
They all chimed in agreement with the King. In truth, they could all feel cold sweat running down their backs after witnessing the unimaginable event that just took ce. To them, the most terrifying part was that the operator of such a performance was so nonchnt about it.
¡¸Now, this session is finally concluded. While this should go without saying, none of what happened here leaves this room.¡¹
¡¸Of course.¡¹
¡¸For now, let¡¯s say that he crafted a ss 4 potion here. I will n for a discrete and urate confirmation process for the potion that won¡¯t waste any of it.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll leave that to you. You are all dismissed.¡¹
And so, the presentation had finally concluded by the King, who actually kept his cool throughout the ordeal.
¡¸I am sorry you had to do that, earlier.¡¹
The King had skipped out on some business toe apologize to the Japanese party, who were waiting in their room in formal attire. Of course, all five members were there.
The formal attire they wore now was different from something they would wear to a ball, but something more suited for attending a private gathering with the royal family. The design resembled a suit, with clean cuts and edges. This attire was unisex, which let all the Japanese members match. Some of Fane¡¯s fashion was actually quite simr to that of modern-day fashion on Earth.
¡¸Don¡¯t worry ¡¯bout it. I saw itin¡¯ from the beginnin¡¯, to be honest. Pretty easy to handle, actually.¡¹
¡¸On the other hand, no one who was there will underestimate you, now.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto cracked a light chuckle. Anyone who would underestimate Hiroshi after that would not be the sharpest tool in the shed, to say the least.
¡¸So. It¡¯s quite a ruckus out there, anythin¡¯ goin¡¯ on?¡¹
¡¸An ident while training new recruits. Apparently a sword broke during a session, and the broken de seriously injured one of them.¡¹
¡¸Seems a bit excessive for that.¡¹
Tatsuya pointed out. Hearing this, the King grinned and said:
¡¸Can you me them? His eye may have been gouged out, but we still used a ss 3 potion, something that should be held in the treasury, on a mere recruit.¡¹
The group fell speechless. This was much more serious than they thought. Hiroshi, naturally, was the first one to recover.
¡¸His eye went out, and a ss 3 potion healed that?¡¹
He asked. With his experience in the past two months, an injury that serious (no matter how fresh) did not heal with a potion. If a child¡¯s arm was torn off, and they took a ss 5 or so potion (with overkill healing powers) only the wound would heal, without re-growing the limb.
¡¸You didn¡¯t know? Potions ss 3 and above regrow body parts.¡¹
¡¸¡I had no idea.¡¹
¡¸Interesting. And you¡¯re the one who made it.¡¹
¡¸Didn¡¯t exactly have the opportunity to use a potion like that on someone with a missin¡¯ body part.¡¹
Hiroshi groaned, and the Kingughed. Finally, the rest of the group caught on to the real cause of themotion.
¡¸All of that¡¯s going on because his eye healed?¡¹
¡¸What else could it be about?¡¹
Haruna asked timidly, to which the King answered with growing glee. Naturally, that would cause amotion. But the Japanese members held back theirints like ¡°why did you have to use it in such a public setting!?¡±
¡¸By the way, they imed the potion to be of mysterious origin, and tried it without expecting any results. We had permission from his guardian, too, so we won¡¯t have anyints for this.¡¹
¡¸You seem pretty happy that you have an opportune test subject.¡¹
¡¸Who me? While I feel sympathy for the boy, I¡¯m d we could secure the final push to get those politicians on our side. No one would dare make someone who can whip up ss 3 potions on the spot an enemy of the nation, much less with some shaky conspiracy.¡¹
The King said with nonchnce in response to Haruna¡¯s questioning.
¡¸He is the King, after all¡¡¹
¡¸I guess you can¡¯t run a country without a bit of this¡¡¹
¡¸Why did someone like him let Elle get into that kind of trouble, anyway¡?¡¹
Hearing Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s exasperated (yet impressed) reaction, Mio spoke out loud her question.
¡¸Unfortunately, the King is just a man. He can be opportunistic enough to take advantage of a sudden urrence, but he remains a pathetic creature who can barely protect his daughter. He can barely keep the peace between his children. What augh.¡¹
With this father¡¯s confession in response to Mio, the group felt like they could sense at least a part of the King¡¯s difficult situation. No matter how much power one held, a single person could never keep control of every aspect in life. No great leader has ever ruled without a fair share of resistance and pushback. King Regnas, especially, (despite his reputation among neighboring nations) only had enough smarts to pluck out some seeds that could sow disarray over fighting for the throne.
Perhaps because of Fane¡¯s wealth and stability, it¡¯s underlying issues tended to remainrgely under the surface. Even the problems that be apparent are often more dangerous to approach than leaving them alone. The various political and policing bodies, especially, were locked tight with regtions. The previous king deserves the credit for making it much more difficult for corrupt nobles to abuse themon people.
While the opposition¡¯s rhetoric was disturbing, their actions (for therge part) followed their expectations. As such, the royal family had found it difficult to charge any of the opposing nobles with a serious crime. The people would forsake thew if their leaders do, and the current system ofw (engineered by the previous king) surpassed even royalty. As a blowback to the tyranny of the King before him, the hurdles set for amending thesews were sky-high, making amendments almost impossible without a unanimous vote.
This situation had festered resentment in the top 1% of the country. This was especially a problem when the loopholes in thesews allowed the people who lost money in the previous King¡¯s reform to work with the like of Barold and get away with ridiculous false usations, making the lives of royalty severely more tiresome. In order to take care of these shenanigans, they would have to start by amending somews, but the only damage at the moment was that the integrity of both the royal family and the nobles were falling into the ground, in a forced-suicide sort of way. And the opposition, of course, yed their roles perfectly around messengers and guests from other nations, which made it even more awkward for the royal family to ask for foreign aid in the matter.
In light of the chain of recent events, Aearis had been left with all of the rippling damage from Fane¡¯s governing structure.
¡¸But thanks to you, we are approaching a breakthrough in the series of issues that have been consuming us. I can not thank you enough.¡¹
¡¸We just kind of stumbled into all this ruckus, we¡¯re only lendin¡¯ a hand ¡¯cus we wanna. Besides, this ain¡¯t close to bein¡¯ over. We just barely dodged the biggest¡ arrow.¡¹
¡¸True. Speaking of, do you have the all-purpose potion prepared for what¡¯s ahead?¡¹
¡¸Done. We got enchantments on our clothes, so all we gotta do is drink ¡®em.¡¹
Hiroshi said, as he produced some small bottles. Each member from the party drank the entire bottle at the same time. Cringing at the nd (because of the Solmizen) but medicinal taste (from the other ingredients) each member of the party finished their coffee-creamer-sized vial.
¡¸Now, we gotta look at our big kahuna.¡¹
¡¸I expect Katrina to be insulting in some way¡¡¹
¡¸Any insults that can be seen as such are the least of our problems.¡¹
Tatsuya dered, against the King. Of course, this wasn¡¯t reassuring in the slightest, but the King was nheless somewhat relieved that, even though he had instructed them to do so, that they could be so frank with him.
¡¸Then, I should excuse myself. I will see youter at the banquet.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty.¡¹
The king existed with solemnity, carrying out two vials of Hiroshi¡¯s potion for each person. The second chapter of the opening act was about to begin.
***
Princess Katrina was simply¡ unhappy.
¡¸Who do those buffoonish adventurers think they are!?¡¹
She spat out with vigor, as she remembered what had happened at the banquet earlier. Dining with royalty was an honor beyond mere adventurers¡¯ worth, she thought. Yet, they held their heads high, confident as ever.
If they had acted that way in their neighboring nation across Spirit Spire Mountain, the United Nations of Midas, she would have understood. But their entitled attitude towards the royal family of Fane¡ How dare they?
What made matters worse for Katrina was that all of them barely looked at her, and only spoke to Layotte, Elena, and Aearis, in a very (albeit they attempted to conceal this) familiar manner.
Katrina could forgive them for listening to Layotte or Elena instead of her. Both of them were her superior, after all. What she would not stand for was them speaking to Aearis, ignoring what she was about to say. What¡¯s worse, those peasants acted like they had personally known the Crown Prince for a decade!
While she kept her cool on the outside, she had desperately concealed her overwhelming rage. She could say, with certainty, that she had never been forced to endure so much self-restraint before in her life.
¡¸And Layotte! Treating that no-name, peasant potion maker as if he was better than me!? Must he be reminded of his position as the Crown Prince of our great nation Fane!?¡¹
Katrina rambled on nonsense as she punched her pillow. Of course, anything she was saying now had no grounds, objectively speaking. In fact, Katrina had never even started a conversation for the entire duration of the banquet. Moreover, she had cleanly ignored a question that hade up in a conversation. In the first ce, the royal family was the one with the familiar attitude, and the Japanese party had kept solemn etiquette. They knew how to behave in a public setting like this.
One could point all of this out, but to Katrina, who was rapidly losing touch with reality (at least internally) it would go in one ear and out the other.
¡¸Barold! Can¡¯t you get rid of those fools!?¡¹
¡¸Have patients, Princess Katrina.¡¹
A man, whose presence was so non-existent that one might forget his face even as they looked right at, held back Katrina as she went on her enraged tirade. Just like the man who had attacked the party during the mission to return Aearis to the Temple, this man was utterlycking in any sense of individuality.
¡¸If we make a move now, we will be suspected, for sure. We are already under scrutiny for the incident with Princess Aearis.¡¹
¡¸Scrutiny? Why?¡¹
¡¸The man who attacked Princess Aearis, allegedly, looked just like me.¡¹
¡¸What an oundish usation.¡¹
Katrina replied, with a healthy dose of irony. Nodding, Barold continued. He didn¡¯t let on that they were under scrutiny from the beginning, nor that he was confident that he could get away with it all using the loopholes of thew.
¡¸Indeed. That being said, preconceptions can be a binding force. Once the seed of suspicion is sewn, it can be very difficult to get rid of it.¡¹
Katrina nodded with a begrudging expression in response. From experience, she knew that she couldn¡¯t refute. Of course, in most cases of when she considers herself a victim of wrongful preconceptions arergely due to her own part or entirely imagined.
¡¸So, I think the best course of action is to stand back, and wait for them to trip. If you wish, I can manipte the mindless crowd to push them into a corner, so they have no choice but to trip.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. It¡¯s bing more suffocatingtely. Let¡¯s not be too hasty. Barold, I¡¯ll leave the details to you.¡¹
¡¸As you wish.¡¹
Hearing Katrina so easily convinced to relinquish the operation to Barold, he couldn¡¯t help but see her as easy prey.
True, Katrina was well-educated. Her appearance (¡°miraculous¡± as praised by those in and out of Fane) may even surpass that of all of her sisters (save Aearis perhaps, whose physique was still developing) and her behavior in public made here across as a wise woman, indeed. Still, if one were to ask if she was apetent member of royalty¡? The answer was a firm no. The quality of one¡¯s education guarantees no corrtion to one¡¯s character. Katrina was a prime example of the discrepancy. Worst of all, Katrina had chosen to ignore reality, once she saw that it contradicted the theoretical world she had learned. It was no wonder that her education was wasted on her.
She was talented in keeping face and making excuses, but was too stupid for anything else. As she (optimistically) assumed that her reputation suffered no damage after she made excuses and kept face, she was far frompetent. Although she had some talent for relentlessly bullying the defenseless (like Aearis) behind closed doors, shecked the capabilities to square off against anyone with a semnce of self-reliance (like the Japanese adventurers) and never bothered to give anything a second thought before delegating the dirty work to her inferiors.
Still, if she would only take responsibility for the results, one could argue for her talent as a leader, but Katrina would (without exception) dodge said responsibility, iming that she had nothing to do with those actions, despite any and all concrete evidence to the contrary. Without her beauty, royalty, and eligibility as a Priestess Princess (although she was the backup¡¯s backup) she would have been an outcast long ago. Coincidentally, her first attempt at undermining Aearis had seeded, convincing the majority of Aearis¡¯ fake persona (that was very unrealistic for a child under ten years old) leading to her getting off scot-free until now. If Aearis were to go public with these events, she was sure to reap what she sowed.
Of course, she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that the appearance of these adventures had suddenly dampened her winning streak.
The contamination of the mineral veins were almostplete, and now they were even stronger than before; their progress was reversed in just a day. Although it was toote, Katrina couldn¡¯t help but regret not forcefully disposing of Aearis earlier. She had sent minions to Piaranork¡¯s nest to check on her work, but the powerful defense from Aearis¡¯ Hereditary Spell had prevent Barold¡¯s men from doing anything to them, and so they were left alone. The spell would have onlysted a month, which would not have been an issue for Katrina if there were no interference.
The best option, in the sense of eliminating Aearis, was to assassinate her directly, but (unlike a time-bomb transportation spell) attacking Aearis directly with an Attack spell within the castle would leave the wielder exposed to bing discovered, which would have left Katrina with no excuse. Besides, while Douga and Rayna had low Magic Tolerance, their Magic Defense were surprisingly high. Without eliminating them (Douga, in particr, who had high Defense stats against Ranged Attacks) she could not have killed Aearis in any direct matter. On the other hand, it was difficult for Barold (not an assassin in any way) to kill a member of the royal family (no matter how young) with a physical weapon, and hiring an assassin without Douga and his team finding out about it was difficult.
So, considering that having Aearis missing rather than dead was more advantageous to them, Barold had trapped her with a Binding spell and a transportation spell to send them to the most dangerous enemy within range, Piaranork. Thest thing Katrina had expected was for them to be rescued within three days. In fact, thest adventurer that had fought Piaranork before this had done so over half a year ago. The odds were incredibly in her favor.
Come to think of it, it seemed like things were not going Katrina¡¯s way since the horde of Venomous Wolves were taken care of with no casualties all because of those adventurers. She had heard that about 220 antidotes were used that day, which meant that (if all went well) the casualties would have been 220 men, and the mineral veins would have been tainted with the affliction of 220 men. Considering that the antidote healed them immediately, there might have been more casualties without them. Katrina hade to realize that this band of adventurers had been tangling up their schemes for months, now.
And now, they hadpletely healed Elena, detected the specific poison used, and had locked them out of poisoning her again. Now that her guard was up, it didn¡¯t seem likely that they could poison Elena any longer, even with a different poison. While Barold had instructed tasteless and odorless poison to be put in the drinks of Elena, Aearis, and the adventurers, he did not expect those to pan out.
Before I ditch this ditz, I have to keep an eye on that party.
While he wouldn¡¯t let it show (like Katrina) Barold was just as annoyed by the Japanese party as she was. It would be difficult to turn the tide from here, but Barold wouldn¡¯t stand a chance until he eliminated those pesky adventurers. He would have to fall back behind square one, but if he could take care of Elena and Aearis somehow, even if Katrina were to be executed, he could temporarily eliminate the Princess Priestesses. Then, the mineral veins would be naturally corroded by affliction (Barold would call this ¡°cleansing¡±) allowing him to aplish his goal.
In truth, Barold was itching to start working towards getting rid of the lot of them. Still, he had decided to hold Katrina back and standby because his scheme had been so cleanly dismantled since their emersion. He thought it would be too careless to make a move without understanding them further.
¡¸For now, Princess Katrina, why doesn¡¯t Your Highness use her beauty to show what true royalty means to those buffoons?¡¹
¡¸It goes without saying.¡¹
Katrina responded, with an irritated scoff. Katrina and Barold did not yet know that even in the beauty department, she was about to face utter defeat.
¡¸Thank you foring, all. I know we all have busy lives.¡¹
Finally, the ball had begun by the King¡¯s deration.
¡¸Tonight¡¯s party is to celebrate Elena¡¯s health and Aearis¡¯ safe return, as well as wee the men and women who were an integral part to saving their lives.¡¹
The room stirred a bit hearing this. Most of them were under the impression the ball was only to celebrate Elena¡¯s recovery. While they had heard that Aearis was missing, then had returned about a week ago only to perform the purification ritual in the Temple before disappearing again, but most of them had not expected that she would make a public appearance today.
The attendees were split down the middle when it came to their reaction towards Aearis¡¯ appearance. One half was aghast that Aearis had the gall to show up at a public event without shame, and the other half was simply relieved that she was unhurt. Even thetter half were most relieved that the national crisis of their missing ten-year-old Priestess Princess in direct line of the throne was resolved before dire consequences; this didn¡¯t mean that they personally approved of Aearis.
While many who have been astute to Katrina¡¯s activities ofte would rather see Aearis maintain her duties as Priestess Princess rather than pass them down to Katrina, of all people, but even they didn¡¯t approve of Aearis herself. They only acknowledged the reality that Aearis had been sessfully performing purifications, and the fact that (even if all the rumors about Aearis were true) they still saw Aearis as a better fit for the job than Katrina.
Unfortunately, almost none of the invitees were genuinely happy to see Aearis safe (without ounting for her royal status).
¡¸First, my daughters have something to say.¡¹
The King said, with a gesture, and Elena emerged from the back, solemn. Her physique was far frompletely healthy, but an adequate amount of vitality was emanating from her body. At this rate, she would regain her healthy physique in no time.
¡¸My most humble apologies for leaving everyone worried for my sake.¡¹
Elena bowed deeply, as she spoke in a clear, projecting voice. Watching her from the wings, Tatsuya, Makoto, and Haruna were trying to determine who seemed rtively reasonable in the crowd. Hiroshi, who was already drowning in the general atmosphere, and Mio, who had been speaking to Aearis (being more talkative than ever before in her life) were useless at the moment.
¡¸Yikes. Prince Katrina isn¡¯t exactly modest, huh¡?¡¹
¡¸You said it. Sure, it¡¯s a good look for her, but¡¡¹
With that, Makoto and Tatsuya nced at Haruna and Aearis.
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸Hm? I just thought you guys are going to make quite a ssh when you go out there.¡¹
Makoto said, honestly.
¡¸In any case, you¡¯re pretty chill about this whole thing.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not nervous, but I do have some experience in these kinds of settings, and a certain someone behind me is going to need some back-up.¡¹
With that, Haruna chuckled looking at her partner of two months. Still a mysterious one, as he was so easily choking up now, in contrast to his confidence at the royal meeting earlier. Of course, the people present at that meeting were rtively reasonable, and both the King and Queen, along with his two concubines, had been pressuring the crowd silently as to keep them from intimidating the Japanese party too badly. A meeting like that under normal circumstances most likely would have left the majority of the Japanese party incapacitated, let alone Hiroshi.
Upon first seeing Haruna in her current attire, everyone in the party but Hiroshi had either let out an exasperated sigh or froze solid. The team was worried about this, but with the change in scenery, the team seemed to be back to normal. As to why Hiroshi waspletely unaffected by Haruna¡¯s beauty (ording to Hiroshi) was because he would wind up dead if he was caught entranced by his natural predator. Could anyone me Haruna for wanting to cry, just a little bit? Even though neither of them held any romantic feelings for each other, this was bordering on being too harsh.
Still, Haruna was having difficulties grasping the difference in situations when Hiroshi could and could not function. When they infiltrated the castle with Aearis, she could understand because he was rather skittish working outside of hisfort zone, but from time to time, he would be extremely sheepish, in situations that didn¡¯t even involve women at all. At the very least, she hoped that he could at least see through tant lies and keep his cool.
In any case, now that Hiroshi seemed to be far less useful than expected, Haruna had topose herself. In fact, he knew that putting on a brave face was the best way to beat the nerves. While there were those who couldn¡¯t pull that off, those who could had to pull their weight as well.
¡¸Elle, you¡¯re almost up.¡¹
¡¸Y-Yes.¡¹
¡¸You got it.¡¹
With Mio¡¯s encouragement, Aearis puffed her chest, straightened her back, and walked into the hall, with a solemn expression. In that instant, the entire hall fellpletely silent.
¡¸Everyone, I am terribly sorry for all the trouble you have gone through.¡¹
Her delicate, clear voice filled the room, corner-to-corner. As she finished her sentence, she slowly bowed, as far as she could go, in slow precision as decorum demanded. Everyone there was entranced by her. Even Katrina, even the King and Queen faded inparison to this girl, merely ten years old.
Aearis was truly beautiful, pure, and elegant.
Albeit with some juvenile vernacr here and there, Aearis sincerely continued speaking from her heart, and the attendees could only watch in awe. Even if she was acting, the Princess speaking on the tform now was so contradictory from the mental image of the vile princess, nted in the majority of the attendees. It was difficult for anyone to maintain their mental image of a cruel and vain princess, while Aearis held back tears, apologizing for those who had lost their lives by being caught in the crosshairs of the scheme to assassinate Aearis. If Aearis was acting, this was a marvelous performance. However, most felt that her emotions behind her words were authentic. While she may had been making some dramatic choices, no one would have thought that she was lying outright.
There was another point that contradicted the rumors regarding Aearis. Rumors had it that her appearance was vile, as if to reflect her personality. However, the girl pouring her heart out now (albeit too young to possess aplete disy of beauty) was regal and elegant, exuding a mystical sense of beauty. Her hair and eyes, as well as her facial features all but guaranteed her direct lineage from the King and Queen, and her appearance was anything but ugly. While Princess Katrina at this age had possessed the same elegant beauty (albeit more shy than mystical). No one doubted that in five years¡¯ time, Aearis would possess irrefutable beauty.
Katrina was watching this all. Her sister, and the number of people reevaluating her sister grow with every word Aearis uttered, as she kept an aloof expression covering her consuming rage all the while.
That pest.
Aearis was wearing her official priestess garb, rather than a dress. The attire, usually kept well-hidden, entuated Aearis¡¯ innocence and elegance, as well as her mystical aura. Katrina could not stand that Aearis wore that garb (which Katrina would, quite literally, kill to wear) as if she was born in it. She would have felt better if Aearis seemed to struggle to fit the attire, or something, but she could not say that Aearis was being worn by it. In fact, Katrina¡¯s pride prevented her from it.
¡¸She¡¯s finished, it seems.¡¹
Barold muttered without much inflection, watching Aearis take another deep bow.
¡¸The rats areing out.¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see what they have to offer.¡¹
As Baroldmented, the party of five entered on the King¡¯s order. The third one in line, a teenage girl, had turned the entire ballroom awestruck again. This time, that included both Katrina and Barold.
Haruna, third in line, was wearing a simple, blue mermaid-style dress that didn¡¯t show too much skin. Her long golden locks were purposefully untouched, flowing down her back. Only essorized by a simple pair of earrings and a ne, the simplicity of her outfit further entuated her natural beauty.
Customarily, for someone of Haruna¡¯s body type, even a mermaid-style dress woulde with arge opening in the chest or back, but her dressed only revealed her neck and shoulders, at most. This, in turn,pleted her gifted silhouette even more, exuding more sensuality than she would have by revealing more skin.
All the while, the blue of her dress,bined with her quiet, collected attitude had discouraged the male gaze in spite of her sensuality. Her calm blue eyes that shone in intelligence spoke volumes in conveying that she was no easy woman. In short, she was a rose in a ss case. While her appearance sent many men into a tizzy, no one was allowed toy a finger on her. Anyone who knew how she looked everyday shared the same impression: she had bloomed.
Even the attractive women that went before and after her, and in fact all the women in the ballroom faded inparison to Haruna, save for Aearis, whose mystique allowed her to rival Haruna¡¯s presence. Not just women, either. Even Tatsuya, who had appearance well enough to not fade away in this ballroom filled mostly with beautiful men and women, was utterly ignored by all. Hiroshi, a forgettable country boy, had no chance of receiving any form of acknowledgment.
¡¸What the¡¡¹
Katrina whispered, shaking. Her beauty, which had be one of the few points of pride left for her, had been decimated by her younger sister and some random girl from who-knows-where. Everyone¡¯s eyes were glued at Haruna and Aearis, ignoring Tatsuya making a short spiel, representing the group. To be honest, anyone but Haruna could defile any decorum imaginable, and no one would bat an eye. Any and all movement by Haruna was met by gasps in the crowd. A clich¨¦ locking of the eyes would stop anyone in their tracks, and being stared at by her calm, yet all-prating gaze caused anyone with a secret to look away in a hurry, only to inevitably have their gaze drawn back to Haruna.
In a sense, the entire ballroom was under Haruna¡¯s control.
¡¸Now, in consideration of Elena¡¯s wellbeing, there will be no dancing tonight. Instead, Lady Haruna has offered to perform a song for us. I have been told that she has a divine voice. May I trouble you?¡¹
The King started, after toasts were made and the attendees were left to mingle. Haruna responded with an elegant bow:
¡¸If my voice won¡¯t offend his majesty, it would be an honor. What shall I sing?¡¹
¡¸Hm. A joyous tune. From your homnd.¡¹
¡¸As you wish.¡¹
With another bow, Haruna stepped forward with both ss and presence.
¡¸While it didn¡¯t originate in my country, we sing this as a group at the end of each year. It has significant meaning to my homnd.¡¹
With that, she inhaled deeply, and began singing brightly.
It was a ssic. A familiar song in Japan, as carolers formed at the end of the year to celebrate the passage of another year. Ordinarily, it wouldn¡¯t sound quite right without a harmony, but Haruna sang it acape, powerfully.
¡¸¡!¡¹
As soon as Haruna¡¯s voice reached their ears, both Katrina and Barold were assaulted with an indescribable disgust, at the same time. No matter how dense, most would at least sense the magnificence of her tune. True to its title, this song enveloped most members with bliss, but in turn agonies Katrina and Barold.
Once Haruna had concluded her joyous tune, Katrina and Barold were worn down to the point where they found it difficult to keep face. It wasn¡¯t just the two of them, either. All of the nobles, officials, and servants (whom Barold had spent years recruiting) were all dripping in cold sweats, panting. Some of the servants standing by the wall had nearly fainted. The only thing that they had inmon was that they all stored arge amount of affliction in their bodies, as a result of Barold¡¯s brainwashing. Barold reached the only logical conclusion:
¡¸The power¡ of the Goddess?¡¹
He mumbled, defeated, as he somehow managed to offer a weak apuse amidst the thunderous roar around him, which also served to drown out his utterance, preventing from reaching even Katrina.
¡¸How did that little¡¡¹
Throwing his metaphorical mask out the window, Barold couldn¡¯t help but shoot Haruna a re. Haruna responded with a gentle smile. Desperately keeping down the urge to striker her, Barold tried to observe if his poison was effective. It wasn¡¯t a quick-acting poison, but after expending so much energy to sing that way, she would be showing some symptoms if the poison was effective.
¡¸¡They didn¡¯tepletely unprepared, it seems.¡¹
Watching them consuming what is given to them without much suspicion as they conversed with the members of the royal family, Barold admitted his defeat for the night. Now that he had taken more damage than expected, it would be difficult for him to manipte the foreigners into a trap. He still would have made a move, if it weren¡¯t for the unassumingly alert members of the royal family. Barold didn¡¯t feel up to stepping into a tiger¡¯s den at the moment.
¡¸Haruna-sama. May I ask for a favor?¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Everyone was so enthralled with your voice earlier¡ Could you y a fun, cheerful song? Like a fairytale?¡¹
¡¸It would be my pleasure.¡¹
In contrast to her demeanor from before, Aearis asked in a sweet tone, appropriate for her age. Of course, Haruna would have never refused. A shiver crawled down Barold spine as he overheard this.
¡¸Princess Katrina. Let us retreat.¡¹
¡¸¡Why?¡¹
¡¸An encore.¡¹
Katrina paled. She looked around the room to find that the people who had been affected adversely by the tune earlier had already left.
¡¸How aggravating¡ There¡¯s nothing we can do now, I suppose¡¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, even we can¡¯t deny that the tune is majestic to themon ear.¡¹
With an utter sense of defeat, Katrina retreated with the excuse of feeling under the weather. Just as they exited the ballroom, the song had begun. Nearly falling to her knees from it, they scrambled far enough.
¡¸We must eliminate that harlot at all costs¡¡¹
¡¸It seems that way¡¡¹
Their grand scheme paled in light of the immediate threat Haruna possessed to them. Ironically, this defeat had increased the bond between Katrina and Barold.
Volume 1, 16
Volume 1, Chapter 16
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Stop right there!¡¹
Hiroshi and another knight had been locked in a duel until Douga had spoken up, rxing and taking their distance from each other. Since he had free time, Hiroshi was currently being forced to participate with the knights in their training in order to resolve battle-rted problems.
¡¸He¡¯s continuously tied with 20 people and counting.¡¹
¡¸Yep, guess when ites to people who actually train ¡¯emselves, I can¡¯t do much.¡¹
Hiroshi could only give a wry smile at Julius¡¯s review of results. In actuality, Hiroshi¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t get anywhere with this toon, who were the elite of the elite in this order of chivalry. With that being said, the knights as well could not peacefully ept these results.
¡¸Hiroshi-dono, are you really a craftsman?¡¹
¡¸Honestly, it felt like we were taking on Sir Douga, or even someone with more resilience than him.¡¹
¡¸Nah, other than actin¡¯ as a tank, I¡¯m purty average at everythin¡¯ else.¡¹
¡¸But that¡¯s already ridiculous!¡¹
One of the imperial guards burst out, but Hiroshi tilted his head, not able toprehend what he was trying to say. Why were they so surprised that a tank was essentially a novice with attacking in terms of division of roles?
¡¸Be as that may, do ye not think that by merely learning how to deal with attacks, your skills also get an ample increase?¡¹
¡¸There aren¡¯t many people who can pack so much into just one Smash, you know.¡¹
¡¸Whaddya mean? Old man and Ju-san could easily do that much if they put their minds to it.¡¹
¡¸All we did was match you. Plus with your level of defense, there isn¡¯t even any point in attacking you with practice swords like these, because no amount of firepower could break through that.¡¹
Cut down by Julius so easily, Hiroshi had an expression of discontent on his face.
¡¸I am sure that ye have many a thing that ye¡¯d like to say, but first, I¡¯d say that ye need to understand yourself a bit more precisely.¡¹
¡¸How do I even begin to precisely understand myself¡¡¹
¡¸No need to hurt your brain over it. The gist is that your defense is at least equal to Sir Douga, or even superior in certain aspects.¡¹
(I think I had a simr conversation with Makoto way back), thought Hiroshi as Julius and Douga did their best to make him aware of his own capabilities. But it seemed like Makoto was on to something, as he hadn¡¯t thought that he would have more than an equal chance of winning against Fane¡¯s strongest, Julius. In all honesty, they couldn¡¯t find it in them to understand how someone¡¯s actual power and their cognition of it could be so contrary, having gone through many a battle themselves.
However, it was pointless to give up just because of that. First, though the swords were just shams used for practice, they had to help him understand that it was not normal for someone wearing nothing but clothes to receive the steel-like, earnest hit of a trained knight head-on and just say ¡°Ow, that hurts!¡±. If he were in the same situation, even Douga would get some sort of bruise and it was normal to break some bones as long as you didn¡¯t mess up. Incidentally, as to why Hiroshi was wearing only regr clothing, it was because if he were to wear training armor, his movement would be absurdly slow. Julius had noted that if any future battles were like the previous, he wouldn¡¯t be fighting with armor anyway, and Douga had added that various adjusted enchantments were on him to prevent him from likely getting any wounds, which was how he had ended up participating in a mock battle with just his clothing on.
In addition, no matter how far you searched in the world, there was no way you could find someone with the kind of magic resistance that could nullify and crush Great Magic unleashed by someone with higher-than-average mana. All things considered, this meant that it was practically impossible for humanoids (elves and dwarves included) to damage him with magic. With these two conditions in mind, it was best to think of this man as impossible to kill by normal means.
With that being said, his attack power being less than that of an average adventurer was a minus that they couldn¡¯t ignore. After all, the moment that he could no longer fool his opponent with his abnormal defense, they would focus their attacks on Haruna, undoubtedly behind him, and the situation could get ugly from there. He needed to be taught thoroughly that as long as he couldn¡¯t think of a n to strengthen his firepower in a short amount of time, he would first have to figure out how to not let his opponents know that he was a paper tiger.
¡¸First, do something about your weapon. The handaxe and shovel you use aren¡¯t too bad either, but they¡¯re a bit too light.¡¹
¡¸Even if ya say that¡I dunno if I have enough time to make the ingredients, and how many do I even gotta have?¡¹
Both of them began contemting Hiroshi¡¯s question. From what they examined out of his skill with his main weapons (excluding a number ofrge ones), the non-heavyweight weapons that he could use decently were only his dagger and shovel. Everything else was that of an amateur. With the aforementioned weapons, he could easily y a Berserker Bear, and could in a sense hold his own against Pieranorks, but as he didn¡¯t have any attack skills other than Smash, they had no choice but to conclude that he was not by any means at a satisfactory level.
Out of all that, if they had to identify anything particrly good or bad, they felt that he was a bit more adept at axes and blunt weapons. Adding to the fact that there wasn¡¯t enough time, they would probably do well to start from there.
¡¸I suppose it wouldn¡¯t be hard to give him a two-handed axe.¡¹
¡¸And a weighty one with a long handle at that¡Yeah, something along the lines of a pole axe.¡¹
¡¸Or mayhaps he could go for a blunt weapon like Heavy Mace as opposed to an axe. At any rate, ad like yeself probably wouldn¡¯t suffer any fatal wounds even without a shield, so all ye need use is something with a bit of power.¡¹
Douga and Julius brought over bulky, heavy weapons to show Hiroshi. They were all weapons that had bad handling and slow attack speed in the game, and if you were to hit someone it would be over for them but these weapons were still not popr. Without quite a bit of strength and adjustment, even assuming you hit your target, it would copse your bnce, leaving you wide open to plenty of hits. It was quite understandable why they weren¡¯t popr.
Incidentally, a mace is essentially a long pole with arge steel sphere at the edge. If you were to attach thorns to it, it would be one of the weapons known as a Morning Star. Its biggest selling point was that you didn¡¯t have to think about the direction when swinging it, and its rustic and barbaric nature made it a specialized, primitive weapon for fending off any weapon.
¡¸Ya say it like it¡¯s easy, but these¡¯re all tough ¡¯n hard t¡¯handle. I mean, d¡¯you even know how scary it is just to swing it at the air?¡¹
¡¸Nonsense. Ye¡¯ll understand once ye practice swinging it around fer a bit. Heck, even I can make a fine swing with thatrge spear.¡¹
¡¸Do ya really think it¡¯s convincin¡¯ t¡¯hear that from someone of yer upation, old man¡¡¡¹
¡¸Still, try it at least once. If ye feel that it doesn¡¯t fit you, then ye can think of a more suitable weapon.¡¹
Douga added, and while albeit reluctant at first, Hiroshi decided to pick up two of the more prominent weapons that boasted heavy weight. There are those who would go a step further and choose a halberd for strengthening one¡¯s attack power with long-handled weapons, but versatile weapons such as those took time to learn how to handle them. Plus, being theplex shapes that they were, the tips were quite heavy, rivaling the Pole Axe and Heavy Maul in terms of bad handling. If he were using these types of weapons, it might be more applicable to Hiroshi¡¯s skills if he were to choose something akin to a Great Axe with a short handle.
¡¸Now, it is true that we don¡¯t have many ces to store this weapons. I¡¯ve sent someone to go find some, so in the meantime, I suppose I¡¯ll get some more concerns out of the way with ye,d¡¹
¡¸Concerns?¡¹
¡¸Aye. The most concerning thing is that after having participated in 20 battles, ye still aren¡¯t used to doing mock battles, but well, let us leave that be for now. I saw earlier that ye were running into attacks. Why is that?¡¹
What Douga had said about ¡°running into attacks¡± wasn¡¯t the most precise description. More urately, despite clearly being frightened, Hiroshi would for some reasone closer whenever he detected motion from an enemy.
¡¸Ahh, ya mean thaaat.¡¹
¡¸Aye, I do. Though it not always be a bad idea to gantly step forward, I think it be a bit excessive in your case.¡¹
¡¸Well, it isn¡¯t like I step forward with all this courage or anythin¡¯¡¡¹
At a nce, it might seem as if it required courage in order to plunge headfirst into an attack. However, Hiroshi utterly denied that. As if demonstrating interest in that way of thinking, not Douga, but Julius sought out more information.
¡¸If you aren¡¯t mustering up the courage to do such things, then what are you doing?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s quite simple really. It ain¡¯t like runnin¡¯ will help me escape takin¡¯ a beatin¡¯, so I may as well just go right to gettin¡¯ hit ¡¯n take less damage in the process. It¡¯s from experience that I charge headfirst. Sorta like when small fry viins lose their nerve and charge at the hero? Same thing with me. I¡¯m just desperate.¡¹
The two of them sort of got what Hiroshi was saying. It was true that there was many a person who would lose to fear and recklessly charge at opponents who were clearly out of their league. Still, looking at the situationprehensively, they were pretty sure that doing the same exact thing to someone lower than one¡¯s level was a bit too much on the paranoid side. With that being said, it was at least better than cowering in one ce. They decided not to press further.
In actuality, when Haruna had been attacked by the Berserker Bear, the reason why he had gone in front of her to cover her wasn¡¯t because of anything like chivalry, justice, or courage. It was the simple reason that even if he were to abandon Haruna, he had no confidence of escaping the bear. After all, it was normal for Berserker Bears to not let any human-sized creatures out of its sight until they killed them. Being slow, Hiroshi could only choose between getting hit sooner, orter, once Haruna had be a corpse. As long as he had no easy path out of this situation, he might as well just get it over with, which was why he had ended up getting hit. Any straightforward thought processes like saving his ssmate to have her be indebted to him or saving her because he would feel bad otherwise? None whatsoever.
Even in the case of the Piaranorks and afterward, he generally had no choice but to get himself hit, which was the only reason why he had consistently put himself in front of the enemies. Leaving aside incidences when he could take enemies like Giant Spiders by surprise, if he could escape or push the problem onto someone else without issue, he normally prioritized running away without fighting, no matter how weak the opponent.
This was the kind of man they were talking about. Of course there was no way he would be insistent on sharpening his battle prowess. Sure, he was vaguely aware that this wasn¡¯t a good habit, but he always found himself hesitating to learn battle skills. If he were still in the game, he could bring himself to casually learn more, but this was reality. At this rate, it seemed like he would continue to end up being forced to do things that he didn¡¯t want to do, so he just couldn¡¯t find it in himself to be motivated.
¡¸Well, for the time being, let us leave aside this talk of fighting. If ye cannot decide on a weapon, then there is not much I can teach ye.¡¹
¡¸It is as you say. Which leaves us with the vanguard, yes?¡¹
¡¸Aye. How about we leave Fortress forter and focus on Out Phase and Around Guard?¡¹
¡¸That sounds about right.¡¹
The two of them decided to focus on breaking through ranged attacks and catching the opponents¡¯ attention. In Hiroshi¡¯s case, it seemed that his pure body defense was above that of a metal-armored knight, and on top of that, he had softser armor called Wyvern Laser Armor that was superior even to full-ted armor in defense. Surely there wasn¡¯t any point in further raising his defense by training.
¡¸Let us start with Outface. I shall show ye once, so look well.¡¹
Douga said, bursting into focus. The next moment, there was a feeling of pressure filling the room, to the point where the shockwaves were physical, and Douga, the source of all this, looked as if he were the size of a small mountain, albeit an optical illusion. There was no escape. If they were to do nothing about it, they would all die. Overwhelmed by that fear, Hiroshi stepped forward and let his instincts push him onto Douga, stopping him in the nick of time.
There was still pressure in the air, but it was a shell of its former self. Not true fear, like earlier. Something inside of Hiroshi continued to whisper that as far more fearsome thoughts racked his brain. Sure, the physical fear was less than before, but it didn¡¯t evenpare to the mental fear. However, the trauma and danger he had experienced prior to this overpowered it. Because of the memories of his past, Hiroshi had been able to regain hisposure in under a millisecond.
¡¸Hm, so it was a dud. Quite the guts ye have there,d.¡¹
¡¸Nah, that was mighty scary, I¡¯ll have ya know. But thinking ¡¯bout it a bit, it ain¡¯t nothin¡¯pared to chocte.¡¹
¡¸Chocte? And what might that be?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s food. Dun worry ¡¯bout it.¡¹
Hiroshi thought about the incident that had given him gynophobia, and then the cause of all that, candy, as he shivered with a face too pale to be made fun of. Douga and Julius werepletely off the mark, wondering if he had been drugged or something.
¡¸Well, anyhow, have ye gotten the gist of what kind of technique Outface is?¡¹
¡¸Uhh, yeah, I¡¯d say so.¡¹
¡¸Then I shall teach ye the ropes, so first make sure to practice in order to activate something simr.¡¹
¡¸Ya got it.¡¹
Afterwards, Hiroshi would practice the art of pressure numerous times with a voice full of vigor, until he finally was able to activate a simr move. Due to Outface taking the effects of one¡¯s mental power, when Hiroshi had finally gotten said move, he ended up emitting a dangerous amount of pressure, which caused even Douga and Julius to have to resort to momentarily letting out serious bloodlust, frightening their surroundings in more ways than one. But let us keep that to ourselves.
¡¸As I¡¯d expect from the oldest library in the world. That is an impressive amount of books.¡¹
¡¸When there are this many, I don¡¯t even know where to begin¡¡¹
The library in Wulls Castle was literally a sea of books. Haruna and Tatsuya, who had been assigned to search the library on this day, were at an utter loss for words as they stammered at the staggering collection of books. Incidentally, Makoto and Mio were acting as both Aearis¡¯ guards and instructors, in the middle of instructing her on how to protect herself with a dagger.
¡¸You mustn¡¯t be so surprised by this much. The great library of Rufeus is what you should marvel at. It¡¯s already the same size as this castle and yet is still filled to the brim with books.¡¹
When Tatsuya and Haruna had made such bewilderedments, Sir Molt, the chief of the court magicians,ughed as he told them that. When they heard that, neither of them could conceal their aghast expressions.
¡¸But uhh, leaving aside all the jokes, where do we start?¡¹
¡¸Right. Haruna, have you wanted to know anything sinceing here?¡¹
¡¸There are a lot of things, but I¡¯d say that the whole thing about guests from the unknown continent. Also, sort of felt like this was involved here and there, so I would also say data on Alfemina-sama, or if you prefer, this particr god.¡¹
¡¸Then, I guess I¡¯ll hit the history books. We could very well find a hint there.¡¹
The two of them decided to start their investigation from a fairly innocent point. For better or for worse, the two of them both had little trouble with reading books. It was just that they weren¡¯t sure whether or not the books here would be easy or hard to understand, and even for them, it was difficult to read hard, long chapters that were like theses.
¡¸Now then, please do allow me to excuse myself back to my workce. If you have any questions, please do ask the librarian. And if you wish to enter the prohibited book storage, simply send someone my way and I shall deal with it quickly.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Thank you very much.¡¹
After Sir Molt dered like a good-natured old man that he was back off to work, Haruna bowed in gratitude. Narrowing his eyes at that, he mentioned something to Tatsuya and the aforementioned librarian before bidding them farewell and walking off. After watching him leave, Haruna followed suit and asked the librarian where the bookshelf in question was, taking several books.
¡¸¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
¡¸¡This is still the first volume and I know it¡¯s too soon to judge, but there¡¯s less information than I thought there would be.¡¹
¡¸¡What a coincidence. It¡¯s unexpectedly sketchy for me too.¡¹
There was so little information that they didn¡¯t even need to say ¡°miss¡±. After all, nearly all of the contents involved fairy tale-like info. There should have been written mention of the people or historical facts, but to be bluntly honest, these articles didn¡¯t remind them of anything remotely resembling that.
¡¸This isn¡¯t directly rted to what we¡¯re trying to investigate today, but¡¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸The legend of the founding king. I¡¯d say it¡¯s pretty darn difficult to judge whether it¡¯s factual or fabricated as a myth¡¡¹
Intrigued by what Tatsuya had just said, Haruna borrowed a book and skimmed the book. As for the contents¡
¡¸Annihting over a thousand wyverns with one strike?¡¹
¡¸Or things like stopping over ten thousand troops with one horse, or remaining unscathed even when they took the full brunt of the magic of an evil god¡¯s retainers- just a lot of insane stuff.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I really don¡¯t know what to think of this.¡¹
¡¸Right?¡¹
Tatsuya replied with a wry smile at Haruna¡¯s remark. Honestly, in their former world, this would have been regarded as preposterous and that would be the end of it, but this world was in the style of Fairy Tale Chronicles. Leaving aside the magic of the retainers of an evil god, they couldn¡¯t necessarily rule out the act of stopping a thousand wyverns. There was an event from the administration in which a yer used only one extra sword skill to defeat about five hundred wyverns and monsters of equal level, nearly destroying them all. Judging from what happened that time, even if it were an exaggeration that the enemies had been defeated with one swing, the chances that someone had legitimately wiped out a thousand wyverns in the blink of an eye were fairly high.
As for halting a military force of over ten thousand, with Hiroshi being able to choose the terrain and charging right in, he would undoubtedly seed. If he truly had the physique that he had in the game, it would essentially be impossible to kill Hiroshi with human firepower.
¡¸Let¡¯s leave the whole founding king thing aside for the moment. It isn¡¯t like we care whether it¡¯s a myth or the truth.¡¹
¡¸Well, that is true.¡¹
¡¸It currently feels like I can¡¯t say much on this unless I read some more. Although I did find something that slightly contradicts what we were thinking in the first volume. Interested?¡¹
¡¸Contradicts? What do you mean?¡¹
Tatsuya had nothing but a bad feeling when he saw Haruna¡¯s subtly troubled expression.
¡¸You see, it seems like not all the guests from the Unknown Continent absolutely have to be Japanese or yers.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but let out a voice of astonishment at these unexpected words. He had managed to keep it in a low tone, but with just a bit more noise or more people around, it would have been dangerous.
¡¸ording to this, it seems that the first guests toe from the Unknown Continent were of African descent.¡¹
¡¸But if that were the case, couldn¡¯t it just be that ck people who came to Japan were ying the game and got mixed up in it?¡¹
¡¸Well, apparently, upon seeing Wulls at the time, they were shocked at the development of its civilization.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
At that, Tatsuya found himself quiet down as he felt an extremely bad premonition. If what Haruna had said was true, then that would mean these were tribes who had no connection whatsoever with developed nations. It was even possible that these people had wandered in here a hundred years ago in earth time.
¡¸Upon further consideration, stories about being spirited away have been all over the world for ages and are too numerous to even count, so it doesn¡¯t necessarily have to mean that people are sent here because of a game.¡¹
¡¸So are you saying you believe all that, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Initially I was in half belief half doubt. But now I¡¯m in that exact situation, so I don¡¯t see why not.¡¹
Haruna said with a straight face, and Tatsuya realized that what she said made sense. Though he did think that the majority of so-called spirited away incidents were abduction or theck of a body, but considering their current position, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there were some legitimate cases in which people did wander into a different world.
¡¸Well, it¡¯s still a bit too early for conclusions, so I¡¯ll read the book a bit more.¡¹
¡¸Guess I¡¯ll do the same. Doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯ll be easy to find hints about how to return to our own world, but we might be able to learn about what¡¯s happening in this country.¡¹
¡¸Exactly. In that case as well, we have to do something about that first or else we may find ourselves in a bad situation when we go to other countries.¡¹
Thinking of their convoluted situation, even if they were to find a way to get back to their original world, it was dubious if they would just say ¡°Okay, sure¡± and let them return just like that. They at least had to do something about Katrina and that mysteriousckey of hers, or else even minimal safety was shaky at best.
¡¸Then do you have any sort of hint regarding that?¡¹
¡¸Didn¡¯t the man who came into the temple call the pollution of the earth with miasma ¡°purification¡±?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
¡¸In other words, that way of thinking is the opposite of Alfemina¡¯s temple, so I¡¯d say one candidate is some sort of opposing religion. Seeing as how their methods are established, there seems to be an appropriate amount of history surrounding it, so even if the patterns are different, there should be simr incidents that they¡¯re causing. Also, I can¡¯t say that I don¡¯t have any idea as to who the people are who summoned Cerberus, as old man Douga mentioned. Although this rtes to the game and I only just remembered as I was reading through various documents.¡¹
¡¸True, I think those sorts of things woulde up if you investigated the history, but aren¡¯t all the particrs inside of the restricted section?¡¹
He nodded at Haruna¡¯s remark. However, it wouldn¡¯t be productive to suddenly go into the restricted section. Before they did anything else, they needed to find out what incidents urred in which time periods and what group caused them.
¡¸Before we go into the restricted section, we¡¯d best tie up loose ends here. It¡¯s too risky to just read through a bunch of secretive history books all at once.¡¹
¡¸I see, got it. Then I¡¯ll go sort out anything rted to the guests from the unknown continent.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll leave you to that then.¡¹
Deciding where their next direction would be, they began opening any books that caught their eye ording to the memo paper on hand. asionally they would exchange books and check each other¡¯s data in order to fill up their memos with sufficient information.
¡¸It will be afternoon shortly. What shall you be doing?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s already that time?¡¹
¡¸Okay, then how about we briefly clean up and report our findings while having some lunch?¡¹
After the librarian had approached them, they both decided to take a breather. They certainly felt like they had maybe bit off more than they could chew in one day.
¡¸Then, let¡¯s go ahead and meet up with Hiroshi-kun¡¡¹
Half-rising to her feet, Haruna felt a strange sensation in the corner of her brain.
¡¸¡Hm?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Well, how should I say this? It feels like something¡¯s asserting itself¡¡¹
¡¸Asserting itself? What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸I reeeally don¡¯t know. Let me concentrate for a moment.¡¹
She said to Tatsuya, focusing her attention on the strange sensation in the back of her mind. This was clearly some sort of outside interference. But this wasn¡¯t one of ill intent. It was currently unclear as to whether it was dangerous or not. The line was¡
¡¸Coming from the restricted section, maybe?¡¹
¡¸Restricted section? But isn¡¯t there a magical seal there?¡¹
¡¸Yes. It is sealed with enough power to where I cannot immediately unravel it.¡¹
Tatsuya made a face at the librarian¡¯sment. Haruna had a slightly anxious expression on her face. Judging from experience, this would unmistakably lead to nothing good.
¡¸Well, right now we shouldn¡¯t think so much. How about some lunch¡¡¹
As Haruna was about to propose that they leave the problem forter, the unpleasant feeling of assertion violently halted her.
¡¸Shut up already!¡¹
¡¸You really feel something?¡¹
¡¸The only people who would tell lies like that are attention whores¡¡¹
¡¸True enough. Well, from the looks of it, we can¡¯t do much of anything until we get into the restricted section.¡¹
Tatsuya didn¡¯t even bother to hide his bothered expression, whereas Haruna simply gave a weak nod. Seeing all this, the librarian made a mad dash to call over Sir Molt. Haruna felt gratitude for such quick action as she held her head at how brutal this presence was.
¡¸I hear that the situation is bing a bit drastic¡¡¹
It didn¡¯t even take five minutes for Sir Molt to appear in the library from when the librarian called him over. He must have really hurried over.
¡¸Yeah, Haruna started saying that there was something exerting itself in the direction of the restricted section.¡¹
¡¸Is this true!?¡¹
¡¸She just wouldn¡¯t shut up for thest few minutes about wanting you to head that way¡¡¹
Judging by Haruna¡¯s exhausted expression, Sir Molt figured that she wasn¡¯t lying. Besides, if Sir Molt were to apany them, they could enter the restricted section whenever they pleased, so there was no point or merit of telling a lie like this.
¡¸But to pierce through the seal and call out to you, it must be quite strong¡¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t have to tell me that¡¡¹
As if bolstered by Sir Molt¡¯s arrival, the calling became louder, and a groggy Haruna grumbled with a pale face and dry smile.
¡¸Anyhow, at this rate, Haruna won¡¯tst. Let¡¯s hasten with investigating.¡¹
¡¸Indeed.¡¹
When Sir Molt hurriedly went to temporarily unlock the seal to the restricted section, the presence that was targeting Haruna became a straight line.
¡¸Which way?¡¹
¡¸¡This way.¡¹
Still pale-faced, she traced a line with indistinct steps. Enshrined in the bookshelf ahead of them was a grimoire that was emitting quite the immense amount of mana despite being sealed off. There were plenty of other grimoires gathered on the shelf, and it was honestly difficult to tell which grimoire it was based solely off of the book bindings, but by simply examining the mana it was clear which one Haruna was searching for.
¡¸¡So you want me to take you out from there?¡¹
The book binding had no words on it, but was illuminated by a faint light as if answering Haruna¡¯s call. The moment she saw the response and took it into her hands, Haruna¡¯s eyes narrowed.
¡¸Sing? What are you talking about?¡¹
The book cover had no words on it either, but it blinked in order to answer Haruna¡¯s question. She found herself sighing at how troublesome this was, but determined that nothing could progress unless she did as it had said, she opened the grimoire and came up with lyrics in her head and a rhythm to apany it. Reacting to the song, light poured out from the grimoire.
¡¸¡These guests from the Unknown Continent are really all out of this world, aren¡¯t they¡¡¹
¡¸Sure, I admit that I¡¯m different from the average person in Fane, but please, it¡¯s a little too much to lump me together with her or Hiroshi.¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but interject at Sir Molt as he muttered in awe. No matter what, he was reluctant to bepared to Haruna and her extra skills, Hiroshi and his extreme crafting specialization, or even to Makoto and her over Level 600 head-on battle prowess. Tatsuya could at most handle some different kinds of magic, but not to the point of making it into even the lower level of advanced yers.
¡¸But what is that anyway?¡¹
¡¸I do not know. The restricted books are dangerous in that they either choose the person or attempt to consume them, so I do not know the details either.¡¹
¡¸And you don¡¯t have any sort of list of inventory?¡¹
¡¸That we do, but it is more than a thousand years old, so it is unclear which book pertains to which specific item on the list.¡¹
As if testing the answer he had heard from Sir Molt, Tatsuya took out aparatively mellow grimoire out. Just like the previous one, there was nothing written on the front cover or binding, and looking at it didn¡¯t help with figuring out which book it was. He flipped through the pages, but they were all nk. Nevertheless, he could sense the strong mana.
¡¸I see. Now it makes sense why a simple index wouldn¡¯t be able to pinpoint these.¡¹
¡¸Precisely. And even amongst the grimoires, there are especially dangerous ones that have been quarantined, so I do not think the ones in this area will be especially problematic¡¡¹
¡¸So they¡¯ll either look like there¡¯s nothing in them, or you won¡¯t even be able to open the pages, essentially.¡¹
¡¸That is correct.¡¹
Tatsuya was marveling in the corner of his head about how this was quite good for security purposes. At least for security, but as they were blocked off in this area, no matter how low the risk was, it was doubtless that none of them were anything but troublesome. At least judging from how Haruna was doing, he didn¡¯t think these were harmless books in the slightest.
¡¸¡Finishing up anytime soon?¡¹
¡¸It¡would seem so.¡¹
At the same time that the third song¡¯s climax had ended, light gradually began to illuminate their vision. Then, as the reverberation of thest phrase faded, the light all disappeared and the grimoire that had been drifting in front of Haruna closed by itself, returning to the bookshelf it was previously on.
¡¸So what was that all about?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Sorry¡¡¡¢¡¡still¡¡¡¢¡¡processing¡¡¡¹
Haruna crumpled onto the ground, her face pale and breathing raspy. She seemed to be troubled in some way.
¡¸Okay. Can you stand?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Can you¡¡¡¢¡¡wait¡¡¡¢¡¡a bit¡¡¡£¡¡Kind of¡¡¡¢¡¡feels like¡¡¡¢¡¡all my stamina¡¡¡¢¡¡was taken¡¡¡¢from me¡¡¡¹
And Haruna certainly sounded sluggish. Making a sidelong nce at Sir Molt, who seemed to be unsure whether he should look at this strangely appealing version of Haruna, Tatsuya calmly took out a Level 5 stamina potion from his bag.
¡¸Well, at least drink this.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mm¡¡¡¹
She took the stamina potion from Tatsuya, drinking it dry and taking a small breather. Despite her proportions, Haruna didn¡¯t normally exude any kind of erotic appeal, so it was rather awkward to suddenly have her burst with mor at a time like this. Tatsuya knew what the cause was, but the same could not be said for Sir Molt, who felt truly ufortable.
¡¸Feeling a bit better?¡¹
¡¸Somehow, yeah. Sorry for making such a fuss.¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s basically an irresistible force, so no worries.¡¹
Tatsuya said as he helped her up. Hiroshi wouldn¡¯t be able to do considerate things like this due to his gynophobia. Even if he did think to do it, his body would definitely reject it first.
¡¸So I¡¯d like to ask again, what was that?¡¹
¡¸The main part was about special magic rted to Alfemina-sama, I guess? I learned various other things, but most of them were ovepping what I already use, and the ones that were new honestly felt like they were mostly useless.¡¹
¡¸Oho? Could you give a specific example?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll talk about it when we meet back up with Hiroshi-kun and the others.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
Responding to Haruna¡¯s answer, they finally got to finishing up in order to head to lunch.
¡¸Sir Molt, would it be all right if you were to keep this a secret from everyone other than His Majesty, Prince Layotte, the high priest, and Aearis-sama?¡¹
¡¸Understood. However, if His Majesty determines that it is necessary, I may end up leaking the information for his sake¡¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s what His Majesty has decided, then we have no intention ofining. However, so that we know how to conduct ourselves, we would greatly appreciate it if you were to at least inform us, even if it¡¯s after the deed.¡¹
¡¸I will convey this to him.¡¹
They then got to finishing up and going their separate ways for lunch. This was the moment when they had decided to walk the narrow path, but the people from Japan wouldn¡¯t recognize that fact until muchter. At this point in time, all Haruna thought of this was that she had some strange magic forced on her.
¡¸Wait right there, brat.¡¹
Hiroshi had begun to head to where Haruna and Hiroshi were for lunch, but was suddenly stopped by one of the authorities who had been present at the audience with the king the previous day.
¡¸Umm, how can I help you?¡¹
He was a bit startled at the leader¡¯s sour face, as it looked like he had shoved a lemon into his mouth and crushed it, but Hiroshi did his best to humor him for now. But the man spoke in a threatening tone with fierce eyes.
¡¸Be quick about your investigation and then get out of here.¡¹
¡¸Well, you see, as long as we get good results, we were nning to do that¡¡¹
¡¸I will acknowledge that you fiends have saved Elena-sama and Aearis-sama. His Majesty allowed you to investigate the library just for today, so I will overlook that too. And unlike the fools who attempted to harm Elena-sama and Aearis-sama, I have no current intention of opposing you fiends. Be as that may, I do not intend to let you fiends simply loiter around here.¡¹
¡¸Well, as I said, once we have the necessary information gathered or I hear that it has been, we will indeed set out as soon as possible¡¡¹
Hiroshi answered the truly hard-headed leader while seriously quivering.
¡¸I am willing topromise this much for you, and you intend to talk back to me?¡¹
¡¸Eheh¡¡¹
Hiroshi really didn¡¯t know what to do at this point. The guy wasn¡¯t listening to a thing he said. Not heeding Hiroshi¡¯s clear dismay, the leader continued blurting things out.
¡¸It is true that even a fiend such as yourself are a one of a kind potion master in this world, but if your mere presence rattles the pce and the country is ravaged by chaos, I would argue that your existence is unnecessary. In fact, your very presence here is unfathomably troublesome. So get the bloody hell out of here.¡¹
He said thest bit with enough malice to kill a man before walking off as if nothing had happened. It was quite impressive that this leader was so difficult to talk to, yet didn¡¯t feel like he was gloomy in the slightest. Judging from the fact that he hadn¡¯t been affected during Aearis¡¯s purification in the temple infiltration, he probably was immune to miasma.
In other words, he was just a stubborn, but faithful old man. There was no way that this man could ept utter strangers like Hiroshi. As the man had dered, they were not currently doing anything problematic, and he would not oppose openly or secretly those who the royal family had chosen to protect, but it was a different issue when it came to not letting them stay too long. If it meant chasing them out as soon as possible, he would stillin about their presence so long as it wasn¡¯t out of actual opposition.
¡¸What a friggin¡¯ drag¡¡¹
It really was a drag. It made things even worse that the person wasn¡¯t a bad person. Sighing to himself about having to report this as well, Hiroshi caught Makoto and Mio out of the corner of his eye and called out to them.
¡¸Well then, let¡¯s talk about them results up till noon.¡¹
Hiroshi and the five of them formed a circle in a perfectly inconspicuous corner of the courtyard, handing out the lunch they had prepared as they had a meeting. Needless to say, they had taken precautions against eavesdropping.
¡¸Looks like I¡¯m up first. I don¡¯t got nothin¡¯ at the moment though, other than takin¡¯ half a day to be able to activate some sorta outface thing.¡¹
¡¸And what happened on the firepower side of things?¡¹
¡¸We settled on swingin¡¯ around a pole axe for the time being. Bein¡¯ real with ya, I think I¡¯d have some trouble with learnin¡¯ attack-rted skills.¡¹
Basking in the smell of the prepared food, Hiroshi finished his own report. As the drinksst night had been filled to the brim with poison, Hiroshi was appraising this food as well with his top detection skills. It was made at the knight¡¯s mess hall and not the guest one out of precaution, but dering it safe as a result was a little too careless. So even with the alluring scent of food before them, not a single person tried to even touch it.
¡¸So you still ended up not focusing too much on the offense¡¡¹
¡¸Well, as long as Hiro doesn¡¯t try to go off on his own, we should be fine for the time being.¡¹
¡¸Right, right. Plus we can easily support him as things are.¡¹
Makoto¡¯s shoulders dropped when she realized that there wasn¡¯t any major problem that had been resolved. Meanwhile, Haruna and Tatsuya hadn¡¯t expected much of him, so they were lenient on him for at least learning Outface.
¡¸Still, wasn¡¯t that a bit fast?¡¹
¡¸Maybe those settings that we started out with¡¯re still in effect, like Haruna said?¡¹
Makoto and the other two made dubious expressions at that query. Haruna began a supplemental exnation after seeing their expressions.
¡¸Well, you see. ording to the game¡¯s settings, the guests from the unknown continent are supposed have quicker growth than that of the average person in this world. So I was thinking that it might not be weird at all for us to also acquire skills more quickly.¡¹
¡¸Besides, the old man ¡¯n everyone else were sayin¡¯ things like ¡°As I¡¯d expect fromds from the Unknown Continent.¡±¡¹
¡¸Hoho, I see. So if I were to learn things rted to crafting right now¡¡¹
¡¸Yup, I think ya¡¯d have about as easy a time as in the actual game.¡¹
Makoto grimaced at Hiroshi¡¯s answer. Of course things couldn¡¯t go her way. For those who hadn¡¯t gone through the trial of crafting, one might say ¡°Oh, that thing that gets easier as you progress?¡± Still, if you were to think about it normally, it would only take around twenty years to master a field that would normally take one¡¯s whole lifetime to master, in addition to all the skills that came with it, so it was still quiteparatively easier.
¡¸And that¡¯s how it is, so I bet I can learn that there Around Guard shouldn¡¯t be too hard to git as a prerequisite. Although I worry ¡®bout just how much trainin¡¯ ya gotta do to be able to use it proficiently.¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay.¡¹
¡¸Also, this ain¡¯t really as I expected, but there¡¯re quite a few peeps who don¡¯t think very well of us, regardless of miasma. Welp, not like we know whether they¡¯re under the influence¡¯re not just by meetin¡¯ ¡¯em.¡¹
Makoto and Mio grimaced and nodded at what Hiroshi said. Someone had apparently said something to them too when they parted ways with Aearis. It seemed that by this point, only Tatsuya and Haruna had not encountered such people.
¡¸Yeah, and I just finished bein¡¯ told off by one of them authority figures from the meeting to hurry up ¡¯n git goin¡¯. But well, I think even if he tries to git us out, he probably won¡¯t interfere with our investigation.¡¹
¡¸You sure it¡¯s okay?¡¹
¡¸Well I can at least say they had no issue with purification, so they ain¡¯t Barold¡¯s henchman or anythin¡¯.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto seemed to be satisfied with Hiroshi¡¯s information. In actuality, it would be more effective and less risky to make them facilitate the process by being in the library.
¡¸I¡¯d say the real problem here is Ellie¡¯s maid.¡¹
¡¸I think so too.¡¹
¡¸That there gurl is dangerous. Honestly, even if I try ¡¯n stick to the edges of the room, it¡¯s too risky for me to go into Ellie¡¯s ce by myself.¡¹
¡¸I mean, even I don¡¯t want to go in there alone.¡¹
After they had finished breakfast that day, Hiroshi and Mio had gone to Elena¡¯s medical examination before training just in case, and as they remembered the events that had transpired, they shivered all around. Especially in Hiroshi¡¯s case, since he had been subjected to all sorts of things that aggravated him, which was why Elena and Mio had had to support him desperately.
But all that did was rub the maid even further the wrong way, making their rtionship even worse.
¡¸Just in case, we¡¯ll git to medical examination affairs while we¡¯re here, but I think it¡¯s best we finish up and git outta here as soon as possible¡¡¹
¡¸Agreed. So what about Makoto and Mio?¡¹
¡¸Nothing that¡¯s particrly worth discussing, I¡¯d say. Other than maybe that we canunch a protective barrier against flying weapons at a moment¡¯s notice.¡¹
Mio nodded at Makoto¡¯s report with an earnest face. Aearis was also pretty reasonable for her age. Although it was troubling that herck of exercise caused ack of stamina, it wasn¡¯t like she was a guest from the Unknown Continent. She couldn¡¯t just solve this issue in a brief span of time.
¡¸Elle¡¯s seriously giving it her all. She should be getting up there pretty soon.¡¹
¡¸Sounds about right. Plus she listens to what people have to say and her reflexes aren¡¯t half bad either.¡¹
¡¸Well that¡¯s good to hear.¡¹
¡¸So, Sensei. We going to eat yet?¡¹
Pestered by Mio, he made a slight grimace and nodded. He at least couldn¡¯t detect any poison from any quick searches, nor did he have any bad feelings about it, so even if something had been slipped into it, they could probably just detoxify it by biting into some solmizen.
¡¸Alright then, let us eat.¡¹
¡¸About time we get to dig in¡¡¹
After putting her hands together to exchange pre-meal formalities, Mio grumbled as she reached out for a sandwich. To Mio, who had about as much obsession with meals as Aearis did, it was quite testing to have food right in front of her but to not be able to touch it. With that being said, all these sandwiches involved were hard, ck bread and your typical ingredients inserted inside- a very masculine, bare-bones sort of product.
¡¸Y¡¯know, I think this every time, but is there any way to do something about the hardness of this bread?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s cause we ain¡¯t usin¡¯ yeast. How ¡¯bout ya learn how to ferment dough in the castle¡¯s kitchen for now?¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, you asked Prince Layotte to help out as well, right?¡¹
Haruna muttered as she remembered. It wasn¡¯t like she had forgotten, but it was just infinitely low on her priority list, so she hadn¡¯t thought about it in the slightest. Ever since he had tasted the soft, fermented bread in the kitchen, Layotte had be obsessed with normalizing it. It would probably be best to just get over it and teach everyone as much as possible, both for the sake of his wish and for their own affluent eating habits.
¡¸Heck, Lay even wanted to increase the production and normalization of takoyaki tes.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, I don¡¯t think that tes alone will suffice.¡¹
¡¸Well yeeeah. Puttin¡¯ aside green seaweed, the sauce ¡¯n bonito kes alone would be too difficult as of right now.¡¹
The Japanese group¡¯s conversation became increasingly derailed with the topic of food. The topic of what to eat was truly a fearsome one. Furthermore, the takoyaki te that Layotte was so insistent about was more of a simple edition, where you would set it on a stove or hot te. Both of those had the corresponding magic tools, so Layotte figured that all they needed was to make boards.
¡¸Anyhow, let¡¯s leave that to the side. It¡¯s not high on our priority list after all.¡¹
¡¸True. Gettin¡¯ back on topic, how was everythin¡¯ on yer guys¡¯ end, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Well, we had a lot happen on our end¡¡¹
¡¸Where do we even begin?¡¹
Suddenly in the spotlight, Haruna and Tatsuya¡¯s expressions grew fretful. It seemed like it was difficult for them to go about describing it.
¡¸Well let¡¯s just start with whatcha investigated.¡¹
¡¸All right. Then I¡¯ll go first.¡¹
Consenting to Hiroshi¡¯s request, she began discussing what they currently knew. The information that Haruna had picked up about the guests from the Unknown Continent was as follows:
The first thing they were able to confirm was that there was no solid causual rtionship between the game Fairy Tale Chronicles and the Guests from the Unknown Continent. Certainly, it was a bit difficult to insist that everyone had yed the game at some point, especially when cyberpunk-esque elves had found their way in. Even in terms of Japanese people, there had reportedly been a man from the Warring States Period who came in after a young man who had been part of a special offense force during the second world war, so it was clear from the records that time didn¡¯t have to always y the same way, and it was honestly a very brain-wracking find.
However, it was also true that there were several people whose description quite possibly matched that of yers. Not all who had wandered in here ended up the same way: there were mixing cases of those who suddenly went missing and of those who were confirmed to be dead. It wasn¡¯t clear whether or not the missing people were merely missing or had returned safely to Japan, but this possibility alone made it a huge find.
¡¸¡¡I know this ain¡¯t the time to bring it up¡¡¡¹
After hearing Haruna¡¯s exnation, Hiroshi opened his mouth fearfully.
¡¸Something you¡¯re concerned about?¡¹
¡¸Well, things like what happened to our bodies over there or what time it is over there.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I do get what you¡¯re saying, but yeah, no use thinking about it right now.¡¹
¡¸I know. I know, but¡¡¹
Everyone found themselves utterly silent at Hiroshi¡¯s words.
¡¸Also, there¡¯s something I¡¯m wondering about.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Was just thinking that it¡¯s peculiar for all these yers to show up but not really make much of an impression here.¡¹
¡¸Ah, very true¡¡¡¹
ording to Haruna, the yers who had been sent here before, save one, were all your average yers that made up the majority, not involved in much crafting. The only exception was that of a magic-obsessed person who had only really gotten to the Harvest skill, and no one had any experience with cooking, so at least in terms of culinary impact, everyone had yet to outmatch Hiroshi.
As to how she knew that, it was because among those who came from a different world, there were those who were probably at least on par with Hiroshi in terms of their medical knowledge. She had found a book detailing what skill sets those individuals had inparison, so she was able toprehend a decent amount about the people who had been sent here in the past. Of course, there were many of them who hade from some undeveloped area in Africa, sharing a simr food culture with each other like whole roasting or the asional boiling.
For those who were ustomed to a more affluent diet, they had no knowledge of how to replicate it and she sort of felt something artificial or ill-willed about them.
¡¸I really don¡¯t get it though~¡¹
¡¸Well, if we just count the yers, it would still be less than twenty people even with us included, so if we consider the poption ratio then it¡¯s practically a miracle that we even ended up being close to people like Hiro.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡¹
Makoto couldn¡¯t help but agree with what Tatsuya said.
¡¸But in the first ce, it¡¯s quite abnormal to find someone who wastes their skills just to eat like Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Mio, yer purty tough on someone ya call yer ¡°Sensei¡± as of recently.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s how I feel though.¡¹
As he heard Mio dere with conviction, Hiroshi suddenly looked tired and had a faraway look in his eyes. Sure, he knew that he was a loser, but when his pupil, not to mention a girl of five years younger than him made a fool of him like this, he seriously had to question his life.
¡¸Well putting that aside, what about your report, Tatsuya?¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t find anything particrly decisive. All I know is that there¡¯s some group of followers of an evil god that are running amok in this country.¡¹
¡¸Wow, totally haven¡¯t heard that concept before¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, you¡¯re telling me.¡¹
Tatsuya grimaced at Mio¡¯s straight remark. That term was all he had and no further information to go on, so it was inevitable to imagine that. At most, Makoto had informed him that she had crossed swords with a group of an evil god¡¯s followers in one of the main quests in Chapter Four. Actually, there wasn¡¯t even confirmation that an evil god existed in the game from the overall progress. Being that this was only a world resembling the game, there wasn¡¯t even confirmation about a group of followers, so he had only briefly mentioned this detail.
¡¸Well, with that being said, I kinda git it.¡¹
¡¸Get what?¡¹
¡¸The reason why Princess Katrina and her flunky were so pained to hear Haruna-san¡¯s song at the partyst night.¡¹
¡¸Oh great, so it really was my fault there¡¡¹
Haruna looked down as if receiving a shock. For Haruna, who enjoyed singing and having others listen in, it must have been shocking for the opposite thing to happen.
¡¸Well, if they weren¡¯t defiled by that there miasma, it was supposed to power ¡¯em up, so they probably got what wasin¡¯ to them.¡¹
¡¸So¡?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ it was the effect of Song of the Gods. If Ki¡ðKi¡ðDancer were there, it mighta just took one move to round ¡¯em up.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but I don¡¯t think beingpared to them is going to make this shock go away either¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ll be fine, you¡¯ll be fine. Just try singin¡¯ when we find a buncha monsters teamin¡¯ with miasma.¡¹
Haruna nodded with a grimace at Hiroshi¡¯s strangely determined words.
¡¸Now,st on the list, from how ya been actin¡¯ earlier it seems like somethin¡¯ happened. What happened?¡¹
¡¸Well, this isn¡¯t easy to exin at all, but¡¡¡¹
It took Haruna a bit of time to figure out how to answer after Hiroshi asked her, so she decided to exin one part of it that she knew to be factual.
¡¸Well, a grimoire that was sealed in the restricted section seemed to take a liking to me and made me learn extra skills from Alfemina.¡¹
Haruna spoke of it as a mere burden, but everyone other than Tatsuya stiffened upon hearing that. Even in such a situation, the sky still managed to be a clear and pretty blue.
Volume 1, 17
Volume 1, Chapter 17
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Sorry for calling you over here, my friend.¡¹
¡¸Well, I pretty much figured you¡¯de, so don¡¯t worry ¡®bout it.¡¹
After finishing their lunch on a seriously ominous note due to Haruna¡¯s report, they had just begun figuring out their ns for the afternoon to take a breather when they were all called over by the king and Layotte.
¡¸But what with this strange room here ¡®n all, this is really quite the atmosphere for a castle.¡¹
¡¸Once again, I can never tire of all your unique observations.¡¹
As if intending to soften the atmosphere, Hiroshi had gone for a full turn of the conversation, and Layotte couldn¡¯t help but remark on that.
¡¸Anyhow, there¡¯s a strong magical barrier here, so there shouldn¡¯t be an issue with getting somewhat reckless. Of course, to enter or exit requires either the king, one of his future sessors, or the Priest Princess, so it is impossible to even think of setting up eavesdropping equipment on the inside.¡¹
¡¸What are you implying?¡¹
¡¸What I mean is that even if Haruna were to use the special magic that she inherited from Alfemina-sama here, there shouldn¡¯t be any general issue. Plus I have Ernest and Julius here to observe in case anything goes wrong.¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t help but grimace at just how predictable this was. Even assuming that Douga and Julius were there, if you realized that there were tiers of magic that could blow away this entire castle regardless, she doubted their readiness and preparation for this situation. That was her honest opinion.
¡¸So with that being said, could you teach us directly and precisely how to use the magic that you learned, Haruna-dono?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
Urged by the king, she opened her mouth after lightly sorting out her thoughts.
¡¸Although unfortunately, the majority of them are regr Healing Magic, Support Magic, Movement Magic, or Obstruction Magic. If you take out the quantity of the user, you generally do not need to fulfill any special requirements. It¡¯s all magic that you can learn by training.¡¹
¡¸Could you be more specific?¡¹
¡¸Goddess¡¯s Protection, Skanda, Goddess¡¯s Healing, Long-Distance Teleportation, and the like are the majority. There were also some spells that I couldn¡¯t use, but the users were all people who knew how to acquire it.¡¹
Hearing some specifics, the king and Layotte nodded in understanding. It was true that Skanda and the like were major skills that were even used in the Knight¡¯s Order a lot. Just as the name implied, Skanda made you quick, so in order to raise the army¡¯s speed or strengthen their expansion ability, they would make sure to teach these types of magic to those who had even the slightest affinity with magic. They would acquire the spells as per their magical affinity.
When it came to Goddess¡¯s Protection or Goddess¡¯s Healing, that was when its learners became more rare. With that being said, even though they had the word ¡°goddess¡± attached to their names, that only meant that they were spells used to borrow the power of one of the three goddesses: Time-Space Goddess Alfemina, Earth Mother Goddess Elza, or Ocean Goddess Lefia. It wasn¡¯t like they wanted any sort of devotion. Therefore, even those who weren¡¯t priests could acquire these skills, and at the center of any country were several people who could already use them. As far as Long Distance Teleportation was concerned, for advanced adventurer parties or teams, there was always someone mixed in who could use it. In fact, even Tatsuya in the Japanese team was able to use it.
The goddess-affiliated support and healing magic was certainly the best of the best, but such magic was not as rare as Hiroshi¡¯s mere existence. To borate further, Healing of the Goddesses could go well over Level 3 potions at its peak, but would still not be able to heal broken parts.
¡¸When you said ¡°the majority¡±, that means that there were a few special ones in there as well, yes?¡¹
¡¸Yes. There were only four spells that I didn¡¯t know about. More precisely, it¡¯s like one spell was split into four different functions. One of them, I know how to use, but cannot currently activate it, while the remaining two are for healing and cannot be properly experienced here.¡¹
¡¸Hm. So then, does that mean thest remaining one is useable?¡¹
When the king asked that question, Haruna¡¯s blue eyes grew troubled as she fretted over how to exin it to him. Judging by that, the king figured that it must be fairly troublesome.
¡¸Can you even use it?¡¹
¡¸If you mean whether I can activate it or not, yes I can. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure if it has any practical use. If I were to use it right now, my body would probably be instantly destroyed.¡¹
Haruna casually said something terrifying with a very troubled face. As soon as she said that, an indescribable silence filled the room.
Haruna¡¯s body had enough specs to more than hold her own against one of the knights of this country. While she still wouldn¡¯t be able to win in a pure fight against Julius, Douga, or Rayna, as long as she had no limitations for the abilities she could use, she could actually clench out a likely victory against someone like Rayna. This magic was enough to make even her instantly self-destruct. No matter whether that was an attack or something else, this particr magic was definitely not something anyone should y around with.
¡¸But what does it do specifically?¡¹
¡¸It increases the target¡¯s thought process speed as well as physical speed to an extreme level.¡¹
¡¸How much are we talking?¡¹
¡¸If we were to use my current power level, everything would elerate by 100. That doesn¡¯t seem to imply that you age quickly as well, but it also doesn¡¯t lighten the burden on the flesh, so if you aren¡¯t prepared to the max, I think you would self-destruct the moment you used the spell and tried to move.¡¹
This magic was definitely nothing good, but such was to be expected of an extra skill. Further, Haruna had not normally had the opportunity to ride on grounded vehicles like bikes or roller coasters that enabled you to feel the air pressure and resistance, so she was mistaken in one aspect.
More precisely, this was not magic that elerated. This extra skill would raise speed over 100 times while allowing the user to move in a non-elerated manner. Therefore, any air resistance, friction heat, or the emergence of shockwaves could be entirely suppressed, but upon separation it was as if it deteriorated, and the damage that emerged in the body from moving as well as the side-effects froming into contact with solid matter could not be reduced.
However, as Haruna had not yet considered the element of air resistance, she had made the mistake of assuming that the knockback from the damage and impact to the body not being reduced was the same thing as not reducing the burden on the flesh in the slightest.
¡¸¡Yeah, something tells me that it would be cruel to even try that¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, it is after all the type of magic that would be guaranteed to destroy you and wouldn¡¯t even seem like a fun idea to use against someone else¡¡¹
That being said, there was no mistake that it was powerful magic for whoever used it. That was even more worrisome.
¡¸Oh yeah, you said that the remaining two were of the healing variety, but what precisely do they aplish?¡¹
¡¸Both of them directly focus on intervening with wounds, poison, illness and the like, controlling time in order to heal. One of them is magic that elerates time in order to make such things disappear, and the other one rewinds time to before receiving such negative effects, basically acting as if one¡¯s body had never been altered in the first ce.¡¹
¡¸¡So would they also work on loss of parts or handicaps?¡¹
¡¸If I were better at it, I think that they can heal nearly anything. However, we can¡¯t revive the dead, as their souls will have gone out of their bodies.¡¹
The king nodded inprehension. When it came to the revival of the dead, not just the king, but any decent person in the world regarded it as the highest taboo. There had been three examples up till now of sess, but every time, a terrible amount of miasma would envelope the world, and at a minimum one country would be destroyed.
As a memento of that in the present day, the ces where these people had been revived had be underworld dungeons. The worst of them all was the dungeon known as Purgatory.
Incidentally, in the case of the game, death was more like being incapacitated, and anyone who fell down would be taken into protection by the gods right before death. Any revival method other than taking them back to a safe area would involve something far more involved, such as Healing of the Goddesses or Level 3 potions and above or Yggdrasil potions, which were all unique, so for most yers, it was customary to immediately return to a safe zone upon being rendered incapable of battling.
It should also be mentioned that the potions and Healing of the Goddesses could only be used outside of battle, and the Yggdrasil potion was dropped a rare amount¡ªonly about once per month in real time in Great Spirit Cavern. Recovering from battle was in general not a very realistic option in this game.
¡¸Hm.¡¹
After hearing Haruna¡¯s answer, he pondered this for a bit. Haruna could only feel a bad premonition from such silence.
¡¸Would you happen to be able to cast that healing magic on yourself?¡¹
¡¸It isn¡¯t impossible, but you have to at minimum be able to move.¡¹
¡¸We have Level 3 potions here. Would this amount be enough?¡¹
The king asked, and she became deep in thought. Level 3 potions in-game¡ªin other words, Level 6 potions had a 30% chance sess rate to revive people on the battlefield. After revival from such potions, the target woulde back with 1 HP and would be poisoned if they drank another potion. Thinking about it now, it was only reasonable for potions as advanced as these that could repair body parts.
Healing of the Goddesses was simr in its sess rate for revival, except it didn¡¯t have any particr penalty for continuous use.
¡¸Tatsuya-san, what about Healing of the Goddesses?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve barely trained with it, but I can somewhat use it.¡¹
¡¸Then might you be willing to use your own body as a test subject¡?¡¹
¡¸Wait a sec! C¡¯mon, rethink this!¡¹
After wryly smiling at the panicking Tatsuya, they took out a small stone the size of a BB bullet¡ªmore like a broken piece of something¡ªto be used after the activation process in the experiment, and as an extra precaution cast support magic for strengthening one¡¯s resistance before constructing the aforementioned magic. As expected of extra skill magic, the mana depleted during the process was above the normal toll. Still, as it didn¡¯t take off as much as Elemental Dance, there shouldn¡¯t have been much of an issue with activating it.
¡¸Time to give it a go! Over-elerate!¡¹
Ending about ten seconds of recitation, she activated the aforementioned magic on herself. The next moment, all movement around her ceased.
£¨Was it a sess?£©
Concentrating on the result, she flicked a fragment as a test. The next moment, tremendous pain emerged in her fingertips, spreading through her entire body and causing her to reel over. At almost the same exact time, the small stone that had been flung made a terrifying sound as it dug into the wall, creating a shy fissure. Unable to bear the pain any longer, she immediately dissolved the magic and soon found someone supporting her body and one momentter, the smell of a liquid potioning into contact with her head. The chemical spread throughout her golden hair, absorbed by her body before it even reached the ground.
¡¸Haruna!?¡¹
Makoto was apparently the one who had been supporting her body. The potion that had been poured over her head was of the Level 3 variety, and Hiroshi was responsible for that. Hiroshi had reacted quicker, but since he had more to do and she was faster, Makoto had ended up acting first. Furthermore, the act of covering someone¡¯s head was yet another way to use a potion. In actuality, it didn¡¯t have to specifically be the head as long as it was somewhere on the skin. The healing itself was a grade lower than the more conventional method, but it was the quickest way to heal someone in an emergency. Even when reviving someone from the brink of death, this would be the method used, so Level 3 potions probably wouldn¡¯t be able to have anything past a 30% sess rate.
¡¸Haruna-san, can you move alright?¡¹
Hiroshi asked worriedly after putting the emptied bottle back into the bag and keeping his distance. Haruna couldn¡¯t help but feel exasperated that even in this situation he stepped back as soon as he was no longer needed. All that being said, she was still happy that he was caring for her in his own way.
¡¸It still hurts here and there, but it should be fine¡¡¹
¡¸Then ya better drink a mana potion ¡®n heal up quickly. From that exnation earlier, healin¡¯ became more difficult the more that time passes.¡¹
¡¸¡Right¡¡¹
¡¸We only got Level 5 here. Is that fine?¡¹
Nodding at Hiroshi¡¯s question, she took out a mana potion from their luggage and gulped it down, immediately beginning the preparations for the healing magic. Judging from the sensation, she would barely be able to make it in time without any lingering effects with her current strength.
¡¸Return Heal!¡¹
Her head went faint for an instant with the hefty amount of mana that was again demanded of her. When using Elemental Dance, the strain on the body was tougher so it hadn¡¯t made much of an impression, but exhausting arge amount of mana was also pretty taxing on the body. That being said, the magic seemed to have made it in time, and the pain throughout her body disappeared in the blink of an eye. Moving her body around for a bit to check for any irregrities, she breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed that nothing major had happened to her. She had readied herself for potential impairments, so she was truly thankful that nothing had happened at all.
With everyone relieved that nothing major happened to Haruna¡¯s body, the entire party decided to temporarily suspend the process in order to take a breather.
¡¸What did ye even do back there?¡¹
As they were on break, Douga examined the particrs on the wall as he asked Haruna with a very grave face. The fragment that had surely collided with the wall was nowhere to be seen, and the only record of something actually happening was just therge fissure. As it was but a mere fragment, it had apparently been ground into dust with the impact of the crash.
¡¸All I did was flick some shard with my finger.¡¹
She said, taking out a shard of simr shape and size and showing it to Douga. As to why she had such a thing in the first ce, it was because she had picked it up in the inner courtyard in anticipation of actually using magic.
¡¸So that is what brought this on¡¡¹
¡¸By the way, this is what it¡¯s like if you flick it like normal.¡¹
She said, flicking it at a different point than the previous. Theunched shard let out a dry, light whooshing sound as it hit the wall, rebounding off of it and falling to the floor. She didn¡¯t even put much effort into it, and yet there was still quite the force exerted. It would likely hurt a bit if it were to directly hit the skin. Be as that may, as long as it didn¡¯t directly hit the eyes, it certainly wasn¡¯t enough power to lead to any big injuries.
¡¸So that¡¯s what happens to these things¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, pretty terrifying to think that the speed is 100 times the usual amount. I didn¡¯t even know that she had these in the first ce.¡¹
Julius chimed in with an awed tone when Douga groaned.
¡¸It was a lot shier than I expected, so I was surprised, but thinking about it, they increase in speed by 100, so that would apply to being thrown as well. Pretty simple logic.¡¹
¡¸Leavin¡¯ aside whether it¡¯s simple logic or not, even at 50 times more in the air, the kic energy¡¯d be at 2,500 times more. With its power amplified that much, it¡¯d probably sink into the wall.¡¹
Haruna nodded at what Hiroshi said. If all of the conditions besides speed were the same, the kic energy would be proportionately raised to the second power. Even with a small stone being flung and increasing things a hundred times in terms of the theory of rtivity, it would probably be harmless in terms of pure Newton physics.
With just that amount of speed, if you flicked a stone it would of course significantly impact your fingers, so if she did not strengthen your body prior to the impact, it probably would have crushed Haruna¡¯s fingers into a fine powder. Therefore, it was preposterous to even think of someone raising the speed so high while not lightening the knockback at all on the body.
¡¸Yeah, I think all I got from that was that it isn¡¯t feasible to use this.¡¹
¡¸Mhm. And as expected, it onlysted about 3 seconds in real-time.¡¹
¡¸Of course there¡¯s the body, but if you also aren¡¯t extremely quick-witted or skilled with closebat weapons, the weapon itself could break as soon as you even hit them once with it.¡¹
Everyone found themselves nodding at Tatsuya¡¯s observation. No one could deny that she was strong, but they also couldn¡¯t deny that it might not even be worth it.
¡¸Well, weapons are generally metallic, so other than the weapons like the rapier that originally had durability issues, I¡¯m pretty sure that a hundred times more wouldn¡¯t be nothin¡¯. They ain¡¯t gonna break that easily as long as nothing more crazy than that happens.¡¹
¡¸So doesn¡¯t that basically mean a side-effect emerges from that fission?¡¹
¡¸Well, yeah, ya got me there¡¡¹
Hiroshi found himself groaning in response to Makoto¡¯sment. The whole thing was just difficult to use in every way.
¡¸Haru, can I ask you something?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸How does it feel when you use it?¡¹
¡¸Everything around me moves so slowly, as if halting all movement, while I can move as per usual. Although it kind of all ends when I move¡¡¹
Mio nodded inprehension at Haruna¡¯s answer. If someone were to have a good idea of how to use it, it would be powerful, but this spell was just so full of hazards.
¡¸I just had a thought, if you want to hear.¡¹
¡¸What might that be?¡¹
¡¸If it were Hiroshi, maybe he couldst about ten seconds in real time?¡¹
Layotte¡¯s said something rather scary, but everyone other than Hiroshi was surprisingly agreeable with this statement.
¡¸Now just hold yer horses! We just saw how dangerous this whole thing is now yer just jumpin¡¯ to the next guinea pig?!¡¹
¡¸But hey, if you use that then your issue with inadequate firepower will be resolved just like that!¡¹
¡¸But if I¡¯m gonna go into hypermode like that I need tost at least 3 minutes or else it¡¯s pretty useless!¡¹
Even when he frantically tried to reject this idea, he was outnumbered and shut down by everyone there other than Haruna. In a sense, Haruna may have been even more opposed to the idea than Hiroshi, having experienced it herself, but before she could say anything they had made their verdict and left her unable to really argue against that logic.
¡¸We¡¯ll start out by solidifying the space and changing the color, so use that for the target.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, target. Not vague at all¡¡¹
Hiroshi made a puzzled face as he looked at the ¡°target¡± that Layotte had identified. Suddenly, there was an odd ck mass about the size of a human enshrined in the area that Layotte directed him to.
¡¸Flexibility and firmness are just right. I¡¯d say it works well.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but is that really the issue¡?¡¹
Mio had touched the target prepared by Layotte all over, expressing her odd impressions.
¡¸But wait, are ya gonna be okay with your current mana, Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s been replenished a good amount. Honestly, I don¡¯t even think I needed to heal right now in the first ce.¡¹
¡¸Is that right¡¡¹
Hiroshi began to quickly clear away obstacles from their objective. Unlike some types of offensive magic, the healing, support, obstacle, and day-to-day magic had rigid magic consumption that matched their skill level. In regards to the magic that she had learned this time, other than the already overall taxing support skill Over elerate, the regenerative Return Heal had worse cost performance than Healing of the Goddesses, so it didn¡¯t seem like even a Level 5 mana potion would pose a threat with its amount of regeneration. The reason why the amount of mana that Haruna had was inting each time she learned new magic was probably because she was still quite good to go.
¡¸Yeah, I really don¡¯t think I want to use that on other people.¡¹
There was also the fact that Hiroshi didn¡¯t want to, and Haruna herself even disyed a reluctance to use such dangerous magic. Like Hiroshi, she was stubborn too, but Hiroshi was more of running to his own safety whereas Haruna was rejecting the idea because she was thinking of other people, so Hiroshi ended up looking a bit lousy as a result.
¡¸But we¡¯ve alreadye this far.¡¹
¡¸Haruna, the fact that sort of magic exists means that eventually there will be someone who you need to use it against. I know that you don¡¯t feel right about this, but sometimes there are things that have to be done ahead of time.¡¹
Haruna simply would not bring herself to go through with this, so Layotte and Makoto chided her. Makoto¡¯s words held weight, as she had fought in the front lines with numerous throngs of enemies, even when they were ying the game. After all, Makoto knew what kinds of people needed to have Hiroshi and his arguably extreme defense and resistance. More precisely, one of the reasons why their capture of Purgatory had ended abruptly in the middle was that theycked the proper endurance of a tank. Of course it was near impossible to think of a partner who needed this much support magic, but even if it had nothing to do with the main quests, Purgatory had still yet to be explored all the way to the end, despite allowing people to enter and exit as they pleased. Who even knew what was liable toe out at them?
To add to that, even the second main quest¡¯s mid-boss was far stronger than the boss of your average dungeon. Even Purgatory, which was ssified as a regr dungeon, was constantly causing even the most dedicated shut-ins of the highest caliber to repeatedly run out of time or get all wiped out due to ack of resources, so you really could not be ready enough for what kind of fiends the bosses past the fourth main quest were like. So when they thought of the possibility that they very well might have to end up facing such opponents in real life, there was no reason to abandon the magic that they had gone to such lengths to obtain.
¡¸Hiro, hurry up and ready yourself.¡¹
¡¸Yeah whatever, don¡¯t act like ya wouldn¡¯t try ¡®n get out of it too¡¡¹
Everyone ufortably looked the other way when Hiroshi desperately retorted. True, they could never bring themselves to say that they wouldn¡¯t feel scared about bing experimental subjects after seeing ruptured blood vessels all over Haruna after moving but an inch. While it was true that she hadn¡¯t yet known what it was going to be like, the fact that Haruna had stepped forward despite recognizing the potential risk truly impressed them on how gant and gutsy of a woman she was.
¡¸Anyhow, I gotta do it too so hurry up and prepare yourselves, you two.¡¹
¡¸What!? We¡¯re still doing it!?¡¹
Haruna let out a loud voice when Makoto said that. It was way too unbelievable for her to suddenly say that despite having averted her eyes from Hiroshi.
¡¸Well yeah, of course. Mio and I are about the same in terms of endurance, so I gotta confirm how we¡¯d do at this line. Even if she has to experience it in the future, I definitely can¡¯t just force such a dangerous thing on Mio all of a sudden.¡¹
¡¸Mako, you¡¯re so cool¡¡¹
¡¸¡Wow, so this is what it feels like to be left out¡¡¹
When Makoto suddenly said something manly, Mio gave her a gaze of admiration while Hiroshi felt a strange sense of defeat. People of the female persuasion can truly make decisions when they have to.
¡¸Hiro, before you show any more of your lousy side, it would be best to just get on it dude.¡¹
¡¸Hey Bro, just cuz I¡¯m outta the loop doesn¡¯t mean whatever ya say goes¡¡¹
Fed up with Tatsuya¡¯s words, especially since he wasn¡¯t even participating in this experiment, Hiroshi cut in. That being said, he couldn¡¯t deny that Tatsuya had said something very true. It was impossible for a Japanese who had no air resistance toin any further.
¡¸Alright¡Haruna-san, let¡¯s just get this over¡¡¹
¡¸A-Are you sure¡?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t keep throwin¡¯ some tantrum here¡¡¹
Not exactly ready, but resigned to his fate, Hiroshi readied his newly-acquired pole axe and powerlessly answered Haruna. After hearing that, Haruna made a mildly apologetic face as she cast Increase Endurance before activating the long-awaited technique.
¡¸Over-elerate!¡¹
At the same time as the activation of the magic, Hiroshi¡¯s form grew hazy and the gaudy sound of something being crushed continued without ceasing. The target they had set up had been beaten up in the first second, pulverized in precisely five seconds.
¡¸Welp, this is as far as I go¡¡¹
Hiroshi grumbled with a tired demeanor, releasing the spell right after the target was crushed to bits. Having said that, unlike Haruna, there was no indication that his body was worn out. He was standing firmly on his own feet and had an exasperating amount of firmness.
¡¸But really tho, I¡¯m super lucky that the person enchanted has a release switch too¡¡¹
¡¸You couldn¡¯t hold out a bit longer?¡¹
¡¸Well hey, this is pretty much whatcha get in actual usage¡¡¹
Hiroshi gave a supplemental exnation to Makoto, who still couldn¡¯t get her head around what had just happened.
¡¸Honestly, if ya mean up till I end up falling then yeah, a mite more, but usin¡¯ potions ¡®n return heals everyday ain¡¯t gonna work well in the long run. I mean c¡¯mon, continuin¡¯ battle like this even now is pretty sketchy.¡¹
¡¸¡I see. It certainly would be silly to not leave some remaining energy.¡¹
¡¸You got the picture, yup.¡¹
He replied, examining the pole axe that had been thoroughly pulverized in an instant. As the target had been fairly hard, it was a little too much for a weapon that had not had any sort of enchantment cast on it.
¡¸Welp, gotta hammer this sucker back in.¡¹
Looking at the strangely twisted hilt of his specialized weapon, he grumbled in a dejected manner. He said hammer back in, but maybe it was actually better to just melt it and make it all over again. Although it would be inferior to something he personally made himself, this story of an arguably first-rate item being turned into scrap metal within just one day would probably live on in infamy.
¡¸And that¡¯s not even anything close to a bad weapon, but wow, it had a short lifespan.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I think there should¡¯ve been a better way¡¡¹
Hiroshi replied to Julius¡¯s impressions while slightly holding his head. In all honesty, it was very possible that if the weapon were not a highly prized specialty (even the hilt was metal) that had been used by one of Douga¡¯s contemporaries (retiringst year), it would have bent out of shape with the first hit.
¡¸Lay, the target¡¯s a mite too hard. It¡¯d be a drag to have another one go plunk, so do me a favor ¡®n make it thirty percent softer.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
Responding to Hiroshi¡¯s request, he left the resistance as it was while dropping the hardness by 30% on the newly made target.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, are you sure you¡¯ll be fine without healing?¡¹
¡¸I made sure to halt the spell before it went too far, so takin¡¯ a little break is all I need.¡¹
¡¸Mm, okay.¡¹
Haruna was truly relieved once she confirmed that unlike her, he had not had any issues.
¡¸So, Haruna. Mana count?¡¹
¡¸Wait a bit longer. It¡¯ll still be a bit difficult for Return Heal.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Makoto waited a bit longer for the charge after hearing Haruna¡¯s personal report. It was best to have as much insurance as possible.
¡¸Well, just waiting isn¡¯t any use, so Hiroshi, any other impressions?¡¹
¡¸This is just the sensation I felt, but for the peeps that are on the receiving end of an attack like that, I think it would really vary.¡¹
True, just being able to move as per usual after maintaining the spell for five whole seconds was no easy feat. Haruna hadn¡¯t been able to understand any of this at all, but Hiroshi conveyed the information quite easily.
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸This is just what I think though. If ya adjust yer body to it after dealin¡¯ with it several times, ya¡¯d get to where ya can do basic movement without gettin¡¯ any repercussions.¡¹
¡¸And how many times do you think that would take?¡¹
¡¸I dunno that, but well, prolly at least a hundred or so.¡¹
Hiroshi revealed this overwhelming estimation so nonchntly, and Haruna and Makoto found themselves holding their heads. It was easy for him to say several hundred times, but Haruna couldn¡¯t even move two steps without having to get out of there, and even Makoto wasn¡¯t guaranteed tost long either. Also, before they even discussed that issue, Haruna¡¯s current max magic count would force her to drag this out for days and days if she wanted to reach even a hundred tries. And yet this guy just said it all so casually. As to be expected of a top-ss masochist from the crafting geek squad.
¡¸Other thing we gotta examine is how much knockback would decrease once Haruna-san polishes her skill with this technique.¡¹
¡¸You sure it even decreases¡?¡¹
¡¸Well that¡¯s what we¡¯re gonna test out in the process, yeah?¡¹
Hiroshi began to say more and more troublesome things. Perhaps he was doing this in retaliation for them using him as a guinea pig.
¡¸I hope you know that you¡¯ll have to do these things as well for the inspection.¡¹
¡¸Ha! I already figured out that it ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ if I try ¡®n stay like that for 300 seconds. Bring it on!¡¹
¡¸¡You sure like to puff out your chest whenever the topic of the conversationes to your ability¡¡¹
Exasperated, Makoto had no hesitation inmentating on Hiroshi¡¯s two-faced nature. This was just another aspect of his ipetent nature.
¡¸So Haruna-san, how ¡®bout that mana?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d say it¡¯s about ready.¡¹
¡¸Ya ready, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Ready at any time.¡¹
¡¸Ya sure ¡®bout this? Ya ready to beg for yer life while coughin¡¯ up blood? Ya ready to endure the impact of yer entire body being crushed to¡ªhey, that hurt!¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s cause you won¡¯t stop trying to scare them.¡¹
As Hiroshi was firing line after line of scary imagery at her, Tatsuya prodded him with his beloved staff in order to silence him.
¡¸But I¡¯m not sayin¡¯ it as a joke, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s unsettling, but I guess it¡¯s not far off¡¡¹
Makoto felt herself recoil inwardly at what Hiroshi and Haruna were saying, thinking she may have been too hasty. But if she wussed out here than she would be the real ipetent one. Nodding at them as they tried to warn her again, she braced herself for the impact that would no doubte and assail her.
Makoto was able to keep her body up for about 100 seconds before going down.
¡¸Princess, did you perhaps hear that conversation?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Honestly, how long does that girl intend to provoke me?¡¹
These people were talking at a tea party in the evening. They had made sure to prohibit anyone from entering the room in addition to ensuring that no one eavesdropped. After Katrina, several other people began to assemble, but she didn¡¯t even try to hide her expression of anger and impatience, cursing the adventurers who had brought Aearis back. More precisely, she was cursing that little songstress, the most pesky out of them all.
¡¸It does seem that the rumor about Alfemina-sama falling to the Dark God wasn¡¯t necessarily a lie after all.¡¹
¡¸Yes, didn¡¯t I tell you that numerous times? If that weren¡¯t true, then there would be no way that a twisted, tenacious, tainted girl like Aearis would be chosen. And then she goes so far as to entrust her with some nobody adventurers and give them secret techniques that I even don¡¯t know about. This just cannot be.¡¹
¡¸I wholeheartedly agree.¡¹
Anyone listening to these colorful descriptive words would normally find it difficult to associate them with Katrina upon first nce, but she couldn¡¯t help but spit out her resentment. Her flunky, Barold, nodded in agreement.
¡¸All things considered, things are getting quite troublesome, haven¡¯t they.¡¹
¡¸Those filthy songs of hers are vexing enough as it is, but on top of it, now she has some strange protection¡¡¹
¡¸We really must end this somehow¡¡¹
As soon as the phrase ¡°end this¡± came up, silence filled the entire room. It needn¡¯t be said that this was not because they had any hesitation in killing Haruna. They were only quiet because the difficulty was much too high to do anything as of the current time and no one wanted to say anything careless.
In actuality, there was the fact that the information about Haruna gaining some secret technique had yet to be confirmed, as well as the fact that many of the people there feared that they might be stirring up a ho¡¯s nest, not very eager to act. There were even some among them who suspected this easy leaking of information that was supposed to be top-secret was a trap.
It goes without saying that such caution was urate. After all, the king¡¯s side intentionally leaked the information about the secret technique. Upon understanding the contents of the spell, they got Haruna¡¯s and everyone¡¯s permission before controlling the information so that it spread as effectively as possible to the people in the shadows, so normally everyone should have been cautious.
¡¸It sounds easy when you say you wish to end them, but¡¡¹
¡¸That wench seems tock the capabilities of an adventurer, but she seems to be quite the maniptor.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Superficial warriors like that cannot win by fighting fair and square.¡¹
As much as it vexed them, the men had to acknowledge that much. After that evening party, they had boldly set out to investigate these adventurers, but they could only find troubling information. A berserker bear right from the outset, followed by piaranorks and a brigade of thieves, and even a former Level 5 adventurer going for broke failing at a quest. These were truly phenomenal battle results that made them question if these people were actually Level 9 adventurers. Especially in the case of the piaranorks, the monsters encountered in these parts were all the cream of the crop in their strength. Sure, it wasn¡¯t like she defeated them alone, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that she had managed to bring them down. This was the opponent they were dealing with.
In addition, the guard of the thief brigade that she had defeated one-on-one actually had a Level 2 bounty on his head and was quite formidable inbat. Although his attacks were simple and monotone, you couldn¡¯t justugh at his club that had enough power to smash a cave wall to bits. Sure, his attacks had long intervals between them, but with practically limitless stamina that enabled him to unleash that many attacks and a defense that reduced regr attacks to slight scratches, and even his life force that allowed him to take numerous hits without showing any signs of weakening, his threat level was far above that of some small fry monster.
If they had lived on after attacking people like that, the only way to fight them head-on and win would be with the power of Douga or Julius. If they had that many chess pieces, of course they wouldn¡¯t hide in the shadows.
¡¸Perhaps they made it look like an ident?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, they don¡¯t seem to be careless enough to provide an opening¡¡¹
This was the king¡¯s pce, with eyes everywhere. Only a fool would try and carelessly set up that sort of trap. There was an interval a bit earlier with the whole Elena and Aearis thing, unexpectedly enough, but¡
¡¸Poison? No, probably not going to work¡¡¹
¡¸As long as that potion maker brat is with them, it won¡¯t be easy to slip anything in.¡¹
After said person had taken back their idea, Barold supplemented them with words of actual experience. Hiroshi had legitimately foiled Elena¡¯s assassination as well as at the evening party, both times regarding poison. There still hadn¡¯t been any public word of the attempt at the evening party, but of course it wasn¡¯t like no one had realized just because it was prevented. With him being able to identify and purify minor poison like emilrad, there was no way that they could slip in any poison that had a scent to it without him realizing it. They were probably only covering it up because there was no actual evidence left over and they didn¡¯t want anyone to suspect them for forging the evidence and risk causing an uproar.
¡¸Then we should start with that brat¡¡¹
¡¸Without ingredients, he is but a mere human. We don¡¯t even need to worry about going so far as to poison him. All we need do is creep up slowly and deliberately.¡¹
They had managed to catch the drift of his gynophobia. However, that only meant that they would be even more cautious and on-edge to make sure that Hiroshi didn¡¯t go alone and interact with some unknown woman. Hecked in the intimidation department, but the difficulty level for targeting him was far too high. Even if he was an opponent to be put down eventually, there was no reason to prioritize him.
¡¸At this point, we may as well just send an assassin as per usual.¡¹
¡¸Be as it may, their guard is like iron right now. We have to iste them in the courtyard first.¡¹
At the moment, it would be difficult toy a hand on these Japanese guests of the king. First they would iste them in an information war and eliminate them in the imperial court. It might be difficult to eliminate the aplished potion masker Hiroshi and his disciple, Mio, but all they had to do was separate them and everything would fall into y.
¡¸I believe that I know what we can do about assassins.¡¹
One nobleman boasting the title of marquis said that unsettling statement as if it were nothing. Every other participant in the room blinked their eyes as they focused on him.
¡¸Really, now?¡¹
¡¸We can leave the matter to you, then?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Therefore, I would like to have everyone assist me in sessfully luring them into istion.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
¡¸It just so happens that the royal family is secretly split.¡¹
¡¸Let us show those country folk how one fights in the court.¡¹
Embracing the marquis¡¯s words, the masses began to stir. The darkness of the great country had begun to forment.
¡¸Yep, that gaze is as fierce as ever¡¡¹
Afternoon of the next day. Having finished Elena¡¯s examination, Hiroshi found himself grumbling. Haruna and Mio, who had tagged along with him as assistants, stared at him with worried eyes. They were only doing this in the afternoon for Elena andpany¡¯s convenience, unlike yesterday.
¡¸You did very well today.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, you¡¯re hated more than ever.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, after some random guy nabs her master ¡®n does as he pleases all in the name of treatment, and taking her out whenever she doesn¡¯t notice? I get why she¡¯s rin¡¯ at me now¡¡¹
While nodding in sympathy at Hiroshi¡¯s grievance, Haruna searched her mind to see if there was any way to deal with this growing threat. Yesterday, with all these guests in the room, the most Elena got was a scolding and a reminder, but today she was rebuking her quite harshly regardless of Hiroshi¡¯s group being in there.
Focusing on nearly all the members yesterday, she had seemed to cool down or at least didn¡¯t seem to outright hate them. However, just one of the leaders keeping them together had stopped hiding their unpleasant feelings, loathing, and the like. Honestly,pared to the reputation or things they had said, the way they acted toward Hiroshi made him seriously ufortable. It had already leaped into a dimension past merely not beingpatible physically, personality-wise, etc, and the malice was now just pouring out. This was all very unnatural.
Even more unnatural was the fact that the old retainer who had boldly asked them to get out yesterday had done nothing more than give them a brief, cordial greeting as they passed by each other today. The only difference from yesterday was perhaps that no one was there, but if that was the reason then they still didn¡¯t really get what was going on.
¡¸Hey, Hiroshi-kun, Mio-chan.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Haru?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m thinking of going to the kitchen now. Mind helping me for a bit?¡¹
After thinking about various things, she seemed to have finallye up with an idea, suddenly proposing that.
¡¸Kitchen? Sure, but whatcha gonna make?¡¹
¡¸Some sweets, I guess you could say? I figure this is the perfect timing, seeing as how the Maiden¡¯s Lover still doesn¡¯t exist in this country.¡¹
Looking at Haruna and her mischievous smile, Hiroshi felt slightly anxious about just what she was nning to make. Meanwhile, on the opposite end, Mio felt no anxiety about what Haruna was making and readily agreed.
¡¸If it¡¯s just makin¡¯ sweets, ain¡¯tcha fine by yerself, Haruna-san? Why do I gotta help?¡¹
¡¸I intend to make more than just a few things, so it wouldn¡¯t be good if my job never ended, plus I was thinking that it might be good to have some decent-looking containers.¡¹
¡¸Sure I can make containers, but how many do you intend to make?¡¹
¡¸Roughly a thousand?¡¹
¡¸Hold yer horses! Why the hell ya tryna make that much!?¡¹
Haruna had said something terrifying, and Hiroshi retorted, desiring a time-out. Considering the currentbination of people, it would usually be Haruna or Mio butting in whenever he did something unnatural, so this was arguably a very rare sight.
¡¸Who do you think is the one handling the practical business in this castle?¡¹
Not bothering to reply to Hiroshi¡¯s interjection, Haruna suddenly changed the topic. Although he was befuddled by the sudden change in topic, he decided toe up with a sensible answer regarding the organization of this lodging facility.
¡¸Well, if we¡¯re talkin¡¯ practical affairs, then some bureaucrats ¡®n servants, I¡¯d say. Everything¡¯d stop functioning if there weren¡¯t no one to issue orders, but practicum wouldn¡¯t progress if those people weren¡¯t there either.¡¹
¡¸Then what¡¯s the male/female ratio of bureaucrats and servants all together?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯re a lotta women who¡¯re servants, so ultimately it¡¯d be geared toward women?¡¹
¡¸Exactly what I¡¯m doing.¡¹
That seemed to be Haruna¡¯s answer. Hiroshi found himself shaking his head at this half-understandable half-iprehensible line.
¡¸There are hardly any girls out there who dislike love stories or sweet things, so I was thinking of starting by getting ahold of their stomachs as per usual.¡¹
¡¸As per usual? Aren¡¯t ya just fixated on fillin¡¯ yer own tummy as opposed to makin¡¯ things for others?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s true, but this time around I did factor this into part of the strategy.¡¹
The reason Haruna thought this kind of thing up in the first ce was because of a sense of danger. They were quite honestly not weed at this moment. Sure, the king¡¯s retainers and closely affiliated civil officials were taking care in how they treated them, but other than that, there was nothing in their actions that proved they were anywhere near amicable. Especially in the case of the officials who were close to the princes or the servants who saw Hiroshi and the others as taking away their masters, they were burning with a considerable amount of enmity, and the only ones who didn¡¯t necessarily mind in that regard were the ones close to Aearis. Judging solely from what had happened up to the present, it was unavoidable that they only looked to other people like they were outsiders who had merely sucked up to the royal family to be epted by them and were strutting about in a lordly manner, but leaving things as they were would definitely make the situation turn sour. There was no telling what woulde their way to hinder them.
Thinking also about the fact that Haruna was currently volunteering to be the bait, there would be a big difference between having allies directly from the practicum versus not having any. In particr, it would be a matter of life and death in being able to use the female gossipwork. In addition, if they were to bring lots of maids and servants over to their side, they could be secretly aodated in many ways. In order to do that, they needed to not rely on mary bribery, but instead show them that making them their allies would clearly benefit them. Hence the distribution of sweets n.
¡¸¡¯N ya think they¡¯re gonna bite just like that?¡¹
¡¸Sensei, your awareness needs some work.¡¹
¡¸I think we should remind ourselves that this ce is not the country of gourmet and gluttony that is Japan, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
Recoiling at Mio and Haruna¡¯s words, Hiroshi eventually lost to their force and nodded his head. At this point, at least in regards to the difort he felt around the maids, he had no choice but to push it to the back of his head. Later on they would end up regretting not investigating more about her and take measures into their own hands, but of course Haruna and the others had no way of knowing this, instead feeling a bit, making merry over Haruna¡¯s idea.
¡¸So what¡¯re we makin¡¯ again?¡¹
¡¸Pudding Mode, or perhaps Pudding Parfait.¡¹
¡¸Ah, gotcha. It sure would make this wless if it were kept in containers that have some charm to ¡®em.¡¹
When Hiroshi disyed his understanding, they charged into the kitchen in high spirits. And this was how the mes of the food reformation at Wulls Castle were kindled.
¡¸You seem pretty out of it. What¡¯s up?¡¹
This was around the same time that Hiroshi and the others had gone to make some pudding. Unable to just watch Aearis, who didn¡¯t seem to be into the training, Makoto questioned Aearis. Furthermore, Tatsuya was continuing his work, confined to the library. Rayna was, as per usual, standing watch a bit farther away, surveying the surroundings.
¡¸I haven¡¯t heard many good things that people are saying and I just feel a lot of concern¡¡¹
Aearis answered Makoto¡¯s query with a bit of a sigh mixed in.
¡¸I just feel really bad about inconveniencing everyone, all because of us¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re a kid. You don¡¯t hafta care about things like that.¡¹
Makoto couldn¡¯t help but wryly smile at how dejected Aearis was acting.
¡¸But it isn¡¯t just Katrina and her followers. There are others as well who do not think very highly of all of you, are there not?¡¹
¡¸Pffft, it¡¯d be weird if there weren¡¯t. No matter how much the royal pce said they¡¯d protect guests from the Unknown Continent, nobody knows where we¡¯re from and all we really seem like is an unknown, suspicious group.¡¹
Aearis had no choice but to experience the harshness of reality through Makoto¡¯s unfiltered opinion. However indebted they might be to Hiroshi andpany, there was no way that sentiment could extend throughout all of Fane. Aearis wasn¡¯t so clueless that she didn¡¯t understand that.
¡¸And besides, the top of the organization is a monolith. No matter how unreasonable the demands, their word isw. Wouldn¡¯t you be scared of involving yourself with an organization whose members question nothing and never change their stances?¡¹
¡¸As long as there don¡¯t be any entirely brainwashed folks within the organization, then I doubt that such a thing exists.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s why we don¡¯t want to get involved with them.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t me you,ss.¡¹
Douga interjected at what Makoto had said, holding some documents in his hands.
¡¸So at the moment, I do think there was something wrong with that old man yesterday, but I would also feel strange about an organization that had no gripes with our existence whatsoever.¡¹
¡¸Well, I don¡¯t think that ye need worry about them. They be all talk.¡¹
¡¸I get that feeling, but I¡¯ll have you know that isn¡¯t pleasant at all to hear that stuff either. And what about how they purposefully chose toin about us at specific times?¡¹
¡¸Be that not because increasing their numbers leaves a bigger impression?¡¹
Their opinions didn¡¯t seem to quite match. Perhaps the premise itself was different to the both of them.
¡¸Did ye not think it strange before?¡¹
¡¸¡Well, sure I did, but¡¡¹
¡¸It would be giving you youngsters a foregone conclusion, and I do not exactly have confirmation meself so I cannot say more, but I should warn ye that they are not as simplistic as they seem outwardly.¡¹
Makoto seemed to get a better idea of what Douga was trying to say.
¡¸Well, putting aside their reasoning, their real objective is probably to get ye youngsters out of here as soon as possible.¡¹
¡¸Why did you just get my hopes up only to crush them¡¡¹
Makoto grimaced at Douga¡¯s sudden statement.
¡¸However, I do believe that I must be leaving the royal pce as soon as possible.¡¹
¡¸I agree with Her Majesty.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. This sort of ce is not the kind of area that regr people can stay in for too long.¡¹
When Aearis said something surprising, Rayna and Douga agreed with earnest faces. Makoto had thought these three to be on the side that was in agreement about letting them enter the pce, so she was understandably perplexed.
¡¸So you don¡¯t have an issue with us leaving?¡¹
¡¸To be quite honest, it will be lonely and sad without all of you, but since I have already returned here, I am prepared to face the prospect of us not being able to meet as much anymore. The end result would be the same being here and being in the castle town workshop. Therefore, I would be most happy if all of you lived wherever is pleasing to you.¡¹
¡¸Okay, I see¡¡¹
¡¸Also, there¡¯s always the possibility that if you stay here a long time, you would begin to dislike me. I am very scared of that.¡¹
When Aearis confessed that with a miserable expression and a sigh, Makoto found herself unable to really say anything.
¡¸Is that because you won¡¯t be able to eat any more delicious food if we dislike you?¡¹
Unable to endure the awkward silence any longer, Makoto forced in a joke.
¡¸Makoto-sama! Not even I am that much of a glutton!¡¹
Aearis, who had been making a heartrending face up until that moment, be considerably cross as her face lit up with red. That being said, this implied that she was sort of aware.
¡¸Is it really all that strange to be sad about possibly being disliked by everyone who I have grown fond of?¡¹
¡¸Not at all. More like spot-on.¡¹
As Aearis spoke with enough anger to the point of almost crying, Makoto repented from the bottom of her heart for the admittedly poor joke. That being said¡
¡¸But it¡¯s still bothersome, all things considered. I don¡¯t think that good-natured man who hate Elle over small matters, but that gynophobia of his is quite impressive.¡¹
She found herself once again giving in to her desire to poke fun whenever she could.
¡¸Even without his gynophobia, I am at most like a little sister to Hiroshi-sama. It¡¯s heartrending and painful, but I have firmly faced that reality. So even if he will never look at me that way, I want to at least put in the effort to be a woman who can support Hiroshi-sama.¡¹
¡¸¡Ahh, but you really don¡¯t have to reply to that with such a serious expression¡¡¹
¡¸Was it not you who brought up such a conversation, Makoto-sama? And certainly, it would be a problem for someone of my position to bring up such a matter in public, but I do not really see it as a problem to bring up these topics in private, like right now. Speaking about romantic feelings or what kind of person I want to be for that sake does of course make me blush, but I do not consider it to be embarrassing.¡¹
Seeing how Aearis was still flushing but firm in what she had said, Makoto realized how much of andmine she had just stomped on with all her might. Now she knew all too well how deep Aearis¡¯s feelings ran. The future for the natural airhead and tsundere girls from the Japanese female side of things gave her anxiety from the bottom of her heart.
¡¸I have heard the story from His Highness. Please tell me if there are any ingredients you ever might need.¡¹
When they greeted the master chef in the main kitchen, he greeted them back in a rough, but friendly voice.
¡¸I notice that we seem to be well-received here, but do you really not mind some outsiders making a mess in your workce?¡¹
¡¸Well aren¡¯t you going to make some rare stuff? This might not befit me as a chef, but the meals we make are stuck in a rut.¡¹
Somewhat understanding what the head chef was saying, for the time being they ordered eggs, fresh cream, sugar, and then many fruits. As they were desperately trying to stock up on those things, they heard a voice from the back that could either be interpreted as a scream or an angry voice.
¡¸Tsk! There¡¯s a whole barrel ofas that just got rotten!¡¹
The three of them looked at each other when they heard that. Laas was a type of alcohol fermented from wheat in this world, but unlike beer, it didn¡¯t have any foam. It was more reminiscent of non-distilled whiskey. It was quite odd to hear about this rotting.
¡¸Sensei, does alcohol even go bad?¡¹
¡¸Depends on the product. Seems like sake has protein inside of it and does go bad on asion.¡¹
¡¸But wouldn¡¯t rotting just make it into vinegar?¡¹
In this world, anything sour that was not of the fruit variety tended to be seen as poison, or otherwise as rotting. Especially in the Fane region, there tended to be a lot of people who didn¡¯t do well with sour tastes. This went without saying, but making vinegar via brewing alcohol would make the result far more sour than a ripened fruit. Therefore, theas being rotten was¡
¡¸Hold yer horses. That ain¡¯t rotten.¡¹
¡¸What? When it¡¯s this sour, I¡¯m pretty damn sure it¡¯s rotten.¡¹
The head chef immediately objected to what Hiroshi said. In actuality, thisas vinegar was sour to the point where just licking it made you feel faint.
¡¸Ya can use that for seasoning. S¡¯long as ya get the right amount in, it¡¯s good for yer body.¡¹
When the people in the kitchen all had doubtful expressions, Hiroshi brought up the example of using mayonnaise from the beginning and showed how to use ponzu in the proper way as evidence to back it up. He was also making ck vinegar on a regr basis, but as thisnd wasn¡¯t well-suited to brew it, he was using alchemy to produce the results and couldn¡¯t make too much.
¡¸What the heck is that?¡¹
¡¸This white thing is called mayonnaise, which I use to make seasoning. Put it on a cucumber or somethin¡¯ ¡®n try a bite.¡¹
He said, putting some on a cucumber and biting into it. He could taste the usual superior sour taste.
¡¸¡So it¡¯s really not rotten?¡¹
¡¸If it was really that rotten, then I guarantee that ya¡¯d be in a quite the pinch with just one taste test.¡¹
Groaning at Hiroshi¡¯s words, he gave it a bit of thought and taste-tested the mayonnaise.
¡¸Strange taste there.¡¹
¡¸But it ain¡¯t bad, right?¡¹
¡¸¡That¡¯s, true.¡¹
While still slightly in distrust, the master chef nodded his head. Happy at his reaction, Hiroshi next showed him his personal favorite way of using ponzu. Seeing Hiroshi attempting to change the chef¡¯s viewpoint on vinegar, Haruna left that to him as she began focusing intently on making pudding.
¡¸We just so happen to have some half-preserved wyvern tatsutaage, so try it by itself ¡®n then try it with this poured on it.¡¹
He said, grating a vegetable akin to a daikon radish andbining it with something else. Furthermore, this wyvern tatsutaage was not something that Haruna had prepared before, but a half-ass block of meat remnant that he had fried. He had kept it preserved in storage in all of its heat, so it hadn¡¯t deteriorated in quality in the slightest.
¡¸¡Nothing wrong with eating it as is, but when I put this on, it¡¯s more tasty and refreshing.¡¹
It was to be expected that an executive chef wouldprehend the vor of grated ponzu.
¡¸Right? Just between you ¡®n me, Princess Aearis loves eatin¡¯ meals with this kinda seasonin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸¡Is that true?¡¹
¡¸Sure is.¡¹
As expected, whenever the princess liking food was brought up, no one could entirely ignore that. Furthermore, although he hadn¡¯t presented this fact, not only did Aearis like ponzu or mayonnaise; she also loved ketchup, mustard, every kind of sauce, soy sauce, miso, and just about every kind of vor. Heck, she even enjoyed eating regr pickled wakame and cucumber and loved the taste of sweet and oily things, and even on the other side of things, she never hesitated to put a suitable amount of wasabi in the zarusoba juice. She truly had a remarkable strike zone in terms of how broad her taste was for her age of ten years. With that being said, seeing as how she would reject voring that had too much thickness or extremeness, in actuality her pte might beparable to that of a Japanese adult.
¡¸Bein¡¯ a head chef, I bet ya got some ideas as to how to use this sorta seasonin¡¯, eh?¡¹
¡¸¡Sure do. I just got a lot of inspiration. Sorry, but I¡¯d appreciate it if you taught me how to make this so-called mayonnaise.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. I can even teach ya how to pickle things.¡¹
He said, proceeding to merrily lecture him on the proper use of vinegar, starting with mayonnaise. After they had more or less finished up, Haruna started steaming the first batch of pudding. Of course she could have baked them, but she was apparently doing it in order to teach them the art of steaming. Also, Haruna herself had mentioned that she just simply preferred steaming it anyway. Furthermore, in order to get the pudding more easily out of the containerster, Mio was tampering with the containers off-the-cuff. She was also quite feminine in that she didn¡¯t mind working for the sake of sweets.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, good job over there.¡¹
¡¸Ah, sorry. I din¡¯t git to help ya.¡¹
¡¸Mio-chan is here, so it worked out fine. When ites to pudding, it doesn¡¯t make a huge difference with how many people help.¡¹
She said, putting the first batch (approximately 300) in cold storage.
¡¸The heck was that earlier?¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, you were cooking it in a strange way, weren¡¯t you?¡¹
Looking at a new, unknown recipe, the cooks all came gathering.
¡¸That¡¯s called ¡°pudding¡±, and it¡¯s eaten by many the average citizen. The method I used just now is called ¡°steaming¡±, and I apply heat to it via steam.¡¹
She said, disying the structure of the steamer and the rest of the tools.
¡¸So we can¡¯t just directly heat things or stew them or boil them like we¡¯ve always done?¡¹
¡¸The vor and sensation are quite different, after all. Perhaps we could also cook some steamed things together tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Sure thing. Plus I did hear that because of you guys, Aearis¡¯s pte has be richer and it¡¯s been difficult to handle. I¡¯d like you to take responsibility and help me figure out everything I can do in this situation.¡¹
The three of them grimaced at what the head chef said. And that was how Hiroshi and Haruna ended up actually getting the highest chef as an ally attracted to their food in their n right from the get-go.
Volume 1, 18
Volume 1, Chapter 18
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸You are both so cruel¡¡¹
At Aearis¡¯ tea party, the hostess mumbled this, as she red at Hiroshi and Haruna, while picking at her pudding a mode.
¡¸Well, ya ate ¡®em a bunch when ya were back at the workshop, ya highne-¡¹
¡¸No, Hiroshi-sama. Please still address me as Elle. Just as before.¡¹
Aearis, further offended by Hiroshi¡¯s counter, had taken to giving an order under the guise of asking for a favor. In desperation they look at the Head Priest and servant , who were both nodding with a mischievous smile. Mark, who was also in attendance amidst his busy day, simply sipped on his tea, as if he saw nothing.
¡¸¡I mean, if ya insist¡¡¹
Hiroshi said, squirming at the contentious smiles around the room. Haruna watched on with a chuckle. The remaining members of the tea party were Douga and Rayna, although Rayna was standing back, on guard. They still had not figured out their friends and enemies in court, so only the safe bets with an avability were invited. Needless to say, Eavesdropping precautions were thorough. Makoto, Mio, and Tatsuya were each distributing the puddings in various locations.
Some politics with the important members of the court,bined with the distribution of the Japanese delicacy had almost given them a clear picture of friends and enemies in court. Still, not everyone (who wasn¡¯t their enemy to begin with) could be won over so easily. Not to mention therge number of people who would flip-flop their alliance to suit their predicament at the moment. Especially for Aearis, whose reputation was quickly being rebuilt thanks to the ball the other night, it was a crucial time to keep that trend going.
The servant here was rtively of age. Since ill rumors of Aearis had surfaced, she had approached Aearis twice, and was leaning her allegiance towards Aearis. She had been seen isted from those around Katrina because of it, and had been hired to be Aearis¡¯ full-time attendant.
¡¸Yeah, we didn¡¯t bring ¡®em to ya right away, but you can eat all the puddin¡¯s ya want at your beck n¡¯ call¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s not the only reason Aearis-sama is upset.¡¹
The Head Priest chimed in with a gentle smile to Hiroshi¡¯sint. He had quite the sweet tooth. The majority of the Japanese-style donuts they had brought along was consumed by this man. His healthy appetite for his age, along with his body, toned enough to keep him slender posed an odd contrast to his upation as the Head Priest, which seemed more on the gentle side.
¡¸I do not believe either of you have seen Aearis-sama since the ball on your first night here.¡¹
¡¸Oh¡ That¡¯s right.¡¹
¡¸We were runnin¡¯ around all over the ce¡¡¹
The other members of the Japanese party had seen Aearis here and there, but Haruna, who had been on her own a lot, and Hiroshi, who had been constantly solicited by the doctors and potion makers in the castle when he wasn¡¯t inbat training, had not had a single conversation with Aearis all week.
¡¸I know that you are both busy. I know that it would be a burden of me to ask¡ And I knew that we wouldn¡¯t be able to see each other as much. But I do get very lonely without you two¡¡¹
¡¸Ya say that¡¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re even going to leave this country, eventually¡¡¹
¡¸I know. That¡¯s exactly why I want to see you as often as I can, while I can.¡¹
Aearis said, as she looked at them (mostly Hiroshi) intently. Seeing a certain re in Aearis¡¯ eyes, Haruna sighed internally.
¡¸I¡¯ll do the best I can, but¡¡¹
¡¸I still got a chance, but it might be tough for ya, Haruna-san.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s going to be easy, to be honest.¡¹
Haruna answered with a frown, as she subconsciously twirled her golden hair. Now that everyone knew about her receiving Alfemina¡¯s blessing (on top of her performance at the ball) she had garnered nearly as much attention as Aearis throughout Fane. This had caused her to be invited to all sorts of events from all sorts of people, to where there was just not enough time in the day for Haruna. The silver lining was that most people had seemed to forget about Hiroshi, and there had been no invitations for the entire party, all together, to their relief.
Under the consensus that things would hit the fan if Haruna were to trigger anything else from the forbidden section of the library, she had been dismissed from the library research team, so that wasn¡¯t a concern, but Haruna did not have the disposition to use her femininity as a tool. Her strengths were her observant eyes and quick wit, but even she wasn¡¯t sure how many tant attempts of sexual harassment she could take.
She had rescinded any invitations from obviously dangerous (male-only) events, and even tea parties that were mostly female if a suspicious name was on the guest lists. For other events, she honored them firste first-serve without consideration of the host¡¯s clout. Because she kept her strict firste first-serve policy, she was forced to turn down Elena and Aearis. For this tea party, they had used the servants¡¯ grapevine to their advantage, making sure that Haruna was avable.
¡¸Putting Elena-sama or Elle-chan at a priority won¡¯t bode well for us or the royal family¡¡¹
¡¸I understand. That¡¯s why we had to tie your hands, today.¡¹
¡¸In either case, we¡¯ll have to spend some time to make sure that no one would be there to hurt you, Elle-chan. Hang time until then, okay?¡¹
Aearis nodded, reluctantly. Of course, she knew all along how hard Haruna had been working for her.
¡¸Well, Hiroshi-kun. You should hang out with Elle-chan as much as you can.¡¹
¡¸Sure thin¡¯. The problem is, though¡¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re probably the prime target right now, Haruna-san.¡¹
Haruna returned a determined nod. She had enough self-awareness for that.
¡¸You watch your back, too. I would feel better if you could stick with Makoto-san or Mio-chan for awhile¡¡¹
¡¸I mean, you¡¯re a great decoy for keepin¡¯ folks away from messin¡¯ with me. That¡¯s the silver linin¡¯, I guess.¡¹
¡¸Surprisingly few members of the opposition seem to understand the gravity of your ability to craft ss-3 and all-purpose potions.¡¹
The Head Priest aptly exined Hiroshi¡¯s situation. Despite serving a crucial role, potions were just not shy, especially since potion-making in Fane was fairly advanced. They were a step or two behind Lorren, which held Rufius (the city of academia) but potion makers in Fane could regrly produce up to ss-5 potions, which was more than sufficient, even for members of the Knights¡¯ Order. It was only natural for many people to consider ss-2s and ss-3s unnecessary, when just gathering ingredients for them could cause mass-casualties.
Now, ss-1 potions could literally cure anything except death. This would have caused many more people to try and obtain these potions through any means (like a honeypot or false usations of crimes, for example) but Hiroshi had only crafted a ss-3. He could craft ss-1 potions in reality, but arger portion of the opposition didn¡¯t bother themselves with the ss-3 potions since they were nearly impossible to make due to theck of ingredients, rather than consider the possibility that Hiroshi had the capabilities to craft ss-1s. On the other hand, those who rightfully recognized Hiroshi¡¯s potential most considered the risk to outweigh the benefits.
And so, there was only one asion when the whole party was called to an event, and it was by an ally to the royal family. This was mostly to provide minor advice to small problems, and Hiroshi had been excused from the party. After that, there were no real invitations for Hiroshi, leaving him in the eye of the storm.
¡¸Right, I almost forgot.¡¹
Hiroshi blurted out.
¡¸You think the Crown Prince got an openin¡¯ in his schedulein¡¯ up?¡¹
¡¸Layotte? He should be avable after dinner.¡¹
¡¸He wouldn¡¯t mind seeing you, but what for?¡¹
Aearis and Mark turned, curious to what Hiroshi had to say to Layotte. The Crown Prince was working underground here and there to eliminate potential enemies. It would only mean trouble for the Japanese party to meet him out in the open, so they had not seen each other during the day, so far.
Hiroshi understood why Layotte was avoiding them, so this question seemed peculiar to Aearis. What important matter could he have to discuss amidst the chaos right now?
¡¸I mean, it ain¡¯t a big deal, but when I re-did the poleax, I made a longsword with the leftover Magical Steel and Mithril while I was at it.¡¹
¡¸And you¡¯re going to give to the Prince?¡¹
¡¸Was thinkin¡¯ ¡®bout it. The thin¡¯ is, I bnced it from memory, from when he showed me the sword he had before. I gotta have him swing it so I can make adjustments.¡¹
No one in their party used a longsword. He might have had just enough materials to work with, but the members of the court were confused as to why he decided to make such a thing for someone he didn¡¯t need to earn anymore favors from.
¡¸Seriously, I made it ¡®cus I was already there, it ain¡¯t much work. They gave us the materials anyway, so I thought I¡¯d make a so-so product to give back to the royal family.¡¹
Hiroshi exined, chuckling.
¡¸So-so¡?¡¹
¡¸So-so. The materials for my best stuff are pretty hard toe by.¡¹
A so-so product using Magical Steel and Mithril¡? They couldn¡¯t, and didn¡¯t even want to imagine Hiroshi¡¯s ¡°best work.¡±
¡¸You couldn¡¯t have just made an axe or pickaxe?¡¹
¡¸Those wouldn¡¯t have been much better than the ones with normal steel. It wouldn¡¯t have used up all the ingredients anyways, and thinkin¡¯ that I won¡¯t be usin¡¯ them inbat as much, I thought I¡¯d just give back where it came from. Carryin¡¯ them around as-is didn¡¯t make too much sense who knows when we¡¯lle across Magical Steel next?¡¹
In fact, a steel pickaxe could be used to mine anything up to Orichalcum, as long as they were still ores. The true potential of these minerals were only realized upon refining them. While there were a few tricks to mining them, the ores themselves were just rocks.
The same went for wood, where some felling may be more trickier than others, but the durability required of the axe didn¡¯t fluctuate as much. With a few rare exceptions that couldn¡¯t even be scratched with a steel axe (or could only be cut with a specific metal) nearly all trees could be cut down with steel.
So, there was almost no benefit to using Magical Steel to craft Harvesting tools.
¡¸I see why you made it. But what¡¯s the rush? Why risk seeing Layotte now?¡¹
Mark asked.
¡¸To tell ya the truth, even the rumors I¡¯ve been hearin¡¯ ¡®bout are pretty spooky. It won¡¯t hurt the most hated member of the royal family to have the best equipment he can.¡¹
¡¸¡You have a point. If we are right about who¡¯s behind all this, I can¡¯t deny that they¡¯ll be some violent attemptsing soon.¡¹
¡¸Cleansing the mineral veins thispletely has set them back behind square one, I¡¯d imagine.¡¹
Douga and the Head Priest added. Brows tightening, the other four nodded. ording to Layotte, it would only take one more push until the enemy will lose their patience. That was why they had (almost obviously) orchestrated a fake internal conflict. Thest thing they wanted was to waste all of that effort.
¡¸I gotta question. For someone who y¡¯all been strugglin¡¯ to get, they sure fall into y¡¯all traps easily.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. This would have stopped being a problem a long time ago if it was this easy, right?¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna asked, to which Douga and the Head Priest twisted their lips. Mark listened, with something on his mind.
¡¸This is only a theory, but afflicted people may gradually lose cognitive functions without realizing.¡¹
¡¸Why do you say that?¡¹
¡¸The change in Katrina-sama. This theory makes the most sense.¡¹
Mark nodded in agreement to the Head Priest. Even half a year ago, Katrina was more reasonable, and had more self-control. Recently, though, it has be exponentially more difficult to reason with her.
¡¸And they could be panicking after their big upset.¡¹
Douga chimed in.
¡¸When in a hurry to gain back some ground, most would get themselves into worse circumstances from losing sight of things.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna nodded.
¡¸It¡¯s pathetic, but the truth is that we didn¡¯t even notice how badly they are afflicted, until things came to light recently. Looking back on it, there were numerous signs¡¡¹
¡¸I mean, unlike monsters, it looks like folks don¡¯t show it until they¡¯re deep into affliction. Barold can hide it too, looks like.¡¹
As Hiroshi said here, even Barold could blend into a crowd, despite the amount of affliction on him. While the mechanism behind this was unknown, humanoid intelligent species (including elves, for example) seem to be well-equipped at blending in despite their affliction.
To begin with, only those with specific training or extremely heightened sense (like Hiroshi and Mio) could sense affliction. No one could be med for not being able to detect an afflicted person in a crowd.
¡¸So, I was too busy to ask you this, but¡ If the end result is the same, why don¡¯t you gather all the people on your maybe list and have me sing to them?¡¹
¡¸Because that won¡¯t solve anything.¡¹
¡¸How so, Mark-O?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t call me Mark-O.¡¹
Despite Hiroshi¡¯s jest, Mark exined to them:
¡¸Two reasons. First, it¡¯s not a crime to be afflicted in of itself. It¡¯s not umon to be afflicted enough that purification would be painful after arge-scale hunt of monsters. Undead, especially. In some towns, you can just be afflicted by living there for a while.¡¹
¡¸Okay. It does seem unfair to punish those people just for happenstance when they can be healed with purification.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. No one in Fane would take on the Undead any longer.¡¹
While Haruna and Hiroshi nodded to his sound reasoning, Mark continued:
¡¸The other reason is that not everyone on the other side is afflicted. Unfortunately, there are a good number of fools ready to serve my sister until the very end, without any direct influence¡¹
¡¸On top of that, we are mostly aware of all the nobles afflicted beyond the point of return, but we aren¡¯t quite sure when ites to schrs or servants. We can¡¯t leave them alone and have them used in a scheme, but there are too many on the list to preemptively get rid of. The most realistic solution is to iste them somehow. Quietly.¡¹
¡¸If that¡¯s how the affliction situation is ¡¯round here, won¡¯t some of ¡¯em be allies once we purify ¡¯em? The sober devotees aside.¡¹
¡¸Those have already joined us. As early as directly after the ball of your first night here. Thest of them have joined us after we spread the rumor that Haruna has been blessed by Alfemina-sama.¡¹
¡¸Those who haven¡¯t joined us at this point seem to have their lives threatened upon purification.¡¹
Mark and Douga exined.
¡¸Then why don¡¯t ya punish ¡¯em as-is? Y¡¯all need more evidence or somethin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸If we were in Darl, the evidence we have would more than suffice¡¡¹
¡¸In the Fane, the incident with the King before thest is not yet forgotten. If they had a few less followers, we could forcefully arrest Prince Katrina and Barold, but there are a lot of them out there that could im that the rebellion was just, taking advantage of the fact that the royal family had to use such forceful tactics.¡¹
¡¸On the other hand, squashing all opposition preemptively could cause a civil war. Unfortunately, no matter how wise our nation¡¯s progression is, the king before ourst has cursed our nation with an intense stigma against any executive judgement issued by the royal family.¡¹
Douga and the Head Priest did an adequate job of illustrating the cumbersome mire that was Fane¡¯s court. The people were allergic, in a sense, to the royal family using their executive powers. This could be akin to the Japanese aversion of the self-defense force, the German fear of intion, or the United States¡¯ disgust for universal healthcare.
There were many examples throughout history that a nation¡¯s particr attitude, no matter how strange to the foreign eye, seems inevitable to the people living in it. In Fane, the biggest issue was that the highest power of the nation was crippled by this particr allergy.
¡¸In any case, even Alfemina-sama says that everything will be settled soon. She also said that we should be wary of Haruna-sama¡¯s surrounding for the next three days.¡¹
Aearis said with a determined expression, which caused Haruna¡¯s stomach to turn. She was aware that she had eyes on her, but she didn¡¯t expect things to have escted so quickly.
¡¸I might be in for a pickle, then.¡¹
¡¸A pickle?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m invited to dinner at the Marquis Roano¡¯s tonight. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll make a move right then and there, but¡¡¹
A pickle indeed. The room fell silent. Marquis Roano was a member of a n (most likely) in opposition of the royal family. His position was near the top of them, in fact. Turning him down would have appeared suspicious. But now, they had to worry about Haruna returning safely.
¡¸Haruna. Do you need a date?¡¹
¡¸I was thinking of asking Tatsuya-san¡¡¹
¡¸Shall I join you instead?¡¹
Avin had interrupted Haruna answering Mark.
¡¸My Lord!?¡¹
¡¸Avin!?¡¹
¡¸Brother, that may not be so wise¡¡¹
Aearis retorted, unable to conceal her surprise from her eldest brother¡¯s sudden appearance. Douga and the Head Priest were speechless from his sudden appearance, as well as the danger implied in his proposal. Mark was holding his tongue for the moment, as Aearis had said everything he wanted to.
¡¸Aearis. Do you mean that it would be unwise to escort a woman who is not my fianc¨¦e to a party, or for a member of the royal family to walk right into the home of a potential enemy?¡¹
¡¸In this case, Brother, it would be both.¡¹
¡¸As for the former, that isn¡¯t an issue. My dear fianc¨¦e has a heart of pure gold. I told her that the saviors of my little sister needed me, and gave me the go-ahead. In fact, ¡°a man should defend ady at all cost¡± she said.¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m d to have Prisea as my sister-inw¡¡¹
A wild message from Princess Prisea, who was in line to be the next queen of Falldania. Aearis¡¯ expression was a mix of admiration and amazement. Hiroshi and Haruna felt some familiarity with Mark, who looked about ready to vomit sugar from hearing such ims of tant affection.
¡¸If anyone would still use me of infidelity, I¡¯ll have some steamy stories to tell over a voice amplifier.¡¹
¡¸¡Good luck, Haruna-san¡¡¹
¡¸¡Looks like I¡¯ll need it¡¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna felt an onught of exhaustion from Avin nonchnt deration to use the worst weapon imaginable against singles, and his overallck of care for the effects of his public disy of affection.
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t be too worried about thetter, either. Roano can¡¯ty a finger on me. It would be detrimental for him if our rtionship with Falldania were to suffer in any way by harming me.¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, the Marquis Roano and his family mostly traded with merchants from Falldania.¡¹
¡¸Quite right. And even if Fane and Falldania¡¯s rtionship doesn¡¯t suffer, what merchant would trade with Roano if I were to suffer any harm upon attending his dinner party?¡¹
The party could only chuckle in response. The Roano family mostly dealt with dairy and some fruit. Truth be told, they could be found elsewhere in Fane quite easily. It was just that the Roano brand was preferred by Falldania. There was nothing really special about their products. There was the matter of production rate, but Fane¡¯s farming was advanced enough that they could easily meet that demand.
In short, for the merchants of Falldania, Roano wasn¡¯t worth trading with at the cost of hurting their reputation with the royal family of Fane.
¡¸Then all we gotta worry ¡¯bout¡¯s the dead o¡¯ the night.¡¹
¡¸Any ideas, Master Craftsman?¡¹
¡¸I was thinkin¡¯ ¡¯boutyin¡¯ a little trap at the door to Haruna-san¡¯s room.¡¹
¡¸At the door? Will that suffice?¡¹
Lord Avin asked. Hiroshi cracked a grin in response:
¡¸We don¡¯t care ¡¯bout ¡®em gettin¡¯ in, so it¡¯ll do. We¡¯ll just have Haruna-san go somewhere safe.¡¹
¡¸Somewhere¡? Are you going to set up a portal at the door?¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯ like that. They could detect the destination with transportation spells, so I thought I¡¯d set up a portal under specific conditions.¡¹
Hiroshi nonchntly proposed this ridiculous solution. It was Lord Avin¡¯s turn to facepalm.
¡¸Speaking with you, sometimes I feel like I lose sight of normality.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re the one to talk, My Lord.¡¹
Avin brushed theeback off with a bright smile.
¡¸This isn¡¯t funny¡¡¹
¡¸Mark-O, normality has no ce in a crisis like this.¡¹
¡¸Out of all people, Brother! And don¡¯t call me Mark-O!¡¹
Mark raised his voice, and Haruna watched. Sure, he waspetent at what he did, but still had much growing up to do.
¡¸So, where¡¯s her hideout?¡¹
Ignoring Mark¡¯s loud protest, Avin got back on track. Seeing this, Mark had decided that he would only be teased more no matter what he said. So, little Mark-O sat quietly.
¡¸I was thinkin¡¯ the workshop. It¡¯s pretty hard to break into right now.¡¹
¡¸A workshop that¡¯s safer than here? That¡¯s some irony.¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t got pests walking around over there.¡¹
In a little less than a month of the Japanese party renting the workshop, it¡¯s defenses had surpassed the average fortress. Anyone that wasn¡¯t on the ¡°whitelist¡± or had been invited in properly would be weed by all sorts of creative traps, courtesy of Mio blending her high-level skills as a craftswomen and trap-artist. In fact, there were ridiculously powerful barriers set around the parameters to begin with.
The rushed defense systems that they scrambled to improve when they had to protect the two VIPs, Elena and Aearis. Funny how the defense system (which they thought were useless now with the princesses at their residence) woulde in handy after the fact.
¡¸I could set it up for Lord Layotte and Princess Elena¡ And Elle¡¯s room too, if ya like?¡¹
¡¸Not a good idea for Layotte and Elena, but Aearis might need it.¡¹
¡¸How ¡¯bout y¡¯all just make up an excuse so Elle stays the night at Haruna-san¡¯s room?¡¹
¡¸I see. From their point of view, it¡¯s the perfect opportunity where two of their targets converge. They may suspect a trap, but they¡¯re running out of time I doubt they¡¯ll have any other option but to bite. What¡¯s better for them, the perfect scapegoats are right here.¡¹
And so, the party cemented their ns.
¡¸Then we¡¯ll have Doul and Rayna-san go back there too. I¡¯ll stay in Haruna-san room here as a decoy.¡¹
¡¸W-Wait a minute! You¡¯re going to be alone where assassins could strike tonight!? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s too dangerous!?¡¹
¡¸I think it might be better with just me. Can¡¯t expect ¡¯em knights to be too quiet.¡¹
¡¸Still, that isn¡¯t something you should do, Hiroshi-sama!¡¹
After listening through to the conversation where no one seemed to know who was who¡¯s bait, the Head Priest left to take care of things. Mark had given up on interjecting with logic, and started discussing logistics with Avin. Watching them, each member of the party returned to fulfil their role. Things were just getting heated up.
Elena¡¯s head servant, Oria, wasn¡¯t sure what to make of her emotions.
(How am I struggling this much to control my emotions¡?)
Without being told by Elena, she was aware that her attitude towards Hiroshi (and the rest of the Japanese party) was uneptable for her position. Every time an examination ising up, she would consciously prepare herself to act in a way that would not embarrass her mistress, the princess. But when the time came, all she could do was hang onto her sanity by a thread, as her gushing hatred attempted to overwhelm her.
Sure, Oria had some reservations about Elena leaving without her to be treated. But that all dissipated once she saw Elena return healthy, albeit skinnier than before.
She felt a change within her when she was introduced to Hiroshi as Elena¡¯s physician, the day after the ball. It wasn¡¯t that she was repulsed by him, and he didn¡¯t have a stuck-up attitude. If anything, her impression of Hiroshi should have been a pleasant one. The moment Oria saw him, however, she nearly clocked him the face, instinctively.
Shocked by her own urge to do so, she bottled it in throughout the examination. However, she couldn¡¯t conceal all of her unexined hatred. After the examination, she was about to ask Elena to keep her off duty until she could cool her head. When she opened her mouth, the rage that she thought had been resolved erupted again, spewing unreasonableints instead of her intended proposal.
(It¡¯s like my heart doesn¡¯t belong to me anymore¡)
When she didn¡¯t cross paths with the visitors, she could perform her duties without issue or rush of emotion. But as soon as she saw one of the guests (Hiroshi and Haruna, especially) inexplicable anger and hatred consumed her, flooding her mind with urges to do things that should be unthinkable. All of her self-control was spent keeping her from enacting those things, leaving her unable to bottle in her emotions on top of that.
Perhaps she had been afflicted without her knowledge. Judging by the pieces of tales she had heard, an afflicted person usually had no knowledge of it. While Oria would be the exception, since she was aware of her changes. With this possibility in mind, Oria had herself purified in the temple, but she felt no changes. She also had herself checked for any curses, and there were none.
After Elena¡¯s second examination here, Elena had apparently sensed the situation and gave Oria some time off. The problem was, Oria had no other ideas to go on. She couldn¡¯t return to serve Elena without solving this issue. Her only options were to quit or be fired. However, she wasn¡¯t confident that she could even go through with quitting.
(Something irreversible is going to happen. I have to do something, quick.)
Stewing in her conundrum, Oria looked around her room. Almost hoping that some strange object in her room was controlling her mind.
What she didn¡¯t realize was that an unfamiliar, ck vase was sitting on her desk. An unassuming, unfamiliar, ck vase.
(That conniving little¡)
The Marquis Roano was gritting his teeth through his stered-on smile. His scheme to tank the reputation of the Japanese party stood no chance against the borate desserts like pudding a modes, roll cakes, and Mixy Twirlies, along with some quality-of-life inventions like the massage chair, all distributed by the Japanese party to earn favors.
These treats, while they may seem trivial, proved to be quite effective. Coupled with the fact that the party went door to door delivering these themselves, and even taught them how to make the treats while providing gossip from quarters that these people could rarely ess. Who wouldn¡¯t wee these visitors with open arms? The Japanese party had boosted reputation in the castle, corner-to-corner. That couldn¡¯t be brought down so easily. Recently, they had gifted the office worker with a painstakingly detailed pen and calctor, along with massage chairs in every break room. Their fan base was rapidly growing, thanks to the boost in the people¡¯s quality of life these gifts brought on.
The royal guards always judged character bybat prowess. They would have never looked down on anyone who could take down a Wyvern to begin with. All in all, no one would dislike people who prepared plenty of potions and equipment that each department was dreaming of (albeit by using the materials in the castle).
Things would have been different if the Japanese party was simply trying to buy their reputation, but Hiroshi and Mio had used their engineering to solve problems that people around the castle wereining about while chatting over some Japanese snacks in their break time. In addition, they had provided ways to craft and maintain the items (if it was simple enough) so the people wouldn¡¯t miss the Japanese party for a while when it came to these items.
The only ones left to take the Roano family¡¯s negative rumors at face value were the nobles already on their side, or those that wouldn¡¯t bother to and wouldn¡¯t have the chance to go see the Japanese party on their own to verify those rumors. In fact, spreading any rumors often resulted in being mocked or disrespected in return. Roano had never before felt such utter defeat against material goods.
¡¸In any case, you¡¯ve been making quite a name for yourself.¡¹
¡¸I only wish that I could do more to repay our debts, here.¡¹
Haruna answered with sublime humility to Roano¡¯s ttery. Even as she ate, she demonstrated impable table etiquette while never making it look like she didn¡¯t enjoy the food. She would speak to the servers and cooks from time to time to ask about the food or cooking method, and discussing alternative ingredients or methods. Despite being on enemy grounds, Haruna seemed only to be having a nice dinner. Just to tick her off, Roano had instructed the cooks to include some dishes that required specific techniques to eat, but Haruna didn¡¯t even hesitate as she ate them all naturally. Roano couldn¡¯t make so much as a snidement.
¡¸Speaking of, Haruna. How many times have you had an official course meal in Fane?¡¹
Said Avin, who had been cheerfully expressing his appetite for Haruna¡¯s idea of one of the dishes as she was exining it to a cook.
¡¸Let me see¡ This is my fifth, actually. I have only been here for two months, and we always experimented at home to try andbine the best parts of the food and dishes in Fane with those from my home, rather than eating out at all.¡¹
Several res were shot at Haruna. As if to say, Just a peasant adventurer, after all. wlessly ignoring those stares, Haruna and Avin continued:
¡¸Come to think of it, Elena and Aearis always tell me that everything you make is delightful. In fact, the dishes of yours I have tasted wereparable to a traditional full-course meal.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m very happy to hear that, My Lord. But a traditional, high-ss meal like this looks and taste much better than my meagre imitations. With what we have right now, I could never¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t be so humble. To be honest, I would love to have, at least, one of your dishes served at Prisea and my wedding.¡¹
Avin said, honestly, and Haruna responded with an ambivalent ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind an adventurer in the kitchen.¡±
¡¸Do you mean it? You¡¯ll cook at my wedding, if your schedule allows?¡¹
¡¸As an adventurer with an unstable future, I can¡¯t make any promises, but¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m already looking forward to what exotic foods you¡¯ll be cooking, then.¡¹
¡¸As am I. I think we¡¯ve overdone Wyvern by now, so we¡¯ll have something else ready. I¡¯ve heard rumors about Garbarensia and its vors. Would that be something well-suited for the asion?¡¹
Haruna made this oundish proposal, nonchntly. With equaled nonchnce, Avin answered ¡°that sounds lovely.¡± Garbarensia, by the way, is a field boss like Piaranork, and is more powerful than a Wyvern. It¡¯s appearance resembles a giant lion (of over 15 meters) with seven tails, each equipped with a special ability. The difficulty to both hunt and cook the Garbarensia is far beyond that of the Wyvern, but Haruna had heard several ounts in-game that the taste of Garbarensia was superior even to the best cut of the best Wagyu beef in the country.
Truth be told, it wasn¡¯t a creature she could take on solo. Still, it was just a field boss. With their current party (and their equipment) they could easily go for an insta-kill without the element of surprise. At Haruna¡¯s skill level in the kitchen, cooking it was no different from any other ingredient.
Of course, the room couldn¡¯t help but murmur upon hearing this girl mention Garbarensia as if it was any old food from the market.
¡¸Overdone, you say? No more Wyvern meat, then?¡¹
¡¸Not even close. There¡¯s not enough of us to finish off a creature 10 meters long. I just feel like we¡¯ve just about tried every dish we could think of.¡¹
¡¸I see. So you still have the Wyvern bone broth left?¡¹
¡¸We still have the bones, so we can make many more batches.¡¹
The rest of the room fell speechless. Wyvern bone broth? Any chef that they knew of with the prowess to cook a Wyvern had all be hermits out in the countryside. Amon factor among them, per say, were the reasons given for their decisions. They were all¡ well, reasons like ¡°I¡¯m tired of the glitz and mor¡± or ¡°I¡¯m tired of cooking monsters.¡±
At the end of the day, the adventurer party were simply eating better food than royalty in this country did on a daily basis.
¡¸Oh, what¡¯s the matter? While not as rare as a Wyvern dish, this dinner is top ss.¡¹
¡¸O-Of course, My Lord¡ But you have really tasted a Wyvern before?¡¹
¡¸Yes. The first dish, a fried dish, and the broth-based soup were both remarkably delicious. Oh, and not that I could be certain that it was Wyvern, but I did sense the magic of a dragon when I ate it, so the meat certainly belonged to a monster above a certain power level.¡¹
Avin dered, leaving Roano without room to mention further doubt. During the mass-appearance ofrge monsters five years ago, both Avin and Layotte had seen Wyverns with their own eyes. Naturally, they would have touched a corpse; there was close to no chance that either of them would mistake the magic of a Wyvern.
¡¸I¡¯ve enjoyed tonight¡¯s dishes. What a nice surprise that Terrona can be made into such a high-ss dish with just a little bit of work.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve heard that Terrona with one of your condiments (soy sauce, was it?) is quite delicious, too. Which do you prefer?¡¹
¡¸With soy sauce, I¡¯m confident that I can elevate most dishes to a certain level, but that just seems like a stew than Terrona to me.¡¹
Avin nodded internally. Terrona is a traditional dish of Fane, made by boiling all parts of a Shulp, a bird native only to Fane, except for its guts, in stock.
Due to its long history, many regions boasted their own touch on Terrona (cooked with demi-ce sauce instead, or cooking seafood with it, for example). So, they could still call it Terrona even if they cooked the bird in soy sauce or ponzu. For Haruna, however, the difference seemed significant enough, almost like the difference between toastini and toast.
¡¸You are a chef, after all.¡¹
¡¸It would seem so, My Lord.¡¹
Haruna nodded sincerely. In the end, Roano decided that he could trigger an international crisis if he went through with it, and rushed to call off his men from poisoning the roll cake that Haruna had brought.
What Roano didn¡¯t know, was that all deserts given away by the Japanese party already contained a significant amount of all-purpose potion. While the potionsted (for three days) most any poison would be neutralized immediately upon application.
¡¸My Lord, have you heard?¡¹
¡¸Of the tant trap?¡¹
After Avin and Haruna had left, his henchmen addressed Roano.
¡¸As tant as it may be, this is also a prime opportunity.¡¹
The henchman said, more aggressive than expected. With how things were going, Roano would have preferred to keep his distance, but he was running out of options.
¡¸My Lord. How about using that assassin, now?¡¹
¡¸Yes! Fortunately, we have a potential double on the ready. If all goes well, even Princess Elena will be outcast.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s a very precarious ¡°if¡±¡¡¹
Roano rejected, cinching his face. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t too optimistic to think that he would emerge scot-free after jumping into such an obvious trap. Even if the assassination were a sess, Roano¡¯s family would be the top suspect.
They had attempted to iste them through rumors in the first ce because they wanted to blend in the shadows by introducing the unknowing middlemen into the picture. Now that that had failed, Roano wasn¡¯t feeling too lucky. Truth be told, he wanted out of the whole situation. Someone like Roano, who wasn¡¯t as afflicted as Katrina or Barold, had little reason to aggressively try to eliminate Haruna or Aearis. If he backed away now, Roano would avoid capital punishment for sure, and even a purification, he estimated, would only leave him bedbound for three months or so. The best course of action seemed obvious to him.
He would lose some ground considerably since he had opposed the royal family more than once now, but he doubted that he would be driven to poverty. He never explicitly opposed the royal family, and he was one of the better lords, ording to the people. Even now, he didn¡¯t oppose the royal family because of hatred. Roano was only dissatisfied that, despite his solid work in politics and in developing hisnd, increasing tax revenue fair and square had gone underappreciated. For his position, he felt undervalued. He had only sided with Katrina because of the horrible rumors about Aearis and Elena falling ill. Who wouldn¡¯t do the same?
¡¸Marquis Roano¡ We are on the same boat already, and it has sailed.¡¹
What pulled Roano out of his thoughts was Katrina¡¯sp dog, who had materialized without Roano noticing.
¡¸Sailed?¡¹
¡¸Given how tant this trap is, it wouldn¡¯t take a far stretch of the imagination to think that the royal family has tabs on everyone here. Even if you do nothing, all it would take is one person here to act upon impulse¡ That will be all it takes for them to try and get rid of everyone here.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
Barold urately pointed out what Roano had been willfully ignoring. He red back with disdain. No matter what excuse he would make, it was true that Roano was aiding in the coup against Aearis. He even provided the assassin, indicating his history of eliminating political enemies by force. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to find evidence for that.
¡¸Besides¡ It¡¯s all toote, now.¡¹
¡¸Toote?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Someone seemed to have, impulsively, put in an order for your assassin under your name¡ Somehow.¡¹
¡¸What!?¡¹
¡¸So, you best prepare yourself.¡¹
A thin grimace of cruelty illuminated Barold¡¯s forgettable face.
¡¸¡If the boat sinks, you¡¯ll drown with me.¡¹
¡¸All I want is bloodshed. And plenty of it. With every corpse, holiness fills thend. With enough holiness, that rotten goddess falls.¡¹
Seeing Barold¡¯s madness surface, Roano was speechless. He was dumbfounded by these statements that utterly contradicted what Roano perceived as Barold¡¯s character.
¡¸¡Then why didn¡¯t you do this from the beginning?¡¹
¡¸Easy. The best oue was for there to be many more like me. I need to fill this city with holiness, and fill it with people who rejected the curse they call the Goddess¡¯ Blessing. Of course, thanks to those pesky adventurers, that n has failed, a moment before its fruition.¡¹
Barold spat out. This was the first time that anyone here had seen him show emotion like this.
¡¸Either way, you only have one choice, tomorrow. So,dies and gentlemen¡¡¹
Returning to his monotone, Barold had weaved his words like a rope around their necks.
¡¸Are your armies ready?¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m exhausted¡¡¹
¡¸Good job out there. Ya lookin¡¯ wiped out.¡¹
¡¸Not at all physically, but mentally? It was brutal¡¡¹
In Haruna¡¯s room inside the castle, Hiroshi was setting up this and that as Haruna was aching in exhaustion.
¡¸Ya really had a long day, huh?¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm. It wasn¡¯t too bad thanks to Prince Avin, but still¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll listen if ya wanna talk ¡¯bout it?¡¹
Haruna sighed. The fact that Hiroshi was saying this signified how bad she looked, Haruna thought. She decided to take him up on his offer.
¡¸What is their problem¡¡¹
Surprised by the low tone of her voice, Haruna continued to let it out, anyway:
¡¸¡°The lowly adventurer thinks she can buy allegiances with food.¡± ¡°Oh what tasteless gifts!¡± ¡°She even begs the servants for favors!¡± And they make sure you can hear them, you know?¡¹
What was being said, by all ounts, wereughable. Haruna took none of it to heart, but it infuriated her that grown adults were seriously devoting their time to such antics. Exhausting, to say the least. It was painstakingly obvious that any attempt to retort would have been met with a cacophony of nonsense. On the other hand, silence would have been interpreted as affirmative. This sort of maliciousness worked like body blows, slowly but surely. In this past week, Haruna¡¯s spirits were being chipped away, considerably.
¡¸The worst part, though, is that they look down on people that make potions and tools. Never mind that they reap the benefits! They can¡¯t do anything on their own. They don¡¯t have the charisma, or the leadership tomand anyone without their titles. They have no idea how fragile the ground is they¡¯re standing on¡! And they mock you, just for how you look! They say that Mio-chan is worthless! Right to my face, too!¡¹
Haruna was never bothered by the insults and sarcasm about her. If she had let those things get to her, she wouldn¡¯t have made it this far in life. But when they looked down with their narrow mindset at someone whom she valued, respected, and even liked in a way, she felt almost murderous rage. When they went as far as to deem their lives worthless, her blood boiled.
Haruna let out all of those feelings bottled up inside her. Some parts were told in spit-fire rants, and others in stato whispers. Without stopping his work but dedicated his attention toward Haruna, and asionally making eye contact with her, Hiroshi listed to all she had to say without saying a word.
¡¸¡Alright.¡¹
Hiroshi said, summarizing his reaction into a single word, weighted with emotions, after he saw that Haruna had gotten out everything she wanted to. While Haruna picked up on the weight behind his response, she still couldn¡¯t get over the simplicity of his response. Who could me her?
¡¸Alright? That¡¯s it¡?¡¹
¡¸I mean, I¡¯m sorry ya got the short end of the stick, here, but I¡¯m pretty use to people talkin¡¯ smack ¡¯bout me, in different ways than ya¡¡¹
Hiroshi said, putting out some of the fire in Haruna.
¡¸Used to it¡¡¹
¡¸Sure, I¡¯m pissed at what they said ¡¯bout Mio, and I¡¯m real sorry ya had to hear it in person. And I¡¯m grateful you¡¯re mad ¡¯bout it, too. But it ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ me or Mio can apologize for, ya know? So, I¡¯m sorry all I gotta say is ¡°alright¡±¡ It¡¯s all I can say, really.¡¹
¡¸Well, yeah¡ You¡¯re right¡¡¹
Haruna started to cool down, hearing this. In Hiroshi¡¯s shoes, she could see that it might have been difficult to react any differently. She might have been happy to see him enraged as she was, but that didn¡¯t seem like something Hiroshi would do.
¡¸It¡¯s just funny too, that they don¡¯t even realize they¡¯re startin¡¯ to get isted¡¡¹
¡¸Isted?¡¹
¡¸Naturally, if folks that yell at everybody all holier-than-thou start talkin¡¯ smack ¡¯bout the folks makin¡¯ their lives easier, they¡¯re gonna start losin¡¯ friends pretty fast.¡¹
¡¸How did you know?¡¹
¡¸Lay told me. They¡¯re ¡¯bout to take the bait with the giant hook. Let¡¯s just sit back and watch the train wreck.¡¹
¡¸¡Why don¡¯t youe with me?¡¹
Haruna was beginning to seriously worry. If they were taking the bait for real, they were going to send their A-team. Even though Hiroshi was inhumanely durable, Haruna doubted how much that meant against for-real assassins. She hadn¡¯t thought of this before in the heat of the moment, but now that she had gotten her emotions out and cooled down, she finally realized that Hiroshi had been given a pretty short stick.
Haruna had objected initially, but being killed by an assassin was beyond her imagination, and she hadn¡¯t objected it as viscerally as Aearis did. Haruna shuddered, looking back on her cruel optimism at the time.
¡¸I¡¯ve got it set up so I can duck out if things hit the fan, and I got some leather armor on. Don¡¯t worry too much ¡¯bout me.¡¹
¡¸Still¡¡¹
¡¸Besides, I ain¡¯t takin¡¯ much of a riskpared to ya. One wrong move, and they can wave thew in ya face, like nderin¡¯ or some nonsense like that, and get rid of ya legally.¡¹
That was the tricky thing about a ss-based society. If the vile things said at Haruna were spoken by a noble at a noble, or by a peasant at a peasant, it was about fifty-fifty if they could be prosecuted for nder. But when those things were spoken by a noble at a peasant, it was nearly impossible to prosecute. If Haruna responded with something simr (if there was proof and/or witnesses) she could be sentenced for the crime without much consideration, regardless of who started the ordeal. Even though Fane had stripped a lot of privileges from royalty and nobles through its history, it would still take a long time for them to make thews fair and equal across all social sses.
Most conversations at parties were insults anyway, so that alone wouldn¡¯t amount to much of a punishment in court, but who knows what ridiculous ims they would make to inte the crime and the punishment. Thew wasn¡¯t broken enough for them to easily blow up insults at a party into treason or something, but being sued meant that Haruna¡¯s freedom would be limited for a certain amount of time. In fact, a noble could detain her for a day or two upon being convicted for nder. All in all, Haruna was walking on considerably thin ice.
¡¸Elle¡¯ll be here soon, and it¡¯s already a done deal. Don¡¯t worry ¡¯bout me, just get yaself out of here.¡¹
¡¸¡Okay, fine. Just get out of here as soon as things get hot.¡¹
¡¸I know.¡¹
Then, there was a knock at the door.
¡¸Here they are.¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm. Come in!¡¹
As nned, the familiar trio of Aearis, Douga, and Rayna entered. With barely a greeting, Hiroshi urged them through the closet door to the workshop.
¡¸Lessee what cards were dealt.¡¹
To take them by surprise, Hiroshi hid behind the bed, holding his old axe in hand. He couldn¡¯t really wield a pole axe in this room.
¡¸¡Here theye.¡¹
It was nearing midnight when Hiroshi sensed the subtlest presence emerge. As soon as he did, he notified Layotte and prepared himself. The window opened without a sound, and a figure climbed in.
(Ya gotta be kiddin¡¯ me¡)
Hiroshi froze upon seeing the figure. The worst possible card he could have been dealt. From the method of entry and security, Hiroshi had subconsciously eliminated the possibility of this from his mind.
The assassin was a woman.
¡¸¡?¡¹
Mercilessly for both parties, Hiroshi¡¯s trap engaged as designed. With impable timing, the window closed and the door locked, isted the room from the rest of the world. With the exception of a very specific method, Transportation spells and items were negated. The medicine that filled the room like mist prevent suicide by poison.
¡¸¡¡¹
The intruder, even as she acknowledged the trap sping around her, observed the interior of the room without any agitation. She wasn¡¯t sure what the mist was, she saw that it wasn¡¯t harmful, and decided to ignore it. Sensing the faint trace of presence Hiroshi let out from his surprise, the assassin threw something behind the bed.
¡¸Woah!?¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
As Hiroshi rolled out from behind the bed, quaking, she looked at him without emotion. Her weapon in hand, she skulked behind Hiroshi without a sound, to eliminate her frozen prey.
¡¸Dang it!¡¹
Hiroshi dropped his axe as he dove away. He was shaking. While it didn¡¯t do him much good anyway, the difference between having and not having a weapon was significant. The gaze of the assassin cking even the will to kill) that only saw Hiroshi as a roadblock trigger him further. Lost in the moment, he charged in more recklessly than usual.
Easily parrying Hiroshi¡¯s attack (if one could call it that) the assassin effortlessly wrapped herself around him from behind. A sure-fire way to kill Hiroshi through his full set of leather armor would be to slit his throat from behind. However, this move assaulted Hiroshi in a different way than the assassin intended.
The indescribable softness of the female body, and the two soft and sizeable (albeit not asrge as Haruna¡¯s) mounds brought back a certain memory in Hiroshi. Unfortunately for him, the assassin was d in an outfit akin to a bodysuit (specialized for infiltration) which did nothing to prevent Hiroshi from fully experiencing the sensation of her skin.
Panicking from the softness of her body, Hiroshi flopped around violently. Struggling for a moment, the assassin slit his throat with a swift sh. That should have been the end of it¡
¡¸¡?¡¹
But her weapon, which could have sliced through a Giant Lizard¡¯s scales like a piece of paper, had only left a tiny cut on Hiroshi¡¯s throat. It was a palpable slice, but Hiroshi¡¯s throat barely showed a mark, let alone any blood.
At this moment, the assassin wondered if Hiroshi was immortal.
Still, she had no intention of abandoning the mission given to her. In fact, with a majority of her cognitive capabilities erased with drugs, shecked the concept of giving up.
The knife was useless, and poison seemed futile given the durability of his skin. If she could beat him to death, he would be dead already. So, she decided to go with strangtion. Lucky for her, she already had his back. In a split-second decision, she extracted a wire in a blink of an eye (so fast, in fact, that no one could have stopped her) and went to tighten it around Hiroshi¡¯s neck.
¡¸Stop! Don¡¯t touch me! Get off me, already!¡¹
Perhaps fueled by his phobia, Hiroshi struggled with immense strength. He was being strangled, but it didn¡¯t show. As expected, the assassincked the strength to fully strangle him. So, she decided to use their body weight to her advantage. This turned out to be an unfortunate decision for both of them.
¡¸Ahh!?¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s iling foot grazed passed an awkward spot of her anatomy. The assassin, who had remained silent until now, couldn¡¯t help but cry out. Her voice was surprisingly young and innocuous. The weirdly sensual reaction fueled Hiroshi¡¯s panic further, driving him to struggle harder, without realizing that he was only worsening his predicament.
When two people are practically attached at the hip, with one of them with a wire long enough to hang a man, what could happen if one of them iled about with reckless abandon?
What followed was entanglement. Just like the cat that ys with a string only to end up being trapped in it. The assassin loosening her grip on the wire because of the surprising physical contact would spell their doom. The wire, which had been starting to tangle here and there from Hiroshi struggling, had now entangled the two of them beyond repair.
¡¸Aggggggghhhh!?¡¹
¡¸Ah! Ahh!¡¹
The constricting wire brought them closer together, which fueled Hiroshi struggling, which entangled them further, which worsened their physical contact. It didn¡¯t take long for this vicious cycle to lock the two of them in a NSFW position. In the process, Hiroshi¡¯s hands and feet had brushed the assassin¡¯s sensitive areas, unintentionally teasing her body.
Now that they were so tightly entangled, Hiroshi¡¯s struggle was reduced to small jerks and pulls. Neither of them were in a position to do any damage to the other in any capacity. The assassin was still subconsciously shifting her weight to reduce the impact of Hiroshi¡¯s iling, anyway. In the end, Hiroshi was (unknowingly) just brushing up on the assassin¡¯s body here and there and everywhere.
Normally, this kind of tactic would have had no effect on this assassin. Drugs were administered to her to eliminate these sensations, along with her personality. This drug, in exchange for enhanced physical strength and learning capabilities had extinguished everyst thing essential to human (or any) life. The drug had given the assassin incredible powers, especially for an assassin with no allegiance.
The downside of this drug was that the numbing effect would wear off over time, and in turn enhanced sensitivity. The all-purpose potion (in its mist form) had negated that effect entirely. The potion had only taken effect after the assassin had slit Hiroshi¡¯s throat because inhaling the potion took longer for it to kick in. To boot, perhaps with consideration for using it with Stamina potions, the all-purpose potion did not negate any side effects¡
¡¸Aaaaagggggggghhhhhh!¡¹
¡¸Ah! Ahh!?¡¹
As a result, Hiroshi iled like a madman only to continue teasing and building up heat in the assassin¡¯s body. By the time their bodies were hopelessly entangled, a dangerous switch had been turned on within the assassin, and she was primed. In contrast to the assassin (who couldn¡¯t help but let out sensual sighs at every touch) Hiroshi was about to lose his mind, his face looking dangerously pale. His struggle had subsided significantly, leaving him more quaking than iling.
¡¸Aaaaaaggggggghhhhh!?¡¹
¡¸D-Don¡¯t stop¡!¡¹
When their eyes happened to meet, the assassin let out a plea. The mask that was hiding her face was torn off through the struggle. As her voice would suggest, the assassin was young, fifteen or so. This dangerous whisper from this girl sent Hiroshi mind over the edge, leading him to let go of his consciousness. His twitching body illustrated the peril his mind was in¡ Although¡
¡¸Mmm! Mmmgh!¡¹
Unconscious or not, Hiroshi¡¯s limbs were still touching her danger zones. His twitching didn¡¯t help mitigate the situation at all.
¡¸Ahh!¡¹
Even after Hiroshi had fainted, the assassin was switching up her positions. However, before she could escape the entanglement, she discovered a position that gave her more pleasure than before. Even as she was entranced by this new sensation, the assassin was starting to get frustrated since the only action she got was an unconscious body twitching. In the end, she immediately surrendered to Layotte and his men (who barged in ten minutester, as nned) and spilled all sorts of information, unable to lose her NSFW expression.
By the way, after going to the workshop as is she was going to keep a low profile there, Aearis (in collusion with Alfemina) was nning to send in Douga at the right time. However, Alfemina had betrayed her after deciding that Hiroshi¡¯s predicament wasn¡¯t suited for the eyes of a little girl (in every sense of the word) so Aearis¡¯ n was utterly foiled.
Volume 1, 19
Volume 1, Chapter 19
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸It was more dangerous than we thought.¡¹
The next morning. Layotte had said this after making sure that Hiroshi had recovered (more mentally than physically).
¡¸Dangerous? She was that bad?¡¹
¡¸Without your ridiculous resiliency, the fight would have been over as soon as she took a hold of you from behind. If Haruna was in your ce, she would have been killed, eight of out of ten. If it was Ernest in your ce, it would have been really dangerous when his defensive move expired. ¡¹
Hiroshi cinched his face upon hearing this. Who could me him for being a little startled after knowing that the ice he was walking was much thinner than he thought?
¡¸What you fought against was an assassin, not intended for rehiring either way, specialized in night-time infiltration and humanbat. They¡¯re called Killing Dolls. A particr drug is used to grind out most of their senses, emotions, and personality. They are made to have no cognitive or decision-making capabilities other thanpleting their mission. Dolls indeed.¡¹
¡¸Is that why she was moanin¡¯ all sorts of¡¡¹
Just recalling the scene sent shivers down Hiroshi¡¯s spine. That alone nearly caused him to hurl out the contents of his stomach, but he persevered.
¡¸The drug was the problem. One of your trapsst night was the mist of all-purpose potion to neutralize any poison, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
¡¸The all-purpose potion neutralized the drug, causing a sort of withdrawal symptom. Which was¡¡¹
¡¸What? Increased libido or somethin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Close, but not quite. All senses were enhanced, and pleasure reception amplified. They seemed to have cut corners by using cheap drugs, since they are meant to be disposable. Once the withdrawal hits, they can¡¯t control themselves whatsoever.¡¹
Hiroshi didn¡¯t know how to respond to this info, that was honestly too much, especially considering his phobia. Hiroshi felt like he would puke up blood if he heard any more of this. Was he living in a hentai game, now?
If any other man was in Hiroshi¡¯s ce, that scene would have turned out X-rated, for sure.
¡¸So, what happened to miss assassin?¡¹
¡¸She flipped. Helped in raiding the Assassins¡¯ Guild, in fact. Since her brainwashing was undone fromst night¡¯s shocking experience, coupled with the fact that she had a weak sense of self to begin with, it was very easy to flip her onto our side.¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯all think that¡¯s safe¡?¡¹
¡¸She came right back, and went back into her cell without a fight. I don¡¯t foresee a problem.¡¹
Hiroshi couldn¡¯t help but gaze at the distance, holding back the urge to scream. What was with the utter sloppiness? With assassins, nheless.
¡¸The drug constantly administered to that assassin is called Alparanon. Quite unique. They¡¯re the only ones who know how to make it. That being said, apparently the ingredients and recipe aren¡¯t the hard part, just need a little knack to get it done. Even so, most spells and potions have no effect on it. For all they knew, the only way to neutralize the effects were to wait for the drug to wear off. Our potion maker, court magician, and even the Head Priest had the same conclusion, in fact. Which ss was the all-purpose potion you used?¡¹
¡¸ss-4.¡¹
Layotte couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing.
¡¸I can¡¯t say I¡¯m disappointed. You always find a way to blow people¡¯s minds sideways, don¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Hang on, ya don¡¯t even need ingredients that rare for a ss-4 multi-purpose. It won¡¯t be a 100% sess rate, but Mio can make it, too.¡¹
¡¸Do you understand that even Mio is a better potion maker than the one we have?¡¹
¡¸For real?¡¹
¡¸Yes. So even if we had the ingredients, making a ss-4 multi-purpose potion would not be easy. Our court potion maker fails making even ss-5 potions a significant portion of the time, and we¡¯re lucky if he can yield one ss-4 potion out of ten tries.¡¹
ording to Hiroshi¡¯s estimation, the potion makers in this country had the skills equivalent to a yer halfway through Intermediate. So, he nodded to Layotte¡¯s exnation that backed up his theory. In fact, Hiroshi had not seen anyone with Intermediate (equivalent) skills in this world until he met Layotte and the other members from the castle. He assumed that even having Intermediate skills meant cing in the top tier of that profession.
Actually, the nation of academia, Lorren, was about the only country that could produce ss 4 potions. All-purposes potions were especially difficult to produce, and only a handful of vials of ss-4 all-purpose potions were exported from Lorren each year. Naturally, no would expect such a substance to be used against an assassin.
The effects of Alparanon would normallyst about two weeks, and potions of ss-5 and lower (even multi-purpose potions) could not detox the subject. Under ordinary circumstances, it would have been impossible for an assassin to be detoxed and recruited, if the drug was administered shortly before the assassin were to be sent out on a mission.
Like Alparanon, many poisons and specialized drugs only required a Novice skillset to craft, but disproportionately high-level spells or potions to neutralize. Of course, Emilrad was one of them.
¡¸Come to think of it, if y¡¯all can whip up ss-4, y¡¯all wouldn¡¯t be freakin¡¯ out ¡¯bout Venomous Wolves.¡¹
¡¸Very true. So even assassins would never think to prepare against any potions above ss-5. Normally the pawn on the mission doesn¡¯t have much information to offer, and no one would use a high-level all-purpose potion just to crack a pawn. Of course, you were using it in self-defense.¡¹
Which didn¡¯t make the situation any less abnormal. Not to mention that, although there may be some out there that might take the potion beforehand to prevent attacks, no one would think of filling the room with it to prevent the enemy¡¯s suicide.
Because in that case, the potion would have to be above a certain level, which were inessible to most, and too expensive to use like that to the 99% of those who could attain it.
¡¸Still, aren¡¯t they just a little too careless ¡¯bout it all?¡¹
¡¸I agree. It looks like they had been pulling this off for so long, that they felt utterlycent. Even the leader (albeit of only few years) seemed to suffer from over-confidence, perhaps conjured by his own skills in assassination. Didn¡¯t seem like the type to lead an organization to begin with.¡¹
¡¸Yikes. Folks in the shadows can¡¯t afford to lose that sense of danger.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re absolutely right. In any case, thanks to you guys, we have a nice surprise on our hands. They didn¡¯t seem to expect that their selfless doll woulde back to bite them. It was almost disappointing how easy the arrest was.¡¹
¡¸Won¡¯t they make a run for it?¡¹
¡¸With all their fingers cut off, actively being healed here to keep them alive? I doubt it. Of course, we force-fed them the potion you gave us to prevent suicide. Although we already have their secret books, client lists, and order forms. Any testimony by the higher-ups would only serve as a little confirmation.¡¹
Layotte said, slipping in some gruesome details with nonchnce. The Prince had some dark tricks up his sleeve.
¡¸So. What¡¯s gonna happen to that assassin?¡¹
¡¸Currently, she¡¯s under our protection. She¡¯s still lost in lust, so it isn¡¯t hard to control her. She still hasn¡¯t regained much of her cognizance, so she¡¯ll do as we say. To be honest, there¡¯s no reason for us to rush to execute her.¡¹
¡¸¡Sleep with one eye open. That¡¯s all I¡¯m sayin¡¯¡¡¹
¡¸I would say the same to you, actually¡¡¹
Hearing Layotte mumble this under his breath, Hiroshi guessed how Layotte was keeping the assassin under their thumb, and shuddered. Assuming that Hiroshi imagined correctly, he was further astounded by the Prince¡¯s ruthlessness. It was bordering on ungrateful.
¡¸Right. I wanted to ask if I could get something to eat, soon.¡¹
¡¸¡Changin¡¯ the subject again? What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸Pretty soon I¡¯ll have to start being ready at a moment¡¯s notice. Who knows when my next meal would be.¡¹
¡¸Things lookin¡¯ tense?¡¹
¡¸Some cornered rats are about to get desperate. We haven¡¯t gone through everything, but now that we have irrefutable evidence, their only option left is to revolt. Prepare yourselves for that.¡¹
Hiroshi crunched his face in response. He wanted to shout to the heavens, to ¡°keep civilians out of this mess!¡±
¡¸Can a revolt pop up that easily?¡¹
¡¸Depends on what Barold does. He could immediately call ten thousand to the scene with a Summoning spell. That being said, the maximum they could pull would be about three thousand on the spot, five thousand if they were ready for this, and even if they go crazy to make this happen, the most we expect his eight thousand.¡¹
¡¸As if that ain¡¯t a scary number, already.¡¹
¡¸Scary? Even if he summons them all inside the castle, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Don¡¯t underestimate Fane¡¯s national defenses.¡¹
Layotte dered with confidence, leaving Hiroshi with a pinch of doubt. Looking at the structure of the castle, an army of five thousand or so (without even the element of surprise) would be nothing to worry about. But what about an army of twenty or thirty thousand?
¡¸Hey, Lay.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸How many people they got, total? Without time constraints.¡¹
¡¸Roano has thergest force at twenty-five thousand. The second biggest would be about five thousand (at the cost of bankruptcy) so less than seventy thousand total. The thing is, most of them would be farmers with minimal training. Farmers are busy now that harvest season ising to an end, so they couldn¡¯t force many of them to show up. This is the same for any Lord or Lady. That leaves them with mercenaries, but the amount of coin is there limit. And actually, while Fane is rich in adventurers, we actually don¡¯t have many mercenaries.¡¹
Layotte disclosed the figures from the back of his mind, not mentioning that Hiroshi may be acting a little paranoid.
¡¸If they hired as many mercenaries as they can?¡¹
¡¸We only have a total of about a thousand mercenaries in the country, tops. That would be about the ceiling of their finances, too.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. And if all of them waltzed into the castle¡ What are ya gonna do?¡¹
¡¸We won¡¯t have a problem. Fifty-five to sixty thousand of the seventy thousand in that army would be farmers. A spell from the Temple would neutralize all of them. Only about a tenth of them would even stand a chance against a knight. And we have at least eight thousand knights that remain in the castle at all times.¡¹
¡¸That many, huh¡?¡¹
Hiroshi was taken aback by therge number, bute to think of it, the poption of Wulls (just on the record) exceeded a million. Even if 3% of the poption were full-time soldiers, that would mean that thirty thousand people were full-time fighters. A third of that number dedicated to the castle (the center of political power) didn¡¯t seem out of the question.
¡¸Still, it doesn¡¯t hurt to put all of our ducks in a row. If you can eat, eat quick ande to my office.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. It does look like we got some nnin¡¯ to do.¡¹
Acknowledging that both sides of the battle possessed a trump card to turn the tables, it didn¡¯t hurt to perform preparations expecting those cards to be used. The cards were Hiroshi and Haruna against the existence of the Dark God Temr.
¡¸So, where can we eat?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s already prepared. Eat as much as you can, quickly.¡¹
¡¸Ya got it.¡¹
As soon Layotte said so, the servant (who had been waiting outside) brought in meals almost too extravagant for lunch. The final battle was approaching.
¡¸Mio, stop making that face.¡¹
¡¸That bad?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s on all of us.¡¹
In therge room of the Alfemina Temple, Makoto was consoling Mio wearing a contentious (or, rather, concerned) face.
¡¸For real. I¡¯ve never screwed up this bad before¡¡¹
Haruna let out with a sigh, as she drew the magic circle ording to Mio¡¯s directions. She had said this at least a dozen times (by Makoto¡¯s count). She was devastated that she didn¡¯t think of it until the end, despite having the most time to check. Haruna felt like she had let down her partner, whom she had spent an intense, meaningful (albeit short) time together. Knowing Haruna, she would not let this go easily.
At the moment, though, they were working on constructing a stage to draw out everyone who was afflicted. The fact that they could not track everyone¡¯s status of affliction (especially when it came down to the servants)bined with their n to keep the enemy, now most likely with decreased decision making skills, in the dark from even a strategy as obvious as this one as long as possible, fueled them to avoid using Haruna¡¯s singing for anything, and holding back on constructing the stage in the Temple so far, although that was a criticalponent of the n.
To prepare, they had been setting up magic circles (as speakers) in as many ces as they could think of while they were out and about giving away Japanese treats, and had tested them while no one was around. Now, they were checking the speaker cements that they had missed before, cing microphones, and constructing/linking magic circles and testing the speakers, all in a hurry. But Hiroshi¡¯s recovery had put a dent in the pace of these things, leaving the girls without much time to wallow.
¡¸It¡¯s on all of us, Haruna.¡¹
¡¸I mean, you¡¯d expect him to think of it, with everything he¡¯s been through¡¡¹
Tatsuya said, and Makoto nodded in agreement. No one had expected Hiroshi, who had prepared all sorts of traps and contraptions, to not expect the possibility of the assassin being a woman at all. In hindsight, it would not have been a problem if Mio had stayed with Hiroshi. They all had to admit that they had overestimated Hiroshi¡¯s defenses and mental strength.
¡¸Get it together, Sensei¡¡¹
¡¸Cut him some ck. I¡¯m impressed that he didn¡¯t let it get worse. This time around, and the time with Rayna.¡¹
Tatsuya pulled back Mio from going solo and criticizing Hiroshi. When he had heard from Layotte that Hiroshi¡¯s phobia hadn¡¯t worsened, Tatsuya was thoroughly impressed. He wasn¡¯t there during Rayna¡¯s incident, but remembering Hiroshi¡¯s stories from his past (which he had been told before in the real world) Tatsuya was legitimately concerned that Hiroshi would be unable to rejoin human society at all.
All things considered, Mio¡¯sment was out of line, and worthy of reprimand, but Tatsuya had decided to take a more diplomatic approach, thinking that scolding a teenage girl outright would only cause resistance.
¡¸He can¡¯t just keep¡¡¹
¡¸Mio, I get it. Just don¡¯t rush it.¡¹
The two elders of the group pulled back Mio¡¯s rushed response while still understanding her half-adoration and half-admiration (or more urately, her infatuation with the thought of love) for Hiroshi.
¡¸Just like the thing with the underwear, just because he stopped showing signs of his phobia from living with a girl for a couple of months, I think it¡¯s still too risky to have him do anything that emphasizes the opposite sex.¡¹
¡¸If he won¡¯t do it, he won¡¯t get better.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you not to rush it. It¡¯s all for naught if he rpses. At the very least, wait until someone here, or like, Elle could be standing next to him without triggering him.¡¹
¡¸¡I don¡¯t want to see Sensei like this anymore. Pathetic. And in pain¡¡¹
With an expression of lost disappointment, Mio still stuck to her guns. Tatsuya and Makoto knew that Mio wasn¡¯t just being selfish, so all they could produce were sighs. Without Mio saying anything, they knew that it was very likely for some of their enemies to be female, and for them to have to fight them directly. If that timees without Hiroshi making any improvements that would put Hiroshi¡¯s life in danger.
But as of now, even Haruna (the woman he could trust the most) could note within three feet of Hiroshi without stressing him out. That was close enough for Haruna to take a step forward and touch him, but far enough that Hiroshi had to approach her for them to make contact without Haruna moving. Much improvement was needed.
Since the Mental Endurance stat didn¡¯t necessarily trante to the same skillset in real-life, Hiroshi had to be the one to conquer his wounds on his own, and they shouldn¡¯t try to put their hands in it. Because they understood this, Haruna kept her distance as she tried to maintain her independent normality, and Aearis searched for the right distance as she purposefully continued to show her affection.
Their concern and devotion was impressive, but asking Mio to do the same would have been cruel.
¡¸In any case, Hiro¡¯s the one who has it the worst. We can crack jokes about other stuff, but no matter how you feel, don¡¯t you tell any of this to his face.¡¹
¡¸¡I know¡¡¹
Mio knew already that she was saying things that maybe she should not have been. Still, she couldn¡¯t grasp her emotions, causing her to blurt out almost aggressive words.
¡¸Alright. The clock is ticking, so let¡¯s hurry it up. Mio, what¡¯s left?¡¹
¡¸Tatsu and Mako, ce the finished product where they¡¯re supposed to. Haru, the angle¡¯s off there. And speed it up.¡¹
¡¸Okay, I¡¯m on it!¡¹
Under Mio¡¯s direction, Haruna focused on preparing the chapel, an integral part of the n. Tatsuya and Makoto left to ce the small magic circles that would act as speakers in their ce. They were worried that they were running out of time to finish the other preparations, but Hiroshi had joined them just in time to brute-force everything together in an astonishing speed.
¡¸It seems that the Assassins¡¯ Guild did not live up to its expectations.¡¹
Hearing the news of the Assassins¡¯ Guild falling first thing in the morning, Barold had ryed the news with an exasperated tone.
¡¸I had expected them to fail, but captured alive and giving away information? And now the guild itself has been taken down. How pathetic.¡¹
¡¸As if you had nothing to do with it. With that much evidence, the King would surelye after us now, no matter how much the atmosphere in court discourages the royal family from exercising executive power. What are you going to do?¡¹
¡¸Naturally, we take the royal family down by force.¡¹
Barold dered the impossible so casually that the nobles were left speechless.
¡¸¡By Force? We can¡¯t gather enough man-power to take down the castle of Wulls on our own. Marquis Roano is the only one with a significant force to wield.¡¹
¡¸Besides, its harvest season. Many viges have nned their harvest festival for the end of the month. There¡¯s a limit to conscripting farmers.¡¹
¡¸Besides. The farmers have received decent training, but they fall behind the soldiers of Wulls in equipment, skillset, and moral. It almost doesn¡¯t matter how many of them we can gather up.¡¹
The nobles jumped to exin how preposterous it was to take down Wulls and the royal family. Even though they were already backed into a corner, and had no loyalty for the royal family, none of them had the guts to back this particr horse.
¡¸What if we could send all the soldiers we gathered into the castle?¡¹
¡¸¡Still no good. Any soldiers we get from an emergency conscription will be useless inside the castle walls.¡¹
Roano answered after pondering Barold¡¯s idea for a moment.
¡¸Why?¡¹
¡¸The power of the Alfemina Temple. Using Alfemina-sama¡¯s blessing, everyone who hasn¡¯t received a specific training will be rendered immobile. If we go in with a flood of soldiers, even the best men among them would be trapped in the sea of bodies. Unless you have some way to neutralize that power, Barold-dono?¡¹
It was Barold¡¯s turn to ponder. The best case scenario was the knights to start massacring the farmers on the spot, but he knew that was wishful thinking. For the same reason, even the trained soldiers will most likely be neutralized without many casualties. And while the affliction in thend was still low, Barold would be hard-pressed to kill all of Wulls¡¯ knights at once.
¡¸Hmm. If they are neutralized, kill them on the spot. I don¡¯t know how many of them you can bring together, but if three thousand or so die overall, I can y one of my cards.¡¹
¡¸Are you mad!?¡¹
After consideration, Barold had reached the selfish conclusion to replenish the affliction in thend by killing the nobles¡¯ men. Naturally, his proposal was met with a disgusted shout. While he wasn¡¯t too concerned about the lives of peasants (in fact, as long as they didn¡¯t snuff out too many, they would replenish the poption on their own. How convenient!) but killing their own men? They could kiss any reputation they had built up goodbye.
¡¸Don¡¯t act so surprised.¡¹
¡¸Marquis Roano¡?¡¹
¡¸We all knew for a long time how insane this man is.¡¹
With a long, sunken sigh, Roano said, giving up. He had no idea that he was afflicted beyond the point of no return.
¡¸But we can¡¯t kill thousands of men for no reason. I will only mobilize my private army, without conscripting any peasants.¡¹
¡¸How many would that be?¡¹
¡¸I can move two thousand of them, now. I had gathered that many yesterday. Beyond that, I would have to gather my men from all around mynd, so they won¡¯t be here in a day.¡¹
¡¸I see. We don¡¯t have much time, so that shall do. As for everyone else?¡¹
After hearing Roano, the nobles jumped to dere their contribution.
¡¸Combine those with Mazzarack¡¯s army, and we¡¯ll have just about seven thousand¡¡¹
¡¸Where is Count Mazzarack, speaking of?¡¹
¡¸After receiving word that we are to take the castle of Wulls, he seems to be preparing something.¡¹
¡¸To betray us?¡¹
¡¸Never. He could divulge everything he knows to the royal family, and it wouldn¡¯t put a dent in his predicament with thew.¡¹
Barold said. The rest of the nobles there could not say a word, as they were all in the same predicament as Count Mazzarack.
¡¸Now, I would like to act tonight, if possible. Is it?¡¹
Wincing at Barold¡¯s deadline, the nobles still nodded, reluctantly. If they postponed their attack until tomorrow, everyone here would be arrested before they would have a chance to attack. The Assassins¡¯ Guild had copsed only that day, so confirming and researching the information given would take the royal family at least a day, ording to Barold¡¯s estimation, since he figured that even Layotte couldn¡¯t detain nobles withoutplete documents of verified information.
¡¸Onest thing, Katrina-sama.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸In the worst case, this nation will never be the same again. Do you have any reservations?¡¹
¡¸A country that didn¡¯t ept me? It can be reduced to dust, for all I care.¡¹
With a sickening smile, Katrina responded with astounding self-centeredness. Her words were all the go-ahead they needed to push the revolt into motion.
The coup d¡¯¨¦tat would be remembered in history as Katrina¡¯s Revolt. The historically relevant part of the story was kicking into motion around sunset.
¡¸¡They¡¯reing.¡¹
¡¸We got everythin¡¯ together just in time, it looks like.¡¹
Picking up on the mass-transportation into the courtyard from the Alfemina Temple, Layotte and Hiroshi whispered to each other. The Japanese members each tightened their expression. On the record, they were here as bodyguards, but were actually called here by Alfemina¡¯s divine calling. Currently, the royal family (excluding the Queen and the two concubines since they were not suited forbat nor baiting Katrina and Barold) were standing by in the Temple, partially to be ready to evacuate, but also as bait. The Queen and the concubines had already evacuated to the workshop, and the only member of the royal family left here without any skillset inbat was Aearis, in the middle of a ritual. However, It was doubtful that Elena was well enough to fight, so she was on the side of being protected today.
Douga and Rayna were standing by in the front entrance of the castle as red herrings. In their stead, Julius and a few of his men were here to guard Elena and Aearis, along with Elena¡¯s servant, in order to take care of her while she was here. Naturally, all of the priests were in the Temple itself, but the Head Priest was the only representative of the Temple in therge room they were in.
¡¸Mark, how¡¯s the evacuation going?¡¹
¡¸Everyone who isn¡¯t afflicted has been evacuated. Haruna¡¯s tune really sped things up for us.¡¹
¡¸What about the afflicted?¡¹
¡¸They are all detained in the dungeon for the time being. Although, we haven¡¯t been able to pick out anyone with brainwashing who wasn¡¯t affected by her song, and we didn¡¯t have time to weed out those afflicted beyond the point of return. We could only separate them by sex. We¡¯ll have some trouble brewing for us.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s an emergency. Besides, anyone passed out from hearing the song would be safer in the dungeon then a make-shift evacuation site.¡¹
Layotte replied with what could be taken as an excuse. They had been making preparations under the surface for a while, but no n falls into ce without fail. Roano acting up quicker than they had expected was a contributing factor, but the real issue was that there were too many people to deal with. He wasn¡¯t wrong that the dungeon was safer. It was one of the most durable structures in the castle in order to keep criminals in during emergencies.
¡¸Brother.¡¹
¡¸The dolls are on. All soldiers are in ce. You impressed me again, Grand Craftsman. Even we couldn¡¯t tell that they were fake.¡¹
¡¸If ya did, there wouldn¡¯t be a point to it.¡¹
Hiroshi retorted to Avin. The party looked at Hiroshi, exasperated. Naturally, a marite intricate enough to trick family members wasn¡¯t something that could be whipped up because there would be no point to it otherwise. Of course these were magical items, but even Mio couldn¡¯t craft one that could deceive the subject¡¯s family members. That might illustrate the difficulty of this feat.
¡¸In any case¡ Elena, how are you feeling?¡¹
¡¸I have enough strength to run and hide, if need be. I have my secret weapon, too. And my magic is unaffected by my illness, you know.¡¹
¡¸Good to hear. Julius. Mark. Take care of Elena if need be. Avin, look after Father.¡¹
¡¸Roger that.¡¹
Since picking up on the transportation, Layotte had been calmly going through the final details. Along with this, Hiroshi directed Mio:
¡¸Like we nned, ya back up Princess Elena when she¡¯s gettin¡¯ out of here. We¡¯ll stay back and hold ¡®em back.¡¹
¡¸I know.¡¹
¡¸The thin¡¯ is, we might have ya stay dependin¡¯ on what¡¯s goin¡¯ on here. Stay on ya toes.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
And so, they went over their roles as discussed. All the while, the Transportation spell was continuing, indicating the possibility of a mass-transport. It was going on long enough for a high-level Cancel spell to negate an ordinary spell, but arge-scale Transportation spell like this was extremely difficult to interrupt. Trying to stop it by brute force like that could warp the area into another dimension, or the destination itself being evaporated. In any case, it was bad news.
The unwritten rule was to never mess with an active Transportation spell, even when they expected a slow emersion of a massive army.
Ordinarily, no one outside of the royal family could activate a Transportation directly inside the castle wall. Katrina¡¯s involvement allowed for such a direct attack. No nation in history has fended off an attack like this.
¡¸Then¡¡¹
¡¸Of course, Your Grace.¡¹
The Head Priest activated the spell he had loaded up, on the King¡¯smand. Amplified by the items nted throughout the Temple, the spell immediately covered the entirety of the castle.
¡¸Hm¡ Most of them resisted it, it seems.¡¹
¡¸How many did we get?¡¹
¡¸About a thousand. The rest won¡¯t be at their best, however.¡¹
There were two spells nted in the Temple of Alfemina. The first forced individuals below a certain power level to sleep. The second exerted pressure to those recognized as hostile by the royal family and/or the Temple of Alfemina. These prepared in preparation to defend against direct attacks to the castle (like this one) but this was only the second time these spells had ever been activated. This was the first time they had any effect.
It¡¯s worth mentioning that, if the Temple of Alfemina had been evidently corrupt or if the royal family had been tantly abusive against its people, these spells were rendered useless. During the king before thest king¡¯s rule, the royal family triggered this condition, preventing the spells from activating altogether. This time around, the spells seemed to go off without a hitch since neither of those conditions were an issue, now.
So, the Head Priest had said that about a thousand had been put into a sleep. It seemed that most of them were properly trained soldiers, which made sense since they were gathered on such short notice. Despite their training, the best men of the lords could not beat the worst men of Wull¡¯s Knight¡¯s Order. With the added home-field advantage, there wasn¡¯t a chance of the knights losing if both armies were close in numbers.
¡¸I didn¡¯t expect to take down much, judging by their numbers. A thousand is plenty.¡¹
The King said. Layotte nodded, activating the magical item to see what was happening outside. This was an artifact that was collecting dust in the castle¡¯s treasury for a few centuries.
¡¸We just have to leave it to the team outside. Let¡¯s see how Ernest and Rayna do.¡¹
Showing the brawl in the courtyard and the showdown in the front entrance, Layotte was oddly rxed.
¡¸Thought you¡¯d be imprisoned by now, but seems you whored your way through, huh, She-Man? I¡¯m surprised anyone could get it up to that. I¡¯m happy you found such a freak.¡¹
Odenell Martoon, leader of the Mack knights, started taunting Rayna as always. His face, which could have been mistaken for Hiroshi¡¯s (if seen from afar under dim lighting) was illuminated with a beastly grin that would revolt any woman (let alone Rayna). His character seemed as ipatible as it could get from a leader of knights. The only characteristics he had inmon with Hiroshi was the vaguelyme vibe to his bodynguage, and the inexplicable aura of spinelessness emanating from him.
His subordinates behind him chimed in with simr grins across their faces, throwing vulgar insults at Rayna. Some of them were too vulgar to even put to writing; these men were below beasts. An ordinary woman could not have been med for losing all hope in men.
These insults were so horrendous immature, and confined to the subject of genitalia, that if Tatsuya were here, he would have mmed an Oxygen Ring or something before they could finish them. Any man with any sense of decency would have taken serious offense to be categories as the same species as these goons, let alone the same sex. Some thugs on the street had more ss than them
¡¸Are you done?¡¹
After letting them shout for a while, Rayna asked in an icy monotone. The Mack knights were left feeling off. Rayna used to be enraged by cheap insults like this, and they were expecting another show.
¡¸Aha. I can see how you would hate men after dealing with them¡ The likes of them all the time.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m embarrassed that I was expecting all men to be like them.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s all in the past.¡¹
It was only natural that a woman, like Rayna, who possessed immense power would not have fit in well within the male-dominated world of knighthood. Of course, some of them were disproportionately prideful for their skills. One couldn¡¯t really expect them not to throw insults based on sex or basic human characteristics.
Naturally, anyone who would try to feel better about themselves by putting down someone¡¯s appearance rarely put in the work to improve themselves above the pack. If they had enough talent, they would have mocked Rayna for desperately putting in the effort to improve herself as a knight. Unless they were born with enough talent for it, these runts were left to denying their obvious shorings inbat and finding sce in mocking what aspects of Rayna they could.
They had continued to willfullyck self-awareness, until now, when they were about to be dished some cruel self-awareness.
¡¸One question.¡¹
¡¸What does the She-Man whore who bedded her way into knighthood want to know?¡¹
¡¸Well, since even a woman who bedded her way to knighthood could take on a Berserker Bear solo without armor and just a knife, I¡¯m sure each of you could do the same.¡¹
The faces of the Mack knights crunched in humiliation. Despite their title as knights, theirbat prowess was barely on par with ss-7 adventurers. They could only put up a good fight against a Berserker Bear if they were d head-to-toe in high-quality armor. While people like Douga or Rayna who could insta-kill a Berserker Bear with a knife only wearing casualwear were in the definite minority, every one of the knights based in Wulls could easily take down a Berserker Bear with ordinary leather armor and an average sword ornce.
While their armor set them a head above normal soldiers, the Mack knights were the weakest knights in Fane.
¡¸I¡¯m sure you all have the strength to back up your insults. Why don¡¯t you stop pping your jaws and show it?¡¹
Today, it was Rayna¡¯s turn to taunt them. Anyone who knew Rayna would have been surprised to hear her do so. No matter how painful a life lesson the ordeal with Hiroshi was, there was only so much self-reflection and improvement she could do in the month since then. If it were that easy, Rayna would never had acted the way she did in the first ce.
The truth was, she had a trick up her sleeve. When they decided on this strategy, Rayna had begged Hiroshi to craft her a one-shot item that could cool down her temper, in order to withstand the hurling insults that were sure to follow. It was an embarrassingly low-self-esteem strategy, but it paid off. Shepletely ignored the storm of insults that could have sent anyone over the edge.
¡¸What¡¯s wrong? You have an army, and you¡¯re afraid of a whoring abomination and her senile mentor?¡¹
¡¸You little¡¡¹
The thugs enraged at their target using their words mockingly against them. The Mack knights seemed to have forgotten that the two fighters in front of them could eat take on three Cerberus without breaking a sweat, as they charged, praying that outnumbering them would do the trick.
¡¸No matter how strong they are, it¡¯s only the two of them! Let¡¯s teach that senile geezer and She-Man a lesson!¡¹
Responding to Odenell with a battle-cry, the knights charged with no formation or anything. Scoffing at theirck of discipline, Douga and Rayna simple swung their weapons, once.
¡¸Woah!¡¹
¡¸Gagh!¡¹
¡¸Aggh!¡¹
The nonchnt blow sent bundles of the Mack knights into the air. They had no idea that, in this world, when there was this much of a discrepancy inbat skills, the oue would have been the same if they had outnumbered the pair by the thousands.
¡¸Knocked out by a senile geezer, eh? It¡¯s too easy.¡¹
¡¸It doesn¡¯t matter how impressive their armors are when they¡¯re worn by them.¡¹
¡¸They could Bind me like they did for Piaranork, at this rate. I don¡¯t have a shred of doubt of taking them down.¡¹
That single blow was all it took to absolutely cripple the moral of the Mack knights. Terrified by the pair¡¯sments, they attempted to flee. Exasperated for a moment at the men scrambling to flee, discard their duties and everything they supposedly stood for, Douga decided that he wouldn¡¯t let them get away.
¡¸Stand your ground, cowards!¡¹
Discharging a formidable force of will, Douga pressured the private soldiers to stay where they were. He had pressured them with Outss, the wide-range taunt (essential for tanks) that he had taught Hiroshi, earlier.
It had finally dawned on the Mack knights that they had no chance of leaving the castle grounds alive.
¡¸Shall we make our next move?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll allow it.¡¹
Katrina permitted Barold. With the formality of Katrina¡¯s permission granted, Barold moved on to the next phase.
¡¸Let the symphony begin.¡¹
With a crazed grin, Barold cast a spell at the crumbling coup in front of him. In an instant, the courtyard was engulfed in a cacophonous hellscape.
Some were engulfed in a pir of fire, and others rotted away in an instant. Some were swallowed whole by a gaping mouth in the air, and others suddenly sunk into the ground as it turned into quicksand. Still, none of them died quickly from these cmities, but instead were driven to the point of madness from sheer agony.
Most of the rebelling soldiers were just a group of men who were conscripted by the lords without any exnation before finding themselves facing off against the official Knight¡¯s Order in the castle¡¯s courtyard. To keep face to their lords andmanders, they had been pretending to engage inbat after the first call to surrender, but their morale was non-existent. A second call for surrender would have been met with immediatepliance. Most of them believed that, if they would surrender, their crime would be non-significant since they were practically forced to be there without any awareness of their alliance.
Almost all of the soldiers that were just tortured to death belong to the category of unfortunate civilians. Did any of them deserve such a gruesome fate? No. Of course, there a few abusive lords in the coup, but the royal family¡¯s strong policing over thest decade or so had prevented much abuse from prevailing. While a few of the soldiers there had yed some small part in these uwful practices, the vast majority of them were soldiers who simply protected theirnd from monsters and criminals.
So, in a just world, none of them would have met such a fate.
¡¸W-What the?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s happening!?¡¹
Even the knights were shocked by the sudden eruption of carnage. This battle wasn¡¯t personal to any of them. With the exception of a few rebels that were wholeheartedly involved in the battle, the knights had never nned to kill the majority of the soldiers who were putting on a show. In fact, many of the rebel soldiers near the outer edges of the group had been disarmed after a few moments ofbat, knocked out with a careful blow (as to not leavesting injuries) before being dragged out of battle. Those were the lucky ones who escaped the nightmare that ensued.
¡¸You may call us traitors, but is this what your knight¡¯s code demands? A massacre!?¡¹
One of the surviving rebels started shouting. The knights, brought back to reality from this, shouted back their retorts:
¡¸What would we gain from killing you like this!?¡¹
¡¸If we wanted to massacre you all, we would have done it in a sh!¡¹
¡¸If that¡¯s our endgame, exin why those fools lying over there are still breathing!¡¹
Confronting the battleground¡¯s force and rage, the knights continued roaring to defend their honor. The usation that they would have used such a sadistic method to take down these weaklings was nothing short of an insult.
¡¸There! Whoever you are, you got your wish. The rebellion is suppressed! Show yourself!¡¹
Themander of the royal guards, who had beenmanding the battalion in the courtyard shouted at the unseen foe, when themander of the rebellion had surrendered.
¡¸Of course it¡¯s you¡!¡¹
¡¸I made things easier for you¡ Why the long face?¡¹
¡¸Why should we kill them with such an abominable method when we can simply knock them out!?¡¹
¡¸How admirable. But the punishment for treason is death. Have they not earned any demise that maye their way?¡¹
¡¸Ourws will not execute soldiers who had no option to refuse!¡¹
Themander of the Knight¡¯s Order felt genuine rage against Barold¡¯s self-centered interpretation ofw. Themander of the rebellion chimed in:
¡¸You were the one who sent us here in the first ce! How could you ughter your own men!?¡¹
¡¸My men? What nonsense is this?¡¹
Barold replied with a genuinely startled expression. Although, one didn¡¯t even need to pick up on the sinister giggle in his tone to see through his intentions.
¡¸In any case, you are a criminal! No excuse will get you out of this one! Your head is mine!¡¹
¡¸Oh, how terrifying.¡¹
Barold said, ying scared. The knights enraged at his attitude, and their anger was reaching a boiling point. When they had moved to attack, Barold said:
¡¸I still have some tasks left to do. I shan¡¯t be taken out under false pretenses. It seems I have no choice but to defend myself.¡¹
And activated a spell. In an instant, dense affliction filled the courtyard, morphing the corpses and unconscious bodies of the rebels.
¡¸What!?¡¹
¡¸I will make you pay for your mockery of human life!¡¹
¡¸Mockery? I¡¯m just helping the helpless souls you¡¯ve massacred take revenge¡ Against all living creatures, that is.¡¹
Barold said with a grin, before summoning a dozen Cerberus before walking away in strides. What was left behind were revolting Undead monsters, rebels turned into half-Mutants through the forcefull morphing and ejection of their sanity, along with Cerberus (which spread the contamination of affliction by their mere presence) facing off against the Knight¡¯s Order, gritting their teeth as they were forced to take care of the hellscape in front of them.
Hiroshi, again, was the first one to detect the problem.
¡¸It don¡¯t feel right.¡¹
Layotte heard this mumble, and looked at Hiroshi with a stern expression.
¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹
¡¸Not sure yet, but somethin¡¯ don¡¯t feel right.¡¹
¡¸I would ask you for details, but I suppose you can¡¯t give any. What should we do?¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t be too sure yet, but anyone who¡¯s supposed to be outta here better get movin¡¯. We¡¯re jumpin¡¯ into battle any second, now.¡¹
Hearing this, the King and Elena begin walking to the secret passageway after making sure they¡¯ve packed the essentials. They didn¡¯t seem to have a shred of doubt in Hiroshi¡¯s assessment.
¡¸Mio too.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Be careful, Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Right back at ya.¡¹
As nned, Mio followed the evacuating royalty out. Their destination, like the Queen, was the workshop. Surprisingly, the defenses of the workshop surpassed that of Alfemina Temple. From the outside, the Azuma Workshop was a lonely building (rather old andrge) surrounded by a fence. It¡¯s defenses, however, had been bolstered to the point of deflecting any sieging weapons without a scratch, and it¡¯s Magic Defense and Resistance were now on-par with Hiroshi¡¯s. Even some Ultimate Spells would be canceled. Their workshop had been turned into a fort. They had even built in a system to purify poisons and curses before it could reach the ground, and to top it all off, those with malicious intent could not even step foot near the workshop because of a deterring barrier. By this world¡¯s standards, the defenses of their workshop had been perfected by any stretch of imagination. Most would not even consider applying so manyyers of defenses.
ording to Hiroshi and Mio, this level of defenses were only possible because of the workshop was small enough. It wasn¡¯t just its defenses that elevated the workshop to a fortress, though. The size of the storage room of the workshop, which had been expanded over and over again as they gathered ingredients, yed a major part. All of the food supplies obtained through quests and harvesting trips, as well as all of Hiroshi¡¯s passion projects (mostly spices) were plentiful enough to easily maintain a lock-down for two months, even if everyone in the Temple now had evacuated to the workshop. As long as a few members could slip away to bring in food once in a while, they could stay in that workshop until they have died of old age (barring an attack from something like an Elder Dragon).
Of course, this overkill of a defense system was the fruit of Hiroshi¡¯s hobby-brain going haywire with some leftover materials. This wasn¡¯t the initial intention, but as Hiroshi performed small renovations upon renovations during brisk breaks in his work, the workshop had seemed to lose its original purpose, morphed on the inside without any change to its appearance. It didn¡¯t help that, instead of keeping him in check, Tatsuya and Makoto (who were secretly into these kinds of evil-hiddenyer contraptions) kept encouraging Hiroshi.
In that case, why weren¡¯t they kept in the workshop from the beginning? In order to let Barold sense their presence in the Temple, anyone who could bait him were kept in the Temple as long as possible. It helped that everyone there (save for the servant girls) had some sort ofbat training.
¡¸Hm?¡¹
Watching the royal member evacuate, Haruna noticed that one of the evacuees wasn¡¯t moving at all. Oria, Elena¡¯s right-hand-woman and head-servant, stood there with a hazy look, ignoring her mistress. Despite a nasty curdle in her gut, Haruna decided to approach Oria anyway.
¡¸It could get dangerous here. Please hurry out.¡¹
Turning to Haruna, Oria cracked a chilling grimace and stepped closer. A shiver ran down Haruna¡¯s spine.
¡¸That way, please!¡¹
Suppressing her terror, Haruna insisted. rms were ring in her head. Something wasn¡¯t right. She considered knocking Oria out and having her carried away as she reached for her rapier, which she had practiced with enough to consider it an extension of her arm.
¡¸No, Haruna-sama! Get away from her!¡¹
Aearis yelled, jumping out of the Ritual Room. Reflexively, Haruna jerked away. Surprised by Aearis¡¯ scream, the royal family turned around to see a shocking sight.
¡¸Haruna-sama!?¡¹
They all saw it. Although Haruna had jerked away, Oria was still inches away, now with a mad grin across her face, sticking a knife in Haruna¡¯s side. The knife was oozing of nefarious aura.
Volume 1, 20
Volume 1, Chapter 20
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Quite a ruckus out there.¡¹
When the Mack knights were just about wiped out, Douga whispered. He sensed that something was off in the courtyard.
¡¸Isn¡¯t frombat?¡¹
¡¸Not quite. No des shing. I can hear some sort of discourse.¡¹
Since they were in the middle of a battle, this was bizarre. Slightly confused by this situation, Douga continued to corner Odenell. As leader, Odenell was marginally more skilled than the rest of the lot, but that margin was negligible to Douga. Unable to put up any sort of a fight, his weapon was shattered, and his armor was destroyed. Knees quaking, Odenell crumpled to the ground.
¡¸We won¡¯t find out until we take a look. Let¡¯s head over and¡¡¹
Douga couldn¡¯t finish. The same disturbance that was affecting the courtyard had taken affect in the front entrance.
¡¸¡Huh?¡¹
The bodies of the Mack knights began to suddenly morph. For some, their arms blew up, making them more buff than an ogre, and for others, their hair changed to tentacles. Only some of them were lucky enough to maintain a humanoid appearance, while there were a few who had morphed to some sort of slime. What all of them had inmon was oozing affliction, and the fact that they had each doubled in size.
¡¸¡Stomach-turning.¡¹
Carefully watching this ominous (undoubtedly R-rated) turn of events, Douga spat out in disgust.
¡¸Do you think this has anything to do with themotion earlier?¡¹
Rayna asked.
¡¸Not sure. In any case, I figure we can¡¯t leave these bastards be.¡¹
¡¸¡If the same thing is happening outside, things aren¡¯t looking well for us.¡¹
Nodding in response, Douga poised hisnce. There were one hundred Mack knights in all. While Douga didn¡¯t know how much of a change these morphing would cause, it wasn¡¯t as hard as taking on Cerberuses. That being said, if they retained their human intelligence, they could use their new-gained powers in unexpected ways. The best course of action, Douga thought, was to wipe them out at once.
¡¸On the double, Rayna!¡¹
¡¸Lord Douga, head to the courtyard for back-up, please.¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸No restraint is required here, anymore. They don¡¯t seem like the type to leave any useful materials behind, and Hiroshi isn¡¯t messed up that way to use materials harvested from ex-humans. No one would be inconvenienced if I cut loose here.¡¹
Rayna proposed, as she sliced the first mutant in pieces, with a rabid, rabid grin glowing across her face.
¡¸Alone? Are you sure?¡¹
¡¸I won¡¯t stand to give these fools the respect to ask for back-up, mutants or not. Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to exact my revenge for everything they¡¯ve done. Legally, nheless. I don¡¯t mind, really. I¡¯ll make sure that every single one is obliterated.¡¹
Even as she responded to Douga, she cut down two mutants. As she was using Elemental Enchantments against those more durable to normal sword attacks, Douga could see that Rayna wasn¡¯t losing herself.
¡¸¡Fine. I won¡¯t ept anyints for running a few of them over on my way out, though.¡¹
¡¸I understand.¡¹
The mutant (who used to be Odenell) must have heard this, and cackled:
¡¸How stupid can you be, She-Man!? You¡¯re outnumbered and now outssed!¡¹
Ignoring Odenell, Rayna sliced them down left and right to cover Douga as he prepared. After a full second or so, Douga unleashed his attack through the most crowded route to the courtyard.
¡¸It¡¯s good for you scum, but I don¡¯t have much time. Sky-Sunder Lance!¡¹
Using the most powerful attack in his arsenal, Douga sprung towards the courtyard. Bing a giant spearhead, Douga tore through any and all mutants in his path, while also tearing to shreds all the monsters just standing near the trajectory. Leaving behind over thirty corpses behind him, Douga walked out of the front entrance. The Mack knights had lost over half of their army, but their nightmare wasn¡¯t over.
¡¸I don¡¯t have time to cut you up one at a time, either. Die, the lot of you!¡¹
While the mutants were distracted by Douga¡¯s big y, Rayna had prepared her own. With strong intent to kill, she mmed in a wide-range attack.
¡¸st Square!¡¹
Swiping her de with all of her bloodlust, the dense energy surrounding it burned everything in the de¡¯s path to a crisp. The decreased power due to the long range left a few mutants alive after being hit, but the only unscathed mutant so far was Odenell, who had coincidentally avoided both attacks. The number of mutants that could put up any chance of a fight were down to thirty or so.
¡¸Now, you¡¯re going to sit and watch this stupid girl¡¯s righteous rampage.¡¹
Firing off an Outss with her rabid grin, the Mack knights couldn¡¯t help but quake in fear despite their newfound mutant powers.
¡¸Haruna!¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m okay!¡¹
Shoving away Oria, who had stabbed a knife in Haruna¡¯s side, she carefully plucked the knife out (careful to avoid touching the hilt and triggering a curse of some sort) as she answered Makoto¡¯s call. The knife was cursed considerably to improve its Attack, but it wasn¡¯t quite enough to pierce the set of armor on Haruna.
Perhaps because she had expended all of her Stamina with this Unblockable Attack, Oria was already passed out by the time Haruna shoved her away. It was only natural, since this special attack cost a varying amount of Stamina depending on the target¡¯s skill level. It was a miracle that the attack could be activated at all.
Unblockable Attacks and Ignore Defense were both prevalent in most RPGs. Fairy Tale Chronicles was no exception. In Fairy Tale Chronicles, however, there were extremely few skills that possessed these sort of effects, and they were limited to very high-level bosses and Extra Skills, or else to ridiculously rare drops and specific crafted equipment.
The difference in skill level between the user and the target (as well as the target¡¯s skill level in general) increased the attack¡¯s Stamina cost, making it quite costly if one were to attack through the Defense of someone like Hiroshi or Douga. While an Unblockable Attack against Haruna wasn¡¯t as costly, an untrained civilian would expend all of their Stamina, losing their consciousness as a result.
The same stiption applies even when the attack is achieved through an equipment¡¯s effect rather than a skill. A weapon that automatically activates an Unblockable Attack or Ignore Defense would harshly drain the attacker¡¯s Stamina at each use; it would be useless without a ridiculous amount of endurance. The cost may not be so unreasonable, though, considering that it distorts thews of physics.
This led to the conclusion that Oria wasn¡¯t too bad of a fighter (although it was doubtful that she would take this as apliment).
¡¸Still, I could feel the tip of the de through the undershirt. It was close¡¡¹
¡¸You hear that? Don¡¯t you regret not making her a bra and a pair of undershorts?¡¹
¡¸Gimme a break¡¡¹
The cursed knife hadpletely prated the Wyvern leather armor and the Spider Silk shirt below it, reaching the silk undershirt (with a Defense stat equivalent to leather armor in itself). Upon closer inspection, it seemed that the knife had even dug into the undershirt a little. It really was a close call.
If it was Mio instead of Hiroshi who had made the undershirt, or if Hiroshi had not started the crafting processes at the loom, or if the attacker was someone with proper training (like the assassin from the night before) Haruna would not have gotten off scot free. Especially because the knife was cursed with who-knows-what, the knife breaking a singleyer of skin could have been deadly.
Couldn¡¯t have Hiroshi blocked the attack? He had not learned a skill capable of doing so. The only skills that he could have used (if he had learned them) were Deplosion, which transferred the damage itself to the user, Cover Dive, which allowed the user to jump in front of the attack regardless of timing or distance, and Switcheroo, which switched the positions of the user with the target, al regardless of timing or distance between them. Even an Unblockable Attack didn¡¯t trace its original target if it was suddenly interrupted in these ways.
¡¸I¡¯m so d we thought about these undershirts, seriously¡¡¹
¡¸I mean, it weren¡¯t too hard makin¡¯ ¡¯em, since they weren¡¯t too different from men¡¯s shirts¡¡¹
Hiroshi reminisced about having the task sprung on him at thest minute, and crafting five of them on the double. Thankfully the royal family had provided him with ample silk, but the project required almost too much materials if they had to harvest them from the spider webs. Hiroshi had his thoughts about the quality of the silk, but it was still the best quality silk on the market. The slight drop in quality seemed negligible.
They had these undershirts crafted for the sole purpose of protecting Unblockable attacks against the supporting members. They didn¡¯t expect the opposition to provide a servant girl with a cursed Unblockable knife (in fact, Oria had no weapon of any kind in her possession until moments before the assault) but this additionalyer provided protection for various attacks. Since Hiroshi couldn¡¯t protect everyone all the time, this sort of added defense was always weed.
¡¸No joke, though, we¡¯ll have to have Hiro craft all of our undergarments at some point.¡¹
¡¸Come on, now¡¡¹
Hiroshi slumped in defeat to Tatsuya¡¯s request. It was agonizing enough crafting for Aearis and her undeveloped body. Crafting underwear for someone with a supermodel¡¯s silhouette was unthinkable.
¡¸Let¡¯s drop the underwear thing for now.¡¹
Layotte interjected.
¡¸Sure. So, what happened here?¡¹
¡¸¡Barold¡¯s handiwork, most likely.¡¹
Elena assessed, looking over her unconscious servant. She had noticed that her servant was feeling an emotion not unlike animosity to Hiroshi and Haruna. Oria didn¡¯t call Hiroshi a quack or anything, since Elena was showing actual improvement, but her pent up dissatisfaction for being left out of the treatment had been inted to boiling hatred by Barold.
While Elena had noticed Oria¡¯s increasing dissatisfaction, she could easily imagine her overprotective tendencies sabotaging her treatment if she had taken Oria with her to the workshop. She would haveined about the tight quarters, the untidiness, and the strangeness of the food served.
The biggest concern was that Oria would protest the medicine. This could have put Elena¡¯s life in danger. Elena would have liked to give Oria the benefit of the doubt, but considering her attitude towards Hiroshi during his treatment session (even considering Barold¡¯s influence) Elena couldn¡¯t brush it off.
¡¸She was even unhappy with you earning favors in the castle by giving out treats.¡¹
¡¸She really resented being excluded from your treatment, eh, Elena?¡¹
¡¸I tried reprimanding her many times, but¡¡¹
¡¸Some grudges burn deeper than we realize. Even if she thought she was over it, it could rekindle at the drop of a hat. This sort of undermining is Barold¡¯s only trick, anyway.¡¹
Layotte agreed with Elena, not concealing his irritation.
¡¸Now, Elena. Father has taken the rest of the crowd. Try to catch up to them.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m going.¡¹
¡¸¡Nah, it¡¯s toote now.¡¹
Hiroshi mumbled, sensing the further shift in the air.
¡¸¡Is this an Istion Barrier?¡¹
¡¸Close, but not quite, I reckon. We¡¯re ¡¯bout to be in an isted dimension.¡¹
Hiroshi answered Haruna, both with a frown across their face. An isted dimension was easy to get into, but difficult to get out of.
¡¸Will Father be all right?¡¹
¡¸They were goin¡¯ fast ¡¯nough to make it out, I think. They were already out of range by the time we were talkin¡¯ ¡¯bout underwear and whatnot.¡¹
¡¸But not you, Ellie. Worst case, you¡¯ll be isted.¡¹
Elena nodded in response to Hiroshi and his apprentice. At the very least, she could carry her weight on the back end. Besides, she also had her trump card given by Hiroshi, just like Aearis.
¡¸Just be ready for anything. This time, we might not be able to handle it on our own.¡¹
The princesses acknowledged Haruna¡¯s harsh assessment. She was assuming that Alfemina would at least protect Aearis, but since she had mentioned something about how taxing it could be, Haruna wasn¡¯t sure if the goddess was able to protect Elena in addition to the Priestess Princess.
¡¸It won¡¯t be fun if this ce is turned into a dungeon. The royal family as a trump card, as ast result. If ites to that, I¡¯m trusting you to get out of here with Elena and Aearis.¡¹
¡¸¡Are ya the only one with that card in ya pocket, Lay?¡¹
¡¸The Crown Prince and King are the only ones who can use it. As long as the king lives, a prince is receable. We can¡¯t afford to lose Father in our current politicalndscape.¡¹
The Japanese members get a sense of what the trump card entails. While Layotte was serving his role as a crucial member of the royal family, they didn¡¯t envy his position.
¡¸Speaking of, can an Isted Dimension be fixed?¡¹
¡¸In all the events, all we have to do is take down the boss and purify the affliction.¡¹
Makoto answered Haruna. This was mostly as expected. No change of ns.
¡¸¡Something¡¯sing.¡¹
Mio whispered. As the party jumped on guard, translucent beings floated into the room.
¡¸Specters¡¡¹
¡¸Hiro, can you gather them up in one spot?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡¹
Leaving Oria in front of the door to the Ritual Room for the time being, Tatsuya called to Hiroshi as he charged a purifying spell. In response, Hiroshi decided to roll the dice by activating Outss.
¡¸Common!!¡¹
Hiroshi exerted a flood of pressure with a shout. Before they had a chance to be gathered up, the Specters were blown away.
¡¸¡They just up and disappeared. What happened?¡¹
Hiroshi asked.
¡¸Um. I¡¯ve never seem Specters evaporate to Outss¡¡¹
An awkward silence.
¡¸¡How could Specters withstand that much pressure without physical bodies?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s how it works, huh?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Both Julius and Ernest blow away specters of that caliber with a single Outss, too.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna epted this exnation. Makoto, however, mumbled:
¡¸If they¡¯re Spectors, or any Spirits for that matter¡ Can¡¯t Haruna just sing a song and take care of them all?¡¹
¡¸¡Good point.¡¹
¡¸¡Yeah. Come to think of it.¡¹
Layotte and Hiroshi conceded. Since it could purify affliction, it would stand to reason that Haruna¡¯s singing could also send the Undead souls to the afterlife. Still, the Japanese members were still haunted by the preconceptions of the in-game rules, and Haruna had never sung a song against Undead monsters. There were a few other yers with the Singing Extra Skill, but for the most part (due to the performance of the Cursing Song) no one sang duringbat, let alone against Undead monsters.
Spirits and Specters were not affected by normal physical attacks, and didn¡¯t drop any items (unless they were a boss). They were not monsters that yers were enthusiastic about hunting down. They only spawned in limited locations (none of which were inhabited by profitable items or monsters) and didn¡¯t provide exceptional EXP.
Most yers had squared off against one in-game, but for the most part, these monsters remained mostly unexplored in terms of researching effective skills against them. Of course, there was no guarantee that the effects of Outss and Song of the Gods in this world were the same as they were in the game.
So, no one could really me the Japanese party for theirck of knowledge in this department.
¡¸Here¡¯s the next wave.¡¹
¡¸Haru!¡¹
¡¸On it!¡¹
On Mio¡¯s cue, Haruna began putting her all into a song, projecting her voice towards these things that were oozing out of the ground, smelling of sulfur. However, she didn¡¯te up with an appropriate son on the fly. Instead, she sang the theme song of a cartoon about travelling the world and catching various creatures.
The rotting blobs, as expected, did seem to be of the Undead variety. As soon as Haruna¡¯s singing echoed through the hall, they stopped in their tracks, and crumbled away. Uponplete purification, not a single spec of flesh was left of them.
Nheless, it was a bizarre scene to watch Undead creatures purified one after another to the theme song of the ubiquitous children¡¯s cartoon.
¡¸¡What song was that?¡¹
¡¸A song for a children¡¯s story back in our country. ¡¹
¡¸Like a fairytale?¡¹
¡¸Kinda, but nah, not really.¡¹
Layotte seemed to ept Hiroshi¡¯s answer, somehow. Despite the impending danger, the team in the Temple managed to maintain ackadaisical outlook.
¡¸¡Singing. It seems that servant girl has failed.¡¹
¡¸How useless can she get¡¡¹
¡¸But she doesn¡¯t have the power to immediately wipe out the malicious energy of six thousand souls, it seems. I believe it¡¯s time for us to take matters into our own hands.¡¹
¡¸How insufferably infuriating.¡¹
Twisting her face in an ugly scowl at her precarious position, Katrina spat out begrudgingly. No one would see her like this and call her the most beautiful princess in Fane.
Until Haruna had arrived, Katrina still possessed her own set of standards. Interestingly, despite a twisted sense of reality, as long as one¡¯s standards stood in reason of that perception (no matter how disassociated from the rest of the world) their actions won¡¯t appear as ugly. Katrina was no exception, as she arguably possessed a certain form of malicious beauty, until Haruna arrived.
But now, Katirna had lost that. Her ugliness was entuated further by her external beauty. She had forsaken anything close to standards, devolving into a child having a tantrum. There was no beauty to behold there, nor reason thatmanded support. What remained was an aged child and her ugly self-centeredness.
The nobles that had supported her (if they had not been burned by Barold) would have regretted their decision had they seen her like this. However, most only ever projected themselves onto her.
¡¸In any case, with that girl and the priestess out of the picture, your victory is assured. The world is at yourmand after that.¡¹
¡¸Yes. I¡¯ll start things off by taking care of that insufferable brat myself. It¡¯s infuriating to think that we are even half-rted.¡¹
Barold knew that Katrina had no more outs. Even if everything went as nned, she would only be seen as a usurper. Even if they eliminated Elena and Aearis without a hitch, afflicting the mineral veins all over again would prove extremely difficult. True, Katrina had traded her sound mind for incredible power, but she would still die before the veins werepletely afflicted. As long as the King and Mark were safe, there was no victory in Katrina¡¯s future.
And Barold didn¡¯t mind that. Plenty ofment and hatred. That was the gift his god most desired. In arge city like Wulls, the veins would bepletely tainted in no time, if he could only eliminated the Priestess Princess. Katrina was merely his pawn to achieve that endgame.
¡¸Let¡¯s end this war, shall we?¡¹
Barold¡¯s best case scenario was out the window. He was left to make a desperate gambit from where he was cornered.
¡¸In a bit of a pickle, are we?¡¹
¡¸Lord Douga!?¡¹
In the courtyard, the Knights¡¯ Order was met with expected back-up as they were struggling to finish off the ever-flowing swarm of the Undead.
¡¸Are thing all right at the entrance!?¡¹
¡¸For the most part. Rayna can handle the rest.¡¹
Douga said with tant nonchnce before charging into the area most dense with Undead creatures. He was holding a shield instead of ance, but the charging mass he had be was a threatening weapon on its own. Taking down the new wave of Undead creatures with a single Shield Charge, Douga observed his surroundings.
¡¸No Mutants, it seems.¡¹
¡¸We eliminated all of those.¡¹
¡¸Then we¡¯re in for the long haul. Now that the entire castle is an Isted Dimension, there won¡¯t be an end to these swarms.¡¹
Douga concluded without much disappointment in his tone. Hit with expected disappointment, the knights stood on guard against the newly appearing monsters.
¡¸At ease. The Ritual Room and the Princess are both fine. It won¡¯t be long. Our job is to keep these ants away from the Temple while they take out Barold. An easy task, considering how many of us are here.¡¹
¡¸I expect the clean-up work to take longer, when you put it that way.¡¹
The second-inmand of the Order answered, somewhat tired, as he picked up on the strangely upbeat song from the Temple. Even at this distance, the affliction in the courtyard was being purifying, weakening the monsters little by little. Still, they were facing down countless monsters. The second-inmand was already dreading his tasks afterward, like equipment maintenance and scheduling everyone¡¯s breaks.
¡¸I¡¯ll take it for the next five minutes or so. Check on your men, and regroup.¡¹
¡¸Yes, sir.¡¹
At Douga¡¯smand, the second-inmand moves to check on his knights. It started as a fierce battle, so some of them were running out of steam, and a few members had broken their primary weapons in the process. They could all carry their weight with their back-up weapons, but the second-inmand decided best not to push them too much harder. One knight, who had continued to block attacks on the frontline, had his armor damaged nearly to the breaking point, and injured almost too severely for potions to keep working on him. Without his valiance, the second-inmand assessed, it would have been impossible to make this much progress without casualties.
Quickly assessing the status of each member in this manner, the second-inmand rearranged their formation while ounting for the damage each member had taken. The fact that he concluded this rearrangement of several thousand knights in five minutes was telling of his leadership of this elite Order. No matter how impressive one¡¯s resume could be inbat, that alone would never serve as qualification for a leader.
¡¸Sir, we are ready.¡¹
¡¸Then, I¡¯m going to take a breather. I¡¯m too old to be running around a battlefield like this.¡¹
¡¸We can handle it, sir.¡¹
The second-inmand answered Douga (who was obviously far from exhausted) and order his first battalion forward to take down the new wave of monsters. From the Temple, another song mismatching to their situation (one of yesteryear Japan, a slow poetry of life). The incredible quality of Haruna¡¯s singing nearly entranced the knights. Nevertheless, the same song was washing away the affliction in the area. Asking her to stop was out of the question.
Without much a solemn mood, the Knights¡¯ Order continued taking down the horde one by one.
¡¸Sorry, I need a sec.¡¹
After four consecutive songs, Haruna felt something in her throat, and stopped. She wasn¡¯t aware of this, but songs that purified affliction seemed to wear her out more. The problem was that Haruna (not aware of this) wasn¡¯t adjusting her method of singing.
¡¸Good job. Got you a lolly.¡¹
Hearing the slight difference in her voice from her usual performances in bars, Hiroshi tossed Haruna a lozenge. A rather gentle one, made from something like a kumquat and honey. Of course, those ingredients (while simr to their earthly counterparts) were monsters; most adventurers would not even get the chance to touch them. Since Hiroshi made it, it also had the effect of a potion.
¡¸I guess we gotta make some noise until Haruna¡¯s done with her lozenge.¡¹
Tatsuya said.
¡¸Ya said it. They started materializin¡¯ soon as she stopped singin¡¯.¡¹
The gang could only chuckle at what Hiroshi pointed out. There were in an isted dimension, after all. It was getting really tiresome that monsters appeared from this little puddle of affliction.
¡¸Brin¡¯ it on!¡¹
Hiroshi pressured the beetle-like monsters to attract them to himself.
¡¸Brother, if we dry and treat their guts, they make liver medicine.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s a niche¡¡¹
¡¸I doubt we got time to take ¡®em apart, though. Just light ¡¯em up.¡¹
¡¸On it. Let¡¯s burn the affliction around them with it.¡¹
Three beetles flew around Hiroshi. Tracking their movement, Tatsuya activated a spell that could burn them all (along with the affliction around them) at once.
¡¸Get ready, Hiro!¡¹
¡¸Brin¡¯ it!¡¹
¡¸Hellfire Sanctum!¡¹
With Tatsuya shout, a me (in a strange blend of color) charred the puddle of affliction. Hiroshi Smashed all three beetles into the fire in one move. The spell had a confusing name as to whether it was Holy or not, but its effect of summoning the mes that encaged hell to burn impurities might rify that this was an Advanced Holy and Fire elemental spell. These kinds of roundabout Skills were the only way Tatsuya could get rid of affliction.
¡¸¡Herees the big kahuna.¡¹
Hiroshi warned the rest of the party, as a dense mass of affliction, unlike what they had been seeing, entered the nearly purified Temple.
¡¸I understand Holiness filling this ce may not aid you, personally. But to go this far in eliminating it? Just as I thought, you are helplessly selfish, struggling against nature¡¯s current.¡¹
¡¸He sounds like an environmental group that focuses too much on a single tree and forgets about the rest of the forest¡¡¹
Tatsuya mumbled in response to Barold¡¯s opening statement.
¡¸How so, Tatsu?¡¹
¡¸Humans are part of nature. Disposable chopsticks are a good example.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸Once a forest has been reformed by humans, they have to cut down extra trees once and awhile, or they¡¯ll burn down more often than natural forests. And they make disposable chopsticks from those extra trees they cut down. They don¡¯t threaten the environment at all. I mean, no one uses disposable chopsticks anymore, and they didn¡¯t always use those extra wood, so I guess I can¡¯t me them for criticizing the use of disposable chopsticks.¡¹
The member of Fane seemed to be impressed by Tatsuya¡¯s exnation. Haruna and Makoto (who were into trivia to begin with) and Hiroshi, who had acquired that kind of knowledge through levelling his Farming/Felling skills, simply nodded in agreement.
Back in Japan (in this story, anyway) disposable chopsticks were limited to food stands at festivals, or to-go meals from stores. Any kind of diner or restaurant, as well as hotels, used reusable chopsticks. Of course, those disposable chopsticks were all made from materials acquired while thinning the forests.
¡¸So. Even if we left things to your definition of natural order, the world may not be a better ce for monsters, anyway.¡¹
¡¸And if we shall perish, that is nature¡¯s way.¡¹
Barold replied, and Tatsuya deem him hopeless. No amount of logic wouldpel someone like this to see the error of their ways.
¡¸And you¡¯re okay with that?¡¹
Tatsuya turned to Katrina.
¡¸This country can burn to the ground, for all I care.¡¹
¡¸A princess must be educated. A princess must serve the people. Before I can remember, those mantra were drilled into me. And as soon as my younger sister is born into the position of the Priestess Princess, they treat me like I¡¯m worthless. No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I devote myself to the people, they treat me like a piece of garbage. For being born without a certain talent. Why shouldn¡¯t the lot of them rot?¡¹
Hearing this, the Japanese members look at Elena, who shook her head with a frown on her face.
¡¸Katrina. I don¡¯t care what you think, but no one would call what you did trying, nor serving the people.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not just her qualification as the Priestess Princess that sets Aearis above you in the people¡¯s eyes. Who would admire you for superficial, one-sided and misced charity work that shows your utterck of empathy? Are you really as foolish as to think otherwise, Katrina?¡¹
Elena and Layotte shut Katrina down. Whether she was born with it or was assigned a bad educator, Katrina always acted with the presumption that she (or rather, the logic that she was taught) was always right. As a result, she often engaged in appropriate yet ultimately pointless works of charity, in a condescending manner, nheless. Some might have thanked her for the act alone, but they were often pointless altogether.
Still, until Barold came along, Katrina had made a real effort to live righteously, in her own way. The rest of the royal family knew this, and as such, didn¡¯t disregard Katrina entirely even while reprimanding her for her actions. Even Aearis, thinking that Katrina hated her because of some w in her character, had listened well to what her sister had to say, and had desperately tried to fix those ws (as Katrina saw it).
No one could deny that these reactions ended up distorting Katrina¡¯s sense of reality even further. In her eyes, despite doing the same thing, her actions were rejected by the family while Aearis¡¯ were rewarded. They were supposed to be equals, yet her younger sister was always the good child. In reality, Katrina had earned this by ignoring any reprimand and insisting on failed methods, but one could hardly me Katrina for feeling as if her family favored Aearis for no good reason.
¡¸You would never understand, Layotte. In your privileged position. Nor you, sister. Since you have never once experienced rejection in your life.¡¹
¡¸¡If that¡¯s how you really feel, Katrina, I will get you the best doctor in the world to have him examine your head.¡¹
Elena said.
¡¸A world that can¡¯t ept me. That won¡¯t let me be? Let it crumble to ashes. Why shouldn¡¯t it?¡¹
Layotte and Elena were finally forced to let go of theirst shreds of hope for their sister upon seeing her irreconcble ignorance. At this point, Aearis (who had remained speechless until now) finally spoke.
¡¸Katrina.¡¹
¡¸How dare you speak to me, you filthy rat.¡¹
¡¸Why do you dislike me so? How can I ease your mind?¡¹
¡¸¡You selfish child. How many times do I have to tell you that your mere existence aggravates me? If you died right now, the fact that you did exist would continue to annoy me. How can you not understand? You stupid, stupid girl. ¡¹
No matter what Aearis had done, there was never any hope for Katrina and Aearis to reconcile.
Katrina had never felt any joy in Aearis¡¯ existence to begin with. She was able to feel a sense of kinship to Layotte and Mark as her brothers, but all Aearis was to Katrina since the moment she learned of her existence was an object of her hatred. She hated that everyone cheered and woo at Aearis while she just slept. She hated that everyone would run around to tend to her as soon as Aearis cried. She hated that Aearis breathed the air around her at all. She hated most of all that her brothers and sisters and everyone else in life only ever cared about precious little Aearis.
At every attempt of Aearis trying to build a rtionship with Katrina, it only gave Katrina more reasons to hate her in return.
¡¸Still¡ I see. There is one thing you can do.¡¹
Katrina continued in glee, with a grin streaking across her face, filled with so much hatred, that it could only be described as heinous. Sensing danger in this, Aearis drew her dagger and stood on guard. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that Katrina¡¯s shadow had distorted beyond that of a humanoid silhouette.
¡¸Die by my hands. Relinquish everyst drop of blood and shred of flesh to me.¡¹
¡¸Dancing¡¡¹
¡¸¡Edge!¡¹
At the same time as these calls, tentacles sprung out of Katrina¡¯s shadow. Before Hiroshi or Makoto could intervene, they stretched at incredible speed to prate Aearis. At the same time, Barold (multiples of him, in fact) attacked them from behind.
However, since they knew an attack wasing, it was easy for them to activate their trump card, despite theirck of experience in close-rangebat. They had uttered their keyword at the very moment the tentacles emerged. In an instant, six daggers appeared around each of them, and twenty four des of varying shapes and sizes appeared around each set of daggers.
As soon as the first de pierced a thorned tentacle, several des sliced through one of Barold¡¯s doubles. Tentacles or doubles that make it fast the twenty four offensive des were blocked by the defensive six, then promptly torn apart by the offensive des.
There were always twenty four offensive des and six defensive des that were not engaging with anything. The flood of Barold¡¯s doubles and tentacles, as well as his diffusion attacks served no purpose at all. Barold abandoned his diffusion tactic when he could see that at least one hundred des had materialized around them.
¡¸¡One of your little tricks again?¡¹
¡¸Kinda the minimum requirement for defense, don¡¯t ya think?¡¹
Barold presumed from his experience so far, that this sheepish man was the culprit behind such an annoying contraption. Even as Barold red at Hiroshi, he managed to return a quip through his chattering teeth. While it was aggravating for him to admit, Barold had to acknowledge the biggest cause of his mission to fail this time around was Hiroshi.
¡¸¡No wonder Ernest called it a weapon of war. How many des can manifest at a time.¡¹
¡¸Tested up to ¡¯bout 10,000. Didn¡¯t bother tryin¡¯ past that point.¡¹
¡¸Could it take down a Wyvern, for example?¡¹
¡¸Like ya see, each de on their own don¡¯t do much damage. Who knows how many des it¡¯ll take to take down somethin¡¯ bigger than ten meters.¡¹
Layotte seemed satisfied with the answer. He could see that, while the des kept the Barold doubles at bay, they weren¡¯t powerful enough to take them down. At this rate, he could easily imagine a Wyvern charging through these defenses to simply run over Aearis.
Besides, after observing it in action for a while, Layotte noticed a clear weak point. If the user were already captured, this may not help all that much. This was why Hiroshi stopped Aearis from using this during theirst infiltration into the Temple. Of course, if they had let the enemy that close to Aearis, a few daggers would not change her fate.
¡¸Now. Elle and Elena did their thing, so let¡¯s make some noise.¡¹
¡¸I second that. Let¡¯s do some crowd control, first.¡¹
Sliding her longsword out of her sheath, Makoto cut down the closest double to her, as Tatsuya burned a bunch of them with Hellfire Sanctum. In lieu of her usual bow, Mio used her dagger to carve out the core of one double to the next with precision. Hiroshi stopped the flooding horde of doubles, tanking all of the attacks (each of which could insta-kill a yer in the double-digit levels) anding out with only a scratch or two.
Now and then, some attacks would slip by and hit someone (other than Hiroshi) but by then, the power of the attacks were drastically reduced. A Novice heal spell easily counteracted the damage.
Our heroes were starting to gain some ground.
¡¸You can kill as many of us as you want, it¡¯s no use.¡¹
¡¸In fact, your only giving this ce more holiness.¡¹
¡¸Besides, we haven¡¯t even used a fraction of our power.¡¹
The Barolds mored with a condescending tone, as more and more of them materialized with every double they killed. Everyone there was aware of this, of course. Now that they had more than enough healing to cover any resource they expend, it didn¡¯t matter how many doubles came around. They had a proper card to deal with the doubles, anyway, They were just buying time until Haruna¡¯s voice recovered.
¡¸Haruna, are you ready!?¡¹
¡¸Whenever you are. Any requests?¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯ that¡¯ll piss ¡®em off. You got a sea shanty?¡¹
¡¸You got it.¡¹
Haruna began some Celtic-sounding shanty upon Tatsuya¡¯s cue and Hiroshi¡¯s request. Hiroshi was only kidding, by the way. The Japanese party had realized that they had underestimated Haruna once again.
¡¸This sounds¡ Bitter sweet, somehow¡¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t understand some of the words, but I can tell that it definitely doesn¡¯t match the mood.¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t you pick something a little more fitting?¡¹
Layotte and Elena muttered, with a constipated expression. Regardless of how off-putting it is, the song still seemed to do the job in purifying affliction. The tentacles all shriveled up, crumbling any of them that had been sliced by the daggers. Katrina and Barold writhed in harmonious agony.
¡¸Stop that song!¡¹
Unable to bear the powerful purification, Barold finally discarded his human shape, transforming into a devilish monster, before spring to Haruna, when¡
¡¸Where ya think ya goin¡¯!?¡¹
With an activation of Outss, Hiroshi blocked Barold¡¯s trajectory and shoving him off. Hiroshi¡¯s presence had veiled him, making him appear several timesrger than life in Barold¡¯s eyes. Giving up on even trying to look for Haruna, Barold retracted all of his doubles before attacking Hiroshi.
¡¸It seems I have to tear through you, first!¡¹
¡¸Show me what ya got!¡¹
Hiroshi met Barold, as he charged directly at him, with a wild swing of the poleaxe. Barold, assuming that it was yet another Smash attack, went to counter it when he noticed the trick up Hiroshi¡¯s sleeve.
It wasn¡¯t a Smash attack after all. It was a Novice Strong Strike, Smite. Unlike a Smash attack, Smite had no additional effects of blowing the enemy away or making them stumble. Just a simple attack. Hiroshi had finally gotten the hang of this Novice attack just yesterday, which meant that the power level was at its baseline (slightlyckingpared to a Smash attack) but it did more damage than a vani physical attack.
The biggest advantage was that a high-impact attack from Hiroshi no longer telegraphed a Smash. While Smite had its downsides (big opening after the move resolved and it took longer to charge than it should despite the fact that it did less than two of Makoto¡¯s basic attacks at the moment) it was useful enough to bypass a Smash-counter like this time around.
Blocking the Smash-counter, Hiroshi transitioned into Smite. As a result of two attacks (that were more vulnerable than most) shing, Hiroshi, who was nearly unscathed through the evening, regained his ground first.
¡¸Makoto-san! Brother!¡¹
¡¸On it! Crashing Stampede!¡¹
¡¸Holy Octo-cannon!¡¹
On Hiroshi¡¯s call, Makoto jumped in with one of the biggest attacks in the normal longsword skill category, as Tatsuya mmed a purifyingrge-scale spell. Makoto¡¯s attack was a flurry-type (rare for a longsword) which she used to sh through left and right, adorning a red aura around her. This move consisted of twenty shes (each of which could sever a Cerberus in half) in three seconds t, as Makoto tackled the enemy in a Smash-like tackle. Following this, a bullet, embodying the energy of Pa Kua and every element of nature, struck Barold.
¡¸We¡ Didn¡¯t do it, did we?¡¹
¡¸Took a chunk out of him though, for sure.¡¹
Makoto and Tatsuyapared their impression after each of their attacks (keeping in mind that they were facing down a boss). While both of these moves were powerful, they weren¡¯t the most powerful, even in the category of ordinary skills.
Crashing Stampede acted as a downgrade of Elemental Dance. It was more cost effective, but two tiers lower on the damage output. Worse yet, unlike Elemental Dance, Crashing Stampedecked the special effect of guaranteeing the modifier for a super effective (unless the enemy had as much Magic Resistance as Hiroshi, of course). As a result, the difference in damage output in the field was more disparaging than on paper.
Holy Octo-cannon was another powerful move using multiple elements, but there was at least two moves more powerful than this one avable as a normal skill. Its rtively easy learning curve, short Cast Time and Dy, as well as itsrge cost reduction from power levelling led to many yers acquiring this skill, but it was far from the most powerful spell out there. There were plenty of savage spells in terms of pure firepower.
Tatsuya, in the first ce, was on the lower end of the top-tier of spell weavers. His strong point was the variety of his arsenal, especially when it came to collecting craft materials, and not firepower. Against enemies like Barold (that required a more direct approach than Tatsuya would prefer) he was a littlecking in terms of power level. Just as the smoke from the Octo-cannon was fading, Haruna had finished her song. As expected, Barold stood among the smoke, far from defeated.
¡¸¡How thoroughly infuriating¡¡¹
¡¸Like it or not, we¡¯re a part of this. We¡¯re not going to roll over and die.¡¹
Tatsuya quipped back with a cheeky grin at Barold, who had spat this line out with wounds that were not yet debilitating but no longer insignificant. Tatsuya proved himself a better actor than Hiroshi in disguising his bravado.
¡¸Just so you know, we haven¡¯t even yed our aces yet. If you¡¯re not going to surrender, you better bring your A-game.¡¹
Tatsuya mocked with nonchnce, as if to mock Barold. Elena, startled, whispered:
¡¸Tatsuya, maybe you shouldn¡¯t taunt him like that¡¡¹
¡¸No way this guy doesn¡¯t have more tricks up his sleeve. We might as well make him use it before we starting running low on our resources.¡¹
Tatsuya retorted, still confident as ever. The fact that Barold didn¡¯t have a particr trick to make Tatsuya wipe the grin off his face was driving Barold mad.
¡¸I see. You have a point. Maybe I¡¯ll reach into my sleeve, then, just to shut you up.¡¹
Barold said, as he summoned a dozen Cerberus. Makoto and Tatsuya were brazenly done with all of this. Haruna and Mio were beginning to worry, now that they were outnumbered. Hiroshi was more pessimistic, guessing how many hits he was going to have to take. Upon seeing their reaction, Barold cackled with triumph. When it seemed as if the tables have turned, three of the Cerberuses near the entrance were skewered, and four of them in the direction of where the King had went were blown to bits in an instant.
¡¸What!?¡¹
¡¸You would think a big boss would summon something more interesting¡¡¹
¡¸These were the same beasts that blocked the King¡¯s way, earlier. Can¡¯t you do anything but send your dogs to do the dirty work?¡¹
Douga appeared from the entrance and Julius from the hidden passage, both exasperated by this. These two wouldn¡¯t let a single Cerberus past them, no matter how many they were facing down. They each took down an additional hound on their way to join the Japanese party and standing on guard on either side of Elena and Aearis.
¡¸I lost track of time, it seems. You seem rather spent, Lord Douga. Unlike Lord Felnork.¡¹
¡¸It won¡¯t take much to block your attacks. We have Julius and Makoto for firepower, not to mention Haruna¡¯s trump card. I barely need to lift a finger.¡¹
Before Douga could finish saying this, more back-up arrived.
¡¸I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯mte again!¡¹
Rayna came running it, slicing up a Cerberus on her way. With just her right arm, as it was obvious that her left arm was broken. With a longsword, nheless, which was never meant to be wielded with one hand. This was a testament to Rayna¡¯s ridiculous strength and skills.
¡¸Don¡¯t mind the time. What happened to your arm?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s embarrassing, but Odenell got me with his self-destruction. I can¡¯t pull any big attacks, but a couple Cerberus won¡¯t give me any trouble.¡¹
Rayna answered Tatsuya, a little embarrassed. The Japanese party (sans Makoto) were aghast at this answer, as Barold gritted his teeth at Rayna¡¯s unexpected strength.
¡¸So, you took care of that scum entirely?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s not a piece of flesh left of it. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll see that thing again.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Even if it does, reviving monsters are usually punks, anyway.¡¹
Makoto asked Rayna, about what must have been a mission given to Rayna. As Rayna finished her answer, Haruna healed her broken bone with Goddess¡¯ Healing. It couldn¡¯t grow back limbs, but healing a broken bone wasn¡¯t an issue.
¡¸Thank you, that helps a lot!¡¹
¡¸No reason not to help boost our chances. So, is Odenell the one¡?¡¹
¡¸He¡¯s the one. The head of the Mack soldiers. I¡¯m mortified that I ever considered Hiroshi to be simr to that thing.¡¹
It looked like Rayna had gotten some closure, and more than one way. All that was left was to take down the man pulling the strings.
¡¸We have some power on our side now, let¡¯s end this!¡¹
¡¸As if it were so easy!¡¹
Just as the team was about to strike, Barold exerted a shock wave. Hiroshi jumped in front to block it. Still, it was enough to break the party¡¯s momentum, stopping them in their tracks.
¡¸I tip my cap to you, really, for making me go this far. But you will not defeat me!¡¹
Barold screamed with a demonic expression, before transforming further. Along with him, Katrina began morphing out of her (barely) humanoid shape.
¡¸H-Hold on a second. We¡¯re too early in the game to have a boss that transforms twice, don¡¯t you think!?¡¹
¡¸Makoto-san. Just because he¡¯s our first boss, don¡¯t mean he¡¯s an auto-win chump!¡¹
Hiroshi answered, as the entire party ready forbat. Although they couldn¡¯t attack through the thickyer of affliction at the moment. In the meantime, they decided to clean up the rest of the Cerberuses, and re-cast their support spells.
After the wall of affliction faded, Barold, who had at least tripled in size and had be more heinous than ever stood alongside Katrina, who had be Medusa, or rather amia, with snakes as her lower body and hair.
Volume 1, 21
Volume 1, Chapter 21
_______________________________________________________________
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Katrina, you¡¡¹
¡¸Older Sister¡has it truly eaten into you so much that you are no longer human?¡¹
Knowing full well that it was useless to say anything to this unsightly form of Katrina that was hard to even directly look at, Elena and Layotte still spoke to her. All Katrina did was smile without saying anything.
¡¸Big Sister¡¡¹
Seeing Katrina¡¯s deteriorated form, Aearis murmured in a truly saddened tone. Perhaps because of her being a vessel for the goddess, she found it difficult to hate other people, so in a sense she was more twisted than Katrina. That was why she found it entirely iprehensible as to why Katrina had harbored such hatred. Therefore, she was simply saddened at this.
¡¸Elle, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any point in askin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸I wonder what this means?¡¹
¡¸Can ya return those two to bein¡¯ human?¡¹
They sadly shook their heads at Hiroshi¡¯s question. When living creatures had been infiltrated by miasma to the point where there very form had been altered, there was nothing that could be done to return them back to normal. When you went that far, even being involved in joyful events like reaping plentiful harvests for the year, defeating powerful monsters, or just anything in general that required effort to bear fruit would get these people into a bad mood, and like when Aearis had been born, whenever lots of blessings were uttered all around the room, those afflicted with miasma would take life-threatening damage.
Miasma was normally something that was easily purified just by being in the type of atmosphere that respectable people enjoyed, after all. The festivals in this world happened to have another role of driving away all of the daily umted miasma. So for people who could no longer even so much ase into contact with those sorts of things, even if they regained their sanity, they would never be able to live the same way again.
¡¸Haruna, could you do something like step forward and attack while singing?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not all that difficult.¡¹
¡¸What about Elemental Dance?¡¹
¡¸Well in that case, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything afterwards, so we should probably leave that one alone.¡¹
While Hiroshi and Barold were continuing their ring contest and Layotte and Elena were trying to talk to Katrina, Makoto and Haruna merely had a brief discussion.
¡¸So has the disagreeable, hypocritical conversation reached an end yet?¡¹
¡¸Hypocritical, you say¡¡¹
It wasn¡¯t like they were trying to act self-righteous as they were talking or anything, but they knew full well that no matter how they tried, it was impossible tomunicate with these two. Even trying to object to any of their statements was a waste of time, so it would be faster to just get it over with and knock them down.
¡¸One thing I do know is that there¡¯s no way to get through to you. How about we hurry up and settle things?¡¹
¡¸So as soon as you decide you can¡¯t get through to us, you resort to getting rid of us. As I thought, everyone who affiliates themselves with that rotten goddess are savage barbarians.¡¹
¡¸Not even any pointmenting on what you say, so I just won¡¯t.¡¹
At the same time as he said that, Tatsuya activated the damage-inflicting binding magic, Gravity Chain. This was the type of magic that was a gamble to get working, so although not entirely unexpected, it nearly broke through their defense but failed, canceling at thest second.
¡¸Julius! You get Barold! Ernest and I will take care of my older sister!¡¹
¡¸Understood!¡¹
Adhering to Layotte¡¯s instructions, Julius immediately rushed to the front lines to close in on his opponent. Combined with that, Haruna¡¯s song rang out. The battle crashed right into the climax.
¡¸Ufufufufufufu¡¡¹
Giggling in an unpleasant manner, Katrina crawled slowly over. While wincing at how repulsive that form was, Elena mercilessly hurled several des at her, as if testing them out. Unlike Aearis, she no longer had any hesitation whatsoever at the idea of attacking Katrina.
Unlike earlier, she showed no sign whatsoever of suffering when she heard Haruna¡¯s song. One might think that it no longer had an effect on her, but in actuality, you could tell that she was beginning to deteriorate further and further. Judging from the overall state of things, Aearis¡¯s purification one-hit KO might not actually end up being that.
¡¸Ufufufufufufu¡¡¹
Despite being pierced with des and having her wrists, serpentine hair, and the tip of her tail cut off, Katrina didn¡¯t show the slightest sign that it was affecting her, simply continuing to giggle as she crawled toward them. Perhaps because of her bodily structure being a whole different beast from a human, she didn¡¯t even care about des being stabbed right through her heart.
¡¸This is just seriously revolting.¡¹
¡¸Ufufufufufufu¡¡¹
¡¸Sure, I didn¡¯t think she was human anymore, but now she can¡¯t even speak properly?¡¹
¡¸Ufufufufufufu¡¡¹
Layotte couldn¡¯t even sigh in exasperation anymore at Katrina, who would simply giggle in response every single time. It wasn¡¯t like he had expected much, and it was also true that no matter what sort of things came out of her mouth, it wouldn¡¯t change the fact that the only option was to cut her down, but he at least would have preferred that she be a human when he cut her down so that she could understand the gravity of what she had done.
¡¸Well, whatever.¡¹
Readying the longsword that Hiroshi had given to him, Layotte decided to get it over with. Although it didn¡¯t surpass either of his sisters¡¯ daggers as a weapon, it was still exceptionally strong and the strongest weapon among anything in this room. With this de, which also happened to have purification capabilities with its mythril silver origins, no matter what regenerative capabilities Katrina had, she would not be able to withstand this.
¡¸Older Sister, I¡¯m afraid you must die.¡¹
As soon as Layotte began to start attacking, Katrina, who had been only giggling up until now finally began to move for an attack. Her snake body gave her the advantage of coiling up in order to leap forward to instantly press in on her opponents. Having regenerated when they least expected it, the right hand talon that should have been cut off by Elena¡¯s flying des was back, and she aimed not at Layotte or Elena, but rather sought to tear up Aearis, who was all the way in the back.
¡¸Ufufufufufufu¡¡¹
Continuing her giggle as she brandished her right arm in a wide arc, Layotte cut it off, and the body that had been lunging at its target was blocked by Douga and his shield, blown away by his brute force. Despite quite the resistance, the cut-off arm waspletely purified and disintegrated, and the main body itself didn¡¯t currently show any signs of regrowing the arm.
¡¸Big Sister, did you really detest me that much¡?¡¹
¡¸Aearis. Even if you are connected by blood, there is no need nor any meaning in sympathizing with a fool who destroyed themselves in unjustified resentment.¡¹
¡¸Ufufufufufufu¡¡¹
Aearis seemed sad from the bottom of her heart to see Katrina continue to giggle despite what was being said about her or done to her, whereas Elena threw her a gaze that was reminiscent of looking at a worthless rock by the roadside. As of right now, the only person who had so much of a shred of pity for Katrina was probably just Aearis.
By this point, it was evident that Katrina could never go back to normal, in more ways than one. There was of course the fact that she had changed form, but above all else she had been cut by Layotte and purified, and her body was writhing in pain, and yet she still had the same giggle as before. This made it fairly obvious what state she was in. Her heart was already trapped in its own world, and her body was merely mechanically adhering to the deep-rooted delusion that she had harbored before all of this.
By the time her form had changed, the person known as Princess Katrina had died.
¡¸Big Sister¡¡¹
¡¸Aearis. If you¡¯re thinking of our older sister, then it would be best that we put her to rest as soon as possible. She always had pride, and I doubt she would enjoy seeing herself in this state.¡¹
She nodded at what Layotte said, beginning preparations for purification. The chances were extremely slim, but maybe, just maybe, she could return to her original form.
¡¸Aearis. I will strike down our older sister. Purify her after that.¡¹
¡¸¡I understand.¡¹
While looking close to tears, Aearis courageously made the decision to deal with her own sister. The preparations to purify her had already been made.
¡¸Aearis! If you feel ready,unch the de over!¡¹
Aearis, who had been focusing on Layotte¡¯s movements, heard Elena give the order. When she looked, she saw the tattered Barold swiveling around in midair at tremendous speed. Judging from the imprints he left as he rotated around, he seemed to be drawing a magic circle.
¡¸He¡¯s probably doing that because he doesn¡¯t think he can get past our wall in the front line. Seems to be using the type that amplifies physical attacks. With all the little modifications he¡¯s making in the air, I suppose he¡¯s nning a sudden, quick charge?¡¹
Apparently he had seen through the tank, Hiroshi¡¯s, weakness. Hiroshi didn¡¯t have much equipment on him, nor even a shield for that matter, so if arge mass were to quickly crash into him, it would tend to throw him off-bnce. Assumably Douga would try and do something about it, but it was all too easy for any person standing between Hiroshi and Douga to be a casualty.
Hearing that, Aearis understood and followed Elena¡¯s example, sketching as many loci that she could think of in order to hinder his movement and continuously shooting out des. However, unfortunate as it was, Elena and Aearis were both amateurs. Neither of them had the slightest sense for how to precisely shoot down a target moving at rapid speed in the air. Not only that, but whatever he was doing to make these magic circles, it was resistant enough to not disappear even when they tried cutting the lines with the des.
¡¸Ernest! In case anything happens, get in front of Haruna and Tatsuya!¡¹
¡¸But Milord¡¡¹
¡¸Older Sister¡I mean, Katrina is no longer able to battle! Besides, everything is almost over!¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Obeying Layotte¡¯smand, Julius slipped past the writhing Katrina and stood in front of Haruna. After seeing him do that, Layotte got ready toy the finishing blow, activating the secret royal family move. He had determined from the sensation that not only cut off the four limbs, but to take down the entire body in one hit, he had no choice but to use the secret royal family technique. As one would expect from this situation, there was no time to just keep cutting her until she died.
¡¸I pay a tribute to you by burying you with the royal family¡¯s technique! Take this, Dimensional sh!¡¹
This was, just as the name suggested, an extra skill that borrowed the power of the space-time goddess Alfemina, able to cut through the dimensions themselves. Though it was previously said that it was a secret technique passed down in the royal family, in actuality anyone could use it, even if they were not from the Fane royal family bloodline. Essentially, as long as you had direct aid from Alfemina and a certain degree of swordsmanship, anyone could do it.
¡¸Aearis!¡¹
¡¸Okay!¡¹
With the core cut off via Dimensional sh, Katrina was practically a wreckage, whereas Aearis¡¯s light of purification fell down upon her, as if ceremonially beheading her. With everyst bit of her miasma purified, the remains of Katrina briefly spasmed violently. That form grew smaller and smaller until it returned Katrina to her original, beautiful figure.
However, she was only back in her attractive form for an instant. Katrina, with her eyes closed with a slightly peaceful expression on her face showed no signs of opening her eyes, turning promptly to ash and crumbling away, leaving no trace in that area of there ever being a person named Princess Katrina.
¡¸Big Sister¡¡¹
In the end, she was never able toe to a mutual understanding with her half-sister. Unable to endure seeing herst moments, Aearis was ready to spill out tears¡
¡¸Aearis, don¡¯t slip up!¡¹
Layotte gave his sister a shout of warning. When she lifted her head to her brother¡¯s tense voice, she noticed Barold, shouldering a magic circle drawn in the air and poised for a quick descent.
¡¸Older Sister, Aearis! Do you have any protection magic that can splinter that power!?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, I don¡¯t seem to have any on hand!¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry, we probably wouldn¡¯t make it in time right now¡¡¹
Hearing their answers, Layotte made alternate preparations for a powerful move that he had saved for a situation like this for dropping an opponent¡¯s speed. Douga crouched in order to raise his defense to the max so as to be prepared. As time went by like slow motion, their eyes focused on Hiroshi, who took something out of his bag and thrust it against Barold¡¯s face as he charged in.
With unbelievable focus, all four of them immediately knew what it was that Hiroshi had thrown and almost wanted to immediately blurt out their surprise. Just a moment before they were about to, however, an incredible explosive sound rang out through the temple. The temple shook from the impact of the explosion simultaneously. After somehow making it through that vibration, Layotte had an odd expression on his face as he muttered.
¡¸¡¡No way, did he just¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡W-Well, at least we managed to escape the danger, Big Brother¡¡¡¹
¡¸Although thanks to that, any sense of anxiety has been blown away¡¡¡¹
The serious atmosphere that had been here until now had vanished without a trace thanks to Hiroshi¡¯s string of actions. Even Aearis, who had almost cried upon seeing Katrina in her final moments, had gonepletely nk.
¡¸¡¡So in this situation, who¡¯s more pitiful? Katrina, or Barold¡¡¡¹
Both of them were certainly small fries, but to end things like this? Elena couldn¡¯t help but feel sympathy for them from the bottom of her heart for the first time, just because of how screwed up this all was.
¡¸Sacred Strike!¡¹
First, as if testing the waters, Julius threw in a Holy-type attack befitting of his position as a pdin before jumping back. After he had done that, a Dark-type magic sted at Hiroshi, cancelled and destroyed.
¡¸I am truly being underestimated if you think that amount of Holy power can actually work!¡¹
Barold didn¡¯t seem to have felt any pain, insteadunching out arge amount of transparent ck tentacles from the shadows. However, before they could reach anyone, they encountered Hiroshi and vanished.
¡¸What, this is magic too!?¡¹
While totally let down by how Barold¡¯s unpleasant attack had literally no effect, Taiyou decided to throw a Smash uppercut. Stunned by how his attack was canceled by a non-magic attack, Barold took the hit and flew into the air.
¡¸Break Spiral!¡¹
¡¸Shine Saber!¡¹
When Hiroshi sent Barold flying in the air, Rayna and Julius let out a volley of powerful techniques so as to prevent him from regaining his bnce. The sh that spread through his body in a spiral and the sh from the big, holy des of light did not give him any grave wounds, but dealt enough damage to threaten him, and Barold¡¯s posture crumbled.
¡¸Haruna!¡¹
Taking advantage of the timing, Makoto gave Haruna the signal. She nodded while singing an improvised song for Over-elerate, while Mio, silent,y resistance enchantments on the weapon. As soon as the spell was activated, Makoto elerated to a speed faster than the naked eye could detect, firing out a myriad of devastating attacks at Barold, still frozen in midair, before jumping back precisely at 50 seconds of real-world time before cancelling the spell and gulping down a stamina potion.
The dozen or so miasma bullets that Barold had unleashed out of frustration, as expected, did not put even a single scratch on Makoto, with 70% going to Hiroshi and the remaining 30% blocked by Douga, everything smashed without harming anyone.
¡¸Mako, how¡¯s your body?¡¹
¡¸No problem with 50 seconds!¡¹
Mio called out to Makoto to confirm her status, and Makoto responded not without any sort of bluff; just in conviction. In actuality, having practiced numerous times with Hiroshi and the others, she had eventually be able to use the skill multiple times in 50 second intervals without being hurt enough to have to use a potion. Level 600 hit points and stamina were not just for show. While her resistance and defense were inferior to Hiroshi¡¯s, her being five times his level allowed her to have far more hit points than even a shut-in craftsman. She wouldn¡¯t win in terms of overall survivability, but she wouldn¡¯t die from every little thing.
¡¸How vexing this goddess is!¡¹
Barold hatefuly spat while bing more and more tattered. As expected, the damage dealt by rushing at him a hundred times faster was fairly decent. Hiroshi was one thing, but Makoto¡¯s power was a sight to behold. In addition, this time around, she didn¡¯t merely ram a bunch of regr attacks into him, but was throwing out skills that didn¡¯t run into dys and taking care to attack him to the point where they didn¡¯t break. The skills she used were in fact all beginner skills, but the overall damage she did to him was to the point where he should absolutely be done for. All the advantage that he had obtained via his transformation had been snatched away, and he was fully aware of how helpless of a predicament he was in.
¡¸But if that was your stupid trump card, I doubt you can use that more than once!¡¹
With that being said, Barold wouldn¡¯t be defeated that easily either. He was able to see the nature of the magic as well as see through its weaknesses in an instant. In actuality, just as Barold had pointed out, Haruna¡¯s mana would have to regenerate in order to use it another time, and even without the mana issue, the only people who could use it in battle were Hiroshi, Makoto, and Mio. Julius and the other two could probably endure the magical eleration, but they didn¡¯t have a grasp on their limitations. Also, elerating Makoto after she had already done so had too much risk and was out of the question, plus the very thought of carelessly making the tank, Hiroshi, fatigued was too scary. Besides, in terms of firepower for Hiroshi and Mio, even eleration wouldn¡¯t give them that much of a power-up.
Maybe if the caster, Haruna, had more power then things would be different, but as of right now she could only use it once with extreme difficulty; hardly a reliable trump card.
¡¸I¡¯ve seen through your weakness, fools! Your lives end here!¡¹
Barold flew high up with his batlike, wyvernlike wings to where he was almost touching the ceiling of the temple¡¯s reception hall. Storing up powerful miasma in his body, he began to rotate in order to draw a magic circle. Seeing this, Hiroshi realised that he could not fully defend against this attack by any fair means.
£¨This sucks! It¡¯ll pierce right through!£©
Most likely, the next attack toe would be a full-on assault, elerated to the max with magic. A purely physical attack might be different, but charging in like that with plenty of speed would make Hiroshi¡¯s trump card difficult to maintain in terms of weight. Hiroshi himself wouldn¡¯t take all that much damage, and Douga would also probably get next to no wounds. Makoto, Julius, and Rayna wouldn¡¯t be incapacitated even if they wereunched flying because of their overwhelming amount of hit points. Not even Mio would really be an issue.
However, Haruna and Tatsuya were much closer to the line. Even Layotte didn¡¯t seem to have as much life force as the others, so if he were to make one wrong move, there would be no guarantee on his life. Elena and Aearis were out of the question. Now, it wasn¡¯t like there wasn¡¯t an optimistic oue where the seasoned tank, Douga, used his finesse in order to protect the three royals.
£¨Is¡Is there nothing we can do!?£©
While flustered internally, Hiroshi instinctively activated Outface. Seeing him out of the corner of their eyes, the other members let out a volley of projectiles so as to keep their opponent in check. Elena and Aearis, who had actually seeded in taking Katrina off guard, assisted them with backup fire. However¡
¡¸Don¡¯t think that you can stop me with those petty tricks!¡¹
With the speed of his revolution and irregrity of his movements, it was difficult to say that they were putting up much of a resistance in terms of hindering him. Some of Mio¡¯s shots were barely hitting him, but weren¡¯t affecting him enough to be very damaging. Aearis had already been busy with purifying Katrina, so her power was ebbing. Seeing that these interferences were decreasing one by one, he took it as an opportunity to increase his speed further, still carrying the magic circle that had been written with miasma.
£¨Oh yeah! What if I do that!!£©
In order to further realize the idea that had shed in his head as the other guy began to quickly descend, Hiroshi panicked as he took it out from his bag. Barold aimed for that spot, plunging forward.
¡¸Take that!!¡¹
Able to take it out of the bag in the nick of time, Hiroshi held out a huge pome that was about double the size of an average watermelon and threw it mercilessly at Barold¡¯s face. Everyone gawked at this scene, especially because this was such a dire situation. Regardless, the speed of the pomegranate increased to a hazardous degree as it burst into his face, causing arge-scale explosion enough to shake the entire temple. Completely losing his bnce from the incredible explosion, Barold was mmed into the opposing wall.
¡¸Hell yeeeah! I thought so!!¡¹
¡¸Wha-!?¡¹
Suppressing the shock wave with Around Guard, Hiroshi made a fist bump as Haruna eximed in surprise. The situation was so unexpected that the song itself waspletely interrupted.
¡¸He-Hey, Hiroshi!¡¹
¡¸Whazzup?¡¹
¡¸Pomes don¡¯t usually¡make such ridiculous explosions, right!?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, if you mean regr pomes.¡¹
Hiroshi readily agreed to Makoto¡¯s objection. In actuality, the explosive power of pomes could at most only reach bone fractures if things went south. No matter how you slice it, they simply did not have the sort of extreme explosive power to send a five meter-long organism charging with all their might flying off ten meters into a wall and smashing through it.
¡¸You do something again, Hiro?¡¹
¡¸Was thinkin¡¯ that the taste or nutritional value would do the trick. Back over where we were, I secretly mixed in some hot spring water ¡®n a special nt fertilizer blend ¡®n had it propagate a bit.¡¹
No one could stop their faces from gaping at just how mad Hiroshi¡¯s reasoning was. Incidentally, in terms of the pome¡¯s ecology, not only could you attach the calyx to the hot spring, but you could even put the torso itself into the hot spring and it would grow leaves all the same. In other words, if you were to separate the calyx and torso and put them in the hot spring, what would have originally grown into only one pome would be two instead. It would take time and effort, but using this unique capability, it was possible to artificially hasten its growth.
¡¸By the way, seems like the taste ¡¯n nutritional bnce of a pome tends to be proportionate to its explosive potential, so I bet that there pome right now was purty darn sulent ¡¯n rich in nutrients.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t even think about cooking with that scary thing!!¡¹
Haruna¡¯s objection reverberated throughout the temple. The tense atmosphere had vanished in an instant, leaving them with a somewhat indefinable one instead.
¡¸¡¡How far¡how far will you go to make a fool out of me!!¡¹
Tearing himself out of the wall that he had been imnted into, Barold red hatefully at Hiroshi, body riddled with wounds. He no longer had the energy to escape, nor did he have any way of damaging his opponent without putting his own life at risk. Actually, it was a miracle in and of itself that he hadn¡¯t died yet. So at the very least, he sought to find a way to take these adventurers who had made a fool of him down with him. Preparing to do so, hepressed the miasma (considerably reduced) to the max.
¡¸I will no longer be able to offer this country to my god, no matter what I do¡¡¡¹
It had taken 20 years to win the favor of everyone who entered and exited Wulls Castle. It had taken 10 years to began interacting with the selected attendants for the royal family. Afterward, blessed with all sorts of fortune, he had ced himself in the position to where he could select any attendants he wanted for the newly born Katrina. He had eventually seeded at winning over those dissatisfied with thews of the royal family and the country by ensuring that everything was going well.
That was how, over the span of 50 years, he had slowly encroached the center of the country, only to have the good opportunity that had finallye to him smashed by just two adventurers, and every attempt he had made at struggling to get some decent result hade to naught. It would have at least felt better if they had simply been talented enough to see through every plot of his, but other than the time when they had incited the timing to send the assassin in, every other time theirst-minute actions had out of pure coincidence continuously crushed every attempt of his.
He was aware that in the end, he was a small fry. He also understood that it wasn¡¯t like he could create that amazing of a scheme, and that all he could do was fan the mes. But still, even so, there was just no way he could ept the way things went. If this was the goddesses¡¯ predetermined harmony, then they could have at least given him people who were more heroic in their actions.
But the fact that their ns had been ruined by those half-hearted people meant that in the end, their way of doing things had been unskillful. If he had to pay the price for that with his life, then he thought he should at least make up for his loss by dragging them down with him.
¡¸All right then, Toudou Haruna, Azuma Hiroshi! I¡¯ve got to at least take your lives before I go, fools!¡¹
Supplementing the insufficient power with his own life force, he prepared for hisst vain resistance (nned in the event that his other attacks were thwarted), mming in hisrgest ss attack now that he was in the right form.
Come to think of it, he should have just done it from the beginning without trying to act all high and mighty. Just as that enemy mage had asserted, they should have used all of their trump cards while they still could have. However, this technique would still put them at risk even if they were at their peak. The only time to use it would be when their n had beenpletelyid to ruin. By that point, there at least should have been some prospect of turning the tables.
While he continued to tediously repeat that excuse in his head, Barold charged the miasma and mana that he had refined andpressed, intending to release it as an Ultimate spell. This great attack already had enough power to turn 30% of Wulls into a ruin if it were spread and released, but he had gone out of his way topress it to where it would be enough to blow away the temple. There was no way that they could resist and cancel this.
Barold watched in satisfaction at Hiroshi bing rigid at the terrifying refined energy, making to attempt to hide his terrified expression. He proceeded with the finishing touch.
¡¸Tsk, like hell you¡¯re doing that! Judgement Ray!¡¹
His face changing color at the might of the magic that was about to be unleashed, Tatsuya had finally finished the recitation of the obstruction magic, just in time to be able tounch a pierce-type attack spell that was abination of light and holy elements. It was right up there with Nandikesvara Eight Pr Cannons in terms of cleansing power, making it difficult to maintain defense against such a spell, but it was thwarted by the miasma that Barold had purposely let leak out of his defense, cleansing it only to lose its attack power and vanish.
¡¸Kuh!¡¹
¡¸More toe!¡¹
Seeing that Tatsuya¡¯s attempt at interference had failed, Rayna and Julius began to charge in. However, this was once again curbed by the highly thick wall-like miasma, ricocheting away with the swipe of an arm.
¡¸Please, let me go!¡¹
¡¸Go ahead!¡¹
¡¸I won¡¯t let you! Buster Shot!¡¹
Aearis and Elena threw all the des that they had, and Mio shot out an attack with high firepower and knockback. However, all of them were unable to pierce the barrier of miasma, unable to interfere.
An extra skill would be needed in order to pierce that, or at least so they thought, but when they turned to Layotte, he would merely shake his head. As one would expect from an extra skill, it seemed that it would take a bit more cooldown time in order to activate Dimensional sh again. He wasn¡¯t like Hiroshi, and there was no way that one person would have that many extra skills all at once, so any other move inparison to Dimensional sh for intercepting Barold would fall short three pegs in terms of power.
Normally, it would be impossible even with Barold¡¯s normal power level to erect this many barriers. However, by cutting off one¡¯s life force and limiting it only to preparation time, even a small fry could erect this kind of barrier.
¡¸Old man! Can you stop that thing!?¡¹
¡¸Even I think that would be a bit difficult!¡¹
Besides, even if they did stop it, the temple would not end up in one piece, and as long as that was the case, there was no assurance that everyone here wouldn¡¯t be buried alive.
While everyone else was lining up their cards to see if anything could be done in order to preserve their lives, Haruna maintained a rather calm demeanor. She calmly activated several support magic sequences by herself, stacking them all on Hiroshi. Although Barold noticed Haruna, he confirmed victory for himself based on everyone around her, finishing his final preparation.
¡¸You¡¯re toote! Nowe and die with me!¡¹
Laughing scornfully at everyone here, including himself, he unleashed his life-risking trump card.
¡¸Let us fall together! Hell Inferno!¡¹
Along with a strangely refreshing smile, Barold threw a fireball that had been pressed together with the mes of hell at them. Even with his life force taken away to death¡¯s door and a feeling of fierce fatigue attacking him at every moment, he continued to stand on his own two feet as a sign of his final defiance. His tough flesh gained from discarding his humanity continued to restore his life force, even in a state like this. The fear and despair from the group before him even became a little bit of miasma, spurring on his recovery. Barold gazed contentedly at that sight.
£¨Why the heck¡£©
The gigantic fireball advanced on him in a strangely slow motion. As he stared nkly at this phenomenon, various hectic thoughts raced around in Hiroshi¡¯s head. He wanted to run. But to where? Surely someone would block it. But how? Why was all this happening? Wasn¡¯t it because he decided to stick his head into someone else¡¯s affairs?
As useless thoughts revolved around and around in his head, this extreme situation and the fear brought on from unfathomable despair caused him to recall a certain memory. It was the time when his life was in danger at the school of his hometown on Valentine¡¯s Day. The police became involved, and the incident was reported on a nationwide scale. It was an event that nted a lot of mistrust between the region and the school, shing the school¡¯s internal structure to shreds.
He recalled the unfair words and actions that the girls in his ss exhibited after he had somehow managed to preserve his life. Not only had it permanently affected him; it also carved a gap of hopeless proportions between all of the boys and girls in the school, and even when new students came into the school, the boys would still not trust the girls in the slightest. It was that significant of an event, and yet the culprit had still yet to be found, shaking even the peoples¡¯ confidence in the police.
Remembering all that, he red at the fireball before him. That¡¯s right. Compared to that, this level of danger is nothing. In the first ce, he was the closest worksman to the gods, and he did not think that said gods were kind enough to allow him to die from something as trivial as this.
Compared to an event like that where half of the entire school became his enemy and half of the world began to know true fear, calling this even a crisis was presumptuous. Although it was embarrassing to be swallowed up by Barold¡¯s vigor and shy destructive power, thinking about it closely, even if he were to fail at resistance and directly take the attack, it wasn¡¯t like he would die, right?
Reaching that realization and spurred on by his instincts, he heavily rammed into the fireball. At this point in time, gears were moving inside Hiroshi, rapidly taking shape.
¡¸This is nothing¡!¡¹
He advanced toward the fireball, unthinkingly activating the Fortress skill he had learned secretively. This was child¡¯s y for Douga, but there was already a huge gap in the foundational defense. Although he was a bit inferior to Ernest Douga at his best in terms of physical defense, his magical defense was several steps ahead of him.
¡¸Compared to choctes¡!¡¹
Right before it struck him, he activated Around Guard. Despite the overwhelming attack range, Hiroshi practically suppressed it all by himself.
¡¸How d¡¯ya like THIIIS!!¡¹
At the same time as the impact, he pumped himself up and resisted the magic. Encountering the strong body of interference, the fireball of energy began to rapidly subside. In the midst of the advancing power and resisting power practically in equilibrium, as if rushing upstream in a rapid current, the fireball gradually approached Hiroshi, advancing directly toward him to fulfill its role of exploding. In the end, unable to exhibit most of its destructive power, it became a harmless flow of magic as it expanded and was reduced to a third of its original size, touching Hiroshi and then exploding.
¡¸¡What in the world!?¡¹
The shockwaves subsided, and after the smoke disappeared, a hardly injured Hiroshi plunged forward at him. Of course he wasn¡¯t entirely uninjured. Suffering burns here and there, he had quite a fewcerations from the shockwave. However, receiving an attack that had enoughpressed magic to turn a third of Wulls into scorched earth, it was marvellous that he had even managed to end it there.
In the even that Haruna hadn¡¯t cast any support magic on him, he probably would have taken more visible damage. If he didn¡¯t have Fortress or Around Guard, it was practically guaranteed that Haruna and the others would have suffered more than just small wounds. More importantly, if he had faltered in the first stage, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to manifest enough resistance power to hold back this might.
With all of his might, Hiroshi had just barely fulfilled his role as the tank.
¡¸Hurry up ¡¯n¡get outta this world!!¡¹
Ignoring the pain of his wounds, he brandished a pole axe with all his might, howling in a loud voice to put energy into a strike as he flung it down. The incredible energy and destructive power brought on with the axe pulverized Barold¡¯s body, striking him into the ground, opening up a gigantic crater spreading across to the entrance, pulverizing the wall of the temple¡¯s front entrance, and finally scratching a crevice well into the middle of the inner courtyard before subsiding.
Extra Skill: Titanic Roar. It was a technique for long-handled axes or blunt weapons that boasted thergest destructive power and attack range for physical weapons. Being that it was a killer technique from an unpopr weapon, this skill hadn¡¯t even been discovered yet, let alone have any acquisition prerequisites. Letting his anger lead him, Hiroshi activated this feat of strength.
¡¸W-What happened just now¡?¡¹
¡¸Who even knows?¡¹
Unable to keep up with the sudden turn of events, Tatsuya mumbled in an exasperated tone. Haruna casually answered him as if this were an everyday urrence. For whatever reason, she wasn¡¯t particrly surprised.
¡¸Haru, you seem to be taking this pretty easily¡¡¹
¡¸Well, I already confirmed that it would help seal Hell Inferno, hence why I cast a round of support magic.¡¹
Haruna casually exined her reasoning to Mio when she made a remark. Sure, the attack just now was a surprise, she added, but it honestly didn¡¯t hold any more weight than it did earlier.
¡¸Speaking of which, you aren¡¯t very surprised either, are you Aearis?¡¹
¡¸Uhh, as embarrassing as it is, I am not exactly sure just how amazing the attack was just now.¡¹
The younger sister answered her older brother¡¯s question honestly. Due to having little battle experience, she didn¡¯t have the slightest clue as to how powerful Hell Inferno just now was, nor what level thatst move was. To a regr person like Aearis, every move unleashed in this battle had enough power to kill someone ten times upon impact. Of course she wouldn¡¯t understand the magnitude.
¡¸Besides, it isn¡¯t over yet.¡¹
Aearis, whose eyes had suddenly turned golden, proimed that. Proving her words to be true, the end of the temple that had been in an isted dimension began to return to the normal world, and at the same time, something was summoned into the inner courtyard.
¡¸W-What is it?¡¹
¡¸It would be inconvenient to have such a big thing summoned her, so I had it moved to the inner courtyard for now. The space was restored, but that didn¡¯t mean that the casualties from this battle had been repaired yet. Once we¡¯ve retrieved everything that we can, we had best make haste and get away from here in order to deal with the rest of the matter.¡¹
¡¸Is it actually the goddess this time around?¡¹
Without answering Haruna¡¯s question, Aearis let out a meaningful smile. The next moment, the color of her eyes returned to the normal blue.
¡¸Big Brother! Something terribly huge ising our way!¡¹
¡¸¡¡Alright! Let¡¯s quickly get to our countern!¡¹
Hearing Layotte¡¯s words, they all picked up and gathered everything they could, rushing out of the temple. The only things they left in there were several cerberus remains and the untouched Oria, who had been utterly forgotten after she had passed out on the outset.
¡¸This is¡¡¹
¡¸I daresay he¡¯s called in quite the difficult predicament¡¡¹
Not even allowed to say hisst words, Barold had been pulverized with overwhelming power. Upon looking at the organism that he had called over, Julius and Douga groaned.
¡¸Maybe it¡¯s just idiotic to think of trying toe shing at it from the front.¡¹
¡¸Maybe if it were done with the move that Hiroshi pounded into that man, but if we¡¯re just discussing regr attacks, then yeah, I doubt that anyone would call such a person a hero.¡¹
Looking at the size and movement patterns of the big thing, Makoto and Rayna exchanged their fed-up opinions. That wasn¡¯t just confined to them, however. Everyone who saw the gigantic creature in front of them reacted in pretty much one of two ways: groan in despair or make a cynicalment at the absurdity of the situation. However, there was one person who didn¡¯t disy such an obvious reaction.
¡¸It¡¯s here it¡¯s here it¡¯s here¡! My time hase, hell yeah¡!¡¹
Seeing the super giant caterpir that had appeared in the inner castle courtyard, Hiroshi burst out in joy as his eyes glinted like fire.
Indeed. It was, in fact, an extremelyrge caterpir that Barold had summoned,rge enough to crash through Wulls castle. It truly was a foolish idea to advance from the front on a creature of this size on the bare ground. Perhaps it would be possible to slip under and sh creatures moving around on two or four legs, but if you were to try something like that on an organism crawling with their stomach to the ground like this, you would simply get sucked into their forward movement, run over, and end up a dead mess.
For better or for worse, the caterpir itself seemed to be non-active, only wriggling in a rxed manner to find a good spot to sit and not exhibiting any hostile behavior. However, even if this was just a caterpir they were dealing with, if they were to end up not killing it all the way in one attack and it registered the damage, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for it to get angry and throw out some crazy attacks. Thankfully, none of the knights currently had any projectiles, and the mages were wavering about whether they should use attack magic or not, so no one had yet attempted any actual attacks.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi was all smiles when he saw that troublesome creature, eyes glinting. Normally one would question whether he had gone insane or not, but for those who knew about his track record or skills, they would be more likely to get what he was thinking.
¡¸Hey, Hiroshi-kun. Could it be that¡¡¹
¡¸Mio! Get me some o¡¯them wood materials for a foothold ¡¯n makin¡¯ barrels! Brother, you ¡¯n the other mages can fixate it in a suitable ce with bind magic! Elle, or Goddess! Can ya get some mana to flow up from the earth and feed that to it!?¡¹
Not answering Haruna¡¯s question of realization, Hiroshi suddenly fired out rapid instructions. Unable to react to the sudden words, everyone just stared dumbfounded.
¡¸There shouldn¡¯t be any issue with the earth, Hiroshi-sama.¡¹
Unlike the other people who couldn¡¯t react quickly enough to his orders, Aearis answered joyfully like a dog wagging its tail in her eagerness to be of use to him. As everyone saw that, they returned to themselves and proceeded to carry out Hiroshi¡¯s instructions. No one had any issues with following orders from the likes of a lower-ss adventurer. It was more like they had determined that in a situation like this with no clear instructions, they may as well carry out someone¡¯s order to see if it worked.
¡¸If so, then how ¡¯bout ya feed ¡¯im a round of earth magic! Every other mage will still be focusin¡¯ on gittin¡¯ dat caterpir into a fixed position! But don¡¯t use any magic that¡¯ll damage the thing! Once yer through with that, put a buncha healing or defensive or support magic on it without damaging it so that it eats the mana!¡¹
¡¸Understood!¡¹
Happily following Hiroshi¡¯s orders, Aearis poured more than enough mana from the earth and spirit channels in as the mages were furtively keeping the caterpir in ce.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, should I also get to pouring in the mana?¡¹
Haruna felt like she could do it as she watched them, hence the proposal. However, Hiroshi shook his head at the idea:
¡¸Based on yer practice, ya¡¯d best help out Mio. Also, I¡¯d like to have the other people gather as much spool as they can! Takes ¡¯bout three days for it to make a cocoon ¡¯n settle down, so during that interval, gather all that ya can!¡¹
¡¸R-Right now?¡¹
¡¸I am fairly certain that the shops in the castle town would be closing around this time¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, all ya gotta do is go over to bars or restaurants ¡¯n collect whatever they finished using. There¡¯s also the stuff in the castle.¡¹
Taken aback at Hiroshi¡¯s directions, the knights made haste and scattered downtown to use human-wave tactics. Behind them, the mana-sucking caterpir began spewing out thread to make a cocoon.
¡¸Now then, this is the fight of a lifetime. Let¡¯s see how far ya fulfill my expectations hereafter.¡¹
As he nodded satisfactorily at the cocoon that was being made, Hiroshi decided to participate in barrel-making for the time being, leaving the area.
It was a rather unusual sight.
¡¸Mio! It¡¯s ¡¯bout time for the one on top to open. You ready!?¡¹
It was the morning of the sixth day since the emergence of the caterpir and the morning of the third day since the cocoon had beenpleted. Uponpletion, Hiroshi had been continuously weaving the thread at a terrifying speed when he suddenly raised his voice. Incidentally, he had not gotten a wink of sleep, nor had he stopped his hand even for a second since he had begun weaving. He managed to stay hydrated with a mana potion and ate whatever Haruna gave him that wouldn¡¯t dirty his hands. With movements that didn¡¯t refine anything more than necessary, he had finished the weaving process without stopping even once.
¡¸Anytime!¡¹
Mio answered Hiroshi¡¯s call from where she was standing on the newly built scaffolding. She was currently standing in a higher position than the highest rooftop of Wulls Castle. If they hadn¡¯t gone to such lengths, then they wouldn¡¯t have been able to see the top of the cocoon that was high in the sky. Doubtless, one can imagine the sheer magnitude just by hearing that.
¡¸Hey, Hiroshi.¡¹
Makoto, who hade to retrieve the thread that had umted to Hiroshi¡¯s side, called out to him in order to clear up something from the earlier conversation. During that time, a lot more spool was made andid out, increasing the harvest. From what she saw at a nce, Makoto realized that the center was wrapped quite tightly, and yet it didn¡¯t even take ten seconds to make each spool. Also, even though they were weaving thread at this speed, they had thoroughlyid automatic repair enchantments on everything, so if a regr craftsman were to look at this sight, he would possibly lose his sanity.
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸What do you mean by the one on top opening?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. The chrysalis inside the cocoon should be visible purty soon.¡¹
¡¸And there¡¯s something inside?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, if ya open the chrysalis, you git soup that you can use for all sorta things.¡¹
Hiroshi answered in a nonchnt, detached voice as he continued to move his hand without stopping. Upon hearing his answer, Makoto simply made a face that screamed ¡°The heck?!¡±.
¡¸And it¡wouldn¡¯t happen to be its bodily fluid, right?¡¹
¡¸Sure would. At the moment it should be about startin¡¯ topletely melt ¡¯n then transform into a new body, so I bet we can take a superrge amount.¡¹
This caterpir, despite itsrge frame, only took about ten days to grow wings after making cocoons. Therefore, the best time to gather that liquid was confined (ignoring the embryo) to when it was utterly melted around two to three days after the cocoon wasplete. The fourth day after the cocoon waspleted was when the torso would begin developing, the body would be practicallyplete on the fifth day, and on the sixth day, it would practically be a mature adult. In that sense, even weaving the thread would normally be done barely around the fourth day of the cocoon¡¯spletion.
¡¸Makoto-san. After ya git that cleared up, help out with gatherin¡¯ barrels.¡¹
¡¸Yes, yes. But just what is this thread?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s soul thread, which is an ingredient for soul cloth. This thread is the highest level product amongst all threads.¡¹
Makoto nearly dropped the spool of thread that she had collected when she heard Hiroshi¡¯s absurd reply. He made a wry smile when he saw that, but proceeded to continue to use time and effort efficiently by gulping down a mana potion while continuing to work on the spool some more.
¡¸Well, so that¡¯s how it is. Even if we have a mountain o¡¯these suckers, ya best deal with them pretty carefully.¡¹
¡¸R-Roger that¡¡¹
Feeling dizzy at the sudden outpouring of the thread that was legendary even in the actual game, Makoto decided to carry the thread she had collected to the provisional storehouse. By the time she turned back, it had already piled up to the size of a calf, but even then, as if to say ¡°I can still make a bunch more, yo!¡±, the cocoon continued to umte thread and make her dizzy.
Furthermore, as to why they went so far as to prepare the provisional storehouse, it was simply because it exceeded the current capacity that Azuma Workshop¡¯s storehouse had. Since they had been continuously gatheringrge amounts of materials from valuable sources as ofte, even the workshop that had been expanded to the max was beginning to show signs of needing alternative storage locations.
¡¸Now then, will the thread ¡¯n barrels do the trick, eh¡?¡¹
Gathering up all the spool thread cores that they could in Wulls, they had even advanced to neighboring viges and collected/umted everything they could when they didn¡¯t have enough, but this storehouse already only had about 30% free space left. Judging from the looks of things, they might just be able to barely squeeze in all of the thread.
In all honesty, they had no choice but to admit that they were d that they didn¡¯t have to do something as outrageous as use the spirit trees to manufacture the spool with a bunch of enchantments in order to wind the spirit thread. Of course, since regr cores would simply break during the winding process, there was a need to make a miniature adjustment before winding, but he had confidence that work of that level could be done while he was sleeping.
The real troublesome issue was with the barrels. Since only Hiroshi and Mio were the ones making them, even if Mio had continuously made them until yesterday, they wouldn¡¯t have reached a thousand. He was pretty sure that they wouldn¡¯t have been able to take out the remaining portion from the bottom anyway, although it was a bit risky to think that way.
¡¸Well, we just gotta do what we can.¡¹
He concluded with that feeling as he raised the speed of the thread winding. As for the result, when there were about three spools left, the cocoon all transformed into thread. As for the barrels, as expected, they werecking in quantity, which prompted Hiroshi to briefly stop his work in order to fertilize them and then spread them all around the castle¡¯s herb garden.
¡¸Alright, we¡¯re all done!!¡¹
It was thete morning of the fifth day of the cocoon that Hiroshi¡¯s yell echoed throughout Wulls Castle. Having finally aplished the project after four days, after he confirmed once more that they had finished all the work, he atst let his body lie down from max fatigue.
¡¸Good job, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Good job, Hiroshi-sama.¡¹
Haruna and Aearis gave Hiroshi soft words of appreciation as he went fast to sleep with his face showing satisfaction. Haruna figured that it would be unreasonable to leave him sleeping here, thinking to call someone over, but then thought of a sudden prank. After calling Mio over as well, the three girls checked to make sure that Hiroshi showed no signs of waking up from his deep slumber before carrying him secretively into a room.
¡¸I guess that just about does it for this affair?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll say. It is probably the end of any work for me, with myck of jurisdiction, as well as everyone else, who should have been outsiders in the first ce.¡¹
¡¸Now all we need is for His Highness and His Lordship to do their part.¡¹
The three girls whispered quietly as they watched over Hiroshi drooling in his sleep.
¡¸Really, what a great job.¡¹
Excited for more than one reason, Haruna softly touched Hiroshi¡¯s hand. This was how the string of events that attacked Fane had been resolved, in a very inexpressible way.
Volume 1, Epilogue
Volume 1, Epilogue
Trantor: Mii
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸I am truly indebted to all of you regarding this matter.¡¹
When the whole team came to the workshop with exhausted faces, the king unexpectedly showed up to apologize to them. The five Japanese people couldn¡¯t decline other people¡¯s apologies in a public ce, so they only nced at each other unconsciously while making a wry smile.
It wasn¡¯t until the two-week yarn-making season hade to an end, the autumn season had started its transition to winter, and the castle¡¯s personnel affairs and all the important court documents had been settled, that the king could finally show his face in the workshop. Hiroshi and his friends were salvaging the workshop in the middle of the previous week, and even though they were keeping contact with Aearis, they could only meet directly with the royal castle¡¯s representatives after about ten days.
¡¸So the castle already doin¡¯ alright?¡¹
¡¸There are still piles of work to do, but I am told to go away and take a break. Not only from my sons, but the prime minister at the great chambein, and even the leader of the Imperial Guards are saying the same thing to me. All of them are really too much.¡¹
¡¸Ya have worked hard. How ¡¯bout I prescribe ya with herb tea to help with sleepin¡¯ and yer exhaustion?¡¹
¡¸Please. If possible, can you make something that won¡¯t be unappetizing even when it has gotten cold?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Kay.¡¹
Hiroshi nods in understanding with a strainedugh after hearing the tired king¡¯s request.
¡¸Then, what happened in there afta¡¯ that?¡¹
While Haruna is distributing the spring tea to everyone, Hiroshi continues his talk. They have prepared a lot of things since they came back, but they can¡¯t find any information regarding that matter. Hiroshi keeps making fried bean curd while he improves his skill in curry bread that Haruna says will sell well for around a month (or maybe because it is for a month), making the customer and the stalls nearby lose theirposure. Mio is also helping both of them, and they are very busy to the extent that they start to feel dizzy.
Meanwhile, the bored Tatsuya and Makoto act together as adventurers, but the low-rank adventurers only have a little information at most. They had noticed that there had been a rapid decline in request for suppression groups these days.
Even so, the three people in charge of cooking agreed to take a break, and everyone decided to have a day off too. That¡¯s why today the whole team is present at the workshop. Plus, the king¡¯s arrival was not entirely unexpected. Aearin contacted themst night and asked when would everyone be avable. But they didn¡¯t think that the king woulde today.
¡¸For now, the situation is still a work in process, but I can assure you that cleaning the castle¡¯s interior is almost finished.¡¹
¡¸Inside castle, eh¡¡¹
¡¸The inspection rted to the other side¡¯s domain is still in process as expected. Anyway, it looks like it ismon knowledge for the feudal lords on the other side to be weird when all of you are epted in the castle. But for the current situation, charging the feudal lords now will only create disorder¡¡¹
The king makes a face full of bitterness while answering Haruna¡¯s question, and munches the fried dough cake served with the tea to calm himself.
¡¸To put it bluntly, we tried to investigate it, but we only got some worthless information. For it to be one of the pirs of the opposition since the previous generation, it is seriously no joke.¡¹
¡¸Since the previous generation? Then the n has been going on for more than thirty years, huh¡¡¹
¡¸There are some traces of people that have been affiliated with the other side since approximately forty years ago. It began at the time of my coronation and therge-scale oppositionmenced about fifteen years ago, when I begin to build up the royal court¡¯s strength.¡¹
¡¸That was really a long way to do something¡¡¹
¡¸Seriously though.¡¹
Tatsuya and the king felt a grudging respect for the very long term n that was one step away from conclusion. Even so, even though the internal political situation is in turmoil, there will always be a moderate level of support for the political administration rather than for the monster¡¯s invasion, especially for a big country with a stable military and economic strength. That¡¯s why it should take a long time to break such a country.
This is a man of strong military prowess that reorganized the country that was entangled withplicated problems from thest generation, even though he was even younger than Layotte at the time he was crowned. The greatest problem in the forty years of his reign was the imbnce of thew as an overreaction to the abuses of the prior reign. Without it, the situation wouldn¡¯t be thisplicated in the first ce, so it is only natural that they couldn¡¯t obtain the popr support to overthrow the royalty in a coup.
Moreover, the other side have worn down resistance when they are in the process of seizing the majority of the top positions in the kingdom¡¯s bureaucracy, and the next step is only to overthrow the royalty. They only have to cause a big action, but they waste their ns on these trivial chances, and that¡¯s why it must be intolerable for them.
¡¸In any case, although it is good that they only dealt a recoverable blow to the military strength, a good many civil officials have been removed due to their involvement, making my head hurt. I can reinstate them slowly within half a year, but I will lose some of the decent people. The people on our side are obedient, and they are more inclined to cooperate positively.¡¹
As for this case, although there are no options to be lenient in this case, to do such a rapid cleanup is very problematic. The ideal solution is to get rid of the infection at a speed faster than the corruption can spread, but with limited human resources, they have to adjust the number of people that can¡¯t be used within an eptable range. Even so, the cases where this has gone well historically are practically nil.
The history of humanity is filled with the umtion of grand-scale changes due to shock and doctrine, both the good and bad.
¡¸It will be troubling if theyin about us¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. We don¡¯t know what to say about the territory or diplomacy, and to be honest, this is already outside our area of expertise¡¡¹
Haruna agrees with a bitter smile towards Mio¡¯s retort mixed with bafflement since the gossip andints about them will be a better subject rather than letting the information continue afterwards. In fact, this is the kind of story that the adventurers want.
¡¸Yeah, sorry.¡¹
Although the other side had apletely different intent that undermined the Royal House, there would beints about the simrity of methods by the ordinary people. The king nods his head honestly after hearing those two retorts.
¡¸For now, the disposal of the people who have been manipted is over. We also seeded in lowering the hurdle required for legal reform in this case. This time, we revised some systems that could only be made possible by the members of the rebellion being caught red-handed. After that, we only have to hold onto our reins and wait for it to settle down.¡¹
The biggest gain in this case would have been the change of the system, which is almost impossible to do, since any minor changes cannot be done without agreement from all of the military officers, civilians and nobles. Even a single vote in opposition would prevent it, but with a few exceptions, if there are two-thirds of the head division in Urs territory and its directly control areas, and another two-thirds of the feudal lords of the Fane residing in the Fane area who agree with the revision, then it is possible to do so. By all rights, they want to take control of the majority degree, but to go that far immediately will be difficult. In the first ce, it is impossible to do so without these circumstances.
The system evaded the political stagnation properly, but even though there were major ws for the noble and royal criminals, they just make some sufficient action towards it, and the civil and military parts are using the customary procedures without any change. The previous generation devoted most of its reign to improvements to the economy and civilians¡¯ life, while trying to limit the influence of influential people for better and worse.
Even with diplomacy, they can¡¯t just establish a neww without negotiation which will take a long time. The adjusting of thews will focus on legal interpretation, so they will not anger the other countries as well. Even though the king is weak inside the kingdom, in foreign rtions he is valued as a capable person.
¡¸How will you deal with the manipted people?¡¹
¡¸Considering the degree of the incitement, they are discharged, or demoted. Since their actions were manipted by Oria, I won¡¯t make execution their punishment. I think secluding them in the northern monastery for training is sufficient.¡¹
Hiroshi and his friends doesn¡¯t say anything to that, whether because of kindness or delicacy of the punishment. Nheless, when they think of the things they are guilty for, it bes hard to cover up for someone.
¡¸How about the assassin?¡¹
¡¸Sorry, I¡¯m not aware of that detail. Layotte is the one in charge of it, so you can ask him about that.¡¹
For the king with many responsibilities, surely the disposal of a mere assassin is something he won¡¯t specifically ask about.
¡¸But then if you think about it, the effort of the other side is unexpectedly orthodox, you know.¡¹
¡¸You can say it like that.¡¹
¡¸But they should have used that will-power for something else, though.¡¹
¡¸If they can think of doing¡¯ that, then they won¡¯t worship an evil god in the first ce.¡¹
Everyone can¡¯t help but agree while making a wry smile at the king¡¯s words. After all, the people on the other side are drunk with ambition. That¡¯s why, unless one is in a good environment, they can only me it to their bad luck and trick other people to feel the same bad luck like them.
¡¸The problem is the identification of those involved. Even for Barold, everyone thought he was an ordinary person that just looked pretty suspicious before this incident. Plus, aside from thendless nobles, the feudal lords on that side manage their own territory with their best effort, making identifying them very difficult. ¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. I did think that he looked very shady, but I couldn¡¯t feel any miasma from him at first.¡¹
Even for Barold who is a leading member of the Evil God¡¯s religious organization, when they are first influenced by it, they will start to stack up miasma in their body, and start to feel changes, like doing weird things, and having a change in temper.
They could have Haruna sing a song directly towards the suspected people, but other people will start to perceive that method as suspicious. There¡¯s also that trouble for that method.
¡¸Thanks to your help, our country was able to prevent their n. But, I¡¯m not sure about other countries¡¯ condition.¡¹
¡¸You mean, there are the worst possibility that one or two countries have fallen into their hands, huh¡¡¡¹
¡¸We tried to investigate more about it as much as possible, but there are also some very faraway countries. For the results to arrive, I hope it will be around one monthter.¡¹
¡¸Ya mean, we hafta wait for a month even if we are leavin¡¯ Urs?¡¹
The king only shakes his head in response to Hiroshi¡¯s words, making the whole team¡¯s expressions turn puzzled.
¡¸Next month, most ces will start to snow. If you¡¯re going to travel bynd, the northern route already passed its usable period, and the east and west route will also start to be very hard to travel after half a monthter. Well, if you¡¯re going by caravan, I¡¯m sure that you know that you have to take a detour¡¡¡¹
¡¸In short, we have to stay in Urs until the winter is over?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. And then, moving out in the middle of winter will take a lot of time. Especially if there is snow blowing down, you have to take a break every three days. With that, waiting in this town for three months will not make a difference in the end.¡¹
Hiroshi and his party who didn¡¯t consider the weather only notices the problem after having it pointed out by the king.
¡¸I see, then we will do as you say.¡¹
¡¸In addition, there will be Urs¡¯ New Year Festival in two months. In this city, it is quite a big festival. Even if you go as ordinary people or the saviours of this country, I will be very happy to wee you.¡¹
Urs is more focused towards industry rather than agriculture, and there is nothing like an autumn harvest festival there. It¡¯s not that they arepletely not celebrated, but each district usually have their own organization (almost like a neighbourhood council) that have their own schedule for events, and like Japanese Bon Odori or summer festival, so the local festival is bustling in its own way.
The festival in the district where Hiroshi and his team reside in happened while they were going to the hot springs, so they were unable to participate in the festival food stall. The other district harvest festival also ended while they were in the middle of the jumbled problem in the castle, so they were unable to see even one of the harvest festivals.
In addition, the neighbouring viges and towns celebrate harvest festivals even more grand than New Year Festival. There are a lot of Urs people participating in the New Year Festival, but for Urs¡¯ satellite cities and the surrounding viges that dedicates theirnd in agriculture, it is more important to celebrate the harvest festival and show their gratitude to the mothend rather than celebrating the new year.
By the way, the reason why Fane¡¯s new year is celebrated at the same time as the northern hemisphere mid-winter is because the starting point of the calendar is adjusted to the Deration of the King of Nations when the country was founded. After celebrating the harvest festival, the king starts making a small-scale system in the country, and after the country has a sufficient function to stand alone, he makes the deration of country. The timeg is approximately two months, so this bes the season where everything will be very cold (like the midwinter in earth).
¡¸Well, letsa roll with it then.¡¹
¡¸Uh huh.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s reply, the king nods. Tatsuya who is watching the situation suddenly asks a question.
¡¸Your Highness, is it okay for you not to put a leash on those two people?¡¹
¡¸How should you put a leash on them?¡¹
Tatsuya answered Haruna¡¯s question bluntly right after she asked it.
¡¸Neither the money nor status is necessary, and the court is not suitable for securing personal security. When handing over a woman gives nothing but an adverse effect, what do you mean with ¡®how to put a leash¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Uhh, you¡¯re right¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, because it¡¯s like that, I won¡¯t stop them to leave themselves. I don¡¯t have the view that I have to take someone in using whatever ways I can, you know.¡¹
Towards theposed deration from the king, the Japanese team can only give a smile.
¡¸That¡¯s right, if this seeds, then it will be alright, but¡¡¡¹
The king looks like he wants to say something, and look mysteriously at Hiroshi.
¡¸It will be helpful if you can stock and leave something at the workshopter on, even groceries rted stuff is alright. If you like, I can also deploy someone to help you to do it.¡¹
¡¸I know you will say that, but do you have to take it that far?¡¹
¡¸Uh huh. Instant noodles might be too intense, but at least I want someone to be able to make the curry roux, ah, Elena and Aearis also said so. Also, we can manage making mayonnaise, but soy sauce and bonito looks pretty difficult. You may say it¡¯s my greed, but I want to propagate the recipe and make preparations to make them inrge quantity.¡¹
The reply for Makoto¡¯s retort and question, you can say that they¡¯re pretty absurd.
¡¸¡¡Well, I will try to do something with the curry roux. Actually, Merizza also asked me the same thing, the recipes for it is scattered everywhere, and only the measurement work for the ingredients is in quite a bottleneck. ¡¹
¡¸I see. What about the other seasoning?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll collect them and make it possible to produce them on a certain scale during the winter. If it spreads here and there, then we can eat a lot of delicious things too.¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯ll leave it to you¡¹
After saying that, the king gnaws on the fried dough cake and says that the weight has left his shoulders. After that, all of them receive a souvenir and see him off with a smiling face, then they look at each other wondering what¡¯s up with that.
¡¸Hiroshi. We just promised him without discussing it first, but can we fulfil it?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯mma quite busy with the preparation for pigeonholin¡¯, but Merizza also asked us ¡¯bout it, so it can¡¯t be helped. Honestly, I wanna avoid it personally, but since Mio is helpin¡¯ too I think we can do it. ¡¹
¡¸Why so?¡¹
¡¸When Brother and Mio were caught by the thief, do ya know that there are other people imprisoned there?¡¹
Hiroshi ask with a tone more like confirmation than interrogation towards Makoto. Everyone nods.
¡¸Two of them have no ce to go back, so they was taken care by Merizza, but it looks like they are told to use this workshop as they like.¡¹
¡¸Then, why do you want to avoid it personally?¡¹
¡¸Well, ya know that both of them are women.¡¹
With that one sentence, Haruna and the others understand the situationpletely. It must be hard for Hiroshi to teach women. Haruna is his ssmate with the same fate as him, and Mio acts like a man most of the time, so they are the exceptions. If the two women can¡¯t put a distance properly like Haruna, then it will be severe in a lot of meanings.
¡¸Anyway, if it¡¯s just makin¡¯ curry roux and soy sauce, then Mio can do it, right?¡¹
¡¸Un. Maybe, even Haru-nee can do it, yeah?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m okay with curry powder, but I don¡¯t have confidence in making the soy sauce¡¡¹
With that, they find the method for it. When things are looking better for them, Tatsuya concludes.
¡¸No matter what we choose, we also can¡¯t just leave this ce for a long time, if they can be trusted then shouldn¡¯t we just leave it to them?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. I also agree.¡¹
¡¸If everyone agrees, then tomorrow I will go talk to Merizza.¡¹
Following the agreement, everyone nods at Hiroshi¡¯s word, and for now they decide to prepare to receive new people. The moment they decide their base in Fane, that ce will be the most important facility for Fane.
¡¸By the way, Hiroshi¡¹
After preparing the eptance for the new people tomorrow, Makoto calls Hiroshi like he just remembered something.
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸What will you do about the weapon?¡¹
¡¸Ah~¡¢I forgot ¡¯bout that¡¹
Makoto is shocked with Hiroshi¡¯s reply. His Pole Axe waspletely shattered when he use extra skill, and he wasn¡¯t able to fix or even recover the material.
¡¸How about you use the Cerberus Fang?¡¹
¡¸Impossible! There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll use long sword!¡¹
Hiroshi quickly rejected Makoto¡¯s proposal. Cerberus Fanges from the demonized corpse of the Cerberus. Needless to say, it is something they obtained when they defeat Barold the other day.
¡¸Rather, why is it here?¡¹
¡¸When I collected the things in the temporary warehouse before, Julius was mixing all the things randomly in there.¡¹
¡¸No, if ya realized it, please tell him!¡¹
Hiroshi can only retort after hearing Haruna¡¯s reason. Cerberus Fang is the most powerful of all the current weapons they have in terms of performance, but unfortunately their team has no one that can use it and it can only stay as a treasure. Since it was originally acquired in the battle at the royal pce, shouldn¡¯t the ownership be given to the kingdom?
¡¸His Highness said that no one wants to use it since it is cursed, so he gave it to us.¡¹
¡¸But, he can just give it to Elle and purify it, right?¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t it more troubling than just dispose it?¡¹
This is certainly a difficult thing to dispose of, but they¡¯re too easy-going to give such a thing to Hiroshi team. In the first ce, they only took fifty silk balls to make into yarn, and most of the other things were given to Hiroshi team. The people in Fane might not be able to manufacture it as well as Mio¡¯s, but even if it¡¯s not a half, they should at least take care of thirty percent of it.
¡¸But then, even if it¡¯s here, it will only take up space.¡¹
¡¸Makoto, don¡¯t ya use long sword?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not like I have never used it before, but I prefer using a katana.¡¹
¡¸Large sword ¡®n katana is a pretty weirdbination¡¡¹
Hiroshi makes quite a strange expression when he hears Makoto¡¯s reply. Makoto smiles at his expression, and exins the reason.
¡¸At first, or maybe I should say, the moment I got a splendid katana, my main weapon was katana. But¡¡¡¹
ording to Makoto, the game did not have more powerful katanas than high-quality products. In fact, the katanas that were on the market other than the ones that production yers made earlier were basically only those that were sold by NPCs on the outskirts, or high-quality rare drops. After all, the equivalent of the so-called magic sword has not been found.
Makoto trained with the long sword until he mastered the highest-ss skills, since ording to the adjacentw of nature longsword has strong skills and well-bnced in a lot of status. But, with the limit on the weapon¡¯s performance that can¡¯t be crossed, he changes into ¨dachi with superior firepower.
¡¸Then, isn¡¯t it better for ya to make katana?¡¹
¡¸Nn~, I can¡¯t say it for sure right now. It¡¯s been two years since Ist used a katana.¡¹
¡¸If there are materials for that, then I¡¯ll try makin¡¯ ¨dachi and katana. If it¡¯s better for you to use katana, then I can just give the ¨dachi to Yuu. ¡¹
¡¸Before that, please make your own weapon.¡¹
Makoto reminds Hiroshi who is about to do unnecessary things with unfeeling voice.
¡¸By the way, what about the technique you used that time? Can you use it? ¡¹
¡¸The name that came to my mind for that technique is Titanic Roar. It might be useful, but it¡¯s too early for me to judge it for now.¡¹
¡¸Haa?¡¹
¡¸I know how to use it, but I dunno how to activate it¡¡¡¹
The day after Hiroshi woke up, he borrowed a spare pole ax and tried to activate it over and over again, but no matter what he did, he cannot reproduce the same feeling like when he activated itst time. There is no doubt that there are something that is missing, like how his condition right now is not exhausted at all. It looks like even though he got the procedure right, he can¡¯t use it without fulfilling a certain condition.
¡¸Maybe, there are somethin¡¯ missin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸I see. It¡¯s not that easy to use as I expected, huh¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ya can say it like that.¡¹
Indeed, it seems like Hiroshi¡¯s battle ability won¡¯t just improve that easily.
¡¸Well, let¡¯s just put that super great firepower thing aside for now. I¡¯m already quite hungry, so let¡¯s eat for now, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Ah, right. Then let¡¯s make dinner.¡¹
¡¸What is the menu for today?¡¹
¡¸How about shoyu ramen with Wyvern soup as the base and gyoza?¡¹
They answered to Haruna¡¯s proposal with faces full of smiles.
¡¸Then, since we are going to leave this country after winter is over, let¡¯s decide our clear purpose and route for now¡¹
After enjoying the ramen, Haruna proposed eating the sweet potato tofu as dessert. By the way, let¡¯s not think too much about the ingredients used to make the tofu.
¡¸You¡¯re right. This ce is quite different from the Grand Quest we are familiar with. I think it¡¯s better for us to forget the information andmon sense in the game.¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. at least in the middle of the second chapter, there should be no serious trouble in any country.¡¹
¡¸There are also none towards the middle of chapter four. And then, at that point in time, the evil gods in the religious organization are just supporting roles, and they also don¡¯t have any direct connection to the story.¡¹
After hearing Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s exnation, they can¡¯t help but raise their voice.
¡¸Honestly, even if the current situation is in the story of Grand Quest, I have no idea where we are right now.¡¹
¡¸Well, we are also missing the information from the middle of the fourth chapter, so we should just ignore that information.¡¹
¡¸If that¡¯ true, is there something that brother specifically thinks about?¡¹
¡¸First of all, we should aim for Rufeus to gather information.¡¹
Everyone immediately understand the meaning of Tatsuya¡¯s proposal and nod their head.
¡¸They have big library, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Yes, and if we can enter the forbidden section of the library, I feel like we can advance considerably.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not ming anyone, but it will be a drawback to pick up something unnecessary again, okay?¡¹
Haruna turns her gaze around after hearing Tatsuya¡¯s retorts.
¡°If that¡¯s only the reason, there¡¯s no aplishment.¡±
Leaving aside Haruna who is still gazing around nervously, Mio indifferently points out something unusual.
¡°Yeah, if we just go to Rupheus directly, it¡¯s pretty pointless.¡±
¡°To just pass through other countries in vain, there will certainly be no aplishment.¡±
Tatsuya and Shingo agree with Mio¡¯s argument. Haruna who stops listening for a while then suddenly proposes something she just think of.
¡°If so, then let¡¯s just pass around all the temples at the countries and regions that we pass through.¡±
¡°And the reason is?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure of it this time. This god must have something to do with this problem.¡±
¡°¡Thank you for your very persuasive opinion.¡±
Tatsuya agrees at Haruna¡¯s earnest persuasive deration. Certainly, this matter cannot be absolutely irrelevant.
¡°Then, what kind of route should we go to?¡±
¡°Should we enter Rupheus through Forre and Midas from the north, or through Darl and Midas from the south?¡±
¡°Brother, there is also a route from Darl, Midas, Forre to Warren, and then we can enter Rupheus, instead of going straight to Rupheus.¡±
The group discuss with each other while looking at the rough map.
¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.¡±
After looking at the various lines showing the highway, Hiroshi looks like he remembered something. There is arge forest that extends from the foot of the Great Reeds Peak over the border of Fane and Darl. The road extends further to the south, and it turns into a tropical rain forest on the way. Hiroshi points the center of the big sacred mountain in the edge of the forest, and starts to say something astonishing.
¡°ording to the story of the game, there should be an elf settlement with a temple of the gods of the forest here.¡±
¡°So there is an elf settlement near such a civilized area, huh¡¡±
¡°Yeah, but then, things might be different from what is in the game.¡±
Everyone can¡¯t help but give a strainedugh at what Hiroshi said. They understand it fully well after all the things happening in Fane.
¡°Well, let¡¯s just decide about that after we have gathered some information. Since we will leave after the winter is just over, the northern route will have many ces that are hard to pass, so I think it would be better for us to go with the southern route.¡±
¡°Yes, and it looks like it¡¯s easier to gather food on the way with the southern route.¡±
Haruna agrees with Tatsuya¡¯s decision. There are also no objection from the other members.
¡°Since the route has been decided, as an experience with long-distance travel rehearsal, how ¡¯bout we take some request to escort people around?¡±
¡°Yeah. It is better to have a rehearsal.¡±
¡°Then, I will start to prepare carriages or other means of transportation around.¡±
¡°We¡¯re unexpectedly busy, especially for Hiro.¡±
¡°R¡¯lly. We should have started preparin¡¯ at the winter since the beginning.¡±
Haruna and Mio nod at Hiroshi¡¯s words. Although their workload is not as many as Hiroshi¡¯s, both of them are also busy preparing the consumables and a lot of other things.
¡°First of all, let¡¯s do our best starting tomorrow¡±
The Japanese people¡¯s expression looks better after decided their goal and action they will take.
¡°Fane¡¯s Barold has failed.¡±
¡°¡¡Really?¡±
¡°A dy in n is inevitable¡¡±
In the darkness that no one knows, several men are talking secretly. Everyone there has a very thin presence, and even if someone has already met with them, that person won¡¯t be able to remember their characteristic at all.
¡°How about the other Barold?¡±
¡°Darl¡¯s Barold was eliminatedst year by the hands of bandits. Now, we are sending a new Barold here. Forret¡¯s Barold seems to be struggling with dwarves¡¯ value system.¡±
¡°The only good thing is Waldis¡¯ Barold.¡±
The group with indistinct appearance talks with each other in a t voice. ording to the contents of their conversations, it seems like Barold is the code name of the leader of the execution unit, but considering the situation of the Barold in Fane, there is some possibility that he is an individual named Barold. Actually, he might not even know about the existence of this group.
¡°It is unexpected that Fane¡¯s Barold has failedpletely, though. What actually happened?¡±
¡°It seems that people who came from the unknown continent have destroyed all of Fane¡¯s faction.¡±
When the words ¡®unknown continent¡¯ came out, the atmosphere in the group be provoking.
¡°Those people again, eh?¡±
¡°But their lifespan is only of a mere person. All of their actions will end up in vain after fifty years, and we can try again after fifty years, and if necessary, even a hundred years or two hundred years.¡±
¡°As long as there is holy spirit in this world, our Lord will be immortal. If our Lord is immortal, we will be immortal too.¡±
¡°But, there is no reason to leave them alone.¡±
¡°There¡¯s no need to poke out the snake from the bush, but it would be nice to wee them warmly when they cross our limits.¡±
With those words, the darkness snarls.
¡°What should we do with Fane?¡±
¡°We can¡¯t do anything about it since the failure happened in a very shy way. We should just fill the surroundings with holy spirit.¡±
¡°I understand. Then, I will turn my assistance to another Barold. For the sake of filling the world with holy spirit.¡±
¡°Yes, to fill the world with holy spirit.¡±
At the same time, all the signs of activitypletely disappears, and the ce is filled withplete darkness.
Volume 1, Snippet
Volume 1, Snippet
Trantor: Mii
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
Extra Chapter (1)
1. The First Job
¡¸There are so many jobs to choose, eh¡¡¡¹
¡¸Higashi-kun, which one will you choose?¡¹
¡¸Right¡¡¡¹
For the time being, as they are making the makeshift weapon, they are deciding the ns for now on. The first thing Hiroshi and Haruna do in the morning is to go to the Adventurers¡¯ Association Wulls¡¯ east entrance branch, and then choosing a job from arge quantity of requests on a bulletin board.
The content of the posted written requests cover a lot of jobs, from monster suppression to investigation of idents, recruitment as merchants¡¯ guards, recruitment as a part-timerborer or waitress, deliveries, gathering trash, to jobs that doesn¡¯t seem to be requests for adventurers: to be a subject of an experiment or helper. Each of themcks uniformity.
¡¸First, how about sorting them out?¡¹
¡¸Right. Which one should we eliminate?¡¹
¡¸First, of course we should disregard jobs with high demands.¡¹
With that, they crossed out most of the request there.
¡¸Next, since this is our first day, we have to exclude the jobs with high chance of starting a battle. And the jobs that make us have to go out too.¡¹
They examine the bulletin board for these sorts of requests thoroughly, and exclude them from the list of jobs they will take.
¡¸After that, we should exclude requests with unrealistically high rewards, requests which don¡¯t have the requester¡¯s name, and offers which are unclear. Other than that, we can take the other jobs left. But, we should avoid delivery jobs, since we don¡¯t know the ces here.¡¹
¡¸Then, I¡¯ll take this job.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ve decided? ¡Oi, you choose another weird offer again, don¡¯t you?¡¹
The offer which Hiroshi chose is cleaning the road and the public sites. The offer is from the Adventurers¡¯ Association. Although themission fee is surprisingly low, you can say that the risk of the job is close to none.
¡¸With this job, I think I will be able to make some connections with strangers.¡¹
¡¸I see. Then, I think this one should be okay for me.¡¹
¡¸Application as temporary waitress, huh. Both of us are tryin¡¯ to avoid adventurer jobs alike, eh?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s safety first, you know¡¹
Hiroshi nods with a wry smile towards Haruna¡¯s words. First of all, they tear off the request tag and go to the receptionist desk.
¡¸Ann-san, we will take these, please¡¹
¡¸I understand. ¡Both of you are choosing the job with low risk again, huh?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t really know a lot of things, so we should only do the job we can do and understand!¡¹
Those are the words that the people who want to be an adventurer won¡¯t think, truly such solid remarks. Ann only makes a strainedugh, and starts to exin the job details. Next to us is a young boy who seemingly is also a beginner just like us. It looks like he¡¯s going to ept a request with an unrealistically high reward like what Haruna was excluding at the beginning.
¡¸¡Is that job going to be okay?¡¹
¡¸What do you mean by ¡°okay¡±¡?¡¹
¡¸From what I saw, the reward for the request is unrealistically high from the usual market price though¡ ¡¹
¡¸¡¡I can¡¯t really say anything about that. The Adventurers¡¯ Association also won¡¯t be able to check closely the reward for all of the requests, so¡¡¹
Even the Adventurers¡¯ Association isn¡¯t omniscient. With the amount of the request everyday, it can¡¯t be helped that there will be some strange requests. But then, for the request that is clearly a crime, they will of course be eliminated from the moment they are brought in. The unconfirmed request will generally also be put on-hold, and several people will discuss together to generally sort all of them out.
Since all of the requests are mixed in together, you can say that the adventurers have to take the responsibility on their own. There are also some requests with false usation inside of them, but the association will deal with those kind of problematic requests.
They don¡¯t know what kind of request the beginner will take, but since it looks kind of shady, they would much rather avoid it.
¡¸Now that you said it, there are also a lot of other weird requests though¡¡¹
¡¸I have noment regarding that matter.¡¹
After hearing those words, Hiroshi and Haruna that are getting a wind of something important vowed that they will definitely never touch jobs that are too good to be true.
¡¸¡Even for a simple task of picking up rubbish, you sure are slow, eh?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry¡¡¡¹
Ann unconsciously stares and throws cold words at Hiroshi, who takes a long time until he finally returned back.
¡¸Then, what¡¯s the trouble here?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m getting involved in a fight with gangsters, and then got interrogated at the police station.¡¹
He answers subtly, making the other adventurers who heard his words filled with silence.
¡¸¡What actually happened to you to get into that kind of situation?¡¹
¡¸When I was throwing the trash, suddenly five gangsterse towards me and asked me to pay the fee, or something like that¡¡¹
¡¸So, you didn¡¯t want to pay it?¡¹
¡¸Well, if I pay like how they want me to, I have to spend the amount of the reward, so¡ ¡¹
With Hiroshi¡¯s answer that sounds so cheap, the atmosphere bes even moreplicated.
¡¸Then, you didn¡¯t fight with them?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s no way, right? I just let them hit me there.¡¹
Ann¡¯s heart unconsciously retorted, ¡°Oi! Adventurer!¡± Even though he said that he let them hit him there and he also doesn¡¯t seem to be injured, there¡¯s no way that a person who killed a berserk bear could be injured from some gangsters¡¯ attack.
¡¸In the first ce, why didn¡¯t you fight them back?¡¹
¡¸Their faces are scary, and there are also other reasons, but¡¡¹
Hiroshi starts to make a lot of excuses when she asked about why he wants to be an adventurer in the first ce. The contents are simple, he said that it might be legally wrong to strike them back, since they are more unskillful than him. Also, the fee might be actually something he should pay, so he just let them do what they want.
Ann quickly evaluates Hiroshi as a timid person that can¡¯t even fight back properly even towards the thugs that clearly have been extorting him. To be honest, she starts to wonder if he is the same person that makes the cure for the poison.
¡¸Well, I was interrogated a lot at the police office, but after I was released, I quickly did my job with all my might, y¡¯know!¡¹
¡¸¡..You don¡¯t look cut out for that job, though..¡¹
¡¸Totally.¡¹
Nheless, it seems that the result of his job is good enough. If they only look at the reviewments from the staff in charge of the trash pick-up, it seems like everything has been cleaned more than necessary.
¡¸Anyway, the work itself finished without any problems, so I¡¯ll give your reward ordingly.¡¹
After saying so, she handed him three Chrones. It¡¯s only enough for hotel fee, since the cost of living in Wulls is high. For daily living expenses, including rent, this is the lowest price they can get.
¡¸Usually, if you finish a request at noon, you can take one more job, but¡¡¹
¡¸I also thought that way.¡¹
Hiroshi collects the silver coins arranged on the counter and lets out a sigh. As for Haruna, her reward is five Chrones from the client for a whole day, plus a meal. Since it¡¯s her, she should be skillful enough to earn some additional ie through tips.
¡¸If there are no incident, I should be able to another job though¡¡¹
¡¸By the way, which one did you intend to do?¡¹
¡¸He wants to take the weeder job.¡¹
The end of summer is approaching soon at Fane, and the weed is growing very fast. For that reason, a lot of those who have arge residence and the like often hire people to clean the garden for about five Chrones. During this season, you can say that it¡¯s standard work for either veterans or neers.
But, for Hiroshi, there¡¯s another strong reason to pick this job.
¡¸You¡¯re choosing another simple job, huh¡¡¹
¡¸asionally, there might be something valuable in the weeds, so I¡¯m grateful to be able to take this kind of job, but¡¡¹
Ann reaffirms that Hiroshi really is a good and skillful pharmacist, after knowing the reason why he choose this kind of pushover job. Probably, he is choosing the trash pick-up job for this reason too.
¡¸But then, it¡¯s not like I can show up this miserable state to Toudou-san¡¡¹
¡¸What do you mean by miserable?¡¹
The one that interject the conversation is Haruna, who had a raise in her job.
¡¸I¡¯m really sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸Since this is your first day, I think you don¡¯t have to worry that much if you make a mistake¡..¡¹
¡¸That might be right, but we are currently in deficit on money¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nn~¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi keeps on bowing and apologizing for today¡¯s insufficient earnings, and Haruna doesn¡¯t understand what is the big deal about that. Honestly speaking, having a deficit of four Chrones is not really a fatal problem to that extent. Rather, she thinks it¡¯s better for him to fight back against the gangster, rather than making a big uproar or making a corpse appear out of nowhere.
Besides, even if the earnings is only three Chrones, since he could remake things from raw materials, they¡¯re not substantially at a minus. If the lodging cost and living expenses are for two people, then Haruna alone can earn enough. If they want arge amount of money, then they just have to make a lot of things, regardless if it¡¯s Hiroshi or not.
¡¸Anyway, today we are only ustoming ourselves to the job, and to be honest, I think the role of earning money directly should be mine.¡¹
¡¸But then, this is a little too¡¡ ¡¹
¡¸Higashi-kun should just work hard to gather the ingredients for making tools and medicines so I¡¯ll be able to do my job more smoothly, and don¡¯t worry about the money.¡¹
Certainly enough, the things Hiroshi did today may be fatal if he is alone. However, Hiroshi and Haruna basically share the same wallet, so it would be better for them to bnce the entire household by making use of the strengths of the two people.
¡¸And then, I¡¯ve thought about it from the beginning, but if you want to step up as an adventurer, it would be difficult to earn money from the bottom. Overall, the job revenue for adventurers are quite lowpared to the usual working hours revenue.¡¹
¡¸¡¡.That¡¯s right.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s why, beside taking requests and singing, I think it¡¯d be good if we have another way to earn money. But, I don¡¯t think Higashi should make either medicine or equipment and sell them. It will be quite crude to use those to directly earn money, so we can use them to negotiate with other people.¡¹
¡¸The hurdles are high, huh¡¡¹
Hiroshi can¡¯t help but agree with Haruna¡¯s words. Honestly speaking, if they want to earn a lot of money, they only have to make one hundred potions of the seventh rank. However, doing so will make them stand out much, and even if the Adventurers¡¯ Association would be grateful for that, they could incur the wrath from the general pharmacists. Compared to that, it¡¯s rtively easy to make weapons and deliver them, but it¡¯s dreadful to be known as the one who made those weapons. Also, the Adventurers¡¯ Association won¡¯t be responsible for anything they sell directly.
¡¸Well, for now, let¡¯s prioritize taking safe requests just like today, and collecting things that can be used as materials for low price items. ¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. After all, we still didn¡¯t know most of the things here, though.¡¹
Haruna is relieved to see that Hiroshi agreed. As a matter of fact, if they are going to live in this country; they will be more reliant to Hiroshi. She shouldn¡¯t let a ten Chrone deficit affect him.
¡¸Then, how was Toudou-san¡¯s job goin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Me? If I count the offered money from singing, maybe I got around fifty Chrones. I think I sang three songs?¡¹
¡¸Wow¡¡¡¹
Certainly, if she has that much ie, she won¡¯t feel anything even if Hiroshi got a small amount of deficit, it seems. In the end, Hiroshi ends up feeling depressed all day long.
2. Chopsticks Use
It is the night after they rescued Tatsuya¡¯s team from ve trading. Rayna brought Makoto back to her room, and Tatsuya and Mio stay at the inn because there are no more beds there. Other than those four people, everyone surrounds the table in the usual small room, and having oden as Hiroshi ordered.
¡¸I have been thinking about this since yesterday, but¡¡¡¹
Aearis, who had the daikon and konnyaku stuck in a skewer and enjoyed the chikuwa with dashi, looks at Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s hand and can¡¯t help but ask what has been on her mind.
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸In your country, is it normal to eat using two sticks?¡¹
¡¸Ah, are you talking about chopsticks?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we generally eat usin¡¯ this.¡¹
While saying so, Hiroshi shows his skillful way of holding the daikon using the chopsticks. He¡¯s using them very neatly.
¡¸For the soups, maybe you can say that we usually drink it directly from the bowl, isn¡¯t that right?¡¹
Haruna borates on Hiroshi¡¯s words, and also uses chopsticks to cut the thick fried tofu neatly into bite sizes, then brings it into her mouth.
¡¸They¡¯re very useful in a lot of way.¡¹
¡¸In our country, even if you¡¯re skillful or not with the chopsticks, people usually eat oden with chopsticks.¡¹
¡¸But a lot of delicate people start to use them when eating boiled beans too, though¡¹
Both of them continues to take the food skillfully with the calm face that doesn¡¯t show any greediness. After looking at the chopsticks handling that is simr to magic, Aearis and Douga can¡¯t help but think that their own way of stabbing the oden from the skewer and gnawing them looks very unsightly.
Actually, Hiroshi and Haruna also take the sinewy meat from the skewer, and things like fried pork and negi isn¡¯t eaten using chopsticks, but looking at those two people (especially Haruna) that eats with refined and neat gestures, the other people can¡¯t help but think that their own manner of eating is unsightly.
¡¸¡¡Do you want to learn how to use chopsticks?¡¹
¡¸If possible, please!¡¹
¡¸Can you tell me about it too?¡¹
After guessing Aearin and Douga¡¯s gaze¡¯s meaning, Haruna affirms it with both of their responses. Hiroshi only gives a wry smile after adding daikon and chikuwa to his own te. Since he likes kelp soup rather than in soup in the oden, he already separates them from the beginning.
¡¸Then tomorrow, I¡¯ll teach both of you together with Reena-san.¡¹
¡¸Then, all of you will learn to use chopsticks together?¡¹
¡¸Is it possible?¡¹
¡¸Since Katsuki-san and Tatsuya-san are going to join us together, then I think I will have to make some chopsticks anyway, and I don¡¯t really mind making two or three dishes while I¡¯m at it.¡¹
¡¸I see. Then, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
That said, Aearis reacts slightly, reaching for thest meat and thick fried tofu. Hiroshi who sensed it turns his target to wiener and konnyaku. Aearin can¡¯t help but feel sorry for his attitude, and seeing that, Haruna helps her stab the thick fried tofu to the skewer.
¡¸I-I¡¯m sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸Kids should at least be a little selfish, okay?¡¹
Aearis looked at Haruna who smiled gently. ¡°If only I became such a woman, I would decrease the burden of my brother and sister,¡± Aearis thought. Because she will be an older sisterter on too, she has to be more reliable, or that¡¯s what she said to herself.
However, contrary to her determination at this time, she doesn¡¯t know yet that she will be more and more childish after being influenced by the Japanese team and Aearis herself.
¡¸Then, is it like this¡?¡¹
¡¸Well, isn¡¯t it fine? After all, Reena lives together with Elle and Uncle.¡¹
¡¸But then, even when you¡¯re eating with us, you don¡¯t really have to force yourself to eat with chopsticks, you know.¡¹
Having two unidentified sticks passed to her, Rayna take a deep breath after seeing Fane¡¯s specialty ring beans that are served in front of her. She¡¯s about to do something that other people might make fun of, since she thinks that she won¡¯t be able to do this kind of trivial work.
Makoto and Tatsuya are the ones that told Rayna not to force herself. Hiroshi¡¯s violent response is also a matter of concern, but since he¡¯s not here for the time being, they decided to put it on hold. And since Mio isn¡¯t the type to talk a lot, she just keeps on staying silent.
They already heard about the incident that happened two days ago, but the injured person isn¡¯t interested in bringing it up again, and it looks like they¡¯re not going to discuss it anymore. To begin with, they¡¯re not at the ce when it happened, so they didn¡¯t know how violent Hiroshi is actually, and they don¡¯t understand theplexity of the problem.
Furthermore, Hiroshi is currently out discussing yesterday¡¯s problem with Mellisa, so he¡¯s absent at this time.
¡¸For the time being, I¡¯m going to show the way to hold it, so first of all, try to practise from that, okay?¡¹
Having said so, Haruna shows the way to hold chopsticks slowly and repeatedly. Those three tried to mimic the way she holds the chopsticks. After slightly moving each of their ways of holding the chopsticks, she starts to exin how to move the chopstick.
¡¸I feel like it¡¯s easy, but I also feel like it¡¯s difficult¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s simr to how we hold and move a pen, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸You probably can say that they¡¯re pretty close, though¡¹
Even as they had such a conversation, all the four people only open and close their chopsticks without holding anything. After seeing that they¡¯ve be ustomed with the chopstick, Haruna picks the pile of beans on a te in front of them and casually moves them into another te.
¡¸The basic practise is by doing this. Just try to pick the beans and move them away.¡¹
The three people make a face that says ¡°It looks easy when Haruna did it, so is that enough?¡±. But then¡
¡¸Ugh! It fell away!¡¹
¡¸Just a bit more, just a bit more¡ Ah!?¡¹
¡¸Uhh, this is actually hard when I tried it¡¡¹
The food keeps on escaping from their chopsticks, and everytime they lift the chopsticks, it slipped off. It¡¯s very hard to transfer even the first one.
¡¸Yes, just like that¡ Ahh!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not like you¡¯re attacked when doing that, so just do it calmly.¡¹
¡¸Uncle, you¡¯re putting too much strength there.¡¹
The other Japanese people are doing as they please while giving their support. Haruna who¡¯s watching over this gives them a wry smile, and sometimes also gives those three advise. The situation continues for about one or two minutes, and then¡
¡¸Ah-!¡¹
¡¸Ohh-!¡¹
Atst, Aearis finally sessfully moves the first bean. But then, she actually doesn¡¯t hold the chopsticks properly and uses the tips of the chopsticks to move them clumsily.
¡¸I did it!¡¹
¡¸Amazing, amazing!¡¹
Aearis said those things joyfully from the bottom of her heart, and everyone is happy for her without feeling any resignation. Feeling happy with everyone¡¯s encouragement, she sessfully picks up yet another bean. Afterpleting them at the second time, her chopsticks¡¯ moving speed bes faster; moreover, her grip on the chopsticks bes neater too.
¡¸Children sure learn something quickly¡¡¹
Tatsuya raises his voice in admiration of Aearis¡¯ increasing speed. Makoto and Mio can¡¯t help but make a wry smile and calls him an old man.
¡¸If you can use it until that point, I think you have no problem with the basics anymore.¡¹
¡¸I think it will be okay.¡¹
Mio approves Haruna¡¯s words. The first step to learn how to use chopsticks is to pick up beans. It¡¯s not just for exaggeration; nor it¡¯s merely used for something like picking up beans.
¡¸Then, since it¡¯s just the right time, I¡¯ll exin how to use them with the fish for lunch, alright?¡¹
¡¸What kind of fish?¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry, it¡¯s a normal fish. Higashi has stocked up mackerel-like fish this morning, and he told me to grill and eat them with radish and ponzu. ¡¹
¡¸¡I suddenly want to eat rice, do you have it?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, there is only bread.¡¹
Tatsuya was reflexively taken aback by Haruna¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t really feel rice deficiency on the previous days, but when ites to eating grilled fish and ponzu, he can¡¯t help but want to eat rice and miso soup.
¡¸By the way, we have miso soup, you know?¡¹
¡¸That just makes me miss rice even more though¡¡¹
Makoto instinctively made a weak voice towards Haruna¡¯s direct words. It¡¯s been three months since she flew into here, and she¡¯s really sad because there is no rice in Japanese foods which she really misses. And it¡¯s even sadder to know that she will eat the ultimate sidekick of rice and beer, grilled fish and ponzu without any rice.
¡¸How about boiled barley oats?¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯ll think about it.¡¹
It is hard to decide on barley rice that they had never eaten. In the end, they eat their lunch with a quite inexpressive menu, such as onion consomm¨¦ soup and coppe bread with grilled fish and stir-fried radish leaves as the main dish.
3£®Diva and Basic Skin-care Products
¡¸Haruna-chan¡¯s skin is extremely pretty, actually how do you take care of it?¡¹
After bathing, Myuzzel admires Haruna¡¯s skin and speaks with enthusiasm. Skin age is one of the eternal challenges for women. It also applies for Myuzzel, who is going to get married at this year¡¯s harvest festival. The women that don¡¯t care about those kind of things usually are busy with parenting or travelling around the world, where they are too tired to care about their female nature, and for Myuzzel it¡¯s still a long way to go.
Since the bath in the workshop is currently being renovated, Haruna¡¯s team went to a nearby public bath. Makoto is still doing adventurer job, and Mio is also working in the studio, so they will being separatelyter. Myuzzel was early today, so they meet when the sky isn¡¯t dark yet.
Actually, Myuzzel lives in a pretty expensive 1LDK with an included bathroom, but today¡¯s purchase assessment is a very dirty job, and she doesn¡¯t want to enter her room until after she gets rid of the sweat and dirt, since it is disgusting. Not only she, but the Adventurers¡¯ Association¡¯s staff often do dirty works, so the locker of their personal storage box always contains some change of clothes and a bath set.
¡¸Reena-chan and Elle-chan also thought so, right?¡¹
¡¸¡That¡¯s something that has nothing to do with me for a lifetime.¡¹
¡¸Reena-chan, if you give up now, then it will really be over!¡¹
With an overwhelmed expression that shows that nothing can be done, Rayna spits out words as if the world¡¯s going to end. A lot of things had happened that make her unable to lift her head up, but no matter how jealous she is, she hesitated to say abusive words herself. For that reason, she has no choice but have limitedments. Myuzzel starts to seriously encourage that kind of Rayna.
¡¸¡Will I be able to be like that when I be an adult?¡¹
Aearis who watches Haruna as she dried her hair with life magic and mutters in a voice mixed with yearning and worry. Myuzzel looks at her, and she reflexively bows in assent and can¡¯t help but want to tell her that she is going to be okay. Frankly speaking, Aearis will definitely grow into a beautiful girl if there are no troubles around her. Well, it¡¯s hard to say if she can be like Haruna though, since both of their characters are very different¡
¡¸So, Haruna-chan, what kind of skin care do you use?¡¹
¡¸Even if you ask me, I just use normal face lotion and milk lotion, you know?¡¹
¡¸You must be lying!? Only by using that, how can you¡¡¹
Myuzzel who is shocked upon hearing Haruna¡¯s answer murmurs with nk eyes, and wonders if this is the power of youthfulness. Even so, it doesn¡¯t mean that Myuzzel herself loses in terms of youth. It¡¯s true that she has reached the marriage age in Wulls, but it¡¯s the age when one hasn¡¯t even graduated from the university in Japan.
¡¸Umm, Haruna-sama¡¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸What kind of face lotion and milk lotion that Haruna-sama is using?¡¹
¡¸Nn? Ahh. You can say that it is something custom-made.¡¹
With Haruna¡¯s words, Myuzzel can¡¯t help but lift her face closer to her. After taking a hold of Myuzzel, Rayna speaks timidly towards Haruna.
¡¸When you say custom order, do you mean¡¡¹
¡¸Nn. It¡¯s Hiroshi-kun¡¯s.¡¹
Rayna makes an expression as if asking Haruna if it¡¯s okay for her to say that. Haruna only smiles, and nods once in reply.
¡¸Anyway, Myuzzel already knows that Hiroshi-kun can make medicines.¡¹
Rayna doesn¡¯t say anything towards Haruna¡¯s answer. Whatever the circumstances might be, she can¡¯t help but think that they are too careless since this important information might leak out.
¡¸The Adventurers¡¯ Association won¡¯t leak such information.¡¹
Myuzzel quickly turns into business mode after seeing the suspicions in Rayna¡¯s eyes. Actually, Hiroshi is only known as an adventurer who could make a little medicine and tools to the public. The information about how Hiroshi can make sixth grade and above potions that the Adventurers¡¯ Association and Rayna knows hasn¡¯t leaked anywhere so far.
¡¸Then, will he makes me some too if I ask him!?¡¹
¡¸You can ask for it as a request job, but¡¡¹
¡¸But?¡¹
¡¸It will take quite a while to finish.¡¹
¡¸¡Is that so?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. It took about ten days for mine to bepleted.¡¹
They feel surprised that it takes a surprisingly long time, and Haruna exins the reason.
¡¸Since we would like to thoroughly check theposition, first of all, he¡¯d start by examining which ingredient would be good for skin, and which would cause damage to skin. It took about two hours to roughly grasp the amount of eachponent to know which one is the most suitable for a certain skin. ¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s only that, then it won¡¯t take ten days, right?¡¹
¡¸You still have to try using it and check the result for three days, then if there are any problems then he will adjust the ingredients again. In my case, I re-did it three times, so there is also the possibility that it will take around a month to get it right.¡¹
¡¸That is very long¡¡¹
¡¸Since this is about long-term effects, we will never know the result unless we try using them ourselves¡¹
Myuzzel finally looks convinced by Haruna¡¯s exnation, and her expression bes crestfallen.
¡¸If it takes so much work to do, I can¡¯t just make amotion to ask for it now, yeah?¡¹
¡¸I think that¡¯s a little bit too much. Since we¡¯re living together, so he is helping me, you can say that it is that kind of thing?¡¹
Myuzzel asks Haruna to live together with them too until it is finished, reallyckingmon sense. For the time being, Myuzzel decides that she will wait until Hiroshi¡¯s team had settled down. But, there are two people in this ce that think that it is mostly unlikely to happen, though.
¡¸¡Haruna-sama¡¡¹
¡¸I think if I ask him, he will make Elle-chan and everyone¡¯s share too.¡¹
Aearis makes an expression that¡¯s asking whether it¡¯s really okay for Haruna to promise them something without thinking.
¡¸For now, I will quickly go home and try to ask him¡¹
¡¸How nice, living together is sure nice~¡¹
¡¸Myuzzel-san, please just give up.¡¹
¡¸Tch¡¡¹
Myuzzel goes away after being turned down from her frivolous talk.
¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure that Rayna-san¡¯s share is ready too.¡¹
¡¸No, I¡¯m not really at the position where I¡¯m allowed to¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s okay, seriously!¡¹
Rayna feels that the medicine will work so well since it¡¯s Hiroshi who will make it, so she tries to reject Haruna¡¯s offer. Even though she knows that it will be rude if she is being too modest, but she can¡¯t help but to try refraining herself that way.
¡¸Let¡¯s quickly go back, and check for the dry skin.¡¹
After saying so, Rayna is forced to withdraw her modesty by Haruna that looks like she is in a good mood on the way home. Actually, Rayna still feels like she is unfitting to have these kinds of products, but everyone around her has a different opinion regarding that.
¡¸Is it really alright¡¡¹
Rayna can¡¯t help but feel guilty for this. For now, she decides that she will do her best to clean the toilet and garbage tomorrow morning.
Volume 1, Extra
Volume 1, Extra
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Teres Farm. Pleased to meet you all.¡¹
¡¸Nora Mora. Hi, everybody.¡¹
The day after the King had stopped by to vent, Merizza had brought two women to the Azuma workshop. Teres was an elf, and Nora was a rabbit Hybrid (although she looked mostly human). It was an interesting sight to see these two elegantly beautiful women on either side of Merizza, a well-built man beginning his elder years.
Teres was a stereotypical elven beauty with golden hair and jade-colored eyes. She stood taller than Hiroshi, let alone Haruna. She was slender in girth, to add to the stereotype. Her breasts were about as developed as Mio¡¯s. They weren¡¯t nonexistent like Makoto¡¯s or Rayna¡¯s, but very underwhelming for her height.
Nora was a hybrid with blush pink hair, beady red eyes, and rabbit ears springing from the top of her head; adorable in a cuddly animal kind of way. She was short in stature (like a rabbit) but with enough curves on her that no one would say she wascking in that department. While she was a hybrid, the only difference between her and a human were her ears and tail. Even her hands were exactly the same as a human¡¯s. Hiroshi wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to thank or curse the fact that she had no paws or ws that got in the way of working here.
¡¸Just wanna get this outta the way. Y¡¯all don¡¯t wanna go home or nothin¡¯?¡¹
After the Japanese members had introduced themselves, Hiroshi decided to double check this (while keeping plenty of distance between him and the girls) considering that they were rescued from those bandits¡¯ captivity. He was sure that Merizza had cleared all this, but just in case.
¡¸I could, but I left home with a purpose in mind, and if I go home now¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout what people think.¡¹
¡¸To be honest, I¡¯m beginning to enjoy living in the city.¡¹
Teres said, with a touch of embarrassment. Hiroshi presumed that this country girl simply got a taste for city life. Most fantasy settings described elves as isted, which could be tranted to mean that they were rural.
¡¸Most of the elves in the city don¡¯t want to move back home.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. As far as I can tell, there isn¡¯t aw or anything that forbids them froming home, but¡¡¹
Hearing Merizza add this bit of information, Hiroshi could imagine the elves leaving the forest saying ¡°I¡¯m going to make it big in the city!¡± Kind of shing with the whole fantasy thing that is going on here.
¡¸¡Sure. And you, Mora-san?¡¹
¡¸Call me Nora. Just Nora, please. Mora describes our entire species.¡¹
¡¸¡And you, Nora?¡¹
¡¸Moras no longer have a home, once they live on their own. I wasn¡¯t born in a human city, so my hometown has moved somewhere else. It doesn¡¯t exist anymore.¡¹
She sounds like a wild animal that way, the Japanese members thought. Moras, by the way, were not one of those all-women species, which meant that there were vigesprised entirely of Mora men and women.
¡¸Moras are not strong, so it¡¯s hard for us to live outside the city. But to live in the city, we need jobs. I don¡¯t have the skills for that.¡¹
¡¸So Merizza-san came up with the perfect opportunity.¡¹
¡¸There are a lot of risks in living as someone¡¯s pet.¡¹
Her self-awareness for her fate in that case indicated some resilience within her, in contrast to her appearance.
¡¸So, here they are. Can you teach them?¡¹
¡¸Couldn¡¯t tell ya until we gave it a shot.¡¹
¡¸Makes sense.¡¹
Merizza said. Still, mass-producing spices like curry powder wouldn¡¯t be tooplicated. If they were taught how to use the equipment, the mass-production can happen regardless of their skill levels.
The question was, how much Hiroshi would have to teach these girls. Even half a decade was too short for them to reach Mio¡¯s level, let alone Hiroshi¡¯s.
¡¸To tell ya the truth, if ya just want curry powder and other spices, I¡¯ll just make some equipment for it, teach ¡®em how to use ¡®em, and make sure the hard parts are automated. The problem is, they won¡¯t be able to teach anyone else how to make it, so there¡¯s a real low ceilin¡¯ for the amount we could produce.¡¹
¡¸That makes sense. A monopoly¡¯s sweet for a while, but it¡¯s a loss in the long run.¡¹
¡¸That bein¡¯ said, in three months, I could maybe get ¡®em to Haruna-san¡¯s level, but that¡¯s it¡¡¹
At this time, Haruna was at a point where she could craft ss 8 potions (with the right ingredient) without fail, usually. She was far from reliably crafting ss 7s, and she hasn¡¯t been trained at all in Refinement, Weaving, and Building.
¡¸In any case, I¡¯ll teach ¡®em as much as I can, starin¡¯ from the beginning.¡¹
¡¸Please do. If you need anything, just holler. I¡¯ll make it happen.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s mighty generous of ya.¡¹
¡¸Just investing in a business.¡¹
Merizza said with augh, as he left the workshop. After watching him leave, Hiroshi turned to Mio.
¡¸For starters, can ya teach ¡®em what potion ingredients we can get ¡®round here?¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm. Can either of you use any weapons?¡¹
¡¸A bow and arrow.¡¹
¡¸Sadly, the best I can do is keep some thugs at bay with my bare hands while I run away.¡¹
Teres and Nora answered honestly, a little taken aback. This was starting to sound foreboding.
¡¸Then train at the Association in your spare time. Register as an adventurer if you can.¡¹
¡¸Adventurer? Even though we¡¯ll be working in the workshop?¡¹
¡¸Some ingredients, you have to fight for.¡¹
Mio answered Teres with a straight face. They didn¡¯t need to train these girls in the first ce if they were only expected to deal with materials readily avable on the market.
¡¸You want me to tag along? I haven¡¯t collected materials in a while.¡¹
Haruna asked.
¡¸If ya don¡¯t mind.¡¹
¡¸No problem.¡¹
¡¸What about you, boss man?¡¹
Tatsuya asked.
¡¸I¡¯ll go get tools for ¡®em at the Association.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re not going to craft them?¡¹
¡¸I gotta teach ¡®em tool craftin¡¯ too, so it ain¡¯t much point in givin¡¯ ¡®em the good stuff right off the bat.¡¹
This made sense. Who would be motivated to craft new tools if they already had ones that worked better than anything they could craft?
¡¸Then I¡¯ll go with you. We have to get some spices too, right?¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯ll take on a mission or something.¡¹
¡¸So you¡¯rein¡¯ with us to the Association, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Yep.¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s lock up, since no one¡¯ll be here.¡¹
So. With new members in tow, another day at the Azuma workshop began.
¡¸I mean, I pushed for this too, but are you sure you¡¯re okay with this?¡¹
¡¸Little toote to ask, don¡¯t ya think?¡¹
¡¸I mean¡ Yeah¡¡¹
On their way home from the Association, Tatsuya was trying to gauge how Hiroshi was doing. Regardless of any teaching involved, he was nerve-racked about having more women around the workshop. Although, they would be amiss to leave the workshop unattended for such a long time. The best solution was to hire people to work and maintain the workshop. If only the two candidates were men, this was the perfect opportunity.
That¡¯s why Tatsuya was enthusiastic about this solution, but he noticed during the interview that Hiroshi did not look too good. rmingly so. The two girls didn¡¯t say anything, perhaps because they were nervous themselves, but there was no way that they didn¡¯t pick up on it. Haruna and Mio could teach them the basics, but Tatsuya was anxious thinking of the day when Hiroshi would have to step up.
¡¸Brother. You gotta forget ¡®bout my phobia for a bit.¡¹
¡¸Still. Couldn¡¯t we have had the King pick out some male apprentices?¡¹
¡¸I just gotta keep my distance. That¡¯s all. Unless your¡¯e sayin¡¯ ya can kick ¡®em out now.¡¹
¡¸¡No.¡¹
¡¸Ya see?¡¹
It was toote for that. Before the interview, they still had a chance. But now that they had evaluated their characters, moralsmon decency prevented them from firing the girls (unless they would turn out to be hopelessly unfit for the job).
¡¸Besides, I got some questions for Teres-san.¡¹
¡¸Questions?¡¹
¡¸I wanna ask if there¡¯s an elven vige and some shrine or another in the Southern woonds.¡¹
¡¸Oh, right.¡¹
Tatsuya remembered. It was important to make sure that there was a vige to go to, since this world had proved repeatedly to be different from the game.
¡¸Anyway, they¡¯re gonna be mixin¡¯ curry powder and preppin¡¯ soy sauce and ponzu for a while.¡¹
¡¸Client¡¯s orders.¡¹
Tatsuya realized that his party could not get away from food. It didn¡¯t help that demand for food (while theoretically quantifiable) was never-ending.
¡¸So, what do we need to buy?¡¹
¡¸Spices, of course. And soy beans, wheat¡ Lotta yuzu, too.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
It seemed like they would need to buy a good amount. Just as they were about to split up,
¡¸Grah!¡¹
With a loud zap, a cry erupted from around Tatsuya¡¯s feet that seemed feral. Looking down, they found a young child (too young to tell their gender) in rags, holding their right hand as they crouched on the ground.
¡¸A pickpocket, huh¡¡¹
¡¸Ain¡¯t exactly news-worthy.¡¹
That being said, the Japanese party (who were all securely guarded with enchantments) had not encountered any pickpockets after their first week in Fane. They assumed that these thieves talked among themselves.
¡¸What now?¡¹
¡¸If the kid don¡¯t know who we are, they ain¡¯t a pro. Let¡¯s ask ¡®em a few questions.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re having fun, aren¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯d be a waste to ignore such a clich¨¦-sh-ubiquitous event to just turn him in, don¡¯t ya think?¡¹
Ignoring Hiroshi¡¯s nonchnce, Tatsuya tied up the kid with an inconspicuous Bind to keep him from running.
¡¸That was quite the scream. What happened?¡¹
A man working in the market called to them.
¡¸Well, I wasn¡¯t watching my step so I ended up kicking this kid, pretty hard. I don¡¯t want him to be hurt, so we¡¯re going to take a look back home.¡¹
¡¸Why bother?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d feel bad if he was injured badly.¡¹
With straight faces, they proceeded with the kidnapping. After watching them leave, the man who had called out to them returned to his job.
¡¸May I ask a question?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Is Boss Man afraid of women?¡¹
As they were preparing to gather ingredients for unssified potions in the bushes outside of the East Gate, Nora spoke out.
¡¸You guys can tell, huh¡¡¹
¡¸Watching his expression and the distance he kept between us, anyone who doesn¡¯t think so is definitely dense.¡¹
Nora dered, and Haruna and Mio let about a chuckle.
¡¸Sensei went through some stuff back home.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m impressed that he can be around you two.¡¹
¡¸All thanks to Haru. We just copy the distance she keeps.¡¹
Upon Mio¡¯s answer, the two rookies remembered the conversation they had in the workshop, along with where Haruna and Hiroshi were standing. They had afortable distance between them, indicative of more than a little buildup of trust. Neither Teres nor Nora were unobservant enough to think that, while Hiroshi and Haruna went through the formality of conversation, they mostlymunicated via eye-contact.
¡¸Um, I have a question.¡¹
¡¸Shoot.¡¹
¡¸Are you and Boss Man¡ In a rtionship.¡¹
¡¸Nope.¡¹
Haruna shut down Teres¡¯ question without missing a beat.
¡¸That¡¯s sure what it looks like to me. You two are so in tune with each other.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re in tune exactly because we¡¯re not in a rtionship. Hiroshi-kun can¡¯t evene in physical contact with a woman for more than a second before he starts hyperventting. No way he¡¯s ready to be in a rtionship.¡¹
Haruna answered with an expression that was too bitter to call a smile, but too sweet to call solemn. That mysterious entrancing expression made the hearts of the other three girls skip a beat.
¡¸I understand how Boss Man feels. But what about you, Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸How do you feel about Boss Man, Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸¡Best friend, sh, partner in crime¡?¡¹
Haruna said without much confidence. Truth be told, she didn¡¯t want to categorize her feelings as romantic. Something didn¡¯t feel right about that. At the same time, she felt ambivalent enough that it would have been difficult for her to defend that there was nothing but friendship between them. If she were to call Hiroshi a sense of shipmate on this stormy journey, she would also have to call Tatsuya, Makoto, and Mio the same. But how she felt about Hiroshi was undeniably different from how she felt towards them. Her confusion about this unknown emotion emanated from her, enough that it was evident to those around her.
Haruna didn¡¯t quite understand romance, in the first ce. She had been in more rom-like situations like dealing with her friends¡¯ rtionships or be given the short end of the stick when ites to drama around her. She had made it this far in life without so much as a ¡°trial-period¡± rtionship. In fact, she didn¡¯t talk much with boys to begin with, mostly because she seemed so far out of anyone¡¯s league.
Anyone who had asked her so far were the yer types that didn¡¯t even try to look beyond the surface, and cocky narcissist types. Anyone whom Haruna (or her friends and family) would approve would never try and go for the unobtainable. As a result, Haruna had never encountered a single man (who wasn¡¯t a family member) who looked her in the eye and sincerely respected her character. It was less that she wasn¡¯t keen to romance, she justcked experience because of her circumstances.
If it was miraculous for Hiroshi to meet Haruna and form a safe partnership, it might also be miraculous for Haruna to meet Hiroshi, and that they were able to understand and respect each other sincerely until Haruna had developed some sorts of feeling for him. The problem was however, that Haruna could not foresee any future that took their rtionship further in any direction.
¡¸¡I see. I think I understand.¡¹
¡¸Poor Haruna-san¡ And Mio-san.¡¹
¡¸Wait, what?¡¹
¡¸Haru, you never notice things about yourself¡¡¹
¡¸What? What?¡¹
Haruna really didn¡¯t seem to see it. Mio let out a sigh in response. Everyone would have epted this excuse, if she had given it any time before the first ball in the castle. But, after the assassination scare and the battle against Barold, Haruna¡¯s emotions were clearly changing, albeit slowly. The only ones out of the core party who couldn¡¯t see that were Haruna herself and Hiroshi.
It may be cruel to call Hiroshi unobservant in all of this, though. How could anyone expect him, out of all people, to consider romantic feelings towards him from the opposite sex? In fact, he wasn¡¯t unobservant, and must have been noticing the slight changes in Haruna¡¯s behavior, but he was too untrusting of women to deduce that to be an indication of romantic feelings. Considering his experience back in middle school, anyone could imagine that, even if Haruna had confessed her undying love to him as bluntly as humanly possible with not an inch of room for misunderstandings, Hiroshi would not believe it, barring a powerful (incredibly powerful) show of it.
¡¸Herself¡ You too, Mio-san¡?¡¹
¡¸Mio is fine. I don¡¯t deny it. I just don¡¯t trust my emotions and instinct enough to confidently say that I¡¯m in love.¡¹
Hearing Mio¡¯s confession, Haruna shed an expression. OF course, she had noticed Mio¡¯splicated emotions towards Hiroshi. Mio harshly reacting to Hiroshi whenever he did something sheepish, then regretting it (shown by an expression that Haruna assumed could only be picked up on by those who knew her well) while Hiroshi wasn¡¯t around was telltale of the turmoil that was Mio¡¯s adolescent heart.
¡¸And what do you two think of Sensei?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that charming.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sure he¡¯s a kind and honest person, but¡¡¹
Haruna and Mio could only chuckles at their honesty. Unfortunately, Hiroshi¡¯s charm required an acquired taste. They were confident that, once these girls watch Hiroshi craft something (if they didn¡¯t have very negative preconceptions about craftsmen for some reason) their impression would change. They also understood that most people could not see that quality in Hiroshi from a time as short as their interview.
¡¸A fair first impression.¡¹
¡¸That was my impression back home.¡¹
Haruna dropped, to which the girls looked surprised.
¡¸Um, how long have you all been together?¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun and I for three months or so. Everyone else came together like a month after that.¡¹
Haruna added another bombt to Teres¡¯ timid question.
¡¸J-Just three months¡?¡¹
¡¸Until we got transported here on ident, we didn¡¯t interact much other than the asional hello.¡¹
In just three months, they had synced up as much as a couple married for decades. It was hard to imagine that Hiroshi would take any steps to close their distance, so they assumed that Haruna had carefully observed her partner, and kept a distance while carefully closing it. At first, it might have been out of necessity, but it was crazy to continue making that kind of effort with someone whom she had no special feelings for. This was way too much to chalk it off to her general kindness.
ording to Teres¡¯ values, anyway. There was another part of her that was wondering if Haruna was able to maintain that kind of rtionship with most everyone.
¡¸I guess some humans are truly extraordinary.¡¹
¡¸Haru¡¯s very special. In a lot of ways.¡¹
Mio interjected, not wanting Nora to think that Haruna was anywhere near the average human being. In fact, Mio didn¡¯t want to be grouped in with Haruna just because they were the same species, especially since Haruna was practically a character from a romance simtor in the olden days, who would set up a bunch of events, only to lead to the game over screen after a single mistake.
Non-human species, like elves, would sometimes call people ¡°humans¡± but it was never taken as an insult by anyone. Intuitively, the term did epass all humanoid species of intelligence.
Haruna did give a little frown to Mio treating her like an outlier. But before she could say anything, Mio added:
¡¸Too much chit chat. We need to work.¡¹
¡¸¡Right. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to get a big stockpile going.¡¹
Losing the opportunity to say something about it, Haruna¡¯s contempt left her with a sigh. It wasn¡¯t a big deal to her, though. In a minute, it wouldn¡¯t bother her anymore. What Mio had said was hardly an insult, especiallypared to the nobles in the castle.
¡¸So, gather these leaves. These grass, and these too. Cut off the leaves as cleanly as you can, and make sure to pull the grass up from their roots.¡¹
Haruna said, while showing examples. A little taken aback by how quickly Haruna wiped her dissatisfaction (albeit trivial) from her face, the two rookies started collecting vegetation as they were shown. They were working in silence for a few minutes, but¡
¡¸So, are there any other women in Boss Man¡¯s life?¡¹
Teres jumped back into gossip, tired of the monotonous work already.
¡¸There are, but¡¡¹
¡¸Even if Sensei wasn¡¯t afraid of women, he would never get close to them.¡¹
Haruna and Mio answered, without stopping their work.
¡¸Ooh, but Elle-chan might power through with her puppy dog approach if it weren¡¯t for his phobia.¡¹
¡¸Possible. Her straightforward lovey-dovey eyes are what make me unsure of my feelings.¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t me her, considering what happened¡ But poor Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Her appearance aside, her age and status make it impossible.¡¹
Some key phrases flew out, making the rookies hesitate to ask more questions. Without context, Teres and Nora could only imagine the worst. This drove them to concentrate on the harvesting in order to escape their own imaginations.
¡¸Low key, I think it¡¯s going to fall on whether or not we can make it home by the time Elle-chan bes of age. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸I concur.¡¹
The phrase ¡°of age¡± left the rookies with no room to deny that they were talking about a young girl (too young to be considered an adult, at least). Despite obvious red gs, the rookie girls were ovee by their temptation for gossip, and ended up asking all sorts of questions.
And so, while they passed the time collecting more than enough herbs with colorful gossip, the four girls had bonded quite well by the end of it. Like Haruna once said, no girl turns down gossip and dessert. What they didn¡¯t know is that, by the time they had left the castle, there was a dark horse of the romance variety (an extremely dangerous one, especially for Hiroshi¡¯s mental health) lurking.
¡¸Now. Why did a kid like you, who couldn¡¯t even verify if his targets were viable, decide to get into the pickpocketing business.¡¹
¡¸I got nothing to say. Turn me over to an officer, already.¡¹
Tatsuya started to question the kid they had captured, in the workshop¡¯s dining room. Perhaps because they weren¡¯t exactly gentle on the way here, the kid stubbornly refused to answer. Judging by looks and voice, there was no way that the kid was any older than Aearis.
¡¸I mean, I got a pretty good guess.¡¹
Hiroshi muttered with a long sigh, some color drained from his face. He had spoken louder than intended though, and caught the attention of Tatsuya and the kid.
¡¸What do you mean a good guess?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t wanna put it this way, but it¡¯s ridiculously clich¨¦d.¡¹
¡¸Clich¨¦d? You mean¡!?¡¹
¡¸Just a guess, but you got someone in your family who¡¯s mighty sick, don¡¯t ya?¡¹
Even as a solemn expression grew on the kid¡¯s face, the kid didn¡¯t answer.
¡¸It¡¯s written all over your face, now.¡¹
¡¸What if I do!?¡¹
¡¸What if, ya say¡¡¹
Still not sure if he shoulde out and say it, Hiroshi trailed off. Watching this, Tatsuya chuckled and gave him a push.
¡¸Why don¡¯t you tell the kid that you¡¯ll cure that person in exchange for working here?¡¹
¡¸Ya don¡¯t think we gotta clear that sort of thing with someone?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not like we¡¯re hiring people by the dozens, I doubt anyone¡¯ll mind. Besides, do you think those two will cut it?¡¹
¡¸Depends on how quick they learn, but I don¡¯t think so. Even with three of ¡®em, I don¡¯t think they could handle all the food prep and maintenance here.¡¹
Listening in on this conversation, the kid was growing more nervous by the second that, perhaps, it was a huge mistake to have targeted these men. In fact, this particr conversation could have been taken as a discussion for making some sort of illegal substance.
¡¸Are you sure you can handle this patient, though.¡¹
¡¸I won¡¯t know ¡®til I examine ¡®em. But it shouldn¡¯t be anythin¡¯ that spreads by air, droplets, or contact.¡¹
¡¸How do you know?¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s somethin¡¯ that spreads that easy, we would have heard ¡®bout it. Even if nutrition and stamina were factors, someone at the market would have known ¡®bout it.¡¹
¡¸Good point.¡¹
Even if it was a disease that was spreading in the slums, it¡¯s not like residents of those areas didn¡¯te to the market. There was no way that a diseases spread by air or contact would be contained to such a small area. Sure, some people may not appreciate people from the slums going to the market, but they weren¡¯t locked out of it.
Besides, the slums of Wulls were rtively low on crimepared to other cities. This was mostly due to the fact that it acted more as a refugee camp for people who lost their homes to monsters or natural disasters, rather than a cesspool of self-destructive people. While it wasn¡¯t much, people even received aid from the government there, and soldiers would patrol the area, making it a little harder for crime to be rampant.
Of course, there were areas that housed people who decided to live short but couldn¡¯t die young. But those areas were clearly segregated away from the slums, and the government kept watch on them. What¡¯s more, after dealing with Barold, organized crime had mostly been abolished. The only gangs left were the types that would never mess with a civilian who had wandered off to the wrong side of town. The necessary evil types that helped keep the city¡¯s peace in their own way.
¡¸Lookin¡¯ at this kid¡¯s hygiene and malnutrition, they ate somethin¡¯ nasty. In any case, we gotta clean this kid up, do an examination and get some good food in that belly. Just treatin¡¯ the symptoms won¡¯t be a long term solution.¡¹
¡¸Make sense to me. I¡¯m getting hungry, too. Let¡¯s eat.¡¹
¡¸Sure. I couldn¡¯t get any new ingredients so we¡¯re havin¡¯ leftovers. Do ya mind?¡¹
¡¸Not at all!¡¹
Upon Tatsuya¡¯s response, Hiroshi disappeared into the kitchen. Considering what was in the pantry, leftovers (nine times out of ten) meant meat. There were heaps of monster meat stashed in there, on top of the Wyvern meat. Other than that, Tatsuya expected maybe some Pomey that Hiroshi had been growing in secret.
¡¸¡What do you think you¡¯re doing¡?¡¹
The kid growled.
¡¸Employee diversification?¡¹
¡¸¡Huh?¡¹
¡¸If you do work here, I¡¯ll guarantee you¡¯ll eat the best food in Fane.¡¹
Tatsuya said, without telling the kid that most of those meals would consist of monster meat. Because, well, Tatsuya didn¡¯t think that kid would mind as long as it was edible. No one needed to know that reasoning, though.
¡¸We¡¯re back!¡¹
¡¸Hey, wee home.¡¹
Thirty minutes after Hiroshi had gone to the kitchen, Haruna and returned with the girls just as Tatsuya had finished drawing a bath, already utilizing the kid in (semi-)forcedbor.
¡¸Mm? Do we havepany?¡¹
¡¸We found it.¡¹
¡¸¡At least you didn¡¯t make a cor or anything¡¡¹
Haruna jabbed. The kid, obviously on edge from the sudden appearance of this group of women, scuttle away to a corner of the room.
¡¸Mio-chan.¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm.¡¹
Haruna said, and Mio started walking towards the bathroom. Tatsuya called to her.
¡¸We just drew the bath.¡¹
¡¸Okay, thanks.¡¹
¡¸And I think lunch¡¯s almost ready. Let¡¯s eat first.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun¡¯s cooking?¡¹
¡¸Who else could it be?¡¹
Haruna let out a chuckle at Tatsuya¡¯s response. Tatsuya didn¡¯t really cook well, and Makoto had no experience cooking (in-game or in real life) outside of home-ec sses. So, Haruna and Mio weren¡¯t home, Hiroshi would be left in charge of the kitchen. While Haruna¡¯s and Hiroshi¡¯s cooking skills were on par, Mio¡¯s were far below that of Hiroshi¡¯s.
¡¸Boss Man can cook, too?¡¹
¡¸He can cook, craft, process¡ Pretty much anything you can think of.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s why he¡¯s Sensei.¡¹
Haruna and Mio answered, which Nora found a little incredulous.
¡¸And who is that¡ girl? I think?¡¹
Haruna asked.
¡¸She¡¯s a girl?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t ask me¡ She¡¯s human.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not sure either.¡¹
Nora and Teres answered Tatsuya, vigorously shaking their heads. The kid, now the topic of discussion, tried harder to intimidate the group.
¡¸That being said, there¡¯s reason to think so.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Hiro didn¡¯t look too good.¡¹
¡¸¡Is Boss Man¡¯s phobia really that bad?¡¹
¡¸I couldn¡¯t tell you¡ He may not have even been aware of it himself.¡¹
As the conversation started to derail, an appetizing smell of charred soy sauce and ginger filled the dining room.
¡¸Lunch is ready, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Mm. Looks great. What is it?¡¹
¡¸Rock Boar ginger roast. Ya can eat it as-is, or put it in a sandwich.¡¹
With that he served it alongside a mountain of bread from the serving cart. There were sds and soups, of course, but the soup might as well have beenbel ¡°don¡¯t ask.¡± They could see Hiroshi¡¯s attention to detail as he had prepared a few pieces of lettuce on the te for making sandwiches.
¡¸Rock Boar meat¡ I thought those were too tough to eat¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m really curious as to who acquired the meat of such a rabid creature.¡¹
Teres and Noramentated, shaken by the ingredient mentioned with nonchnce. Rock Boar, as its name may suggest, were boars with hide as hard as rocks. So hard, in fact, that most physical attacks didn¡¯t affect them. They also perfectly resisted certain elemental spells, not to mention that they would charge at terrifying speeds. Most would be lucky to hit a Rock Boar with a long-range attack, let alone damage it. What¡¯s worse, they attacked any creature they could find. Naturally Rock Boar meat was one of the more difficult ingredients out there to obtain. In the first ce, since the Rock Boar was only about twice the size of a normal boar, so unlike Wyverns, their meat were rarely undamaged afterbat.
While Rock Boars were more annoying than most monsters, Oxygen Ring did the trick again. They were easy prey for Tatsuya. They had taken down the Rock Boars on the same day as the Wyverns, and since their hide was a strict downgrade from Wyvern hide, they had sold the other materials to Merizza after taking the Rock Boars apart, carefully. They had talked about crafting armor out of them, but they were running out of time, and since that could cause a widespread panic, they decided to have Merizza buy the parts as-is.
¡¸Brother and Makoto-san could take down a hundred Rock Boars if they wanted to. Ain¡¯t that right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
Tatsuya said without a boasting tone, and dug right into the ginger roast. The ginger, sauce, and the wild vors of the Rock Boar meatplimented each other in wondrous harmony. Even Tatsuya hadn¡¯t personally taken down and taken apart for this meat, it was perfectly thick, far from too tough to chew. Eating it as is seemed fine, but a sandwich was bing more tempting.
¡¸Why don¡¯t we have rice and miso soup with this¡¡¹
Tatsuya said, expressing the grievance of all of the Japanese members.
¡¸We don¡¯t have ¡®enough for a buffet.¡¹
¡¸None of us would mind, I¡¯m sure.¡¹
¡¸We won¡¯t mind, but are we tellin¡¯ these folks, who just came up today, to start usin¡¯ chopsticks?¡¹
¡¸You have a point¡¡¹
¡¸I mean, that¡¯s why I prepped ¡®em, ready to be made into sandwiches.¡¹
Again, Hiroshi showed off his attention to detail by preparing tongs for everyone, just to put the meat on bread. They looked over to see Nora already putting a slice onto a sandwich with a piece of lettuce on it.
¡¸I went ahead and cooked ¡®em this time, but let me know if ya got anythin¡¯ your species can¡¯t eat or soemthin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Nothing like that for me. I didn¡¯t eat much meat back in the vige, but that was just a matter of short supply, rather than any rule.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry. Moras are omnivores.¡¹
With that, the two rookies happily ate the food in front of them. The kid, who had been watching this from the corner of the room, red at them with some sadness and envy.
¡¸¡Gotcha.¡¹
Mio, who had been keeping an eye on the kid, scooped up the little thing. No one, including the kid, could react to her seamless snatch.
¡¸Wh-What are you doing!?¡¹
¡¸When a meal is served, you wash your hands and sit at the table.¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t ask for any food!¡¹
¡¸Doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s polite to eat what you¡¯re served. Why would we poison a kid from the slums, anyway?¡¹
Stoically shutting down the kid¡¯s whining, Mio made sure the kid¡¯s hands were cleaned at the sink. She washed her hands too, since they had been dirtied by grabbing the kid. Then, she held the kid¡¯s hand and silently pushed the kid onto a chair.
¡¸You¡¯re pretty strong, Mio.¡¹
Tatsuya said.
¡¸You¡¯re not ill. You can eat. Don¡¯t be a brat.¡¹
Pressured by Mio, the kid timidly carried the ginger roast sandwich to the kid¡¯s mouth. As soon as the kid took a bite, both eyes shot open as if In shock, and the kid started scoffing it down.
¡¸It doesn¡¯t look like anything in the digestive tract is affected.¡¹
¡¸Agreed. If ya don¡¯t mind, Brother, Haruna-san. Can y¡¯all go to the slums with the kid to bring back the patient? We gotta take a bath and practice basic blendin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
After deciding what to do after, the Japanese members turned their focus to their lunch. Despite still wanting for rice, each of them finished two servings.
¡¸Here they are.¡¹
¡¸Thanks.¡¹
Haruna and Tatsuya had returned in thirty minutes or so, with a woman in her skin and bones, along with a child even younger than the pickpocket. Mio and the two rookies were still taking a bath.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s take a look. Can ya help me, Haruna-san? After this, we¡¯ll chuck the little one in the bath.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
Haruna began prepping for an examination. Hiroshi had convinced the kid to bring these two in, by the way, by saying:
¡¸If ya brin¡¯ ¡®em in and get examined, we¡¯ll feed ¡®em, too.¡¹
Good food was mightier than the sword.
¡¸So, what do you think?¡¹
Haruna asked, after a swift pair of examinations.
¡¸Pretty much as expected. Don¡¯t know if she¡¯s the sister or momma, but the olderdy¡¯s got parasites and a Magical Material poisoning.¡¹
¡¸¡Poisoning?¡¹
¡¸It must be a substance that¡¯s only in this world. There¡¯s a Magical Material called Mnite. When bonded with a certain atom, it bes toxic.¡¹
¡¸¡Which atoms?¡¹
¡¸Nitrogen. The thin¡¯ is, nitrogen is pretty stable, so it won¡¯t bond if they¡¯re just left alone. They bond durin¡¯ the process of nts takin¡¯ nutrients from the ground. nts can¡¯t tell the difference between afflicted Mnite and the nutrition they need.¡¹
Hearing this, Haruna had good guess. They must have eaten some grass sprouting from afflicted soil after the recent ordeal, until it caused a poisoning. As for parasites, there were plenty of usible exnations.
¡¸Can you treat it?¡¹
¡¸Won¡¯t¡¯ be a problem. The only thin¡¯ is she¡¯s really weak right now. We gotta take out the parasites so they don¡¯t soak up all the nutrition for her.¡¹
¡¸Okay. How about the little kid?¡¹
¡¸Malnutrition from the Mnite nitrite poisonin¡¯. Negative for parasites, but we should do a soft dewormin¡¯, just in case.¡¹
Haruna noticed something as she listened to Hiroshi¡¯s speedy exnation.
¡¸If that¡¯s how they were poisoned, howe Fum-chan is fine?¡¹
¡¸Fum?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the kid¡¯s name.¡¹
¡¸Right, we never asked.¡¹
Tatsuya pointed out.
¡¸Slipped my mind.¡¹
When first found Fum, it was difficult tomunicate at all through the wall of distrust, and they didn¡¯t have time to ask for name after that. They had not had a chance to ask for the woman¡¯s and the younger child¡¯s names, as they had been focusing on more pertinent information.
¡¸Anyway, body type, weight, and the amount they consumed can change how likely they¡¯ll get a poisonin¡¯. Judgin¡¯ by the smell, the kid may not be showin¡¯ symptoms yet , but it¡¯s close.¡¹
Haruna agreed with a frown. Hiroshi had called it clich¨¦d, but Haruna thought that Fum¡¯s pungent odor caused Hiroshi to take action. Not from some phony superheroplex, but most likely to prevent the possibility of an infectious disease spreading to the rest of the party, and even Aearis. Otherwise, he had no reason to save a girl who tried to rob him.
¡¸I¡¯ll whip up IVs with fluids and a dewormer. Will ya give it to ¡®em?¡¹
¡¸Mm-hm.¡¹
Mixing this and that with expertise, Hiroshi finished up his concoction with some magic and packed it into IV bags before handing them off to Haruna to handle the rest. Fum, who had been watching all of this in hiding, was enamored by Hiroshi¡¯s stoic expression.
¡¸He¡¯s pretty cool when he¡¯s doing these kinds of stuff, isn¡¯t he?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
Haruna whispered to Fum, after smoothly administering the IVs.
¡¸He was charming while he was doing the examinations and mixing the medicine.¡¹
¡¸He wouldn¡¯t have trouble finding suiters if he always acted that way. ¡¹
¡¸No, Teres-san. The real charm is that the usually useless man bes verypetent and cool when needed.¡¹
¡¸Oh! I see!¡¹
Haruna and Fum didn¡¯t know how to respond to Teres and Nora, who had sneaked their way into the conversation. With Hiroshi¡¯s sublime skills and ridiculously extravagant medicine, Fum¡¯s mother and sister had be healthier than they ever had been in less than a week. Upon being presented with the generous offer of guaranteeing food, clothes, and shelter for maintaining the workshop, the entire family nearly pledged their eternal royalty to Hiroshi out of overwhelming gratitude, unbeknownst to him.
After this incident, the Japanese party informed the King and Layotte to improve the soil in the slums, in order to prevent a panic caused by the tainted soil. In the process, some of the areas that no longer housed anyone were turned into farnds, which were used by all sorts of people from the craftsmen of the workshop to the better citizens of the slums.
Volume 1, Extra 2
Volume 1, Extra 2
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Other hard day of work, done¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s cold when we¡¯re not moving around¡¡¹
Just a few days before the new year. The Azuma workshop interns, who had finished helping with the construction of the soil improvement project in the slums, ran back into the workshop, huddling their chilled bodies forfort. Mio, who has more of an apprentice than an interns (well more of an assistant, really) had been working on renovating a particr room in the workshop as part of her Carpentry training, ever since the improvement project had taken off.
¡¸Wee back. Bath¡¯s ready.¡¹
¡¸Thank you¡!¡¹
Thanking Tatsuya for his quick work, the group grabbed their changes of clothes before heading to the bathroom. After watching everyone move to the bath, Tatsuya looked to the big boss man who came home a littleter than his interns.
¡¸You done for the day, too?¡¹
¡¸Sun¡¯sin¡¯ down, and we¡¯re almost done with groundwork, anyhow. Ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ the foreman¡¯s gotta do for a while.¡¹
The soil improvement project itself was nearingpletion. Luckily, the soil was contaminated only to a depth of 5 centimeters. By gathering everyone who lived in the slums and/or worked on construction, they had removed the contaminated soil by the time the decrepitated buildings had been demolished.
The contaminated soil had been treated in a matter of a few days, too, thanks to the help of any mages from the castle with free time, any civilian who had the skills to contribute, and most of all to the cooperation of many of the priests from the Alfemina Temple. Now, they had returned the purified soil to where it came from, and had started preparing them for farming.
This was a huge project that would have easily taken over three months, but the plentiful manpower and tools, as well as someone like Hiroshi, who had Advanced Construction, handling the foreman, a month was all they needed. Maxing out the Construction Extra Skill, God¡¯s Way, would have allowed for the construction to finish in a week. In the game, a yer called Koji Michio had mastered the Construction Extra Skill. He would finish most any construction job in a week. He was just a freak you might see on the inte who liked to dig and pave roads 24/7.
¡¸Anyway, Hiro.¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸I get Mio and the interns, but does Haruna really have to do construction, too?¡¹
¡¸She¡¯s the one sayin¡¯ she wants to master sewin¡¯. Just thought she¡¯d be better off with at least Making Mastery.¡¹
¡¸Making Master?¡¹
In response to Tatsuya¡¯s quizzical look, Hiroshi exined the lesser known facts surrounding Crafting.
¡¸I see. I get it.¡¹
¡¸Makes sense, huh?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I was always wondering why you had Mio doing Construction quests in-game. Mystery solved.¡¹
¡¸I mean, even if you don¡¯t got it, it ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ a little perseverance can¡¯t ount for.¡¹
Of course, things like sess rates, cool-down times, and overall time consumption was something that perseverance could make up for. When all of those things were a factor, though, it was doubtful that anyone would want to simply persevere in lieu of efficiency.
¡¸And that¡¯d be cruel to ask Haruna of.¡¹
¡¸Ya think so too, brother?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. To be honest, even when I could gather most of the ingredients myself, I gave up on Compounding a third way through Intermediate.¡¹
¡¸Sewin¡¯s worse than Compoundin¡¯ and Metalworkin¡¯ ¡®cus other skillse into y.¡¹
Tatsuya could only agree wholeheartedly.
¡¸Speaking of sewing¡¡¹
¡¸Ya talkin¡¯ bout Spirit Silk? Can¡¯t do anythin¡¯ with it with the loom we got now. So they¡¯d been stackin¡¯ up in storage.¡¹
¡¸Ah-hah. I was wondering about that, too.¡¹
¡¸If I¡¯m gonna make Spirit Cloth, I gotta make a loom from at least one of the tree-form monsters higher than halfway up Spirit Spire, or from a metal like Orichalcum. Otherwise the thin¡¯ will break before I finish makin¡¯ a single sheet.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m surprised the spools are fine.¡¹
¡¸Spools, they just got the silk around ¡®em. Big difference from a loom that¡¯s gotta craft it into cloth. I mean, even the spool¡¯s would have broke if I didn¡¯t enhance ¡®em a bunch.¡¹
What was this thing, steel wires? Tatsuya couldn¡¯t get over the intimidating crafting requirements for a silk that was incredibly soft to the touch.
¡¸Expensive materials all take a lot of hassles, don¡¯t they?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s why they¡¯re good quality.¡¹
¡¸Hm¡¡¹
Tatsuya wholeheartedly understood that rationale.
¡¸Well, let¡¯s leave alone stuff we can¡¯t craft. We just got the call that Elle¡¯sing over. She¡¯s staying the night, so La-san¡¯s prepping the bedroom.¡¹
Hiroshi had a difficult expression to this sudden news. The sun was down, and it was already getting dark outside. Aearis¡¯ birthday wasing up in the new year, but she would only be eleven, then. It seemed a little toote for a child her age to go out.
La, by the way, was Fum¡¯s mother. A widow of age twenty five. She was a young single mother, trying her best to raise her seven year old daughter Fum and her five year old daughter Lime. It should go without saying that it wasn¡¯t rare for a woman in this world to bear a child in herte teens.
¡¸At this time, at this time of year? I¡¯m shocked they let her.¡¹
¡¸Apparently, she¡¯s getting a bit bummed out because she getting real busy as the Priestess Princess after her sudden change in environment. It¡¯s settled down enough for her to take off for three days or so, so they¡¯re the ones sending her over for a little R and R.¡¹
¡¸I see. It looks like the pce¡¯s crazy busy. I don¡¯t me her for wantin¡¯ a break.¡¹
Remember the situation Aearis was in, it was starting to make more sense. Especially now, the position of Priestess Princess had no back-up behind Aearis. Elena, who had the potential for the job, had been too weak from the aftereffect of the poison to withstand rituals. To boot, as the new Priestess Princess, Aearis had to do as many ceremonies and preaching as she could to garner experience. Who could me Aearis for feeling a little worn out, when she always had such a strong sense of responsibility?
¡¸Speakin¡¯ of, is Makoto-san back yet?¡¹
¡¸She called in a minute ago, too. She¡¯s having drinks with this girl, another adventurer she met on the job.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. Ain¡¯t my problem if the food ain¡¯t good wherever she¡¯s goin¡¯.¡¹
There was nothing he could object to to what a woman in her twenties was doing in her free time. With Makoto¡¯s strength, there was no need to worry that she would be in any danger from some punks or drunks, even after a few drinks. Besides, regardless of whether she was going to bring home this girl or not, she was obviously going toe back to the workshop for a dessert before she went to bed. They were sure that she would be home at least while someone in the workshop was still awake.
¡¸Don¡¯t you ever wanna go out for drinks, brother?¡¹
¡¸Not today. I¡¯m nning to go out one of these days while I¡¯m gathering rumors anyway.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. Makoto-san¡¯s bound to ask for somethin¡¯ before bed, anyhow. I¡¯lle up with somethin¡¯ for dinner that Elle¡¯ll enjoy.¡¹
Then, La and Lime came down the stairs.
¡¸The room is ready.¡¹
¡¸Thanks a bunch.¡¹
¡¸I helped!¡¹
¡¸No way! You¡¯re so good.¡¹
Tatsuya petted Lime¡¯s head, as she dered this with enthusiasm. Although Hiroshi was still on guard with La, he acted normal around Lime. He had no idea that the women in the workshop were gossiping as to the exnation. Was it because Lime was so young? Or was it because she was more of a hamster to him?
Of course, since he was slightly on guard toward Fum, who was almost as young as Lime, the hamster thing seemed to be the right answer. Aearis, though, might have qualified for the same hamster role, was a little too physically developed, which put some pressure on Hiroshi, much to Aearis¡¯ dismay.
¡¸When¡¯s that princessin¡¯, anyway?¡¹
Hiroshi said, looking out the window. Seeing that it waspletely dark outside, he was concerned about Aearis, whom he had been seeing pretty frequently even after leaving the pce. That being said, she had not visited the workshop since the incident, and she hadn¡¯t met the interns before.
¡¸Good evening.¡¹
Speaking of the devil, Aearis finally arrived. She had changed herself into Elle¡¯s appearance using the item from back when she was in hiding at the workshop. With it being sote in the day, she seemed to have used her own transportation spell rather than walking.
¡¸Hey ya. You¡¯re over prettyte.¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t finish my duties until a few moments ago¡¡¹
¡¸Then ya haven¡¯t taken a bath, have ya? The girls takin¡¯ one right now, why don¡¯t ya join ¡®em?¡¹
Seeing that Aearis was shaking a little, Hiroshi made the suggestion. After finishing rituals and cleansing outdoors, she must have flown over here before even taking heat. In contrast to her cheerful expression, there wasn¡¯t much color in her face.
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
With an easy agreement, she took out her bathing set from her luggage, and handed the rest over to La, who had extended her hand timidly, seeing that the visitor was obviously someone with high status. Aearis hurried over to the bath. After watching her with a chuckle, Hiroshi turned to La and Lime.
¡¸La-san. Could you take her stuff up to the room, if ya don¡¯t mind. Ya should take a bath too, Lime.¡¹
¡¸Okay!¡¹
¡¸Yes, sir.¡¹
With an energetic response, Lime charged for the bath without even taking a change of clothes. Like most people in Fane, Lime loved bathes. In the slums, she had only taken a bath in her fantasy, but at the workshop, she could take a warm bath and eat strange and delicious meals everyday. For La and Fum, too, the workshop was a paradise. So much so that they were nervous if they really deserved to stay here.
¡¸Since Elle¡¯s lookin¡¯ pretty chilly, I think some hot food¡¯s in order.¡¹
¡¸Yep. Something to get the little one¡¯s out of theirfort zones would be great.¡¹
¡¸Then the main course¡¯s gonna be stew, I think. Should we just do terrona?¡¹
¡¸Bulfch wouldn¡¯t be too bad, either.¡¹
While Hiroshi brought up the national meal of Fane, Tatsuya countered with another traditional dish. Bulfch was a dish where various toppings are stuff inside a dough made out of a sweet-potato-like starch that was harvested around this time of the year in the region. The dish was typical of Fane, as it relied on the vors of the ingredients and its length on the grill to deliver on vor. It wasn¡¯t too high in calories, but was nutritious and filling. Ideal, in a way.
Depending on the type of potatoes used the bulfch could maintain its high initial temperature for prolonged periods of time, securing it afortable spot as one of the absolute best winter warmer foods.
¡¸Bulfch¡¯s faine but it ain¡¯t gonna be feedin¡¯ all these hungry mouths all by itself.¡¹
¡¸How does terrona udon sound?¡¹
¡¸Ya might just be onto somethin¡¯. Lemme give it a shot.¡¹
Terrona made with soy sauce enriched fish fumet sounded like it should do the trick. Haruna, being a hardline food traditionalist, would have likely disapproved of dumping udon in just any old stew that¡¯s not miso, but Hiroshi believed that having their guests gradually get to know all the foreign tastes, instead of bombarding them with all at once, was more important than adhering to tradition for the sake of it.
It¡¯s not like he intended onmiting a sacrilegious act or anything of the sort either, udon, at the end of the day, was just folded flour, so it should, by all means, go well with consomm¨¦, which is what¡¯s used in most variations of terrona.
¡¸Time to get crackin¡¯ on that udon.¡¹
¡¸Is there anything I can help out with?¡¹
¡¸Ya could prepare the shulp¡¯s, we got plenty from our outin¡¯ two days ago, they strangled the little buggers right in front of our eyes they did.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
La, in ordance to Hiroshi¡¯s request, began delicately taking apart the shulps. Within its intestinesid dormant a particrly nasty kind of parasite, one that was highly heat resistant, so any notions of using them as offals were out of the question, they had to be removed. They could potentially be used for potions, amplification consumables and the like but the process was immensely tedious and as materials they were much too high rank to handle for anyone besides Mio, who was too high a rank to gain any meaningful experience from it.
That being said, disposing of perfectly good materials would have been aplete waste, so they decided on turning it into fertilizer, after having done away with the parasites first, of course. Considering their circumstances there was no such thing as too much fertilizer.
¡¸Are we having terrona?¡¹
¡¸Terrona udon and Bulfch ta be exact.¡¹
¡¸I see you¡¯re experimenting with your food, that¡¯s what I like to see!¡¹
Haruna, who had finished taking a bath and putting on an apron, was in high spirits. Due to her contributions to the terrona udon cause, the dish managed to be something much greater, something much more than just udon dumped in terrona ¨C it developed a unique identity of its own, although all Haruna did was really just that, but we don¡¯t talk about that here.
¡¸What¡¯s that over there?¡¹
Inquired Aearis upon getting dragged to the so called ¡®jolly get-together¡¯ room where, after abiding by the no shoe rule, she spotted a peculiar table like thing.
¡¸That¡¯s a kotatsu ¨C one of the ways we keep warm back home.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s a kotatsu?¡¹
¡¸Come on over and see for yourself.¡¹
Aearis, in ordance to Haruna¡¯s beckoning, sat down beside her, gently lifted up the nket and threw her legs underneath the table. Tatsuya followed right after, sitting down on the other side of the table.
¡¸¡It¡¯s warm down here.¡¹
¡¸Told you.¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t this close proximity be highly ufortable for Hiroshi?¡¹
¡¸He¡¯s got a separate one all for himself, all¡¯s good.¡¹
She said as she pointed towards theughably small kotatsu unassumingly sitting in the corner of the room.
¡¸That sounds¡ really sad.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s not much we can do about that, it¡¯s for his own good.¡¹
Aearis, unable to muster up a proper response with the unfortunate set of circumstances that led up to this still ingrained deep in her mind, made a strained grin. She had already learned by that point not to take every one of Hiroshi¡¯s incidents to heart, both for her and for his sake.
¡¸Where did everyone else go?¡¹
¡¸Teres and Nora are busy being taught by Hiro and Mio. Le¡¯s on dish duty while Fum and Lime are catching some z¡¯s right about now. A bit of studying would do those two good but can¡¯t be asking too much from a bunch of kids.¡¹
¡¸Makoto¡¯s out drinking, she should be back any time soon.¡¹
Aearis slowly nodded as she heard out what the rest of the group was up to at the moment. She found it a tad bit unfortunate how Fum and Lime, who she befriended during dinner, weren¡¯t around for the asion but she herself would hit the hay at around the same time when she was their age, so she kept that tiny discontent to herself.
Other than that she found it puzzling how Haruna had beenzing around instead of taking the lecture alongside Teres and Nora, so she went ahead and asked. Apparently she had already mastered all there was to learn from that particr day¡¯s lecture, so forcing her to attend either way would have been a waste of everyone¡¯s time. Haruna was by no means amongst the most distinguished crafters, in fact by all means she was still very much a rookie, but by this country¡¯s standards her capabilities were well above the median average.
¡¸This ¡®kotatsu¡¯ thing is reallyfy.¡¹
¡¸Try not to doze off by ident or you might catch a cold.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll try my best¡¡¹
Aearis, being too enraptured by the kotatsu, replied in a generic manner under the assumption that she was being warned about something while feeling the floor underneath her cushion.
¡¸Is this floor made of straw?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. This type of flooring is known as tatami back in our ce.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯d be nodding off on these in summertime.¡¹
¡¸That sounds wondrous.¡¹
Aearis got all starry eyed over the hypothetical situation.
¡¸Isn¡¯t it crazy how he managed to replicate everything down to the fine details, even the tatami?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s more crazy is how he managed to get his hands on soft rush straw.¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised if he just made one up on the spot with his alchemy.¡¹
Aearis and Haruna grinned in agreement. Considering Hiroshi¡¯s track record it wouldn¡¯t have been the tiniest bit surprising if he was to pull something of the sort.
Reality, however, proved to be much more mundane than what they had imagined. Alchemy didn¡¯t have to get involved since there were plenty of substitutes to go around due to the soil improvement process. Reality should be given a break every once in a while, if there were nothing but supernatural feats being pulled on a daily basis it would get repetitive, asionally procuring materials the good old fashioned way is in order.
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t mind having a tiny space like this in my room¡¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t that be quite the tall task considering it¡¯s Fane castle we¡¯re talking about?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think it¡¯d even match aesthetics wise to begin with.¡¹
The two dragged her right back to reality. Under normal circumstances this would have been devastating for a head in the clouds girl like her but she didn¡¯t have her hopes up from the very beginning, so it wasn¡¯t too much of a shocker.
¡¸How does modelling a new royal vi after this design sound?¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t your imperial treasury almost dried up?¡¹
¡¸It isn¡¯t actually, we¡¯ve managed to get a quick temporary influx of capital through hefty corruption fines and asset seizuresrge enough to fully support the castle¡¯s renovations and soil improvements and then some.¡¹
¡¸¡Shouldn¡¯t you be using those funds for like, I don¡¯t know, the people¡¯s sake?¡¹
Aearis pretended not to be listening by supposedly being too preupied with checking out whatid under the enigmatic kotatsu. As she¡¯s doing this a question popped into her mind.
¡¸Are you going to be able to keep afloat now that yourbor costs skyrocketed after you freshly hired a whole three working age adults?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ve got a stable source of ie, don¡¯t you worry about us.¡¹
¡¸Our disciples have managed to master the art of the curry powder recently, that¡¯s rolling in a fair amount of dough.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re positive?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m positive.¡¹
Most of Fane¡¯s core cuisine was either prepared by cooking or boiling, so curry powder was a smash hit with the people, as was evident by how it sold out in a jiffy. They had the means to mass produce it to some extent as well, making it rtively affordable for even some of the upper middle ss folk, which was one of the biggest factors that made it as popr as it was. They hadn¡¯t developed the technology far enough to mass produce it cheaply enough topete in the food stall market, however.
A vast majority of the takers were, unsurprisingly, chefs with, surprisingly enough, adventurers trailing in second. There was a reason behind this ¨C just by sprinkling some of it on any old food they happened to gather around the campsite they could make it much more palpable. For the same exact reason it was also popr with people whose job requires frequent, long-distance travel between cities where staying out in the wild was unavoidable.
Since the public works wereing to an end they decided to collectively participate in that for the moment, but for the most part rookies participated in the slum soil improvement efforts in three day rotations. One or two of them would be assigned to public works while the remainder gathered and worked with materials. They were already at the point where everyone could perfectly handle curry powder and unssified potions at about a fifty percent sess rate, but they were getting there slowly but surely.
¡¸From what I hear Lime¡¯s the most active one in curry powder making.¡¹
¡¸Her measuring abilities are off the charts, not to the extent of Hiroshi or Mio by any means but enough to where she can get insane amounts of work done with incredible efficiency.¡¹
¡¸While Teres and Nora are responsible for evenly mixing theponents.¡¹
Lime, overjoyed that she could be of some assistance to the group, distinguished herself with her sharp and quick memory. She had yet to mismeasure anything despite being given the amounts verbally. Under normal circumstances they¡¯d just use memos to provide the amounts but Lime¡¯s reading and writing abilities were not yet developed enough to do it the easy way.
¡¸Everything seems to be in order, doesn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸Almost worryingly so.¡¹
¡¸By the time we set off they should be able to handle unssified potion and various other, non-curry powder, spices just fine.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
Aearis felt an odd mixture of both joy and emptiness going through her upon seeing just how fulfilled everyone was with their work at Azuma¡¯s workshop.
¡¸Don¡¯t think about it too much, there are still a whole two months before we leave the town.¡¹
¡¸A mere two months.¡¹
¡¸Time flies like an arrow, eh?¡¹
Aearis found herself unable to fully contain the stifling emotions that only grew stronger as the day of parting ways grew closer and closer.
¡¸Eru, fancy seein¡¯ ya up thiste.¡¹
Hiroshi, who had just finished up with his lecture and was carrying a mandarin box in hand, let out a strainedugh upon catching whiff of Aearis¡¯ presence. Mio, who came in about thirty seconds after, sat down in front of Haruna without uttering a single word.
¡¸There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to tell you.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ve still got tomorrow, and the day after, what¡¯s the big hubbub?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not like we have all the time in the world here.¡¹
¡¸Fair ¡®enuff.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded in agreement as he took out a mandarin and flung it in the basket.
¡¸No kotatsu chill beplete without one a these.¡¹
¡¸Preach it.¡¹
Haruna enthusiastically agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s sentiment while urately sniping a mandarin within arm¡¯s reach. Fane was full to the brim with all kinds of citrus fruit varieties, including the sweet, hand sized, easily peble and perfectly edible skin variety found all throughout the year in Japan.
¡¸I couldn¡¯t agree more¡¡¹
Grumbled Mio as she worked her way through the peel of a mikan, which had seemingly magically appeared in her hand out of nowhere. Thest time she went through this particr blend of experiences was a few years back. Ever since they got here they¡¯ve been able to relive much of other, simrly distant, memories, which was an equal mix of joyous and mixed feelings all at the same time.
¡¸Why don¡¯t youe in here, with all of us?¡¹
Tatsuya teased Hiroshi who waddled over to the ¡®boyz only¡¯ teeny-tiny kotatsu sitting depressingly in the corner of the room with an equally as smallish basket housing a nominal amount of mandarins. All of these elements merged together masterfully to depict as dreary a sight as humanly imaginable.
¡¸Ya know perfectly well that ain¡¯t happenin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Caught red-handed.¡¹
Said Tatsuya as he picked up two mandarins and moved over to Hiroshi¡¯s kotatsu.
¡¸So, where are they?¡¹
¡¸They be doin¡¯ cleanup work, should be back any second now I wager.¡¹
In a real ¡®speak of the devil¡¯ moment the three¡¯s voices could be heard from around the entrance, all of which sounded confused at the sight of this irregrity of a room.
¡¸This here be a shoe free zone, take ¡¯em off and thene in.¡¹
¡¸O-okay.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Teres and Nora cautiously made their way into the room. La, on the other hand, waspletely calm and collected through and through.
¡¸Come on over to our kotatsu, it¡¯s a once in a lifetime opportunity.¡¹
¡¸Kotatsu? You mean this table over here?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
Briskly replied Haruna while pointing at some open spots. The three lifted up the nket and threw their legs under the table, just as how Haruna had been seated. They felt a tad bit queasy about sitting at the same table as Aearis but she wasn¡¯t bringing up social status nor was she criticizing their speech quirks, so they just went ahead and did it.
¡¸T-this thing is no good, I can feel it¡¡¹
Nora was the first to take notice of the kotatsu¡¯s perilous nature.
¡¸There¡¯s no escape once one enters this¡ thing, I know it.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s really warm down there, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
Nora and Teresid down their thoughts as their arms unconsciously reached for the mandarins.
¡¸Oh right, there¡¯s something we need to go over.¡¹
Proimed Haruna while peeling her mandarin. All eyes were on her.
¡¸How do you all feel about some New Year¡¯s Eve soba?¡¹
¡¸Now that ya mention it, it¡¯s around that time of year ain¡¯t it.¡¹
Hiroshi responded. He wasn¡¯t much for adhering to traditions just for the sake of it but in this case it would have added greatly to the hyper-Japanese mood they had going on at the moment.
¡¸New Year¡¯s soba, is it?¡¹
¡¸Back at our ce there¡¯s this custom of treating oneself to soba at the very end of the year.¡¹
¡¸Soba eaten on such asion is called New Year¡¯s Eve soba. From what I understand there¡¯s some deeper meaning behind it but I never bothered to look into it.¡¹
¡¸Judging from how most of these things are based on cheesy wordy, wouldn¡¯t it be something along the lines of ¡®May you start off the year sessfully separating the wheat from the chaff with this nice bowl of buckWHEAT noodles¡¯?¡¹
The friendly Japanese folk answered the Faner representative¡¯s ¨C Aearis question in as concise a manner as they could. A good deal of lucky charms from other cultures likely have something to do with wordy, but in the case of Japan there are a lot of them and the whole practice of punning meaning into existence bled through to cultural practices as well. That¡¯s probably simply because they¡¯re just a nation that¡¯s savvy on wordy.
¡¸If we gonna be goin¡¯ through with this we might as well go all out with a full menu of new year goodies.¡¹
¡¸Right, let¡¯s not forget those.¡¹
¡¸If Eru, Lay and Mark-o are gon¡¯ bein¡¯ o¡¯er why don¡¯t we just go ahead and do it?¡¹
All the remaining Japanese members nodded in unison. Sechi was mostly made up of easy to make knick knacks that were perfect for the season. There were a considerable number of them so making each individually would prove to be a lengthy process but that was taken out of consideration this time around.
¡¸Oh and for ya¡¯ll non-Japanese folk sechi¡¯s a traditional assembly of dishes eaten for the first three days after New Year¡¯s.¡¹
The Faner folk all quietly processed the information they were just about to ask for before Hiroshi beat them to the punch.
¡¸We have something just like that ¨C mosliem.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s a mosliem?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s made up of meat cubes and vegetables wrapped in a thinyer of dough served on a skewer.¡¹
¡¸Doesn¡¯t sound all that unique so is it the meat and vegetables used that make it what it is?¡¹
Aearis and La nod.
¡¸The meat used is yielded from ballooners ¨C a rare species of animal that only leaves behind a single offspring once a year. Once three or, in rare cases, four offspring are delivered its life runs its natural course but what sets it apart is how, much like how a candle burns brightest just before it goes out, that¡¯s when its meat is at its most tender. ¡¹
¡¸¡®Tis a miracle they ¡®aven¡¯t gotten extinct yet.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s exactly why we only eat it on new year¡¯s when it¡¯s on the brink of passing away.¡¹
La¡¯s exnation was enough to leave everyone convinced. Apparently the animal looked like the bastard child of a cow and a bird but not in a chimera-ish multiple heads kind of way. Leave it to a fantasy setting to give birth to something that¡¯d make taxonomists around the world collectively shake their heads in disbelief.
¡¸What about the veggies?¡¹
¡¸Not much to note on that end asides from the fact that fresh seasonal produce is used.¡¹
Haruna listened intently to La¡¯s exnation. Teres and Nora also did the same, believing that maybe one day they¡¯ll be able to actually put it to good use.
Mosliem was a curious case in that it was the state¡¯s obligation to provide it to the people on New Year¡¯s. In small, far away viges or towns with no governing lord the people breed them collectively. The expenses were covered by taxpayer money but, it being a long standing tradition, there was nobody to oppose the practice.
¡¸It¡¯s only on New Year¡¯s that slum dwellers like us get to enter the castle without anyone batting an eye.¡¹
¡¸Interestin¡¯¡¹
It being only about half a year since they ended up in Fane, naturally there were a heap of customs they weren¡¯t aware of and, more importantly, dishes they had yet to try out.
Hiroshi¡¯s and Haruna¡¯s thought pattern came into sync as both of their minds unconsciously steered towards the direction of food, more specifically how they might end up regretting not having the full Faner food experienceter down the line.
¡¸Is there any deeper meaning behind eating it on New Year¡¯s specifically since we¡¯re on the topic.¡¹
¡¸Partaking in meat that only gets more sulent with the passage of time is symbolic foring to terms with every single experience in one¡¯s life and growing wiser as an individual as a result of it.¡¹
¡¸Fascinatin¡¯¡¹
Different people, different customs as they say and Fane, boasting a robust history, was no exception to the rule.
¡¸How ¡¯bout this, what if we were to have soba on New Year¡¯s Eve and then mosliem the day right after?¡¹
¡¸That sounds lovely.¡¹
¡¸Puttin¡¯ together some soba in honor of your visit is the least we could do.¡¹
Aearis enthusiastically nodded in agreement, her heart gushing with glee. As a result of this exchange soba would end up bing the priestess princess new ritual new year¡¯s eve dish and eventually, propelled by increased essibility to soy sauce and japanese stock, a smash hit amongst the popce, but that¡¯s a story for another time.
¡¸What happened to your grandiose instant noodle manufacturing ns?¡¹
Asked everyone¡¯s favorite drunkardess, showing no visible signs of a hangover whatsoever.
¡¸They likely never gonna be seein¡¯ the light of day thanks to time constraints.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s a simple instant noodle line to someone like you?¡¹
¡¸Yer not wrong, I could get an instant noodle line runnin¡¯ in a jiffy if I wanted to. The demand would be insane but supply would, proportionally, be much lower, so the price on those things is gonna be off the charts.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯d be lucky if at least some of them fell into hands other than the royal family¡¯s with just one line.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, there¡¯s that as well.¡¹
Makoto agreed to Mio¡¯s assessment while recalling the reception they got after a few knights got to try some out that one time. Fane¡¯s, and in extension the rest of this world¡¯s, development of fast, on the spot foods was sluggish in rtion to earth. As such the knight¡¯s eating it like there was no tomorrow was hardly surprising.
Anti-spoiling made it so that food could remain indefinitely fresh, expand capacity lead to the space-per-unit of food being abnormal, both of which contributed to convenient, on the go kind of food being pushed to the wayside andrgely overlooked. In fact it was so primitive that the closest thing resembling it was smoked meat.
That same smoked meat wasn¡¯t born out of necessity for preserved foods but as a means tobat parasites. Back in the days when it was difficult to properly cook the meat through to the center without burning the surface in the process, many people chose to simply eat it raw and many suffered the consequences. To get rid of those little buggers out people started smoking their meat and the rest is history.
¡¸A line by itself is fine but without another expert in the manufacturin¡¯ process we won¡¯t have anyone ta bring any innovation to the market.¡¹
¡¸Innovation, huh.¡¹
Hiroshi brought up a practical issue. As far as the others were aware there were two different types of both cup and block noodles out in cirction. That should have been a good enough lineup to ride off of the wave of unfamiliarity and convenience for a little while but without any real innovation people might have very well started getting sick of it after a while. They¡¯d still consistently sell to a certain subset of individuals but the numbers would be significantly lower than that of earth.
¡¸Have you yourself been doing any innovation?¡¹
¡¸Aye, cup soba with udon and cup yakisoba respectively.¡¹
¡¸Bog standard if I¡¯ve ever seen it.¡¹
Aearis happened to overhear the two¡¯s conversation while enjoying soup from her cup. She was sold at the mention of ¡®yakisoba¡¯. That was enough for her to get all inquisitive.
¡¸Did I hear cup yakisoba?¡¹
¡¸Oh boy.¡¹
Tatsuya released a sigh at the ever so predictable Aearis whose soba obsession had evolved to epass all its peripherals, such as yakisoba, as well.
¡¸Yakisoba¡¯s that dish where meat, veggies and soba are stir-fried into one cohesive unit and are typically vored with okonomiyaki sauce?¡¹
¡¸Exacta mundo.¡¹
¡¸How do you make that instant noodle friendly?¡¹
Teres also looked on in anticipation for an answer.
¡¸It¡¯d be faster if I showed ya but it¡¯d be a bit too heavy for breakfast.¡¹
¡¸A shame¡¡¹
¡¸What is? We can just ¡®ave it for lunch.¡¹
¡¸Really!?¡¹
¡¸It ain¡¯t no biggie, so long as ye fine with instant noodles for lunch that is.¡¹
Aearis bursted into smile upon hearing those fated words. She had begun showing snippets of her adult side as ofte but deep down she was still a child at heart.
¡¸I¡¯m d you¡¯re having a jolly good time but how about we go over our New Year¡¯s Eve ns?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re nning on opening onerge scale food stall. The stall¡¯s good to go and we¡¯ve already sent in the papers.¡¹
Haruna answered Makoto¡¯s question. Up until now Haruna¡¯s been a one man show, so the amount of food she could reasonably prepare at a stall was limited, but with Nora¡¯s and Fum¡¯sbined assistance she and Hiroshi though that there was room to get a bit more ambitious this time around.
¡¸What¡¯re you going to be offering?¡¹
¡¸Curry buns and fried food, goes without saying, then there¡¯s also oden and takoyaki, possibly considering incorporating okonomiyaki in there as well.¡¹
¡¸How ambitious of you¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll also have Makoto and Mio helping me out, no need to worry.¡¹
The two knit their brows together at the abrupt news.
¡¸Haruna, may I?¡¹
¡¸Go ahead.¡¹
¡¸Do I and Teres get anything to do?¡¹
¡¸I guess you could be in charge of the okonomiyaki? Takoyaki¡¯s already taken by Mio, frying¡¯s a bit too advanced for both of you while okonomiyaki is pretty simple with a bit of practice.¡¹
Haruna decided the roles on the spot. This time around they were nning on having the okonomiyaki cooked on a t skewer so that it could be eaten without the use of chopsticks. Yakisoba wasn¡¯t in consideration because the only ones who could use chopsticks were a small portion of the royal family and the workshop members.
¡¸If we happen to have some breathing room I¡¯d also like to add manju in there, could that be arranged?¡¹
¡¸Shouldn¡¯t be a problem, all the measurements and mixin¡¯ can just be done by Lime, she¡¯s a monster that one.¡¹
¡¸Splendid. Now, Tatsuya and Makoto, could I ask you to take care of those?¡¹
¡¸Putting me in charge of steaming? You must have a death wish.¡¹
¡¸Ye will get by just fine with the tools at ye disposal, I¡¯m sure of it.¡¹
The dark cloud lingering above Aearis head grew progressively darker as the group¡¯s hardy chit-chat session went on.
¡¸Boss man, Eru¡¯s looking kind of down.¡¹
¡¸Eru, is something the matter?¡¹
¡¸No it¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s a shame that I won¡¯t be able to stick around for long at all while you¡¯ll all be having the time of your lives¡¡¹
They felt a slight grin pass over their faces as Aearis¡¯ metaphysical dark cloud began releasing metaphysical drops of rain.
¡¸Well your case is special.¡¹
¡¸I know, but still¡¡¹
Aearis was mature for her age but a child nheless, being out of the loop while everyone else is out there having a st, doing whatever it is they¡¯re doing, is a huge blow.
Everyone aside from Lime had slowly started to catch on to the fact that Aearis was either a really high ranking noble or part of the royal family. However they intended to keep this information to themselves until she feltfortable enough to fess up herself and wouldn¡¯t even dare to think about leaking her frequent visits to the workshop to the outside. This decision was made purely out of loyalty¡ and possibly a dash of self-interest.
¡¸Won¡¯t this all blow over soon enough?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸Then why don¡¯t we just meet up then? Now that I think about it, it would be the perfect opportunity to do some sightseeing at Wulls.¡¹
Teres and Nora let out a faint sigh over Haruna¡¯s incredibly Japanese-like suggestion. The rest of the crew were simrly appalled.
¡¸You¡¯re missing the point, capitals weren¡¯t built with tourists in mind¡¹
¡¸How could they be built with tourists in mind when there really aren¡¯t any to begin with?¡¹
¡¸If there aren¡¯t any tourists then howe I was roaming around the city to see the sights?¡¹
¡¸Doesn¡¯t that defeat your point?¡¹
¡¸No it doesn¡¯t.¡¹
Nora Mora would not yield ¡¯til her foes got crushed underneath her razor sharp wit.
¡¸Actually Fane¡¯s quite a popr tourist spot¡¡¹
¡¸Is it really?¡¹
¡¸Yes, yes it is. Fane¡¯s public transport system is developed enough to where Wulls¡¯ middle ss could reasonably afford to travel to Kalsus or Merije or any surrounding town without being too fiscally irresponsible.¡¹
Everyone listened in silent admiration as Aearis regurgitated the knowledge she had been imparted in one of her kingcraft sses.
¡¸If only your tight schedules would allow for such spontaneous trips¡¡¹
¡¸Well we don¡¯t have that much time left but it should be just enough to allow for that much, at least once that is.¡¹
¡¸Splendid!¡¹
Haruna soothed Aearis. At least for the time being she managed to sessfully take her mind off of the whole New Year¡¯s Eve celebration business.
What they decided on having wasn¡¯t one of those cheapo t-topped, round containers with some obsoletepany¡¯s name pped across for good measure but an elusive mega pack variety only found in Osaka¡¯s convenience stores that were just as trashy. This naturally led to¡
¡¸ow! Eh?¡¹
Aearis, like many other poor souls before her, watched on as the container¡¯s contents sttered all over the ce right in front of her eyes. A heart-rending moment to be sure.
On an unrted note¡
¡¸I¡¯m outta ingredients.¡¹
¡¸The curry bun¡¯s and takoyaki have all gone.¡¹
¡¸No more okonomiyaki dough here.¡¹
¡¸Thest oden egg and kombu just traded hands.¡¹
¡¸Only one fried item to go.¡¹
¡¸Manju sold out.¡¹
The workshop¡¯s food reserves never stood a chance against the New Year¡¯s customer traffic, beingpletely emptied out before the end of the day. Since their work ended earlier than expected they went out to enjoy the festival and once they got back¡
¡¸You¡¯re early.¡¹
¡¸Wee back.¡¹
They saw Aearis and Layotte in kimonos snuggledfortably inside the kotatsu eating New Year¡¯s soba, but that¡¯s another story for another time.
Volume 1, Extra 3
Volume 1, Extra 3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Take THAT!¡¹
Apanied by Hiroshi¡¯s battle cry, the heavy mace made a splendid sound as he swung it at the boar-shaped monster, flinging it spinning into the air. Then, once its weak spot, the abdomen, was exposed, one arrow pierced through all the way to its heart from point-nk.
¡¸Hiroshi, send one this way, would you!¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, over here too!¡¹
¡¸I got y¡¯all!¡¹
Answering both Makoto and Haruna, he first sent a boar flying over to Makoto using Smash, and once the skill dy had ended, he immediatelyunched another one over to Haruna.
¡¸Sensei, above!¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I¡¯m one step ahead of ya!¡¹
He found the Gigantic Crow that had quickly flown down at him a moment earlier than Mio had spoke, countering its rapid descent with Smite and felling the beast.
¡¸Wind Cutter!¡¹
Right before it fell to the ground, Tatsuya lopped off its head with Novice Wind Magic,nding the final blow. Then, in response to the carnivorous bear that had appeared from afar seeking out the source of the blood scent,
¡¸Over heeere!!¡¹
Hiroshi built up pressure with Outface and concentrated aggro onto himself. Momentarily faltering, the bear leaped at Hiroshi out of fear to try and knock him down, but the next instant it was blown away in a shy manner.
¡¸What now?¡¹
¡¸S¡¯long as we got that proof of subjugatin¡¯ the monsters, I could care less.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
They finished that little exchange before the bear could regain itsposure, and Tatsuya promptly turned it into a popsicle with a nonverbal spell.
¡¸Good job.¡¹
¡¸Man, we really git a lotta those suckers out here.¡¹
Hiroshi muttered in an exasperated tone as he kept his vignt battle stance, looking around at all the monsters they had taken out. The monsters they had finished off numbered over twenty. Although this did not even reach 30% of what Makoto and her group had gone through when they had gone to get the solmizen, they couldn¡¯t simply ignore such a mob, especially when it was in the midst of winter near human viges where snow was gathering.
¡¸I couldn¡¯t believe my ears when you artisans said that you would round up all these monsters and annihte them, but¡¡¹
¡¸You really are something, all of you¡¡¹
¡¸So cool, Boss Man!¡¹
The craftspeople who had been taking refuge in the safe areas around the battlefield began to all marvel about this fight. On this particr asion, the five of them hade here for a quest in the farnd outskirts of Wulls, hoping to also train in coordination. Nora and the other two figured this would also be a good opportunity to tag along for materials. Of course, this was with the permission of thendlord.
With that being said, using the term ¡°outskirts¡± was a bit misleading. Leite Vige was positioned in an odd location, the road to the vige taking about two hours by foot to walk to from the eastern gate and then another half day from said road. The information for this particr quest was simple: drive out the unusuallyrge amount of monsters that had gathered in the vicinity. With the mission being as simple as it was, several other adventurer groups besides Hiroshi¡¯s hade and were hunting in other areas assigned to them. It was a little vague as to just how many they had to hunt, but Hiroshi was fairly sure that there was no need to take down 100 or 200 in just one area. In fact, hunting too many of them would eventually be an issue in and of itself.
¡¸This is all normal stuff fer us. Heck, even if I ain¡¯t here, Makoto and Brother could easily end it all without taking up much time as well, right?¡¹
¡¸Pretty much.¡¹
¡¸But if we¡¯re talking which way is easier on us, this way is far easier, Hiroshi.¡¹
The two of them said exactly what they were thinking, agreeing with Hiroshi while still maintaining their battle stances.
One might be tempted to think at a nce that five people fighting would be better than only having two people fighting such enemies. However, other than maybe amateur group fights, monsters were a whole different ball game.
First off, it was already presumed that each member of the party was able to at least take down one monster in a one-on-one battle, and they also had to have a firm grasp on their equal role as a party member. It would be even better if they could fulfill their part while keeping in coordination with what the other members were doing, and it certainly wouldn¡¯t hurt for some people to share expertise in the same fields as each other.
In that sense, the Japanese team was the closest to the idealposition. In their case, it was also true that they would have liked another person who was skilled at support magic, but of course that was too much to ask for. After all, they still had the unrivaled, reliable tank known as Hiroshi, and Tatsuya wasn¡¯t the only one who could hold the forefront. They were truly blessed to have such options.
Although they couldn¡¯t be as stoic as Hiroshi or Douga with their usage, Makoto and Mio also had top-notch guarding ability. Also, since Haruna didn¡¯t have a single problem with going up against one or two monsters at a time, she could follow up whenever things got rough. Again, they were truly blessed.
¡¸But ever since you learned Outface, things have gotten quite secure, haven¡¯t they?¡¹
¡¸When you didn¡¯t have that ability, you couldn¡¯t even tell that the asional enemy was in your blind spot. That¡¯s a great way to lose.¡¹
¡¸Aww c¡¯mon, ya can¡¯t just expect all that from a simple craftsman.¡¹
¡¸No, I¡¯m pretty sure that a ¡°simple craftsman¡± wouldn¡¯t try and stand in the front lines without using Outface.¡¹
Hiroshi was already troubled with Tatsuya and Mio¡¯sments when Makoto also interjected with an exasperated face.
¡¸Well, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any moreing out, so let¡¯s just gather whatever we can.¡¹
Haruna had been listening to their conversation with a wry smile, surveying their surroundings before making the proposition. The reason Haruna hadn¡¯t said much of her own opinion was because she was well aware from prior experience that their own perceptions of the outside world were inevitably skewed from regr people and their perceptions. Though it was already toote, surely there was no need to continue to offer her own opinion and be treated even more like an oddball by the other craftsmen. Or at least, that was what she thought, concerned for once about her public image. She didn¡¯t intend to tell anyone, though.
¡¸Yup. Oh, but we got a lotta raw materials fer once.¡¹
¡¸Could we possibly use them for practice?¡¹
¡¸Other than the animal hide, I¡¯m purty sure that Haruna could barely even do it, let alone anyone else. We gotta git our hands on materials that¡¯re at least not too hard to make into a Level 7 potion, otherwise everythin¡¯ we use fer potions is gonna be too difficult.¡¹
Everyone nodded in acknowledgement at what Hiroshi had said, cutting off just the parts that proved their subjugation of the monsters. This would at least make them some money, so they collected whatever they could, but it was unclear as to what they could even manufacture using these items.
¡¸So how many medicinal herbs were you able to gather?¡¹
¡¸For now I was able to somehow gather a basket¡¯s worth.¡¹
¡¸What amazing work you¡¯ve done, Fum.¡¹
¡¸You worked pretty hard yourself, Teres!¡¹
From their point of view, the harvest itself was marvelous. The reason why Nora was more fatigued than Teres or Fum was probably a mere difference in ability. Compared to Teres, who was formerly a denizen of the forest, and Fum, who had often searched through weeds to harvest edible food, Nora had made it here through a more odd-job approach, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.
¡¸In that case, how about we go back and report, but in the afternoon instead?¡¹
¡¸Yup. We might ¡®ave a lotta heat regtion enchantments cast, but there¡¯s no tellin¡¯ just how cold it can git.¡¹
¡¸True, it would suck to have snow fall on us.¡¹
Hiroshi and the others agreed with Tatsuya. Even if this area was close to Wulls, the surroundings had umted with snow piled on snow. Even the snow that had fallen three days ago still remained here and there, the fact that it was two or three degrees colder than the roadside was already a telltale sign.
¡¸Haruna, what did you prepare for the afternoon?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s some good-quality gyano and I made it into a saple, actually.¡¹
¡¸Oh, that sounds tasty!¡¹
Makoto made a truly happy-looking face in response to Haruna¡¯s answer. It was arge-scale fish with the eyes of an amberjack and the taste of a salmon, and saple was food wrapped in big tree leaves and roasted. Not limited to gyano, saple could also be made using various meats or fish, which was soul food good enough to rival the other representatives of Fane like Terrona and Burfshu. The leaves used differed depending on the season or region, characteristic of their own unique vors, and the typical way to eat the things sold from street stands was to bite into it while peeling away the leaves. Furthermore, these three types of meals could also be arranged elegantly in official courses.
¡¸The temperature isn¡¯t too cold at the moment, so we should get a move on now.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Mio, much like Makoto, was also in a pleasant mood, implicitly urging everyone to return so that they could eat. Everyone else gave them lukewarm smiles, but had no qualms with that, proceeding to head back. As to the astonished faces of the other adventurers who saw them bring back an unprecedented amount of monster parts as evidence for everything they hunted in the afternoon, that is another story.
¡¸Starting next week, I¡¯ll escort you to Kalsus, just so that you know.¡¹
When Elena and Aearis hade over to hang out, Haruna let them know the ns. Hiroshi, Tatsuya, and Makoto were out on errands, while Mio was overseeing the workshop, so Haruna would be the one taking care of them. At times like these, La would never show her face outside of when she brought tea in, and Lime had just begun her afternoon nap, so it would be a while longer before she would wake up.
The number of people who could enter and exit Azuma Workshop was limited, and there was also the fact that it boasted much better defenses than an amateur fortress, so if you were to enter directly via a transportation stone or with transportation magic, depending on the situation, it was quite a bit safer than even a castle. As a result, they had made sure that most people did not know about princes and princessesing here unguarded. In the first ce, just thinking back on the time they had sheltered Elena and Aearis, they had already been through a lot with them. Why bother having second thoughts now?
There was of course the typical opinion that the royal family should not connect so deeply with a mere manufacturer, but in the first ce, there were just too many things that could not be harvested without Azuma Workshop. Many of said items were included in national policy, and until they were easier to gather, it was impossible to weaken their rtionship with Azuma Workshop. These unique circumstances had put them into a strange, delicate position where the workshop would not be affiliated with any power struggles. Of course, those involved in this entire affair didn¡¯t have the slightest intention of doing anything nefarious by deepening said rtionship.
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s already that time, is it?¡¹
¡¸Well, there¡¯s also the fact that certain areas in the center have already begun to lose the snow.¡¹
As they were remarking on such things, the two royals dove further into the warm kotatsu. Although it was true that winter was about to end, it didn¡¯t change the fact that it was still cold.
¡¸Yeah. Everyone in the workshop can finally begin to do some decent work, and this seems like a good opportunity to practice, or so I¡¯m thinking.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s definition of practice in this case had two purposes. One purpose went without saying¨Cpractice with workshop procedures in the event that Hiroshi was absent¨Cand the other purpose was to move Hiroshi and the others as far away as possible.
Incidentally, both Wulls and Kalsus were port cities, but needless to say, it wasn¡¯t like their logistical rtionship consisted only of maritime trade. There were already several viges and towns along the way, and there were of course plenty of items that were not suited for long trips at sea. Besides, even for the fishing viges along the coast, it wasn¡¯t like ships would always stop at their ports. Transportation gates, as convenient as they were, were never used anywhere other than in the capital of every country or in the public transportation system of big cities. The transportation circles in the main cities were also limited to small sizes, and of course the only ones who could use those were royalty, nobility, or those with permission from the royal family.
Therefore, the major job of protecting caravans would not be going away so easily, at least not until and transportation system with the convenience and speed of a railway that could resist monsters were to be invented.
¡¸Well, thankfully, we can procure however many transportation stones we need, so even after leaving Fane, I¡¯m pretty sure that Hiroshi-kun ns to return quite frequently.¡¹
Even though they had done the best they could here, it had only amounted to them finally being able to measure and mix without failing. Curry powder, they hardly had any issue making, but in regards to soy sauce, which required unssified potions and ripeness, it was a bitcking in stability. As a result, it was necessary for Hiroshi or Mio to return a minimum of once or twice every month in order to issue orders.
No one could after all be expected to be so proficient in just three months or so. In actuality, they had begun teaching them how to make ss bottles in three months and they had managed to reach a somewhat unstable level of unssified potion making, which was already exceptional.
In addition, digressing a bit, being able to use transportation stones like they grew on trees was in a sense the dream of every adventurer. A transportation stone was a miraculous item that could transport the user instantly to any location that the user had either traveled to and recorded once or was familiar enough with said area to the point where they could envision it. Each stone could transport five to six people at once, plus there were no drawbacks. With that being said, transportation stones were convenient, but also throwaway items, so it wouldn¡¯t take many days before all the magic would ebb away and their usefulness would end. Given this caveat of magic gradually dissipating, transportation stones were in general build-to-order manufacturing, the price a whopping 10,000 Chrones.
¡±If transportation stones are pricey, then why not use long-distance transportation magic?¡±, some might ask, but that task in itself would severely deplete energy, making it harsher in terms of travel limitations than even transportation stones. Once you used it, it would take a minimum of 24 hours to recuperate, and more than anything, traveling in groups had a 1/1,000 chance of causing a transportation ident. It was a dangerous type of magic. To add further to this, unless you were to use outside measurements like Barold or gather over ten people for the ritual, the amount of people you could transport at one time and the amount of material resources you could carry in were no different from that of a transportation stone. Well, the vast majority of idents were merely being sent to a different point than the intended destination, as well as the fact that Layotte or Aearis could ignore all the restrictions (minus the number of humans) by using their special Alfemina magic.
It must also be noted that even if you could theoretically bring along as many as you wanted, there was still a limit to it, and you would certainly struggle withing and going every day with these stones. In the first ce, unlike during the game, the transportation stones over here could only get you so far before their effects wore off, so it wasn¡¯t even certain whether or not they could get to their first destination, which was in the center of the Great Forest of the South, and move again from there. Darl, the next destination, would almost certainly require two stones, even for the outskirts of the country borders, and three for the capital itself.
¡¸Come to think of it, you mentioned something about making a way to move to other ces without using transportation stones or transportation magic. How¡¯s thating along?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s in the middle of being tested. Apparently it¡¯s best to be able to freely activate it in an area with few people in order to check for any issues.¡¹
¡¸I see. Then what did you end up making?¡¹
¡¸Does the term ¡°golem carriage¡± ring a bell?¡¹
The two of them understood what Haruna was saying. Although it wasparatively more rare in Fane, it wasn¡¯t like they never saw such things. In the case of Fane, the main mode of magic-assisted transportation was by ship, so the golem carriages used fornd transportation had not been developed much. The best ce to sight golem carriages was probably Lorren, as its ind transportation had revolved around them.
¡¸So is said carriage the type that the golem itself pulls? Or is the carriage itself mounted on the golem?¡¹
¡¸The carriage would be on the golem. Hiroshi-kun is going to work on it all night and make one that about seven people can sit in.¡¹
¡¸Wow, that¡¯s quite the scale we¡¯re talking about there.¡¹
¡¸The only remaining procedures are the washing and repairing. He fully intends to have the two of you riding aboard with him.¡¹
¡¸Then I can look forward to that.¡¹
¡¸That sounds fun.¡¹
The two girls seemed to be happy for some reason. But they¡¯ll probably be shocked when they see it, thought Haruna to herself irresponsibly.
Some sagacious people might have already realized that what Hiroshi had made was a so-called ¡°one box¡± car. Needless to say, flooring the gas pedal would allow you to easily surpass 100 km/h, boasting not even just the highest specs in all of Fane, but of the entire world, except for maybe monsters. As Hiroshi had invested all he could on the suspension aspect, riding in this carriage would easily surpass not only the current carriage system, but likely any vehicle in the world.
Now, only judging by the speed potential of this vehicle, one would assume that if any mistakes were made and you crashed into something, then the damage done would be proportionately different from that of a regr carriage. As a countermeasure, Hiroshi was making sure not only to consider idents but was also thoroughly washing it again to make sure that there were no issues with the hardware. That happened to be the reason why he decided to go outside and run around a side road where there were few people.
That being said, the thing that Haruna assumed they would be ¡°shocked¡± to see was not the speed nor the specs of the vehicle. The real issue had nothing to do with the speed, design, orfort level. For some reason, thinking of when the vehicle would not be in use, Hiroshi had thought up a detailed gimmick.
¡¸Oh yeah, I heard that you all rampaged around the farming area.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we did take up a request of that sort.¡¹
¡¸And is it true that you brought down over twenty monsters in the morning?¡¹
¡¸Sure is. They came out in droves. Hiroshi-kun gathered them all in one ce, though, so it wasn¡¯t all that hard.¡¹
Elena and Aearis looked at each other after Haruna added thatst part. Sure, he came out when he had to, but Hiroshi was in general a coward, so it felt very strange to hear about him aggressively calling attention to himself.
¡¸¡¡I¡¯m amazed that Hiroshi did something as bold as that.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sure Hiroshi-kun felt the same way. Although I think the reason was that the process onlysted about five minutes and he wouldn¡¯t get hurt from being hit by monsters of that level.¡¹
Even when Haruna pointed that out, neither of them really felt satisfied with that exnation. In truth, monsters that came close to where people were living were absolutely powerless before Hiroshi¡¯s defense. For monsters that lurked near ntations, your average Level Seven adventurer could certainly win in numbers, but not necessarily without some wounds, whereas Hiroshi could stand out there by himself naked and still not be affected. Sure, it would hurt to get hit, but it was way more painful to stub his toe against the corner of a dresser, so it might not be so strange for him to nonchntly stand before enemies like that.
However, they still felt off about this whole thing¡ªprobably because neither of them really saw Hiroshi as a battlebatant.
¡¸¡¡Yeah, I still don¡¯t really feel it.¡¹
¡¸When ites to Hiroshi-sama, I don¡¯t see him as someone who tenses up for battle. I think he truly shines when his eyes glint at precious materials or when he earnestly challenges new and difficult things.¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t agree with you, Elle-chan.¡¹
All three girls agreed that Hiroshi wasn¡¯t cut out to be the protagonist of an adventure story. The pathetic thing about all of this was that not only did Layotte and the other males agree on this, Hiroshi himself agreed.
¡¸But everyone including Hiroshi-kun has agreed that we¡¯d best practice coordination for all the battles that we¡¯ll probably be fighting in the future.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s unfortunately how it has to be.¡¹
¡¸Thankfully, we managed to save Fane from the clutches of Barold through the skin of our teeth, but as to whether or not it¡¯ll go as well for other countries¡¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the issue, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
Haruna sighed in response to Aearis¡¯s statement. From what she knew about returning to their world, there was no avoiding the dangers that woulde. Although they didn¡¯t intend to go out of their way to cause trouble, in 8 or 9 cases out of ten they would still probably end up getting caught up in something.
¡¸There are plenty of things that we need to do or that we should do, but it¡¯s a bit difficult when we have to figure out where to even start.¡¹
¡¸But when you get to that point, you could simply choose between things that wouldn¡¯t take too long versus things that would take a lot of time.¡¹
¡¸It would be best to get into the habit of deciding on something from the get-go, otherwise you¡¯ll always end up dragging things out with indecision.¡¹
¡¸Mm, true enough.¡¹
Haruna agreed with their opinions, although one of their phrases caused her to realize something else.
¡¸You know, when Aearis mentioned getting into the habit of something, that kind of reminds me of diets.¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, whenever there were long banquets or parties, my older sisters Rena and Maria would always go on about ¡°My weight!¡± or ¡°My corset!¡±.¡¹
Aearis recalled a nostalgic story when she heard what Haruna had said. Apparently, the concept of a diet was not unknown in Fane.
¡¸In enough time, Aearis as well shall be one of them¡or not. She is the priestess princess after all.¡¹
¡¸What, do priestess princesses not get fat?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s because they don¡¯t generally eat extravagantly, as well as the fact that purifying the earth requires a great deal of energy.¡¹
As a potential result, priestess princesses throughout the years had all had slender bodies, apart from their chest and rear.
¡¸We all initially praised Katrina from that perspective. After all, it was her continuous hard work that allowed her to maintain her physique and good looks.¡¹
¡¸Ahh, I never actually got to speak with her properly, but she did seem to be like that.¡¹
¡¸So what about you, Haruna? You seem to be awfully fixated on food.¡¹
¡¸Hmm¡Well, my family doesn¡¯t really get fat.¡¹
¡¸Seriously?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Especially when ites to karaoke¡ªthat¡¯s what they call it in my country where individuals or small groups go to specific ces suited for singing¡ªwhen my three other family members and I go there, everyone other than my father usually loses about 2 kilograms.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Just how much energy are you using when you sing¡¡?¡¹
With that being said, Haruna saw singing as more of a hobby than anything worth getting serious about, so she generally never expended much energy unless her family took her out, in which case her mother Yukina and younger sister Miyuki would sing with all their might and everyone singing would burn more calories than jogging.
¡¸Plus I¡¯ve had many opportunities to exercise my stamina sinceing here, so I¡¯d argue that I weigh less than usual.¡¹
¡¸Then you¡¯re essentially the enemy of all women who do their best to keep beautiful and in shape.¡¹
¡¸Makoto-san said the same sort of thing to me, but what exactly am I supposed to do about it?¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t help but grimace at what Elena had said. She was about to add more in order to argue back when Mio came into the room.
¡¸Haru, it¡¯s about time to prepare dinner.¡¹
¡¸Oh, that¡¯s right.¡¹
Haruna remembered when Mio said that, and got out from the kotatsu.
¡¸Incidentally, what¡¯s today¡¯s meal?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been absorbed so much in Fane cuisine as ofte, so I wanted to change things up today and make some cuisine from my country, called fried oyster. Plus the changing of the seasons is near anyway.¡¹
¡¸I want to cook in the future, so might I lend a hand?¡¹
¡¸Alright. I¡¯ll teach you lots and lots.¡¹
Readily consenting to Aearis¡¯s request, Haruna taught various things to her. Aearis, who had taken whatever opportunity she could get during her stay under their protection, also happened to have no problem with cooking easy meals. As the others watched her unexpectedly good performance,
¡¸Seriously? No matter what I do, I can¡¯t even stand a chance against a princess who barely turned 11¡¡¹
In secret, Teres was quite depressed, since she was not, in fact, good at cooking.
¡¸Are you all Makoto¡¯s friends?¡¹
¡¸Yes, we are, but who are you?¡¹
¡¸I guess you could say that I¡¯m¡Makoto¡¯s drinking buddy?¡¹
It was the day of Tatsuya¡¯s assignment. When he had shown up at the meeting ce, he was approached by a female adventurer of whom he was not familiar with. She had long, chestnut-colored hair, which was unusual for a female adventurer.
¡¸My name¡¯s Irva. I¡¯m the leader of the team called ¡°Bloody Rose¡±, and my rank is Level 5. I should also add that my entire team is female. This time, we¡¯ll be escorting the caravans to Kalsus alongside you and your folks.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m Katsuki Tatsuya. I guess you¡¯d call me the main negotiator from Azuma Workshop. My rank is now at Level 8. This time around, I¡¯vee along with everyone other than trainees.¡¹
Tatsuya had decided to introduce his team name as Azuma Workshop and introduce himself. Until he had heard Irva¡¯s introduction, he had not actually realized that his team had not yet decided on a name. As Tatsuya had been registered by the Adventurers¡¯ Association as being a specialist from Azuma Workshop, his introduction wasn¡¯t far off at all.
¡¸I bet it¡¯ll be a very memorable experience to be able to work together with someone from the famous Azuma Workshop.¡¹
A well-built, handsome man had apparently been listening in on their conversation, joining in.
¡¸Famous? And who are you anyway?¡¹
¡¸Oh, my bad. The name¡¯s Haan. Haan Sandrom. My rank is Level 6 and I¡¯m a member of the¡ºDeep Green Fangs¡». Just like both of you, we¡¯ll be participating in the escort of caravans to Kalsus. We do happen to have another leader, but they¡¯re not exactly good at introductions and the like.¡¹
¡¸Our workshop¡¯s leader is actually the same way, so don¡¯t even worry about it.¡¹
¡¸Oh, well that¡¯s a relief.¡¹
Haan truly looked happy at Tatsuya¡¯s reply. That truly showed how considerate of a person he was.
¡¸So, what do you mean by famous??¡¹
¡¸Well, they make a lot of interesting things, right?¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t deny that. Although I¡¯m not the one making them.¡¹
As Tatsuya was getting to know the other teams more closely,
¡¸Brother, we¡¯re headin¡¯ out purty soon.¡¹
And like a moth flying into the me, Hiroshi called out.
¡¸Is it already that time? Oh yeah, while I¡¯m at it, let me introduce you. Hiro, the lightweight warrior over here is the leader of the team¡ºBloody Rose¡», Irva, and the handsome fellow over here is the negotiator of the¡ºDeep Green Fangs¡», Haan. And you two, this is the leader of our workshop, Hiroshi Azuma.¡¹
¡¸Haan Sandrom. Nice to meet you.¡¹
¡¸Irva Mille. Makoto has always helped us tremendously.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m Hiroshi Azuma. I never did done nothin¡¯ adventure-rted, but I¡¯ll do my best to not slow ya down.¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but grimace at how many unnecessary things Hiroshi was saying about himself. Besides, even though he was just carrying it around, Tatsuya doubted that the two of them were so ignorant to not realize that Hiroshi was carrying around a heavy mace with a metallic handle. They wouldn¡¯t consider that sort of person to be ¡°slowing them down¡±.
¡¸Haan Sandrom, was it? Heh.¡¹
¡¸Something the matter?¡¹
¡¸Nah. I was just thinkin¡¯ that if ya had a nickname or alias it¡¯d be¡ºHandsome¡».¡¹
Tatsuya and Irva burst intoughter at the dumb joke. Apparently the word ¡°handsome¡± was understood over here too. Haan had probably heard this a million times before, simply grimacing. In that sense, he seemed oddly adult-like.
¡¸Anyhoo, we should git goin¡¯. We¡¯ll git left behind otherwise.¡¹
¡¸Alright. With that being said, we¡¯ll be moving along the roadside, so I doubt we¡¯ll have much to do.¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t be so sure. Sure, it¡¯s gotten a lot better recently, but that hasn¡¯t stopped irregr monsters from showing up.¡¹
¡¸If it were that easy, then there¡¯s no way that high-ranking adventurers like us would be hired just for going to Kalsus.¡¹
¡¸True, that makes sense.¡¹
Haan and Irva dismissed Tatsuya¡¯s na?ve optimism with their own observations. Tatsuya found himself agreeing with them.
¡¸Well at least we have Mio, so we don¡¯t need to worry ¡¯bout detectin¡¯ enemies.¡¹
¡¸For sure.¡¹
As they were discussing all this, they got into the carriages allotted to them in the center. Bloody Rose was at the vanguard, while the Deep Green Fangs were at the rear. What Hiroshi¡¯s Japanese team failed to realize was that there were two females¡ªa tall, meager-breasted knight and a medium-built girl with ck clothing top to bottom¡ªwatching them andmunicating secretly to each other.
¡¸Sensei, we have three gigantic, unidentified hawks locking on to us.¡¹
Mio said, emerging from the canopy-less section as she looked up at the sky. It should be mentioned that even though they were working as guards, they didn¡¯t generally walk around outside of the carriages. Their slower pace would definitely increase the risk of being attacked, so it made perfect sense to continue as they were. After all, carriages in this world, including wagons, could have their speed increased by 20 km/h on average by using magic. As a result, in order to help the groups not riding in the load-carrying trays to immediately react to anything, the caravan of merchants had borrowed horses for them to ride on. In the case of Hiroshi¡¯s team, Makoto and Haruna would fall into this role.
In the country of Fane, practically allrge-scale thief brigades had been exterminated, so there was normally no need for escorts between Wulls and Kalsus. Even in terms of monsters, the only ferocious, agile ones that might attack carriages along the side of the road were poison wolves. However, as the effects of Barold¡¯s plot had still remained, the risk of encounteringrge-scale monsters was far higher than it had ever been several years ago.
Digressing a bit, it was normal to borrow horses from the Adventurers¡¯ Association in cases like these and return them to the association of their destination. Generally, they would lend whatever was needed in order to get to the next destination. There were also special magic tools to sense life and track people in order to prevent any absconding. Also, since insurance was also added to the cost in the event of any idents, the cost of any added fodder for animals was probably cheaper when rented, although not by too much. With that being said, once you returned the horses safely, the money attached to the insurance would be returned to you, so for someone with a bit of money to spare, renting horses wasn¡¯t much of a difficult thing to do at all.
¡¸Think you can shoot them down?¡¹
¡¸No problem.¡¹
She answered Hiroshi¡¯s question by firing three arrows in rapid session. By the time anyone was able to spot the arrows, they had already pierced through the hearts of all three birds, causing them to plummet down. Before theynded on the ground, Tatsuya activated Apport in order to draw their remains into his bag, preventing them from bing a hindrance.
¡¸Troll Birds, looks like. What do we do with them?¡¹
¡¸I say we either fry ¡¯em, broil ¡¯em, or make ¡¯em into steaks or cutlets.¡¹
¡¸But couldn¡¯t we also bring them back with us and smoke them? Heck, that¡¯s what I¡¯d prefer.¡¹
¡¸Or we could stew them right here.¡¹
As per usual, the replies to Tatsuya¡¯s question were all made under the assumption that they would be eating all of the troll birds. Particrly as ofte, Makoto¡¯s insistence on smoking the meat was as much a desire for food as it was for alcohol. It was little-known at this time, but they had been consistently roped into preparing potatoes or barley to make shochu for her needs.
¡¸I find it crazy that no one has mentioned bringing the meat out for sale. We defeated not just one, but three of those suckers.¡¹
¡¸But when selling troll bird meat, you have to seriously figure out where to sell it.¡¹
Haruna grimaced as she remarked, and the coachman did likewise in agreement.
¡¸Now now, I haven¡¯t forgotten about the time that we first met up with you guys and hunted that troll bird. Wasn¡¯t it you who suggested we cook it, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Well, at the time, we didn¡¯t exactly have much in terms of food. Besides, do you even realize how difficult it is to eat all three of those ginormous things?¡¹
¡¸Then maybe we should just bring them to the market.¡¹
¡¸If we did that, we¡¯d have to bring at least two more of them.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t say that. We¡¯d end up hunting down even more at that rate.¡¹
As the Japanese party continued their nonchnt conversation¡
¡¸There are five gigantic, unidentified hawks heading this way. Can I take them down?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t let any of them escape, now¡«¡¹
True to Murphy¡¯s Law, troll birds appeared yet again, only to be shot down upon eye contact and sucked into Tatsuya¡¯s bag with magic.
¡¸Were troll birds always that easy to deal with?¡¹
¡¸Well, it wouldn¡¯t be entirely impossible if you had a really good bow hand¡¡¡¹
The Deep Green Fangs observed all of this with indescribable faces. As for the Bloody Rose members in the front, it was doubtful that they would have a clue as to what was going on. To their eyes, it would probably seem as if troll birds suddenly dropped from the sky with arrows lodged in their hearts, only to suddenly disappear, corpse and all.
¡¸We¡¯ll be making camp soon, so you think we could just cut up approximate pieces and eat?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. It¡¯s not like them troll birds¡¯re worth much fer their meat anyhoo. How d¡¯ya want ¡¯em cooked?¡¹
¡¸What cooking implements do we have?¡¹
¡¸Steel te ¡®n a pot. We can¡¯t do most things.¡¹
¡¸If so, then I don¡¯t see what¡¯s wrong with frying them. We¡¯d have an easy time dividing it all up.¡¹
Indifferent to the bewilderment of the teams in front of and behind them, the Japanese team decided on their menu.
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s not that I¡¯m ungrateful to you for obtaining such tasty food, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Why do I feel so strange about all of this¡¡¡¹
As they bit into the fried food that had been offered to them, the two leaders of their respective teams stared in disbelief at Hiroshi and Haruna as they prepared unbelievably refined cuisine. Could this even be called camping?
¡¸Time to alternate.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Thanks for the head¡¯s up.¡¹
¡¸Well, that¡¯s our role after all.¡¹
It was early morning of the third day. Tatsuya and the others had been woken up for their part in the rotation for keeping watch, shaking off their fatigue as they went to their posts. At the time of the game, there had not been any need to set up camp in order to migrate to locations that were several days away. They had merely stayed logged in for a longer period of time, and there had never been a need to be on guard. They were not ustomed to doing any of this.
During the move from Kalsus to Wulls, and while taking detours through multiple viges and towns at that, the evenings of the second and third days at camp were by far the most dangerous. The space between Kalsus and this particr area did not have any inn towns or farming viges, so no matter what, they had to set up camp. This would be the most likeliest time to get attacked by bandits and the like. With that being said, the country wasn¡¯t just leaving this area unchecked. In fact, they quite frequently went hunting in the mountains, so it wasn¡¯t that likely that their group would be attacked.
Although this practically goes without saying, the quickest route of 5 days on foot was almost never used by merchants unless there was a need to transport arge amount of cargo that couldn¡¯t be distributed by sea or there was an incredible need to hurry. This was because there was only one town along the way, as well as the fact that wagons would periodicallye through from both Wulls and Kalsus, leaving almost no room for profit.
¡ºMan, even campin¡¯ is a lotta work.¡»
As they jabbered along in the party chat, Hiroshi¡¯s team scattered off to each of their lookout posts. They definitely couldn¡¯t just stay in one ce when the carriages they were protecting covered such arge area.
¡ºLookouts are essential, after all. Or did you have some sort of tool that allows all of us to rest easy without staying vignt?¡»
¡ºNot with the supplies I brought. That stuff¡¯s found in Wulls, and it¡¯s not like it¡¯s perfect either.¡»
Tatsuya found himself agreeing with Hiroshi¡¯s logical statement. In actuality, tools to chase away weak monsters were frequently sold, but they were unfortunately expendables and quite unsuitable for the scale of this mission. On top of that, they would at most chase away weak individual monsters like troll birds, and depending on the size of the flock, there were times when some monsters would break out of the fold and charge in regardless, so it was still unwise to not have anyone posted on watch. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t have much of an effect on bandits either.
There were certainly convenient items that could drive off more powerful monsters or be used an unlimited number of times, but nearly all of them were essentially artifacts and impossible to obtain for the average person. Although there were throwaway items circting in the market that created a barrier against mid-level monsters, they were at most used by Level 3 adventurers when going to faraway dungeons in order to avoid excessive consumption.
As a result, it was nowmonce for even the most famous of merchants to hire an ample amount of guards when traveling bynd.
¡ºMight not look like much, but it would at least make things easier, right?¡»
¡ºWelp, I can make ones with stronger effects than what they usually sell, so yeah.¡»
¡ºThen how about making some, even if they¡¯re not perfect?¡»
¡ºI¡¯ll think ¡¯bout it.¡»
As they chatted about this and that, they all gathered things like herbs and firewood to pass the time while on guard. Around the time the sun was about toe up¡
¡¸Oxide circle!¡¹
Tatsuya suffocated a rock boar that hade early out of hibernation.
¡¸Hiro, Mio, see any others?¡¹
Tatsuya quickly asked Hiroshi and the others as they gathered around him.
¡¸Ain¡¯t nothin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Nothing active within the area.¡¹
¡¸Then it looks like we don¡¯t have to wake anyone up.¡¹
Makoto said conclusively, making sure to fell the head and extract the blood from the suspended body. She then erected a deodorizing barrier to avoid identally calling over anything else with the smell of blood, putting it into a container and handing it over to Hiroshi. At times like these, it was best to leave disposal to an expert. It must be pointed out that a deodorizing barrier was one of the few magic skills that Makoto could use. At the time of the game, she had often used this type of barrier in order to prevent unwanted monsters froming their way from the stench of blood.
¡¸Looks like we got s¡¯more meat.¡¹
¡¸You think we¡¯d have enough time to make bacon out of it?¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah. We just gotta use a tool to elerate maturity.¡¹
¡¸Okay, then let me borrow it real quick. It¡¯s morning and I say we have some breakfast.¡¹
Haruna said, smoking the good parts of the rock boar and converting it into bacon.
¡¸Heck, I¡¯ll even throw in some bird meat while we¡¯re at it.¡¹
¡¸I hear ya. Throw in some cheese for smoking as well?¡¹
¡¸Sure, why not.¡¹
Haruna and friends discussed things like that as they worked on making smoked food, all the while taking great care not to wake anyone up. There probably weren¡¯t many adventurers who would smoke food in the middle of a morning vigil at camp.
¡¸¡¡And since no monsters were picked up by our detection magic, we figured we¡¯d dissect the rock bear and make bacon.¡¹
Haan listened to Tatsuya¡¯s report in disbelief as he looked at the bacon, sizzling with a pleasant sound on the iron te. You couldn¡¯t really me him for being envious of them for how much work they put into their food each and every day.
¡¸We didn¡¯t think there was a need to wake you up.¡¹
¡¸I do understand that, but even if it was just a stray, monsters are monsters. Could you maybe wake us up next time that happens?¡¹
¡¸Ahh, sorry. It was over in the blink of an eye and we don¡¯t really tend to focus on minor details like that, you know?¡¹
Tatsuya scratched his head apologetically.
¡¸I mean, how do you even get to the point where you start thinking that way? What kind of life have you led?¡¹
¡¸We weren¡¯t really adventurers to begin with, so I can¡¯t really answer that question. I only recently registered as an adventurer, and we only do escort missions when we¡¯re pressed for something.¡¹
¡¸Pressed for something?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cause now we have to travel around the world, but first we thought it would be beneficial to learn pointers from people like you who are experienced in long-distance travel.¡¹
The two leaders were intrigued as to why Tatsuya¡¯s group was going around the world, but as the problemy elsewhere, they decided to stay on track.
¡¸Well, it¡¯s true that you all seem to be beginners at escort missions, so we won¡¯t say anything this time. Just be more careful from now on.¡¹
¡¸You got it. Seems like the food¡¯s ready now, so let¡¯s get to eating!¡¹
Invited by Tatsuya, the two of them smiled wryly as they joined in on their meal. At the end of the day, they were after all indebted to the Japanese group.
¡¸So you got your hands on not only a rock boar, but 8 troll birds as well? That is quite the harvest.¡¹
¡¸Would you perhaps be interested in buying some fur and meat off of us?¡¹
¡¸Of course. Why, with this much quality, we could get a 50% increase or more in profit from the Association¡¯s sale assessment.¡¹
¡¸A regr assessment should be fine. It isn¡¯t like we were perfect in how we processed everything.¡¹
They discussed this over breakfast. It was a little hard not to exim about how neatly they had processed the parts. How was this, in any way, not perfect? Then again, if the leader of Azuma Workshop was with them, perhaps it was not as weird as you would normally think.
They ended up encountering a monster one more time before arrival at their destination, meaning that it was roast bear curry for dinner.
¡¸We¡¯re finally here¡«!¡¹
¡¸Yup, Kalsus feels a lot more like a port town than Wulls does.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because it¡¯s the southern entrance to the center of Fane. In actuality, Wulls is unique in that its mountain castle merged with its port town. Most port towns around the world are very much like this in terms of scale and scenery, apart from the style of architecture.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, after all, Wulls is the size of about fourrge cities. Even I know that most ports over here are close to the ocean.¡¹
It had been two weeks since leaving Wulls. Now that they were finally in front of Kalsus for the first time, everyone let out their opinions. After receiving the reward for their sessful expedition, they had decided to take advantage of this opportunity and go sightseeing, first peeking into Kalsus¡¯s version of Alfemina Temple, when¡
¡¸I have been waiting for all of you.¡¹
Aearis hade out to meet them at the back entrance with a beaming smile on her face.
¡¸Huh? Elle-chan!?¡¹
¡¸Why are you here in Kalsus?¡¹
¡¸For my trip to everynd¡¯s temple, I made sure that my first destination was Kalsus.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s one way to unt your power¡¡¡¹
Makoto let out an exasperatedment at how ridiculous this situation was. As if she had anticipated this reaction, Aearis smiled cheerfully as she responded.
¡¸Everyone from the temple and from my family worried greatly about me, as it was my first time leaving Wulls as the priestess princess. When I told him that all of you wereing here, I managed to get ready agreement.¡¹
After hearing her say all that with a beaming smile on her face, everyone stood speechless in defeat, epting the situation.
Volume 2, Prologue
Volume 2, Prologue
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸This is probably the entrance.¡¹
¡¸Yup, seems like it.¡¹
They were in the great forest covering the southern part of Fane. The great road connecting therge countries of Fane and Darl ran diagonally through a tropical rainforest until it reached an area with a colder climate, the vegetation changing ordingly. This happened to be around March. As Hiroshi and the others looked at the side road leading away from this road of over 4,000 kilometers, they eximed to each other that this was their route. It was about half a day from the closest town of Renedo.
If one were to run for about an hour at 80 km/h from where they currently were, they would find themselves near the border of Darl next to the Sharune River. Anyone who saw the vastness of this river would find themselves marvelling at how on earth they had managed to build a bridge along this deep river with a width of one kilometer. Once you crossed this behemoth of a river and continued for about 2 days, you would finally see the forest begin to thin out. The road made a soft curve to the northeast through the river before turning southeast upon crossing the river.
Incidentally, the roads in this world were far better maintained than the unpaved roads of developing countries, but inparison to that of advanced countries, they were still seriously bad. This big southern road was no exception. Sure, it was impressive that they even managed to work maintenance on such a magnitude of distance, but it was still not suited for a minivan. If this were just your average minivan, equipment, and control scheme, then the car as well as the people inside would probably not be having a good time of it. Having said that, with the scale being what it was, even if they were able to pave the asphalt, it was questionable for just how long they could keep that up.
So as everyone looked at this other road leading away from the wide road that could fit three cars side by side, they felt very strange about how much of a contrast it was. It hardly even felt like a road inparison from its modest size.
¡¸Looks like we have to walk this one out.¡¹
¡¸Well, I did anticipate this.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto grumbled as they looked at this side road that felt more like an animal trail. It was clearly made just for those living nearby to enter and exit, as its width didn¡¯t even allow for wagons, let alone carriages or cars. To put it even more precisely, the day anyone even attempted to carelessly bring in a trolley, the unstable ground would ensure that it was brought to a standstill.
¡¸Well, it isn¡¯t like we can keep on grumbling about this, so let¡¯s hurry and get ready to go. I get the feeling that we won¡¯t reach our destination until at least three days from now.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto grudgingly nodded after hearing Haruna¡¯s realistic observation.
¡¸What do we need, then?¡¹
¡¸First we need bug repent all over us, otherwise there are plenty of insects that will bite us in this area.¡¹
¡¸And unlike Wulls, there are a lotta ones that carry weird diseases.¡¹
Hiroshi agreed with Haruna as he handed out special bug repent to everyone. When they heard about the disease part, everyone got to rubbing in the ointment, making disgusted faces all the while.
¡¸Now all we need are the tents ¡®n mosquitos, but now probably ain¡¯t the time to take ¡¯em out.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, take out yourpass and map.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
He did as Haruna had asked, taking out a map that had a rough sketch of only the forest and road as well as apass.
¡¸Sensei, I¡¯d like a hatchet or sickle.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
He handed Mio a sickle. He held a handaxe (using it in ce of a hatchet) as he led the way.
¡¸Mio-chan, I think it might be good for you to tie up your hair.¡¹
¡¸As we go.¡¹
Haruna suggested to Mio as she put her hair up with ustomed hand movement, and Mio followed suit with fairly ustomed movement. Even if she could enchant the sleeves and cuffs of her clothing, there wasn¡¯t anything that could be done about the hair.
¡¸I¡¯ll put the car away.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
Tatsuya called out before promptly stowing away the minivan into a capsule. For whatever reason, the shape of the capsule greatly resembled the design from that one manga where you gather seven balls to grant your wishes. Hiroshi had clearly made it look that way just for his amusement.
¡¸It would be great if we could set up camp somewhere along the way¡¡¹
¡¸And if not, we¡¯ll at least reserve some space for sleeping bags.¡¹
¡¸I guess that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do¡¡¡¹
The power of nature in this great forest was overwhelming for people trying to move around freely. Even if it wasn¡¯t totally undiscovered, that didn¡¯t change the fact that it was a ce essentially unknown to humans. Also, even though they had taken a roundabout path to the southern part of the big road at the speed of 80 km/h for 8 hours every day, it had been more than 3 days before the forest began to show itself. When you also factored in the monsters that lived here, it was probably impossible to conquer the entirety of this forest with only this amount of technology.
There was no mistake about it: The construction and maintenance of this southern road was a great feat. It was hard to even visualize just how many years it would take to open up thend in this forest. From what they had seen along the way in the little inn towns that they passed by, all they had to do was look at the memorial monuments in each and every town to realize how many months and sacrifices it took in order to construct this road. The directors who got the road built were almost unmistakably people who possessed the extra skill for construction.
Being a road with much traffic, there were also threerge inn towns. However, the poptions did not even reach 100,000, so it wasn¡¯t like they were contributing much more to the clearing of thend. Either way, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell that opening thend had been no easy task, even without looking at all of those monuments.
Of course, even calling it a road with much traffic was a stretch. If youpared it with the scramble intersections in Japan¡¯s big cities, the poption density was far lower, which meant that even if you did drive a car at around 80 km/h, you most likely would not bump or crash into anyone.
It had now been two weeks since they had left Wulls, signalling the beginning of the second week in March. The Japanese had atst stepped into the intimidating realm of the great forest.
¡¸But you know, I kind of feel used to camping in the forest¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s because practically all of our jobs involved doing something in the mountain or forest¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto grumbled as they prepared the encampment after having finally found a reasonable clearing to pitch tents. Sinceing to Fane, the two of them had always tagged along with Mio on harvest expeditions into the mountains and forests, making them well-adjusted to walking along the animal trails.
Even for Hiroshi and everyone else, the forest was typically where they would go for activities. Stones that made ss and cliffs from where iron ore could be excavated could usually be found near the rivers and mountains within the forest, and the most important item, medicine, was at its highest quality and quantity in the forest.
¡¸I can purty much tell that people camp here from time to time.¡¹
¡¸And maybe because of how close it is to the road, there aren¡¯t many brutal monsters to be seen.¡¹
Hiroshi surveyed the surrounding vegetation and ground while Haruna noted various things on the map,pass in the other hand. Although the forest looked exceptionally green from the outside, upon stepping inward you could tell that it was much more colorful. This was essentially proof that this forest was truly showering blessing after blessing on its inhabitants, as well as probably the fact that there were many people who came into the forest because of that very reason. Then again, the forest was also merciless to intruders that became too greedy.
¡¸What did Teres say?¡¹
¡¸If you travel along thergest animal trail, you¡¯lle out next to a river, from which you continue walking along upstream and you should eventually find a settlement, providing you have sharp eyes.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sure she couldn¡¯t help it, but no matter how many times I hear that exnation, it just sounds so darn sloppy.¡¹
Makoto asked for confirmation from Haruna, who repeated the correct information. Hiroshi simply sighed at howckadaisical it sounded. In fact, there weren¡¯t very precise maps to be found in any country, so it really couldn¡¯t be helped that the exnation wasckluster. So in that sense, the exnation was quite easy to understand.
¡¸If they live in a ce like this, I guess it¡¯s reasonable to say they¡¯re an insr society?¡¹
¡¸Who knows? ording to Teres, it¡¯s more like people in the city have aplex about going outside, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily have to mean that they don¡¯t want other peopleing in¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, you¡¯re basically picking a fight with all the archetypal elves by saying that¡«¡¹
Makoto sighed and grimaced at the same time when she heard what the hired elf girl had said at the workshop. To be honest, she could somewhat tell that Teres herself seemed like a country bumpkin who had adjusted to life in the city. Even in Nora¡¯s case, despite having nearly be someone¡¯s ve, she was neither prejudiced against nor reluctant to associate with the human race. Finding it strange, she had talked to both of them, who had said:
¡¸Out of every person I¡¯ve met so far, there have been far more people who have been nice to me, so I didn¡¯t really see it as fair to have prejudice because of one or two experiences.¡¹
¡¸There are plenty of bad eggs amongst the Mora as well. Besides, if all of humanity really were that bad, then I wouldn¡¯t have even made it far past the vige.¡¹
In general, Fane¡¯s pastoral culture of working hard to eat was, albeit unusual for arge country, probably very beneficial for them.
¡¸Well in any case, even if we wander a bit, we should be able to get back. We just need to pay heed to any monsters and then proceed at our own leisure.¡¹
¡¸Yep. We still have more food than we can eat, and if anything goes wrong we can simply have everyone at the workshop send us food and water.¡¹
Everyoneughed in response to what Haruna said because they knew just how handy shared enchantments were, and they were ready to use it to the fullest. Even for returning, they could simply use either a teleportation stone or long-distance magic, so being lost for a week or two wouldn¡¯t put them in a pinch at all.
Humans are beings that can deal with some inconvenience in a rtivelyposed manner, providing that they have plenty of food and not too many insecurities. This particr group didn¡¯t even have any particr limitations over their journey. Half a year (in this world¡¯s time) had psed since Tatsuya and the others had been thrown into this world. There was no point in getting concerned now that they had been here this long. Small adventures like this one should be enjoyed to the fullest.
Right now, they were all of that opinion. Of course, it went without saying that stepping foot into the southern tropical rainforest to search for elf viges (of which the location is unknown to most people) would not qualify as a ¡°small¡± adventure in any sense of the word.
Theck ofmon sense amongst Hiroshi and his group was truly astounding.
¡¸Caterpir caterpir¡«¡¹
¡¸I got mahself some gaudy fruit!¡¹
¡¸I pulled out some herbs with suspicious coloring.¡¹
It was the third day since entering the forest. The Japanese people had thoroughly adjusted to life there. Despite having not yet gone to the river mentioned by Teres, no one seemed to really care.
Furthermore, they all had the skill Wanderlust, which whenbined with their knowledge of the forest enabled them to travel a staggering 50 kilometers per day on foot. If they were to walk straight north for ten days, that was the kind of speed that could get them near the southern edge of Spirit Spire Mountain.
¡¸Wow, I¡¯m impressed that you all thought about eating this.¡¹
¡¸But Bro, yer doin¡¯ the same thing.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but I¡¯m not exactly used to this. I just gave in is all.¡¹
Tatsuya replied with a strained face as he looked at the odd-looking food ingredient. Although it certainly didn¡¯t look that way, the ingredients they were gathering happened to be safe as well as tasty. The majority of oddly-colored foodstuff were that way so as to ward off potential predators- their way of evolving, apparently.
Among them were types that were harmless to humans but extremely poisonous to the herbivorous creatures and insects in these parts, so it was easy to tell that even a parallel universe like this one had its version of the struggle for existence.
¡¸But you know, when I look at all these ingredients, it really reminds me that we¡¯re in another world.¡¹
¡¸Ya just now realized this? Man, I thought ya would¡¯ve picked up on it all the times ya ate them wyverns.¡¹
¡¸Well sure, you have a point, but¡At least that was clearly some giant lizard, whereas the stuff around here just screams poison. Get what I mean?¡¹
¡¸I do get what yer tryin¡¯ ta say, but¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi returned a wry smile as he brought out water with magic, extracting the lye from the oddly-colored herbs. If there were the same foods that had been in the game, then it was reasonable to expect to encounter more things like this.
If there were one refined ingredient in particr that struck him as remarkable, it would have to be the smack-dabbingly delicious hedoro or kohltaar, which both looked as if they would do a number on your body if you swallowed them but were in actuality so tasty that you actually wondered if there were anything superior in this world. They happened to contain a substance on their own that could extinguish any disease status condition, but they were also ingredients for a seriously phenomenal restorative item known as Soma of the Gods, so there was rarely an opportunity to eat these on their own.
¡¸Hey, I got a snake!¡¹
As they were jabbering on about various things while preparing dinner, Makoto dragged in a snake whose length was practically equal to her height. It wasn¡¯t especiallyrge around the torso, but it was probably enough to them five suppers and five breakfasts.
¡¸Ooo, that¡¯s a darn good meal if I ever saw one!¡¹
¡¸Kabayaki kabayaki!¡¹
¡¸Gotta make some sauce.¡¹
It was the kind of snake associated with parasites, so they had to cook it thoroughly. That was precisely why Haruna was carefully disassembling it.
¡¸I gotcha a fire goin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Thanks.¡¹
When it came to kabayaki, rather than cooking it on a steel te, it was better to directly expose it to the me over a. At least, that was Hiroshi¡¯s insistence, as he had already started a fire in the earthen charcoal brazier, so there wasn¡¯t any use arguing with him. Actually, no one bothered toment on anything he did by this point.
¡¸Meanwhile, I¡¯mma roast the caterpir with this here steel te.¡¹
¡¸And boil the herbs?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, or otherwise we could stew them together with the fruit.¡¹
The three of them talked as they steadily progressed with cooking. This time around, the two eldest members of the group weren¡¯t able to tag along with the conversation, as they did not cook.
¡¸Man, this scent is intoxicating¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, kabayaki is one of those things that tastes great as a donburi¡¡¡¹
As soon as Makoto spoke, the people working on the meal stopped momentarily.
¡¸What now? Cook the rice?¡¹
¡¸I only ate it once with Elle after the hot springs on my way back from guard duty, so there ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ wrong with havin¡¯ it this once.¡¹
¡¸Donburi¡that kinda sounds good right now¡¡¡¹
Once the idea of donburi got into her head, there was no going back. Haruna quickly thrust the roasted kabayaki into the food supply shed before immediately starting on the rice. Hiroshi began roasting the remaining kabayaki for her to thrust that into storage as well. Meanwhile, alongside the herb/fruit stew, Mio took out her prized wheat bran and wakame to make red miso soup.
After the most time consuming process of cooking the rice was over, all of the food was stocked and ready to be devoured by starving beasts who were waiting to pounce at any minute. It was quite the spectacle.
¡¸Is it about ready?¡¹
As they couldn¡¯t cook the rice in the conventional rice cooker, the one doing the cooking had to determine whether it was finished or not. With that being said, Haruna had already maxed out her cooking skill, so it was safe to say there were no oversights. The minute she lifted the lid of the earthenware pot, there was an aroma that would likely arouse the appetite of the vast majority of Japanese people, alongside the emergence of white, erect, freshly-cooked rice.
¡¸I can¡¯t endure this any longer!¡¹
¡¸Haruna, quickly!¡¹
¡¸Okidokie. Wait just a minute.¡¹
Haruna quickly piled on enough rice for everyone onto the donburi, and before you knew it, everything was set out and ready. She was followed by Hiroshi, who set the snake kabayaki on the rice, and then Mio poured plenty of sauce over that as well. It didn¡¯t even take a minute for all the trays to be filled.
¡¸More precisely, it¡¯s a donburi special, I¡¯d say¡¡¡¹
¡¸The ces where we eat, the ingredients used, I¡¯m sure there are a lot of strange things toment on, but who even cares about the particrs¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto stared at their trays with impressed faces, chopsticks in hand. There were a variety of bizarre things on their tes, such as caterpirs instead of pickles, richly colored stewed vegetable leaves, etc. Some might even point out that donburi specials have nothing to do with small bowl stews, instead containing mini udon or mini soba.
Still, as they were in an alternate world, eating red miso soup with donburi wasn¡¯t anything inparison to that.
¡¸Yum¡¡¡¹
¡¸The sauce is fantastic¡¡¡¹
¡¸I personally think that the kabayaki was well done, but what do you all think?¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah, the kabayaki is great. Different from eel or conger, but this is tasty in and of itself.¡¹
As often is for the taste of reptile, the snake that was prepared this time tasted close to what chicken was like. So you might be tempted to envision chicken instead of eel for kabayaki, but kabayaki is after all kabayaki. Nothing would ever change the fact that putting it on rice and eating it made for a great meal.
¡¸Wow, caterpirs make a darn skippy pte cleanser, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸This type is a bit crunchy.¡¹
Hiroshi and Miomented on the overall bnce as they ate the crunchy caterpir like it was a pickled daikon radish. The next moment, the donburi, stew, and miso soup was all eaten up.
¡¸That was delicious.¡¹
All of them practically finished eating at the same time, and they all eximed the same thing.
¡¸But you know, it feels kinda strange.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cause ya can¡¯t usually get no donburi if ya camp out in ces like these.¡¹
Hiroshi made a mercilessly sarcasticment.
¡¸Okay, so we just ate a staggering amount of rice. Any idea as to how we¡¯ll replenish stock?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, this season¡¯s not well-suited for it. Guess we gotta wait another half year!¡¹
Tatsuya had no choice but to agree with Hiroshi¡¯s statement. Quite honestly, this was the time of year in which rice nting had not yet begun. Cherry blossoms would be blooming in Japan about now. Unless you somehow cheated in some special way, you definitely could not get your hands on new rice at this time.
¡¸Haven¡¯t even eaten half of our supply, so don¡¯t worry about it just yet.¡¹
¡¸You say that, but¡I get the feeling that we eat quite a bit every time we cook some, and since it¡¯s not easy to get our hands on it too often, I kinda do feel concerned, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸Tatsu, you¡¯re the type of person who keeps elixirs on hand but never uses them.¡¹
¡¸Well excuse me!¡¹
Tatsuya made a sullen face as he responded to Mio¡¯s interjection. Then again, it was true that it was a typical Japanese thing to preserve food in case of not being able to replenish stockter on due to scarcity or pricing.
¡¸Well, I¡¯m sure that we can figure out a way to extend the time we eat rice until we git some more.¡¹
¡¸If you say so¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya was quite the worrywart. He was okay with eating things right away if they didn¡¯t have any to start out with, but whenever it was difficult to get any in the first ce, he was always on the defensive.
¡¸Well anyhoo, there ain¡¯t no point in fiercely protectin¡¯ some grains o¡¯rice, so I say we just chow down whenever we feel like it.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, I know what you¡¯re saying, it¡¯s just¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I do think it¡¯s a bit rash to just eat whenever¡¡¹
Hiroshi and the older members of the team simply couldn¡¯t see eye to eye. They didn¡¯t know, however, that if they were to have the newbies at the workshop prepare some more rice, there was some new information that could blow away all of their worries.
¡¸I¡¯d better cut my hair soon¡«¡¹
¡¸Same. Maybe I¡¯ll get a trim.¡¹
Makoto and Haruna chatted while they enjoyed the outdoor bath. What with Hiroshi¡¯s personality and all, they didn¡¯t have any concern of being peeked at, so they were quitenguid.
Furthermore, thisrge, portable bath had actually been madly requested by the girls from Hiroshi, and it cameplete with a space to change as long as there was enough room to pitch a tent. The existence of this bath was probably the greatest reason as to why the Japanese people were adapting to life in this forest.
¡¸Upon closer inspection, haven¡¯t you gotten a bit bigger, Mio?¡¹
¡¸Mako, when say ¡°big¡±, what area in specific do you mean?¡¹
¡¸In addition to your height increasing a bit, I also feel like your physique is different from when your body was even all around.¡¹
¡¸If that¡¯s the case, then that does make me a bit happy.¡¹
Mio indeed looked happy at Makoto¡¯s assessment. In actuality, while it could not be denied that in terms of physical growth she was half Aearis¡¯s circumference, it was doubtful that anyone who saw Mio would still think her to have a child¡¯s physique. Having finally been freed from her bedridden hemiplegia, the initial frail physique had been done away with, and it was now clear to anyone that she had the body of a normal, healthy person.
Albeit slowly, Mio had finally grown to a level that was no longer frail or childlike, exuding some eroticism for once. However, there was still much to be desired from her physique inparison to Haruna¡¯s more morous body type. Indeed, in total, most people would flock to Haruna¡¯s side.
¡¸But I don¡¯t pop out like you do, Haru¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well not even Elle has gotten to that point, and even Mora is on therge side but still not quite there. I don¡¯t think you need to fret about that. I mean, look at me.¡¹
¡¸Well even you aren¡¯t too bad yourself, Makoto-san¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t need tofort me. In the end, I¡¯m just a meager-chested girl who loses magnificently to even the elves¡¡¡¹
Ignoring Haruna¡¯s heartfelt thoughts, Makoto had sunk into a spiral of self-depreciation. In actuality, the elves in question did not happen to have much interest in appearance or physique in their value system. Furthermore, it was not actually a proven fact that elves had meager breasts. It was just that the elves in Wulls or Kalsus they had met tended to be in said category. They hadn¡¯t met all the elves in the city, so who could say for sure that was all they had?
¡¸Ah, right, I forgot.¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t exactly talk about something like this in front of Hiroshi, but it¡¯s about that time.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Ah¡«. Did you have it pretty bad?¡¹
¡¸No, not exactly.¡¹
The three of them spoke in low voices to discuss something a little too graphic for men to hear.
¡¸What about you, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸It ended before I even came into the forest.¡¹
¡¸I couldn¡¯t tell at all.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, because it¡¯s not a big issue in my case. Just a little bit and that was that.¡¹
Everyone had agreed on not going into detail about private affairs, especially since Hiroshi was concerned. As a result, there hadn¡¯t been much of an opportunity to share said information, quite possibly because they had never had big problems when living in the workshop.
¡¸And you, Mio?¡¹
¡¸My cycle is fairly uncertain. Same with the severity.¡¹
¡¸So¡?¡¹
¡¸I never know when it¡¯ll arrive.¡¹
¡¸But it does in facte around?¡¹
This was a fairly important thing, so Haruna and Makoto looked at her with serious expressions. After Makoto had asked that question, Mio silently nodded. This physical phenomenon unique to woman created a variety of effects during any given cycle. Besides, this also rted to potentially bearing children in the future, so even if it was impossible to discuss in front of males, they couldn¡¯t simply avoid the subject out of embarrassment.
¡¸At any rate, I¡¯m so d you made those for us.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we can¡¯t after all rely on Hiroshi too much for things like this.¡¹
¡¸If we pushed the job onto Sensei, that would truly be the end of him.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cause Hiroshi-kun already had quite the handful with undergarments.¡¹
After meeting up, Mio had been in charge of producing menstruation-rted items. Unlike Hiroshi, who did not notice the small details, Tatsuya seemed to somewhat have an idea of what was going on, as he already had a wife, but she figured it was a good manner at times like these to not mention anything.
Still, Tatsuya was truly a good man, being attentive at times like these in more ways than one. It was no surprise at all to hear that he had a wife.
¡¸So everything seems to be fine for now, although I¡¯m not sure how well we can deal with it.¡¹
¡¸Got it. Well, I¡¯ll look out for you, so don¡¯t worry. Nothing major has urred so far.¡¹
¡¸Please do.¡¹
¡¸So, Mako. Who do you thinkes first in terms of attributes- Sensei, or Tatsuya?¡¹
¡¸Attributes?¡¹
¡¸Mio, I don¡¯t recall you being interested in this sort of thing. Why ask this all of a sudden? And hey, you¡¯re not even out of middle school yet!¡¹
Finishing their more personal conversation, it was now time for girls¡¯ talk. Mio had originally brought up this topic in order to mess with Makoto, and the conversation eventually went all over the ce, making Haruna feel dizzy as she struggled to keep up. Much as always, the girls were taking their time in the bath.
¡¸So Hiro. What¡¯s it like recently?¡¹
¡¸Whaddya mean?¡¹
As the girls were bathing, Hiroshi and Tatsuya were chatting while working on things like tool maintenance and medicine preparation, trying their best to ignore how ufortable and bored they were.
¡¸Are you used to women now? That¡¯s what I mean.¡¹
¡¸A little mixed, I¡¯d say. As long as I have ¡¯nuff room ¡¯round the house like the workshop, it ain¡¯t really an issue. I don¡¯t have no issue with lettin¡¯ our current members ride in the passenger seat or rear seat of carriages, minivans, etc.¡¹
If you flipped that around, it also meant that any other people were a no-go. On theirst mission of being escorts, Makoto and Haruna had been riding on horses outside, while Mio had been on standby in another carriage. Most importantly, there was the tension apanied by their mission, so even inside the carriage it was doubtful that it would have been an issue.
But this time around, it was more of a carefree drive. He wasn¡¯t being particrly careful as they were moving. Tatsuya and Makoto were the only ones with licenses, switching ces every two hours in the backseat, whereas Hiroshi had remained in the back, maintaining his distance. They were close to what you would refer to as bosom buddies, and the frequent, low-tension act of changing seats did a great job at ensuring that no one felt stressed out.
¡¸Then how okay are you withing into contact with women?¡¹
¡¸Mmm. If it¡¯s when we do things like shake hands or exchange money, it¡¯s fine.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d say that sounds a lot better than before, wouldn¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Well, I never had too much of an issue with that even when I got here, but I guess ya can say that it¡¯s a start for me to be able to not flinch when directly facin¡¯ people. I still don¡¯t like them crowds, but a normal day in Wulls ain¡¯t nothin¡¯.¡¹
Tatsuya meant what he said, even if Hiroshi himself wasn¡¯t as certain. If you were topare this to the time in which he would have a panic attack every time he saw a female (regardless of family or age) and had to get the special privilege of elerating time in the VR world to the limit his brain could handle, using the remaining time for counseling, it was phenomenal to hear that he no longer had to put himself on guard for every social encounter.
He had not yet reached the point where there were no more hindrances in everyday life. In fact, this little change was nearly meaningless in the fabric of daily life. However, the fact that some progress had finally manifested itself in this two year long phobia was without a doubt a groundbreaking event.
¡¸But wow, this forest is already crazy enough, but thatrge southern road is something else. How many days would that normally take?¡¹
¡¸I dunno, but if yer usin¡¯ a coach ¡®n the like, yer lookin¡¯ at maybe more than a month, I¡¯d say.¡¹
¡¸And if it were a golem version then maybe it¡¯d take slightly less longer, eh?¡¹
The contents of the casual conversation shifted to the southern road they had plowed along three days ago. You would usually expect a conversation rting to their type of women, but Tatsuya already had a wife and was not looking for anyone, and Hiroshi swore by 2-D women as long as they did not attack men, so no matter what, there was no way to start a conversation on that matter. Sure, maybe a conversation about sexual desires, but none of those onessted more than a short answer, so there was no sense in discussing anything regarding the opposite sex.
¡¸Yeah, that there golem car has quite the speed.¡¹
¡¸About 60km/h?¡¹
¡¸Yup, sounds about right.¡¹
Transportation in this world was a lot quicker than the typical fantasy world. Maybe not for people riding in carriages, but wagons with luggage had plenty of suspension that they used, so caravans actually moved at a fairly high speed. The only people who moved slowly by foot were poor adventurers who could not raise horses or find sufficient funds for stagecoaches.
Maybe not in the city, but when they were on the road, everyone would always move at merciless speeds. With such speed, the value of the southern road was probably very high.
¡¸But ya definitely can¡¯t git faster ¡®n 80 km/h with current human tech.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah. Golem carriages are what everyone wants after all.¡¹
¡¸Plus that minivan of ours is mighty tasty to everyone who saw it.¡¹
¡¸Aren¡¯t golem carriages practically inexpensive to maintain?¡¹
¡¸I dunno, I think it depends. Cause what we¡¯re usin¡¯ are dynamic crystals ¡®n good auto magic refills, plus it also has auto repair, collision avoidance and an inertia regtion barrier, so we¡¯re doin¡¯ fine, but I bet them cheap golems require frequent maintenance on their axles ¡®n whatnot.¡¹
With that being said, just by having the perk of not having to take care of the golem like you would a horse made everything much better. If a skilled craftsman made golems that couldst decades and still not break, it was very understandable why someone would want a golem at some point.
You could even say that golem riders were the champions of allnd riders.
¡¸So what was all this talk about current human tech? Are you referring to monsters?¡¹
¡¸Sure am. Welp, there¡¯re hardly any around, but I¡¯ve heard of monsters that can carry people at speeds up to 200 km/h, or people that control dragons that can soar over this road in just a day.¡¹
¡¸Wow, that¡¯s crazy¡¡¡¹
It was true that if you rode on a wyvern, they could probably reach the other side of the road from anywhere between 8 and 10 hours with time to spare. With that being said, unfortunately, not a single member of their team had any skills for taming. Maybe something could be done for airnes or helicopters, but if not, then they would likely not be moving through the sky anytime soon. There was a great risk in using flight magic.
¡¸You think we could see the elven settlement from the sky?¡¹
¡¸Not like they¡¯re hidin¡¯ nothin¡¯, so I betcha could depending on the scale.¡¹
¡¸I wonder what the elf viges over here are like.¡¹
¡¸After seein¡¯ Teres, I don¡¯t really feel like the image we have in our heads or our expectations are gonna be met. Might be real disappointing.¡¹
As they gazed up at the stars peeking out from the silhouettes of the trees, they waited for the girls to finish with their bath. Despite saying that they would probably be disappointed, that did not change the fact that everyone¡¯s expectations were in fact increasing at the prospect of finally being able to see an elven vige.
Volume 2, 1
Volume 2, Chapter 1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Found the river!¡¹
One week after the infiltration of the forest. Hiroshi had identified the sound of water about 30 minutes ago before returning with good news of the river they had been searching for.
¡¸How far away is it?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Bout 20 minutes if ya go around all the obstructions. But we could probably cut straight through in 10 minutes.¡¹
¡¸Just a bit more, then.¡¹
If it took 10 minutes to go straight there, then that meant it was about a kilometer away. This exined why they could not hear the murmuring of the stream.
¡¸But wow, it took us a whole week to find the river¡«¡¹
¡¸Which river would have been faster to travel upstream?¡¹
¡¸The closest ce was 200 kilometers on the other side, so I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯d get lost before you arrived here.¡¹
You could tell just by listening to Haruna and Makoto¡¯s conversation how cumbersome it was to find a settlement within a gigantic forest like this.
¡¸But don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird that there are traces of people moving through this deep forest?¡¹
¡¸Teres told me that adventurer-like merchantse ¡¯round once a month. Maybe it¡¯s them?¡¹
¡¸But can you make this much progress in a single month?¡¹
¡¸Even the elves git out twice a month to buy various things. The merchants prollye ¡¯round then.¡¹
Even with plenty of salt, water, and food supplies, sometimes it was just easier to travel along the road to nearby towns to buy things. Maybe harvests didn¡¯t always go as nned. The elves generally bought things based on how quickly they could get them or how much they had, so they hadn¡¯t quite reached regr trade with humans, more content with supplying themselves as much as possible.
¡¸Anyhow, now that we know people were wandering around here and that there¡¯s a river, it can¡¯t be much longer. Let¡¯s give it our all.¡¹
Everyone nodded at Haruna, trudging onward with hardly any space. Incidentally, the greatest reason for taking a week to get to this point was because they had messed up their directions several times. Teres had said it would take as much as 4 days, so you can imagine how much of a blunder they made.
Usually, wasting as much time as this would sow discord within the group, but as none of them were actually good at recognizing this fact, no fights urred. At most, they grumbled about wanting to eat fish or how they had grown tired of the forest. Despite searching for an indistinct road on foot, they were still as nonchnt as ever. It was doubtful that they¡¯d run into any issues.
¡¸¡¡I hear a stream.¡¹
¡¸Just a lil bit more.¡¹
Hiroshi responded to Tatsuya, and 3 minutester they saw a river. It was fairly big, with a width of 10 meters.
¡¸Whoa¡«¡¹
¡¸What a pretty river¡«¡¹
¡¸Welp, this is a good time for lunch.¡¹
Everyone agreed with Hiroshi and got to spreading sheets and preparing food.
¡¸Think we should git some river fish?¡¹
¡¸If you can, yeah. I don¡¯t want birds, snakes, rabbits, tanukis, or bugs anymore.¡¹
¡¸Alright. After lunch then.¡¹
No one was concerned about how much time they had lost. Sure, there wasn¡¯t any time limit per say, but couldn¡¯t they be a bit more anxious?
¡¸Wonder what we¡¯ll find.¡¹
¡¸Doesn¡¯t seem like y¡¯all want bugs used as bait, so I¡¯ll try ¡®n make a lure.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll ever get out of this pattern, will we¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi had a habit of making things from scratch no matter the situation. You could tell how passionate he was, reflected in his handicraft. In all honesty, maybe him and Mio should stay in this world.
¡¸We could even swim. That sounds fun, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s still a bit cold. I advise you don¡¯t.¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
Everyone figured they might as well fish. After finishing a tanuki sandwich, the Japanese gathered around the river holding the fishing rods Hiroshi had made off the cuff.
¡¸Some of these fish have colors that don¡¯t seem very tropical¡¡¡¹
Makoto blurted out after fishing up a metallic blue fish. It was quite the catch, with a size of 80 centimeters, but its color made her question if it was edible and she couldn¡¯t really celebrate.
By the way, the thread Hiroshi had used to make these poles with was spirit thread. Despite being a legendary material, there was tons of it, so he slovenly used it for things like this even though there were probably better uses for it.
¡¸Shocking pink is still passable, but I sure as heck ain¡¯t seenvender fish.¡¹
¡¸Think it tastes good?¡¹
¡¸Won¡¯t know till we eat it.¡¹
Everyone had nonchnt discussions as they hauled in fairly good fish. Amongst the normal fish like rainbow trout, salmon, and char were strange colored fish like shocking pink orvender, in addition to fish that didn¡¯t even look like fish.
Then again, what with how they were using makeshift lures, maybe even the normal fish like salmon and char weren¡¯t the same as they were in Japan.
¡¸What now? I feel we did pretty well¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah. We¡¯re gonna keep movin¡¯ up the river anyway. Wanna call it a day?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. So are all these edible?¡¹
¡¸¡¡What is a sea anemone doing here¡¡¡¹
¡¸It has tail fins, pectoral fins, and dorsal fins, so it¡¯s probably a fish, but¡¡¡¹
They saw strange-looking fish a little more often than they would like and gradually stopped talking. Some of them looked intimidating by inting to around the size of Haruna¡¯s face.
¡¸I say we dissect ¡¯em before eatin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸You think they¡¯d have useful materials?¡¹
¡¸Won¡¯t know till I open ¡¯em. Just feels like somethin¡¯s tellin¡¯ me to check ¡¯em out.¡¹
Hiroshi said as he worked on them gracefully, cutting through them in a flowing motion. After he took out several sections, he buried the remainder.
¡¸Anything that looked useful?¡¹
¡¸Actually yeah, there was a portion that could be used for soma.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, what do you mean soma?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a type of alcohol for the gods and has some crazy effects.¡¹
¡¸¡¡That sounds awesome¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, the other ingredients¡¯re only found in the Sea of Existence, so it ain¡¯t like it¡¯s that simple.¡¹
Makoto gave a strange look when she heard that. The Sea of Existence was made up of the liquid from the pupas in the cocoons from which they had taken arge quantity of spirit thread.
¡¸Well for now let¡¯s just collect all these parts ¡®n lock ¡¯em up in storage.¡¹
Hiroshi said as he did just that. It was fantastic to think they hade across such a rare item, and they intended to keep things that way.
¡¸It¡¯s very like you to get lucky and win rare items like these, Haruna. Great job.¡¹
¡¸Not really sure if that counts as apliment or not¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya burst outughing at Haruna¡¯sment on Makoto¡¯s praise. Haruna did in fact have overwhelming luck. Other than how she was flung into a world, everything had worked out to her benefit after the berserk bear had attacked, allowing her to meet up with so many people.
With that being said, she was also the kind of person toe up with literally nothing, so rather than saying she had luck of the draw, it was more precise to say that when she scored big, she scored big, and when she lost, she lost hard.
¡¸I think we¡¯re fine right now, but it¡¯d be bad to have rain fallin¡¯ down on us, so let¡¯s move a bit furtger away along the river.¡¹
Hiroshi proposed after finishing up with the fish, looking over at them.
¡¸Does it seem rainy?¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t say for sure. But it hasn¡¯t rained all week. It¡¯d be wise to anticipate it.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Alright then.¡¹
The sky was currently a beautiful blue, but weather always is a fickle thing. Even for Japan, whose weather forecasting of the 21st century was fairly spot-on, unexpected things happened more than you would think. It was impossible topletely urately predict the weather in this satellite-less world.
¡¸Think you have the path along the river memorized well enough?¡¹
¡¸I pretty much do, plus there¡¯s a distinct path, so no worries.¡¹
He said, turning back a bit and indicating a hardened area ofnd that was difficult to differentiate from the rest of thend around it once you could no longer see the river. Needless to say, no matter how long they¡¯d been at this, Majoto, Haruna, and Tatsuya did not clearly remember the way back to their camping ground from the previous day. The paths were much too simr.
¡¸I think we just need to pass through here.¡¹
¡¸How can you or Mio even find these indistinct paths¡¡¡¹
¡¸Cause otherwise we¡¯d never level up our harvestin¡¯.¡¹
Hiroshi said to Tatsuya with a faraway expression. Even in the game, he had struggled with recognizing paths like these. It had truly been a daunting experience trying to even go get materials a step above the rest solely because of the roads.
¡¸This is unrted, but it looks like there are other humanoid settlements as well, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸On what basis?¡¹
¡¸Too many traces of them to be just wanderin¡¯ humans. We¡¯re talkin¡¯ quite the frequency here.¡¹
¡¸Oh really now?¡¹
It was unlikely that elves would go all the way out here on a three day walk just to hunt. Maybe there was more than one elf settlement, but if that were the case then there would have to be more elves visiting these other towns. If there was actually another vige nearby, it was unlikely that there would be just one personing to-and-fro twice a month. In the first ce, elves had a long lifespan and not as many members in their race, so they couldn¡¯t make too many viges.
With that information in hand and the quantity of side paths, there was a high probability that there were other races who counted this area as part of their territory.
¡¸So. I don¡¯t recall precisely what race they are since they don¡¯te out often, but who do y¡¯all think they most likely are?¡¹
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢could definitely be goblins.¡¹
¡¸Or maybe beast-people of some sort?¡¹
¡¸Maybe even ogres.¡¹
Once they had listed off the typical forest-dwellers, Mio spoke up.
¡¸I don¡¯t think that ogres or forest giants are in this area.¡¹
¡¸Why¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s no trace of creatures that size.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I get what you mean.¡¹
Tatsuya knew exactly what Mio was saying. Ogres were more than 2 meters tall, while forest giants were more than 3 meters tall on average. There would be a lot more open space if creatures of that size were roaming around.
¡¸I think goblins are the likeliest out of this group.¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
¡¸Plus Nora did mention that most beast people live fairly close to human settlements.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because Fane is a kind country to all races.¡¹
Fane was a peace-loving country when it came to other races, and there were not typically instances of discrimination or expulsion. As long you did as the Romans do in Rome, no personal fights would ever lead to viges or towns agitating for expulsion.
As a result, you were practically guaranteed to find multiple races in bigger towns. In Wulls, even races with scarce poptions like elves or mora could make colonies if they wanted to. Then again, it was also true that poptions of less than a thousand weren¡¯t much to brag about.
¡¸What¡¯re goblins like in this world?¡¹
¡¸In the game, they looked as you might expect, albeit closer to regr people in terms of personality. There were ones acting as active monsters, but there were also ones that were friendly NPCs.¡¹
Haruna answered Makoto¡¯s question. As fiercely dedicated to the battlefield as she was, Makoto had not had the opportunity to encounter goblins.
¡¸You¡¯ve had quests like that before, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Multiple times.¡¹
In other words, the goblins in Fairy Tale Chronicles Online were close to fairies. In other games, goblin extermination missions tended to appear in the prologue, but this was not the case in Fairy Tale Chronicles. There weren¡¯t even all that many opportunities to fight goblins as active monsters. Even if you did encounter goblins, it was generally as part of a different mission that involved going through their territory. As no one knew theirnguage, everyone tended to wipe them all out.
Digressing a bit, there had actually been an online discussion board geared towards yers who had be on friendly terms with NPC goblins and wanted to learn theirnguage. There had actually been quite a number of people who had stood up for the goblin race after hearing themment the destruction of their homes. As a result, a decent amount of yers had learned thenguage and tragedies had decreased by a significant amount. For a game that had been particrly harsh toward craftsmen, it was oddly pastoral in this regard.
¡¸Well, how about we check it out just in case?¡¹
¡¸Check what out?¡¹
¡¸Can everyone speak the goblinnguage?¡¹
Everyone knew where Hiroshi was going with this when he said that. They made their personal statements in order.
¡¸I never learned it.¡¹
¡¸Me neither.¡¹
¡¸I can speak it.¡¹
¡¸I can also speak it.¡¹
¡¸Annnd that perfectly aligns with ourbatant group and nonbatant group.¡¹
Everyone grimaced at what Hiroshi said. It was as clear as day where they had each allocated their resources to.
¡¸Then what about the elvennguage?¡¹
¡¸From what Teres said, they can all speak the standard Fane speech.¡¹
¡¸¡¡That¡¯s odd.¡¹
¡¸Hey, don¡¯t ask me, man.¡¹
Elves in this world were different in the strangest little ways. Nothing particrly important, but that still made them taken aback.
¡¸Well, whatever. We¡¯ve wasted enough time as it is. Time to pick up the pace.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
They started moving faster as prompted by Tatsuya. They didn¡¯t even bother to hide the sound of their footsteps, as it was simply too much to think about. As they rushed past all sorts of strangely colored vegetation, they simply looked back at it as they rushed forward without even questioning whether they were going the right way or not.
The scream was heard two days after they had gone upstream, in the afternoon.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, Mio-chan.¡¹
¡¸Mm, I heard it.¡¹
¡¸Sounds like a female voice.¡¹
They answered Haruna before identifying the direction of the scream, re-brandishing their weapons and changing course. They seemed to be one of the presences that Hiroshi and Mio had sensed. While shaking for more reasons than one, Hiroshi standing valiantly at the vanguard ended up being a bit pitiable. They didn¡¯t seem to be too far from their target. With a full-on sprint, it would take only a minute.
At the ce in question, they could see the aforementioned blonde female bound hand and foot between ivy and branches, soon to be engulfed by a big tree.
¡¸Oh crap!¡¹
¡¸Get the heck over there!¡¹
Getting into a big panic in a situation that did not allow for dy, Hiroshi decided to start out by activating Outface as he threw a handaxe at the tree. Makoto used her novice long-distance sword skill, Sonic sh in order to cut off the ivy. The handaxe cut through the ivy at their feet, and Sonic sh sliced through the upper half of the ivy that had the female in its grip.
¡¸Hiro, any ingredients we can glean from it?¡¹
Confirming that their first attack had rescued the female, Tatsuya decided to ask Hiroshi. Before the female could fall to the ground, Haruna had used eleration magic in order to quickly move over there and retrieve her before promptly withdrawing.
¡¸It¡¯s ¡¯bout two ranks higher than most wood.¡¹
Hiroshi answered Tatsuya as he approached the tree with his pole axe. This pole axe happened to be one that Hiroshi had remade from the materials that Layotte had provided. When Layotte had heard from Rayna about Makoto¡¯s apprehensions, he had decided that nothing else would do, forcing them to take along magic iron and mythril, even going so far as to update their smelting furnace.
¡¸Then we¡¯d better not burn it.¡¹
¡¸Plus it might spread fire, mate. Best not to.¡¹
¡¸Then I guess we can just burn the roots or something.¡¹
Tatsuya said as he proceeded to cut the roots to pieces with earth-style offense magic. Once the effects had gone, Hiroshi made a hearty swing with his pole axe and pounded it into the base of the roots.
Having just sliced into one-third of the base, the pole axe made a hearty sound as it came back for more to the exact same spot. If this were a sword, even if someone of Makoto¡¯s prowess were to use it, not even a regr attack could go this far. Axe-type weapons were the most suitable weapons against tree monsters.
¡¸You just don¡¯t know when to quit.¡¹
Mio said with an expressionless face as she shot the ivy that was scrambling at Hiroshi with a wind-d arrow, felling it. Not even a secondter, Hiroshi pounded in thest attack, finally felling the entire miasma-transformed tree with a resounding crash.
¡¸We got some wood, y¡¯all!¡¹
¡¸Oi!¡¹
Hiroshi was overjoyed as he lopped off branch after branch, momentarily forgetting their objective. Tatsuya interjected mercilessly with his staff.
¡¸Umm, hello? We need to first see if the person is okay.¡¹
¡¸But I thought that Haruna-san was takin¡¯ care of that.¡¹
¡¸I realize that, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s polite to at least ACT like you¡¯re concerned?¡¹
Not only had Tatsuya objected to his behavior, but now Makoto was objecting as well. Hiroshi agreed with painful reluctance as he followed them to the female. By the time she could bepletely seen, Haruna and Mio had taken nearly all of the ivy off, revealing her beautiful form for all to see.
As expected, the female was an elf. Her pointy ears proved this. Her hair had unraveled in this scuffle, spreading out blonde, soft, thread-like hair that was thinner than Haruna¡¯s. Unusual for an elf, herrge, drooping eyes were a green color, fitting in perfectly with the folk of the forest. Judging from the shape of her face, she felt a bit on the young side, but definitely not younger than Mio or Aearis.
However, her most remarkable characteristic was not her face. It was those ridiculous proportions, uncharacteristic of an elf. She was still in line with the average elf with her tall stature and dainty body, but that protrusion pushing up the chest area of her grass-colored clothing was unmistakably superior to that of Haruna¡¯s. Perhaps because it had caught onto the branch or because of Makoto¡¯s attack grazed her shirt, it was dangerously torn in the chest area, from which ripe, forbidden fruit seemed like it would fall out at any moment. Tatsuya didn¡¯t know where to look.
As Tatsuya was looking around awkwardly, Hiroshi was shivering in the corner of the room, making a face like he was begging for his life. For some reason, he and Makoto were both gazing intensely at the elf. There was no lust in Hiroshi¡¯s eyes, but rather, fury at something unbelievable he had just witnessed. His gaze was actually a bit unpleasant, like the preamble of an apocalypse.
¡¸U-Umm¡¡¡¹
Although she didn¡¯t quite like the gazes that either of them had, the silence was also a bit too much to handle, and the elf had decided to open her mouth and express thanks when Hiroshi and Makoto cut through what she was about to say.
¡¸Apologize¡¡! Apologize to Tolkien!!¡¹
¡¸Would you quit it?!¡¹
At the same time that Hiroshi and Makoto had suddenly spurted out nonsense, Tatsuya silenced them in a pstick fashion. Meanwhile, the elf had no idea how to react to this sudden demand for an apology.
¡¸But elves are supposed to have less chest armor!¡¹
¡¸Elves are only elves if they¡¯re tall ¡®n t as a washin¡¯ board! Big or gigantic juggers are outta the question!¡¹
¡¸Still, this isn¡¯t the time or ce to discuss that!¡¹
¡¸Tatsu, isn¡¯t that essentially a roundabout way of agreeing with them?¡¹
¡¸No!¡¹
After Mio made an unwantedment, the conversation further derailed into a vicious argument. As she shook her head at them, Haruna decided to forcefully steer the conversation onto the right track.
¡¸I could care less about whether elves have big or small breasts. Let¡¯s just hear what she has to say.¡¹
Feeling a bit off-put about Haruna¡¯sment as well, the elf girl decided to first hide her breast area before expressing her gratitude. When Haruna saw this, she took out a spare upper garment and put it over her.
¡¸U-Umm, thank you!¡¹
¡¸No worries. We just happened to be passing by.¡¹
¡¸Welp, more like we wandered here.¡¹
The elf girl and her timid tone, Haruna and herugh as she responded, andst of all Hiroshi, who casually and bluntly remarked on their situation.
¡¸Wandered, you say?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Just a lil visit to an elf vige, or more precisely, an errand with the temple of the forest god¡¡¡¹
¡¸The side paths were more numerous than we thought, and now we¡¯re rtively lost.¡¹
The elf girl thought about it for a bit.
¡¸Umm, if you might be so kind as to inform me of what errand you have with the temple?¡¹
¡¸We thought we could get in contact with the forest god, Aranwen-sama if we went to the temple. Is that right?¡¹
¡¸Aranwen-sama, you say¡¡¡¹
The elf made a rather mixed expression at Haruna¡¯s words. Haruna continued with a worried expression.
¡¸Oh, is it bad to want to meet with Aranwen-sama?¡¹
¡¸Umm, not necessarily. It¡¯s more like I can¡¯t make a judgment on this¡¡¡¹
¡¸Do we need the permission of a higher-up?¡¹
¡¸Yes. If you hade around 30 years sooner, it wouldn¡¯t have been much of a problem, but a lot has happened as ofte.¡¹
It struck them immediately with how different time was for elves with that statement about 30 years being recent. But that was to be expected from the longest living race in this world.
¡¸Have tensions increased with outsiders? Maybe we shouldn¡¯t be here¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, no no. Humans don¡¯te nearly enough for that to happen.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, wouldn¡¯t expect them to¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but agree with the elf. No one generally entered this area unless you were as whimsical as they were. It was probably impossible to rouse a problem on a wide scale with outside rtions even if you wanted to.
¡¸In that case, would it be alright if you escorted us to the vige?¡¹
¡¸Yes. In fact, we greatly wee you.¡¹
The elf¡¯s eyes glinted as she dered this to Haruna. You couldn¡¯t possibly mistake that for anything other than weing them.
¡¸Then does that mean we won¡¯t have to walk along the animal trails for a while?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, does it?¡¹
¡¸If you were to line up the extent of human technology with ours, there would not be a significant difference, or so I have heard.¡¹
¡¸So that means there are plenty of easy roads to walk?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s face became happier as she heard this. Even she had grown tired of constantly walking along the difficult animal trails. She had not be weary due to having ess to a portable bath and massage chair, but she was now longing for the scenery, culture, and scent of civilization.
¡¸Oh, right.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸We haven¡¯t introduced ourselves yet, have we?¡¹
¡¸Ahh! That¡¯s right!!¡¹
Both of them had personalities that meshed so well together that they hadpletely forgotten about introductions.
¡¸Terribly sorry. My name is Archem. I am the daughter of Meza and Leichem of Alt Ortem.¡¹
¡¸Alt Ortem?¡¹
Tatsuya made a puzzled face when he heard this strange introduction. The others also didn¡¯t really seem to get what she meant.
¡¸Alt Ortem is an old Elvish word meaning ¡°the oldestnd in Ortem¡±. Simply think of it as the name of my hometown.¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t have a surname or family name?¡¹
¡¸Even Ortem, the biggest amongst the elf viges, only has around 5,000 households, so it¡¯s generally easy to tell who lives where and who¡¯s rted to who. Also, the children are essentially raised by the vige as a collective whole, so everyone generally knows each other.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see.¡¹
While being a bit astonished at how there were more than 5,000 households in this forest, Haruna managed to understand the system. Unlike dwarves, their lifespan was long, which also meant they were morex about having children. This scale alone was impressive.
Incidentally, Teres happened to also have the same kind of naming, but as it was nearly meaningless in human towns, she merely shortened it into the more suitable format of Teres Farm. Hiroshi and the others also wondered why they had introduced themselves in a different manner, but had figured it was something along those lines and let it slide.
¡¸Uhh, my name¡¯s Toudou Haruna. Toudou is my family name and Haruna is my personal name. Everyone here has the same type of name. And this mature-looking man over here is Katsuki Tatsuya-san. He¡¯s the only married one. The other male here is Azuma Hiroshi-kun, and the shorter-haired female is Mizoguchi Makoto-san. The youngest one here is Mizubashi Mio-chan.¡¹
Hiroshi and the others followed suit in introducing themselves. When she heard each of their names, the elf mumbled them silently in order to match it with their faces before reconfirming all of this and bowing her head in relief.
¡¸Well then, we¡¯re all done with the introductions, so now it¡¯s straight sailing to the elf vige!¡¹
¡¸Hold it mate.¡¹
They were all pumped up when Hiroshi had to interrupt.
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Still haven¡¯t finished with this hunter tree. C¡¯mon, I ain¡¯t just gonna leave such a fine quality wood lyin¡¯ here.¡¹
Everyone simply groaned at Hiroshi as he grinned, holding up a hatchet and handaxe. They ended up leaving about 15 minutester than nned.
¡¸Who ever thought there¡¯d be such a splendid vige inside this forest¡¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t you think this ce is actually bigger in scale than Leite Vige?¡¹
Upon reaching the Elf Vige, which took an hour with the guidance of Archem, everyone couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the sight.
¡¸You know, I never saw elves as being involved in agriculture, but this ce is totally a farming vige, isn¡¯t it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Darn skippy. Plus it feels like the good ¡®ol mountain viges of Japan.¡¹
They eximed as they looked at the vast fields. From what they could see, the field in front of them had already been harvested from, so it wasn¡¯t possible to tell what had been growing there. The fields in this area, in fact, were all merely organized neatly but without anything growing. Judging from this fact, it was reasonable to assume that all winter harvests had been collected, or otherwise, that they were either letting the fields rest or nning to grow crops from summer to fall.
Maybe not so much for potatoes, beans, or wheat, but nting corn in the given area would no doubt make harvest quite troublesome. After all, the corn that was generally cultivated in Fane happened to also be a nt-type monster. With that being said, much like pom, it was not carnivorous and was quite capable of bing docile given a certain amount of time. Then again, it was different from pom in that it normally took its time spreading its roots, like any other nt.
So yes, corn nts were not only docile, but grew well in wastnds, yielded much harvest, and were easy to cultivate. However, when harvest season came, the nts would start trotting around on their own, attempting to run around and find newnds to multiply. Since they resisted fairly violently whenever you would try and grab them, only people with a decent amount of training could hope to avoid their wrath. Quite honestly, getting pped by branches hurt intensely when lightly clothed.
Then again, it was always possible that there were non-monster corn crops and that Hiroshi and the others had yet to find them.
¡¸What¡¯re you growing in these fields?¡¹
¡¸Well in this area, we generally grow beans and roots. There are always stragglers who attempt to escape, so there¡¯s always a bigmotion twice per year.¡¹
¡¸The¡beans try to run away? Or the root vegetables?¡¹
¡¸Both of those crops have several varieties. The worst of them all are the big oro roots, because they run away quickly.¡¹
Big oro roots were big roots that split down the middle about 5 centimeters in. Unlike the regr roots, these ones had a unique sweetness to them that made them a goodbination with corsomme or shellfish. Put it in Terona and you¡¯d get yourself a great vor, so it was a popr ingredient for winter meals. Apparently it was best to raise it in aparatively warmer region, and in the case of Fane, it was raised in the southern regions. However, at least in the case of Haruna and Tatsuya, they did not know it was a nt-type monster.
¡¸It¡¯s purty darn surreal to see them big roots restlessly runnin¡¯ ¡®round.¡¹
¡¸It sure is¡¡¡¹
The big roots would run restlessly around the snow, busily moving their short legs all the while. It was quite the surreal sight. Although snow only ever piled up two or three times a year, there was no guarantee that it wouldn¡¯t pile up in harvest season. Therefore, they would probablyy their eyes on this sight once every few years.
¡¸Seriously, it¡¯s a lot of work to harvest when snow has piled up¡¡¡¹
¡¸I take it you¡¯ve experienced this more than just once¡¡¡¹
¡¸Once was more than enough¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but send a sympathizing gaze at Archem as she sighed, clearly fed up.
¡¸In addition, we have revve beans, and you would not believe how violent some of them be year-round. Our stock just keeps going down because of all the beans they start throwing around, and it¡¯s always when we¡¯re wearing lighter clothing, which seriously hurts¡¡¡¹
Who would have thought that Archem could talk so much about farming? Agriculture over here also seemed to be quite the hassle.
¡¸Revve, ya say? Well if I be darned. That¡¯s some harsh stuff to grow.¡¹
¡¸Well, revve is verypatible with winter vegetables, and although it may lose to big beans, it still has excellent nutrition and harvest amounts. It¡¯s just that those attacks are nothing tough about¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ever try steel tes?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t even want to think about using such hot, heavy objects for farm work in the middle of summer¡¡¡¹
Archem grumbled, and Hiroshi didn¡¯t me her. He had also cultivated some back in the game, and thankfully, he had already gained plenty of HP and defense, so he was able to harvest without taking any damage from the cannon fire of those beans. With that being said, the procedures, time needed for growth, and everything else was so differentpared to the game that there wasn¡¯t much point in remembering such things.
¡¸Still, who would¡¯ve thought that elves were an agricultural society¡¡¡¹
¡¸What did you think they were?¡¹
¡¸I thought they were a race that primarily hunted and gathered, coexisting with the forest as their leader.¡¹
¡¸You can¡¯t be serious. Even if this is a fruitful, abundant forest, you could hardly call the elven race one of the supposed ¡°great¡± powers if that was all our lifestyle consisted of.¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t deny that¡¡¡¹
What Archem had been saying had truly put a dent in Tatsuya¡¯s perception of the fantasy genre, but he couldn¡¯t help but agree. The life of a narrow-minded hermit was sustainable precisely because of their scarcity in number. Although this vige only numbered in the 10 thousands, the total poption of elves in the world numbered over a million. There was no way that all elves could survive merely off of the blessings of the forest.
In a sense, this Japan-esque mountain vige lifestyle could be seen as essential.
¡¸Besides, even this vige required steady cultivation and richening of the soil in order to restore ces that couldn¡¯t initially grow nts. We had to work patiently, little by little in order to avoid hindering the forest before expanding.¡¹
¡¸Well that¡¯s purty straightforward¡¡¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, this is just destroying my image of elves more and more¡¡¡¹
All the Japanese people fully agreed with Makoto. In actuality, their perception of what elves were like was also shared by other races. In that sense, maybe these elves were the ones who were strange.
¡¸¡¡Hm?¡¹
As they were chit-chatting about things like agricultural crops, normal life, and the structure of the vige, Hiroshi suddenly disyed interest in something along the side of the farm road.
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸That corner over there looks a mite interestin¡¯. Whaddya think?¡¹
¡¸What¡¡¡¹
Frowning at the sudden question, Tatsuya observed the section that Hiroshi was pointing at. After a brief moment, he understood what Hiroshi had found so interesting, an expression of astonishment on his face.
¡¸H-Hey, Archem¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹
¡¸What kind of crop do you have growing over there¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Ah, yes, that¡¯s our staple food, raas wheat.¡¹
While a bit dejected at how simple the answer was, Tatsuya still wanted to press on.
¡¸And what kind of crop is this raas wheat?¡¹
¡¸Umm, what kind, indeed¡¡¡¹
Archem pondered how to answer Tatsuya¡¯s question. It was supposedly wheat, but was shaped differently from regr wheat when it was ripe. It would be difficult to exin without a side-by-sideparison.
¡¸Ah, yes. The lunch that I didn¡¯t get to eat earlier was a raas ball, so I¡¯ll show you that.¡¹
As she was wondering how to exin it, she had remembered her lunch from earlier, pping her hands together. She then took out a leaf-wrapped rice ball from a preservation bag, opening it up to show everyone.
¡¸I thought so!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s here!¡¡It¡¯s finally here!!¡¹
¡¸This is¡¡Unbelievable¡¡!¡¹
¡¸No way¡¡!¡¡I can¡¯t believe this¡¡!¡¹
¡¸They actually cultivated it here!¡¹
Archem was taken aback at the reactions they made. But of course. After all, her lunch happened to be a salted japonica rice ball.
¡¸Umm, is there something odd about this raas wheat?¡¹
¡¸See, that stuff¡¯s called rice back where we live and is our staple food. But I ain¡¯t never seen it cultivated in Fane.¡¹
¡¸Ah, is that so. But you don¡¯t refer to it as wheat?¡¹
¡¸Wheat ¡®n rice¡¯re crops with purty different attributes, so in our hometown they¡¯re treated differently.¡¹
Archem made a puzzled face. Apparently elves could not see a discernible difference between wheat and rice. They were both part of the poaceae family, though, so in that sense they weren¡¯t wrong.
As they were having a heated Q&A, someone ran up to them along the path behind them, making a loud metallic noise as they did so.
¡¸Archem!¡¡£À¡ù£¾£¼¡ç£££¥£¦!?¡¹
¡¸Chett?¡¹
Archem turned around with a puzzled look on her face in response to the voice of a young male elf she knew very well, wearing full-te armor like that of Douga. He rattled on in anguage that Tatsuya and Makoto couldn¡¯t understand. His face was that of your typical handsome elf, but the neck peeking out of his armor was exaggeratingly big. He must have a massive body.
¡¸Chett, we have guests, so could you switch to Fane?¡¹
¡¸I-It be rude of me, noble visitors. Govejon-san say somethin¡¯ about a hunter tree blockin¡¯ the way from the vige, so I be searchin¡¯ frantically for you, Archem. I be d that you¡¯re safe! The hunters who went out searchin¡¯ found only hunter tree remains and your bow on the ground, I was worried, worried¡¡!¡¹
The handsome elf spoke in a stiff Fane ent. Especially when he said the word ¡°Govejon¡±. That sounded to them like ¡°Goblin¡± and they couldn¡¯t unhear it. The moment he had finished speaking, Hiroshi and Makoto could no longer contain their suppressed emotions of shock, screaming.
¡¸Apologize¡¡!¡¡Apologize to¡¡!!¡¹
¡¸I said shuddup!!¡¹
Although their voices were simply stifled the next moment when Tatsuya silenced them like a pin needle.
¡¸Oh? So you be wanting a talk with Aranwen-sama.¡¹
¡¸Yes. Hence why we¡¯re seeking permission from someone in charge.¡¹
Despite having yelled at him a moment earlier, Makoto was now conversing with Chett like normal. Whenever she would exin about things like the reason they came to the vige or how they rescued Archem, the elves would express their gratitude again and again, making her feel strangely sweltering.
After Hiroshi and Makoto were forced to keep their mouths shut, Chett whistled, and then burly elves had surrounded the ce. Their build was so massive that it was hard to believe they were elves, and they overwhelmed the ce. Their faces did not match their bodies.
¡¸But I be really grateful to ya!¡¹
¡¸Archem be the youngest girl in all of Alte Ortem. I-If I ever seen ¡®er get swallowed by a hunter tree, why I, why I!!¡¹
¡¸Hey, it¡¯s okay.¡¹
Makotoforted him with a grimace on her face, a bit fed up with all this tear-ridden elves. For whatever reason, she was the most popr girl with the elves. Her face was young and had beautiful form, in addition to how she spoke like an older person. But despite being surrounded by all these elves, she didn¡¯t try and scream again.
¡¸Oh right, you said that she¡¯s the youngest in Alte Ortem, but are there any other children?¡¹
¡¸Aye. There be about a hundred o¡¯them in the entire vige.¡¹
¡¸It just be that thest child to be born be fifty years ago. And that child be now finally able to have children.¡¹
¡¸And that¡¯s Archem? Wow, that¡¯s been a while.¡¹
¡¸Cause elves be havin¡¯ a long lifespan, eh? But that also ends up makin¡¯ the body take a while to mature as well. Sure, ye can get pregnant at 12 years of age, but the body isn¡¯t properly ready till muchter than them humans or beastmen.¡¹
Apparently there wasn¡¯t any difference between elves and the other races for the minimum amount of maturation. Having a long period of weakness as a youth was a risk that affected the entire race. In that respect, it wasn¡¯t all that strange to have secondary sexual characteristics ur earlier.
¡¸So you could freely travel to and from the temple 30 years ago, right?¡¹
¡¸Aye. There wasn¡¯t any funny grass growin¡¯ at that time.¡¹
The middle-aged, young-looking elf gave a curt response to Haruna¡¯s new topic.
¡¸Funny grass? So the reason you need permission to go into the temple¡¡¡¹
¡¸Aye aye. Carnivorous nts started growin¡¯ over there and ye can¡¯t enter lest ye know how to protect yerself.¡¹
¡¸We tried expellin¡¯ them but they reproduce he fast.¡¹
¡¸We even tried usin¡¯ weed killer on ¡¯em an they just adapted.¡¹
Everyone gaped. If these massive elves couldn¡¯t even handle these carnivorous nts then they must be quite tough.
¡¸Well, we¡¯re almost at the chief¡¯s house, so ye can hear the rest from them.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay.¡¹
They replied as their destination came into view. This house did seem a bit bigger than the other ones. If they were meeting there then this must be the house of the chief who ruled the vige.
¡¸I leave the rest to ye Archem.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re gonna let ¡¯em know of yer safety and the safe arrival of guests.¡¹
¡¸Tonight¡¯s a wee party for ye¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Gotta tell Govejon-san as well.¡¹
They all said, scattering in various directions with no apparent caution for outsiders.
¡¸They sure are trusting¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s rare we get visitors, so it¡¯s always fun when we do¡¡¡¹
¡¸I notice you don¡¯t really have an ent.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because I¡¯m in charge of outside negotiations.¡¹
Or at least that was what she imed, but sometimes Mio noticed her slip when talking to the elves.
¡¸Anyhow, I¡¯ll let the chief know about this. Could you wait a moment?¡¹
¡¸Okay, thank you.¡¹
After about a minute, several figures emerged from the house.
¡¸Apologies, my visitors. Feet just don¡¯t work how they used ta.¡¹
An aging male elf came out from the house. You could say his head resembled that of a kappa. His cheeks had excess skin to where it looked like they were dripping off. And what really set the deal was his beer belly,pletely different from what they thought elves to be like.
¡¸Apolo¡¡!¡¹
¡¸Give it a rest!¡¹
Sure, he did somewhat agree, but Tatsuya once again shut them up.
¡¸Sensei. That is unrted to what we came for.¡¹
¡¸Right, sorry. Kinda just came to me.¡¹
Hiroshi made a genuine apology while the people who had scolded him found themselves at a loss for words since they understood where he wasing from.
¡¸Anyhow, gotta discuss somethin¡¯ with ya.¡¹
¡¸And what be that?¡¹
After Hiroshi had regained hisposure and spoke, the elder who had heard the gist from Archem spoke back while giving him an evaluating nce.
¡¸Y¡¯know that raas wheat that we call rice? Couldja help us spread the cultivation knowledge throughout Fane?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re not here to discuss THAT!¡¹
Hiroshi suddenly diverted from the group¡¯s original objective, and Makoto, who had generally been on his side, burst out at him. The elves simply looked at these foreigners in confusion.
Volume 2, 2
Volume 2, Chapter 2
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Your drinking game is on point, sis.¡¹
¡¸Aye-aye. Go for another one.¡¹
¡¸I can do this all day!¡¹
A feast with all Alte Ortem members present and wild.
There are around five hundred people in just the nearest vicinity and there are probably a thousand or so elves here and there, huddling around bonfires, downing unrefined sake like there was no tomorrow. Within that swarm Forest giants and Goblins in the lower second digits can be spotted. Truly chaos at its finest.
Makoto appeared to be taken captive by all those drunks, but she actually ventured into the fray of her own volition and is now opening every sake bottle left and right in an epic disy of unhinged drunkenness. Receiving words of encouragement after every single bottle she downs, Makoto takes a bite out of some finger food and proceeds to empty out yet another freshly filled ss.
¡¸Oh my, oh dear, oh my¡¡¹
¡¸Makoto, are you sure about this?¡¹
¡¸That right there¡¯s a natural born drunk. She can handle herself just fine.¡¹
Tatsuya remarks, slowly working his way down some unrefined sake, which was surprisingly strong because of either differing manufacturing methods or just the world itself in general, visibly dumbfounded by the sight. Although Makoto¡¯s been going at thrice the drinking pace of Tatsuya, she¡¯s yet to show any signs of being hammered, as her demeanor and artiction are still in check.
¡¸It seems as though I¡¯ve let myself go a little too much¡¡¹
¡¸Same here, don¡¯t sweat it.¡¹
Tatsuya answers back to Artiem, who¡¯s clearly out of her element, with a strained grin. It¡¯s a lot less embarrassing to be used as an excuse to throw a party rather than being demanded to apologize to some random stranger out of the blue.
¡¸Seeing elves, goblins and forest giants all merrily enjoying themselves under the big blue sky is quite the surreal sight, ain¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸Well, goblins and elves or elves and dwarfs have this image of being sworn enemies in most fantasy settings.¡¹
¡¸Aye, not to mention that forest giants aren¡¯t really into the whole inter-race interaction thing, although for reasons different from elves.¡¹
¡¸This stew really hits the spot¡¹
Mio continues to calmly tackle her food as Tatsuya informs Artiem of the stereotypes surrounding foreign races in human cities. The stereotypes themselves aren¡¯t all that different from the ones that Hiroshi and other fellow Japanese folk hold. Most of the foreign races in cities act in ordance to their stereotypes as well. If there¡¯s one thing that¡¯s out of line, it would have to be Teres¡¯ level, up until this point nobody could¡¯ve imagined that the elf race could¡¯ve been like that.
¡¸Were ya¡¯ll the ones who rescued Tiem?¡¹
As the inter-race bonding carried on, a goblin with a sake bottle at hand and a forest giant approached them.
¡¸I guess so?¡¹
¡¸From what I remember you just charged in for the lumber.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s wrong with lumber?¡¹
Hiroshi submits after being outed by Tatsuya. That being said he did run in there intending to save Artiem initially, so iming he did save her isn¡¯t off by any means.
¡¸After Teres left there weren¡¯t any youngdies left to go about in the vige asides from Tiem.¡¹
¡¸The thought of her letting her life slip without havin¡¯ experienced a life appropriate for ass her age caused even us to get flustered.¡¹
¡¸Very rarely does anyone venturing by themselves manage to escape from the ambush of a hunter tree, especially if they¡¯ve never faced one before¡¹
¡¸Aye, to make matters worse, the only things left behind were some wreckage and Chem¡¯s bow. How could we not be concerned?¡¹
All the elves around the area nod in agreement to their words. Hiroshi lets out a stifledugh at this gesture while munching on some unknown bird¡¯s leg. The sauce has some odd meat chunks in it but the spiciness makes it rather delicious. Eaten with a rice ball it goes down quick. It¡¯s mostly bird and rabbit meat that make up the majority of regr and finger food, although there is some deer, boar and bear meet thrown into the mix in nominal amounts. In consideration of parasites all of their meat is thoroughly cooked through.
¡¸Deepest apologies for making you both worry, Goivejon and Foeldan.¡¹
¡¸Cut it, you¡¯re safe and that¡¯s all that matters.¡¹
The goblin and the forest giant respond to a bowing Artiem with gently squinted eyes. It¡¯s probably clear by this point but Goivejon¡¯s the goblin and Foeldan¡¯s the forest giant respectively. Although all three races vary wildly in outwardly appearance, the fact that their core beliefs are almost the exact same is quite interesting
¡¸Come to think of it, what were you doing outside the vige?¡¹
¡¸I had ns to meet up with the western vige elves since it¡¯s my first time heading to Renedo to do some dealings.¡¹
¡¸Oh so you were going to be taught about the proper negotiating etiquette and all that?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Before being assigned to take Teres¡¯ ce she was the one responsible for negotiations, so I had to practice under the western vige elves till I got permission to leave for the outside world.¡¹
¡¸Why couldn¡¯t anyone else go?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s the younger generation¡¯s responsibility to interact with the outside, or at least that¡¯s what the older generation insisted on, so it was us who carried the part for generations.¡¹
It seems that even the elven society has some odd stuff going on. In that case they¡¯d just be better off getting permission immediately and learning through first-hand experience rather than second-hand experience, but apparently this kind of outlook would get onebelled as naive by elf standards. For context Teres is a young, under one hundred, elf and Artiem is about twice as young as her. Apparently in elven society fifty years wouldnd you in the third year of middle school by Japanese standards. Although the birthrates are progressively decreasing there¡¯s still a fine line between being concerned and being overprotective.
¡¸But that¡¯s just an excuse, the real reason they don¡¯t want the elderly leaving is because they¡¯ll never being back.¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
¡¸Would they get lost?¡¹
After hearing such astonishing reasoning, Hiroshi and Haruna seek for an exnation,pletely dumbfounded at what they had just heard. Tatsuya, who had an idea where this was going, quietly carried on with his drink. Mio¡¯s too absorbed in her shioyaki to pay attention to such trivialities.
¡¸If only that was the case. Most of them get overtaken by wanderlust for the city and end up vanishing along with everything they were supposed to bring back to the vige.¡¹
¡¸That sounds more like something a youngling would try pulling.¡¹
¡¸Aye. Disassociating from one¡¯s vige and heading off for greener pastures is more their thing.¡¹
¡¸Spending hundreds of years in some remote vige leaves one longing for the unknown, it would appear.¡¹
That statement said so many things concerning their culture that Hiroshi was at a loss for words but in his mind he went ¡®what are you hags thinking¡¯. The elves weren¡¯t like this at all when the game started and that fact made it all the more bbergasting
¡¸If that¡¯s the case why dun we just lettem off their leash?¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t rmend that to a bunch of old-timers¡¹
¡¸Goivejon¡¯s right ¡¯bout this, the older generation should be leadin¡¯ by example¡¹
¡¸If all of them started leaving depoption would elerate as well. That¡¯s what happened to the southwest elf vige, which gotpletely deserted as a result.¡¹
Artiem chips in to Goivejon¡¯s and Foeldan¡¯s conversation with a concerning statement. If the elderly all packed their stuff and left one after another from a vige with dwindling birth rates, it¡¯s only natural that depoption would quicken. Elves specifically are of working age till around seven hundred years of age, thus if all the elderly were to be taken out of the equation, maintaining the vige would be impossible. The elves were facing simr problems as Japan¡¯s rural areas.
¡¸Declining birthrates are a problem anywhere you go it seems¡¹
¡¸Nay. Goblins¡¯ life spans are short and they be havin¡¯ kids left and right, so it ain¡¯t an issue ¡®ere at least.¡¹
¡¸Oh and by the way, Goivejon has seen more than a hundred winters in his time here while most goblins pass away by thirty, the old coot.¡¹
¡¸I ain¡¯t no old coot, I just managed to evolve into an elder goblin through the help of Aranwen.¡¹
Seems like the goblins have their own worries to attend to. Although Mio, who¡¯s currently busy setting her sights on bell peppers and carrots and what not, had no interest in goblin rted affairs at the moment.
¡¸Oh yeah, howe ya¡¯ll speaking Fanian?¡¹
¡¸How many races do you thinke in and out of this vige on a regr basis?¡¹
¡¸Not counting humans, who asionally happen by, a total of four different races gather together here. If you were to normalize either one of theirnguages the others wouldn¡¯t take too kindly to that, now would they?¡¹
¡¸Besides, just from the way our mouths are constructed it¡¯d be difficult to speak anything asides from the humannguage.¡¹
They could kind of get Goivejon¡¯s and Foeldan¡¯s answer and sort of not. Aside from Artiem everyone else mispronounces the two¡¯s names as Govjohn and Feldan, but as far as understanding one another goes there¡¯s no real issue to be had. Also fairies are the remaining fourth race but they¡¯re didn¡¯t have any business here today so they¡¯re not present.
¡¸So Teres¡¯ and Artiem¡¯s enunciation is that clean because they¡¯re negotiators for their race?¡¹
¡¸Yes that would be the case. Attempting to negotiate without proper pronunciation would be noughing matter.¡¹
When in Rome do as the Romans do. Everyone warmly watches over Artiem as she says something to that effect with apletely straight face. Even at this stage Mio is still absorbed with food, smoked cheese this time, but it¡¯s starting to look forced, as though she¡¯s purposefully trying to block out outside noises so that her inner impression of the races doesn¡¯t crumble any further. A self-defense mechanism had kicked in.
¡¸Hmm? It¡¯s awfully noisy over there isn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸T-That¡¯s!¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the infamous sake ¨C the Dwarf ughterer!¡¹
An unsettling namees out of Goivejon¡¯s and Foeldan¡¯s mouths as they react in a needlessly overblown matter. Everyone figures from the sound of it that it¡¯s likely really strong sake.
¡¸What¡¯s up with that name?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a type of alcoholic beverage, made from Lars barley, that¡¯s been distilled to the very limit just for the sake of gettingpletely hammered.¡¹
¡¸It ignites just by bringing a fire source near a cap-less neck. It¡¯s said that dwarves would pass out before even getting one of these down. The only thing it has going for it is the alcohol percentage.¡¹
¡¸Why would anyone ever-¡¹
¡¸I think I see Makoto downing one right now in fact.¡¹
Just as Tatsuya had noted, Makoto and around ten elves were drinking the thing that could most aptly be described as liquid alcohol. The elves give in after just two bottles but Makoto¡¯s already on her fourth one. Considering the amount she drank before that it¡¯s probably about time to put a stop to this madness.
¡¸I¡¯ll be right back.¡¹
¡¸No worries, once that thing¡¯s hit the scene the celebration¡¯s already over.¡¹
¡¸Aye. It¡¯s quite surprising there was someone strong enough to fully down even one of those.¡¹
¡¸And that someone¡¯s a little girly¡¹
Goveijon and Foeldan talk about Makoto in awe. Even by average human standards she¡¯d be ranked in the short category. Asides from the goblins all the races present boast an average height of over one hundred seventy centimeters, that would leave Makoto as the shortest fully growndy here. The very Makoto who is currently emptying the sake that even dwarfs couldn¡¯t handle and, despite the fact, her enunciation and thinking capabilities are yet to degrade, even in the eyes of an onlooker. It¡¯s natural to be taken aback by this sight.
¡¸Roasted corn¡¯s best with soy sauce¡¹
¡¸Mio, you should try holding back as well¡¡¹
Tatsuya looked dead in the eyes as he admonishes Mio, who was busy crunching on corn in her own little corner of the world. At the end of the day they¡¯re still the exact same unique little group they always were.
¡¸Good mornin¡¯¡¹
The following morning, a somewhat dozy Makoto, who had juste out of her appointed room, sprang into full consciousness after feasting her eyes on the breakfast Haruna had prepared. She then proceeded to ignore everyone else waiting for chow time and, without a moment¡¯s dy, positioned herself right in front of the table and patiently awaited the rice to be done.
¡¸Good morning, Makoto. We¡¯ve got miso, seaweed, dried fish and a small side bowl to go with the rice but I still need to know how you¡¯d like your eggs ¨C sunny side up? Tamagoyaki? Or maybe you¡¯d prefer them served over rice? ¡¹
¡¸Served over rice! ¡¹
Haruna let slip a strained smile as she served up the rice alongside a three-way goodie set made up of eggs, katsuoboshi and soy sauce to Makoto, who showed no signs of a hangover after yesterday¡¯s drinking. No one could rein in their amusement at Makoto¡¯s Makoto-like reaction
¡¸Are you fine with Natto? ¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but I¡¯ll pass. I¡¯m having egg served over rice after all. ¡¹
¡¸Huh, alrighty then¡¹
Haruna nodded back at Makoto¡¯s words while preparing her own share of the meal. Everyone else wanted their eggs over rice so she went with the same. All of the tableware before them were hand-crafted over at the workshop by the group effort of Haruna and Hiroshi.
¡¸Do ya¡¯ll eat yer eggs raw? ¡¹
¡¸We sterilize ¡¯em so it all good¡¹
¡¸Oh right of course, no problem there.¡¹
Seeing everyone crack open an egg on top of their rice and begin to mix it all together along with some soy sauce Goivejon and Foeldan couldn¡¯t help but poke fun at them, looking visibly disturbed in the process. Artiem also shared the sentiment.
¡¸Back in my ce there¡¯s a whole culture around eating things raw. Over hundreds of years of experimentation the proper way to prepare food for safe consumption has, more or less, been made apparent.¡¹
Hiroshi said, taking in a mouthful out of his thoroughly blended together meal which he appeared to delight in.
¡¸Haru, seconds. Also let¡¯s have omelets for lunch.¡¹
¡¸All right¡¹
Mio dered her demands while savoring her second servingplemented by seasonedver. She made her preferences all too clear by devouring copious amounts of rice without any kind of reservation the moment she managed toy hands on some.
¡¸I¡¯ll be having seconds. Also could I get some Natto? ¡¹
¡¸Roger that.¡¹
¡¸By Natto, do you mean those rotted soybeans? ¡¹
¡¸They seem like that at first nce but they¡¯re perfectly edible, more or less. ¡¹
Seeing Makoto throw stocking, mustard, onions and soy sauce together and dump it all over the rice without even flinching left Goivejon with a sour look on his face. A goblin¡¯s repulsed grimace is quite an odd sight.
¡¸Well, it might be too much asking some lot from an entirely different continent toprehend varying attitudes towards food.¡¹
¡¸Aye, even folk from the same country as I eat their food differently a¡¯ter all¡¹
¡¸I know right. Also, I¡¯ve noticed that it¡¯s mostly kansai people who refer to natto in that manner¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t any of us who are fine with natto. Mum and sis have no qualms about eating it, although me and daddy-o can¡¯t stomach it.¡¹
Whether or not one¡¯s okay with eating natto hinges more on one¡¯s cultural background than personal preference. The western side of Japan having little in terms of Natto production, it¡¯s not all that puzzling that a good chunk of people can¡¯t bear the taste. And while it¡¯s certainly a nutritious meal it¡¯s not like anyone should be given k just because they can¡¯t get it down their throat. As is natural to not attack others from a fundamentally different race from ours just for not being able to take in somethingpletely foreign to them, the same should be applied to people from the same country as well. It¡¯s only the exceptions like Aearis that can go ahead and eat some without any hesitation when it was ced in front of her as a joke.
¡¸Mio, you¡¯ve developed quite the appetite recently, haven¡¯t you? ¡¹
¡¸Aye. Even back in Fane she ate a fair bit but after getting back her intake increased somewhere around threefold? ¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m ate bloomer. ¡¹
Dancing her way out of Hiroshi¡¯s and Tatsuya¡¯s usations, Mio proceeds to effortlessly gobble down a third serving of rice and a second dried fish strip. It¡¯s aplete mystery where all that food manages to fit in her tiny body of childish proportions. Although, in all fairness, taking into consideration the nature of her recent activities it¡¯s highly unlikely she¡¯ll put on weight from just that much.
¡¸There be nothing wrong with a child eating to their heart¡¯s content. ¡¹
¡¸Aye-aye. ¡¹
The goblin and the forest giant nod in agreement as they fondly observe Mio continuing to blissfully gorge on food as though nothing else in the world mattered.
¡¸I¡¯ve got to say this nimono right here really hits the spot¡¹
¡¸You betcha. What in tarnation is this ck goo though? ¡¹
¡¸We call it soy sauce, it¡¯s a type of seasoning from back home made by fermenting soybeans with a kind of mold known as koji.¡¹
¡¸Soybeans, eh?¡¹
The three races attention was fixated to Haruna¡¯s exnation. It seems as though it had peaked their interest.
¡¸That soup right there is made through the same fermentation process as well.¡¹
¡¸This one a¡¯well?¡¹
¡¸It went well withrs¡¯ rice so I did a little digging myself¡¹
¡¸This world is just full of surprises, ain¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸How ¡¯bout I teach how to make it?¡¹
The three¡¯s faces light up at Hiroshi¡¯s proposal. They believed that, since it¡¯s possible to self-dependently collect all the ingredients, as long they knew the recipe they could make as much of it as they pleased. It was visible from their glittering expressions
¡¸However the stock we used this time around was picked up from the sea. We should definitely get around to investigating the local produce to see if there¡¯s anything usable out there¡¹
¡¸Stock, huh¡¡¹
¡¸That certainly does sound difficult now don¡¯t it¡¹
¡¸The taste changes drastically depending on the quality of the ingredients¡¹
Upon hearing Haruna¡¯s words a shadow is cast upon the once lit up faces of the three races. It¡¯s evident from the way they reacted to the mention of stock that they¡¯re general knowledge in that area is, at the very least, more developed than Fanians. During the discussion concerning various usable dashi ingredients around these parts, one peculiar question reared its head.
¡¸I overlooked it yesterday but, now that I think about it, where do ya¡¯ll procure your salt from?¡¹
Asked Hiroshi, genuinely puzzled as to how this many races can be residing in the forest and yet at the same time be using salt as though there was an abundance of itying around. If there were any rock salt node caves around then it would make sense but, from what he¡¯d gathered, there was nothing of the sort in in sight at least. Although there was a road leading into the nearest city, the vige itself was buried in the forest. Compared to a coastal city such as Wulls, salt doesn¡¯t go for that low of a price, and considering what the elves are able to put on the table, it seems highly unlikely that they could afford suchrge amounts. Also taking into ount the logistical problems that would arise from the quantity of goods which would have to be delivered and it looks all the less usible that they¡¯re being acquired through barter. Taking all of the above into consideration, one can only assume that they¡¯re producing it themselves through some means, but there¡¯s no salt water close by and there¡¯s really no other apparent means of production thates to mind.
¡¸Salt can be extracted from the salt tree fruit¡¹
¡¸The salt tree bears fruit all year round and because of that we can pluck and boil them down till the moisture disperses whenever the need arises. One fruit yields around 100 grams of crystalized salt.¡¹
¡¸With just one tree it¡¯s possible to supply around a 1000 people. They are treasured by the viges around here.¡¹
Unearthly nt life, wouldn¡¯t have expected any less from a parallel universe. Also if one licks the salt tree fruit by it itself it¡¯s said to taste fruity. Either way it still doesn¡¯t change the fact that it¡¯s salt, so it¡¯s only people tricking themselves into thinking it should taste fruity.
¡¸So what you¡¯re saying is that what¡¯s missing from these here viges is a little bit of excitement?¡¹
¡¸Aye-aye¡¹
There¡¯s no real reason to leave the forest when all the daily necessities such as water, salt, meat and vegetables are all conveniently within reach. As such, there¡¯s no need to interact with the outside world more thanpletely necessary, but when all the necessities of life are in ce people can¡¯t help but feel a longing for some stimuli. And when ites to someone from a cut offnd, where human rtions are non-existent, this is especially so. Usually, most notably in the case of elves, under these circumstances the elderly grow more and more conservative as the years go by but the vige people around this area, conversely, want to leave for the outside seeking some luster in their life. Trying to imagine the fullbined extent of the wanderlust that¡¯s overtaken every vige as a whole is a fool¡¯s errand.
¡¸Isn¡¯t it mostly the elderly folk who are very keen on setting out?¡¹
¡¸Aye-aye¡¹
¡¸Then howe Teres was over at Wulls?¡¹
¡¸A little while back, I say that but it¡¯s already been 2 whole years, A prophecy had been made by Aranwen which lead to a single one of the younger generation to set off for Wulls. No matter who got the short end of the stick it would¡¯ve ended with a dispute so they all drew for it and it was Teres who got chosen to carry out the duty.¡¹
Everyone present had a rough idea of what Aranwen¡¯s prophecy was and that thought made the acts of gods feel more real than usual.
¡¸I missed the opportunity to ask yesterday but how does everyone see their rtionship with Teres?¡¹
¡¸An apprentice and her master, right?¡¹
¡¸Aye. A lot went down up to this point but that¡¯s probably the most urate description for the time being¡¹
¡¸Her master?¡¹
¡¸Indeedy. She went through the ropes for about three months where she spent that time sterilizing ss eight potions and curry powder, also I made sure she¡¯d be able to cook up a very special kind of seasoning. She should be diligently making something fine right about now¡¹
Goivejon and Foeldan disy mixed reactions towards the mentioning of potions.
Also every single potion, regardless of type, is known as the Fane standard, even in elven viges. The reason for that is simple, the current herbalists of this vige are but sessors of the elves who once went through a period of study at the then recently founded Fane. Having said that, although they underwent rigorous study, the best they could do was ss four, even then it was somewhat of a struggle, and they all died out before the current day herbalists had a chance to be handed down the full extent of their knowledge. Because of these circumstances the uppermost ss limit for mass producible potions is six.
¡¸But did you teach her potion brewing?¡¹
¡¸Aye. The one to teach her was this one right there, my other apprentice, Mio¡¹
¡¸Even Mio can effortlessly teach up to the fifth ss after all¡¹
¡¸Fifth ss? You dun say¡¹
Goivejon puts on a skeptical face upon hearing that keyword. Whichever way you look at it neither Hiroshi nor Mio look like herbalists who¡¯ve mastered the art of brewing such high caliber potions.
¡¸Alrighty, we can discuss what Teres has been up to at another time for now¡¹
¡¸Agreed. We should start from grasping our current predicament¡¹
What level of potions Hiroshi and his apprentices are capable of concocting ispletely irrelevant at the moment. The matter at hand that needs to be addressed right here and now are our ns of heading over to Aranwen¡¯s temple.
¡¸How¡¯re the roads to the temple hanging on?¡¹
¡¸The main road is swarming with carnivorous nts, there¡¯s no way we¡¯re getting through there.¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t suggest goin¡¯ down the back road for a bunch of beginners like yerselves either, seeing as it¡¯s a tad popted by Hunter Trees and Blood Wolves¡¹
¡¸Nevertheless, the back road is still the best option at the moment¡¹
¡¸Aye-aye¡¹
That¡¯s quite the upsetting news. We¡¯d heard bits of information regarding the carnivorous nts yesterday so it wasn¡¯t too much of a shocker but to think that the back road is also going to prove a challenge is rather discouraging.
Last time Hiroshi managed to sh down the Hunter Tree in three swings but facing off from the front would provide a whole new set of troublesome challenges in the form of saturation attacks carried out by the vines and branches. Although the core of it is immobile topensate for this it manages to masterfully camouge itself, blending into the environment and being able to deliver swift surprise attacks at any given moment. Though it¡¯s weak to fire in rtion to all the other elements that doesn¡¯t mean that slightly wet tree bark will catch on fire all that easily and as such fire is a lot less universally effective than say an axe for example. And worst of all, it doesn¡¯t really have any other weak points or elements to speak of and by benefit of being a tree its defense is naturally high. A bothersome foe to say the least, although not nearly as frustrating as attempting to down one with a bow that is.
The Blood Wolf, as its name would suggest, is a massive wolf with a mane as red as blood. Despite being a wolf it is able to skillfully utilize tree branches, with a grace only matched by members of the cat family, from where it is able to incorporate a vertical element to its attacks. Its nimble movements and sharp ws are capable ofpletely overwhelming the average adventurer in under five seconds. Despite possessingbat capabilities several times higher than that of a poison wolf, they form and act like a pactprised of at least ten and, at times, over twenty wolves. What¡¯s most troubling in this specific instance, however, is that they¡¯re going to have the backup of Hunter Trees.
While Hunter Trees are carnivorous their main source of nutritiones from energy, either of a magical or a physical nature, both of which are stored in the blood. On the other hand Blood Wolves are, unsurprisingly enough, pure carnivores and have little fascination with blood. If the two were to engage in head to headbat the Blood Wolves woulde out on top through a pure numbers advantage. But it wouldn¡¯t even reallye to that, since if a Hunter Tree was to attempt to sneak attack a monster the caliber of the Blood Wolf, by the time they got into the execution phase, the Blood Wolf pack would have already escaped out of their effective striking range. From the perspective of a Hunter Tree, the Blood Wolf makes for an exceedingly inefficient hunting target, so it makes a lot more sense for them to hunt alongside the Blood Wolves and scrape up whatever remains in their wake.
¡¸Isn¡¯t it a miracle how these things can be on the loose and yet the surrounding viges still manage to remain unharmed?¡¹
¡¸Well, there¡¯s a magical barrier protecting it for a reason¡¹
¡¸Aye, plus it¡¯s not like us goblins would ever be caught dead losing a sheer numbers match, not to mention that forest giants are the natural predators for Hunter Trees. There¡¯s no way they¡¯re brain-dead enough to pick a fight with us of their own volition.¡¹
¡¸Makes sense¡¹
The forest giant who¡¯s huge in stature, firmly built and excels in the handling of axes is one of the absolute least favorable matchups for Hunter Trees. After all, the forest giants couldn¡¯t care less about getting a bruise or two, they¡¯ll charge straight for the core and swing at it with all their might, damn the consequences. And this goes for any tree type monster, not just for Hunter Trees. From their perspective there¡¯s nothing quite as terrifying as a towering lumberjack.
¡¸Well since we can safely discard the back road from our list of options it¡¯d be a good idea to thoroughly check out the front one¡¹
¡¸Howe you¡¯re discarding it?¡¹
¡¸f it was just us out there it wouldn¡¯t be an issue but with all the others tagging along things would getplicated¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
¡¸From ya¡¯lls perspective it would be more convenient to head through the front road, right?¡¹
Their eyes popped wide open upon hearing those words
¡¸No need to be so dramatic, we¡¯re getting some rice to take back home, we¡¯ve also going to need Fane¡¯s agricultural assistance so we¡¯re fine with doing this onest small job¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t that be asking for too much?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s all good, no really. Preparation will take some time, however, so you¡¯ll have more mouths to feed in the meanwhile and hopefully that¡¯s okay with you.¡¹
¡¸No worries, these past three years the harvest has been abundant. No vige will starve that easily even if the poption growth was in the lower double digits.¡¹
Thus we decide on our course of action while mixing in some light conversation to ease the mood in between. For the time being, clearing out the front road is going to be our main focus.
¡¸Now that breakfast has concluded how ¡¯bout we check up on the state of the front path?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, just hearing about it doesn¡¯t really tell the full story.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, what about weed killers?¡¹
¡¸We can see to that after checkin¡¯. Besides, chances are the locals have already tried that, so I doubt they¡¯ll be of much use¡¹
Said Hiroshi as he finished up cleaning after himself and headed to prepare for adventuring. Grasping the battlefieldes before everything else.
And so, in ordance to the fundamentals of any sessful undertaking, they headed out to investigate the conditions of the front road.
¡¸Be gone with you!¡¹
¡¸Makoto, behind you!¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve had just about enough of this!!!¡¹
¡¸Sensei, Haruna, get down. I¡¯ll shoot a fire arrow¡¹
The front path to Aranwen¡¯s temple was in critical condition.
¡¸Isn¡¯t this going a little overboard???¡¹
Hiroshi grumbled andined as he reactivated outss to gather aggro. He fended off the approaching ivy vines with the knife in his left hand and proceeded to swiftly close the distance between him and the core, delivering a deadly blow with his sickle. The unidentified carnivorous nt, who¡¯s official name was the man-eater, was being sliced down at a satisfying tempo, although, try as they might, there seemed to be no end in sight. Man-eaters, as the name would suggest, were carnivorous nt life who feed off of humans. They wrap the victim¡¯s body around with ivy vines and sap away their body heat, at which point they are swallowed whole, only to be digested live. This kind of mechanism instills fear in its prey by nature. Although its preferred meal is humans it could feed on virtually anything.
Their biggest weakness was a sufficiently sharp sickle. With just one swing of the thing their numbers get thinned out rapidly. This was not limited to just man-eaters as all nt type monsters tend to be vulnerable to sickles. Vine nts were especially weak to it, just one clean swing to the core was enough to take it down.
¡¸I can feel my proficiency level, in a weapon I¡¯ll likely never be using, going up rapidly!¡¹
Grumbled Haruna as she swiftly plowed through the man-eaters while Hiroshi acted as an aggro sponge. A rapier wasn¡¯t suited for this kind of encounter, so she had to borrow a spare sickle from their back up reserve. Mio was alsoboring away with the exact same weapon of choice.
¡¸I¡¯ll be burning it down, so make distance!¡¹
Hiroshi cut a hole through the surrounding man-eaters and, in ordance with Takeya¡¯smand, immediately pulled away frombat. It¡¯s not like it would do any damage even if he got caught in the crossfire, but it¡¯d be inconvenient if Takeya¡¯s magic didn¡¯t go off.
¡¸Grand Napalm!¡¹
A thick line of fire neatly grew in width as it consumed the man-eaters in its mes. Those mes were so scorchingly hot that they instantaneously annihted all man-eaters within a fifty meter radius. Magic, due to its mechanics, didn¡¯t affect anything outside of its trajectory, so it was perfect for times like these.
¡¸Once the cooldown¡¯s over be prepared for another one.¡¹
¡¸I know, and would you take care of the ones hiding in the bushes so they don¡¯t get in the way.¡¹
¡¸You can count on us.¡¹
Following Tatsuya¡¯s orders, they quickly plowed through all the man-eaters hiding inside the bushes. The ash produced by the burn was being diligently collected by Mio.
¡¸That being said, we¡¯ve gone through the same motions three times already and we¡¯ve only cleared a quarter of it thus far.¡¹
¡¸And its core is still intact, so if started raining they¡¯d sprout back up in a second.¡¹
¡¸This is pointless¡¡¹
¡¸We ain¡¯t getting anywhere without a drastic change in ns, ain¡¯t we.¡¹
While in agreement with Makoto¡¯s sentiment they still thought it¡¯d be better to do something instead of doing nothing and desperately carried on with the extermination process. This had a simr shade of pointlessness as trying to pull out weeds by hand for one¡¯s neighborhood association. There was no end to it, but you had to keep on going, and it wasn¡¯t a rare sight to see that they¡¯ve grown right back up immediately after work had concluded. That feeling of futility transcendednguage.
When one is doing work for one¡¯s neighborhood association it¡¯s fine to half-ass it a little but in this situation, even if so much as one of them remained intact, it would spell disaster. identally leaving a root behind, only for it to grow right back, was out of the question.
¡¸After another three napalm rounds, how about we just run off with anything useful we can find.¡¹
¡¸Sounds like a n, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll be getting anything serious done about this in the foreseeable future.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s something off about this area so I want to examine it. Would you all mind tagging along as well?¡¹
¡¸Roger, but first, let¡¯s take care of the matter at hand, shall we?¡¹
The rest of the team nods back and returns right back to work.
By the time they finished cleaning up after the third grand napalm the sun had already begun to descend westward.
¡¸Haru, what was it that had been bothering you?¡¹
Mio asked just as they had entered the vige after finishing work for the time being.
¡¸I need to get a feel for the area¡¯s energy flow. If you haven¡¯t paid a visit to the temple in a long while, it might just go badly¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll leave that stuff to your discretion.¡¹
Everyone nodded to Haruna¡¯s remark. Behind this kind of phenomena there were usually some spiritual factors in y.
¡¸Do you think the man-eaters get enough nutrients when there are so many of them?¡¹
¡¸Well, they¡¯re capable of performing photosynthesis after all.¡¹
¡¸Can it possibly be any more of a nuisance¡¡¹
That¡¯s what made carnivorous nt type monsters so annoying to deal with. When there¡¯s no fodder around they could just extract nutrients from the ground, which makes one question why it¡¯s even necessary for them to be carnivorous in the first ce. This meant that cutting off their food supply was no easy task by any means. They headed back to their temporary base of operations with no clear solution in sight.
¡¸So, what¡¯s the n?¡¹
¡¸Maybe we should seriously consider weed-killers?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯d need to be very cautious with those things.¡¹
The discussion shifted to their new n of action as they were preparing lunch in the aforementioned temporary base of operations.
¡¸So are they out of the question, sensei?¡¹
¡¸Anything potent enough to affect that thing would likely take thend along with it.¡¹
¡¸Yikers.¡¹
Leave it to some nameless carnivorous nt to have needlessly high survival capabilities. Makoto and Tatsuya spoke their mind, visibly fed up with the whole situation.
¡¸Worst case scenario they might be resistant to weed-killers and we¡¯d only eradicate the remaining nt life¡¹
¡¸Relying on chemicals is a no-go, huh.¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re a bit pushing it to be sure¡¹
Tatsuya grew even more fed up after further confirmation. At this point it might¡¯ve been necessary to just burn everything down and dig up as many roots as possible, which was even morebersome than any of the previous suggestions.
¡¸Any bright ideas?¡¹
Haruna joined in on the conversation after putting the soup, which was to be a side dish to the omuraisu, to heat and having taken care of all other necessary preparations. Although they called it soup, in consistency it more closely resembled a stew, so it took its sweet time to simmer.
¡¸The best course of action would be to fight fire with fire as they say, or nt with nt in this case.¡¹
¡¸Couldn¡¯t that go horribly wrong as well?¡¹
¡¸Ideally it¡¯d need to either take the other with it in battle or narrowly win but be unable to sustain itself afterwards and naturally wither away due to the characteristics of its type.¡¹
¡¸What if something unexpected happens in the middle of all this?¡¹
¡¸If ya start looking for ws in any n we¡¯ll be here all day.¡¹
Everyone simmered down being unable to argue back against Hiroshi¡¯s uncharacteristic assertiveness. Hiroshi carried on with his point in an attempt to fully sell them on it.
¡¸We should keep in mind that the man-eaters are clearly some alien species before worrying about the possible repercussions to the ecosystem. By their very existence the local ecosystem there is already out of whack.¡¹
¡¸Well, you¡¯re not wrong there.¡¹
Everyone present was of the same opinion as Haruna, who felt like there was something missing from the equation, but at the same time nobody had any other concrete ideas to oppose Hiroshi. nts, especially vine nts, could reproduce in the blink of an eye if even the tiniest remnants of their roots were left intact, so it was a stretch to say that digging them all up was a realistic pursuit.
¡¸I¡¯m still not fully sold on the idea but dwelling on it won¡¯t help matters. I got the whole fight nts with nts part, but what type do we n on pitting against it?¡¹
¡¸I was thinking we could it make it ourselves actually¡¹
¡¸Oh you were thinking, wait, what do you mean by make?¡¹
¡¸If webine our alchemical and agricultural know how we can easily whip up a new seed type or two.¡¹
It seems as though the beaten pattern was inescapable. ces change but their way of doing things remained.
¡¸Even with thorough usage of artificial nt growth hastening It¡¯ll still take about a week tillpletion, so go poke around and see if ya can pinpoint any causes in the meantime, but before we get too ahead of ourselves, let¡¯s start by procuring some flower pots.¡¹
¡¸Understood, oh and I think it should be ready by now.¡¹
Haruna headed back to the kitchen after giving out her reply. There she cracked a self-satisfied smile at the perfectly cooked root vegetables and began working on the chicken rice (I¡¯m almost sure there¡¯s a word for it but I couldn¡¯t find it?) part of the omelet.
¡¸It smells delicious, doesn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸We came to prepare lunch but it appears we ran a bitte.¡¹
Artiem and Chet popped in carrying a truckload of ingredients with them just as the table was being set.
¡¸No need to worry about our food situation, we¡¯ve got enough food stocked up for the apocalypse and some expert cooks to boot.¡¹
¡¸That reminds me, aren¡¯t Hiroshi, Haruna and Mio all great at cooking?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I¡¯ve dabbled in it.¡¹
The two elves looked on dubiously as Hiroshi offhandedly blurted out a logically incoherent remark. While not all of them were capable of cooking by default, the craftsmen of Fairy Tale Chronicles had at least fifty proficiency in the stat from the get go. As such Hiroshi wasn¡¯tmitting any crimes against logic when saying that he¡¯s merely ¡®dabbled¡¯ in it.
The reason why Artiem knew about their cooking abilities is because she got to see them in action when she was helping out with breakfast. The kobachi was handled by Haruna, Mio did the Miso and Hiroshi smoked the fish and made tamagoyaki.
¡¸And what might this ¡®ere be?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a Japanese dish called omuraisu, a type of omelet.¡¹
Artiem and Chet stared intently at the dish served in front them ¨C the omuraisu, an archetypical example of Japanized western cuisine. Although it originated in Japan, it drew inspiration from European cuisine, just as any other Japanized food, but the idea of westernized Japanese food never really caught traction. That¡¯s because it was usually only the Japanese who yed around with foreign cuisine.
Just to be clear the omuraisu being served right now was the kind that could often be seen decorating the tables of any old household ¨C chicken rice rolled up in a thinyer of omelet, and not the type that ces the omelet over the rice. Haruna prefered a more homely, soul-food style presentation over the type seen in restaurants when dealing with Japanese cuisine.
¡¸I can put together two more portions if you two have yet to eat lunch.¡¹
¡¸I very much appreciate the gesture but sadly we¡¯ve already had a bite to eat.¡¹
¡¸Ya woulda been better off starving for a bit for a meal as fine as this right ¡®ere.¡¹
¡¸Tell me about it¡¡¹
Their pointy ears symbolically drooped downwards, further amplifying the disappointment on their faces.
¡¸If you¡¯d really like to I could teach you the recipe?¡¹
¡¸Would you really do that for us!?¡¹
¡¸Can we make it outta the local vige ingredientsyin¡¯ around!?¡¹
¡¸Yea, we¡¯ll teach you how to make both soy sauce and omuraisu but, unlike the former, thetter¡¯s seasoning, or at least something close enough to it, can be found in this very vige, so it should be a walk in the park.¡¹
Artiem¡¯s and Chet¡¯s faces lit up at the proposition. It seemed as though even elves were ves to their stomachs.
¡¸Less talking more chowing.¡¹
¡¸That repetitiveborious work got me famished so if you make me wait any longer I can¡¯t be responsible for what might ur.¡¹
¡¸You heard the people. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡¹
The two elves malignantly watched on as everyone else relished the food right in front of their eyes. They weren¡¯t hungry but seeing others feast on something exotic made them feel as though they were missing out.
¡¸Artiem, wouldn¡¯t it ¡®ave been better if ya two just shared a single portion?¡¹
¡¸I was just thinking the same thing¡¡¹
But it was already toote to cry over spilled milk. The following afternoon Artiem got Haruna to teach her the recipe. With this newfound knowledge she was able to wow the other vigers with her cooking skills.
Volume 2, 3
Volume 2, Chapter 3
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸You there youngss, what song were you hummin¡¯ just now?¡¹
¡¸Hmm? Oh, it¡¯s a lumberjack song from back in my homnd.¡¹
It was at the logging spot shared between three viges that Haruna, who was there at the request of Hiroshi, found herself surrounded by forest giants who were dying to find out more about the tune she was humming.
¡¸That tune great I tells ya.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve still gottem shivers runnin¡¯ down mi spine.¡¹
¡¸Mi too.¡¹
The forest giants were merrily chattering while effortlessly one-handing axes that would fall under the great category by any other race¡¯s standard.
¡¸Lass, may I ask ya a question?¡¹
¡¸Would ya mind teachin¡¯ us that song?¡¹
¡¸No problemo. I¡¯ll sing out the lyrics and you all follow along.¡¹
Haruna dly took up the forest giants¡¯ request and taught them the song phrase by phrase apanied by the correct melody. Thirty minutester, just as the forest giants began singing the most memorable part of the song in one big unison.
¡¸Haru¡why that one?¡¹
Mio, who had shown up for some other business, put Haruna on the spot while exuding disbelief from every inch of her body and yet managing to maintain a vacant expression.
¡¸When you think lumberjacking you think of this song, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, you¡¯re not wrong¡¡¹
She¡¯s not wrong and Haruna doesn¡¯t have any objections, it¡¯s just that¡
¡¸Haru, your actions are at times more dumbfounding than sensei¡¯s.¡¹
¡¸Are they?¡¹
¡¸Very much so.¡¹
Mio looked on in pity as Haruna tilted her head to the side.
Haruna Toudou. The perfectdy at first sight, be it her looks, her personality, her academic achievements, her physical prowess or her home econ mastery. However, as fate would have it, nobody is perfect and Haruna¡¯s imperfection lies in herplete musical illiteracy which causes her to have some questionable song choices at times. A real fly in the ointment.
¡¸Anyways, what brings you here?¡¹
¡¸I brought saplings.¡¹
¡¸So you did.¡¹
Haruna got the message after being shown the tens of saplings from Mio¡¯s backpack. The forest giants, who had just found a good ce to put down work, gather about.
¡¸Our job¡¯s to nt ¡¯em but only once we get done eatin¡¯¡¹
As he says that he washes his hands with water from some thermos shaped magic item and reveals a massive rice ball bento. The rice balls inside were as big as a baby¡¯s head, but in their hands they only looked somewhat on therger side.
¡¸There are fewer young trees than I would¡¯ve expected but the forest doesn¡¯t appear to be dying out as fast as you¡¯ve made it sound. Do you get firewood from elsewhere or?¡¹
¡¸Our heatin¡¯ ¡®n cookin¡¯ devices are powered by magical devices so we can provide for our daily needs with whatever thinned wood we¡¯ve got on hand.¡¹
¡¸That would make sense.¡¹
As she finished processing the giants¡¯ exnation Haruna brought out her lunch, which seemed way too jam packed to ever be cleaned out by ady. Ever sinceing here she¡¯d been burning through a lot more calories than she used to back in Japan so her intake proportionally increased topensate. Having said that, her portions are still the most meager amongst her team since Makoto and Mio go even harder than her in that regard.
¡¸I kind of feel like my self-restraint has started spiraling out of control.¡¹
¡¸In what way?¡¹
¡¸Eating this amount of food in one go isn¡¯t normal.¡¹
¡¸Haru, yours is on the lighter side.¡¹
Said Mio whilefortably going through her own bento which was twice the size of Haruna¡¯s, casually ignoring the fact that theparison was drawn between the average person¡¯s food intake and not Mio¡¯s own personal monstrous eating habits.
¡¸For humans that¡¯s aboot the standard amount.¡¹
¡¸Aye-aye.¡¹
¡¸Whereas we¡¯re massive so we need a lot more.¡¹
¡¸Actually don¡¯t that little rascal stuff a bit too much?¡¹
The giants were luckily a lot more sensible than Mio. Haruna cracked a faint smile at the remark and began approaching her meal starting from the tamagoyaki. Meal time ended just as it had started ¨C in good spirits.
¡¸I think that should just about do it.¡¹
After retrieving whatever usable dirt he was able to find Hiroshi wound up in the workshop which housed the updraft kiln and, as had been agreed upon, dedicated his entire being to molding flower pots.
The aforementioned updraft kiln is used not just for elven craft but the craft of all other remaining races as well. Its high quality y serves as one of the viges main exported goods but although it can be made quickly it takes a while to properly process, so the operating ratio isn¡¯t ideal by any means.
¡¸Oooh.¡¹
¡¸Hmmm.¡¹
Artiem and the workshop head watched in awe as Hiroshi pumped out an inconceivable amount of magical energy just to mold the flower pots. Compared to something like the dwarves the elves magical capabilities and overall potential are one of their key defining traits, yet in spite of this Hiroshi¡¯s unprecedented ability easily edged them out, not to mention any other race as well.
Not only was his magic potent but the grace with which he wove it was unimaginable even by elf standards. To make it even more demoralizing he applied his abilities with such tactile precision on something as trivial as a flower pot without even really pouring in any conscious thought, as was evident by the light-hearted humming.
¡¸This is absolutely breathtaking but pray tell, do you always use up this amount of magical energy in other tasks as well?¡¹
¡¸Well, I don¡¯t really get to make stuff all that often but when dealin¡¯ with raw materials I do use about this much.¡¹
The workshop head felt a bit faint after hearing those words.
¡¸What other types o¡¯ magic can ya use?¡¹
¡¸Asides from the usual enhancement magic I can light fires, conjure up water and cast various other quality of life spells. I¡¯ve recently been tryin¡¯ my hand at support magic, so I guess that¡¯s the highest level ones I can pull off.¡¹
For a magic-based race it was only natural to think that this was aplete waste of talent. In practice however, spells, especially the high end ones, take a long time to cast and that¡¯s not something ideal for Hiroshi who has to fight in the front lines. Since it wouldn¡¯t be an effective use of his time learning spells Hiroshi never really was interested in putting his MP to good use.
Having said that he had recently opened up to the idea of learning it and, as such, was now practicing all sorts of support magic so as to notpletely waste a valuablebat resource. In the near future, he was also nning on learning an attack spell with no cast time, that would be used for diverting the enemy¡¯s attention and a minor healing spell to boot. However, at the moment, crafting and physical skills took priority.
¡¸That¡¯s quite the simple looking flower pot isn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re gonn¡¯ be growin¡¯ a Man Eater an¡¯ anti Man Eater so there¡¯s no need to dwell on the design of all things.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s a Man Eater?¡¹
¡¸They be the vine nts blockin¡¯ out the front path to the temple.¡¹
¡¸Oh alrighty then. Wait, whaaa-¡¹
Artiem screams in surprise at Hiroshi¡¯s casually dropped bombshell.
¡¸A-are you sure it¡¯s okay to be growing something as unstable as that!?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry, all the safety measures are in ce¡ more or less.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s doesn¡¯t sound too reassuring¡¡¹
Considering that what¡¯s being grown is a carnivorous nt Hiroshi¡¯s attitude is much tooid back to the point of uneasiness.
¡¸Well how ¡¯bout we get to firin¡¯ this baby up? The magical energy should¡¯ve seeped in by now and we¡¯ve got some perfectly fine firewood here which we¡¯ll be borrowing for now. Don¡¯t worry, Haruna will bring over a new batch to rece itter.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯spletely fine by me it¡¯s just that¡¡¹
¡¸Now time to meddle with these a bit.¡¹
All of thismotion for a single flower pot. The high level craftsmen of this world are truly beyond saving.
¡¸I could¡¯ve easily whipped up a pot or two if you had just asked.¡¹
¡¸Thing is we need more than just a regr ol¡¯ pot because of, various circumstances.¡¹
¡¸That be so?¡¹
¡¸Indeedy.¡¹
Sais Hiroshi as he worked some of his ¡®magic¡¯ on the firewood and kiln before adding it in and finally firing up the kiln.
¡¸Now then, under regr circumstances it¡¯d take a while for it to finish but thanks to some tamperin¡¯ I did it¡¯ll get done earlier.¡¹
¡¸Why the rush?¡¹
¡¸Well¡¯ be takin¡¯ the most time figurin¡¯ out the perfect nt type to exterminate those pests so it would make sense to shave off as much time as possible from somethin¡¯ as basic as getting¡¯ all the right tools for the job.¡¹
¡¸Makes sense.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll be puttin¡¯ everythin¡¯ else in order once that¡¯s over with so for now we¡¯ve got nothing better to do.¡¹
Once the merchandise is in the kiln there was nothing else to do, at most one could adjust the heat if it got too smoky, and since it was well past noon it would be awkward to try and make any new ns.
¡¸So how ¡¯bout ya get a bit more familiar with the vige after finishing dinner?¡¹
¡¸Sounds great, but first we got some cleanin¡¯ up to do.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll lend a hand.¡¹
Artiem moved over to the workbench to help Hiroshi clean up the residual y. It was at this time that another one of Artiem¡¯s parlor tricks, which hadn¡¯t reared their ugly head ever since their first run in, urred
¡¸Woah!¡¹
Artiem tripped on a cluttered set of tools on the ground as she tried to walk over the other workbench andunched herself right at Hiroshi.
Hiroshi, meanwhile, was peacefully crouched over a bucket, doing some wash up work before receiving a devastating flying body m and making a further mess of the ce.
¡¸It¡¯s freezing cold!?¡¹
¡¸Eek.¡¹
Artiem toppled the dirty water filled bucket over in such a spectacr fashion that it somehow ended upnding over her head, at which point she begins to struggle violently in an attempt to get it off. In the meantime Hiroshi looked as though he was going through an out of body experience from being smudged under her rack.
Artiem was the fan service character if we were to be Meta for a second. It¡¯s not like she¡¯s particrly ditzy or anything, in fact she¡¯s just asposed and down to earth as any other elf her age in most circumstances, except for when the opportunity to be a vehicle for fan service arose, that is. In that case it was as though she¡¯d been granted temporary divine powers that took over the wheel and crashed the car straight into the fan service ravine.
Be it a rtively run of the mill little ident that could be avoided by just moving out of the way, something somewhere is going to go wrong and it was going to conclude in the mostedicly erotic way possible. Like how even in this situation her clothes had be transparent from all the water or how they got torn in an oddly suggestive manner. Whenever she tripped over something someone¡¯s going to inevitably either have their face crushed under the weight of her breasts or have their hands cup them in the perfect groping position.
Conversely, whenever a guy fell over in her vicinity it was going to y out in one of three equally probable ways: He was either A) going to topple her over and bury his face deep in her bosom, B) topple her over and have his hands perfectly situated for some breast groping action or C), topple her over and somehow manage tond face-first onto her crotch. On rare asions a mixture of the three.
But worst of all, the guy in question, without exception, wasn¡¯t going to appreciate this happening to him. With all the women around silently judging him there was no taking one¡¯s sweet time in thoroughly enjoying the moment as it happened and not to even mention all of the envious res from the other guys. When you think of it like that did the guy really hit the jackpot or did he actually hit the deep end?
¡¸Owie.¡¹
Artiem groans lifting her aching body off the ground as various knickknacks fall to the ground and beads of water gently trickle down her clothes.
Even on the rare asion that one gets to sink their face right in somedy¡¯s fine breasts, assuming the impact isrge enough, pain would precede any enjoyment derivable from the event.
As fate would have it, that¡¯s exactly what ended up happening here. Although in the case of Hiroshi in particr, regardless of the specifics, his gynophobia would make quick work of any possible enjoyment he could be getting from urrences of such nature. Even as we speak hisplexion was growing worse by the second and he appeared to be on the verge of spilling out the contents of his stomach.
¡¸Artiem you¡¯re crushin¡¯ our guest, get off of him already.¡¹
¡¸Eh? Oh, S-sorry about that!¡¹
Artiem sprang to her feet upon hearing from the workshop head.
¡¸I¡¯m so terribly sorry!¡¹
Upon making enough room for Hiroshi to get back on his feet, Artiem begins intensely bowing in a manner reminiscent of a dippy bird. Hiroshi¡¯s shivers subsided and he was finally able to get up just around the time Artiem had finished her fifth bow.
¡¸You ¡®ere groanin¡¯ rather painfully back there, did you injure yourself anywhere?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m all good, the groanin¡¯ is a product of somethin¡¯ else.¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯ else?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d rather not talk about it.¡¹
Hiroshi took a good look at himself after finishing the sentence. Having been doused with muddied water his clothes were inplete shambles. Thanks to the anti-stain enhancement he had put on the clothes they¡¯d be spotless after just a single quick wash, although without a change of clothes he¡¯d be forced to wait around naked ¡®til they dry out. Thankfully enough he had a spare in his backpack, but before that.
¡¸The season¡¯s still chilly, ya should warm yerselves up in the hot spring.¡¹
¡¸Aye, besides the spare clothes would get dirty if we don¡¯t get the dirt off.¡¹
¡¸Oh and Artiem, ¡ù¡ô¡ö¨‹£À£££¥£¦£«£¤¡¡¹
¡¸Eh? Oh, ok understood.¡¹
Artiem responded back to the abrupt Elvish speak with Fanish out of force of habit. It was all hastily spat out so he couldn¡¯t make out what was said exactly, but judging from Artiem¡¯s reaction, the workshop head must be up to something no good. Hiroshi looked over in his direction and, as expected, his sinister smile told the whole story. However Artiem would end up not taking notice of this.
¡¸Why me of all people¡¡¹
Muttered Hiroshi as he desperately tried to wash away the dirt that had gotten all over his hair. Just recently Hiroshi had gotten pinned down face-first by Artiem¡¯s breasts, a sensation which, having lost allposure at the moment, he had failed to properly take in. Even though all the mey squarely on the girl¡¯s shoulders, if he had done anything funny at that time, especially considering the two barely knew one another, it would have ended in disaster for him. Compared to the anxiety of identally messing up the impact from the fall was nothing.
If Tatsuya was in his shoes he would¡¯ve probably gotten back right on his feet and acted as though nothing had happened. If it was Layotte he wouldn¡¯t have even batted an eye. If it was Avin he would¡¯ve seized the moment only to shift back into his natural state right after. The most universallyugh worthy reaction woulde from Mark, who¡¯s just destined for this kind of thing.
¡¸It still won¡¯te off.¡¹
Trying to wash out solidified dirt that¡¯s stuck to one¡¯s scalp is aborious task. Capiry motion might be at y here, because it¡¯s not giving in easily. It also happens that they¡¯re out of shampoo and how ironic is it that he had been nning on preparing some today. After rinsing it for three whole times the water had finally stopped showing traces of dirt particles.
And this is with short hair, Layotte must be spending more than a fair amount of time on caring for his long hair, although Hiroshi immediately regretted his thoughts going in that direction. Because at that very moment he could sense the presence of a girl he had gotten to fully know in three days closing in on the bath.
¡¸Ooh?¡¹
Although he couldn¡¯t see clearly through the steam there was no doubt she was heading in his direction.
¡¸Compared to the dressin¡¯ room this ce is awfully spacious, ain¡¯t it?¡¹
The bad feeling Hiroshi had only got stronger by the second. This was his first time at a public bath since these past few days he got to use Alte Ortem¡¯s bath. As such, he waspletely clueless as to how public baths work. This one in particr came to be from aplete coincidence, when hot water was stumbled upon in the process of digging down for a well. Basically it¡¯s a hot spring with a freely flowing water source. A Pomey was gently floating along the surface of a basin. As a side note it was the returning Fane elves who spread bathing culture among other elves. Up until then there was no bathing custom around.
Being a fairly unknown spot, mixed bathing is amon urrence in this hot spring and that understanding only made the bad feeling grow worse. Not to mention that Artiem had been handed out some questionable information by the elderly workshop head. To add insult to injury, before entering the building, Artiem had went over to a nearby persons house to borrow a change of clothing and because of that she had yet to be informed of proper bathing procedure. As she faded into the distance Hiroshi pondered whether or not the average elf¡¯s clothing would actually fit her, particrly around the breast area, but he figured that holding out till she got her stuff back would be easy enough so he didn¡¯t think much of it.
As Hiroshi hastily refocuses his derailing thoughts an ouees to mind, and that oue leads to a single conclusion.
¡¸Was it a setup?¡¹
There was no other feasible answer. The majority of vige elves were no different from regr old vige folk at heart, except that they had a thing for pranks of a lewd nature. That meant that it wasn¡¯t too much of a stretch to assume that they¡¯d pull something like this.
Since there were next to no boys around her age growing up Artiem shouldn¡¯t be used to this kind of thing and very self-conscious about her body because of that. Back when Hiroshi rescued her she was awkwardly covering up her chest, but that was more because an area that is usually covered up had been exposed through tearing and not because she was afraid of being seen in the nude, those two things are simr but different.
Although it was possible that these vige elves weren¡¯t raised in an environment where this kind of thing mattered and it still wouldn¡¯t have changed the fact that it was a matter of life or death for Hiroshi.
¡¸I¡¯d be better off getting out while I still can.¡¹
The long awaited outing to the hot springs would have to wait as Hiroshi knew he wouldn¡¯t have been able to fully enjoy it in his current state anyways. Judging from Artiem¡¯s personality it was unlikely she¡¯d use this experience as teasing fodder, despite being the one to barge in in the first ce, but if this was to get picked up by either Haruna, Makoto or Mio things would get out of hand quickly. In these situations it¡¯s almost always the guys who gets med even though, in reality, the victim here would be Hiroshi.
¡¸The dirt came off already, time for a tactical retrea-¡¹
Hiroshi washes himself one more time just to be safe and just as he begins poking around for Artiem¡¯s presence.
¡¸Are you ready to go?¡¹
¡¸What in the zes!?¡¹
Artiem¡¯s voice came from much closer than Hiroshi had anticipated, startling him. He thought that since she had to go around it¡¯d take more time to get there but those calctions proved to bepletely off and he got caughtpletely defenseless.
How was Artiem able to get there that quickly? The answer is simple, there¡¯s a secret door in the very corner of the dressing room that onlydies are able to interact with. Artiem had used this to her advantage.
¡¸A-Artiem, shouldn¡¯t ya be o¡¯er at the wihmen¡¯s bathroom?¡¹
Asks Hiroshi while turning his entire body away from Artiem in an attempt to slowly slither away towards the dressing room. Since he got approached from the back Hiroshi is yet toy eyes on Artiem¡¯s gorgeous naked body.
¡¸This is a mixed bath.¡¹
¡¸Y-you don¡¯t say¡¡¹
That reaffirmation drove Hiroshi further down the pits of agony. If only he knew that there was another public bathhouse around with separate male and female baths all of this could¡¯ve been avoided but how could he have if he didn¡¯t even know of the existence of any hot springs in the area, let alone any specific ones. He was doomed from the very outset.
¡¸Aren¡¯t you going to be bathing? Time wise you should¡¯ve just barely finished washing up by now.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll get around to it sometimeter, preferably when no one¡¯s around.¡¹
¡¸What if you catch a cold?¡¹
¡¸I can handle miself just fine, if anything, ya should be the one in there right aboot now.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s the big deal? Let¡¯s just go together.¡¹
Hardly surprising but Artiem¡¯s feeling little to no shame from this whole ordeal, so little in fact that she¡¯sfortable enough to expose that voluptuous body of hers without so much as a tinge of embarrassment.
¡¸It¡¯s a Fanian custom not to be enterin¡¯ the bath t¡¯gether unless married or otherwise engaged in a serious rtionship.¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸Aye, just you try enterin¡¯ the bath like that in a human city in yer birthday suit and you¡¯ll be easy pickins for any starved male.¡¹
¡¸I see. I¡¯ll be sure to watch out.¡¹
She says as she casually waltzes on over to the faucet in the least wary matter possible. Has she still not put two and two together or does she think this warning only applies to human cities? Before any of that it¡¯s highly possible, judging from her demeanor, that she¡¯s yet to be taught about the birds and the bees and has no clue what being ¡®easy pickins¡¯ is even supposed to mean.
¡¸You better be. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡¹
Artiem still hadn¡¯t fully wrapped her head around Hiroshi¡¯s warning but she seemed willing to let him off the hook on the basis of cultural differences. Just as Hiroshi began carrying out his escape n, desperately making sure not to turn back, he picks up on the barely audible voices of Mio and Haruna with help from his keen ears. Those voices indicated that they were about to head to the bath.
All of Hiroshi¡¯s worries will turn into reality if they walk in on him right now. Those worries are mostly centered around Mio, who¡¯spletely ruthless when ites to this kind of thing. Makoto¡¯s just as bad as her but she¡¯s currently out with Tatsuya on a mission to familiarize themselves with the locations of the forest giant, goblin and fairy viges but that doesn¡¯t really make matters any better.
It happened just as Hiroshi was trying to hastily escape, realizing what a traumatic oue had potentially awaited him in the near future.
¡¸Ah-¡¹
Artiem slips and crashes right into Hiroshi¡¯s back. What¡¯s worse is that she somehow, in a physics defying matter, managed to make a one eighty turn midair and now her breasts were squashed against Hiroshi¡¯s back.
¡¸Eek!¡¹
Hiroshi reflexively braced for impact and as a result he got to experience the full extent of Artiem¡¯s tender breasts. Under most circumstances this would be something worth celebrating, after all, how often does one get the opportunity toe in contact with a nakeddy¡¯s body without fear of legal repercussions? Or at least that¡¯s how it would work in an ideal world, in reality the guy would get the short end of the stick, regardless of circumstance. Due to Hiroshi¡¯s condition he can¡¯t just go with a ¡®if I¡¯m gonna do the time I may as well do the crime¡¯ attitude and make the best out of the moment.
As a result he tried to forcefully shake off Artiem, the same girl he put up his social life at stake to rescue, and this realization induced a second wave of despondency to run over him.
¡¸Woah!!!¡¹
¡¸Aaaa!¡¹
Sudden movements on a slippery floor exponentially increase the risk of falling over, so it¡¯s no real coincidence that they did, but they did not just simply fall as Artiem pulls yet another one of her physics defying parlor tricks, to which Hiroshi falls victim to once more.
¡¸Ouch.¡¹
Hiroshi smacked his head against the ground with a thundering sound as he turned to shake her off. Hiroshi was now squashed under Artiem¡¯s body weight, except this time around they¡¯re both buck naked. Excluding foggy early childhood memories this was the first time he had ever had his arms wrapped around a naked member of the opposite sex.
If this was a game or a manga it would have either panned to a different scene and allude to what went down afterwards or went straight into the nitty-gritty with detailed visuals and all that jazz. However the one in center stage is Hiroshi. Before he can even think of taking advantage of Artiem¡¯s innocent nature he must first go toe to toe with his fight or flight response. This blocks out any urges he may have had at the moment and most certainly prevents him from acting on any of them.
¡¸Eek!¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s eyes finallye into contact with Artiem¡¯s naked body, which he had been trying to desperately avoid staring at out of pure horror. Needless to say that n failed and now that same body is squarely in front of him. All he could do was scream, and that scream marked the beginning of yet another unfortunate tragedy.
¡¸What¡¯s going on!?¡¹
¡¸Sensei, are you okay!?¡¹
Mio and Haruna charge right into the men¡¯s bath, which they had already gathered was a mixed bath based on the construction, without hesitation, since they couldn¡¯t sense anyone else there beside those two, after hearing Hiroshi¡¯s shriek.
¡¸Eeeek!!¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s shrieking intensifies upon the arrival of Haruna and Mio. By then Haruna had a good gist of what had just went down.
¡¸Artiem, can you get on your feet?¡¹
¡¸Eh? Oh, I mean yes, I think.¡¹
¡¸Well, then, what are you waiting for? Get off of him!¡¹
¡¸Y-yes sir!¡¹
Artiem, overwhelmed at the sight of a frantic Haruna, attempts to hurriedly get back up. This backfired, amon urrence produced by panicking in any intense situation, as she tried to get up too quickly and ended up slipping in the opposite direction. Haruna tried to hold her up without realizing that she was actually next in line to fall prey to another one of her infamous magic acts.
¡¸Woahwoahwoah!¡¹
¡¸Watch it!¡¹
Due to the distance between them Haruna wasn¡¯t able topletely stop Artiem¡¯s fall. Luckily by pulling on her arm she did manage to prevent her from banging her head against the ground but the rest of her bodyid t across the ground. What she didn¡¯t notice at the time was that Artiem¡¯s other arm had tried totch onto something.
Considering the circumstances there isn¡¯t a whole lot to grab onto but Haruna hadn¡¯t realized the fact and that was her downfall.
¡¸Haru! The towel, the towel!!!¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¹
After hearing Mio screaming she looks down to her lower body and then to Hiroshi¡¯s face. During that whole sequence her bath towel had slipped off to the ground, revealing a naked body where fleshiness and a tinge of elegance intece, creating the perfect male-enchanting piece of art that, while enticing, at the same time carries an intimidating aura about it, flicking away all the weak-willed that would dare to approach it.
Despite not being interested in attracting the attention of males there was a strikingck of hair in ces where one¡¯d expect to see some, although that probably falls within the lines of personal grooming, more or less. The thing that makes it striking, however, is the contrast between her and Artiem, who waspletely indifferent about such matters. Long blond hair, well-shaped, bountiful breasts supported by a back which, although maintaining a healthy appearance, in contrast looks like it could be snapped in half by applying a light amount of force. Their upper body lines had a certain motherly feel and a curvaceousness to them. It¡¯s because the two are so simr that their slight differences are brought into prominence, or at least that was Mio¡¯s impression.
Hiroshi didn¡¯t have the time to be distressed about being seen in the nude by Haruna, because he had fainted with his eyes open after having seen all that good stuff which would usually mark the end of any man¡¯s future social prospects.
¡¸M-Mio! Put something on and get a man to help out!¡¹
¡¸G-Gotcha!¡¹
Haruna barks out orders as she heavy handedly raises up Artiem back to her feet. Hiroshi¡¯s condition was so dire there was no time to be feeling embarrassed over the whole ordeal. Mio, who understood the gravity of the situation, ran right out to find help in the vige with only the bare essentials draped over herself upon hearing out Haruna¡¯s instructions.
Luckily for them Artiem¡¯s towel had convenientlynded right on top of Hiroshi¡¯s crotch, concealing it and saving the girls from losingposure at its sight. If it hadn¡¯t yed out the way that it did, well, needless to say, the panic wouldn¡¯t have died down as quickly as it did.
Haruna and Artiem make sure to put something on themselves in a great hurry before help arrives. Haruna made a mental note that Hiroshi and Artiem were, under no circumstances, ever to be left alone unattended.
¡¸I see, that sounds like quite the thrilling experience.¡¹
¡¸For Hiroshi that might¡¯ve been life threatening, but since he got toy his eyes on two alluring naked girls can¡¯t say I feel too sorry for him.¡¹
¡¸If we posted this on the I bet the reply section would be teeming with stuff like ¡®kys normie¡¯ and ¡®go stick your junk in a ceiling fan¡¯.¡¹
That was Takeya¡¯s and Mio¡¯s reaction to what Hiroshi, who was still passed out, had gotten himself into.
¡¸Joke all you want but it wasn¡¯t funny to any of us at the moment.¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t have thought otherwise. Especially Haruna who got dragged into the mess and had to clean it up afterwards.¡¹
¡¸All of that¡¯s fine with me, it¡¯s just that his well-being is worrying¡¡¹
¡¸Having the girl who was one of the victims watch out for his well-being would be enough to get himbelled as a normie.¡¹
¡¸If this was anyone else involved I would¡¯ve definitely been the one saying ¡®kys normie¡¯. Though even as a joke I don¡¯t intend on doing that in this case, in light of the circumstances.¡¹
As it was with Reina¡¯s case there¡¯s still a disconnect between Haruna and the eldest of the group, which is most likely because she witnessed the events unfold right in front of her eyes while they weren¡¯t even present.
¡¸So, how¡¯s he holding on?¡¹
¡¸Same as what happened after the assassin encounter, he¡¯s having nightmares.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s one consistently inconvenient condition he¡¯s got going there.¡¹
¡¸Tell me about it.
¡¸There¡¯s no point in trying to rush things but it¡¯d be nice if he was to finally ovee it one of these days¡¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto let out a tired sigh at the thought of Hiroshi repeating the same cycle over and over. Mio was also visibly worn out from having to see the sameedic situation y out exactly as it did thest however many times. While they didn¡¯t have any intention of giving Hiroshi ck over this, they did, however, find it odd how he was just fine when living under one roof with a bunch of women back in the workshop and only after they went out on a journey did this spree of idents start urring.
¡¸I think the me lies squarely on the shoulders of the vigers on this one.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean by that?¡¹
¡¸From what I got out of Artiem, one of the workshop people instigated this event despite having a rough idea on how things would y out.¡¹
Tatsuya seemed oddly on board with what she was saying, to the extent that Haruna herself looked taken aback.
¡¸It¡¯s just that these kinds of shenanigans were somonce back in my granddad¡¯s vige that my general impression of old people formed around them.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
Haruna appeared satisfied by Tatsuya¡¯s exnation, as though she had found thest missing piece of the puzzle. Those elderly probably got their kicks by clowning with Artiem who¡¯s clueless when ites to raunchy matters. From their perspective it was Hiroshi¡¯s fault for getting caught in their schemes.
¡¸It¡¯ll be quite the chore to fish out the exact one that did it from a sea of others just alike.¡¹
¡¸Not to mention that there¡¯s more of them than us.¡¹
¡¸Hrm¡¡¹
What Tatsuya and Mio point out stumps Haruna. Attempting to lecture someone over hundreds of years older than one self would prove to be too tall a task, even for her, especially when taking into consideration the difference in life experience. What¡¯s likely going to happen is that elderly will just use cultural differences as an excuse and leave thempletely empty handed.
¡¸That much could be easily aplishable.¡¹
¡¸Hmm?¡¹
¡¸Mako, what do you have in mind?¡¹
¡¸What are some rice dishes this vige wouldn¡¯t know about?¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see where you¡¯re going with this.¡¹
Tatsuya almost immediatelytches on to what Makoto was trying to say. If there¡¯s anything yesterday¡¯s omuraisu uproar proved is that the vige people would, without a doubt, thrown in the towel and give themselves in at the prospect of exotic food.
¡¸They shouldn¡¯t know about gyuudon, there¡¯s little in ways of beef and, more importantly, no soy sauce in sight. From that I think it¡¯s fair to say that any dish served over rice that uses soy sauce would also fall in that category.¡¹
They count down the list of potential foods while referencing what Artiem had confirmed about their food situation. As a side note elves do also eat beef, or sometimes a type of meat very simr to beef.
¡¸Is there anything else I¡¯m missing?¡¹
¡¸They certainly don¡¯t have Japanese style curry. As a matter of fact, I haven¡¯t even seen them use spices.¡¹
¡¸Interesting stuff.¡¹
¡¸Then there¡¯s also the Doria, which they could make out of the ingredients they have, but probably don¡¯t. I¡¯ve also never seen them steam anything so zongzi are also out of the question.¡¹
There appeared to be plenty. To summarize Haruna¡¯s findings any meal that has to do with adding vor to rice is virtually nonexistent. On the other hand side dishes apanied with rice or ones that don¡¯t involve soy sauce or miso are mostly all in ce. Although even with the right ingredients at hand they didn¡¯t think to make their omelets thin or to cut up their meat before cooking, so their food making expertise is about on par with Fane.
¡¸Also, surprisingly enough, they don¡¯t seem to be making takigohan either.¡¹
¡¸Judging from their selection of seasoning it¡¯s not that surprising.¡¹
¡¸Ah, right, since both soy sauce and stock are used in the making of takigohan that would make sense.¡¹
¡¸Bingo.¡¹
¡¸So that¡¯s why they have rice gruel topped off with salt, mushroom stock and whatnot but no takigohan in sight.¡¹
They look on with a faint smile as Haruna spoke as though she had reached some sort of groundbreaking revtion.
¡¸Well then, which one are we going to kick off the war effort with?¡¹
¡¸Tatsuya, I recall you mentioning earlier how you wanted to get your hands on some gyudon, is that correct?¡¹
¡¸You betcha!¡¹
¡¸That settles that then.¡¹
Tatsuya cracked an ear to ear smile upon hearing Haruna¡¯s suggestion. He¡¯d been in high spirits ever since arriving here because he¡¯d gotten to eat all his favorite foods to his heart¡¯s content.
¡¸Tatsuya, Makoto, you call over Artiem while I prepare the finest gyudon from the highest grade cut of beef you¡¯ve ever seen, oh and give her the birds and the bees talk while you¡¯re at it.¡¹
¡¸Why us?¡¹
¡¸If we keep sheltering Artiem from anything remotely sexual Hiroshi will be suffering the brunt of it and there¡¯s no trusting any of the vigers to do it, I¡¯ve got my hands full at the moment and asking Mio to take on the responsibility is a big no-no.¡¹
¡¸Right¡ That certainly does make perfect sense¡¡¹
Tatsuya mumbles after hearing out Haruna¡¯s reasoning, delivered oddly ufortably. Haruna herself wouldn¡¯t admit so but it¡¯s questionable if she herself would be able to properly deliver the birds and the bees talk.
¡¸But first, let me make one thing clear right off the bat.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Whatever you do, do not bring up BL or anything of a simr nature.¡¹
¡¸Why would I? Oh and Makoto, there¡¯s no such thing as a man pussy, in case you weren¡¯t aware.¡¹
¡¸E-Even I know that much!¡¹
Makoto stutters as she responds to Tatsuya¡¯s snarky remark. Although she did try her hand at making BL doujinshi back in the day, her perception of yaoi wasn¡¯t dreamily idealistic to the point of discarding reality.
Ever since being outed as a fujoshi from scattered pieces of various dubious evidence by Mio, Makoto¡¯s lost most of her credibility when ites to these matters. She did, however, lose all of it the second she was caught trying to ship Hiroshi and Tatsuya. That¡¯s not to say the other members weren¡¯t epting of her preferences, it¡¯s just that the line had to be drawn somewhere.
¡¸Just as a word of advice, try your hardest not to take advantage of Artiem¡¯s cluelessness in an attempt to expand your fellowrade circle, ¡¯cause that would put you on the same level as all of those geezers.¡¹
¡¸I get it¡¡¹
From Makoto¡¯s perspective the only eptable means of initiating anyone into the wonders of BL is to have them willingly approach first, being well aware of what¡¯s considered the norm and yet making that final step regardless of the fact. There are various other approaches to this issue but Makoto was a firm believer of corruption by choice.
Having said that it was still true that she had been longing for like-minded individuals to discuss shared interests. Back when she was out adventuring in Wulls she was able to track down these birds of a feather through a kind of intangible aura ofradery, but ever since leaving she¡¯s been itching for someone to talk to.
Haruna knows and asionally sings a few anime songs, but her tastes are traditional in every other aspect. She did dabble in manga way back when, but not the extent of beingbelled an otaku. asionally she¡¯ll pick up on some of the nicher terminology during conversation but that¡¯s about as far as her knowledge goes. Mio on the other hand dedicated her entire being to living out the otaku lifestyle, and yet never managed to get into BL stuff. Tatsuya and Hiroshi were off grounds by default, one would have to be off their rocker to bring it up in conversation with them.
Thus it¡¯s not difficult to understand why they¡¯d be suspicious of her intentions when she hasn¡¯t had an outlet to talk about her interests in a long while. Thankfully Makoto already had a n of her own, so there was no need to bring over a child to her side.
¡¸There were quite a few fairies who looked like they could get behind the idea, so it would be more efficient to try and talk them into it over forcefully dragging Artiem into the abyss.¡¹
¡¸Of course there were¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t underestimate our numbers. Oh and by the way, Tatsuya, howe you know what a man pussy means?¡¹
¡¸One of my wifey¡¯s buddies was a fujoshi. She went up to me and asked if man pussies were a real thing with a straight face.¡¹
Haruna begins preparing dinner as Tatsuya and Makoto carry on with their colorful conversation.
¡¸Haru, let¡¯s have curry tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Roger.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll bring Artiem over. Haru, make the smell as inviting as you can.¡¹
¡¸Leave it to me.¡¹
Haruna sees Mio off and begins working her cooking magic to put together the best possible gyudon. Ultimately the granddad¡¯s of the vige sumbed to the temptation and submitted to Haruna. The very next day they had to sit through one of her rigorous lecturing sessions.
Volume 2, 4
Volume 2, Chapter 4
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸The soil¡¯s OK, the Man Eater stem is OK, we¡¯ve plenty of seeds and fertilizer ready.¡¹
The next day, seemingly without damage, Hiroshi was standing in front of the flower pot with a manic grin on his face. He had hardly eaten any breakfast in his excitement. They were in an empty building that had been cleared of any inhabitants. A few vacant houses just like this one could be seen around the vige, they functioned as temporary lodging for any visiting outside races.
¡¸Are you feeling alright?¡¹
¡¸As A¡¯ight as I¡¯ll ever be.¡¹
¡¸I certainly hope so¡¡¹
Haruna hesitantly nods, unable to conceal her concern for Hiroshi whose excitement had been getting out of hand. She was worried about his well-being, despite it being the umpteen gazillionth time something simr had happened. There haven¡¯t been any negative effects so far but that doesn¡¯t mean there won¡¯t be in the future¡
However, what really concerned Haruna at the moment, was how thoroughly had she been exposed yesterday? Asking would be like walking through a minefield, so she was reluctant to do so. As it is, it was an ident, and nothing could make it less.
¡¸Try ta keep clear of the vicinity while the experiments are underway. Pay extra close attention to Artiem, lord knows what might go down if she got too close, keep ¡®er out of ¡®ere at all costs.¡¹
¡¸You can count on us.¡¹
Haruna nods gravely realizing the stakes at hand. If Artiem was to so much as get anywhere near a Man Eater some off-color sequence of events would inevitably unfold.
¡¸Are you sure you can handle this all by yourself?¡¹
¡¸If I wasn¡¯t sure about it I wouldn¡¯t be standin¡¯ ¡®ere right now, now would I?¡¹
¡¸Fair enough.¡¹
When ites to making things Hiroshi¡¯s calls can be reasonably trusted, which can¡¯t really be said for any of his other knowledge. While he does asionally make one or two blunders like with the gargantuan Pomey incident, unlike the mad scientists of fiction, he¡¯s yet to cause any real damage and that seemed like reasonable grounds to trust him on.
¡¸I¡¯m dealin¡¯ with a carnivorous nt ¡®ere, ain¡¯t no way I¡¯m lettin¡¯ my guard down around it.¡¹
Haruna nods back and exits the room. Her being there would onlyplicate things.
¡¸How ¡¯bout we get this show on the road starting with the Man Eater.¡¹
There can be no experimentation without a target to bring down. Hiroshi ces the potted nt close to the middle of a magical barrier and, as standard procedure would dictate, adds in the dirt, sticks in the Man Eater stem, waters it with nutrient infused water and leaves it to sit for a while.
¡¸Should be done in about an hour.¡¹
He begins working on the Man Eater killer, following the exact same standard procedure, while spouting some crazy-sounding stuff.
¡¸Let¡¯s see how well the scientific method works out.¡¹
Hiroshi cross-pollinates same family nts, which had grown to absurd extents in the blink of an eye and had already began blooming, and nts their seed in the same flower pot as the Man Eater.
¡¸Well, what did I expect?¡¹
As expected, the moment it began sprouting it got immediately overpowered by the Man Eater. It¡¯s not like weedsck in power or anything it¡¯s just that it¡¯s difficult to put up a good fight against something that falls under the monster category.
¡¸If the scientific method doesn¡¯t pan out within the next few tries, alchemy it is then.¡¹
Through trial and error he was able to invent a type of weed that managed to put up somewhat of a fight without the need of alchemying into the picture. And as such, the first day of selective breeding hade to a close.
¡¸Do you think they¡¯ve made it there already?¡¹
While Hiroshi was busy assuming the mad scientist role, Fum, Teres and Nora were idly chit-chatting while partaking in ater than usual lunch. Lime had her share of lunch earlier in the day and was taking a nap, La, having finished lunch alongside Lime, was out shopping and delivering goodies to Merizza¡¯s ce while she was at it. Just to be clear, there was a one hour time difference between Wulls and Teres¡¯ vige.
¡¸They should have already made it there a while back, considering the speed of that golem-drawn carriage.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t know how I feel about saying this but they could have gotten lost on the way, that vige¡¯s in such a remote spot with virtually no proper roads leading up to it after all.¡¹
The remaining members fall into thought upon hearing Teres¡¯ point which implied that the area hadn¡¯t been mapped.
¡¸That¡¯s odd, no matter what angle I peak at it from, I can¡¯t imagine them being set back by something like that even if it was the case.¡¹
Teres and Nora nod in agreement. It¡¯s them we¡¯re talking about, even if they were to get lost there was no doubt they¡¯d make the most out of it. No matter their circumstances, they¡¯d find a way to survive.
¡¸He¡¯d be all up in smiles making another one of their crazy thingamajigs with some peculiar material he happened toe across.¡¹
¡¸Either that or he¡¯d be squandering all their spirit yarn working on something that he¡¯d try to pass of as ¡®makeshift¡¯ while it¡¯s actually needlessly high-effort because they totally needed it at the time.¡¹
Fum shakes her head in agreement to every single one of the hypothetical Hiroshi-esque situations Teres and Nora had brought up. Hiroshi¡¯s crafting addiction was a thing of legends, as long as he could get his hands on the right tools and materials, you¡¯d be sure he¡¯d be crafting something regardless of context.
¡¸They¡¯ve downed wyverns and rock boars before, so as long as something absurdly strong or something in absurd numbers doesn¡¯t pick a fight they¡¯ll weather it through just fine.¡¹
¡¸Although if he doesn¡¯t return every once in a while I have a feeling that we¡¯re going to teau sooner orter.¡¹
They crack a self-deprecating smile in response. While they have managed to get a hang over potion making and can whip up perfectly passable seasoning that¡¯s not curry powder by the gallon, they¡¯re still not quite consistent enough tofortably tackle anything ss eight. Not to mention that they¡¯re alchemy and enchanting skills still need some serious polishing.
They didn¡¯t necessarily need Hiroshi to hold their hand through everything, since they could use their currently possessed knowledge as a base for self-learning, but there was this inexplicable feeling that they¡¯d hit a dead-end right after cleaning their hands of ss eight. They could attempt to delve further through experimenting with unknown materials, but for that they¡¯d need experience, which they didn¡¯t have in spades.
There¡¯s also the fact that ever since Hiroshi and Mio set off their learning pace had dropped very noticeably. They weren¡¯t yet at a level where they could dive into the unknown with just their intuition, they still needed a mentor. Upon bing aware of this it¡¯s not hard to see why they¡¯d be concerned about their future endeavors.
¡¸Don¡¯t lose faith, there¡¯s still room for us to grow by ourselves, it hasn¡¯t even been a full month since they¡¯ve made it out.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right, how silly it was of me to fret over some imaginary brick wall in the way when I¡¯ve not even made it to that point in the road yet.
Teres, inspired by Fum¡¯s words of encouragement, gets up from her chair and gets right to work. There have been countless orders for miso, soy and various other sauces ever since word of their existence spread through the royal pce, so she had her hands full. It¡¯s not like the recipe was kept a secret or anything but, by virtue of being the trailzers in this regard, Azuma¡¯s brand was widely considered the best out there. The amount they were capable of putting out, in rtion to their rivals, was also iparable. That being said, everyone was careful not to sleep on theirurels because all of that could change in a heartbeat.
That, however, does not mean that they¡¯ll be catching up any time soon, seeing as how even the girls were advancing at a snail¡¯s pace every time they made seasoning. In fact they¡¯ve only recently managed to get the recipe down, so it¡¯ll take a long while till they are able to say the same when ites to taste. Furthermore, due to being able to pump the spices out at afortably fast pace, the workshop¡¯s produce could be sold for a cheaper than average market price, edging out thepetition. There was room forpetitors to make their move since, at the workshop¡¯s current production rate, the goods could only get in the hands of the affluent, so there was untapped market potential there. That wouldn¡¯t prove to be as simple as it sounds, however, considering the head start the workshop has in terms of both equipment and employee number.
¡¸Is anyone there?¡¹
Just as they had gotten in the perfect mood for cracking down on the most numerously ordered item ¨C soy sauce, a familiar voice makes its way into the room.
¡¸Alive and well, as you can see, Elle.¡¹
Fum picks up on the voice and gets up to greet their guest
¡¸Greetings.¡¹
¡¸Greetings. What brings you to our humble abode?¡¹
¡¸Could I get five hundred grams of niboshi, three kombu slices andstly two katsuoboshi pieces.¡¹
Aeris nonchntly lists off the goods, all of which would be astounding to hear from the lips of any other princess, but this one did all of her own cooking in the temple¡¯s kitchen.
¡¸They¡¯ll be ready in just a moment.¡¹
Teres begins gathering the goods. Azuma Workshop only ever does in-shop dealings with either the royal family or members of the Adventurer¡¯s Association, asionally with a select few, personally close individuals, but that¡¯s a rare sight. This has been the case ever since Hiroshi became head of the workshop but, more importantly, it resulted in the workshop building up a questionable reputation of sorts, especially considering the quality and scarcity of their products.
¡¸Don¡¯t be shy,e on in.¡¹
¡¸Aren¡¯t you busy with work?¡¹
¡¸We usually tend to finish our daily quota by noon, anything we make afterwards is for the sake of honing our craft, that and building up a stockpile for a day or two off, and wages.¡¹
Nora responds along with all the juicy behind the scenes details. Their basic living expenses are covered by taking a cut off of the sales of the products they had a hand in making. Their actual wage, however, wasn¡¯t set in stone and they could technically take all the profits for themselves with a little business know-how, but considering their impoverished background there was no way any of them would ever even think of doing so.
As such they take the iing orders and organize them in order of due date, calcte the predicted earnings of each one and put them up against their living expenses to determine the minimum amount of work needed to be done for the day. At present every one of their products go for a lot and the due dates are, for the most part, incredibly generous and as such their work can easily be done by noon.
And so that¡¯s exactly what the three choose to do, they finish up all their work by noon and either do tomorrow¡¯s batch in advance or deal with abrupt special requests such as the one right nowter on in the day.
¡¸We¡¯ve been testing out a bunch of possible new additions to add to our repertoire, such as tea or teacakes. They¡¯re still in the testing phase though, so it¡¯s not like they¡¯ll be avable for purchase any time soon.¡¹
Teres says as she returns with the requested items and tea with biscuits to go alongside it at hand. Said biscuits were rusks ¨C thinly cut pieces of bread fried in oil with some sugar sprinkled on top.
¡¸These are delicious. Teres, did you make these all by yourself?¡¹
¡¸Elle, I was under the impression that you were perfectly aware of my cooking ability¡¡¹
¡¸I-I¡¯m so sorry!!!¡¹
Aeris hastily apologizes to Teres, who had a dark cloud looming above her. It¡¯s not like she waspletely ipetent when it came to cooking, it¡¯s just that her ability was inferior when put up against that of Fum¡¯s or Nora¡¯s, and so much as mentioning her name alongside Aeris and Le would be sacrilegious.
¡¸Well it¡¯s not like everyone here is a master cook or anything¡¡¹
¡¸Makoto¡¯s a shining example of this, she¡¯spletely clueless when ites to cooking.¡¹
¡¸Makoto¡¯s a full time party member, it¡¯s only natural she wouldn¡¯t bother wasting time on a secondary skill like that, It¡¯s everyone else who¡¯s actually odd for dabbling in it for no real reason.¡¹
Fum and Teres crack a strained smile at Nora¡¯s remark. Under most circumstances adventurers don¡¯t bother learning to make anything by themselves. At most they¡¯ll maybe be capable enough to mock-up a makeshift trap on the spot with what they have lying around, but that¡¯s about as far their expertise goes. That makes sense since they¡¯d much rather be spending that precious time honing all of theirbat rted abilities instead of skills that are only really good for saving money, like potion making or cksmithing.
Naturally there exist exceptions to this rule, none of them quite on the level of Hiroshi but exceptions nheless. It¡¯s not a rare sight to see practitioners of professions like potion making or cksmithing, where independently procuring materials is a necessity, train themselves up to the ninth, possibly eight, level of adventurer. However not every profession requires this and, strictly in the context of adventurers, that is the case as well.
¡¸No real point in singling out Teres¡¯, from boss man¡¯s and Haruna¡¯s perspective we¡¯re all equally as rookie as the rest anyways.¡¹
¡¸Their threshold is something asically high as being able to prepare a rock boar dish after all.¡¹
¡¸That doesn¡¯t really make me feel any better¡¡¹
Nora¡¯s and Fum¡¯s words only made matters worse. Teres¡¯ pointy elf ears were drooping, indicative of her demoralized mental state. To her it wasn¡¯t so much a problem of societal expectations forcing her into feeling bad for not being able to cook, as can be seen in human society, it was more a matter of craftsman pride, even though she was still an apprentice by all ounts.
Gender boundaries are, by andrge, blurry in elven society and, as such, there exists no othering of women who can¡¯t cook or pick up a needle to save their lives. Men get assigned physically intense jobs, while women get the long term endurance heavy jobs, but that¡¯s about as far as the gender divide goes. Every other task that isn¡¯t particrly demanding in any of those aspects is done by whoever happens to have their hands free.
As such being inept at cooking does nothing to hurt a woman¡¯s pride in therger societal context. However, being inept at cooking in a more local context where almost everyone around her is immensely superior to in terms of skill is plenty damaging. Cooking skills also happen to carry over to alchemy and potion making proficiencies, so it¡¯s not hard to see why she¡¯d take it a bit personally.
¡¸All of that aside, Eru, how¡¯s your little brother and sister doing these days?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re still infants so it¡¯s still too early to say for certain but, at least for the time being, they¡¯ve yet to contract any major diseases and are doing just fine.¡¹
Aeris goes along with Fum¡¯s fumbling attempt at changing the topic, not wanting the awkward atmosphere to linger on for any longer than necessary. There wasn¡¯t much to work with, seeing as how it¡¯s only been a month since their conception.
¡¸The crew had plenty of work on their te back then.¡¹
¡¸Now that you mention it, weren¡¯t they frantically going about trying to sew some fancy-looking baby clothes?¡¹
Thedies gossip about the premature royal family¡¯s babies over a cup of homemade herbal tea. The two were twins, both legitimate children of Elena and Layotte, much like Aeris.
Hiroshi had been tasked with the burdensome chore of urgently putting together an extra pair of baby clothes, seeing as how not only were the two twins but prematurely born to make matters even worse. With Fane¡¯s current advances in medicine it was impossible to tell if they were twins beforehand, meanwhile Alfemina, who wanted it to be a surprise, did notmunicate the fact to Aeris in their exchange. The only one who had a vague feeling that might be case would be the queen herself.
After the realization had sunk in they had their work cut out for them, brewing all the baby friendly medicine they could think of and providing the queen with specially modified food fit for a well-bnced post-pregnancy diet. After all was said and done they set out near the end of February and an entire month had already passed since then, symbolizing the first milestone in the newborns¡¯ development.
¡¸When¡¯ll you be publicly announcing the news?¡¹
¡¸After the first month¡¯s physical examination and the blessing procedure take ce.¡¹
Newborns are known to kick the bucket at the drop of a hat, they¡¯re feeble, fragile little creatures at the end of the day, and there¡¯s only so many miracles medical technology is capable of pulling. That¡¯s why it¡¯s a Fane custom to put off any public announcements regarding the sessful delivery of its royal family¡¯stest addition until about a month or so after the fact.
Naturally since there was no active effort in trying to conceal neither the queen¡¯s pregnancy nor the babies birth, rumors spread across the city like wildfire. However them being twins, and other fine details for that matter, were unknown to the public, so even now they¡¯re excitedly waiting in anticipation for the announcement.
¡¸Will you be the one doing the honors?¡¹
¡¸Yes, that is the princess priestess purpose after all.¡¹
Aeris responds all in smiles and proceeds to gracefully finish off the remainder of her tea. Just from this little episode alone one would certainly not get the impression that this princess was actually quite the glutton.
¡¸That aside, how¡¯re things going back there?¡¹
¡¸The town¡¯s people seem to be on the edge of their seats in anticipation for the announcement, but asides from that its business as usual. Without boss man and the crew around there¡¯s no one to introduce any new spices or some odd dishes to shake things up.¡¹
¡¸Well there is this one thing.¡¹
¡¸Fum, have you got something to add?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s this soba shop that recently opened up near the market district and its owner is an old guy who boss man got along well with. I¡¯ve done some poking of my own and word is that it¡¯s the top dog when ites to soba in Wulls.¡¹
Aeris face lights up at the mere mention of soba. Needless to say she had no restraint to anything soba rted. Hiroshi taught her all the various ways of partaking in the dish, making her the unofficial Fane soba connoisseur.
¡¸I¡¯d hate to burst your bubble but the food quality isn¡¯t going to be anywhere near what boss man and Haruna make.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
¡¸Look on the bright side, once soy sauce bes more readily avable the number of soba shops will increase, allowing people to enjoy scrumptious soba at an affordable price range. Kombu and niboshi aren¡¯t that pricey after all.¡¹
Aeris was bursting with joy at the prospect of soba sweeping Fane. Wanting to see others appreciate the same things one does is only human.
¡¸There is a way to elerate the process even further.¡¹
¡¸What do you have in mind?¡¹
¡¸If we spread word that the princess priestess personal favorite dish is soba and get the state to openly support soy sauce and katsuoboshi production it¡¯d be a piece of cake.¡¹
¡¸That¡ actually sounds like a decent idea.¡¹
Aeris thoroughly chews over Nora¡¯s suggestion. The state openly supporting their production was off the table. However if word got around that soba was a personal favorite of the priestess princess, to the extent that she¡¯d have some on new year¡¯s eve, coupled with the easy essibility of cup soba for those unable to find the time to make some themselves, it might just be able to join the ranks of Fane¡¯s national foods within a few years, give or take.
¡¸That¡¯s fine and all but I can¡¯t help but wonder what everyone¡¯s up to right now.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯d be nice to know if they even made it there safely in the first ce.¡¹
¡¸No need to worry, Alfemina assured me of their safe arrival about two or so days ago.¡¹
¡¸Why on earth¡¯s a goddess concerning herself with such insignificant matters?¡¹
¡¸Alfemina¡¯s got quite the soft spot for Elle¡ doesn¡¯t she?¡¹
Teres and Nora find it hard to get over Alfemina¡¯s off-handed use of power. In their minds a god was to be above such matters.
¡¸Are you sure it¡¯s fine for her to be tossing around prophecies left and right like it¡¯s nobody¡¯s business?¡¹
¡¸Well I¡¯ve been receiving them on a daily basis for quite a while now, so I don¡¯t believe there¡¯s any issue?¡¹
¡¸On a daily basis, huh¡¡¹
Aeris¡¯ and Alfemina¡¯s rtionship was more akin to that of some inexplicably influentialdies and her beloved puppy dog of a child than that of a goddess and an oracle. Even taking a look back, the only other instance of a priestess princess being as favored as Aeris was the very first generation one. From that fact alone it was hard not to tell how truly special Aeris was in Alfemina¡¯s eyes.
¡¸To be fair it¡¯s not like we need a prophecy to tell us that they¡¯re either working on another one of their weird thingy majiggy¡¯s, trying out new recipes with some never before seen ingredients or getting themselves into a whole heap of trouble.¡¹
¡¸Teres, what kind of food is standard in your vige?¡¹
¡¸Besides the fact that there¡¯s little in way of meat and that our staple food is not a wheat per se, it¡¯s not all that different from here.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean by ¡®not a wheat per se¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Lars wheat, a type of cereal. It doesn¡¯t grow around these parts so it¡¯s no wonder you¡¯ve never heard of it.¡¹
Everyone listens on in awe about the mysterious crop. What none of them knew, having never seen the real thing, is that it was actually a type of rice. Just to be clear all three of Hiroshi¡¯s apprentice knew what rice meant and that it was a cereal.
¡¸Do you ever get an urge for it?¡¹
¡¸On asions, though there¡¯s a bunch of food here that I¡¯ve never even seen or touched before, so that¡¯s keeping me busy from getting overly homesick in that regard.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
¡¸If it ever gets too unbearable I¡¯ll just arrange a trip back with the party.¡¹
¡¸Sounds like a solid n.¡¹
Aeris breathes a sigh of relief seeing Teres lovingly smiling. What she didn¡¯t know at the time was that, around halfway through April, Teres would be making frequent rounds to the vige and back, having sumbed to said rice urges. Teres would spend the time leading up to April in ignorant bliss, unaware of what the near future had in mind for her.
¡¸Razor-wed jaguar meat is an acquired taste.¡¹
¡¸Man eaters are anything but¡¡¹
¡¸You can say that again.¡¹
The very next day after the girls gossiping session and Hiroshi¡¯s experimenting, Haruna and Mio found themselves stuck with downed man eaters and some other spoils Takeya and Makoto had hunted down on their way back to the vige. They would be making Doria for dinner, so for lunch they had to make due with what they had on hand.
¡¸Man eaters aren¡¯t worth the hassle, let¡¯s give up on the idea of putting them in our stomachs.¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re usable for potions and consumables.¡¹
¡¸We can use them for practiceter, just be sure to teach me what and how can be made from them.¡¹
¡¸Roger.¡¹
Man eaters weren¡¯t suited for human consumption. After all, even Haruna¡¯s expertise got them nowhere, so it was much more logical to just use them for something else.
¡¸Could razor-wed jaguar meat be made into a cutlet?¡¹
¡¸Mask the stench with spices, throw in some peri and serve with cheese. That sounds like it could work.¡¹
¡¸What about eliminating the stench and smoking it?¡¹
¡¸I could see that working out as well.¡¹
The razor-wed Jaguar, being a carnivore, had a distinct stench attached to it. Granted it was nowhere near as bad as the Cerberus, which was downright inedible, but it still required some working around to make it tolerable. On top of that it could only really be either fried or baked, boiling the meat would render it hard as a rock, so it¡¯s not fit for something like curry. As a result the forms it can take on a te were fairly limited.
Its qualities were much like the other inner southern forest carnivore ¨C the blood stained wolf. Except that this one was a bit easier to make strength enhancing potions with, so it made much more sense to use it as for that purpose over ham-fistedly forcing it into a food item. Both of them tasted almost identical as well, so it was a no brainer at that point.
¡¸Good thing the exploda-bear meat didn¡¯t turn out to be half bad.¡¹
¡¸Yea.¡¹
¡¸How does bear meat and fresh veggie Doria sound for today¡¯s menu?¡¹
¡¸Mouth-watering.¡¹
Despite being an active monster and a bear to top it all off the exploda-bear was, surprisingly enough, a herbivore of all things. Its primary source of food were carnivorous nts such as hunter trees and man eaters, because it liked its food with a little bite to it. It¡¯s one of the most powerful monsters within thepounds of said forest, capable of unleashing deadly explosive balls of pure energy in battle. But s, there¡¯s one single weakness holding it back ¨C its deadly vulnerability to oxygen rings, the kryptonite of all animal type monsters.
¡¸What¡¯re we going to do with its fur?¡¹
¡¸The razor-wed jaguar¡¯s white fur is a rarity, so we could use it for cloaks, I guess?¡¹
¡¸Who¡¯d even wear one of those?¡¹
Mio looks at Haruna inplete and utter disbelief upon hearing her silly question.
¡¸It¡¯s indispensable for any serious rapier user.¡¹
¡¸Wait, I¡¯m the one supposed to be putting that thing on?¡¹
¡¸Do you see anyone else around?¡¹
¡¸How exactly do rapiers and cloaks go hand in hand? I don¡¯t follow.¡¹
¡¸God¡¯s will. The people¡¯s will. The mmo¡¯s will.¡¹
This time Haruna¡¯s the one to stare on in disbelief as Mio lists off a bunch of nonsensical, nonspecific reasons.
¡¸Haru, what was your in game gear like?¡¹
¡¸Well I did have the epic quality Starlight de and the Mirage armor set.¡¹
Mio listens intently, absently nodding after every word. The starlight de¡¯s specifics were a mystery to her, while the Mirage set was fairly high priced yet could be easily found on the market on most days, so Mio was well aware of its specifics. It was one of the iron te sets, so it¡¯d be more urate to say that anyone with over two years of game experience was well aware of them.
The set pieces, which are a mixture of cloth and leather, drop from mobs in the sweltering tower wing of the Scorching Desert instance. Uponpletion of the set a certain special effect urs, what¡¯s known as a set bonus, and its set bonus in particr was the most widely known. It¡¯s not as hardcore as something like the hell ss instances but it¡¯s certainly one of the harder ones to clear and, as such, has some nifty stats to show for it.
It¡¯s really no wonder why so many backliners loved it to pieces: It had a low grade magic resist buff, a twenty percent enemy hit chance debuff and enormous additional hit chance and dodge penalty passive to any sight reliant enemies. It had anything they could¡¯ve ever dreamed of.
That being said, it was considered a joke set by any serious melee sses due to itscking physical resist, its overall durability being one of the lowest among special armor sets and the fact that its passive effect, the enormous hit and dodge penalties for any sight reliant enemy, was next to useless against a vast majority of hell ss foes. Said passive was its main, and perhaps only, selling point, the stats by themselves weren¡¯t impressive by any means. Just to get an idea of how rtively meager they were ¨C Hiroshi¡¯s self-crafted wyvern leather armor set had around a third more magic resist and twice the physical resist.
¡¸Why steel te?¡¹
¡¸All of the other avable sets weren¡¯t stat well for battlemage builds.¡¹
¡¸Makes sense, just one thing though.¡¹
¡¸Go ahead.¡¹
¡¸Doesn¡¯t that sete with a cloak?¡¹
Haruna lets out a strained smile in response. The mirage set was designed specifically with musketeers in mind so it only makes sense that it¡¯de with a cloak. Thankfully the design team didn¡¯t go too overboard with the set because it didn¡¯t include neither a felt feather hat nor a masquerade mask, but if it did and Haruna¡¯s in game character was to put all three on at the same time, she¡¯d be lucky to get away with a nickname as tame as ¡®the enigmatic musketeeres¡¯ at the best of times.
While Haruna¡¯s character did differ from her real life self with the light brown eyes and hair the real kicker was the ironing board like bust. Sadly there wasn¡¯t any deeper reason behind it, noplex of any sorts nor any subconscious desire to avoid being coddled by the more ¡®gentlemanly¡¯ side of the male yerbase, it¡¯s just that at the time she had just entered her first year of middle school, so she had no real assets to speak of. Her height was automatically adjusted to reflect reality free of charge but editing the character¡¯s body would require a whole few clicks, so she just left it as is.
Unsurprisingly Haruna wasn¡¯t the type to be hung up over breast size. In her mind either setting had its advantages and its disadvantages, so she simply didn¡¯t bother ying around with the sliders as it would be a waste of time and energy.
¡¸That settles it, let¡¯s get sensei to whip you up a neat cloak.¡¹
¡¸Do I get a say in this?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, no. Imagine all the possibilities, you could bind your opponents weapon or cut them to pieces with its sharpened edges.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s quite the imagination you got going there, now ain¡¯t it?¡¹
Haruna catches herself ying the straight man to Mio¡¯s antics. This never happened when she interacted with Hiroshi, as she¡¯d just go along with the madness, but for some reason she could never do the same when it came to Mio¡¯s brand of absurdity.
¡¸Have you ever¡¡¹
Haruna mutters as she looks over at an orderly line of materials and food items specific to the inner southern forest. It had everything: from downright unusable materials to ones with so many uses it would make one¡¯s head spin, and some vendor junk to top it all off. The sheer volume of all of them was also noteworthy.
¡¸Have I ever, what?¡¹
¡¸Have you ever stopped to think why our first instinct is to either craft or cook all these items instead of just vendoring or trading them?¡¹
¡¸Weren¡¯t we already past that?¡¹
¡¸Well, you¡¯re certainly not wrong there.¡¹
Haruna gets stopped right in her tracks by Mio¡¯s observation. They had already been at a point where, before even diving into any actualbat tactics, they would unconsciously sift through all the possible practical uses for the dropped materials of any given monster they happened to be facing. In other words they were past the point of no return in a way.
¡¸In all seriousness it¡¯s all thanks to our kooky leader over there.¡¹
Mio says as she turns her head towards the neighboring house. Needless to say Hiroshi, being the crafting fetishist to top all fetishists that he is, waspletely absorbed with his mad experiments.
¡¸He has a point though, it¡¯s a lot more practical to put all of those materials to good use rather than vendoring them for nominal sums.¡¹
¡¸Sure, but couldn¡¯t we spare at least a tiny portion of it for rank increasing?¡¹
While funneling all the materials for Hiroshi to y around with had some substantial upsides, as a result acquiring proof of subjugation became much more difficult and their adventurer level had begun stagnating. There wasn¡¯t much reason to raise it too high but they¡¯d have to deal with certainplications if it wasn¡¯t at least at six.
In order to level up, however, they¡¯d have to take on more demanding, potentially life-threatening, contracts. Thanks to Hiroshi their expenses were minimal but if they were to carry on with their current safe approach to questing, it would only be a matter of time till their inflow of gold starts decreasing. Granted they had plenty of it to spare but that didn¡¯t mean that their coffers were bottomless and they could dry up rapidly if the party wasn¡¯t paying enough attention.
¡¸I¡¯m back.¡¹
¡¸Artiem¡¯s back.¡¹
¡¸So she is.¡¹
Artiem¡¯s arrival lightens up the mood just as the conversation had started heading in a darker direction. She had been tasked with gathering as many peak season produce from her vige as she could get her hands on.
¡¸There wasn¡¯t much to go around, the timing was a bit awkward¡¡¹
¡¸No worries, it¡¯s not your fault.¡¹
Haruna calms down Artiem who was being overly apologetic for a factor out of her control. She lets a sigh of relief and begins going through the contents of the basket.
¡¸The only ones particr to this season were the BrutaLotus root and the Spudle-Driver.¡¹
¡¸Those names sound no good, are they monsters by chance?¡¹
¡¸The BrutaLotus is certainly a monster, the Spudle-Driver, on the other hand, is just your regr potato, asides from its rhizomes which are like massive sharpened rocks, that is.¡¹
Spudle-Drivers were capable of nting their roots in even the hardest of bedrock and could grow them out beyond the average human¡¯s height.
¡¸Hold it, where did you get those from?¡¹
¡¸Well they¡¯re potatoes, you just dig them up.¡¹
¡¸One more thing, are they perennial? And do the roots wilt after being dug up?¡¹
¡¸Yes and no.¡¹
¡¸Could it be possible that it¡¯s just another nt that happens to resemble a potato?¡¹
¡¸The spuds grow on the roots, there¡¯s no doubt about it.¡¹
Artiem exins as she shows off what can only be described as a type of potato. It had an uncanny ability to avoid wilting even after having its rhizomes dup up, as one would expect from a bizarre parrarel world. In case anyone was wondering how they were being harvested when their roots were that unforgiving, the answer is simple ¨C some roots ran along the ground, so with just a little digging they could be harvested easily.
¡¸Fair enough. What about the BrutaLotus?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a type of lotus root that¡¯ll try to fly away when dug up and if one tries to snatch it mid-flight it¡¯ll turn right back and dive head-first straight into anyone unfortunate enough to earn its wrath.¡¹
¡¸What a way to say hello¡¡¹
¡¸You can say that again, it hurts, a lot. Last time when Foeldan tried to stop one from escaping he got knocked right off his feet and flew over fifty meters from a direct hit to the chest.¡¹
¡¸Yikes.¡¹
Haruna and Mio go through some light cognitive dissonance at the disconnect between their understanding of a lotus root and this one they¡¯re hearing of that effortlessly knocked a heavy forest giant over fifty meters back.
¡¸This might sounds riching from the one who asked for this but are you sure it¡¯s okay to have this thing around?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s been neutralized so we should be fine, I think¡¡¹
¡¸You think?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s simr to pomey¡¯s in a way, asionally the killing blow will be just off the mark and once it senses it¡¯s being cooked it won¡¯t hesitate to retaliate with full force.¡¹
¡¸Double yikes.¡¹
Haruna and Mio would¡¯ve been better off not asking. Pomey¡¯s were a dangerous nt type along the lines of the BrutaLotus but at the very least they wouldn¡¯t pick a fight over something as simple as being cooked, although if they happened to be caught in the crossfire of some explosion they would be just as relentless in their self-defense. The BrutaLotus must take it self very seriously.
¡¸Speaking of Brutalotuses¡¡¹
¡¸Hold it!¡¹
¡¸Okay?¡¹
¡¸We can never be too careful, get in battle position!¡¹
¡¸Way ahead of you, Haru.¡¹
Artiem¡¯s rming exposition sets the two off. They were convinced that the conversation they just had was foreshadowing for what¡¯s about toe and even if it wasn¡¯t, it never hurts to be too careful.
Artiem puzzlingly looks on as the two get into serious battle mode over what¡¯s essentially a vegetable. It would have been understandable if they just pulled out their weapons and remained cautious but Haruna had begun working on her defense buffs as though in preparation for the real deal. They didn¡¯t have any armor on at the time so it was somewhat understandable but they would be facing off against a BrutaLotus ¨C a monster that¡¯s not all that powerful. If it was the vigers wouldn¡¯t be taking the risk of cultivating it.
¡¸Can I, umm, take them out now?¡¹
¡¸Go ahead.¡¹
¡¸Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡¹
Artiem faintly smiles at the absurdity of the situation while taking out four BrutaLotuses out of the basket one by one. Just as she begun to think it was a false rm after all, she reached out for another one and¡
¡¸Ah!?¡¹
¡¸I knew it!¡¹
¡¸Drat!¡¹
The BrutaLotuses initiated a four way attack. Both Haruna and Mio, who were still on their guard even after the first few sessive attempts had almost given them a false sense of security, instantly take down two of them. Artiem meanwhile had been caughtpletely off guard, but luckily she had somehow managed to just barely move out of the way.
¡¸Aaaah!!!¡¹
A single Brutalotus manages to crash its way through Artiem¡¯s skirt due to a miscalcted turn. Artiem freezes on the spot inplete shock over what had just went down. The impact tore her skirt into pieces, while the BrutaLotus got taken down by Mio¡¯s shes just as it was about to collide into the ceiling.
¡¸That, however, didn¡¯t mark the end of things toe.¡¹
¡¸Woah!¡¹
Thest remaining BrutaLotus delivers a swiftly urate blow to Artiem¡¯s sr plexus. This sends her flying right through the wall into the neighboring house. The blow was so strong that, were it not for Haruna¡¯s defense buff, Artiem would be in a whole lot of pain right about now.
Also the neighboring house was currently upied by Hiroshi who was just¡ minding his own business.
¡¸Haruna¡ Isn¡¯t sensei in there?¡¹
Haruna and Mio were greeted by apletely bewildered Hiroshi, who didn¡¯t appear to suffer any real damages.
¡¸Hiroshi, are you okay!?¡¹
¡¸Aye, am perfectly fain. It¡¯s just that¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s just that?¡¹
¡¸Do ye e¡¯er find yerselves questionin¡¯ god¡¯s will?¡¹
Haruna and Mio tilt their heads in confusion to Hiroshi¡¯s cryptic answer. Hiroshi, deciding that it¡¯d be quicker to just show not tell, takes the two over to his workspace.
¡¸Oh dear¡¡¹
¡¸Yeesh.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t this seem a bit o¡¯erboard?¡¹
¡¸Yes, yes it does¡¡¹
Haruna and Mio shake their heads in agreement. One of Hiroshi¡¯s experimental nt types had locked the man eater down in a cobra twist while simultaneously pinning down Artiem in a less than child friendly manner.
¡¸How did it even get to this?¡¹
¡¸At first it merely ¡®eld ¡®er upside down by the legs, but then¡¡¹
¡¸But then?¡¹
¡¸After Devourin¡¯ the lotus root that came flyin¡¯ outta nohwhere it just kinda happened in a moment¡¯s notice.¡¹
¡¸Oh my¡¡¹
It seemed as though that particr lotus root was a lecherous one. Upon absorbing its lecherous energy the unknown nt couldn¡¯t help but channel its inner tentacally self and do¡ that to Artiem.
¡¸Now, how do we go ¡®bout solvin¡¯ this dilemma?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t look at us, we don¡¯t want to end up like that.¡¹
¡¸Fair ¡®nuff.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m too young to be defiled.¡¹
¡¸Less talking more saving, for the love of god!¡¹
Artiem screams for help as the three nonchntly discuss the situation at hand while awkwardly looking away from her general direction. What was clear for now is that this unknown nt would need some serious adjustments before being passed as usable.
Volume 2, 5
Volume 2, Chapter 5
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Don¡¯t mean toe off as picky but¡¡¹
¡¸But?¡¹
¡¸All these food items they¡¯re offensive to the eye.¡¹
¡¸Oh that.¡¹
Everyone silently nodded in agreement, not having much to add to Tatsuya¡¯s observation. They were sinking their teeth into some beefy-legged salmon ¨C a type of salmon characterized by their muscr legs which were sturdy enough to run up entire cliffs had the need arised, thus the name. Taking this factor into consideration it was hardly surprising why no one felt it necessary to raise their voices in objection.
While there was a real life equivalent of salmon that most are familiar with they were currently out of season, the beefy-legged salmon, on the other hand, were conveniently in-season. There were still around two weeks of time before the run kicked into full gear but some impatient early starters that wanted to get ahead of the curve had already put on their running shoes
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t you find it a tad bit off putting if the salmon in your rice ball looked like, whatever this is supposed to be?¡¹
¡¸I means ya gots beefy-armed salmon runnin¡¯ amuck which means they ain¡¯t some freak ident so how ¡¯bout ya cut them some ck, eh?¡¹
¡¸First of all why is it that different body part variations even exist to begin with? Clearly whatever evolutionary purpose they were meant to serve would have been carried out more efficiently with a full set of limbs, kind of like a gill-man.¡¹
¡¸Now that you mention it, that is odd, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
Makoto concurred with Tatsuya¡¯s astute observation. If they had just went down the gill-man route it would¡¯ve been a lot easier to maintain suspension of disbelief then when they¡¯re so bizarrely incoherent on a fundamental level.
¡¸Gill-man, you say?¡¹
¡¸What about it?¡¹
¡¸Do you think they¡¯d taste good?¡¹
¡¸First of all no, second of all why¡¯s that the very first question to pop up in your mind?¡¹
¡¸Before we buckle down ta discussin¡¯ that I thinks it¡¯d be worthwhile ta ponder the moral dilemma if it was to hypothetically be consider a humanoid.¡¹
Hiroshi voiced his concern just as the conversation on whether or not gill-man meat would taste good began picking up steam. Makoto and Tatsuya began pondering on the matter.
¡¸That¡¯s a good question.¡¹
¡¸Well if it could convey its will with words it¡¯d be a humanoid, if it acted blindly on feral instinct alone then it¡¯d be a monster, or something along those lines?¡¹
¡¸That sounds like a good startin¡¯ point although I thinks you¡¯re forgettin¡¯ that even some monsters are technically considered humanoid.¡¹
¡¸Well if we were to extend our definition of humanoid to include goblins and the ilk there¡¯d be a high chance that they¡¯d getbelled as such.¡¹
The group took this abstract food for thought andpletely gorged on it. A more down to earth person would only begin to worry about such philosophical conundrums once the necessity arose but they were anything but.
¡¸I¡¯m starting to think that maybe there are too many unountable variables to reach a conclusion on this one without seeing the real thing in action.¡¹
¡¸Sounds about right.¡¹
Their heated discussion ended with a very obvious realization. The only consensus they did manage to gather is that if it did turn out to be a monster they¡¯d definitely be all over that meat.
¡¸Now, back to the matter at hand.¡¹
¡¸Hmm?¡¹
¡¸I think it¡¯d be a really nice change in pace toe across produce that¡¯s just normal in every sense of the word and is not in any way going to self-destruct when cooked improperly or is not a beefed up fish but only in parts. What do you all think?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a fantasy setting, anything goes.¡¹
Haruna blurted out a remark that would make any fantasy writer worth their salt turn in their grave.
¡¸Haruna, If I could just say one thing.¡¹
¡¸Yes? What is it?¡¹
¡¸Just because it¡¯s fantasy doesn¡¯t give it the right to have no internal logical coherence¡¹
¡¸I mean, what other exnation do you propose?¡¹
At that moment Tatsuya had to restrain himself from repeating the same point he had made but louder and in a more fed-up tone. Fantasy settings as a whole, across all mediums, didn¡¯t exactly go around making up all kinds of in-universe edibles instead opting to use whatever was native to earth. The farthest they¡¯d possibly go would be counting dragon meat as an edible but under no circumstances would a root lotus that posed a serious life threat, if one was to rub it the wrong way, ever exist.
¡¸This has been on my mind for quite some time now but how exactly are you all okay with oh so casually digging in on food made from fluorescent green vegetables without a single care in the world?¡¹
¡¸Oh, that? We got used to that kind of thing in about a month¡¯s time.¡¹
¡¸Ya and Mio might not be aware but summer¡¯s in-season produce is, for the most part, not for the faint of heart.¡¹
¡¸So that¡¯s why Makoto didn¡¯t find any of this off-putting, huh?¡¹
¡¸Something like that.¡¹
Tatsuya and Mio got sucked just in time for September ¨C a time where mostly produce native to earth are in-season. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t get the chance to get familiar with all those fever-dream like veggies and fruits, meanwhile the others were ¡®fortunate¡¯ enough to reach Wull¡¯s in midsummer ¨C a time where rusted up metallic cabbage-like things and veiny, beefy-looking watermelons were at their peak freshness. Although prevent rot could keep out of season produce fresh it could only go so far and that¡¯s why the city market was, as expected, mostly dealing in in-season produce and the asional cereal. Without implementing these into one¡¯s diet there was only so much variety an average meal course could have, not to mention that food expenses would also go up significantly.
That¡¯s why Hiroshi and Haruna decided that it was about time to get over their fears and simply started trying every single one of them out left and right. This little habit has stuck with them to this day, what with them trying their luck at serving whatever they can get their hands on. As for Makoto she managed to throw away any pickiness she had left in her by the time she got with Haruna by haphazardously trying out everything that was put in front of her in a Russian roulette fashion. Due to a personality quirk of hers Makoto was always hell-bent on cleaning out her te, no matter the cost and well, the rest is history.
Because the two never had to go through such excruciating pains to get a bite to eat and due to the fact that they had professional cooks making meals for them, neither Tatsuya nor Mio were ever in a position where they had to step out of their tastefort zone. In Mio¡¯s case she at least had the whole food taster and cooking thing going for her meanwhile Tatsuya, who didn¡¯t engage in either, never even really had a chance toy eyes on any of that bizzaro produce.
In a sense him grumbling about this was indicative of his privileged position.
¡¸Ya can get wyvern meat down ya throat just fain but the moment some slightly ominous looking veggie hits the table ya suddenly lose it now?¡¹
¡¸Wyverns are staple fantasy creatures, rock boar meat wasn¡¯t offensive to the eye.¡¹
¡¸If you¡¯re going to be bringing up the fantasy card whenever it¡¯s convenient for you what¡¯s stopping us from doing the same?¡¹
They grinned upon hearing Haruna¡¯s retort. She wasn¡¯t off by any means, after all, who¡¯s going to argue that say some brightly colored tuft of grass doesn¡¯t fall in line with the spirit of fantasy? What they are likely to get hung up on is using that grass as an edible, that¡¯s not really a thing in most fantasy settings.
¡¸Tatsuya I think it¡¯d be a wiser move to just ept things as they are.¡¹
¡¸Guess so.¡¹
¡¸That being said I do think it¡¯d be a nice change in pace if the ingredients we happen toe across were pleasantly surprising like maitake or bok choy back home for once instead of the, well, usual.¡¹
Makoto voiced her nostalgic memories of some of the ingredients that were once unavable in Japan which became widely essible after advances in agricultural and transportation technologies.
¡¸I don¡¯t think that¡¯s as a far cry as you might think.¡¹
¡¸Darl and Forre might have what you¡¯re looking for.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s one heck of a distance we¡¯d have to cover¡¡¹
Tatsuya said with a thousand yard stare, directed at nothing in particr. The elf vige¡¯s produce was, for the most part,pletely normal, although the few bad apples stuck out like a sore thumb in Tatsuya¡¯s eyes who¡¯s suspension of disbelief wasn¡¯t as developed as the rest quite yet.
¡¸Enuff with a this food talk, we have better things to be worryin¡¯ about.¡¹
¡¸Not likeining¡¯s gonna get me anywhere, I suppose. Fine, I¡¯ll drop the issue.¡¹
Tatsuya begrudgingly dropped the issue. Hiroshi wasn¡¯t exactly known for being this direct but when it came to more urgent matters it¡¯s as though he¡¯d switch into responsible hero mode.
¡¸How¡¯re things movin¡¯ along on ya¡¯lls end?¡¹
¡¸Well we¡¯ve managed to clear out all the hunter trees from spots where they might cause some real damage.¡¹
¡¸That and we¡¯ve frozen any man eater roots we could find through good old manualbor, except the ones blocking off the entrance to the temple.¡¹
¡¸Sounds like you¡¯ve been makin¡¯ progress.¡¹
Tatsuya and Mio travelled all the way from the elf vige to the goblin, forest giant and fairy viges and cleared out any hunter trees along the way that might¡¯ve posed a threat to passing by vigers. Forest giants had a high chance of escaping with their lives in tact but goblins and fairies, due to their smallish stature, were particrly vulnerable to not only hunter trees but man eaters as well.
Any other animal type monster they just left to be. For one it would take an unreasonable amount of time to thin out all of their numbers not to mention the potentially devastating impact this might have on the local ecosystem.
¡¸And how are things on your end?¡¹
¡¸It be nearin¡¯pletion, so long as everythin¡¯ goes ordin¡¯ to n those things¡¯ll be wiped clean off the face of the earth.¡¹
¡¸Well aren¡¯t you making strides. When are we be going to be carrying out this n of yours?¡¹
¡¸If everythin¡¯ goes smoothly tomorrow mornin¡¯. There¡¯s no guarantee that¡¯ll be the end of it though, so you¡¯d better prepare for the worst.¡¹
They nodded in affirmation. Whether it¡¯s a game or a story events like this never just end peacefully, there¡¯s always a catch. While there weren¡¯t any tangible signs of it being a part of some bigger conspiracy it was a stretch to believe that it just urred naturally without any underlying cause.
¡¸If we¡¯re going to be preparing for the worst what kind of worst do you have in mind? Personally I don¡¯t think we¡¯re walking into any sort of scheme, so we canfortably cross that one off.¡¹
¡¸Based on experience I¡¯d say there¡¯s a good likelihood we might walk into a forest dungeon.¡¹
¡¸Mind borating?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t you find it odd how eerily peaceful it is despite the man eater infestation?¡¹
Hiroshi and Harunatched on to the argument and began solemnly nodding. It was rather odd how that many carnivorous nts managed to maintain their numbers for close to thirty years at this point withoutpletely impregnating the environment with their miasma. From what Hiroshi and Mio had gathered, the local feng shui wasn¡¯t in line with the path to the temple, which meant that the miasma exuded by the man eaters was being used for something other than contaminating the feng shui.
¡¸Now that ya mention it wouldn¡¯t surprise me one bit if the path just spontaneously lead into a dungeon, all the building blocks are there.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s why I¡¯ll need you and Mio to think of an escape n in case things do go south.¡¹
¡¸Aye, will do.¡¹
¡¸Roger.¡¹
The two decided to put their trust in Makoto¡¯s assessment. Even if it proved to be off the mark it¡¯s always better to be safe than sorry.
¡¸Well then, I suppose we better get back to business. Me and Makoto will be scouting out the area, Hiro¡¯s gonna be busy with his thing and Haruna and Mio are¡ What are you two going to be doing?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll prep for a dungeon run.¡¹
¡¸I guess I¡¯ll help out with the farm work.¡¹
¡¸That settles that then.¡¹
They nodded in agreement and began going their own ways. If everything went as nned their five day stay at the elf vige was about toe to an end.
¡¸Would ya lookie here, either my eyes are yin¡¯ tricks on me or I¡¯m seein¡¯ a weess, sweet as a pea, tendin¡¯ to the crop.¡¹
¡¸Ya don¡¯t get to see that every day, now do ya?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Tis times like these that make me wanna thank the lord for not lettin¡¯ these ol¡¯ bones of mine to wither away quite yet.¡¹
Haruna let out a stifledugh at the vocal admiration thrown her way by the elven folk who were tending to their crop. ¡®Sweet as a pea¡¯ implied her being on the cute side of the beauty spectrum which, in a vacuum, could be seen as a pure heartedpliment, if not for the fact that it came out of the mouths from members of a race unanimously known for their childishly pureplexions, and the fact that they were all lecherous old hags deep down.
¡¸If that wasn¡¯t heartwarmin¡¯ enough, this one¡¯s an experienced cook, she is.¡¹
¡¸One that doesn¡¯t shy away from incorporatin¡¯ some of the more, how should I put it, visually repulsive local produce in her repertoire.¡¹
¡¸There be no such thing as bad ingredients, only bad cooks.¡¹
Haruna, having carefully picked out her words, cordially thanked them. Had she tickled their fancy with an overly enthusiastic response further teasing would have ensued.
¡¸Have ya ever considered weddin¡¯ anyone from the vige?¡¹
¡¸Malga¡¯s boyo¡¯s still a bachelor.¡¹
¡¸So is Addo¡¯s.¡¹
¡¸Senegal¡¯s wifey disappeared without a trace after hearin¡¯ out their revtion.¡¹
Even the highly conservative rural elfmunities had trouble sufficiently enticing the female poption to marry into a bunch of farmhands. Haruna, not wanting to linger on a depressing reality of the rural lifestyle, interjected.
¡¸Will you be thinning these out?¡¹
¡¸Hmm, well ¡¯tis hard to say at this point in taim but I suppose doin¡¯ so wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡¹
¡¸Will this grow into a healthy crop even if not immediately nted?¡¹
¡¸Depends heavily on the temperature and soil quality but not to the extent that it¡¯d only survive under the most ideal of conditions.¡¹
¡¸In that case may I take those off your hands?¡¹
They were caughtpletely off guard by Haruna¡¯s abrupt request.
¡¸¡¯Tis no skin off our backs but what do ya n on usin¡¯ ¡¯em for? If ya don¡¯t mind me askin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Once we¡¯ve finished our business here we¡¯ll be taking a few experts on Lars wheat back to Wulls to share said expertise, so I figured we may as well make use of our test garden while we¡¯re at it.¡¹
¡¸Fair enuff. I s¡¯ppose ya will be wantin¡¯ as much we can spare?¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s not too much trouble.¡¹
The elves began poring over their supply of thinned out ntlings, selectively picking out all the nicer looking ones.
¡¸How¡¯s this look?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯ll be plenty. Thank you so very much.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t mention it. If ya hadn¡¯t taken ¡¯em off our hands they¡¯d either be rottin¡¯ in the garbage or be startin¡¯ off a new life as fertilizer. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re the ones who¡¯re the most grateful.¡¹
¡¸Won¡¯t they have wilted away by the time ya get there?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ve got teleportation stones on hand so that¡¯s a non-issue.¡¹
The elves winced at the mention of teleportation stones. Even they were aware what amodity tp stones were and yet Haruna was fully intent on using them all willy-nilly like as if it was no big deal.
¡¸Teleportation stones, ya say?¡¹
¡¸Are ya sure there¡¯s not a more practical use for it?¡¹
¡¸I appreciate the concern but if we ever were to run out we¡¯ll just have Hiroshi prepare another batch.¡¹
They were leftpletely dumbfounded at the reveal.
¡¸The boy¡¯s one ¡®eck of a talented kid, ain¡¯t ¡®e?¡¹
¡¸You can say that again. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯d find a single craftsman better than Hiroshi at what he does even if you were to search the entire globe.¡¹
¡¸Mortifyin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Ya took the words right outta my mouth.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d say you were being overly dramatic but in this case that¡¯s kind of to be expected.¡¹
Haruna evaluated their reactions and deemed them to be perfectly reasonable. Expecting anyone to take the info at face value was a fool¡¯s errand ¨C Hiroshi was but a human and a fairly young one at that, on a pure numbers basis the hours he could¡¯ve physically put into crafting were meagerpared to that of other, longer lived races.
¡¸Oh, and another thing.¡¹
¡¸Aye?¡¹
¡¸We were thinking about setting up a teleportation circle in this here vige, how do you all feel about that?¡¹
¡¸Teleportation circle, you say?¡¹
¡¸Do we even really need one?¡¹
With just two words a disturbance was caused. The rural elvenmunity might¡¯ve been simple, honest folk but even they weren¡¯t unaware of the potential damage a teleportation circle could do to their vige. The only reason they were able to protect themselves from outside treats was because their vige was cleverly located in the middle of god knows where in the southern forest, which was massive in scale. TP stones and TP circles essentially nullified the one thing they had going for them.
TP stones they were willing to let slide ¨C they only allowed for so much carrying capacity, getting hold of one was no small task and, to top it all off, they were ssified as a consumable. No one in their right mind would ever think to execute an all-out attack n with just TP stones and even if they did, so long as the line-up of baddies weren¡¯t too ridiculously powerful, elves could handle them with rtive ease.
As for TP circles all of those aforementioned downsides were inapplicable. Granted while they didn¡¯t allow for the simultaneous transportation of arge number of people like teleportation gates did, they did, however, allow a potentially infinite amount of people to teleport to a designed location just by using up a fraction of their mp and they could bring along whatever extra equipment they needed, so long as it fit nicely, along with them.
What most concerning to the vigers was that the TP circle, unlike TP stones, allowed people who had never even been physically present in that particr space to easily make their way over.
¡¸Well, I never really expected you all to blindly ept without being provided with all the fine details.¡¹
¡¸Ya had us worried there for a moment.¡¹
¡¸The teleportation circle will lead into our workshop, that way we¡¯ll be able to port over whatever personnel and equipment we need for the cultivation of Lars wheat and it¡¯ll be useful for the asional recreational visit. We could just use teleportation stones to the same effect but that feels needlessly wasteful and inconvenient.¡¹
¡¸It would certainly be nice ta have easy ess to Wull¡¯s¡¡¹
¡¸Is there any chance of your so called workshop bein¡¯ taken over and used as a gateway for stormin¡¯ our vige?¡¹
¡¸This whole area would fall before anybody got their hands on our workshop.¡¹
Haruna stated with an air of unwavering certainty. For one if the Azuma workshop was ever to be taken over that would signify a foreign force overthrowing the royal family. Secondly some serious firepower would be needed in order to break through the workshop¡¯s defenses, the kind that could only reasonably be afforded by Barold and his associates and by the time they got there the entirety of Fane would¡¯ve already been infested with miasma. The vige¡¯s feng shui was directly connected to that of Wull¡¯s, so naturally if Wull¡¯s fell, the vige would fall alongside it.
¡¸Also by ying around with the settings a bit it¡¯s possible to block off ess to anyone attempting to use the circle without our explicit permission.¡¹
¡¸Fair enuff but what if someone was to overwrite those settins, hypothethically speakin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Well for that hypothethical scenario to ur the one doing the overwriting would have to have an armyrge enough to crush Fane¡¯s Knight Order, get past the workshop¡¯s security and, not to mention, they themselves would have to possess enough technical expertise to rival the world¡¯s greatest craftsman. If all of these factors happen to somehowe together your vige would be in certain peril regardless of whether there¡¯s ess to a teleportation circle or not.¡¹
¡¸That be so?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s only one group capable of pulling something as grandiose, as far as I¡¯m aware, and they¡¯d be much more likely to start off by contaminating the entire nation¡¯s feng shui before taking any other action.¡¹
Haruna dered remembering Barold¡¯s immense physical and magicalbat capabilities. Judging from his overall demeanor it was fair to assume that he was undoubtedly close to the bottom of the food chain within the group. At best possibly a project leader, at worst an overseer but either which way even someone as small, in the grand scheme of things, as him was powerful enough to singlehandedlyy waste to a city around the size of Wull¡¯s. If more than one of him were to attempt to overtake the workshop there would be a good chance they might just seed.
However if they were truly out to contaminate Fane¡¯s feng shui and wreak general havoc on the country they could¡¯ve easily done so by now multiple times over, but they didn¡¯t. That could only lead to the conclusion that they had other, more grandiose ns in mind that necessitated an oddly convoluted way of approaching things.
It¡¯s just that even the groups weakest members are powerful enough to singlehandedlyy waste to at least of couple of towns, so if they came at us with the intent of taking over no matter the cost, there¡¯d probably be nothing stopping them from doing just that.
¡¸Freaks like that exist?¡¹
¡¸Well we¡¯ve cleared out the ones in Wull¡¯s but they were all bottom feeders.¡¹
¡¸If what ya be sayin¡¯ is true ya must be real powerful.¡¹
¡¸The whole reason we¡¯re here is to gain further leads on the group.¡¹
They turned to one another to see how they all felt about the issue. They knew that Haruna wasn¡¯t the kind of person to lie in such an unbelievable manner and they knew for a fact that Hiroshi¡¯s craftsmanship far exceeded what would be expected from someone his age but the scope of their story was simply too grand for simple farm folk to make a definitive choice.
¡¸This ain¡¯t a decision for us to make, regrettably.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll try an¡¯ talk things through with the vige mayor and the other elders.¡¹
¡¸Take all the time you need, no worries. We can discuss this once me and the group get back from Aranwen¡¯s temple.¡¹
They nodded in agreement and went right back to what they were doing. The fact that they were able to seamlessly transition from serious conversation to cracking dirty jokes on the spot, at seemingly the snap of a finger, made Haruna realize just how painfully set in their less than admirable ways the vigers really and truly were.
¡¸There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to ask.¡¹
The very next morning, on the day the group was nning on clearing out the path the temple, Artiem hesitatingly asserted her thoughts.
¡¸Hmm?¡¹
¡¸What be the matter?¡¹
¡¸Can Ie along?¡¹
They all nkly stared back,pletely oblivious as to what spurted on this abrupt request of hers.
¡¸If you can make a good enough case for yourself.¡¹
¡¸And provide detailed info on yourbat capabilities.¡¹
They didn¡¯t want to make an uninformed judgment, so they decided on hearing what she has to say for herself before thoroughly scrutinizing her request.
¡¸First ya will have ta exin the cause for this sudden change of heart.¡¹
Aranwen spoke out to mest night.
¡¸Hmm, that sounds oddly familiar, almost like a certain somebody¡¡¹
Murmured Mio while pretending to have forgotten the identity of this certain somebody who was, needless to say, everyone¡¯s favorite princess priestess currently responsibly carrying out her duties back over at Wulls.
¡¸Would you mind being more specific?¡¹
¡¸He told me to apany all of you to the temple.¡¹
¡¸No beatin¡¯ ¡¯round the bush with those clear cut instruction, aye? If only ¡®e had the courtesy ta provide some exnation.¡¹
¡¸If only.¡¹
Even the divine words of a deity were subject to the groups relentless scrutinizing. They weren¡¯t nitpicky without good reason as there was a very real possibility of Artiem getting hurt carrying out his orders.
¡¸He didn¡¯t touch on that, although¡¡¹
¡¸Although?¡¹
¡¸He spoke to me just now¡¡¹
Theedic timing on that was so impable that it momentarily left the group at a loss for words. Artiem was not to me in this instance as itid squarely on the shoulders of the trolly deity who was purposefully aiming for the perfect opportunity to get a rise out of them.
¡¸Ya ain¡¯t the guilty party ¡®ere, no need ta beat yourself o¡¯er it. Anyways, let¡¯s just focus on what he said for now.¡¹
¡¸Thank you for being understanding. He said something along the lines of ¡®On the off chance that you fail toply to my demand consider your trial failed and your right to address me forfeit¡¯¡¹
¡¸Are all deities over here like that or what gives?¡¹
¡¸Well if we go by Greek mythology they¡¯re not that far off from how one would usually carry itself.¡¹
Haruna responded to Tatsuya¡¯s thoughts on the matter with lighthearted jest. Their knowledge of mythology wasn¡¯t all that deep because if it was they¡¯d be aware of the fact that this kind of deity character type wasn¡¯t all too umon in polytheistic religions.
¡¸What do you mean by ¡®all¡¯, if you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡¹
¡¸Back at Wulls there was this Alfeminady who made her presence much too apparent, to the point of desentization.¡¹
¡¸She¡¯d find the flimsiest of reasons to pop on in and make oddly specific demands even when we had nothing going on at the time.¡¹
¡¸We weren¡¯t all too pious folk to begin with and her innateck of conventional deity characteristics certainly didn¡¯t make matters any better.¡¹
¡¸Would it kill her to put on an air of divine dignity for once in her life?¡¹
Artiem was silently befuddled hearing Alfemina being vocally berated. In her worldview it only made sense that if the goddess of space and time itself was fairly casual in her demeanor that other lower ranking gods such as Aranwen would take on some of that yfulness. Exining this line of logic, however, was ultimately pointless to a bunch of outsiders who had different expectations on what a deity was supposed to represent.
¡¸I don¡¯t really see how we have a choice in the matter.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re gonna be wantin¡¯ to reserve an appointment with the guy and that ain¡¯t happenin¡¯ unless we cave in to his demands.¡¹
¡¸There still remains the issue of yourbat capabilities. How well do you think you can handle yourself in a fight?¡¹
Getting to know this factor was essential as, depending on Artiem¡¯s answer, their entire game n could be flipped on its head. Aplete novice would require special attention from the group and even if she was an experienced fighter they¡¯d still need to effectively incorporate her toolset to synergize with the rest of the group.
¡¸So long as it doesn¡¯t get into melee range I can take on a razor-fanged jaguar just fine.¡¹
¡¸Speakin¡¯ from experience, I¡¯ll assume? Weren¡¯t ya lucky to get off scot free.¡¹
¡¸I was lucky enough to be in a group at the time, so just before it got all close and personal healing spells were already being pre-cooked. If there¡¯s anything that experience thought me is that I should probably keep a more than ample distance away from a monster as physically powerful as the razor-fanged jaguar.¡¹
¡¸A logical conclusion most would reach.¡¹
¡¸There exist anomalies such as say Chette or Janna, both olddies who can go toe to toe with one.¡¹
This news was nothing short of surprising to the group. It didn¡¯tst long, however, as although elves weren¡¯t typically associated with being particrly physically powerful the ones in this vige would routinely do farm work in full te armor, so it wasn¡¯t too far of a stretch to reasonably believe that some of them may very well overpower a razor-fanged jaguar in a one v one scenario.
¡¸Anomalies are, well, anomalies. Comparing yourself to them isn¡¯t going to do anyone any good.¡¹
¡¸The important thing is that we now have a general gist of what yer capable of in a fight. All we need ta know now is yer preferred fighting style.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m an elemental archer capable of infusing my arrows with the might of all four core elements. I keep my enemies at a distance with and if that fails and my dead zone¡¯s been breached I¡¯ve always got my trusty kukri to fall back on.¡¹
¡¸So, to put it simply, a variation of Mio¡¯s role.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s a bit redundant¡¡¹
That was their initial impression of Artiem¡¯s self-described abilities. Role wise she¡¯d belong to the backline lineup but unlike Mio she wasn¡¯t proficient in close quarterbat and was more skill than basic attack based.
¡¸How are you with traps?¡¹
¡¸Indoor traps I can sort of handle, outdoor traps I¡¯m pretty good at.¡¹
¡¸That part also oveps.¡¹
¡¸While it might ovep at least we can take sce in the fact that character type wise they¡¯replete pr opposites.¡¹
¡¸Sorry for existing¡¡¹
Tatsuya might have not intended it toe across that way but his words carried the nuance of Artiem¡¯s character being superior not just personality but physical feature wise as well, a devastating blow to Mio¡¯s ego. She stared at her underdeveloped chest area in defeat. She had grand delusions of it one day developing into a B cup but as it stood it was a high AA at best.
¡¸Well anyways, we¡¯ll need ta slightly adjust our game n with this new information in mind.¡¹
Hiroshi got back on topic as though nothing ever happened. The other members didn¡¯t want to linger on an ufortable topic either so they all went along. Makoto, however, was gently patting Mio on the head, perfectly showcasing her high emotional intelligence through action alone.
¡¸What do you have in mind?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll have ta test out Artiem¡¯s ability in a an actualbat scenario and once we¡¯ve done that I was thinkin¡¯ of fashionin¡¯ her a brand new set of leather armor along with a bow.¡¹
¡¸Where are you going to get the materials for a bow?¡¹
¡¸Hunter trees¡¯ll do the trick.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto could barely hold back from audibly expressing their amusement at Hiroshi¡¯s usual old self. That being said Artiem¡¯s equipment was in desperate need of upgrades so this side of his would not go under appreciated.
The equipment used by elves was at the very least three whole ranks below what they had on them.
¡¸But before a that we should get toyin¡¯ out the seeds first.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll help out.¡¹
¡¸Me too.¡¹
¡¸Why don¡¯t we all just go? There¡¯s a lot of ground to cover either way.¡¹
Makoto¡¯s idea caught on so they all ended up helping Hiroshi out with the endeavor. Doing it that way made a lot more sense because they had to nt the seeds right at the roots of the man eater and in a group of two where one¡¯s got the other¡¯s back while they¡¯re busy doing their thing, the whole process would flow a heck of a lot more smoothly. It would also make sure that Artiem wouldn¡¯t get into another one of her signature troubles.
¡¸Wowie.¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re squeezing real tight, aren¡¯t they? Gulp.¡¹
¡¸Some of them have begun yfully nibbling as well. Oh my.¡¹
As such they managed to avoid any Artiem rted issues by a hair¡¯s breadth and watched on as the seeds sprouted in the blink of an eye and began to make quick work of the man eaters. The nt, which resembled a tree with vines for branches, would uproot the man eaters and either put them in a cobra lock like maneuver or begin chewing the life out of them. Upon taking care of one it itself would immediately shrivel up and die. The sight was oddly satisfying to watch since there was a slight dy between when each of them were nted, making it so that the nts shriveled up one by one in a nice, orderly fashion. What was even more astounding is how the surrounding nt life didn¡¯t get caught in any of the crossfire.
¡¸How on earth did you get them to grow like that, what kind of sorcery is this?¡¹
¡¸High end science gets mistaken for sorcery all too often, ¡®Tis just selective breedin¡¯ at work ¡®ere.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m still not fully convinced that some matter of sorcery wasn¡¯t involved in that process.¡¹
Makoto¡¯sment resonated with the rest of crew who, simrly, found the whole thing to be absurd.
¡¸How about we start getting a move on?¡¹
¡¸Aye, no point in dilly dallyin¡¯ much longer.¡¹
It had already been two hours since the man eaters gotpletely demolished by Hiroshi¡¯s experimental nt type. Once Artiem received her new and improved gear, Tatsuya urged the remaining party members into action. The timing wasn¡¯t ideal as lunch was only an hour away but if their departure was to be dyed any further it would already be toote into the day to be strategically wise to do so.
¡¸How long¡¯s the journey going to be?¡¹
¡¸Around thirty minutes give or take, so long as we don¡¯t run into anything along the way.¡¹
¡¸I think it¡¯s fair to assume that even in the best case scenario we¡¯ll be running into something and so long as that something isn¡¯t a dungeon it¡¯ll take us maybe an extra thirty or so minutes to make it there.¡¹
¡¸Just in time for lunch as well, so long as it¡¯s not a dungeon.¡¹
¡¸Artiem¡¯s rough estimate was made slightly less rough via a reality check. They were almostpletely certain that some form of danger was around the corner, whether they liked it or not.¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re to assume there¡¯s gonna be some dungeon delvin¡¯ involved me thinks it¡¯d be appropriate to fill up our stomachs while we still can.¡¹
¡¸No sessful dungeon run can be done on an empty stomach.¡¹
Makoto nodded to Hiroshi¡¯s and Mio¡¯s suggestion. Taking one¡¯s sweet time to chow down in a dungeon simply wasn¡¯t a usible feat due to monster respawns which made it so that even if they were to clear out a suitable area from a campsite it wouldn¡¯t stay that way for long enough to enjoy a fully-fledged, stomach-pleasing meal. At best a light snack would be all they could reasonably spare the time for.
There was a substantially high probability that they were walking into a dungeon which meant that lunch might very well be thest proper meal they get to enjoy until the whole ordeal came to a close. They were more fortunate than the average adventurer in the sense that they had ess to apact source of portable nutrition butpared to thevish meals they were used to eating on a regr basis they werecking in a sense.
¡¸Some final checks are in order.¡¹
¡¸Haruna proimed just as everyone had finished packing their stuff.¡¹
¡¸Have you ced your potions on the quickbar?¡¹
¡¸Naturally.¡¹
¡¸Have you packed rope, kukris, sickles, ice axes and regr axes in case of emergency?¡¹
¡¸Aye, got that end covered.¡¹
¡¸Have you stocked up on pomey¡¯s?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
Haruna inspected each member individually. This whole procedure mighte off as one big joke, especially considering how oddly worded one of the answers was, but it was those fine little details that could trip up even the most experienced of adventurers due to a simpleck of orderliness.
¡¸Andst but not least, have you all remembered to pack consumables?¡¹
¡¸As if we¡¯d ever forget.¡¹
¡¸That settles that then. Hope you¡¯re all mentally prepared because we¡¯re heading off.¡¹
They finally took off after all the preliminary inspection had been taken care of. Artiem¡¯s initial thirty minute estimate proved to be far off as the path to the temple was teeming with monsters. All of the encounters did prove useful for Artiem to get a feel for the group dynamic so they weren¡¯t much of an issue, what did stunt their progress was the overgrown nt life that wasn¡¯t feeling all too cooperative.
¡¸We¡¯ve been trudgin¡¯ along for quite some time now and we¡¯ve got little ta show for it.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s to be expected from a path that¡¯s been untrecked for thirty years now.¡¹
The tedium inducing trudge through the grass that was moving along at a snail¡¯s pace, finally got some of the party members to grumble about their state of affairs. If it wasn¡¯t for either Artiem leading the way or Hiroshi and Mio discovering the remnants of a path long forsaken they¡¯d have much more pressing issues toin about.
¡¸How far have we made it?¡¹
¡¸About three fourths of the way there.¡¹
¡¸We were this close, if only the dungeon had waited a bit longer before barging in uninvited.¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¹
Artiem, in reaction to Makoto¡¯s words, began to frantically scan through the area. Makoto let a slight grin slip past her for a moment but immediately switched back into serious mode and began exining.
¡¸See that space over there? If you look closely enough you¡¯ll notice that it¡¯s slightly distorted.¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸If I and Tatsuya were able to take notice you, an elf, with your much more developed sensory organs, should be able to pick it up.¡¹
Artiem began intently focusing on the general area pointed out by Makoto. After about thirty seconds she noticed a barely visible spatial contortion just as it happened and kept focusing on that exact same spot for a little while.
¡¸I-t¡¯s distorting!¡¹
¡¸Told you.¡¹
¡¸How did you manage to spot such a minor contortion with such uracy in such a short span of time?¡¹
¡¸Luck mostly. Knowing that there was most likely a dungeon around I was sort of trying to probe around for proof of its existence and I just happened toe upon it.¡¹
¡¸I also had that preconceived notion but didn¡¯t catch on¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ve never even been in a dungeon, not to mention the type that¡¯s capable of bending reality to this extent.¡¹
Artiem nodded to Makoto¡¯s observation. It wasn¡¯t just an Artiem thing either, neither of the races residing around the area had any dungeon experience to speak of.
¡¸You make it sound like you have experience in such dungeons.¡¹
¡¸I do, but it was a one-time thing. The dungeon was still fresh so neither the bosses nor the trash posed any real threat. Despite this the payout was rather juicy and the quest reward items weren¡¯t half bad either, which was real nice considering how broke I was at the time.¡¹
¡¸Makes sense.¡¹
Tatsuya was left convinced by Makoto¡¯s answer. In reality, although she did make a convincing case, her picking up on the abnormality was a stroke of pure luck. If she hadn¡¯t know that they might be heading head first into a dungeon she likely would have never taken notice. Tatsuya¡¯s case was also simr but his perception stat just barely edged out Haruna¡¯s, which put him at the top of the pecking order.
¡¸Welp, now that we¡¯vee across the dungeon entrance I propose another refueling session.¡¹
¡¸Seconded.¡¹
¡¸Not like it could hurt.¡¹
Since they¡¯ve managed to locate the dungeon without any hitches it only made sense to stop and have onest meal so that the run would go as smoothly as possible.
¡¸I think we should make some distance between us and the whole spatial distortion before we think about anything else.¡¹
¡¸Aye, god knows what might ¡®appen while we¡¯re peacefully chowin¡¯ down on our food.¡¹
The remaining members agreed to Makoto¡¯s proposal and made ample distance between themselves and the dungeon entrance, so that even if Artiem were to pull one of her signature physics defying maneuvers they wouldn¡¯t identally zone into the dungeon, and began getting to work. The work involved cutting the grass, which towered well above any of their heights, down to an eptable size to make room for a pic nket. Nothing tooplicated all in all.
¡¸How does this look?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯ll do just fine.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve already sort ofe to terms with this reality of an adventurer¡¯s life but it¡¯s still surreal how it¡¯s yed up to be this chain of never ending thrill and excitement when most if it is just, well, this.¡¹
¡¸Aye, what lousy fantasy work would have their characters tediously and uneventfully make their way towards a dungeon situated smack-dab in the middle of some forest.¡¹
¡¸Exactly, although someone¡¯s got to do it, it would be too much to ask the state to deal with these kinds of dungeons as they pop up from a logistical viewpoint.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto found Haruna¡¯s urate remark rather humorous. Someone certainly had to take care of it as these types of dungeons would pop up at seemingly random and, if left uncleared, would continue to expand indefinitely. Needless to say nobody wanted things to get too out of hand so someone would just eventually deal with them.
In-game these randomly spawning dungeons woulde in the form of limited time events. The conditions for them to end were varied but on the whole they either ended once a certain amount of time has passed or when the instance has been cleared by arge enough amount of yers.
Although there were cases, like the stairway to hell event which was, well, pretty hellish, where all the yers server wide had to work together towards unlocking the final boss by seizing certain areas and clearing all the dungeon quests. After all of that hard work the final boss would be unlocked and as soon as a group clears it the event would be officially over. It was so grueling, however, that it took the yer base three months from the usual two to fully clear it.
Then there are the cases where certain dungeons only be avable through quest chains in that the entrance was unavable to anyone who wasn¡¯t on that part of the chain or wasn¡¯t in a party with at least one person who had it active. In their case it was the exact opposite where a quest became avable through the random spawning of a dungeon.
¡¸Well it¡¯s not like every single one of them gets dealt with eventually, some slip through the cracks.¡¹
¡¸Kind of like the one in Woldeus¡¯ capital?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t forget the one in Forre as well. Oh and there¡¯s also the sweltering tower in Darl which isn¡¯t asrge as thest two but still requires the state to tend to it.¡¹
¡¸Most of those century old dungeons were just fortunate enough to spawn in a really awkward, out of ce spot.¡¹
They nodded to Tatsuya¡¯s addendum and decided to push all dungeon rted conversation aside for a while. There wasn¡¯t any deeper meaning behind that, they just wanted to get to their grub, which came in the form of a bento fit for a king, as soon as possible. It had its fair share of odd ingredients thrown into the mix but as a whole it looked aesthetically pleasing and, most of all, appetizing. The one thing it was missing was salmon which can be exined by what they had for breakfast that morning.
¡¸Did you manage to find any active buddies or get in a guild before all this, Haruna?¡¹
Asked Tatsuya as his chopsticks reached for a well-seasoned piece of boiled shiitake mushroom.
¡¸There were some guys I was in a party with on a semi-regr basis but that¡¯s about it. As for guilds I was in one for a little while, but then entrance exams came along and I got booted and never really got back into the guild game ever since. I didn¡¯t care much for hardcore group content progression to begin with so I just went solo.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d imagine many guilds were trying to entice you to join for, obvious reasons.¡¹
¡¸Well yes, the invitations were certainly plentiful. After all my avatar did and still does resemble pre-pubertyte bloomer elementary school me, asides from the natural increase in height, of course.¡¹
They mulled over Haruna¡¯s statement and voiced some points of interest.
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t that mean that current your in-game character would give Makoto a good run for her money appearance wise?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d go as far as to say that she¡¯d be the one taking the money back home in the end.¡¹
They were poking light hearted fun at Makoto¡¯sck of curvature around the chest area. Things weren¡¯t all that bleak for her as she made up for it with curves in other ces that mattered, primarily the bodyline. Although she didn¡¯t tick out all the boxes for conventional female beauty her tallnessbined with the underperforming bust made for some aesthetically pleasing proportions ording to outside sources.
¡¸I¡¯m surprised you weren¡¯t scouted out by the fashion industry with the exquisite figure/looksbo you had going on.¡¹
¡¸Well actually I did. In my second year of middle school I was already pretty tall for my age, so some tried their luck.¡¹
Back before the whole craftsman debacle there used to be certain yers who engaged in model-like activities such as transmogpetitions, which were held a total of two times before the incident.
Transmogpetitions were technically held another two times after the incident but without the participation of craftsmen all the yers only had randomly dropped gear to show off, which made the whole point of thepetition mute and audiences generally weren¡¯t impressed due to theck of originality, which was their main selling point to begin with. All of this because of the incident.
It was still possible to modify the look of one¡¯s armor through in game purchasable items, otherwise known as microtransactions, but by using them there was a risk ofing off as a craftsman which was not something anyone wanted if we¡¯re going off of the harassment received by the few select individuals who were brave enough to take the gamble.
¡¸I also got the chance to participate in a single y which went by the name of ¡®Edith¡¯s notion of love¡¯¡¹
¡¸Were you the main lead by any chance?¡¹
¡¸Yes, I took up drama just for this one role.¡¹
¡¸So that¡¯s why you looked familiar.¡¹
They were reminded of the in-game y that took ce sometimest year. It was performed a total of four times. Its recording was uploaded to the official game site, where it was met with overwhelmingly positive reception. The script was of a professional quality, it interspersed someedic scenes between all of the serious action without any tonal inconsistencies, the game¡¯s mechanics were pushed to the absolute creative limit but above all the performances were outstanding, it was as if the characters weren¡¯t acting but just being. All of these factorsbined were enough for Tatsuya and Mio, who were attending it live, to give out a standing ovation.
¡¸We¡¯ve derailed for far too long, let¡¯s get back to the matter at hand.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
¡¸Unless I¡¯m mistaken you¡¯ve ran dungeons before, right?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve ran them solo, in a party you name it.¡¹
¡¸Then I think we¡¯ll be off just fine, everyone here¡¯s got dungeon experience after all.¡¹
Haruna nodded to Tatsuya¡¯s words. While she wasn¡¯t as bonkers as Mio when it came to the trap department she could fully carry her weight without inconveniencing the party in any way, although that¡¯s not really saying much since most yers who were serious about their dungeon runs would develop that sort of skill out of necessity.
¡¸This type of dungeon is insidious in its own right, be sure to stay on guard at all times¡¹.
¡¸We¡¯re hopping in blind, how could we not?¡¹
And so they carried on discussing their game n while enjoying a meal on the side. Most of the points flew over Artiem¡¯s head but the ones that were integral to a sessful run she made sure to note down in her mental rolodex and if some of them were too confusing she would ask to exin it in simpler terms. The exchange of ideas got more and more heated as their meal came closer and closer to a close.
Volume 2, 6
Volume 2, Chapter 6
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Well ain¡¯t we in a pickle.¡¹
¡¸Why is it always like this¡¡¹
Hiroshi was prettyid back about the unfortunate turn of events that had taken ce, while Artiem looked genuinely concerned. Hiroshi made sure to keep his distance from Artiem, so that the situation wouldn¡¯t take a turn for the X-rated.
¡¸Did you manage to get through to them?¡¹
¡¸Aye, ¡¯twas no biggie. From what I¡¯ve gathered we¡¯ve all been politely split into groups o¡¯ two, so there¡¯s that.¡¹
¡¸How can you be so nonchnt about this¡¡¹
Artiem looks on in disbelief at Hiroshi who didn¡¯t appear to grasp the gravity of the situation. Under normal circumstances having the party split in such a fashion usually spells disaster, so there¡¯s definitely room for concern there. However Artiem wasn¡¯t concerned with her own personal safety, in fact she was fully prepared to take on the brunt of anything that came her way, since she was the one to butt in on the dungeon expedition, even if it was under n Wein¡¯s orders. What was grounds for concern in her mind was everyone else¡¯s safety, since they had just lost any group synergy they had going in. Granted they werebat experienced but the situation, nevertheless, called for caution, which Hiroshi was severelycking.
Upon entering the forest dungeon they all got separated through spatial maniption, which also meant that they had no clue about their whereabouts, yet Hiroshi remained unperturbed. Artiem found this coolness of his baffling. Hiroshi, in an attempt to soothe her nerves, opens his mouth.
¡¸What be the point in getting¡¯ all serious bidness like o¡¯er somethin¡¯ out of our control?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d like to remind you that we¡¯re in a dungeon.¡¹
¡¸Indeedy.¡¹
¡¸Not only do we not know the way out I¡¯m also nothing but a nuisance, and aplete one at that. The others may have one another to watch over their back but god knows what might happen.¡¹
¡¸Nothin¡¯ outta the ordinary.¡¹
Hiroshi was right, these kinds of traps aren¡¯t an anomaly in the rpg world and walking into them precisely when a low level character is tagging along is also not that rare of an urrence. The enemy¡¯s deadliness was an unknown variable so throwing some caution to the wind was a good idea but getting overly on edge, however, was not. On the bright side at least they managed to avoid the worst case scenario where Tatsuya, whose close range proficiency is nonexistent, and Artiem get stranded all by themselves, so there was a silver lining to all of this. Understanding this the best they could do at the moment was to act with caution.
Artiem was perfectly aware of this as well, but that didn¡¯t help clear up any of her anxieties. Like how this was her first dungeon outing and dungeon trap experience, and how she got paired up with someone who didn¡¯t do all that good of a job ofing across as a reliable fighter.
Hiroshi, recognizing these set of factors, allowed Artiem to continue voicing her concerns. After letting her cool down for a while, Hiroshi takes a look around and opens his mouth.
¡¸This might be troublesome.¡¹
¡¸I thought we already went over this.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think you and I are on the same page ¡®ere.¡¹
Artiem tilts her head in confusion to Hiroshi¡¯s vague remark. Hiroshi, taking notice of this, exins his reasoning.
¡¸I think this ¡®ere dungeon might be one of those that¡¯s in perpetual motion.¡¹
¡¸Eh!?¡¹
¡¸As ya can see the ceiling and the walls are in ivy vines while the ground beneath us is all weeds, deductin¡¯ our rtive location is ¡¯bout as hard as any brick maze out there.¡¹
¡¸Are you sure about all this?¡¹
¡¸Does the pope defecate in the woods? Even if it wasn¡¯t movin¡¯ it¡¯d be pretty darned difficult to get around in this samey lookin¡¯ sea of green.¡¹
Hiroshi checks up on the walls while exining a concept about as foreign to an elf that¡¯s lived all its natural life surrounded in luscious greenery as it gets. He would never even consider touching those walls with a nine-foot pole, so he busted out his trusty ten-foot pole and lightly poked them. As expected the vines began squirming.
¡¸Expected as much.¡¹
¡¸They just moved¡¡¹
¡¸Are ya willin¡¯ ta trust me now?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸¡¯Tis pointless ta even try ta mark anythin¡¯ here to get a feel for our surroundings.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s observation was spot on. Even if they were to etch something into a nearby vine it¡¯d just slither away in the blink of an eye.
¡¸Judgin¡¯ from what happened back at the entrance there¡¯s also the possiblity of warp points bein¡¯ scattered ¡¯round the ce.¡¹
¡¸Without a doubt.¡¹
¡¸Now that we¡¯ve got that outta the way.¡¹
Hiroshi, having calmly analyzed their predicament, pulls out his pole axe and squares up against the wall.
¡¸Don¡¯t see much of a point in followin¡¯ the pathyed out in front of us so how ¡¯bout we directly hack our way through to the source ¡®o this miasma.¡¹
¡¸I beg your pardon!?¡¹
¡¸Say ya prayers while ya still can!!!¡¹
He swings the pole axe in a clean horizontal swipe, pushing Artiem¡¯s protests off to the wayside in the process. Hiroshi¡¯s minor strength buff in coboration with an explosive me enchantment resulted in the dungeon¡¯s wall being hacked open, burned from the inside and blown into smithereens.
¡¸Less get a move on.¡¹
Says Hiroshi as he offhandedly points at the massive hole in the wall about the width of two grown adults. Despite the impressive showing the skill is next to useless in actualbat, barely able to do significant damage to any monster of the Piaranork¡¯s caliber or higher. However when ites to environmental destruction it¡¯s second to none and it also had abat advantage against tree type monsters, which made the spectacle all the more breathtaking.
What was even more impressive, however, was that the performer hadn¡¯t suffered any fatigue to speak of.
¡¸H-how did you¡¡¹
¡¸Hmm?¡¹
¡¸How did you do that?¡¹
¡¸I just did.¡¹
Artiem¡¯s ears droop in rhythm with her sigh directed at Hiroshi¡¯s inability to provide a clear answer. Asides from beingpletely ignorant in adult matters and an unintentional fan service vehicle to boot, Artiem was remarkably down to earth in all other aspects of life.
¡¸Would ya just look at the sheer density of greenery going¡¯ on in ¡®ere, there¡¯s got ta be some rare materialsyin¡¯ around ¡®ere somewhere.¡¹
¡¸Aren¡¯t you forgetting the task at hand?¡¹
¡¸Let us not dy any furtha, daddy needs a new pair ¡®o shoes!¡¹
Yells out Hiroshi at the top of his lungs as he hacks through yet another wall,pletely ignoring Artiem¡¯s inquiry. As a wood elf Artiem felt a slight queasiness at the sight of this unadulterated act of desecration but, understanding that their hands were tied on this one, goes along with it out of pure necessity.
¡¸Make way!¡¹
Blurts out Haruna as she rushes towards the source of the miasma, making quick work of the beetles in her path. It was clear to anyone at this point that she was on edge, a state very few people have ever seen her in.
¡¸Would you calm down already!¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t get it!¡¹
¡¸Hiro can take care of himself, he¡¯s been through worse.¡¹
¡¸What did I tell you!¡¹
Haruna cries out in agony as she downs arge ho without even looking in its general direction. For ady as emotionally well-contained as Haruna to blow up like that was off-putting to even Tatsuya.
¡¸Look I get that the two being paired up is a recipe for disaster but you have to control your-¡¹
¡¸What if *that* happens again in the middle of battle!¡¹
¡¸Yes yes I get it, now get a grip for crying out loud.¡¹
Tatsuya, being the eldest of the group, is used to quelling any of the party member¡¯s anxieties it¡¯s just that Haruna isn¡¯t usually on the receiving end of such therapy, she¡¯s the one dishing it out alongside him for the most part. Haruna was remarkably mature for her mage but when pushes to shove herck of life experience reared its ugly head, although that realization didn¡¯t exactly make matters any better for Tatsuya.
¡¸Listen, was there any way we could¡¯ve avoided this predicament?¡¹
¡¸No, there wasn¡¯t¡¡¹
¡¸See? If things had wentpletely south we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation right now but they didn¡¯t and everyone¡¯s got someone to watch over their back, including Hiro. The guy¡¯s tough, one of the toughest around, but hecks the raw damage to weather through group encounters and that¡¯s where Artiemes into the picture, she¡¯s perfect for the role.¡¹
¡¸Is she really?¡¹
¡¸With her newly acquired bow she outsses Mio in pure attack damage, her positioning and general awareness could use some work but when paired with Hiro specifically they don¡¯t matter as much as damage numbers.¡¹
Tatsuya gives it his all trying to appease Haruna while simultaneously failing to touch upon any of her actual concerns. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of Hiroshi possibly bearing the full brunt of Artiem¡¯s ¡®parlor tricks¡¯, any party member that ended stuck with her would¡¯ve likely suffered from the same fate but in Hiroshi¡¯s case it would¡¯ve been particrly debilitating.
¡¸That¡ wasn¡¯t my main point of concern.¡¹
¡¸Unlessdy luck had smiled upon us and he somehow miraculously managed to pair up with me, your main concern might¡¯ve turned into a reality in any other case. Just because Artiem¡¯s prone to getting tangled in such¡unfortunate incidents, that doesn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t happen to any one of youdies as well.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t you feel like that¡¯s pushing it a bit?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s face it, if you got caught out by something like a hunter tree there¡¯s a pretty high chance you¡¯d end up in a¡ Less than presentable state so to speak.¡¹
¡¸Fair enough¡ I suppose?¡¹
Same goes for giant spiders, make one misstep while dealing with their webs and it¡¯s fully possible to get tangled up in some suggestive pose. But it doesn¡¯t stop there ¨C slime¡¯s and tentacle monsters also join the ranks as one of the staples of adult-oriented manga and rpg¡¯s. Fantasy as a whole boasts a wide catalogue of such creatures.
¡¸Now you better start collecting your marbles soon, before we end up in one such predicament.¡¹
Haruna absently nods at Tatsuya¡¯s attempts to remedy the situation. From that alone it was apparent to Tatsuya that his attempts were in vain and that put him in a tough spot. Haruna might not realize this herself but her fascination with HIroshi had already begun to manifest itself at an unconscious level. This wasn¡¯t just limited to Haruna, however, as Aeris also had the same butterflies in her stomach but what they saw in him was up to anyone¡¯s guess, love is blind after all. Tatsuya was hesitant to start a conversation around this since no good woulde out of it and at worst his dedication to his marriage would be subjected to scrutiny, therefore he decided to keep his mouth shut on the matter.
If Haruna had lost all self-control and started having an emotional breakdown, however, things would be different. Desperate times call for desperate measure as the saying goes, using up everything under one¡¯s sleeve is a small price to pay for survival.
¡¸That being said.¡¹
¡¸Hmm?¡¹
¡¸Mio I could see breaking down like this but not you of all people.¡¹
¡¸Who wouldn¡¯t get a little bit concerned over the well-being of their longtimepanion?¡¹
¡¸The problem¡¯s not with being concerned it¡¯s why you¡¯re concerned that¡¯s taken me aback.¡¹
Tatsuya figured that he may as well get the mushy talk over with now that the opportunity presented itself. Haruna¡¯s a bright one, as long as she can be aware of her own feelings she should be able to harness them to at least some extent. If she doesn¡¯t she might unknowingly drive Hiroshi and herself into a corner and that¡¯s better to be avoided.
¡¸Mind providing some insight into my psyche?¡¹
¡¸Are you serious about this?¡¹
¡¸As serious as a heart attack.¡¹
¡¸Well if I¡¯m being real with you here you¡¯reing off as a woman who¡¯s afraid of losing in the battle of love. Actually that¡¯s putting it a bit lightly, it¡¯s more like a clingy woman who¡¯s dead scared of losing her man, or something along those lines.¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
Haruna freezes up upon Tatsuya finishing his sentence. Despite this, herbat ability was so extraordinary that she managed to split open an insect monster that was heading her way by relying purely on reflexes alone.
¡¸I¡¯m not saying you should feel bad about this, ode to youth and all that, in fact it¡¯s the perfect opportunity to have this conversation.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
¡¸Your journey isn¡¯t going to be an easy one but know that I¡¯ll always have your back and I sincerely hope you won¡¯t be turning it on me or the group out of blind passion. Nobody, not even you, would want that. This can be said for any one of you but just try keeping in mind that moderation is crucial in any aspect of life and that goes for love as well.¡¹
Tatsuya carries on with the life lessons while Haruna stood there,pletely silent, unable to ride the overwhelming wave of intense emotions. This was a first for her, up until this point she would tackle every problem with a cool head and a healthy dose of rationality, but now she found herself face to face with a particrly insidious type of a metaphysical enemy, one that actively goes against all reason.
¡¸Some of the most passionate people who act on that passion do so in a very calcted manner. It¡¯s as they say ¡®sucking the marrow out of life doesn¡¯t mean choking on the bone¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Easy for you to say.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ve managed to remain rational in most circumstances, why can¡¯t you do it now?¡¹
Tatsuya shrugs off Haruna¡¯s emotionally-chargedment while disposing of a swarm of aphid-like enemies with a well-ced fire wall. The reinforcements that were attempting to crawl out of a nearby hole got a taste of a fireball followed up by a grand napalm for good measure. At first sight one might get the impression that he¡¯s just haphazardously throwing fire around without any second-thoughts about it possibly spreading, but Tatsuya was convinced that, it being a dungeon, there was no need worry about that.
¡¸Have you caught on yet?¡¹
¡¸Caught on to what?¡¹
¡¸That really hit home, didn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
Haruna, who thought she had managed to get a grip on herself by now, was faced with an unpleasant reality. By no means did she believe she had gottenpletely over it, but the realization that she still wasn¡¯t in control of her emotions to at least some extent was devastating.
¡¸Try taking a look behind you.¡¹
¡¸Ok.¡¹
Haruna figures out the answer almost the very moment she turns her head back.
¡¸It¡¯s blocked off?¡¹
¡¸Exactly, the maze is reshaping itself little by little so trying to map it out is pointless.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not the monsters that are going to prove the most problematic here, huh.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right and a change in circumstances calls for a reevaluation of ns.¡¹
Haruna nods as she stops in ce in order to decide on their further course of action. There were no enemies remaining in the nearby area after the carnage Tatsuya had just dished out.
¡¸Changing up our approach might be necessary but there¡¯s really not a whole lot of options to pick out from.¡¹
¡¸And either one of them would still involve us facing off with the core.¡¹
¡¸How about we just stay on the move in that case?¡¹
¡¸That sounds reasonable for the time being but let¡¯s go over this once more after we¡¯ve covered, say, another three diverging paths, maybe something wille up then.¡¹
¡¸As you say.¡¹
The two decide on their n of action and make their way towards yet another fork in the road. In their wakeid a mountain of corpses, all of which were maimed beyond recognition.
¡¸What¡¯s your take on all of this?¡¹
Hiroshi was busy merrily hacking away at the walls, Haruna was having a violent emotional episode meanwhile Makoto and Mio hadn¡¯t moved an inch from their initial location, instead opting for a leisurely chit chat.
¡¸Haruna¡¯s in a bad spot.¡¹
¡¸Why makes you think so?¡¹
¡¸Knowing who Hiroshi¡¯s paired with must¡¯ve cornered her emotionally.¡¹
Makoto found herself agreeing with Mio¡¯s surprisingly rational take on the situation. Ever since the whole hot spring debacle Haruna¡¯s been on edge whenever the two were in proximity of one another. She was concerned in more ways than one.
¡¸I think there¡¯s reasonable grounds for concern there, even when taking Haruna¡¯s personal stake in the matter out of the equation.¡¹
¡¸Theyplement each other nicely and even if things were to turn south in that sense it¡¯d do him good.¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves here.¡¹
Makoto blurted out just as Mio had barely finished her morally dubious sentence. In her mind such drastic measures were crossing a moral line when dealing with someone with a deeply ingrained phobia.
¡¸Mako there¡¯s always a limit to over-protectiveness, if we don¡¯t take action and pressure him into developing at least a modicum of immunity to physical contact with the opposite sex he¡¯ll never be able to take full control of his life and here we have an opportunity that just presented itself on a silver tter.¡¹
Mio¡¯s verbose rambling left Makotopletely dejected. It appeared as though the admonishment she received for her take on the assassin incident had fallen on deaf ears.
¡¸Didn¡¯t we have this talk already?¡¹
¡¸I get it, time fixes all problems and whatnot but we¡¯re in a fantasy world.¡¹
¡¸Your point being?¡¹
¡¸Think slimes, ropers, subi.¡¹
¡¸I see what you¡¯re getting at now.¡¹
Makoto could easily see things going south if any one of those happened to appear at an inopportune time, especially thest one which was essentially a death sentence to HIroshi.
¡¸All of them are fairlymonce in fantasy settings, not good.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m d you¡¯ve caught on.¡¹
¡¸Just one teeny tiny question, what corners of the inte did you have to scower to get acquainted with all of those at your age?¡¹
Mio ced two fingers against her lips in the shape of a V and pretended to be smoking while nkly staring off into the distance. Despite her attempt at avoiding the issue it was pretty clear that she was into media not by any means suited towards a first year middle schooler, the kind that¡¯s 18+ and chalk full of graphic scenes that don¡¯t shy away from depicting any of the juicy details. Her parents provided her with all the freedom in the world considering she¡¯s hemiplegic but wouldn¡¯t it be reasonable to expect them to draw the line somewhere? Like any responsible adult would.
¡¸Would you look at the pot calling the kettle ck.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m a fully grown adult, it¡¯s only natural I¡¯d be acquainted with these, as are most of our group members asides from Haruna, possibly.¡¹
Needless to say most of the members were otakus. While VRMMO¡¯s did gain significant traction and went on to be widely epted across society it¡¯s only fair to say that most of the people who¡¯d seriously consider trying their hand at one of those were more than likely otaku¡¯s or at least otaku-inclined. In that sense Haruna was the oddball of the group since she started ying atunch despite not being actively interested in any otaku rted media.
That being said she didn¡¯t, by any means, look down on others who were different from her in that regard. Whenever faced with raunchy jokes or topics she¡¯d never actively chip in nor ever politely ask anyone to refrain from bringing such subject material up. She knew that healthy adults were just instinctively wired to hold an interest in such manners and thought nothing of it. Truly a shining example of mature wisdom.
¡¸That just sounds like you¡¯re being hypocritical.¡¹
¡¸If you were, say, in your second year of middle school I¡¯d begrudgingly let it slide but before all this went down you were a primary schooler.¡¹
¡¸Age isn¡¯t relevant.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s got to be an ethical line drawn somewhere and you know that¡¡¹
Mio¡¯s future prospects were concerning. It¡¯s not just her hemiplegia either, even if she was to somehowpletely ovee it her perspective on life would likely lead her to some¡ rather unconventional ces, to say the least.
¡¸A bit off topic but I¡¯ve got this feeling that you¡¯ve been assigning all of us roles based on dating sim conventions.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
Makoto¡¯s observation was met with the exact same attempt at avoiding the issue as earlier. It didn¡¯t fool anyone.
¡¸I¡¯d be willing to bet Haruna¡¯s either the fan service character or the side heroine whose love was never meant to be in your eyes.¡¹
¡¸The former¡¯s Artiem, thetter¡¯s unupied for now.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha.¡¹
Mio had fallen for the obvious bait. She could¡¯ve attempted to bring back the conversation to what it was originally about but that was ast resort solution at best since openly avoiding confrontation would¡¯ve implicitly confirmed Haruna¡¯s jokey suspicions to be true, which was to be avoided at all costs. Mio therefore decided to go along with the joke and purposefullye off as suspicious as humanly possible. She began by blowing air out of her lips in a shoddy attempt at whistling but that didn¡¯t cut it, so she took it one step further and began recreating what seemed like a really botched imitation of traditional tai chi movements.
In reality those weren¡¯t just any movements pped together with no rhyme or reason, they were a reference to a certain infamous dancing, if you could call it that, sequence in this one heart-wrenchin¡gly below averageing of age dating sim¡¯s opening cinematic. The game was so old that the tform it originally released on can only be found in museum¡¯s nowadays and yet Mio, at her age, was apparently deeply enough involved in the subculture to be in on the joke. This, amongst other things, made Haruna seriously contemte the possibility of age fabrication going on.
What was evident from this short episode was that Mio was, without a doubt, the most far gone within the group of Japanese folk.
¡¸Are you done yet?¡¹
¡¸Ackchyually if I had to go on a limb and pinpoint Haru¡¯s type, she¡¯d definitely be that one main heroine from the stone age of dating sims who¡¯d awaken thetent existential dread within the deepest recesses of the souls of yers who attempted clearing her route without a walkthrough by requiring them to sessfully clear over five random events a day while simultaneously making sure to avoid all and any events pertaining to other heroines, no matter how trivial or inconsequential they might be.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s¡ surprisingly urate, I¡¯ll give you that much but if you think I¡¯m letting you off the hook that easily you¡¯ve got another thinging.¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t it odd how Mako¡¯s keeping up with the conversation? I suspect age fabrication¡¯s in y.¡¹
¡¸No, it¡¯s not odd at all, one of my guild mates just happened to be from around that time and it asionally popped up in conversations. Oh and I¡¯d like to remind you that what you¡¯ve just fallen for the pitfall of circr logic.¡¹
Makoto wasn¡¯t going to drop the matter that easily, she was out for bloo¡ answers.
¡¸I¡¯ll have you know that humans are tooplicated to be put into boxes oh and if you thought for even a second that I¡¯ll turn a blind eye to your 18+ media consumption habit you have another thinging, miss.¡¹
¡¸The dominoes have already fallen into ce.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll see how long that stays true once we get back home.¡¹
¡¸At least let me try out the popr new releases.¡¹
¡¸If they¡¯re popr enough they¡¯ll get an all years version eventually, have some patience.¡¹
¡¸But to some the 18+ bits are integral to the story¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s exactly why you keep clear of them! Have you been listening to anything I¡¯ve been saying?¡¹
Makoto noted getting Mio back on the right track as one of her main priorities despite having derailed herself some time back. To be fair to both of them the industry surrounding otaku interests is well known for leading people off the straight and narrow.
¡¸How about we have this conversation some timeter?¡¹
¡¸Consider yourself lucky, for now. While I¡¯d love nothing more but to get to the nitty gritty, now¡¯s not exactly the time nor the ce.¡¹
Makoto begrudgingly yielded to Mio¡¯s desperate attempt at changing the subject. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they were in a dungeon Mio would have most certainly not gotten off the hook that easily.
¡¸How do we proceed here, Mako?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s get a good grasp of our surroundings first before we get to anything concrete.¡¹
Mio had decided that leaving all the nning up to Haruna, who was much more experienced in dungeoneering, was the best course of action.
¡¸Just to be sure is anyone within your detection range?¡¹
¡¸Nope.¡¹
¡¸That means there¡¯s at least a kilometer of distance between all of us.¡¹
Mio¡¯s detection range, enhanced by her high perception stat and various detection abilities, was off the charts. Even without the use of magic and even in an environment where there¡¯s a lot to pick up she could still narrow down her options to only what she wanted to find at the moment. Taking Mio¡¯s word on this one was a no-brainer so it was safe to assume that the group had been separated at least a kilometer away from each other.
¡¸Can you cast healing spells?¡¹
¡¸Can do minor heals, barely. Unlike Tatsu and Haru my spell power isn¡¯t high so it¡¯s really weak.¡¹
¡¸Could you be more specific?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s about on par with ss six potions.¡¹
¡¸By ss six potions do you mean the randomly dropped ones or Hiroshi¡¯s handmade ones?¡¹
¡¸Somewhere in between.¡¹
Considering their current capabilities it certainlycked oomph but potion reserves were limited and there¡¯s always a risk of poisoning, not to mention that they¡¯re impractical to utilize in a dungeon environment. In that sense a minor heal with next to no cast time and a short cd was immensely useful, even if not particrly potent.
¡¸How many times can you cast it?¡¹
¡¸About thirty times without going over my mana per minute and over ten thousand times if I was topletely empty out my mana reserve.¡¹
Fairy Tale Chronicle¡¯s ability costs and regen were all fixed values, with some abilities there was an element of randomness to the cost but none of them scaled off of the users max mp or hp values. With all of her stat boostsbined Mio¡¯s mana per minute regenerated close to one percent of her total mana, which was enough to continuously cast crafting skills for six seconds at a novice level and two minutes at an intermediate level. In other words it was pretty resource intense the lower one¡¯s proficiency was at a skill.
¡¸That doesn¡¯t sound all too bad.¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t put too much faith in that if I was you.¡¹
¡¸Now that we¡¯ve gotten that out of the way, have you acquired any new offensive abilities by chance?¡¹
¡¸Nope.¡¹
¡¸That about settles that then, don¡¯t see any change in weapon choice either so there¡¯s another box that we can tick off.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not sensei levels of bonkers, I can¡¯t just fashion any old Hunter tree into a bow like it was second nature.¡¹
There was an undeniable experience gap between the hardcore yers that have been ying sinceunch and the semi-hardcore yers who shirked on certain skills. Mio¡¯s case was special and she managed to rack up a lot more hours than most but there were only so many hours in a day.
¡¸Don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to approach the core of the miasma in our state.¡¹
¡¸Compared to the other groups only our hp is at a good enough level, everything else iscking.¡¹
¡¸Well I¡¯ve got some tricks up my sleeve to cover those blind spots, not to mention that we also have the added benefit of thief skills on our side.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d rather you not put too much faith into them, I¡¯ve next to no experience in this particr kind of dungeon.¡¹
¡¸So long as they¡¯re intermediate or higher I don¡¯t see a problem with that, makes a whole world of difference.¡¹
Mio was stillrgely unconvinced, a perfect example of how fickle a concept objective self-evaluation was.
Haruna wasn¡¯t exaggerating by any means, thief skills, a crafting skills, had a world of a difference in usability between novice and intermediate ranks. Novice level thief¡¯s could only reliably disarm the kind of traps that any old Joe could safely set off with a long enough object and a little bit of patience while intermediate level thief¡¯s were already dealing with the types of traps that couldn¡¯t be set off with such primitive methods. Advanced level thief¡¯s could swiftly deal with and set traps of a magical nature. Needless the say the applicability goes up exponentially with the ranks.
There was a catch to all of this, however. Thief skills were infamous for being incredibly tedious to acquire and on the whole they were exclusively geared towards a very specific kind of yer, those who couldn¡¯tprehend the system intuitively were pretty much screwed, not to the extent of crafting, but screwed nheless. Makoto was just on the cusp of intermediate and has been for a while now but that¡¯s not because she had given up on the pursuit she simply hasn¡¯t had the opportunity to interact with traps in any meaningful way for some time.
¡¸Have you noticed anything strange about this dungeon?¡¹
¡¸The walls are moving.¡¹
¡¸Are they really?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
Mio whipped out a ten foot pole and poked a nearby wall. Makoto, upon seeing clear signs of movement, frowned.
¡¸This makes things interesting, doesn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸It sure does.¡¹
¡¸Hopefully it won¡¯t pounce on us at least.¡¹
¡¸That variable is unclear at the moment, although if we go by clich¨¦s it would¡¯ve done so by now.¡¹
Makoto nodded in agreement. Even if the walls were to attack they¡¯d likely pick a more opportune moment.
¡¸In any case we¡¯recking in resources so we should probably be better off avoiding moving directly towards the miasma.¡¹
¡¸A detour it is?¡¹
¡¸You know it.¡¹
¡¸Follow my lead.¡¹
The two, led by Mio, began making their way towards where the miasma wasn¡¯t as prevalent. Unlike Hiroshi¡¯s gung-ho approach the two decided to take their sweet time. The path behind them began quickly disappearing but that wasn¡¯t much cause for concern since they had been expecting as much from the very get go.
¡¸Got to wonder what awaits us.¡¹
¡¸Anything but one of those obscene traps, I hope.¡¹
Mio responded with an out of cement. At the very least it proved just how calm and collected the two were about their predicament.
Meanwhile, over at Wulls.
¡¸I¡¯ll do anything just please let me see deary¡¯s face onest time.¡¹
¡¸You know what, I think it¡¯s about time I take you up on that offer.¡¹
Said Layotte after some consideration to the girl who had been obsessively repeating those exact words verbatim during every single one of his visits. Due to her¡ various character ws she was, for the longest time, seen as too mdjusted to bring out into the light of day, but as ofte she¡¯s gotten an opportunity to prove herself when she got paired up with Rayna to eavesdrop on Hiroshi who was making his way to Kalsus and passed with flying colors, thus the change in perspective.
The reason they had her under effective house arrest in one of Wulls castle¡¯s long forgotten rooms wasn¡¯t out of fear of being found out but because of said mdjustment at the time. To get an urate image of just how untamed she was her knowledge of social customs was nonexistent, she saw others in a darwinistic light ¨C they either conquer or get conquered themselves. Needless to say letting her of her leash was not a viable option.
To the surprise of everyone she proved to be rather cooperate and obedient, so long as they provided her with a routine dose of ¡®spiritual sustenance¡¯ which was a fancy way of referring to any of Hiroshi¡¯s used articles, such as towels or the leftover bony bits of a fish, for instance. Even taking two steps back Layotte couldn¡¯t help but find this little idiosyncrasy of hers downright repulsive.
¡¸Would you really do that for me?¡¹
¡¸Under a few conditions.¡¹
There exists a rare few individuals whose bodynguage can convey their emotions much more vividly than any string of words ever could but the look in her eyes trumped all of them, there was nopetition to be had. If only she knew the words that woulde out of Layotte¡¯s mouth right after.
¡¸What conditions?¡¹
¡¸First and foremost, under no circumstances are you to make direct contact with them without explicit permission.¡¹
¡¸!?¡¹
Her pupils dted, mouth opened agape and her head tilted forward at the heart-shattering demand.
¡¸At least tell me, why?¡¹
¡¸What did you expect? That they¡¯d wee you with open arms?¡¹
¡¸No, no I didn¡¯t.¡¹
Layotte let out a despondent sigh at her answer. Although she had grown enough to notpletely stand out in a crowd she stillcked in the emotional self-control department, even Fum and Lime were better adjusted in that regard.
¡¸Have you perhaps forgotten how you were out for his blood?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t recall anything of the sort.¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t that awfully convenient.¡¹
Layotte let out yet another sigh while going through a mini mental breakdown but managed to keep it all internal. On that fated day after being apprehended she would end up double-crossing the Assassin¡¯s guild by spilling the beans on all of their internal affairs and even lent a hand in directing an assault on their base of operations. Once the dust had settled and she got rewarded for her various contributions all of her recollection of what had just went down seemingly vanished into thin air. The only memories that did get permanently etched in her mind were the ones that in some way pertain to Hiroshi because apparently they just left that strong of an impression.
This wasn¡¯t just some sudden onset of amnesia or anything of the sort, the assassin¡¯s guild had fiddled around with her mind in a way that would make her lose all memory of the guild and any of its assignments in case of failure, although for whatever reason it only kicked in once everything was already said and done. She herself was not aware of this and there was no one on their side who had privy to such ssified information, so this phenomena was left unexined.
Now that whatever mechanism that was controlling her memories went off she was finally in a position to begin anew as a fully-fledged human being with no strings attached. The sequence of events that led up to her reformation, however, would require infringing on multiple public broadcastingws in order to describe in full detail.
¡¸Allow me to jog your memory, you were an assassin who infiltrated this here castle in an attempt to dispose of Haruna and Aearis who were being guarded by Hiroshi at the time. They¡¯re not the type of folk to forgive and forget all willy-nilly.¡¹
¡¸Why would I ever¡¡¹
Her expression further contorted with despair. Even this slight fluctuation was immediately noticeable due to her expressionless nature.
¡¸No need to get that down in the dumps, I¡¯ll make sure you get in contact with them somewhere down the line.¡¹
¡¸Can I take your word for it?¡¹
¡¸Naturally. Besides, considering your assigned role it would be unreasonable to keep you away from them forever.¡¹
¡¸My role?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll exinter.¡¹
She obediently nodded. While she did want to know what was in store for her it wasn¡¯t a matter of utmost urgency, so she decided to carry on with the conversation. From this little episode alone it was clear just how imbnced her emotional maturity was inparison to her logical thinking capabilities, an apparent consequence of her abnormal upbringing.
¡¸Secondly you are to prioritize carrying out orders to the letter except in cases of utmost emergency.¡¹
¡¸Even at the expense of Deary¡¯s life?¡¹
¡¸Depends, if you deem the party incapable of handling the situation put in front of them and your aid happens to be sufficient enough to turn the tides in their favor I¡¯d be willing to turn a blind eye to your digression.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
¡¸That being said, I don¡¯t expect you to have the judgment necessary to urately discern these situations when they do happen toe up.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve no intent on breaking orders unless doing so would save deary¡¯s or any one of his party members lives, they¡¯re the only exception.¡¹
¡¸I sure hope so.¡¹
Layotte lightly shrugged at her morally questionable remark. To him she was nothing more but a puppet, a puppet who just happened to be a lot more useful than expected and who could potentially make things take a turn for the interesting depending on how they y out. That¡¯s why he decided on getting her properly educated in various aspects of life instead of simply dishing out capital punishment, which he had no qualms in doing had the circumstances been different. If she was to, in any way, work against the interests of Fane she would be dead in his eyes that very moment.
¡¸Thirdly you are not to speak of our ties under any circumstance. Hiroshi and a few select others will be informed beforehand but you are not to discuss the matter unless spoken to first.¡¹
¡¸Need not be said.¡¹
¡¸Awfully riching from the one who spilled the beans just because of some guy but I¡¯ll give you the benefit of the doubt, for now.¡¹
¡¸You need not worry, nothing is as euphoric as being manhandled by deary.¡¹
¡¸That doesn¡¯t really alleviate any of my concerns¡¡¹
Muttered Layotte upon hearing her concerning remark. She was most certainly an entertaining y thing but at the same time there was much room for concern.
¡¸Andst but not least you are to report any bit of information you pick up back to me as soon as possible.¡¹
He gracefully side stepped having to linger on a diforting point by pronouncing thest condition.
¡¸Even details like deary¡¯s favorite sexual y and the g-spots of the female crew members?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know why you¡¯d ever want to gather such information but I¡¯m not going to stop you, just make sure to report it.¡¹
¡¸Understood. Now, what¡¯s my assignment?¡¹
¡¸You are to travel to Darl and get in contact with the underground society, dig up as much relevant intel as you can.¡¹
¡¸She, yet again, was entirely consumed by overwhelming dread.¡¹
¡¸Darl? As in, not the elf vige?¡¹
¡¸Firstly even if I was to dispatch you there now you wouldn¡¯t even make it on time for their departure. Secondly you¡¯d have to make your way through the southern forest to make it to the vige and your assassin training probably didn¡¯t involve getting around forests, now did it?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll find a way.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s toote for that and besides, forests are their field of specialty there¡¯s nothing that they need you for there.¡¹
The fact that there was no way of refuting his point made it all the more emotionally painful.
¡¸They need you to cover their weak spots, without your expertise in underground affairs they¡¯ll bepletely lost, so quit being all sorry for yourself and focus on making their adjustment period as smooth as possible.¡¹
¡¸At yourmand.¡¹
¡¸Hold on there for a second.¡¹
She tried to immediately head out while Layotte¡¯s helpful advice was still fresh in her mind and got stopped right in her tracks almost as immediately. Her level of air headedness would, under normal circumstances, be plenty a cause of concern but, ording to her re-educator from the intelligence department, it was as if she became apletely different person when dealing with underground matters so it wasn¡¯t as cut and dry as it may have initially seemed.
¡¸We¡¯ve prepared equipment and enough money to cover the travelling expenses, you¡¯ll find Ernest waiting for you to receive them.¡¹
¡¸At yourmand.¡¹
¡¸Also we can¡¯t have you being nameless for much longer as it impedesmunication. I¡¯ll be giving you a name and I expect you to assume it.¡¹
¡¸I want deary to do the honors.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t be silly, or at least that¡¯s what I would have said had this name I had in mind for you not been suggested by Hiroshi. Feel free to rejoice.¡¹
And so she did. In case anyone found all this to be a little too convenient it was actually all true, the name Layotte had in mind for her was brought up by Hiroshi during one of their talks where they discussed potential code names for fresh intelligence department female recruits.
¡¸Please say it is so.¡¹
¡¸It is, I had predicted you whining over this so I asked Hiroshi for his thoughts well in advance.¡¹
Unable to control her sheer excitement she began to tacitly urge Layotte to get to the point through the use of bodynguage.
¡¸Your name is now officially Rainy Moon.¡¹
¡¸Rainy Moon.¡¹
¡¸Enough talk, get your stuff together and off you go.¡¹
She nodded and left with an unrealistically graceful walking posture. As hard as she may try to blend in with the regr folk little idiosyncratic mannerisms like that would inevitably crop up and give out her true power level to the trained eye.
¡¸I¡¯ve done about all I could do now it¡¯s time to just sit and wait.¡¹
Their journey was bound to have its ups and downs and Layotte felt that having her cushion some of that burden would be a nice, friendly gesture towards the group, a thought process that was a far cry from pure self-interest. That being said he still had Fane¡¯s best interests in mind but he cared for Hiroshi, who he considered to be one of his best friends, about just as much. If he wasn¡¯t he wouldn¡¯t be doing something as potentially dicey as he was now.
¡¸I would dispatch someone more appropriate if I could, but s. She¡¯s a real piece of work but I know you¡¯ll make it work somehow, Hiroshi.¡¹
He muttered as he locked the door. At around the same time Hiroshi, who had made a little detour to collect some materials, felt a chilling sensation running down his spine but let¡¯s not infer causation from corrtion, shall we?
Volume 2, 7
Volume 2, Chapter 7
¡¸Hiroshi.
¡¸Aye?
¡¸I get that this material¡¯s valuable and all but should we really be standing around here for this long?
¡¸If we were to get there ahead of everyone we¡¯d have ta throw down with the boss all by ourselves, no need ta rush things.
Hiroshi replied with an answer that only addressed one of Artiem¡¯s concerns and went right back to picking apart the wines and various leaves. His focus was unwavering, his hands glided through the air with purpose. It was clear to anyone that Hiroshi knew what he was doing and he did it well.
¡¸Wasn¡¯t there anything worth gathering on those walls you just blew a hole though?
¡¸Thosest few walls didn¡¯t ¡®ave anythin¡¯ of value. Some of the nts on there could be used for ss seven potions but I don¡¯t see any reason why we should drop what we¡¯re doin¡¯ for a material we can find almost anywhere else.
¡¸What¡¯s so different about the ones here?
¡¸With just a little pinch ¡®o the good ¡®ol alchemy I can transmute ¡¯em into either Barce or one if its substitutes Miret, both materials for ss one potions.
Artiem looked visibly baffled at the mention of ss one potions. Both the first and second ss potion recipes were a relic of the past, although five pots of the real thing can still be found scattered around the world. All five of those were exclusively hp pots, all the other types gotpletely used up while repelling the coordinated onught of limbo monsters.
As such it was reasonable to be healthily skeptical about Hiroshi¡¯s ability to craft something that¡¯s been lost to the sands of time. Even if Hiroshi was to achieve this highly unlikely feat there was no way of knowing whether it was the real thing or not as regr town folk could get a full heal from just a ss eight while the average decently levelled adventurer could achieve the same effect with ss fives. The difference in healing amounts would progressively scale the further down the ranks one went and by ss three they would already hit the max hp cap, which made it downright impossible to tell a ss three and a ss two apart purely by the numbers.
¡¸What¡¯s a Barce?
¡¸A moss found within the great divine cavern situated around the summit which, when consumed raw, would heal for as much as a ss five, with a lil bit of tinkerin¡¯, of course.
¡¸What about Miret?
¡¸It¡¯s basically Barce that¡¯s been purified down to only its elements with healing properties. You¡¯d think that it¡¯d be more potent that way, but due to how those impurities interacted with one another they actually put Barse ahead, which made it the choice material for potions. That being said, with a bit of workin¡¯ around the difference is negligible at best.
Artiem stared on nkly as she was being bombarded with a flurry of specialized lingo. The whole exposition did little to clear up her doubts but at the same time her gut feeling had a hard time fully distrusting the highly expansive track record Hiroshi had going for him.
¡¸Just know that the stuff we got on hand isn¡¯t anywhere near enough for ss one brewing, so as much as I¡¯d love ta put my money where me mouth is that¡¯lle at ater time.
¡¸Alright then.
Hiroshi, who had taken notice of Artiem¡¯s dubious stare, off-handedly brushed off any implicit usations with a trick up his sleeve by the name of reality. Once that was cleared up he returned right back to work and after a solid five minutes of silence he picked apart the entire wall clean.
¡¸Now that that¡¯s over with what say we take this pole axe for one more spin?
¡¸Not going to stop you just, make sure to be ready for a fight in case there are monsters hiding behind that wall.
¡¸I don¡¯t need ta make sure of anythin¡¯ since I¡¯m almost certain that¡¯s goin¡¯ ta be the case.
¡¸Uh, huh?
Artiem was inplete awe at Hiroshi¡¯s reckless abandon. That¡¯s not to say that she wasn¡¯t giving credit where credit was due, his ability to sense enemies across dense objects was praiseworthy although Artiem, a pragmatist at heart, found it hard to fathom how, despite this foresight, he nevertheless insisted on charging in without any real n in mind. This frustrating disconnect made her want to give Hiroshi a piece of her mind but she managed to hold back.
¡¸Don¡¯t ya worry ya pretty lil head, there¡¯s more than one wall separating us and the monsters plus I¡¯ve already got a strategy in mind in case brute force won¡¯t do us any good.
¡¸Are you sure?
¡¸I¡¯m sure I¡¯m sure.
Hiroshi¡¯s vague hints at there being a n weren¡¯t all that convincing but, if experience taught us anything, is that when pushes to shove he wasn¡¯t fooling around. Whether or not those ns of his would go without a hitch was debatable but there was almost no doubt that he wasn¡¯t intent on throwing his life away for no real reason.
Hiroshi,pletely unaware of the inner turmoil happening right in front him, approached the wall with a sly grin, raised his pole axe above head and
¡¸How do ya like me now, eh?
Swung it down like his life depended on it. Just like the many times before the attack disintegrated the walls in an instant, opening up a massive gaping hole in its wake.
What awaited on the other side was a pack of oversized squirrels which were a few heads taller than the average human.
¡¸H-Hiroshi!
Their sheer size and number inspired fear in Artiem¡¯s heart which made her unconsciously turn towards Hiroshi in hopes of finding relief. What she saw at that moment absolutely blew her away.
¡¸Eat this!
¡¸Where did you get that!?
Hiroshi¡¯s battle cry was followed up by the sight of a super-sized pomey soaring through the air. To get a more urate idea of just how massive it was, forparison the one they shoved in Barold¡¯s face was tiny byparison. It¡¯s as though an entire mutated cabbage head was repurposed into a bomb. For a normal human being it¡¯d be a challenge to rip it off the ground, much less throw in a straight line of all things, but for Hiroshi, who could wield the heaviest of war-hammers without breaking a sweat, it came as naturally as breathing.
¡¸Get behind cover!
Hiroshi yelled at the top of his lungs as he grabbed Artiem, who was standing frozen in ce, and hid behind the wall. He finished casting defensive circle and fortress right as it went boom, the shock waves were so intense they could be felt across the entirety of the dungeon.
Although it¡¯s destructive force falls short of the titanic roar it was still much more impactful than any lower tier advanced aoe ability. The squirrels in the epicenter of the st were wiped clean off the face of the earth while the ones just shy of it were turned into bloody pulps. The few who happened to be in the outer st radius had either their entire skeletons blown to smithereens or passed away from fatal internal organ damage, while the three remaining lucky rascals who didn¡¯t get sted into heaven suffered heavy damages. Just like that a few dozen gigantic squirrels met their maker in a sequence of events that took mere seconds to unfold in real time.
¡¸What on earth was that!?
¡¸I spotted it durin¡¯ our hot spring outin¡¯ and I simply couldn¡¯t stop miself from seein¡¯ what ces I could take the little feller with a lil bit of selective breedin¡¯. At some point it just got way too out of hand to return to the wild so I held onto it for safe keepin¡¯.
¡¸Selective breed this, selective breed that why is it always selecting breeding with you?
¡¸As a craftsman it¡¯s my sworn duty ta take mi inquisitive nature as far as it pleases.
Hiroshi made his way towards the remaining few squirrels who still had some fighting spirit left in them and quenched it through the use of outss, while simultaneously bbering on about some abstract concept that probably sounded better in his head. Artiem just stood on and watched.
A mere few secondster said squirrels were already sleeping with the fishes.
¡¸What in zers was that!?
An explosion went off somewhere in the distance.
Haruna and Tatsuya, who had been making steady progress towards the source of the miasma, were stopped dead in their tracks by the shockwave resulting from the explosion.
¡¸Do you think someone got in an encounter?
¡¸Think? I¡¯m almostpletely sure of it.
¡¸Judging by the magnitude of that st it must have been a doozy up close.
¡¸Makoto and Mio couldn¡¯t have been responsible for this
¡¸But that would mean that¡ they¡¯re in danger!?
¡¸Don¡¯t rush to conclusions, we can check in on them via party chat.
Tatsuya shifted his focus towards the party chat after stopping Haruna from running to conclusions. Hiroshi was experienced enough to where he could respond to messages even in the midst of battle and in the unlikely case that it was Makoto and Mio behind this one of them would find the time to respond eventually.
£¨We heard an explosion, how are things on your end?£©
£¨Besides the fact that it took us by surprise all¡¯s good.£©
£¨Our n of avoiding the miasma is kind of getting derailed at the moment, asides from that everything¡¯s peachy though.£©
Tatsuya felt relieved to hear that Makoto and Mio weren¡¯t in any immediate danger, as was evident by their jokey tone. Hiroshi had yet to respond, which was enough evidence in itself to rightly assume that he was the one to cause all themotion.
£¨I¡¯m responsible for a the hubbub, sorry ¡¯bout that.£©
Tatsuya¡¯s growing concern was swiftly dispelled by Hiroshi¡¯sckadaisical response. Just as he was entertaining the idea of pressing Hiroshi for further detail he got beaten to the punch by the man himself.
£¨When we busted through the wall a whole army of them things kindly weed us with open arms. I¡¯m not much for social pleasantries so I had the super-sized pomey take care o¡¯ that for me.£©
£¨Didn¡¯t you use them all up already?£©
£¨Ya seriously think ya can get any conclusive results from a sample size of just one or two pomeys? Are ya deafd?£©
£¨Now I¡¯ll have you know-£©
Tatsuya did not waste a single moment giving Hiroshi a piece of his mind. Due to his so called ¡®inquisitive nature¡¯ Hiroshi would frequently dabble in less than wholesome experimentation.
£¨As I was sayin¡¯ before being rudely interrupted by a certain someone, I¡¯m currently in the process of collecting materials from a these dead squirrels. Most of the corpses be a teeny tiny bit too utterly mutted to yield anythin¡¯ of real value, but the few that remained rtively intact can be used to craft stat-boostin¡¯ items, so I¡¯m makin¡¯ sure to salvage what I can. Oh and how do ya¡¯ll feel ¡¯bout squirrel meat?£©
£¨What does it taste like, sensei?£©
£¨Excellent question little one. It tastes like squirrel.£©
£¨I¡¯m sold.£©
Just as Hiroshi was about to leave the party chat after having an eye-opening exchange with Mio, Haruna promptly butted into the conversation.
£¨Hiroshi.£©
£¨Aye?£©
£¨Did anything happen to Artiem?£©
£¨Depends on what ya want to know. Are you askin¡¯ whether she got caught in the crossfire or if she had another one of her ¡®idents¡¯?£©
£¨Both.£©
Tatsuya and Makoto had a hard time holding back fromughing at Haruna¡¯s wholesome directness. For her, on the other hand, this wasn¡¯t a joke, it was a matter of life or death.
£¨Nothin¡¯ happened to ¡®er, in either sense. If it did we¡¯d probably not be here discussin¡¯ her well bein¡¯ all willy nilly now would we?£©
£¨I¡¯m d to hear that. I¡¯ll make sure we pick up the pace so it stays that way.£©
£¨No need ta rush, we¡¯ll be collectin¡¯ materials along the way, so if ya st thought the entire thing ya will just end up facing¡¯ off against the boss all by yerselves.£©
£¨Ok.£©
Hiroshi waspletely oblivious to Haruna¡¯s true motive. The dungeon run to him was less of a run and more of a leisurely stroll, so to speak. This attitude of his might have seemed inappropriate considering their set of circumstances at the time but upon further scrutiny anyone could gather that one was only able to maintain a state ofplete alertness for only so long before their body gave out. As such taking it easy to some extent wasn¡¯t just a good thing, it was the desired approach.
¡¸Well, there you go.¡¹
¡¸I reckon a change in ns would be appropriate?¡¹
¡¸But of course.¡¹
If there¡¯s anything thatst exchange solidified is the fact that they had effectively ballparked Hiroshi¡¯s rtive location. So long as they didn¡¯t run into any boss along the way the journey should be smooth sailing.
¡¸This card is confusing on so many levels, I don¡¯t even know where to begin. We can facetime fellow party members but not see their location? What sense does that make.¡¹
¡¸It doesn¡¯t even have a map function to begin with, can you believe that?¡¹
Haruna hopped on the bandwagon. What both of them failed to realize is that the facetime function already made it remarkably more technologically advanced than most of what was avable out there .
¡¸If it did have a map function the adventurer¡¯s association couldn¡¯t make a quick buck peddling the widest array of maps known to man to unsuspecting victims.¡¹
¡¸That would certainly exin it.¡¹
The adventurer¡¯s association dealt in hand-drawn regional and dungeon-specific maps. They weren¡¯t just any old scribbled on sheets of parchment paper either, they were put together with the blood, sweat and tears of all those who suffered an untimely death exploring each of those areas. Their brave sacrifice wasn¡¯t in vain either as those maps assisted greatly in decreasing avoidable casualties all across the board.
The association was by no means against the idea of including a party member tracking system or a map function but in doing so the manufacturing process would be much more cost and human resource intensive as a result. It still had a chance to be a reality if not for the fact that the association was run internationally and every state, naturally, had their best interests in mind and throwing in those two extra quality of life functions would only serve to degrade the card¡¯s cost to performance ratio.
In a simr vein map sales rolled in the dough like crazy so it wasn¡¯t too conspiracy nut sounding to say that it was in the self-interest of each state to maintain the current state of affairs or, at the very least, not actively go out of their way to change it.
¡¸Anyways I think it¡¯s pretty safe to say that we should prepare to get in a scuffle or two on the way there if we take Hiroshi¡¯s word for it.¡¹
¡¸So long as the monsters aren¡¯t too overbearing I think we¡¯ll be just fine, although I hope there aren¡¯t any traps because I¡¯m no good with those.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re not the only one.¡¹
Up until this point they¡¯ve managed to steer clear of any overlyplex traps but how long their streak of luck wouldst only god knew. Being painfully aware of their own ineptitude at traps they chose toser focus their attention towards directly above and below them since traps at these spots were particrly difficult to maneuver out of. If anything was toe from the sides they just hoped that abination of a fast reaction speed and protection magic would do the trick, an idea which only really worked if the traps were few and far in between but that wasn¡¯t the case. The vines had been frequently harassing them in random intervals without any intent of causing harm. This slowly chipped away at theser focus they had going and made them realize just how valuable of an asset Mio really was to the team.
The whole area being one fluid tapestry of nothing but all the different shades of green in a pte made it feel like they were making no progress what so ever but they managed to ovee that by measuring their level of exhaustion and basing distance covered off of that.
¡¸Hiroshi¡¯s got a working pair I¡¯ll say that much.¡¹
¡¸Why worry about traps when you can just brute force your way through walls as if physical boundaries were a mere suggestion.¡¹
¡¸What really gets me is how his first instinct was to take the least conventional approach without any second thoughts what so ever.¡¹
¡¸Tell me about it.¡¹
For the most part it¡¯s not the greatest of ideas to go about tearing down every wall in sight without taking the structural integrity of the dungeon into consideration. This kind of reckless behavior would be bad enough on its own right, what made infinitely worse is that Hiroshi, in his day to day life, was the poster boy for taking things nice and easy.
¡¸I can sense something.¡¹
¡¸I can faintly feel it in the air as well. Where is iting from?¡¹
¡¸Over there.¡¹
The two had already covered a great deal of ground with a few insignificant encounters interspersed here and there when they came face to face with
¡¸Is that a man eater?¡¹
¡¸Without a doubt, but there¡¯s something off about it.¡¹
¡¸My best guess would be that it soaked up enough miasma to mutate in size.¡¹
¡¸Most likely.¡¹
A humongous carnivorous nt taking up the entirety of the pathway through its sheer size alone. It had all the telltale characteristics of a man eater ¨C a jumbled mess of undting wines firmly attached to an even firmer stem that was responsible for shouldering their weight, a deep pitcher for digesting unsuspecting prey and thick roots. What set it apart from your average man eater was the size. It resembled a boss more so than a regr mob.
¡¸How powerful is it?¡¹
¡¸In terms of raw power it should outperform a piaranork, but not any one of Barold¡¯s doubles.¡¹
¡¸In short?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s beatable but the matchup heavily favors it.¡¹
¡¸Is it because of itsrge effective range and attacks per second?¡¹
Haruna nodded to Tatsuya¡¯s inquiry. A ystyle like Haruna¡¯s that revolved around dodge tanking for survival isrgely ineffective at dealing with attacks dished out in rapid session. To add insult to injury its effective range was somewhere in the twenty meter department, while Haruna had to get up close and personal to deliver max dmg. Getting into melee range was possible if she went in gung-ho with aplete disregard foring back out in one piece but the valiant sacrifice would go vain if the man eater turned out to be non-stationary.
¡¸In that case, here goes nothing.¡¹
Tatsuya, having reaffirmed the fact that Haruna was unable to keep up with her usual dmg output, considering the circumstances, decided that¡¯d it be best to just smack their head against the monster repeatedly and see what works. He stood right outside the entrance and casted grand napalm. To no one¡¯s surprise hended a direct hit, although it really didn¡¯t do much in terms of dmg because intermediate level spells had a significantly harder time punching through the natural defenses of a boss than something like an advanced level one would. What was important, however, is that it wasn¡¯tpletely resisted.
¡¸Oh no you don¡¯t!¡¹
Haruna knocked him out of the reach of danger and made quick work of the vines that made their way towards the entrance in retaliation. This little sequence of events served one very crucial purpose ¨C it revealed the boss¡¯s effective attack range, which was just short of the entrance.
¡¸Thoughts?¡¹
¡¸I think my attacks arergely innefective. I barely managed to bust through the surface and it¡¯s already beginning to regenerate.¡¹
¡¸Very well, in that case¡¡¹
He began casting one of his highest single target damage spells ¨C the holy octo-cannon. The spell was of an entirely different caliber from that of the grand napalm and if thetter managed to just barely punch through the boss¡¯s defenses the former would have absolutely no problem tearing them into shreds. The man eater¡¯s vines wallowed in pain as the attack chunked a third of its health bar in one fell swoop. As it stood Tatsuya had the greatest one shot potential out of the entire group, going as far as surpassing Makoto.
Except for the very rare instance where the stars align just right for Haruna to bust out her Elemental dance, which would blow Tatsuya¡¯s holy octo-cannon out of the water in terms of raw single target dmg. There was a catch, as there always is with abilities that sound too good to be true, in that there was an off-chance that it would just straight-up knock the caster out unconscious. That¡¯s why it has only been used once in their entire journey and that was only because they knew the enemy¡¯s skillset like the back of their hand. If they didn¡¯t and the enemy was to give them a taste of the unknown the whole encounter could have ended really badly.
¡¸It still hasn¡¯t begun regenerating.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s more where that came from!¡¹
Just as he had finished waiting for the ability toe off cooldown Tatsuya had his cast interrupted through discement.
¡¸What in the-¡¹
¡¸Tatsuya, the walls!¡¹
Tatsuya promptly turned his head only to see that the wall behind them had slowly inched its way toward them and showed no signs of stopping. They had no means of tearing it down, which meant that in due time they were about to be physically shoved into the boss¡¯s room with no means of escape. After a short while this became reality.
¡¸Figures it wouldn¡¯t just stand by letting us take potshots outside its range.¡¹
¡¸We managed to put a considerable dent in its hp bar, I¡¯ll consider that a one for team us and a zero for team oversized tentacle brain over here.¡¹
Haruna took stance making sure Tatsuya was safely positioned behind her and began an attempt at bolstering morale through some pep talk. Tatsuya nodded in agreement and began cooking up a different spell while waiting for his main nuke toe off cooldown.
¡¸If only I had gone all out with the nukes and learned something like Armageddon or implosion.¡¹
¡¸Realistically speaking how often would you even be in a position to use them to be worth the time investment?¡¹
Tatsuya grumbled despite having mastered one of the single strongest nukes obtainable by conventional means. Armageddon was a powerhouse of an aoe nuke but it came with its own set of drawbacks. For one its radius was much toorge and it only gotrger with mastery and spell power bonuses which would be all fine and dandy in an mmo where friendly fire wasn¡¯t a thing but s, that wasn¡¯t the case here. Secondly It¡¯s cd, mana cost and cast time were set so high that using it for a second time in all but the most drawn out of battles was not a feasible feat. The third and final drawback isn¡¯t so much of a drawback as it is an exploration of the human mind¡¯s tendency to get overtaken by delusions of grandeur and believing that the world is at their mercy just because they¡¯ve won the nuke equivalent of a dick measuring contest. This can be easily confirmed by all the yers who, being drunk of their feet with power, attempted to clear an entire area full of high level mobs, only to have said mobs survive with a sliver of hp and proceed to beat them into a bloody pulp because they had wasted all of their resources.
Implosion, on the other hand, was the single strongest single target nuke in the game, within the confines of general skills, that is. Whereas Armageddon was an explosion that¡¯s inherently directed outwards Implosion was directed inwards, which made it easy to tell which was aoe and which was single target at a nce. Since it didn¡¯t have to be bnced around being aoe its damage output was close to rivalling that of certain extra skills. It was, however, highly situational with its fifteen second cast time and ludicrous mana consumption that would only allow itself to be recast a second time by yers with mana pools asrge as Mio¡¯s. As such it was only ever used as an initiating ability for when one was able to get the drop on whatever mob they happened to be fighting that also warranted using it.
Due to these less than minor drawback the number of people who¡¯d bother spending their time learning them were few and far in between and the one¡¯s that achieved mastery on them were even rarer. The number of them that got to use twice or more in one battle were in the lower single digits, reserved for only the top most no-lifers ever known to man.
¡¸Whatever I¡¯ll just dispose of it with hell fire sanctum.¡¹
Tatsuya figured that the natural nt weakness to fire along with the cleansing properties of fire when used against miasma would make for a double whammy, thus hellfire sanctum. While it didn¡¯t quite match up to holy octo-cannon¡¯s damage number it did manage to meet expectations as was evident by the vines wallowing ever harder than before. Just as he was about to follow that up with a fireball, which would finish casting by the time holy octo-cannon got off cooldown, the man eater caught them off guard with an abrupt change in strategy.
¡¸It¡¯s begun attacking a lot faster!¡¹
¡¸You hanging in there?¡¹
¡¸By a thread.¡¹
If the flurry of attacks kept on getting faster and faster at that pace they¡¯d eventually just overwhelm her. Under normal circumstances she would¡¯ve been able to hold on for longer but she had to divert some of her attention to keeping Tatsuya safe and, to top it all off, her de was no longer cleanly shing off any of the vines. Haruna tried using every ability in her kit, she switched to a me enchanted de to take advantage of its weakness, all to no avail.
(I¡¯ve got to make this work. If I don¡¯t find way to cut through them we¡¯ll¡we¡¯ll¡)
Haruna¡¯s unconscious had already begun imagining the worst possible oue but she managed to hold it back from bleeding into conscious territory. A few things were certain about her current predicament ¨C if she was able to cut through any of the wines with her regr de that would buy her around twenty seconds and if she was to do it with the fire enchanted one that would put it out ofmission for good.
What this meant was that as long as she could find a way to cut through their defenses with the fire enchanted sword they could sessfully weather through this one, which was easier said than done in all fairness. If Hiroshi was faced with the exact same situation he¡¯d just power through with brute force, Makoto would¡¯ve cut through the wines like butter. Haruna, meanwhile, was reliant on raw attack speed meaning that her only option here was to use her head and get creative if she wanted to survive. There was the option of pulling out a sickle but she was hesitant about revealing her hand unless it was absolutely necessary as ast resort. As a result of this she made the right strategic call but reached it through faulty reasoning. If she was thinking straight she¡¯d remember that her proficiency with the weapon was at a novice level, which by itself was bad enough but coupled with the fact that they were facing off against a boss of all things and the fact that the rapier was a stab focused weapon while the sickle was meant for shing, meaning that she¡¯d also have to get used to an entirely new weapon style on the spot. All these three factorsbines would¡¯ve undoubtedly spelled disaster.
Haruna was desperately trying to not let her unconscious take the wheel by intensely focusing on what was going on around her. She had already thought of a way out of this sticky predicament and was just aiming for the perfect opportunity to execute it, all the while making quick work of a wine that was attempting to get the drop on her from behind and sessfully searing through another one that had its sights set on Tatsuya. After those two sessive failures the onught got even more intense.
At that point her unconscious had to take matters into its own hands. All conscious thought had been cast away like an afterthought to make room for pure animal instinct to fully surface. In this fight or flight state of hers Haruna was able to coast by a simultaneous barrage from all four directions and even found the time to briskly dispose of two cheeky ones that were attempting to sneak in a hit on Tatsuya by slithering across the ground. What she didn¡¯t realize in this drunken frame of mind was that one of them had been methodically approaching her from just outside her field of view and once she took notice it was already in the perfect position to bind both of her weapons. As she struggled to shake the damn things off while keeping the other wines at bay with fire magic, the man eater¡¯s dipper had coagted some of its stomach acid in the shape of a bullet and discharged it right at her.
(I won¡¯t make it in time!)
Its airspeed velocity was just high enough to where it would reach its target faster than it could put up a defensive barrier. It wasn¡¯t by any means fast enough to bepletely unavoidable but if she were to take that route it would¡¯ve just been on a direct course for Tatsuya. She could¡¯ve redirected its trajectory if she hadn¡¯t lost the aforementioned tug of war battle. Tatsuya was this close to bringing it down so she had to think of something, anything to buy him some time.
Haruna knew what had to be done so she embraced for impact and made sure to cover her head as snugly as possible to avoid fatal damages. So long as it hit anywhere else thebined defense value of her passive effects and wyvern leather armor would make sure that nosting injuries would ur. Her precious locks would get corroded in the process but she really didn¡¯t have a choice in the matter.
Tatsuya¡¯s magic went off just as she hade to grips with the thought of parting ways with her luscious set of hair. Contrary to her expectations it wasn¡¯t the holy octo-cannon but some other spell she¡¯d never seen. She figured that Tatsuya alone knew the optimal casting order in this specific situation so she didn¡¯t think much of it at the moment and patiently sat back for the inevitable acid shower. She waited and waited and waited some more but nothing happened.
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve put up a barrier, get a grip on yourself while you still can!¡¹
¡¸Will do!¡¹
She said as she pulled out a sickle that was hanging from her belt and busted out another fire enhanced de. Tatsuya called off the barrier and got right back to casting the holy octo-cannon.
¡¸How do you like them apples!¡¹
Haruna eximed as she proceeded to mop the floor with any iing wines. The man eater tried the same congealed acid bullet thing in desperation but that was a swing and a miss since Haruna had slipped an ice enchanted de under her sleeve for just such an asion. The bullet got stopped right in tracks and shattered into a million pieces upon making contact with the ground.
¡¸Move out of the way, I¡¯m going to try to cheese this one!¡¹
¡¸Roger.¡¹
Haruna cleared out of the way just as he had ordered and also took the opportunity to collect her rapier. Tatsuya¡¯s holy octo-cannon went off a mere momentter but instead of one st there were two.
¡¸How about you try this one on for size!¡¹
As those words left his mouth the man eater was promptly enveloped in the tender embrace of the holy octo-cannon which then cradled the poor thing to a better ce, far far away from where the three originally intersected.
¡¸What on earth was that all about?¡¹
¡¸Not something I¡¯d rmend trying at home but it¡¯s possible to have the same spell go off twice if you pop an instant cast unaspected spell with no cd nor cast animation during a very precise point in the wind up process. Many casters were concerned whether it was a bug or a feature so they asked the gamepany directly and it was confirmed to, in fact, be a feature. That being said it¡¯s fairly inconsistent since the timing is so precise so I was taking a gamble back there and hoped that it¡¯d pay off.¡¹
¡¸That sounds like it¡¯d be nice to have.¡¹
¡¸The spell¡¯s cost goes up four fold if one does sessfully pull it off so it only really sees use on the rare asions where quick dps is in order.¡¹
Instant cast unaspected spells with no cd nor cast animation also had other uses such as putting spells off cooldown if used right. This is widely known as a ¡®cooldown reset¡¯ but it wasn¡¯t without its downsides either since it¡¯d double the mana cost of that particr spell, which only made it usable under certain conditions. They weren¡¯t all too spam friendly either because of the effect queuing up more than a certain amount of actions per second had on inputg.
¡¸Well anyway that was a close call.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve fought mobs like this before in-game but here they just feel a lot more powerful for some reason.¡¹
¡¸Well there¡¯s quite a bit if a difference when it¡¯s adapting to every one of our moves in real time whereas in game it¡¯s got a few mechanics at best.¡¹
Tatsuya nodded to Haruna¡¯s assessment of the matter and waddled off the collect the crystal that had been inconspicuouslyying besides the man eater¡¯s original location.
¡¸My mana pool¡¯s almostpletely dried up, what say we take a quick breather?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll put up a barrier.¡¹
If there¡¯s anything this mentally taxing encounter taught them it¡¯s to appreciate just how easier life is with a dedicated tank holding the front lines.
Meanwhile Makoto and Mio.
¡¸I could¡¯ve sworn that wasn¡¯t there before.¡¹
¡¸The miasma levels have gone way up, I think we might¡¯ve been teleported against our will.¡¹
Makoto nodded to Mio¡¯s observation. Since they were actively avoiding areas with high miasma levels they have yet to get caught up in any encounter nor havee across any traps. Out of the entire three groups it was Haruna and Tatsuya who got the short end of the stick when it came to surprise encounters as Hiroshi¡¯s gung ho approach to the dungeon, against all expectations, proved to be surprisingly efficient at circumventing the conventional dungeon perils that they took on the chin.
¡¸Do you think this boss man guy¡¯ll go easy on us?¡¹
¡¸Who says it¡¯s going to be a guy, or even a humanoid to begin with?¡¹
Makoto¡¯s lighthearted jest was met with an immediate sassy remark from Mio. If there¡¯s anything the two didn¡¯tck it¡¯s aid back attitude even in the face of danger.
¡¸Specifics aside we still aren¡¯t going anywhere until we get past it. Would you mind poking around for traps?¡¹
¡¸Roger.¡¹
Mio went along with Makoto¡¯s suggestion and approached the manmade door, that felt disturbingly out of ce in a dungeon consisting of nothing but green, green and more green, with a calcted preciseness behind every step. This made it appear as though she was messing around to the untrained eye, due to how unconventional her walking form had be to suit the situation. After thoroughly examining the door it became clear that there were neither any traps nor a lock of any sorts. She gently pushed the door open and peaked inside.
¡
¡
The two nodded to one another and gently closed the door as though nothing ever happened.
¡¸Well, that was one fugly thing.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s putting it lightly.¡¹
Beyond the door stood a mob with the head of a leopard and the body of what could only be described as a failed freakish experiment to fuse a lizard and a gori together. It¡¯s build most closely resembled that of a humanoid, which would make it seem as though things couldn¡¯t possibly *that* bad, if not for¡
¡¸Why would fungi be infesting its entire body?¡¹
Parts of the creature¡¯s body were caked in ayer of mushrooms and hypha, while others had nt life growing out of them. Its eyes were vacant, as though the things very soul had been encroached upon by the parasitic fungi, leaving only an empty husk of what it once was. If this abomination were to spring into action it was safe to say that whateverid beneath had no say in the matter.
Despite its gruesome state of affairs it was still fully possible to make out a clear mental image of what it had looked like before the infestation, which made it leagues more unsettling to look at than any old zombie.
¡¸To use as sustenance?¡¹
¡¸Perhaps, but more importantly¡¹
The creature¡¯s outward appearance gave Makoto a good idea of what they should be expecting from it in a fight. She sounded worn out just from vocalizing this observation of hers.
¡¸If it were to spring into life, we¡¯d be in a really bad spot.¡¹
Mio nodded to Makoto¡¯s statement. Just like Hiroshi/Artiem had issues with raw damage output and Tatsuya/Harunacked in tankiness, Makoto/Mio¡¯s pairing had its own ws in that their aspected attack arsenalcked in diversity. Mio¡¯s short-hand enchants weren¡¯t potent enough to apply any aspected buff, meanwhile Makoto had some holy damage in her kit but that¡¯s about as far as it went. The former would¡¯ve had ess to fire damage in her bow abilities had she not shirked on the resource gathering part.
The fact that it was infested with fungi wouldn¡¯t bode well with neither bow nor longsword users since, no matter how much they hacked away at or focused fire the core, so long as the parasitic fungi remained intact their efforts at downing the creature would remain futile. This feat would be a lot easier for someone like Hiroshi, who brandished a heavy maul and had ess to both fire and scorch short-hand enchants, or Tatsuya and Haruna, who not only had plenty of aspected abilities to pick and choose from but a nice selection of aoe abilities as well.
Be that the case, they weren¡¯t in a position to cherry-pick their battles, it was do or die. If there was anything they could take sce in it¡¯s the fact that theirbined damage output heavily outweighed that of Hiroshi¡¯s, whose dps was so meager that there was a very real possibility of it not outdamaging the enemies natural hp regen. Or at least that¡¯s how Makoto went about convincing herself that things could¡¯ve been worse.
¡¸Mio, did we bring gas masks or anything of the sort?¡¹
¡¸Yeah but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be needing them¡¹
¡¸What makes you say that?¡¹
¡¸Our armor¡¯s got a ss six hazardous environment resistance enchant.¡¹
Makoto, stupefied by Mio¡¯s reply, pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to process what she had just heard. Hazardous environment resistance was only really vital when adventuring in areas that, by themselves, were perilous enough to the point that so much as setting foot in one could mean certain death, such as volcanoes, poisonous swamps and the like. ss six enchants of this type were strong enough to where one could easily traverse areas with a dense enough miasma concentration to transform any human into a monster. Needless to say it didn¡¯t have any problems whatsoever taking on an environment that wasn¡¯t quite as extreme.The protection it provides was purely external, if the user was to be force fed any poisonous substance it would have no effect but in this particr case it¡¯d protect the two from any spores or slime mold fromtching on and attempting to eat away at their minds. The reason Hiroshi even bothered to apply this enchantment in the first ce was because of Tatsuya¡¯s hay fever but that¡¯s just between you and me.
¡¸In that case we¡¯ve just got to have a backup n in case it manages to contaminate us internally.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ve got all-purpose potions for that.¡¹
¡¸They work against parasites?¡¹
¡¸They sure do.¡¹
That little exchange lead Makoto to believe that there¡¯d be no real harm in having a tussle with the thing, the problem was how they were going to fell it.
¡¸It¡¯d be nice if we could just set the whole thing aze but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s feasible with just a torch and some oil, or is it?¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t count on it.¡¹
¡¸I had it the first time.¡¹
¡¸Only magically imbued mes would have any effect on it.¡¹
This realization left Makoto stumped. Being the contrarian that she is, she purposefully avoided acquiring any fire aspected sword abilities like the gue, oh how the tides turn. To bepletely fair it¡¯s somewhat understandable considering that the process of acquiring said abilities was a hassle to say the least, meanwhile holy aspected abilities were much less such, not to mention very hard to negate at that.
¡¸Do you have anything that¡¯d fit the bill?¡¹
¡¸Yes but damage wise it¡¯s abyssmal.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. Worst case scenario, we¡¯ll slow roast that thing ¡¯till it¡¯s down for the count.¡¹
The door began slowly creaking open just as Mio had nodded in agreement. Their time was up.
¡¸You ready?¡¹
¡¸As ready as I¡¯ll ever be.¡¹
The two careened through the half-open door just as Mio had finished her sentence. Makoto bludgeoned the monster with her long sword, prioritizing getting the first blow in over unsheathing her de. The sheer force packed behind her Smash Horizon, an advanced ability known for its stupendous horizontal knockback distance, was enough to send the creature flying straight into the other side of the not-so small room.
¡¸Buster shot!¡¹
Just as it was about to get back up on its feet, it was greeted with yet another knockback that sent it on a collision course with a wall, with which it would get intimate with through having its limbs securely nailed to it thanks to some well-timed follow-through shots. Makoto cut off its hands and chopped them up into fine pieces. Just as Mio was about to set the things on fire, she had a premonition that made her promptly stop in her tracks and move out of the way. It proved to be correct as at the very same moment the remnants of what were once hands had merged back together only tounch themselves towards Mio¡¯s original location, exploding upon reaching the destination.
¡¸Well, no one said this was going to be easy.¡¹
¡¸If only it was kind enough to be a little more conventional with its unpredictability.¡¹
Judging from the scale of the st it wouldn¡¯t have done all that much damage even if it had hit her directly but it was better to be safe than and not eat the brunt of an attack that carries the possibility of infecting its targets when it¡¯s not disadvantageous to do so.
¡¸Eh?¡¹
Just as Mio had submerged herself deep in thought, reconsidering their game n now that it was all to clear their initial one had fallen t on its face, she happened to take notice of somethingpletely out of left field, dragging her right back to reality.
¡¸Mako, watch your feet!¡¹
The timeg between the newly acquired piece of information being fully processed and then vocalized in the form of a warning call was no longer than a split second. Makoto didn¡¯t take her sweet time mulling over the specifics as she sprung towards Mio¡¯s general direction without a moment¡¯s thought.
¡¸Woah.¡¹
¡¸Yeesh.¡¹
The attack was so underhanded that the two¡¯s immediate reactions were limited to exmations. However, there wasn¡¯t any time to dwell on the matter as its rain of attacks had yet to die down.
¡¸I don¡¯t care even if it¡¯ll do no damage just keep trying to scorch it, I¡¯ll try to divert its attention as best as I can!¡¹
¡¸Alright!¡¹
Mio, in ordance to Makoto¡¯s suggestions, began putting pressure on the slime mold by casting everyday-use ignition magic. Although it was only as potent as any old match or lighter it¡¯s me was magically imbued and, as such, much more effective than the torch Makoto was taking pot shots at the creature with.
¡¸Mako, it¡¯s working!¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. Unless we cane up with any better alternatives we¡¯re running with attrition warfare for now.¡¹
If it works, it works, no point in discarding a perfectly viable strategy, when squeezing it to the limit will result in victory, even if it would take as long as for Hiroshi to down Doul in a one v one with a wooden practice sword, using only basic attacks. The one saving grace was that the fully burnt through areas would at least cease regenerating for good.
¡¸Well, this isn¡¯t looking good!¡¹
Makoto shouted out upon realizing that the creature was cornering them noticeably faster than they were able to whittle it down. Although the burnt areas would cease regenerating, the remaining areas would keep continuously expanding. This meant that, although they had the resources to finish it off eventually, dealing with the creatures increasingly intense barrage of attacks would prove to be close to an impossible endeavor.
¡¸Not much I can do about that.¡¹
¡¸All¡¯s good. Actually,e to think of it, do we have any items that¡¯ll get us get out of this mess!?¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t think of any on the spot, would you mind being more specific?¡¹
¡¸Like, say, a firestone!¡¹
Makoto shouted out the novice level item¡¯s name in an epiphany, while keeping the slime mold at bay with her sheathed sword in one hand and torch in the other. This took Mio aback as the item¡¯s, which she had gotten to intimately acquaint herself with through the process of teaching the crafting ropes to all of the neers, very existence hadpletely slipped her mind,
¡¸We¡¯ve got more than enough!¡¹
¡¸Make it rain, girl! I¡¯d do it myself but I¡¯ve got my hands full right now!¡¹
¡¸Alright!¡¹
She beganbing through the non-warehoused consumable section of the bag, rounding up as many as she could find. She then flung them into the air, making sure none of their explosive radius intersects with Makoto, and set them off all at once.
¡¸Attagirl!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s working!¡¹
The effectiveness was in to see ¨C the slime mold that had, just moments ago,pletely cornered them, were now bubbling in mes. This barrage of close to a hundred fire stones was enough to thin out eighty percent of the parasitic fungi but it wasn¡¯t quite enough topletelyy waste to them.
¡¸Do we got any left over!?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re out!¡¹
¡¸We were *this* close!¡¹
While they did technically seed in turning the tides the remaining twenty percent had already begun the reproduction process all over again and some of that percent was partiallyposed from slime mold that had cheated death by squirming their way up to the ceiling, leaving the two in a terrible strategic position.
(There has to be something we can use, there just has to!)
Since one of the least powerful items proved to be perfectly effective, there must be something else that can achieve a simr effect. What if we were to say, light up some magically imbued oil or alcohol, would that do the trick?
¡¸Mako the slime mold it¡¯s-¡¹
¡¸I know, I know.¡¹
Just as a brilliant idea had dinged in her mind, the remaining congregation of parasitic fungi had begun piling on top of one another, forming a giant mushroom.
¡¸Just because they¡¯ve formed one big entity that doesn¡¯t mean physical attacks are going to be any less ineffective!¡¹
¡¸Most likely.¡¹
¡¸Buy me some time, I¡¯ve got an idea.¡¹
¡¸Will do!¡¹
Mio, realizing that the end was in sight, responded with an excited quiver in her voice while nocking a bunch of magically ignited arrows.
¡¸Arrow volley!¡¹
The barrage of arrows encircled the mushroom monstrosity in a circle of scorching mes that, while not all that damaging, effectively stunned the thing for a few good seconds due to its natural aversion to fire.
¡¸The pure, untainted girleen inside of me is begging me to reconsider what I¡¯m about to do.¡¹
Those few precious seconds were not wasted as Makoto pulled out a consecrated bottle of dwarf ughterer that was once to serve as a tribute to the gods.
¡¸s poor yorick, I knew you well.¡¹
Makoto, with bottle in hand, made sure to check if the torch in her other hand was still breathing, turned towards the mushroom monstrosity and stared it down with a glint in her eye.
¡¸May your honorable sacrifice not be in vain!¡¹
She pronounced with a renewed vigor in her voice right before filling her oral cavity with sake to its maximum capacity. The sake, which would ignite from merely being in close proximity to a fire source, sloshed around in her mouth, letting the taste spread to the farthest reaches. She dumped out whatever was left in the bottle and brought the torch to mouth level, all while ignoring the overwhelming temptation to gulp down the sake. Making sure to spray and not spit it out she unleashes the contents of her mouth in one fell swoop.
¡¸Mako, I don¡¯t mean to say this but isn¡¯t that going a little¡ too far?¡¹
Makoto¡¯s vocal admission of guilt in having effectively shafted whatever dregs ofdylike dignity remained inside of her wasn¡¯t enough to deter Mio from finding the whole act to be unsettling. The giant mushroom monstrosity was promptly enveloped in an impressive showing of mes, as would be expected from a sake that¡¯s almost one hundred percent alcohol content.
As Mio stared on in a detached state of mind the creature would be quickly reduced to ash. Although her subconscious need to get sloshed almost reared its ugly head due to the fragrant smell that had impregnated the room, she seeded in showing it right back down.
¡¸Well, now that that¡¯s over with, let¡¯s scrape together whatever we can find and keep moving.¡¹
¡¸Sounds like a n. What is this used for?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re better off asking sensei.¡¹
If there was anyone who could, despite all the odds, find a use for any old piece of junk it was Hiroshi.
¡¸How much are we nning to shoulder?¡¹
¡¸I think we could fit that entire thing in there.¡¹
The two had gone back to their natural, rxed states as though they hadn¡¯t just barely scraped by back there by the skin of their teeth.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi and Artiem, who have yet to get caught up in any boss encounter.
¡¸Oh boyo.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m feeling a bit queasy.¡¹
¡¸Welp, ¡¯tis a boss room after all.¡¹
The two voiced their immediate impressionsing upon a room with a miasma density as thick as the one exuded by Bdor¡¯s final form.
¡¸This one¡¯s going to be a lot stronger than that giant smander we just downed, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t see how it wouldn¡¯t.¡¹
An ufortable reality gradually set in as the two carried on with their conversation. The creature they had just namedropped was a boss in its own right who¡¯s regenerative abilities essentially functioned as a mini dps check, one which Hiroshi cleared with flying colors through the use of his signature smash n¡¯ smitebo that fractured its neck bones right before delivering a fatal blow to the head, sttering its brain into a million little pieces. All of this in the span of mere seconds. As a dps check it wasn¡¯t too challenging since it had low hp and resist values which is what made the encounter y out the way that it did.
At first Hiroshi tried aiming for one of its limbs, which he cleanly hacked off. The creature didn¡¯t even try to hide its regenerative ability as it grew back in an instant right in front of their eyes, which is what got him to resort to his highest damage single target abilitybo. If he had still been using a hatchet and hadn¡¯t acquired smite it had a very real possibility of cheesing the entire encounter by just whittling them down, slowly but surely, but s.
¡¸Instead a makin¡¯ any hasty calls, how ¡¯bout we wait for the rest of our party to catch up?¡¹
¡¸Sounds like a n.¡¹
¡¸¡¯Member that limb I hacked off earlier? How¡¯d you feel about giving that a shot?¡¹
¡¸Just a bite.¡¹
It was around three pm ¨C the perfect time for a light snack. Having been in a constant state of motion for quite some time now, they were feeling a bit peckish, so they went ahead and feasted on what most wouldn¡¯t even consider food, by any stretch of the imagination, without much qualms.
Volume 2, 8 Part 1
Volume 2, Chapter 8 Part 1
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
£¨Y-you did what?!!!£©
Haruna shrieked in response to Hiroshi¡¯s news. The noise was so shrill that Tatsuya, who was standing right beside her, flinched back from the resulting buzzing in his ears.
£¨Haruna, would ya mind keepin¡¯ it down a bit?£©
£¨I-I¡¯m so sorry.£©
£¨It¡¯s Hiro¡¯sck of tact at fault here, not you.£©
Tatsuya didn¡¯t waste any time sticking up for Haruna who had begun instinctively apologizing. Taking a step back to process the situation from a distance her reaction wasn¡¯t at all unreasonable, especially when considering how their own boss encounter went down.
£¨What are you up to now?£©
£¨Busted through a fewyers of walls and found ourselves a neat ce to settle down for the time bein¡¯.£©
£¨d to hear.£©
Haruna and Tatsuya let out a sigh in relief hearing that Hiroshi used somemon sense for once in his life by not going in guns zing. Granted he wasn¡¯t *that* far gone but, based on the dungeons core design, it wouldn¡¯t have been too far a stretch of the imagination to believe that they might¡¯ve gotten forced into an encounter with no way of pulling out until the dust had settled.
The dungeon wasn¡¯t all too cool with idly sitting around for any much longer than ten minutes at a time, at which point it¡¯d take matters into its own hands by physically shoving people along the path. Based on this knowledge alone, the notion of itpelling someone to make a stand or die trying wasn¡¯t all that unrealistic.
£¨Stay put for the time being, I can feel us getting closer and closer to the core as we speak.£©
£¨Aye, will do. Makoto, Mio, how are things lookin¡¯ up for ya?£©
£¨Same here.£©
£¨They¡¯re barely in range but I¡¯ve managed to pick up on Haru¡¯s and Tatsu¡¯s signals.£©
£¨Would ya look at that, we¡¯ll be back together in no time.£©
£¨If all goes well.£©
Compared to how the dungeon run had kicked off, things were looking up for them. The one aspect that they did find a tiny bit regrettable, was how they had used up all of the fire stones they had in stock but, really, what¡¯s the point of a consumable if they¡¯re treated like a collectible? They could always just cobble together another batch should the need arise.
£¨Don¡¯t mean ta be a stick in the mud or anythin¡¯ but I¡¯d very much appreciate it if you could pick up the pace a little, I¡¯m not sure how long it¡¯ll let us camp out here like this.£©
£¨We¡¯re well aware.£©
£¨That Bein¡¯ said, due to the dungeon bein¡¯ in a state of perpetual change, we may get close to one another but take a lil¡¯ while to converge. Us bein¡¯ a decent distance from the final boss room be the one savin¡¯ grace, it can¡¯t exert its full power over us.£©
£¨Although even that¡¯s not gonnast for long as the walls are already getting¡¯ too thick to bust through. Worst case scenario we could try ta stand our ground as long as we can but that might prove too taxin¡¯ for Artiem to handle.£©
Hiroshi wasn¡¯t too keen on the idea of being forced into taking on thest boss all by themselves. Granted Artiem¡¯sbat ability wasn¡¯t insufficient by any means but stat wise she wasn¡¯t quite on par with the rest of the group. That alone wasn¡¯t all too damning but whenbined with the fact that the dungeon¡¯s roster of monsters were, on the whole, a terrible matchup for bow users. Assuming that the final boss was to follow this established pattern there was a high possibility that she¡¯d remain useless throughout the entire encounter.
£¨Not much we can do there, you¡¯ll have to bear through it, somehow.£©
£¨Was expectin¡¯ as much.£©
With that Haruna and Tatsuya, who were in constant motion throughout the whole thing, left the conversation so that they may concentrate more of their conscious awareness to their surroundings. The situation was looking less and less favorable as time went on, and not in the cutesy sense that Haruna had initially feared, but in a very real possibility of them not making out in one piece.
¡¸How¡¯s your mana reserve?¡¹
¡¸As full as it¡¯ll ever be.¡¹
¡¸Are you down to get a bit dangerous?¡¹
¡¸The situation calls for it, I¡¯m down.¡¹
Even the voice of reason understood that the situation was either do or die.
¡¸But before that, we¡¯ve got one pressing issue on our hands.¡¹
Tatsuya grunted while staring down the fork in the road. This favored technique of the dungeon¡¯s didn¡¯t serve much purpose besides buying it a very miniscule amount of time, and to see that it was still up to its old tricks thiste into the game was discouraging to say the least.
¡¸Guessing which one of these will get us to our destination faster?¡¹
¡¸Bingo.¡¹
Although all paths were bound to lead to the final boss room, the fact that there was more than one was indicative of one being faster than the other. The only way they could estimate which was which was through the vague feel of which had the higher miasma concentration, and even then that would only result in ballparking.
¡¸I¡¯m sorry to say but trying to make an ¡®informed¡¯ decision here is aplete waste of time.¡¹
Harunapletely abandoned any notion of thoroughly chewing through the options presented in front of them and followed her intuition by moving towards the one with a denser miasma concentration. This self-assured instantaneous decision making of hers left Tatsuya scurrying to keep up.
¡¸What do you mean by that?¡¹
¡¸We could be spending that time moving towards the objective, which seems a lot more logically sound than stopping to consider our options when it¡¯s going to result in glorified guesswork anyways.¡¹
¡¸Acting in the immediate context is more productive than considering all the trivial details, huh?¡¹
¡¸Something like that.¡¹
They had no time to spare and, as such, standing around in one ce for an extended period of time, when they could be on the move on, was generally a bad idea. Haruna¡¯s intuition had kicked into full gear by her being forced to act in a high pressure environment, which made her a lot more rational than she wasing into the run.
¡¸A mob¡¯s right ahead of us, that must mean we chose correctly.¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t want to find ourselves being chased down to the boss room, so we¡¯d better try and deal with any mobs along the way in as little time and wasting as little resources as possible.¡¹
¡¸Makes sense.¡¹
Tatsuya agreed to Haruna¡¯s proposal and promptly began cooking up a grand napalm to dispose of the horde of rats positioned in front of them.
Meanwhile, Makoto and Mio.
¡¸Over here.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
The two barely exchanged any words as they briskly progressed towards their destination by piggy backing off of Mio¡¯s detection ability. They consciously avoided the paths littered with encounters by taking the longer ones and making up for any lost time by picking up their pace.
¡¸This one¡¯s really long isn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll get there faster this way.¡¹
¡¸Even if we were able to clear out any encounter with a single ability?¡¹
¡¸Are your major damaging abilities spammable enough to be back up right after every single encounter?¡¹
Makoto replied with a tacit silence to Mio¡¯s no nonsense reality check.
¡¸How¡¯s our progress?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re getting closer.¡¹
¡¸What about the uing fork?¡¹
¡¸This one¡¯s mob free.¡¹
Mio responded by pointing towards the left hand path. Makoto nodded and the two progressed down said path without any second thoughts.
¡¸Can you track the others¡¯ locations?¡¹
¡¸Sensei¡¯s location¡¯s, hmm¡Ah, there we go, they¡¯re to our right, rtively speaking. Haruna¡¯s group is to our left. They¡¯re both maintaining a simr pace to us with asional stops along the way to, presumably, deal with random encounters.¡¹
As they made their way through a sharp curve the floor¡¯s moss texture abruptly shifted.
¡¸Mio?¡¹
¡¸The space around us is has changed, it¡¯s likely we¡¯ve been warped.¡¹
¡¸How¡¯s the miasma density ahead?¡¹
¡¸Denser than here.¡¹
The whole situation was eerily simr to how they got caught up in the previous boss counter. If that did, in fact, prove to be the case it would mean that they¡¯d, once again, have problems discerning their rtive location. Worst case scenario they¡¯d have to buckle down for yet another boss encounter.
¡¸Well, if there¡¯s no way back we may as well get a move on.¡¹
¡¸Allow me to feel around for traps before you go and do that.¡¹
After stopping Makoto dead in her tracks Mio began gently feeling around the room with her ol¡¯ reliable ten foot pole, meticulously going through every nook and cranny.
¡¸This one spot feels fishy, I¡¯ll try giving it a good prod so keep your eyes peeled.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
Having informed Makoto of this observation Mio proceeded to do just as she stated. The space around the area had begun wriggling, as though the dungeon itself was writhing in pain. Had they walked into it all willy nilly it likely wouldn¡¯t have ended well for them.
¡¸Took it long enough to bring out a trap.¡¹
¡¸The dungeon must be at witt¡¯s end.¡¹
Had they been in the midst of all that chaos it surely would have spelled disaster. The two grimaced at the sight of such a trap. Although their method of getting around was unconventional, by most standards, it was almost a miracle how Hiroshi¡¯s group managed to arrive at their destination without any simr hitches along the way.
¡¸What now?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll make it cry.¡¹
¡¸Do your thing, girl.¡¹
Makoto¡¯s only real choice here was to leave everything in the hands of Mio, who was much more experienced in trap rted matters. That being said, not wanting to beplete dead weight to the party, shezored in her focus on thoroughly scanning through the environment. ording to Haruna¡¯s party the dungeon¡¯s walls were impervious to any conventional fire magic.
This, and many other factors, really begged the question of how Hiroshi was even able to get away with his unconventional approach to begin with. The answer to that question was multifaceted; Although he wasn¡¯t able to use it, the extra skill he had acquired back in Fane had a passive effect which, inbination with all other sources, would¡¯ve put his strength stat in the lower four digits. That, paired with his weapon of choice excelling in environmental destruction and having a novice level damage buff applied to it to top it all off, would likely produce enough force to bust through a wall or two. Well there was also the fact that his weapon was made out of magically imbued metal, which also probably had something to do with it.
Since he was using a low attack speed weapon with a weak novice level buff his overall dps was below average at best but his ability to maintain top dps throughout an extended fight was nearly unparalleled, rivalled by only the most hardcore of yers. No longer was his damage output against trash pitiablyughable, although he still struggled greatly with mobs above a certain threshold.
Makoto¡¯s own strength was nothing to scoff at either as it was on par with some of the more casual no-lifers, which meant that, given a blunt weapon is used, she could break through a stone wall without breaking a sweat. This case was a bit different as, judging from the feedback gained from taking a light swing at the wall, it was highly unlikely that her stats were high enough to get away with Hiroshi¡¯s approach, even if she was to have a go at it with his weapon of choice.
(Didn¡¯t I have better things to think about than some walls?)
Makoto refocused her derailing train of thought in an attempt to take in as much sensory information around her as humanly possible. Within her fov Mio could be seen fiddling around with her bow.
(If regr magic won¡¯t cut it would purification magic or something of the sort do the trick?)
Makoto reached this conclusion just as Mio got done firing off some arrows towards the path. Due to this interference of hers the path forward was already effectively shut off for good.
¡¸Can I try something?¡¹
¡¸Go ahead.¡¹
Having received Mio¡¯s explicit permission Makoto stuffed down a piece of cloth down the same bottle of dwarf ughterer used earlier, soaked up whatever dregs of it had remained, lit it on fire and hurled it right in.¡±
¡¸Ooh, wow.¡¹
¡¸The me¡¯s huge.¡¹
No matter what they tried, be it fire arrows or torches, it had no effect whatsoever but now that whole section was engulfed in a fiery inferno of mes.
¡¸Mako, didn¡¯t that just make things worse?¡¹
¡¸Well I expected as much.¡¹
Makoto just told it how it was without much care for keeping up appearances. Since that had ended in failure and they had nothing to lose she built up to resolve to try out the other idea she had in mind.
¡¸Bull Impact!¡¹
She swung down her unsheathed long sword, using an intermediate level impact ability, with all her might right at the ground, which was wriggling like a fish fresh out of water. The moment they made contact a massive crack ran through the floor, which spread through to the walls and even the ceiling.
¡¸It copsed.¡¹
¡¸That seems to have calmed it down a notch.¡¹
The ceiling had copsed under its own weight following the crack, taking some sections of the walls along with it and physically preventing the floor from wriggling any longer. The mes had spread much further than was expected, allowing them to get a nice view of the wide open area that stretched beyond the boundaries of the walls.
¡¸It seems to have died out.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s still a little hot.¡¹
¡¸Nothing we can¡¯t handle.¡¹
Mio agreed after checking up on the newly opened up area¡¯s temperature and, pulled out her ten foot pole and began cautiously moving along.
¡¸What¡¯s our rtive location?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ve gotten much closer to sensei¡¯s group thanks to the warping, although I¡¯m not sure if we should be happy about that or not.¡¹
¡¸Why¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸When I checked in on them previously they were a fair distance apart from the core but now they¡¯re right next to it.¡¹
The realization came almost immediately. It appeared as though their biggest worry hade to life.
¡¸We better get a move on!¡¹
¡¸Right behind you!¡¹
Mio responded with a shout of her own and sprinted straight towards the higher miasma density path. Contrary to their expectations it would end up taking a good while before all three groups got back together, although without ess to the power of hindsight the two had no way of knowing at the time and, as such, focused their attention entirely on getting to the final boss room as quickly as possible.
Volume 2, 8 Part 2
Volume 2, Chapter 8 Part 2
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
At around the same time that Haruna¡¯s group were out and about, frantically scurrying to reach the boss room, Hiroshi¡¯s group was about to be unpleasantly surprised by what the dungeon had in store for them.
¡¸Somethin¡¯s not right ¡®ere.¡¹
¡¸I wasn¡¯t the only one.¡¹
It was eerily quiet for a good while now, despite the dungeon making it abundantly clear that it was going to ensure no one stuck around one single spot for any longer than ten minutes, no matter the cost. Up until now their n of action was to just smash through the nearest section of wall that lead away from the boss room. It took a while but the dungeon eventually took notice and began adapting to their tactic by gradually increasing the thickness of the walls in order to make them less prable and by adding other cute little gimmicks such as a mechanism that released a cloud of spores, asionally gas, uponing in contact with a foreign object.
Just as they had begun thinking this approach of theirs wasn¡¯t going to fly for much longer, they were met with this unsettling uneventfulness. It has already been over twenty minutes since they settled down in their current location yet it waspletely radio silent.
¡¸Ya never know what might happen, we¡¯d best be prepared for the wor-¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi picked up on a cause for immediate concern halfway through his sentence.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re hightailin¡¯ it right outta here!¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸Faster, woman!¡¹
Artiem hesitatingly followed suit,pletely bewildered by Hiroshi¡¯s abrupt reaction. The dungeon, however, would not be letting them off the hook that easily.
¡¸The ground i-it¡¯s!¡¹
¡¸Drat!¡¹
Before they were able to make their way out of the room the ground had transformed into a gloopy mess closely replicating the qualities of quicksand. Even though Hiroshi had a knack for getting out of sticky situations, there was very little he could do being knee deep in said gtinous soup. The two, beingpletely stuck and out of options, passively watched on as the dungeon sluggishly ferried them over to its desired destination.
¡¸H-Hiroshi I-I.¡¹
¡¸Hold the phone. We¡¯ll have all the time in the world to lose our minds after all¡¯s said and done, right now we should be in the business of preservin¡¯ our energy.¡¹
¡¸R-roger that!¡¹
Before they knew it the room around them had shifted into one of a muchrger size and the goop they had grown familiar with had devolved into a noxious liquid-like substance.
¡¸What a time to be alive!¡¹
Hiroshi muttered sarcastically as he noticed how Artiem had begun sumbing to the poison at an rmingly fast rate. judging by how long they¡¯ve been afloat, it wouldn¡¯t be too long ¡¯till the effects of the all-purpose potion had ran their course. Luckily for them they had reached the final destination, upon which the water level began dramatically dropping, before their concern had the opportunity to manifest itself in reality. Hiroshi took action to assure Artiem¡¯s safety without a moment¡¯s dy by dragging her ashore, all while simultaneously shielding her against an intense current and assuaging his haphephobia. He then made sure to apply immediate treatment via the use of an all-purpose potion, among others. Once that was done and over with, he turned his gaze towards the source of the miasma.
¡¸As expected, the final boss¡¯s a tree, ain¡¯t ¡®e?¡¹
The towering tree stood there, menacingly, enshrouded in a thick aura of miasma.
¡¸Hiroshi.¡¹
¡¸Ya go find a nice remote spot and take a breather, I¡¯ll take care a this.¡¹
Hiroshi preemptively cut off Artiem¡¯s attempt at pulling herself back up, with the help of a poleaxe, and took up position right in front of her, in case of any uing attacks. The fact that the potions they had on hand only went up as far as ss five,bined with the remarkably potent poison carried by the noxious liquid, meant that the lingeringplications resulting from the poison damage received wouldpletely immobilize her for at least an hour. Although, unlike Elena, she¡¯d likely make a full recovery after one or two days, so whether or not that¡¯d fall under the definition of ¡®lingeringplications¡¯ was debatable.
Although he could be seen trembling due to the ominous air around the boss, that was more of an auto triggering fight or flight response than anything else. Compared to Bdor¡¯s final attack, the state of arousal he was in at the moment was nowhere near the same level. If we were to go a step further and put it up against the sense of primeval dread instilled at the mention of chocte, it really was no big deal.
¡¸Welp, guess it¡¯s time ta see which one a us kicks the bucket first.¡¹
The corrupted Ent sprung into action just as Hiroshi had finished delivering his hearty war cry. This marked the beginning of Hiroshi¡¯s final stand.
£¨Haruna things are looking really bad!£©
Makoto sent out a distress call to Haruna at around the same time that Hiroshi had thrown down the gauntlet.
£¨Makoto? Please, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s what it think it is.£©
£¨ording to Mio, Hiroshi¡¯s signal has ovepped with the core!£©
A cold sweat ran down Haruna¡¯s back as she received confirmation that her worst fear had turned into a reality.
£¨Have you made any progress?£©
£¨We¡¯ve been stuck in a perpetual warping loop for quite a while now! We¡¯re currently fumbling about for a way out of this godforsaken loop!£©
£¨You two as well? That thing *really* doesn¡¯t want us getting together, it appears.£©
While it took Haruna¡¯s team around fifteen minutes, give or take, to catch on, Mio managed to single handedly achieve the same exact result in under a minute. Their overall times, in the grand scheme of thing, bnced out almost perfectly, due to how the former beat out thetter in getting to the trap by a longshot.
£¨In that case, we may as well brute force our way through the walls and meet up that way.£©
£¨You can do that?£©
£¨I¡¯ve got something in mind, more or less.£©
Makoto retold the story of how they had made quick work of a certain trap just moments prior. This sparked them to brainstorm a more creative application of the same general idea.
£¨What if we were to set it off with hellfire sanctum?£©
£¨That doesn¡¯t sound half bad.£©
£¨Mio deary, how far apart are we?£©
£¨Around one hundred meters if we were to move along a straight line north-northwest.£©
£¨Alright.£©
They had packed a total of ten bottles of dwarf ughterer for this run, one of which had already been used up. If they were to use up all those nine life lines, their state of affairs would take an immediate for the worse.
Before they could try their luck at seeding within the given limitations they first had to puzzle together the optimal way of going about doing so. ording to Mio, so long as they
aimed in the general direction of the core, there was no chance the two of them would be caught in the crossfire. Thus the trial and error and session had begun.
¡¸How about we first try setting it against the wall and make it go boom?¡¹
¡¸Fair enough.¡¹
Haruna popped open the cap, gently set the bottle against the wall and hightailed it out of there. Mere momentster Tatsuya¡¯s hellfire sanctum went off.
¡¸Not bad, not bad at all, although it could still use some work.¡¹
¡¸We could always try aerosolizing it, or possibly just going down the molotov route.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll put up a barrier to suspend the droplets but the rest is in your hands.¡¹
¡¸You can count on me.¡¹
Haruna had learned a certain type of magic in her potion brewing sses which allowed her to manipte liquids in a multitude of ways. She transferred the beverage over to the barrier and, through sheer force of will, aerosolized it. The resulting smell was so intense that it had momentarily bled through the barrier,pletely obscuring their vision for the entire duration. Once it wore off
¡¸Hellfire sanctum!¡¹
Tatsuya, with great vigor, localized his cast of hellfire sanctum within the confines of the barrier. The resulting explosion cleanly sted through the walls, creating a reasonably sized passageway connecting the two parties.
¡¸We did it.¡¹
¡¸We sure did.¡¹
The two exchanged a quick, satisfied nod and began making their way over to the other side. They had to move swiftly as the walls could begin reforming at any moment.
£¨How¡¯d it go?£©
£¨The path¡¯s been cleared. Where are you two?£©
£¨The very moment your explosion went off the space around us distorted, discing us further further apart from one another.£©
£¨Is the loop still in effect?£©
£¨We¡¯re about to find out.£©
It appeared as though the dungeon wasn¡¯t going down without a fight, not that further hammering down that point changed their gamen in any substantial way.
£¨We¡¯ll be making our way down that hole as well.£©
£¨Gotcha. If we did happen to get caught up in yet another loop, well, we¡¯ll think of something.£©
£¨Roger!£©
Having decided on their n of action they wasted no time in putting it into action. Although their decisiveness was praiseworthy, they still had a long journey ahead them.
¡¸Wan¡¯ a piece of me? Come get sum!¡¹
Hiroshi pulled all the aggro away from Artiem, in arge aoe radius, meaning that not only was the final boss out for his blood but all of the adds as well.
¡¸Take a bloody hike, will ya?¡¹
He cleared out all the hunter trees within attack range of Artiem without forgetting to mix in some trash talk for good measure. Whether or not the adds would respawn was anybody¡¯s guess, what was clear, however, is that the threat they posed had to be dealt with immediately.
¡¸Don¡¯t think I forgot ¡¯bout you lot!¡¹
He moved down three more adds in melee range and leapt back to Artiem¡¯s side. He made sure to sever their roots in case to prevent the hunter trees from regrowing. Whether or not the conventional approach would do the trick in this instance was a shot in the dark at best but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially considering that he was in it for the long haul.
He greeted any iing vines and branches, who were all to eager to grapple him, with the sharp edge of a de and bodyblocked all the leaves they sted his way, asionally moving out of position to kill of a few adds as he saw fit. His opponent being stationary proved to be a double edged sword.
(¡®Tis aplete deadlock, although what was I really expectin¡¯ to ¡®appen)
Their attacks weren¡¯t all too difficult to handle as a result but, at the same time, this also meant that Hiroshi wouldn¡¯t be able to get in any attacks of his own so long as Artiem was there. His threat generation was on point, the thing preventing him from leaving Artiem¡¯s side was a critical case of ¡®what if¡¯ syndrome.
The corrupted ent¡¯s attacks were noughing matter to anyone but Hiroshi, who¡¯d take close to no damage from any one of its attacks unarmored and even then his hp regen would likely outscale its dps. That being said, the fact that he¡¯d take any damage whatsoever, when his defence ability unarmored was equal to that of a fully decked out knight, was plenty a cause for concern for squishy characters, namely Artiem.
That being the case, he had no other choice but to stay in ce and take the beating on the chin.
¡¸I could try bein¡¯ more aggressive ¡®ere, if not for those god forsaken adds.¡¹
He grumbled as the adds were slowly chipping away at his sanity. Damage wise their attacks were child¡¯s y, the resulting sensation of pain was anything but. Having been through this torment for a prolonged period of time would be enough to bring any man to their witt¡¯s end. That being said Hiroshi had no intention of caving in to the pain, although he was most certainly going to be a bit salty about the whole thing. He had long forgone any thought of blocking every single attacking his way, resorting to only dealing with those that posed a danger to Artiem¡¯s well being.
The closest add was seven feet away, just barely outside the range of Cover ¨C a quintessential ability for any tank worth their salt. In spite of that Hiroshi hadn¡¯t really gotten around to levelling all that much as he couldn¡¯t bear the thought of potentially leaving a party member exposed by ident during throughout the training process. That being said, he did manage to get it up to seven feet, which was a massive stridepared to the initial three feet range he had to work up from. Given the situation, this ability was his bread and butter.
(Fallin¡¯ back on throwin¡¯ weapons would seem to be the right call here, only problem is that pomey¡¯s are off the table and I¡¯ve only gots three throwin¡¯ axes ¡¯till I run dry. Knive¡¯s me got plenty but theyck the oomph ta inflict any real damage, not to mention the fact that they might just get swatted outta the air before even makin¡¯ contact. My best bet here is to just try an¡¯ knock one of those fers out cold with the throwin¡¯ axes I¡¯ve got on hand, a shame that¡¯s about as far as my struggle¡¯ll get me.)
He entertained the idea of just screwing everything and pulling out one of those ginormous pomeys but it remained just that ¨C an idea. If it were to get flung back at them it¡¯d be noughing matter and the chances of that urring were really high so long as the adds remained on the field.
¡¸May as well give it a shot, got nothin¡¯ to lose.¡¹
After being wailed on for a solid thirty minutes, he had finally built up the resolve to put one of his ideas into action by aggressively slicing through the surrounding branches with renewed vigor. Using this bought time he swiftly reached for the throwing axes safely secured in his waist bag, put every enchant on them he had at his disposal, and began hurling them at the furthermost add one by one. The first axe sunk its teeth into one if its roots, exploding shortly thereafter and chunking arge portion of its trunk. The second one finished off the job while the third and final one had its sights set on the one right next to it.
He noticed that the axes did a lot more damage than he had initially expected, which lead him to believe that knives might just do the trick after all. He took out a handful of them, repeated the same enchanting process and flung them at the half-dead add. A wall of branches managed to absorb a few of them, before being promptly blown to smithereens, allowing the remaining knives to pass through without a hitch and eat away at what little had been left of its trunk.
¡¸I¡¯ve done all I could.¡¹
A total of seven adds still remained on the field but now that all his long range damage sources had dried up, it was back to square one. Hiroshi, in hindsight, deeply regretted opting to learn minor heal in ce of magic bullet ¨C an instant cast, unaspected magic ability. The adds got a lot more aggro after losing some of their buddies, preventing Hiroshi from taking out anything that¡¯d do even the slighest bit of damage.
¡¸H-Hiroshi!¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m fain, worry ¡¯bout yerself instead, a¡¯ight?¡¹
¡¸I-I¡¯m so sorry.¡¹
¡¸What ye be apoligizin¡¯ for? It¡¯s not like ye could¡¯ve done anythin¡¯ differently so quit frettin¡¯ ye little head over this and get some re-¡¹
Hiroshi had mysteriously vanished into thin air before getting the chance toplete his sentence. As she was busy processing what had just happened, Artiem got shoved all the way back to the wall, where she caught a glimpse of Hiroshi, which was all fine and good except for the fact that¡
¡¸Hiroshi!!!¡¹
He had been impaled by one of the corrupt ent¡¯s massive roots.
Volume 2, 8 Part 3
Volume 2, Chapter 8 Part 3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
Frowning to this quick answer, Douga continued:
¡¸Can you negate that kind of poison?¡¹
¡¸Depends, but I could take care of most poisons out there. Unless it¡¯s toote for that. I could use an All-purpose Potion, but I gotta go far for the ingredients, and our equipment¡¯s a little shotty, and like I said, if it¡¯s toote for it, negatin¡¯ the poison won¡¯t do a thing.¡¹
¡¸Hm. How about an illness?¡¹
¡¸Same goes. I¡¯ll have to hear the symptoms and check it out for myself, but I could cure most. Now any kind of after effect for an disease or a poison is free game. I can¡¯t say how that¡¯ll turn out until I see ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
After pondering for a moment, Douga got up and prepared to leave.
¡¸Where are you going?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m going to pop in at the Association.¡¹
With that, he changed his appearance with the magical item, and swiftly walked out, leaving Aearis and Rayna behind.
¡¸So, y¡¯all know what he was talkin¡¯ about?¡¹
¡¸¡Elena hasn¡¯t been feeling well for a long time, now¡¡¹
¡¸The court doctor and magician couldn¡¯t figure it out?¡¹
¡¸Yes. They said she has a mysterious illness, but¡¡¹
¡¸We can¡¯t be too sure ¡®til I hear her symptoms and take a look at her.¡¹
Hiroshi pointed, out and Aearis nodded, and began to list the symptoms as much as she could remember. Most were shared by many illness, but¡
¡¸Tremors in her hands and feet, and phantom pains, huh? Does Princess Elena dine with everyone else?¡¹
¡¸Since about a week before her symptoms started appearing, she was always alone, except for lunch. It was in part because everyone in the family had a varying schedule.¡¹
¡¸How ¡®bout you, Elle?¡¹
¡¸I usually eat at the Temple, and eat the same things as the other priests there¡¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. Do the tasters rotate?¡¹
¡¸Yes. We have their body and conditions to consider, and to ensure there are no mistakes, there are four tasters at a time, in a differentbination of members, each time.¡¹
¡¸No one else has her symptoms?¡¹
¡¸No.¡¹
With this much information, Hiroshi was sure.
¡¸It¡¯s poison.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re sure?¡¹
¡¸There is a disease that cause simr symptoms. But, the only way to get infected is bein¡¯ scratched by a Marjin Rat. And once it infects a human, it spreads like wildfire, so a bunch a people would have been showin¡¯ symptoms. It¡¯s only got a long incubation period for the first infected person. Besides, she would have healed on her own in two weeks without any treatment or nothin¡¯. So, it¡¯s poison. No shred of doubt.¡¹
¡¸Can you make an antidote for it?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, no problem. The thing is, I gotta use ingredients that spoil fast. Can¡¯t make it right away.¡¹
Even with their Rotproof enchantment, they didn¡¯t have arge stock for all materials. Obscure materials required for potions, especially, weren¡¯t easy to get a hold of, even in Wulls, the trade port of the west.
¡¸How long¡¯s it been since her first symptom popped up?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see¡ Almost a month, I believe. It had at least been two weeks when we were trapped by Piaranork.¡¹
¡¸Was it pretty dumb goofin¡¯ ¡®round here like this?¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t say that¡¡¹
¡¸Guess ya wouldn¡¯t.¡¹
In reality, even with his track record of crafting therge amount of antidotes, there was no way that they woulde to a no-name adventurer about this. It should take two weeks or so for them to go through everyone with the appropriate credentials. Even without the Piaranork incident, it would have taken them just as long to get to and interview Hiroshi and Haruna as it took for Aearis and her party to wake up and get to this point. It was a marginal difference.
¡¸Well, we can¡¯t do much until Uncle Doules back. What do you want to do?¡¹
¡¸Sun¡¯s gettin¡¯ high. Why don¡¯t we whip up another taste of ol¡¯ Japan?¡¹
Hearing this, Aearis¡¯ expression brightened for a change.
¡¸What are you going to make?¡¹
¡¸Pork, squid, shrimp, beef tenderloin, cabbage, flour, and sweet potato. You can do the math from there, can¡¯t ya?¡¹
Hiroshi responded to Tatsuya with a list of ingredients. A man from Osaka could only be prepping for one dish with thatbination of ingredients. Needless to say, both the pork and beef were produced from an animal that taste simr, since they didn¡¯t have the same kind of animals here as they did on Earth. The ¡°pigs¡± of Fane, especially, didn¡¯t produce muchrd nor broth from its bones (it didn¡¯t host parasites, for that matter). The only simrity between them and pigs on Earth were their looks, as well as the texture and taste of the meat.
¡¸Nice. Can I request it in Modern-style?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course. I¡¯llpromise and do Hiroshima-style, but not Monja-style, I¡¯m beggin¡¯ ya. Just a matter of taste, though.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s okay. Monja-style isn¡¯t my favorite anyway.¡¹
As they discussed the details, they ced a ck t-top on the dining table. It was an industrial-sized t top that covered a third of their gigantic dining table. They could flip a dozen of Okonomiyaki pancakes at once if they wanted to. The detail of Hiroshi¡¯s craftsmanship really shows through the polished surface and special coatings for rust prevention and whatnot. Not to mention that it had been enchanted here and there to make it a magic-powered. Some serious time was spent on crafting this piece.
¡¸When did you have the time to¡¡¹
¡¸When I was checkin¡¯ the furnace. Somethin¡¯ like this don¡¯t take as much materials as it looked.¡¹
The materials, by the way, were recycled metal parts of busted tools he scavenged.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s get to it.¡¹
With that deration, Hiroshi started swiftly chopping the cabbage and expertly kneading the dough. He seemed to have some sense of pride in his work, as he prepped the entire thing alone, without even letting Haruna touch it.
¡¸What can I get ya?¡¹
¡¸Pork ball!¡¹
¡¸Modern. Scrambled. With two eggs.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, can I get some cheese on top, too?¡¹
¡¸Sure can. Comin¡¯ right up.¡¹
After taking the orders, he whipped enough everyone¡¯s dish at once. Chuckling at Aearis, who was only able to look up at Hiroshi timidly. He took it upon himself to whip her up a tenderloin scramble, his favorite. Usually, Hiroshi would work with Haruna or Mio, but today he was working alone from start to finish. After cooking up the pancakes in about fifteen minutes, he dressed them with mayonnaise and steak sauce to match everyone¡¯s request before topping it with nori and bonito kes and handing the dishes out. Then, everyone started eating them with chopsticks rather than the spat. In fact, Aearis and Rayna had gotten used to using chopsticks,tely. Rayna was rather taken aback by the bonito kes dancing by the steam, but Aearis didn¡¯t seem to be bothered at all.
And so, Aearis took another step into the depths of Japan¡¯s culinary culture.
***
¡¸I was expecting you.¡¹
¡¸Sorry for the trouble.¡¹
At the Wulls HQ of the Adventurers¡¯ Association, Douga was speaking with the president of the Association.
¡¸Is she unharmed?¡¹
¡¸She is doing well. Perhaps because she has been dining on rare delicacies, her face is brightening by the day. She looks better than ever.¡¹
¡¸Wonderful to hear.¡¹
The president sighed with utter relief upon hearing this. He was one of the few people outside of court who knew Aearis directly, and as such, one of the few people who was concerned by Aearis¡¯ horrible reputation.
¡¸And at the court?¡¹
¡¸Allow me to exin.¡¹
A young man, closer to a boy¡¯s age, jumped into answer Douga¡¯s question. A soft-looking man, tall and slender, with silver hair and somewhat of a resemnce to Aearis. Even though he only looked like a fifteen-year-old child, he carried a sharp aura about him. Combined with his always-on-alert demeanor, no one (save for the very dull) would dismiss this man as a youngling, or a weakling.
Judging by the fact that he didn¡¯t sense this young man presence until the moment he opened his mouth, Douga assumed that he had transported here with a spell or something. His opportune timing suggested that someone had notified him of Douga¡¯s arrival. Thanks in part to the fact that Layotte himself held an Adventurer¡¯s license, he had a close rtionship with the Association.
¡¸My lord¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve received your reports. You¡¯ve done good work, Ernest.¡¹
¡¸An honor, My Lord.¡¹
Douga kneeled in response, and bowed his head nearly to the ground.
¡¸We¡¯re not in public. At ease, Ernest.¡¹
¡¸Yes, My Lord!¡¹
With Layotte¡¯s permission, Douga took his seat.
¡¸My Lord¡¡¹
¡¸Elena is doing worse. ¡¹
¡¸No¡¡¹
¡¸Her life isn¡¯t in immediate danger, but she can no longer walk on her own.¡¹
Douga gritted his teeth to the news worse than he expected. Layotte continued, as if to console him:
¡¸What did the adventurer tell you?¡¹
¡¸That he would need to see the symptoms for himself, but he can cure most ailments. However, he also said that, whether it be poison or illness, it was possible that it was toote for him to do anything.¡¹
¡¸Can you trust him?¡¹
¡¸At the very least, I can guarantee that he is the best in the city.¡¹
Nodding, Layotte took out his card and contacted someone.
¡¸I called Julius. We¡¯ll be transporting out of here, so he¡¯lle here on foot. It should take him awhile. Catch me up while he¡¯s on his way. Have you eaten today?¡¹
¡¸No, sir. I intended to return presently after my report.¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s eat here. Prepare us something light, will you?¡¹
¡¸Yes, My Lord.¡¹
After watching the president leave, Layotte let out a long sigh.
¡¸We just can¡¯t get ahead, can we?¡¹
¡¸That falls on my hands, My Lord.¡¹
¡¸No, our opponent wields a long-distance transportation spell in a wide range without the High Priest or High Monk realizing. You and your team didn¡¯t stand a chance. It was our fault, actually, for anticipating some kind of attack and failing to prevent it.¡¹
¡¸If I could have only struck him back, even once, Princess Aearis would have had enough time to cast her spell¡¡¹
Layotte shook his head to interrupt Douga. His sister had no skill whatsoever when it came tobat. Even if Douga had bought her some time, she couldn¡¯t have cast a spell during the suddenmotion. In fact, he considered it a miracle that she was able to cast the spell to protect herself against Piaranork. Furthermore, a benevolent adventurering to the rescue was more than a miracle. Layotte could only exin it as an act of a higher power.
¡¸What is the scoundrel saying?¡¹
¡¸He desperately wants Elena and Aearis to step down from the position of Priestess Princess. He started moring that Katrina should be given the position, iming that Elena is bedridden and that Aearis ran away, abandoning her duties. The Temple is rejecting it for now, but who knows how long that willst¡¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
¡¸Like the previous Priestess Princess has said, Katrina can ruin our nation from that position. They can bark all they want, but as long as Alfemina-sama doesn¡¯t ept the change, no one but Aearis will serve as the Priestess Princess.¡¹
Douga nodded in sincere agreement. Then, the president of the Association returned with a light meal. A very simple te,prised of a warm soup (still steaming) and smoked meat grilled and sandwiched with ck bread.
¡¸I¡¯m afraid all we can prepare is this meagre meal¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s fine. No matter how simple, I would rather eat a fresh and warm meal than nibble from a table full of cold, borate dishes, terrified of poison.¡¹
¡¸My Lord, allow me to taste it before¡¡¹
¡¸No need. The adventurers are eating these, too, this time of the day. He¡¯s serving the same meal. If there were any poison in the batch, there would have been chaos.¡¹
Volume 2, 9.1
Volume 2, Chapter 9.1
Trantor: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
Just as dread had almostpletely taken over their minds, their bodies were whisked up into the air by some unknown force.
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸Whisked.¡¹
¡¸Away.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s bewilderment was dispelled by the octo-gals¡¯ ever so endearing disorganized speech pattern.
¡¸Catcher.¡¹
¡¸UFO.¡¹
¡¸Abducted.¡¹
¡¸Earthling.¡¹
¡¸Akita Neru.¡¹
¡¸If you¡¯re going to be dropping obscure references would you at least have the courtesy of doing them justice?¡¹
Haruna¡¯sment seemingly fell on deaf ears as the octo-gals kept prattling on as though nothing ever happened. Upon further inspection, the remaining three party members could simrly be seen wafting in the air, enveloped in their loving embrace.
¡¸Catcher.¡¹
¡¸Cleaned it out.¡¹
¡¸w¡¯s wobbly.¡¹
¡¸Three thousand yen per sessful attempt.¡¹
¡¸Each prize¡¯s worthless.¡¹
¡¸First of all, stop taking the piss, second of all I should either get my ears checked or that thing just mentioned japanese currency.¡¹
The octo-gals¡¯ treasure trove of meta knowledge could be reasonably exined by n Wein¡¯s mischievous nature, which just further reinforced the idea in the back of their head, originally kick started by Alfemina¡¯s antics, that the deities of this universe weren¡¯t deity-like in any conventional sense.
¡¸Easy money.¡¹
¡¸Customer traffic down.¡¹
¡¸Filing for bankruptcy.¡¹
¡¸Disposed of.¡¹
¡¸Thatst bit doesn¡¯t even make sense in context, stop trying to hamfist it into everything!¡¹
Makoto couldn¡¯t stop herself from speaking up, despite knowing all too well just how hollow her efforts really were. The octo-gals¡¯, naturally, made sure to do the exact opposite of what they were told.
¡¸Targets secured.¡¹
¡¸Take to incinerator.¡¹
¡¸Char the bodies.¡¹
¡¸Snap the limbs clean off.¡¹
¡¸Disposed of.¡¹
¡¸You could¡¯ve just reduced us to ash while you were at it, you know. Would¡¯ve spared you the few extra steps.¡¹
The disconnect between their squeakish voices and the actual things being said had finally broken Tatsuya¡¯s resolve. The body count just kept increasing.
¡¸Boobies.¡¹
¡¸Creep!¡¹
¡¸Every melon seed ripens with time.¡¹
¡¸Big or small, you are all equal in the eyes of god.¡¹
¡¸Titties.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not your babylons, it¡¯s you.¡¹
The octo-gals¡¯, in an attempt to stave off their boredom, set their sights on Haruna, who had no way of fighting back against their surprisingly soft touch. She hung in there like a true champ, all while continuously reassuring herself that the tant act of sexual harassment could be chalked up to a hitch in inter-racialmunication.
But it didn¡¯t just stop there.
¡¸Stripper tits.¡¹
¡¸stic breasts.¡¹
¡¸Silicone? More like sillycone.¡¹
¡¸Falsie abuser.¡¹
¡¸Enough already!¡¹
Their relentless wave of hurtful words struck Makoto right where it hurt. The real kicker here was that she was forced into cramming a bunch of falsies up there, to create the illusion of C cup, against her will. Needless to say she found the critique undeserved.
Makoto had been self-conscious about her breast size for as long as she could remember. To put matters into perspective ¨C she¡¯d lull herself to sleep by reminding herself that at least they weren¡¯t growing inwards. She took pride in being who she was, the good and the bad. Her authenticity was her very identity.
Being perceived as inauthentic was plenty a reason for chagrin. Expressing said emotion would only serve to fuel the fire so she, begrudgingly, chose the path of least resistance ¨C keeping her mouth shut. A heartbreaking tale to say the least.
As fate would have it, she wasn¡¯t alone in her toll as everyone, with the exception of Tatsuya, were in a rtively simr position. Haruna had already given up the idea of making demands, meanwhile Mio was just meekly putting up with mostly anything they threw at her, asides from when they got a bit too rough forfort. Granted due to her vocal rebelliousness Makoto¡¯s treatment was a tad more unhinged than the rest.
¡¸What¡¯s the matter? You want none a this?¡¹
¡¸Guys are gross.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s weird.¡¹
¡¸No fun.¡¹
¡¸Girls tender.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
Tatsuya could intuitively grasp their talking points without much further boration. The only real point of attack on a guy would have to be his crotch, there¡¯s also the rear but most of them are going to be characterized by a particr scrawniness. Whether or not they would be satisfying to grope was up for debate but if there¡¯s one thing that was for certain is that Tatsuya could breathe easy knowing that his manly pride would be kept out of harm¡¯s way for yet another day.
¡¸Do you think they¡¯re still going at it?¡¹
¡¸Can hear them shing, barely.¡¹
¡¸Signal¡¯s up.¡¹
Haruna and Mio¡¯snguid response was perfectly understandable, given the circumstances. Granted their treatment wasn¡¯t as bad as, say, Makoto¡¯s, it wasn¡¯t exactly a far cry from it.
¡¸I¡¯m gonna assume you all ain¡¯t picking up the pace for good reason, right?¡¹
¡¸We have limitations.¡¹
¡¸About as fast as we go.¡¹
¡¸Figured.¡¹
Say what you want about their uden airspeed velocity but at least it served its purpose, seeing as they had this whole artful dodger vibe going for them, although their reading ability and erratic movement patterns undoubtedly had a part in forming said vibe.
Thing is though, they wereden, quiteden at that, what with being burdened with multiple decked out human bodies and whatnot. To bepletely fair none of them even came close to the obesity line or anything of the sort, unarmored that is, armored, however, it was apletely different ballpark. Makoto, who was about as average across the board as it got in all the relevant measurements, averaged out weight wise with the cloth geared Tatsuya thanks to to the greatsword. In Hiroshi¡¯s case this would¡¯ve been all the more apparent, seeing as he was carrying around a pole axe and a great maul with him which would¡¯ve easily put him over the hundred kilo threshold. Even Mio, who was the lightest of the group, totaled fifty kilos, equipment and all. It was a miracle that they were even moving at all.
¡¸What about blinking? Oh wait, we might just blink into our doom by ident.¡¹
¡¸Concentrated fire.¡¹
¡¸Swiss cheese.¡¹
¡¸Disposed of.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not as funny when it goes beyond the field of imusibility.¡¹
Their single minded dedication to creating as many hypothethical scenarios where ¡®disposed of¡¯ made sense in context was not received well by Haruna, who believed the joke to be in poor taste.
¡¸Better not set them off, unless you¡¯re willing to take the plunge, that is.¡¹
¡¸Not anytime soon, no¡¡¹
¡¸Who¡¯d want to subject themselves to *that*¡¹
Mio eximed with a defeatist tone in her voice, pointing towards the torrential flow of liquid poison running right beneath them. Her assertion remained uncontested.
¡¸Whoosh.¡¹
¡¸What a lovely peach.¡¹
¡¸mmbon.¡¹
¡¸Laughed.¡¹
On the flip side the octo-gals were more interested in dropping shallow references to peach boy, only to inexplicably transition from that to referencing a certain work from a certain prolific Meiji/early Showa poet¡¯s collection. Through repeated exposure this bizarre nature of theirs had registered as matter of fact, as far as the party was concerned. The sense of moral obligation to call out wackiness for the sake of wackiness had died out, leaving them wholly apathetic to the octo-gals hijinks. This lead to them calling off the incessant assault against the female rosters more sensitive parts as its sole purpose ¨C getting a rise out of the vocal protests, had lost all meaning.
¡¸Could I ask you something?¡¹
¡¸Absolutely anything,y it on us, sis.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll always be there for you.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s off-hand mutter was met with an overwhelming surge of positive reinforcement from the octo-gals. Their apparentck of social tact might¡¯ve given some people the wrong impression but it was never their intention to difort the party, they just wanted to brighten the mood in their own awkwardly cute way.
¡¸I recall you mentioning that the final boss was a corrupted end, if I¡¯m not mistaken?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re not.¡¹
¡¸We most certainly did.¡¹
Judging from the name I¡¯m going to assume it¡¯s an Ent that¡¯s been encroached by miasma?
¡¸That is¡ correct!¡¹
¡¸You have just won a million dors!¡¹
The excitement was palpable as the octo-gals could be seen zipping around in the air in celebration. The freshly crowned winner, on the other hand, just wanted to get to the point already.
¡¸It¡¯s immobile, correct?¡¹
¡¸Right on the money.¡¹
¡¸I guess you could say it¡¯s rooted in its ways.¡¹
¡¸And long range dependent too.¡¹
¡¸As far as I¡¯m aware regr Ent¡¯s are capable of movement, what makes the corrupted version different?¡¹
Ent¡¯s were broadly ssified as any tree that, through thousands upon thousands of years of sapping dregs of magical energy from the environment, had a soul manifest within them. Functionally they were on par with humans- Their roots were restructured in a way that allowed for fluent bipedal movement and their branches were capable of performing precision-heavy tasks inessible to most. Due to the heavily conditional nature of a tree evering to life, and the amount of time to get there in the first ce, the total Ent poption was so meager, that they weren¡¯t even recognized as a mainstay race. A triviality to some but it was important to note that Trent¡¯s were apletely different beast altogether and, as such, shouldn¡¯t be lumped together into one category.
Thus one would naturally think that an Ent would retain its mobility following corruption but it seemed to not have been the case, at least in this one isted instance.
¡¸Corruption, transformation.¡¹
¡¸Link to the underworld.¡¹
¡¸Dungeon spawn.¡¹
¡¸Assimtion.¡¹
¡¸One with the dungeon.¡¹
¡¸And by that you mean that it lost its ability to move upon merging with the dungeon?¡¹
Haruna¡¯s attempt at connecting loose ends was met with thunderous cheers from the octo-gal crowd, who would go on to seamlessly transition from this happy-go-lucky vibe they had going for a moment into that of a cynical middle-aged man who¡¯d only ever talk about how the media perpetuates fake news and how men¡¯d be happier if they learned to take responsibility for their actions and what have you not. In a rare showing of camaraderie between fantasy and reality, these generalized statements fell t on their face, failing to catch the attention of the audience, which was much more interested in sorting out the data presented to them.
The most relevant piece of information that could be extrapted from it was that the Corrupted Ent¡¯s presence was the only thing holding the dungeon together. Unlike a mainstay dungeon, such as Phantasm Spire, it had nothing to fall back on in the event of losing its one and only major repository of miasma. It¡¯d take, at the very least, another five hundred or so years for the dungeon¡¯s innate existence to bleed through into the intrinsic order of the universe.
Whether or not downing the Corrupted Ent would be enough to sewer the link between it and the underworld was murky, by all ounts. In game the writers¡¯d go through leaps and hoops to logically justify that being the case but this was foreign territory where any wild card can and should be expected.
Regardless one thing was for sure ¨C its resource deposit should, in theory, be infinite. That being the case, baiting the thing into blowing all of its resources through repeated usage of high-damaging abilities hardly seemed like a viable strategy and yet, in Hiroshi¡¯s case, it was the only real option.
¡¸Just to be perfectly clear, if we were to fell the Corrupted Ent the dungeon would follow suite?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s link to the underworld would be severed too.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s still in the process of gathering miasma.¡¹
¡¸Without the Corrupted Ent to keep it locked down it¡¯ll scatter all over the ce.¡¹
All of Haruna¡¯s suppositions had just been reinforced. She would¡¯ve liked nothing less than to be by Hiroshi¡¯s side as soon as possible but the aforementioned flow of liquid poison showed no signs of dying down any time soon.
¡¸I sure hope they¡¯re okay.¡¹
¡¸I can still track them.¡¹
¡¸I know what you¡¯re trying to do, and I appreciate it, it¡¯s just that¡ Sorry, I can¡¯t really put it into words.¡¹
There was plenty of room for concern: For one the Corrupted Ent was immobile, forcing Hiroshi, who had no movement items on hand, to go on the offensive. At a nce one¡¯d think an immobile target would have to be a bow user¡¯s wet dream but Artiem¡¯s bow wasn¡¯t designed with punching through tree bark in mind. Depending on the trash mobs¡¯ positioning she might just find her hands full with fending them off and never get the opportunity to go on the offensive in the first ce. All of these aspects are bad enough on their own but they¡¯re nothingpared to the worst possible hypothetical scenario ¨C one where the number of trash mobs keeps growing indefinitely as the fight goes on and their attack range gets artificially extended via spatial contortion.
¡¸Are we there yet?¡¹
¡¸Arriving in ten minutes.¡¹
¡¸In case of unexpected interference.¡¹
¡¸Remain calm and collected.¡¹
They didn¡¯t muddy the waters when it came to answering exactly what they were being asked about in a direct manner and, although the awfully vague wording could use some work, they¡¯d thrown in some extra bits of relevant information to boot.
¡¸Warning, warning.¡¹
¡¸Imminent danger.¡¹
¡¸Brace yourselves.¡¹
A mere five minutester, the octo-gal banter took a concerning turn. An onught of branches shot out of the surrounding walls before anyone was able to say something about it.
Volume 2, 9.2
Volume 2, Chapter 9.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Hiroshi-san!?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m okay!¡¹
Lopping off the fat root that had pierced his chest, Hiroshi yelled out in response to Artiem as he forcibly removed the rest of it. Even though he appeared as if he were seriously injured, Hiroshi hadn¡¯t suffered any serious damage.
In actuality, having strong resistance also meant that important organs such as intestines and eyeballs were just as tough as the rest of the body. Now, that didn¡¯t mean that Hiroshi was excused from the fatal injury of having his head chopped off. However, the majority of these animals had the same weakness, that being their damage output severely fluctuated depending on the yer¡¯s resistance. A good example of this can be seen from when Hiroshi was attacked by the assassin: she couldn¡¯t even cut an inch of his neck off.
Now, of course there were plenty of exceptions to this. The most notorious of these were certain varieties of dragons and their rage modes, which enabled them to strike through any defense as if it were that of a normal organism. Therefore if one of said dragons were to pierce him deeply through, he would die in a single hit. Plus it was quitemon to have creatures who would be severely weakened by cutting off their brittle horns or creatures who would be immobile by lopping off the base of their frail tails, which either way would not lead directly to death but was fatal nheless. However, thankfully, the humanoid variety was quite normal and had no weaknesses that would remain weaknesses as long as they became stronger.
Now, when it came to mental weaknesses that were unconquerable, races with a certain amount of intelligence and individuality encountered this issue too many times to count. Hiroshi¡¯s gynophobia would also enter into this category. Although this didn¡¯t change the fact that he was physically tough, it was still a burden.
At any rate, the evil ent¡¯s attacks certainly seeded in damaging Hiroshi, but given his energy and defense, it was far from enough to put an end to him. Still, the wound looked realistic enough to make the wrong assumption.
¡¸It sure as heck doesn¡¯t LOOK okay!¡¹
¡¸I mean sure it hurts, but it still ain¡¯t doin¡¯ much.¡¹
Hiroshi responded quite calmly to Artiem¡¯s shriek, activating Minor Heal three times to fully recover. Honestly, the wound would have healed in a minute¡¯s time if he had left it be, but he couldn¡¯t risk having the same kind of attack polishing off his health right after that.
The mechanism of evil ent attacks was quite simple. He had simply taken the type of attack that nullified any defensive enhancements from magic or throwaway items, which was to be expected from many bosses of this variety. Judging from the sensation, it seemed that there was also a type of attack that nullified natural resistance defense to a certain degree as well, which was quite rare. Judging the opponent¡¯s offense and the damage from earlier, it had probably ignored about 25% of Hiroshi¡¯s raw defense. At that point in time, the effects of Fortress had just worn out, so Hiroshi had taken an unprecedented amount of damage.
Normally a suitable cost would apany an attack like that, but in the case of this boss and their sturdy mass, it wasn¡¯t realistic to try and force them to unleash attacks with bad cost performance to slow them down. It wouldn¡¯t be out of the question for the ent to be directly drawing energy from the earth, in which case their stamina would be infinite.
¡¸So y¡¯know, if they let out an attack like that¡¡¹
Anticipating his enemy¡¯s next attack, Hiroshi got a firmer grip on his pole axe, crouching down and carefully shuffling over to where they were. Of course, he made sure to recast Fortress and ovep Outface with yet another Outface.
¡¸It basically means¡¡¡¹
One of the roots began groaning as itunched the same attack at Artiem. Seeing everything unfold, Hiroshi cleared away one attack with his axe and blocked another with his body. Seeing as he was able to halt the enemy with his outer body surface, it seemed that they could not ignore personal enhancement skills like Fortress that boosted one¡¯s defense. Apparently, this time around, the amplified defense gained from Fortress far overmatched the ent¡¯s capacity to nullify defense. As a result, it could not damage Hiroshi like it did earlier.
Incidentally, if we were to numerically disy the damage from earlier, the attack took off slightly more than 2% of Hiroshi¡¯s max hp. Considering how Makoto had the same amount of HP as Hiroshi and still would have lost about 30% of her HP to an attack like that, it was easy to tell just how overpowered Hiroshi¡¯s defense was.
Needless to say, if Artiem were hit, she wouldn¡¯tst a second, and Tatsuya or Haruna would take enough damage to where they would be on the brink of death. The reason why they wouldn¡¯t be quite dead was because their max HP itself was high. To borate further, the only one who would still retain a decent amount of defense after an attack like that was Hiroshi, and that was about it. With 25% of their physical defense shaved off, Makoto and Haruna would essentially be the same.
Given that the enemy had not used such a major attack in session like this until now, Hiroshi could only assume one thing:
¡¸This dude¡¯s panicking!¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
Everyone doubted their ears. They couldn¡¯t think of any basis to say that their opponent was panicking.
¡¸Why do you think that?¡¹
¡¸Simple really. Methinks we got some reinforcements headed our way.¡¹
¡¸You mean Haruna-san and the others?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, who else?¡¹
Gracefully striking down an attack aimed at Artiem, Hiroshi analyzed the current situation. Still, he wasn¡¯t so free that he could confirm this. He didn¡¯t know that the others were just nearby, but he did know that a considerable amount of time had passed since the battle began. It wasn¡¯t out of the question for either Makoto¡¯s group or Haruna¡¯s group to arrive any second.
¡¸So all we gotta do is stake it out till reinforcements arrive or push ¡¯em into a corner and victory is ours, y¡¯all!¡¹
As Hiroshi stepped out, multiple branches and roots frantically tried to pierce Hiroshi. Yes, this only served to prove Hiroshi¡¯s point, but it wasn¡¯t like the ent could stop doing this in this situation.
¡¸How¡¯s yer body holdin¡¯ up?¡¹
¡¸Not my best, but I¡¯m still able to fight just fine.¡¹
¡¸Then it¡¯s time weunch a counterattack.¡¹
Hiroshi called out to Artiem as he saw her stand up cautiously. After she nodded at him, Artiem pulled the bow that Hiroshi had given her back to its limit. It was ill-suited for tree-type monsters, but it was better than nothing.
¡¸Where ya lookin¡¯, ya big oaf!¡¹
Hiroshi activated Outface several times with gusto in order to prevent the ent from targeting Artiem. Realizing that it was pointless to target anyone other than Hiroshi, the roots and branches aimed at Artiem focused once again on Hiroshi. Hiroshi continued to shuffle forward even after taking all of those attacks.
¡¸Keep itin¡¯, Treebeard!¡¹
Hiroshi roared with Outface as he blocked, bodied, and lopped through every dense attack. By this point, all of their attacks just felt like they were caressing him, no matter how many times they struck. This evil ent may have created this dungeon with extreme bloodlust, but in the end, its attacks were only ever direct, easy-to-spot maneuvers. This was far from the potent malice disyed by human beings from time to time.
The real messed up way of handling enemies was to push them into a situation where self-destruction was unavoidable, all withoutying a finger on them. Even something as simple as exaggerating a small matter, conveying it to everyone else in order to instill malice in them, and isting them from society was fairly tame inparison to what some humans were capable of. In that sense, this dungeon hadn¡¯t even reached the threshold of maniption, so no matter how evil it seemed to be, it was nothing particrly rming.
To Hiroshi, who had experienced indescribable malice from people who were rotten to the bone, there was nothing special about evil ents. In general he was a faint of heart loser and coward who jumped at every little thing, but Hiroshi actually wasn¡¯t all that scared of physical pain. He was more scared of when he was unsure of what the enemy was nning and how much damage he would receive- essentially, uncertainty of how badly wounded he would be. As someone who teetered on the brink of death on ount of something as innocent as a chocte, additionally suffering through unfair societal punishment, it was probably to be expected that he would overestimate potential casualties.
So in that sense, now that the evil ent had already shown itself and the max amount of damage it could inflict, it was no longer anything to fear. The scariest thing as of this moment was the prospect of something fatal happening to Artiem under their care and the subsequent anger of the elves. Nothing was worse than imagining the expressions of stifled fury on the elves¡¯ faces.
So even if he risked his heart being punctured, Hiroshi refused to let Artiem get any further grazes. In order to ensure this, he would have to cut down all the moving timber he saw.
Volume 2, 9.3
Volume 2, Chapter 9.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Buster Shot!¡¹
Realizing that attacking the main unit would have minimal effect, Artiem focused on the hanger-ons like hunter trees, shooting them with knockback skills. The most surefire way to deal with immobile tree monsters was to fire repeated shots with high knockback out of their range and smash them in from the roots.
¡¸It¡¯s a losin¡¯ game if ya stay in range!¡¹
Hiroshi used Around Guard to crush the ranged leaf de attacks. Being a scatter-type attack, it would do little more than scratch Artiem, but for Hiroshi, who had extremely high resistance to status effects and special attacks, it was difficult to anticipate what kind of tricks the opponent might use to nullify all of that. Therefore, it was logical to err on the side of caution and stop even the weakest of attacks.
Hiroshi made the right decision. There had been poison mixed in the attack that inflicted paralysis and confusion. Had Artiem been hit with that, she would have likely aimed at Hiroshi with her paralyzed body and fired Buster Shot, which would be a major inconvenience. From there it would have been a one-way ticket to a sucky future.
¡¸One more! Buster Shot!¡¹
After shooting a light knockback arrow, she shot out one more, following up with two more knockback arrows. Once the cooldown was over, she activated Buster Shot. With the continuous string of attacks, Artiem was finally able to defeat one hunter tree.
¡¸I did it!¡¹
¡¸There¡¯re still more. Don¡¯t let yer guard down!¡¹
Hiroshi cautioned Artiem as she rejoiced over the defeat of ackey. Now that one of the trees was defeated, the density of their attacks had decreased, but their actions had now taken a strange turn. Clearly, the enemy was thinking of a different n of action.
The branches and vines stretched out to entangle Hiroshi, affirming his prediction. Now that they knew Hiroshi would not be easily defeated, the trees were trying to immobilize him.
¡¸Heavy Weight!Just try ¡®n lift me now!¡¹
Hiroshi activated the skill he had used against Barold. He did not have strong resistance to knockback/blowback attacks, so Hiroshi had learned this skill in order to temporarily increase his weight by ten times. Combined with his heavy mace, Hiroshi¡¯s weight became over one ton despite his low proficiency. If one hunter tree couldn¡¯t so much as lift your average 90 kg dwarf, then six hunter trees and one evil ent would have some serious trouble even trying to slightly lift him off the ground.
Hiroshi ripped their branches off with monstrous strength, breaking the stalemate. Although Hiroshi slightly lost in max firepower per attack inparison to Seventh ss adventurers, there was no one here who could beat him in pure armpower. He already possessed inhuman levels of Perception and Dexterity, able to grab the likes of delicate creatures like bats without breaking their bones, but if he felt like it he could easily snap a big tree in half.
Even an opponent as tough as an evil ent could not hope to possibly bind him with ten or twenty branches.
¡¸Keep itin¡¯!¡¹
He roared with intimidation again as he ripped off branches and vines. Feeling a bad premonition, he decided it was best to keep the target from moving. Maybe the hunter trees weren¡¯t an issue, but one hit from the evil ent from behind would be potentially fatal.
As he continued to brave this nerve-wracking situation, Hiroshi felt a momentary chill down his spine. Cutting down branches that were trying to trip him, tearing apart vines that had tangled around his arms, andpletely ignoring the branches that were giving his face a good whack, he ascertained his opponent¡¯s next attack. After he had thwarted thest attack from their string ofbos, Hiroshi sensed something strange at his feet.
¡¸Oh crap!¡¹
In the spur of the moment, heunched Artiem far away with Smash, reducing the damage as much as he could. Artiem, unable toprehend why she was suddenly sent flying off, stared dumbfounded at the scene before her eyes. By the time she had reached the wall (with little to no damage), disaster struck.
¡¸Guhuh!¡¹
Numerous roots had emerged from the ground, piercing throughout Hiroshi¡¯s body like spears. Another sort of despondency assailed his body, separate from the damage he had just received. The next moment, countless more branches grew out of the ceiling and stabbed him. This trump card was an ent technique called Thousand Pike, which was a truly unpleasant move that targeted every individual in the vicinity. Since every attack was discriminate, Around Guard could not negate it. There was only one way to deal with it: escape out of its firing range.
By the time Artiem recognized that she had escaped thanks to Hiroshi, he was surrounded by branches and roots, no longer visible.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun!?¡¹
Before Artiem had gotten a grasp on the situation enough to scream, Haruna¡¯s voice rang out first. It seemed that all the participants in the boss subjugation had finally gathered.
A little bit prior to all of this¡
¡¸Protection!¡¹
¡¸Affection!¡¹
Haruna and Tatsuya blocked the branches that had grown from the walls and leaf des that came flying at them with defensive magic. Perhaps to be expected, the dungeon had begun its final attempt at preventing them from reaching the boss room unscathed.
¡¸Yeah, from the looks of it, I¡¯d say they¡¯ve realized that they¡¯re screwed if we get there right away.¡¹
¡¸Still, this is pretty dense. Defense-wise, we might be fine, but how exactly we break through is going to be a bit of an issue.¡¹
¡¸Hard branches¡«¡¹
¡¸No arm strength¡«¡¹
¡¸Not enough power¡«¡¹
¡¸Use magic¡«¡¹
Affirming what Haruna had said, the octo-gals allmented on the need for more power. For some reason, there were always odd vocabry words mixed in with what they said.
¡¸Well, it might be possible to get an opening if we m our mana at them¡¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re really going to use up all your firepower right here, Tatsu?¡¹
¡¸But even so, the only ones who can attack without proper footing are you and I, Mio. I don¡¯t see any other way. Unless you have a move you can use for times like these?¡¹
¡¸Nope.¡¹
Expecting that response, Tatsuya sighed deeply as he re-gripped his staff.
¡¸If I could actually stand somewhere, I¡¯d be the one to get us out of this mess¡¡¡¹
Makoto muttered in a truly frustrated voice as she surveyed all of this. Overhearing her muttering, the octo-girls floated over to her with weird looks on their faces.
¡¸You need a foothold¡«?¡¹
¡¸If you have a foothold, you can go through¡«?¡¹
¡¸Wanna make a foothold¡«?¡¹
Tatsuya, who had just started chanting an incantation, suspended his magic as soon as he heard this, staring at the octo-gals with a dumbfounded expression.
¡¸You can freaking do that?¡¹
¡¸A minute at max¡«¡¹
¡¸A little bit soft¡«¡¹
¡¸No problem¡«?¡¹
Unexpectedly enough, the octo-gals gave a straightforward answer. Everyone looked at each other with dumbfounded faces. Makoto was the one who finally broke the awkward silence.
¡¸So if you¡¯re able to do it, can you?¡¹
¡¸Ro¡«ger¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s go¡«¡¹
¡¸Trans¡«form¡¹
Along with lively yells, the octo-gals moved to the floor, fusing together.
¡¸Field set-upplete¡«¡¹
¡¸Step, step on us¡«¡¹
¡¸Step gently¡«¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t make it hurt¡«¡¹
They conveyed this information along with slightly strange word choices. Makoto saw no use in overthinking things, immediately stepping onto the tform and focusing all of her energy on the longsword.
¡¸Here goes! Break Stampede!¡¹
Having considered beforehand that themander of the dungeon was both element-less and acted as a wall, Makoto pulverized the branches with the highest ss move she could muster. Still, it was difficult to continue a string of attacks with such a heavy sword, and this attack was enough to open a path.
¡¸One more to go! Smash Impulse!¡¹
As the dungeon was attempting to create a denser wall of branches, Makoto halted it by using the second most powerful advanced smash move. Completing this in just under a minute, she had managed to fully open the way.
¡¸Even if it is impossible to breach the wall of a dungeon, it¡¯s no issue if it¡¯s a thick barricade of branches.¡¹
¡¸Mako, you¡¯re so cool.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, gotta be helpful sometimes, right?¡¹
Makoto boasted, yielding again to the octo-gals. One minute in, and the group had made a good amount of progress. In two more minutes, they couldnd on the ground with their current footing provided by the octo-gals.
¡¸Yeah, I¡¯d say they won¡¯t be troubling us anymore.¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s hope so.¡¹
¡¸Or if they did, maybe it would be something like the floor running away?¡¹
¡¸I guess, yeah.¡¹
Just as Makoto had said, they were able to move to safend without any issues.
¡¸Carry carry¡«¡¹
¡¸Transport transport¡«¡¹
¡¸Now arriving¡«¡¹
¡¸Disposed of¡«¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t dispose!¡¹
Tatsuya interjected as he barely managed tond safely. Right after one of the octo-gals had enthusiastically yelled the phrase ¡°disposed of¡±, they had actually let him down in a rather sloppy manner. The other three hadndedparatively gracefully on the ground, despite being dropped in the same way. Noticing the difference in their athletic abilities, he couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly dejected.
¡¸Oh yeah. We need to hurry and assist Hiro and the others¡¡¡¹
And when he looked into the midst of the miasma¡
¡¸Hiroshi-kun!?¡¹
Right at that time, Hiroshi was being skewered by countless roots and branches, and everyone with Tatsuya saw the exact moment where Hiroshi was entangled and invisible.
¡¸This is bad!¡¹
¡¸I know he¡¯s strong, but even Hiroshi won¡¯tst that!¡¹
Shuddering momentarily from the attack, Tatsuya and Makoto immediately moved to rescue him. Haruna had already begun chanting restorative incantations, and Mio was dashing over to where Artiem was in order to cover her.
¡¸¡¡Is that¡¡¹
Before their efforts coulde to fruition, the mass of branches encircling Hiroshi made a grinding sound as it expanded. And then¡
¡¸¡all ya gooot!?¡¹
Hiroshi screamed as he swung the pole axe in a wide arc, forcibly shing down all the branches and roots and ripping them to shreds.
¡¸Hiroshi!¡¹
¡¸You okay!?¡¹
¡¸Gotta do better than that to defeat me, mate!¡¹
Hiroshi defiantly announced that he was still fine, despite the fact that the string of attacks had sttered his blood everywhere. Plus he had just taken an attack that could have killed even Makoto in one hit, and with lowered defense to boot. He couldn¡¯t be as fine as he made it out to be. Hiroshi also had a drain status effect on him, so his stamina was approaching a rather dangerous point.
Still, even if he were hit with morebos right now, he could probably endure at least ten more.
Volume 2, 9.4
Volume 2, Chapter 9.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸H-Hiroshi-san¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Artiem, you alright?¡¹
¡¸I am. I am, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Then don¡¯t worry yer little head about it. This is ma job.¡¹
Hiroshi consoled Artiem, whose voice was shaking. After Haruna healed him, his rejuvenated body turned back toward the evil ent. As she looked up at the back of the man who had protected her numerous times, she stood back up, pressing down on her heart to quell its increase in tempo.
¡¸Haruna-san, ready fer Over elerate?¡¹
¡¸Sure, but will you be okay?¡¹
¡¸I healed just now.¡¹
Haruna was worried about the damage he had received, but Hiroshi answered calmly. It was as if the loser persona had hidden itself, much like when he was working on making things. Haruna felt her heart skip a beat, but she was still concerned.
Then again, the battlefield is always a ce of shifting circumstances. Just when you would think that the scales had tipped in their favor now that Haruna¡¯s group had showed up, the evil ent decided to begin itsst futile attempt at defeating them by summoning arge horde of hunter trees.
¡¸More followers!? Y¡¯know, I don¡¯t think we should dawdle any further! ¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll use me Buster! Hiro, suppress the shockwaves for me!¡¹
¡¸Gotcha!¡¹
Leaving Haruna hanging on whether she should use Over elerate or not, Tatsuya got ready to unleash an attack to end the fight.
£¨What am I¡doing here¡¡?£©
Artiem asked herself as she noticed everyone rushing to the scene to fulfill their various roles. The amount of hunter trees had increased, but that was probably the most that woulde out of the ent¡¯s final struggle. She no longer had anything she could do. In fact, trying anything in this situation would make her a hindrance.
She knew from the beginning that she would be a nuisance. So although she asionallymented on Hiroshi¡¯s actions, she never disyed opposition, generally following instructions in a meek manner. A mere amateur like Artiem wasn¡¯t able to make urate decisions.
Still, just as with exploration, she was not aplete amateur inbat. Maybe not in the earlier half of the boss fight, but in theter half of the boss fight, she could have done so much more. And yet, all she had done was y by the book and attack the hunter trees without truly paying attention to the overall situation. If she had actually focused, there surely must have been a way to prevent Hiroshi from being defenseless on the receiving end of his opponent¡¯s special move.
The same could be said for attacking. Even if she were ill-suited for fighting this opponent, she should have at least done something to hinder their attacks. Not even considering her options and simply attacking her opponent was something any child in the vige could do. At this rate, she would just end up being like a child with ridiculous proportions.
£¨There¡there has to be something I can do!£©
Hiroshi was lethally bad with women, and yet he had been kind to Artiem and had protected her with his life. At this rate she would be constantly relying on him. Artiem wanted to help him, and in a way that only she could.
As she was searching frantically through her head to see what she could do, Tatsuya¡¯s magic waspleted. Even when he burned the new hunter trees to the ground, three secondster, the same amount would emerge from the ground. Haruna¡¯s magic was still iplete. Artiem heard someone¡¯s voice. Arge quantity of roots and branches pierced through Hiroshi. She heard another voice. The evil ent sucked up Hiroshi¡¯s blood, regenerating. Someone called out.
£¨¡¡oh¡¡£©
Cooling her head by listening to the voice, she understood her role. Until now, Artiem had only been a mere elf in title, despite Aranwen naming her a priestess and her dedication day and night to the cleansing process. It was only at this time that she truly became Aranwen¡¯s priestess.
¡¸Everyone, please stand back a bit!¡¹
Archem shouted out. Everyone stopped moving momentarily as they heard that suddenmand. Unconcerned with this, she began speaking in anguage unknown to any human, directed at the ancestral spirits who were letting out voices of anger and sadness from being woken up from their sleep.
£¨I¡¯m begging you!£©
Artiem continued to emit the foreign sounds from her mouth, clearly stimted by something as she put her everything into one wish. With Artiem¡¯s wish sessfully delivered, the ancestral spirits made all the newly added hunter trees wither and die, intervening with the roots of the evil ent that had infiltrated the earth and preventing it from summoning any more monster trees. The evil ent¡¯s branches thrashed out in a roar, its roots writhing at the surface. However, each and every one of the ent¡¯s movements were blocked by the ancestral spirits, who had taken Artiem¡¯s mana in exchange for granting her wish. Although there were no lyrics and there was no rhythm to it, the soundsing out of Artiem¡¯s mouth were part of a song.
Extra Skill: Totem Call. This was the ultimate skill that priestesses tended to have. Normally, this skill was the most important one to acquire in order to call oneself a priestess. Without a certain kind of disposition, this kind of power was impossible to attain for humans. This was the same skill that Aearis had possessed from the minute she was born and used unconsciously. Artiem, meanwhile, had only just recently mastered it.
¡¸Haruna-san!¡¹
¡¸I got it! Over elerate!¡¹
Hiroshi and the others had momentarily stood there dumbfounded, but once the spirits scolded them, they hurriedly snapped to. Encouraged by Hiroshi and the spirits, Haruna activated her trump card: the spell she had been chanting. Still, humans couldn¡¯t normally hear the voice of a priestess, even with all the power in the world. If the five Japanese were able to hear that, then could they possibly be the guests from the Unknown Continent?
¡¸Just give it up already mate!!¡¹
With a high pitched battle cry that only he understood, Hiroshi thrust the pole axe at the evil ent with reckless abandon. From his viewpoint, he unleashed 70 attacks in 100 seconds, but to everyone else it was like a second. A rift spread across that side of the room, and atst the dungeon¡¯s boss had fallen.
¡¸Return to normal¡«¡¹
¡¸The space is freed¡«¡¹
With the death of the evil ent, the dungeon was destroyed. Briefly after the isted dimension dissipated and the dungeon returned to normal, the octo-gals (who had been behaving oddly well during the boss fight) began flying around the perimeter in a strangely happy manner.
¡¸You guys were pretty well-behaved earlier. Why the rpse?¡¹
Hiroshi, not paying any attention to the area¡¯s restoration, was focused intently on disassembling the evil ent. Tatsuya, who had been watching him with a rather indefinable smile on his face, turned to look at the octo-gals as they began moring suddenly, calling out to them.
¡¸We were for serious though¡«¡¹
¡¸Heavy air¡«¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re good children, we know when to speak¡«¡¹
¡¸And what¡¯s the real reason?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t like getting hurt¡«¡¹
Tatsuya smiled awkwardly at the honest answers of the octo-gals, turning to look at the Japanese and the elf girl as they stared at Hiroshi with incredible looks on their faces. Well, maybe just ¡°staring¡± wasn¡¯t quite right; they had jealous looks in their faces as they looked at Mio helping out Hiroshi.
¡¸Hey, Makoto.¡¹
¡¸Yes, yes, I know.¡¹
¡¸What do you think is going to happen?¡¹
¡¸I mean, I¡¯d still say that Haruna has the advantage, wouldn¡¯t you?¡¹
The two elders of the group secretly got excited over Hiroshi and his strange ability to attract women to him despite being a loser. This was the famed ¡°popr phase¡± of one¡¯s life. Usually this would be one of the best times to be popr, although of course they thought it would have been better for Hiroshi¡¯s poprity phase to be after his symptoms got a bit better.
¡¸Still, why do you think he¡¯s getting all the girls?¡¹
¡¸It sounds weird to say this, but women really like gaps in men¡¯s personalities. Hiroshi kinda has something about him that tickles our maternal instincts, I guess?¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay.¡¹
She was probably referring to when someone who seems pathetic shows that they can in fact have a cool, reliable side to them. In that sense, they would end up having an advantage over someone who is merely cool and reliable. Even in the case of an elf like Artiem with a different perspective and background, this concept did not change.
¡¸Besides, any woman would be happy to have someone put their life on the line for them.¡¹
¡¸That makes sense, yeah.¡¹
¡¸Well, Elle and Artiem don¡¯t seem like the type of girls to want what others have, so in that sense I guess you could say that it won¡¯t end up turning into much of a quagmire, right?¡¹
¡¸Although first we need to see if the dude will even ept the advances of women before things turn into a quagmire.¡¹
As they weremunicating quietly, the octo-gals who had been flying around suddenly began acting up again.
¡¸Chem-chan, long time no see¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan, so big¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan bouncy bouncy¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan sandwich¡«¡¹
The octo-gals, who had been flying around looking at the outside a moment ago, began to fly toward Artiem and capture her in a mob, jostling her as they did so. Of course, it was your typical all-range sexual harassment attack.
¡¸Hyan!?¡¡Hee!?¡¡Hey, hold it!?¡¹
Artiem tried to resist as she let out an oddly erotic voice. Hearing her voice, Hiroshi stopped his work momentarily before deciding to ignore her and continue on his disassembling procedure. He was clearly letting sleeping dogs lie.
¡¸Chem-chan, hot¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan, cute¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan, striped¡«¡¹
¡¸Umm, hey, don¡¯t do any of that right here!!¡¹
¡¸Then once we get out of here we will¡«¡¹
Understanding the situation somehow, the octo-gals kidnapped Archem and took her somewhere far away from Hiroshi. What was striped, you ask? Well, that is a secret. Artiem had gone to such lengths to blossom into a priestess, and yet she still had plenty of sex appeal.
Volume 2, 9.4
Volume 2, Chapter 9.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸H-Hiroshi-san¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Artiem, you alright?¡¹
¡¸I am. I am, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Then don¡¯t worry yer little head about it. This is ma job.¡¹
Hiroshi consoled Artiem, whose voice was shaking. After Haruna healed him, his rejuvenated body turned back toward the evil ent. As she looked up at the back of the man who had protected her numerous times, she stood back up, pressing down on her heart to quell its increase in tempo.
¡¸Haruna-san, ready fer Over elerate?¡¹
¡¸Sure, but will you be okay?¡¹
¡¸I healed just now.¡¹
Haruna was worried about the damage he had received, but Hiroshi answered calmly. It was as if the loser persona had hidden itself, much like when he was working on making things. Haruna felt her heart skip a beat, but she was still concerned.
Then again, the battlefield is always a ce of shifting circumstances. Just when you would think that the scales had tipped in their favor now that Haruna¡¯s group had showed up, the evil ent decided to begin itsst futile attempt at defeating them by summoning arge horde of hunter trees.
¡¸More followers!? Y¡¯know, I don¡¯t think we should dawdle any further! ¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll use me Buster! Hiro, suppress the shockwaves for me!¡¹
¡¸Gotcha!¡¹
Leaving Haruna hanging on whether she should use Over elerate or not, Tatsuya got ready to unleash an attack to end the fight.
£¨What am I¡doing here¡¡?£©
Artiem asked herself as she noticed everyone rushing to the scene to fulfill their various roles. The amount of hunter trees had increased, but that was probably the most that woulde out of the ent¡¯s final struggle. She no longer had anything she could do. In fact, trying anything in this situation would make her a hindrance.
She knew from the beginning that she would be a nuisance. So although she asionallymented on Hiroshi¡¯s actions, she never disyed opposition, generally following instructions in a meek manner. A mere amateur like Artiem wasn¡¯t able to make urate decisions.
Still, just as with exploration, she was not aplete amateur inbat. Maybe not in the earlier half of the boss fight, but in theter half of the boss fight, she could have done so much more. And yet, all she had done was y by the book and attack the hunter trees without truly paying attention to the overall situation. If she had actually focused, there surely must have been a way to prevent Hiroshi from being defenseless on the receiving end of his opponent¡¯s special move.
The same could be said for attacking. Even if she were ill-suited for fighting this opponent, she should have at least done something to hinder their attacks. Not even considering her options and simply attacking her opponent was something any child in the vige could do. At this rate, she would just end up being like a child with ridiculous proportions.
£¨There¡there has to be something I can do!£©
Hiroshi was lethally bad with women, and yet he had been kind to Artiem and had protected her with his life. At this rate she would be constantly relying on him. Artiem wanted to help him, and in a way that only she could.
As she was searching frantically through her head to see what she could do, Tatsuya¡¯s magic waspleted. Even when he burned the new hunter trees to the ground, three secondster, the same amount would emerge from the ground. Haruna¡¯s magic was still iplete. Artiem heard someone¡¯s voice. Arge quantity of roots and branches pierced through Hiroshi. She heard another voice. The evil ent sucked up Hiroshi¡¯s blood, regenerating. Someone called out.
£¨¡¡oh¡¡£©
Cooling her head by listening to the voice, she understood her role. Until now, Artiem had only been a mere elf in title, despite Aranwen naming her a priestess and her dedication day and night to the cleansing process. It was only at this time that she truly became Aranwen¡¯s priestess.
¡¸Everyone, please stand back a bit!¡¹
Archem shouted out. Everyone stopped moving momentarily as they heard that suddenmand. Unconcerned with this, she began speaking in anguage unknown to any human, directed at the ancestral spirits who were letting out voices of anger and sadness from being woken up from their sleep.
£¨I¡¯m begging you!£©
Artiem continued to emit the foreign sounds from her mouth, clearly stimted by something as she put her everything into one wish. With Artiem¡¯s wish sessfully delivered, the ancestral spirits made all the newly added hunter trees wither and die, intervening with the roots of the evil ent that had infiltrated the earth and preventing it from summoning any more monster trees. The evil ent¡¯s branches thrashed out in a roar, its roots writhing at the surface. However, each and every one of the ent¡¯s movements were blocked by the ancestral spirits, who had taken Artiem¡¯s mana in exchange for granting her wish. Although there were no lyrics and there was no rhythm to it, the soundsing out of Artiem¡¯s mouth were part of a song.
Extra Skill: Totem Call. This was the ultimate skill that priestesses tended to have. Normally, this skill was the most important one to acquire in order to call oneself a priestess. Without a certain kind of disposition, this kind of power was impossible to attain for humans. This was the same skill that Aearis had possessed from the minute she was born and used unconsciously. Artiem, meanwhile, had only just recently mastered it.
¡¸Haruna-san!¡¹
¡¸I got it! Over elerate!¡¹
Hiroshi and the others had momentarily stood there dumbfounded, but once the spirits scolded them, they hurriedly snapped to. Encouraged by Hiroshi and the spirits, Haruna activated her trump card: the spell she had been chanting. Still, humans couldn¡¯t normally hear the voice of a priestess, even with all the power in the world. If the five Japanese were able to hear that, then could they possibly be the guests from the Unknown Continent?
¡¸Just give it up already mate!!¡¹
With a high pitched battle cry that only he understood, Hiroshi thrust the pole axe at the evil ent with reckless abandon. From his viewpoint, he unleashed 70 attacks in 100 seconds, but to everyone else it was like a second. A rift spread across that side of the room, and atst the dungeon¡¯s boss had fallen.
¡¸Return to normal¡«¡¹
¡¸The space is freed¡«¡¹
With the death of the evil ent, the dungeon was destroyed. Briefly after the isted dimension dissipated and the dungeon returned to normal, the octo-gals (who had been behaving oddly well during the boss fight) began flying around the perimeter in a strangely happy manner.
¡¸You guys were pretty well-behaved earlier. Why the rpse?¡¹
Hiroshi, not paying any attention to the area¡¯s restoration, was focused intently on disassembling the evil ent. Tatsuya, who had been watching him with a rather indefinable smile on his face, turned to look at the octo-gals as they began moring suddenly, calling out to them.
¡¸We were for serious though¡«¡¹
¡¸Heavy air¡«¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re good children, we know when to speak¡«¡¹
¡¸And what¡¯s the real reason?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t like getting hurt¡«¡¹
Tatsuya smiled awkwardly at the honest answers of the octo-gals, turning to look at the Japanese and the elf girl as they stared at Hiroshi with incredible looks on their faces. Well, maybe just ¡°staring¡± wasn¡¯t quite right; they had jealous looks in their faces as they looked at Mio helping out Hiroshi.
¡¸Hey, Makoto.¡¹
¡¸Yes, yes, I know.¡¹
¡¸What do you think is going to happen?¡¹
¡¸I mean, I¡¯d still say that Haruna has the advantage, wouldn¡¯t you?¡¹
The two elders of the group secretly got excited over Hiroshi and his strange ability to attract women to him despite being a loser. This was the famed ¡°popr phase¡± of one¡¯s life. Usually this would be one of the best times to be popr, although of course they thought it would have been better for Hiroshi¡¯s poprity phase to be after his symptoms got a bit better.
¡¸Still, why do you think he¡¯s getting all the girls?¡¹
¡¸It sounds weird to say this, but women really like gaps in men¡¯s personalities. Hiroshi kinda has something about him that tickles our maternal instincts, I guess?¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay.¡¹
She was probably referring to when someone who seems pathetic shows that they can in fact have a cool, reliable side to them. In that sense, they would end up having an advantage over someone who is merely cool and reliable. Even in the case of an elf like Artiem with a different perspective and background, this concept did not change.
¡¸Besides, any woman would be happy to have someone put their life on the line for them.¡¹
¡¸That makes sense, yeah.¡¹
¡¸Well, Elle and Artiem don¡¯t seem like the type of girls to want what others have, so in that sense I guess you could say that it won¡¯t end up turning into much of a quagmire, right?¡¹
¡¸Although first we need to see if the dude will even ept the advances of women before things turn into a quagmire.¡¹
As they weremunicating quietly, the octo-gals who had been flying around suddenly began acting up again.
¡¸Chem-chan, long time no see¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan, so big¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan bouncy bouncy¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan sandwich¡«¡¹
The octo-gals, who had been flying around looking at the outside a moment ago, began to fly toward Artiem and capture her in a mob, jostling her as they did so. Of course, it was your typical all-range sexual harassment attack.
¡¸Hyan!?¡¡Hee!?¡¡Hey, hold it!?¡¹
Artiem tried to resist as she let out an oddly erotic voice. Hearing her voice, Hiroshi stopped his work momentarily before deciding to ignore her and continue on his disassembling procedure. He was clearly letting sleeping dogs lie.
¡¸Chem-chan, hot¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan, cute¡«¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan, striped¡«¡¹
¡¸Umm, hey, don¡¯t do any of that right here!!¡¹
¡¸Then once we get out of here we will¡«¡¹
Understanding the situation somehow, the octo-gals kidnapped Archem and took her somewhere far away from Hiroshi. What was striped, you ask? Well, that is a secret. Artiem had gone to such lengths to blossom into a priestess, and yet she still had plenty of sex appeal.
Volume 2, 10.1
Volume 2, Chapter 10.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸You about ready?¡¹
Tatsuya asked, noticing that Hiroshi¡¯s disassembling procedure and the oktogarls messing with Archem had finally reached a lull. By this time, the day had begun to progress to night, and even if it was going to be a full moon, there was no way anyone would be getting anything productive done.
¡¸Kay. Guess we¡¯d better git goin¡¯ to the temple. Ah, but now that I think ¡®bout it, this¡¯d be a good time to git back ¡®n eat somethin¡¯ fer dinner.¡¹
¡¸That moon is awfully high up.¡¹
Mio was pointing to the full moon, sparkling an unpleasant blueish purple hue. That gigantic moon, already high in the heavens, revealed just how long they had been forced to spend in that dungeon.
¡¸What do y¡¯all wanna do? I feel like we can¡¯t make progress till we take care o¡¯that grass, but if we put our all into it then we should reach the temple in an hour.¡¹
Making a repulsed face at the grotesquely-colored, ill-fated object in the sky, Hiroshi asked everyone what they wanted to do afterward. The moon seemed as if it were signalling misfortune for them, but neither Archem or the oktogarls said anything, so he figured everything was fine.
¡¸I think I¡¯ll pass on trying to cut grass in the dark¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah¡¡¡¹
¡¸Then I guess we go back.¡¹
Hiroshi put the wooden material away in his bag, grunting like an old man as he hoisted the bag up. But once again, someone else spoke up.
¡¸But if we go back at a time like this, we might as well just camp here. We¡¯re talking about some dungeon ruins here- not like there¡¯ll be much grass around anyway.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s true, yeah.¡¹
¡¸Not much difference from going back and setting up camp.¡¹
They didn¡¯t want to stick around any longer. The girl¡¯s wish ended up being engulfed by the majority vote. That being said, it wasn¡¯t like the men had much of a solid reason to oppose her.
¡¸Who¡¯s gonna watch?¡¹
Hiroshi immediately got to work on something else, inquiring about the necessary camp security. They usually rotated, but everyone was tired today. Honestly, this was physically draining.
¡¸We¡¯ll do it¡«¡¹
¡¸Monitor these parts, monitor these parts¡«¡¹
¡¸Cover private parts, cover private parts¡«¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m a little nervous after hearing thatst part. Is it really ok to leave it to you?¡¹
The oktogarls nodded up and down in affirmation, making a solid formation before scattering off.
¡¸Just like these¡«¡¹
¡¸We put up a barrier¡«¡¹
¡¸This good enough¡«?¡¹
The oktogarls at the campsite confirmed.
¡¸Good allocation of your members, but we¡¯re gonna eat soon. You didn¡¯t have to begin right now.¡¹
¡¸Eat?¡¹
¡¸Food, food¡«¡¹
¡¸Meat? Fish?¡¹
¡¸Can I eat? Can I?¡¹
Upon hearing about dinner, the oktogarls swarmed over.
¡¸Sure, if yer cool with squirrels.¡¹
¡¸Sure¡«¡¹
¡¸Eat it¡«¡¹
They eximed, taking out knives and forks and tes. A bitter smile on his face, Hiroshi washed his hands before bringing out two iron tes and dipping squirrel meat into a sauce. At the same time, Haruna began preparations for the wakame soup while Mio put together something resembling nan and cooked it over the iron tes. The oktogarls watched them do this with intense concentration. Incidentally, the reason why there were two magic iron te tools was because they had thought it to be beneficial to bring an extra one along for escort missions. They had made it immediately upon returning to the workshop.
¡¸Food, food¡«¡¹
¡¸Is dinner ready yet¡«?¡¹
¡¸We are¡«¡¢famished¡«¡¹
The oktogarls all reacted to the scent of the meat with sauce on it as it cooked on the iron tes. They nged their knives and forks together, holding their tes with two of their eight legs. Clearly they would have to let them eat first, or there would be no peace at the dinner table, Hiroshi concluded, cutting out pieces of mest that would fit their body types (were they female?) and piling it on their tes. Following after Hiroshi, Mio distributed the makeshift nan and vegetables while Haruna began pouring a suitable amount into small cups. It was quite difficult to repeat that same process with how numerous these oktogarls were.
Since the oktogarls not only had eight legs but could also float in the air, they could eat without taking up too much space. Otherwise, the space wouldn¡¯t have been enough for eating. Not sure whether to be thankful or not for that fact, they continued to pile on food until it had finally all reached the oktogarls. By the time they had delivered it to all of them, the meat and soup they had brought in was all depleted.
¡¸Oh dear¡¡¡¹
¡¸Guess we gotta make s¡¯more.¡¹
¡¸Sorry about this. Could you wait a bit?¡¹
The rest of the group that was not doing the cooking let out a sigh. Apparently, the oktogarls were not the only ones unable to bear the delicious fragrance. There was hardly any of Mio¡¯s cooked nan left either.
¡¸We can wait, but will there be enough meat?¡¹
¡¸Meat, sauce, all that¡¯s aplenty. No worries.¡¹
¡¸Lots of wakame in storage as well.¡¹
Hearing their answers, Tatsuya and Makoto breathed sighs of relief. Archem looked down at the ground, as if apologizing for literally everything. She couldn¡¯t exactly help them, since they were just too skilled at cooking and there weren¡¯t enough cooking utensils for all of them. There was just no opportunity.
¡¸Tatsu, Mako, Archem, go ahead and try this for now.¡¹
Noticing how difficult it was for the group to be on an empty stomach, Mio split the remaining nan into three separate portions and handed it to them.
¡¸You sure?¡¹
¡¸Do you really think you can bear watching?¡¹
The three of them helplessly shook their heads as they looked at the oktogarls. After all, just look at them:
¡¸Yum yum¡«!!¡¹
¡¸Meat juice¡«!¡¹
¡¸Yummers¡«!!¡¹
¡¸Wakame¡«¡¢wakame¡«!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s¡«so¡«tas¡«ty¡«!!¡¹
¡¸Three star¡«!¡¡Connoisseur¡«!!¡¹
They mored on and on about the greatness of the food. Some of them sounded like they were mimicking gourmands, discussing all the particrs of the vor, and it was honestly no longer an option to just endure this food torture.
¡¸Well, it¡¯s not a very involved recipe. We¡¯ll make it real fast.¡¹
¡¸But they eat quite a lot, y¡¯know? If they eat that much every day then I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have enough.¡¹
The oktogarls plowed through the piles of meats and vegetables, clearly eating more than was good for their body types but appearing to be just fine all the while. With such a staggering amount of them and their appetite, fuel consumption looked to be tight.
¡¸We don¡¯t usually eat this much¡«¡¹
¡¸But we did a lot earlier, and now we¡¯re out of energy¡«¡¹
¡¸Charge up with delicious foood¡¹
¡¸Tasty tasty meat¡«¡¢Tasty tasty vegetables¡«¡¹
As if they had heard Hiroshi¡¯sment, the oktogarls continued ravenously eating as they asserted themselves. In actuality, just as they asserted, they could live life normally for more than a month by just eating the appropriate volume for their physique. This time around, they had recovered Makoto and Mio, carried Haruna and the others, and even be footholds for everyone, which had greatly reduced their energy and made them hungry. Since they possessed a mysterious system in which energy reduction was split amongst the members evenly, all of them had ended up bing hungry.
¡¸Well, they helped us out tremendously this time, so I say feed them to their hearts¡¯ content.¡¹
¡¸It must be nice to be someone like you who receives all the benefits¡¡¡¹
Makoto immediately red at Tatsuya and his goody two-shoesment. Unless you factor in Archem, who had seriously been through a lot, Makoto was probably the next in line for being damaged mentally from all of this.
¡¸I mean sure, if they hadn¡¯t been here we would have probably been screwed. But still¡¡¡¹
¡¸W-Well now, let¡¯s not get so worked up.¡¹
¡¸Maybe it would be different if this were an issue with a perverted-eyed, stubborn old man, but everything you¡¯re saying right now irritates me. An animal could do better.¡¹
Although Mio hadn¡¯t been much different than Makoto in how she had been treated, her words were quite assertive. Makoto dropped her shoulders in dejection as she listened. No one could tell what animals were saying, but in the case of these people, they already had badmunication skills. There was also the fact that Makoto had mistaken what Haruna said to be sounding carefree. Makoto was truly taking a lot of damage right now.
¡¸Umm, I think the biggest problem here is that you¡¯re getting irritated at what I¡¯m saying¡¡¡¹
¡¸It was better than the gossip that the nobles make about each other all the time, so I didn¡¯t even have as much of an issue with that.¡¹
Makoto just made her position worse the more she grumbled. Eventually she just gave up entirely and shrunk. To be fair, it was reasonable for someone like Makoto to be irritated after being sexually harassed and verbally abused. Mio, who simply dismissed her, or Haruna, who didn¡¯t even care in the first ce, were definitely the weird ones in this situation.
¡¸Alright, done with the meat.¡¹
Hiroshi, who had been paying attention to the meat rather than the conversation, piled all the good parts on Makoto¡¯s te. Maybe food alone would not quell her emotions, but surely things would get at least a bit better once she was full of tasty food.
Chapter 10.2
Chapter 10.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸So what kind of monster was this squirrel anyway?¡¹
¡¸Remember all the squirrels we beat down on our way here fer dinner? Them there squirrels¡¯re like two meters tall. They seemed to have a colony of about a hundred so I made sure to catch the whole herd with one pom.¡¹
¡¸That was quite the sight to behold¡¡¡¹
¡¸But ain¡¯t it efficient?¡¹
Herment practically disregarded, Archem could only make a dry, awkward smile. She was particrly well-suited to attack these unusual monsters, and yet they had been defeated without even giving her a chance to shine. Of course she would feel a little deste.
¡¸By the way, the meat¡¯s edible but the innards¡¯re a little odd with their usage ¡®n the bones ain¡¯t really suited fer soup stock so I left ¡®em. Now, the pelt seemed like it could fetch a purty penny so I made sure to take all the safe parts.¡¹
Everyone just stared dumbfounded at Hiroshi for his insistence on stripping monsters of everything they had. Makoto and Mio had also obtained some slime mold from the midboss, but they hadn¡¯t taken away nearly that much. Haruna and Tatsuya, on the other hand, never made an effort to gather anything from monsters.
¡¸I took a buncha other stuff too so it¡¯s work when we git back.¡¹
¡¸Speaking of ingredients, how much can you make using evil ent oak?¡¹
¡¸Right, so if ya want a bow, it¡¯d be 3 ranks higher than that of a hunter tree. Then in terms of furniture, you could use that stuff fer a thousand years.¡¹
Presently, the only wood-made weapons in their team were bows, whereas every other wood item tended to be furniture or tools. If they got their hands on better metals, then they would have to also get good wood supplies for hatchet or ax handles, but as of right now, there wasn¡¯t any problem with regr wood material. Haruna¡¯s rapier or Makoto¡¯s longsword happened to have metallic handles, with leather wrapped around the grips without any wood whatsoever. Tatsuya¡¯s staff was a short iron weapon that was refined with a high magical frequency, so that one also used no wood.
¡¸Speaking of wood, do you think we could make a loom?¡¹
¡¸Sure we can, but we¡¯d hafta seriously strengthen auto-repair and resistance about three times. Only after two days can we even manage to make enough spirit cloth for a set of clothing.¡¹
Spirit thread had always been a concern in terms of storage. Haruna had been wondering how to produce more, but all she got was an unsatisfactory answer.
¡¸Incidentally, how much time does it take to make them?¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s just weavin¡¯ then ¡®bout 10 minutes. They get purty darn worn out durin¡¯ that time so the rest of that time is used fer repairs.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, I dunno if it¡¯s worth it.¡¹
¡¸Yup, might not be. If ya mess up on shuttles, it¡¯s not like ya keep ¡®em. Plus it ain¡¯t exactly carrying size.¡¹
It was truly a bothersome affair striving to go after the highest quality materials. Come to think of it, there had been simr issues with processing magical steel, so it was probably reasonable that trying to process superior materials using tools made from inferior materials would end up this way.
¡¸Anyhow, I¡¯ll think ¡®bout what to make after we git back to the vige. Right now we gotta eat.¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
Simply agreeing with Hiroshi¡¯s words of postponement, they said ¡°itadakimasu¡± and then got straight to eating. Other than the seasoning used, it was a simple meal that anyone could make, but its simplicity was precisely what gave it its delicious vor. Surely the oktogarls must still be making a racket, but when they looked, the oktogarls had suddenly gone off to their posts, not leaving a single trace of them behind.
¡¸You know, if they didn¡¯t y tricks on us, those kids would be pretty great kids.¡¹
¡¸They are great kids, as long as you don¡¯t mention anything weird in an association game.¡¹
As expected of a god¡¯s pets, their nature was truly benign. Although they spoke in annoying tones and were oddly mischievous when it came to their curiosity, their pranks were more on the level of something a dog or cat might do, so there were usually no problems if you just let it slide.
¡¸But wow, this squirrel meat is delicious.¡¹
¡¸Just keep in mind this might not taste the same as them real life varmints.¡¹
¡¸True.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna were reminded of all sorts of actual things whose appearance and taste were quite different, adding in their own unnecessaryments in response to Archem¡¯s exmation. As she listened to what they said, Archem still couldn¡¯t help but think that both the appearance and taste were superb in this case, so she was happy. Thanks to plenty of tasty food and newly discovered wheat shochu, Makoto¡¯s mood improved just a bit.
¡¸Kinda looks rusty, mate.¡¹
¡¸It has been thirty years after all¡«¡¹
The next morning, Hiroshi and Archem let out their honest impressions of the temple they had finally arrived at, Aranwen Temple. Thirty years ago, it had been dangerous to even get through this back entrance to the temple, so as a result, the temple maintenance had be sloppy over the years. This temple had been built using both wooden and stone materials, so it had be quite a sight to behold with all the surrounding vegetation infiltrating it.
¡¸¡¡Alright then. We came all the way here, so in addition to havin¡¯ Haruna-san ¡®n Mio train, how ¡®bout we repair some things on a grander scale?¡¹
¡¸Wha?¡¹
Haruna eximed in a parched voice at Hiroshi¡¯s sudden change of ns. She had certainly not expected him to discuss something like that over here.
¡¸Uhh, are we doing it right now?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, it¡¯d be a darn drag to try itter, mate.¡¹
¡¸Wait, we¡¯re the ones doing this?¡¹
¡¸I just get the itches when I see this sorta thing, mate.¡¹
Haruna and Mio let out a simultaneous sigh at Hiroshi¡¯s total switch.
¡¸Sure, we can do it, but do we have enough ingredients?¡¹
¡¸Pffft, we got plenty o¡¯those suckers from Bro huntin¡¯ them monsters. And besides¡¡¹
¡¸Besides?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s practically assured that we¡¯ll always have enough hunter tree ingredients.¡¹
Tatsuya simply agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s persuasive words, not having the strength to argue. After all, just from therge amount of natural wood obtained from fighting hunter tree bosses, they had essentially over thirtyrge trees. They would unmistakably have tons left. It wasn¡¯t all thatrge of a temple, so they could easily repair it with what they had.
¡¸And can we actually use the ones that Archem dried?¡¹
¡¸Well, sure ya could.¡¹
¡¸In that case, I guess it¡¯s fine.¡¹
¡¸Alright, so let¡¯s git started on the operation after the ritual. First, we gotta check the status while measurin¡¯ the dimensions.¡¹
After making various offerings at the altar and conducting a simple ritual, Hiroshi took out a tape measure-looking device and went around checking the area. Following suit, Haruna and Mio began measuring the area fairly urately. Tatsuya and Makoto had time to kill, but doing nothing wasn¡¯t exactly their style, so they began doing things like pulling the grass surrounding the temple or cleaning around. Archem simply helped out wherever it was needed.
¡¸Archem-san, couldja hold this down real quick?¡¹
¡¸Kaaay¡¹
¡¸And after yer done with that, couldja help support this lumber?¡¹
¡¸All right.¡¹
Matching Hiroshi¡¯s rough diagram, everyone briskly worked on the project. They had quickly given up on dealing with the big tree piercing through the temple, instead using it as a part of the building. After removing sections of pirs or walls that had corroded and hammering in hunter tree stumps that had been processed for preservation, they put in several varieties of reinforced steel and strengthened the aforementioned areas before hardening them with makeshift water-repellent cement.
Next, after leaving the minimum framework and repairing the pirs, they took everything out from the roof and wall, bundling the pirs together in order to install them and strengthen the right locations. In order to prevent water flowing up from the ground, they had filled in the gaps up to a certain depth with stones and gravel, once again hardening them with the makeshift cement. Once they had finished that, they hardened the boards made from hunter trees without using any nails, finally getting the temple in order.
While everyone could of course install the fixtures, Hiroshi was as usual the only one able to process the fixtures in question. Consequently, the instation instructions were given by Hiroshi, while everyone else moved ordingly. The oktogarls, who had been off somewhere else while everyone was moving to the temple, had suddenlye back and began working on the roof and all the high areas, which was truly a big help for the Japanese people. After the distribution of the nks had ended and they made some finishing touches to the roof to prevent leakage during rainfall, spreading rot prevention liquid over its entirety. Atst, the temple maintenance had beenpleted.
Chapter 10.3
Chapter 10.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
It was a big job, starting in the morning, cutting through the afternoon, and ending when the day was nearly over.
¡¸Wow, even arge shack like this is difficult to handle¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well it ain¡¯t like we¡¯re weekend carpenters. Let¡¯s be happy with what we did.¡¹
¡¸Or you could try and not suddenly thrust these tasks at us¡¡¡¹
¡¸But it¡¯d irk me if we just let it be.¡¹
Hiroshi responded to the grievances of Tatsuya and Makoto without so much as yawning. A civil engineering project like this one wasn¡¯t much moreplicated than simply redoing the foundations of the building. In addition, Hiroshi had the extra skill ¡°Castle of the Gods¡±, which had enabled them to finish in this amount of time, but normally, manufacturing wood supplies right at the construction site would take much longer than a day. Even the foundation process shouldn¡¯t have ordinarily ended in one day. If this foundational construction had not been possible by using the Construction or Carpenter skills, by this point in time they would probably give up on the work and begin some form of merrymaking.
Normally, this would not be the kind of construction to begin on a whim.
¡¸Well hey, a new building feels nice and fresh, so when all is said and done, I like it.¡¹
¡¸Sure, I won¡¯t deny that part.¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, was this job only made possible because of Hiroshi being a craftsman?¡¹
¡¸True. Now that you mention it, we were doing quite the extreme job earlier.¡¹
Haruna and Mio had only now realized how ridiculous a job it was they had justpleted, provoking an awkward smile from both of the oldest members of the group.
¡¸Anyhoo, we¡¯re done with all that, so now I¡¯ll just recast the barriers ¡®n whatnot, report the final state of everything, ¡®n then it¡¯s time to make an offering.¡¹
Chatting with them as hepleted the check on the altar, Hiroshi proceeded to finish up the remaining work necessary to make the temple function as a temple should. In addition to being abandoned (other than to make offerings) for thirty years, there were also nearby remnants of dungeons that had been filled with very thick miasma, so the barriers had be quite loose as ofte. At this rate, the ce would be hollow without any substance.
¡¸What does it look like?¡¹
¡¸Yup, it¡¯s purty down right now.¡¹
Recasting the near-broken barrier, Hiroshi reused the ritual article in order to restart various ritual preparations. Haruna and Mio watched this as they came outside. The perimeter was filled with clean energy, and the temple began to resume its functions.
¡¸Now we just need the offerin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸If you have any of those dwarf killers, it¡¯d be great to have it alongside smoked meat.¡¹
That request came to them all of sudden when they were preparing offerings for the altar. Turning around, they noticed a middle-aged man with a rather dry atmosphere about him, probably the kind of person to live a secluded life deep in the forest. He looked like he was a professional beggar.
¡¸Couldja be Aranwen-sama?¡¹
¡¸Not ¡°could¡±. I am in fact Aranwen.¡¹
¡¸Oh really now.¡¹
The master of the temple had actually shown up in person. Everyone just gaped in awe.
¡¸I am sure there is much you wish to know, but how about we have some food first?¡¹
Without hesitation, he opened the dwarf killer lid and halted Tatsuya before suggesting that. This was right after Hiroshi had put smoked rock boar and troll bird together with vegetables and fruit on the altar. It was only reasonable that this god who protected the elves and forest giants had a strong appetite.
¡¸Hm. Quite the good taste this smoked meat has.¡¹
¡¸Ah, thank you.¡¹
Haruna smiled awkwardly at this god biting elegantly into the smoked meat as she inspected the food for dinner. It was a rather tough decision between the mushroom that Makoto and Mio had roasted off a mid-boss and the mid-boss smander that Hiroshi had taken down.
¡¸When in doubt, use both!¡¹
She heartily dered, preparing adequately-sized slime mold and sliced smander. After she prepared the mysterious vegetables, fruit, and roots that Hiroshi had harvested from a dungeon, lightly warming it and checking the vor, Haruna made it all into tempura and karaage, clearly finding it bothersome. Makoto was totally taken aback by Haruna¡¯s fortitude in her cooking. Tatsuya was more on the worried side.
¡¸Are you sure about the scum being taken out?¡¹
¡¸Yes, from the texture it wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡¹
¡¸If you say so¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya decided to sumb to Haruna¡¯s insistence and waited forpletion. Makoto also wasn¡¯t able to hide her unease, but she chose to simply not say anything.
¡¸And now it¡¯s ready.¡¹
¡¸¡¡What were you making, Mio?¡¹
¡¸Tempura sauce and clear broth soup?¡¹
¡¸Tempura, eh? Well that makes sense.¡¹
As long as you disregarded the fact that all the ingredients were unknown, it was a truly normal conversation.
¡¸Now, Hiro, I saw you preparing something before Haruna had even started on her menu. What were you working on?¡¹
¡¸Kamameshi, mate.¡¹ *note: referring to a pot with rice, meat, and vegetables in it
Everyone wanted to know what on earth Hiroshi intended to put in said kamameshi, but they were too scared to ask. It wasn¡¯t clear whether he had obtained the ingredients from a dungeon, so it was impossible to visualize what he had nned.
¡¸Anyhoo, it¡¯ll be ready by the time ya finish eatin¡¯ the tempura ¡®n karaage, so best eat those right now.¡¹
They averted their eyes from the pot as it emitted a strange vapor. Why did tonight¡¯s dinner seem like it was going to test their courage?
¡¸Alright then, guess I¡¯ll eat this first.¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
Honestly, they were not keen on eating tempura and karaage made from a mountain of ingredients from a dungeon overflowing with miasma. None of it had even been properly tested for poison. However, seeing as how Hiroshi and Archem had already tried the smander meat, it was probably ok. The squirrel meat was another good example of this.
Therefore, the real problems were mainly the strange parasitic mushrooms and the fruit, roots, and leaves from the evil ents. In iner words, they were simply scared of the tempura that Haruna had made.
If you think about it, it would be absolutely terrifying to carelessly eat monster meat that came from a miasma-filled dungeon like that, no matter how skilled the cook or how much poison was extracted from it, but since there were actually people who had confirmed the safety, Tatsuya and Makoto couldn¡¯t exactlyin.
¡¸Hm, seems good.¡¹
Haruna nonchntly put the slime mold tempura to her mouth, nodding satisfactorily. Seeing that it was okay, Makoto followed suit. Surprisingly enough, the taste resembled that of hen-of-the-woods, and it sure was tasty when fried into tempura.
Mio was already levelling out the smander. Most of the organisms as ofte had been fairly in in vor, but for some reason, this smander meat had a firm, clear vor. Even Mio, the embodiment of gluttony herself was highly satisfied.
¡¸Hm, that¡¯s also great.¡¹
¡¸I thought you¡¯d say that, hence why I split it up.¡¹
¡¸Thanks a lot.¡¹
They put the other tempura, clear broth soup, and karaage with the shochu on the altar.
¡¸Hm, yum.¡¹
¡¸Although I¡¯m really sorry about this hastily prepared meal.¡¹
¡¸Nay, if it¡¯s tasty then you need not worry.¡¹
Aranwen dered as he continued to devour mounds and mounds of alcohol and food. Perhaps because of therge amount eaten by the oktogarls yesterday, they did not make a fuss about getting more food. Maybe because of Aranwen¡¯s presence, they merely floated up and down in the air, showing no sign of opening their mouths.
¡¸Alright, looks like the kamameshi is ¡¯bout ready to go.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been long ready for this, so bring it out already.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha.¡¹
Listening to Makoto¡¯s demands, Hiroshi opened the pot lid and roughly mixed around the contents. After cing a bowl on the altar, he divided the rest into equal portions, distributing it.
¡¸So what kind of kamameshi is this anyway?¡¹
¡¸Ah, I arranged the vor to match the season ¡®n the forest dungeon.¡¹
¡¸¡¡What kind of answer is that¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya groaned at Hiroshi¡¯s ridiculous sham of an answer, but he decided to eat the fish-like food that was in the bowl. It was tasty. Very tasty, but¡¡
¡¸What¡¯s this fish?¡¹
¡¸That fish is prolly the one that came up with the smander.¡¹
¡¸Probably, you say?¡¹
¡¸We hauled it up real quick ontond ¡®n then Archem stabbed it before it could even do anythin¡¯. Why¡¯ja ask?¡¹
Everyone began staring at Archem after hearing Hiroshi¡¯s response. Archem, who had been squirming in nervousness around Aranwen, stiffened up when she took notice of this.
¡¸What were you discussing just now?¡¹
¡¸You see, at the beginning, Hiroshi-san got into the water and smashed the smander out of the water in order to get it onnd, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸But?¡¹
¡¸It seems like a certain fish had identally gotten itself caught on the smander¡¯s body, so when it got onnd it was flopping around¡¡¡¹
¡¸And then you took it down because it was in the way?¡¹
Archem nodded at Tatsuya. Now that he was clear on where the fish came from, he meekly got back to eating the daikon radish alongside the fish without saying anything further.
¡¸Y¡¯know, I don¡¯t think eating in such a depressed manner is going to help anything.¡¹
¡¸Not enough ingredients.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a bitte to be thinking about rock boar or wyvern. Sure, that one dungeon was pretty twisted through and through, but who says there wasn¡¯t any edible meat or fish?¡¹
¡¸But there¡¯s a difference between understanding the logic and actually going¡¡¡¹
¡¸Is that what the issue here is?¡¹
Aranwen asked Tatsuya, nodding in a half-satisfied half-dissatisfied manner as he drank the shochu dry and opened the dwarf-killer jar again. The way he engulfed the alcohol, you would think he hated being sober, but as expected of a god, he showed no sign of getting drunk.
Chapter 10.4
Chapter 10.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Now then, we¡¯re all done with dinner, so we can move on to the main discussion over some drinks.¡¹
¡¸Ahhh, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to handle that dwarf killer drink¡¡¡¹
¡¸Then just drink what you like. Don¡¯t you have a wine cer?¡¹
Nodding sheepishly at Aranwen, Tatsuya took out a bottle of shochu. Of course it wouldn¡¯t be good for the underage group to drink, so they substituted it with baum kuchen and fruit tea. Atst, everyone was able to get down to business with Aranwen.
¡¸First, allow me to thank you for the awakening of Archem as a priestess and for helping in the release of my subjects.¡¹
¡¸Welp, that was a total coincidence, so ya don¡¯t gotta thank us or anythin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s always good to resolve things though.¡¹
Aranwen said in a serious manner even though he was the one who pushed Archem on them in the first ce. His presence exuded a sagacious aura, but it felt like wasted potential because of the alcohol jars lined up in front of him.
¡¸Archem, are you still listening?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸Listening to their voice and understanding it is your role. I am sure you do not yet have power equal to that of the priestess princess, but you are an elf. You will have ample time to grow.¡¹
¡¸I will devote myself to growth every day.¡¹
¡¸No need to overexert yourself. Pure effort does not mean pure growth.¡¹
Despite Aranwen¡¯s admonishment, Archem showed no sign of faltering. Everyone looked at her with lukewarm gazes.
¡¸I have many things I would like to discuss, but first let me hear your inquiries.¡¹
Aranwen initiated the proceedings. Tatsuya, the eldest, most reasonable of the bunch, and the one most interested in returning home.
¡¸I have several questions, but let me start with this one.¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
¡¸Do you think we would be able to return to our own world?¡¹
Tatsuya cut right to the chase. As Aranwen heard that, he simply drank a mouthful of sake before immediately giving the answer.
¡¸Yes, about that. I have a message from Alfemina: there is indeed a proper way to return home, she says.¡¹
The Japanese people could not conceal their amazement at how easily Aranwen gave the answer. They had originally braced themselves for the worst, so they were grateful, but they rejoiced no further since it was unclear if this was something they could even aplish.
¡¸And how would one go about this?¡¹
¡¸It is out of my expertise, so I know not. However, I hear that all of your brethren have returned.¡¹
¡¸I see, so that means¡¡¡¹
¡¸I do not know how, just that it is not impossible.¡¹
Everyone had troubled looks on their faces, essentially having been told to ask one of the three goddesses. They had already tried doing that in Wulls, and yet Alfemina had not said anything of value. They had conversed via Elle quite a bit, but these conversations were all on and off, never with an opportunity to rx and talk.
¡¸Well, Alfemina is rather busy at the moment.¡¹
¡¸Even though she constantly swoops into Elle¡¯s body?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because the link would be easily cut otherwise. Besides, I hear that the current priestess has the most power of all her predecessors, as well as her age being the youngest in history. If she bes more ustomed to harboring Alfemina within her, it will no doubt benefit youter.¡¹
¡¸It don¡¯t effect her lifespan or nothin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸No, it¡¯s unlikely that someone who is more capable than the first generation will die an early death.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¡¹
Having no choice but to ept this slightly dodgy answer, soon realizing that just about everything he wanted to know had been answered.
¡¸Anything else?¡¹
¡¸Umm, why didn¡¯t you tell us about Alfemina¡¯s message from the start?¡¹
¡¸That is because there is a possibility that you might very well desire to stay in this world. She said not to mention this unless you asked.¡¹
¡¸¡¡So you¡¯re saying¡¡¹
¡¸That not all of those who wandered in here have necessarily desired to return to their homnds.¡¹
It would seem that history has many unexplored details. They hadn¡¯t checked anything other than vague history books or fairy tales, so in a sense this was perfectly reasonable.
¡¸Well, although this may very well have no meaning, if you wish to know more about the guests from the Unknown Continent, look for the forbidden book titled¡ºFairy Tale Chronicles¡».¡¹
¡¸¡¡!¡¹
¡¸Is that what I think it is!?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s the same name as that VRMMO thing that you all yed, right?¡¹
This time around, the Japanese people could not hide their bewilderment at this sudden statement. Confused by the strange words used and by the shock disyed by the Japanese people, Archem gave them a look.
¡¸Archem, my child. What we are currently discussing is unrted to anyone on our side. I will not ask you to forget, but I will just say that there is absolutely no need to be concerned over it.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
If a god was saying this, then surely it must be so. Archem immediately abandoned any doubts she had. It wasn¡¯t in her nature to pry into matters that were not necessary to know about.
¡¸If a name like that is brought up, then isn¡¯t that confirming that this world is the same as the game?¡¹
¡¸No, that just means they are extremely simr. Haven¡¯t you noticed some differences along the way?¡¹
¡¸Yes, a whole mountain of them¡¡¡¹
¡¸Basically, just think of it this way: Among the various fictitious worlds that humans convey in their stories, there is pretty much always a simr world elsewhere.¡¹
Aranwen added a disimer, saying he was not aware of the precise logic behind it all. Hiroshi and the others decided that part wasn¡¯t what mattered. Who truly cared whether or not the game world and this one were one and the same?
¡¸So why is this Fairy Tale Chronicles story a forbidden book?¡¹
¡¸I know not of how your people would view it, but that is essentially because the book details the entire beginning of this world, including things that went unnoticed in the background. I am sure that some inconvenient truths are mixed in there as well.¡¹
¡¸Wow¡¡¡¹
¡¸Any other questions?¡¹
Still in shock from everything Aranwen had discussed, they attempted to search their minds frantically for anything they missed, but as one would expect, their thoughts bore no fruit as of right now¡¡¡£
¡¸This Fairy Tale Chronicles you speak of¡where might it be?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m fairly certain it would be somewhere in therge library of Rupheus. This is out of my area of influence, however, so I don¡¯t know where else it might be.¡¹
They hadn¡¯t expected such a direct, clear answer in response to the meager question.
¡¸Now then, judging from your reactions, it doesn¡¯t seem as though you have anything substantial to ask anymore.¡¹
¡¸Sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nay, do not worry. I am rtively freepared to other gods. Simplye again if you have questions and I will answer them.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m real sorry.¡¹
Hiroshi was disying an odd amount of reverence right now. Sniggering at the sight of that, Aranwen then decided to get into discussing his own errand with them.
¡¸Now then, this is what I would personally like.¡¹
¡¸Something we can help you with?¡¹
¡¸Ah, no, no. I wanted to thank you, not just in words, but by giving you something relevant.¡¹
He said, lightly waving a hand. Light overflowing from his fingertips enveloped all five of them.
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸What was that?¡¹
¡¸I transmitted every type of move necessary for survival in the forest into your heads. Given about two years of training, you should find the moves easy enough to use. Also, Hiroshi, Haruna, and Mio? I believe those were your names.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re talking about us?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. You three seem to already be adept at construction and agriculture, so I drew those skills out a bit. Not too much, though, as I can¡¯t have Elza getting on my case. So you won¡¯t be quite as powerful as a god.¡¹
¡¸No, I prefer it this way. It ain¡¯t gonna be pretty if we were that overpowered.¡¹
As the bizarre conversation continued, Mio suddenly began to act strangely.
¡¸Mio, what¡¯s the matter?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s¡there¡¯s some crazy power at work¡¡¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¡¡¡No way!?¡¹
¡¸Aye. Haruna, I transmitted a bow skill that is essentially that section¡¯s version of your Over elerate move.¡¹
All who present gaped at thevish hospitality.
¡¸¡¡Y¡¯know, it¡¯s a bit crazy to git all this stuff just fer doin¡¯ a small deed¡¡¡¹
¡¸Is it truly so strange to receive a reward for clearing a dungeon, purifying the earth, and even going so far as to repair the temple and strengthen its barrier?¡¹
¡¸B-But¡¡¡¹
¡¸In the end, we gods are no more than stage settings. We cannot do more than we are permitted.¡¹
Divulging yet another unnecessary piece of information, Aranwen opened yet another dwarf killer bottle. This god was truly a strong drinker.
¡¸Although it doesn¡¯t seem like Tatsuya and I have been all that strengthened¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that is because I do not quite have jurisdiction over magicians. I have divulged many useful spells to you, so hopefully you can make use of those for the time being.¡¹
¡¸No, it¡¯s already plenty useful to have received these spells, so please don¡¯t worry about that. But I do wonder why Makoto is an exception like me.¡¹
¡¸Although there is the question ofpatibility, I also thought that you might not want to get any new moves.¡¹
¡¸Are you referring to katanas?¡¹
¡¸But of course.¡¹
Makoto¡¯s face had a vague look on it when she heard that. Sure, in terms of the degree of skill fulfillment, longswords were higher than that of katanas. However, it had been quite some time since she had used a katana, long since running out of options for it. It was difficult to tell whether or not she could regain her feel for it.
¡¸Thankfully, we have here a man who can wield a weapon of the gods. How about making good use of him and unlocking its full potential?¡¹
¡¸But it¡¯s not just the issue of the weapon¡¡¡¹
¡¸You cannot forget how to use a move that easily once it is carved into you. If you have time to make excuses, then you may as well use that time to try out every weapon at least once.¡¹
Afterward, as if signalling the end of this conversation, Aranwen roped the two seniors of the group into a drinking bout. This chance encounter with Aranwen was to be a new trigger that would set many things in motion.
Volume 2, Epilogue 1.1
Volume 2, Epilogue 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Oh, Ortem¡«!¡¹
¡¸We have¡«!¡¹
¡¸Retuuurned¡«!!¡¹
The next day after Aranwen and his drinking party, everyone was finally able to return to Ortem, which they had left alone for two days. Along the way, they had cut down the weeds and felled the trees that blocked the path in order to make the road more of a proper road. By the time they got back, it was already past the afternoon, and the sun had descended a good amount.
¡¸Archem, are you alright!?¡¹
¡¸We worried about ye!¡¹
Ignoring the oktogarls that had screamed out as soon as they entered the vige, the elves rushed straight to Archem. Expressions of relief adorned their faces.
¡¸Sorry for getting herete. Dungeons, temple maintenance, there were just so many things to deal with and I couldn¡¯t get back soon enough.¡¹
¡¸Dun mind dun mind. We d ye made it back safely.¡¹
The elderly elf woman hugged Archem tightly while crying. Although she was one of the ones responsible for setting the old men on Archem for her sexual education, she did seem to have more love in her than the others. If one were to view her odd sexual curriculum as a type of parental affection, then that made sense. Although really, if she were in fact an onlooker attempting to force her values into Archem¡¯s life, everyone would likely want to lecture her for an hour on the proper way to convey her love.
¡¸But Chem¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes?¡¹
¡¸Ye changed quite a lot in two days, eh?¡¹
¡¸Yup yup.¡¹
After they had enough time to rejoice over Archem¡¯s safe arrival, Govejon had spoken up after observing her. Foredan and the other people seemed to have the same opinion.
¡¸Did I really change all that much?¡¹
¡¸Ye seem like a super prettyss, eh.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Plus it seems like there¡¯s an atmosphere oozin¡¯ out from ye.¡¹
¡¸What a finess.¡¹
¡¸Although ¡®er chest ¡®as been fine from the start.¡¹
The vigers continued to discuss Archem¡¯s changes. The 200, 300 year old younger elves were taken instantly in by Archem¡¯s confused tilting of the head, averting their eyes bashfully as soon as their eyes met.
¡¸Welp, I suppose I can see the atmosphere part.¡¹
¡¸Chem-chan awakens¡«¡¹
¡¸Priestess, priestess¡«¡¹
¡¸Nu¡«rse?¡¹
¡¸Hey quit it with the memes¡¡¡¹
Mio cut into the oktogarls¡¯ dangerous references, as if telling them to be more considerate. She could vaguely understand the jokes, which made it slightly ufortable.
¡¸Awakening, ye say?¡¹
¡¸Seems like she got a new priestess power from Aranwen-sama. Says she still ain¡¯t used to it, but I say she¡¯s gettin¡¯ there.¡¹
¡¸Oh really.¡¹
They understood the gist of Archem¡¯s transformation from what Hiroshi told them. However, it was not a sufficient exnation for as to why she looked prettier than before. Then again, despite being in a rtively smallmunity, elves were well ahead in terms of life experience. Some of them, especially the older elves, essentially figured it out from watching Archem¡¯s demeanour as she looked at Hiroshi¡¯s face.
¡¸Wow Archem, yer bin¡¯ such a woman!¡¹
¡¸Two reasons fer celebratin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Eh? Eh?¡¹
¡¸How much longer yer gonna be childish?¡¹
¡¸Eh? Umm?¡¹
Some of the elves had quicklye to an agreement over something, blurting various things out. Seizing the opportunity, the oktogarls began to mor.
¡¸Chem-chan love love¡«¡¹
¡¸Lotsa rivals¡«¡¹
¡¸No longer a love triangle, it¡¯s a love swamp¡«¡¹
¡¸Disposed of¡«¡¹
¡¸Seriously, stop saying such scary stuff¡¡¡¹
Tatsuyamented in a tired tone. This time, it actually did feel like the oktogarls were ready to kill someone.
¡¸Oh?¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi, ye really popr?¡¹
¡¸Girls¡¯re already scary ¡¯nuff as is, wow.¡¹
¡¸She gonna be a maiden fer a while yet.¡¹
Listening to the oktogarls and observing Haruna and Mio¡¯s reactions, the elves concluded thus. Apparently women were not the only ones who were interested in love affairs.
¡¸There¡¯s something I¡¯m wondering about.¡¹
¡¸Whazzat?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s suppose that Archem and Hiroshi had a baby. Would it be a half-elf?¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, I get the feelin¡¯ that a real dangerous ¡®n impossible conversation just began¡¡¡¹
Archem, who had been rather embarrassed up till now, suddenly began to look as though she had been pierced by something. Of course, no matter who the person was, Hiroshi would always use the word ¡°impossible¡±. It wasn¡¯t like Archem was being singled out or anything.
¡¸Sure they¡¯d be a half elf. Why ye ask?¡¹
¡¸I figure elves hated that sort of thing.¡¹
¡¸Kids¡¯re kids. Half, pureblood, who cares.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup. Sure, the parents might not be happy ¡¯bout the shorter lifespan, but it don¡¯t got nothin¡¯ to do with the kiddies.¡¹
¡¸Kids gotta be fawned over,plemented, chastised, no matter where in the world ye are. Real adults wouldn¡¯t treat ¡¯em like an eighth of an elf just cuz they¡¯re half.¡¹
Apparently, elves couldn¡¯t care less about whether their kids were half-elf. As per usual, the elves were looking to be more and more different from their stereotypes.
¡¸Well if you say that you don¡¯t mind halfs, I guess it¡¯s just up to the people in question.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Seems like there¡¯re regtions ouwin¡¯ halfies in other viges, but we don¡¯t care ¡¯bout the small things.¡¹
As expected of arge-scale sized elf vige in a southern forest region, this vige was quite lenient in terms of race.
¡¸But it seems like that¡¯s a tall order, eh.¡¹
¡¸When that man identally got pinned to the ground by Archem, his face looked like it was ready to spill his stomach out, eh.¡¹
¡¸Gynophobia¡«¡¹
¡¸Just one round and he¡¯s out¡«¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon, quit it with the chit-chat¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya sighed after objecting to the oktogarls. After the elvesmented on Hiroshi, they had blindly followed suit with their own worthless remarks. Besides, ¡°one round and out¡± made the problem sound a lot less worse than it actually was. But it would still bring about plenty of other concerns, and that was in itself troublesome.
¡¸Anyhow, haven¡¯t seen ye guys fer a wee bit. Where were ye skulkin¡¯ around?¡¹
¡¸Dungeon¡«¡¹
¡¸Dimensional rift¡«¡¹
¡¸Sucked in¡«¡¹
¡¸No escape¡«¡¹
¡¸Wow, sounds tough.¡¹
The oktogarls spoke one after another, almost as if they were all part of one body. Somehow able to understand the situation just from that, the elves praised Hiroshi for saving the oktogarls from their plight in the dungeon.
¡¸Seems there¡¯s been a lot goin¡¯ on, so how ¡®bout we just have a feast, eh!¡¹
¡¸Yup yup!¡¹
The eldest elf of the group raised their voice, which was followed by the simultaneous agreement of everyone around. On this day, the elves in the vige would finish the remainder of their work at the highest speed in recorded history, all in order to hasten preparations for thergest feast in the vige¡¯s history.
¡¸Margherita, first batch is done¡«¡¹
¡¸Every fried item is finished.¡¹
Haruna and Mio figured they may as well help, volunteering to prepare several typical banquet-esque foods. They had Hiroshi make several makeshift stone ovens just so they could have pizza, and they gathered up as much of their food stand equipment as they could in order to pile on food after food for frying. Hiroshi, who had been helping out until now, had left his spot to work on something else.
Although Haruna had initially thought that to be a bit off-putting, she was soon forced to focus yet again on her task, her brain totally geared into cooking mood.
¡¸Pork belly stew¡¯s looking about right.¡¹
¡¸Haru, is the fried tofu dashi fine as is?¡¹
¡¸Mm, yeah, just leave it be. Ah, Archem-san, feel free to just go ahead and distribute the steamed bird stuff.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Completing each meal with terrifying dexterity, they distributed food on a wide scale amongst the throng of elves that had gathered around the open fire. Still, there was a staggering number of people. The vigers were also distributing cuisine of the elven variety (not as exaggerated as one might expect), but there was a major gap between the amount of people and the size of their stomachs, and it was quite difficult to keep it up. They had given up on the idea of getting all the food to everyone, only striving to feed as many people as possible, but they were still ensuring top quality rather than mere mass production.
Other than the cubed stew, which was difficult to cook without breaking form, and the tofu recipe, which needed a fine bnce between dashi and fried tofu, the elves had learned how to make the majority of fried/steamed meals as well as pizza, getting right to making tons and tons of servings. Especially when it came to pizza, they made ratherrge ones, and even splitting a pizza sixteen ways was still rather overwhelming. Not only were there more than enough ingredients; they could make over ten pizzas at once. Going about it the right way, they could get it around to everyone.
¡¸Ye all can go ahead and rx now.¡¹
¡¸You sure?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m pretty sure we still have to make a bunch.¡¹
¡¸Yer cooking is enough to give a te to just about everyone. Besides, we can¡¯t just make the stars o¡¯the show work forever.¡¹
The elderly elf said, and the other elves nodded at Haruna and Mio as well. Agreeing that this was a sensible time to stop working, they decided to rendezvous with Tatsuya and the others.
Volume 2, Epilogue 1.2
Volume 2, Epilogue 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Oh yeah, where is Hiroshi-san anyway?¡¹
¡¸Sensei? If you want him, he said he¡¯d be cooking some takoyaki at the biggest fire.¡¹
¡¸Think it¡¯s going to begin?¡¹
¡¸Takoyaki?¡¹
Archem tilted her head at the unfamiliar word that Mio mentioned. Thinking it would be quicker to have her see it up close, they took her to Hiroshi.
There weren¡¯t just people in front of the middle fire- so were the oktogarls.
¡¸Got some takoyaki for ya, fresh from the Kansai region. Not too many of them here, so early bird gets the worm¡«¡¹
After Hiroshi¡¯s tiring speech, he once again set to preparing the food with unbelievably good technique. Seriously, why was he so polished in this regard? There was a resounding stir as more and more people gathered.
¡¸Heya boy, what¡¯s all in that thing, eh?¡¹
¡¸Deep-fried dough, onion, red ginger, and then the main ingredient, octopus (tako).¡¹
¡¸Octopus, eh?¡¹
¡¸And here¡¯s what it looks like.¡¹
As they waited for it to heat up, for the sake of exnation, Hiroshi took a raw one out of his bag to show them. The elves¡¯ faces showed recognition as they looked at it.
¡¸So it¡¯s basicallynpas, eh?¡¹
¡¸Lanpas?¡¹
¡¸I seen that octopus in this forest, eh? Somethin¡¯ like that ocotpus was clmbin¡¯ up the tree.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s got sum different shaping with da legs and da head, but I¡¯m mighty sure they¡¯re da same species?¡¹
Sure, it was a typical pattern, but apparently there were octopus/squid-like creatures who lived onnd in this world. To add further, they were an important source of protein, so the elves were always eating them, but nothing more. However¡
¡¸Kya¡«!¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re gonna eat us¡«!¡¹
As one would expect, the oktogarls, who had pretty much the same shape and number of legs as octopuses, did not take kindly to this. They scattered into the distance, turning around and gazing at Hiroshi with pale faces.
¡¸No no. I assure ya we ain¡¯t gonna eatcha.¡¹
Hiroshi chastised them as he skillfully flipped the takoyaki over with an awkward smile. Even if their legs looked simr to that of octopuses, oktogarls and octopuses were different in so many ways. Oktogarls didn¡¯t even look appetizing.
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸You won¡¯t eat us? You won¡¯t?¡¹
¡¸They won¡¯t, they won¡¯t.¡¹
He held out the first portion to the oktogarls as they fearfully approached him. The steamy, wavering bonito kes practically begged the oktogarls to eat them, who fearfully lifted the piping hot takoyaki to their mouths.
¡¸Tayce T¡«¡¢Tayce T¡«!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s¡«so¡«de¡«lish¡«!¡¹
¡¸Three stars any day¡«!¡¹
It would seem that they did not have cat¡¯s tongue and had no problem with chowing down on piping hot octopus. Smiling at their mannerisms, Hiroshi handed out freshly grilled takoyaki one after another to the elves. He also set out portions ording to the size of the fairies and forest giants that had suddenly showed up.
¡¸Alright, no more ingredients left in stock, so that¡¯s all for this asion.¡¹
¡¸No way, eh!¡¹
¡¸Crud! If only ye¡¯de sooner!¡¹
¡¸Sure ye can¡¯t do somethin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸What aboot the octopus ye brought out earlier?¡¹
Just as he had proimed at the beginning, the early birds got the worms. As he was proceeding to close up shop, all of that booing had reached his ears. Although he did want to give them what they wanted, the octopus from earlier hadn¡¯t been properly processed. They would not be eating anytime soon. Besides, he had also forgotten to replenish the red ginger, having rushed preparations too much. There wasn¡¯t enough time to let the liquid sink into the meat.
¡¸I already cut through the stock here, and it¡¯s not like I can just cut the octopus into chunks ¡®n serve it as is. Can¡¯t use what I don¡¯t got. Sorry, but I¡¯m closin¡¯ up shop today.¡¹
Yes, Hiroshi was special, but there were some things that were impossible even for him. Furthermore, he wouldn¡¯t even have time to eat if he attempted to restock right now.
¡¸I wanna eat more¡«¡¹
¡¸We shall eat¡«¡¹
¡¸Gim¡«me¡¢gim¡«me¡¹
The stubborn oktogarls refused to back down, some of them shrewdly taking bits from other people¡¯s tes and dividing it amongst themselves. When they had nothing but toothpicks left, they looked at their feet¡
¡¸¡¡Gulp¡¹
And they made strange mannerisms in a depressed state, taking out a chopping board¡
¡¸Bodies fresh for chopping¡«¡¹
And they pretended to cook themselves, but Hiroshi had already said that he¡¯d go around various areas of the vige and make some takoyaki after he finished some tasks the next day, so the elves all behaved themselves after that.
¡¸Well that was a roaring sess.¡¹
¡¸Sure was, but now I gotta remember to restock on octopus once we get back to Wulls.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have a hard time getting permission to set up transportation circles.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Gotta do that first before anythin¡¯ else.¡¹
As they went over what they had to do tomorrow and onward, Hiroshi stabbed bear meat through a big skewer and grilled it like kebab before everyone scraped it off for their food. On further nce, they also had secured their own portions of cubed meat stew and pizza.
¡¸How long do you think it¡¯ll take to set up a transportation circle?¡¹
¡¸Welp, I¡¯d say about two hours.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s all you need?¡¹
¡¸Although there¡¯s a hell of a lotta mana used in the process.¡¹
He casually answered Archem¡¯s query, biting into the newly added kebab. This particr meal was eaten on special asions of celebration amongst the elves, and the pretext for eatimg it right now was to celebrate both Archem¡¯s awakening as a priestess and the reconstruction of Aranwen¡¯s temple. It didn¡¯t have any kind of convoluted seasoning on it, but the sauce that was used was made from various fruits and mushroom soup stock, making it incredibly difficult to stop eating.
¡¸Umm, would it be okay if I tagged along with everyone?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s pretty sudden, y¡¯know¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi looked at the others with a slightly concerned expression after Archem suddenly asked that. No one exactly had any qualms with bringing her along. The real issue was¡
¡¸We¡¯re a bit uneasy about walking around with you.¡¹
¡¸We already have a lot of females along with us¡¡¹
And that was about it.
¡¸So it isn¡¯t going to work, huh¡¡¡¹
¡¸It isn¡¯t like it¡¯s impossible, but from what we¡¯ve been through up till now, it¡¯s not exactly something we can feel quite right about.¡¹
¡¸Besides, Archem, aren¡¯t you a priestess? You sure it¡¯s okay to just walk around anywhere?¡¹
Archem had a puzzled expression on her face when Makoto asked that question. Was it that bad for a priestess to go walking around? This area actually had very few shamans with concurrent roles as divine protectors and heads of rituals. On top of that, Aranwen was particrly sloppy in that area, not viewing it as necessary to conduct rituals so long as he had offerings. He would still be able to fulfill his role as guardian. This was fairly normal for the gods in this area of the world.
Therefore, in most cases, the term ¡°priestess¡± only really referred to those whom the gods stand by and watch over, and Archem was one of those examples. Actually, priestesses like Aearis who conducted many ceremonies as ritual leaders were rtively few in this world. Then again, in her case, there was also the fact that she had to strengthen her own authority as both a member of the royal family and as the priestess princess, so it wasn¡¯t a clear cut rule that the priestess of Alfemina was particrly special.
¡¸¡¡I see. So being a priestess doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be directly rted to conducting rituals or protecting the realm of the gods.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s more like Aranwen-sama considers ceremonies and the like to be quite boresome, so I¡¯ve never even done it.¡¹
¡¸Wow¡¡¡¹
Haruna groaned, somehow both understanding this and feeling exasperated at the same time. Based on his mannerisms and personality the other day, it did seem like he would fulfill his duty as a guardian without grumbling as long as you gave him alcohol, but it was still so appalling to hear such a blunt, unrefined, undignified fact.
¡¸I think we shouldn¡¯t just refuse her request toe along with us.¡¹
¡¸What do you really think, Mio?¡¹
¡¸His gynophobia might subside a bit if he adjusts to Archem¡¯s erotic troubles, don¡¯t you think?¡¹
¡¸So we have to deal with Sparta again¡¡¡¹
Puffing her chest out with an *ahem* at an appalled Makoto, Mio continued eating her meal (consisting mainly of dairy and fish) at a brisk pace. The cheese gratin dish seemed to be a sess.
¡¸The risk is high in many ways if we just suddenly decide to take her with us. I¡¯m sure that Teres and Nora are also used to adventuring, so maybe after some farming instruction and a month of training in the workshop, the people who are used to adventuring can give the okay and then we meet up?¡¹
¡¸Yup. First we gotta make sure she adjusts to life in the city of Wulls.¡¹
There was no way that the elves living in this closed-off neck of the woods would deal well with suddenly plunging into the cash-based society of the outside world. It would probably be a good idea to first live in a more familiar environment before then adjusting to the human currency used by thergest-scale city in the world. Besides, it wasn¡¯t like Hiroshi¡¯s group was ustomed to travel either, so it was honestly a bit dicey to tell if Archem could really keep up.
On another note, they didn¡¯t dislike Archem. In fact, she was held in fairly high regard. Inbat and in other things, she didn¡¯t hold them down in any particr way. It was just that in addition to her ero troubles, she was a country bumpkin who knew far too little of the outside world. If just one of those problems were to go away, the prospects would look a bit better.
However, the biggest reason was probably that her mood fell much too easily. Refusing her just made them feel like viins.
¡¸So what¡¯s the verdict?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll hire ya at the workshop, so how ¡®bout ya git sum money before preparin¡¯ for any trips?¡¹
¡¸Okay!¡¹
Her face brightening at their decision, Archem nodded without hesitation. Finally able to reach the minimum consensus, everyone was relieved. Although things with Archem would not turn out as anticipated, there was of course no way for Hiroshi or his friends to figure that out.
Volume 2, Epilogue 1.3
Volume 2, Epilogue 1.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Ye done talkin¡¯?¡¹
Once they had reached a reasonable decision, a reasonably handsome middle-aged elf cut into their conversation. He looked as if he had been drinking.
¡¸Pretty much. What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸Nah, I¡¯m just here cause I heard that girl over there¡¯s good at singin¡¯, eh.¡¹
¡¸Ah, want me to sing something?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s alright with ye, eh?¡¹
¡¸Of course.¡¹
Responding to the elf¡¯s request, she stood in front of the biggest fire there, which was intended to be a substitute for a stage. Haruna already had an aura that mercilessly sucked in all who were around her, which was all it took to gather the attention of everyone at the venue.
¡¸I got a request, so if it¡¯s all right, I would like to sing several songs from my hometown.¡¹
She told everyone beforehand, starting out with two songs of a solemn, but not quite somber nature. The songs were sung in a melody reminiscent of an Okinawan musical scale, with lyrics like ¡°Smile or cry all you want, but one day flowers will bloom¡± or ¡°Dear Spring, far away¡±. You could feel the beauty of the Japanesenguage in the songs she sang.
Haruna, who had been singing those two songs in acape, seeded beyond her wildest expectations at firmly grasping the hearts of the audience. Now, it would have been splendid had she continued on this route, but when it was time for the third song, she suddenly changed the direction of her music. Perhaps it would be best to give her the award of ¡°The Girl Who Betrays Expectations¡±.
¡¸Heydy! Sing that one song I like!¡¹
¡¸Kaaay!¡¹
Haruna decided to listen to a request, so for the third song, she began singing a popr song among the forest giants about a woodcutter. However, it turned out to also be well-recepted by the elves, fairies, and goblins, which convinced Haruna to enter into a series of dances while singing slightly modified lyrics.
For example, one song was about someone who hated the countryside and left for Tokyo to raise cattle. Haruna changed vocabry words like television or cars into more suitable words for this world, much like how she changed Tokyo to Wulls. Her singing resounded through the area as she continued to sing of an apple farmer who called out to his lover toe back. There were also songs about cute grandchildren, passionate female stories about oveing difficulties, and so on.
¡¸Yer songs¡¯re inferior to them fairy songs, but I gotta admit that them human songs be not too bad.¡¹
¡¸Well, I wouldn¡¯t assume that all human songs are like that if I were you¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nay, don¡¯t misunderstand. Cause no matter what, fairy songs be the best. I ain¡¯t sayin¡¯ dat yer songs be SUPER good.¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon, you don¡¯t have to act all tsundere about music too¡¡¡¹
Makoto made a grimace at these fairies, who always behaved like stereotypical tsunderes and spoke with heavy ents. These 60 centimeter tall adult fairies flew around with fairy wings (no better word to describe it really) and hummed the bads, only to turn red and begin speaking in a thick tsundere ent whenever someone spotted them, hiding their embarrassment. Honestly, even though she knew full well by now what kind of race they were, she did not know how to react to that sight.
However, it went without saying that the biggest concern was the fact that an attractive, voluptuous western-looking girl was singing bads loudly.
¡¸Ah, looks like she shifted routes.¡¹
¡¸But even if she¡¯s no longer singing bads, it still feels like¡y¡¯know¡¡¡¹
Haruna had now begun singing a song from a skit about how fun it is to draw the ghost leg lottery (renowned for being one of the funniestedy shows). Even though she appeared to be asionally ying the straight man, it was evident that her role as the fool was more fitting, observed Tatsuya and Makoto. And in that fashion, the lively banquet continued to go on.
¡¸You¡¯re really okay with this?¡¹
¡¸Aye, we are in yer debt. Plus the security be nice and tight, so there won¡¯t be any weird things happening.¡¹
The next day. Receiving permission from the chief, Hiroshi and the others remodeled the shed that had been used to erect the transportation circle, beginning with making sure that it was off-limits to the majority of people. As the chief and Archem widened their eyes at how heavy the security was, Hiroshi got right to burning the transportation circle into the ground, transmitting mana into it and returning to the workshop in Wulls before everyone else.
¡ºTest, test, mic test. Can ya hear me?¡»
¡ºTest, test. Can you hear us? You¡¯reing through loud and clear.¡»
After an hour or so, a transmission hade to them from Hiroshi, who had returned to the workshop. This wasn¡¯t the game world, after all. The distance between Wulls and the border of the elf vige was too far for transmissions, which was why Hiroshi had to go to the trouble of making a specializedmunication device. Incidentally, Haruna was usually the one to whom these sorts of items were entrusted. It was no understatement that Hiroshi had been with her the longest.
¡ºLoud and clear over here too. I¡¯m all ready to connect over here, but are ya cool with that?¡»
¡ºWait a moment, I need to confirm that.¡»
After Hiroshi had spoken, she began the final confirmation.
¡¸Says he¡¯s ready and just needs to connect. Can we do that now?¡¹
¡¸Wait a sec. I need to check just to make sure.¡¹
Receiving the message from Haruna, Mio checked once more to make sure that everything was ready. Now, it wasn¡¯t like the ce would explode or anything if they messed up, but going back and forth between Wulls and Ortem via transportation stone was simply unbearable in every sense of the word. They really just wanted to get this out of the way.
¡¸Kay. No defects in the circle. Mana status favorable.¡¹
¡¸Confirming one more time, is it okay to connect now?¡¹
¡¸Mhm. No problem.¡¹
The chief, supported by Archem and standing upright (which still was quite the feat) kept a serious expression on their face and nodded. Now that the chief had given the ok, Haruna confirmed once more with Hiroshi.
¡ºSays it¡¯s okay to connect.¡»
¡ºRoger. I¡¯mma connect right away, so git away from there just an itty bit.¡»
¡ºKaaay.¡»
Telling everyone Hiroshi¡¯s directions, she made sure they all stepped a sufficient amount of distance away from the transportation circle, watching as it changed.
After about 15 seconds from contacting Hiroshi, the circle began to shine, and after about 30 seconds, mana was emitted from the six mana crystals that had been set up as an assist system. The ring of light spread out, as if deciding on the range of the transportation, and once it had gotten to a certain point, this time it stretched to the ceiling. After a minute, the string of events had ended, prompting the rising of a symbol-like pattern in the air.
¡¸Seems like the connection¡¯s been established.¡¹
¡¸Wow, I thought it¡¯d take longer.¡¹
Haruna conveyed the feelings of everyone present. But it was perfectly reasonable to be dumbfounded at just how short a period of time it took to make this crucial item.
¡¸This was only possible because of the sheer volume of your mana, Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Ya think?¡¹
¡¸Normally, even setting everything up takes more than an entire day even with three people.¡¹
¡¸Ah, that right¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi was not the type of man who typically used mana for anything other than making things, so you might not think it, but Hiroshi¡¯s mana was greater than even Barold¡¯s, who was able to destroy Wulls at the snap of a finger. The ability point for knowledge wasn¡¯t as high as the attribute for mind, so his attack power was only in the lower percent of the upper ss, but when you considered the fact that he couldn¡¯t use anything other than crafting or lifestyle magic, his mana count was absurdly high.
Furthermore, the Knowledge stat in game terms closely resembled the Sense stat. In other words, rather than judging whether one is smart or not so smart or one¡¯s ability to study orck thereof, it was a stat that determined whether your senses were keen or dull, whether you couldprehend things with intuition or not. If this particr stat was high, then not only would one¡¯s magical attack power rise; various hints would emerge here and there, much like Sense. So the difference between Knowledge and Sense wasparable to the difference between reason and instinct.
¡¸So you can use it now, right?¡¹
¡¸I can.¡¹
¡¸Ah, but wait a moment. Hiroshi-kun says he¡¯sing back here for a test.¡¹
And just as Haruna finished that sentence, the transportation circle glowed, revealing Hiroshi.
¡¸Alright, looks like that there transportation test¡¯s a big hit.¡¹
¡¸Still, you don¡¯t have to suddenly go through the test yourself. Just throw a small object or something.¡¹
¡¸Nah, that¡¯s a drag. We good like this.¡¹
Immediately brushing aside Makoto¡¯s warning, Hiroshi muttered something in a low voice as he approached the transmitter. Right after that, the transportation circle started glowing again, and this time Teres and Nora appeared.
¡¸Wow, we can actually get from one side to the other¡¡¡¹
¡¸I know I should not be surprised by how quickly the Boss Man works, but still, I feel like the mood has been ruined¡¡¡¹
Upon walking out of the circle, the two of them immediately began saying their rude thoughts as they looked around the perimeter. When the chief and Archem saw just how unappreciative Teres was of being able to finally return, they simply gaped and could not recover. As soon as her eyes met theirs, Teres gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. After an awkward silence, she coughed in order to break said silence and turned to face the chief who she had not seen for two years.
¡¸Well, it has been some time since Ist saw you.¡¹
¡¸I-Indeed. I am d to see that yer alive and well.¡¹
¡¸You too, Archem. Have you gotten better at speaking Fanish?¡¹
¡¸Well yes, at least to where I don¡¯t sound painful to hear¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mm. Yeah, I can¡¯t hear any ent.¡¹
Teres was the best doctor not only of Ortem, but of the entire elf race. And yet, for some reason, her return felt like something shoddy.
Also, digressing a bit¡
¡¸¡¡I sense that Deary has returned to Wulls¡¡¡¹
Riding in a stagecoach bound for Darl, the former assassin¡¯s wild intuition was at work as she murmured thatment. But that is just between us.
Volume 2, Snippet 1.1
Volume 2, Snippet 1.1
_______________________________________________________________
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
Elf Forest Arc Comption?Snippet
Snippet¡¡1
£±£®The Residents of Elf Vige
¡¸Yeah, no particr problem. This is near the forest giant settlement after all.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, they were always a tough sort.¡¹
¡¸An we ain¡¯t gonna be so careless as to let ¡®em attack, eh.¡¹
The forest giant settlement was about thirty minutes away from Ortem by foot. Makoto and Tatsuya eximed in wonder as they looked at the road to the vige. As one would expect from denizens averaging 3 meters in height, their vige was impregnable.
¡¸I still don¡¯t get how gigantic bodies like that don¡¯t disrupt the trails in the area.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but if you say that, you have to also consider that Ortem with its vast size is also astonishing in how everything¡¯s still nice and neat.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯d be pretty bad for any race in the forest ta leave traces of their footsteps. They wouldn¡¯st.¡¹
Foeldan, 302 cm in height, quipped as he continued walking, the trees barely quivering as he passed by. Tatsuya and Makoto grimaced at his answer as they continued, jostling the trees far more than Foeldan or Goivejon. This usually wasn¡¯t a good thing, since it would risk them being detected and attacked by monsters, but right now the main objective was to get acquainted with non-elf races. It might actually be a bad thing in this case to be too quiet.
¡¸Almost there, eh.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup.¡¹
Goivejon and Foeldan said, peering into a thicket big enough to contain both of their bodies. And inside it was¡¡
¡¸¡¡Looks to be a big scale vige, but not so much in the number of houses.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s cause of our build. We never did have a whole lotta influence. The most we can fit in a row are three houses, ¡®n that goes fer every vige, eh.¡¹
¡¸But unlike da elves, we don¡¯ ¡®ave as many single-person households or households owned by couples.¡¹
They could see bungalows big enough to be two story houses for a human. The mere sight of dozens of those houses lined up together was staggering to be sure, but just as Makoto had pointed out, there really weren¡¯t very many.
There were at max around 500 forest giants living in Foeldan¡¯s vige. Their lifespans didn¡¯t greatly deviate from that of humans, and their capacity for reproduction was greater than elves but lower than that of humans. With the situation of food being as it was, their poption stayed rtively the same. asionally they would arrange marriages with forest giants from other viges, avoiding interbreeding more than was necessary.
Incidentally, when Foeldan was approaching the thirtieth road, his wife passed away from an illness. His oldest child was approaching puberty. You¡¯d normally assume that Foeldan¡¯s children would go delinquent with him gone so often, but it wasn¡¯t possible in a small vige like this anyway.
¡¸I brought some guests wid me, everyone©`!¡¹
In response to Foeldan¡¯s voice, numerous forest giants shuffled over from all directions. There were perhaps around 400 of them. Considering how there were even older people with slumps and people who were off from work, it seemed a reasonable estimate.
¡¸Humans? That¡¯s rare, eh.¡¹
¡¸He saved Artiem¡¯s life, eh.¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re gonna be briefly stayin¡¯ in Ortem, so I figured I may as well introduce you all, eh.¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay. Then they can¡¯t stay much long, eh.¡¹
¡¸Thas right.¡¹
The forest giants surrounded them in a rather friendly manner. Even if they meant well, it was still quite intimidating.
¡¸You goin¡¯ to da goblins¡¯ ce next?¡¹
¡¸Thas wha I¡¯d like to do.¡¹
¡¸Den we got sum good booze for you. Take a barrel. How about our guests?¡¹
¡¸I want some!¡¹
Makoto jumped at the offer of the (presumed) chieftain. Being brewed for forest giants, it was needless to say that when they set off again, Makoto was all chuckles and Tatsuya was looking at her exasperatedly.
¡¸Now this is impressive.¡¹
¡¸Goblins rely on their extraordinary numbers.¡¹
¡¸Dat¡¯s cuz we can¡¯t win against elves or giants with da same numbers.¡¹
The goblin vige. There were hardly any buildings present. Instead there were cers and tree hollows all around for the goblins to live in. ording to Goivejon, due to how fiercely the poption dwindled or was reced, they couldn¡¯t afford to make too many buildings. As a result, the only people who could have houses were those who did important jobs, such as him. The only other building in addition to a house was a storage shed.
The number of goblins stretching across the vige was extraordinary given the entire area. Just by roughly counting the poption, it was clear that it outmatched the forest giants, and more and more goblins shuffled over by the minute. They seemed to be quite celebratory.
¡¸Chief, Chief. There¡¯s some fresh booze from dem forest giants.¡¹
¡¸Ooh! Thanks a lot!¡¹
Foeldan set the keg down in sync with Goivejon as he spoke. The chief cheered as he saw this. Now, even though this was just one barrel, it was made for forest giants. Handled properly, this could be served one cup per goblin.
¡¸Oh yeah, I just remembered.¡¹
¡¸Wazzup, guest?¡¹
¡¸We took down three razor-wed jaguars earlier. Are they even edible?¡¹
¡¸They were all pretty big, so we figured they¡¯d provide ample food. If they¡¯re edible, then we were thinking of leaving you one. What do you say?¡¹
¡¸Well, that¡¯s good to hear. Cuz they¡¯re violent ¡®n evil. We goblins would probly hafta sacrifice 50 men ta take down just one.¡¹
¡¸¡¯N when ites to eatin¡¯ dem, dey¡¯re pretty gamey but if ye smoke ¡¯em dey sure taste good.¡¹
Nodding at the very weing goblins, they took out the biggest one from the bag. When the goblins saw the size of that prey, they cheered.
¡¸Many thanks, many thanks.¡¹
¡¸Chief, Chief. We gotta give dem sumting too.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. But all I can give ¡¯em right now is rettrel wine ¡®n smoked marga eggs¡¡¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸Rettrel is a fruit that can be harvested around the second month. Tastes a lot like mountain grapes but with a richer vor. Same can be said for the wine. Put that together with marga bird eggs ¡®n ye got yerself a goodbo.¡¹
¡¸If you¡¯re fine with us taking it then.¡¹
Makoto didn¡¯t hesitate to partake in this drink/snackbination. Perhaps because she had to stifle her interests as a fujoshi, it felt like her craving for alcohol was growing worse and worse. Then again, she wasn¡¯t addicted per say, so at least she wasn¡¯t going to sell out herrades just for some booze.
¡¸If yer goin¡¯ to where dem fairies are, couldja bring a barrel over while yer at it?¡¹
¡¸Roger that.¡¹
Noddingvishly at the chief, they carried a barrel three times the size of a regr goblin, putting into the bag.
¡¸Now I guess it¡¯s just the fairies.¡¹
¡¸Fairies from these parts? Yeah, we should probably be careful around them in particr.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto whispered to each other before departure. Unbeknownst to them, Goivejon was grimacing at what they had just said.
Volume 2, Snippet 1.2
Volume 2, Snippet 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Whas an outsider like ye want here?¡¹
A man with a height of 60 cm and fairy tale-like butterfly wings asked in a clearly cautious manner (along with a thick ent). Makoto couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of this spectacle. Tatsuya, on the other hand, had seemingly prepared himself for this, showing no signs of being affected. In addition, he had also noticed lots of fairies hiding where neither him nor his group could see.
¡¸Dese two be guests from Ortem.¡¹
¡¸Dey saved Artiem, ya see.¡¹
¡¸Can dey be trusted?¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help agree with the scrutinizing eyes of the fairies. They were outsiders after all. Fairies differed depending on the work or legend, but it wasn¡¯t rare at all for them to be cautious. In fact, that pretty much defined the majority of elves¡¡
¡¸Artiem herself says dis.¡¹
¡¸Ye sure they ain¡¯t threatenin¡¯ her to act dat way?¡¹
¡¸Dat¡¯s rude, yer talkin¡¯ about da elf vige chief.¡¹
Ignoring the conversation between Goivejon and the fairies, Makoto casually searched the perimeter with her eyes. There wasn¡¯t any particr reason for this; it was just on a whim. She was low on the sensory scale, but she still had a decent intuition from all the times she had fought on the front lines in the game.
¡¸Hey, Tatsuya.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸Doesn¡¯t that look like a monster to you?¡¹
What Makoto had sneakily pointed at was some greenery that was snaking up a tree, pretending to be vines. Not only was the position weird; there weren¡¯t nearly enough of them. If it were Hiroshi or Mio they probably would have immediately found it out to be a monster, but with Makoto¡¯s perception, she was too doubtful of her own ability to see through tricky monsters like that without giving things a test.
¡¸What to do? Just go ahead and defeat it?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Dunno what breed of monster it is, but taking care of it right now is probably for the best.¡¹
Leaving behind Goivejon and the fairies arguing, they decided to go and check out the suspicious set of vines, which seemed to have moved even closer without them noticing. As nned, Makoto got closer to the outstretched vines, cutting them down with a scythe. As soon as she got closer to the main body¡¡
¡¸Whaddya doin¡¯!?¡¹
A female fairy who had been secretly spying on them jumped out.
¡¸Ah!¡¡You idiot!¡¹
Makoto instinctively screamed out at the fairy. The moment she had paused her attack, the vine switched its target and pounced on the fairy to consume her. The minute it ensared the fairy, Makoto lopped it off with her scythe.
¡¸It¡¯s dangerous, get back!¡¹
Scolding the fairy for recklessly jumping in front of the monster, Makoto lopped off what seemed to be the main body of the monster. Carefully observing the vined greenery that had quickly withered in one hit, she breathed a sigh of relief when she concluded that it didn¡¯t appear to be propagating.
¡¸This thing isn¡¯t your idea of a gatekeeper, is it?¡¹
The fairy male shook his head in response. Meanwhile, the female¡¯s face had gone well beyond pale to a pure white color from the shock of having nearly been eaten.
¡¸This all seems really shady. Think we should go around cutting some more grass?¡¹
¡¸No, I¡¯d say it wouldn¡¯t be very smart to continue acting on our own like this.¡¹
¡¸Right. Not like we¡¯re being weed too much as it is. I¡¯d hate for them to get any strange ideas about us.¡¹
The fairies had indescribable expressions on their faces as they watched this exchange. Right at that moment
¡¸Whatcha fussin¡¯ about over dere?¡¹
A fairly well-to-do male fairy appeared from within the vige. Judging from his atmosphere, he seemed to be one of the leaders in their fairy society.
¡¸I was tryna chase off dese outsiders that Goivejon brought here.¡¹
¡¸But dey¡¯re Artiem¡¯s rescuers. What¡¯s wrong wid demin¡¯ along?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sayin¡¯ dey aren¡¯t ta be trusted.¡¹
¡¸Forto, stop it!¡¹
Forto, with whom this new fairy had been speaking with, was scolded.
¡¸Sorry about that, kind guests. See, we¡¯re a weak race inparison to goblins, except for when ites to magic. Not too many of us either, so there ain¡¯t never enough caution.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, normally you¡¯d act that way¡¡¹
¡¸If anything, those elves are way toox.¡¹
¡¸So there you have it. It¡¯s perfectly normal to be on your guard, so we¡¯re not offended in the slightest.¡¹
Smiling wryly at the male¡¯s apology, the two of them made it clear that they didn¡¯t mind. The fairy soon looked relieved as he heard that and saw how they were acting.
¡¸Zeon, why ye apologizin¡¯ to dese suspicious outsiders!?¡¹
¡¸Forto, I already told you that¡¯s being rude!¡¹
¡¸Still!¡¹
¡¸If ye doubt everytin¡¯ an everybody an push away any ol¡¯ outsider who could be a potential ally, we¡¯ll be da ones sufferin¡¯ for it in da end!¡¹
Zeon and Forto were conversing in the typical kind of conversation you would expect from a fantasy race, albeit with a thick ent. Put onto paper, it would be rtively easy to read what they were saying, but in actuality, not only was their intonation strange, but some of their phrases became muddy in the weirdest ces, so it was surprising difficult to make out what they were saying.
¡¸Can¡¯t say I¡¯m surprised at the kind of conversations they have, though.¡¹
¡¸Do they always act this way?¡¹
¡¸Ya see?¡¹
¡¸Forto, yer so stubborn despite bein¡¯ so young.¡¹
¡¸But ye ain¡¯t much differn, Zeon.¡¹
The aforementioned ¡°outsiders¡± just gazed exasperatedly at the escting argument. Forto was the same as before, but even Zeon was beginning to have a simr tone. To differentiate between the two of them, it seemed that Zeon¡¯s im was that regardless of whether he trusted or did not trust these new people, he ought to at least show his gratitude for the deed they had aplished. So he was a bit more outwardly focused. Still, his stance of thoroughly doubting outsiders and not initially epting them was essentially the same, plus he also seemed to concur that a little favor was not enough to ept someone.
Judging from the looks of this fight, it would appear that Zeon and Forto were not above or below each other in rank. Clearly, if there had been a slight difference, even Forto would not have been able to simplysh out like that.
¡¸Sayin¡¯ stuff like dat in front o¡¯the guests is meaningless.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup.¡¹
You could say that Goivejon and Foeldan¡¯s conversation was also pointless and idiotic.
¡¸Okay, things seem to be heading in a bad direction, so how about we put down the liquor from the goblin chief and get the heck out of here?¡¹
¡¸Right. Not like us being here makes much of a difference anyway.¡¹
As they were discussing these things, the pale-faced fairy girl from earlier was staring heatedly at Zeon and Forto out of nowhere.
Both males were the top of their ss when it came to being attractive fairies. Females from the same species would no doubt find it hard to control themselves. Be as it may, Makoto could sense that this wasn¡¯t quite the case this time around.
¡¸Hey, can I ask you something?¡¹
¡¸Whacha want?¡¹
¡¸Just something I¡¯m a bit curious about¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ye askin¡¯ about why I haven¡¯t thanked ye yet? It¡¯s true ye saved us, ¡®n I¡¯m thankful fer dat, but dat doesn¡¯t mean I gotta recognize ye.¡¹
Her face reddening, the fairy girl awkwardly searched for a pretext. To properly trante this, it would be something like¡¸I never said you had to save me, okay? But thanks.¡¹Normally you would wonder why she was on such a high horse, but her mannerisms and tonepletely betrayed her true feelings. The supplemental sound channel was clearly¡¸Thanks, sorry.¡¹, so for otakus like Tatsuya and Makoto, this was truly a sight to behold.
Makoto nearly stopped moving when she heard that amazingly tsundere string of words, but decided to get back on track.
¡¸No, I could care less about being thanked. It¡¯s just that the way you were looking at those two was a bit curious to me.¡¹
¡¸Ye got a problem wit dat?¡¹
¡¸No no no.¡¹
Makoto frantically waved her hands with a wide smile on her face in response to the fairy¡¯s sudden aggressive demeanor. She then approached her and whispered at a volume that wouldn¡¯t be overheard.
¡¸Zeon-san and Forto-san, was it? If you had to choose between the two of them, which one do you think would look good on top?¡¹
¡¸¡¡!?¡¹
¡¸At least in my case, it looks a lot like Zeon-san is strong on the dom whereas Forto-san is strong on the sub.¡¹
¡¸Dom?¡¡Sub?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢right, this is probably too much jargon for her to understand¡¡¡¹
Slightly remorseful when she saw the fairy¡¯s reaction, Makoto began to spew out some more unnecessary things. Her face reddening at Makoto¡¯s exnation, the girl fairy did her best to listen intently. Before they knew it, there were three more female fairies listening in. Quite pleased by this, Makoto slipped out a paper and began drawing on it with incredible detail, hard to even tell it was free-hand. And of course, the drawing depicted a naked Zeon and Forto.
¡¸Makoto after we give a quick greeting to the chief, we¡¯re outta here.¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay, got it.¡¹
By this point, a huge throng of female fairies had developed around Makoto, who had be rather engrossed in her conversation. Tatsuya, who had kept his distance from this overwhelming fujoshi aura, had apparently decided it was time to head out. After her proselytizing andst-minute work had all but ended, Makoto was getting ready to begin an exciting discussion when she was brought back to reality.
¡¸Hey, Makoto¡¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know what you were discussing over there, but you¡¯re not trying to give them any weird ideas, right?¡¹
¡¸Rx, rx. I was just trying to strengthen our bonds.¡¹
Tatsuya wanted to ask ¡°what bonds?¡± but was too fearful to ask. Later that night, he woulde to the realization that fairies had an affinity for ¡°that¡± kind of thing and be rather dejected, but he had no way of knowing this at the moment.
Volume 2, Snippet 1.3
Volume 2, Snippet 1.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
£². Aearis Goes to a Soba Store
¡¸Father, Great Priest.¡¹
¡¸What is the matter, Aearis-sama?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t believe you had anything to do today, Aearis.¡¹
¡¸Nothing official, no. I simply want you to grant me a slightly selfish desire.¡¹
Aearis had begun the conversation with a rather earnest expression, which prompted the king and priest to exchange nces. Clearly they could not fathom what in the world she desired.
¡¸And this desire of yours is?¡¹
¡¸I wish to take a vacation in the near future, if that is alright.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but why exactly?¡¹
¡¸You see¡¡¡¹
The king and priest couldn¡¯t help but give Aearis a weird look as she exined. They had somewhat anticipated her wanting to go out, but the reason was most certainly not something that most young girls desired when they wereing of age.
¡¸A soba shop, you say¡¡¡¹
¡¸But you eat soba all the time, do you not?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mean the kind I make, but the kind that¡¯s sold.¡¹
Aearis sent a gaze burning with passion their way. If this had been about anything but soba, it surely would have been a refined mannerism suitable for royalty, but this was just sinful.
¡¸Honestly, it isn¡¯t really suitable to just go out and eat¡¡¡¹
¡¸But Father, if there is anything dangerous mixed in, Alfemina-sama will let me know.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Never thought I would see the day when a believer gave such a reason¡¡¡¹
The high priest had a rather difficult expression on his face in response to this incredibly cheap oracle. Sure, it was no lie that her power as a priestess would prove credible in situations such as these, but just to eat soba? The stocks would plummet in more ways than one.
¡¸¡¡High Priest, I see no reason to deny her request. What say you?¡¹
¡¸Right¡¡Besides, even if we refused, she could just as easily make her way to Azuma Workshop. We have seen her be rather rebellious as ofte, have we not?¡¹
¡¸¡¡We sure have.¡¹
The reason they could not see a reason to refuse was chiefly because she was alreadying and going to Azuma Workshop. Depending on the day, she would even go with the workshop members to rtively safe marketces. By this point, it was toote to feel worried.
Furthermore, when she was under the protection of Hiroshi¡¯s group, she still wandered around here and there under a disguise (apanied by someone however). If they were still worried despite that, this could still be resolved by giving Douga permission to apany her on one of his free days.
Sure, some might think of this as unfair to Douga¡¯s break time, but again, why bother caring at this point? After all, his grandchildren had already grown up fine and stopped ying with him, so having him apany Aearis out to town would probably make him secretly have fun. Quite honestly, he was in the end a grandpa who doted on his grandchildren.
¡¸¡¡Alright. Ernest¡¯s day off is three days from now. Was there anything nned for this day, High Priest?¡¹
¡¸No, not anything in particr that would restrain Aearis-sama.¡¹
¡¸Then I guess that can be the day.¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹
Aearis thanked them with a sparkly look in her eyes, bowing her head properly. It was almost as if she were wagging a tail. She thanked them once again before exiting the room and going back to the temple.
¡¸I don¡¯t know what she sees in that soba. Surely the kind I make is far superior¡¡¹
¡¸Well, there¡¯s nothing wrong with letting her do this every so often.¡¹
After they saw Aearis leave, the king muttered his true feelings and the high priestforted him. As all of this was happening, Aearis had atst gone on her way to the soba shop she was so hung up on.
¡¸Is this it¡¡!¡¹
¡¸It has quite the elegance, does it not?¡¹
Three dayster. Taking a break as nned, Aearis had arrived at the outskirts of the food district, led by Fum. The shop was structured like a wooden bungalow with a hint of refinement to it, something you would never see in Fane. But this was to be expected, since the building itself was something that Hiroshi had created the blueprint for, entrusting it to the shopkeeper. It was only natural that Hiroshi¡¯s blueprint had a Japanese method of construction. Thanks to that, the building looked as if it were both popping out and blending into its surroundings. It was a strange sight to be sure.
¡¸Just so you know, Elle-sama, Grand-sama.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s no denying it¡¯s delicious, but don¡¯t go expecting anything incredible, okay?¡¹
¡¸Yes, I know.¡¹
Replying to Fum¡¯s warning, they went straight under the curtains at the entrance.
¡¸Wee. Three, I take it?¡¹
A man who appeared to be the shopkeeper called out to them as he continued to pound the soba.
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸Oh, Fum! Thanks foring again.¡¹
¡¸Ah, yeah. I was requested by these two.¡¹
¡¸Alright, looks like I gotta keep my work ship-shape then.¡¹
He said as he continued pounding the noodles with seasoned hands. The noodles in question were buckwheat, and the 28th variety. Apparently, the shopkeeper hadn¡¯t been able to skillfully make the 100% variety. That being said,ing from someone like Aearis who also happened to make the same food, this shopkeeper had quite the ability.
¡¸I can certainly see why you¡¯re in business. Just look at that technique.¡¹
¡¸So, youngdy. I anticipated that you all would be rted to Fum in some way, but if you understand the gists of soba pounding, I assume you¡¯re an acquaintance of Hiroshi¡¯s?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸Oh boy, now I really can¡¯t screw up here¡¡¡¹
As he spoke, he finished the pounding and immediately proceeded to boil it. Once the soba had boiled to a good degree, he moved it to a donburi, pouring an ample amount of pre-prepared warm dashi juice before quickly cutting onions and setting them on the te.
¡¸Well if you know Hiroshi, then we gotta go with kakesoba, eh?¡¹
Without so much as hearing their orders, he had prepared everything necessary and said that as an excuse. However, all three of them had already intended on ordering kakesoba, so naturally, there were noints.
¡¸It¡¯s nothingpared to what they can fix up for you, so don¡¯t be too harsh on me, mkay?¡¹
As he said that as a safeguard, the shopkeeper brought out the dashi-scented soba to them. Not skipping a beat, they thrust their chopsticks into the noodles, slurping up the first mouthful without making much noise.
¡¸¡¡I see.¡¹
¡¸Elle-sama?¡¹
¡¸No, I was just surprised by how delicious a broth you can make even without using enough soy sauce.¡¹
¡¸Ah, so you do know about soy sauce¡¡¡¹
The shopkeeper couldn¡¯t help but show disappointment at Aearis¡¯s observation. They began sipping the next mouthful with a wry smile on their faces as they noticed that. After slowly savoring the taste,
¡¸I feel that the extraction of wheat flour was a bit rough. Also, perhaps you were a little bit quick with the water?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, couldn¡¯t quite find any good-quality wheat flour. I do what I can in regards to the water flow, but it just doesn¡¯t settle down enough.¡¹
Aearis smiled warmly at the shopkeeper as heughed at his shorings. She continued speaking.
¡¸Still, this is the most delicious soba I¡¯ve eaten other than what Hiroshi-sama has made. Your business sess speaks for itself.¡¹
¡¸Hey Boss, it¡¯s even better than thest time I ate it. Have some confidence.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Thanks, man.¡¹
The shopkeeper slightly smiled at Aearis and Fum¡¯s consideration. As they conversed, several customers entered.
¡¸Oh?¡¹
¡¸It seems you have more customers now.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, this shop is pretty lively. It¡¯s even got tempura and some rare stuff.¡¹
¡¸In that case, I would be adverse to staying too long.¡¹
¡¸Nah, feel free to take it easy. Besides, if you all know the guy, then there are some things I¡¯d like to test out.¡¹
He quickly fried the tempura and piled it on as he said that. He also prepared a few buckwheat dumplings and some buckwheat rice gruel, presenting it to them.
¡¸I¡¯ll treat ya, so once I¡¯m finished helping them, let me know what you think.¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹
Finishing the buckwheat noodle soup before the noodles went stale, they got to eating the soba gruel and soba dumplings. Before Hiroshi had brought up the idea of eating ramen dumplings, soba dumplings like this were the main way it went. As a result, this was not rare in and of itself. The only noticeable difference was the delicate dashi seasoning.
¡¸Y¡¯know, it¡¯s not half bad eating it with this seasoning either.¡¹
¡¸Right? It¡¯s amazing.¡¹
¡¸When I eat this, I truly remember that soba is an assorted grain.¡¹
As Douga heartily slurped soba gruel while making thatment, the two girls made understanding expressions on their faces. Last of all, they ate tempura and exchanged their thoughts.
¡¸Yep, fried food is best when freshly cooked.¡¹
¡¸Fried and crispy, just the way I like it.¡¹
The shopkeeper¡¯s cuisine appeared to have quite the rave review at first nce. It was just that the group ended up finding fault in the smallest ces.
Volume 2, Extra 1.1
Volume 2, Extra 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Elf Forest Arc Extra?Snippets
Extra¡¡1
¡¸Wait, it¡¯s almost April, isn¡¯t it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yup. It¡¯d pretty much be flower-viewin¡¯ season over there.¡¹
The experimental agricultural sector that was once a slum in Wulls. As they were leading the two-wheeled cars full of seedlings to the various fields, Makoto muttered that as she remembered. Agreeing with her, Hiroshi recalled the events that would be happening around this time. It should be noted that they did not have any rice nt seedlings, as it was a bit too early for rice fields.
¡¸And it ain¡¯t like we can get any sakura trees in Wulls, so no flower viewin¡¯ this time.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Wait, are there even any sakura in the first ce over here?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t remember what it was like in the game. Well, I suppose we could try modifyin¡¯ some trees that are simr. Whaddya say?¡¹
¡¸Oh boy, you¡¯re going to go THAT route again¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi was ready to begin another long-winded conversation again, and Makoto quipped exasperatingly at this. No matter how exceptional Hiroshi was, preparing enough sakura for flower-viewing and settling them on thisnd would take around ten years. In all honesty, Makoto waspletely opposed to the idea of staying here that ridiculously long. She did quite like her life in Wulls, but that waspletely different from this. Besides, separating Tatsuya from his wife for that long was also problematic.
¡¸Still, who¡¯d have thought the slum would change this radically?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s cuz we worked hard.¡¹
¡¸And that in itself is amazing, because ¡°working hard¡± sounds like an understatement.¡¹
Looking across the region that no longer bore even the trace of a slum, Makoto let out her thoughts in an exasperated yet amazed tone. Even the area they were walking across right now was once (although it didn¡¯t smell bad) by no means a sanitary ce. By this point, it had transformed into a well-tended rice field with multiple paths going through it, no longer a ce that could be referred to as a slum.
The slum was about four households long in scope. Due to the sanitary conditions, the shift was drastic, plus there had been a poption of 5,000ing and going. The total amount ofnd was enough to contain a small-scale farming vige, but it wasn¡¯t even close to being near Ortem¡¯s size. The area was several timesrger than a small vige like Leite, but at its peak, the poption in the slum could get up to ten times that poption. That was essentially the gist of the size. Being a slum, it also had spaces that were no longer habitable and left alone, so adding those spaces would make the area a bitrger than that.
Having that area of soil improved, expanding the area, making fields, making low-ss housingplexes for the residents to live in andpleting all of that in three month¡¯s time was surely deserving of a better description than just working hard. Makoto really wanted to spend an hour ranting to him about that detail. This was especially true in the case of starting and ending the construction work on the residential homes in just one week.
¡¸Wow, can¡¯t believe a year¡¯s almost passed¡«¡¹
¡¸¡¯N it was around June for ya, right Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Yep yep. The beginning of June, I think. At the time, I didn¡¯t know my right from my left, nor was I really looking at the calendar, so I don¡¯t recall the precise date.¡¹
¡¸Well it ain¡¯t no different fer us. Well, Haruna probably remembers how many days it was since we been here, so I bet she also knows the exact date we were flung over here.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that would make sense.¡¹
Makoto nodded in agreement. Unless you put it on a memo, it would be difficult to recall how many days have passed. In fact, even Haruna hadn¡¯t been counting the precise number of days; she simply remembered what happened in what order each day. Furthermore, Haruna¡¯s memory was like that of a database or inte search program and had to be reminded with specific key words in order to actually remember. If she were not in the proper presence of mind, it would often take time or simply not work at all.
¡¸Anyhow, I can easily see us all celebrating two years¡¯ worth of birthday¡¯s since we came here.¡¹
¡¸When¡¯s yer birthday, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸June 13th.¡¹
¡¸Ya came here pretty early, then.¡¹
¡¸Yep. What about you?¡¹
¡¸It was July 27th for me. We celebrated everyone¡¯s birthday as a ss back in elementary school but since my birthday¡¯s during summer I never got a celebration. Plus it was already August when we came here, so it should¡¯ve been a year already.¡¹
Makoto wasn¡¯t sure what to say to this rather pitiful story. Only Tatsuya knew about Hiroshi¡¯s middle school life. The guy just had an unfortunate past in general.
To exin a bit more about this world¡¯s calendar, odd months consisted of 31 days, even months consisted of 30 days, and the 31st of November was only on leap years. One day was 24 hours, one hour was 60 minutes, and one second was essentially the same, but the diameter was actually vaster than the earth and the rotation swifter, hence why gravity had a slightly more forceful pull, but everyone from Earth had their physical abilities magnified sinceing here, so there wasn¡¯t much of a difference in their perception. Still, it was such a small difference, so regardless of physical capabilities, it would have been highly unlikely anyone would catch on.
Since this world had high-speed travel from an earlier time, it had long since beenmon knowledge that the earth was a globe. Possibly as a result of that, the rtionship with time had be quite clear. Of course there had been some difficulties along the way, but we will leave it at that for now.
¡¸Speaking of which, what about Tatsuya or Mio?¡¹
¡¸Never asked so I dunno. But if they never mentioned it then there¡¯s a good chance they had theirs without realizin¡¯ it.¡¹
¡¸True.¡¹
¡¸Realizing what now?¡¹
As they conversed while lowering seedlings, Haruna had returned with curry bread for lunch, interested in what they had to say. This was the perfect opportunity to ask Haruna about the situation.
¡¸We were just talkin¡¯ ¡¯bout how April¡¯s almost here.¡¹
¡¸And how it¡¯s gonna be a year since I came here.¡¹
¡¸And then we started talkin¡¯ ¡¯bout our birthdays.¡¹
¡¸Oh, okay. I believe Tatsuya-san and Mio will have been here for half a year, so I¡¯m sure one or two birthdays have already¡wait, birthdays¡? Ohhh¡«!¡¹
Haruna¡¯s voice was in disarray as she said the word ¡°birthday¡±. The other two took a step back.
¡¸What¡¯s with the loud voice all of a sudden?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s actually almost my birthday!¡¹
¡¸Already forgetting when your birthday is?¡¹
Makoto burst out at Haruna¡¯s statement with an odd expression.
¡¸So when is it?¡¹
¡¸April 1st.¡¹
¡¸But that¡¯s¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mhm. One dayter and I would have dropped down a grade.¡¹
Haruna affirmed Makoto¡¯s question with a wry smile. This was of course during spring break, so much like Hiroshi, she shouldn¡¯t have had her birthday celebrated either. Haruna had a bit of aplex about it when she was younger, but by this point as a senior in high school she of course didn¡¯t care. And unlike Hiroshi, who had been bullied for his nasal inmmation in elementary school, Haruna had celebrated it a certain amount with her family, acquaintances, and ssmates, so it wasn¡¯t all that much of a big deal anyway.
¡¸But if both calendars are operating around the same time, I bet it¡¯s nearing the final stage of the center¡¯s examination.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Well, even if we returned now, with the number of seats being the way they are, it¡¯d probably force us to wait till next year.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s true, yeah¡«¡¹
¡¸Yeah, if only that was the main consequence.¡¹
It sounded harmonious as they talked about it, but Hiroshi and Haruna were supposed to be taking exams for college right now. Ordinarily it would be strange for them to be nonchntly ying games near the end of April, but if they had not been flung over here, they would have both definitely postponed gaming. Right before getting sent here, Hirishi had nned on pausing in front of the dungeon he was going to, and Haruna was merely taking a breather by doing some light shopping and theatre-going. In the first ce, Haruna¡¯s grades and academics were good enough to where she could easily get into the school of her choice without studying very much.
Plus Hiroshi wasn¡¯t even all that fixated on exams. In all honesty, he was nning on getting right to helping out at his family¡¯s metal processing factory. After all, there was rarely a woman going to or from the factory, plus there was hardly any need to go outside. That environment could not have been any better suited for him.
And although he had a firm grasp on his situation, Hiroshi hade all the way to Kanto, spurred on by his business connection. He had to maintain the factory work until he got paid, and all the funding for the move would go to waste. Maybe not before middle school, but as of now Hiroshi actually quite liked shaving off cast metal with the manufacturing machines and was not particrly eager to go to universities, which were teeming with women he didn¡¯t know (also known as ¡°natural enemies¡±). Still, his family wanted him to atst attempt the feat, so he picked a university close enough to his house tomute to with rtively few women, as well as a major that would have even fewer women. The university in question barely scraped together an A rating.
¡¸Anyhow, if yer birthdayes up right at the beginning of the month, how ¡¯bout we celebrate ours? ¡¹
¡¸Sounds good. Might as well go along with your n. Although I¡¯m not sure what we¡¯ll do about presents.¡¹
¡¸No, I mean, I¡¯m fine just with a celebration¡¡¡¹
¡¸I guess it depends on yer feelings.¡¹
It was a little ufortable to discuss birthdays without bringing any presents, especially since they were almost like a second family now.
¡¸I guess I¡¯ll have a talk with Bro ¡®n Mio when I get back.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯d be awesome if it works out, but it¡¯s fine even if it doesn¡¯t, okay?¡¹
¡¸Oh no, I hope I¡¯m not a sourpuss for wanting something decent for presents.¡¹
¡¸Just keep in mind that it¡¯s both difficult to give one present per person, plus it weighs us down. How ¡¯bout everyone gets just one present?¡¹
¡¸Of course.¡¹
The conversation was now over. It was now time to begin one of the most difficult missions they had ever faced in this world: finding birthday presents for everyone.
Volume 2, Extra 1.2
Volume 2, Extra 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸Haruna-san¡¯s birthday?¡¹
¡¸Yup. We were thinkin¡¯ of gettin¡¯ one present for everyone from the workshop and then throwin¡¯ a party separate from that.¡¹
That night. Hiroshi had gathered everyone on the tatami in order to exin the purpose of the meeting. Haruna picked up on the cue, readying the bath and preparing dinner. Artiem¡¯s eyes were emitting an unusual glow. This was either because she liked celebrating with people or because she just wanted to see what kind of feast was awaiting them.
¡¸You know why it¡¯s just one present now, right?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s cause Boss Man and everyone else are going on another long journey, right?¡¹
¡¸Exactly. So we don¡¯t exactly want to carry around that much stuff.¡¹
¡¸And so I brought y¡¯all here to see what yer opinions were.¡¹
Understanding the n, everyone was ready to say what they wanted. Mio was the first to steal the spotlight.
¡¸A set of underwear.¡¹
¡¸Denied.¡¹
Mio¡¯s proposal was of course smashed by Tatsuya in mere seconds.
¡¸But why, Tatsu?¡¹
¡¸You seriously want to trouble him like that?¡¹
¡¸Eh¡«?¡¹
Both denied and criticized, Mio drooped.
¡¸That¡¯s right. If Hiroshi-san makes it, I could see Haruna-san being troubled over it.¡¹
¡¸I did think of that too for a moment, but if Boss Man has to go out of his way to make something he doesn¡¯t normally make, it would be difficult to feel happy about that.¡¹
¡¸Besides, Haruna never was the type to be happy about that sort of thing.¡¹
¡¸And overall, I sort of feel that men shouldn¡¯t make underwear for women anyway.¡¹
Now other people were adding to this criticism, and Mio¡¯s opinion was entirely smothered by the storm.
¡¸Still, we don¡¯t have to entirely turn away from clothing, right?¡¹
¡¸Right, right. Now that we¡¯re at it, do you happen to know if we can process spirit thread with a sewing machine made from evil ent wood?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sure we could, but it can only be one article of clothin¡¯ at a time, plus we gotta let it rest 24 hours to self-repair or else it breaks.¡¹
¡¸But it can sew, yeah?¡¹
¡¸It sure can. It¡¯s just he inefficient.¡¹
Upon hearing Hiroshi¡¯s reply, the first candidate was now chosen.
¡¸Okay, one more thing. If we started making the sewing machine today, would we make it in time for the big day?¡¹
¡¸Mm, yeah, should be fine. Just know¡¡¹
¡¸Know what?¡¹
¡¸The spirit cloth is gonna eventually be customized fer all y¡¯all, so I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be all that impressive startin¡¯ out.¡¹
All present quieted down as they heard Hiroshi point this out.
¡¸All right. I might actually like something on the small side anyway.¡¹
After slowly savoring what Hiroshi had said, Teres gave her opinion. After that, all eyes were on her.
¡¸So what specifically?¡¹
¡¸I like the spirit cloth idea, but it¡¯s not like it has to be clothing. It could be something as simple as a ribbon.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I see.¡¹
¡¸True, that way it won¡¯t be bulky, good for an essory, good for tying up hair, and there are other things we can use it for.¡¹
Everyone began to seriously consider what Teres had just said. Things were already essentially decided by that point.
¡¸Alright, it¡¯s ribbon time y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah. So is there anything we need?¡¹
¡¸Lemme see. While we¡¯re over here, couldja go out a bit farther ¡®n fetch me some catalytic material?¡¹
¡¸Like what?¡¹
¡¸If ya go up Spirit Spire Mountain from Adnae, there should be several varieties of mid-boss monsters lurkin¡¯ around, so how ¡¯bout ya go ¡®n defeat one of each?¡¹
Everyone in the workshop gaped at Hiroshi¡¯s sudden suggestion. However, the people those words were directed to were fairly ok with it.
¡¸Gotcha.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah huh, there were a lot of different kinds there. You remember how strong they were?¡¹
¡¸Not as strong as wyverns, I think.¡¹
¡¸Well then, it¡¯ll be a breeze as long as they don¡¯te in a reallyrge group.¡¹
They continued their nonchnt conversation.
¡¸Alright, now that we¡¯re done with presents¡¡¹
¡¸Next up is you know what. The food.¡¹
¡¸Haru making it is out of the question.¡¹
¡¸Mio ¡®n I are gonna do it anyway.¡¹
Given the circumstances, Hiroshi and Mio were the only conceivable choices. Only Haruna and the two of them were able to cook monster meat.
¡¸Well yes, that would automatically be the case, but¡¡¹
¡¸Have you decided on the menu?¡¹
¡¸I know what Haruna-san would like, so I can make educated guesses.¡¹
As one would expect from their long rtionship, Hiroshi knew a lot about Haruna. Maybe not everything, since he was a male, but he knew pretty much anything else.
¡¸So we can just leave it to him, yeah?¡¹
¡¸No problem there, mate. But I am gonna have the rest of y¡¯all search for non-monter rted foods.¡¹
¡¸Alright, we¡¯d be d to.¡¹
¡¸Please.¡¹
And that was how the cooking and venue were nned out without much resistance.
¡¸Still, I¡¯ve been thinking this for a while¡¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸Haruna was born and raised in the Kanto area, right?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what she said, yup.¡¹
Hiroshi had a confused look on his face. Where was Tatsuya going with this?
¡¸Nah, I was just wondering why her cooking has an ent of Kansai to it.¡¹
¡¸Oh right, like her curry and beef curry.¡¹
¡¸And the dashi for udon and soba is a bit light in color.¡¹
And they continued to gather up evidence for Haruna¡¯s Kansai-style cooking. After they had finished, they turned to look at Hiroshi, who hadn¡¯t exactly been participating in this.
¡¸Hiro, would you happen to know anything about this?¡¹
¡¸I heard somethin¡¯ once about how her great grandpa on her dad¡¯s side was the cause.¡¹
¡¸Great grandpa?¡¹
¡¸Apparently he was the owner/head chef of some first-rate restaurant in Kyoto or somewhere near there. Haruna-san¡¯s grandpa, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t continue on the path of cuisine cuz he was the second or third oldest. Then her dad became an entertainer but originally really wanted to be the third generation chef in the main rstaurant. That¡¯s how much he liked his grandpa.¡¹
¡¸Okay, so basically she cooks the way she does because of her father.¡¹
¡¸Apparently, yup.¡¹
Tatsuya and the other members simply went along with it. But then Makoto, who always liked nitpicking, added her ownment.
¡¸Wow, I¡¯m surprised her mother just epted that. Isn¡¯t she the famous ¡°Yukina¡±?¡¹
¡¸Yup, she did say that. But of course I never met ¡®er so I dunno what she¡¯s like.¡¹
¡¸I sorta imagine her being the type of person obsessed with taste.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«, yeah, I heard somethin¡¯ ¡®bout that. Apparently her pte¡¯s fine. It¡¯s more like she just has a wide strike zone when ites to vor. S¡¯long as it ain¡¯t super nasty, she neverins ¡®bout the found. Plus what she considers tasty or nasty is the same as everyone else.¡¹
The celebrity singer known all across the world named¡º£Ù£õ£ë£é£î£á¡», full name Todo Yukina. She had two kids, yet still looked extremely young, plus she never got fat despite being a gourmand. Next to Haruna and her younger sister, Yukina would simply look like another sibling. And much like her daughter Haruna, she was on the tall dainty side but with plenty of protrusion- a true beauty. And on the opposite end of that graceful profile was a pleasant personality. Also, it was evident that Haruna¡¯s aloof nature was passed down from her as well. Still, Haruna¡¯s uncanny desire to work hard was influenced not just by her mother, but also from those around her.
Incidentally, Haruna¡¯s mother had grown up in Emnd until around middle school, but Haruna¡¯s great grandfather loved Kansai cuisine and had brought along a first rate Kyoto cook over for cultural exchange. As a result, Yukina herself had grown ustomed to Kansai style seasoning. So it wasn¡¯t like her father had been the only reason.
Furthermore, perhaps due to having grown up in Ennd, Yukina herself almost never had any qualms with food. It was probably inrge because of her mother¡¯s influence that Haruna boldly tried new foods, no matter how inedible they looked. Although from her mother¡¯s viewpoint, it might really just have been that she was fine with almost anything as a result of being raised on bitter foods in her home country. The number of options she had were as meager as a concert in a desert.
¡¸Well, in any case. Haruna-san¡¯s preferences go right along with my seasonings, plus I know for a fact that anything she likes is great for a party. I¡¯ll try a couple new dishes and the rest¡¯ll be on the safe side.¡¹
¡¸Alright. So you wanna go hunting tomorrow?¡¹
¡¸Heck, ya wanna stretch our legs ¡®n try for some garbarensia too?¡¹
¡¸Ooo, I like the sound of that.¡¹
As Tatsuya and Makoto had a rather sinister discussion, every other worker simply made ufortable expressions. Artiem was the only one confused, as she knew nothing about this garbarensia creature.
After all, garbarensia were essentially like harbingers of despair to anyone living between Wulls and the border of Forrey. If you wanted to get a child to behave, you would threaten to throw them before these things. They were true big bosses in every sense of the word. With the knights of Wulls, as long as you lured the garbarensia out into a wide area and came at them with fifty men, you could win in exchange for some casualties. If it were just Julius, Douga, and Rayna going at it, they would have a bit of a tough time taking the thing out unscathed. The only good thing about going all the way from Wulls to Spirit Spire Mountain¡¯s higher parts to fight these local monsters was that they tended not to go down to any viges.
Still, adding to Makoto¡¯s experience with solo defeating field bosses was Tatsuya, who had always held back against the majority of field bosses for the sake of ingredients, so with the two of them it was unlikely to be an issue. To add to that, animal-type monsters were all part of the oxide circle, breathing in oxygen, and garbarensias were no exception. If someone of Tatsuya¡¯s caliber (who was used to dealing with oxides) were in the area, the creatures were basically like sitting ducks. Of course, if you weren¡¯t someone with max proficiency and extensive knowledge rting to skill dy and chanting time, it was impossible to take down the garbarensia ss.
Needless to say, this isn¡¯t implying that Julius and the others were exceedingly inferior to Makoto or Tatsuya. The genre was just way different for Tatsuya, and Makoto excelled more at hunting strong monsters in small groups, but would fall one step behind Julius in arge scale battlefield. Now, Makoto would still be a bit higher than Rayna, but not necessarily when it came to Rayna¡¯s genre of expertise. When it came to being an offensive tank, even one such as Hiroshi with staggering amounts of defense would not so much as reach Douga¡¯s feet in terms of total power.
These three top Fane knights were actually stronger than even the most dedicated no-lifers. But they didn¡¯t have their areas of expertise like in the game, nor would they have the opportunity to specialize anymore thanks to the actions of Hiroshi¡¯s group, so in the end Douga was probably the only one who could truly master his art.
Volume 2, Extra 1.3
Volume 2, Extra 1.3
---------------------------------------------------------------
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸Anyhow, I¡¯ll start by makin¡¯ a sewin¡¯ machine.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, how about some good sweets with a special cake?¡¹
¡¸I already had all that nned, rest assured.¡¹
Hiroshi dered his intention to fulfill Mio¡¯s request. It seemed likely that the presents would be discovered by the time he began making a sewing machine, but he had already given up on surprises. Although he did have a working space where he could hide it if he wanted to.
¡¸Can I enter or what?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re done talkin¡¯, go ahead.¡¹
¡¸Okay,ing in.¡¹
Haruna came in with oranges, haphazardly piling them on the dining table. Fairly soon, the season for oranges would be over. Sure, they had arge storage, but it wasn¡¯t unlimited.
¡¸Oh yeah, while I¡¯m at it, can I ask something?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I know when Haruna¡¯s birthday is, but what about Tatsuya and Mio? And tell me about the other people too. By the way, I¡¯m June 13th, and Hiroshi is July 27th.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«, right. I¡¯m October 13th, and Mio is September 8th.¡¹
Haruna made a puzzled face as she heard that.
¡¸Mm? What?¡¹
¡¸Well uhh, Mio-chan¡¯s birthday is¡¡¡¹
¡¸What about my birthday?¡¹
¡¸I think that might have been the day she got sent over here¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Really?¡¹
Haruna nodded as she checked the calendar with a weird face.
¡¸I¡¯m pretty sure we got sent here on the first of August, and then we met up with Tatsuya and the others September 10th. And then judging from those dehydration symptoms, maybe it was the second day since you were here?¡¹
¡¸Yup, sounds about right.¡¹
¡¸Then I guess that¡¯s that.¡¹
Nobody knew how to react to the strange information. Honestly, receiving something like that for a birthday present wasn¡¯t all that pleasing. Incidentally, the reason for Mio herselfpletely forgetting about her birthday despite knowing the date when they had met up was not only because nothing felt very real, but also because she had not had the time to think about it.
¡¸Plus Tatsuya-san did what he did with Barold on that particr day.¡¹
¡¸Right, that is true.¡¹
Now the both of them would be receiving rather dicey presents for their birthdays. Still, Mio at least received the gift of being in healthy condition, so she was more fortunate than Tatsuya in that sense. Plus it was quite simple as to why Tatsuya had forgotten his own birthday- once you be a full-fledged member of society, you rarely thought about your age except for when you had to write it on documents.
¡¸So between Hiroshi and these two, who came here within a thin margin of each other, who do you think is more pitiable?¡¹
Makoto concluded. Furthermore, the Japanese had already exined the fact that there had been a strange time difference since they got sent here to the workers and Artiem. Therefore, no one bothered questioning any of this. After that, the other members¡¯ birthdays were pretty much sorted out, the calendar and dates were set.
¡¸Well anyhow, looks like we¡¯re doin¡¯ Makoto-san¡¯s after Haruna-san¡¯s.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m good with sake for my present, since I guess doujinshi are out of the question.¡¹
¡¸Well even if we can¡¯t git our hands on some o¡¯that, I can always give ya some paper ¡®n ink if ya wanna draw.¡¹
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s somewhat tempting, but I already turned over a new leaf and all so I¡¯ll pass. Plus I doubt I would even have much leisure to just stop and draw.¡¹
Makoto truly did look conflicted at Hiroshi¡¯sment. Now, of course, the members of the workshop had no idea what was being discussed, since no one had bothered to exin it to them, so their faces looked a bit expectant. But it went without saying that not a single person intended to exin that to them.
¡¸I¡¯d like a dating sim.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, no, pretty sure that¡¯s impossible mate.¡¹
¡¸Man, I really miss Shiori¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ya know, I really do wonder sometimes how we¡¯re gonna aplish all this in half a year¡¡¡¹
After kicking down Mio¡¯s own request, Hiroshi made aplicated expression when Tatsuya mentioned his deep desire to rejoin his wife. The other members also had rather pained expressions on their faces at how serious Tatsuya was.
¡¸Well first we need to take care of what¡¯s currently in front of us.¡¹
¡¸Right, first let¡¯s actually celebrate Haruna-san¡¯s birthday.¡¹
Haruna had attempted to follow up in a shrill voice to change the mood, and Artiem had (with good intentions no doubt) shot it down. Makoto found herself truly wondering if well-endowed women had more nutrients going to their breasts rather than their brains.
¡¸So you came all the way here to work?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Besides, if we don¡¯t discuss it first then Elle¡¯s gonna pout, right?¡¹
¡¸Well sure, but¡¡¡¹
Wulls Castle Workshop. Hiroshi hade all the way here with the processed evil ent material to set things up, and Mark couldn¡¯t help but ask exasperatedly why he saw the need to do that. Mark had just happened to be free after an important matter had ended, and was unfortunately there when Hiroshi had suddenly arrived, asking to use the workshop. Plus Layotte was currently monitoring the situation in every part of the country and would not be returning until nightfall. The royalty in this country could go around and about with transportation magic to check on the nobles in their various provinces, hence why Layotte was on a strict schedule.
¡¸So let me confirm just in case. It looks like you¡¯re building something crazy again. What is it this time?¡¹
¡¸Well it ain¡¯t a sewin¡¯ machine, so obviously it¡¯s clothing, mate.¡¹
¡¸Er, I get that, and I do have an idea of what you¡¯re going to make, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mark-O, ya can¡¯t just take reality at face value.¡¹
After Hiroshi brushed it off, Mark put a hand on his forehead. It indeed seemed that his predictions were correct, so now he felt like he had a chronic headacheing on.
Incidentally, there were also otherdy attendants and castle craftsmen working around them, but because this was private and they knew of Hiroshi¡¯s rtionship with the royal family, they sort of pretended not to notice the overtly casual conversation between the two of them.
¡¸But yeah, finally got enough string for fishin¡¯ lines, string to hang smoked meat on, string to bind meat up with spices. I mean, ya can use spirit thread for different things, but yeah.¡¹
¡¸No, don¡¯t use legendary material for something as petty as that¡¡¡¹
¡¸But there¡¯s a truckload of it. Gotta use some of it, mate.¡¹
Mark was truly exasperated at this craftsman who always went too far, muttering something to that effect. Meanwhile, his female attendant secretly questioned whether Mark¡¯sment was truly representative of all skilled craftsmen. All craftspeople present simply let the conversation go through one ear and out the other, seeing as it would be unrefined of them to butt in. Hiroshi understood what they were saying, butpletely ignored it as he began sending in an unbelievable amount of mana-filled thread into the copsible sewing machine.
¡¸Hiroshi-sama!¡¹
¡¸Oh, sup Elle.¡¹
Finishing the cement of the weaving warp, he had spun the weft around the shuttle when Aearis came flying into the works. She was reminiscent of a puppy wagging its tail when seeing its master. Although, well, she was much more well-endowed than a puppy for her age.
¡¸Hiroshi-sama, is it true that Haruna-sama¡¯s birthday is approaching!?¡¹
¡¸Yup, sure is. So I¡¯m making a lil¡¯ present.¡¹
¡¸Is there anything that I might assist you with!?¡¹
¡¸Well¡¡After Iplete this, wouldja be willin¡¯ to put a blessin¡¯ on it?¡¹
¡¸dly!¡¹
¡¸How about I help out as well?¡¹
Apparently, not just Aearis, but Alfemina herself desired to help. Hiroshi gave a wry smile andmented as he continued his work.
¡¸Although for you, Alfemina-sama, I feel like the best present would be a background exnation, ya feel me?¡¹
¡¸Please do wait a bit longer. It is rather difficult to find the time to discuss all of that at once.¡¹
¡¸Well it¡¯s true that Aranwen-sama and Alfemina-sama are busy, so I¡¯m fine with waitin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Please do forgive me.¡¹
Alfemina apologized, slipping back out of Aearis¡¯ body. Alfemina often did descend into Aearis¡¯ body whenever she had a small opportunity, but she could only stay 5 minutes at most, so she truly was busy. Still, it was truly bad for the heart to just see Aearis¡¯ personality shift at the drop of a hat. Mark and his attendant had been long ustomed to this, but everyone else in the works had stopped their work, frozen in ce.
¡¸Leaving that aside, what are you making with that cloth?¡¹
¡¸Hm? Oh, I¡¯m just nnin¡¯ on cuttin¡¯ out a suitable width ¡®n makin¡¯ a ribbon.¡¹
Hiroshi nonchntly replied, weaving a in white fabric. Mark and his attendant were just stunned by the answer. Kneading a bottomless amount of mana into the fabric, using up a bunch of catalysts, adding various magic effects, and all for a simple ribbon? Not just Mark, anyone would feel faint after hearing that. Incidentally, Hiroshi had intended to have the pigment extracted from the magic beasts that Tatsuya was going to defeat, decorating Haruna¡¯s ribbon with a blue and white checkered pattern to match her colors.
Generally you would first dye the thread for check patterns, but if something happened before Tatsuya¡¯s team came up with the materials, there would not be enough time to re-weave the ribbon, plus Hiroshi also wanted to examine the difference between dying before and after the process. He figured it would be a good idea to weave a normal sized ribbon fabric not just for the asion, but for a test as well.
Also, he didn¡¯t mention it here, but in order to sew even one ribbon, you needed more than ten magical steel alloyed sewing needles. This was perfectly reasonable, since normal steel sewing needles could not pass through the fabric. Five throwaways would have been enough, but Hiroshi had prepared a lot more because it would have been a waste otherwise. The material in this case was the same wood waste that he had previously used for making the pole axe and heavy mace. Hiroshi had figured he would use them again, so he had prepared a suitable amount. He had also prepared several special cutting des.
¡¸By the way, Hiroshi-sama¡¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸The other day, I decided to pay a visit to a newly opened soba shop in Wulls!¡¹
¡¸Oh¡«. So the old man finally opened up shop, eh?¡¹
Hiroshi nodded at Aearis¡¯ report, clearly impressed. He hade to know the shopkeeper during the time he was operating the food stand. The man had once injured his feet at sea, forced to retire. Still, as a former man of the sea, he knew how to easily get his hands on seaweed, plus he had developed a fond interest in soba, so Hiroshi had decided to teach him the ropes, and the proper way to use chopsticks.
¡¸So how was it?¡¹
¡¸It honestly wasn¡¯t as good as where I first tried it, but it¡¯s still one of the best ces to get soba. Still, soy sauce is still a high value product, so I do sometimes wonder if it¡¯s good for business.¡¹
¡¸It ain¡¯t too hard to keep soy sauce ¡®n miso in stock, believe it or not.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
The people of the royal pce could not hide their baffled expressions. Miso and soy sauce needed to ferment, which was why you needed to know the trick to zymosis. It was slightly difficult with Fane¡¯s average food processing skills. Only Azuma Workshop was able to producerge amounts, while everyone else was going through a trial and error process.
¡¸By the way, where do you intend to increase production?¡¹
¡¸Elf Vige. Seems like they haverge amounts of soy beans stored up, so I figure I¡¯ll teach a few o¡¯them how to make soy sauce ¡®n miso.¡¹
¡¸Elf?¡¹
¡¸See, Teres¡¯ hometown is a crazyrge farmin¡¯ vige. So I was thinkin¡¯ of teachin¡¯ ¡¯em how to mass produce soybeans ¡®n make miso ¡®n soy sauce. Plus it seems they want soy sauce ¡®n miso themselves anyway.¡¹
¡¸Really now.¡¹
Aearis seemed somewhat happy to hear that. Now that she could easily get her hands on valuable goods and seasoning, Aearis was happy both as a Japanese food enthusiast and as a princess priestess in training.
¡¸Agriculture¡¡Elves do agricultural¡¡¡¹
¡¸Miso¡¡Elves make miso¡¡¡¹
Mark and his attendant seemed to have received quite the shock from the true lifestyle of the elves. Unlike Aearis, who was the least likeliest person to hold prejudice (for better or for worse), it seemed that these two had a verymon misconception of elves. Still, it was understandable that they couldn¡¯t quite connect the noble, superior image of elves with dirty farmbor and mysterious food pastes. The other people there had been only loosely listening, but by this point it was just too much to ignore. Their fantasies about elves had beenpletely shattered, reflected in their hushed conversation.
¡¸Come to think of it, what happened in Teres-san¡¯s hometown?¡¹
¡¸Well, lots of stuff happened, mate.¡¹
As Aearis had requested, Hiroshi began to discuss what had transpired in Ortem. Mark looked like he was trying to ovee a headache and barely seeding. Although the members of the royal pce understood that gawking at every little thing Hiroshi did was bad for his mental state, they found themselves powerless as they listened to Hiroshi¡¯s ount of what happened. Only Aearis bothered toment.
Volume 2, Extra 1.4
Volume 2, Extra 1.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸So that¡¯s what we doin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Wowie wow-wow!¡¹
Once all the event members had gathered, Hiroshi told them what was happening as he carried big tes with beautifully arranged food. Upon seeing the voluminous amount of food, Haruna raised a voice of delight.
¡¸Celebratin¡¯ yer 18th birthday party, Haruna-san. Eat yer heart out, celebrate to yer heart¡¯s content.¡¹
¡¸Okay!¡¹
Aearis added her own delighted voice into the fray, her eyes glinting at the tasty-looking food. For Japan, none of this food was especially new, but in Fane¡¯s case, there were many things here never seen before. Furthermore, the only royalty there were Aearis and Elena. The other people apparently were busy and unfortunately couldn¡¯t find time to stop by, instead opting to prepare some items for the celebration, such as items that screamed ¡°Use me as an ingredient to make something!¡± or foodstuff that would fetch a high market price. It was clear that Azuma Workshop was the first thing on their minds.
¡¸Haruna-san, ya also like vegetable dishes, so I tried to make the ratio slightly in favor of that. Whatcha think?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, yeah!¡¹
Haruna responded, her attention moving to the seasonal vegetable tenpura. Hiroshi beamed at her beforeying out the apanying seasonal vegetable dishes. He ced four big tes of pome leaves and wyvern breast meat pfs in an easily essible location and made sure that the main course of garbarensia fillet Japanese-style marinade steak and today¡¯s soup reached everyone. Lastly, he brought the other main dish in front of Haruna- her birthday cake.
¡¸Wow, this is crazy¡¡!¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t have a party without this, amiright?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course not.¡¹
What Hiroshi had set out was an elegant cake with every variety of fruit from storage arranged with a perfect bnce, biscuits of two different colors spelling out¡¸£È£á£ð£ð£ù¡¡£Â£é£ò£ô£è£ä£á£ù¡¹, and fresh cream around the candles to support them. And since they had yet to find cacao, they had used a type of red food coloring for the biscuits.
¡¸Wow, I could totally live on this¡¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m d to hear ya say that, but I ain¡¯t done nothin¡¯ all that special.¡¹
¡¸But it can¡¯t be easy to prepare all this, right?¡¹
¡¸Nah, Mio made it a lot easier.¡¹
Hiroshi acted like it was no big deal, but Haruna knew immediately from experience that this was no small feat. There were many areas that were left unmentioned that had required a lot of technique, so the simple appearance was anything but simple. And even if that weren¡¯t the case, they were usingparatively rare monster ingredients in the food. She didn¡¯t mind so much, since he enjoyed making food, but Haruna knew full well that it was no small task to cook all that monster food.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s start one of the main events of today, mate.¡¹
Hiroshi pped his hands, and the next moment, the room¡¯s lightring vanished, reced by the lit candles. As Haruna¡¯s eyes widened at this parlor trick, everyone else who had secretly prepared this trick began singing happy birthday all at once. By the time they finished singing, Haruna had regained herposure, blowing out all eighteen candles. As she did so, a roaring apuse filled the room.
¡¸I think we¡¯ll begin the next main event after we finish eating.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I don¡¯t want it getting cold, plus I¡¯m at my limit. I gotta eat!¡¹
Everyone smiled at how honest Haruna was with her appetite, but it wasn¡¯t like they were any different than she was. After saying itadakimasu, they began to plow through the food with a fierce pace.
¡¸This vegetable tenpura is super tasty. What¡¯s in it?¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯ called leukon. Usually ya just straight up cook it and eat it, but I had a feelin¡¯ it¡¯d go well with tenpura.¡¹
Haruna nodded in amazement as she munched on a thick heart-shaped leaf. It was a short-lived ingredient, only ripe around this time until the end of April, so it was no surprise that this was their first time seeing it. It wasn¡¯t pungent and could go with tempura dipping sauce, salt, and various other condiments.
There were also reworked dishes like razzo (red asparagus) sd with plenty of lycopene as the base, with beefy-legged salmon, pome marinade, and baanya (a yellow type of broli), sd dishes concentrated only with vegetables that were foreign to Japan, beginning with mushrooms and daikon, and things like quiche with vegetables that slightly resembled but were unrted to Japan.
Now, the most popr amongst the main dishes was a rock boar cutlet fried with a carrot/razzo coating and ginger-based sauce. You might refer to it as a subspecies of carrot/asparagus-coated pork cutlet. No matter the time period or world, orthodox cuisine would always be the most popr. For the amount of effort involved, food that included a king¡± shrimp had a slightly better reputation than the same orthodox ¡°fried¡± shrimp. Still, the other meals were fairly popr as well, and despite how normal it was at her age to dislike vegetables, even Lime ate one or two varieties.
¡¸The main meat here¡I¡¯ve never had it before and it tastes good, but what did you hunt down?¡¹
¡¸Garbarensia.¡¹
¡¸The other ingredients went well too.¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay.¡¹
The hunting party answered Elena¡¯s query rather quickly, and Elena simply went along with it like it was nothing. It seemed that she intended to thoroughly enjoy this rare pleasure.
¡¸You aren¡¯t surprised, Elena-sama?¡¹
¡¸No, not by this point.¡¹
Instead, Teres was the one to be surprised at how unperturbed Elena was. Nora and Fum weren¡¯t much different. After Elena had replied with that matter-of-fact tone, she tried out some sake and divided a pf, excited to see how it was made. Also, no one was surprised by this point that Aearis wasn¡¯t surprised.
¡¸That¡¯s what I¡¯d expect from a princess. Her presence is off the charts!¡¹
¡¸When Nora heard about garbarensias, she truly questioned your sanity.¡¹
¡¸Me too. When I saw a ss Four potion for the first time, my reaction wasn¡¯t much different from yours.¡¹
After many other events, the two of them had stopped being surprised at anything they ate.
¡¸I¡¯m just d that the octogals aren¡¯t here.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I bet it would have been quite noisy.¡¹
Having apparently had enough to eat, Tatsuya and Makoto chatted as they drank sake with the dry, mellow taste of rice and a refreshing aftertaste. Anyone who knew about those strange creatures would agree with that statement, and thank goodness, even Artiem would concur.
¡¸Octogal?¡¹
¡¸Aranwen-sama¡¯s¡pets? Retainers? I¡¯m not sure¡¡¡¹
¡¸Anyhow, there are these strange-looking creatures that are difficult to describe.¡¹
Fum had not known about the octogals until now, asking a question on behalf of everyone else who did not. After hearing the response from the elder group, her face basically looked like she was thinking ¡°The hell is that?¡±. Even La, who was not participating in the conversation, grinning as she continued eating, was of a simr opinion.
¡¸Yeah, you kinda have to see it for yourselves to understand¡¹
¡¸Darn skippy¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re such strange creatures, that¡¯s all I¡¯m saying¡¹
¡¸Their appearance is one thing, but exining anything else is sort of difficult, yeah.¡¹
The Japanese continued their exnation, of which Teres and Artiem had no choice but to agree. They didn¡¯t end up exining much more here, butter on, the craftspeople of the workshop would being face to face with these creatures in an unexpected fashion. Of course, no one was currently anticipating this.
¡¸Right, now that the food¡¯s gone, let¡¯s use our second stomach for the cake ¡®n enjoy the second event, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been waiting for this!¡¹
¡¸Cake! Cake!¡¹
As soon as they heard the word ¡°cake¡±, the girls (and even La and Lime) reacted simultaneously. Even Wulls had fresh cream sweets, but they had all but none of the type that Hiroshi made with flowery, intricate designs. Needless to say, this was an issue of cooking technique. If Goivejon and Foeldan had been able to participate today instead of getting roped into some other tasks, they would have undoubtedly been taken aback from the sheer power.
¡¸Of course Haruna¡¯s gettin¡¯ the best ce, and then y¡¯all can get the next best ces based on how young ya are, is that alright?¡¹
¡¸Of course.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a given that the older people look out for the younger people. Just because we¡¯re royalty doesn¡¯t mean you need to take special care around me or Aearis.¡¹
¡¸Umm, I still feel like Artiem and I have a slight disadvantage here¡¡¡¹
¡¸Such is the fate of elves. Perish the thought.¡¹
The girls moured excitedly at Hiroshi¡¯s proposal. He smiled awkwardly at them before dividing the cake up into fair portions.
¡¸And then we got the main present for ya right here.¡¹
Once everyone had gotten a piece, Hiroshi took out a firmly-wrapped package and handed it to Haruna. Everyone else who had previously heard about the gift cocked their heads in confusion at how muchrger it was than they had assumed. Only Aearis, who had gone through with blessing rituals, saw the size of the bag as normal.
¡¸What could it be? I can open it, right?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course.¡¹
Urged on by Hiroshi, Haruna opened the first present she had received in who knows how many years. Out came three different-sized ribbons and a truly good-looking ribbon brooch adorned on the cor with sapphire. It was a fancy item made to look chic with subdued blue and white checkers, perfect for Haruna.
The brooch would look good not only on dresses, but also on wyvernser armor. It was quite the fine item. Even the ribbon emitted a strange personality to the point where even people who were bad at discerning high value from low value could tell that some serious work had been put into the fabric. For those who could feel precise amounts of mana, it was possible to see almost instantly that this product was on par with the legendary artifacts. Still, they would also probably realize that it wasn¡¯t really something they could handle well enough to use.
¡¸Boss Man, I haven¡¯t heard about the brooch until now. Care to exin?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a secret present from the royal family, mate. It was a pretty good item so I put my all into it.¡¹
¡¸O-Okaaay, now I just feel like I¡¯m in the presence of something awe-inspiring¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, c¡¯mon, we¡¯re in a private situation now with Fane¡¯s royal folk. No need to act all polite.¡¹
Elena and Aearis burst intoughter at how blunt Hiroshi said that. Haruna looked at them with a light smile before putting her present back into its wrapping, hugging it tightly against her chest and treating it with care.
¡¸Thanks, everyone¡¡¡¹
Precisely because there were hardly any presents, Haruna could tell that everyone at the workshop had churned out their ideas and worked on this present with love. To Haruna, this would go on to be one of the most unforgettable handful of moments in her life.
Volume 2, Extra 2.1
Volume 2, Extra 2.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸Imma pound in the ink, so hold it tight.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay.¡¹
Azuma Workshop was currently in the middle of expanding construction in Wulls.
¡¸Hiroshi, do we gotta bring over more wood, eh?¡¹
¡¸If there ain¡¯t enough we can go defeat some more hunter trees, eh?¡¹
¡¸Nah, I think we¡¯re good here, mate.¡¹
Finishing the measuring and ink stamping, Hiroshi calcted the foundation as he replied to Goivejon and Foeldan.
¡¸Hasn¡¯t even been a year since we reformed it. I can¡¯t believe we would ever have to add on to it.¡¹
¡¸Welp, can¡¯t be helped. Factory space is one thing, but in order to amodate a forest giant, it¡¯s a bit small.¡¹
¡¸Sorry ¡¯bout dat.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s cool, mate, don¡¯t worry. There haven¡¯t been enough men helpin¡¯ out here, plus yer a darn good help.¡¹
Everyone nodded in agreement. Azuma Workshop never had any issues with lewd conduct, but it was also true that it was a bit careless to have no men whatsoever. Still, two of the girls were hardly older than children, plus Aearis would frequently make her way in. They couldn¡¯t just let any old guy in. In that sense, forest giants were perfect because of having little sexual drive. Furthermore, elder goblins had practically no sexual drive at their age.
In actuality, any member of the human sub-species could mate with any otherbination of humanoid. With the right requirements, forest giants and humans, elves, even fairies and pixies could all have offspring. Still, normally humans, elves, dwarves, and some humanoid beasts would not generally mate to produce half-children unless they liked their appearance, stature, or aesthetic sense. This was to be expected though, since their sexual drive would emerge in different ways. Other than races like minotaurs with no women, there was no one mad enough to be okay with just any female.
¡¸I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ of makin¡¯ this side of the buildin¡¯ the men¡¯s dorms while we¡¯re at it. How ¡¯bout it?¡¹
¡¸Well, I don¡¯t have a problem with that.¡¹
¡¸It makes sense for hiring in the long term.¡¹
Everyone agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s proposal. They¡¯d have to go around the hintends setting up transportation circles and bringing over people from all around anyway. Plus they¡¯d already received demand for expanding the workshop.
¡¸Alright, imma start by finishin¡¯ up the foundation, so Haruna-san, I¡¯d like ya to help out for yer trainin¡¯. Mio, I¡¯d like ya to lecture Fum ¡®n the others.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
¡¸I can use anything to teach them, right?¡¹
¡¸Do whatcha wanr.¡¹
Mio gathered a bunch of materials that looked good after getting approved. She intended to give a lecture on ss 7 potions and every type of expendable that fell into that rank.
¡¸Alright, we¡¯re finishin¡¯ the exterior by tomorrow, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s gonna be done by dat time?¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah mate, this size is nothin¡¯.¡¹
Just as Hiroshi said so confidently, the foundation wasyed out with no abnormalities before day was up.
¡¸So this is what ss 7 potions are like. Think you can handle it?¡¹
¡¸¡Wait, we use it for things like that?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s really difficult to get precision¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, keeping the speed at a constant is a lot of trouble¡¡¡¹
The three of them groaned after actually trying to implement the lecture. They still hadn¡¯t reached the point where they could use enchantments or alchemy for other purposes, but this was incredibly difficult for craftspeople who were still struggling with ss 8.
¡¸Let me just say that Haru recently became able to cast even the most rudimentary of short-hand enchantments at this level.¡¹
¡¸¡¡That¡¯s way too fast of a progression, even if she¡¯s always with Boss Man and Mio-san¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡I already doubt if Boss Man is even human, but Haruna-san? She must be pretending to be human¡¡¡¹
Mio burst outughing at Teres and Nora¡¯sments. Although anyone could tell she generally had a poker face, it wasn¡¯t like she was incapable of smiling.
To add further, Haruna had truly begun crafting 8 months ago. Given how she had levelled up her harvest and enchantment skills to 15 and how she still had materials left over, Haruna hadn¡¯t grown all that quickly. Besides, making condiments didn¡¯t just up your cooking skills, it also upped your potion-making and alchemy skills among other things. As a result of that, making curry bread had led to some rich training for other skills on a regr basis.
Still, even Haruna had yet to break through Novice Rank. Even if she could take on short-hand enchantments, all she could really do was slightly improve the quality of items a bit or make some work easier to handle, and she wasn¡¯t able to make potions from lower-rank items like Hiroshi or Mio could. In the end, a beginner was a beginner.
¡¸I¡¯ve already discussed this with them a certain amount, so this time around we¡¯ll be gathering ingredients from around the Ortem Vige area. It¡¯s pretty easy to get your hands on ss 7 ingredients over there.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
¡¸So we can harvest ss 7 ingredients too?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not much different from anything up to ss 8 for raw materials.¡¹
Mio said, rifying the basic characteristics of each material. The three of them listened with serious faces, taking attentive notes. In the amount of time that had transpired before this, Fum as well as Lime (who was not currently present) had learned how to read and write, so you could say they were good resources from how they were able to lecture on fairly difficult material.
The game was simr in that gathering raw materials didn¡¯t have much of a difference anywhere below ss 8 or above ss 7. The only real point where materials andpleted product harvest difficulty changed greatly with rank was after ss 5. Once you got to ss 6, the materials tended to spawn in locations that were troublesome for beginners, and gathering everything inrge quantities was the real hassle.
Furthermore, not only were ingredients an impediment for getting past novice ss; the conditions for raising one¡¯s skill level were also harsh. For intermediate ss and up, failing still meant your skill level increased, but for novice ss, nothing could be gained from failing, no matter how close you were to sess. On top of that, stamina consumption per second was in the maximum 1%, far more severe than mid and upper ss. And then once your stamina got to a certain point, fatigue penalty would set in and sess rate would lower. Yes, Teres and other two had gotten much better as of recent, but the stamina consumption trap was still severe, bing arge wall that stood in the way of improving their crafting capacity and skills.
¡¸Also, it¡¯d be best if you learned how to make tools tomorrow.¡¹
Mio suddenly added in.
¡¸We¡¯re making the tools ourselves?¡¹
Nora asked, bewildered.
¡¸Of course.¡¹
Within seconds, Mio had shot her objection down.
If they weren¡¯t able to at least make tools for themselves to use, things would get real troublesome. Especially like the forging hammer that Hiroshi used, there were tools that required you put some serious enchantments for the base of special ingredients, and these tools couldn¡¯t be obtained just by paying money. Besides, before the industry became subdivided to the max, Japan had always had highly skilled craftsmen, and they were also great at making tools. As long as there were simr patterns in this world, those who called themselves craftsmen absolutely had to make their own tools and equipment.
That was what Hiroshi, Mio, Haruna and the others were like, but for craftspeople who barely fledglings, they unfortunately had not even imagined that they might have to make tools eventually. Then again, since all of the supplies for the tasks they were currently working on could be obtained from the Adventurers¡¯ Association, they had plenty of convenient little tools on hand. Maybe it was a little unreasonable to expect them to see thating. Besides, they had never seen Hiroshi and the others working with tools before.
¡¸So no tools from the marketce?¡¹
¡¸Do you really think that the hammer Sensei uses can just be obtained there?¡¹
¡¸Ugh¡¹
¡¸Besides, unless you want to be satisfied with condiments and ss 7 potions, anything above that will need something with better function than those market tools.¡¹
Now Mio had given them a concrete example and an ultimatum. The three of them fell intoplete silence.
¡¸You won¡¯t go making difficult things like that from the get-go, rest assured.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s not all that reassuring¡¡¡¹
¡¸Besides, even with the three of us together, the most our power amounts to is a wooden pestle.¡¹
The pestle was one of the tools most prone to wear and tear. Teres found herself readily agreeing with thatparison. True, the three of them could make one of those as long as no one was picky about the shape. But at this pace the tool would wear out fairly quickly (after about a year).
¡¸So for now we have gathering ingredients for tools tomorrow, and then I¡¯ll guide you to a ce where you can get some ore, so first we¡¯ll do some excavation training there.¡¹
¡¸All we ever do is physicalbor¡¡¡¹
¡¸And making potions? Even that¡¯s a race to see how long it takes for my arms to wear out¡¡¡¹
¡¸Craftsmen need both physical and mental aptitude, I¡¯d say¡¡¡¹
The sun was still high up, but after having heard about their spartan assignment schedule, the three students had tired expressions on their faces. But these girls did not know that they had yet to even climb up the long slope that was crafting.
Volume 2, Extra 2.2
Volume 2, Extra 2.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸Ya got a lot better. Didja practice while I was makin¡¯ these strange nts?¡¹
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢at least 2 days we were just weaving, so that¡¯s probably why.¡¹
¡¸I seee.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded in amazement as he looked at Haruna, who was making sheep fur into thread. Perhaps it was a result of winter¡¯s harsh training that she could now process cloth, as long as it wasn¡¯t made from quirky material. Maybe she wasn¡¯t quite there in focus power, since she would sometimes fail and tear things up, but it wasn¡¯t like anything she weaved woulde to much use anyway, so it wasn¡¯t a huge issue.
¡¸Now all ya need to do is learn Refinement, Forgin¡¯, and Ship Buildin¡¯ alongside Excavation and ya can probably git to Making Mastery.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Well even considerin¡¯ yer learnin¡¯ pace, ya gotta git a little desperate fer about one or two months in order to seed.¡¹
¡¸Half a year at least¡¡¡¹
Haruna¡¯s eyes had a faraway look after hearing that. Actually, getting even that much skill in half a year wasn¡¯t necessarily impossible, but there was a lot of RNG involved. Not only did time take longerpared to the game while working, other time-rted things took longer as well, so there wouldn¡¯t be a huge increase in skill amount.
¡¸Yeah, cuz unlike battle, craftsman skills win based on the amount.¡¹
¡¸Ah, so that¡¯s actually the case?¡¹
¡¸Sure is.¡¹
Unlike how one win in battle was equivalent to a hundred times practicing, crafting was all about how much you could produce at a given level. Making the same thing one, ten, a hundred times would gradually increase your skill. Your intelligence would also affect your learning speed a certain amount, but there were no shortcuts in that regard. Ultimately, battle was also a contest of numbers, but it probably couldn¡¯t evenpare with how vague the line between practice and implementation were for the art of crafting.
¡¸Still¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸No matter how big your crafting skill modifiers are, novice ss is novice ss, right?¡¹
¡¸Wassup? Ya git an idea or what?¡¹
¡¸I dunno, just thinking that there weren¡¯t any noticeable differencespared to when I acquired Over elerate or when you and Mio-chan had crazy changes with your extra skills.¡¹
Hiroshi tilted his head. Honestly, he did not feel much of a change after learning Titanic Roar. Mio, too, already had a high proficiency that only continued to grow bigger, so in the overall picture it wasn¡¯t much of a difference.
¡¸Ya think it changed that much?¡¹
¡¸A heck of a lot. Just look at your handaxe, its attack clearly rose a level.¡¹
There was an easy basis for Haruna¡¯s assertion. Incidentally, one easy way topare the current power of the handaxe with its past power level was to recall the grey-colored bear they ran into when they went to fell some trees. Before, the bear had been on the brink of death with two hits, but after he acquired Titanic Roar, it became just one hit. There was no difference in where he hit the bear, since Hiroshi had used the same attack striking the same area.
¡¸Well, novice is novice I¡¯m sure, but ya sure that¡¯s all to it?¡¹
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸Yer Over elerate didn¡¯t change yer specs suddenly like it did fer us with our extra skills, it went up lil by lil with practice, so I at least don¡¯t think it¡¯d be that easy to notice a change.¡¹
What Hiroshi said made a heck of a lot of sense. Much like your height or bust during growth period, suddenly taking notice of how much you¡¯ve changed wasparable to the abilities gained via skill training. Unless you were in the position of your rtives¡¯ point of view, it would maybe be difficult to truly discern differences.
¡¸Well then, leavin¡¯ that aside¡¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
¡¸Seems like Mio¡¯s sayin¡¯ somethin¡¯ about makin¡¯ cloaks. Whatcha gonna do?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Haruna tilted her head, smiling nervously at how Mio was still all hung up on making those. Honestly, Haruna wasn¡¯t all that eager to try and look all fancy with her equipment.
¡¸What do you think, Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Puttin¡¯ aside the appearance ¡®n whatnot, I think it¡¯s a good idea.¡¹
¡¸Is it, now?¡¹
¡¸Yer left hand¡¯s free, right?¡¹
¡¸It is, but what about it?¡¹
¡¸I won¡¯t say it¡¯s 100%, but people that fight with rapier¡¯s ¡®n weapons of that sort, aka fencers, tend to use meingouche instead of a shield. Well in yer case it¡¯d be either hand, so ya could always leave that hand open as a mixup to confuse yer opponent. I¡¯ve done feints like that before.¡¹
Haruna stopped weaving momentarily to express her realization with an ¡°ahhh¡±. She had in fact looked at every fencing-rted video through-and-through once she had decided to main thin swords in the game. Among those included the specialized parry dagger style that Hiroshi had exined about.
¡¸And so once ya consider that sort of switch¡Maybe a cloak that acts as a shield wouldn¡¯t be outta the question.¡¹
¡¸A cloak can act as a shield?¡¹
¡¸Well I mean, it ain¡¯t gonna be like what old man Douga or the knights use.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah.¡¹
¡¸But ya can definitely use it like a buckler with the right arm technique, as a blind to confuse ¡¯em just like the old tricks that fencers use. Plus just like Mio said, cuttin¡¯ things up with the hems of yer cloak as a weapon ain¡¯t outta the question.¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s keep that one on the bench for now since I can totally see it cutting my feet as I walk, but if I can use it as defense then it could work. I was seriously pained by how much Icked in defense and defensive measures in the forest dungeon.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s face grew sour as she recalled what had transpired not even half a month ago. Sure, it was a problem in her field of expertise, but it was still scary to just leave a weakness out like that.
¡¸Then how ¡®bout I make it tonight?¡¹
¡¸Can I ask you to?¡¹
¡¸Leave it me. I got a mountain of ingredients just for that.¡¹
¡¸Such as?¡¹
¡¸First we got yer average wyvern. I could make somethin¡¯ good with cerberus too. Also, garbarensia¡¯s possible too I think. I could even hunt a dragon as long as it don¡¯t have scales.¡¹
Grinning at Haruna for taking the bait, Hiroshi offered up several candidates. All of them were materials not ordinarily used for cloaks.
¡¸I¡¯ll pass on thatst one, but wow, that¡¯s one exquisite lineup¡¡¡¹
¡¸Lotsa stuff in storage, so ya can afford exquisite lineups. Heck, I could even forge an alligator skin handbag usin¡¯ wyvern skin if ya want.¡¹
¡¸What a distasteful way to fake an item¡¡¡¹
¡¸It ain¡¯t no fake. It¡¯s a forgery.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I don¡¯t know what the difference is¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi kept blurting out jokes that only worked when told to other Kansai residents. Haruna just made a troubled face.
Plus forged items, aka forgeries, were more of poorly-performing, unapproved parody items. For you to better image it, perhaps it would be good to describe it as an impersonator imitating someone without permission. Despite these products not looking anything close to the originals, the details on them were dangerously close to that. To be more precise, it was more close to piggyback marketing.
But ultimately these products were just fishy and clearly not intended to trick anyone. Almost anyone understood they were fake at first nce, but you could say that the intentions behind said products were how close they could get to the real ones while creating as muchughter as possible. If tricking others was what fakes were for, forgeries were more like items that were clearly fake but you buy them for the joke. Since everyone buys them understanding that fact, even if they were to regret buying on impulse, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone saying ¡°I should have looked more carefully¡± or ¡°Ah, they got me¡±. That was just how forgeries were.
¡¸I mean, even if you try and persuade me¡¡¡¹
Haruna just made an exasperated face at Hiroshi¡¯s passionate exnation. Regardless of whether they were items designed as shoddy parodies or items designed to truly imitate the originals, it was all the same to her in the sense that nothing was real. Official goods were one thing, but Haruna had no intention of buying any product in the grey zone that was infinitely close to ck.
¡¸Well let¡¯s leave the forgeries alone. There¡¯s somethin¡¯ else I wanna check up on unrted to cloaks.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Wanna upgrade yer rapier?¡¹
Hiroshi asked yet another sudden unexpected question, pressing Haruna. It was already a bit overpowered, and now he was asking if she wanted to upgrade again? Of course Haruna would hesitate over something like that.
¡¸Uhh, another question out of the blue?¡¹
¡¸I mean yeah, I guess it¡¯d sound sudden to ya.¡¹
¡¸So if you¡¯re asking me that, I assume you¡¯ll be making some other weapons brand new?¡¹
¡¸Makoto-san¡¯s, yeah. There was that thing with Aranwen-sama, so I was thinkin¡¯ of goin¡¯ ahead and makin¡¯ a katana ¡®n longsword.¡¹
¡¸So I take it this is just alongside something else?¡¹
¡¸Yup. I¡¯ll make Bro¡¯s rod, Mio¡¯s bow will be made of evil ent about two ranks higher than that of magic steel alloy, and only yours will end up bing regr steel, so I figured I might as well make it alongside all the others.¡¹
This time, what Hiroshi said made a bit more sense. Haruna contemted it. Honestly, she didn¡¯t particrly feel that her attack wascking. There hadn¡¯t been any opportunities to engage Barold in closebat, and she had only struggled with the gigantic maneater¡¯s vines because the weapon was ill-suited for it. No fine-tuning would produce that great of a difference.
However, if she didn¡¯t get it fine-tuned when she could, Haruna risked the weapon not being at its best for any potential situations. She didn¡¯t want to inflict a burden on Hiroshi, but right now it was best to have him make it.
¡¸Sorry, is it alright if I have you do that?¡¹
¡¸Roger that. ¡®N I can decide what enchantments, right?¡¹
¡¸Mhm. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯lle up with but sure.¡¹
Haruna gave Hiroshi the OK, throwing it all on him. It wasn¡¯t like she had the right to tell him what to do anyway, not with her power level.
¡¸Then rapier ¡®n cloak it is.¡¹
¡¸Ah, so you¡¯re making the cloak after all.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯lle to use. I mean, I ain¡¯t gonna make masquerades or feather caps though.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I¡¯m d you¡¯re not¡¡¡¹
Clearly inconvenienced by Hiroshi¡¯s joke, Haruna quipped before returning to her spinning. She was already approaching three balls of yarn, something a cat would love to knock over and y with, but there were no cats here, so¡no problem.
¡¸Oh yeah, were ya gonna use that yarn for anythin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Secret.¡¹
¡¸Is that right. Well if ya got ns then that¡¯s that. Cause the spirit thread storage is already bad enough as it is.¡¹
Hearing that Haruna had a use for it, Hiroshi only said a briefment. Haruna was relieved that he didn¡¯t pursue her too much on it. After discussing this with Makoto and Mio, Haruna had concluded it was definitely not a good idea to tell Hiroshi that she was making several pairs of panties.
Volume 2, Extra 2.3
Volume 2, Extra 2.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸Another crazy amount of ore, I see.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, I make a lotta things.¡¹
Two days after confirmation with Haruna. Artiem let out a voice of astonishment at the huge amount of magic steel and mythril being carried in. Dismissing her surprise as usual, Hiroshi examined the quality of the ore for refinement.
¡¸Sure it¡¯s okay to be buying all this ore?¡¹
¡¸In a financial sense? Or in a connections sense?¡¹
¡¸Well, both, but I guess more on the financial side?¡¹
¡¸Money? No problemo. Magic steel, mythril, if ya buy ¡®em they¡¯re friggin¡¯ expensive but in the ore stage they¡¯re just bby ¡®n cheap.¡¹
No one was sure whether tough or cry at Hiroshi¡¯s little lecture on supply and demand. It was reasonable to expect ore to be cheap, as the craftsmen who could refine it were scarce. From the average level of craftsmen, simply refining and processing these types of material was already enough to give you a first ss ranking amongst the people.
¡¸Hold up.¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¹
¡¸So if they¡¯re bby, that means a decent amount of people dig for ore?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, maybe? Ya need quite the skill ¡®n intuition for diggin¡¯ up high content ore, but if ya find a vein and just dig that out then that¡¯s an easier way out for some.¡¹
Haruna gaped at this revtion. In actuality, you could dig up god steel in the game if you were at least Novice 70. However, not only did the quality of ore be exceedingly horrible; digging it up would simply leave it in your storage until you could actually get your refinement skill up.
That seemed to be the same in this world, so even for greedy craftsmen, there was quite a bit of bby ore.
¡¸Hey, Hiro.¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸And you have no problem using the hell out of your connections?¡¹
¡¸There ain¡¯t gonna be no problem if it¡¯s just ore, mate. Plus even if Ie at it with this speed, the other people apparently have been beatin¡¯ down prices ¡®n savin¡¯ bby ore.¡¹
¡¸The heck is the Fane royal family doing¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya held his head at how unpredictable the Fane royal family was. Did they not consider how long they would be holding onto that bby ore if Hiroshi had not ordered it?
¡¸I think they nned to forge it at some point, mate.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢yes, I see¡¡¡¹
¡¸Actually, leavin¡¯ aside when they nned to, I¡¯d be usin¡¯ the materials around here for this ¡®n that anyway. Plus bringin¡¯ in ingredients helps ya learn more about the price.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that doesn¡¯t sound troublesome either¡¡¡¹
Azuma Workshop had a lot of expectations showered on it. Maybe their growth rate wasn¡¯t as high as Haruna¡¯s, but Teres and the other two had already surpassed the universal average for potionmaking and alchemy. Also, there were plenty of things here that couldn¡¯t be made anywhere else. Most of all, it was extremely advantageous to craft and deliver low-level expendables with a steady output like ze stones or ss 8 antidotes in terms of achievements.
Azuma Workshop, or rather the three craftsmen working there were seen as an astonishing spectacle by the pce, the Adventurers¡¯ Association, The Meriza Company, and so on. As it had been all but proven that leaders possessing superior skill would indicate the amount of change, various organizations were plotting to see if they could force potential apprentices into Azuma Workshop who had been holding their breath in anticipation. Then again, as they couldn¡¯t quite contact said leaders, everyone other than the royal family (who hadn¡¯t even thought about this) was in a deadlock with this n, holding their heads in exasperation.
In order to return to their world, it appeared that shuffling around here and there was showing some sess. Of course, the people in question were not thinking about this deeply in the slightest.
¡¸Can¡¯t have too many people blocking the way here, so could anyone other than Makoto-san, Bro, and Haruna-san git outta here for a bit?¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
¡¸I will go out and work.¡¹
¡¸Tell me what happenster, okay Boss Man?¡¹
The three of them obediently went out to make some condiments. Mio went off to the construction room to make her bow. As there was nothing to currently do, Artiem wondered what she could aplish beforeing to a conclusion.
¡¸Ah, then I¡¯ll go out to the vige and check on the progress of the soy sauce and miso storages.¡¹
Artiem quickly thought of something she could do, motioning to go outside. Also, there was a simple reason as to why Goivejon and Foeldan were not here: they had gone to make soy sauce and miso storages with Hiroshi¡¯s blueprints. Miso and soy sauce could very well be a pivotal factor in gaining the currency of the other region, and even as they spoke, many elves in the vige were working on the process. Stabilized production at such a time would be difficult, but the fermentation was proceeding for the first test subject without any issues at the current time, so everyone was expecting it to be the next local specialty after sake. Some of the less patient people with time on their hands had already begun ns to make new fields for production increase in soybeans, finding old areas ofnd to open.
Incidentally, there was a simple reason as to why that group of people in the area wanted foreign goods: if there were no foreign goods, then they couldn¡¯t buy marine products or curry powder for dashi. It went without saying that Azuma Workshop was not going to offer free condiments or marine products to satisfy all four races living in that area. However, these folks in this region really had a thing for Japanese-style food in general, taking a liking to the dried sardines, oceanic bonito, and kelp for dashi that Hiroshi brought over and willing to go to whatever lengths it took in order to get their hands on some stabilized crops. Consequently, they wanted to use such condiments for themselves and were working incredibly diligently on making soy sauce.
¡¸Alright then, let¡¯s get some of these ingredients outta the way with Haruna-san¡¯s rapier.¡¹
¡¸Mm, please.¡¹
¡¸Well then again, I¡¯mma just be usin¡¯ all the ingredients in one fell swoop.¡¹
Hiroshi said jokingly as he put more and more ingredients in the smelting furnace. This was a highly-functional, one-of-a-kind furnaceposed of bricks that contained just enough sand in cirction. Layotte was forced to collect said bricks. Then again, Hiroshi barely had any attachment to it, and it wasn¡¯t even all that high-performance to one of his caliber.
Incidentally, the reason Layotte was forced to collect the bricks was because he had grievances with Makoto and tried to get Hiroshi to make him a magic steel-made weapon for him. Honestly, this was all on Layotte.
¡¸Alright, time to get started, mate¡«¡¹
He said in a disheartened tone but with a serious expression as he pulled out thepleted alloy, inserting the hammer into the heatened ore. As per usual, Hiroshi¡¯s gaze was piercing enough to convince you it had a literal edge to it. Earnestly, gently, boldly, delicately, he continued his work.
Not long afterward, the first product, Haruna¡¯s new partner, the rapier waspleted.
¡¸Complete. Try swingin¡¯ it a bit.¡¹
¡¸Mm, alright.¡¹
Encouraged by Hiroshi, Haruna lightly traced the shape of the de, recalling the first time she had gotten her weapon made. Unlike then, this time there were no issues whatsoever, and no need to adjust anything. But it didn¡¯t end there; this weapon was also astonishinglyfortable in her hand and easier to control than ever before. In addition, just from swinging the weapon around, she was able to tell that the capabilities this time around far outstripped any weapon she had before.
¡¸Amazing, it¡¯s perfect¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well that¡¯s cause we¡¯ve been together a while ¡®n I¡¯ve been watchin¡¯ ya fight enough to remember. It ain¡¯t gonna be unbnced anymore, mate.¡¹
Haruna had to give an impressed look at Hiroshi for creating the perfect bnce in one go with no need for revision. She had thought about how happy she was to have Hiroshi on her team countless times, but especially this time around.
¡¸Well, I¡¯ll exin the special functionster, but first let¡¯s get to the next one. Bro, it¡¯s yer turn.¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah, I¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡¹
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s a go¡«¡¹
Once again pumping in a crazy amount of mana, Hiroshi began molding the rod, the sound of a hammer reverbating through the room. He designed the conduction line, paying special attention to the increase in mana and control support and making slots in several points to attach mana crystals. He thenpiled the assistance ingredients, changing the design line to the shape best suited for magic effect, and thenstlyid a strong enchantment as it cooled.
¡¸Then all I gotta do is stick mana crystals in here¡¡¡¹
He ced the mana crystals in a transforming pentagram formation, and the crystals lit up with a glow. After minimally adjusting the flow of energy, Hiroshi made the finishing touch with an enchantment. Lightly activating it, Hiroshi confirmed there were no defects and handed it straight to Tatsuya.
Volume 2, Extra 2.4
Volume 2, Extra 2.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸Give it a lil check.¡¹
¡¸This rod feels incredibly borate or something. Way different than before.¡¹
¡¸Well that¡¯s cause the extent of the enhancement of the ingredients is different. It¡¯s makeshift as before, but this time ¡®round we got different ingredients leadin¡¯ to a different oue in both what we can make ¡®n the amount of effort put in.¡¹
Smiling awkwardly at Hiroshi¡¯s rather vague statement, Tatsuya activated the rod and initiated several light spells. On one hand, it was incredibly easy to control. On the other hand, the amplification was so high that it was actually difficult to hold back. As Tatsuya considered all this, he activated several shortened arias and then immediately cancelled them.
¡¸¡¡Hey.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Just now, I seeded in two-fold activation without even using cheats. Wanna exin?¡¹
¡¸Well that¡¯s to be expected cause it functions with multiple activation sequences. And whaddya mean ¡°cheat¡±?¡¹
¡¸When you activate magic during an aria at the right time that has no dy, no aria, and no cooldown, you end up being able to activate two spells simultaneously in exchange for the cost rapidly increasing.¡¹
¡¸Oho. I didn¡¯t know that part, mate.¡¹
The staff that Hiroshi made had multiplex aria functions built into it. 5 kinds for Novice. 3 kinds for Intermediate, and even the Holy Octo-Cannon level could handle 2 kinds at the same time; a truly heinous staff. Naturally, the cost would consume only whatever was activated. There was no way Hiroshi would not deal with such problems.
¡¸Also, one more thing I¡¯m questioning. Isn¡¯t the invocation cost oddly light?¡¹
¡¸Ah, you too, Tatsuya-san?¡¹
¡¸Oh no, looks like ya found out.¡¹
Hiroshi answered calmly as he made the ck sand steel for the katana.
¡¸So what¡¯d you do?¡¹
¡¸All y¡¯all helped hunt the garbarensia, so I thought it¡¯d make a good darn catalyst if Ibined it with evil ent leaf veins.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorta too scared to ask now, but did you put some sort of enchantment on it?¡¹
¡¸Magic invocation cost 75% cut and battle skill invocation cost 75% cut. I seared ¡®em into the weapon.¡¹
¡¸WHAAAT!?¡¹
The three others in the area all shrieked in disbelief.
¡¸What, ya don¡¯t gotta be all that surprised do ya?¡¹
Hiroshi grumbled with a scowl, having already begun preparations to forge the longsword. However, not a single person there was going to let him out of this easy¡¡
¡¸Do you even know how freaking ridiculous that is!?¡¹
¡¸Ridiculous, schmediculous. It¡¯s just yer average advanced enchantment for the most part.¡¹
¡¸Equipment with that kind of enchantment can¡¯t even be found in the middle level of Purgatory!¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but then there are plenty of special function weapons in Purgatory that ya can¡¯t reproduce with magic tools or enchantments. Plus I already put Reduce Consumption on Bro¡¯s staff while I was on the other side.¡¹
¡¸Uhh, I wasn¡¯t looking too hard in the first ce because a staff that deadly is too dangerous for me to use!¡¹
Makoto and the others made no effort to listen to Hiroshi¡¯s excuses, instead continuing to try and denounce him. Incidentally, more than half of the special functions unique to equipment found in Purgatory were way too peculiar, essentially choosing their owners, while the other remaining half were at most superior extras. Also, Hiroshi misunderstood this part, but if this were only about the characteristic functions of the middle level of Purgatory, as long as you both acquired all of the crafting extra skills and gathered every possible material on the same floor, it was possible to reproduce such items. Then again, crafting already required you to be a shut-in and was much too challenging to master, so no one had yet confirmed this information¡ªunless you were one of the developers or God.
¡¸I should also add that it¡¯s just a simple enchantment, so ya can attach it to any weapon.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Sorry, I sort of feel dizzy¡¡¡¹
¡¸I honestly wanted to cast a 95% cut on it, but not only would I hafta go to the Big Spirit Cave to gather ¡®em all, the crafting amount is suuuper low, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Could you just not say any more scary things?¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon, it ain¡¯t scary, y¡¯all.¡¹
Intimidated by Makoto, Hiroshi muttered as he began to temper the shape of the mass of metal into a longsword. He initially had a sulky expression on his face, but after beginning work, that expression gradually became tightened. Each swing of the hammer built more and more character into the lump of steel, morphing it into a peerless weapon.
¡¸Here¡¯s the first one. I need to look at the bnce, so lightly swing it for me.¡¹
¡¸Yes, yes.¡¹
Even without checking the bnce or whatever, it was pretty clear from the battles up till now that she would be able to easily and urately control her centre of gravity. As she thought about all this, Makoto mimicked Haruna¡¯s example and lightly traced it. As expected, Makoto could tell that this was the most suitable centre of gravity for her, with everything perfectly working together. After lightly swinging it, she felt that the foundation specs were 3 ranks lower than that of the equipment found in Purgatory, but even 3 ranks below was unbelievably well made for someone who was just casually working on it. She decided not to dwell on it.
¡¸Right, there¡¯s no way any weapon you make would have bnce issues by this point.¡¹
¡¸I dunno. Next one I¡¯m gonna make is somethin¡¯ ya never seen, Makoto-san.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¡¡¡No way!¡¹
Not listening to a single word Makoto was saying, Hiroshi hammered out the heatened ck sand steel to about 5 millimetres density. Then he began breaking the stretched steel into 2 centimetre-thick pieces, carefully selecting several kilos of good quality ones. Hiroshi heated up the small-sliced ingredients and boiled them, making them into one mass before hammering it out thinly. He hammered it t and then folded it up intoyers, repeating the process of hitting and folding.
Seeing that it had be a good-quality material after about 20 folds, Hiroshi got to making the other metal pole. He re-purified the remaining mass, messed with itsposition, and then began to construct a very solid and sticky metal. Once he had smoothed it out to a minimum level, Hiroshi wrapped the steel he had initially forged with the metal he had just made.
¡¸Is there a difference between that metal and the metal you first worked on?¡¹
¡¸The first metal by itself would fold or break with an impact, so I gotta attach a soft ¡®n sticky metal in order to evade the impact.¡¹
As he answered Tatsuya¡¯s question, Hiroshi ovepped both metals with heat,bining each of their qualities into one, then began using a mallet to shape the body into that of a katana. After organizing the shape with the mallet and a file, he coated the surface with a dirt-like substance, heating it up again and then quenching it. After he corrected the warp and curvature of the now-baked sword, he polished it up and checked its condition. Hiroshi tailored his signature into the sword with the file,pleting a splendidly-rippled, beautiful katana with a length somewhere between a wakibara and an odachi. Hiroshi had periodically muttered a chant while scattering unidentified powder, which was probably his way of enchanting the weapon.
There were in fact several processes that would seem odd for normal smithing, but not only were the raw materials different; magic, a process that did not exist in the real world. Even if the general flow of the base was the same, it was of course reasonable to expect these fairly crucial details to not match. Magic steel would only differ in a minor way, but with higher-ss materials, by-the-book forging methods would not make proper weapons no matter how skilled the person. The raw materials in this world just became more and more peculiar with their attributes the further up you went.
¡¸Well, it ain¡¯t exactly a bewitched sword, but it¡¯s got perfectly fine practical use range.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t know that katanas took so much effort to prepare.¡¹
¡¸Yup. It ain¡¯t the world¡¯s strongest art for nothin¡¯.¡¹
Makoto paid no attention to the ongoing conversation, taking thepleted katana in her hands with a fascinated look in her eyes. She took plenty of distance away from the gallery and equipment, timidly swinging the weapon as if trying to use a long unused move. In response to Makoto¡¯s movement, the katana traced a wless orbit. Right at that moment, no, as soon as she had taken that katana in her hands, Makoto experienced the sensation of something iplete being filled.
¡¸What about the bnce, mate?¡¹
Completely ignoring Hiroshi¡¯s question, Makoto continuously swung the katana as if she were possessed. The ideal bnce. The ideal length. And then there was a glimpse of the cutting ability and the toughness befitting of a bewitched sword that she never knew she wanted. The quality of material was not generally what you would consider to be literal ck sand, but this was irrelevant. This was unmistakeably a katana. It was the item that Makoto had treated as half her body in the game, polishing her skills and climbing to the top before reaching a setback, unable to find thepanion that would be an extension of her arms and legs. Now she could walk that path again.
£¨That means this time, this time for sure, I will be able to use¡¡£©
There was an NPC that Makoto had once met in the game. She had studied under him and he had hammered the secrets of the discipline into her, which included a string of techniques. Unable to find the proper katana to withstand these secret techniques, Makoto had never once been able to truly exert them. As of right now, Makoto was rusty as a katana user and could not invoke the techniques, let alone reach the setup stage. Indeed, when you considered how it wouldn¡¯t reach the level of Purgatory equipment, this katana might still not be sufficient. Still¡
¡¸Yeah. I¡¯m ready.¡¹
Once again, she found the courage within her to bet everything on one strike with this katana.
¡¸I dunno what ya mean by ready, but that¡¯s good.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi, this might end up being another tall order, but I want you to be here during this.¡¹
¡¸A craftsman always grants the wishes of his clients, mate.¡¹
Although it all started in a game, this was how Makoto atst returned to the path she had once aimed for.
Volume 2, Extra 3.1
Volume 2, Extra 3.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Side Story 3
¡°Let¡¯s get up an¡¯ at ¡®em in the field!¡±
¡°Yeah!¡±
As Hiroshi called out with a hoe in one hand, Haruna and Mio followed with strange enthusiasm. The gardens that used to be the slums of Wulls were now getting to the point where Hiroshi¡¯s party could delegate the management.
¡°The soil¡¯s just about done. Once we nt the seeds, we¡¯ll pass it along to Artiem, I reckon.¡±
¡°Yes, sir! You can leave it to me!¡±
Artiem answered with more strange ernesty. The three workers who had been carrying seeds, bulbs, and fertilizer with them watched with distant amusement.
¡°It¡¯s a little early for ntin¡¯ just yet, but we¡¯re almost done with the vegetables we¡¯d be harvestin¡¯ in summer and fall.¡±
With that, Hiroshi turned to the seeds of Corn and Reve Beans. They were both nt monsters that tormented farmers, but since they served as good materials for training new soldiers and knights, they had been requested by the government to nt them on the farthest plot.
The Gardens of Wulls were more experimental than not, so it wasn¡¯t like they were going to sow the entirety of their considerablyrge farnd. The rice farms, which they would start sowingter, for instance, along with the good number of crops that need to be nted around June and harvested during fall and winter.
¡°We¡¯re almost done with sowin¡¯, people! Keep at it!¡±
Everyone responded to Hiroshi¡¯s call, starting another day of farmwork.
¡°The Boss Man¡¯s got a few admirers, huh?¡±
¡°Quite a few.¡±
¡°Yep. Despite his usual demeanor, girls love him.¡±
Teres¡¯ group, having finished carrying the bulbs and left with nothing else to do, were grinding down crops and chit-chatting about the familiar sight since Hiroshi had returned, now that they had enough experience in the process not to mess up even if they talked through it.
¡°To be honest, I was surprised that Artiem came over here, but I was more surprised that Artiem is looking like a schoolgirl with a crush.¡±
Recalling her sister, who had been toyed by the old ones in the vige only because she hadn¡¯t matured as a woman, Teres exined. Despite her body being developed much more than the average elf, Artiem was literally a child when she left the vige. She certainly hadn¡¯t expected her to pulvolt up the steps to adulthood within the three years since she had left the vige.
¡°I¡¯m astonished that Haruna-san is clearly self-aware of her feelings.¡±
¡°Right, that was surprising.¡±
¡°I wonder what happened.¡±
Nora mentioned another shocking matter. Even before they came to the vige of Ortem, Haruna had spent a long time chasing Hiroshi in the time they spent together. Albeit subtle enough that it couldn¡¯t be noticed without careful observation, she had left some impression that she had slightly lost her cool when seeing Hiroshi speaking to other women. The right pair of eyes could not have mistaken Haruna¡¯s feeling for Hiroshi. In fact, it was bizarre how Haruna was so obvious to her own feelings.
Under ordinary circumstances, Hiroshi and Haruna were unbnced a pair as could be. On one hand, she was an indisputable beautiful woman, despite her fewpse in judgement or awareness. On the other hand, he was a sheepish-by-day, female-phobic and sloppy-looking man with no interest in anything but crafting and cooking. Just as they themselves had said, they would have nevere in contact with each other without this extraordinary circumstance.
While this metaphor would go over the heads of Teres and the others, Hiroshi was a typical Nobita, his grades notwithstanding, in both his failures in ordinary life, and his strangely manly demeanor and decisiveness during major incidents, like in the theatrical releases. The only difference, per se, was that he didn¡¯t feel pain in continuing to put in efforts to anything he can¡¯t do, rather than give up on it like Nobita. Of course, the flipside was that Hiroshi couldn¡¯t find the right time to give up on something that he couldn¡¯t do.
That was the couple they were talking about. Ordinarily, they would have had nothing inmon. With some inescapable situation where they were struck into a cohabitation, however, it wasn¡¯t impossible for them to, after growing close through their predicament, for the woman to have her protective nature evoked. In fact, Haruna had done exactly that, and had fallen from Hiroshi¡¯s transformation into the reliable man in the time of crisis.
¡°Elle-sama, I can get.¡±
¡°That¡¯s just powerful conditioning.¡±
¡°Having her life saved, and then having her stomach controlled? What can a girl do?¡±
¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, just about the same thing happened with Artiem.¡±
¡°Yep, yep.¡±
Both Aearis and Artiem have had their lives directly saved by Hiroshi. Aearis, especially had lived under Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s protection as a normal child of her age; she had grown closer to the two of them more than any conditioning could exin. Even after she regained her status as royalty, she was way deep into Hiroshi, who treated her like anyone else in private without giving any other man a second look.
¡°Now that I think about it, I¡¯m not too sure about Mio-san.¡±
¡°Apparently they were master and apprentice beforeing here. A product of time, maybe?¡±
¡°Master and apprentice¡ I think I get it.¡±
While crafting something, Hirohi exuded a specific kind of powerful allure. His appearance may still be that of an unattractive man, but the air about him and his eyes took care in demolishing that first impression. Witnessing him like that on a daily basis could easily exin how Mio had fallen for Hiroshi.
Teres and the other girls might have been in the same boat, if it weren¡¯t for his ordinary sheepishness and his female-phobia, along with all-too-powerful rivals in the race like Haruna and Aearis. Of course, it wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t have positive feelings for Hiroshi, but only in the form of respect. Fum, Lime, and L saw him as the person who saved them out of their horrible lives, and the two younger ones kind of saw him as a brother they were proud of, but from their difference in age and status, there was no chance that any of their feelings would lead to romantic feelings.
This was how Hiroshi and Mio¡¯s rtionship had been evaluated, but what Mio actually found attractive was the fact that Hiroshi was the first one to be nice to her (other than Tatsuya), despite her macho-y male avatar. They had met mostly out of happenstance, but he had taught her a perfect spot after some other yers harassed her while she was grinding, and gave her some essential skills for a safe and efficient Craftsman lifestyle. These events had met an extraordinary amount for Mio, who had hardly had any experience with other people.
Of course, for people in this world who don¡¯t even have recorded videos or television, let alone VR MMOs, none of that was understandable. It was no wonder that the girls didn¡¯t understand how Mio developed her (albeit miniscule) romantic feelings for Hiroshi.
¡°It¡¯s all fun and games to us, but poor Artiem.¡±
¡°She¡¯s after a female-phobic guy, even though he¡¯s improving. With three powerful rivals, too.¡±
¡°Poor Boss Man, who keeps getting advances from women.¡±
¡°Oh¡¡±
Fum and Teres couldn¡¯t help but realize at Nora¡¯s insight. In fact, much of the admiration directed toward Hiroshi was developed through him acting sheepishly and for the other person even in situations where no one would me him for not doing so, all because of his phobia. Even without his phobia, he had tried his best to help people when his empathy or sense of responsibility dictated, resulting in improving the impression of women around him and creating a worse hellscape for him.
His act of self-defence for his phobia, in turn, attracted and more and more of that he feared. Because of his phobia, he observed women so closely to the point of understanding them beyond status or title or appearance. Women who find those aspects cumbersome take to that kindly. All he wanted was just enough friendliness to keep from making enemies, but now he was sinking deeper and deeper into the quicksand. It was quite pitiful to the observers of his situation.
¡°In any case, I guess I¡¯m rooting for Artiem, my hometown girl.¡±
¡°Haruna-san, for me. I think that¡¯s the best oue for Boss Man.¡±
¡°Elle-sama, hands down. She¡¯s my friend, after all.¡±
¡°Then no one¡¯s rooting for Mio-san?¡±
¡°Well, neither are you, Nora.¡±
¡°With her eagerness right now, I couldn¡¯t. She has to mature enough to understand Boss Man¡¯s situation at least as much as we do. Otherwise, I feel too bad for the Boss Man to root for her.¡±
This bunny-eared girl was harsh even to her close friend. The other two couldn¡¯t really counter this argument, as they were practically thinking the same thing.
¡°I mean, we can root for them but we can¡¯t really do anything.¡±
Fum said with some sense of understanding as she took away debris from the grounded materials they were working on. At the end of the day, they were just the audience. Even if they wanted to root for someone with their actions, who knew how they could do that for Hiroshi¡¯s extremelyplicated love life. In the first ce, even with her emotional growth that stemmed through her hard life, Fum was still a child. What could she do when she had no romantic experience herself?
¡°We¡¯re not in a ce to talk about other people¡¯s love life, to begin with¡¡±
¡°We have to find our own match before we bicker about anyone else¡¯s.¡±
Teres and Nora, who were both approaching marital age, couldn¡¯t help but mutter, teary-eyed, at their horribly dry love life. They were more attractive than average, and had a good amount of admirers, but now that they were enveloped in the fulfilment of their jobs, they couldn¡¯t help butpare any of their potential suitors to Hiroshi and Tatsuya. Hiroshi aside, most anyone would be a reject inparison to Tatsuya.
¡°I wonder if there¡¯s some great, avable guy around some corner¡¡±
¡°If they¡¯re great, they won¡¯t be avable.¡±
¡°Right¡¡±
¡°But as long as we work here, we can¡¯t date just anybody.¡±
¡°The bar¡¯s set high, for sure¡¡±
¡°Rough seas ahead¡¡±
Teres and Nora, still tearful, looked to the distance at the harsh predicament they were put in.
Volume 2, Extra 3.2
Volume 2, Extra 3.2
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡°It¡¯s not every day you ask for my advice.¡±
¡°Usually, we¡¯re the ones seeking advice.¡±
At a cafe near the Adventurers¡¯ Association, Haruna had chosen a time when Hiroshi and Mio were busy to speak to Tatsuya and Makoto.
¡°Now, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have a good guess, but what¡¯s something you wanted to talk about¡ in private?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know how I should act around Hiroshi-kun¡¡±
They both nearly blurted out ¡°just like you always have,¡± but kept it in. It was a pointless answer, since Haruna was speaking to them because she couldn¡¯t do that anymore.
¡°¡What do you mean, how?¡±
¡°Nothing like this has happened before. I¡¯m not sure about anything, anymore¡¡±
It seemed that she didn¡¯t have anything straightened out herself, either. Makoto and Tatsuya patiently waited for Haruna¡¯s follow-up, as she desperately struggled to find her words through fighting with her unreasonable emotions.
¡°When I¡¯m near him, I can¡¯t stop thinking about it, I can hear my heart pounding, and I can¡¯t keep it cool¡ And when we¡¯re not together, like now, I keep wondering what he¡¯s doing, or if he¡¯s gotten into a mess with some girls, or something¡ I can¡¯t stop thinking about that kind of stuff. I can¡¯t concentrate on anything.¡±
¡°¡Never thought I¡¯d hear you say stuff like that¡¡±
Tatsuya blurted out his brutal, honest reaction after hearing a straightforward problem of a girl with a crush. As for Makoto, she was a loss for words at Haruna¡¯spletely earnest concern.
¡°It¡¯s weird, right¡?¡±
¡°I think you¡¯re way past that stage, Haruna.¡±
¡°Way past it?¡±
¡°Urm, how do I put this?¡±
Tatusya struggled to phrase his opinion, as itpletely relied on his subjective observation. Whether she knew it or not, Haruna had began thinking of Hiroshi that way after their battle against Barold. To be honest, he only saw her as a girl in love by the time they had left Wulls. He had thought that she was way past this stage. Furthermore, his understanding of Haruna was that she was the kind of woman to keep those feelings with her as she discovered and acted upon the best course of action for both her emotions and situation. He never thought he¡¯d be sought out for advice about something like this.
¡°It¡¯s hard to exin, but normally all that would have happened way before this, and most people notice that they¡¯re in love when it does. From what we saw, we thought you already knew and had made your decision.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Like I told you before, most everyone close to you knew that you had some sort of romantic feeling for Hiroshi by the time the carfuffle at the castle was done.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not like you were telegraphing it, but anyone with a good eye saw that you were always thinking about Hiroshi, Ann and Myuzzel were saying how impressed they were that you can act natural when you saw him that way.¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t expect you to be doing it subconsciously, no, Ma¡¯am.¡±
¡°The silver lining¡¯s that you didn¡¯t know you were in love, huh¡ Howplicated can you get¡¡±
Seeing Tatsuya and Makoto kind of holding their temples, Haruna could only awkwardly smile. For someone who had never experienced love, their points were exactly connecting.
¡°I think you get it now, but¡¡±
¡°If I did, I wouldn¡¯t be here¡¡±
¡°Right¡¡±
Tatusya and Makoto¡¯s tribtions continued. If the object of her adoration wasn¡¯t Hiroshi, all they¡¯d have to do was have him hear this conversation. In this case, it wasn¡¯t that easy.
¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®what do you want to do?¡¯ or ¡®what¡¯s the best oue for you?¡¯ is going to mean anything¡¡±
¡°Not even worth our breath¡¡±
¡°I know what¡¯s the best, right now¡¡±
What was the best oue? Anyone withmon sense and empathy could figure that out, but love, s, was not that easy to conquer. If only Haruna had some semnce of experience in this department, she might have been able to keep her emotions bottled up until Hiroshi¡¯s condition would improve. But, unfortunately for her in more reasons than one, this was her first crush, one that had spectacrly manifested after her unknowingly building up her emotions higher and higher. That powerful energy could not easily be controlled, even with Haruna¡¯s logical reins over her emotions. The truly unfortunate fact, though, was that she had to fall in love with Hiroshi (without even knowing) who couldn¡¯t trust any form of romantic feelings directed toward him.
¡°I know full well that its immense pressure for Hiroshi-kun just to be on the receiving end of it, but¡¡±
¡°Well, yeah, it¡¯s only natural you want your crush to understand you, and to even have physical contact.¡±
¡°If only, if only it wasn¡¯t Hiroshi¡¡±
Everything would have been settled long ago if it wasn¡¯t Hiroshi. Worst of all, Hiroshi was dependant on Haruna in a certain way, but clearly had no romantic attraction toward her. Even that dependance was nothing that would cause him trouble if Haruna were to disappear. It was just a social issue, after all, if Haruna were to leave, he would just own who he was, and go be a hermit in the mountains.
Of course, Haruna was only the woman that Hiroshi trusted not to harm him, no matter what. He must have had considerable trust in her as person-to-person, but as long as his phobia remained unconquered, even Haruna (if she were to set off a huge red g or two) would be kept at a distance.
¡°It¡¯s not his fault he¡¯s got this phobia, so there¡¯s no senseining about it to him.¡±
¡°In the first ce, Hiro isn¡¯t obligated to fall for Haruna just because she¡¯s into him.¡±
¡°That would have been better, at least she would have had a chance. We¡¯re not just talking about Haruna, but no girl can even get to the starting point with him.¡±
¡°You said it¡¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know who she was or what she did, but whatever girl destroyed him that badly has none of my sympathy.¡±
Makoto was starting to get irritated at the increasingly distasteful revtions. The most annoying was all that, even after spending this much time together, and feeling like they had built a significant rtionship of trust, Hiroshi could easily categorize them on the same level as the girl who built his phobia. Since there was no sense inining about it to Hiroshi, they could only be mad at the root of his phobia.
¡°Keep it down for now, Makoto.¡±
¡°I know. It pisses me off, but me flipping out now isn¡¯t going to solve anything.¡±
¡°Even if you enacted some revenged on that ex-ssmate of his, that might only distance Hiro.¡±
What was the point in bickering about something that happened before they even knew Hiro, when they could not have done a single thing about it? It was more important to give Haruna their opinions on her romance as constructively as possible.
¡°Let¡¯s get back on track.¡±
¡°Right. So, what should I do?¡±
¡°Please, Tatsuya. I¡¯ve got close to no experience in this field. I wouldn¡¯t know what to do in this mess¡¡±
¡°You say that, but all I got is that Haruna should hold in as much as she can, and help Hiro get over his phobia. She can¡¯t even get to the starting point without doing that.¡±
They had toe back to this, at the end of the day. And if Haruna could have done that, she never would have needed their advice at all¡
¡°Why does it feel like a deadend¡¡±
¡°Any normal tactics would only hurt her prospects¡¡±
¡°Erm¡¡±
At the end, all Haruna discovered from speaking to her (slightly) more experienced friends were how convoluted Hiroshi would be to build a rtionship with, and the fact that the fire in her heart burned even brighter in spite of, or precisely because of that fact.
Volume 2, Extra 3.3
Volume 2, Extra 3.3
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡°You seem to be enjoying youfself, Princess.¡±
¡°Yes, very!¡±
Aearis answered her elderly advisor with a brimming smile. He couldn¡¯t help but smile in glee upon seeing her in ernest joy. Aearis was now spending her days, fulfilled. In order to improve herself, Aearis spared no effort, day-to-day when it came to appearance, knowledge, and athletic, as well as how she carried or thoughts or her posture while listening to someone talk: about character and ss in general. Everyone who knew for whom her efforts were being made for considered it a waste, but it was true that this served as the driving force of Aearis¡¯ self-improvement. So, no one dare said anything. Besides, they all understood that, as wasteful as it might be, considering the issues the object of her adoration held, that efforts of this magnitude would be required.
As a result, the still-young Princess Priestess ended up refining her appearance and gestures as if they were assimting to her character. While working at the temple, everyone in her presence couldn¡¯t help but naturally kneel from her aura. While she was unaware, Aearis was now, in both name and power, the icon of Fane, the supporting pir of the Arfemina Temple. Ofcourse, her foodie side would never change.
¡°Off duty, today?¡±
Seeing Aearis in her street clothes, a rare sight, the elderly advisor asked another formality with an obvious answer. Communication began with efforts like these, though.
¡°Yes. Staying locked up in my duties as a Princess Priestess can make me close-minded. That¡¯s my excuse, anyway.¡±
¡°I can guess whose mantra that is, but at your age, Princess, don¡¯t worry about any of that, and take your day off as it is. Go have fun. Another decade, and you won¡¯t have the chance.¡±
¡°I understand. So I¡¯ll go enjoy my day off like any child my age.¡±
Carrying on her cheery smile, Aearis produced her magical item to disguise herself in front of the advisor. All of the advisors knew that Aearis put on a magical disguise and the seudonim of Elle at every day off to go y the kids of Azuma Workshop or the kids in the temple. In the beginning, they were worried sick and followed after her or asked the artisans at the workshop a hundred questions, but Aearis (smartly) never went anywhere near any unsafe areas. Once the advisors knew that the artisans didn¡¯t take her anywhere like that either, they decided to the princess roam as she pleased.
As for the other members of royalty, ever since theirmotion with Barold was settled, they were not really worried about Aearis going out. With Alfemina¡¯s obvious favoritism towards her, there was no way that Aearis would end up in big trouble.
¡°So, where to, today?¡±
¡°Both Hiroshi-sama and Haruna-sama are there. I was going to do farm work with them.¡±
¡°Ah, that exins the sporty outfit.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
In a country asrge Fane, any royalty or Princess Priestess would not have been allowed, even by their advisors or nobles to perform work in the field, of all ce. In this case, though, now that anyone who¡¯d be a stickler for those things had lost power over Barold¡¯s incident, the old slums were now one of the safest areas in Wulls. Especially Hiroshi¡¯s party would be with her, no one could find a single aspect to object to. There was really no point when some even considered the potential romantic rtionship between Hiroshi and Aearis weing.
¡°I wish you luck, Princess.¡±
The old advisor meaningfully said, to the girl dedicated to self-improvement for her love.
¡°I¡¯m not even of child-bearing age, I may remind you. I am in no rush. It would be troublesome if things go well between us, now.¡±
¡°Is that so? If you say so, Princess, this old bone will say no more.¡±
¡°Thank you.¡±
With a smile, Aearis turned to leave. If this was the end of the scene, it would have been a neat little one, but the world isn¡¯t fair. The one came to ruin the mood, was a tentacle of an octopus that stretched out of a vase, now empty, that was used to holdrge bouquet of flowers in the hallway.
¡°Octopus pot! Octopus pot!¡±
¡°Oh?¡±
¡°There you are, Elle-chan!¡±
A mysterious creature came crawling out of the pot, calling out in a dazed tone. It was Octogal, of course.
¡°Hello, wee.¡±
¡°Elle-chan! Elle-chan!¡±
¡°Yes, what is it?¡±
¡°Just came to see your face.¡±
Aearis met Octogal¡¯s sudden appearance with her usual grace. It was actually right after Haruna¡¯s birthday when Octogal came to the castle of Wulls. It went without saying that neither Hiroshi¡¯s party nor Artiem knew that Octogal was in Wulls.
¡°Elle-chan, where are you going?¡±
¡°I¡¯m on my way to the farm, where Hiroshi-sama is.¡±
¡°Is Hiroshi-chan there?¡±
¡°He is. I did make sure of it.¡±
¡°That¡¯s too bad!¡±
Octogal was now floating up and down in disappointment, knowing that Aearis was going to join Hiroshi¡¯s party. It had kept its presence here a secret for finding the right time to make the joke. How did Octogal get to Wulls? It had made itself as small as possible, and smuggled itself in Artiem¡¯s bag. With one Octagal here, the other Octogals had immunity toe and go. At times, there were thirty or so of them infiltrating the castle and temple, taking the hardworking people of these ces a good surprise.
IT wouldn¡¯t have been amiss for anyone to cut it down where it crawled, but since Aearis dered them as the kin of Aranwen and treated them as guests. All the people of the castle and temple could do was ask them to knock off the pranks. It had only been ten days since the first one appeared, but no one was surprised anymore by one popping out of a pot.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can y with you at night, though.¡±
¡°No worries.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t sweat it.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll y with Mark-O.¡±
¡°Charge!¡±
The Octagol, with itspanion that appeared out of nowhere, dered so and disappeared from the scene. They didn¡¯t seem to be impacted by the restriction on transportation spells within the castle of Wulls.
¡°Can I ask you to look after Mark and his people, please?¡±
¡°Yes, Princess.¡±
Mark, who reacted dramatically when he didn¡¯t have to, was the perfect toy for the Octagals. At the same time, he had a few female servants that were on the prideful side, whom the Octagals eagerly harassed. While they didn¡¯t cause enough trouble to halt workpletely, Mark was having none of it.
¡°In any case, you never seem to be the object of Octagal¡¯s mischief, Princess.¡±
While Aearis¡¯ body had matured almost too much to believe that she hadn¡¯t started her cycle, she was someone never sexually harassed by Octogal. As the elderly advisor wondered why¡
¡°It¡¯s dangerous to tease Elle-chan.¡±
¡°No go, no go!¡±
¡°It is forbidden.¡±
¡°There you go.¡±
The additional Octogals answered the question themselves. When it came to age, there were other children they messed with that were close to Aearis¡¯ age, and Mio was a dangerous figure to mess with, too, but that didn¡¯t seem to be a deciding factor. They messed with Elena and the Queen, too, so they had strange standards. There was probably something else that kept even Octogal from messing with Aearis, that had nothing to do with age or physical maturity.
¡°There¡¯s Lay.¡±
¡°Charge!¡±
It seemed that the two that arrivedter were off to mess with Layotte. Of course, unlike Mark, Layotte never stopped his work, and always treated them with enough interaction to keep them amused.
At the end of the day, the people of the castle of Wulls hadpletely ept this strange creature that kept whining about ¡®burying the body.¡¯
¡°Won¡¯t you tell me about Hiroshi-san?¡±
¡°About Boss Man, huh¡?¡±
Teres could only sh a mixed expression at Artiem¡¯s ernest question. She had expected the question toe some time, but now what it was here, she didn¡¯t really know how to answer it.
¡°I¡¯m guessing you can¡¯t ask him yourself.¡±
¡°That¡¯s embarrassing¡¡±
¡°I thought so¡¡±
Volume 2, Extra 3.4
Volume 2, Extra 3.4
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
The first thing Artiem wanted to know must have been whether she was in his range. Hiroshi¡¯s hobbies, food or other preferences would have been something she couldn¡¯t really make anything with. Especially since he was the one that cooked any kind of food. In fact, he had gotten to their stomachs with immeasurable strength before they could have had a chance.
However, Teres didn¡¯t really have a good answer. Before any idea of preference in women, Hiroshi¡¯s problem was whether or not he could interact with any of them. The silver-lining was that he was definitely sexually attracted to women. Despite his phobia, he wasn¡¯t turning to homosexuality anytime soon.
¡°Well, not that I know too much more than you, but what do you want to know about him?¡±
¡°The number-one things is, um¡¡±
¡°Breats,¡± she mumbled, sending Teres in a disarray. Naturally, she had no idea. Who could habe med her for letting her gaze drift around the room.
¡°Do you think¡¡±
¡°Oh, no no.¡±
¡°Well?¡±
¡°I expect the only people to have that answer would be Tatsuya-san, Merizza-san, or Elle-sama¡¯s brother.¡±
In trantion, the only men close enough to Hiroshi for anything like that toe up in discussion. They doubted Douga would discuss such things with anyone.
¡°Okay¡¡±
¡°To be honest, he¡¯s on guard with anyone other than Lime, so there¡¯s no info like that going around.¡±
¡°Do you mean¡?¡±
¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s into¡ no. I think he considers her on the same level as Octogal. Or just too young to even see as a girl.¡±
¡°Oh¡¡±
With a reasonable exnation, she was a little relieved. If Hiroshi had devolved his femalephobia into pedophilia, he would have too hopeless.
¡°He¡¯s not into guys, though, right?¡±
¡°No. Someone would have noticed that by now.¡±
Teres made sure to categorically deny any homosexuality on Hiroshi¡¯s party. He wasn¡¯t the kind to be able to mask such a thing, especially when met with the observant and intuitive women around them.
¡°So, you think I might have at least a chance?¡±
¡°Through harsh terrain.¡±
A chance, at least, was given to anyone equally. While Lady Luck was famous for only having bangs, in this case, she may only have a single strand of hair on her head.
¡°In any case, why don¡¯t you not worry about Boss Man¡¯s preferences when they¡¯re so hard to figure them out, Artiem, and think about what makes you special.¡±
¡°You think so?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve never had a boyfriend, so I can¡¯t really talk, but I don¡¯t think there¡¯d be a single marriage out of love in this world if romance can¡¯t happen without a perfect match of preferences.¡±
¡°Is that how that works?¡±
¡°I think so.¡±
Teres was rather precise with her advice, despitecking any romantic experience. In fact, in a research performed that asked couples if their significant other was their type, an overwhelming majority answered ¡®no.¡¯ What was the game of love without a chance of being attracted ot someone unexpected?
¡°So, let¡¯s think about what you makes you special as a woman, Artiem.¡±
¡°Please do.¡±
¡°With any normal man, at least, a young, attractive elf with big breasts is marketable. Oh, and that you can cook, unlike me.¡±
¡°¡I don¡¯t think it¡¯s much use for Hiroshi-san other than the elf thing¡¡±
¡°That¡¯s a dead-end, sister.¡±
Teres had to brush off what she was thinking, too. Furthermore, it was doubtful that being an elf was even a plus in the end. Their life expectancy was nearly ten times that of humans. If he were to establish a sexual rtionship with Artiem now, having ess to her young body until the day he dies would certainly be a positive, especially when Artiem was, uncharacteristically for an elf, plump, or a body that men usually prefered.
For a married in couple in love, however, such a difference in life expectancy could not be ignored. He would wither away, while his wife remained young, and she would watch her beloved husband age without her. This was a major factor in most fictionally depicted human-elf rtionships ending in tragedy.
¡°Other than the elf thing, Haruna-san¡¯s got me beat on everything buy my breasts¡¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think anything¡¯s a game changer except for cooking.¡±
Teres could only try to blunt-force some optimism to Artiem who kept listing one negative prospect after another. The two elves who had never had a beau in their lives, kept idly discussing how to conquer the man with a female phobia.
¡°Speaking of, don¡¯t you talk to anyone about love troubles, Mio-san?¡±
Nora, knowing that both Haruna and Artiem were consulting people around them for advice, decided to ask Mio who ended up with her aftering out of the bath.
¡°To whom? About what? How?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t answer that, but I was curious why you¡¯re not really making a move on this, Mio-san.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not about that right now.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°What am I supposed to do when I¡¯m ineligible in so many ways and when Sensei¡¯s not eligible in so many ways.¡±
Nora couldn¡¯t help but droop her bunny eyes at Mio¡¯s too cold of an assessment for a girl in love. She understood precisely where she stood.
¡°If I was as hot as Haru, maybe I should be making some moves, but me?¡±
¡°¡¡±
¡°Noment? Ouch.¡±
¡°Your words, not mine.¡±
Nora pointed out to Mio, who had apparently expected some words of sympathy. As a result, Mio was faced with the cold hard impression of her chances from those around her.
¡°First of all, you¡¯re too harsh to Boss Man, Mio-san.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°You¡¯re too desperate.¡±
¡°I know.
Even through Mio¡¯s unwavering expression, Nora could tell that she was in ernest.
¡°I like Sensei, I can¡¯t help it.¡±
¡°No one likes that kind of Tsundere.¡±
Utilizing a vocab word she picked up from Mio along with Compounding knowledge, Nora shut Mio down. While most moves could not be made before waiting out for Hiroshi¡¯s symptoms to improve, there was plenty of things Mio could be doing right now.
¡°ying Tsundere with Boss Man is only going to make things worse.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t argue with that.¡±
Of course, Mio knew that. ying Tsundere against anyone in real life, would usually only result in an annoyed reaction. Only in fiction could a Tsudere girlnd a level-headed partner.
¡°So, anyone who¡¯d fall for me now is a masochistic, pedophile pervert. No thank you.¡±
¡°Does it hurt any less when you¡¯re the one saying it?¡±
¡°Not really.¡±
Mio sulked at her own words, while they were urate. It hurt a lot that she was now painfully aware of how far off she was from the prospects of an ordinary romantic rtionship. Was it toote to feel a sense of urgency about theck of every feminine feature in her, save for cooking?
¡°Well, I¡¯ll try my best to be a little less crazy person, for now.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t want to make any moves to Boss Man.¡±
¡°Not until a few things mature.¡±
With that, she brushed her almost-B-cup breasts. After all the molesting Octogal had done on them, she felt like they were growing just a little bit faster.
¡°I mean, I think that¡¯s the best, too.¡±
¡°If the game ends before then, that¡¯s that.¡±
Mio did understand her shorings, and was trying to fix them the best she could. Nora resolved to help Mio as much as she could, in departments other than romance.
Now, as for the man, the centerpiece of all of this drama¡
¡°Hey, Hiro?¡±
¡°¡®Sup, brother?¡±
¡°You¡¯re ignoring them on purpose, right?¡±
¡°¡Don¡¯t know what your talkin¡¯ ¡®bout.¡±
Was met with this inquisition from Tatsuya, in the midst of crafting potion bottles. Ever since the incident with Corrupted Ents, now that they had a pretty good collection of ingredience from the dungeon, he had decided to make the various ss-3 potions.
¡°It¡¯s really not believable that you haven¡¯t noticed how they feel about you.¡±
¡°You think I can trust ¡®em ¡®bout that?¡±
¡°Thought you might say that¡¡±
With more than a handful of experiences being the target of a ubiquitous teenage bullying tactic of asking someone out for a joke, there was no way that Hiroshi would have believed that anyone was into him. He never would have believed that anyone was, much less attractive women like Haruna. Of course, he only saw it as some misunderstanding or him being full of himself.
As for why he couldn¡¯t just ignore any advances that he knew was fake back in schooldays, that was because he would have only worsened his situation. Likewise, he didn¡¯t have the option to turn down any advances. The only option he had was to ept them, suffer the insults from the girl who pretended to ask him out and her friends behind them, and live with being called some pig desperate for any female attention.
He might have started skipping school, if it wasn¡¯t for his middle school being corrupted in some ways where it would have ruined his chances of advancing to any high school. All he could was enduring being toyed with.
¡°You think Haruna¡¯d take this stuff lightly?¡±
¡°Someone once said that romance is one big misunderstandin¡¯.¡±
¡°Some romances don¡¯t fade even after peoplee out of the misunderstanding.¡±
¡°With me, not a chance.¡±
Even though he was sure that Haruna would never ask him out of malice like his ssmates had, Considering her nature, it seemed that Haruna, once in love, would keep it mature while staying royal, barring anything drastic, but it might have been too much for Hiroshi to believe in that prospect. In fact, with no good memory about building romantic rtionships, it seemed impossible for Hiroshi to trust any of that without having ovee his phobia.
¡°Those fake asking-out stuff is bullying for both sides anyway, you think they could ban it.¡±
¡°Ban as they might, they¡¯ll just keep doin¡¯ it. They¡¯re kids.¡±
Kids, in fact, had the tendency to do exactly what they were told not to.
(There¡¯s a long road ahead of us¡)
Knowing that this was how Hiroshi felt even after the major progress Haruna and Aearis had made towards loosening his paranoia, Tatsuya let out a silent sight for all the lovesick girls and the troubles that lied ahead of them.
Volume 2, Snippet 2.1
Volume 2, Snippet 2.1
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
1 A Day In Lime¡¯s Life..
¡¸Lime! Let¡¯s go harvesting! ¡¹
¡¸O¡ªkay! ¡¹
On one early morning when thete spring sun had finally shone its rays, Fum¡¯s younger sister, Lime, had justpleted a task when Fum called out to her.
Lime was a five-year-old girl who had been practically raised in a workshop, but despite being a child, ying was by no means the only thing she did. Her small stature and stamina did not allow her topound materials nor perform other manufacturing tasks but she was able to conduct measurements, collect materials, and other simple tasks.
It goes without saying but Fum and Lime, two children who were not even 10 years old, lived in a world where it wasn¡¯t unusual for children to work. A life with no work and only y was a luxury reserved for children of merchants and nobility. Even within the elves of Ortem, once a child turns five they were expected to babysit and help with the farm work. Contemporary Japanese society would probably find this lifestyle harsh, but actually, the days before Japanese children could live a life without being expected to work wasn¡¯t even that long ago.
¡¸Fum, Lime, while you¡¯re out, buy some spices from market.¡¹
¡¸M¡¯kay! ¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
¡¸Knowing you two I think you¡¯ll be fine but still be careful okay? ¡¹
Before departing the two of them said their usual goodbyes and made their way towards the east gate.
¡¸Fum-chan, Lime-chan, good morning! ¡¹
¡¸Good morning, Lumina.¡¹
¡¸Good mor¡ªning! ¡¹
Lumina, daughter of Merizza, was a member of their harvesting group. They exchanged good mornings, merged with a group of adventurers and headed toward the harvesting spot, which was an hour on foot if you were a kid.
¡¸One¡ªchan, Lumina-chan, over here! ¡¹
¡¸Ah, Lime, wait! ¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t go off on your own! ¡¹
But Lime didn¡¯t listen to the two older girls, instead she ran off toward what seemed like a promising harvesting spot. As they looked on the rest of the harvesting group¡¯s shoulders fell in dismay. There was a silent agreement within the group; if all members remained together in one area they could ensure the safety of everyone.
If one were to break this rule there wasn¡¯t an immediate punishment, and if one were to unconsciously break the rule the offender would be let off the hook, however, if one were to deliberately ignore the rule they would receive a social punishment. Because of this even someone foolish wouldn¡¯t dare to make the same mistake.
¡¸Wow, to think that there¡¯s this many ripe timberries¡¡. ¡¹
¡¸My little sister always seems to effortlessly find these things¡¡¡¹
Lime shed a triumphant smile and puffed up her chest with pride at hearing the girls¡¯ astonished admiration. She had a talent for seeking out rare types of nts.
Incidentally, timberry is a type of perennial nt whose berries take all of summer to ripen; it is also a rtive of the strawberry. Usually, one isn¡¯t able to pick berries in March, only on a very rare asion would anyone be lucky enough to find them. These off-season timberries also possess a powerful magic, they are prized for their medicinal value, as well as acting as a catalyst for enchanting and alchemy. It¡¯s no wonder that they¡¯re such expensive items found only in a select number of levels.
¡¸Well we¡¯ve actually found them so we might as well pick them.¡¹
As they assiduously picked the berries the amount quickly filled their baskets so they transferred the berries to their satchels. While Fum and Lumina worked diligently, Lime climbed a tree and began collecting Dolk leaves to collect the berries in. Dolk leaves were at their finest just as they¡¯re about to fall off the branch. However, a single Dolk leaf wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand their harvest so Lime leaped rapidly from branch to branch collecting the best leaves in earnest. It seemed that meals from the workshop were giving her proper nutrition; it was surprising that a child at her age had this much physical ability.
¡¸Lime! Stop that, it¡¯s dangerous! ¡¹
¡¸O¡ªkay! ¡¹
At Fum¡¯s scolding, Lime obediently got down from the tree. She was mischievously appropriate for a child her age, but she was also reasonable.
¡¸One¡ªchan, over here! ¡¹
¡¸And now you¡¯ve gone and found a splendid Aslin.¡¹
¡¸Digging out roots is hard work isn¡¯t it~?¡¹
Lime was pointing at an Aslin stalk, that was twice its usual size, blooming with lovely white flowers.
Of course, its roots were also double its usual size and could be used as raw material. With their ability and if luck was on their side they could perhaps make a medicine that would level them up by one rank.
In the end they continued to find more rare materials that would allow them to make ss seven or ss eight potions. Teres was the best at gathering materials, but Lime was by far the best at finding rare materials. Today Lime was on a roll and thanks to her the Azuma workshop had acquired far more and far better material than expected.
¡¸Fum-chan, Lime-chan, let¡¯s y¡ª! ¡¹
It was past lunchtime and they were now faced with a sense of ennui.
¡¸Fum and and I will be back soon! ¡¹
¡¸Wait, can we? ¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ve finished today¡¯s quota, besides ying with your friends is important too, you know.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Lime, let¡¯s go.¡¹
¡¸Yeah! ¡¹
After receiving permission Fum and Lime went down the stairs to meet their friends. The surrounding elderly watched over the children with softened gazes. Despite being raised in the slums by a single parent, the two of them had a sound upbringing. The two of them both studied and worked with all their might. One could even say that they had much more schrly promise than the third son of a noble family who despised study.
¡¸Sorry, did you wait long? ¡¹
¡¸Not at all.¡¹
They bowed their heads while apologizing to Lumina and the other children, but the children smiled and merrily reassured them that everything was fine. The group was a mix of girls and boys but girls seemed to make up the majority of the group. They all knew that Fum was a major force at the workshop and that she always had her hands full, so there was no reason for them to hold a grudge against her for the times when she¡¯d turned down their invitations. Besides, because every one of them had chores of their own the opportunity for them to meet as a group was very rare.
¡¸So, what should we y? Tag? Hide-and-seek? ¡¹
¡¸We could also cultivate Pomies~¡¹
Everyone ignored Lime as she smiled and proposed a dangerous game. In the end they agreed to y red light green light, a game they had learned from the workshop. Incidentally, Pomey cultivating is a thrilling game that¡¯s yed by using hot spring water and piling up pomies. To put it simply, the game is just like ying with firecrackers. Afterwards, the Pomies would be delicious food.
¡¸Fum-chan will be ¡°it¡±. ¡¹
¡¸O¡ªkay.¡¹
The children agreed and began the game. However, none of them actually knew what a traffic signal was. The reason they learned this game was because of a certain person from Kansai who had first tried teaching them a game called Mr. Monk breaks wind, but luckily Makoto and Tatsuya had quickly intervened.
¡¸Red light! ¡¹
¡¸Kane, you¡¯re out! ¡¹
¡¸Tch.¡¹
A boy named Kane had been fooled by Fum¡¯s feint and moved to the out corner with a vexed look on his face.
¡¸One¡ªchan, I got you! ¡¹
¡¸Ah man¡¢ I lost¡ª. ¡¹
¡¸Ehehe.¡¹
Fum had nned to beat Lime but in the end she had been swiftly defeated by her simple cleverness. A showdown between these two could go either way.
¡¸Lime-chan, I got you¡ª. ¡¹
¡¸Ah, now I¡¯ve lost¡ª. ¡¹
However, Lime was still a child and her opponents were children too, so it wasn¡¯t like she could outsmart them that easily.
¡¸Um, is anybody there? ¡¹
Lime restlessly looked around making sure that there was no one in sight, and then she quietly stepped into the garden.
¡¸Good evening¡ª¡¹
She let out a startled voice and called out to whaty before her. The area was very dim but if you looked closely you could see a faint sparkling and a sprout with a pair of small leaves nted in the center.
¡¸I brought you fertilizer~¡¹
At Lime¡¯s words, the soil sparkled again. Lime deciphered the soil¡¯s reaction and began to scatter fertilizer. The fertilizer was a quality product made by Hiroshi called Ocean Life (It actually was made from the fluids that had been extracted from a chrysalis of a giant hornworm). It was the ultimate fertilizer but Lime was generously scattering it everywhere. Although it had been a leftover product using so much of it was a tad audacious.
There actually wasn¡¯t anything wrong with what Lime was doing. That¡¯s because in the past, as the result of some mischief, she had buried a nearly rotten Sol Meissen, which had miraculously germinated while also keeping her act a secret.
Normally, Lime wouldn¡¯t take part in such mischief, but that day the tes overflowing with Sol Meissen had piqued her interest and she couldn¡¯t resist poking it with her finger. As a result, the Sol Meissen immediately withered and a panicked Lime saw no other choice but to bury it in a sunlit corner of the garden.
Lime was gued by guilt and considered confessing what she had done but while she struggled to muster up the courage to do so Hiroshi and the others had embarked on a journey and the evidence eventually erased itself.
However, Hiroshi was actually aware of what Lime had done and he had taken notice of Lime¡¯s guilt and regret so he had decided not to dig any further into the matter. Besides he too was at fault for leaving behind the Sol Meissen; it made sense to go easy on Lime.
¡¸Is this water okay? ¡¹
Lime watered the nts with an elephant-shaped watering can (made by Hiroshi), and in response, the ground sparkled in happiness. After five minutes the ground glittered in satisfaction and seemed to say ¡¸I¡¯m fine now¡¹ so, Lime put away the watering can.
¡¸Alright then, I¡¯ll be back tomorrow and bring you some more water.¡¹
The ground glittered happily once more and then remained still. Actually, the reason why Lime was able to sneak into the garden was because everyone was aware of what she was doing, they just weren¡¯t interfering. They assumed that she wanted to secretly care for the nts so they unanimously agreed to allow her to do so while watching over her from afar.
¡¸Ugh, I¡¯m tired.¡¹
It wasn¡¯t close to midnight at all, but for a five year old it was certainlyte. She, of course, could not fight off the sleepiness so as quiet as she could she tiptoed back to her room and fell sound asleep.
That was a perfectly normal day in Lime¡¯s life.
Volume 2, Snippet 2.2
Volume 2, Snippet 2.2
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
2. Spirit Silk and et cetera.
Olt was the head of the Lamballes household, one of the three main dukes of Fane, and at present he was awfully displeased. However, his ill humor wasn¡¯t directed at the royal family nor had he been treated negatively within the country. His management of the recently purged noble¡¯s territory was also going well. The kingdom¡¯s established tariffs that had supposedly been halved were actually soaring. To put it bluntly, his circumstances were providing him quite the smooth sailing.
But why was he upset? Well that was because despite all of his sess there was just one thing that wasn¡¯t going well.
¡¸¡You made a mistake again? ¡¹
¡¸Yes. I¡¯m very sorry.¡¹
¡¸Geez. Just what in the hell are you doing? ¡¹
The matter that was spoiling his mood was the aftermath of the Katarina Revolt, which had resulted in the royal family acquiring arge amount of Spirit Silk, a legendary raw material.
Having said that, it wasn¡¯t like he was devising an outrageous n involving the Spirit Silk. No, the reason was that he sensed an impending crisis at the fact that the royal family had practically handed over enough Spirit Silk to weave a one-tenth hectare all to the Azuma workshop.
However, it wasn¡¯t like he felt that the members of the Azuma workshop were dangerous, the fact of the matter was that he couldn¡¯t stand how well the royal family and the Azuma workshop had gotten along. Then there was also the fact that Hiroshi was never seen processing the Spirit Silk; it only made his suspicion grow. But the main reason was that in order to no longer depend on the Azuma workshop he had been bent on experimenting with various processing methods.
However¡
¡¸The Hunter Tree weaving machine was no good huh¡¡¹
¡¸If we keep this up soon we won¡¯t have any Spirit Silk left to process.¡¹
¡¸Tch, I guess that¡¯s to be expected of the legendary Spirit Silk huh¡¡¹
They had gaudily failed at loading the Spirit Silk into the weaving machine. Normally, if one inserted thread into a regr weaving machine it wouldn¡¯t instantly separate and scatter like spaghetti-like strips. The texture would also be smooth and in no way would it be sharp enough to cut one¡¯s finger at the simplest touch, as had been the case with the Spirit Silk. It was all very infuriating.
¡¸We¡¯ve even having difficulty cutting the thread.¡¹
¡¸How about the Demon Shears? Did they work? ¡¹
¡¸All I can say is that thread is relentless.¡¹
So it wasn¡¯t just the weaving machine that was having trouble. The fact that the thread couldn¡¯t even be cut meant that the methods at hand were useless.
¡¸Each time we try to cut it the shears¡¯ des are dulled. We can¡¯t keep this up, it¡¯s not like we have an infinite supply of des.¡¹
¡¸I see. Do you have any other ideas? ¡¹
¡¸If we go at it again with a frontal attack we¡¯ll just end up wasting more of Spirit Silk don¡¯t you think? ¡¹
¡¸Then how about an idea that doesn¡¯t involve a frontal attack? ¡¹
¡¸Well, how about having Lord Felnork or Lord Douga use the Prince¡¯s demon iron sword to cut through the thread? ¡¹
Lord Lamballes furrowed his brows at the craftsman¡¯s proposal. This idea was possibly more bothersome than allowing Hiroshi to weave the thread. However, he still had no reason to think that, therefore he could do nothing but disy a grave face.
¡¸Besides, even if we did manage toplete the cloth there¡¯s still another issue.¡¹
¡¸How¡¯re we going to stitch it, right? ¡¹
¡¸Yes. If we could just stitch it and make it into a finished manufactured product then there wouldn¡¯t be anything unusual about our circumstances.¡¹
¡¸If you can¡¯t cut it with shears then perhaps would it be too much to hope for you to fashion up a needle out of demon iron and sever it like that? ¡¹
¡¸Given the current circumstances I imagine that would be impossible.¡¹
The duke knit his brows further at the craftsman¡¯s grim reply. He couldn¡¯t ept anything other than triumphantly processing the Spirit Silk through his own means. If he couldn¡¯t he wouldn¡¯t ept it. He couldn¡¯t ept it but¡
¡¸It seems that processing the material in one go is out of the question huh? ¡¹
¡¸Sir, please ept my utmost apologies.¡¹
¡¸No, I¡¯m not ming you. To tell you the truth we all underestimated the legendary material. We should¡¯ve anticipated this level of difficulty.¡¹
¡¸But, you won¡¯t ept the notion that it¡¯s impossible.¡¹
¡¸Obviously. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to find something that possesses simr qualities to the Spirit Silk, weave it into a cloth, and start from there.¡¹
If they continued experimenting with the genuine material they weren¡¯t going to get anywhere. First they had to pave the way to a sessful method.
¡¸Something with simr qualities? What is there? ¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re talking about texture then there¡¯s spider silk, if we¡¯re talking about strength then it¡¯s got to be metal thread right? ¡¹
¡¸Metal, huh. With the current technology how thin can you make it? ¡¹
¡¸About as thin as a leaf¡¯s stem.¡¹
¡¸Then, make the metal thread as thin as you can until you¡¯re able to weave it into a cloth. That way it will help you devise new techniques without wasting any more material. Strive to your heart¡¯s content.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
The technical officer received the duke¡¯s order and hurried off to develop the thread. With their current tools they would not be able to seed in processing the Spirit Silk but they could develop a wire with high tensile strength. They would seed in enhancing the current processing technology for every fiber, from metal to typical raw materials, into the best of the world. In this world they would be remembered as the pioneers of textile development.
And yet despite all of their hard work the Duke of Lamballes still had to rely on Prince Layotte and ultimately was not able to process the spirit thread. Therefore his failed endeavor remains a secret to be contained here.
¡¸So it¡¯s impossible? ¡¹
¡¸I can only tell you that with our current machinery it¡¯s futile.¡¹
Meanwhile at the Castle of Wulls, Layotte nodded without a flicker of disappointment at the words of his invited guest, a master weaver from a foreign country who was known as the best in the world.
¡¸To be clear, are you sure you¡¯re unable to spin this thread? ¡¹
¡¸If I had specialized machinery for the task then I can only guarantee that I¡¯ll do my best.¡¹
¡¸I see. I knew I should expect as much from a legendary material, but this one in particr seems to be causing quite the hardship.¡¹
¡¸I am truly sorry¡¡¹
¡¸No, I merely wanted to check. I had no intention of reproaching anyone based on the results.¡¹
As he was much obliged to the master, Layotte could do nothing but speak words of forbearance while wearing a wry smile. In the first ce, if this group couldn¡¯t spin the thread but could process it then Hiroshi must¡¯ve sewn some clothing long ago. As long as Hiroshi couldn¡¯t process it then there was no reason to think that this group could.
Incidentally, regarding the weaving master¡¯s ability and prestige, if one were to exclude Hiroshi and his team then he would be the world¡¯s most skillful master. The reason was that he didn¡¯t possess any magical abilities nor was he capable of enchantment; therefore he had no ability to deal with the Spirit Silk. If one were to request of him a regr spider thread then his work would be of the same quality as one made by Mio without using enchantment.
For starters, if a human with the ability to process the thread existed then one wouldn¡¯t be able to call the Spirit Silk legendary.
¡¸Having said that, it¡¯s a waste to demand of you toe all this way only to ask you a question and be told it¡¯s impossible, so I¡¯d like to ask you to serve as guidance for the castle¡¯s artisans.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve no problem with that but wouldn¡¯t it be a wiser decision for you to ask that of the one who weaved this cloth? ¡¹
¡¸That guy isn¡¯t in Wulls. Besides,pared to you, one who has years of experience, he is so young that it makes one question just how the hell did he manage to master that technique. His youth would only be a distraction for the castle¡¯s artisans.¡¹
¡¸I see¡ ¡¹
¡¸Furthermore, his level is far too isted. He calmly asks one to address him not as an artisan but as an imperial court wizard, yet he is unable to estimate the ability of his disciples. There wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem if he were to teach amateurs, but if he were to teach the artisans of the castle, who have attained a certain level of proficiency, he would be unsuitable for the task.
The more the master listened the more he found it difficult to imagine what kind of person this Hiroshi was. He could not help doubting whether the Hiroshi Layotte was speaking to him about was an actual person or not. In reality, Layotte¡¯s exnation was strictly incorrect. Although it was true that he wasn¡¯t suited for instructing experts there were other reasons. From his point of view the difference between what the experts of this world could do and couldn¡¯t do was far too warped, but the main reason was that they were already set in their way of doing things so he hadn¡¯t the slightest idea how to remedy that problem.
¡¸Well, in the meantime do what you can.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ll be shown around so first head to the weaving area.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
The master was guided toward the weaving area by a civil official and there, he was astonished by the machinery and the artisans¡¯ talents. Since these people were in charge of sewing the royal family and priests¡¯ clothing it was a given that they werepetent. After witnessing this the master realized that the issue with the Spirit Silk was truly a big deal after all.
¡¸What magnificent skill.¡¹
¡¸No, I still believe that we¡¯re inferiorpared to you.¡¹
The master and the artisan each weaved a cloth and presented them to one another. Both clothes had a decidedly top quality texture; the best in this world. The master¡¯s cloth, in particr, was of such a quality that one couldn¡¯t tell from the texture, robustness, nor the hue that it was made from jute.
¡¸You have this much skill yet you¡¯re unable to weave the Spirit Silk.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s unfortunate but we don¡¯t have the necessary machinery.¡¹
¡¸The one who made this thread said that as well.¡¹
¡¸Then isn¡¯t the machinery the main obstacle?¡¹
A courtdy had been listening to the two top artisans¡¯ conversation and had directed her idea into a question.
¡¸If that thread is simr to silk then how about instead of weaving it into a cloth weave it intoce?¡¹
At the courtdy¡¯s question, the two artisans momentarily pondered. When weaving a cloth one had to fortify the spool of thread¡¯s wick. However, if one were to prepare a tenacious knitting needle and request thece experts then, possibly¡
¡¸The problem is what thece is going be used for.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not a specialist in clothing but I think that if one doesn¡¯t attachce to something worthwhile then the clothing will be overshadowed by thece.¡¹
¡¸As expected this is a very difficult matter¡¡¹
Everyone present sighed in agreement. Preferably, one could take advantage of the material¡¯s strength and perhaps attach thece to the inner lining of armor.
¡¸¡At any rate, we need to put in the time to research all that we can.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s do our best.¡¹
While encouraging each other they promised to meet again to show each other¡¯s greatest masterpieces and departed for the day. Later, when a month had not even passed the master took in the sight of the Spirit Silk and held it in his hands for the first time; in that moment his pride and confidence crumbled like none of the other artisans had imagined.
Now, why hadn¡¯t Hiroshi madece¡.?
¡¸Is weaving it intoce impossible? ¡¹
¡¸Well technically speakin¡¯ it is possible but we just can¡¯t think of a way to use it is all. ¡¹
¡¸Certainly. When I think aboutce the first thing that pops into my head are handkerchiefs and underwear.¡¹
¡¸Can ya please not talk ¡®bout underwear? It gives me goose bumps just thinkin¡¯ ¡®bout that texture on my skin.¡¹
The reason as to why remains a secret to be solely contained here.
Volume 2, Snippet 2.3
Volume 2, Snippet 2.3
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
3 The Taste Of Showa
¡¸Wow, arge strawberry!¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s quite the specimen ain¡¯t it. ¡¹
Strawberry picking season had finally arrived in Ortem.
¡¸This year¡¯s harvest is quite good.¡¹
¡¸But is this time of the year generally strawberry season?¡¹
¡¸This type of strawberry is usually picked in March.¡¹
Haruna agreed with the elves and together they arduously continued their strawberry picking.
As they picked Haruna observed the somewhatrger than usual strawberries and couldn¡¯t help wondering about the taste.
¡¸How about ya give it a try?¡¹
¡¸Is it okay if I do?¡¹
¡¸Strawberries taste better as soon as they¡¯re plucked from the bush after all. ¡¹
At the elf¡¯s suggestion Haruna took a bite. The taste was mildpared to Japanese strawberries but it had an overall tasty juicy bnce of sweetness and sourness.
¡¸It¡¯s delicious!¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s great.¡¹
Haruna ate three more strawberries and continued the harvest. While doing so she tried toe up with other uses for the strawberries.
It looked like they had enough to feed not only the entire vige but also the three neighboring ns. It seemed to her that it was a waste to only eat the strawberries in their raw state.
Perhaps she could use them as a base for condensed milk. Or maybe she could freeze them forter. She could also use them for cake decorating. If she had adzuki beans on hand she could also try making strawberry daifuku but she wondered whether the strawberries would bepatible with sweet white bean paste.
A myriad of dishes floated across her mind. Compared to the sweetness of Japanese strawberries these ones were quite nd so she would have topensate with some seasoning, it would be a chance to show off her skills. She thought of this throughout the entire half of the day as she intently harvested the fruit.
¡¸You sure helped us a lot.¡¹
Thanks to Haruna they hadpleted the harvest earlier than expected.
¡¸Here, take this.¡¹
The elf handed over two overflowing baskets of strawberries to Haruna.
¡¸Huh? This much?¡¹
¡¸Yup. This year we had such an abundant harvest that even after sharing it with the other tribes we¡¯ll still have a lot to spare.¡¹
¡¸But¡¡¹
¡¸If you insist, in exchange ya can show me how to make some delicious dishes with these.¡¹
At the elf¡¯s proposal Haruna finally agreed to ept the strawberries. If thanks to her cooking instruction their eating habits were able to improve Haruna was definitely willing to teach.
¡¸Okay! I¡¯ll try to make a lot of dishes! ¡¹
¡¸If ya don¡¯t have enough lemme know and I¡¯ll bring ya some more. There¡¯s still so much left. ¡¹
¡¸O¡ªkay! ¡¹
She met the elf¡¯s hopeful gaze and headed toward the house she was staying at. Around this time Hiroshi and the others were still engrossed in developing a countern against the Mana-eater. She decided to fashion up a meal using the strawberries by the time they got home for dinner.
¡¸Hmm, what should I make? ¡¹
Food-loving Haruna held a fresh strawberry in her hand as she cheerfully thought up some recipes.
¡¸Hm~¡¡¡¹
It seemed that none of them were suitable. She looked down at the simple strawberry snacks. There was a sherbert d in condensed milk, cupcakes, and crepes. Each of them were samples made with short potions.
¡¸Rather than ordinary, there¡¯s nothing interesting about them. ¡¹
None of them were bad. All she could think of were snacks that she hadn¡¯t made at the ¡®simple is best¡¯ elf vige. But Haruna wanted to make something else.
Later while she desperately wracked her brains over the matter she was preparing to boil some jam when suddenly from the corner of her mind an idea suddenly appeared. Jam bread. A type of bread stuffed with jam. To be more specific, the type of bread with cheap jam mixed with gtin.
¡¸I remember long ago hearing about a type of snack that had gtin and used cheap jam¡¡¹
That keyword was all Haruna needed to quickly and urately resurrect the memory. As always, when Haruna wanted to remember something she would no doubt remember it. This asion was no exception.
¡¸That¡¯s right! It¡¯s from one of grandpa¡¯s stories back when he was a kid! ¡¹
From there on the memory came tumbling down rapidly. Her paternal grandfather had told her about a snack that was popr in the Showa era. If she could give the strawberry vor a vintage vor then wouldn¡¯t she be able to replicate the snack?
¡¸Alright! I¡¯ll give it a shot! ¡¹
As soon as she made her decision she began to experiment. First she needed cheap strawberry jam mixed with gtin and butter cream. She also took the opportunity to use the ingredients back from when she made cupcakes to bake a light even caste.
¡¸I wonder if I got the jam right. ¡¹
Despite its cheap quality the jam was peculiarly delicious; it seemed to have a quirky vor. She left the jam out to cool and shortly after, she took out the caste from the oven. She then proceeded to prepare the butter cream. When finished, she thinly spread the cream onto the caste and then did the same with the jam.
¡¸It¡¯ll be finished after I roll it up. ¡¹
She had made a jam roll, a rare nostalgic snack from long ago that had suddenly been overshadowed by the poprity of roll cakes.
¡¸Hm, what was it like again? ¡¹
Back then it was popr for snacks to be sold in individual packaging, so she thinly sliced the jam roll and took a bite. Because Haruna¡¯s pte was ustomed to high quality ingredients the jam bread¡¯s taste was undeniably cheap but nevertheless was likeable.
¡¸I wonder if it tastes like the ones grandpa used to eat when he was a child. ¡¹
Since she had never eaten the original snack she wasn¡¯t able to determine the uracy of the vor. Her grandfather¡¯s sense of taste must¡¯ve deteriorated by now so perhaps it would even be difficult for him to judge. Despite the fact that she had never eaten it before she found the jam roll somewhat nostalgic. Satisfied with her creation, she decided to implement a Showa vor into the evening meal as well.
¡¸Hey, this tempura looks like it came right out of a manga. ¡¹
¡¸When I think about it, it isn¡¯t often when one eats two shrimp tempura over a bowl of steamed rice. ¡¹
¡¸Usually when you order a shrimp tempura set at a restaurant they¡¯ll serve you a full bowl. ¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s in but I kinda like it. ¡¹
Everyone was voicing their opinion about therge shrimp tempura that had been simplyid on top of their bowls of rice. This type of bowl had been served during a time when shrimp tempura was considered a high ss ingredient.
Combined with the rise in aquaculture and rise of the yen¡¯s value, the price of shrimp had dropped and had be widely essible. Afterwards, because restaurants that serve tempura increased their stock as well as their variety of tempura lively bowls brimming with tempura becamemonce.
¡¸To tell you the truth I tried to recreate a Showa vor. ¡¹
¡¸I see. So what about those fried prawns? ¡¹
¡¸I had a lot of batter left over so I was ying around with different cooking techniques. And yet I still had batter left over so I also made something donut-like. They¡¯re not exactly shaped like a ring though. ¡¹
¡¸Somehow, I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this¡¡¹
While saying that, Tatsuya took a bite out of the fried prawns. The prawn¡¯s fried husk let out a crunch as his teeth sunk in. But, the inside was hollow.
¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s fried shrimp tail. I worked really hard on replicating that hollowness. ¡¹
¡¸You were ying around making unnecessaryplex imitations weren¡¯t you¡¡¹
¡¸Well from what I¡¯ve heard, Showa era fried shrimp tails hadda deeper cra-crunch sound ya know? ¡¹
¡¸Ah, maybe. ¡¹
Haruna voiced her intent to improve on that detail. While observing Haruna¡¯s serious face, Makoto shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. She wasn¡¯t sure if Haruna had always been like this or if Haruna had be like this at Hiroshi¡¯s influence. She had noticed that once Haruna had an idea she would go to town with it. However, because the things she made were mostly in random, she reached the conclusion that perhaps both Haruna and Hiroshi were silly individuals cut from the same cloth.
¡¸So, Haruna. Where¡¯s the torso? ¡¹
¡¸I cut it off and mashed it in with the rest of the hot pot paste ingredients. ¡¹
¡¸If you were going to put it in the hotpot wouldn¡¯t it have been better if it was joined by the head and tail too? ¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s troublesome to take off the shell after boiling it so I just cut it up into pieces. ¡¹
Haruna responded by voicing an opinion the majority of people shared concerning fried shrimp. When cooking shrimp or crabs the processing of the shell often caused a number of problems.
¡¸Ah, by the way I also made a Showa style jam roll? I think that¡¯s what it¡¯s called. ¡¹
Everyone tilted their head in wonder at a in sounding snack they had never heard before while finishing their meal. The simple meal had only two shrimp tempura so it wasn¡¯t enough to fill their stomachs. One could almost say that it looked like a dish intended for someone on a diet. But nevertheless it was still Haruna¡¯s cooking. The oil from the tempura didn¡¯t drench the rice making it an overall satisfying meal.
And then there was dessert.
¡¸There are times when you can even beforted by a cheap snack like this huh. ¡¹
¡¸Well, there are also times when you are able to crave just about anything. ¡¹
¡¸Haruna, good job. ¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t get enough of this cheap vor. ¡¹
The strawberry jam seemed to be an overall hit. However, the dish Haruna was most proud of was the donut-like fried prawns, but that¡¯s a story to solely be contained here.
Volume 3, Prologue Part 1
Volume 3, Prologue Part 1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸Okonomiyaki skewer and one te of Takoyaki, that will be 1000 seneca all together.¡¹
¡¸There you go,¡¹
¡¸Thank you for dining here everyday, we look forward to your next visit.¡¹
It was around midday, when Hiroshi and his friends arrived at the capital city of Darl Nation, Darl. They went to greet the Adventurer¡¯s Association and went to thebour guild to put in an application to run their food stall. Which allowed Hiroshi¡¯s party to start working the following day. The stall which they worked at sold okonomiyaki skewers, takoyaki and fish cakes. As the stall was made from something Hiroshi has built into the minivan, it possessed an unusual shape. Even knowing Hiroshi¡¯s superhuman ability when ites to crafting, it was still hard to take in the sight of a van morphing into a food stall.
On top of that, the currency between Fane and Darl is different. One tirol in Fane is ten seneca in Darl. Furthermore, there is no currency equivalent to Fane¡¯s chrone. So, one chrone bes a thousand seneca. Luckily, there are no issues withmunication since thenguage spoken in Fane can be understood in Darl. Also, thenguage spoken in Darl is very simr to the one spoken in Fane and the same goes to the country located to the north of Fane, Forre.
During VR times, all the shopping could be done just with chrone. Therefore, there were very few people who spoke thenguage in Fane.
¡¸¡ Hey, Haruna¡¡¹
¡¸What is it, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Why are we running a food stall?¡¹
¡¸To sort out our stock and to make some money?¡¹
To Haruna¡¯s obvious reply, Makoto deepened her frown.Yet she did not rest her hand which were baking fishcakes in an orderly manner. Perhaps it was some sort of professional instinct.
This information might be fairly obvious; however, Hiroshi and Tasuya are currently off doing another errand. Since nobody knows how long they will be staying in the capital, the two of them have decided to go and look for a house to rent. Although Haruna knew that they were not around, she asionally acted as though she was looking for Hiroshi. Yet, when the customers are around, she works as usual. At one point, she seemed a little restless around Hiroshi. However, once they started the long-distance travel on the minivan, she has started to act natural again.
¡¸Don¡¯t we have plenty of money to livefortably for a while?¡¹
¡¸Well, I guess so?¡¹
¡¸And food isn¡¯t a problem as long as we hunt, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, we have plenty of food stock so we don¡¯t have to worry about hunting for a while.¡¹
¡¸So why are we trying to earn more money?¡¹
Makoto deepened her frown as Haruna ignored her bitter question over humming and cooking up five okonomiyaki skewers. However, this did not stop Makoto from lining up the freshly baked fish cakes in the showcase. Next to her was Mio cooking up takoyaki expressionlessly yet joyfully.
The reason why they started a food stall in the first ce was that they needed money to buy equipment for Hiroshi and Haruna, who were adventurers. However, they have now obtained enough equipment. Theirbat skills have increased to the point where they have had many achievements in their quests. So, there was no need for them to run a food stall which was only time-consuming.
¡¸Come on Haruna, don¡¯t you think what we¡¯re doing is pointless?¡¹
¡¸How so?¡¹
¡¸I mean, we¡¯re in a fantasy world where half of thends are in the tropical region. Yet here we are selling takoyaki and fish cakes. We stick out like a sore thumb.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think it¡¯s weird to sell curry buns and pork skewers here. I mean the buildings here are European themed, just like in the game.¡¹
After hearing Haruna¡¯s careless response, Makoto dropped her shoulders as she poured in the batter for the fish cakes. While Makoto continued to vent about their current situation, a child who has heard the rumours about a new food stall walked over. He looked up at her with curious eyes and handed over 100 seneca in bronze coin. The child had a very innocent appearance with the paper brown skin tone which was amon trait amongst the locals in Darl.
¡¸Which vour would you like?¡¹
Not being able to ignore the child, she ced even numbers of white bean paste and custard cream fish cakes. Those were the only vours they sold as the Japanese people were not able find a decent recement for coco or red bean paste. Just the other day, Haruna and Hiroshi were talking about trying to make Matcha cream one day.
¡¸The one with white stuff inside~ !¡¹
¡¸I want custard cream!¡¹
¡¸I want both ~!¡¹
As the children cried out their orders one after another, Makoto took out the fish cakes in the order and exchanged it with their money. She was careful not to touch the food with her bare hands to avoid contaminating them. The children took the fish cakes without realising Makoto¡¯s mindfulness.
¡¸Make sure to wash your hands before eating them. Also, they¡¯re still very warm so be careful when you eat.¡¹
¡¸Okay~¡¹
Nodding understandingly to Makoto¡¯s words, the children washed their hands on the spot using water magic and started to eat the fish cakes. It was aforting scene to see the children cheerfully eat the fish cakes which were kept warm in the showcase. Moreover¡
¡¸Could I have one with the white things inside?¡¹
¡¸I would like the one with the custard cream in it.¡¹
Even the adults came in to order their food, gaining influence from the local children. So, everyone who was working at the food stall didn¡¯t have time to enjoy such scenery.
¡¸I can¡¯t believe that hot food would sell so well in such a warm country¡¡¹
¡¸I guess it¡¯s because these types of foods are unusual? Also, maybe because of the warm climate, they¡¯re worried about eating something that hasn¡¯t been cooked properly.¡¹
¡¸A lot of the food sold in this town are hot food.¡¹
Mio and Harunamented as Makoto hurriedly started to make more fish cakes to fill up the empty showcase. The fish cakes have been selling well thanks to the children in this town. However, the okonomiyaki skewers and takoyaki were also selling well. The capital city Darl, which was located further north from the equator had a subtropical climate with beaches stretching across the western side of the city. However, unlike Wulls, this was an ordinary port side vige.
¡¸Since we¡¯re in such a warm area, should we try selling shaved ice or popsicles as well?¡¹
Makoto spoke out her idea irresponsibly. She wasn¡¯t thinking clearly after long hours of working over hot tes in the subtropical climate. However, this did not stop her from cooking more fish cakes and the same went for the two other girls. The weather felt very warm even with the temperature adjusting enchantment on their clothings. So, understandably, it would be harder to think straight over time.
¡¸Those would definitely sell well.¡¹
¡¸Enough to kill us from overwork,¡¹
To Haruna¡¯s weirdly dryment, Mio replied with a cynical one. However, Mio wasn¡¯t exaggerating anything. Maintaining the coldness of an object is one thing. However, a tool which can produce ice would use a lot of magical powers. That is why such an item is rarely used to make products formercial purpose. Compared to equipment which just produces heat, the efficiency of such equipment is much lower. Therefore, food such as ice cream and gto are sold at a high price. Food such as popsicles could not be sold at the price which ordinary people could afford. Countries such as Fane and Forre can harvest ice during winter since they have cold climate areas. The ice which they collected over the winter could be kept cool with an enchantment so there¡¯s no need to use ice-making machines.
However, in the subtropical climate like Darl, ice is very rare. So, if a day where ice could be sold at an affordable pricees, having a production line would not be enough.
¡¸Unless we put the production rate to the max, the stocks won¡¯tst until lunch time.¡¹
¡¸So what you¡¯re saying is that if we¡¯re using up time to ce the skewers into the juice, we would run out of time unless we freeze the juice on the spot?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, something like that. Actually, we would need to make about a hundred at a time.¡¹
To Haruna¡¯sment, Makoto showed a bitter expression. She didn¡¯t have a clue on how the item would work. However, she knew very well that taking the popsicles out of the machine would have to be done manually. The thought of spending all day taking out the popsicles seemed beyond mind-numbing. There was nothing interesting or aplishing about the whole process.
¡¸Either way, running this food stall is just a waste of time¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re going back to that topic?¡¹
¡¸Of course¡¡¹
As Makoto checked the fish cakes, she brought back the original topic in a weary tone. If they took one of the jobs from Adventurer¡¯s Association, they would be able to earn a couple thousand seneca in a short period of time. However, they are currently running a food stall, pitifully cooking up Japanese food, earning only a hundred seneca off from kids in the area. Yet the fish cakes were being sold at a fast pace, regardless of Makoto¡¯s thoughts.
¡¸oh no¡¡¹
As she was baking fish cakes, the fillings ran out. That itself wasn¡¯t a problem; however¡
¡¸Damn it, what should I do?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹
¡¸I identally started baking the base when we¡¯ve run out of the fillings.¡¹
¡¸Oops.¡¹
Only two out of the eight cake temtes had fillings in them. This was because Makoto, who has never worked in the food industry before, has measured the amount of fillings by eyeballing them.
¡¸¡ this only leaves me one option.¡¹
After thinking about it for a moment, Makoto stuck her hand into the food bag and pulled out something. She has turned down the heat on the hot tes the moment she noticed her mistake. So, there was enough time to make some adjustments. As it has a preserve function, the temperature on the hot te didn¡¯t change.
¡¸¡ Makoto-san, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a reckless idea?¡¹
¡¸If the fish cakes are going down, I¡¯m going down with them!¡¹
To Haruna¡¯s concernedment, Makoto cried back confidently. Out of the six empty fish cakes, she put curry used for curry bun in three of them and cheese in the other three.
¡¸Now it¡¯s time for taste testing. You two, give me your opinions as well.¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie~¡¹
¡¸Makoto-nee, cheese might just make the cut but I have some doubts about the curry.¡¹
¡¸I know, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s easier said than done.¡¹
As expected, the cheese didn¡¯t taste good or bad. But the spice of the curry contrasted badly with the sweetness of the fish cake base. It was still edible, yet it wasn¡¯t something which the girls were able to sell it at the food stall.
Volume 3, 0.2
Volume 3, Chapter 0.2
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Now would be a good time to give some information about the country which Hiroshi and the others have entered.
Darl is a colossal country located south-east from Fane where the majority of itsnd is located in the tropical region. That information might have been evident from the fact that the capital city is located in the subtropical region. Although Fane and Darl are neighbouring countries, theirnds are not physically connected. The only way a person can enter the other country viand is either through the southern highway or through the detours in the great forest. And even those pathways have bridges so the only possible transports are by foot or by chariot.
Referring to Earth¡¯s geography, Fane and Darl are like Europe and Africa. The only difference is that there are no Mediterranean borders and the desert area is much smaller with morends covered with vegetation. The continent which Darl is located in is separated from the other continents by two sagas. It is safe to say that the Darl Nation can do whatever they please with the entire continent. Majority of thend is independent of other continents, although there are areas which are under the policy of Species United States. But if you just look at the surface area of the continent, it is safe to say that Darl is thergest nation in this universe.
The characteristics of people who reside in this nation are the skin tone which is slightly lighter than the native South Africans or the people from East Asia. However, their physical structure is much closer to Europeans, giving them a very unique look. These characteristics weren¡¯t adopted only by the humans in this nation. The natives of the other species, tribes in the great forest and the rainforest in the south side and even the elfmunity residing beyond the Sharune river has the same traits. However, thend further away from the capital is an independentnd for the local native tribes. The people who belong to those tribes have darker skin tonepared to the other citizens in Darl.
The characteristic of Darl is that from the capital city, it only takes a day and a bit by a chariot to reach the Torrid Desert. Torrid Desert which is located along the edge of the nation is known for the Sweltering Tower which was built in the middle of it. The desert is bad enough on the outskirts. However, towards the middle is an area which is forbidden for anyone who is not an adventurer. Even then, the adventurer must be above ss 5. The monsters in that area are usually very high in levels. Themon ones are Giant Scorpion, Giant Centipede, Sand Shark, Giant Sinkhole, Basilisk, Desert Crab and so on. It is a high-risk area without a doubt. Although that area is out of bounds, there are no guards or lookouts in the area and if people go missing in the surrounding area, there will be no search party sent out.
However, the materials which are harvested from the desert biome are usually very fine in quality. They are often used for making items such as ceramics, bricks and ss. There are only a handful of items made from desert materials and their value is understandably high. Also, the sediment materials excavated from the Boulder Desert are also very valuable. The ones which have been excavated through intensebour are used to build the fortress of the castles in this nation.
Although Darl is located next to Fane, as they are separate continents, the arts and the culture of Darl is very differentpared to Fane. The one disadvantage of Darl is the low food production rate. On the daily, the nation has no problem feeding the citizens. However, if something was to happen, poverty would be inevitable. It is a concern which Fane will never face. Therefore, Darl needs to maintain a good rtion with Fane which is their main importation country.
Hiroshi and his friends were about to start their new life in this nation, Darl. An artistic country with its culture influenced by the western, eastern and the central nations of this universe.
¡¸How did the house hunting go?¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s group was eating dinner at the moment. And Haruna asked Hiroshi and Tatsuya who have been house hunting all day.
¡¸Welp, we managed ta rent out a half-broken house which we have ta renovate. T¡¯ least it was mighty cheap.¡¹
¡¸By half-broken, how bad are we talking about? Even if it was really cheap, I couldn¡¯t stand living in a ce where the floor might break through just by walking on it.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t be a spoiled sport. If we spend a day renovatin¡¯, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem livin¡¯ there.¡¹
To Makoto¡¯sment, who was drinking ale brewed from sand wheat, Hiroshi gave a light-hearted response as he ate bread baked from sand wheat and a dry stew. Sand wheat is a very important food source in Darl as it is very strong against extreme heat and dry weather. For that reason, they can be grown even in the desert. The harvest rate of the sand wheat matches up with the normal wheat and the farms only need to be restored every eight years. Meaning they have greater efficiency than the standard wheat. However, when used for baking, the bread ends up having a dry texture and the colour ends up being as dark as the ck bread.
¡¸Fine, but how much was the rent?¡¹
¡¸10000 seneca per month. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s cheap for a ce that could be our base?¡¹
¡¸By the way, what¡¯s the average rent in Darl?¡¹
¡¸Well, both thend and the building are pretty cheap. If we¡¯re looking at a one-room apartment it¡¯s around 5000 sceneca per month. I think the houses were around 30000 seneca.¡¹
The rent was cheap, especially since they were expecting the rent to be around 20000 seneca a month. The cost for the inns included food and there was the need to book it beforehand. However, in this country, the cost for the food which the tenant didn¡¯t eat will be given back to them. Also, the price for the inn includes housekeeping price. So, it¡¯s hard to say that the nightly rate is over-priced. However, it is definitely more expensive to stay at an inn if it¡¯s not booked beforehand.
¡¸Okay, I get that the rent is probably the cheapest we¡¯re going to get. But how were the other properties?¡¹
¡¸Others were way more expensive. The rent was around 300000 seneca a month so we didn¡¯t even bother looking at them.¡¹
¡¸Welp, since we¡¯re lookin¡¯ for a business and industrial-use properties, tis expected that the rent would be high.¡¹
¡¸Do we really need an industry size building?¡¹
¡¸T¡¯ first we didn¡¯t think such space was necessary. But when we were lookin¡¯ at houses n¡¯ apartmen¡¯ the rent was cheaper but livin¡¯ n¡¯ workin¡¯ in that space would be difficult.¡¹
When they first arrived at Fane, the number of things they could make, and the materials and equipment which they were familiar with were very limitedpared to now. So the small room which they have rented back then was more than enough space for them to work and live in. However, that was no longer the case. The amount of space which they used to work in back then was definitely not sufficient with their current crafting capabilities.
¡¸Either way, ¡®morrow I¡¯m gonna renovate the house so brother n¡¯ Makoto-san, feel free to taken on a request or somethin.¡¹
¡¸Got it, I guess it¡¯s about time we start working on our ranks.¡¹
¡¸We need to be able to fight head-on when we¡¯re going into the desert.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded with a serious face at Makoto and Tatsuya¡¯sment. Although they havepleted a couple of missions in Fane, Hiroshi, Haruna and Mio stillcked experience. The three of them were still in ss 8. Tatsuya and Makoto havepleted their training on being a bodyguard and have sessfullypleted a mission, boosting them to ss 6. However, that still wasn¡¯t enough for them to enter the Torrid Desert.
Increasing their ranks wasn¡¯t their top priority but it would definitely benefit them in the future.
With all of that taken into consideration, Makoto once again was reminded how much time they have wasted from running a food stall. People could transfer their ranks between Fane and Darl¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Association. However, this did not mean that the two were the same organisation. The achievements which they have made in Fane won¡¯t bepletely useless. Yet, it didn¡¯t mean a lot either.
¡¸Anyways, where ta start renovatin¡¯ that house?¡¹
¡¸I guess we don¡¯t have enough information on this country do we?¡¹
¡¸True dat. Since we don¡¯t have ¡®nough information, we can¡¯t just run ¡¯round the town¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s hard to gather information about the country when we don¡¯t have anyone to rely on.¡¹
Everyone thought about Mio¡¯sment for a moment. When they were in Fane, they didn¡¯t even have time to think about such a thing as they were always getting dragged into problems with the court. However, this time, they were focusing on gathering underground information on Darl. When they were in Fane, the information they needed was passed onto them from the court. However, in Darl, they didn¡¯t have any acquaintances so gathering information about the country was a challenge.
From now on, they would need to gather information through libraries, adventurer¡¯s association and even through rumours. However, they didn¡¯t know anyone with abat skill high enough to get away from ck ops after approaching them. Haruna might have been able to manage it but everyone was reluctant to ask her to do a dirty job.
They needed a way of gathering information before they started working on their ranks or getting their routine back. Nobody in the group objected to the unspoken n. However, nobody coulde up with a detailed approach.
¡¸For now, let¡¯s just gather some rumours that are going around this country.¡¹
¡¸I agree, I might try singing to get some information outter,¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll leave that to you.¡¹
They talked as if they had a solid n when all they had was a direction the n should head in. As expected Hiroshi¡¯s group had a very Japanese way of handling the problem; always starting off with the very basics.
¡¸That aside, the dishes in this country are so spicy¡¡¹
¡¸Maybe cuz we¡¯re in Southern Nation?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I get that. But¡.¡¹
Now that they have decided on the direction which they are heading in, Tatsuya whispered his opinion on the dish so that people around him couldn¡¯t hear. Themb meat had more than enough spice marinated into it. This wasn¡¯t unusual amongst the dishes in Darl. Unlike Fane where people are more concerned about parasites, people in Darl are more concerned about food poisoning.
The food wasn¡¯t spicy to the point where it didn¡¯t have any vour. However, for someone who was used to eating Hiroshi¡¯s food which had just enough seasoning to it, the level of spice was shocking. Nothing could be said about the way people of Darl cooked due to their climate. However, since nobody knew how long they would be staying in this country, it would be better for them to get used to this vour.
¡¸Personally, I think the food would taste better with the booze if they cut down the spice a little more.¡¹
¡¸Once we move into the house, did you want me to try cooking with less spice?¡¹
¡¸That would be great!¡¹
Tatsuya pleaded for Haruna¡¯s suggestion. Afterwards, he continued to eat the over-spiced meat and vegetables as he did not want to waste the food which somebody has cooked for him. Swallowing down another lump of prawn and onion stew with a very obvious taste of vinegar. None of the dishes were bad. It¡¯s just the taste was very unfamiliar to someone who was used to eating Japanese food.
¡¸We should try makin¡¯ small adjustments to da food.¡¹
¡¸Yeah~, you¡¯re right¡¹
Haruna agreed with Hiroshi. The two had nothing toin about the food which the inn has provided them. Not because they were adapting to the new ce, but because the vouring wasn¡¯t actually bad. But that didn¡¯t mean that they didn¡¯t understand where Tatsuya wasing from. So, they didn¡¯t see the problem with adjusting the food so that it was closer to Japanese cuisine.
¡¸Personally, I don¡¯t mind the spice.¡¹
¡¸Do you like spicy food?¡¹
¡¸Well, I prefer dishes with just enough spice that you can taste the raw vour. I guess I¡¯ll get used to it eventually. But right now, all I can taste is the spice.¡¹
As expected, Makoto too was a typical Japanese person. Overall, everyone agreed that the level of spice was too much for them at the moment.
¡¸I¡¯m surprised Mio can eat something this spicy.¡¹
¡¸This isn¡¯t bad.¡¹
Mio did not have any issue eating the spiced food like Hiroshi and Haruna as she was used to cooking and have a well developed taste buds. So, unlike Makoto and Tatsuya, she was able to detect the different vours in the dish.
¡¸Although they¡¯re neighbourin¡¯ countries, I¡¯m surprised how different the dishes are between Fane and Darl.¡¹
¡¸I know right.¡¹
Although they didn¡¯t have any problem with the food in this country, Haruna and Mio could not help it but agree with Hiroshi¡¯sment. Tatsuya and Makoto had no reason to object to the statement.
Hiroshi and others were now wondering if Japanese food will sell well in this country.
Volume 3, 0.3
Volume 3, Chapter 0.3
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
While Hiroshi and others were makingments about their dinner¡
¡¸¡ I screwed up ¡¡¹
Rainy, who had arrived at Darl a week earlier, was now being chased by a group of suspicious looking people. She was snooping around a couple of noble families as Layotte had ordered. Then, she got caught by the most suspicious family out of all. Rainy¡¯s group has nted many traps to avoid suspicion. However, as theycked background information of the country, she was ambushed the moment she stepped into the quieter streets in the town.
¡¸Where did she go?¡¹
¡¸I saw her run in that direction¡¹
¡¸Got it, let¡¯s split up.¡¹
¡¸Roger.¡¹
The suspicious men have chased Rainy as fast and as quietly as she did. If they were dressed in all ck, it would have been easier to spot them in the crowd. Unfortunately, that was not the case. However, Rainy too was wearing an outfit which would allow her to blend in easily. She just needed to take off the topyer.
As she confirmed that the two men had split up, she intentionally started to run back the way she came. She knew that if she ran around recklessly in an unfamiliar ce, she would only end up getting caught by the two men. So, it was safer to use as many familiar paths as she could. In the worst-case scenario, she could use the bonus transportation stone and evacuate to safe house 1 or 2.
She continued to run for another half an hour. The area was full of multi-storey buildings. She continued to run through the quiet and ghostly-empty streets. Yet she wasn¡¯t just running around mindlessly. She was nning her escape route. Thinking about how to ovee each obstacle and traps. Suddenly¡
¡¸Looks like a sneaky little rat has caught onto some dirty business. But I must praise your skills.¡¹
In front of Rainy stood a man who seemed to be the sturdiest amongst the group. Yet she was confident that she could take him down; if he was the only opponent she had to face. But her stamina was low from running around all night. Yet the man in front of her didn¡¯t even a single drop of sweat on his forehead. Considering there were other people chasing her, Rainy wasn¡¯t in the best situation.
¡¸I really do admire your skills. Yet, I cannot allow you to return to your friends alive. I don¡¯t know what you peeps were looking for. But you¡¯re going to regret attracting our attention.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
Licking their lips in front of their prey was something an armature does. Such ament crossed Rainy¡¯s mind. However, she knew that wouldn¡¯t be enough to boil the man¡¯s temper. At that moment, she was waiting for the perfect time to activate the transportation stone which the tiger person gave it to her. But she was also thinking of an alternative escape route. In this case, the opponent has made the first hit so she wouldn¡¯t have an issue goingpletely berserk. However, if she causes any notable incident, the family which they were looking into will realise that somebody was definitely snooping around them. Also, it could give away the approximatebat skill which she has.
Either way, to avoid head-onbat, she needed to seal the battle skill for absolute victory. Using the knowledge which was drilled into her muscles as a killing doll, she put her back against the wall. This was the only way she could let her opponent¡¯s guard down.
¡¸A cheap trick like that won¡¯t work on me. I know that you have a good enough skill to be an operative of some organisation. Even if you kill me here, others will find you, and kill you the moment they get a glimpse of your face.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
As Rainy heard the man brag about the most obvious points, she started to think that perhaps, he is an idiot. While the man talked on, Rainy wasing up with a n to deceive her opponent, taking in the fact that she has an immature appearance. Also, as long as she has taken down the man in front of her, she could definitely take down the others. Even if one on one ends up being one on four. She started to think that the situation which she was in wasn¡¯t as bad as she originally thought. Especially after seeing that the biggest power force within the opponent¡¯s group was this man in front of her.
¡¸You¡¯re not giving up, are you? It¡¯s not good to be stubborn.¡¹
After a long, useless, chatter, it seems that the guy has finally decided to attack Rainy. The moment the man took a step, she applied some pressure to the crack in the wall. Then, she applied a chantless magic to the dent in the ground which looked nothing more than a footprint. Suddenly, the wall behind her lost its bnce. This wasn¡¯t the only thing she has prepared. While she was moving around, she set up numerous traps in the area; enough to give herself some cover to make a run for it.
As some fragments of the walls started to copse down, the dust made it hard for the man to see his surroundings. The man lost his bnce and the shards of the buildings gave him cuts. The moment Rainy stopped applying power to the wall, the rest came crumbling down. As the man tried to make a run for his life, he stepped on another trap which Rainy had prepared.
Without knowing what had happened to him, the man met his fate of being crushed down by a wall. Although Rainy sets upplicated traps, it wasn¡¯t funny how none of them seems to work on Hiroshi and others.
¡¸Licking your lips in front of your prey is something an armature does.¡¹
Rainy left behind such a cruelment, thinking how ignorant the man was. Then, she headed in the direction where the man¡¯spanions would be. When she came across the two other men, she activated a couple more traps to gain some distance from them. Then, she noticed something was odd.
¡¸Who would have thought that a cute little kitten like you would be making such a mess in quieter parts of the town. No wonder it sounded so lively out here.¡¹
A man standing on the roof wearing a gothic-themed masquerade outfit that looked like a visual kei band¡¯s costume, a cape, rapier and a feathered hat spoke. For a male, he had a clear and high pitched voice but it definitely left an impression on people. If Rainy only heard his voice, it would have been hard to determine if the person was a male or female.
Assuming from his appearance, the man seemed to be in his mid-twenties. He had the skin tone and facial structure of a person born in Darl. However, he had blonde hair, which was an unusual trait in this country. People would most likely describe him as good looking.
¡¸Alvan!¡¹
Rainy froze on the spot, shocked by the fact that somebody was talking to her. The two men who were about to attack Rainy looked up and screamed at the sight of the man on the roof.
¡¸Alvan?¡¹
Hearing the men¡¯s screams, Rainy tilted her head in confusion. The adorable and childish gesture apparently had Alvan¡¯s attention. Unfortunately for him, she only has her mind on Hiroshi. No matter how other people approached her, she did not n on changing her mind. If her rtionship with Hiroshi developed, she most likely would ignore Hiroshi¡¯s feelings as well. Rainy Moon was on the next level of hopeless-romantic.
In fact, the most she thought about Alvan was that this man who apparently never left his emo phase is very popr around here. As an information gatherer, it was concerning to think that she did not think any more of Alvan.
¡¸Now, you pathetic men can leave us alone. For the kitten, I would love to hear everything that you have been up to tonight.¡¹
¡¸Really, it¡¯s nothing significant.¡¹
Rainy gave a disappointingly true answer to van¡¯s question which sounded perverted. In reality, she has done nothing but toe up with some basic conclusions based on the rumours which she has gathered. The most she has done is going around town questioning more details about the rumours. She wasn¡¯t doing anything that looked out of ce. The only reason why those shady men have caught onto her was that she got a little careless. Even then, she could have fixed the problem by putting on some simple disguise and pretending to do some shopping. However, she was a little too ambitious on reaching out as much as she could.
¡¸It¡¯s just that there was something suspicious about those men over there. But now that I have an undoubtable proof, I¡¯ll just finish them off.¡¹
While Rainy was saying such a thing, Alvan cut off the two men closest to Rainy then took down the other four men. More so¡
¡¸Huh, as expected, such a swift escape.¡¹
By the time Alvan had cut down the six men, Rainy was already gone.
¡¸Oh well, there are still sub-leaders left. I better go and deal with them now.¡¹
Alvan swiftly took down the other men who showed upter in a manner which Makoto would have appreciated. Now, the information shared from here on is top secret. However, on the following day, a story about one of the noble families being part of bandit¡¯s business has reached the queen along with a criminal behaviour report. The report contained enough proof to expose the entire household. Afterwards, an announcement was made for anyone in that family to be beheaded.
Volume 3, 1.1
Volume 3, Chapter 1.1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸So, where should we start?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s start off with a simplebat based request in the local area. That way we get a good idea of the scale of this city.¡¹
¡¸Sounds good to me.¡¹
Agreeing with Makoto¡¯s n, Tatsuya started to look through simple jobs that were close to Darl city. To be honest, none of them has tried to get used to using their new weapons on their way to Darl. Since they had no need to get into physicalbat. Whenever monsters attacked them, they bounced them off with an inertial control barrier.
The monsters around the capitals are mostly trash mobs. However, it would be dangerous to go against higher-level monsters when they are not used to the functions of their new weapons. Especially since Makoto is going to be using a katana which she has not used in a couple of years. It would be fatal to fight against a field boss monster. Although it is very simr to a Melee battle, the characteristics of the weapon, the opponent, and the skill sets vary significantly between a katana and a two-handed sword. So, suddenly going up against a strong opponent would be too dangerous.
¡¸How about a Giant Hopper culling and handling of Grass snakes?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, those would be good. Their pretty easy mission.¡¹
Looking through the quests which Tatsuya has brought back, Makoto nodded without thinking twice. Giant Hopper is a grasshopper but around the size of a human. On the other hand, Grass Snake is the size of an ordinary snake. However, its venom is as strong as the Venomous Wolf. Not only that, Grass Snakes can attack in a den 1 . So, when its nest is discovered, it must be dealt with swiftly.
When ites to other animals, Darl was like Savannah on Earth. The monsters in Darl are very different from the ones in Fane. Many monsters here have the form of species which you would expect to see in a grasnd biome. However, since Darl is in a warmer climate, many monsters carry lethal venom. Giant Hoppers exist in Fane as well;. however, the ones in Darl carry venom and they tend to be more aggressive. So, Darl tends to have requests which are never posted in Fane. Even in the game, the level and the abilities of the monsters weren¡¯t very different. However, there were more venomous monsters and their attack status tended to be much higher. So, the hazard rank in Darl was higher than the cities surrounding Wulls.
¡¸Excuse me, we would like to take these two jobs.¡¹
¡¸No problem. Are there any information you would like to know beforehand?¡¹
¡¸Um¡ how many Grass Snakes are there?¡¹
¡¸There is only one nest which has been discovered in the central area.¡¹
The man at the reception swiftly started to sort through necessary documents as he answered Makoto¡¯s question. Then, he frowned as he nced at Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s ranks.
¡¸Looking at your ranks, I believe this job will be a little too easy. Are you sure that you would like to take on this job?¡¹
The two mentally gave each other a bitter smile at the receptionist¡¯s words. In reality, these types of quests were more meant for Adventurer¡¯s in ss eight or lower. The reward for the job wasn¡¯t very good either.
¡¸Yes, we recently renewed our weapons. So, we were looking for an easy job to get the hang of new weapons.¡¹
¡¸Also, we¡¯re new in Darl. So, we wanted to get a good idea on what kind of monsters show up around here.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see. Looking at yourbat skills, they won¡¯t be very difficult monsters to takedown. However, they do contain venoms so please be careful.¡¹
¡¸Okay, thank you very much.¡¹
After receiving the warning from the receptionist, they headed straight for the location mapped on the request poster. Although they have not upgraded any other equipment, there were no monsters in this area that could w through a wyvern leather armour. Armour with a higher physical defence status than te armour. Also, no country would build their capital close to an area where such monsters habituated.
¡¸Let¡¯s just do the job that was listed on the request sheet for today.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that should be fine. I don¡¯t remember seeing any drops that would sell for a high price on the sales sheet anyway.¡¹
¡¸Well then, what are we waiting for?¡¹
Tatsuya nodded in response, then started on the job without a moment to waste. The monsters were a little too weak for it to be a good warm-up round. However, the two did manage to get an idea of using their new weapons efficiently.
¡¸Base o¡¯ the house doesn¡¯ seem to be damaged. So, just fillin¡¯ the crack in the walls.¡¹
Hiroshi instructed Haruna and Mio as he ced a small amount of cement onto the stering tool. Hiroshi made the cement from stock remain from when he used to work at the construction job back in Ortem. The cement in this universe was much higher in quality as it contained magic and so on in the material. However, to Hiroshi¡¯s group who has no construction experience back on Earth, they did not notice such a detail.
The property which they have rented had a very typical build for Darl. A pile of stone which has been fixed into ce with some cement. There were metal beams ced in some areas to support vulnerable parts. But apart from that, the rest of the buildings were built with stones. The structure was very concerning, especially with the size of this property. However, this area only experienced earthquakes once a century. Even when it urs, it never goes higher than magnitude 3.
¡¸Are we really going to finish renovating today?¡¹
¡¸Welp, I want t¡¯least the outside n¡¯ the bedrooms fixed¡¹
Haruna questioned worryingly as she saw that the damages on the house was far worse than what she had expected. Then, Hiroshi gave a light-hearted response as usual. With that, the two of them started to fill in any badly damaged area in the walls.
Also, they are only renting the property so functions like auto-repair and other defence-rted enchant have to be ones which they could easily take down. However, it would be problematic if anyone could dispel the enchantments. So, the precise adjustment of the enchantments was very difficult. However, Hiroshi wasn¡¯t concerned about that since this wasn¡¯t their first time dealing with such a situation.
¡¸Hey, wasn¡¯t the water bill expensive in this area?¡¹
Haruna suddenly remembered about the water bills as she saw Hiroshi fixing up the water pipes. She has managed to finish her part of the walls unexpectedly fast. Back in Fane, the water bill was almost free. However, Darl doesn¡¯t have as many water sources. They never reach the point where they are in drought. As they can gather water through magical tools. But because of the very limited water sources, it was difficult to transport water directly or by lightbour. The condition was the same in the country of steel, Forre. However, Forre is a different matter as the only reason why they don¡¯t have a direct water source is that their water contains too many minerals to be drinkable.
Fane would be constantly facing war if it wasn¡¯t for the Spirit Spire Mountain, the Great Southern Forest and the asional migration of the monsters. The civil division which took ce all thanks to Barold also yed a role in Fane not being dered into wars. Otherwise, neighbouring countries would have tried to take the resources which Fane has. Even if they had to sacrifice their own troops. Fane would have not done such a straightforward approach if it wasn¡¯t for the state which their country was in.
It is doubtful to say that a country which regrly has monsters migrating is blessed. However, from the aspect of Fane having sufficient food and water sources and having no fear of going into war with other countries, they really were a fortunate country.
¡¸I only know Japan n¡¯ Fane but I think tis unusual for a country to be distributin¡¯ water for free.¡¹
¡¸It is unusual but I thought the water bills in Darl is especially expensive.¡¹
¡¸It can¡¯t be helped, there¡¯s a desert in an innd area.¡¹
It¡¯s safe to say that Mio¡¯sment answered general questions about Darl. Majority of Darl was in a drynd biome so there were very few water sources as mentioned before. There was plenty of water if it was just for daily uses and for agriculture. However, very few of those sources were directly drinkable. The water demand of the country is just met by desalinating the ocean water and installing wells around the town.
Although facing such an issue, Darl had just as many, no, it had far more adventurers than Fane. The reason was obvious, it was the Sweltering Tower. The geography of this area was very simr to the game. The reason why Haruna was based in this area during game time was that while she was preparing to head towards the Sweltering Tower, she coincidentally ended up in Darl. However, when she had half the equipment she needed, she gave up and sold the items at the auction.
Reaching the Sweltering Tower is a lot of work as the Adventurer¡¯s need to carry arge amount of water. Adventurers aren¡¯t the only people who need water. The vigers living in a town made to monitor the tower, the merchants who sell items in that vige, and the clutter of inns near the desert need drinking water as well. That is why the water bill in Darl is so expensive even in the capital where there are enough water resources.
¡¸So, what are we going to do with this water?¡¹
¡¸Imma usin¡¯ magical item to absorb as much water as we can. This way we¡¯re able to use as much water as we did in Fane. For dat to work, I need functionin¡¯ water pipes.¡¹
¡¸It feels like we¡¯re very privileged. ¡¹
The water bills in Darl was around the same price as the cheapest booze in Fane. It¡¯s said that the alcohol in Fane is ridiculously cheap. However, that does not mean that the price itself was low. Even if they enhanced the ability with magical items, just because they are paying for the water with their magical, it wasn¡¯t something you would use carelessly.
¡¸Welp, we¡¯re gonna need lotta clean water.¡¹
¡¸Okay, I see where you¡¯reing from. But do we really need to stock up that much water?.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re not only talkin¡¯ ¡®bout drinkin¡¯ water n¡¯ water for daily uses. We need clean water not only for makin¡¯ potions n¡¯ other stuff dat we put in da mouth. But we need clean water for other crafts as well.¡¹
¡¸Do we?¡¹
¡¸Haruna, that¡¯smon sense.¡¹
¡¸Welp I guess tis hard for Haruna-san to understand.¡¹
Haruna still didn¡¯t have enough craftsman experience to understand the impact of materials on its final product. Clean water indeed was a very important factor in the crafting process. This wasn¡¯t just the case in the game, but in real-life construction as well. The increase in a highly technical process usually increases in demand for clean water. So, water pollution is also an issue in the industry aspect as well.
Unlike cooking and agricultural use, the importance of clean water isn¡¯t very obvious. So, it was understandable that people struggled to notice the full influence which clean water has on technical industries.
¡¸Hey, I just had an idea.¡¹
¡¸Ya?¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re not going to need a cksmith, do we really need a property this size?¡¹
¡¸Dunno.¡¹
Hiroshi thought about Haruna¡¯sment which she blurted out while filling in the cracks in the wall. If they were only going to make potions and other small items, an average-sized house would be enough. Back when they were first in Fane, they did a lot of work in an apartment of 2 bedrooms and space where a kitchen and a dining room wasbined. It was true that they didn¡¯t need an industry sized property for a one-time base. However¡
¡¸Welp, ya not wrong dat we don¡¯ need a house this big if we were just makin¡¯ small items. But when I thought ¡®bout how we should start weavin¡¯ spirit cloth, then other real states weren¡¯ spacious ¡®nough.¡¹
¡¸I see~ ¡¡¹
Things which they needed to make weren¡¯t just small, everyday objects. In Darl, essential items were mostly stone rted items. When ites to making objects like that, you will start to need some amount of space. Also, when ites to making a spirit cloth which will be a long-term project, the machine alone will take up a significant amount of space. Considering everything above, it was better to rent a property which the rate wasn¡¯t that different to a cheap house and renovate it themselves.
¡¸Are we going to be looking for a property like this every time we need to stay in an area for some time?¡¹
¡¸T¡¯ would depend on the situation. This time, we need to makerge scale items n¡¯ userge machines so we contacted a cheap, industry sized property. But in Lorren, we won¡¯ be able to git our hands on materials which we need arge machine or make arge item so we won¡¯ need house this big.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
Getting an agreeable answer, Haruna went back to renovating. They weren¡¯t chatting for a long time, but Mio seems to have finished most of the outside. So, Haruna decided to start working on the inside of the house. As for Hiroshi¡¯s work, he finished it right before Haruna started talking so there was no impact.
¡¸Sensei, I finished fixing the outside.¡¹
¡¸Then can ya help Haruna n¡¯ go ¡®¡¯round the inside of the house? I¡¯ll mend up the rest of ceilin¡¯ n¡¯ the floor.¡¹
¡¸Got it,¡¹
Following Hiroshi¡¯s instruction, she started off with an area where the floor wasn¡¯t as damaged. Generally speaking, it wasn¡¯t damaged to the point where it would break through any second. However, considering how easy the floor could break, it was safer to go around the sturdier areas
¡¸For now, let¡¯s set our goal to mend the house ¡®nough to cook lunch here.¡¹
¡¸Roger that,¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll do my best.¡¹
In the end, they were able to eat lunch at their new base. However, that was because their process was slightly dyed and they had their lunchter than usual.
Volume 3, 1.2
Volume 3, Chapter 1.2
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸So, what happened with you guys?¡¹
¡¸Nothin¡¯ in particr, we¡¯re jist separatin¡¯ the crystals from the stones.¡¹
¡¸No, no, what I wanted to hear was what happened before that¡¡¹
The group was currently at Darl Branch of Igreos temple. Reuniting after they finished their jobs and filling in necessary paper works, they decided to have lunch (their meal was rice and seaweed bento. Although it was a stereotypical meal in Japan, in this universe, it was a very exotic mix of ingredients) that was a detail which Hiroshi failed to notice. Usually, Tatsuya would have made amonedic gesture seen in Japan. However¡
¡¸whaddaya mean by before that?¡¹
¡¸Like where did that massive pile of stones came from, or why the newbies were looking up to you guys so much and so on.¡¹
¡¸Welp I guess lotta stuff happened¡¡¹
¡¸Sensei, Haru-nee, where should we start exining?¡¹
¡¸dunno,¡¹
To Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s question, they started to discuss where they should start exining. Not a long time has passed. However, so many things have happened in that short period of time that they had no idea where to start.
¡¸¡ er whad happened again?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re kidding me.¡¹
¡¸Seriously, there was lots more happenin¡¯ than what y¡¯all saw. If we were reactin¡¯ to somethin¡¯ that was happenin¡¯ in front of us, bam! ¡®nother thing¡¯s happens behind ya.¡¹
¡¸I guess it¡¯s better to exin it in the order that it happened.¡¹
¡¸Even when ya say that, flow of the story aside, I don¡¯t ¡®member everythin¡¯ that was goin¡¯ on. Since I was focused on what was in front of me. ¡¹
Apparently, a lot has happened. With Hiroshi, it was very likely that he didn¡¯t even notice half the things which were going on since he was too focused on what was going on in front of him.
¡¸Anyway, we want some time to sort through our thoughts so how about you guys go first?¡¹
¡¸Alright. Well, we don¡¯t have much to exin anyway.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, you¡¯re right. We were just hunting down ants than a swam of Rock Worms showed up on our way back. There were chariots nearby and one of them happened to have the priest and the priestess from the temple. The other one belonged to a travelling merchant on their way back from the sweltering tower. And that¡¯s about it.¡¹
¡¸Hold up, Rock Worms as in¡¡¹
¡¸That bothers you too Haruna?¡¹
To Haruna and Makoto¡¯s exchange, Hiroshi showed a confused look for a moment, then his face suddenly lit up. On the other hand, Mio could not tell what was wrong with that situation.
¡¸Heya, Makoto-san, how many Rock Worms were in dat swarm?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d say around fifty. To be honest, if the knights weren¡¯t holding back the worms, to begin with, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to take them down.¡¹
¡¸Dat¡¯s real strange.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, you think so as well?¡¹
¡¸Ya.¡¹
At this point, Mio started to understand what was wrong with the situation. However, as she didn¡¯t know much about the monsters in this area, she wasn¡¯t exactly sure what was wrong with the situation.
¡¸Is it really that abnormal for Rock Worms to be in arge group?¡¹
¡¸Well, they certainly don¡¯t make a colony of that size?¡¹
¡¸T¡¯ would be inconvenient for em, ¡®specially lookin¡¯ at their size.¡¹
To Mio¡¯s question, Haruna double-checked the information with the other members; to which Hiroshi confirmed.
¡¸I don¡¯t know much either but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s unusual.¡¹
¡¸Ye, if there¡¯s more than two of em, the worms¡¯ll eat each other til there¡¯s only two left. Tis why ya only ever see young Rock Worms ¡®round.¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸Tis true. Just think ¡®bout it, these worms would¡¯ve used up all the resources if they always formed colonies of that size. ¡®Specially since the nutrients in soil ain¡¯t well bnces. It just ain¡¯t practical for their survival.¡¹
¡¸I see, that makes a lot of sense¡¡¹
Everyone agreed to Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. However, this situation was now more peculiar than the group has originally thought. In fact, it was at a point where the group saw it as some type of bad omen.
¡¸By the way, Rock Worms have a real fine magic-based stone on em. How many did ya guys manage to bring back?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the first thing you ask?¡¹
¡¸¡¯T important¡¹
¡¸Well, I guess ¡¡¹
As expected, the first thing Hiroshi asked was the materials. With a bitter smile, Tatsuya gave an honest answer. After hearing that they were only able to bring back three Rock Worms, Hiroshi started to mention things like how they still had time to go back. To begin with, there weren¡¯t a lot of people who could properly take down Rock Worms. So, around about now, people would have taken them down enough so that they could clear out the road; leaving the pile of treasure on the side.
¡¸Leaving aside the materials, you guys were involved in a temple rted incident too, huh?¡¹
¡¸Well, something like a swarm of Rock Worms is probably aimed at people who are working for the temple.¡¹
¡¸When you say ¡®too¡¯ I¡¯m guessing your drama had something to do with the temple as well? ¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re the cause.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
To Haruna¡¯s words, Tatsuya and Makoto could only frown in confusion. To their reaction, Hiroshi gave a tired-out smile. Hiroshi got so excited about the materials that he forgot how much of a hustle the incident was.
¡¸Seriously, what happened?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll exin from my perspective so Haruna-san and Mio, could ya back me up??¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, please don¡¯t go off track.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll try.¡¹
After giving out an uncertain answer, Hiroshi started to exin what has happened.
==
It was around the time when Tatsuya and Makoto were taking down Stone Ants.
¡¸Sensei¡.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun¡.¡¹
The two girls looked down at Hiroshi with a disappointed look. The reason was simple, Hiroshi, despite being warned earlier, found a spot on the roof where the undercoat was barely painted and decided to make an adjustment. However, that section of the roof had a very neat undercoat, making it stand out from the rest and they were harshly questioned by the chief.
¡¸I just couldn¡¯t look over dat,¡¹
¡¸Then why didn¡¯t you report it to the chief?¡¹
¡¸I had the material with me so I thought ¡®t would be quicker if I painted it myself. I regret nothin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Seriously?¡¹
Haruna red at Hiroshi who showed no shame to his actions. In the end, it only increased Hiroshi¡¯s workload so Haruna wasn¡¯t disadvantaged by this situation.
¡¸They have their eyes on you.¡¹
¡¸ Tis just how the society works.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, you¡¯re in no position to be so confident.¡¹
They exchanged such words whilepleting chores at a mild pace. The other adventurers were also carrying materials and preparing equipment. The situation changed when the owner of the cottage, Carly Dentlis showed up. He was one of the nobilities who had many influences on this country.
¡¸How is the progress?¡¹
¡¸Half of the roof for the main building has beenpleted. We should finish painting the main building by the end of the day as long as nothing else happens.¡¹
¡¸Very well, it seems that I would be able to use the main building this afternoon then.¡¹
The three of them continued to work as Mr Dentlis and the chief continued to talk, thinking how the chief sounds a lot politer when talking to nobilities. The paint which they were using in this project was a type which can be evenly dried off when magic is applied to it. Understandably, these paints are very valuable. So, they are only ever used for nobilities or authority rted buildings.
The reason why this project was progressing so smoothly was due to the ¡°foreign method¡± which Hiroshi has taught the chief. So, they were using a technique which was a step beyond an extra skill. At this point the chief was heavily relying on Hiroshi, using and adapting his skills, finishing the project much faster than they have originally intended to.
¡¸¡ huh?¡¹
¡¸Is something wrong?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s just, I have spotted a beautiful flower who doesn¡¯t suit this scenery very much.¡¹
¡¸Oh, you must be talking about Haruna.¡¹
The chief knew immediately who Dentlis was talking about. Currently, the only female at the construction site was Haruna and Mio. They were both good looking, yet between the two of them, Haruna was Dentlis¡¯s type. The reason why the chief remembered Haruna and Mio¡¯s name was because it was very unusual for female Adventurers to take on these types of jobs. With Hiroshi mixed in the trio, the chief was surprised to see three ss 8 Adventurers take on a misceneous job.
¡¸So, her name is Haruna.¡¹
¡¸Yes, she¡¯s an adventurer taking ce of the injured employee. However, she¡¯s in ss 8 so I¡¯m sure she is very talented.¡¹
¡¸How unusual for a ss 8 adventurer to take on construction-rted jobs.¡¹
¡¸They said they are taking on misceneous jobs to familiarise themselves to the geography of thisnd as they have only moved into this area recently. ¡¹
The three of them continued to do their work, over-hearing the very much expectedment. It doesn¡¯t seem to bother chief but the three of them always worked together and their teamwork was superiorpared to other Adventurers. So, it was obvious to everyone around there that the three of them have formed a party.
¡¸I see, how interesting.¡¹
¡¸Okay¡¡¹
To Dentli¡¯s words, the Chief thought to himself ¡°here we go again¡±. Dentlis family was very considerate towards the society¡¯s needs. Although they didn¡¯t engage with exploitation, they invest their money on improving people¡¯s lifestyle. So, they were kind-hearted people considering they are politicians. However, Carly Dentlis could not hold back on his sexual desires. The moment he spots a woman of his type, he will carefully approach them like a snake. Thankfully, his type was a woman over the legal age, able-bodied withrge breast. So, the others had noint about his addiction. If his type was younger looking females like Mio, there definitely would have been an uproar.
All of that aside, he would never abuse his wealth and power to force a rtionship. However, excluding woman from foreign noble families, most women who he has seduced have epted his invitation. Half of those women epted because they lost to the social hierarchy. Although they were over-all satisfied, they realised that they could not form a bond which they have hoped for. For the other half, around 70% of them were in it for his wealth and the remaining 30% saw it as a game with the shy man from the Dentlis family. So, not a single woman has epted his invitation due to genuine attraction. From his wife¡¯s perspective, their formal rtion was nothing more than a political marriage. Although their rtionship wasn¡¯t bad, Mrs Dentlis was mostly in it for his wealth and his ¡°techniques¡±. So, their rtionship was much closer to friends with benefits.
So, he wasn¡¯t reluctant on hitting on some female adventurer. Carly Dentlis was a womanizer who would hit on any woman who was his type. He would not hold back even if the woman was in a higher position and it could potentially lead to a political affair with a foreign country.
¡¸How unusual for a beautiful woman like you to be working in a ce like this.¡¹
¡¸That is very ttering but if you excuse me, I¡¯m currently busy.¡¹
To a man who is nobility and has a strong influence in politics, Haruna showed a perfect customer service smile and gave a casual response. She was used to hearing pick-up lines from when she was in Fane. She was also used to being approached by men who were only interested in her body. So, she had enough experience to know what was Dentlis¡¯s intentions. She could tell that he wouldn¡¯t abuse his wealth and power and she knew he wouldn¡¯t guilt-trip her into a rtionship. Yet the opponent was creepily passionate. Now that he had his eyes on her, Haruna knew that Dentlis would not back down easily. So, she decided to y along well enough to not get on his nerves.
The issue could be solved very easily if Haruna whined about it to the court. However, she thought it would be foolish to cause such a ruckus over a small matter. So, she continued to show herck of interest with a perfect customer service smile. If anything, Hiroshi and the court wanted Haruna to rely on the court over this matter as they wanted Azuma workshop to remain a free and open ce. They knew that the court would easily cooperate with them as long as they knew what their situation was.
¡¸Hard to get type, are you?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mean to brag but this isn¡¯t my first time getting hit on.¡¹
She politely rejected his interest, not resting her hand from her work. Meanwhile, Hiroshi and Mio were giving out instructions to newbie adventurer¡¯s who has started to panic over the weird atmosphere, then checked the progress of the project and gathered the required materials.
¡¸As you can see, I am currently working and this could potentially have a negative impact on me. So, if you would like to have a chat with me, I would appreciate it if you could do so inter days.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re not very social are you?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s just the way I am.¡¹
¡¸Very well then, I¡¯m sorry for interrupting your work.¡¹
He took a step back, seeing that trying any harder will only back-fire. He stepped back quicker than usual as this matter involved his client. This would have been very different if Haruna showed the slightest hint of interest. However, it wet against Dentlis¡¯s policy to forcibly hit on a woman who was currently working. Also, he knew that anyone who would have epted his invitation in that situation was not emotionally invested in him. So, even if Haruna did ept his offer, he would have made sure not to disappoint her.
¡¸I will not interfere with your work anymore. So, could you please give one more chance afterwards?¡¹
¡¸You will try anyway even if I decline your offer, right?¡¹
¡¸Of course,¡¹
As Dentlis showed a bright, confident smile, Haruna responded with a bitter smile and agreed, giving up to his determination. Opposing her expression, she emitted somewhat of a cold atmosphere and her eyes which seemed to smile at Dentlis showed no emotions towards him. If anything, she was irritated at the fact that this womanizer was wasting her time on some unttering desires; and frustration from being treated like an escort in front of a male who she was genuinely interested in. She had no interest whatsoever in Dentlis who was meant to be one of the higher nobilities in this country.
¡¸Haru-nee, are you okay?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mean to talk behind his back but guys like him who are only interested in other¡¯s appearance just pisses me off.¡¹
As they saw Dentlis walk away looking very pleased, Mio asked Harun in a whisper which she responded with a cruelment. As the surrounding area has suddenly be very quiet, the people around them could hear Haruna¡¯s response.
¡¸We, well, he¡¯s theplete opposite of someone like Sensei so¡ I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡¹
¡¸Exactly, I won¡¯t say be a gentleman like Hiroshi-kun but can¡¯t he have a little more decency? I can¡¯t stand that he came to hit on me while I was working.¡¹
¡¸Well I think sensei is a different kind of problem but¡¡¹
Even putting aside his trauma, it was hard to say that he was a gentleman. As a matter of fact, Hiroshi is startled by the irritation which Haruna is emitting. So, he avoided eye contact and went off to check the ratio of the paint, even though it wasn¡¯t an urgent job.
Nobody won¡¯t tell him to go seduce a woman but when one of their team-mates was troubled, finding excuses to walk off and do something else was something Mio could not appreciate. This is only from Mio¡¯s perspective, but she thought a male should have said something in this situation. She didn¡¯t see how his phobia towards female could affect this as well.
¡¸Either way, are they inviting a guest to a cottage when it¡¯s still under construction?¡¹
¡¸Oh, so that crossed your mind too Mio-chan?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
Volume 3, 1.3
Volume 3, Chapter 1.3
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸I¡¯ve been overdoing it but I¡¯m getting the hang of it now.¡¹
The Stone Ants have attacked the two of them from all directions. Yet they have managed to take down most of them. Stone Ants were strong monsters, yet it wasn¡¯t a challenge for one person to take them down. Like Tatsuya, even if theirbat style was magic-based, it wasn¡¯t difficult with rangebat skill and weapon ss over 100. Under such conditions, even a single person could take down an entire group of Stone Ants. However, for someone to be able to annihte a swarm without any special equipment and regardless of the attack order, they must have a very high yer skill.
¡¸By the way, don¡¯t you think these weapons a little too powerful?¡¹
¡¸ Yeah, this Katana and two-handed swords are both weaker than purgatory swords by three folds. But the weapon functions and easiness to use matches up to it.¡¹
¡¸Hiro has adjusted my equipment so that it¡¯s easier to use but the functions are so extreme that I can¡¯t just mess around with it.¡¹
¡¸The wand with dual function? I was surprised that such a thing was possible but I thought you¡¯ve had it before?¡¹
¡¸I heard this from Hiroshi afterwards but he didn¡¯t have enough material at the time. So, he put together something that would shoot out simr strength magic in different directions. Now that I think about it, that staff he made from holy steel was ridiculously strong so I shouldn¡¯t be surprised over something like this¡¡¹
¡¸¡That staff sounds ridiculous so I won¡¯t ask anything about it.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s for the best.¡¹
A robe that has higher physical defence status than wearing multipleyers, a wand that can convert stored damages into HP and MP, a ring that collects up HP from magic damage it has received. Tatsuya remembered a few items which Hiroshi had invented making him wonder if they have been able to preserve the power bnce. It seems that they were a little naive in preparing their status condition. However, that can be easily levelled up along with their skill so they made the right decision by making enchanted items. Yet, the power bnce was very concerning.
However, there obviously are some limits to the extreme of the weapon functions. Even though it stores magical damages, it cannot block off advanced level magics. Even though the physical damage status is higher than wearing multipleyers, it will easily lose against equipment made from materials of the same rank. However, it doesn¡¯t change that fact that it would break the power bnce once those items are released to the public. It¡¯s not a good look for someone who is a craftsman, but you cannot me Hiroshi for making these items.
Putting the reputation aside, perhaps only a Japanese person would be capable of crafting such high-level items.
¡¸But there sure are a lot of them around here.¡¹
¡¸If we don¡¯t take them down, we won¡¯t get paid. We¡¯ve got to work but it¡¯s such a pain~¡¹
¡¸By the way, can we use these guys for something?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t ask me.¡¹
Like that, Tatsuya and Makoto exchanged words like how the ant¡¯s head is obviously important, and somebody was interested in buying its legs and so on. They took down the Stone Ants one after another, remembering the sales value of the monster¡¯s parts. In the end, they decided there was nothing valuable as Hiroshi didn¡¯t mention anything before they have left.
¡¸50 of them altogether.¡¹
¡¸They continued to attack without a break so maybe there¡¯s a nest nearby.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. We better report that when we get back.¡¹
The very existence of Stone Ants¡¯ nest is highly dangerous. If the nest isn¡¯t near a vige or a city, it wasn¡¯t a problem. However, considering they were only three hours out of the city by foot, the nest needed to be taken care of immediately.
¡¸If Hiroshi and others were here, we would go look for the nest and take it down but¡¡¹
¡¸I think that would be too much for us. Let¡¯s call it a day.¡¹
¡¸Couldn¡¯t have agreed more.¡¹
Agreeing to Tatsuya¡¯s words, Makoto carelessly started to clean up the mass of dead Stone Ants. If the nest was close, they needed to leave soon. Or else, more of them woulde to attack. It would be a bother toe back so the two did want to take down the nest right now. However, Tatsuya¡¯s stamina will most likely hold up for the first half of thebat and be taken out by the number in the end. It would be a different story if they had the equipment they had back in Fane.
¡¸hm?¡¹
On their way back to the city, Makoto noticed something.
¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹
¡¸I thought I could hear something rumbling behind us¡¡¹
¡¸¡ the dust is being kicked up,¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s closer than I suspected,¡¹
¡¸The situation might be a little too much for the two of us to handle,¡¹
¡¸Yeah,¡¹
As they continued to talk in a surprisingly rxed tone, Makoto head in the direction which she heard rumbling. This wasn¡¯t a form of friendly service. If they let the swarm rampage on like this, it was likely that the two of them would end up getting caught up in the mess as well. So, if they can save a couple of people during the process, they might as well do so. These two weren¡¯t like Hiroshi and others. Unless they were some level of merit or a significant disadvantage, they would not jump into unrted business.
¡¸A swarm of Rock Worms huh,¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s going on around here?¡¹
They couldn¡¯t tell the exact distance between the swarm and them as the dust storm was screening the field. When Makoto and Tatsuya noticed the swarm, it was already two minutes into the fight. The swarm of rock worms wasrger than the swarm of Stone Ants which they just fought off. And they weren¡¯t exactly the type of monster somebody would want toe across in an open area. In the first ce, Rock Worms weren¡¯t a type of monster which travelled in groups.
Near the swarm was a chariot which seems to belong to a travelling merchant and another well-built chariot with the temple¡¯s logo painted on the side. A group of people who seemed to be bodyguards and adventurers were attacking back at the Rock Worms. However, Rock Worms usually required an adventurer of minimum ss 6 but they would barely manage to take them down. These monsters had a circumference of 2 meters and an average length of 10 meters. Without exceptional skill like Hiroshi and Douga, it was impossible to fight them head-on ande out of the battle harmless. Also, their outeryer was physically made of stone. That was their main difference with Stone Ants which has an outeryer as hard as a stone. It was not possible to cause any damage to these monsters just by using normal weapons with mediocre skill.
¡¸Let¡¯s go and help them out!¡¹
¡¸Naturally!¡¹
To be honest, they didn¡¯t want to face such a monster alone. They were hoping for the best-case scenario where the people who are already fighting would cover for them in return for the two giving the group a helping hand.
¡¸Wide Heal!¡¹
¡¸Tiger w!¡¹
Tatsuya cast Oxygen Ring, a selective spell which wouldn¡¯t harm the innocent. Rock Worms breath; cutting off oxygen would result in suffocation.
¡¸I¡¯ve got your back!¡¹
¡¸Thanks!¡¹
The group epted Makoto and Tatsuya¡¯s help without hesitation. The situation gave them no time for their pride.
¡¸Oxygen Ring!¡¹
Tatsuya activated oxygen ring. An effective spell which won¡¯t harm the innocent. The Rock Worms required respiration. Taking away oxygen would result in lethal damage.
¡¸I¡¯ve gotten around 70% of them!¡¹
¡¸Got it!¡¹
Makoto responded; she used the suffocating worms as stepping-stones. She pierced her double-handed sword at one of the worm¡¯s back, making it struggle in its pain.
¡¸Lightning sh * Single Thunder Strike!¡¹
She continued to attack. Yet the damage wasn¡¯t lethal. The Katana made of magical steel still wasn¡¯t enough. So, she switched to a double-handed sword made by the Lumen tribe. She only ran in one direction. Yet her de managed to reach a wide range. fourteen worms were sliced down in one blow. It was only a matter of time for the worms to be taken down. She just needed to keep up the pace. However, Tiger w is a ignore defence skill. It cost too much of her magical energy. And lightning rted abilities required twenty seconds to cool down. Makoto and Tatsuya haven¡¯t used a significant amount of magic yet. However, they did not have the stamina or MP like Hiroshi. Meaning they couldn¡¯t boost their stamina temporarily. That wasn¡¯t the only issue.
¡¸Lumen King Sword * Ring Cut!¡¹
Makoto used higher cost skill. But the damage level to the monster was much higher. This took down the majority of the worms. This was one of the skills she has learned during game time. A skill where one sword morphs into multiple copies. Both Lightning sh and Lumen King had a user-friendly function for a rapid ability. Ignoring the magic cost, weapon damage and strength, the skill didn¡¯t require a lot of practice..
Such a skill would be enough to break a normal Katana in one blow. However, it was made by an intermediate ss craftsman. It also had a ridiculous amount of enchantments on it. However, it did show some level of damage. But the de was still sharp enough. And there were no visible cracks. If anything, it showed a sinister glint. As if to crave more blood. Makoto wanted to ce another strike. But only inefficient skills were left. Unless she gathered up the dispersed swarm. So, she held back on her temptation.
¡¸Smash Horizon!¡¹
Makoto used a smash type ability. Forcibly gathering the Rock Worms in one spot. Followed by magic which would fling them off in the same direction. So that the swarm would be aspact as it could be. It hit one of the worms that separated from the group to attack the chariot. Being flung away by Makoto¡¯s attack, it crashed into another worm close by. Eventually, they crashed up into a mountain of worms.
¡¸Oxygen Ring!¡¹
Tatsuya expanded the range of oxygen rings with dual activation. Taking down the remaining Rock Worms.
¡¸It¡¯s finally over,¡¹
¡¸Good work everyone,¡¹
While Tatsuya and Makoto were fiercely fighting, the knights seem to have finished off the worms which they were initially dealing with. The knights were not copying Makoto and Tasuya¡¯s battle strategy. After they were healed, they blocked off fatal attacks with barriers; setting up traps and spells which would slow down the worms¡¯ movement and kept an eye out for each other back.
¡¸You two have really saved us, thank you for your help,¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t sweat it, we would have been caught up in the swarm too if we didn¡¯t do anything. And without your back up, we would have been in danger as well.¡¹
¡¸It sure didn¡¯t look that way.¡¹
¡¸It looked easy because we have good weapons. We¡¯re not strong enough to take down that mass just by the two of us alone.¡¹
Tatsuya continued to exin yet nobody seemed to believe him. However, it was true that Tatsuya would have struggled to cast the oxygen ring if the others weren¡¯t already holding back the Rock Worms. If they missed the opportunity to set up the oxygen ring, the only future for them would have been getting crashed down by a swarm of worms.
Also, the reason why they could take down the worms with such ease was that Makoto used Katana made by Hiroshi. If she used a normal Katana made by a normal craftsman, it would have shattered when she used the second Lighting sh. But even her Katana had some level of damage by the time she had pulled out the Lumen King Sword. If she made another strike, it wouldn¡¯t have demolished, but the auto repair would likely not have been enough to fix it.
¡¸Anyway, there¡¯s no way we would be able to take all of these guys back home¡¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think there was a much space left in the storage either¡¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t thebat proof certificate enough?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s a skilled craftsman in our party so we thought he might be able to make something out of them ¡¡¹
No matter how they phrase it, impossible cannot be turned to possible. So, they started to put in a few of the worms which they have taken down into their bags.
¡¸¡ Your bags fit a lot.¡¹
¡¸Well, it has a capacity adjustment and the craftsman we mentioned also added a couple of twists to it so¡¡¹
He responded casually to the clear, silvery voice of a woman. But as he finished putting the worms into the bag, he tilted his head. Then slowly, turned to the direction of the voice.
¡¸Thank you very much for helping us earlier.¡¹
In front of Tatsuya stood a girl probably in herte teens or early twenties. She had gentle blush over her cheeks and her eyes were shining beautifully. She had themon skin tone of many of the Darl citizen but had cool blue eyes and golden blonde hair which was unusual in Darl.
¡ºHey, Makoto¡¡»
¡ºI can¡¯t believe you fell for such an expected situation.¡»
¡¸¡ Not funny ¡.¡¹
As Makoto gave a dead honest opinion, Tatsuya just stood there, waiting for the girl¡¯s response.
¡¸I¡¯m working as a Priestess in Darl branch of Igreos temple. My name is Prim Norton. I would like to personally thank you two. Could you please tell me your names?¡¹
As they heard the overused phrase, they sighed, and told her their real names, not knowing the mess which they were stepping into. This was the beginning of a certain trouble which Tatsuya would regret in the future.
===
The two saw it as a bother to exin what had happened to Hiroshi and otherster. So, naturally, they went over to where Hiroshi and others were after the incident.
¡¸¡wat the hell is goin¡¯ on here?¡¹
They were standing in a very odd scenery. Mio and Haruna were surprisingly getting along with the newbie adventurers. The same went for Hiroshi but he was too focused on sorting out the pile of stone. And amongst them was a girl in a priestess outfit.
¡¸um, some stuff happened.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, a lot of stuff.¡¹
¡¸Anyway, it looks like you guys had a lot going on here as well.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, there were.¡¹
To Haruna¡¯s half-awake response, Tatsuya responded in the same tone as her. Like that, the day ended with a mundane and un-fantasy world like conversation.
Volume 3, 2.1
Volume 3, Chapter 2.1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸So, what happened with you guys?¡¹
¡¸Nothin¡¯ in particr, we¡¯re jist separatin¡¯ the crystals from the stones.¡¹
¡¸No, no, what I wanted to hear was what happened before that¡¡¹
The group was currently at Darl Branch of Igreos temple. Reuniting after they finished their jobs and filling in necessary paper works, they decided to have lunch (their meal was rice and seaweed bento. Although it was a stereotypical meal in Japan, in this universe, it was a very exotic mix of ingredients) that was a detail which Hiroshi failed to notice. Usually, Tatsuya would have made amonedic gesture seen in Japan. However¡
¡¸whaddaya mean by before that?¡¹
¡¸Like where did that massive pile of stones came from, or why the newbies were looking up to you guys so much and so on.¡¹
¡¸Welp I guess lotta stuff happened¡¡¹
¡¸Sensei, Haru-nee, where should we start exining?¡¹
¡¸dunno,¡¹
To Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s question, they started to discuss where they should start exining. Not a long time has passed. However, so many things have happened in that short period of time that they had no idea where to start.
¡¸¡ er whad happened again?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re kidding me.¡¹
¡¸Seriously, there was lots more happenin¡¯ than what y¡¯all saw. If we were reactin¡¯ to somethin¡¯ that was happenin¡¯ in front of us, bam! ¡®nother thing¡¯s happens behind ya.¡¹
¡¸I guess it¡¯s better to exin it in the order that it happened.¡¹
¡¸Even when ya say that, flow of the story aside, I don¡¯t ¡®member everythin¡¯ that was goin¡¯ on. Since I was focused on what was in front of me. ¡¹
Apparently, a lot has happened. With Hiroshi, it was very likely that he didn¡¯t even notice half the things which were going on since he was too focused on what was going on in front of him.
¡¸Anyway, we want some time to sort through our thoughts so how about you guys go first?¡¹
¡¸Alright. Well, we don¡¯t have much to exin anyway.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, you¡¯re right. We were just hunting down ants than a swam of Rock Worms showed up on our way back. There were chariots nearby and one of them happened to have the priest and the priestess from the temple. The other one belonged to a travelling merchant on their way back from the sweltering tower. And that¡¯s about it.¡¹
¡¸Hold up, Rock Worms as in¡¡¹
¡¸That bothers you too Haruna?¡¹
To Haruna and Makoto¡¯s exchange, Hiroshi showed a confused look for a moment, then his face suddenly lit up. On the other hand, Mio could not tell what was wrong with that situation.
¡¸Heya, Makoto-san, how many Rock Worms were in dat swarm?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d say around fifty. To be honest, if the knights weren¡¯t holding back the worms, to begin with, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to take them down.¡¹
¡¸Dat¡¯s real strange.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, you think so as well?¡¹
¡¸Ya.¡¹
At this point, Mio started to understand what was wrong with the situation. However, as she didn¡¯t know much about the monsters in this area, she wasn¡¯t exactly sure what was wrong with the situation.
¡¸Is it really that abnormal for Rock Worms to be in arge group?¡¹
¡¸Well, they certainly don¡¯t make a colony of that size?¡¹
¡¸T¡¯ would be inconvenient for em, ¡®specially lookin¡¯ at their size.¡¹
To Mio¡¯s question, Haruna double-checked the information with the other members; to which Hiroshi confirmed.
¡¸I don¡¯t know much either but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s unusual.¡¹
¡¸Ye, if there¡¯s more than two of em, the worms¡¯ll eat each other til there¡¯s only two left. Tis why ya only ever see young Rock Worms ¡®round.¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸Tis true. Just think ¡®bout it, these worms would¡¯ve used up all the resources if they always formed colonies of that size. ¡®Specially since the nutrients in soil ain¡¯t well bnces. It just ain¡¯t practical for their survival.¡¹
¡¸I see, that makes a lot of sense¡¡¹
Everyone agreed to Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. However, this situation was now more peculiar than the group has originally thought. In fact, it was at a point where the group saw it as some type of bad omen.
¡¸By the way, Rock Worms have a real fine magic-based stone on em. How many did ya guys manage to bring back?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the first thing you ask?¡¹
¡¸¡¯T important¡¹
¡¸Well, I guess ¡¡¹
As expected, the first thing Hiroshi asked was the materials. With a bitter smile, Tatsuya gave an honest answer. After hearing that they were only able to bring back three Rock Worms, Hiroshi started to mention things like how they still had time to go back. To begin with, there weren¡¯t a lot of people who could properly take down Rock Worms. So, around about now, people would have taken them down enough so that they could clear out the road; leaving the pile of treasure on the side.
¡¸Leaving aside the materials, you guys were involved in a temple rted incident too, huh?¡¹
¡¸Well, something like a swarm of Rock Worms is probably aimed at people who are working for the temple.¡¹
¡¸When you say ¡®too¡¯ I¡¯m guessing your drama had something to do with the temple as well? ¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re the cause.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
To Haruna¡¯s words, Tatsuya and Makoto could only frown in confusion. To their reaction, Hiroshi gave a tired-out smile. Hiroshi got so excited about the materials that he forgot how much of a hustle the incident was.
¡¸Seriously, what happened?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll exin from my perspective so Haruna-san and Mio, could ya back me up??¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, please don¡¯t go off track.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll try.¡¹
After giving out an uncertain answer, Hiroshi started to exin what has happened.
==
It was around the time when Tatsuya and Makoto were taking down Stone Ants.
¡¸Sensei¡.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun¡.¡¹
The two girls looked down at Hiroshi with a disappointed look. The reason was simple, Hiroshi, despite being warned earlier, found a spot on the roof where the undercoat was barely painted and decided to make an adjustment. However, that section of the roof had a very neat undercoat, making it stand out from the rest and they were harshly questioned by the chief.
¡¸I just couldn¡¯t look over dat,¡¹
¡¸Then why didn¡¯t you report it to the chief?¡¹
¡¸I had the material with me so I thought ¡®t would be quicker if I painted it myself. I regret nothin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Seriously?¡¹
Haruna red at Hiroshi who showed no shame to his actions. In the end, it only increased Hiroshi¡¯s workload so Haruna wasn¡¯t disadvantaged by this situation.
¡¸They have their eyes on you.¡¹
¡¸ Tis just how the society works.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, you¡¯re in no position to be so confident.¡¹
They exchanged such words whilepleting chores at a mild pace. The other adventurers were also carrying materials and preparing equipment. The situation changed when the owner of the cottage, Carly Dentlis showed up. He was one of the nobilities who had many influences on this country.
¡¸How is the progress?¡¹
¡¸Half of the roof for the main building has beenpleted. We should finish painting the main building by the end of the day as long as nothing else happens.¡¹
¡¸Very well, it seems that I would be able to use the main building this afternoon then.¡¹
The three of them continued to work as Mr Dentlis and the chief continued to talk, thinking how the chief sounds a lot politer when talking to nobilities. The paint which they were using in this project was a type which can be evenly dried off when magic is applied to it. Understandably, these paints are very valuable. So, they are only ever used for nobilities or authority rted buildings.
The reason why this project was progressing so smoothly was due to the ¡°foreign method¡± which Hiroshi has taught the chief. So, they were using a technique which was a step beyond an extra skill. At this point the chief was heavily relying on Hiroshi, using and adapting his skills, finishing the project much faster than they have originally intended to.
¡¸¡ huh?¡¹
¡¸Is something wrong?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s just, I have spotted a beautiful flower who doesn¡¯t suit this scenery very much.¡¹
¡¸Oh, you must be talking about Haruna.¡¹
The chief knew immediately who Dentlis was talking about. Currently, the only female at the construction site was Haruna and Mio. They were both good looking, yet between the two of them, Haruna was Dentlis¡¯s type. The reason why the chief remembered Haruna and Mio¡¯s name was because it was very unusual for female Adventurers to take on these types of jobs. With Hiroshi mixed in the trio, the chief was surprised to see three ss 8 Adventurers take on a misceneous job.
¡¸So, her name is Haruna.¡¹
¡¸Yes, she¡¯s an adventurer taking ce of the injured employee. However, she¡¯s in ss 8 so I¡¯m sure she is very talented.¡¹
¡¸How unusual for a ss 8 adventurer to take on construction-rted jobs.¡¹
¡¸They said they are taking on misceneous jobs to familiarise themselves to the geography of thisnd as they have only moved into this area recently. ¡¹
The three of them continued to do their work, over-hearing the very much expectedment. It doesn¡¯t seem to bother chief but the three of them always worked together and their teamwork was superiorpared to other Adventurers. So, it was obvious to everyone around there that the three of them have formed a party.
¡¸I see, how interesting.¡¹
¡¸Okay¡¡¹
To Dentli¡¯s words, the Chief thought to himself ¡°here we go again¡±. Dentlis family was very considerate towards the society¡¯s needs. Although they didn¡¯t engage with exploitation, they invest their money on improving people¡¯s lifestyle. So, they were kind-hearted people considering they are politicians. However, Carly Dentlis could not hold back on his sexual desires. The moment he spots a woman of his type, he will carefully approach them like a snake. Thankfully, his type was a woman over the legal age, able-bodied withrge breast. So, the others had noint about his addiction. If his type was younger looking females like Mio, there definitely would have been an uproar.
All of that aside, he would never abuse his wealth and power to force a rtionship. However, excluding woman from foreign noble families, most women who he has seduced have epted his invitation. Half of those women epted because they lost to the social hierarchy. Although they were over-all satisfied, they realised that they could not form a bond which they have hoped for. For the other half, around 70% of them were in it for his wealth and the remaining 30% saw it as a game with the shy man from the Dentlis family. So, not a single woman has epted his invitation due to genuine attraction. From his wife¡¯s perspective, their formal rtion was nothing more than a political marriage. Although their rtionship wasn¡¯t bad, Mrs Dentlis was mostly in it for his wealth and his ¡°techniques¡±. So, their rtionship was much closer to friends with benefits.
So, he wasn¡¯t reluctant on hitting on some female adventurer. Carly Dentlis was a womanizer who would hit on any woman who was his type. He would not hold back even if the woman was in a higher position and it could potentially lead to a political affair with a foreign country.
¡¸How unusual for a beautiful woman like you to be working in a ce like this.¡¹
¡¸That is very ttering but if you excuse me, I¡¯m currently busy.¡¹
To a man who is nobility and has a strong influence in politics, Haruna showed a perfect customer service smile and gave a casual response. She was used to hearing pick-up lines from when she was in Fane. She was also used to being approached by men who were only interested in her body. So, she had enough experience to know what was Dentlis¡¯s intentions. She could tell that he wouldn¡¯t abuse his wealth and power and she knew he wouldn¡¯t guilt-trip her into a rtionship. Yet the opponent was creepily passionate. Now that he had his eyes on her, Haruna knew that Dentlis would not back down easily. So, she decided to y along well enough to not get on his nerves.
The issue could be solved very easily if Haruna whined about it to the court. However, she thought it would be foolish to cause such a ruckus over a small matter. So, she continued to show herck of interest with a perfect customer service smile. If anything, Hiroshi and the court wanted Haruna to rely on the court over this matter as they wanted Azuma workshop to remain a free and open ce. They knew that the court would easily cooperate with them as long as they knew what their situation was.
¡¸Hard to get type, are you?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mean to brag but this isn¡¯t my first time getting hit on.¡¹
She politely rejected his interest, not resting her hand from her work. Meanwhile, Hiroshi and Mio were giving out instructions to newbie adventurer¡¯s who has started to panic over the weird atmosphere, then checked the progress of the project and gathered the required materials.
¡¸As you can see, I am currently working and this could potentially have a negative impact on me. So, if you would like to have a chat with me, I would appreciate it if you could do so inter days.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re not very social are you?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s just the way I am.¡¹
¡¸Very well then, I¡¯m sorry for interrupting your work.¡¹
He took a step back, seeing that trying any harder will only back-fire. He stepped back quicker than usual as this matter involved his client. This would have been very different if Haruna showed the slightest hint of interest. However, it wet against Dentlis¡¯s policy to forcibly hit on a woman who was currently working. Also, he knew that anyone who would have epted his invitation in that situation was not emotionally invested in him. So, even if Haruna did ept his offer, he would have made sure not to disappoint her.
¡¸I will not interfere with your work anymore. So, could you please give one more chance afterwards?¡¹
¡¸You will try anyway even if I decline your offer, right?¡¹
¡¸Of course,¡¹
As Dentlis showed a bright, confident smile, Haruna responded with a bitter smile and agreed, giving up to his determination. Opposing her expression, she emitted somewhat of a cold atmosphere and her eyes which seemed to smile at Dentlis showed no emotions towards him. If anything, she was irritated at the fact that this womanizer was wasting her time on some unttering desires; and frustration from being treated like an escort in front of a male who she was genuinely interested in. She had no interest whatsoever in Dentlis who was meant to be one of the higher nobilities in this country.
¡¸Haru-nee, are you okay?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mean to talk behind his back but guys like him who are only interested in other¡¯s appearance just pisses me off.¡¹
As they saw Dentlis walk away looking very pleased, Mio asked Harun in a whisper which she responded with a cruelment. As the surrounding area has suddenly be very quiet, the people around them could hear Haruna¡¯s response.
¡¸We, well, he¡¯s theplete opposite of someone like Sensei so¡ I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡¹
¡¸Exactly, I won¡¯t say be a gentleman like Hiroshi-kun but can¡¯t he have a little more decency? I can¡¯t stand that he came to hit on me while I was working.¡¹
¡¸Well I think sensei is a different kind of problem but¡¡¹
Even putting aside his trauma, it was hard to say that he was a gentleman. As a matter of fact, Hiroshi is startled by the irritation which Haruna is emitting. So, he avoided eye contact and went off to check the ratio of the paint, even though it wasn¡¯t an urgent job.
Nobody won¡¯t tell him to go seduce a woman but when one of their team-mates was troubled, finding excuses to walk off and do something else was something Mio could not appreciate. This is only from Mio¡¯s perspective, but she thought a male should have said something in this situation. She didn¡¯t see how his phobia towards female could affect this as well.
¡¸Either way, are they inviting a guest to a cottage when it¡¯s still under construction?¡¹
¡¸Oh, so that crossed your mind too Mio-chan?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
Volume 3, 2.2
Volume 3, Chapter 2.2
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
The chief called out for a lunch break and the two girls took a nce towards the front gate where Dentlis was standing. Since they were currently constructing near the front entrance, even with Haruna¡¯s eyesight, without any special skills, she could see that he was talking to two other people. With Mio¡¯s sight, she was able to tell that one of his guests was a person associated with the temple, most likely in his 40s; and two other girls who were most likely a trainee at the temple.
¡¸I think his guests are from the temple. Most likely an authority.¡¹
¡¸ Ain¡¯t that strange?¡¹
¡¸Right?¡¹
Hiroshi, who has finally recovered has returned from his retreat and joined in with the girl¡¯s discussion. The paint which Hiroshi was mixing before and have handed over to the employees have now turned from red undercoat to a shade of green which was the colour they have intended to finish up with.
¡¸Lookin¡¯ at em, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s probably some type of priest but what¡¯s he doin¡¯ in a ce like this? What¡¯s goin¡¯ on here?¡¹
¡¸Personally, I don¡¯t want to know. I have a feeling that we¡¯ll get dragged into their mess¡¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll probably git mixed up in their mess even if we don¡¯t do anythin¡¯¡¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s words became a reality not too long after that. All of this has happened after the three of them heard the strange news about that trainee priestess¡¯s death. So, to an extent, they were prepared to get mixed up with the temple¡¯s trouble.
¡¸Oh, n¡¯ by the way¡¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s one person who¡¯s sneaking around.¡¹
¡¸Ye, there is.¡¹
Haruna was surprised by Hiroshi and Mio¡¯sments. With her atmosphere detection skill, she could not detect that much.
¡¸By da way, Haruna-san.¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸That nobility who were talkin¡¯ to ya before, could he be an adaptation for Alvan¡¯s Unique Quest?¡¹
¡¸Oh¡.¡¹
Haruna gave a realised expression to Hiroshi¡¯s question. She was so used to hearing such pick-up lines that it didn¡¯t even cross her mind that this could have been some sort of quest plotline.
¡¸Also, tis just me or is that suspicious guyin¡¯ this way?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, they¡¯reing this way.¡¹
¡¸definitelying this way.¡¹
As the group saw that the situation was turning for the worst, they internally prayed for the guests to go away. As if to ignore their wish, Dentlis and hispanions continued to walk towards the three of them.
¡¸What should we do? I feel like this is one really messed up plotline.¡¹
¡¸Never mind what I said before. I think somethin¡¯ worse than gettin¡¯ mixed up with the temple¡¯s gonna happen.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re kidding me right?¡¹
¡¸I guess it¡¯s hard for Harun-nee to understand it. It is still pretty quiet.¡¹
¡¸Mio, I can only detect one guy snoopin¡¯ ¡®round. Do ya detect anyone else?¡¹
¡¸Out of range, actually, there are two things on the roof emitting an odd amount of murderous intent.¡¹
Listening to Hiroshi and Mio¡¯s conversation, Haruna grasped that something serious was about to take ce. They initially decided to wear leather armour to make themselves look more like adventurers. They weren¡¯t expecting that such an idea would actually be practical.
¡¸They¡¯rein¡¯!¡¹
Hiroshi pulled out his Heavy Maul and focused on the odd shift in the surrounding atmosphere. The reason why he chose Heavy Maul was only that shock type weapons tend to work well against monsters in this area.
¡¸This ain¡¯t good!¡¹
Hiroshi cried out as creature lurked out from the bushes. It was a group of magical creatures rted to Stone Golems. However, their abilities were limited to using magic or summoning; and there were only three Stone Golems around. The strongest monster among them would have been the one called Mad Man. However, a ss 8 Adventurer would have no problem taking them down with either magic or magical sword. Also, around 70% of people in the area were athletic and had at least a basicbat knowledge. Dentlis seem to have above-averagebat skill. Yet even then, the total number of people who have properbat abilities were only five. As expected, the newbie adventurers were panicking from this very sudden change in event. None of them has made any actions so far.
¡¸Waddaya wait for!!¡¹
n or no-n, they couldn¡¯t let the opponent have the first hit. Putting aside the number of monsters, Hiroshi activated outss and gathered all the monsters in one ce.
¡¸Ain¡¯t ya¡¯ll Adventurers too? Waddaya wait for? T¡¯ least unsheathe ya swords!¡¹
The monsters started to move towards the group. Hiroshi yells out to the newbie Adventurers who are still frozen on the spot. They finally came to a realisation on what they are supposed to do. Taking out their weapons from their bags, they start attacking the nearest monsters.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, Mio-chan!¡¹
¡¸Thanks, ya a lifesaver!¡¹
¡¸Thank you, Haru-nee!¡¹
Haruna swiftly unsheathed her rapier, ced Goddess¡¯s Blessing on the three of them and reduced the number of opponents without wasting a second.
¡¸Haruna-kun, are you okay?¡¹
Along with his guests, Dentlis came running towards Haruna.
¡¸If you have time to worry about me, please try and take down the monsters!¡¹
Dentlis takes down three Mad Man to show off to Haruna, who in return yelled back at him. Someone else responded to her cry.
¡¸This youngdy is right. Don¡¯t you agree, Dentlis-kun?¡¹
¡¸Alvan!? Why on Earth are you here!?¡¹
¡¸While I was following down some suspicious atmosphere, I was certain that something will happen here. So, I decided to hang around and wait. Was there a problem?¡¹
¡¸Just fight if you have time to irritate others! ¡¹
Haruna gave out a warning to the two figures who were starting to argue. Then, she took out the core of a Stone Golem which Hiroshi was holding it back. The newbie Adventurers were fighting back well. The number of monsters was decreasing steadily. Yet the person who was contributing the most was¡
¡¸Is that all ya got? I dare ya¡¯ll toe at me! I¡¯ll take down every single one of ya!!¡¹
It was Hiroshi who managed to trap all the Stone Golem. They were immobilized with pressure. Hiroshi¡¯s quick tactic gave him control over the battlefield. Though, one of the Stone Golem was crumbled to pieces by his first attack. Then Haruna took the final blow on thest one.
¡¸Haru-nee! Back up!¡¹
¡¸Got it!¡¹
Mio took down some monsters, taking some burden off Hiroshi. Then, she changed her weapon from a dagger to bow and arrow. She aimed the bow at a figure hiding up on the neighbouring roof. Fired out two shots to confirm their location. The arrow pierced through the figure¡¯s forehead and their heart. Then, the suspicious figure melted into the air; and the atmosphere in the backyard changed.
¡¸huh?¡¹
A trainee girl was dodging the attacks, trying her best to not get in other¡¯s way. Suddenly, a stone hand grabbed her leg.
¡¸Take dis!¡¹
Hiroshi spotted the hand, and came in running, immediately crushing down the Stone Golem¡¯s hand. He pulled out a construction hammer from his pouch. Then he chased after the hand, crashing one stone hand after another. It was almost as if the hands detected some type of interruption. A countless number of stone hands started to grow out from the ground. The hands were also attacking middle-aged men. Yet they were able to escape easily due to their natural strength.
¡¸There ya at!¡¹
Hiroshi found the core of the stone hands. He changed his weapon back to Maul; and activated Heavy Weight the moment it hit the ground, swinging it down with Smite. At this point, all the Stone Golems and most of the other monsters have been taken down. The only one that remained on the battlefield was the stone hands.
¡¸What the!?¡¹
¡¸Huh, Gram Dawn, well that¡¯s something you don¡¯t see every day.¡¹
Hiroshi pulled out a Gram Dawn from the ground. A monster which protects the second floor of the Sweltering Tower. They are only located on the second floor of fifteen storeys high tower. Yet it is one of the bosses in the advanced ss dungeon. Its general ability was far superiorpared to Stone Golem. In fact, they are nine times stronger than any monster which tends to appear in the desert area. Gram Dawn is known for merging with the ground and giving unpredictable attacks. They are considered to be a ¡°gateway boss¡± to be an advanced ss adventurer. Even Dentlis who has a decentbat skill twisted his face at the sight of the monster. So, this monster is not considered an easy opponent. However¡
¡¸Ya ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ more than a pile of stone!!¡¹
Gram Dawn¡¯s strength was only a fifth of Corrupted Ent. Also, this monster did not use fire-based ability; shock type weapons and weapons of higher-ss were effective against it as well. So, for Hiroshi, this monster was nothing more than a goose. Without a moment to waste, he sliced up the monster, immobilizing it, and neatly left the core behind. After all, a monster which barely managed to beat Cerberus by its physical ability wasn¡¯t a deadly monster for Hiroshi.
¡¸u, um¡¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s collect za core first. Tis a small quality check.¡¹
Ignoring the trainee girl whose face was bright red, he immediately moved onto material gathering.
¡¸Um, I would like to help. Is there anything I can do?¡¹
¡¸Lemme see¡ Could ya bring over the parts of Stone Golem? Jist the ones ya can carry would be fine.¡¹
Seeing Hiroshi¡¯s reaction, the girl changed her approach. Following Hiroshi¡¯s instruction, she started to carry over some smaller and lighter parts of Stone Golem. Seeing the girl, the other adventurers started to look up to Hiroshi and started to carry over more parts of the Stone Golem.
¡¸We should get back to our work.¡¹
¡¸Alvan! Wait up!¡¹
¡¸We shall meet again, Dentlis-kun. Oh, and you, youngdy over there.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Next time we meet, how about grabbing lunch with that hero boy over there?¡¹
¡¸I will kindly decline your offer.¡¹
To Haruna¡¯s smiling rejection, the newbie adventurers looked up to Haruna. Immediately after he left, Tatsuya and Makoto showed up, just missing the most chaotic part of their incident.
Volume 3, 2.3
Volume 3, Chapter 2.3
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸I see.¡¹
With Haruna and Mio assisting, Hiroshi finished telling the events which took ce at the construction site. Makoto, who has now heard the entire story sighed. An organization having an eye on them was one this. But attracting Dentlis and Alvan¡¯s attention was a pain in the neck.
Moreover, the way Hiroshi told the story was very neatly organised. The story didn¡¯t sound as confusing as they initially indicated, smaller incidents which were not necessary to the main issue has been trimmed down. For example, there was a conflict before Dentlis hit on Haruna. Or how there was a newbie adventurer who got in the way of the battle because they tried to catch Alvan since he¡¯s a wanted man. Or just when the battle wasing to an end, Dentlis and Alvan started to argue (in reality it was more so that Alvan was teasing Dentlis for the sake of it). Like that, there were much smaller incidents which made the whole scenario moreplicated than it had to be. However, as expected, Hiroshi was unaware of those incidents as he was avoiding the girls temporarily.
¡¸So, this Alvan, is he hot?¡¹
¡¸Good looking enough that Mako would write up a smut fan fiction of him.¡¹
¡¸I see, I¡¯m d I asked.¡¹
¡¸Han¡¯some ya say¡¡¹
Seeing Hiroshi¡¯s speechless expression, everyone else looked at him with a strange look. Normally, Hiroshi wouldn¡¯t take notice of something like other male¡¯s physical features. Seeing that Hiroshi reacted weirdly to the credit everyone was giving to Alvan, they thought that Haruna might have a chance with him after all. However¡
¡¸Hey Haruna-san, can I ask ya somethin¡¯?¡¹
As if to hype up everyone¡¯s reaction, Hiroshi asked Haruna.
¡¸Um, what is it?¡¹
¡¸Durin¡¯ game time, are ya absolutely sure that Alvan was a male?¡¹
¡¸huh?¡¹
Everyone widened their eyes at the unexpected question.
¡¸Sensei, wait a minute.¡¹
¡¸ hm?¡¹
¡¸Are you saying that Alvan is a female?¡¹
¡¸Welp from wot I gained, I thought Alvan¡¯s a female.¡¹
¡¸Are you absolutely sure?¡¹
¡¸Ya really think I¡¯ll misjudge a person¡¯s physical appearance?¡¹
Everyone fell silent to Hiroshi¡¯s extremely convincing argument. Thinking back to Fum, whose gender was very hard to distinguish apart from her body type and her hairstyle due to her upbringing, Hiroshi was immediately able to tell that Fum was a female. Apart from that, he could spot a cross-dressing male adventurer with ease, even if they were a skilled crossdresser. Although this skill wasing from the ce of trauma, his ability to distinguish other¡¯s sex was something out of ordinary.
¡¸Nevermin¡¯ dat, who cares if Alvan¡¯s a male or a female.¡¹
¡¸hold on a second!¡¹
¡¸Yeah don¡¯t just ¡°nevermind¡± this matter.¡¹
Hiroshi casually cut off the important question which he has brought and Tatsuya and Makotomented on it.
¡¸C¡¯mon what¡¯s the big deal?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little problematic that a person who¡¯s hitting on Haruna is a female?¡¹
¡¸I agree.¡¹
¡¸What type o¡¯ people others are into ain¡¯t any of our business. Their gender doesn¡¯t change the fact that they were hittin¡¯ on Haruna-san.¡¹
¡¸Now that you put it out like that, I really don¡¯t know anymore¡¡¹
Everyone agreed that regardless of Alvan¡¯s orientation, it didn¡¯t change the fact that they were hitting on Haruna. If anything, the most problematic thing was how likely it was for Hiroshi to be relieved that even if Alvan bes forceful, there¡¯s no need to worry about unwanted pregnancy. But even Haruna knew that just because the other personcked the male parts, it didn¡¯t mean that she wasn¡¯t at risk of being harassed.
Even if Alvan was a female and did the ¡°thing¡± but didn¡¯t take away the thing which Haruna wanted Hiroshi to take, she would still feel as if Alvan has corrupted her. Haruna never had a problem reading books where the intimacy wasn¡¯t limited to male and female. However, it clearly indicates that she is straight as she was repulsed by the idea of doing anything like that with someone who is not male.
¡¸But I feel like the two people who were hittin¡¯ on Haruna-san today ain¡¯t the forceful kind. So I think ¡®t should be fine as long as Haruna-san keep turnin¡¯ em down.¡¹
¡¸And why are you so confident about that?¡¹
¡¸Welp, if they were forceful, Alvan aside, Dentlis-san would¡¯ve threatened ya with his social status and attacked ya a lon¡¯ time ago.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see.¡¹
Hiroshi was a type of guy who had a phobia towards female, had no interest in 3-D woman nor did he like having physical contact with them. However, he was oddly sharp when it came to issues such as this. This is something which must be kept a secret, but Hiroshi had a well-developed analysis skill due to his phobia towards female.
¡¸I mean you can never be sure that nothing will ever happen so how about we just let Hiroshi take Haruna¡¯s first time?¡¹
¡¸The heck ya just say? Don¡¯ say somethin¡¯ so terrifyin¡¯¡¡¹
¡¸Terrifying you say? You really think Haruna would do something that bad if it¡¯s consented? ¡¹
¡¸¡¯T might be fine in tis universe but I don¡¯t even wanna imagine the things I would hafta deal with when we get back. So, I couldn¡¯t possiblyy my hands on some tis not 2-D.¡¹
Azuma Hiroshi, a guy who would feel immense suspicion and fear even if someone initiated the offer. Haruna also understood where Hiroshi wasing from, so when Makoto brought up the suggestion, Haruna put aside the unrealistic hope and decided to change the topic.
¡¸Come on guys, let¡¯s put aside something like that.¡¹
¡¸Agreed, with Dentlis, we¡¯ll take the matter to Fane pce in the worst-case scenario ¡®n bring in the court. With Alvan, for now, there¡¯s nothin¡¯ we can do ¡®ight now. We¡¯ll just waste our time sittin¡¯ here think¡¯ ¡®bout it.¡¹
Although Haruna seeded in changing the topic, she was aware that currently, her face was bright red from the hope she had from Hiroshi¡¯s initial question and Makoto¡¯s blunt suggestion. She wasn¡¯tpletely fine with Hiroshi¡¯s third-party response, but she knew it wasn¡¯t the type of things Hiroshi could help with. So, seeing that she couldn¡¯t really ask for any help, she didn¡¯t have any negative opinion on his response either. Even though Hitoshi and Haruna were party members, they weren¡¯t lovers. In fact, it would have been very unnatural for Hiroshi to bring up anything when he knew Haruna was very much capable of handling the situation herself.
¡¸This incident, do you really think the Dark God Temr is involved?¡¹
¡¸I mean, looking at the situation I think it¡¯s harder to believe that this was done by some other organisation.¡¹
¡¸Using summon type monsters was the same even with Barold.¡¹
¡¸The aura pattern of that person up on the roof was very simr to Barold¡¯s as well.¡¹
They brought up evidence one after another. Compared to Fane, their method was very straightforward. However, they would have had broader activity range in Fane so they were more cautious about where they attacked.
¡¸But don¡¯t you think something¡¯s odd? Considering their way of attacking us?¡¹
¡¸I think so too. They were much slower at approachin¡¯ us back in Fane.¡¹
¡¸Do you mind telling me more about the incident?¡¹
To Hiroshi and others who were getting all hyped up about analysing the information, a calm old man spoke up. To his words, they jumped up in shock and slowly looked towards the old man who nobody noticed him walk in.
¡¸Apologies for myte introduction. I am the Head Priest of this Darl Branch of Igreos temple, Bordova. Would you mind telling me more about the incident you have been chatting about?¡¹
To the sudden appearance of such a powerful person, the Japanese people had no option but to deep dive into the incident.
==
Meanwhile, in the family office at the Darl Pce.
¡¸¡ You seem to be in an unusually good mood¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, so you have noticed?¡¹
¡¸You sneaked out pce without telling anyone then youe back with that expression on your face. Of course, I have noticed.¡¹
Sergio was the confidant of the Queen who has a habit of sneaking out of the pce often. Every time she has run off, her confidant has shown this attitude, so she wasn¡¯t concerned by his attitude.
The Queen of Darl, Mishe was currently 28 years old. She was old, going by the basis of this universe. Yet she had a very feminine face and was a very elegant woman.
Her long golden hair weaving gently, the iconic tanned skin tone, and the well-structured face which appeared slightly intimidating yet gorgeous. Her physique wasn¡¯t at Haruna or Artiem¡¯s level, but it certainly had a curvy outline. She really did have an irresistible appearance.
Not only that, immediately after she was promoted to be the Queen, but she also had three beautiful children with a husband who she met through an arranged marriage. She was a very responsible mother as well. The eldest prince is now old enough to start engaging with political matters more seriously and for his age, he was very calm and intelligent. To such a responsible son, his mother was very dependent on him. After all, she has been cking off on parenting apart from showering them with affection. It was impressive that none of her children has gone down the wrong path under such up-bringing.
¡¸Come on, don¡¯t look at me like that. You know how important this matter is to me, right?¡¹
¡¸If you were to just walk around the town under a disguise, I would not be scolding you this much.¡¹
¡¸Liar.¡¹
Before Sergio could mention how they wish for her majesty to stop being so reckless, the Queen herself sent out a rejection to the yet to be spoken request.
¡¸A being like you would definitely nag on even if I just walked around the town under a disguise.¡¹
¡¸I, I wouldn¡¯t¡¡¹
¡¸Furthermore, negotiation is something which a person states their doubtless opinion and without saying a single word, the status of that person stating the opinion is cemented. I understand where you areing from. However, I gain nothing from listening to your advice. So, why shall I listen to your advice?¡¹
Mishe stated as she showed an unwavering smile on her face. As expected of someone who stands in an equal position with the other countries, it was hard to win against her in a verbal argument.
¡¸Either way, I managed to find out some quite interesting things about that group I had my eyes on for a couple of days.¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸Well this is information I gathered from ssified personnel I have hired. Apparently, they have high enoughbat skill to easily win against Gram Dawn.¡¹
Mishe emphasised the word ssified personnel as if to summon some sort of evil doing. Getting the implication that this information is strictly between the two of them, Sergio showed a bitter smile. Yet they couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by the given information.
¡¸As expected of the heroes who have saved Fane.¡¹
¡¸Precisely.¡¹
The Queen talked cheerfully, grinning widely like a child who was just given a brand-new toy.
¡¸Unfortunately, it seems that the first contact has been made by the temple. Well, it¡¯s not that we have any rivalry going with the temple, so I guess there¡¯s no need for us to step in at this point. Also, if there was no falsehood in the words of Fane¡¯s royalty, for them to achieve their goal, they have no other choice but to make contact with our family.¡¹
¡¸Agreed.¡¹
Listening to Mishe¡¯s response, Sergio bowed deeply. Even from his perspective, he saw no issue in forming a friendly rtion with the group which has saved Azuma Workshop. Both for the sake of the country and for the sake of Queen.
¡¸That aside, those food which the girls were making at the stall were all very delicious. They¡¯ve been active as Adventurer¡¯s these couple of days. Though to be honest, I¡¯m disappointed that they¡¯re not running the food stall anymore. The one called fish cake was especially nice. I wonder if they will bake them if we send a request to them?¡¹
¡¸Your majesty¡¡¹
Even if it was necessary for the kingdom, Mishe¡¯s taste and bad habits were something which was giving Sergio a headache.
The moral of this story is that Hiroshi needs to be more sensitive towards others.
Volume 3, 3.1
Volume 3, Chapter 3.1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Before we introduce ourselves, there¡¯s something I would like to ask you¡¡¹
¡¸What would that question be?¡¹
¡¸How long have you been listening into our conversation?¡¹
¡¸I have only started to listen in just now. I only know about the story of Barold.¡¹
The high priest gave a very doubtful answer to Tatsuya who spoke on behalf of his party. However, he did not ask any further questions as he feared to step too deep into the temple¡¯s matter. The high priest overhearing their discussion on Alvan¡¯s orientation wasn¡¯t the issue. What Tatsuya was worried about was his party being dragged into some trouble-some matter for catching onto Alvan¡¯s true identity. Apart from that, they weren¡¯t talking about anything which could lead to amotion even if the high priest overheard their conversation. Everything which they have been talking about could easily be confirmed by other people mentioned in their conversation over a simple interview.
There were many things which they would have liked to ask. Yet the person who they were dealing with was the high priest himself. So, Tatsuya has decided to not ask any more questions and introduce himself, seeing that it was best for his group to just minding their own business; unless it was someone Tatsuya or Haruna could deal with. Following his decision, or more so from fear that they would let something slip through, the others started to introduce themselves as well.
¡¸I see, shall we go back to our original topic then? The first thing I would like to know is this man named Barold. Was he also in Fane?¡¹
¡¸Yes; however, it has been almost half a year since we have taken him down.¡¹
¡¸In that case, the Barold who appeared in this country would have been an entirely different person.¡¹
¡¸Was there a man named Barold in this country as well?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. However, he was defeated by Alvan around a year ago.¡¹
The Japanese people maintained eye contact with a serious face after hearing this unexpectedly important information. A year ago, it would have been just before Makoto joined their party. It was hard to believe that there are multiple people named Barold. Yet there was no denying that Barold which Hiroshi¡¯s group has defeated and Barold who was defeated by Alvan are two different people.
¡¸The second question which I wanted to ask was what exactly does your group mean when you say their method was different from the incident with Barold?¡¹
¡¸In Fane, they kept a low profile for over three years, and by turning over the political system, they caused mass panic by creating no direct death what-so-ever. Due to the impact that was caused by that mass panic, thend was heavily polluted. If by some coincidence, Hiroshi and Haruna didn¡¯t demand help from the princess priestess, Aearis-sama, there would be no country called Fane as it would have been demolished in that mass panic.¡¹
¡¸Very interesting. Seeing that you have that information, I assume that you young fellows are the visitors from the unknown continent who have saved Fane from its crisis?¡¹
¡¸I guess it would be pointless to deny, seeing that you know about the crisis in Fane.¡¹
The spoke honestly, seeing it was pointless to hide the truth. So, Tatsuya admitted to the high priest honestly. After all, they did nothing against thew during the process and there were only two reasons why they weren¡¯t being public about the whole matter. One was that no ordinary person would believe such a story. The second was they didn¡¯t want to get mixed up in some trouble just because they went around telling people about it. However, in this case, it would cause them less pain just to admit it in the first ce.
¡¸Over all, you say this all happened by coincidence? To be frank, apart from the incident which urred to the princess priestess in Wulls, we were not provided with any detailed information. Pardon my rudeness but do you mind telling this old man exactly has taken ce?¡¹
¡¸In all honesty, not a lot has happened. The princess priestess went to harvest the web from Rainbow Spider, she got caught in Barold¡¯s trap and was sent away via teleportation magic. The ce where she was teleported had Rainbow Spider¡¯s boss, Piaranork and she was almost killed on the spot. At that point, or more so, until we werepletely dragged into this issue, none of us have even thought about approaching the pce or if we should do anything at all.¡¹
¡¸I understand.¡¹
The high priest tilted his head over the point that she had gone to harvest Rainbow Spider¡¯s web. But he took in the Japanese people¡¯s story, seeing that none of them had ill intentions. If they truly did have ill intentions, they would not be working as Adventurer¡¯s in Darl anyway.
¡¸You seem to be very well informed about the incident which took ce in Fane. A normal citizen would not know about how the visitors from the unknown continent have solved themotion within the royal family.¡¹
¡¸Here in Darl, it is impossible to ignore the issues which are taking ce in Fane since they do supply our food stock. It will greatly impact this country if something was to happen in Fane. So, we keep a good eye on what is taking ce in our neighbouring countries. Furthermore, when there is amotion in Alfemina temple in Wulls, some impacts are made over here at Igreos temple as well. So, we gather as much information as we can to better prepare ourselves for potential incidents.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
A very convincing response was given to Haruna¡¯s suspicious question, wondering why the high priest knew so much about Fane¡¯s national affair. Although the main temple for Igreos temple was in the Torrid desert, there were numerous sub-temples located around Fane. Alfamia Temple also had sub-temples in other major cities around the world so it wasn¡¯t strange to think that two temples impacted each other. Therefore, the two temples required a decent amount of information on what was taking ce in the other temple to protect themselves.
¡¸Anyway, that¡¯s all the information we can provide regarding Barold. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?¡¹
¡¸Let me see. If it is the group that has taken down Barold, then I would like to know the general strength of him.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s group hesitated to answer the high priest¡¯s question. Barold was certainly not weak. However, there was a certain aspect of him which was amateurish, so it was hard to say that he was definitely strong. Especially towards the end, he fell in such aical way and that impression has stuck with the group so vividly that it was hard for them to determine his actual strength.
¡¸Welp, we ya think ¡®bout it from normal person¡¯s perspective, he¡¯s definitely strong.¡¹
¡¸The process before defeating him was really troublesome, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸Well he apparently took down Helininferno so there¡¯s no way he¡¯s weak¡¡¹
Hiroshi and others passed around questions, wondering how to answer the high priest¡¯s question. In all honesty, if Hiroshi¡¯s party wasn¡¯t there, Fane would have been demolished. If there wasn¡¯t a living magic canceller named Hiroshi, Helininferno would have burnt down the pce, bringing an end to the country. However, just because Hiroshi was in the surrounding area, Barold in Fane wasn¡¯t even considered to be a boss and was easily dealt with in the end.
¡¸How about we all list out traits of Barold and judge his strength that way? First thing first, his transformation ability.¡¹
The only reason why Barold was easily defeated was Hiroshi, a humanoid cheat system was there. So, Makoto, who has learnt from her fear of permanently beingbelled as a noob calmly suggested a way to judge Barold¡¯s strength.
¡¸It¡¯s kinda hard to determine but his magical defence increased every time he changed his form.¡¹
¡¸¡¯T was harder to give him damage.¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re talking about Hiroshi-kun¡¯s strength and his Pole Attack not being able to give enough damage, then the attack from ordinary soldiers would bepletely ineffective.¡¹
¡¸The wall of miasma was pretty troublesome as well.¡¹
¡¸Ya right.¡¹
Following Makoto¡¯s lead, especially with Barold¡¯s two-fold transformation, the party members agreed to that statement. However, if it was just the foundation ability of his second transformation, someone who is as talented as Douga or Julius would have no issue taking down Barold.
¡¸Well, if it was just his basic abilities, several ss 5 Adventurers would be able to take him down, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, if it was just his basic abilities.¡¹
¡¸So he¡¯s stron¡¯ in the aspect that tis hard to find someone who can deal with Head Attack, Heliniferno and Summonin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I agree.¡¹
¡¸Well, that¡¯s our thoughts on Barold but will that be of any use?¡¹
The high priest showed a difficult expression as he heard the group draw their conclusion in a brainstorm-ish way. After all, someone like the high priest would not have a single clue on how to deal with something like Helininferno.
¡¸Oh, I jist thought o¡¯ somethin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸The monsters that got summoned at the construction site. Don¡¯t ya think those were oddly weak monsters?¡¹
¡¸Now that you¡¯ve mentioned it¡¡¹
It was hard to notice unless somebody has mentioned it. Arge number of monsters was summoned to the area. However, if only one or two of them were summoned, there wouldn¡¯t have been any issue dealing with them.
¡¸There¡¯s a lot of odd thing about that incident.¡¹
¡¸I think so too. How they¡¯re directly attacking temple authorities, and summoning monsters in an area like that, it¡¯s all really different from Barold¡¯s incident.¡¹
¡¸If it was Barold, he would have summoned stronger monsters.¡¹
The party members tilted their head at everything which seemed odd about this incident. As the group members brought up quiet important information, the high priest spoke to end the conversation.
¡¸Thank you very much for your help. Those information shall be very useful for us.¡¹
¡¸Hopefully those¡¯re ¡®nough¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, they are more than enough. However, there is one favour I would like to ask¡¡¹
¡¸If you want someone to track down the culprit, I don¡¯t think we can be much of a help.¡¹
The high priest went quiet when the Tatsuya brought up the favour which he was initially going to ask. Then, an idea suddenly struck him. If he went along with this idea, he would be able to resolve the other issue which has been bothering him.
¡¸No, well, I would have wanted you fellows to help with that matter as well. However, separately to the investigation, I was wondering if you could look after one of our priest and a trainee?¡¹
¡¸Could it be that you are asking¡¡¹
¡¸Indeed, the two who you young ones have saved today, Prim Norton and Judith Norton.¡¹
To the very sudden request, the group did not know how to respond, until Tatsuya spoke.
¡¸Why do you know about that?¡¹
He could not help it but ask the question which crossed his mind after hearing the high priest¡¯s blunt request. To which, the high priest gave a forced yet solid logical response.
¡¸The two sisters have personally asked me that there was something they would like to ask your group. As they have lived their lives with a promised future, they thought someone who has lives outside the temple would be better suited for this. Also, if today¡¯s attack was directly aimed at them, they will likely be attacked again. And neither of them have enoughbat ability to protect themselves.¡¹
¡¸None of that adds up to why we should take them in.¡¹
¡¸Of course, those are not the only reasons. Regarding this matter, I am nning to ce a formal request to the Adventurer¡¯s Association. If it is a job requested by the temple, it will look great on your achievements records and it shall help improve your ranks significantly.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s group took an interest in the word achievement record. The reason why they weren¡¯t running the food stall as much was precisely that. Even if they just had to boost their ranks up to ss 5, the journey to achieving that rank wasn¡¯t going to be easy.
¡¸I would like to request this job to you, young ones, understanding how much of a burden this may sound.¡¹
¡¸¡ what should we do?¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s a job request from the temple, I think we¡¯re better off epting it.¡¹
¡¸But takin¡¯ in more girls in this group¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, there¡¯s that too,¡¹
For Hiroshi¡¯s group, looking after a priest and a trainee wouldn¡¯t have been a problem. The issue was, unlike their past cases, the group has no reason to take in more females in this instance. It wasn¡¯t like Aearis¡¯s case where if they let the situation be, it would have spiralled into something worse. Nor was it like Fum¡¯s case where the group was directly involved in the matter. And unlike Teres and Nora, it wasn¡¯t someone who has taken care of them. The closest case would be the issue involving Artiem, but they knew she was under the care of Elf¡¯s vige, and they weren¡¯t sticking together 24/7. So, there wasn¡¯t any need for Hiroshi to form a good rtionship with Artiem.
Although the group has some business with the temple, they wanted to avoid deep-diving into the organization¡¯s affairs. After all, it was an issue which was widespread in the main temple and sub-temples. Anyone could be a worshipper as long as they filled in the proper application. And even if the temple had some favours to the group, it wasn¡¯t like they could meet with the priestesses and other authorities at the temple. Also, there wasn¡¯t anything bad about the temple having favour for the group. But just because they rejected their offer, it wasn¡¯t likely that it would lead into rivalry either. As they are very much influenced by the god, they were strict in those aspects.
So, gaining greater achievements and temple having favours towards them wasn¡¯t the most appealing deal. Considering that by epting more females into the group, they would add more pressure to Hiroshi.
¡¸It seems that you are not satisfied with our offer.¡¹
¡¸To speak the truth, one of our party members isn¡¯t veryfortable around females. Otherwise, we would ept your request gratefully¡¡¹
¡¸I see, then how about on top of the previous conditions, we shall permit your group to enter the Torrid Desert and the Sweltering Tower under the name of the temple.¡¹
¡¸Are such thing allowed?¡¹
¡¸From what I heard, you fellows have the minimumbat skill required to survive the two locations. And of course, the temple can provide you with permission to enter those ces.¡¹
To the new condition, they discussed their situation once more. Having ess to the desert and the tower wasn¡¯t their current top priority. However, from a craftsman¡¯s perspective, it would mean having ess to advanced and intermediate ss materials. Although this was not a necessity, it also meant having a chance to obtain the rare Mirage set. Considering that they would need to enter the tower sooner orter, obtaining the temple¡¯s permission would be extremely beneficial.
¡¸What should we do? Tis likely that we¡¯d need to go to the Swelterin¡¯ Tower sooner orter.¡¹
¡¸So, it would benefit us to get that permission now..¡¹
¡¸But currently, there¡¯s no reason for us to enter the tower.¡¹
¡¸Ya ¡®ight, but the monsters in that area have mighty good materials. So, ¡®t would be good for Mio¡¯s trainin¡¯ as well.¡¹
¡¸I see, so should we ept the offer?¡¹
¡¸Ye, I say so. They seem to really want us to ept this job anyways. Maybe we should just give in n¡¯ ept the offer.¡¹
Seeing that Hiroshi was okay with the decision, everyone came to an agreement. They were only trying to turn down the offer as it seemed possible. If it was the Darl Branch of the temple, they should have enough people to protect the two sisters and investigate the case without Hiroshi¡¯s group¡¯s help. Continuing the debate over their offer, knowing the capabilities of the temple would only form a bad rtionship with them anyway.
¡¸We will greatly ept your offer.¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much for your help, and I apologize for asking such a troublesome request.¡¹
¡¸Not at all, we also apologize for causing something like an argument.¡¹
¡¸You were only thinking about yourrade¡¯s well-being. It is only natural that you would hesitate to ept the offer over such mild conditions.¡¹
After this, they went to sort out misceneous things like cost and period which needed to be considered regarding taking in the priest and the trainee. As they sorted things out for their new request, their life was about to get busier to organise for the two girls which they epted into their group the following morning.
Volume 3, 3.2
Volume 3, Chapter 3.2
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸So this is all the information we have so far.¡¹
¡¸¡This Alvan, they¡¯re causing a lot of issues right now.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, and strangely they seem to be avoiding our territory.¡¹
In Darl¡¯s Bandit Guild, Rainy gave her honest impression, as she went through the information which she bought off information seller, who is a member of that guild. There was a limit to the amount of information which she could gather off the street. So, Rainy decided to change her approach by relying on the underground organization.
¡¸¡ Is it on purpose?¡¹
¡¸Most likely, many of the nobilities and great merchants which Alvan is messing around have been causing us some trouble anyway. Judging by their action, they definitely don¡¯t want the underground organization to be weakened.¡¹
¡¸So what about the rest of the guys Alvan¡¯s messing about with?¡¹
¡¸Well, we¡¯re all seeing it more as Alvan¡¯s free service. Interestingly, he¡¯s also taking down folks on our side who have gone against our rules. They would have been purged sooner orter anyway. Putting aside the fact that he¡¯s not keeping a low profile, there¡¯s no need for us to step into this matter. Also¡¡¹
¡¸Even though Alvan was the one triggering others, the one that made the first hit was Alvan¡¯s victims?¡¹
¡¸Precisely, they pretty much put themselves up for a fight, then got defeated fair and square. If an outcast came back and told such a story, they¡¯re pretty much digging their own graves in this world.¡¹
Rainy nodded as she agreed with the information seller. It was the same in Fane as well. However, the Bandit Guild in this country which the government is turning their blind eye on was mostly a group of people who could not live on the surface life due to their history, personality, or because of talent which they were born with. To maintain the bare minimum peace, it was the guild¡¯s responsibility to keep an eye on their members. Therefore, a member who needlessly causes problems with the government authority or excessively steals will be purged.
As they are not exactly a clean guild, they would asionally prey on authorities for the sake of ie. Yet, unless the authority was corrupted themselves, they would only cause minor inconvenience. The money which they take from the authorities are seen nothing more than insurance; and just because the authority didn¡¯t pay, the guild members wouldn¡¯t murder the authority or cause bankruptcy. Even when the outcasts cause a ruckus, they just silently watch the event unfold from afar. However, if it was their subordinate which has caused some trouble, then they will be burnt alive on the spot.
Because they are such an organization, unless it was an executive which has been murdered, nobody would take any action. The only issue they have with Alvan is that nobody knew why they were killing off members who were going to be purged. So, unless Alvan was making some serious vition, nobody would say anything about their actions. Of course, if a guild member who has been following the rules was almost murdered, then a certain retaliation would have been made, regardless of the guild member¡¯s safety.
¡¸Do you have any information on Alvan?¡¹
¡¸That will be a different payment.¡¹
¡¸How much would it be?¡¹
¡¸Let me see. There aren¡¯t any significant information so it would be 5000.¡¹
As he genuinely did not have any major information, he has decided to sell them at an extremely low price for an information seller in this area. Of course, he could have easily pulled off a scam. However, seeing the young-looking girl in front of him, he felt repulsed at the thought of pulling a scam.
¡¸If it¡¯s something I can pick up around the town, then I can¡¯t pay 5000¡¹
¡¸I have more information than that but fine, how about 4500?¡¹
¡¸Even if there¡¯s some good info, if I can get them from around the town, then I can¡¯t pay no more than 3000.¡¹
¡¸¡4000, that¡¯s the cheapest I can make it.¡¹
Seeing Rainy refuse to pay the given price, the man set the lowest price, but he wasn¡¯t surprised by Rainy¡¯s response either. In actuality, the price was still quite high considering they were mostly information which could be rumoured around town. However, it was possible to get their hands on some background information through those rumours. So, the man decided 4000 was the reasonable price, considering Rainy was a stranger to him.
¡¸Fine.¡¹
¡¸Thank you for your purchase.¡¹
Confirming that Rainy has paid the 4000 Seneca, the manid out all the information he had on Alvan. However, parts of the information ovepped with the issue rting to the authorities and great merchants. The ones which weren¡¯t rted to those incidents were mostly what monsters they have taken down and other information rting to Alvan¡¯sbat ability.
4000 Seneca for that information was quite pricey. However, the value skyrocketed with the final piece of information.
¡¸Are you sure about that?¡¹
¡¸Yep, there¡¯s no doubt. I don¡¯t know how exactly but Alvan definitely have some direct connection with the royal family.¡¹
A solid proof that Alvan has opened the secret passage in the pce, that was definitely valuable information.
¡¸I won¡¯t ask for the location of the passage but do you know how it¡¯s opened?¡¹
¡¸Nope, ording to someone with background knowledge on magic, that passage has a barrier which won¡¯t open unless the individual meets very certain requirements.¡¹
¡¸¡strange.¡¹
¡¸I know right? Well, there¡¯s still some possibility that Alvan purposely released that rumour to hide their real identity.¡¹
This was one of the reasons why the man didn¡¯t have a lot of information on Alvan. The moment he knew Alvan had opened the secret passage to the pce, he feared being purged. So, he stopped the investigation immediately. Even if Alvan was really connected to the royal family and wasmitting crimes, the information seller getting purged was inevitable. Nothing will change even if the information leaks among the citizens as the royal family¡¯s poprity will win against Alvan¡¯s crime. And unless Alvan had a really sketchy past, the royal family would do nothing about it. So, exposing this information will not have any disadvantage to the citizens of this country.
¡¸Is that all you wanted to ask?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, something like that. Thanks for the information.¡¹
¡¸If there¡¯s anything else you want to know, just let me know. I¡¯ll happily sell it to you as long as you pay up the price.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll keep in mind.¡¹
The moment after she responded to the information seller, she was nowhere to be seen. For the man, who has been working as an information seller for some time now, it has been a very long time since somebody has slipped away like Rainy while they were within his sight range.
¡¸Who knows what the Fane¡¯s spy is sticking their nose into.¡¹
The information seller mumbled to himself, remembering how there was no consistency in the questions which Rainy has asked.
==
Around the same time, at Azuma Workshop in Wulls.
¡¸Wee, Elle-sama.¡¹
¡¸Hello.¡¹
As per usual, Aearis hase to visit the Azuma Workshop. She would show up frequently, so it was nothing unusual for the people who are at the Workshop. However, it was a big deal to non-regrs at the Workshop who were trying to get close with the princess priestess.
¡¸How can we help you today?¡¹
¡¸Is Artiem-sama here?¡¹
¡¸Artiem?¡¹
Teres tilted her head over Aearis¡¯s question. She did not see what kind of connection Aearis and Artiem had.
¡¸We are very sorry. However, she has gone out to do some work on the farm.¡¹
¡¸I see, do you mind if I wait here?¡¹
¡¸Not at all.¡¹
Not being able to think of any business urgent enough for Aearis to wait at the Workshop, Teres lead her to the back room. In reality, only a very limited number of people are allowed into the guest room in the Azuma Workshop. When it came to the tatami room, it was only the royal family and anyone associated with the royal family or the owner of the nominally family, Merizza.
However, this was only because people at the workshop had no means to form close rtionship with anyone else. So, there were no other intentions behind this difference in treatment. Furthermore, the employees at the workshop will not do something like increasing the number of suppliers while the owner of the workshop was absent. So that was the weirdly strict policy at Azuma workshop. In return, the suppliers would receive a lot of premium offers. However, the suppliers themselves seem to be oblivious to this bonus.
¡¸What did you want to meet Artiem for?¡¹
Teres asked as she showed Aearis to the tatami room and brought in tea and sweets. That day, they were serving green tea and soy sauce grilled rice crackers. Teres has called Artiem while she was brewing the tea so now all they had to do was wait for her toe back.
¡¸I will have to exin the finer detail to Artiem herself. However, due to certain circumstances, I have to leave Fane for a while. ¡¹
¡¸And you need to take Artiem along with you?¡¹
¡¸Yes,¡¹
As Aearis responded to Teres¡¯s question, she elegantly took a sip from the carefully brewed tea. Like Haruna, no matter what feature you looked at, she was clearly not Japanese. However, her manners were very simr to the ones disyed by the Japanese people.
¡¸Do you really need to take Artiem with you?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸When will you be leaving the country?¡¹
¡¸I would like to leave as soon as possible. However, I thought I will ask Artiem¡¯s schedule first.¡¹
Seeing that Aearis is trying to fit with Artiem¡¯s schedule, Teres saw that this must be a very serious case. So, Teres has decided to stop asking questions. She was about to take a sip from her tea to change the topic of the conversation. It was then¡
¡¸Hya!?¡¹
Suddenly, Teres felt something at her ankle. As something has suddenly tickled her, she cried out in a weird tone and almost spilt her tea.
¡¸Caaaaatch~¡¹
¡¸Catch~ chatch~¡¹
¡¸The pitcher is freaking out~¡¹
As Teres almost spilt the tea, something resembling a tentacle has caught the cup in time. Seeing the weird leg and hearing the nonsensical words, she immediately knew who tickled her leg.
¡¸Seriously, you guys¡¡¹
¡¸I was following Tiem-chan~¡¹
¡¸I love Elle-chan~¡¹
¡¸Teres-chan elf~¡¹
Giving a useless response, Octogals curled themselves over Aearis and Tere¡¯s head andp. Without showing any sign of guilt, they reached out for the rice cracker on the table.
¡¸Geez, have some manners¡¡¹
Sighing at the Octog who never seems to show any change, she finally took a sip from her tea. On the bright side, this was the perfect opportunity to change the topic.
¡¸How long have they been here for?¡¹
¡¸I think it was around the beginning of April. They¡¯re scaring people who are working at the pce using all sorts of mischief.¡¹
With a gentle smile, Aearis exined in a soothing voice. The Octogal which was sitting on Aearis¡¯sp snapped the rice cracker into two halves and gave one half to the one sitting on her head. It was then, Teres realised that the Octogal sitting on her head had poured in tea for the other three Octogals. They truly were easy-going creatures.
¡¸We, we are very sorry for causing you such a burden¡¡¹
¡¸Not at all, they are Arawen-sama¡¯s rtives and their mischief are merely innocent pranks. In fact, I think the atmosphere inside the pce has lightened up a bit since they havee in.¡¹
Teres bowed down in guilt to which Aearis repliedfortingly. In reality, there was no need for Teres to be apologising. The employees at the pce were now treating Octogals as a workce pet. The head chef has especially taken a liking to them and every time hees up with a new recipe, he gets the Octogals to taste test. However, it was questionable to say something close to sexual harassment could be considered an innocent prank.
¡¸Either way, they have made themselves quitefortable haven¡¯t they¡¡¹
¡¸Is it a bad thing?¡¹
¡¸No, not at all, it¡¯s just¡¡¹
Teres could not say anything as she saw Aearis break the rice cracker into two halves and give them to the Octogals. The strangest thing about this situation would be that Aearis still managed to look as elegant as ever even with Octogal sitting on her head. And seeing that Octogals were calmer than usual, Teres lost her words.
¡¸I¡¯m back, huh, what?¡¹
Artiem who came back in a hurry after being called back entered the tatami room and stopped at the unexpected sight. The moment Octogals spotted Artiem, the total of eight eyes shined and they all jumped over to her.
¡¸We found Tiem-chan~!¡¹
¡¸Tiem-chan, Tiem-chan~!¡¹
¡¸What? Guys, not all at once!?¡¹
Not being able to handle Octogal¡¯s force, Artiem was knocked down to the ground. Teres stood up immediately as the Octogals started to do things which were questionable for Aearis to see considering her age. Meanwhile, Aearis sat in the same ce, watching them with a smile as she continued to eat the rice crackers.
¡¸Tiem-chan¡¯s so soft~¡¹
¡¸Tiem-chan¡¯s so big~¡¹
¡¸Tiem-chan, I love you~¡¹
¡¸Teres-chan¡¯s the best-shaped elf~¡¹
¡¸What do you mean best shaped!?¡¹
Teres tried to get Octogals away from Artiem while makingments on the things they were saying. Meanwhile, Aearis just sat there smiling, watching the whole event unfold in front of her as she enjoyed her tea. It took about fifteen minutes for Aearis to actually bring up the reason why she was there.
Volume 3, 3.3
Volume 3, Chapter 3.3
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡¸Is this the ce?¡¹
¡¸Yeah,¡¹
The Norton sisters looked surprised as they saw the Japanese people¡¯s base. Hiroshi started to adjust some aspects of the security as he gave a bitter smile to the sisters¡¯ expression.
¡¸Welp, we¡¯ve renovated ¡®nough so that we can live inside.¡¹
¡¸We sure did. Today has been a busy day so let¡¯s sort out your rooms first and take a break after grabbing some food and having a shower.¡¹
¡¸Agreed.¡¹
Nodding to Tatsuya¡¯s suggestion, Haruna headed towards the kitchen while humming to herself. Prim came to herself as she saw Haruna walk away. She knew it was a little toote but the only thing she got out of maintaining a preserved appearance is bing a priestess at a younger age. She was certainly morepetent than her sister Judith, who still hasn¡¯te back from the shock.
¡¸Um, excuse me. Could I ask you something?¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Um, is this beautiful building really your party¡¯s base in Darl?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸¡ I apologise for asking such an intrusive question. I believe material costs would be fairly expensive but do you really need a building this big?¡¹
Everyone gave a bitter smile to Prim¡¯s question. It should be obvious at this point, but adventurer¡¯s around ss 6 or 7 usually don¡¯t need a building of this size. Although Hiroshi has mended most of it, going by the norm, this kind of property will easily go over the group¡¯s budget.
However, Hiroshi¡¯s group did not fit the norm in almost every different aspect. A typical adventurer would not need a workshop this size and they don¡¯t try to marinate monsters which are listed inedible. On top of all, it¡¯s hard to fix their upation as adventurers at the point they started running a food stall.
¡¸I get where you areing from. Normally you wouldn¡¯t need a building this big.¡¹
¡¸Normally, it would be hard to rent a building this size.¡¹
To Prim¡¯s on-the-point question, Tatsuya and Makoto hesitated on how to exin their group¡¯s uniqueness.
¡¸¡¯T would be mighty expensive if we tried to rent a buildin¡¯ this size normally. But cuz we rented out a propurty that was near demolishin¡¯ our rent is only 10,000 Seneca a month.¡¹
Hiroshi casually exined their situation, ignoring Makoto and Tatsuya¡¯s concern.
¡¸¡You renovated it by yourselves?¡¹
¡¸I feel like the cost for the material would be more than the rent¡.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, Judith finally came to herself and gave yet another straight on the pointment. She would be right if she was talking to a normal group of adventurers. However, such ament is useless against a group that is everything but normal.
¡¸¡¯T would be the case if we got apany to help us renovate it, but we¡¯ve done it all by ourselves. N¡¯ we still had plenty o¡¯ material left from ourst ce so it barely costed us anythin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Last ce?¡¹
¡¸Tis nothin¡¯ to hide ¡®bout so can I tell em?¡¹
Hiroshi thought that it would be hard for the girls to feel at home unless they provided them with some type of exnation. So, nobody was against Hiroshi¡¯s idea. Getting the green light from his party members, Hiroshi has decided to tell the sisters about what they have been up to.
¡¸Tis a littleplicated but we have another workshop in Fane. N¡¯ we used to work for construction-rted jobs dere. So, we got plenty o¡¯ leftover material from then. Since we used those leftover materials, we barely didn¡¯t hafta get any new materials. N¡¯ any material that we didn¡¯t haf, we could¡¯ve just made em anyway.¡¹
¡¸Is that true?¡¹
¡¸No reason for us to lie ¡®bout it. Even if we¡¯re tryin¡¯ to give ourselves a better reputation, we¡¯ve already paid three months worth o¡¯ rent. So, we¡¯d gain nothin¡¯ of it.¡¹
Prim let the tension out of her shoulder,pletely understanding the group¡¯s situation with Hiroshi¡¯sstment. Putting the main temple of Darl Branch aside, there were some doubts about the building in front of her being in better shape than some of the other Igreos temples in different cities. However, there was no point in mentioning something like that.
¡¸Seems like you¡¯ve agreed with what I said. Let¡¯s go pick ya rooms now.¡¹
¡¸You can pick any room you like as long as it doesn¡¯t have a namete on the door.¡¹
Following Hiroshi and Tatsuya¡¯s words, the two sisters stepped in and rented a room which was clearly more spacious than any other rooms which they have lived in before. Although the temple is paying a certain extent of the fee, the sisters chose the smallest room they could find as a show of respect to the group who have kindly epted them. However, due to its structure of the building, even the smallest room they could find was double the size of Prim¡¯s room.
¡¸We can¡¯t get other furniture today but t¡¯ least we have beds for ya two.¡¹
Hiroshi mentioned as he walked into the empty room the sisters were standing in and pulled out a fold-up bed from his bag. As it was a fold-up bed made by a craftsman like Hiroshi, it was easily the size of a single bed and was a fine quality springed mattress. This was another high-quality item which the Norton sisters were not familiar with. Even the one Haruna made for practice has some adjustments made by Hiroshi.
The sister became paralyzed when they were asked to not talk so formally towards the members. The group members would feel ufortable if the sisters kept talking to them so formally and that was something which the sisters wanted to avoid. However, Tatsuya and Makoto have continued to talk to the two girls in formal speech as there is a significant age gap between them. Yet, after the girls picked their rooms, they were talking quite casually to them.
¡¸Onee-chan, I feel like my world view¡¯s been tested.¡¹
¡¸Judith, under any circumstances you must not allow yourself to think that this is the norm.¡¹
¡¸If I ever start to believe this is normal, I feel like a lot of things in life will end.¡¹
As they felt the bed, which was supposedly made in a rush, Primmented with nk eyes and strict tone to Judith¡¯s words. The sisters have decided to share a room together as they didn¡¯t want to cause the group too much trouble, but their effort seemed useless.
¡¸If ya need anythin¡¯ else, just lemme know. I¡¯ll make em mighty fast.¡¹
¡¸Oh, no, we possibly couldn¡¯t!¡¹
¡¸We appreciate your hospitality very much. However, if you were to prepare anything else, I¡¯m afraid it will be very difficult for us to go back to our lives before.¡¹
The two gave a very apologetic response to Hiroshi¡¯s words. In reality, if they were to get anything else, without a doubt, they would struggle to go back to their life before.
¡¸Don worry ¡®bout it. We still have plenty o¡¯ materials left from when we cut down too many o¡¯ hunter trees for Arawen-sama¡¯s temple. So if it¡¯s somethin¡¯ like a draw or a desk, I can make em mighty fast.¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you sold those items to someone rather than using them on us?¡¹
¡¸I feel like there¡¯ll be alotta issues if I sell off somethin¡¯ other than junks I craft so¡¡¹
From Hiroshi¡¯s response, the Norton sisters finally saw the overall issue. It was possible, or rather, even Prim and her sister who were somewhat na?ve regarding these matters could easily imagine the issues which wille from these items being sold on the streets.
¡¸So ye, if ya need anythin¡¯ I¡¯m happy to make em n¡¯ if ya want to bring over stuff you were usin¡¯ before, we¡¯ll help ya move em to the workshop.¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much for your concern. Although it was a request from the high priest, we could not possibly cause anymore burden to you and your party members who have kindly taken care of us.¡¹
¡¸If possible, we would appreciate it if you could restrain from lending us any further help.¡¹
They politely declined Hiroshi¡¯s help with a gentle smile to express their gratefulness. From the way they acted and the seriousness in their tone, Hiroshi decided not to say anything else. The fact that temple authorities will refuse no matter how much help they offered seems to be the same in Igreos temple as well.
¡¸Got it, welp, while I¡¯m here, I¡¯ll quickly show ya ¡®round the workshop.¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹
The two sisters took a walk around the entire building as Hiroshi showed them around. There were some parts which were overwhelming to them, but the most surprising thing was¡
¡¸¡Onee-chan, there¡¯s a bathtub¡¡¹
¡¸¡ I don¡¯t know what it was like in Fane. However, in this country, bathtubs would require so much water that only nobilities and the royal family can afford to have them¡¡¹
As expected, the presence of the bathtub has surprised them the most. As the sisters have mentioned, in Darl the water bills weren¡¯t cheap. The most they could do was wash their body by using water magic. Even then, not everybody could use water magic and it was likely that they didn¡¯t have enough magical power to use the spell on a daily basis. The sisters who have been working at the temple had more than enough magical power to have a light shower every day. However, they definitely didn¡¯t have enough to fill up a bathtub.
¡¸Don worry ¡®bout the water. We make em by usin¡¯ magical item.¡¹
¡¸¡ I¡¯m too mentally exhausted to be surprised at this point¡¡¹
¡¸Onee-chan, I¡¯m starting to feel bad about this whole situation¡.¡¹
Even though the highest-ranked party member was in ss 6, they were definitely having a very luxurious lifestyle. The girls have agreed to this situation in hope that they can return their favour for being rescued by the group earlier. However, seeing their lifestyle, Judith started to feel guilt for their intentions. Prim also epted the fact that this group¡¯s lifestyle was too much for her and wanted toin something to the high priest.
¡¸Dinner¡¯s ready~¡¹
Haruna¡¯s voice cut in as the girls were praying to their god about their new environment which they have been ced in. So, they both stopped praying and headed towards the dining room, following Hiroshi.
¡¸I¡¯m still practicing the dishes from this country so I decided to make food from the country we¡¯re from. Sorry about that.¡¹
¡¸Please don¡¯t apologize, you have greatly provided us with food. We are more than thankful.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s today¡¯s dinner? It smells like curry¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a curry but using the cheese cutlet from Razor-wed Jaguar.¡¹
¡¸That sounds delicious.¡¹
As she smiled at Tatsuya¡¯s words, she ced curry, sd and water for everyone. In Darl where water is scarce material, there wasn¡¯t arge variety of dishes and they were usually fairly dry. The sisters were shocked at the unusually coloured food which was lined up in front of them. As if to ignore their shock, the Japanese people thanked for their food and started to eat without hesitation.
¡¸Cheese, cutlet and curry really goes well together!¡¹
¡¸Nothing can beat cutlet curry¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a little different from normal cutlet though.¡¹
¡¸Haru, delicious food is always real justice.¡¹
Seeing the Japanese people happily eat the curry, appetite and curiosity have gotten the best of the sisters. Carefully, they took a scoop out of the food and took a single cautious bite. It wasn¡¯t as spicy as most food in Darl. However, the unfamiliar vour has won against the unusual yet great mix of vouring. The two girls could not stop eating.
¡¸I¡¯m d you two liked it.¡¹
¡¸I think this is my first time trying food with so much vour.¡¹
¡¸Most of the food in Darl uses a lot of spice so there aren¡¯t any food with this kind of seasoning, right, one-chan?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right, the seasoning we use are very limited as well.¡¹
The Norton sisters havee to realise how limited the food culture is in the country which they have grown up in. Yet there was nothing to be embarrassed about as their food culture was very much influenced by the climate which their country was ced in. If anything, these were food which Japanese people, people from a country where there are different vours of soy sauce depending on the brand that made them.
¡¸Not only are they having a luxurious life-style but their food is also very delicious¡¡¹
¡¸Onee-chan, do you think we can really go back to our normal life¡ ?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s try our best¡¡¹
As they finished eating and prayed for their gratefulness, the sisters were bing more concerned with the new lifestyle which they were introduced to. However, the surprises didn¡¯t end there.
¡¸Onee-chan! The water came out from the toilet it aimed it at my bottom!¡¹
¡¸Calm down!¡¹
¡¸But onee-chan! You¡¯ll see what I mean when you see it for yourself!¡¹
¡¸¡ thi, this is¡¡¹
Invented in America,mercially distributed in Japan, a magical monster named, a washlet.
Volume 3, 4.1
Volume 3, Chapter 4.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸So what are we doing today?¡¹
The next morning after they had taken in the Norton sisters. Tatsuya checked their schedule at breakfast.
¡¸What should we do?¡¹
¡¸Yup, what should we do y¡¯all?¡¹
Various ns had ruptured, leaving Hiroshi and Haruna at a loss for words.
¡¸Tatsu, Haru, did you have something in mind?¡¹
The two elders seemed to have ns, and Mio asked on behalf of the student group.
¡¸Nothing important really.¡¹
¡¸If it weren¡¯t for the rock worm, we were thinking about taking all of you along to exterminate stone ants, but yeah.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I see¡¡¡¹
Stone ant nest raids were extremely important missions in Darl. If you left them alone, the ants would form fairlyrge colonies and possibly swallow up entire towns, which was pretty crazy. This made the difficulty really high, not something intended for ss 7 adventurers.
Of course you could go out on your own and exterminate them and take proof to show Queen Ali, since that would be your own responsibility. Still, you could be branded a reckless adventurer.
¡¸Yeah, I guess the stone ant nest is a bit tough huh?¡¹
¡¸Prim-saning with us is one thing, but it¡¯s reckless to take along Judith-san.¡¹
Haruna and Mio were fairly ok with the event being cancelled. Although Prim had quite a grasp on support magic as a priest, taking along someone like Judith who could barely even use day-to-day magic and was a total amateur at closebat would make Hiroshi¡¯s burden as a tank a little too much.
¡¸So what we gonna do?¡¹
¡¸Personally, I wanna avoid what happened yesterday.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, probably a good idea.¡¹
¡¸I mean sure I could go solo, but I ain¡¯t gonna go through all that trouble just for some cheap coin.¡¹
This was the kind of job you undertook in order to get a better grasp on Darl¡¯s geography and make some connections in the process. There was nothing wrong with that rtionship but there also wasn¡¯t a need to go out of your way to take such a troublesome job. No one disagreed with him in that regard. Even Judith, who knew Dentlis, would agree that Hiroshi was right.
¡¸So now what, for real?¡¹
¡¸Carts again?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s what we always end up doing¡¡¡¹
¡¸Plus carelessly adventuring around should be avoided till things cool down.¡¹
Apparently they would be unable to escape from the fate of food stands. With dejected expressions on their faces, they had no choice but to ept that suggestion.
¡¸Then you¡¯ll prepare over here, Hiro?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Might as well split up a rock worm while I¡¯m at it.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, I forgot.¡¹
¡¸Even if what we gathered yesterday was left over, definitely wouldn¡¯t be no good for food.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, not with this air temperature¡¡¡¹
Darl¡¯s climate would be considered tropical, an environment incredibly harsh toward meat. Of course, both the buying and selling side of food were required to use tools that had Prevent Rot enchantments on them, so the consumers most certainly did not walk around with raw meat.
¡¸So what¡¯ll ya do, Bro?¡¹
¡¸Hmm, I guess after I go to the Association and check about yesterday¡¯s rock worm, maybe I¡¯ll go and tout a bit?¡¹
¡¸Darn skippy. And the menu?¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be easiest just to go with curry bread?¡¹
¡¸We have plenty of peeps to help out, so guess I¡¯ll give another shout.¡¹
Haruna wracked her brains as Hiroshi called out, thinking of the people they had on hand and examining the work process¡¡
¡¸Takoyaki¡¯s a bit hard to gather the ingredients for, so maybe troll bird yaki? Oh right, Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Whazzup?¡¹
¡¸Shall I bring in some white bean paste and custard cream?¡¹
¡¸Sure, why not, mate.¡¹
¡¸Then we can go with taiyaki as well.¡¹
Makoto looked a bit dejected at that, since it meant that she would be the one in charge of the taiyaki.
¡¸Prim-san and Judith-san, how much can you cook?¡¹
¡¸The bare minimum. Right, Big Sis?¡¹
¡¸Yes, although we would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t request us to mix condiments or make minor adjustments to the me¡¡¡¹
¡¸Then can I have you help with stocking up? Depending on how well you do, I might think up one or two dishes for you to work on.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Nodding at Haruna¡¯s suggestion, everyone began stocking up while following instructions from the crafting freaks and the cooking freaks. Tatsuya and Makoto had nothing to do in particr to help with stocking up, so they decided to leave the base to secure space and information from the Association.
¡¸Should we increase fish and chips while we¡¯re at it, mate?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t see why not.¡¹
Hiroshi and the other two looked at the skill of the sisters at preparing the food, quickly deciding to go ahead and add another dish.
¡¸Wee, wee. It¡¯s Fane¡¯s famous curry bread!¡¹
Afternoon in the za. This unfamiliar food stand that had only conducted business one time a few days ago had begun to start selling a strange type of food. Rumors like these had surfaced alongside Tatsuya and his touting, summoning a throng of customers that threatened to engulf the other stands and their customers.
¡¸Bro, what¡¯s curry bread?¡¹
¡¸You mix together spices with vegetables, meat, or whatever and stew ¡®em all together, wrapping them with dough and frying them with oil. It¡¯s super tasty dude.¡¹
¡¸What a price¡¡¡¹
¡¸I guarantee you¡¯ll get what you bargain for.¡¹
400 senecas for one piece. It was more pricey than in Fane, but that was only due to the importance of water. They initially wanted to sell it at 350 senecas, essentially the same pricing as Fane, but the sisters had eximed at how much water they were using, hence the current price. After all, 350 senecas was no more than what a small cup of spicy stew would be. Stews were really expensive in this country.
Other than the water problem, thanks to a certain crafting junkie, Hiroshi¡¯s team had less need to keep track of expenses than other adventurers by far, thereby having less craving for profit. As a result, they tended to not think of the profit ratio or the prices of other stands, so without the criticism of the sisters, they may havee very close to exterminating the other stands with their prices.
In that sense, they should have also raised the price of taiyaki, which used a considerable amount of water, but as taiyaki was the sort of thing that was a treat for children at a 100 seneca coin, they decided to keep it priced that way.
¡¸Troll bird yaki!? Are we really okay selling at a price like this!?¡¹
¡¸Oh¡«¡¢our storage is filled with duplicate sections of these things, so this won¡¯t even scratch the bottom of the barrel.¡¹
¡¸Duplicate¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well we are adventurers after all.¡¹
Haruna said as the first guest was left in disbelief, unsure how to react. Seeing as how the price was supposedly all right, they bought one centerpiece curry bread, and while they were at it, one skewered troll bird scallion yaki. The other guests were like that too, all wanting to test out the foods.
¡¸Heydy, get me the one that¡¯s white on the inside please!¡¹
¡¸Custard!¡¹
Some clever children had found the taiyaki stand, skillfully slipping through the adults and getting to Makoto first for their orders. If adults had done the same thing, it might have revolved into a fist fight, but all the adults had their sights on the non-contentious taiyaki, so they let the children do as they pleased.
Volume 3, 4.2
Volume 3, Chapter 4.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Okay okay, I get it, so just line up properly!¡¹
Rebuking the reckless children, she quickly wrapped the taiyaki in leaves and handed it to them. Thankfully, Tatsuya had skillfully organized the area so that there wasn¡¯t too much chaos, and thus the line for the taiyaki with the children in front wasplete.
¡¸Are you not doing that takoyaki thing today?¡¹
¡¸No, we didn¡¯t quite get the ingredients in time.¡¹
¡¸Yeah? That¡¯s a shame.¡¹
Two hours after they began business, an attractivedy of about 30 who had showed up on the first day bought one of each, including the taiyaki. Curry bread, fish and chips, and the yakitori all had five versions with a lot of volume, butst time she had asked for okonomiyaki skewer and another helping of takoyaki and had blown through two taiyakis, so this might not be a problem for her.
Still, even thought it was a shame to have takoyaki gone, she also had a thing for yakitori and curry bread. She immediately started gnawing on the skin and plowing through the meatloaf and liver, clearly enjoying herself.
¡¸Mm. The bird itself already has umami, but this sauce is superb!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a trade secret after all.¡¹
The woman stepped out of the way for the other customers, immediately eating her food as if advertising it. She was eating the food heartily, yet with a certain refinement, and it was clear that she was of a higher status, or fairly high up. But still¡
¡¸Oho, so there is a stew-like substance inside this bread.¡¹
¡¸I think it¡¯s a bit simr to the stew of this country, right?¡¹
¡¸Hm¡Mm, now this, this is a lump of spice, yet it has aplex and delicate vor. Do you think such amazing food from Fane would be possible to implement in the spices of our country?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s an issue of whether or not you calcte measurements correctly. It¡¯s just that we¡¯re making it ourselves, while Wulls has mastered their own curry powder.¡¹
¡¸Measurement, hm. That does sound like a problem.¡¹
The Japanese group couldn¡¯t help but question her as she continued chatting with the chef while standing and eating curry bread and fish and chips.
¡¸Oh yeah, why didn¡¯t you open up shop ever since that one day until now?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re adventurers, so we have that as our main job.¡¹
¡¸Main job? Are you sure it isn¡¯t a side job?¡¹
¡¸The stands here are just a way for us to use up surplus ingredients.¡¹
Haruna said this like it was natural, but Tatsuya and Makoto were screaming bloody murder in their minds. Sure, the monster ingredients were surplus, but the main reason they opened up shop was to use the meat that they had saved for that specific purpose.
¡¸And you¡¯ll be opening shop tomorrow as well?¡¹
¡¸I think for a bit? We¡¯ll be figuring the menu with what we have on hand in storage and after we discuss it though.¡¹
¡¸I do not have much of a right to worry, but you¡¯d best not have a menu that overpowers the other businesses in the process, all right?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«, yes, we will do what we can in that regard.¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t do much other than shrink back in fear at the warning tone in the woman¡¯s voice. The menu itself generally did not ovep with that of other stalls, but its rarity still had a tendency to steal all the customers.
¡¸Ah, right. The curry bread seems to be nearing exhaustion, but what about the other storages?¡¹
¡¸The meatloaf should be depleted fairly soon.¡¹
¡¸The fish and chips are still holding up.¡¹
¡¸The white bean paste is almost out. After 30 more of those things it¡¯s pretty much done.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Maybe we should order another supply?¡¹
Listening to everyone¡¯s report, Haruna thought of how they should react. But then¨C
¡¸If you¡¯re sold out, then why not just leave it be?¡¹
Finishing her fish and chips, the woman suggested her own idea. By this point, only two taiyaki remained in her hands.
¡¸It isn¡¯t as if you need to sell to everyone here today, no? Besides, if you call it quits here, then the shops around you won¡¯t be very overwhelmed either.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s true.¡¹
Agreeing with what she said, Haruna decided to not actually contact Hiroshi.
¡¸Tatsuya-san, just give one curry bread to each person here and then we¡¯re done!¡¹
Reverse-calcting the remainder from the lines, the touting organizer Tatsuya transferred the information.
¡¸Sorry, please only take one per person now; we¡¯re getting low.¡¹
He had a knockout apologetic look on his face, forcing the eager customers to resign themselves to one piece, and made sure that the curry bread somehow reached everyone lined up. After that, while helping with yakitori and fish and chips and dealing with every customer, all the dishes prepared had sold out within three hours since setting up shop.
¡¸Sorry, we¡¯ve used up all our stock!¡¹
Hearing Haruna¡¯s promation, the customers who were there from the rumors had disappointed expressions on their faces.
¡¸Haru, we¡¯ll clean up, so could you sing a song for an apology?¡¹
Mio saw how many people were disappointed, thinking quickly.
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢alright.¡¹
¡¸You sing? Then yes. How about a heart-rending love song that matches how you¡¯re feeling right now?¡¹
Sparingly drinking a translucent liquor from a nearby shop, the women sipped it like she was watching some entertainment, suggesting this ludicrous idea for a song.
¡¸¡¡Was it that obvious?¡¹
¡¸Well, I certainly wasn¡¯t sure during the operation of the stall. But anyone with decent eyes would notice something like that even if they weren¡¯t paying much attention.¡¹
¡¸¡¡You underestimate me.¡¹
As the woman pointed in a certain direction, Haruna meekly surrendered. If she really was that easy to find out, there was no point glossing it over. She hadtely been doing many bads andic songs, so whenever she listened to requests, anyone who heard her would say she was decent for her age.
Searching her brain, Haruna decided to go with a fairly old song that had been sung by an idol. It was a bad about 80 years old, detailing how if she had one wish, it would be to forget about everything, but the fiercely burning fire in her heart could not be extinguished. It was a bit different from the current emotional state Haruna was in, but now that she had experienced love, it was easier for her to understand those feelings, and she kind of wanted to sing that one.
¡¸Seems that you¡¯ve decided on the song. Then wait a moment.¡¹
As Haruna motioned to begin singing, the woman brushed her off, ncing at the za overflowing with customers and calling out to the shop owner from whom she had bought her liquor. About half of the customers had heard Haruna¡¯s humming and the song she had sung at the tavern, and the other half had been brought here by rumors that had been circting around.
¡¸Is there anything at your shop that children can drink?¡¹
¡¸Umm, yes, we do have some fruit juice?¡¹
¡¸Then hand out that alongside the liquor from earlier to these people gathered here. This will be enough, yes?¡¹
She tossed over three 100,000 seneca coins and said something only a rich person could say. The shopkeeper looked at her with eyes wide in surprise, but faithfully epted the coins and returned one.
¡¸There¡¯ll still be change even with two of these.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re an honest one.¡¹
¡¸Too much of a coward to do that.¡¹
He said as he poured liquor in cups. Once she had confirmed that was enough, she then turned to the audience and called out.
¡¸I¡¯ll treat you all. So you may all take one drink from here.¡¹
She hadn¡¯t even shouted all that loud, but everyone present in the za cheered when they heard her, taking the liquor and scattering off to the stand. Once that noise died down after 15 minutes, everyone, including all of the happily beaming shopkeepers were ready to listen.
¡¸It¡¯s starting to feel a little more major than I would have thought, but you came all the way here, so I would be more than pleased to sing a song for you.¡¹
While a bit put-off at the unbelievable crowd, Haruna made a very safe greeting, took a deep breath, and began singing the first song with her body and soul. There wasn¡¯t any musical apaniment, and yet it only took the very first note topletely rule over the atmosphere.
By the time Haruna was released alongside arge amount of money, it had been two hours.
Volume 3, 4.3
Volume 3, Chapter 4.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸This is kinda calming¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi, who could finally spent time somewhere women were not hanging around, slowly breathed a sigh of relief after he finished supplying about a thousand curry bread. It hadn¡¯t even been two hours since Haruna and the others had left, but he had always been stocking up on curry bread, so it didn¡¯t even take two hours to make it.
Although he had grown quite ustomed to several women being in the same room as him, it wasn¡¯t like his gynophobia had healed. He still felt pressure, not to mentiontely he had been feeling a strange aura emanating from Haruna, who he had always thought to be his safe zone. It was unpleasant, to be more blunt.
¡¸And it ain¡¯t like I got anythin¡¯ against Haruna-san¡¡¡¹
Not thinking of anything else that needed stocking, he decided to begin disassembling rock worms outside while he grumbled. No, he did not dislike Haruna. They had shared a long coexistence of survival together, and he quite trusted her and thought fondly of her. Still, that was only as a person.
As a woman, unfortunately, he had not loosened his caution around her on an instinctive level. Even though he doubted she would do such a thing, simply being a female made her an object of caution. Even if he were heterosexual, Hiroshi had the amount of trauma that would move his consciousness away from such thoughts, even just by looking at a picture of one. It would be cruel to tell him to not be cautious.
Besides, he couldn¡¯t fully fathom the opposite sex, no matter how much he tried. Theposition of their bodies was different, so there were plenty of experiences that one or the other could not partake in, plus there were many ways that thinking differed on an instinctual level. Not to mention that regardless of gender, when it came to romance, even the most upright of people asionally yed around. As a result of taking on societal sanctions, he really wanted no part in romantic feelings toward those around him, regardless of whether they liked him or not.
To Hiroshi, women were still unfathamable beings whose train of thought still posed a threat to him. That was his definition.
¡¸Seriously, what did I do wrong¡¡¡¹
He recalled to memory everything that had urred up until now as he diligently disassembled and split the rock worm into raw materials, food, and trash. Honestly, Aearis and Artiem did seem to remotely have the suspension bridge effect, but he couldn¡¯t think of a single reason as to how Haruna had begun to like him that way.
The only thing he could maybe think of was that something had happened to her when they split up in a dungeon, but without a really good reason, there was no reason for Haruna to mistakenly think that she loved him. And he could not for the better of him think of any such reason. And if by any chance the reason for this was built from the days they spent together, then Haruna had seriously bad taste in men.
Normally, anyone would say that Hiroshi was simply overthinking things, but unfortunately, there was no other way to describe the feelings she had, plus the fact that not only Tatsuya, but Makoto, the residents of Ortem Vige, and even the craftspeople at the workshop or Douga or Merizza had tipped him off about this. On top of that, the majority of time spent together, she tended to look his way, eyes meeting frequently, face turning red each time this happened, staring fixedly in his direction, etc. Hiroshi would rather not deal with such a problem, but there was no other conclusion that could be made. Haruna at the very least thought mistakenly that she had feelings for him.
As he was contemting this, he changed the three rockworms into raw material. Practically everything other than the outer skin, innards, and teeth were edible, and the sheer size of the worms made for a very adequate amount of food. If your run-of-the-mill cook attempted to work with such monster ingredients, they would be inedible, but the cooking difficulty of rock worms was about as much as troll birds. With a little practice, even a housewife could eventually cook these things.
¡¸Let¡¯s just leave the question of whether it¡¯s her misunderstandin¡¯ or not aside for now.¡¹
Hiroshi had no intention of changing his view that it was her own misunderstanding. He was seriously ready to cry if the person in question were to ask him.
¡¸I wonder how you eat rock worms?¡¹
He was more concerned with gourmet than mour. It was much better to worry about that area of things rather than anything rted to romance.
He decided to try thinking about everything rted to the word ¡°earthworm¡±. Amon way to eat it was putting it through the me and eating it like udon, but with its massive size and the fact he had already taken it apart made it not viable. It was normal to roast, boil, or stew it, but those methods felt like theycked creativity.
As he mumbled on and on about earthworms, Hiroshi thought of something he probably shouldn¡¯t have.
¡¸Yup. Earthworms, eh? Reminds me of that urban legend ¡®bout hamburgers.¡¹
Urban legends revolve around universal hamburger chains, such as rumors about the shops using ingredients other than just beef or pork for patties, ingredients people normally never ate. Among these rumored ingredients included earthworm, amon example. If you think about it normally, it would be impossible forrge-scale chains to gather that many rats or earthworms for their meat, but for some reason these rumors just never stopped.
You could after all use real earthworm meat for hamburgers this time around. At least the Japanese members would see it that way. As he thought about such a silly thing, Hiroshi stocked up on hamburger bread. In order to shorten the fermentation process, he was using an elerator, a very innovative invention for this. Perhaps it could be expected of someone from Osaka, thend of memes.
¡¸Guess this¡¯ll do for the patty. Then there¡¯s the cheese and lettuce, tomato and sauce, and I better git around to heatin¡¯ up the onions a mite.¡¹
Finishing the rest of the stocking as the bread fermented, Hiroshi gave it a little taste test. Ripping off part of the corner, he put it in his mouth and nodded satisfactorily at the workmanship.
¡¸It¡¯s even tastier than yer average burger shop.¡¹
Hiroshi didn¡¯t know this, but rock worms were ssified as the highest valued meat goods in the region. Yes, they were using beef without a doubt, but fast food chains were always so vague in what parts of the patties were processed, so in a sense, Hiroshi¡¯s patties were bound to be superior. As long as the cooking methods were the same, the prices would generally be directly reflected.
Then again, it can¡¯t be denied that the cheap vor of those dubious patties was still good, as some would say.
¡¸Now then, the earthworm burger¡¯splete, but I guess Haruna-san and the other¡¯s ain¡¯t back yet?¡¹
Havingpleted the burger and been satisfied with thete lunch from all the taste-testing, Hiroshi realized he had a lot of time on his hands. Stalls were generally vague in what times they closed, but this time they had very suddenly raced to the market, so he hadn¡¯t stocked too much anyway. On one hand, he thought it would be about over unless they were having difficulty selling, but on the other hand, maybe their food just wasn¡¯t the most popr just because it was a little rare.
In actuality, everything on the menu at their stand was sold out, with Haruna performing a surprise recital, but there was no way Hiroshi would have anticipated that. If they weren¡¯t back yet, then why not y around a bit more? That was the direction his thoughts drifted to. Hiroshi¡¯s target was now the stone golem fragments.
¡¸¡¡Wait, I¡¯d need a smeltin¡¯ furnace dependin¡¯ on what I¡¯m tryna do.¡¹
Thinking of the process, he recognized the issue. It wasn¡¯t like he could just set up a transportation circle in the middle of the rental workshop, but the prospect of going all the way back to Wulls wasn¡¯t fun either. Only one thing to do, then.
¡¸Bricks, gotta get them bricks¡¡¹
Smelting furnaces needed to be able to withstand higher temperatures than what normal metals/ss could. As there was an absolute need to fulfill that quota with the right ingredients or process them the right way, there was much equipment needed to make such a thing. Therefore, the method he chose this time around was¡
¡¸Somethin¡¯ like this?¡¹
It was his intention to make the hearth needed for making the bricks for the smelting furnace.¡¡Thankfully, the garden in this workshop contained soil unique to Darl. Thebination of alchemy and magic tool building with some enchantments could make an improvised brick hearth within a matter of seconds, easy.
Further, this time around, the ingredients for the smelting furnace didn¡¯t necessarily have to be brick. It could just as well be aplished by gathering heat-resistant stones andbining them together. Hwoever, the soil and sand in Darl were especially good for making super heat-resistant bricks, easy to acquire as well. It was easy to see why bricks were the way to go.
¡¸Alright, I¡¯ma burn ya!¡¹
Once the improvised hearth had beenpleted, Hiroshi began making the bricks. Using an insane amount of mud and piling severalyers to heat them up, he began raising the heat resistance and durability. Immediately heating all that up with a fairly high temperature, Hiroshi had made a heat-resistant brick that pros would not be ashamed of.
Hiroshi then got carried away with using up all of the mud to make more bricks. Once he had heated enough to make the smelt furnace, Hiroshi figured he might as well take on mass-producing high-rank ss bottles while he was still in Darl¨Cyet another excessive move on his part. So now he wanted ss material. And ss material meant quartz, which meantrge amounts of sand and stone within, which were found a dime a dozen in Darl¡¯s deserts. Only one way to go with this.
¡¸Once things calm down a mite, I gotta go diggin¡¯ in the desert.¡¹
Hiroshi decided without even consulting anyone. It was a truly terrifying thing to not have anyone call him out on his shenanigans.
¡¸Come to think of it, magic steel ¡®n ore of that sort were pretty plentiful in our storage, innit.¡¹
As he built up the smelt furnace, Hiroshi¡¯s thought process led him from the word ¡°desert¡± to various other ingredients to make other equipment. If all he were trying to do was gather sand in the desert, no one would haveined about that. But without anyone there to object to his association game that was on par with the octo-gals, Hiroshi¡¯s thought process became more and more unhinged until it flew off into the day after the next day in craziness, with Hiroshi deciding to leave aside anything he had to do at the moment and simply make rush ns to head straight into the unknown. Unfortunately, everyone else was currently at the stalls, so Hiroshi had far too much time to himself in preparing for such a reckless venture.
¡¸What are you doing?¡¹
¡¸Ah, wee back. Yer prettyte today mate.¡¹
¡¸Good to get back. The work at the stand was pretty quick, actually. So what are you doing?¡¹
¡¸I had some time, so I made a smelt furnace. It¡¯s good to have some for processin¡¯ stone golem fragments, plus we¡¯ll be going to the desert eventually anyway so I also wanna take some sand ¡®n make high-rank potion bottles while I can. It¡¯s cool, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, it isn¡¯t like I particrly mind.¡¹
While a bit put-off at Hiroshi¡¯s wild creativity of making a smelting furnace just because he had time on his hands, it was customary for Hiroshi to use free time to make machinery, tools, expendables, etc. Thinking that way, Tatsuya didn¡¯t feel the need to object to that, so he just let it go through. If Tatsuya had thought to question the fact that there was an awful lot of ore next to him, they probably could have averted the crazy detour that awaited them. Unfortunately, however, Tatsuya wasn¡¯t knowledgeable in rtion to those materials. As a result, he made noment and lost any opportunity to correct Hiroshi¡¯s rampage into the point of no return.
¡¸But wow, I¡¯m hungry¡¡¡¹
¡¸After a bit more work I¡¯ll work on dinner, but if ya can¡¯t wait much longer I got some hamburgers for ya mate.¡¹
¡¸Ooo, I can go with that. Today¡¯s been oddly busy and I didn¡¯t have time to eat lunch, you see.¡¹
¡¸That right. Then I¡¯ll work on that, so do me a favor ¡®n get everyone else.¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah!¡¹
He must have been quite famished. As Tatsuya found the other members with a light and happy stride in his feet, they glittered their eyes at the hamburgers prepared by Hiroshi in the dining hall and wolfed them down. Even Haruna, who didn¡¯t seem the type to eat fast food very often, was more delighted than expected as she ate, probably not just because she was hungry.
¡¸This burger is frickin¡¯ good!¡¹
¡¸A rather high-ss taste for a hamburger, I¡¯d say?¡¹
¡¸Wait, there¡¯s no way this patty is beef.¡¹
¡¸One vote for Makoto-san¡¯s opinion. Hiroshi-kun, what meat is this?¡¹
¡¸Rock worm, mate. One of those earthworm burgers ya hear about.¡¹
Hiroshi had grinned as he answered that, but everyone who was eating immediately stopped what they were doing.
Volume 3, 4.4
Volume 3, Chapter 4.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸¡¡Impressive, Sensei. Casually doing things just for the memes that we would never dare to do¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡I don¡¯t feel any awe or admiration, though¡¡¡¹
¡¸Can we also mention how he¡¯s referencing that urban legend? I never thought I¡¯d hear that again over here.¡¹
But despite saying all of that, they got right back to chewing on the hamburgers. It sounded strange, but if they didn¡¯t bear with earthworm meat then they would have no food.
¡¸¡¡Sis, I never thought I¡¯d have the opportunity to eat rock worm.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Don¡¯t tell me that you once again cooked this by yourself¡¡¡¹
¡¸Somethin¡¯ wrong with that?¡¹
¡¸Not wrong per say, but rock worms are the highest of quality of meats in Darl. So at first I thought you intended to sell it for money¡¡¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t really sell food much, mate. Plus we got like ten troll birds remainin¡¯ in storage, if ya want an idea.¡¹
The sisters did realize it would be rather crazy to go wholesale with meat traders. Troll birds were the kind of size apiece that could feed ten meals to five people, and then some. Ten troll birds was not something that could easily be eaten.
¡¸Yup. Now that we¡¯re talkin¡¯ ¡®bout troll birds, how ¡®bout we make some meat/vegetable stew with it for tonight¡¯s meal?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m cool with that. Now, moving on to something else¡¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¹
¡¸You aren¡¯t going to make us eat anything weird this time, right?¡¹
Tatsuya asked Hiroshi in a rather serious face, who looked a bit put-off by the question. Upon further nce, Makoto, Mio, and even Haruna seemed to be on the opposing side this time as well. As one would expect, they seemed to have been rather traumatized by the unexpected earthworm burgers. Needless to say, for Haruna and Mio, the issue this time was not the fact they were fed a sneak attack of earthworms, but that Hiroshi had gone out of his way to put an ingredient into a hamburger that was from an urban legend instead of just giving them the nostalgic beef they had gone without for more than a year.
¡¸¡¡Unfortunately, there ain¡¯t enough machinery to eat golems.¡¹
¡¸Wait, you were going to eat a golem!?¡¹
¡¸Can you even eat those, Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Sure ya can. Iron, mud, mythril scattered about in golems can be cooked with special equipment, makin¡¯ the golem edible. But if ya don¡¯t make a golem with those, then it don¡¯t matter what their properties are, ya can¡¯t eat ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Wait, people have already eaten them¡¡¡¹
¡¸One of my fellow craftsmen didn¡¯t know what to do one day and the fool stewed a golem as a half joke. Of course no one includin¡¯ him thought such a thing was even possible at first.¡¹
Everyone listened in silence, unable to even vocalize what they thought about Hiroshi¡¯s ludicrous statement. Seriously, there were many unexpected things in this world, but really? Trying to eat iron or mythril? There had to be a limit somewhere.
¡¸Well there¡¯s a secret to this. Basically ya can cook it because it¡¯s a magical creature.¡¹
¡¸No, I think there¡¯s a point where you stop.¡¹
¡¸Eh, let¡¯s just leave it that since it¡¯s already been done before. So when we eatin¡¯, y¡¯all?¡¹
Seeing as the conversation would only get dreary if they continued it, Hiroshi cut it off and checked about dinner. Once they understood (but didn¡¯t want to ept) the gist of what he was talking about, Tatsuya hopped straight onto the next train of thought.
¡¸Yeah. We just ate right now, so I think we¡¯ll be good in two hours?¡¹
¡¸Alright. Then I¡¯lle back after I deal with the smeltin¡¯ forge.¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯ll go ahead and stock up for tomorrow¡wait, we already made a ton of curry bread.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, ya gave me a lotta time to make stuff.¡¹
¡¸Then I guess I¡¯ll be in charge of stocking up on white bean paste and takoyaki. It¡¯s about time we go with troll bird for tomorrow, too.¡¹
Everyone just decided to push along their own agendas for the next two hours, since that wasn¡¯t a whole lot of time. Cleaning the entire building (including the bathroom) was left to the sisters, since they were freeloaders, so no one raised their hands this time around.
¡¸While we¡¯re at it, how ¡®bout I make some more earthworm burgers?¡¹
¡¸Ah, that could be interesting. A high-priced local burger?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m usin¡¯ high-quality ingredients, so yeah.¡¹
Just like that, they decided what to bring out tomorrow. After seeing Hiroshi disappear in the direction of the workshop, Tatsuya sighed and then got to working on their stock. The next day, despite opening shop from an early hour, their stock was depleted by noon and people off from work petitioned Haruna to do another recital, which became even longer that time around.
¡¸Where were you skulking around until now¡¡¡¹
¡¸I made sure to cool down the stand is all. Problem with that, mate?¡¹
¡¸I sure as heck do¡¡¡¹
¡¸But all the work we need to do today was finished in the morning, was it not?¡¹
¡¸How could one such as the queen tell them to not open the marketce for such a long period of time without notice and for such a trivial, selfish reason?¡¹
Sergio mutteredints that were painfully true, but the queen looked off into the far distance, clearly not interested in listening to him. If this sanction or whatever were to be dyed, it would be problematic, but unfortunately, whenever an affair was brought before the queen that needed immediate attention, she was generally always in the pce (unless you counted foreign trips), so theseints seemed to have little effect.
¡¸That so-called trivial, selfish errand just so happens to be going to see the visitors from Fane who havee to participate in the marketce. Still sound trivial to you?¡¹
¡¸No, I do not believe that is a job that Your Majesty needs to undertake. Do you not agree?¡¹
¡¸As if I can trust the temperament of other people¡¯s hearsay.¡¹
Sergio was forced to be silent, unable to think of a response to the queen¡¯s piercing statement. A troublesome filter asionally blocked information of this sort. As a queen who constantly tried to iste herself from any troublesome tasks, it was still very important that she confirm the identity of visitors, not merely relying on hearsay.
¡¸Well, thanks to that, we¡¯ve managed to collect nearly all the evidence for the transmission from the Fane royal family. Unfortunately, of the two important personages, the man was absent.¡¹
¡¸And the verdict?¡¹
¡¸More likely than not, King Regnas seems to be telling the truth. Therefore, it would be scary if we did anything unnecessary to make them our enemies.¡¹
¡¸Unnecessary?¡¹
¡¸For the time being at present, I wish to halt Dentlis from doing anything stupid. Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of being worm bait.¡¹
In this country, there was a saying that went like this: ¡°Those earnestly in love and those illicitly in love both have no qualms with bing worm bait¡±. You might think of this as Darl¡¯s version of ¡°Kicked by a horse¡±.
¡¸Is Count Dentlis acting up again¡¡¡¹
¡¸Aye. Well, even if thedy Haruna is a target, she seems to dislike that type of sleezy man.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s appearance was fairly showy and her body was definitely something men would like. From what the queen could tell, her personality was quite in, in addition to being very chaste. To add even further, now that it seemed this girl was in fairly serious love with someone (she wasn¡¯t sure who), she wouldn¡¯t just be impregnable to this man; he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. That type of person wouldn¡¯t fall in love just by first sight or by the bridge effect, instead taking the time to slowly realize all of their good qualities and then fall in love. Unless the person she loved treated her coldly, Haruna would never give up that easily.
The queen couldn¡¯t help but feel pity for both the man who Haruna had fallen in love with and Dentlis. Although these were two different kinds of pity.
¡¸At any rate, I wish to avoid any sort of international dispute.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Plus, this time around, it could mean some serious trouble for us. We still only have information from behind the scenes, but there are many things that we should both celebrate as a country and be cautious around, lest they spark a fire. If there are any other women to allot him, I would like to send his lower body over there to avoid any trouble.¡¹
¡¸Right you are. I shall look into it for you.¡¹
¡¸Depending on what happens, we may have to have the kittens from Fane work for us a bit.¡¹
The queen said something casually that was actually quite major. Sergio¡¯s eyebrows twitched. The queen noticed this, grimacing.
¡¸I¡¯m not necessarily saying they¡¯re spies. If they really were, then Prince Layotte wouldn¡¯t have revealed their existence to us.¡¹
¡¸Then what is it?¡¹
¡¸Well, what this means is that they are likely his protege thieves. The information we¡¯ve gathered suggests that rather than for the benefit of Fane, their objective seems to be in ordance with a strange influence. Other than Alvan, I have yet to see any information that would be detrimental to us over here.¡¹
¡¸So what you mean to say is that we can use those thieves to spread information to Fane and have them assist in driving out those fools?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Because it seems that even Fane is having a hard time of it. With something in it for both of us, it¡¯s only reasonable that we join forces.¡¹
The queen said in a dark yet almost erotic tone with a dangerous smile on her face.
¡¸Still, to think that they would collude¡Such fools.¡¹
¡¸With Barold¡¯s long-distance group teleportation appearing frequently afar, I thought they would be able to evade any issues in the Vast Southern Forest or Faind regions, but then again, if they thought such a feeble rebellion would seed, they have truly sunk in intelligence.¡¹
¡¸Even if they had seeded, with Alfemina Temple gone, their country¡¯s wealth would all be lost within but a few years. How could they not understand that¡¡¡¹
Fane¡¯s half-baked rebellion. The reason why neither Darl nor Forre had taken advantage of this was summed up by what both the queen and Sergio were saying. There was no way that a rebellion that was set-up by its opponents would ever seed, nor would anythinge of it had they seeded. Either way, Forre¡¯s Spirit Spire Mountain and Vast Northern Forest, Darl¡¯s Vast Southern Forest and Spirit Spire Mountain, and Faind¡¯s coastal region would all get in the way of any interventions. There was never any leisure to intervene in a rebellion of such rapid development to begin with.
Furthermore, when you took into ount how assisting the royal family in their endeavors would hardly lift the debt owed and how nothing would be gained from joining the rebels in battle, it was ridiculous to even think of meddling in such affairs. The current royal family were moderates, so there was no issue with that, but Fane used to be far more overpowering in rtion to the other countries. If Darl had done anything that they took offense to, Fane would have halted its export of food and Darl would have been the one to suffer for it.
In this sense, these affairs were the same for all the countries surrounding Fane, and no one was brazen enough to take advantage of a rebellion just to take some of Fane¡¯snd for themselves. After all, the increased revenue from the stolennd could not even bepared to the shortage of food they would face once all trade was called off. That was just how ill-natured the monsters surrounding the border were.
There was also the time when the king before thest one had revolted and created havoc with the import of food, forcing many to starve to death. This was already a great reason to not stir up anything with the current regime, now that this royal family was actually fairly decent in how they ran their country. Sure, there was no country that wanted its neighbor to be strong, but none of the countries were regions suited for invasions in the first ce. If it was possible to get on amicable terms with the top in that country, there was nothing better than being able to support each other in cooperation.
¡¸Now then, the problem for the time being is¡¡¡¹
¡¸How you, the queen, will begin to interact with them, correct?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Seems like while that unnatural death incident was going on and the temple was all stiff, they got wrapped up in the affairs of the temple because of Dentlis and his secondary residence. Of course, I don¡¯t know whether this is fortunate or unfortunate for them, but the two girls that were forced on them are the Nortons.¡¹
¡¸Then how about I make those adjustments for contacting them.¡¹
¡¸Yes please.¡¹
And so the queen had decided on a course of action for the time being, but little did she know that Hiroshi¡¯s rampage would cause all of her ns to malfunction in strange ways.
Volume 3, 5.1
Volume 3, Chapter 5.1
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Hey, Hiro. ¡¹
¡¸What? ¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m just checking but are we really going to the desert to pick up some sand? ¡¹
¡¸Yup. Besides, it¡¯s about time we make the potion bottle. ¡¹
¡¸Then, where the hell are we? ¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re in an underground cer beneath the desert. In other words some kinda¡¯ ancient ruins or somethin¡¯. ¡¹
Why did this happen? Tatsuya repeated those words over and over as he continued to check his surroundings. Their original n was to collect as much sand as they could and return to Darl. Even if they took a wrong turn he would never have imagined ending up in these ruins.
¡¸Hey, Hiro. ¡¹
¡¸What? ¡¹
¡¸Why are we here? ¡¹
¡¸¡¯Cause we used a drill to go underground?¡¹
¡¸No, I mean if we needed to collect sand why did we have to go underground to do so? ¡¹
¡¸¡¯Cause a man¡¯s adventurous spirit is invoked when he travels underground beneath a desert. ¡¹
¡¸Invoked huh? ¡¹sighed Makoto. However it was toote now. She looked at the blocked drill equipped submersible vessel; its adventurous spirit waning. Usually this would be the moment when Makoto and Tatsuya would retort but since they had also wanted to ride the vehicle they weren¡¯t ones to talk.
¡¸Well, we came all this way so we might as well explore the ruins. ¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we might as well. ¡¹
Haruna agreed to Hiroshi¡¯s suggestion without hesitation. It had nothing to do with her crush on Hiroshi, Haruna had never been the kind of person to pull the brakes on these kinds of situations. Even so, at this moment she was practically vehemently emitting beams of light that seemed to be saying I like you, I like you at Hiroshi¡¯s direction. Even if she stepped on the elerator there was no way she¡¯d pull the brakes now.
¡¸Sensei, Haruna, there¡¯s something interesting over there. ¡¹
¡¸Where? Where? Ah, I see. ¡¹
¡¸¡¯Kay let¡¯s go there first. ¡¹
Tatsuya sighed as the group of students nonchntly entered exploration mode. If they¡¯d decided to go back all they needed to do was use a transportation stone or a long distance transfer. It would only take a moment, however if he forcibly used that and brought them all back whilst shattering their enthusiasm, things would not end well. Besides, there wouldn¡¯t be any particr problems or drawbacks if they investigated these ruins. The only one would be the fact that they told Igreos that they would return before dark. That could be solved by simply having Prim inform him.
¡¸¡¡No, we can¡¯t let you guys go off on your own. We¡¯reing too. ¡¹
¡¸Ah, um, is it okay? ¡¹
¡¸One-chan and I aren¡¯t really prepared for this kind of thing. ¡¹
His realization about the Norton sisters hit Tatsuya like cold water. He sighed once again and rummaged through their luggage looking for something suitable for them. The satchel was directly linked to the warehouse but even so he didn¡¯t have any experience that enabled him to be prepared for this type of situation. It was the first time he felt so unprepared. The least he could do was check the luggage.
¡¸Tch, how did things end up like this?¡¹
At Makoto¡¯s grumbling Tatsuya sighed in agreement while he fetched any necessary seeming items from their luggage and tried to figure out where things had gone wrong by reexamining the details that had led up to their current predicament.
It all started yesterday, after they had finished dinner.
¡¸It¡¯s gotten a bit cool, should we go outside for a bit? ¡¹
¡¸Outside? Can you be specific? ¡¹
¡¸In order to collect ingredients for the bottle I want to go all the way to the desert. ¡¹
Everyone scrutinized Hiroshi¡¯s proposal.
Apart from the fact that their ranks didn¡¯t allow them entry into the desert there weren¡¯t any other problems. There also weren¡¯t any issues regarding their ranks because unlike the Sweltering Tower there weren¡¯t any guards.
They weren¡¯t able to receive a mission that would grant them special permission to enter the desert so they would have to enter at their own risk.
¡¸I see. I guess it¡¯s fine then. ¡¹
¡¸While you¡¯re gathering the sand Tatsuya and I can spare the time to protect Prim and Judith. ¡¹
Although the desert monsters were powerful as long as they didn¡¯t venture too deep they wouldn¡¯t be cornered. If Mio detected them beforehand they would not have to face a surprise attack. These circumstances would allow them to protect two nonbative sisters with ease.
¡¸So, what area are we headed to? ¡¹
¡¸With the minivan we should be back by dark. We¡¯ll take off at 7 and go up to here. ¡¹
Hiroshi spoke while pointing at a map, his finger signaling the desert¡¯s nearest highway. The distance from Darl was around 200 kilometers. With the minivan it wouldn¡¯t even take 3 hours, rather if they really took off it would take less than 2 hours and they¡¯d have plenty of time to spare.
¡¸If we go there will we make it back before sunset? ¡¹
Prim looked at the map and gave Hiroshi a look of suspicion. It was certainly possible to take the high-speed Golem Carriage, howevering and going would take around 2 hours. If one took into ount the time allotted for eating, rest, and collecting returning before dark didn¡¯t seem likely.
¡¸Yeah, our transportation is much faster than a Golem Carriage. ¡¹
¡¸Really? ¡¹
¡¸Yup. Traveling from Darl to Wulls within 10 days is a piece of cake. ¡¹
The highway¡¯s distance between Darl and Wulls was roughly 6000 kilometers. If they went on average speed of 80 kilometers per hour for eight hours straight then they¡¯d arrive in 9 days.
If they took the Golem carriage they¡¯d average 29 kilometers per hour and arrive more than a monthter.
Aside from the issue ofnd routes, within contemporary Japan there usually wasn¡¯t any need for trips as long as 10 days. By simply mentioning how close Japan¡¯s metropolitan cities are one could imagine the vastness between Fane and Darl.
¡¸Then is the minivan suited for the desert¡¯s terrain? ¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s already been taken care of. ¡¹
¡¸Then we¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning?¡¹
¡¸Won¡¯t it be a problem if we close the stand? ¡¹
¡¸Before we leave we can just ask another shop owner to let everyone know. ¡¹
At Haruna¡¯s suggestion of a potential problem, Tatsuya offered a countermeasure. They had recently gotten along well with the nearby shop owner so he¡¯d dly mediate any of the customers¡¯ concerns. Their customers were also aware of the fact that they were actually adventurers so they¡¯d probably be understanding about a sudden absence.
¡¸Then let¡¯s get ready for an early rising tomorrow. We¡¯ll ask him to let everyone know at za square and from there we¡¯ll go straight to the desert? ¡¹
¡¸Yup. So let¡¯s make today an early night. ¡¹
¡¸Got it. ¡¹
At his words, everyone set off toplete their preparations for tomorrow. Then the next day¡¯s afternoon¡
¡¸We actually made it within 2 hours huh¡¡¹
¡¸And it didn¡¯t even feel like we were going that fast¡ ¡¹
The troupe had arrived at their destination quicker than expected at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour. The desert area didn¡¯t have much traffic aside from the arbitrary person headed for farm fields or a carriage headed for the tower. Once they surpassed them they had been able to relentlessly increase their speed up to 100 kilometers per hour. Now, the reason as to why Judith had not been able to perceive their speed was because the vehicle waspletely covered thus not allowing any wind into the interior. Then there was also the fact that the outside scenery didn¡¯t change much so their speed had also not been visibly perceivable. The vehicle itself was also equipped with features that mitigated their speed of movement.
As expected it was only 10 in the morning and the desert¡¯s temperature was rising rapidly. If they had arrived around 7 am the temperature wouldn¡¯t be below freezing but still considerably cold. To put it simply the environment was harsh.
¡¸¡¯Kay so we¡¯re collecting sand right?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t rush. ¡¹
While tidying up the car Hiroshi told the others not to hurry and took out another capsule. Tatsuya made a dubious face at the new capsule.
¡¸What¡¯s that? ¡¹
¡¸Since we came all this way to the desert I made this. ¡¹
Hiroshi said while showing off a capsule that suddenly released a drill equipped submersive vessel. It was longer than arge bus but smaller than a standard submarine. The drill however was quite big. That sturdy and rustic excavation drill strangely sent Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s hearts aflutter. Mio was also already looking at the drill.
¡¸This may be a thoughtless question but what is that for? ¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s for going under the desert¡¯s ocean of sand. ¡¹
¡¸The surface looks like leather, is it okay? You¡¯ll have to excuse me because I don¡¯t want to be buried alive. ¡¹
¡¸The surface is made from a patchwork of hardened Kerberos and Rock Worm skin. ¡®Cause of the piling it¡¯s resistant to hydraulic and underground pressure. Well, as long we only go 1 kilometer deep we ¡®ought to be fine. ¡¹
In order to confirm Hiroshi¡¯s statement she softly striked the surface. The surface was stiff yet also peculiarly flexible. Based on this she decided that it would be able to withstand a bit of pressure.
¡¸Even if the exterior looks fine it¡¯s meaningless if the interior skeleton is fragile. How¡¯s it built? ¡¹
¡¸When we were in Fane I stocked up on a bunch of demon iron and mithril. I inserted that and some demon iron tes beneath the leather so the skeleton should be top notch. ¡¹
¡¸What a waste of resources¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s fine ¡®aint it? Apart from repairing weapons there¡¯s no other use for it don¡¯t cha think? ¡¹
That vehicle was overflowing with such an adventurous spirit that it even won Mio over leaving her unable to continue to reprimand Hiroshi for wasting precious resources. However, they were unaware of the fact their subversive vessel (perhaps it would be better to say underground submarine?) wouldter serve a different purpose. Not only were its materials ill-fitted for its purpose but one couldn¡¯t also proim that it had been a waste.
¡¸Well, at any rate I¡¯ve already made it so how ¡®bout we try going a lil¡¯ deep underground? ¡¹
¡¸After testing it at a minimum depth. ¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve already tested it underwater so I¡¯m sure it won¡¯te apart inside a shallow area. ¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t go deciding things on your own. ¡¹
¡¸This is what high level artisan yers do ya know. ¡¹
Since they had no acquaintances topare him to, the Japanese people simply eyed him with suspicion. The Norton sisters on the other hand, didn¡¯t understand them so they ignored their conversation and instead intently studied the submersive vessel.
¡¸What I¡¯m sayin¡¯ is that there ain¡¯t no problems. I want to drill a bit. How ¡®bout it? ¡¹
Hiroshi once again insisted. Rather than listening Makoto and Tatsuya were trying to force each other to decide. Haruna wasn¡¯t interested in the vessel but it was improbable that she was going to disagree with something Hiroshi wanted to do. Besides, the safety of the vehicle was somewhat guaranteed.
As for Mio, she was bing more and more eager. She wasn¡¯t as willing as the older people in front of her but she certainly wanted to excavate into the desert with that vehicle brimming with adventurous spirit. Because she was a person who¡¯s facial expressions rarely changed it was shocking to see her face shining as she waited in anticipation for Makoto and Tatsuya¡¯s decision.
¡¸¡¡.Well, I guess it¡¯s fine¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah. To tell you the truth going underground sounds very appealing¡¡¡¹
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s go! ¡¹
At his enthusiastic shout everyone rushed into the vessel.
Then¡
¡¸Forward! Let¡¯s go maximum depth! ¡¹
¡¸Hold up! ¡¹
While dering something perilous Hiroshi turned the excavation joystick to its limit. It seemed that the control panel was simr to an aircraft¡¯s one. Tatsuya¡¯s attempt to stop him was futile because the cockpit and the passengers area was divided by a wall and he and the others were restrained by automatic seatbelts.
After 15 minutes the vessel crashed against a bedrock and bore into a hollow that had preserved some ancient ruins. Because of their extreme speed a number of sand sharks and mantas must have lost their lives.
¡¸This must have been a restaurant or something. ¡¹
¡¸Looks like it. ¡¹
They had found a building that unlike the other buildings had a strange structure and emitted a creepy vibe.
Haruna and Hiroshi approached the building and peered into its interior. In contrast to its exterior the inside was fairly normalplete with several sets of tables and chairs. On the edge of the tablesy a pamphlet that looked like a menu; it was just like any old restaurant.
If anything was off it was the fact that back in Fane and Darl they had never seen any menus ced on the restaurant tables.
¡¸These letters¡I can¡¯t read them. ¡¹
¡¸The kitchen doesn¡¯t look like much. ¡¹
¡¸The furnishings are all magic types. To be specific they¡¯re in a battery style. ¡¹
Everyone voiced their analysis of the area.
One could say that the area¡¯s craft which had served as the pir of their civilization was clearly isted from the civilization above ground.
¡¸Well we can¡¯t be sure whether they perished, abandoned this ce, or maybe there¡¯s a surprise ya know? ¡¹
Volume 3, 5.2
Volume 3, Chapter 5.2
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Surprise? ¡¹
Unable to ignore Hiroshi¡¯sment, Makoto gazed suspiciously at Hiroshi who was examining every nook and corner of the room.
¡¸By surprise I mean a low-damage booby trap or¡¡¹
¡¸What do you mean? ¡¹
¡¸Nah, I mean a bunch of mental interference devices as well as many other instruments have been installed throughout dis room. ¡¹
Hiroshi said that and pointed up at the ceiling where a cord hung from above. It seemed like the switch of an antique fluorescent light. It¡¯s instation was unfitting for a restaurant like this but if one were to fail to notice that they would perhaps naturally want to pull it.
¡¸¡¡I get what you mean. ¡¹
¡¸Should we pull it? ¡¹
¡¸Why do you think so? ¡¹
¡¸¡¯Cause only by pulling it we¡¯ll find out if we¡¯re in an Indiana Jones or Drifters kinda¡¯ situation. ¡¹
1
Even though she understood Makoto spontaneously strongly agreed.
¡¸Then, if this is a simple booby trap, like a Drifters type, there will no doubt be a bunch of guys grinning hidden ¡®round somewhere. ¡¹
¡¸To be able to build a ce of this scale they must have a lot of free time on their hands. ¡¹
Hiroshi could not help but agree with Makoto. It was true that he was one who tended to get carried away with his hobbies however he would never imitate something from a movie or TV show.
¡¸At any rate we have to pull that cord to find out right? ¡¹
¡¸Right, but£®¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸For the moment, let¡¯s try to be meek for now, like actors ya know?¡¹
¡¸Who the hell is an actor¡¡¹
It wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t understand the meaning Hiroshi wasn¡¯t voicing but the mention of acting bothered her£®
¡¸At any rate let¡¯s keep exploring for awhile.¡¹
Hiroshi said to the rest of the group and they all left the restaurant like building behind. Haruna, Tatsuya, and the Norton sisters didn¡¯t understand what he was up to but followed.
¡¸So, what are you looking for? ¡¹
¡¸For now, I¡¯m lookin¡¯ for a ce where there might be books or somethin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸But even if you¡¯re able to read them, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to find them in a ce like this? ¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re probably written in anguage simr to Darlish and Fanish, and even if they¡¯re not we can transcribe ¡®em and take ¡®em to a temple or an archive.¡¹
¡¸If so, we better set up the teleportation point near the entrance of these ruins. ¡¹
¡¸Right. There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything obstructing teleportation around here and once we set it up it¡¯ll be easy toe here back and forth. ¡¹
The troupe listened to Tatsuya¡¯s suggestion and headed back towards the entrance of the ruins. After they set up the teleportation point, they peered inside arge building that seemed like a public institution.
¡¸The more you look the more it looks unnatural. ¡¹
¡¸Hey you, if youugh when you¡¯re not supposed to you¡¯ll be out and get hit in the rear; that¡¯s the vibe I¡¯m getting from this ce.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, Judith ising along so could you refrain from making such jokes? ¡¹
¡¸Got it. ¡¹
After being rebuked by Haruna, Hiroshi closed his superfluous joke-making mouth. However, any sign that the ruins may be an area from an ordinary fantastical setting was quickly fading.
¡¸Even so, I was sure there would be a treasure box or some jewelry in these ruins. ¡¹
¡¸It¡¯d be normal to find some jewels in a temple or grave, but in these ruins it would be strange if there were any. ¡¹
¡¸Well, yeah you¡¯re right. First of all what¡¯s a treasure box? ¡¹
¡¸It all has to do with ambition but one expects to find that sort of thing in old ruins. ¡¹
Since it seemed unlikely that they would find any treasure their conservation shifted to one thatcked adventurous spirit, especially since these types of ruins weren¡¯t a burial site where the discovery of treasure was guaranteed. The idea of powerful items randomly ced like in a game was certainly unrealistic.
¡¸Well, ruins and dungeons are two different things after all. ¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course they are. ¡¹
While the rest of the troupe chatted vividly, Judith, who had a low resistance, cautiously made sure not to get caught in anything strange while they all seeked out a library.
¡¸Be as it may, this is a strange ce. ¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re saying that after all this time? ¡¹
¡¸Well yes, but not in that way. ¡¹
Haruna said that while lightly tracing her index finger alongside the bookshelves.
¡¸That reminds me, I hadn¡¯t noticed this before. ¡¹
¡¸Certainly, for some ancient ruins there hardly seems to be any dust or grime. ¡¹
¡¸Right? ¡¹
Hiroshi and Tatsuya admired Haruna¡¯s discovery. Leave it to Haruna¡¯s observation skills to spot something that had gone under their radar.
¡¸Hm, what do you mean? ¡¹
The ce was obviously being cleaned and looked after but Judith didn¡¯t realize that was suspicious. She also hadn¡¯t realized that they were in some ancient ruins devoid of people.
¡¸She means that since these ruins are at least a thousand years old it¡¯s weird for everything to be so tidy. ¡¹
¡¸I was careless not to notice before but the items around here are also fully intact. ¡¹
¡¸Keep going. ¡¹
¡¸There are two possibilities. One is that these aren¡¯t ruins, it¡¯s an active civilization. Two, this ce has been booby-trapped by a troupe of people with too much time on their hands.¡¹
¡¸Because of all the cords and strange contraptions the theory of a group of people with two much time on their hands seems probable. ¡¹
¡¸Yup. ¡¹
Since they all couldn¡¯t think of another exnation they decided to leave it at that. For the time being they decided to explore the bookshelves while being careful not to trigger any traps. However, the bookshelves were full of mechanisms one might see in Drifters, for example¡
¡¸I just put this book back and but it just won¡¯t go in. ¡¹
¡¸Ouch! ¡¹
There was a book that was sticking out but when one of them tried to push it back into the shelf another book would stick out and hit someone in the face.
¡¸What the hell? This book¡¯s genre and size is weird. ¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t be stupid.¡¹
¡¸Even if you say that once I took this book out it wouldn¡¯t go back in. ¡¹
¡¸Alright, then I¡¯ll put it in. ¡¹
¡¸Ah, you¡¯re right¡¡¹
As they tried to put the book back another way the bookshelf turned and revealed a set of hidden stairs. The area was full of strange mechanisms.
¡¸Anyway, let¡¯s just ignore those stairs gor now I found a book that we might be able to read. ¡¹
¡¸Really? ¡¹
¡¸But it seems like it¡¯s in English, at my level I can¡¯t understand the content. ¡¹
¡¸I see, pass it to me. ¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m counting on you. ¡¹
Haruna opened the book Hiroshi had handed over to her while slightly furrowing her brows. The reason was that the content she had read was different from what she had expected.
¡¸Um, I couldn¡¯t read the title but I read the title on the inside cover. The title is Madame Hermette. It must be some sort of novel. Judging by the grammar and vocabry it seems to be a mixture of French, English, and German. ¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m gettin¡¯ a bad vibe from that title. ¡¹
¡¸What a coincidence, I have a bad feeling about this too. ¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t read it, but what if it¡¯s not what we think it is¡¡¹
Drawn in by the book¡¯s title the three of them discussed how to handle the book. Since literature has not yet achieved a great presence in Darl, Judith didn¡¯t understand why Hiroshi and the others were so focused on the book. The rest of the group neglected Judith while they conversed and Haruna decided to flip through several pages of the book.
¡¸Woah, woah¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t tell me, it¡¯s just as we thought? ¡¹
¡¸Yes, um. ¡ºWee, young man.¡»Madam Hermette rxed her voluptuous bosom while suggestively inviting a cherubic young man who was nothing more than an acquaintance. The young man was still innocent when it came to the pleasures of the flesh but he couldn¡¯t quite contain his curiosity either. He was taken in by the madam¡¯s sublime charm, he forgot himself and entranced he joined her asking if he may touch her ripe body¡¡¹
¡¸I knew it! It¡¯s a porn novel! ¡¹
Tatsuya unconsciously yelled with all his might as he heard Haruna read the book in an indifferent tone. The book¡¯s cover was written in an ancientnguage that they couldn¡¯t read and was on the verge of falling apart in the worst meaning possible.
¡¸That was, a very vivid description¡¡¹
Despite the fact that her face was red as a tomato Haruna unconsciously read the rest of the page. She was unable to contain her curiosity about the book. She was particrly curious about the unconventional love portrayed there and the superfluous nature of it all. Beside her, the priest¡¯s apprentice, who was also red as a tomato, stood beside her urging her to reveal the continuation.
¡¸Finding a porn novel in some ancient ruins is a terrible prank. ¡¹
¡¸Indeed¡¡¹
While Haruna debated on whether to continue to read the book, beside her Hiroshi mumbled in a careless tone while Tatsuya seemed excessively tired. No matter how old this archive was, no matter how one looked at it, it was strange that such a book would be stored here. If this wasn¡¯t a prank then whoever organized the library had some interesting tastes.
¡¸Anyway, Haruna, you better read thatter. Not now. ¡¹
¡¸Ah, uh, yeah. Y-you¡¯re right. ¡¹
She was slightly embarrassed about the fact that her curiosity had ovee her. She closed the book and gingerly put it back. On the other hand, Judith was embarrassed to the point that she didn¡¯t even voice a singleint. If she was Mio she would read any book in a dignified manner. But, Haruna didn¡¯t have that much leeway, it wasn¡¯t because she was so ashamed but rather, she had an issue with the fact that she had read some questionable content in front of the guy she had a crush on.
¡¸Even so, I would¡¯ve never imagined that you would get so into a book like that. ¡¹
¡¸Ah~, that¡¯s, um, that¡¡¹
She, a young maiden, was very much enveloped in disbelief at her actions. Her face was red to the point that it must¡¯ve been boiling and her speech was incoherent. She couldn¡¯t manage anything beyond whispering a few words that fell like raindrops.
Her instinct as a maiden in love had failed her just a moment ago but then again she wasn¡¯t yet fully aware of it so she couldn¡¯t quite make use of it and reply immediately.
¡¸Ah~, but, um. That kind of book is based on men¡¯s delusions and desires isn¡¯t it? ¡¹
She had finally managed a rational reply to Tatsuya¡¯sment. Tatsuya was well aware that Hiroshi could hear them but still he made sure to lower his voice in a secretive manner.
¡¸Well, definitely not all of it, but you get the idea. ¡¹
¡¸If so, it¡¯d be great if I could use this as a reference and get a positive response from him. ¡¹
¡¸Normally things would probably go well but you know how he is. ¡¹
¡¸This kind of thing must be pretty rash then. ¡¹
¡¸No, more like, there¡¯s a hurdle you¡¯ve got to cross before you get to that point. ¡¹
In the end, that sort of action wouldn¡¯t end well. Tatsuya sighed as he watched Haruna take a nce at Hiroshi every now and then while Hiroshi made a puzzled expression in response; he couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for Haruna.
For their sake Tatsuya wished Hiroshi would regain his footing so that he could embrace Haruna¡¯s love for him. He had told Mio many times that Hiroshi shouldn¡¯t be rushed; it would only make things worse. He felt pity for Haruna, Earis, and Artiem. But no matter what, they should be patient because making a pass at a wounded individual is never good.
¡¸Hey, Haruna. ¡¹
¡¸I know, but I just can¡¯t help feeling the way that I do¡¡¹
¡¸I see. Well, do your best.¡¹
¡¸Uh-huh. ¡¹
Volume 3, 5.3
Volume 3, Chapter 5.3
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
Haruna said that and resumed her search for the library to get the matter off her mind. In the end, aside from the porn novel that was written in ancient Fanish and Darlish, and a strange paper about economic theories, they weren¡¯t able to find anything immediately readable, so, for the time being, they joined Makoto and the others who were investigating the hidden stairs.
At the same time, Makoto and the others were¡
¡¸Tch, these ruins are really messed up huh¡¡¹
¡¸Mako, calm down.¡¹
¡¸I know, alright?¡¹
They had managed to avoid the booby traps¡ª that is until Prim had carelessly triggered one.
¡¸That was quite a water basin trap though.¡¹
¡¸Even though Prim pulled the string, it was me who got hit directly. Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t keep a grudge¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m-I¡¯m so sorry!¡¹
That¡¯s right. Since there were strings and levers that gradually became more and more tempting to pull, one of the three of them was bound to trigger one of the traps. However, even though Prim pulled one of the strings, for some reason, Makoto, who had been in another area, had been hit by a water basin that came tumbling down from above. That was the cause of Makoto¡¯s foul mood.
Moreover, it hadn¡¯t been just one basin. Surprised by the pain, Makoto had jumped ahead only to be hit by another. As she staggered ahead from shock an extrarge one fell down as well. The hits were so urate that it seemed like someone was watching and aiming from above. It was very painful. Thest one was big enough for both Mio and Lime to bathe in.
She had only been focused on the government-like building, and yet she had been ensnared in a trap that she couldn¡¯t avoid and had been made a clown. Even though she always kept her nerve, that feeling really rubbed her the wrong way.
¡¸¡I found some suspicious letters.¡¹
¡¸At any rate you can¡¯t read it, right? ¡¹
¡¸I can read it this time.¡¹
Surprised by Mio¡¯s words, Makoto and Prim rushed over to where she stood.
¡¸So, what does it say? ¡¹
¡¸It says, ¡®Look up¡¯. ¡¹
¡¸¡I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this.¡¹
¡¸Even so, unlike what happened just now, there¡¯s nothing strange up there, right?¡¹
¡¸Yup, nothing there¡¹they said while looking up.
¡¸Now it says to look down. ¡¹
There¡¯s nothing at our feet. No mistake about that.
¡¸Still, I¡¯m getting a very bad feeling about this.¡¹
¡¸Me too. Or rather, about getting made fun of again. ¡¹
Despite their shared premonition, the three of them unaffectedly looked down at their feet. There, the words ¡®Serves you right¡¯ were written.
¡¸¡I¡¯m getting very pissed off¡¡¹
¡¸These are definitely a Drifters type of ancient ruins.¡¹
¡¸Mio, doesn¡¯t this make you angry? ¡¹
¡¸Not enough to have bloodlust like you, Mako.¡¹
At Mio¡¯s excessively calmposure Makoto¡¯s anger only simmered. However, she wasn¡¯t one to vent her anger on those younger than her. As a senior to others she was fully capable of withstanding all sorts of things withoutint.
¡¸I¡¯m obviously angry, but how about we continue our search in another area?¡¹
¡¸Got it. ¡¹
¡¸This time let¡¯s be careful¡¡¹
They followed Makoto¡¯s orders and continued to search the building. Naturally, there wasn¡¯t anything interesting to be found. For example¡
¡¸Did you find anything?¡¹
¡¸There was some writing inside the box that I couldn¡¯t read. ¡¹
¡¸What one, which one¡ Is this Japanese?¡¹
Since the memo was in Japanese she read it and¡ª
¡¸Un, an idiot sees, bu¡¡¹
¡¸Mako, it¡¯s too dangerous to say anymore than that!¡¹
It seemed that she was on the verge of infringing the copyright of what was in the box.
¡¸What¡¯s up with this revolting doll¡¡¹
¡¸Mako, don¡¯t you know? ¡¹
¡¸Know what? ¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s an old rubber toy that was very popr back then, it¡¯s called ¡®doll on the verge of death¡¯.¡¹
[Note: ¡®Doll on the verge of death¡¯ is ËÀ¤Ë¤«¤±ÈËÐÎ it¡¯s a grotesque stic doll that looks just as its name entails.]
¡¸This is a drawing of a cat wearing strange clothes.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s Nameneko¡¡¹
[Note: Nameneko is a franchise that was popr in the 80s. It depicts cats dressed in a bosozoku style.]
Mio seemed to know about all the vintage items inside the box. (To the point that one may even doubt her age.) The vibe was very gloomy; it was nothing like the try-not-tough feeling from Drifters.
¡¸It¡¯s just as I thought, there¡¯s nothing worthwhile isn¡¯t there¡¡¹
¡¸Well, this seems like something the octogals would do, but how do think this stuff got in here? ¡¹
¡¸I know you wouldn¡¯t suspect any humans but I also doubt it. I don¡¯t think it was the octogals this time, besides none of this stuff is recent. ¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s also the possibility that it isn¡¯t from long ago. All of this is from roughly around the end of the Showa era to about the middle of the Heisei era?¡¹
¡¸The fact that you even know that is exasperating¡¡¹
Makoto grumbled while Mio easily identified the era of their findings while toying with an eraser that had a drawing of a man eating gyudon.
¡¸It seems that the more we look around the more we y into the hands of the people that built this ce.¡¹
¡¸Their tricks only are only meant to cause anger so it¡¯s no big deal.¡¹
¡¸Got no choice huh¡¡¹
At Mio¡¯s words Makoto once again let out a sigh of exasperation and stood up from where she sat. Prim also stood up but when she rested her hand on the table¡
¡¸!?¡¹
The tabletop had sprung up and hit Prim¡¯s face. It was just like the popr pranks onedy shows, but nevertheless it was more like a painful surprise attack.
¡¸A-are you okay!? ¡¹
¡¸I-i¡¯m, okuiy¡¡¹
Prim assured them that she was fine while mumbling something unintelligible and pressing down her red nose. The pranks had changed direction so she had let her guard down. This time only Prim had been the victim and Makoto had avoided bing a victim a second time.
¡¸It really does look like we¡¯re the main characters of aedy skit. ¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s not that different from our usual lives. ¡¹
¡¸This time it wasn¡¯t my fault. ¡¹
Makoto braced herself and lowered her shoulders as she heard Mio point that out.
Actually, the reason as to why their lives resembled aedy show wasn¡¯t as bad as in Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s case, therefore Mio wasn¡¯t one to judge.
¡¸Well, let¡¯s forget about that and just look around a bit more. But, we have to be careful so that thisedy show doesn¡¯t go on. ¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
In ordance with Makoto¡¯s order the three of them rmenced their exploration. Of course, Prim understood what the others had meant by edy show¡¯ that is to say she must under no circumstances touch anything that seemed suspicious. She must, along with the others, proceed with the investigation with utmost caution.
Since they had learned by experience they sessfully finished exploring the first floor without running into any traps. When it was time to explore the second floor Makoto and Mio suddenly stopped.
¡¸Hey, Mio¡¡¹
¡¸Mako, are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking? ¡¹
¡¸This looks a normal turn of events, doesn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸Looks like it will be normal.¡¹
Prim made a confused face at the other two¡¯s cryptic conversation. Even though she understood what they meant by edy show¡¯ she didn¡¯t understand what ¡®a normal turn of events¡¯ meant.
¡¸Let¡¯s search the stairs thoroughly. ¡¹
¡¸Got it. ¡¹
¡¸Um, is there something in the stairs? ¡¹
¡¸If from here on out things turn out the way I think it will, then there¡¯s definitely something here. ¡¹
So, they waited for Mio to finish searching the stairs but¡
¡¸Sorry, I couldn¡¯t find anything suspicious. ¡¹
¡¸Not even a strange seam or a funny looking device? ¡¹
¡¸At least nothing that I would be aware of. ¡¹
¡¸I see. ¡¹
The probability that something was there was 8 out of ten. Even though they knew that they couldn¡¯te up with a countern. It was also probable that they wouldn¡¯t find any worthwhile information on the second floor so it would probably be best if they skipped this floor altogether. As Mio tried to tell the others that¡
¡¸Mako, the building¡¯s door is secured with a special kind of key. It¡¯s impossible to unlock. ¡¹
¡¸So we should just let anything happen, huh? ¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll go and tie a rope to the handrail. Besides it¡¯s unfair that I¡¯m the only one who hasn¡¯t been caught in a trap. ¡¹
¡¸Are you sure? ¡¹
¡¸These aren¡¯t fatal traps, right? ¡¹
They widened their eyes in admiration at Mio¡¯s words. It was true that all the traps hadn¡¯t been fatal. However, it wasn¡¯t the kind of trap any young person would be willing to endure, therefore it was better for them not to unnecessarily sacrifice anyone. That made the youngest girl of their team¡¯s deration to withstand those underhanded traps all the more impactful.
¡¸Besides Mako, it wouldn¡¯t be enjoyable if me getting caught in a trap doesn¡¯t make it to the screen. ¡¹
¡¸The ¡®screen¡¯? ¡¹
Makoto¡¯s energy was instantly drained by Mio¡¯s metament. This was just the same old Mio after all.
¡¸I¡¯m sure they¡¯re watching. Probably. Maybe. ¡¹
¡¸If they¡¯re not watching then you won¡¯t get hurt, okay? And don¡¯t make light of people getting hurt.¡¹
Mio shrugged away Makoto¡¯s retort by cheerfully humming. If she said anything else they wouldn¡¯t listen to her anyway. There wasn¡¯t anything else she could do. They just had to trust her.
¡¸Well, I¡¯m off. ¡¹
With that she carelessly started up the stairs,
¡¸Ah! ¡¹
¡¸As expected. ¡¹
Just as they had thought the stairs fell into a slope knocking Mio off her feet while,
¡¸Tch. ¡¹
She tightly secured the rope around the handrail and settled into an upright posture.
¡¸I didn¡¯t get hit in the face so the audience isn¡¯t probably enjoying this. ¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t talk about wretched things like that. ¡¹
As Mio tried to personify the ideas of the corrupted side of show business Makoto was disgusted and retorted her actions. The three of them managed to ascend to the second floor and were dragged into another trap. It was like they had be actors in aedy skit where their lives were at stake.
¡¸Seems like you all had a hard time. ¡¹
¡¸When you¡¯re investigating some ancient ruins you don¡¯t expect to put yourself in danger, do you? ¡¹
¡¸¡Ah~ congrattions on making it through. ¡¹
¡¸Haruna is acting suspicious. Did something happen? ¡¹
¡¸Well, what¡¯s your take on delving into an ancient ruin¡¯s archives and discovering a porn novel? ¡¹
¡¸¡I see what you mean¡¡¹
The ruins had been far from what they had expected. Even though this was a fantasy world it was nothing like what you¡¯d find in a storybook. They¡¯d braced themselves for that but this world¡¯s reality was warping further and further.
¡¸So, you found some hidden stairs? ¡¹
¡¸Yeah, in a ce where structurally speaking it¡¯d be weird to find some stairs.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean? ¡¹
¡¸There. Underneath the stairs there is an ordinary looking open space, like a tearoom. ¡¹
¡¸Ah~ this seems like a temte. Like from an American movie. ¡¹
An American movie¡ªphysically speaking it was a building with an impossible architectural structure. When Tatsuya saw that his face contorted with confusion. He could do nothing but agree. The reason why he didn¡¯t retort even a little bit, wasn¡¯t at all like when a scene has been filmed and the characters¡¯ expressions and clothings change, it was because, in some way, he was being courteous.
¡¸By the way, when you went up to the second floor were the stairs alright? ¡¹
¡¸Stairs?¡Ah. You could say we ran into something you often see inedy skits. ¡¹
¡¸Yeah, and I got directly hit by it. ¡¹
¡¸That didn¡¯t happen to us but there were a lot of tricks set up within the bookshelves. ¡¹
¡¸Then it¡¯s just as I thought. These ancient ruins are a total joke.¡¹
The oldest pair of the group briefly exchanged information while unconsciously sighing out loud. Since they hade all this way they had wanted to explore what they could and return. What they didn¡¯t want was for this turn of events to continue endlessly. Their sighs were filled with wishes for forbearance.
Afterwards, for better or worse, Makoto and Tatsuya¡¯s worries were dispelled. When they went down the secret stairs the ancient ruin¡¯s pattern of events suddenly changed. The traps were now different from all the ones up to this point, making it impossible for anyone to anticipate the ¡®Drifters style¡¯ trap pattern.
Volume 3, 6.1
Volume 3, Chapter 6.1
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I¡¯m hungry¡¡¹
Once they all started down the stairs, Mio said that with a sigh. She had been in high spirits and entirely focused on the exploration at hand that she hadn¡¯t found the time to have a proper lunch.
¡¸Now that you mention it I¡¯m hungry too.¡¹
¡¸We should have lunch up ahead. ¡¹
Because of Mio¡¯sint everyone present was lured into acknowledging their empty stomachs. Unable to rebel against their bodies¡¯ints they decided to have a proper meal.
¡¸In the meantime let¡¯s eat at the salon space down below. ¡¹
¡¸Right. After we move forward we don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll have the opportunity to eat again. ¡¹
After they made their decision the preparations for their meal were carried out much faster than expected. 5 minutes after they finished talking the salon space was adorned with bentos and beverages.
¡¸What¡¯s for lunch? ¡¹
¡¸I tried my hand at Darl dishes. I think it was Ineb and Jatte. ¡¹
Haruna nced at Prim and Judith¡¯s direction with a look that said ¡®did I get it right?¡¯
The two of them looked down at the bento¡¯s contents and nodded in agreement. Ineb was the first dish everyone had eaten when they had arrived in Darl. It was a spicy stew-like mass and the name was an old Darlish word for poultry stew.
If the poultry meat were switched with seafood it¡¯d be called Banen. And if it were beef it¡¯d be Doneb. Therefore, what Hiroshi and the others had eaten was Ineb.
Jatte was the general term for scorched ingredients consisting of sheep milk mixed with spices and vinegar. If one were to cook it with fowl it¡¯d be called Inejatte. If it was seafood it¡¯d be Banejatte. If it were beef it¡¯d be Donejatte. However, because Jatte was a dish originally imported from Fane it was moremon to say Poultry Jatte.
¡¸Ehe. It looks spicy¡¡¹
Tatsuya unconsciously let out a sigh as he gazed down at the bentos. It didn¡¯t look as spicy as Korean dishes but even so both cultures were known to use arge amount of capsium in their food. Just looking at the bento¡¯s contents made his mouth burn.
¡¸Well, I made a few adjustments so it won¡¯t be so spicy. ¡¹
¡¸However, it may not be to Prim and Judith¡¯s liking. ¡¹
A culture¡¯s cuisine generally is influenced by the ingredients and seasonings avable in the area as well as the changing tastes of its inhabitants.
Compared to Fane, Darl had a wider range of spices and consequently dishes that didn¡¯t involve spices were a rarity. The dishes were so spicy that they did nothing but make Tatsuya¡¯s tongue burn, but even so it was the food that the majority enjoyed.
Because the dishes had been adjusted to appeal to Japanese tastes there was a high probability that it wouldn¡¯t appeal to Darl born people like Prim and Judith. On top of that Japanese seasoning isn¡¯t all-mighty but rather nd and the Japanese pte wasn¡¯t something that could easily be epted unanimously.
¡¸This Ineb, while it¡¯s true that this is Ineb, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve tried Ineb that tastes like this. ¡¹
¡¸This Ineb, although it¡¯s still spicy, there seems to be a refreshing aftertaste. ¡¹
Haruna had made an Ineb with seasoning that still made one¡¯s body re up but at the same time had an aftertaste that lingered pleasantly. That seasoning made it Ineb, without a doubt, but this was no ordinary Ineb.
¡¸I had some fish sauce so I thought it be perfect to use it. Afterwards, because I was making Jatte, I thought I¡¯d go easy on the meat and instead add more vegetables. Because of the aftertaste ended up being more refreshing than I thought.¡¹
¡¸Onechan, I like this one better. ¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. If you don¡¯t drink sake while eating Ineb you¡¯re throat will get dry but that¡¯s not the case with this version.¡¹
While two Darlians unexpectedly praised her dish Haruna struck a pose of triumph. Moreover she was happy that they had enjoyed her favorite seasoning.
¡¸I¡¯m d you liked it. What about the Jatte?¡¹
¡¸What kind of meat is this? ¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s bloody wolf. shed jaguar would have been good too but I used it to make curry rice so I thought bloody wolf would be best for Jatte. ¡¹
Both were powerful monsters that one were guaranteed to find in the deep regions at the southern part of therge forest. At hearing that, the sisters seemed to give up and shake their heads while chewing their food. Incidentally, from Darl¡¯s point of view the great southern forest is actually situated in the north however the term ¡°the great southern forest¡± had stuck and everyone understood what it really meant.
¡¸Therge amount of spices you used sure makes this stinky carnivore meat taste good. ¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Also, it isn¡¯t as spicy as I thought it would be. ¡¹
¡¸The sheep milk unexpectedly made it quite mild.¡¹
¡¸Well, I also tampered a bit with the spices, ground up the vegetables for some subtle voring, and added tare sauce. I actually experimented a lot. ¡¹
The Norton sisters went speechless at hearing how much care had been put into making the dish. This was due to the fact that Ineb and Jatte didn¡¯t actually require that much preparation. Usually, Ineb was made by randomly mixing a wide variety of spices with a bit of water, some hastily mixed meat, and scorched without so much as an afterthought. It was widely known as a quick and easy dish.
Besides the royal pce and high ss restaurants, ordinary households and foodstands didn¡¯t put a lot of effort into making these two dishes. At most a chef who was particr about spices would perhaps give the dish more thought enough to fashion up a unique mixture but that was it.
These were the type of dishes where even if you made a mistake they could easily be fixed with a spell.
¡¸Say, this bread is very filling and crunchy but did you actually use wheat?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s sand wheat. I thought I might as well y around and experiment.¡¹
At Makoto¡¯s question Haruna subtly disyed a face of triumph. While she had also taken care not to make so many rice-based dishes for the sake of the Norton sisters this fact had also enabled her to cook freely without worry.
¡¸Haru, you¡¯re making a face like you¡¯re worrying about the value system of those two.¡¹
¡¸Does it look that strange?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not saying you look weird but ever since we got to this country you¡¯ve done a great job recreating the country¡¯s dishes haven¡¯t you?¡±
¡¸That¡¯s because I¡¯m a Japanese person who uses all of her strength when ites to cooking.¡¹
¡¸Even if I were to speak of Haruna as a Japanese person it feels a bit funny.¡¹
Prim couldn¡¯t help shake her head back and forth as she witnessed the trivial conversation unfold before her. Even though she thought it was meaningless to be surprised by food or anything concerning Hiroshi and Haruna she was still taken aback by the alteration made to Darl¡¯s cuisine, and she felt shameful about it.
¡¸Wow, not only are you able to make something new but you seed every time.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t you think all this time and experiments are a waste just to make something delicious?¡¹
¡¸I understand what you mean but I¡¯m always enthusiastic about trying something new.¡¹
¡¸I think that¡¯s something that can only be said about Haru and Hiro.¡¹
At Mio¡¯s curveball Haruna and Hiroshi unconsciously looked away. It was true, to a certain extent, that Mio was always a guinea pig when it came to their gourmand antics.
At any rate she seemed to always get dragged along whenever they attempted something new.
They would argue about not knowing the difference between two practically identical dishes, then they¡¯d refine it and demand her to sample it and provide feedback. Even if she got to eat delicious food she¡¯d sometimes get fed up with their obsession.
Moreover, the first time she had prepared Wyvern the result had been disastrous. Even if she gave as much effort as Aearis did, she wouldn¡¯t be praised as much as her. If anything Hiroshi was far more suited for the role of capturing the hearts of others with his cooking skills. Even Haruna had limits to her abilities and obstacles she couldn¡¯t ovee. On top of that, since the two of them didn¡¯t have much life experience they had difficulty withing up with new ideas and were often at their wit¡¯s end when it came to creative cookery. So while Mio enjoyed sampling the delicious food she just couldn¡¯t get on with idea of terrona and udon being tossed together and being involved in deciding what ingredients in the dashi soup stock would affect the hardness of the udon, nor the adjustments that would follow in order to achieve the perfect texture. Nope.
If one had to go that far just so that her cooking would make her romantically appealing she wanted out.
¡¸Well, to tell you the truth I don¡¯t really have anything else to do so I find myself getting really immersed in the details.¡¹
¡¸What about singing?¡¹
¡¸Well, I don¡¯t really practice singing. Do you mean singing not at a bar but while running errands or something?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, isn¡¯t that what you usually do?¡¹
Haruna was the type of person who sang in falsetto and vibrato, something that a professional singer would have mastered, effortlessly as if she were simply humming in intervals while working and cooking. It was probably a habit that had be ingrained into her.
¡¸Oh by the way, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸If you have time to spare, I¡¯d be really d if you could make me a guitar. ¡¹
¡¸Sure, do you n on ying it while singing?¡¹
¡¸Yes, up until now I¡¯ve only been singing a cape.¡¹
At any rate Haruna hadn¡¯t had many opportunities to sing in front of an audience.
It hadn¡¯t been the case like backs in Wulls but ever since she arrived in Darl, food stands had be her stage and the asions she sang had be more frequent.
¡¸Got it. Oh, should I also make a shamisen? ¡¹
¡¸Oh, yes that would be great for singing enka and folk songs.¡¹
Haruna nodded at Hiroshi¡¯s suggestion. By the looks of it she also knew how to y the shamisen. She was skilled with even traditional Japanese musical instruments.
¡¸¡Umm the instruments that Hiro makes¡¡¹
¡¸Hn?¡¹
¡¸If one were to swing down your guitar like a rock star, it would shatter a rock without so much as a scratch would it? ¡¹
¡¸Yup. Afterwards it¡¯ll let out an incredible sound with shock waves. The audience might even think that it¡¯s bardic music.¡¹
¡¸Hiro, you could make a violin the size of a child and a 500 kilo piano out of gold, then you could make a violin mithril and then a piano bomber for throwing, right?¡¹
Makoto and the others were rapidly suggesting ideas based on musical instruments. What had simply started as a simple question from Mio had turned into something resembling a cross-examination. ¡¹
¡¸Well, based on the material they¡¯ll be sturdy enough to function as a blunt weapon. But, I¡¯m not gonna make all those things y¡¯all just said.¡¹
¡¸Yeah but we¡¯re talking about instruments other than the ones Haruna will use.¡¹
¡¸First of all, Mio and my instruments have to be colorful.¡¹
¡¸Hiro, that¡¯s not fair.¡¹
¡¸You see, we need instruments that match our characters. We can¡¯t just have regr instruments. ¡¹
Mio refused to argue with Hiroshi¡¯s blunt opinion and simply stared defiantly in silence. There was no point in arguing about something as trivial as the color of instruments.
¡¸Um, back in your hometowns was there a violin the size of a child and a piano made of gold? ¡¹
¡¸Nope. Uh-uh.¡¹
¡¸That was just a joke.¡¹
¡¸For a joke that was really specific.¡¹
At Judith¡¯s question Mio and Tatsuya firmly shook their heads. However, there was no way of knowing if the intention to use a guitar as a weapon was truly a joke or not.
¡¸Anyway, beforeing here, I haven¡¯t given a proper performance in three years so I¡¯ve obviously got to practice and get back into the hang of things.¡¹
¡¸As usual, you must be spectacr at musical performances right? ¡¹
¡¸No way, no way. I am somewhat skilled but I¡¯d say my skills are about 10%.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s musical instrument skills weren¡¯t as good as her masterful singing. She had only learned to y instruments to the point that they didn¡¯t detract from her singing. If she learned to y properly she would probably master them as well. However, the fact that she regarded music as no more than a hobby kept her from doing so.
¡¸Well, if it¡¯s not something ya need urgently then I¡¯ll take my time with it.¡¹
¡¸Yeah don¡¯t worry about it I¡¯ll only be ying them in my free time.¡¹
¡¸Well, we¡¯ve all finished our meals and the matter at hand seems to have been taken care of so how about we get going?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
¡¸I wonder what we¡¯re going to run into next?¡¹
The group had replenished their energy with ate afternoon meal and had decided to head for the hidden stairwell since there was a chance that it didn¡¯t contain booby traps.
In a ce where one wouldn¡¯t expect to find hidden stairs, just ahead was what looked like an unfinished passageway. It was too narrow for three people to engage inbat side by side but there seemed to be enough for two people even if one of them carried a longer weapon.
¡¸This ce feels different from where we were before¡¡¹
¡¸Onechan, this is like an adventure!¡¹
¡¸Judith, calm down.¡¹
For the situation at hand to appear as a fun adventure to the untrained eye was dangerous in more ways than one. While the whole scenario did seem like an adventure up until now they had been barraged with abination of harmless jokes but also booby traps that had endangered their lives. It would be careless to assume that there wouldn¡¯t be more up ahead.
¡¸This seems like an ancient pattern.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it has that feeling.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna voiced their opinions to each other as they examined around 10 feet of the surface and walls around them. The area seemed like it was right out of an Indiana Jones movie.
¡¸For the time being let¡¯s get in formation. Hiro and Mio will take the front, the Norton sisters and I will be in the center, and Makoto and Haruna will take the rear. ¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
At Tatsuya¡¯s order, the group got into their respective positions. Mio, who possessed a high ability to detect traps, was suited for the front. Hiroshi would then act as a tank to soak up any potential damage. However, if there happened to be a problem afterwards, such as a trap activating from behind, they were worried for Haruna who wasn¡¯t as technically skilled as the rest of the group.
They proceeded carefully in a dungeon formation that they hadn¡¯t used that often until now. They might encounter traps that would be difficult to deal with regardless of their individual skills just like with the thiefs in the Elf Forest, but not doing anything at all was the same as purposefully cing oneself at a disadvantage.
Volume 3, 6.2
Volume 3, Chapter 6.2
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸¡There¡¯s nothing yet.¡¹
¡¸The traps from awhile ago were stupid but considering how many there were the absence of them is kind of creepy.¡¹
¡¸Right?¡¹
The levels above them had been rigged in areas that would have been difficult to notice. The worst trap would probably be where one was caught in an explosion, got covered in soot, and their hair fried. But other than that the number of booby traps was enough to annoy anyone.
Compared to that, it had been 10 minutes since they had begun their exploration of the passageway and they hadn¡¯t encountered a single booby trap.
¡¸We¡¯ve reached a t-junction.¡¹
¡¸What should we do? This is really bothersome. ¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s check it out for now.¡¹
Mio proceeded with utmost caution toward the suspicious t-junction, carefully making sure to examine everything. The t-junction gave her a bad feeling.
¡¸The passageway itself doesn¡¯t seem to be rigged with anything. ¡¹
¡¸But, you feel something is strange don¡¯t ya?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Something¡¯s off. ¡¹
The fact that there were no traps was the only thing they were certain about. The two of them had high sense capabilities and intuition, and something had raised their suspicion.
¡¸In this case, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if the structure itself is a trompe l¡¯oeil. If so, then we¡¯d discover something by attacking the framework.¡¹
While saying so, Hiroshi pulled out a spirit level that he had used during construction and ced it at his feet. The spirit level revealed that the area was perfectly horizontal since the bubble was fixed in the center.
¡¸Next.¡¹
So as not to provoke a miscalction, Hiroshi stretched his arm as far as he could and ced the spirit level further ahead. The bubble formed on the right side.
¡¸The passageway is nted, to the point where if ya were to ce a marble it would roll off. ¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s that inclined?¡¹
¡¸Hmpf, whoever did this must have a lot of time on their hands to pull off something of this caliber. ¡¹
At Hiroshi¡¯s words, Haruna tilted her head. The passageway had been expertly built to the point where she narrowly didn¡¯t feel a sense of unease and Makoto, Tatsuya, and the Norton sisters hadn¡¯t even been able to pick up on it at all.
¡¸M¡¯kay, the passageway is nted so we¡¯ll go with a pattern.¡¹
¡¸Are we going with a ¡®rolling stone¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
Everyone agreed.
¡¸Just how nted is it? ¡¹
¡¸Enough for ya body to barely sense where it is in space. They¡¯ve also installed a bunch of mechanisms so that while your body thinks it¡¯s walking straight ahead it¡¯s actually headed downwards. ¡¹
¡¸You mean a ghost slope?¡¹
¡¸Yeah something like that.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s wily.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re saying that now? ¡¹
Hiroshi and Tatsuya grumbled about the crafty structure that had clearly had a lot of time and thought put into it. Even though it was a sinister structure, they didn¡¯t feel bloodlust or a mysterious aura. If anything, the purpose of this structure was to withhold a secret from trespassers and was meant to divert them, so they could rte.
¡¸The problem with this situation is that we don¡¯t know whether we should block the stone from rolling all the way to the bottom or just it roll.¡¹
¡¸Wait, you¡¯re already certain that a giant stone ball is going toe? ¡¹
¡¸Based on the circumstances I will even promise ya that it wille.¡¹
Hiroshi affirmed his prediction to the mystified Judith. The traps they had faced at the upper levels pretty much backed up his deration, and their current environment didn¡¯t seem like it would betray his promise to Judith.
¡¸Okay. I¡¯ve understood that a giant stone ball wille rolling down, but what do you mean blocking it from reaching the bottom or letting it roll to the bottom?¡¹
¡¸Well with this type of trap, there are usually two oues. One is that if you avoid colliding with it you¡¯ll be able to continue onto a different route, another oue is that if you let it roll to the bottom it might trigger another booby trap.¡¹
Hiroshi politely answered Prim¡¯s question. What made this trap bothersome was the fact that the oue could go either way.
¡¸In this case, the problem is that we don¡¯t have enough grounds to determine what oue it¡¯ll be.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. Makoto, do you have any ideas?¡¹
¡¸My observational skills aren¡¯t that great, and if I had happened to notice something I bet you guys and Haruna would have already figured it out.¡¹
¡¸Hm, I guess so.¡¹
Meanwhile, Mio was exining to the Norton sisters that in cases like this where Tatsuya¡¯s skills weren¡¯t adept for the situation he would always ask Makoto, whose skills also weren¡¯t adept for this situation, and how it had be something resembling a ritual. The fact that this always happened without fail was a bit tiresome.
¡¸If we split up into groups to check out the structure of this trap we run the risk of getting separated.¡¹
¡¸So, we should prepare for the worst and stick together.¡¹
¡¸In that case I¡¯ll be at the very back.¡¹
The worst scenario would be if it was necessary to stop a giant stone ball the size of a giant buddha statue. This was because other than Hiroshi, no one else in the group had skills capable of dealing with a stone ball of that size.
¡¸Depending on the situation, it¡¯ll be really bad if the stone ball doesn¡¯t break, so it¡¯d be better to carry a maul.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m counting on you.¡¹
¡¸Sorry about entrusting you with something dangerous.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m not afraid ¡®cause this is just like a honey trap.¡¹
If he got caught in the trap he¡¯d beughed at by that mean-spirited woman and if he didn¡¯t get caught in it his existence would still be denied by that same mean-spirited woman. As for Tatsuya, it¡¯s easy for him to ignore verbal abuse, but it¡¯s difficult for Hiroshi.
¡¸As usual you find rtionships with women more frightening than an actual life-threatening situation¡¡¹
¡¸But Makoto, you find monsters less frightening than straight guys, don¡¯t you? ¡¹
¡¸¡I can¡¯t refute that.¡¹
The three of them spoke while they made changes to their formation and entered the t-junction. Hiroshi climbed up the incline in order to buy the others time while the rest of the group looked for a ce to hide within the passageway¡¯ framework.
Mio led the group in charge of surveying the area and advanced 10 meters until the end of the passageway was visible, when suddenly a loud vibration was heard.
¡¸It¡¯s here!¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi! Are you okay!?¡¹
¡¸It hasn¡¯t picked up much speed yet so we got time!¡¹
The heavyweight Hiroshi thrust himself at the boulder that was slowly tumbling toward him and
brought it to aplete stop. The stone was somewhat heavy but Hiroshi was fully capable of supporting it with one hand; it actually wasn¡¯t as heavy as he had expected to the point that if the stone were to hit one of the Norton sisters at full speed she would survive.
¡¸This stone seems to be made out of mostly paper-mache.¡¹
¡¸How heavy is it?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a bit heavier than my maul. The surface is as hard as a rock but I¡¯d say it¡¯s quite hollow.¡¹
¡¸No wonder I couldn¡¯t sense any bloodlust despite the sinister aura. I¡¯m not saying we can¡¯t let our guard down a bit but this ce doesn¡¯t seem like a theme park either.¡¹
¡¸How are things over there?¡¹
¡¸There seems to be some sort of mechanism deep in the passageway. Or rather, it looks like a stone is blocking the way through.¡¹
¡¸Then it looks like we ought to smash this stone huh?¡¹
¡¸No, wouldn¡¯t it be better if we smash it after inserting it?¡¹
¡¸Really? Alright there¡¯s a possibility that it has to roll at full speed so I¡¯ll move it back and let it roll from there.¡¹
¡¸Got it. ¡¹
Once the n was decided the stone-imitation was rolled back to the top with a heave-ho.
After he reached the peak, Hiroshi took out two linchpins, secured them into position, and tied spirit silk around one of them making it easy to swiftly pull it away between the stone and the wall.
As Tatsuya watched the spirit silk, that they seemed to never get rid of, being put to use he felt somewhat grateful.
¡¸The setup isplete. Is there room for avoiding it?¡¹
¡¸I think so.¡¹
¡¸With this amount of people we barely have enough space.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Sorry about that.¡¹
¡¸Nah, you don¡¯t have to apologize.¡¹
Hiroshi looked at where the group stood, his face paled as he realized how closely they were all huddled together. However, since he was the tank of the group he was able to stand at the edge. Meanwhile, with the excuse that if things were to go wrong she should stand closeby to cast an aid enchantment, Haruna was able to secure a spot next to Hiroshi. She was so close that she was practically glued to him. Then, she realized how dangerous this was for her.
Uwah¡
She couldn¡¯t have imagined how bad it was for her heartbeat to be this close to the man she had a crush on, even if he was nearlypletely covered in leather armor. She felt sorry about seeing his pale face but suddenly her mind steadily went nk as she noticed things that haven¡¯t captured her attention before, such as his scent, his burly physique, and the texture and temperature of his skin that could be perceived and felt through the thin areas of his clothing.
¡¸Here we go.¡¹
Hiroshi showed no signs of noticing Haruna¡¯s reaction, nor Judith¡¯s, even if his face had paled at feeling their bodies against his, as he made his announcement and removed the linchpins.
In the next moment, the boulder-like paper mache ball slowly began to roll, then as if some kind of mechanism had been involved, it rolled faster than they had predicted along the incline, and crashed with arge amount of force.
The ceiling above the ce where they stood was higher than expected, this meant that even if an error were to ur and someone was run over by the paper mache boulder, the boulder would easily roll over one¡¯s body and one wouldn¡¯t suffer much damage. Even Mio hadn¡¯t been able to detect the fact that the carefully constructed mechanism and the ground that had been constructed in such a way to serve as a cushion, meant that the entire structure¡¯s purpose was to serve as an attraction.
¡¸Hm, let¡¯s see.¡¹
Hiroshi scrambled as fast as he could away from that area. If he stood there any longer he was sure his sanity point would drop to zero. Haruna suddenly felt lonely as Hiroshi¡¯s warmth disappeared along with him as he skittishly hurried away. She then unconsciously let out a sigh at his absence. This man was indeed enveloped in his phobia.
¡¸Hmm, well, I know the reason but, Haruna, you¡¯re bright red aren¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Um Judith, so are you?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t want to hear that from you?¡¹
It goes without saying that because the girls had been able to be in such close proximity to the guy they had a crush on, all of their faces were red, and there was a strange tension in the air.
¡¸So, what did you think?¡¹
¡¸I guess you guys are happier than if it was your birthday, huh?¡¹
Makoto looked at Haruna teasingly and Haruna replied softly since she was still bewitched by what she had experienced. At the moment, Haruna resembled a Buddhist priest who had relinquished all earthly desires and seemed to be veering off that path.
¡¸Well, if this situation hadn¡¯t ured you probably wouldn¡¯t have ever had an opportunity to get that close to him.¡¹
¡¸Haru and Judith are so sneaky¡¡¹, Mio said while reproaching Haruna and Judith with her gaze. She ignored their conversation and looked over to where Hiroshi now was. Hiroshi was examining the area where the paper mache boulder had collided.
¡¸It seems that the top of the slope is a dead end, so even if we go back it¡¯ll be blocked. But, while it seems we can¡¯t make a new path, by the texture of this stone, if we strike it a bit we might be able to get through.¡¹
¡¸So we¡¯re doing the same thing as back in the forest dungeon? ¡¹
¡¸Yup, something like that.¡¹
The rest of the group stared at Hiroshi and Tatsuya as they got to work. Haruna¡¯s heartbeat was yet to calm down. She wasn¡¯t sure what she was doing that ced a burden on Hiroshi.
¡¸I¡¯ll knock it down in one swing.¡¹
¡¸Go.¡¹
After Hiroshi received Tatsuya¡¯s permission, he swung the maul down with all his might. Little did he know, if only he had investigated further he would have found a switch at the top of the slope. If one pressed that switch then the hidden pathway would have opened. But since they had beenpletely ignorant of that, the group had to resort to brute force to get through.
After they broke through the wall they decided to take a rest. As they rested, their faces changed into ones of annoyance and they recounted the events that had happened up until this moment.
Volume 3 6.3
Volume 3 Chapter 6.3
Trantor: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸But I feel like we got through most of them? ¡¹
¡¸To be honest, that one was the easiest. ¡¹
There had been things such as javelinsunched from the sides, suspended ceilings, and copsing walls. Up until this point, they had pretty much encountered all of the standard booby traps. However they hadn¡¯t encountered any teleportation traps or rms. That was probably due to the fact that those traps didn¡¯t exist in Drifters. Besides, setting up rms was probably too tedious.
¡¸Well no, if those were truly dangerous traps, Tatsuya and I would havee up with a different solution.¡¹
¡¸Whatever you say, but those traps were honestly just like toys.¡¹
¡¸The copsing walls only had enough power to simply prevent you from moving. ¡¹
¡¸There wasn¡¯t really a straightforward method to deactivate it anyway.¡¹
¡¸Well I just thought since it was difficult to deactivate it, one might as well just forcibly break through it.¡¹
If it¡¯s an Indiana Jones type of trap then you¡¯ll just get caught in it and you¡¯ll have to find a way to escape. In addition, these ruins are clearly a theme park attraction, so none of the traps were going to result in a fatal wound. The suspended ceiling and copsing walls were just like camera shutters and sliding doors. If somethingrge were to get stuck between, its safety mechanism would activate and it wouldn¡¯t move any further. So, no one was really going to end up with a close call.
However, it wasn¡¯t like there weren¡¯t any downsides either. The suspended ceiling and copsing wall were made of robust rocks so it was a pain to get through. If you got hit by one of the propelled javelins and spears you¡¯d temporarily be paralyzed and confused. The situation wasn¡¯t life-threatening but it did seem like the ce was specifically designed to take a toll on one¡¯s stamina and sanity.
Incidentally, the worst one was a line of spears trap that Judith had activated.
¡¸For some reason Iughed when the trap was activated by the redser.¡¹
¡¸That doesn¡¯t seem normal.¡¹
Along the way, they hade across something that seemed like right out of a spy movie in which it looked like a security system had been put into ce. When they turned a corner they encountered a hit and away trap. In the end, Hiroshi managed to break through and they all narrowly escaped.
¡¸Yeah, well.¡¹
¡¸You wanna say something don¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸I think it¡¯s safe to say that this entire ce is rigged with traps. Where do you think the next one will be? ¡¹
¡¸This is pretty standard but I think it¡¯ll be securely ced in an unexpected ce, such as that strange new rail car over there.¡¹
Just as Haruna said, in the depths of the room was a strange sparkling new rail car. It ran along a rail. There wasn¡¯t a roof nor any ground. One would be surprised, but if one looked closer a safety had been ced and was camouged. Seeing this, one wouldn¡¯t know to either be relieved at the fact that even if they fell they would be saved by the safety or if they should be worried by the fact that a safety had needed to be installed.
They had been sure that these were some ancient ruins but no ancient ruins would have a rail car without a single speck of rust. Or perhaps, this had been done on purpose, knowing that whoever noticed would no doubt be unsettled.
¡¸Well that definitely looks rigged, let¡¯s go check it out.¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s how I think it is, we¡¯ll be attacked by a bat and then it¡¯ll make us stumble and fall to the depths of the earth.¡¹
¡¸It could also be a jet coaster. There¡¯s probably a vertical loop up ahead and a lot of twists and turns. ¡¹
¡¸But, passengers don¡¯t usually fall off do they? ¡¹
Everyone voiced their predictions about what possibly awaited them in the rail car.
¡¸Well,pared to all the traps up until now this, too, shouldn¡¯t be a big deal. If anything, it¡¯s some type of jet coaster.¡¹
¡¸Right. Now the problem is¡ª¡¹
¡¸I wish the rail car had more space.¡¹
Today was the second time that everyone was huddled together. Hirshi unconsciously let out a sigh. They weren¡¯t as tightly packed as before but there was no room for wielding a weapon.
¡¸There¡¯s another problem. It¡¯s gottente.¡¹
¡¸Ah~that¡¯s true. It¡¯s around dinner time.¡¹
¡¸Right, what do ya say we take a break and then we ride the rail car in the morning.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s inconvenient if we don¡¯t know what lies up ahead.¡¹
¡¸Even if you say that we don¡¯t know if the rail car is thest trap. These ruins keep attacking our stamina and sanity. I don¡¯t even feel like putting up with this tomorrow.¡¹
Everyone was tired from the day¡¯s events but it was possible that if they continued tomorrow, Hiroshi would make up an excuse to not ride the rail car.
¡¸This is too troublesome, so let¡¯s just flip a coin.¡¹
¡¸Is that alright? At any rate neither is a good option.¡¹
¡¸Then we¡¯ll do a ghost lottery to decide who goes where. Hiroshi-kun and Tatsuya-kun should go in the front.¡¹
They were the ones who would be able to absorb the most damage so it was appropriate for them to be in the front. The coin that Tatsuya flipped hadnded on heads, that meant that they would ride the rail car today.
¡¸Alright. But as soon as we¡¯re done with the rail car we¡¯re looking for somewhere to set up camp.¡¹
¡¸There should be a save point ce around here so that¡¯s fine.¡¹
Haruna lucked into getting to sit behind Hiroshi and she happily climbed into the rail car with him.
This was the second time of the day they stood so close to each other. Next came Mio, Makoto, and finally the Norton sisters were at the very back.
¡¸¡¯Kay we¡¯re moving now, so hold on tight!¡¹
At Tatsuya¡¯s words, everyone scrambled to hold onto something. They weren¡¯t sure how fast the rail car would be going and on top of that there was no safety bar or seat belts. It was kind of frightening.
¡¸A bat!¡¹
It was just as they thought. Hiroshi and Tatsuya tried to shoo the bats away with their weapons. There wasn¡¯t enough room so the rest of the group couldn¡¯t engage.
¡¸Wha-?¡¹
Suddenly a bat that Tatsuya had shooed away grazed past Haruna¡¯s head. Just as she lowered her head to avoid it, the rail car made a sharp turn.
¡¸Wha¡ª!¡¹
Because of the force, Haruna lost her bnce and was lurched forward. The force of gravity was too great that she couldn¡¯t hold herself back. Shended right behind Hiroshi and clung to his back.
¡¸¡¡!¡¹
Hiroshi felt he was going to let out a shriek in response and quickly gulped to hold back his scream. Even though he had a phobia of women, he thought it would be far too rude to scream at Haruna since he had known her for so long and they both got along so well, especially in this situation. This would take a toll on his sanity meter. But as long as it didn¡¯t reach zero it would be back at its max once this scenario was over.
He had no choice but to put up with it as much as he could.
As he thought about the situation in game terms he noticed that he would soon be in the danger zone as he looked ahead at the rail track. At his rate he would be pushed into Haruna and his sanity meter would be in the critical zone. He had to get back his points or else¡
¡¸Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!¡¹
¡¸Hold on waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!¡¹
¡¸This vertical loop is too scary!!¡¹
¡¸Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!¡¹
This had been a jet coaster, after all. It had been startling to feel the rail car suddenly pick up speed and feel one¡¯s feet momentarily leave the floor during the vertical loop.
¡¸Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!¡¹
¡¸This so so so so scary!!¡¹
¡¸Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!¡¹
Haruna and Mio no longer cared what others might think and screamed with all their might and both clung to Hiroshi. A bat swooped by and Haruna and Mio clung even tighter to Hiroshi and in the end Hiroshi finally let out a scream.
¡¸¡That was very scary¡¡¹
¡¸So-sorry Hiroshi-kun. I still can¡¯t stand properly.¡¹
The jet-coaster had been scarier than standard ones, and because of that, their legs shook, and they couldn¡¯t let go of Hiroshi. The slight heat emanating from his body gave them a sense offort.
¡¸¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi didn¡¯t respond. His face waspletely pale and he was burnt out. He was probably the only one who hadn¡¯t feared the jet coaster but that fact didn¡¯tfort him at all.
¡¸At any rate, I think that¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s call it a day.¡¹
¡¸R-right. It¡¯s great that this area seems like a suitable campsite.¡¹
While saying that, they turned around and¡
¡¸¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
¡¸Prim and Judith passed out, with their eyes open!?¡¹
The Norton sisters didn¡¯t seem to fare well with theme park rides. It was quite a surprise to see them in their current state.
¡¸Is the group back yet?¡¹
¡¸Well, they left early in the morning to go collect sand but¡¡¹
¡¸Is it unusual if they don¡¯t return in 1-2 days?¡¹
¡¸No, that¡¯s¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, by the way they took the golem carriage. I guess that means they won¡¯t return by sundown.¡¹
The queen discussed the circumstances of Hiroshi and his group while slightly frowning. Moreover, the group had indeed left around dawn to go collect sand but they had not yet returned. She wondered if they had encountered any difficulties.
¡¸Have you received any messages from them?¡¹
¡¸Well, we did receive one from the Norton sisters. It said that if the group¡¯s ns changed they would return, but I guess it¡¯s toote for that. ¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t expect them to take longer than this.¡¹
¡¸Indeed.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve witnessed the extent of their abilities, therefore I don¡¯t believe they¡¯d be so reckless to ce their lives in danger. I wonder what they¡¯re doing.¡¹
The queen frowned. It was very unusual for them to take this long. She was somewhat worried about them. But after all¡
¡¸Ah, I found an oyster.¡¹
¡¸Oh, an oyster! It isn¡¯t venomous?¡¹
¡¸If we apply heat to it, we can eat it whenever we want.¡¹
¡¸Smoked oysters are delicious, aren¡¯t they?¡¹
¡¸Fried oyster, fried oyster.¡¹
The group had finally recovered from the fright the jet coaster had given them. They had found some oysters within the ruins and had decided to make a meal out of them. The queen probably didn¡¯t imagine that the group was calmly preparing dinner.
Volume 3, 7.1
Volume 3, Chapter 7.1
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
¡°Not here?¡±
The report was too surprising for the man not to repeat it. He seemed to have the highest status among the people here, but he was least noticeable among all of them. He was so unnoticeable that no one would have remembered him, even after a face-to-face conversation.
¡°The target¡¯s been missing since yesterday.¡±
¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±
¡°The target¡¯s roup left Darl yesterday morning, and hasn¡¯t returned.¡±
¡°Anyone after them?¡±
¡°They couldn¡¯t keep up with the speed of what we assumed to be a golem carriage, so our pursuit had to be given up.¡±
The man had to ept the exnation of a golem carriage, which boasted incredible top speed. There weren¡¯t many options out there that could pursuit it.
¡°That being said, you must have a general idea of where they¡¯re headed.¡±
¡°I had them search every possible location¡¡±
¡°And no sign. And the golem carriage? I doubt it would have been easy to hide such a thing.¡±
¡°We couldn¡¯t find a trace of it.¡±
The surprisingly troublesome situations caused the unnoteworthy face of the man to frown. When he had heard that both the team that ruined the n of his facelessrades in Fane and the sisters that had to be eliminated to eliminate this n were together, the man had believed in divine intervention, but things weren¡¯t looking as simple as he¡¯d hoped.
He knew that they tended a food stand for the past week. While that was a great opportunity, when they attacked the younger sister, the injury from the arrow loosed by the smallest girl in the party from Fane was much deeper than he had thought, which resulted in a longer recovery time and being unable to go on the attack. That missed opportunity was nowing back to bite him.
¡°In any case, we need to keep looking until we find it.¡±
¡°Yes, sir.¡±
No matter how good their hiding spot was, there would eventually find it with enough people on deck. And since he had been in the shadows until now, he had plenty of hands who could take on the job. They were confident that they could smoke the party out by the end of the day.
They had no way of knowing that Hiroshi¡¯s party was wandering around a ruins deep underground since the previous day; much to their surprise, they would end up wasting the whole day.
¡°This sight is vaguely familiar.¡±
¡°In some kind of audience-participation game show or somethin¡¯?¡±
Once they descended the staircase, they found a giant area divided into several zones. The first zone contained a giant pond that divided the floor into two.
¡°We just had Professor Jones 101, and now this Japanese-looking pond?¡±
¡°Who knows, but I get the gist of the pitch, here.¡±
¡°I mean, yeah.¡±
The objective was as in as daylight. They had to walk through the stepping stones protruding in the middle of the pond to get to the other side. There were a few things they had to make sure of first, though.
¡°My guess¡¯s there¡¯s a few rocks that just floatin¡¯ on the surface.¡±
¡°Yep. Given the unnaturally opaque water.¡±
¡°And the weirdly choppy pond.¡±
Hiroshi and Haruna calmly noted things that they¡¯ve observed. They were assuming that they would continue through more obstacle-courses, but it was dangerous to act on assumption. It was definitely safer to hammer out everything they could confirm.
¡°Nothin¡¯ like a clue in this area.¡±
¡°Or any exnations of the rules.¡±
As if they were saying ¡®it¡¯s just as it looks.¡¯ Of course, maybe most ruins were designed like this.
¡°Sensei. Tatsu. I recognize this level a little.¡±
¡°Oh yeah?¡±
¡°Spill it.¡±
¡°It¡¯s from Takeshi¡¯s Castle¡¡±
¡°The hell¡¯s that?¡±
Mio mentioned a game show that was popr back when their parents were children. It was a sort of predecessor for shows like Ninja Warrior. Of course, there was no reason for Hiroshi to know that, let alone the Norton sisters who didn¡¯t understand the very concept of game shows.
¡°A popr show. A st from the past. It might have been before my parents¡¯ time.¡±
¡°¡I¡¯m getting tired of asking this, but where do you find out about this stuff?¡±
Tatsuya asked with a stink eye, but Mio turned away, miming to smoke a cigarette without an expression. It was getting really dubious that she was really a teenager.
¡°Anywho, I¡¯ll look into this water here, just in case.¡±
¡°Thanks.¡±
Hiroshi approached the pond with a bucket, rope, and the tried and tested ten-foot pole. He stuck the pole in the pond to check its depth before scooping up a bucket of its water to assess it. Then, just in case, he weight the bucket down before tying it off with a roped, and slowly lowered it to the bottom. The water would go up to Hiroshi¡¯s waist. Even if there were spots that were a little deeper, it would be no deeper than a meter. If there were no tricks at the bottom of the pond, they might even be able to walk across it, even if they fall in.
¡°Nothin¡¯ too bad in the water. Even if we swallow some, there ain¡¯t any fast-actin¡¯ toxins.¡±
¡°So there are some slower-acting ones?¡±
¡°Can¡¯t expect a water this murky to bepletely harmless.¡±
¡°Yeah, I get it, but how harmful are we talking, here?¡±
¡°If ya got a weak stomach, ya might need to go the bathroom pretty quick¡ but that¡¯s about it. To be honest, it¡¯s much more drinkable than the water in some third-world country. It¡¯s all ¡®bout the quantity. But don¡¯t worry too much about swallowing a few mouthfuls when falling into the water.¡±
In short, it was pretty much harmless.
¡°The other thin¡¯ I¡¯m worried ¡®bout¡¡±
After checking a sample of the bottom of the pond, Hiroshi cleared it, and mentioned his biggest concern.
¡°This seems too easy if we can use our ten-foot pole. Is it really that simple?¡±
¡°¡I think it¡¯s my job to find out.¡±
Mio spoke up, producing her ten-foot pole. It was the rogue¡¯s job to step up to the frontlines in times like this.
¡°Why you? Any one of us could do it.¡±
¡°Going by the books will be funnier.¡±
Mio said, as if she was someedian. Makoto couldn¡¯t help but look exasperated. Mio had always had these quirky qualities, but ever since the Miss-Perfect Haruna had begun showing some of her quirks, Mio was no longer trying to hide them. Truth be told, Makoto was worried about the romantic prospects of these girls¡ oblivious to herself, of course.
¡°Oh, but just in case¡¡±
With a lightbulb, Mio took out her bow and attached a rope to an arrow before loading it. The group caught on.
¡°If you can do that, things would be a lot easier.¡±
¡°I doubt they don¡¯t have some sort of protection for that, though.¡±
Even Mio didpletely agree Tatsuya, but only a meathead would run in before making sure. Even if they ended up doing the same thing in the end, checking avenue and preparing as much they could was day and night in terms of mentality and results than running in thoughtlessly.
¡°Well, Shoot.¡±
With azy tone, Mio activated the best prative skill in her arsenal that didn¡¯t wear her bow or break the arrow. She considered using an Extra Skill, but with her current technique and with her self-made bow, one shot would damage it to the point of needing repair. It wasn¡¯t worth it. Furthermore, she didn¡¯t know if the rope would survive such a skill.
Despite having shot itzily, the arrow flew off with incredible speed and incredible energy. Just as it was getting to the halfway mark of the pond, it crashed into something, and shattered into pieces with a loud smash.
¡°No-can-do.¡±
¡°As expected, fair to say. How¡¯d it feel?¡±
¡°An Extra Skill could probably break through it.¡±
¡°We better y by the rules, then.¡±
Considering his experience of using his own Extra Skill, that was Hiroshi¡¯s conclusion. The other members agreed.
¡°In any case, a technology thatpleted negates an attack like that? Scary.¡±
¡°Sis. I¡¯m more scared that such technology is used for a game like this.¡±
The Japanese members couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at thements made by the Norton sisters. Japan, after all, had the tendency to use state-of-the-art technology for trivial matter, and put maximum effort into everything. If they were the ones building the ruins, they would have done at least this much without a second thought. Because they knew that, none of the Japanese members could say much about whoever built this ce.
¡°A-Anyway¡¡±
¡°Yep. Last one.¡±
There was one more avenue to check: could they clear it with the ten-foot pole? Seeing how throughout the design has been to prevent loopholes though, everyone expected some sort of protection in this department, too. They all knew it, but there was always that thought of ¡®maybe¡¡¯ If they could use the ten-foot pole, this level was pretty much done. Even if it was a no-go, the worst that would happen is the tester falling in water.
¡°No traps on the first one.¡±
The first rock they could poke from the shore was a regr, sturdy footing. Upon closer inspection, they could see that the stepping stone was cheap-looking and sloppily painted, but if it worked as a footing, they had noints.
¡°¡Just like it looks, I guess.¡±
When it came to the choice of a second stepping stone, two out of the three options were moving slightly, but enough that it could be observed upon looking at them closely. When Mio poked them just to be careful, they easily moved. If she had stepped on them, she would have fallen straight in. Thest one looked like a proper stepping stone.
¡°And the third one¡¡±
The instant she poked the rock with the pole, the rock below her feet vanished. Mio couldn¡¯t react at all. She fell straight into the pond.
¡°¡Seems ¡®bout right.¡±
¡°¡Yep, seems about right.¡±
A little touch of mischief that the trap didn¡¯t activate until the third step. Meanwhile, Mio managed to crawl back up to shore, pulling her feet through the slimy bottom of the pond. With her long ck hair soaked, she looked like she came out of a horror-movie.
¡°Vo.¡±
¡°Right. We¡¯re yin¡¯ by the rules, then.¡±
Even as Mio dered with a strange sense of victory, Hiroshi couldn¡¯t think of any other avenue. At the end of the day, this was all they could do. Once they were sure of that, they decided on their order. For now, for concern of her making the rocks slippery, Mio would standby until she dried.
¡°Um, what if we tie off the rope on this side, and have the first one carry it across?¡±
¡°If we y tricks like that, I think the rock would disappear in a snap. Let¡¯s not.¡±
Tatsuya immediately shut down Prim¡¯s suggestion from the events so far. The rock disappearing was one thing, but if some force were to tug on the rope while running across, they could drown, worst case scenario.
¡°Alrighty, Haruna-san. Lead us off!¡±
¡°All righty!¡±
Before she started, she observed the rocks carefully, and pictured her steps across. After casting a supporting spell to be sure, Haruna took a running start and leapt across the stepping stones.
Volume 3 7.2
Volume 3 Chapter 7.2
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
¡°Woah!¡±
¡°Wow!¡±
¡°Amazing, Haru.¡±
With her long blonde hair waving, she stylishly stepped across the rocks with ease, and made it across the pond without an issue. Haruna Toudo was the kind of woman to not show her quirks when it mattered.
¡°How ¡®bout you, Brother?¡±
¡°I think I¡¯ll manage. Didn¡¯t want to follow that, though,¡± Tatsuya joked as he carefully observed the correct path like Haruna did before boosting his Dexterity with a spell, and slowly but surely making it across.
¡°As careful as ever, Brother.¡±
¡°We may be adventurers, but we don¡¯t have to be adventurous when we don¡¯t have to.¡±
¡°Indeed. Tatsuya-dono is right.¡±
Prim fully confirmed Tatsuya¡¯s not-so-adventurous motto. Kind of a grey area if she only agreed because of how she felt about him, or if she wholeheartedly agreed.
¡°Mako, go.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
Breezing by the Prim¡¯s forced attempt at flirting and Tatsuya desperately avoiding that situation, Mio egged Makoto on. Thanks to the enchantment on them, her clothes werepletely dried, but her hair was still not there. She was towel-drying and blow-drying it over and over.
¡°I don¡¯t have much an eye for detail, so I¡¯ll go Haruna-style.¡±
¡°Need a spell, Makoto-san?¡±
¡°Yes, please.¡±
With Makoto¡¯s request, Haruna cast a spell to her, using Tatsuya¡¯s wand to extend her range. The one who made the wand had said that, since it also boosts output, it was too dangerous to use without extending the range.
With her increased speed from Haruna¡¯s spell, Makoto ran across the stepping stones. She stepped on a decoy rock once along the way, but powered through with her speed.
¡°I feel like I brute-forced it, but I think it¡¯s one of the right answers.¡±
¡°Mm-hm. From the videos I¡¯ve seen, that was one of the best methods.¡±
In fact, in real life examples of games like this, the Tatsuya method of careful observation was surprisingly unsessful. Half of the time, their observation was wrong, and the other times they couldn¡¯t make the jump.
¡°Next up¡¯s Judith. You got it?¡±
¡°Um. Probably?¡±
Judith didn¡¯t seem to confident. Unfortunately, she was just the priestess in training without much observational skills or speed. She couldn¡¯t get her maximum velocity enough to powerful, nor have enough experience and eyes for taking a long route. Of course, Prim had the same problem, too.
¡°Well, you ain¡¯t gonna die from fallin¡¯ in. Let¡¯s give it a shot.¡±
¡°Ok, I will!¡±
With Hiroshi¡¯s encouragement, Judith carefully hopped from one rock to another. Just when she made it halfway through, she stepped on a decoy. Without a chance, Judith fell right into the pond.
¡°Are you all right, Judith!?¡±
¡°I just fell in. I think I¡¯m fine¡¡±
Since she could touch the bottom, she showed everyone that she was fine before almost heading to the other side, but changing her mind anding back to the starting side.
¡°You might have just made it to the other side.¡±
¡°There¡¯s a wall or something, Sensei.¡±
¡°Oh, yeah?¡±
¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t think I could make it past it, so I decided toe back.¡±
¡°They put a lot of effort in this thing, huh¡?¡±
Hiroshi couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh at the strangely thorough security. He didn¡¯t know whether to be impressed or over the insistence upon making them follow the rules with everything they got.
¡°Prim-san, you¡¯re up next.¡±
¡°Yes¡¡±
Hiroshi and Mio looked at the nervous Prim with pity. As far as they could tell so far, she wasn¡¯t the athletic type. While her ratherrge breasts might get in her way, that factor would have incapacitated Haruna.
¡°In any case, we better think of the worst-case scenario.¡±
¡°Got any ideas, Sensei?¡±
¡°To be honest, it ain¡¯t my favorite idea, but I got one.¡±
Watching Prim timidly hip hop across the pond, Hiroshi let out another sigh. It looked like she was going to fall in pretty soon. Just as he thought it, she fell in, failing to jump to the next rock despite being on the right course.
¡°Oof¡¡±
¡°I did see itin¡¯, to be honest.¡±
Prim returned to the starting point as soaked as her sister. It didn¡¯t like these two would make it across any time soon.
¡°¡Hey, Mio.¡±
¡°What¡¯s up, Sensei?¡±
¡°What do you think of that disy over there.¡±
Mio turned to where Hiroshi was pointing to find a digital disy of the number 2. Of course, it wasn¡¯t there a few moments ago.
¡°Are we ying with stocks?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t sound right that there weren¡¯t no penalties for screwin¡¯ up.¡±
While getting soaked may seem like a penalty, it was unnatural that there wasn¡¯t a team-wide consequence for failure.
¡°If we only got two more chances to fail¡¡±
¡°There¡¯s no time to wait for those two to make it?¡±
¡°That¡¯s where we¡¯re at¡¡±
They didn¡¯t to have a choice but to start cheating.
¡°What¡¯s your idea, Sensei?¡±
¡°Simple, really. I just gotta carry ¡®em two on my shoulders and make it across.¡±
¡°¡Can you do it?¡±
¡°¡If I buck up, I think I canst three minutes.¡±
Three minutes, in this context, wasn¡¯t very long.
¡°Can you make it in three minutes?¡±
¡°That¡¯s where Haruna-sanes in.¡±
With that, Mio understood what Hiroshi was saying. She was astonished at how far he was willing to go, in more ways than one.
¡°So, Haruna-san! I¡¯m gonna cry ¡®em over, so gimme a speed-boost and Over elerate!¡±
¡°What!?¡±
Hiroshi had just requested her to use her trump card, and Haruna was dumbfounded. She had a million questions running through her mind, like ¡®can you really carry two female bodies?¡¯ or ¡®does this course really require that much?¡¯ but Haruna¡¯s side had took notice of the number disy, too. Considering the athleticism and observational skills of the Norton sisters, it might be better for them to use any card they had, while they still could. Once she reached that conclusion, Haruna swallowed all sorts of questions she had, and prepared to cast the spell in assistance. Forcing her logic to click, Haruna bottled up her dubious emotions, and managed to activate her speed-boost spell. Even though he was only carrying the Norton sisters by his sides, she couldn¡¯t help but feel strangely agitated by them being so close to him. Still, she used her logical side to its full potential to keep her calm.
¡°Here we go!¡±
¡°Brin¡¯ it!¡±
Even with something tar-like sloshing around in her gut, Haruna maintained a semnce of calm as she activated Over elerate. Despite her slightck in concentration, perhaps thanks to Tatsuya¡¯s wand, her trump card activated with the best quality it had ever been. Even though she was irritated by little things like that, if she were to show any of that emotion, a lot of things could end right then and there. Not that these were emotions that could be bottled up from sheer force of will, but she still wed to keep her definitely less-than-perfect emotions down. Just when she had decided to rope Tatsuya and Makoto intoining about her emotionster, Hiroshi blinked right in front of her, carrying the two girls in his arms.
¡°¡A-Are you all right!?¡±
Seeing Hiroshi in front of her, all the murky emotions were swept away, as Haruna was only worried for his wellbeing.
¡°T-That was somethin¡¯¡¡±
¡°W-Were we too heavy?¡±
¡°It ain¡¯t about the weight. It¡¯s that I had to carry two girls¡¡±
With colorpletely drained from his face, Hiroshi had curled up on the ground and kept his eyes down. Seeing this, Haruna couldn¡¯t help but beat herself up for being jealous.
¡°Are you okay, Sensei!?¡±
¡°I-I¡¯m alive, at least¡¡±
¡°You look far from okay¡¡±
¡°Sorry, but, could Mio and Makoto-san handle it, next time¡?¡±
¡°Sure.¡±
Neither Makoto and Mio couldn¡¯t say no after seeing him like this. Upon witnessing Hiroshi¡¯s reaction, the Norton sisters couldn¡¯t keep their cool, especially Judith.
¡°U-Um. I¡¯m so sorry that we¡¯ve caused such trouble.¡±
¡°I mean, this is what happens when someone¡¯s who¡¯s afraid of women decided to carry two feminine bodies across a pond¡¡±
¡°H-Hey. He¡¯s the one who came up with the idea this time, and it¡¯s his fault you¡¯re here in the ruins, anyway, so¡¡±
Watching the depressed sisters, Makoto couldn¡¯t help but try and console them, even though she knew it wasn¡¯t her best work. It might have been his own fault, but thisment still made out Hiroshi, who took the most damage out of the ordeal, to be the viin. Even though it was absolutely true that he was the one who suggested it, it was most likely one of the only options they had. With those thoughts written on her face, Makoto¡¯s constion must not have been that effective.
Of course, even though Makoto didn¡¯t really mean it this way, Hiroshi was the one who decided to dive into this ruins (neglecting any opposition) on a whim, so it wasn¡¯t off-base that it was his fault for bringing two women that were now slowing them down.
¡°That¡¯s that. Once he¡¯s recovered, let¡¯s move on.¡±
¡°Haru used a big spell, too. Good time for a break?¡±
¡°Sorry, folks. For weighin¡¯ us down and worryin¡¯ y¡¯all every time.¡±
¡°When ites to this, it can¡¯t be helped.¡±
When it was all said and done, it took about five minutes for Hiroshi to recover.
Volume 3 7.3
Volume 3 Chapter 7.3
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
¡°This oughta be close to ourst one, but boy, is this one troublesome.¡±
¡°That bridge looks really rickety.¡±
Seeing the narrow and long suspension bridge without any handrails, Hiroshi and Harunamented with a very annoyed expression. The fact that there were no handrails alone was enough to make them want to leave. There was a safety below the bridge, not too far down, and even adder to return to the starting side, which made things even more irritating.
On the other side, they could see a building that resembled a Japanese castle, which appeared to be their goal. The bridge was about as wide as a Forest Giant¡¯s foot. Not too narrow to call it a tightrope, but not wide enough to just walk across normally. All of the obstacles so far had proved to be considerably difficult. It seemed like a very careful bnce that even the Norton sisters could have beaten them. The maze where they were being chased by a pair of wrestling-heel looking golems, for example, they had passed in one go by some miracle.
Unlike the source material, though, the element of luck had beenpletely eliminated, like the level where the contestants had to pick the right wall with no clue or indication after the first pond, or the level where that woulde after this one, where they had to choose the right tunnel to crawl through.
¡°So, what do we gotta do here? If we just gotta make it across, the first pond was more difficult than this.¡±
¡°Hey, there¡¯s a note this time.¡±
Apparently, the level wasplicated enough that it wasn¡¯t evident on the first nce. Everything that they had to do wasid out on a card, with a diagram, right next to the bridge. There were other levels along the way that provide simr things, so the party wasn¡¯t surprised now.
¡°Let¡¯s see¡ Catch the gold ball around the middle of the bridge, dodge all of the ck balls, and make it to the other side.¡±
¡°Seems pretty tough.¡±
¡°Since we¡¯re carrying someone, we have to catch two balls?¡±
¡°That¡¯s what¡¯ll be, I think. Let¡¯s give it a shot.¡±
Haruna took the first try, since she knew that she was the best suited for levels like these, from experience. Light on her feet, she moved halfway across the bridge with ease, and caught the golden ball that was shot out with decent velocity without a problem. By only moving her weight forward or backward as to not rock the bridge, she dodged all of the ck balls and made it all the way across. Just as she did with all of the previous level, she beat it perfectly on the first try. It was a demonstration, at this point.
¡°How¡¯s the bridge?¡±
¡°Not as wobbly as it looks, but it might get scary if a ball hits you and your weight shifts.¡±
¡°I see. Ya got it.¡±
Hearing Haruna, Hiroshi understood the gist of the level. From what he observed and from what Haruna had just said, he assumed that the bridge more twisted than shook. If they didn¡¯t sway left and right, they should to fall off. It also seed fortuitous that the balls to longer to fire than expected. Of course, if that time was spent locking onto the target, they could very well end up with a rapid fire after them, if they move to slow.
¡°Got the strategy, for the most part. Different story if we can pull it off or not, though.¡±
¡°Oh yeah? borate for us.¡±
¡°The key¡¯s to walk down the center of the bridge as possible without swayin¡¯ left or right. Judgin¡¯ by the structure of this thing, it won¡¯t twist left and right, and if we lose bnce that way, it¡¯ll twist around the middle.¡±
¡°Ah huh. And the balls?¡±
¡°The gold one, from what we¡¯ve read in that sign, won¡¯t penalize us for missin¡¯ it. We should focus on one we can grab without losing our bnce or reachin¡¯ too far. The ck ones didn¡¯te too fast; maybe they take too long to aim when Haruna-san was movin¡¯ that fast. Goin¡¯ too slow could be a problem, in the sense that you¡¯d get rapid-fired.¡±
The party epted this exnation. Mio, of course, knew this level, but had never considered a specific way to beat it. She was simply impressed by Haruna and Hiroshi¡¯s teamwork.
¡°Then we better work out a strategy, so let¡¯s start with the Norton sisters.¡±
¡°I¡¯m so sorry. We keeping dragging you down¡¡±
¡°It ain¡¯t your forte, nothin¡¯ ya can do ¡®bout it. If this were a normal ruin or dungeon, we wouldn¡¯t be havin¡¯ such a tough time, either, but here we are.¡±
Hiroshi offered in constion to Prim. He really had not expected this ancient ruin to be a carbon copy of a game show. In a normal ruin, Prim and her knowledge as a clergywoman would have been extremely useful for analyzing and understanding things. In the first ce, an ordinary dungeon could be traversed with a few tricks, like using a rope, to make up for theck in athleticism. In that sense, this ruin that didn¡¯t allow tricks was much more difficult to beat while having people like the Norton sisters in tow, who didn¡¯t seem to have much speed. In exchange, there was almost no threat to their lives. You win some, you lose some.
¡°I mean, there¡¯s gotta be more things after this. Maybe ya can make it through this one?¡±
¡°¡Okay. I¡¯ll try my best to make it across.¡±
With some resole, Prim began crossing the bridge. As advised, she stood by, waiting for a ball she could definitely catch. She managed to catch oneing from directly in front of her, albeit with a little loss of bnce, before moving on with a forward lean, trying to make it across as quickly as possible. She might have moved too fast for the mechanism, as the first few shotspletely missed her. After the aim became urate, she dodge the first three ck balls with miraculous timing, somehow carried on through the fourth one that hit her foot. When she was two steps away, the fifth ball hit her straight on the face. While she almost lost her bnce, she countered the weight with her force of will, and powered through thest two steps like she was falling down. Just before her face fell into the ground, Haruna caught her. Prim managed to make it across in one try.
¡°That was amazing, sis!¡±
¡°She has some guts.¡±
¡°You gotta have some too, Judith.¡±
¡°I know!¡±
After watching her sister¡¯s courageous attempt, Judith took her turn, invigorated. She made it halfway across on a surprisingly light foot, and fearlessly caught the golden ball with ease. She walked through the rest of the bridge as if it was a normal path,pletely fearless. She had made it across so smoothly that only three ck balls had been shot. Her attempt disyed that these obstacles were worse off if you became timid.
¡°Now that the Norton sisters are through, we better get started.¡±
¡°I mean, the worse is probably for one of us to re-do it once.¡±
As Makoto had mentioned, the only failure was Tatsuya, who had took a hit from a ball that ricocheted off the bridge. The most noteworthy things about this level, though¡
¡°Yikes¡¡±
¡°What is he doing¡?¡±
¡°He¡¯s ignoring everything the game¡¯s about.¡±
Was Hiroshi, of course, who activated Fortress, and walked across withplete bnce, taking hits from all of the ck balls along the way without losing any of his bnce.
¡°You all survived, my elite challengers!¡±
They in front of the castle, where a humanoid mole wearing an army uniform called out as soon it saw Hiroshi¡¯s party.
¡°Survived? No duh, we re-did everythin¡¯ until we all made it.¡±
¡°Formalities, my man. No sense is bring semantics into this.¡±
The mole politely responded to Hiroshi¡¯s reaction. It seemed that they could hold a conversation.
¡°You must have many questions, but the show is not over. You must beat all of the levels, first.¡±
If they really were filming a game show, that sounded exactly like the thing he should only off-camera. If they were recording all of the levels until now, everyone filming and watching would have a lot of patience.
¡°Yeah, yeah. What¡¯s thest level?¡±
¡°Crime aboard that, and fight against the defending army of the castle.¡±
The mole answered Makoto and pointed to the beautifully cheap-looking and perfectly out-of-style go-kart. On the front, it held what appeared to be a gun barrel, and there was a total of fourteen karts. It seemed that their opponent would be a team of the same number.
¡°Controls should be self-evident. Use those to eliminate the enemy!¡±
The mole dered with an annoying sense of authority, and the party was over it. What was the point? Who cared now?
¡°So, where do we have to hit them?¡±
¡°On the target on the front of their vehicles.¡±
¡°Are these safe?¡±
¡°Even if a stray bullet were to hit any of you, I guarantee that no one would be injured.¡±
That¡¯s all Makoto had to hear. Having given up, she climbed into a kart. It seemed to have simr controls to a forklift, where the gas pedal on the right propelled them forward, the steering wheel on the left did exactly that, and a button on the right fired bullets.
¡°I think we should practice a little.¡±
¡°Practice inbat. The defending team have as much practice as you do.¡±
The mole turned down Makoto¡¯s idea with a piece of information that might have been left unsaid, for his sake.
¡°Is everyone onboard. Now, begin!¡±
On the mole¡¯s call, the party reluctantly began driving the karts. To avoid the ordeal of a collision, they first scattered. Just as the mole had said, the enemy, wire-like golems seemed very unfamiliar with the controls. They clumsily took their time to scatter, and came at the party in lurches. Watching that in the corner of his eye, they moved to surround the enemies, and made sure no stray bullets would hit an alley before Tatsuya pressed the button to hit the first golem.
¡°A water gun!?¡±
It was definitely water that fired out of the barrel. While it did have a decent range, it wasn¡¯t going as nearly as forceful to injure anyone. It wasn¡¯t like it had the force of a firehose, but more like a pipe leak. There was no way anyone could get hurt by this. While this was as safe as it could be, it was especially cheap-looking and anticlimactic. While this was true for the rest of the ruin, they were just in a very borate arcade, at this point.
¡°Ahh!¡±
Haruna, after taking down one enemy kart, albeit a little too rxed, took a direct hit from a water gun. While the target on her kart didn¡¯t take a hit, she ended up being soaked.
¡°It¡¯s cold¡¡±
The ruins had a lot of penalties that soaked them, but Haruna had avoided all of them up until this point. Seeing that she ended up drenched in the end, it seemed that Lady Luck didn¡¯t pick favorites, after all. Of course, while Hiroshi had been covered in powder, he had not been wet just yet.
¡°One more to go!¡±
The party, when it was all said and down, with the help of their opponents¡¯ inexperience, steadily took down their opponents. While the Norton sisters had been eliminated, they had taken down three enemies in the meantime,ting them a profit. Even when they we taken down, they had served as decoys. They were much more useful than Mio, who had been struggling with the controls and messing around at a safe distance.
¡°Woah! Aghp!¡±
Just as she was about to pull the trigger against thest enemy, she notice her opponent make a move, and hurriedly turned the kart, just in time to avoid being hit on the target, but not in time to get soaked all over again.
¡°Gotcha.¡±
Using Haruna¡¯s honorable sacrifice, Mio swooped in for the end. She really knew how to steal a show.
¡°That¡¯s it!¡±
The mole dered, once he saw that the golem team had been eliminated.
¡°I¡¯m soaked down to my underwear¡¡±
Haruna groaned sadly, now that she was sshed head-to-toe twice. The water seemed to have an effect of prating through enchantments. While ordinary water would have been repelled by her clothes, this water left Haruna a wet cat.
¡°I bet my blouse is see-through if I took off my armor right now¡¡±
¡°Save it for when Hiro¡¯s not around.¡±
¡°All right. Well, Prim-san. Judith-san. What did you do after falling in water?¡±
¡°We dried them right away with a spell. Why don¡¯t you do the same, Haruna-san.¡±
¡°This water¡¯s magic repellent¡¡±
It was no ordinary H2O. They turned to the mole, who said:
¡°What fun would it be to have you shield your karts with a spell? The water has the ability to permeate low-level enchantments and repels magic. No need for concern. It only passes through the enchantment, and it doesn¡¯t destroy any enchanted items.¡±
¡°H-How annoying¡!¡±
As he desperately rung water out of her hair, Haruna gave the mole a stink eye. The only solution now was to change, but there really wasn¡¯t any spot for that. It would be extremely ufortable to keep her soaked clothes on, not to mention that it would chill her with every minute. She could take off her armor and dry it, but the rest she had to get naked to dry, one way or another.
While this could have been her punishment for the slightck in judgement from her affection, but this seemed too harsh in more ways than one. This seemed like the kind of thing Artiem would fall victim to, not Haruna. Since she was the only one to take a hit on her body from the water guns in thest stage, it almost seemed on purpose.
¡°I-I¡¯ll go change over there, I think¡¡±
¡°You got it. I¡¯ll start a fire, so go change before you catch a cold,¡± Tatusya answered.
Haruna walked away to turn the corner of the castle, her shoulders sunk. After watching her turn, Mio whispered like a serpent:
¡°Sensei, Tatsu. Aren¡¯t going to peek?¡±
¡°So you want me to die, huh?¡±
¡°Yes, Haruna is attractive. But, to be honest, I¡¯m not interested in seeing anyone but Shiori naked.¡±
Wasn¡¯t the clich¨¦ to fall for their lust and go peek, ending in them being beat up by the women in the party? Where was their sense of adventure? No sensing expecting these two to act like normal men.
¡°Mio, did actually want us to go peep or not?¡±
¡°Sensei, yes. Tatsu, I¡¯d hate you for it.¡±
¡°You¡¡±
The girl knew what she liked.
Volume 3 8.1
Volume 3 Chapter 8.1
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
¡°Gone?¡±
¡°Three days, now.¡±
¡°¡I mean, knowing them, they must have found some bizarre thing and gotten distracted.¡±
Layotte, upon hearing of Hiroshi¡¯s team being absent from Rainy, showed a reaction from knowing thempletely.
¡°The Thieves¡¯ Guild wasn¡¯t even tipped off.¡±
¡°Once they go, their range of activity is ridiculous. Especially when they have a set of wheels that go four times as fast as a normal carriage, not even the Thieves¡¯ Guild or the spies of Darl may catch wind of them.¡±
¡°Is that how it goes?¡±
¡°Once they get more than a day¡¯s carriage ride away, sometimes normalmunication tools won¡¯t even work. Once it bes a ry, the uracy of the information plummets. Exponentially twisted. If they¡¯re headed for the scorching desert, it¡¯s not amiss to think that they¡¯ve gone out of range.¡±
Rainy seemed impressed by Layotte¡¯s exnation. These things should be understood by herself, but her reaction as like that of an untrained civilian. It wasn¡¯t like Layotte was expecting much form her to begin with, but this was unnerving.
For these scheduledmunications, by the way, they used a piece of equipment that Layotte had requested Hiroshi to make. With a Booster Unit on either end, it was good enough tomunicate from one end of the continent to the other. Connect them to a magical crystal ball or mirror, and they couldmunicate face-to-face.
¡°¡It¡¯s fine. And how does it look in Darl, right now?¡±
¡°That chivalrous thief¡¯s running around, more prominent than ever. Half of our research targets have been taken down by the thief, and finished off by the queen. No other problems than that. Economy¡¯s steady, and there aren¡¯t too many kids or crimes on the street. The mainstreet¡¯s pretty bustling, too.¡±
¡°Hm. As expected, this Alvan has some connection with Darl royalty.¡±
¡°No doubt about it. ording to the Thieves¡¯ Guild, they saw Alvan use a hidden passage into the castle.¡±
¡°¡I see. Most likely, he wanted to see that.¡±
¡°Agreed.¡±
A Thieves¡¯ Guild located in the ruling city was practically in cohorts with the royal family. The only reason he¡¯d disy such a connection would have been as a warning not to dig too deep.
¡°A question. Do you mind?¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°What¡¯s with the nobles we¡¯re looking into?¡±
The question was too vague for Layotte.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°They¡¯re weird.¡±
¡°Be specific.¡±
¡°Is it normal to incessantly chase some stranger around who joined their small talk and try to get kill them?¡±
With this bizarre piece of information, Layotte remained silent for a moment. It was possible that Rainy screwed up, but she wasn¡¯t too stupid to dig too deep during a small talk. If she were, he never would have sent her into a foreign nation.
¡°Let me make sure. Did you screw up, somehow?¡±
¡°After our small talk, I noticed I was being followed. Didn¡¯t want them to find our safe house, so I tried to lose them. I couldn¡¯t it.¡±
¡°¡That¡¯s a grey area¡¡±
¡°I started looking into it after that. Saw some merchant¡¯s apprentice or another hearing rumors about them, then being drawn into some dangerous area of town and almost killed. A few time.¡±
By the way, after witnessing these scenes, she had notified the policing agents of Darl, and stayed away. Even if the victim didn¡¯t make it as a result, her job was to stay undercover, so she wasn¡¯t bothered by it. The truth was that Alvan had interrupted about four times out of ten to take care of them, anyway. The mysterious deaths of outsiders had drastically been decreased,tely.
¡°You told your Thieves¡¯ Guild yet?¡±
¡°Not yet. I think they know the gist already, though.¡±
¡°Thought as much.¡±
Layotte agreed with Rainy assessment. There was no way that a Thieves¡¯ Guild didn¡¯t know everything about what was going on in their turf. Their reason for not making a move yet was probably because all the victims were outsiders, and that they didn¡¯t have enough evidence to pass judgement against a noble. Once the victims rose in numbers, though, they wouldn¡¯t be able to watch by for much longer.
¡°So, who are they?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think you remember, but they got a connection to the one pulling your strings when you tried to kill Hiroshi.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t remember the incident, but does it have something to do with the rebellion and whatnot while I was in captivity?¡±
¡°Something like that.¡±
That was good enough for her. She didn¡¯t remember the Fane before it, due to being drugged, but she still knew that the poprity of the current king was nothing that could have been won in a year or two. Even though the Fane king of the time was tied up so tightly by his predecessor, a little forethought would have projected the utter failure of any coup. To power on with a coup regardless was the show that he was connected to some folks who were out of their mind. No surprise if he didn¡¯t have ayman¡¯s thought process at all.
¡°Theycked any kind of normal process after being afflicted so badly, and maybe it¡¯s the same for the other end of the connection.¡±
¡°You get that stupid when you¡¯re afflicted?¡±
¡°Give or take, I assume.¡±
They got this far when Layotte brought back the derailed conversation.
¡°For now¡ Continue looking into them, for one. At the same time, dig into the suspicious death of the Temple worker you told me about before. Probably some sort of connection there in the shadows.¡±
¡°Roger that.¡±
¡°And when theye back, attempt to contact, and tell them everything you know.¡±
¡°You sure?¡±
¡°It¡¯s necessary. Don¡¯t get close to Hiroshi, though.¡±
As Layotte practically put her on a rollercoaster with this one sentence, she cuts back:
¡°No can do.¡±
¡°I¡¯m telling you for your sake¡¡±
¡°You think I can control myself when I see my honey? When I smell him?¡±
¡°¡Right. That¡¯s who you are¡¡±
Fully understanding that she was unable to control, Layotte let out a deep sigh as he internally apologized to Hiroshi. The travesty that was this encounter was approaching Hiroshi ever closer.
Volume 3 7.4
Volume 3 Chapter 7.4
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
About ten minutes had passed. By the time Haruna had took her time changing and returned, they were all ready to talk.
¡°Ya all right, Haruna-san?¡±
¡°Y-Yep. I¡¯m fine¡¡±
Taking a warm cup of herbal tea from Hiroshi, Haruna answered as she warmed her shivering body on the fire. While it wasn¡¯t as bad as catching a cold, she did seemed to be chilled to the bone, her skin having turned blue. While the party didn¡¯t notice during the game, it seemed that the water was very cold.
¡°¡So warm¡¡±
¡°Did you want ginger tea instead?¡±
¡°No, thank you. This is great.¡±
Haruna answered Hiroshi¡¯s offer with a happy smile on her shivering face. From Hiroshi¡¯s specialty tea with all sorts of extract, she could feel her body regain warmth.
¡°Don¡¯t mind me. Keep going.¡±
¡°You got it. Now, tell us all about this ruin.¡±
¡°Who do you think you are, Miss Washboard? Save that kind of gesture for when you have at least something to show for, like this girl over here.¡±
The mole countered Makoto chest-puff of a demand with some serious shade. Very curious that this mole was concerned about the contours of the human body.
¡°Never mind the bickering. Can you tell us what this ruin¡¯s about?¡±
¡°What it¡¯s about? It¡¯s an amusement facility created by the People of the Continent, of course.¡±
¡°People of the Continent, huh? Who are they, and how many of them are there left?¡±
¡°Who¡ Hmm. There are Hybrids like me, who are better suited for living underground, and Humanoids who have developed the technology to live underground. We¡¯ve been through a lot, and there are only a hundred or so of us left.¡±
So, they had been powering through these levels for a viewership of a hundred, max. That was a sad revtion.
¡°Have all one hundred of you been living here all this time?¡±
¡°Negative. We went into a long slumber in waiting for ourrades to return, or new guests to arrive. We all woke up when you entered the ruins.¡±
¡°To return? So some of you left to go somewhere?¡±
¡°Some of us left to find the God of the Underworld, while overs left to find a way to live above ground.¡±
¡°What do you mean find the God of the Underworld?¡±
Haruna couldn¡¯t help but jump in to confirm. She was ready to leave Tatsuya to drive the conversation as she listened, but she couldn¡¯t ignore the mention of something that could be very relevant to them.
¡°It was three thousand years ago, I believe. The God of the Underworld and the Priestess Princess went missing, leaving a note.¡±
¡°What kind of note?¡±
¡°It read ¡®I¡¯m leaving. Don¡¯t look for me.¡¯¡±
¡°What were they, schoolkids?¡±
While the note might have been a little less on the serious tone, it was noughing matter as their whereabouts were still unknown to this day.
¡°Three thousand years, huh? Don¡¯t think that Priestess Princess are with us anymore.¡±
¡°Of course, we don¡¯t expect her to be¡ Might I ask you something about that?¡±
¡°Shoot.¡±
¡°Was there a major change above ground three thousand years ago?¡±
Even though they took a moment to thinking it over, the Japanese members were not that privy to the history of this world. Nothing rang a bell.
¡°I believe it was three thousand years ago when Fane was built¡¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Yes. Fane is the oldest nation in the world. That being said, it was a small country with Wulls at the center of it, at first.¡±
¡°I would have guessed a thousand or so, since the current king¡¯s the 60-something-ith¡¡±
¡°Until about the eighth monarch, I was told that that royalty lived very long, and each of them ruled for about a hundred years on average. Also, the average length of a monarch¡¯s rule in Fane was very long throughout at about fifty years. I believe the history of three thousand years is urate.¡±
The party took in Prim¡¯s exnation. In their original world, even Japan (a country ruled by the single longest line of session) could only trace it¡¯s ruling back to the sixth century, if they were being urate. If all of the ancient texts are to be believed, the history of Japan would be 2600 years, and while it is widely epted that there was the first emperor of Japan, the equivalent of the Emperor Jimmu, it was debatable whether or not his existence dated back as far as 2600 years ago. Considering the rtively peaceful history and well-preserved nature of the historical documents of Japan only knowing that much back in their history, Fane and its recorded three thousand years of history seemed quite formidable. This did seem almost inevitable as Fane, as much as Japan, was isted from any external invasion, barring any self-destructive events.
Tatsuya continued: ¡°For one, the biggest country we have now was built around that time.¡±
¡°Most likely, they had something to do with it.¡±
¡°Only the gods may know.¡±
¡°Do you have any connections to them?¡±
¡°We kind of do, but it won¡¯t be immediate.¡±
¡°That is fine. We would be asking of a favor, we have noints.¡±
For the first time, the mole appeared rather humble. The party looked at each other.
¡°I mean, it looks like it¡¯ll tie-in to our goal, too, it ain¡¯t much trouble.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll have my gratitude. And, if you don¡¯t mind¡¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Our world, with a poption of a hundred, can get quite lonely. Once in a while, could you bring someone done here¡?¡±
The party couldn¡¯t help but feel some sympathy for the mole and his earnest request. They did have to conquer all the levels, but it was perfectly safe at the very least. It didn¡¯t seem like bringing anyone else down would be a problem.
¡°Lessee¡ Elle¡¯d be way into this.¡±
¡°Maybe we can bring her down when we have some spare time.¡±
¡°Elle wouldn¡¯t understand the top floor.¡±
¡°Oh yeah, how¡¯d you get all these ideas, anyway?¡±
The mole said, and showed them a bundle of DVDs beled ¡®trend archives¡¯) and a slightly outdatedptop. Judging by the model of theptop, the data stopped at the very beginning of the twenty-first century.
¡°Why would you get ideas from that¡?¡±
Makoto couldn¡¯t help but groan,menting the entertainment industry of her own country.
¡°Oh, speaking of, here¡¯s your participation award of sand oysters and set of underground coffee.¡±
¡°Coffee!?¡±
¡°Hang on, brother. We don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll taste like the coffee we know.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll find out as soon as we brew some!¡±
¡°We have plenty of coffee to give. Please,e back again.¡±
Seeing Tatsuya flip out at the mention of coffee, the mole seemed sure of his victory.
It should remain between us that Aearis, who was brought down hereter on fell in love with the obstacles, and continued to repeatedlye down here during her stays in Darl, and finally seriously considering the prospect of building a simr amusement attraction in Fane¡ And that Octogal seemed to hear of this through the grapevine, and started frequenting the ce.
Volume 3 8.1
Volume 3 Chapter 8.1
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
¡°Gone?¡±
¡°Three days, now.¡±
¡°¡I mean, knowing them, they must have found some bizarre thing and gotten distracted.¡±
Layotte, upon hearing of Hiroshi¡¯s team being absent from Rainy, showed a reaction from knowing thempletely.
¡°The Thieves¡¯ Guild wasn¡¯t even tipped off.¡±
¡°Once they go, their range of activity is ridiculous. Especially when they have a set of wheels that go four times as fast as a normal carriage, not even the Thieves¡¯ Guild or the spies of Darl may catch wind of them.¡±
¡°Is that how it goes?¡±
¡°Once they get more than a day¡¯s carriage ride away, sometimes normalmunication tools won¡¯t even work. Once it bes a ry, the uracy of the information plummets. Exponentially twisted. If they¡¯re headed for the scorching desert, it¡¯s not amiss to think that they¡¯ve gone out of range.¡±
Rainy seemed impressed by Layotte¡¯s exnation. These things should be understood by herself, but her reaction as like that of an untrained civilian. It wasn¡¯t like Layotte was expecting much form her to begin with, but this was unnerving.
For these scheduledmunications, by the way, they used a piece of equipment that Layotte had requested Hiroshi to make. With a Booster Unit on either end, it was good enough tomunicate from one end of the continent to the other. Connect them to a magical crystal ball or mirror, and they couldmunicate face-to-face.
¡°¡It¡¯s fine. And how does it look in Darl, right now?¡±
¡°That chivalrous thief¡¯s running around, more prominent than ever. Half of our research targets have been taken down by the thief, and finished off by the queen. No other problems than that. Economy¡¯s steady, and there aren¡¯t too many kids or crimes on the street. The mainstreet¡¯s pretty bustling, too.¡±
¡°Hm. As expected, this Alvan has some connection with Darl royalty.¡±
¡°No doubt about it. ording to the Thieves¡¯ Guild, they saw Alvan use a hidden passage into the castle.¡±
¡°¡I see. Most likely, he wanted to see that.¡±
¡°Agreed.¡±
A Thieves¡¯ Guild located in the ruling city was practically in cohorts with the royal family. The only reason he¡¯d disy such a connection would have been as a warning not to dig too deep.
¡°A question. Do you mind?¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°What¡¯s with the nobles we¡¯re looking into?¡±
The question was too vague for Layotte.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°They¡¯re weird.¡±
¡°Be specific.¡±
¡°Is it normal to incessantly chase some stranger around who joined their small talk and try to get kill them?¡±
With this bizarre piece of information, Layotte remained silent for a moment. It was possible that Rainy screwed up, but she wasn¡¯t too stupid to dig too deep during a small talk. If she were, he never would have sent her into a foreign nation.
¡°Let me make sure. Did you screw up, somehow?¡±
¡°After our small talk, I noticed I was being followed. Didn¡¯t want them to find our safe house, so I tried to lose them. I couldn¡¯t it.¡±
¡°¡That¡¯s a grey area¡¡±
¡°I started looking into it after that. Saw some merchant¡¯s apprentice or another hearing rumors about them, then being drawn into some dangerous area of town and almost killed. A few time.¡±
By the way, after witnessing these scenes, she had notified the policing agents of Darl, and stayed away. Even if the victim didn¡¯t make it as a result, her job was to stay undercover, so she wasn¡¯t bothered by it. The truth was that Alvan had interrupted about four times out of ten to take care of them, anyway. The mysterious deaths of outsiders had drastically been decreased,tely.
¡°You told your Thieves¡¯ Guild yet?¡±
¡°Not yet. I think they know the gist already, though.¡±
¡°Thought as much.¡±
Layotte agreed with Rainy assessment. There was no way that a Thieves¡¯ Guild didn¡¯t know everything about what was going on in their turf. Their reason for not making a move yet was probably because all the victims were outsiders, and that they didn¡¯t have enough evidence to pass judgement against a noble. Once the victims rose in numbers, though, they wouldn¡¯t be able to watch by for much longer.
¡°So, who are they?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think you remember, but they got a connection to the one pulling your strings when you tried to kill Hiroshi.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t remember the incident, but does it have something to do with the rebellion and whatnot while I was in captivity?¡±
¡°Something like that.¡±
That was good enough for her. She didn¡¯t remember the Fane before it, due to being drugged, but she still knew that the poprity of the current king was nothing that could have been won in a year or two. Even though the Fane king of the time was tied up so tightly by his predecessor, a little forethought would have projected the utter failure of any coup. To power on with a coup regardless was the show that he was connected to some folks who were out of their mind. No surprise if he didn¡¯t have ayman¡¯s thought process at all.
¡°Theycked any kind of normal process after being afflicted so badly, and maybe it¡¯s the same for the other end of the connection.¡±
¡°You get that stupid when you¡¯re afflicted?¡±
¡°Give or take, I assume.¡±
They got this far when Layotte brought back the derailed conversation.
¡°For now¡ Continue looking into them, for one. At the same time, dig into the suspicious death of the Temple worker you told me about before. Probably some sort of connection there in the shadows.¡±
¡°Roger that.¡±
¡°And when theye back, attempt to contact, and tell them everything you know.¡±
¡°You sure?¡±
¡°It¡¯s necessary. Don¡¯t get close to Hiroshi, though.¡±
As Layotte practically put her on a rollercoaster with this one sentence, she cuts back:
¡°No can do.¡±
¡°I¡¯m telling you for your sake¡¡±
¡°You think I can control myself when I see my honey? When I smell him?¡±
¡°¡Right. That¡¯s who you are¡¡±
Fully understanding that she was unable to control, Layotte let out a deep sigh as he internally apologized to Hiroshi. The travesty that was this encounter was approaching Hiroshi ever closer.
Volume 3 8.2
Volume 3 Chapter 8.2
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
¡°Tatsu. There¡¯s something weird.¡±
On their way back from the desert, Mio whispered this in the hatchback.
¡°Weird?¡±
¡°A nameless, humanoid flying object with no presence.¡±
¡°Barold, probably.¡±
¡°That¡¯s Barold.¡±
Makoto and Tatsuya were sure of it as they heard this description, in turn:
¡°Might be fake Barold or a copy?¡±
Hiroshi countered.
¡°Hey, Hiro.¡±
¡°Hm?¡±
¡°Does that matter at all in terms of dictating what¡¯s going to happen or the actions we take?¡±
¡°Affects how strong it is, and whether or not we know that the big boss is still out there.¡±
¡°I mean, yeah, I guess¡¡±
With a little cracking of the forth wall, they ran around in search for a field where they would have an advantages. If they went all the way back to Darl, it couldn¡¯t turn into a big battle with civilian casualties. If Barold was responsible for the series of incidents in Darl, he would have no problem with devolving that much.
¡°Um. What¡¯s Barold?¡±
Judith, who had been listening to their conversation curiously, mustered up the courage to ask. Sometimes this group had a tendency to get lost in conversations full of internal knowledge. She had to ask the right questions when she could to keep up.
¡°This little man a part of a cult that tried to overthrow Fane. Apparently, a chivalrous thief over here had decide to cut one down over here.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t know about that.¡±
¡°Sure is. Pretty annoying if we have to face him head-on.¡±
With a vague answer, Tatsuya turned back to Hiroshi to construct a n.
¡°Shield System¡¯s up, anyway.¡±
¡°How much can we take?¡±
¡°From what we saw in Fane, everythin¡¯ but the Hell Inferno we saw at the end.¡±
¡°Then maybe we can let him take the first shot.¡±
¡°Might not even need to do that.¡±
Just as Hiroshi said so, the entire carriage shook. Someone had rammed into it. The hatchback continued to take a few hits. Thanks to Hiroshi¡¯s special axis, they never toppled over, but it was far from afortable ride, now.
¡°When he¡¯s flyin¡¯ ¡®bove us, ain¡¯t easy to make a run for it.¡±
¡°You said it.¡±
Relieved that the hatchback wasn¡¯t taking any major damage despite the extremely shakiness, Hiroshi and Tatsuya continued their nonchnt conversation. A normal carriage would have been blown to bits, but it more than a little bit short of destroying the hatchback which was more durable than a tank.
¡°So, any retaliation tactics?¡±
¡°First thin¡¯s we gotta stop it.¡±
¡°Do we have a feature like that.¡±
¡°You betcha.¡±
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but crack a grin at Hiroshi¡¯s expected response. A car full of all sorts of gadgets like this would make anyone excited, even Tatsuya who was decently passed the age of a young adult. Men, overall, tend to have a weak spot for stuff like state-of-the-art, orbat-technology, etc.
¡°Time to strike back, then?¡±
¡°After we draw him out to the desert.¡±
¡°Aye-aye!¡±
With Hiroshi¡¯s request, Tatsuya drifted to change directions, and floored on the pedal to elerate out of there. In a matter of seconds, it sped up to the 100 miles per hour speed (not meant for off-roading) which they hadn¡¯t done since their first drive, and headed straight to the desert.
Of course, such rough handling didn¡¯t leave the interior of the car unscathed. Everyone did have their seatbelts on and were rtively fine, but with the quick turn around, Makoto and Mio, who were sitting by the windows, ended up banging their head with some force. Without Hiroshi¡¯s tech, they might have flipped over. They were lucky to get off this easy.
¡°Hey, Tatsuya! Can you be a little more careful!?¡±
¡°Tatsu. You have to be more gentle with girls.¡±
¡°Allints to our forgettable viin, please!¡±
Foregoing the dive-attacks, the Unknown Barold had switched to sabotaging the car with fireballs. After the sudden drift and drastic eleration, it didn¡¯t seem to have time to go for another dive-attack. It had missed the dive-attack and crashed anky tree by the side of the travel road, but no one was bothered by it, including him.
Tatsuya kept headed towards the desert, fast and furious. Unknown Barold had switched from its human form to demon form at some point, and was attacking them with more fire power. Thanks to the time of day and their positions, there was almost no other traffic in and out of the desert. But this would have been a major tragedy if the attack hade during a busy time like dawn or dusk.
¡°There¡¯s the desert, up ahead!¡±
¡°Get off the travel road!¡±
After a thirty-minute long high-speed chase, the hatchback was nearly back at the desert. This annoying cat-and-mouse wasing to an end. The driving was so rough that the Norton sisters were quivering, huddled together and praying.
¡°Can we keep riding into the desert like this?¡±
¡°Changed the mode, just now. We good to go.¡±
¡°What kind of hatchback am I driving¡?¡±
With the push of the button, this hatchback could switch from desert mode, tropical mode, and arctic mode, etc. Even though it was technically a ¡®golem carriage¡¯ and not an automobile, Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but think that there was too much of a creative liberty. Even Japanese cars, who prided themselves in environmental adaptability couldn¡¯t run straight into a desert from a snow-covered road.
¡°It¡¯s fine. How far are we drawing him in?¡±
¡°Far enough that a big one won¡¯t reach the travel road, at least.¡±
Hiroshi inputted a general destination into the navigation system as he covertly manipted the touchscreen in the passenger seat. Tatsuya headed straight to the destination. The Unkown Barold kept flying at them, almost seeming to prefer an open space. When they were finally nearing the destination, Hiroshi made a move.
¡°Alrighty, let¡¯s do it!¡±
He navigated the touchscreen to hold Barold (a slightly different design from the time they saw him in Fane) at the center of the screen, and pressed a button just as it was about to make another dive attack.
¡°First up, our special birdlime!¡±
With that, a giant patty of birdlime expanded in front of Barold. His increased speed in preparation for the dive attack forced him to charge straight into it.
¡°Alright, bingo! Stop the car, brother!¡±
¡°We got him tied down, now?¡±
¡°Please. Here¡¯ses the parade! Hardening agent! Debuffing! Capture Barrier!¡±
However they were all installed in the hatchback, all sorts of questionable weapons shot out of it. The hardening agent solidified the birdlime like rubber, and the debugging decreased each of Barold¡¯s abilities beforepletely immobilizing him with the Capture Barrier. Tatsuya didn¡¯t know if he should be astonished or impressed at the overly thorough method. One thing was for certain. This hatchback was more badass than the Bat Mobile.
¡°No holds barred, huh?¡±
¡°It¡¯s annoyin¡¯ to let him fly ¡®round the ce.¡±
¡°I mean, you¡¯re right¡¡±
From the amount of affliction oozing out of him, they could tell that this Barold was just as formidable as the Barold they fought in Fane. Now that he waspletely shut out like this, it made them feel a little weird.
¡°That pesky little thin¡¯ could recover. Let¡¯s take care of it.¡±
¡°There¡¯s more¡?¡±
¡°No duh. We don¡¯t know when he might break loose. We gotta blow that type to bits. So, move the car so we¡¯re facin¡¯ away from the travel road, please.¡±
¡°Aye¨Caye¡¡±
Tatsuya gave on objecting to Hiroshi¡¯s ns (since it was Barold, after all) and turned the car around so they were facing away from the travel road. Even as he turned the car around, they could see Barold¡¯s birdlime jiggling, having been solidified by the hardening agent.
¡°Now the cherry on top. Mio, anyone ¡®round?¡±
¡°No one for a kilometer in any direction.¡±
¡°Alrighty, no problem, then. Disengage safety. Connect energy by-pass. Initiate charging. Stabilize vehicle.¡±
Each time Hiroshi followed a step, some foreboding noise came from a corner of the car. Combined with the ridiculous capturing system that was just deployed, the party couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous. Could they really afford to let him go wild, like this?
¡°Release by-bass. Expand barrel set. Energy charged. Sightline set. Expand anti-impact shield.¡±
Hiroshi continued the steps with eerie matter-of-factness. At ¡°barrel set,¡± they saw a giant arm swing past the car window, but they decided to wait until the end to make anymentary, understanding the meaning behind the term ¡®barrel.¡¯
¡°We ready! Might feel a lil¡¯ shove, so hang on tight and keep your head down!¡±
¡°How big of a cannon are we talking about, here!?¡±
¡°Ya¡¯ll see! Worldshaker, fire away!¡±
Hiroshi dered with a bizarrely energetic smile, and pressed a button away from the touchscreen. The next instance, an incredible concentration of magic was fired from the roof of the hatchback, and struck Barold head-on after a beat or two.
The aftermath was a lot of work. The Worldshaker had swallowed up the Barold-ish creature with ease, create a giant crater in the ground, wiped out off the monsters in the area, and ended up causing a massive earthquake and an enormous dust cloud. The hatchback was stabilized to the ground and had an anti-impact shield up to keep it unscathed, but the same could not be said about everything else in the 2 kilometer radius.
That being said, the scale of this attack was bigger do it spreading the damage around, but in terms of actual attack power, Titanic Roar and Mio¡¯s Extra Skill had it beat, by far.
¡°Maybe fully chargin¡¯ it was a bit overkill.¡±
¡°A bit overkill!?¡±
¡°Hiroshi-kun, I don¡¯t think we should go around terraforming ces¡¡±
¡°And now we can¡¯t see crap. We¡¯re stuck her.¡±
First the ruins and now this¡ Leaving mad scientists run on their own was proving to be more and moreplicating.
Volume 3 8.3
Volume 3 Chapter 8.3
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
---------------------------------------------------------------
¡°So, what was that, anyway?¡±
¡°Worldshaker? Basically, it¡¯s a Hell Inferno under a different element. The change is, this one attacks a single point. In terms of AOE, this is aplete downgrade. With just one shot, it could only obliterate ¡®bout 10% of Wulls.¡±
¡°That¡¯s terrifying!¡±
¡°Nah. One shot, and the barrel itself takes three hours to cool while the system takes one week. And it¡¯ll take another week to charge that much energy again. It¡¯s our trump card, and it¡¯s really low on ammo. That much¡¯s a requirement.¡±
A trump card, indeed. With an extremely limited time frame to use and its overly destructive nature, they couldn¡¯t very well count on it. If they weren¡¯t in a desert, they would not have even been able to fire it at all.
¡°And about the name¡ Did you make that up?¡±
¡°It came that way. The worse one in the line of these is Universeshaker. In terms of numbers, 5% charge on that thing will make ours look like a joke. The biggest weak point is that we can¡¯t use neither without strappin¡¯ it to a car or boat.¡±
This vehicle attachment weapon was way out there in terms of firepower and name. By the way, this Worldhshaker uses the core of the Barold they defeated in Fane as one of its materials. Seeing that things would end badly if left alone, Hiroshi tinkered with it topletely de-afflict it before making a cannon from it. So, this Unknown Barold was blown to bits by a weapon made from a part of his kin.
¡°So, Sensei.¡±
¡°Yeah?¡±
¡°Is that thestbat gadget?¡±
¡°Haven¡¯t used our side cannon yet. Or a few of the specialty shots.¡±
Mio asked with glimmering eyes, and Hiroshi nonchntly answered with some scary words. It almost seemed like they were living in a certain RPG where the yer uncovered tanks and modifies them.
¡°Hiroshi-kun. Let me ask you for future reference¡ Side cannon?¡±
¡°Magic Laser. Was a toss-up ¡®tween that and some sort of machinegun. Didn¡¯t have ¡®nough capacity on this thing.¡±
¡°How¡¯s its firepower?¡±
¡°About as much as Mio firin¡¯ normally with a bow made from a Hunter Tree.¡±
Lukewarm. While it was incredibly powerful as a long-range weapon, it was iffy if that level of attack would affect an enemy of Barold¡¯s caliber.
¡°I mean, I can¡¯t fire that one now, either.¡±
¡°You¡¯re saying¡¡±
¡°The entire armory of the car¡¯s got a shared dy, ¡®bout thirty minutes for Worldshaker. So, right now, all it can do is drive it like a normal car, or transform it ¡®to a food stand to do some business.¡±
¡°What more do you want¡?¡±
¡°Our radar¡¯s dead, now, too. Too iffy to be movin¡¯ ¡®round just yet. Gotta hang tight.¡±
Watching the still raging sandstorm, Hiroshi mumbled this, casually. Still, this one blow-up of dust should settle much faster than an ordinary sandstorm.
¡°It¡¯s a long storm for just a big cloud of dust.¡±
¡°Looks like we blew up more than I thought.¡±
¡°Why are you acting like you weren¡¯t the one who pushed the button¡?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout it.¡±
After a while of bickering, their visual finally cleared.
¡°Just to make sure, I¡¯m gonna go check that the thing ain¡¯t still breathin¡¯.¡±
¡°Oh, I¡¯ll go with you,¡± said Haruna.
¡°Alrighty.¡±
There was no affliction left, and the debuffing and Capture Barrier were both Hiroshi¡¯s special-made ones that would have negated even Octogal¡¯s transference. While the chance of the thing surviving or escaping was extremely low, it would be more trouble down the road if they had missed the chance to finish him off.
¡°First of all, Haruna-san, throw this on.¡±
¡°Okie dokie.¡±
He handed Haruna a sort of gas mask before ealking out of the car and walking towards the center of the crater with their guards up. There, they found the probably-Barold facing certain death yet still alive.
¡°It¡¯s alive¡¡±
¡°Let¡¯s finish it off, shall we?¡±
The Unknown Barold had disyed the kind of vitality exhibited in the Most-Hated-Creature-Found-In-Your-House (a certain ck scuttly thing) but ended up having its head cracked open by Hiroshi and its core extracted without even a chance to do a substantial attack or utter a word.
¡°Hey, Haruna-san.¡±
¡°Yeah?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you smell an opportunity o¡¯er there?¡±
Haruna turned to where Hiroshi was pointing, her heart pounding from being alone with him. There, there were a good number of desert delicacies lying around, like Sand Sharks and Sand Rays.
¡°¡Wow, you¡¯re right!¡±
¡°I¡¯ll go get Mio.¡±
¡°Oh, I¡¯ll go. Go ahead and start without me, Hiroshi-kun.¡±
¡°Roger that.¡±
They wouldn¡¯t make it back to Darl by the end of the day, anyway. As soon as that fact was evident, the party decided to leisurely mine their profits from thend. Seeing that not even the Norton sisters objected, they werepletely assimted.
This particr Barold, who was never given a definite name until the end, didn¡¯t even get a chance to exin why it turned to such a direct method of attack before encountering a retaliation so out of left field that it was out of right field, and being treated like any other piece of material by Hiroshi.
¡°What do we know about the incident in the desert?
¡°You¡¯re interested too, Mister Alvan?¡±
¡°Naturally. Even though it¡¯s more than a day away by carriage, it is just a day. Who knows how that will affect Darl?¡±
¡°Is that how it is.¡±
¡°That is, indeed, how it is.¡±
Alvan, as he instructed his ally who went around town collecting information like a certain celebrity, asked for intel. It goes without saying that even this ally didn¡¯t know Alvan¡¯s true face under the mask.
¡°Currently, this is what I got for rumors about that incident.¡±
¡°I see. All you have for sure is that there was a sudden, loud noise before the earth shook and an incredible sandstorm roared up.¡±
¡°Yessir, I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°No, with this much information crisscrossing, we can¡¯t figure out the truth just yet. We¡¯re better off for at least having some vision of the incident.¡±
Consoling his ally like this, Alvan listed up his wanted intel, trying to capitalize on the opportunity to ask.
¡°And, let¡¯s see¡ Anything new about the weirdos that are strangely aggressive to outsiders?¡±
¡°Sorry to say, sir, they ain¡¯t doing muchtely. All the rumors are iffy, too.¡±
¡°How long istely?¡±
¡°Lessee. From about the time the folks you¡¯ve been watching¡¯s been doing their foodstand every day.¡±
Hearing this, Alvan slightly rose his brow as if he had expected the answer.
¡°Any idea about it, sir?¡±
¡°Some, but even if I told you, I don¡¯t it will change the information I¡¯ll get from you.¡±
¡°Huh, is that how it is?¡±
¡°That is, indeed, how it is¡ Hm. I¡¯ll have you keep collecting rumors as-is while you dig deeper on the movement of the Igreos temple.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t mind, but ain¡¯t it yours, or Sparrow¡¯s or Straw¡¯s specialty to dig deeper than this?¡±
¡°That¡¯s one avenue, of course. But when we go for evidence, we can¡¯t ignore rumors. ¡®People talk,¡¯ has more truth than it than you think.¡±
His ally nodded in agreement. The instinct of this seasoned clown-like informant, though, was that rumors couldn¡¯t be trusted for the incidents regarding the temple, this time around. It just wasn¡¯t clear why they were attacked this way or why the incidents were dealt like that afterward. Because of this, all the rumors seemed tock a frame or structure to it, making them much more difficult to weed through. Even though this happened once in a while, in cases where there was apletelyck of a through-line and stories reaching in all sorts of directions, it was getting difficult to even make a report to Alvan.
¡°In any case, don¡¯t expect much from my work, this time around. These rumors are so out of proportion that they¡¯ll make you dizzy¡¡±
¡°For now, I¡¯ll just take rumors with a little bit of confirmation behind them.¡±
¡°Aye-aye. I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡±
When Alvan asked, he couldn¡¯t say no. While this would most likely end up being a fruitless endeavor, he didn¡¯t particrly mind it. it was more likely for his actions to be fruitless anyway. No sense trying to change that now.
¡°Oh, speaking of.¡±
¡°Hm? You got something?¡±
¡°When the folks you¡¯ve been watching left town, the nobles and the folks at the temple were weirdly panicking.¡±
¡°¡I feel like that¡¯s where all of this is headed. What do you think?¡±
¡°I agree. If they headed toward the desert, they might have something to do with what happened over at the desert today. It might just be that whoever attacked the temple folk¡¯s been taken care of by this incident.¡±
Alvan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the idea. The possibility wasn¡¯t non-existent, of course, but it would have been way too convenient for that to be the case.
If whoever was attacking the temple workers had the same caliber of abilities as the Barold he once took out, Alvan knew that it would not be so easy to take care of upon being attacked head-on. The fact that Alvan could take it on alone was simply because he took it by surprise before it transformed, using his bloodline¡¯s most powerful secret attack no less, to cut the thing up to bits. If he was ambushed, he would not have lost so easily, but he was aware that he might not have won.
¡°If the attacker we¡¯re after is who we expect it to be, their boss at least won¡¯t be too easy to take care of.¡±
¡°If you say so, sir, it must be.¡±
¡°That being said, I¡¯ve heard that they had fought and won against a foe as formidable as the one we¡¯re after. If the attackers are after the clergywomen tagging alone the party, it isn¡¯t impossible that they were attacked and took out that thing.¡±
Alvan analyzed the situation as such with a serious face, but he didn¡¯t expect his ally to have hit the mark so spectacrly. From just meeting them once and getting second-hand information here and there, it was only natural that he had no idea of how ridiculous Hiroshi was.
¡°In any case, there won¡¯t be in any progress in that department until they return. Until they do, keep digging like we¡¯ve talked about.¡±
¡°Yessir. What are you up to after this, sir?¡±
¡°I think I¡¯ll go tend to some flowers.¡±
With that poetic line, Alvan disappeared from the scene. While this usual urrence didn¡¯t bother him, his ally couldn¡¯t help but wish for a few crumbs to crumble his way.
Volume 3 8.4
Volume 3 Chapter 8.4
Trantor: Adam Seacord
Editor: Weasalopes
¡°I¡¯m back. Any new information on the incident in the Desert?¡±
At the Darl pce, the queen who had been absent under the pretense of meeting with the temple representatives had asked Sergio the one thing that was on her mind the whole time, the second she returned. The whole reason for her traveling this time was because of this incident, anyway.
¡°A long absence for just talking in the temple. We do have a good collection of information.¡±
¡°I see. I¡¯ve stopped by everywhere I could to collect as much as we could.¡±
¡°Your Highness, please don¡¯t go wandering about in this emergency¡¡±
¡°Only so much information one can trust without getting ahold of it themselves.¡±
The Queen was too careful to limit her source of information to anyone within her pce. If she hadn¡¯t collected rumors on her own ord, all it would take would be for Sergio to betray her for her to be the ignorant, Naked Queen. While it wasn¡¯t very likely for Sergio to betray her now, she knew there was no absolutes in this world.
Truth be told, the Queen wanted to change the very system where all infoing into the pce had to pass through Sergio, but since there was no one else to do the job, she had to maintain the status quo.
¡°Let¡¯s get back on topic. New intel?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see. Our intel team just returned. The biggest tip is that we finally narrowed down the location of the incident.¡±
¡°Oh? Where was it?¡±
¡°Apparently, about 50 kilometers South South East from the entrance into the Scorching Desert. They can¡¯t be sure without seeing the actual location, but someone had cast a major spell. Judging by the fact that the vibrations reached us, it¡¯s a spellparable to Hell Inferno. Most likely.¡±
¡°¡That¡¯s certainly a scary thought. But it would narrow the search down if we¡¯re looking for someone who can cast such a spell.¡±
While Hell Inferno had its time in the spotlight every decade or so when arge horde of monsters appeared, but it was, of course, nothing that could be fired off left and right in this world. The magic needed to use it was on an entirely different level than spells that could be used in normalbat. It was a little difficult for a solo mage to use it without stiption.
Even Tatsuya, who had ten times the amount of magic as the average mage, could only use the spell once in his best condition, if it wasn¡¯t for the cost reduction he got from his wand. That was a major spell. Naturally, it would narrow down whoever could use it, and it could only be used, ordinarily, as a ritual spell or with the aid of many boosters. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to narrow down the castor. While much more efficient than Hell Inferno, the same could be said for the most part about the technically major spell, Holy Octocannon.
A major spell was something that most high-ranking adventurers, let alone any civilian has seen it cast. With the scale of the spell, it was no wonder that it was seen as some catastrophe in the desert. In Darl, anyway, a spell like that was only cast once every decade or so, after all.
¡°Now this is my personal opinion, but perhaps this Barold is more than a part of it, but the attacker himself?¡±
¡°Hm. Do you mind if I ask why you think so, Your Highness?¡±
¡°First, from what I¡¯ve read in the documents from Fane, this Barold apparently used Hell Inferno with ease. Besides, the attack on the temple workers that have got the city riled up shares someone of the M.O. with this Barold.¡±
¡°But is that enough, Your Highness? Besides, I believe Barold was taken out by Alvan.¡±
¡°It was active in Fane at the same time, I believe. It wouldn¡¯t be too far-fetched to think that some knaves of simr powers are all over the ce, working under the same name, now, is it?¡±
Sergio could only nod with a frown at the queen¡¯s response. Truth be told, it was noughing matter if there was a bunch of creatures that could each fire off Hell Inferno on their own, but after inspecting foreign intel, he couldn¡¯t be too sure that the queen was wrong.
¡°And my biggest reason for believing this¡¡±
¡°¡What is it, Your Highness?¡±
¡°There¡¯s intel that suggests our guests from Fane were in the desert before noon. The incident urred a little past 3. If the Norton sisters were with them, it isn¡¯t impossible that Barold was after the sisters, and enteredbat with them, resulting in the incident.¡±
The queen had excluded this possibility at first, but now that she had seriously considered it in her mind, she notified that much to Sergio. If she had been sure that the incident wasn¡¯t caused by the like of a major spell, she wouldn¡¯t have given the theory a second thought.
¡°Then, they¡¯re¡¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know how, but they seem to be alive, at least. They¡¯re stuck in the sandstorm and would return tomorrow orter. ording to themunication the temple received, anyway.¡±
¡°Survived being caught in a major spell¡¡±
¡°If they were the kind that wouldn¡¯t, they would have died in the incident in Fane.¡±
Sergio could only agree with a chuckle at the queen¡¯s assessment. Judging from their rtionship with Fane, it seemed difficult to take the party in, but they were sure that they definitely could not make enemies out of this party. Honestly, neither of them had the prospects to defeat them in that case.
¡°In any case, there¡¯s the future to think of. As soon as they return, get them to the pce. With the proper etiquette they deserve, of course.¡±
¡°Understood, Your Highness.¡±
There was much on the horizon. Frist of all, they had to make a connection. Thanks to the royal intentions in that manner, Hiroshi and his party would end up getting tangled up with the royalty in Darl, too.
Meanwhile¡
¡°The Barold in Darl has vanished.¡±
¡°¡That makes two. That chivalrous thief, again?¡±
¡°Negative. It seems to be the ones that took out the Barold in Fane.¡±
In a particr space of darkness, bunch of figures that might as well not exist at all were talking this and that.
¡°Them again?¡±
¡°What happened this time?¡±
¡°it attacked them in attempt to take out the priestesses, and was taken out by some mysterious attack, in turn.¡±
With that report, the space fell silent. After some silence, one of them spoke:
¡°What do we do?¡±
¡°Already arranged for a new Barold. But¡¡±
¡°Sending it alone will most likely end in it being taken out in return, again.¡±
¡°But as long as there¡¯s kindle in the country, unlike Fane, it isn¡¯t wise not to do anything. ¡°
The shadows discussed with concern about the Barold that, this time, seemed to have gone down without much of a fight. After another long beat of silence, one of them mumbled.
¡°¡If one won¡¯t do¡ How about three?¡±
¡°¡That¡¯s an option, but all of them think they are the only Barold. I doubt they¡¯ll be any semnce of teamwork between them.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll have to y a little trick. Make them think they were a trio to begin with.¡±
¡°Is that possible?¡±
¡°To a certain degree. They do think that each of them owns the name Barold, but they do know that there are others in simr situations as them. We can take advantage of that to make a little change.¡±
With this shadow¡¯s idea, the direction seemed solidified. At this rate, they were done for, anyway. And, while it would take some time and resources, they could make as many Barolds as they needed. While the loss of Barolds wouldn¡¯t bepletely fine for them, it wasn¡¯t something they had to particrly worry about.
¡°So?¡±
¡°Well, drastically increasing their numbers won¡¯t end well. Let¡¯s send two of them first, as a sort of test. Is the Barold you spoke of already sent in?¡±
¡°Negative.¡±
¡°Then, we¡¯ll tinker with its memories. Have it standby without turning it on.¡±
¡°Understood.¡±
Despite being created, Barolds have independent consciousness from the moment they are started up. It was difficult to manipte their memory after the fact. Besides, because of their independent mind, even if the backstory of a trio was imprinted in them, it didn¡¯t guarantee that they would work well together with each other, nor that they could intelligently execute any team-oriented tactics. With no data, a trio would be too risky in the case of losing their control. With that much in mind, no one objected to trying out an attack with one less than their idea.
¡°The rest is up to me, it seems. You all go back to your own tasks. To fill the world with Holy Essence.¡±
With that call, each of them disappeared from the space to return to their own work.
¡°We can¡¯t ignore our guests from the Unknown Continent much longer.¡±
While modifying the Barold that appeared in the darkness in all sorts of way, the shadowed whispered. Since sending the Barolds as-is seemed destined to fail, he nted some sort of gimmick.
¡°Now, we¡¯ll see how this goes.¡±
After finishing up, the shadow sent out the Barold in hopes of it taking care of the unwanted guests once-and-for-all, and vanished into the darkness.
Meanwhile¡
¡°Wow. You can get a sort of shark-fin from the Sand Rays?¡±
¡°And caviar from the Sand Sharks.¡±
¡°These Desert Crabs are pretty lean and sweet. How about some grilled crab?¡±
Hiroshi and the rest of the party, oblivious of the new scheme creeping up to Darl, were enjoying the extravagant dinner concocted from the desert delicacies.
Volume 3 9.1
Volume 3 Chapter 9.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Became more of a long haul than we initially thought, eh?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I never thought we¡¯d be stayin¡¯ the night right after leavin¡¯ the ruins.¡¹
This was the fourth day since their excursion into the desert, slightly after 10. Everyone breathed sighs of relief upon finally being able to see the entrance to Darl. They could see the vast barley fields as they got closer, which felt oddlyforting.
¡¸It seems that we need to check in at the temple once we get back.¡¹
¡¸Big Sis, the only future I see for us is admonishment¡¡¡¹
¡¸Technically speaking, we have contacted them daily, and the time spent away wasn¡¯t really something we were responsible for, so I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll get angry at us¡¡¡¹
¡¸I get the feeling that we¡¯ll get quite the long scolding for worrying them¡¡¡¹
Thinking about what they would deal withter, the Norton sisters sighed once again with rather mncholic faces. The guilty party, the Japanese members of the group looked at the two of them.
¡¸But couldn¡¯t you have just returned using transportation stones or transportation magic?¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s about two hours by car, then I figured y¡¯all could still get back home as long as ya didn¡¯t dilly-dally.¡¹
¡¸Well, I mean, there is some truth to that, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Besides, if ya teleported back to Darl, ya woulda ran into Barold. That woulda been real bad, right?¡¹
Unable to counter Hiroshi¡¯s argument, Tatsuya simply made a grim face. They had all but entirely suppressed Barold because of the minivan and its many functions, but if they had tried to face him head-on, they certainly wouldn¡¯t have had it as easy. He had many ranged attacks, so it would be out of the question to fight him downtown where so many people were. Then again, fighting him in a deserted, wide open area risked his summoning spells getting out of hand and overwhelming the team.
Barold just so happened to have started the fight, and thanks to that they were able win in the easiest fashion: by bumping into him with the car. Otherwise it would have escted into quite the bothersome fight. Carrying baggage like the Norton sisters while ensuring no one in the vicinity got hurt and having to deal with gueri tactics on top of all that could have really done a number on their nerves.
It wouldn¡¯t have been a bad idea to drive the car home in a nonchnt manner, but if they hadn¡¯t gone investigating after the whole underground ruin excavation, the Norton sisters would not have been absent for so long. In that sense, Hiroshi was really the one who had to reflect on what he did.
Then again, Tatsuya and the others didn¡¯t know this, but their actions had caused Barold to lose sight of where they were, forcing him to think up a more optimal n.
¡¸Well anyhow, this is all water under the bridge, so let¡¯s think of what¡¯ll happen from now on instead.¡¹
¡¸Umm, but that¡¯s exactly what frightens me¡¡¡¹
¡¸Wait, we¡¯re not going to be involved in that too, are we?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll leave that stuff to y¡¯all. I gotta weave some clothing.¡¹
Hiroshi tried to leave the decision-making to everyone else.
¡¸Hey don¡¯t run away! You¡¯re the root of this issue!¡¹
Right after Hiroshi said that, Tatsuya immediately interjected. Letting him go meant he might repeat the same mistake again.
¡¸Why¡¯s it matter if I¡¯m there or not, mate?¡¹
Hiroshi continued to attempt his escape from trouble.
¡¸That¡¯s not the issue, dude.¡¹
Tatsuya continued to put pressure on Hiroshi to do the right thing. Smiling awkwardly at the two of them, Haruna nced out the window and sensed something unusual.
¡¸¡¡Hm?¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Haru, something happen?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t you think security seems a little heavy around here?¡¹
Now that it was brought to their attention, the other members began observing their situation. And then
¡¸Yeah, the atmosphere does give off a strangely¡not quite murderous, but agitated aura.¡¹
¡¸I wonder what¡¯s going on?¡¹
Everyone¡¯s eyes widened at the heightened security. There were clearly more guards than usual at the gates. They seemed to be taking quite a bit more time examining everyone entering the city, and there were many people waiting their turn in line.
¡¸It really is quite heavy.¡¹
¡¸Was there some crazy incident when we were away, ya think?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t say it¡¯s totally out of the question, but I can definitely say things weren¡¯t this tense with the apprenticeship incident!¡¹
¡¸Then somethin¡¯ mighta happened outside.¡¹
They continued their incoherent conversation without even considering that they might be responsible for this.
¡¸In any case, we¡¯d best just line up at the end, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Luggage check¡¯s are prolly gonna git real strict. We¡¯d better turn off Share Capacity; it¡¯s been on for a while.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯d better organize storage to make it look more natural right now, huh?¡¹
¡¸Yup. So first we m a buncha sand from the desert into the trunk of the car¡¡¡¹
The Japanese party decelerated the car to stall for time as they quickly finished up organizing. Expand Capacity was one thing, but Share Capacity was an enchantment not known very well to the public. Disabling it right now would make things go more smoothly.
They normally had the enchantment off when leaving town unless they nabbed a really big item or needed to hand something over to someone else. They had gotten a lot of items this time around and couldn¡¯t have perfectly managed storage without sharing it.
¡¸So this about does it for the inside?¡¹
¡¸Alright y¡¯all, sharing off.¡¹
Once they had divided the contents into everyone¡¯s bags, Hiroshi turned off the shared storage function. Since Expand Capacity was a regr enchantment, they didn¡¯t need to worry about it. It was more normal to have 4 times normal capacity, but with enough money and connections you could go 30 times or 40 times that amount. Then again, expanding to more than 4 times the original space never really had much of a purpose unless you reduced the weight by a hefty amount.
¡¸But seriously, what happened?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Maybe it has something to do with us.¡¹
¡¸Oh? And on what basis?¡¹
¡¸Because one of those higher-ups are walking over here and their face looks livid.¡¹
Haruna pointed out as she lined up at the back.
The Japanese party cocked their heads, not knowing what could have possibly caused this. Meanwhile, judging by the expressions on their faces, the Norton sisters seemed to have thought of something. Haruna noticed this, calling out to them just in case.
¡¸Prim-san, Judith-san, would you happen to have any ideas?¡¹
¡¸Actually, we¡¯re wondering why none of you have realized this yet¡¡¡¹
¡¸Come on, Big Sis. I think we should know by now just how out of sync everyone is in that regard.¡¹
¡¸Hmm, I feel like I¡¯ve just been insulted in some way, but anyhow, can you think of anything?¡¹
¡¸If you think about carefully, normally there would be some sort of disruption caused from using such shy moves in that desert¡¡¡¹
Prim exined with an exhausted expression.
Everyone other than the sisters looked at each other in puzzlement. Was that really the issue?
¡¸But that move was on par with Armageddon, so it wouldn¡¯t cause that much of a ruckus, now would it?¡¹
¡¸Uhh no, how many people do you think can actually use a move called Armageddon¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Sure it¡¯s rare, but you see them every so often.¡¹
Makoto replied.
¡¸I don¡¯t think our world will be in good shape if there are that many users¡¡¡¹
Prim interjected while holding her head in exasperation. As per usual, these Japanese folksckedmon sense in the strangest ways.
¡¸But Doul and Ju-san put up a good fight with Makoto, so I figured it ain¡¯t all that powerful. Guess I was wrong.¡¹
¡¸I do not know what position of society those people you mention are in, but I do not think that the amount of people in Fane or Darl with power equal to Makoto-san can be counted on more than two hands¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a hard-knock life¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi said wistfully.
¡¸Hiroshi-san, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the right way to use that phrase¡¡¡¹
Judith interjected mercilessly.
As they continued this carefree, nonsensical conversation, the minivan had already been surrounded by a group that appeared to be knights. They were clearly saying something, but the minivan¡¯s soundproof, airtight nature made it difficult to hear what they were saying.
¡¸What is it?¡¹
Figuring that it was best to not ignore them, Tatsuya opened the window and called out.
¡¸Were you not able to hear what I just said?¡¹
¡¸You see sir, this car here is adept at being both airtight and soundproof, so it¡¯s rather difficult to hear anyone speaking outside.¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t say. Then I will ask again. Am I right in assuming that youdies and gentlemen are from the Azuma Workshop?¡¹
¡¸Yes, we are¡?¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯m sorry to say this, but we would like you toe with us to the temple right away.¡¹
The (apparently)manding officer coerced them toe along in a superficially polite manner. Tatsuya determined that grumbling would not be the best idea. This affair seemed to be a bit more serious than they had thought.
Volume 3 9.2
Volume 3 Chapter 9.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸We understand. What shall we do with the car?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯d prefer that you get off right here.¡¹
¡¸Understood. We¡¯ll tidy up after we get off, so please give us a moment.¡¹
¡¸Tidy up?¡¹
The officer gave Tatsuya a suspicious look. Ignoring him, everyone else got right to fitting the car in the capsule. Watching all of this unfold, themanding officer and his team all gaped in astonishment.
¡¸Come on now. If we left something this ginormous in a ce like this, it would totally get in everyone¡¯s way, right?¡¹
Tatsuya grinned arrogantly, knowing he had seeded in taking the wind out of their sails.
¡¸R-Right¡¡¡¹
Although the officer had seeded in bringing them out of the car to seal their escape, he was by no means in control of the situation.
¡¸Hey, did you see that¡¡?¡¹
¡¸That is one impressive golem carriage¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, those things are real handy.¡¹
¡¸I wonder how much I¡¯d have to save just to buy one of those things?¡¹
The peddlers whispered to each other as they watched the workshop members get escorted along by the guards. They probably didn¡¯t even imagine that the whole carriage was made by the same people riding in it.
¡¸I hope I get to have a cool carriage like that one day.¡¹
¡¸Alright fellows, it¡¯s a race to see who buys it first.¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah.¡¹
The merchants got pumped up with a new objective. The Japanese group continued to influence those around them without knowing it.
¡¸So you¡¯re back!¡¹
¡¸I am so very sorry for worrying you so¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸As long as you girls are safe, I am more than happy¡¡¡¹
The Norton sisters were reunited with the high priest in the reception office. The Japanese party just gazed at them awkwardly. They knew full well that taking the girls around the desert for three days had way too many repercussions.
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢we¡¯re like¡¢really sorry about all this¡¡¡¹
¡¸A certain idiot went off recklessly¡¡¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯all be actin¡¯ like yer the adults here but y¡¯all ain¡¯t innocent either.¡¹
Hiroshi looked a bit awkward, but maintained his ground.
¡¸You¡¯re not one to talk.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto looked at him with spite in their eyes.
With that being said, both of them were only pretending to have been swept up in the whole fiasco, but inwardly they had enjoyed the situation quite a bit. So they knew full well that it was not their ce to make Hiroshi out to be the bad guy.
¡¸I have no intention ofining about anyone. Aren¡¯t adventurers supposed to do things like that?¡¹
The head priest was rather understanding given the situation.
¡¸I¡¯m not sure that we should be considered true adventurers, but yes, that¡¯s normally how it goes¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but feel ufortable. Yes, adventurers did go on long excursions, and yes, as long as the funds from the temple were too scarce to support everyone¡¯s livelihood, there was a need to go on dangerous expeditions like this. There was a need, but¡
¡¸Even so, it is still the undeniable truth that as long as we were responsible for them, we should have been more careful.¡¹
¡¸¡¡This seems to only be going around in circles. Both of these girls are safe, so let us quit bringing these things back up again.¡¹
¡¸Right. Let¡¯s stop discussing this.¡¹
The conversation was veering off into a direction unrted to crafting, so the head priest guided them back to the proper track. The priest had decided that apologizing to someone who has already forgiven you would only make you seem rude, hence why he changed the topic. Realizing this, Tatsuya got on board. Before the report, he also wanted to check something.
¡¸In other news, it feels like the entirety of Darl is on edge. Did something happen?¡¹
¡¸About that. I have something I want to ask all of you. You did go to the desert for thest three days, yes?¡¹
¡¸Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡¹
¡¸Around 3 o¡¯clock yesterday, a nearby town reported that a gigantic sand pir had suddenly protruded from the ground in the desert. Darl also encountered a light earthquake and arge quantity of sand-like mist. Would you happen to know anything about this?¡¹
The Japanese group froze at the priest¡¯s question. Prim and Judith simply sighed, realizing that their apprehensions had been correct. The Japanese didn¡¯t seem to grasp this, but normally when you activate skills or spells with that much power, people who weren¡¯t on tabs with the situation would simply see the string of events as something unnatural. The sisters had to deal with their set of values and standards for so long they had given up on them changing anytime soon, but surely the Japanese people must have expected some sort of aftermath from being only 200 kilometers away from Darl.
¡¸¡¡An abnormality, huh. Right¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡True, with that much sand thrown around, Darl would of course be affected and they would see it as an abnormality¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡I never thought about it from their viewpoint, mate¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well that is why we attempted to reach you in the car¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi and the others finally realized just what they had caused, to which Prim interjected with a tired voice.
¡¸It seems that you do know something about this.¡¹
¡¸Yes. Actually, could you not get angry when you hear this?¡¹
¡¸I will consider it after I hear what you have to say.¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t help but stiffen at the priest¡¯s honest response. It was more difficult to tell in their case at the scene of the incident, but the outside world had noticed the shy event quite a bit. They should have known that entrusting everything to Hiroshi was a mistake.
¡¸You see, that was something we, or should I say, Hiroshi aplished by stuffing a weapon into the car.¡¹
¡¸¡¡A weapon, you say?¡¹
¡¸Yes. They call it Worldshaker. It was what we used against a humanoid-looking thing named Barold.¡¹
¡¸¡¡And it resulted in a disturbance of this caliber¡¡¡¹
¡¸But for those of us near the center of it, it just looked like a slightly shy explosion with clouds of dust.¡¹
With enough safety precautions, if you were near the center, it was fairly reasonable that you would not notice much else. Still, the same ¡°cloud of dust¡± was what had turned into a wall of mist that flew straight at Darl in the form of a sand pir. Surely they must have thought of this incident as more than just a shy explosion.
Usually this would seem like a lie, but judging by the mannerisms of the upright Norton sisters, this was unmistakably the truth. Still, this was an aggravating situation.
¡¸More specifically, might I ask how much power?¡¹
¡¸The destructive power nearby was slightly more so than Armageddon, and then a hundred meters away and it decreased by about eighty percent. The range of this decreased shock wave was still powerful at a one kilometer radius at most.¡¹
¡¸¡¡That¡¯s more than enough basis to call it arge scale attack¡¡¡¹
¡¸So like I said, we went to the desert to use it¡¡¡¹
If you were trying to be that careful, then might you have simply considered alternatives to defeating them? The priest was about to say it and then swallowed it back down. If Barold was their opponent then Hiroshi most likely had no alternative, as Barold would have done the same, which would have put the Norton sisters in peril.
Plus Hiroshi, the inventor, was one thing. But the other people probably didn¡¯t know anything about this so-called Worldshaker. Maybe they didn¡¯t even know that such a weapon was loaded in the car, which was highly likely. In that case, clearly it would have been tough to stop Hiroshi.
Even Hiroshi was probably only thinking of the best way to minimize casualties, so there really was no point in getting angry at him. He would have thundered against Hiroshi if he had let this happen near town, but this was after Hiroshi had brought the enemy into the desert, a ce far less likely to involve innocent bystanders. As long as he was using his head a bit, there was no point getting angry. That was the head priest¡¯s current thinking. His personality wasn¡¯t doing him any favors.
¡¸¡¡I will simply settle this case as one in which everyone took the best measures they could. Still, could you enlighten me as to what you were aplishing for three, no, two days to be more precise, in the desert?That¡¯s not a whole lot of time.¡¹
Everyone braced themselves to answer the question that had finally arrived. No matter how fast transportation was¡or maybe precisely because they had fast transportation, just two days and a half was seriously not enough. And in the scorching-hot desert especially, two or three days was too short toe to-and-fro, whereas in Hiroshi¡¯s case, it took far less time than normal to go from Darl to the desert, hence why it was strange to linger around the entrance for so long.
Harvesting or hunting generally took half a day as long as your findings weren¡¯t scarce. You could still avoid the afternoon heat and make it back the next day. Even the entrance had a good amount of harvesting potential.
¡¸Uhhh, so in this case, I guess we could say we were busy with investigating the ancient ruins?¡¹
¡¸Well that isn¡¯t a lie or anything, right?¡¹
¡¸We had some good results for the most part, and we weren¡¯t ying around or anything, right?¡¹
¡¸Hmm, but I do feel like we yed around a bit, y¡¯all.¡¹
Volume 3 9.3
Volume 3 Chapter 9.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Hearing this roundabout answer, and ancient ruins at that, the priest was at his wits end. It wasn¡¯t like they could just search Torrid Desert from top to bottom. Then again, there was The Sweltering Tower. So it wasn¡¯t so surprising that they went into a ruin or two.
But this was far too out-of-ce to be a lie. Usually you would lie with more persuasion. Besides, just like Worldshaker from earlier, the Norton sisters affirmed its validity. So he could establish that this was also no lie.
¡¸¡¡Might I have you fill me in a bit more on this?¡¹
¡¸Of course. We intended to report this to you in the first ce. But it¡¯s going to be a fairly long story, so could you perhaps ask anything you want to know first?¡¹
¡¸Understood. I will decide to listen based on the minimum details.¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much. So then, where do we start?¡¹
¡¸Let us see¡How about beginning with where these ancient ruins are?¡¹
So that was where he began. Tatsuya and the priest had different intentions but with the same exact idea. Then again, if the priest had to hear this before listening to anything else, Tatsuya would not be able to just gloss it over, so in Tatsuya¡¯s case he was simply trying to run away.
¡¸I¡¯m going to put this out there. It¡¯s a pretty unconventional sequence of events, but everything I¡¯ll be discussing is the truth.¡¹
¡¸I already see this whole thing as unconventional. There is not a huge difference if I have to listen to yet another unconventional story.¡¹
¡¸I will trust you on that. The ruins that we discovered were underground in the Scorching Desert, about 1 kilometer underground.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Underground, you say¡¡¡¹
¡¸ording to that idiot over there, we can always expect to find ancient ruins underground in deserts, and, well¡¡¡¹
As Tatsuya spoke, the priest found himself looking at Hiroshi, who for whatever reason was puffing his chest out with a triumphant expression. Clearly he was not remorseful about any of the shenanigans he had pulled.
¡¸¡¡I¡¯m just going to ignore the fact that you¡¯re acting oddly prideful. Anyhow, if you say there were ruins in that area¡¡¡¹
¡¸You want to know how deep we went, right?¡¹
¡¸Yes. In the Scorching Desert, it¡¯s not just the heat that gets you; there are a variety of dangerous creatures. Land organisms can¡¯t live in that region. Even if you were to dig a tunnel, one or two years would not be nearly¡¡¡¹
¡¸In the flesh, yes. But with this idiot over here, a lot of premises just fall t¡¡¡¹
The priest had a bad feeling about what Tatsuya said. They hadn¡¯t reported a tunnel, but¡did they actually dig one? The priest¡¯s thoughts showed on his face. Tatsuya looked at his face and gave a small sigh before continuing.
¡¸If it was just digging a tunnel then that would have been easier. But this idiot made some boat-like vehicle that lets you move around freely underground.¡¹
¡¸¡¡That is, quite¡¡¡¹
¡¸If you know about the car we use then I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be saying that.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yes. If you can make that golem carriage, I know that isn¡¯t impossible. I know it isn¡¯t, but still¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s too constricting here, but if we had a wider range then we could show you¡¡¡¹
The priest was at his wits¡¯ end once he heard that casual statement. If they had dealt with Fane in the same way then the pce probably would have been quite shaken. He couldn¡¯t help but feel admiration for the Fane nobles and how they had managed to make use of Hiroshi¡¯s group to ovee the crisis.
¡¸And so you took two days to investigate?¡¹
¡¸We spent two nights in the ruins, harvested like we originally nned, went back, got attacked by Barold on our way back, and then as mentioned earlier, we were unable to move any further because of the way we dealt with him.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¡¹
Since the investigation didn¡¯t even take up a day with this amount of people, the ruins must not be all that expansive. Then there wouldn¡¯t be an issue with asking the details here. The priest decided to inquire.
¡¸Then might you tell me what you discovered in the ruins?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see¡The ruins themselves were recreational facilities for a group living underground calling themselves the ¡°People of the Continent¡±. More precisely it¡¯s a set of booby traps to snare outsiders with, and the firstyer wasrge enough to fit the entirety of Darl inside.¡¹
The priest stared in wonderment when he heard about these unbelievablyrge-scale ruins. Wouldn¡¯t this group of individuals be quite dangerous if all that were true? And so the priest spat out his next question.
¡¸The¡people of the continent?¡¹
¡¸Yes. About a hundred people worshipping the god of the underworld. Apparently they slept for 3,000 years, but when we went in they woke up and activated the function of the ruins.¡¹
¡¸And the function was something akin to a booby trap, you say?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Although it doesn¡¯t harm intruders, just messes with them for fun.¡¹
The ruins were vast enough to fit the whole city of Darl inside just to mess with intruders. The priest simply couldn¡¯t understand the reasoning.
¡¸¡¡So youpletely investigated an establishment the size of Darl?¡¹
¡¸No. We knew fairly early on what our opponent intended, so we simply found evidence to back it up and ended everything. We do have something to prove this, by the way.¡¹
¡¸Do you, now?¡¹
¡¸Yes. We got permission to take back some. Hiro.¡¹
¡¸Roger that. Here¡¯s the easy-to-understand part.¡¹
Hiroshi took out several old books that looked to be at least one hundred years old. The ancient Darl writing on the covers showed they were unmistakably more than one thousand years old.
¡¸The booby trap in the first floor archive. Read the contents and you¡¯re sure tough.¡¹
¡¸¡¡What kind of contents were in these books?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t read ancient Darlish writing but ording to Prim, they¡¯re ancient erotica novels.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
The priest couldn¡¯t believe what Hiroshi just said, looking at him with suspicious eyes before rifying what was inside the books. The title of one of them was ¡°Erindel¡¯s Glory¡±. So at least it appeared to be a novel. The first few lines were fairly innocuous, and at this point it was a normal entertainment novel. Seeing as how it would take time to read any further, the priest skimmed ahead for two pages until¡¡
¡¸¡¡Indeed, it does seem to be an erotica novel¡¡¡¹
He had plowed right through to a sex scene. The priest had gone through many a serious training, and he had in fact read a few of these types of books so as to not fall into seduction. The contents and background settings were different, but this sudden, forceful turn of events closely resembled the books he read.
Already past the threshold of sexual desire at his age, the priest didn¡¯t feel anything in particr with the rich imagery, but it was quite astonishing to find something like this among ancient documents in desert ruins.
¡¸Are¡they all like this?¡¹
¡¸The one who put it there said about thirty percent of them were that way.¡¹
¡¸What about the other seventy percent?¡¹
¡¸Ten percent are actual serious books about the history of the underground ruins, thirty percent are educational books that don¡¯t really help you but aren¡¯t necessarily bad to read, and the remaining thirty percent are more mainstream entertainment novels that aren¡¯t quite as graphic as erotica. And any sort of technical book is too dangerous to leave around, so they have those in a separate location.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¡¹
The priest felt truly impressed at the persuasiveness of that statement, at least up to thest part about the ruins, to which he felt power leave his body and immediately regretted feeling impressed.
¡¸¡¡So the facility was used to enjoy oneself in every manner possible?¡¹
¡¸The second floor and below, yes. Well, in the case of the second floor, it does seem like a good location for adventurers to train.¡¹
¡¸Third floor was all about athletics and tact, so I dunno if ya wanna call it a fine line for adventurer trainin¡¯ or not.¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸True, it did feel more like anyone in general could get some basic training from it. Well, I think you could put the third floor to good use by training there enough first and then going to the second floor.¡¹
The priest wasn¡¯t sure what to think about thatstment, massaging his eyebrows in visible pain. Ancient ruins? People of the Continent? Usually you¡¯d think both would be an amazing find. So why did this discovery feel so worthless?
¡¸Also, we heard the gist of why the People of the Continent have declined so much. That¡¯s why they seek an audience with Igreos-sama or the priestess.¡¹
¡¸It depends on what exactly happened.¡¹
¡¸Three thousand years ago, the god of the underworld, Zanafel-sama and his priestess eloped in the underground temple and have yet to return. So the direct cause of the decline of the People of the Continent is that a bunch of their people set out to look for the eloped priestess.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Is this true?¡¹
¡¸Most likely. We do have evidence to support it.¡¹
Tatsuya held out a piece of paper that had a terrifying amount of divine power within it. If a leader of the priest ss were to see this, it would unmistakably be an item delivered directly from a god.
¡¸¡¡May I see it?¡¹
¡¸Go ahead.¡¹
With shaking hands, he took the paper and opened it timidly¡
¡¸¡¡There were plenty of head-banging topics today, but this one takes the cake¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we thought so¡¡¡¹
Enclosed were holy letters used only by those who served divinity, and together they spelled ¡°I¡¯m running away. Please do not search for me.¡± Of all the unexpected reports today, this one dealt the finishing blow.
¡¸So we wanted to see if you knew anything rted to this.¡¹
¡¸Yes, it doesn¡¯t seem like we can just ignore this¡¡¹
Volume 3 9.4
Volume 3 Chapter 9.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
The priest replied to Tatsuya¡¯s request, ring at the sentence as if it had killed his parents. Eventually, recognizing that the contents would not change no matter how much he red at it, the priest moved on.
¡¸As for negotiations with the inner sanctuary, I will do whatever I can to ensure it gets delivered. They won¡¯t be able to ignore Zanafel-sama¡¯s name.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re counting on you.¡¹
¡¸That being said, this won¡¯t be a matter of a few days. I¡¯m sorry to ask you this, but could you please not go near the pce until the schedule is adjusted?¡¹
¡¸The pce?¡¹
¡¸Yes. From what I have permission to discuss with you, there are several topics concerning all of you that Fane is discussing with Darl¡¯s royal house. Because of the details, Darl has refrained from excessive interaction with you¡¡¡¹
With that, everyone understood what the priest was trying to say.
¡¸So basically, they can no longer leave us be after this incident?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Though it isn¡¯t public, you are all considered important guests. Even if the royal family doesn¡¯t directly interfere, there has been a regr trend.¡¹
¡¸So once we were off in the desert and they didn¡¯t know what was goin¡¯ on, they panicked and made contact?¡¹
¡¸Precisely.¡¹
They had apparently be famous before they knew it. Or at least that was the conclusion Hiroshi and the others made with the information presented. This group just didn¡¯t seem to grasp the consequences or danger of their actions.
¡¸Will you begin today?¡¹
¡¸No, we definitely can¡¯t organize things properly in such a short amount of time. What we discussed today will be in the report materials that I will send to the royal pce. I would like to ask that you all rest yourselves for tonight and then prepare to embark to the castle tomorrow morning.¡¹
Everyone showed some relief at what the priest said. True enough, they were tired in many ways. It was best to avoid being overly sensitive.
¡¸Head Priest, what should we do?¡¹
¡¸Prim, Judith. I would also like you two toe along to the castle.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Prim epted the priest¡¯s instructions with a slightly displeased expression. Judith also didn¡¯t look too happy.
¡¸Alright then, let us disperse for the day.¡¹
No longer able to hide his pained expression as he looked at the two of them, the priest announced dismissal. Though everyone found this whole affair to be convoluted, they looked forward to returning home.
¡¸They¡¯ll be arriving here at the castle tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Understood. How shall we receive them?¡¹
¡¸Good question. Honestly, in terms of their value, we could treat them with the highest favor, but making it too excessive would create many aplication.¡¹
Sergio agreed with the queen. They usually had to avoid contact with the Azuma workshop crew, as was the demand from Fane. They would surely understand based on the situation, but it was best to refrain from taking any action that might cause them to think otherwise. Still, they were the ones who called the crew over, so treating them too roughly would nder the dignity of the country.
¡¸I¡¯d like to greet them favorably if doesn¡¯t attract too much attention. They¡¯remoners, so treating them too luxuriously might throw them off. Also, the food or rooms they will be in probably can¡¯t outmatch what they¡¯re ustomed to. So please n ordingly.¡¹
¡¸You make such difficult requests¡¹
¡¸Well that is just howplex and crucial our guests are.¡¹
Sergio grimaced at the tall order, while the queen exerted her pressure. From her perspective, even if it were impossible to tter them, she wanted to avoid giving off a bad impression. Hopefully her rtion with them would be enough to amodate.
¡¸Still, they¡¯re a very intriguing bunch.¡¹
¡¸Intriguing, you say?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. They have so many members and yet care nothing for physical pleasures. Well, there have been someplicated affairs, but overall they¡¯re a very chaste bunch.¡¹
Sergio grimaced even more. Maybe if a man said that it would make sense. The queen was technically past her prime in age, but physically she was at the prime of womanhood. Hearing her make such vividments left him unsure what to say.
¡¸The eldest of the threedies already got intimate with someone before. The eldest of the gentlemen seems to have left a wife at home. Surely he must have pent-up frustration, but I have never seen him enter those types of shops since he came to this country.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I don¡¯t think those are the sorts of things you should be prying into¡¡¡¹
Seeing the queen bring up the worst of her indescribable bad habits, Sergio attempted to stop her with irritation in his eyes. Continuing this conversation would definitely put them on the wrong course.
¡¸What? We¡¯re living creatures too. It is impossible to cut ties with it.¡¹
But the queen ignored Sergio¡¯s intimidation and escted the lewd conversation further to show she was not backing down.
¡¸First things first, perhaps I should incite this lonely man to y with a bit of fire, if you know what I mean.¡¹
¡¸Please stop.¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, Sergio. Even I am a woman. It has been seven years since my liege died at the hands of fools and left me. Seven years, I tell you. Yes, my heart belongs only to my liege, but what¡¯s wrong with my body gettingforted by ten or twenty different men?¡¹
¡¸A lot of things, that¡¯s what!¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what you saidst time. And so I treated the young girls with love and left it at that. Which is fine. But at some point I desire a man.¡¹
Sergio really wanted to hold his head in exasperation. Although the crown prince would be of age in a few years¡¯ time, the queen¡¯s recklessness with men could very well lead to an idental pregnancy and a rift in the country. The queen was not a direct descent of the royal family, but still went back enough generations to where her blood may as well be called pure. And unlike Fane, Darl¡¯s bloodline magic was inherited by children born from either sex. Therefore any children born from this queen would be guaranteed to gain magical aptitude regardless of who she chose.
Still, forcing the mature queen to live her life with no outlet was of course cruel. So on the condition that she noty her hands on any chaste individuals, he had allowed the queen to have rtions with certains types of women who were happy to oblige, but¡¡
¡¸So I can¡¯t see men? Then how about¡Haruna, that was her name. Maybe I could educate her a bit?¡¹
¡¸I think it would benefit everyone if you refrained from that¡¡¡¹
¡¸But she has quite the body. Wouldn¡¯t it be more of a positive to learn how to please the men she loves?¡¹
¡¸Yes, well the man she loves doesn¡¯t seem to take kindly to the female body, or so I¡¯ve heard.¡¹
¡¸Hmm. That¡¯s right. I only had one opportunity to see him, but that was something else. We would have to do something about that or else he would refuse any girl we throw at him. In fact, if we act carelessly, they might carry the same problems I do.¡¹
¡¸As I said, you had best stop thinking about it.¡¹
She agreed that Sergio had a point, going into deep thought briefly.
¡¸Then how about we teach that workshop master that there is nothing scary about the female body?¡¹
¡¸That would just make things worse.¡¹
¡¸How so? It doesn¡¯t take much to make men into monkeys. Besides, an innocent young woman doing it with a clueless virgin does not generally bode well, no matter how much love is in the rtionship.¡¹
¡¸That isn¡¯t the problem here.¡¹
As a possible reaction to the recent chaos, the queen was more of a nymphomaniac than ever before. She would be such a great ruler without that defect, thought Sergio, but right now he needed to figure out how to shut her up.
Meanwhile, as to what Hiroshi and the others were doing¡
¡¸Finally back home¡¡¡¹
¡¸So tired¡¡¡¹
¡¸Lots of sand in my hair, so I¡¯m going to take a bath after I take my armor off.¡¹
¡¸Ah, can I ask you to help?¡¹
¡¸Leave it to me. In exchange, I expect some tasty food.¡¹
¡¸Roger that.¡¹
Everyone was finally beginning to feel rested in the living room/kitchen area of the workshop they were borrowing as their based.
¡¸Well there¡¯s still time today, so how ¡®bout I go ¡®n weave some spirit cloth.¡¹
¡¸Shouldn¡¯t you rest for once?¡¹
¡¸Nah, I feel uneasy not makin¡¯ nothin¡¯ in a ce like this.¡¹
¡¸You do have a bit of an issue in that regard¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hey, that¡¯s how all us maxed-out craftsmen are.¡¹
Hiroshi made a rather sinful statement and began to head over to the workstation. At that moment the bell rang. Incidentally, the bells in this world were about as big and a simr shape as cowbells, pulling a string to sound them.
¡¸Who could it be, mate?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll get it.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m already near there, I¡¯ll go with ya.¡¹
The two men made their way to the door, slightly perplexed as to who the visitor was. It went without saying that they hardly had anyone show up. The only person that might have a reason toe over was someone from the temple, but it hadn¡¯t been long at all since they had returned. Unless it was a serious affair there really shouldn¡¯t be anyone here.
But other than that, they had no clue. If it was someone dangerous than it was best not to answer the door alone. Thankfully, Hiroshi and Tatsuya had yet to take off their armor. Sure, they weren¡¯t walking around with their main weapons, but they both had knives on them and could stall for time before reinforcements arrived.
With that thinking in mind, they opened the door cautiously and saw one girl standing before the gate.
¡¸¡¡Who is it?¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
At first nce she was a fairly adorable, expressionless girl of about five, six years, reminiscent of Mio but a bit different. That was how Tatsuya saw her, but Hiroshi, who already knew her, stiffened uppletely.
¡¸Hiro, what¡¯s the matter?¡¹
¡¸W-Why¡¡¡¹
His thought process rebooted by Tatsuya, Hiroshi brought out a strained, parched voice.
¡¸¡¡Weren¡¯t ya executed?¡¡¡¡Why ya still alive?¡¹
¡¸You know her?¡¹
¡¸¡¡She¡¯s an assassin¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya¡¯s face froze. That was one statement he could not overlook. If Hiroshi wasn¡¯t going to be of much use, he¡¯d best call someone over to help. Tatsuya was about to raise his voice when
¡¸Deary, I missed you so much!¡¹
The girl¡¯s face was no longer nk, with moist eyes locked on to Hiroshi as she screamed out something appalling.
¡¸Whaaat!?¡¹
¡¸The heck you just say!?¡¹
The two men stared at the little assassin girl, faces pale in disbelief as they shrieked. This was the moment that Hiroshi realized that troublesome human rtions weren¡¯t always obvious from the outset.
Volume 3 10.1
Volume 3 Chapter 10.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸¡¡Who¡¯s that girl?¡¹
Haruna asked the two men, who were still frozen to the spot. She had a slightly thorny tone to her voice, probably because the girl clearly looked like she was in heat or because her loving gaze waspletely locked on to Hiroshi.
¡¸¡¡She¡¯s an assassin¡¡¡¹
Now that Hiroshi had been revived by Haruna¡¯s icy voice, he managed to quaver as he answered.
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸She¡¯s the one who tried to assassinate you ¡®n Elle back in Fane¡¡¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¡Eh?¡¹
¡¸And she calls Hiro ¡°Deary¡±, of all things¡¹
¡¸¡¡What in the world?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what I wanna know, mate¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi responded in a dry, fearful voice. It was such an unexpected response that a switch flipped in the perplexed Haruna. She came in front of Hiroshi to protect him and took a ready stance as she fixed her gaze on the girl, saying what she had to.
¡¸I don¡¯t know why you¡¯vee here, but can I ask you to leave?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Eh¡¡?¡¹
The girl let out quite the perplexed voice as she heard Haruna¡¯s curt reply, apanied by a cold gaze that could freeze anyone over. Haruna clearly saw her as an enemy. Makoto, who hade out next to her and Mio, who was ready behind Makoto had a simr look in their eyes.
¡¸Wait, wait. I bear no ill will.¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately for you, that¡¯s not what we¡¯re miffed about.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know why you¡¯vee here, but we have no reason to forgive your actions.¡¹
¡¸We won¡¯t kill you. Hurry up and get lost.¡¹
Hiroshi was a bit put-off at how quickly the girls had banded together to oppose the outsider. This was after all simr to how girls had banded together to oppress him, so it wasn¡¯t unreasonable for him to feel that way.
¡¸Wait, wait. His Highness Layotte ordered me toe here.¡¹
¡¸Lay asked you to?¡¹
¡¸What is going on?¡¹
Hiroshi and Tatsuya were taken even more aback at the unexpected name. But thinking carefully about it, Layotte had been the one who oversaw what would happen to this assassin, so it wasn¡¯t exactly unreasonable that she be alive. They had mistakenly assumed that because of the public statement about their execution and the silence that followed, but Layotte himself had said nothing regarding who he allowed to live.
¡¸You have no influence on what goes on behind the scenes. His Highness wanted me to say that. Also, here is a message from him.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Why did he have to use her of all people¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡But I could totally see Lay doin¡¯ somethin¡¯ like that¡¡¡¹
The two males found themselvespletely convinced that Layotte did this. At the same time, however, they couldn¡¯t help but grumble. The girls, not able to rx quite yet, cautiously took the letter from the girl¡¯s outstretched hand with a blizzard-like gaze. The two males were a bit better off, but still continued to not rx their guard.
¡¸Tatsuya.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
Receiving Layotte¡¯s letter from Makoto, he opened it and scanned the page. It was basically just as the girl described, but there were also a few things that left him unsure what to think. In order to clear things up, he called out to the girl.
¡¸Hey. I need to run a few things by you, so answer honestly.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s fine, I won¡¯t lie.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I¡¯ll be the judge of that.¡¹
Quietly activating his lie detection magic that he had learned on the way back, Tatsuya nced quickly at the other members for their approval before asking the first question. This magic was not actually in the game. Rather, Tatsuya had obtained it from the magic-rted documents that the moles had given him. There were plenty of other ones, but this one was the easiest to remember, so he had learned it first.
¡¸Do you seriously not remember attacking this guy?¡¹
¡¸¡¡So I really did it, then¡¡?¡¹
¡¸This chick really doesn¡¯t remember it, guys¡¡¡¹
As soon as he saw the girl respond with a crestfallen face, Tatsuya knew for a fact that she was telling the truth, which greatly perplexing him. He had no clue what was going on, nor did he even want to know.
¡¸Whatever. Next.¡¹
¡¸Keep theming.¡¹
¡¸Why do you call him ¡°Deary¡±?¡¹
¡¸Because the first thing I remember is when Deary touched me. It felt so good.¡¹
The girl responded absentmindedly with a vague answer, and this time everyone red at Hiroshi, who trembled at what he saw and attempted to hide behind Tatsuya, who grabbed him and asked what needed to be asked.
¡¸Hiro, answer me honestly.¡¹
¡¸I pretty much got what yer tryna ask. I was gonna be choked at the rate everything was goin¡¯ and the wire went all over the ce tangling everything up. I struggled to git out ¡®n then this girl started sputterin¡¯ out weird noises. I don¡¯t even know what the frick hit her, nor did I have the time to give a hoot.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what the man says. By the way, this is all true.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m terrified to even touch regr girls in the first ce, so why the frick would I have the guts to pin down somethin¡¯ dangerous as an assassin?¡¹
¡¸It sounds pretty convincing, Haruna.¡¹
¡¸Well yes, that¡¯s usually what Hiroshi-kun is like¡¡¡¹
The girlspletely agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s rification. To Hiroshi, touching Haruna would be just as scary as touching the assassin. The only difference was maybe that sometimes Hiroshi had to make contact with Haruna, but with boundaries. Needless to say, Hiroshi¡¯s boundary and Haruna¡¯s boundary were as far apart as thend and the sky. The things Hiroshi avoided for fear of being seen as a pervert were actually quite permissible from Haruna¡¯s viewpoint, but even if Hiroshi weren¡¯t in the equation, that wasn¡¯t the best mindset to have toward someone who wasn¡¯t even her lover.
Of course, to get frisky with an assassin, and an opponent to boot was suicidal to someone like Hiroshi unless he were incapacitated with a drug, so as long as no one was foolhardy enough to do such a thing, what Haruna and the others feared would note to pass.
¡¸So getting back on topic, why don¡¯t you remember?¡¹
¡¸His Highness said it was due to the side effects of the drug and the mechanism set up by the assassin guild. I heard that my memory was still intact up to the attack on the assassin¡¯s guild, but I don¡¯t recall.¡¹
¡¸Drug?¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, Lay said somethin¡¯ ¡®bout that. These people¡¯re like throwaway dolls, and their personalities are annoying so they drug ¡®em to suppress it.¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay. So the mechanism involves suggestions or hints of some sort. If I had to guess, there was some sort of device that erases their memory when captured to avoid any unnecessary information being leaked, and for whatever reason it malfunctioned with her.¡¹
Tatsuya came up with a simr conclusion to what Layotte had in regards to the information. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t have to doubt anything anyone said because of the lie detection magic. Of course, there were also cases where people didn¡¯t lie but didn¡¯t tell the whole truth either, and the lie detection magic had a lot of trouble in that respect, but this time around it didn¡¯t seem to be much of an issue.
¡¸So what errand did you have here today?¡¹
¡¸I received permission from His Highness to get acquainted with all of you and to present the information gathered so far.¡¹
¡¸And there you have it. She isn¡¯t lying.¡¹
He looked at the tightly knit group of girls for their decision. Tatsuya still didn¡¯t think the girl was to be trusted, but she did seem to be useful. But considering Hiroshi¡¯s take on it, excluding her might be the best option.
¡¸Can¡¯t trust her.¡¹
¡¸I hate her.¡¹
¡¸If we want to make use of her, we¡¯d better think of a better idea.¡¹
The girl received quite the shock from all the opposition. Hiroshi, meanwhile, was quivering in fear at how in-sync the girls were actingpared to the girls in the trauma of his past. It was like they weremunicating telepathically.
¡¸N-No¡¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re acting like the victim here. Is there any reason to believe you, though?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s right. You were the one who tried to harm Sensei first.¡¹
¡¸Besides, you¡¯re trying to hide something, aren¡¯t you?¡¹
Haruna¡¯s group ganged up on their mutual enemy. They were clearly in battle mode. The girl shrank like a small animal with tears in her eyes at these fierce usations from the people who were supposed to be her allies. At this point, you could hardly say who was really the bad guy.
Volume 3 10.2
Volume 3 Chapter 10.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I-I would never harm anyone¡I just, want to try my best to be of use, and have Deary reward me for it¡¡¹
¡¸Guilty.¡¹
¡¸Guilty.¡¹
¡¸Guilty.¡¹
The female trio sted the girl with guilty verdicts as she desperately appealed to them. By this point it felt like bullying, and Hiroshi was having an even tougher time of it as he appeared to be close to shivering in the corner of the room begging for his life.
¡¸Heeey, calm down for a moment.¡¹
Unable to be indifferent to Hiroshi¡¯s current condition, Tatsuya began trying to calm down Haruna¡¯s group. Tatsuya had expected this from Makoto and Mio, but Haruna? He honestly hadn¡¯t anticipated her reacting so excessively to all of this, but maybe it was cruel of him to expect a girl whose romantic efforts were going all to naught to remain calm. Plus in this case, not looking after her romantic interest could mean the difference between life and death. No matter how logical of a creature Haruna was, it wasn¡¯t entirely her fault that she had be so aggressive.
¡¸As of this moment I can¡¯t tell who¡¯s the bad one here.¡¹
¡¸So you¡¯re saying you trust this brat, Tatsuya?¡¹
¡¸Nooope. It¡¯s not that I trust her, but that Hiro¡¯s in a bit of a pickle at the moment.¡¹
Hiroshi had truly begun to shiver in the corner of the room begging for his life, and now that the other three noticed this, they skipped calm and went straight to pale faces. Even if they were to repeat something like this, they couldn¡¯t do it in front of Hiroshi.
¡¸Plus, even though I don¡¯t trust this girl, I definitely felt some way about how you were treating her. No, we can¡¯t just sweep away what happened before, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can do whatever we want.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I¡¯m sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡I really regret that¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah. That was really inhumane of me¡¡¡¹
Being admonished by Tatsuya coupled with Hiroshi¡¯s state of being, the three girls recognized what they had done. Now they really couldn¡¯t speak badly of Hiroshi¡¯s middle school ssmates.
¡¸Alright, we¡¯ve cooled down a bit, so what now? I feel like even though she can¡¯t be trusted, she can be useful. But thinking about Hiro, maybe it¡¯s best not to have her too close.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think we should even use her. For the sake of Hiroshi¡¯s heart and for our mental health, I think we should cut off all ties when possible.¡¹
¡¸One vote for Mako.¡¹
¡¸And Hiro can¡¯t exactly vote right now, so how about you, Haruna?¡¹
After hearing Makoto and Mio¡¯s opinions, Tatsuya sought a response from Haruna, who was collecting her thoughts. If she had the same opinion when calm, then Tatsuya wasn¡¯t going to object.
¡¸I feel the same as Makoto-san and Mio-chan. But from what I¡¯ve heard, she didn¡¯t really have any sense of self or personality when she attacked Hiroshi, right?¡¹
¡¸Judging from His Highness¡¯s letter, I¡¯d say you¡¯re right, yeah.¡¹
¡¸In that case, not giving her one more chance to atone and rehabilitate is definitely a bit unfair. She was just a simple tool back then, after all.¡¹
¡¸So?¡¹
¡¸On several conditions. But first I want to observe her a bit. After all, it¡¯s true that I don¡¯t have all the answers, right?¡¹
Haruna had the softest verdict out of everyone. The fierce aura from earlier had vanished as if it were never there to begin with. Haruna was never the type to hold aggressive emotions for very long. She had blown her top when she saw Hiroshi¡¯s predicament, her words bing more and more agitated as she teamed up with Makoto and Mio, but if Haruna had been alone, she would likely have never denounced the defenseless girl as much as she did.
¡¸Is it okay?¡¹
¡¸Sure. It¡¯s true that we need time to make the proper judgement.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t want to, but judging from Hiroshi¡¯s reaction, I feel there is some room forpromise.¡¹
¡¸As long as there¡¯s a way to get rid of her if anything happens, I don¡¯t have a problem with it.¡¹
As long as they stayed calm, the group did in fact have its ethical, humane, moralistic qualities. They were a little too virtuous to do anything more to the girl, so no one objected to Haruna¡¯s suggestion. However, they were more than ready to eliminate her if she decided to attack them, so no one let their emotions get the better of them.
¡¸So that¡¯s what we¡¯ve decided on. Whaddya say, Hiro?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡¹
¡¸Heeey, earth to Hiroshi!¡¹
Lightly hitting Hiroshi on the cheek as he continued quivering and begging for his life in the corner, Tatsuya attempted to bring him back to reality. He was a bit dumbfounded at the excessive reaction, but then again, Tatsuya himself had been rather taken aback at everything going on, so maybe Hiroshi wasn¡¯t acting so unreasonably after all.
¡¸Girls are scary girls are scary girls are scary girls are scary¡ª¡¹
¡¸I am tempted to agree with you just this time, but can you please just get a grip on yourself?¡¹
Realizing that only a little bit of shock would not bring him back, Tatsuya decided to take out a forging hammer and smash Hiroshi¡¯s head a little. This would normally be a matter of life and death, but this was the kind of guy who could directly take a hit from a pole arm (granted, it did not have its de out) without taking any damage. It was doubtful if the impact from Tatsuya swinging a hammer (that he had no skills for) would even inflict any pain on Hiroshi.
¡¸Ouchie!¡¹
Yeah, that might have been a little too much, thought Tatsuya as he saw what the hammer had done. But now Hiroshi¡¯s eyes were focused again. The damage inflicted was just the right amount.
¡¸Whazzat whazzat?¡¹
¡¸So you finally came to.¡¹
¡¸What happened, mate?¡¹
¡¸You freaked out with the scuffle between the girls and the assassin and begged for your life as you shivered. Then we finally reached a consensus and I had to give you a good whack to get you back.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Bro, that¡¯s kinda extreme¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, you wouldn¡¯t havee back with a regr wake-up call.¡¹
Hiroshi continued to puzzle himself over the fact that he had no recollection of anything urring as he was begging for his life. As he caught glimpse of the former assassin girl again, he seemed to remember quite a bit as his face went pale.
¡¸We¡¯ve finally reached a consensus on what to do with her.¡¹
¡¸Whatcha gonna do?¡¹
¡¸We decided to have her work for us on a few conditions in order to see if she still has it out for us or not.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well, if Lay sent her over here, it probably means it ain¡¯t all that dangerous, so I don¡¯t really mind¡¡¡¹
¡¸And I get that you¡¯re ufortable. Hence the conditions.¡¹
Tatsuya said, looking at Haruna, who nodded at him and began reciting the conditions she had thought up.
¡¸First. You will not attempt to interact with Hiroshi-kun without our permission.¡¹
¡¸Wha!?¡¹
¡¸Second. You will never speak with Hiroshi-kun one-on-one.¡¹
¡¸N-No way!?¡¹
¡¸Third. Unless we call you out here, you will need to get permission from His Highness Layotte beforehand if you wish to interact with us.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the same as it¡¯s been.¡¹
The assassin swung from joy to sorrow as she listened to Harunay out the necessary conditions in a cid tone. Thanks to that little exchange, it was now clear that this seemingly expressionless girl had quite a rich set of facial expressions.
After she added a few little conditions here and there, Haruna took the information rting to Darl and began to end the discussion.
¡¸Since His Lordship has been so considerate for you, we will dly put this all into effect.¡¹
¡¸I want a reward for being a good girl.¡¹
¡¸You think you¡¯re in the position to demand such a thing?¡¹
¡¸Ugh¡¡¡¹
The assassin dejectedly drooped at Haruna¡¯s savage response.
¡¸Putting that aside, what¡¯s your name?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Rainy. Rainy Moon.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
After a tough, long fight, former assassin Rainy had finally managed to seed in getting her name out. Once she had done so, the atmosphere felt as if it had softened a bit, and everyone felt a just a little happier.
¡¸So what specifically did you want for a reward?¡¹
Then again, thanks to Tatsuya¡¯s ill-natured remark, it was all bound to break.
¡¸I did my best, so I¡¯d want him to fondle my breasts.¡¹
¡¸What!? The frick!?¡¹
¡¸Guilty! I knew it, she¡¯s guilty!¡¹
Rainy¡¯s incredibly over-the-top, perverted statement made the softened air freeze in its ce. Hiroshi went straight past disgust to being terrified, and Haruna threw all caution to the wind andy down a guilty verdict with a ferocious look on her face. The situation was so out of control that the other three froze in ce, unable to even decide how to react.
¡¸Nope, no probation for her!¡¹
¡¸No, I mean it was unexpected, but I think you all have a problem if you get angry just from her saying what she wants.¡¹
¡¸But just think about how much danger Hiroshi will be in if we let her loose!¡¹
¡¸So what you¡¯re saying is that you don¡¯t ept her being in such an enviable position?¡¹
¡¸Heck no!¡¹
With Haruna heated up again, Tatsuya sought to steer the conversation in a different direction by messing with her on purpose. Once Haruna¡¯s consciousness had drifted to Tatsuya, Rainy had evacuated from the area at a speed that not even Mio could supplement. Makoto and Mio, who had been gazing in mute amazement, returned back to reality and began whispering to each other in undertones.
Volume 3 10.3
Volume 3 Chapter 10.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Hey Mio.¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸What do you think about that?¡¹
¡¸In a way, it might be the perfect method for Sensei¡¯s rehab.¡¹
¡¸And you¡¯re cool with that?¡¹
¡¸I can at least say that she really wants to giggle and squeal around Sensei, and it isn¡¯t like Haru or I have been able to remove his fear of the female body.¡¹
Mio apparently didn¡¯t have an issue with what Rainy had said.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun!¡¹
¡¸W-Whazzup?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll be sure to protect you, okay!¡¹
Overhearing Makoto and Mio¡¯s conversation, Haruna yelled out with a newly invigorated expression on her face. As soon as he saw her serious expression and heard her determined words, Hiroshi felt some incredible cringe. Haruna wouldter end up being teased by everyone (excluding Hiroshi) for how messed up her pacing was.
¡¸Elle, Artiem, we¡¯re about to reach Darl.¡¹
Douga called out to the other passengers when he saw that they were on thest spurt on the road from the Great Southern Highway to Darl. Since they were posing as a grandfather merchant and his granddaughter with two servants, Douga was speaking to Aearis in a rougher manner. Although no one was listening in, they were already on one of Darl¡¯s regr streets, so there was a need to practice their impressions right now just in case.
Then again, during the time they had lurked around Wulls in disguise (although it was only a disguise to strangers and would immediately be found out by anyone who knew them), they had generally operated as grandfather and granddaughter, so the two of them had no qualms with this disguise.
¡¸I heard it would take us over a month, but we really got here quickly¡¡¡¹
¡¸Aye, this is a golem car after all. Plus it has secret techniques that no regr human can muster. It¡¯d be problematic if it weren¡¯t this quick.¡¹
¡¸Is that what it is?¡¹
¡¸Aye, that¡¯s what it is. Plus when they get serious, it would take only ten days to reach Darl. Although it is a bit odd as to how they reach Darl in ten days when they shouldn¡¯t even be able to use moves in the first ce.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I sort of get where you¡¯reing from.¡¹
Artiem, who had a good amount ofmon sense, nodded keenly as she reflected on her experience in Wulls. Comparing this with the speed of the stagecoach she rode on to Wulls and other neighboring viges with the bodyguard/guide Teres and the other female adventurers, she knew that the golem car was flying at an incredible speed.
These fast movement techniques that Hiroshi and the others used were honestly impossible to envision. Carriages generally felt slow to people riding on them, but this golem car that exceeded 60 km/hr was way faster than the fastest ones Artiem had ridden in. No matter how difficult it was to tell what speed you were going at, when the speed of a vehicle is three times faster than what you¡¯re used to, there¡¯s going to be a noticeable difference. It was perfectly reasonable for Artiem to feel that this was quick.
¡¸Alright Grandfather, how much longer till we reach Darl?¡¹
¡¸Aye. Well, I think it to be around an hour or so.¡¹
Aearis asked as she gazed out the window with fascination, and Douga answered the approximate time. They were currently just about on schedule, so as long as no unforeseen trouble urred, they should have no problem reaching Darl within the day.
The region¡¯s specialty crop, sand wheat, could be seen spreading across the fields, and you could see farmers diligently cutting the weeds. Then again, changing your view slightly to look at the vast grasnds stretching all the way to the horizon, you were also reminded that this region was t to a sickening degree.
¡¸Still, I am impressed that all this curry powder and soy sauce survived.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because everyone from the workshop and vige yed a part in it.¡¹
¡¸But could you even sell any of this in Darl when it has such a different climate?¡¹
Aearis was technically supposed to be Douga¡¯s granddaughter for this situation, so she asked him an important question expected of any merchant. Maybe not curry powder, but might soy sauce or ponzu have a small chance? Or possibly even Worcester sauce or pork cutlet sauce?
¡¸Well, if it does not work in Darl we can just try selling in Forre or Lorren. Then again, it has been quite a while since they came here, so surely by this time they must have created a recipe or two that uses these ingredients.¡¹
¡¸Now that you mention it, what kind of cuisine does Darl have anyway?¡¹
¡¸At its core, Darl cuisine consists of a smartbination of spices, especially the hot kind. That¡¯s because many spices also act as an antidote for poison. Also, this area is close to the desert, so water is rather expensive. Most of the time, their stew does not use water, but instead sheep¡¯s milk or coconut milk mixed in with spices to make broth.¡¹
¡¸A spicy vor, huh¡¡¡¹
¡¸Aye. Usually it is spicy enough to breath fire or a bit too much on the sour side.¡¹
When Douga exined the intricacies, Artiem¡¯s face had an expression that screamed ¡°yikes¡± on it. In Ortem and Wulls, she hadn¡¯t eaten any extreme vored food other than curry, so she wasn¡¯t a big fan of excessively spicy or sour seasonings. Aearis, on the other hand, was strong in that area.
Untiling here, she had eaten quite her share of spicy foods, but most of them weren¡¯t all that extreme. Rather, the majority of them were on the fruity side, using cow or goat milk with fruit to make it. Having said that, since thest time they ate, they had already progressed what would take a regr carriage one day to traverse.
¡¸Do you not like spicy things?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m fine with curry or regr spiced cooking, but I don¡¯t know that I want to start breathing fire¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm. Well, Teres was simr, so I take it that elves as a whole dislike extreme voring?¡¹
¡¸Yes, I think so.¡¹
Artiem said, recalling the food regrly eaten in the vige. The base for the seasoning was always taken from bird bones or shiitake. Judging from how they hadn¡¯t made much of anything using spices, without a significant amount of sugar or salt, it was virtually impossible to make extreme voring.
¡¸Well, we do have Elle to consider, so I will do whatever I can to search for more mild-vored meals. This is after all an issue of regional influence.¡¹
¡¸Grandfather, please keep Artiem on your mind, but don¡¯t feel the need to be concerned for me.¡¹
¡¸No no no. You do cooking too, so would it not be a good idea to be adjusted to slightly extreme foods?¡¹
¡¸Yes, but it is all about eating each region¡¯s specialty in each region.¡¹
Douga worried about the negative effects on the pte, while Aearis, full of a challenging spirit, refused to budge an inch. After some more verbal tug-of-war, the discussion finally settled with Artiem suggesting that if they had ample spending money, they might as well just buy a wide assortment of foods in low quantities.
¡¸¡¡I can see the gates of Darl now, children.¡¹
¡¸That thing over there?¡¹
¡¸Aye, that¡¯s the one.¡¹
A bit after the arguing back and forth, they had finally gotten close enough to their destination, the capital of the Darl Kingdom, Darl.
¡¸They seem to be rather strict on security right now.¡¹
¡¸Aye. Mayhaps they had some sort of incident.¡¹
¡¸Now that you mention it, I get the strangest feeling that the sky is filled with haze¡¡¡¹
They looked up at the sky after Artiem said that. True, the sky was oddly hazy in the direction of the desert. They had heard of this sort of weather urring afterrge-scale sandstorms, but whenever they had taken breaks along the road they had not heard of such an incident.
¡¸It seems that it will take some time to get into town.¡¹
¡¸Well, I suppose we just need to wait.¡¹
¡¸Artiem, child. I am sorry, but just in case, could youfort them and ensure that they note out?¡¹
¡¸Right, they are fairly obedient after all.¡¹
Thesest three days on the road, the octogals had been quite obedient. Artiem peered into the octopus pots they had made for the octogals. Since the pots weren¡¯t all that big, you could hang them around your neck or suspend them like a bag. When she looked into the small pot¡¡
¡¸Huh?¡¹
¡¸Is something the matter?¡¹
¡¸No. I just had assumed they weren¡¯t in there.¡¹
¡¸You call¡«?¡¹
Reacting to Artiem, the octogals appeared inside the pots.
¡¸Where¡¯d you go?¡¹
¡¸We were bored, so we yed around in Wulls Castle¡«¡¹
¡¸Is it our time to shine¡«?¡¡Is it our turn¡«?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢no¡¢we¡¯re going to be inspected right now¡¢so I just wanted you to stay here and stay hidden for a bit.¡¹
¡¸O¡«kay!¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll go back and y at the castle¡«¡¹
After hearing Artiem¡¯s exnation, the octogals went right back to teleporting out of the carriage. Apparently, as long as they walked around with these pots, they were able to freely move around anywhere. You could probably mark not just these pots, but anything, and assign it a destination point.
Incidentally, there wasn¡¯t much of a reason to walk around with the octogals in tow. There had been a few stragglers that snuck into Artiem and Aearis¡¯ belongings, so if they were going to sneak in and mess around anyway, they figured they might as well let the octogals go with them.
¡¸We¡¯re going to cause quite the ruckus in the castle¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, there¡¯s nothing to worry about. It¡¯s not like you can get rid of them whenever you please.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m, really sorry about this¡¡¡¹
Aearis and Douga smiled awkwardly as they saw Artiem acting apologetic despite it not being her fault. By this point the octogals were part of everyday life and would probably be sorely missed if they suddenly stoppeding over. Apparently she didn¡¯t realize that.
¡¸Alright, it¡¯s our turn now, young¡¯uns.¡¹
Maybe because it wasn¡¯t peak time, the group hardly had to wait before finishing procedures and getting into town.
¡¸I¡¯ve confirmed your identification. Your name is Mr. Doul Ora, correct?¡¹
Volume 3 10.4
Volume 3 Chapter 10.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Aye. I am Doul Aura, working as a merchant from Fane.¡¹
¡¸I have a letter for you from Her Majesty and the High Priest.¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸There wasn¡¯t anything suspicious about your luggage, so you may pass.¡¹
¡¸Thanks for your time.¡¹
Tipping the security guard for the handling charge, they went through the gates. The attention finally off them, Aearis opened the letter.
¡¸¡¡Grandfather.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸After we go greet people at the Igreos Temple, let¡¯s head straight for the pce.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Have any issuese up?¡¹
¡¸Not in particr, but it appears there¡¯s a slight problem with us taking a regr inn.¡¹
¡¸Hm, alright. Then let us go straight to the temple. Thankfully, the road does not seem to have changed much since Ist came.¡¹
Listening to Aearis¡¯ request, Douga went straight to Igreos Temple. Had he arrived an hour sooner, he would have been able to meet Hiroshi¡¯s group at the temple, but destiny seemed to have other ns. The princess and her consorts ended up having not enough time to find where the group was, instead spending a night in the pce.
¡¸This princess from Fane is truly an amazing girl.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Please don¡¯t touch her. It could lead to an international issue.¡¹
¡¸What do you think me to be? I have not fallen so low as toy my hands on such a young girl.¡¹
¡¸And I¡¯m asking you not to precisely because I do not trust that statement.¡¹
As per usual, the queen and her retainer were having a two-manedy routine over the princess and her procession.
¡¸Further, could you please refrain from touching that elven priestess?¡¹
¡¸I am already ustomed to fondling such breasts, so as long as I do not go too far it should not be an issue, no?¡¹
¡¸No, it¡¯s a big issue¡¡¡¹
Sergio was at his wit¡¯s end with this queen, who spoke rather freely as a potential result of her slightly deprived lifestyle. Seriously, he did not want to deal with the aftermath of letting this woman y around with these priestesses, who were favorites of the gods. Aranwen was an advocate ofissez faire, so maybe not him, but Alfemina was apparently very protective of her priestess. Also, Alfemina¡¯s priestesses tended to be unmarried Fane royalty, and had yet to experience their time of the month. There were too many problems with touching such a girl to count.
¡¸Still, I cannot tell if this was bad or good timing.¡¹
¡¸Yes, it¡¯s a little difficult to figure out.¡¹
¡¸Just checking. How is the princess priestess being treated?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re treating them as merchant ambassadors from Fane to Darl. They¡¯re changing their appearance with magic tools, so even if someone recognizes Sir Douga to be a man of the military, there will be no one who recognizes the priestess princess.¡¹
¡¸Then again, when you think of the princess priestess¡¯s demeanor and atmosphere, I do not think most people would be able to see her as a mere merchant¡¯s daughter.¡¹
¡¸We can¡¯t do much about that.¡¹
Recalling the unbelievable demeanor and movement of the twelve year old Aearis, the queen marveled at her behavior. There were not many people who could behave on a daily basis like the princess did. Every single movement of hers was considerate of her surroundings, so beautiful that you had to marvel at it every time you remembered. The queen and retainer included, it was doubtful any nobility in all of Darl couldpete in elegance.
¡¸Honestly, how on earth do you raise a girl of that age to be sodylike? What is their secret?¡¹
¡¸Even if they told you, I don¡¯t think it would be very easy to enact it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Probably not. Also, considering the risk factor in disposing of Barold and Katarina and their faction, the advice might not even be reliable.¡¹
¡¸The country only held out because it was Fane. Try the same thing in Darl and it would go right into a quandary of a civil war.¡¹
¡¸Of course. Had their hands and feet tied, yet the royal house still managed to maintain their influence. I do not see any other country managing that.¡¹
Darl would not allow such freedom. If it were rumored that the queen of Darl were ipetent, selfish, and cruel, that could mean the dismantling of the entire royal house. And unlike Fane, you only had to have a certain amount of royal blood in you to continue magic in the family line, so relieving the current family for causing problems through their tough measures would not cause much of a ruckus other than the ruler changing.
In addition, Darl had no posts that could be attained by specific innate abilities or strength alone, unlike Alfemina¡¯s princess priestess, which simply required authority in rtion to the royal family but did not require political influence. In other words, once a leader in Darl was seen as problematic, there was no system in ce to guarantee their life or livelihood.
In Fane¡¯s case, the bloodline wouldn¡¯t continue without a royal boy or priestess princess or their offspring, making it difficult to just dissolve the family. That was the greatest reason why the country did not plunge into a chaotic civil war. Sure, there was an aspect to it where some nobles would scoff at the royal family for not being able to force their way past thew or emotions regarding their nation, but because they maintained the support and allegiance of the greater nobles, it didn¡¯t be a big issue (though it sure was close). In other countries, the country would have probably fallen before Katarina even began her revolt.
¡¸At any rate, Fane will probably be even more of a tenacious country.¡¹
¡¸I suppose you could say that the people of the next era will save the kingdom by being moderates in foreign affairs.¡¹
¡¸It is doubtful that the princess priestess would even allow foreign campaigns.¡¹
Aearis had gathered an unbelievable amount of poprity in half a year. Even if she were a priestess princess with no real authority, the nobles did not have enough of a support base to deny her what she wanted. In addition, foreign campaigns yielding hardly any results was the same in Fane as it was in Darl or Forre. It was much more profitable to increase the extermination of monsters, both in terms of material and public safety.
There didn¡¯t seem to be any concern that the western regions would get into anyrge scale battles for the time being.
¡¸Alright, now let us discuss tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸They have known the priestess princess and her group for quite some time, so I think it best that we wee them with open arms and have them seated together. In that sense, it was excellent timing for them to arrive today. I apologize for the sudden changes, but I ask that you adjust ordingly.¡¹
¡¸At your will.¡¹
Bowing once at the queen¡¯s words, Sergio left the room to adjust tomorrow¡¯s schedule. Although the changes would ovep, as the queen said, it was a godsend. Now they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about how much of a wee the guests received.
¡¸Alright, I am excited to see what happens tomorrow.¡¹
The queen smiled from the bottom of her heart, despite how much of a disturbance the situation might cause. Atst, the story in Darl was beginning to meet its turning point.
¡¸Oh? Hiroshi-sama?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Elle?¡¹
¡¸Yes. What a coincidence it is, meeting in a ce like this.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, although I get the strangest feelin¡¯ that somethin¡¯ was set up here.¡¹
Ten o¡¯clock the next day. Finishing breakfast in the workshop, they rode in a carriage to the castle, looking around the premises until the queen felt hungry when they ran into Aearis¡¯ team, who was also looking around. The Norton sisters had some sort of important errand with the priest, who had called them over to his area.
¡¸So what kind of people are you guys posing as?¡¹
Checking to see that no one was around, Tatsuya asked their party what position they were in in a low voice.
¡¸I be Fane¡¯s purveyor, Doul Aura.¡¹
¡¸And his granddaughter, Elle Aura.¡¹
¡¸And I am Artiem, their personal attendant.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
Hearing their character names, Tatsuya quickly epted it. They were probably residing in this country under the pretext of a department-restricted negotiation.
¡¸Elle-chan, Doul.¡¹
¡¸What is it, youngss?¡¹
¡¸Was it really necessary to go undercover like this?¡¹
Aearis and Douga grimaced at Haruna¡¯s simple question. Usually, Aearis should be treated as an honored guest in other countries, and there was no reason to make up names and sneak around to meet with royalty. There wasn¡¯t any reason at present to hide Aearis¡¯s identity, considering Fane¡¯s current situation.
¡¸Not usually, no, but there were many of the opinion that my traveling was premature for my position. Additionally, there are circumstances that would not allow me to move around freely if I were to be treated like a guest.¡¹
¡¸I would think that someone needs to have a serious discussion with those elders about their idea of going off on a pleasure jaunt.¡¹
¡¸That isn¡¯t the case. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s a bit problematic to appear in broad daylight when I go to visit priestesses from any region. Besides, some may not take kindly to my interactions with those priestesses, so being an honored guest at this time is rather problematic as a priestess.¡¹
¡¸Sounds prettyplicated.¡¹
¡¸Yes. It is a bitplicated. Right, Artiem-san?¡¹
¡¸It truly is aplicated situation, yes¡¡¡¹
Aearis threw the conversation to Artiem, who helplessly agreed with an uneasy expression on her face for whaty ahead. In years, she wasn¡¯t all that different from Douga, but in terms of experience, she didn¡¯t evene close to Aearis, the youngest here. In a situation like this where you needed a certain type of experience, it was only natural for her to feel that way.
¡¸Wait, was it even okay to take Artiem away from Wulls?¡¹
¡¸I think it¡¯s already a bit unreasonable to have an elf be a maid.¡¹
Volume 3 10.5
Volume 3 Chapter 10.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Tatsuya and Mio pointed out some odd aspects of their n, and the priestess princess procession simply grimaced in response. They were full aware that having someone wear a maid outfit in a situation other than housekeeping was a bit of a stretch. As they were figuring out how to exin that part, octogals sprang out from the pot hanging from Douga¡¯s waist.
¡¸Elf¡«¡¹
¡¸Big bust¡«¡¹
¡¸Maid¡«¡¹
¡¸Priestess¡«¡¹
¡¸What kind of eroge is that¡«?¡¹
¡¸Shut your trap!¡¹
Tatsuya immediately snapped at the octogals (he was secretly thinking the same thing in his head). It wasn¡¯t her fault, but the maid outfit with Artiem¡¯s affinity was just dubious.
¡¸So when¡¯d you even meet these people?¡¹
¡¸The beginning of April¡«¡¹
¡¸We snuck over here hiding in Chem-chan¡¯s luggage¡«¡¹
¡¸Ran into Elle-chan at the castle¡«¡¹
¡¸Dispose of body¡«¡¹
¡¸Seriously, what body are you trying to dispose of¡¡¡¹
As usual, one of the octogals brought up disposing of a body, and Tatsuya, exhausted by the minute, questioned them politely. He knew they wouldn¡¯t get anywhere if he keptmenting, but the thing is, the conversation might not advance unless hemented. How troubling.
¡¸Well do not worry. We have not hindered the job in any way with this little joke.¡¹
¡¸Why is it that I feel totally worried right now?¡¹
¡¸Ahahahahaha¡¡¡¹
Artiemughed drily at the flow of conversation with an indescribable expression on her face. Usually she was the victim, but when it came to the octogals and Aranwen, she couldn¡¯t help but feel responsible. The elf¡¯s personality was doing no favors for her.
¡¸Oh, someone¡¯s here y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Okay okay, hide hide.¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll be back¡«¡¹
Sensing footsteps approaching them, they urged the octogals to leave immediately. Once the octogalsplied and went off somewhere, a rigid-looking man who appeared to be approaching middle age called out to them. This was Sergio, the queen¡¯s retainer sent to greet them.
¡¸Terribly sorry to interrupt. Her Highness is ready. We¡¯ve prepared tea, so pleasee this way.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
Sergio had probably noticed the octogals, but since they already came out here once, they¡¯d probably just keeping out again as much as they wanted anyway, so the group didn¡¯t overthink it too much. To ensure they weren¡¯t punished from the get-go, the group decided it was best to run it by the queen and her retainer when the time was right. Just the mere fact that the were thinking about things that didn¡¯t matter all that much showed the group didn¡¯t dislike the octogals.
Then they were taken along a rather unfamiliar path for about five minutes and guided into a small, slightly deste room in a rather remote area.
¡¸Wee, wee. I am Mishe, Queen Mishe. I apologize for having youe inside a ce like this, but there are some matters to discuss that are a bit difficult to address in public. It¡¯s rather inconvenient, but please do understand.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re honored to be here. Please don¡¯t worry.¡¹
After ncing at the guide for permission, Douga responded to the queen on behalf of everyone there, since he was still supposed to act the part of Aearis¡¯ grandfather.
¡ºHey, ya got a minute?¡»
Clearly perplexed that the woman who came every day to dominate the food stands and make Haruna sing for her was the queen, Hiroshi spoke to everyone via the telepathic party chat.
¡ºWhat¡¯s up?¡»
¡ºIs that seriously the queen, y¡¯all?¡»
¡ºFrom the way Doul was acting, yes, I think she¡¯s the real deal.¡»
¡ºIs there an issue with that?¡»
The Japanese members attempted to keep a straight face with Hiroshi¡¯s sudden question, but they couldn¡¯t entirely hide their growing bewilderment. And then Hiroshi dropped another bomb to add fuel to the fire.
¡ºI think she¡¯s probably Alvan, y¡¯all.¡»
¡º¡¡Wha?¡»
Only Haruna could even respond to Hiroshi¡¯s st. The other three didn¡¯t even understand what he was saying, their movementpletely stopped.
¡¸It seems that you youngsters have something you want to say.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I mean, we¡¯re not totally up for discussin¡¯ it at the moment¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, do not worry. There are none here who would disclose anything.¡¹
¡¸Still, I¡¯m kinda scared, so I¡¯m gonna write the question on paper and make sure it burns up once yer done readin¡¯ it.¡¹
Hiroshi said in a roundabout manner as he took out memo paper and a ball point pen from his pocket and began to write out the question as he made a simple enchantment on it. He folded it in half so that only the queen could read it, getting permission from the retainer to hand it directly to her.
As she took the paper into her hands, the queen looked momentarily surprised before smiling awkwardly and hiding that surprise. Left out of the loop, the retainer and priestess princess¡¯s group could only judge that Hiroshi had dropped an unbelievable bomb. But the paper had already burned up and no one else could ever know what was on it.
¡¸Unbelievable. I never thought someone would realize that. I suppose such amazing feats are only natural to the guests from the unknown continent.¡¹
¡¸So I was right?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. And I affirm your question. But do not worry, for I am most definitely the real queen. Sir Doul and Lady Elle, you can testify to this, no?¡¹
¡¸Aye. Thisdy be Her Majesty in the flesh.¡¹
¡¸I do not know what sort of question was asked, but I can guarantee that Her Highness Mishe is the most respected personage in this country.¡¹
The Japanese group only showed more confusion on their faces at Douga and Aearis¡¯s affirmation. Grimacing at the way this was going, the queen decided to change the topic.
¡¸It seems things have gotten a bitplicated. I will ensure anyone else is out of the vicinity after tea is served, so do please wait a bit.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I¡¯m real sorry for makin¡¯ thingsplicated.¡¹
¡¸Nay, it was my inexperience that exposed me. If I were in your position even I would try and confirm.¡¹
The queen said confidently as she smiled, ordering thedy in waiting to carry the tea over.
¡¸Now then, how about you all take a seat?¡¹
¡¸Thank you, we shall oblige.¡¹
The group obeyed and sat down, not really paying attention to ranking. One factor was that it just took too long to figure out the order and the queen would probably tell them to just sit down anyway, so thanks to her magnanimous nature things proceeded smoothly.
¡¸Well, we had youe all this way. Teacake is one of our country¡¯s proud specialties. Then again, despite having enough raw material, we still hardly produce any and cannote out with many finished goods.¡¹
¡¸These are local specialties?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Well, you shall soon see why.¡¹
The queen said, looking forward to the guests¡¯ reactions as the teacakes were carried over. Not long after, thedy attendant silently pushing the cart over picked up tes with small dark pieces (about a mouthful each) on them, cing them along the table in front of everyone.
¡¸¡¡Eh?¡¹
¡¸¡¡This isn¡¯t what I think it is, is it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hold up! Isn¡¯t this bad!?¡¹
Tatsuya and the others went pale as they saw what was ced in front of them. But there was one man who reacted more drastically.
¡¸¡¡¡¹
¡¸H-Hiroshi-kun¡¡¡¢A-Are you, ok¡¡?¡¹
Haruna had anticipated this, but not this much. She timidly called out to Hiroshi who was next to her. However, filled with terror at what was before him, he did not respond to her in the slightest. More urately, his reaction had already begun at the point when the maid had brought in the cart.
¡¸¡¡Is it¡¢not to your liking?¡¹
¡¸We understand that you prepared such precious treats for us out of the goodness of your heart. We also ate this variety of dessert quite often back home, and the majority of us quite like it.¡¹
¡¸¡¡You have this in your hometown, too?¡¹
¡¸Yes. So some people, on asion, have met with a terrible fate because of these treats¡¡¡¹
The queen indirectly realized she had stepped on and mine. Everyone presentpletely froze as they looked at the tes of chocte in front of them, with Hiroshi¡¯s pupils dting and his face deathly pale all the while.
Volume 3 11.1
Volume 3 Chapter 11.1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸¡ Where ¡®m I?¡¹
Hiroshi heard a panicked voice calling out his name. As if to be drawn towards that voice, he regained his consciousness.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun!¡¹
¡¸Good, you¡¯re back¡¡¹
As Hiroshi regained his consciousness, andscape of an unfamiliar room, Tatsuya¡¯s relieved face and Haruna¡¯s near tear expression jumped into his vision.
¡¸Brother¡? Haruna-san¡?¡¹
¡¸Before we exin what happened, Hiro, how much can you remember?¡¹
¡¸¡ hol¡¯ up ¡¡¹
Trying to answer Tatsuya¡¯s question Hiroshi tried to remember back to thest thing which was on his mind before cking out.
¡¸Um, we went to the pce, n¡¯ we met up with Elle, n¡¯ we decided on goin¡¯ to Queen¡¯s tea purty n¡¯¡¡¹
Suddenly, his body started to tremble uncontrobly. Something happened at the tea party. He could remember that much. But he could not remember what actually happened. However, from how he was subconsciously reacting to the whole event, he took the hint that it was something rted to his phobia.
¡¸That¡¯s more than enough, don¡¯t push yourself.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, it¡¯s okay now, everything¡¯s fine now¡¡¹
The two cut off the conversation; deciding it was best not to force him, seeing how badly he was reacting just by the attempt of remembering what took ce. Seeing the state which he was in, they thought the whole thing would start all over again if they mentioned that chocte was served at the party.
¡¸¡ I¡¯m, I¡¯m real sorry¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹
Hiroshi felt guilty as he saw that he must have caused his friends some trouble, seeing how Haruna and Tatsuya were acting. And seeing that his mind was subconsciously preventing him from remembering the event, he detected that it must have been very bad. Although it wasn¡¯t a formal meeting, it was still a rude gesture to show in front of her majesty. There was nothing they could say even if they were told off for this.
However, seeing that the Queen has prepared him a room to recover, it was unlikely that she was nning on making a big deal out of this. Yet it did not change that he was being impolite towards such a powerful authority. And most of all, he was burdened by the idea of leaving all the aftermath of this incident on his friends.
¡¸So, wha the situation like now?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll tell you everythingter, let¡¯s get you up first, okay? If I¡¯m going to exin what happened, then I would have to exin from the beginning so I¡¯ll tell you once you¡¯re more stable.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t push yourself, okay?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m real sorry for pushin¡¯ all this on ya¡¯ll¡¡¹
Hiroshi felt immense guilt as he saw that he must have caused a lot of worry and burden to his friends. From a third-party perspective, it was an unavoidable ident. However, there was no denying that his friends had to deal with the aftermath. Not only that, but it was also a matter involving a well-respected royal family like Layotte.
It was an issue which he did not have a lot of control over. However, Hiroshi did not like the idea that he was causing setbacks to his friends over the same reason all the time. Yet no matter how inspired or motivated he was, it was a type of phobia which had hard to deal with. He has handled his phobia well when he was interacting with Rainy, even though one person was the limit, he could be in the same room with Haruna without panicking. Considering the root of his phobia, he has improved significantly.
¡¸By da way, where¡¯s Makoto-san and Mio?¡¹
¡¸Their exchanging information with Elle-chan. We¡¯re organising what we¡¯re going to do after this. So, we decided to organise a meeting once everything has been settled.¡¹
¡¸I see, roger dat.¡¹
¡¸But the Queen seems to be busy so they don¡¯t think we can have a formal meeting today anyways.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m real sorry for causin¡¯ all this burden.¡¹
¡¸We heard you the first time so just stop apologising.¡¹
Seeing that Hiroshi was feeling down, Haruna responded with reassuring words and smile. The smile she showed made her look like an entirely different person from when she had a dual with Rainy yesterday. Respecting Haruna¡¯s expression, Tatsuya made ament.
¡¸Is anyone hungry?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯ have much appetite ¡®ight now¡¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
¡¸By dah way, how long was I passed out for?¡¹
¡¸About three hours I think. It¡¯s well past noon now.¡¹
¡¸Did everyone haf lunch already?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, well, something of that sort I guess. It was mostly alcohol heavy dish or spice heavy dish so we asked if they could change the menu for Haruna, Mio and Elle.¡¹
To save water, it wasmon for many dishes in Darl to use alcohol instead. Though, alcoholic dishes were rarely served at inns during daytime; in general, most dishes in Darl were made by stirring food with either alcohol, pine fruit or some type of milk with spice. So, there were many soups and stews which were heavy in spice yet had a tinge of alcohol to it.
¡¸I see, so brother, what¡¯s ya opinion on the dishes?¡¹
¡¸I think those vours will only go well with Kansai style Udon.¡¹
¡¸¡ so yain ¡®bout runnin¡¯ a food stall but ya give me an opinion based on food stall menu.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s be a habit at this point¡¡¹
9 months since he has joined Hiroshi¡¯s party, even Tatsuya has started to think about the sess of running the food stall.
¡¸Anyway, that¡¯s my thoughts on the food. Elle and Artiem were a little hesitant on those dishes as well.¡¹
¡¸I see, guess I hafta make alotta food for tonight..¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that might be a good idea, but I don¡¯t think it really matters as long as it¡¯s not some type of spicy food.¡¹
As Tatsuya finished giving his opinion on the dishes which were served, he left to tell Makoto that Hiroshi has regained his consciousness; as Haruna seemed determined to stick by Hiroshi¡¯s side.
¡¸Since you don¡¯t have any appetite, did you want something to drink?¡¹
¡¸Ye, could ya please get me somethin¡¯ to drink?¡¹
¡¸Of course, what did you want?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll leave it up to ya.¡¹
Hiroshi left the decision up to Haruna as he wasn¡¯t sure what exactly he wanted but was definitely feeling dehydrated. Taking his hint, Haruna went off to brew a mild herb tea which wouldn¡¯t give his system a sudden shock. The herb tea in this universe went well with milk and it will slightly fill up your stomach while it eased the digestive system.
¡¸There you go.¡¹
¡¸Thanks.¡¹
¡¸If there¡¯s anything else you need, just let me know, okay?¡¹
¡¸Thanks alot, but I¡¯m fine fo now.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s expression rxed a little after he took a sip from herb tea which was brewed at just the right temperature. He didn¡¯t realise how his thoughts were running all over his mind until then. Seeing that Hiroshi has finally let his guard down, Haruna seemed joyful and relieved from the bottom of her heart.
Admitting how helplessly in love she is in with Hiroshi, Haruna wished for this quiet moment tost just a little longer.
==
¡¸I haf a vague idea on what happened but can ya exin the whole story to me now?¡¹
As everyone finished eating their meals and have gone back to their allocated rooms, Hiroshi brought up his burning question after he observed how his friends were reacting. It was already past midnight, and he was mentally stable enough to hear what took ce at the tea party. It helped that he already had some idea on what took ce. So, it was unlikely that he would faint again if it was just listening to others exining themotion.
Aearis has also decided to participate as she was in the room when Hiroshi fainted. Norton sisters had some personal reasons why they did not want to be at the pce; so, they have note out of their rooms since yesterday. The only time they havee out of their rooms was during dinner.
The seclusion barrier which they were in had exclusion setting for the Queen just in case.
¡¸We don¡¯t mind telling you what happened but are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡¹
¡¸Like I said, I kinda know what happened. As lon¡¯ as I try hard ¡®nough, I shouldn¡¯t pass out like before.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mean to be rude but personally, I don¡¯t want to exin this situation to you multiple times.¡¹
¡¸I know, I don¡¯t want to listen to it if I don¡¯t hafta. But I caused y¡¯all some trouble, ¡®ight?¡¹
Even though Makoto has stated in a harsh tone, she had a concerned look. Seeing Makoto act in such a way, Hiroshi brought up the undeniable truth. Hearing the expected response, Makoto gave a small sigh and decided to exin the event as simply as she could to avoid Hiroshi remembering anything that was seriously triggering.
¡¸What happened is very simple. There was chocte served at the tea party. Apparently, they call it Kakora in this universe.¡¹
¡¸¡ Jist as I thought. I can remember most of the stuff that happened now.¡¹
After hearing Makoto¡¯s exnation, Hiroshi was trembling a little. However, he seemed to have maintained hisposure for the most part. Everyone could not help but be concerned after seeing him at such a state.
¡¸Hiroshi-sama, please do not push yourself too much¡¡¹
¡¸Knowin¡¯ the situation, I hafta push myself a little. I know ya don¡¯t want me to, but please, jist turn a blind eye for this much.¡¹
¡¸¡ If your condition bes any worse, Haruna-sama and I will cease this conversation even if we need to be forceful. Is that condition agreeable with you?¡¹
¡¸ ye, that¡¯s fine.¡¹
Seeing that Hiroshi has no intention of backing out, Aearis resorted to negotiation. He was mentally strong in an odd aspect so everyone was worried that he will push himself too much.
From there, they went through things which Hiroshi might have remembered and gave detailed information on what took ce afterwards. Then, Tatsuya ended up spitting out a question which crossed his mind.
¡¸Hey Hiro,¡¹
¡¸wa is it?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m surprised you could live normally back in Japan even though you¡¯re so scared of chocte. How did you manage it when you went out shopping?¡¹
¡¸If I knew the store sold em, there was some stuff I could do. At the supermarkets, I knew where the snack section was n¡¯ I avoided the new stock section for za snacks. If I really had to walk past it, I would set my mind to it n¡¯ walk past it as quickly as I can. Welp, I did most of my shoppin¡¯ online, so ¡®t was only ¡®bout once a month where I really had to go into a store. N¡¯ even though I¡¯m scared o¡¯ chocte, I don¡¯t hate em. So if tis just a photo or a picture, ¡®t won¡¯t trigger my phobia.¡¹
Everyone weirdly agreed to Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. With his case, going to the supermarket itself was a problem. It depends on the time of the day, but on average, supermarkets have more peoplepared to Wulls. Especially at the grocery store, there tend to be more females than males. So, for Hiroshi who has a phobia towards female, entering the supermarket required a lot of courage.
With convenient stores, even though there would be fewer people, it bes increasingly difficult to maintain his distance from chocte. So, he would not walk into a physical store unless he absolutely had to.
It was impressive to think that he could go to a normal high school under such condition. However, the area which Hiroshi was living in was somewhere between an urban and a rural area. So, the total number of students at his school was much lowerpared to the poption of Wulls. Moreover, the suburb which Hiroshi and Haruna lived had headquarters of certain majorpanies. The area was also somewhat well known for major figures who have invented over technology such as VR living in that area. However, there were some factories in the area and the poption itself was quite high. So, ces like the front of the train station and shopping district had more people than any urban areas.
¡¸By the way, isn¡¯t the thin¡¯ ya really want to ask is why I¡¯m so terrified o¡¯ chocte, ¡®ight?¡¹
¡¸Well, a lot did happen so, yeah, naturally. It would be convenient for us to know what happened when we need to back you up if something like this happened in the future. But we won¡¯t ask if we¡¯re only opening up an old wound.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-san, you shouldn¡¯t push yourself too much.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi, to begin with, would it even help you get over your phobia if you talked about the root of your phobia to us?¡¹
¡¸Welp, I guess ¡®t won¡¯t solve anythin¡¯.¡¹
To Douga¡¯s question, Hiroshi replied with a bitter smile. Even if everyone knew the cause of his phobia, the situation wasn¡¯t going to change. Talking about it would show Hiroshi¡¯s trust towards his group, but that seemed a little pointless at this point. Yet, knowing the cause of his phobia would have some benefit to the group but everyone in the barrier understood such an easy concept. So, nobody dared to ask Hiroshi what actually happened. However¡
¡¸If Sensei wants to talk about it, then I want to know.¡¹
¡¸Mio?¡¹
¡¸If sensei can be more optimistic by talking about it to us, then I¡¯ll listen, no matter what it is.¡¹
To break the paralysing tension, Mio broke the silence which filled the inside of the barrier. Because it was Mio, who had a very uniform reaction from the beginning, she could behave in such a way.
¡¸¡ I want to know as well.¡¹
¡¸Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Haru?¡¹
¡¸Even if we can¡¯t solve anything by knowing the cause, I want to at least know what is hurting you so much. If I don¡¯t know anything about it, then I don¡¯t know how I can support you. By not knowing anything, I could identally hurt. And if I knew what happened, I might be able to understand your pain even if it¡¯s just a little. So¡¡¹
Cutting off herst word, she looked directly into Hiroshi¡¯s eyes. A moment has passed, then, Haruna made up her mind and spoke again.
¡¸I¡¯m fine with just the things you¡¯refortable talking about at this very moment. So, Hiroshi-kun, please tell me what happened.¡¹
Hiroshi could have dislike Haruna for saying such a thing. But, Haruna put aside her fear and decided to ask the question. If she didn¡¯t ask now, she will most likely never find out. On top of that, she wanted to know what was hurting the guy who she has helplessly fallen in love with. She could only call it a true victory after she found out what really happened to Hiroshi and got over the awkward rtion they have. There was nothing Haruna could fall back on, but she didn¡¯t regret her decision.
It ended up looking like Haruna was just following Mio¡¯s suggestion. But if nobody else brought it up, the first person to break the silence most likely would have been Haruna. The reason why it took her some time to speak out was because she needed some time to gain enough courage to say it. With these situations, Aearis will trust Hiroshi¡¯s decision so unlike Haruna and others, she would have quietly listened to what has happened to Hiroshi without saying anything. When ites to listening to other¡¯s trouble, Aearis who have been trained as the Princess Priestess was on an entirely different level.
¡¸Welp, to be honest, there¡¯s not allot to say.¡¹
Hiroshi gave a heads up, giving him some time to prepare to talk about what has happened to him. Trying to hold back as much of his shiver, he decided to give the simplest description of what happened.
¡¸What happened is very simple. On valentine¡¯s day, I git acquaintance chocte with raw meat in it n¡¯ was forced to eat it n¡¯ almost died from food poisonin¡¯.¡¹
Hiroshi casually described a very serious situation. To the unexpected twist to the expected scenario, everyone lost their words and just let the silence wrap within the seclusion barrier.
Volume 3 11.2
Volume 3 Chapter 11.2
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
What happened to Hirsohi was worse than what everyone had imagined.
¡¸¡ well, that¡¯s just cruel¡¡¹
¡¸¡ no wonder you ended up having a phobia¡¡¹
Hiroshi told the full story to his friends afterwards, to which Tatsuya and Makoto gave a mumbledment. Others could not believe such a thing have happened and was frozen on the spotpletely silent.
The following is a shortened version of what Hiroshi has told.
It was on Valentine¡¯s day during the second year of middle school. It started with at the beginning of the first period when Hiroshi discovered a time bomb under the name of acquaintance chocte hidden in his desk. He saw the chocte from an anonymous sender and immediately knew something was odd. So, he has decided to pretend that he didn¡¯t saw the chocte, but that n has failed. The girl who was sitting next to him noticed it and told everyone in the ss. This was a very unfortunate moment for Hiroshi.
Six months prior to this incident, the bullying towards him was getting worse by the day. The bullying took ce as if it was a daily routine for everyone else. Even with this incident, it was hard to say that it was bullying at the initial stage. After all, all they asked for him to do was to take a bite out of the chocte and give his opinion.
If this was just disgusting chocte, all he needed to do was take a forceful bite and lie about how delicious it was; everything would have ended there. However, this chocte had mince which has clearly gone off in it and all the extra seasoning was aplete mess as well. Understandably, when Hiroshi took a bite, he ended up spitting the chocte right out. Then, the girls from athletic clubs pinned him down, punched him a couple of times and forced him to eat all the choctes.
Seeing that Hiroshi was acting weird, the boys in the ss tried to stop the girls. However, in general, that would be an act of rejecting chocte which was given out on Valentine¡¯s day. So, even the girls who weren¡¯t actively bullying Hiroshi was joining in as well. No male student would have been able to step into this situation. If the male students had joined in, Hiroshi¡¯s phobia towards female would have been a phobia towards people and he would have never been able to leave the hospital.
As eating something like that would obviously cause some type of illness, Hiroshi started showing signs of food poisoning before the lunch break. Fortunately and unfortunately, he ended up throwing all the contents of his stomach at the nurser¡¯s office. If he hasn¡¯t vomited then, nobody would have even considered the incident and his bullying would have only gotten worse.
Another fortunate thing for Hiroshi was that morning, he hasn¡¯t eaten any breakfast as he has slept in. Also, he ate his dinner the previous day earlier than usual, so he has been fasting for over 12 hours. As his stomach would have been practically empty, the only possible cause of food poisoning was the chocte.
The incident was also brought to teachers¡¯ attention as the symptoms of food poisoning Hiroshi had was severe. He was on a blink of death for three days and three nights. Due to other symptoms he had, Hiroshi had to stay at the hospital for another two weeks. While he was at the hospital, the girls who have forced him to eat the chocte came to apologize when his rtives were absent. The girls quietly went back home after they apologized for the incident and the bullying they have done previously. However, the few friends Hiroshi had in his ss saw the chocte incidenting and secretly took a video of the incident as well as the girls¡¯ apologies. This matter became a major issue when the video was uploaded to a streaming website.
As the cruel scene of bullying was streamed all across Japan, some of the couples in Hiroshi¡¯s middle school broke up from horrible fights. Due to this, some of the girls had a petty hatred towards Hiroshi and have attempted murder on him. However, the culprit who has left the chocte in his desk has not been determined yet. Before the attempted murder, some of the girls have gone up to Hiroshi and ced the me for their breakups on him (the hospital has prohibited visitors yet some of the girls managed to sneak in, pretending to visit someone else at the hospital). So, Hiroshi ended up developing his phobia and for about two months, he was under intensive care. He received special treatment via 24hr VR system and went to counselling for another six months. He wasn¡¯t able to go to school until the end of summer vacation. Even then, he would go straight to the nurse¡¯s office and only go to his ss once or twice a week.
By the start of summer vacation, Hiroshi has moved to the suburb which he currently lived in. So, in hisst year of middle school, he has only gone to school for a total of two weeks.
¡¸By the way, what do they mean they still can¡¯t find the culprit?¡¹
¡¸Tis easy, nobody knows for sure who put dat chocte in my desk.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, no matter how many times we¡¯ve looked back at za security footage, dere was nobody in za ss who could¡¯ve ced dat chocte in my desk.¡¹
Only looking at the question of ¡°who put that chocte in Hiroshi¡¯s desk?¡± all his ssmates were innocent. There were still three suspects outside his ss. However, two out of three suspects have no trace of making chocte close to Valentine¡¯s day. Also, thest time their household has bought minced meat was over a month ago, so it was unlikely that those two were the culprit. The third suspect has sold off their house, moved overseas and have not returned to Japan since. The reason for their sudden departure was their father has been assigned to an oversea work to make up for the loss which he has caused to thepany. As there was nothing suspicious about the leave, apart from the period, and due to the suspect being under juvenilew, the police department could not force the family toe back to Japan, unless there was sufficient amount of evidence. Thus, the investigation has been postponed.
¡¸So, dat¡¯s why chocte triggers my phobia. I used to like chocte but after dat incident, I can¡¯t even stand the smell o¡¯ it¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s understandable¡¡¹
¡¸Wait, is that why you look a little tense whenever you see a dish with mince in it?¡¹
¡¸Ye, tis ¡®ight, but since there were allot o¡¯ chocte ¡®round it, it didn¡¯t really leave the impression o¡¯ there bein¡¯ meat. So it doesn¡¯t trigger my phobia as badly as chocte does.¡¹
Hiroshi added with a weak smile but Haruna could not smile at all.
¡¸By the way¡¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t seem like the type of person girls would hate on so much¡¡¹
¡¸Oh~ Makoto-san, ya underestimatin¡¯ how bad middle school girls are towards ame guy like me.¡¹
Haruna gave a bitter smile and agreed with Hiroshi as if to be reminded of something. Mio also seemed to know something along those lines and mumbled ¡°one point to Sensei¡±.
If it was around middle school, the majority of the judgement was made from one¡¯s appearance and the impression the person gave out. Personality trait was barely taken into consideration. However, the judgement was still fairly mild in middle school. Hiroshi¡¯s reputation among girls was much lower in high school.
However, Hiroshi¡¯s personality trait could have been perceived asme even before the incident. He was hopeless around people and was kind of a cry-baby. It was the type of personality trait which frustrated other people. However, none of this justifies the bullying which he has gone through. After all, the traumatic experience that he went through also enabled him to be a cry-baby.
¡¸Also, I had a mighty bad Rhinitis ¡®round that time n¡¯ snuffles seem to really get on other¡¯s nerve. So, I was getting¡¯ picked on ever since I was in primary school. I wasn¡¯t an outgoin¡¯ person or was athletically talented so it gave them more reason to pick on me.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
¡¸Tis how it is, guess that¡¯s what ya call a social food chain and the Jail Experiment .¡¹
In most cases, kids enrolled in one primary school will enrol into the same middle school. If someone was getting picked on in primary school, it was guaranteed that they will get picked on in middle school as well.
And to be ranked at the bottom of the social food chainmonly meant that nobody would respect that person as long as they were enrolled in that school. For Hiroshi, happiness was ying as a craftsman in Fairy Tale Chronicles and that he at least had few friends in his ss. There were also few female friends, but they have only ever interacted in the game, so it didn¡¯t really count. If anything, the most unfortunate part of this incident was many of the teachers indirectly encouraged this social food web. Since most of those teachers were female, it only enabled Hiroshi¡¯s phobia.
Humans are species which lose themselves in a routine to a point they forget the most fundamental morals. So, no matter how cruel their actions are, the brain subconsciously determines the action as normal. As the result, they arepletely unaware of their harmful action, growing oblivious to the fact that they are no better than the person which they are picking on. The experiment which has proved this theory was called the Jail Experiment.
¡¸I¡¯m starting to remember some stuff from back home and it¡¯s really pissing me off.¡¹
¡¸Remembering what?¡¹
¡¸Like the newspaper articles, they all suggested that there was something wrong with the person who was getting bullied.¡¹
¡¸Now that you mention it¡¡¹
¡¸Even if the person getting picked on had some problems, the bullies were the ones attacking them in a group. There¡¯s no way a single person can defend themselves from a group attack. But every single article said that there was something wrong with the victim, so they should do something about the victims of bullying.¡¹
¡¸It depended on the case as well. But the journalists did make simr sort ofments even if people died as a result of bullying. Though, there weren¡¯t a lot of supporters for the extreme cases of bullying.¡¹
Among the articles which highlight issues rting to bullying, there was only a handful which pointed out the issue on the persecutor¡¯s side. Even then, most of those articles were suggesting that there were issues on both the bullies side and the bullied side. In the few cases where the situation has improved, the problem itself was never fully resolved. If the issue really was only on one side, even though it would result in emotional damage, the bullying would never escte into something like Hirosi¡¯s case as long as they worked on that one issue.
¡¸So, tis what happened. Thanks to my therapist n¡¯ rehabilitation at Fairclo, I managed to recover ¡®nough to go to a mixed-gender school. But am still scared of anythin¡¯ rtin¡¯ to female even if I¡¯m in a safe distance.¡¹
He said as he rubbed his neck. He almost passed out when one of the girls choked him with a force which nobody would believe a middle school girl could have. So, he could not stand within arm¡¯s length from any female without showing a sign of a panic attack, unless he prepared himself for it. Even if he tries to punch one of them, Hiroshi will start to worry that the punch would piss the girl off and they might try to kill him afterwards. Even simply approaching a female was a chore to him.
However, when he was ying the game, he didn¡¯t really see himself as a human. So, ever since he was teleported into this universe, there was less psychological pressure when it came to interacting with a female. Yet, there was still some limits to how much he could tolerate. If one of the females was in contact with him for a long period or show even a hint of murderous intent, he would be close to cking out. Even with chocte, if it wasn¡¯t wrapped or was ced within Hiroshi¡¯s reach, it will start to trigger his phobia.
¡¸If that¡¯s the case, why didn¡¯t you just transfer to all-boys school?¡¹
¡¸My family was gettin¡¯ the house renovated so we had to temporarily move to a different house. The new ce was a propurty provided by the constructionpany n¡¯ it was a cheap room on the second floor of the buildin¡¯ in type 1 industrial area. Cause the apartment had an inconvenient build, I had to enrol into a school dat I could go either by walk or by bicycle. But the all-boys school in my area was either all-dorm style, had a real bad reputation or real far away from home. So, I couldn¡¯t really go to any of em.¡¹
¡¸Oh~ I see where you¡¯reing from.¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san, ya know too?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, If Hiroshi-kun¡¯s house is from walking distance from our high school, then there aren¡¯t any decent all-boys school in the area. If it was within the central industrial area, then a decent all-boys school would be about an hour by car. That area has a lot of factories so I can imagine it would be impossible for you to go there.¡¹
Everyone stood there in silence as Hiroshi and Haruna chatted about a topic which only the locals can understand. They couldn¡¯t understand what they were talking about, but they understood that Hiroshi couldn¡¯t enrol into all-boys school. Especially with all-dorm high school would mean Hiroshi couldn¡¯t hide if bullying started. So, all-dorm school was most likely not even an option from the beginning for Hiroshi.
¡¸Welp, stuff happened n¡¯ the school which adjusted some stuff for me after hearin¡¯ my condition, I was rmended the high school I¡¯m currently enrolled in. They said ¡®t would be the best high school for some like me to go to n¡¯ they supported me lots through the enrolment process. If ¡®t was a different high school, I think I would¡¯ve be a shut in straight away.¡¹
¡¸¡ I see.¡¹
After hearing the full story, Makoto felt the heavy feeling weighing her down. She thought it was strange that someone who had the mentality to go against Helininferno could breakdown so easily whenever a female was involved. For Makoto, who had a higherbat skill then Haruna, she couldn¡¯t understand how someone with a defence status that can easily block off advanced magic can have a panic attack so easily.
Volume 3 11.3
Volume 3 Chapter 11.3
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
In reality, if it wasn¡¯t for Hiroshi¡¯s mentality, his phobia is server enough that he will not be able to work alongside any female. Haruna has also avoided his triggers well which minimized the emotional pressure on him. So, Hiroshi¡¯s condition was improving to the point where he was fine even if Makoto, Mio and Aearis were around.
It is likely that when Hiroshi was in Japan, thefortable distance between him and any female would have been much further. The reason why he could go to a mixed-gender high school was the great amount of support the school has provided for Hiroshi. They have even adjusted their program so Hiroshi could have the bare minimum contact with female students and teachers.
¡¸I guess it¡¯s best to not go to school¡¡¹
¡¸I think that¡¯s a little extreme.¡¹
¡¸For people like us, schools are like going to hell.¡¹
¡¸Ya ¡®ight, the high school I¡¯m in has a better environment. But middle school felt like hell.¡¹
¡¸Everything¡¯s great after you¡¯re hospitalised.¡¹
The three of them could not agree with the way Japanese society worked from many different aspects. The awareness of issues simr to bullying has improved in recent years. However, the education and social system in Japan still had a lot of room for improvement.
¡¸I¡¯m sorry for asking you something like this.¡¹
¡¸ Don¡¯t be, tis not ya fault.¡¹
¡¸Even though I wasn¡¯t in your middle school, that doesn¡¯t mean I waspletely unrted to the reason why you might have felt ufortable at our high school so¡¡¹
¡¸But Haruna-san¡¯s not za type of purson who would talk behind people¡¯s back or judge someone¡¯s worth based on their appearance.¡¹
¡¸But that¡¯s meant to be amon sense. I didn¡¯t judge other guys based on their appearance because I don¡¯t have any interest in male fashion¡ And I didn¡¯t like hanging out with girls like that anyway, so¡¡¹
¡¸Even then, nothin¡¯ would¡¯ve changed even if Haruna-san said somethin¡¯ ¡®bout the situation.¡¹
Every possibility which Haruna brought up was cut down by Hiroshi¡¯sment. Unless a person has been caught by a good-looking pervert, people around Hiroshi¡¯s age will not easily change how they view other people. It is when they really join the society, get yelled by their boss and see the bigger world for themselves, that they learn that a person¡¯s appearance doesn¡¯t mean a thing.
¡¸Hiroshi-sama, are you afraid of us?¡¹
Aearis threw in a blunt question as she saw a break between Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s exchange.
¡¸If I¡¯m bein¡¯ honest, I¡¯m scared if ya within arm¡¯s length from me.¡¹
¡¸Then how about our current distance?¡¹
¡¸Tis fine.¡¹
¡¸Is that because you are acquainted with me? Or is it because this distance will allow you to escape if something was to happen?¡¹
¡¸¡ If ¡®t wasn¡¯t Haruna-san or Elle, I couldn¡¯t tolerate bein¡¯ in the same room with a female for this long¡¡¹
The closest distance which Hiroshi can be around Haruna, Aearis and Mio is currently a radius of 90 centimetres. It was a distance where if Hiroshi was to inch away from them, the girls would be out of his reach. If it was Artiem, he wouldn¡¯t feelfortable standing that close to her due to certain issues. However, if the two of them was to have a conversation while sitting on a chair, Hiroshi wouldn¡¯t have any issues as long as Octogals aren¡¯t present.
¡¸So you are not scared of myself or Haruna-sama?¡¹
¡¸Welp recently, I¡¯m mighty scared of Haruna-san from time to time. But ye, in general, I ain¡¯t scared of ya two.¡¹
¡¸Oh~ I¡¯m really sorry about that. I overreacted didn¡¯t I¡¡¹
¡¸N¡¯ if ya can, could ya stop teamin¡¯ up with Mio? Tis mighty terrifyin¡¯ when ya two do that.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m really sorry about that¡¡¹
The Japanese people gave a bitter smile to Haruna¡¯s apology. Whenever Haruna overreacts or teams up with Mio, it was usually over an issue which involved Hiroshi. She only wants to protect him; however, she ends up overreacting as a result. So, her fierce attitude was like a mask to hide her true feelings towards Hiroshi.
The reason why Makoto was acting cold towards Rainy was that she was dragged into the whole mess after Haruna and Mio teamed up. The reason why she was acting so excessively manner was also for the same reason.
¡¸Shall we go back to our original topic?¡¹
¡¸Oh, sorry ¡®bout that, I¡¯ve gonepletely off track.¡¹
¡¸Please, do not worry about it.¡¹
Aearis brought the conversation back to the original topic as she detected the reason why Haruna would have overreacted.
¡¸If you are afraid toe in contact with people of the opposite sex, how about practising with us? So you can shorten thefortable distance between other females.¡¹
¡¸Practicing?¡¹
¡¸Indeed, for example, starting off with something light like holding hands?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t ya think that¡¯s a little difficult for it to be a startin¡¯ point? Even for the people without phobia?¡¹
Haruna blushed bright red and shook her head as if to agree with Hiroshi. Even if it was just hand-holding, she would be too nervous and too over the moon that it wouldn¡¯t be a good practice.
¡¸If hand holding is too much, we could start froming in contact with the other person¡¯s hands, shoulder or other areas where you are likely toe in contact with on a daily basis. So, what do you think about this idea?¡¹
¡¸Ya really tryin¡¯ to get me practicin¡¯ here¡¡¹
¡¸I personally believe that humans are social creatures which seek toe in contact with one another. I believe that humans can gainfort by physically being near one another. And it upsets me to see that Hiroshi-sama is afraid of physical contact and is not able to gain that kind of support.¡¹
Douga and Tatsuya nodded in agreement after Aearis exined the importance of physical contact seriously. As the two people in the group who have a wife, they understood thefort which physical contact from some you truly trust can provide.
¡¸It should not trigger your phobia if we were the ones to assist you. We will do our best to avoid your triggers. So please, try and ovee your fear ofing in contact with other females.¡¹
As Aearis finished talking, she looked over to Haruna, slowly walked towards Hiroshi and gently ced her hand over Hiroshi¡¯s right hand. Taking in Aearis¡¯s advice, Hiroshi gathered all the courage he could find in himself and slowly ced his left hand over Haruna¡¯s hand. Haruna was overjoyed at this moment. However, she moved her hand away seeing that Hiroshi was close to reaching his limits. When Haruna moved her hand, Hiroshi felt relieved, but at the same time, he felt disconnected, leaving him very hesitant about his feelings.
¡¸The practice will be merely repeating this process. So, what do you think about closing in your safe distance over time through a process like this?¡¹
¡¸tis goin¡¯ to be difficult¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, I understand that it will be difficult at the start.¡¹
Hearing that Hiroshi sounded much calmer than Aearis has originally expected, she gave a small smile and quietly walked away. Not as close as Haruna, but not as distanced as Artiem, or the thorny attitude which Mio has, Aearis has made use of the odd distance she has with Hiroshi. In a way, this was a very tactful move.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun¡¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸Um, I was¡¡¹
Haruna held Hiroshi¡¯s hand once more, looking directly into his eyes and putting in all her feeling towards him into the slightly firmer grip she had on his hand. Hiroshi waited for Haruna¡¯s next words, feeling a little awkward being able to see his own reflection in Haruna¡¯s blue eyes.
¡¸Even if something like today happens in the future, I¡¯ll always protect you, okay?¡¹
Haruna managed to express her determination calmly today. It waspletely different from yesterday where other party members made fun of it. Haruna knew that this determination wasing from a ce of romantic attraction. That has always been the case ever since she realised her feelings at the Elf¡¯s forest. Yet unlike yesterday, she was able to make a proper decision.
¡¸So, just a little, if you could trust us just a little more, that would make me really happy.¡¹
She let go of Hiroshi¡¯s hand when she has finished talking. She walked back to where she was originally standing as if to miss thefort she had from holding Hiroshi¡¯s hand. Hiroshi internally took a sigh of relief as he was freed from the feeling of dread and fear. However, he did notice the very slight loneliness deep down his heart, once again leaving him very hesitant over his feeling.
Volume 3 11.4
Volume 3 Chapter 11.4
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸So, are we done with the lovey-dovey stuff?¡¹
The Queen¡¯s phrase cut into the situation as Haruna and Aearis were showering Hiroshi with theirpassion.
¡¸¡Since when?¡¹
¡¸Let me see, probably around when the Princess Priestess has brought up practising physical contact, I guess?¡¹
¡¸So, ¡®t was a while ago¡¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t even notice¡¡¹
The group ended up humiliating themselves in front of one of the highest authority figures of this country. It would have been embarrassing to look back to even if it was just their friends who saw it. But for her majesty to have seen them, it was a lethal level of embarrassment.
¡¸Although I did not know your condition, I have done something very disrespectful to you, workshop owner. I thought the least I could do would be to give an apology. So, I came over here, but the situation has turned into something which I could not cut into. Oh well, it is not every day which I get to watch something so entertaining. It is nice to be young. Do you not agree, Doul?¡¹
¡¸Indeed, when I was a youngster I was very passionately in love with my current wife.¡¹
The Queen who was in a good mood after seeing Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s interaction dragged in Douga into the conversation stir up the situation. Fun fact, Douga is still lovey-dovey with his wife.
¡¸Anyway, workshop owner, well aren¡¯t you very popr.¡¹
¡¸I thank ya kindness. However, I would appreciate it if ya could give me some space for now¡¡¹
¡¸What an unkindment to make. Man up a little, be confident enough to gather all the women who are head over heel for you.¡¹
¡¸ Even if ya say so, in my home town, bein¡¯ in rtionship with multiple partners are forbidden both byw and by social norm.¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
Aearis questioned curiously to Hiroshi¡¯s response. The Japanese people¡¯s attention all went towards her, surprised to hear the youngest person in the room has made such ament. Artiem was also surprised; even though polyamory was not part of her culture. Ortem had a very questionable norm where if both partners had a child who has moved out, it was fine for them to cheat on their formal partner as long as they don¡¯t get caught. That was the unwritten rule which the Ortem vige had.
¡¸Is it me or did I hear something really weird.. ?¡¹
¡¸It is nothing out of nom, in Fane, marrying multiple partners is not forbidden byw.¡¹
¡¸It, it isn¡¯t¡¡¹
¡¸No, but it is only epted upon everyone in the rtionship having a good understanding of the rtionship. Although we forbid the family members to hold concubine, polyamory marriage is permitted.¡¹
A different cees with a different value system. Fane which always had a very weing atmosphere seems to be very weing towards diversed rtionship as well.
¡¸Tis like that everywhere else?¡¹
¡¸Well, I guess so? I think it is harder toe across a country that forbids the polyamorous rtionship. Our country is more strict on the conditions of open rtionship. At least, they do not permit polyamorous marriage if the group consists of something like two males and three females.¡¹
¡¸So there are countries which would allow such mix as well¡¡¹
¡¸Woldeus is like that. In their country, the concept of marriage is nothing more than a word anyway.¡¹
To Douga¡¯s exnation, the Japanese people were made aware of the vastness of this world.
¡¸Well, like Doul and the magician over there, it is not unusual to see a human who only loves one partner. Most of the citizens are also in monogamous rtion.¡¹
¡¸If tis the case, why were ya forcin¡¯ me into one?¡¹
¡¸I did not mean to make fun of your norms. If a popr workshop owner like you do not take any female, it is just bothersome to me.¡¹
¡¸Scuse me?¡¹
¡¸At least in my country, Darl, there are more females than males. Looking at the reports sent in from other countries, most of them are in simr condition as well. The most recent report stated, well, I would it is around 40/60 but it is close to that ratio. However, you think that is a good bnce for countries to have considering the long-term condition? There¡¯s also the case that male has a higher chance of dying as they often take on high-risk upations wherebat is required.¡¹
To Queen¡¯s words, the Japanese people showed a difficult expression. They didn¡¯t really take notice while they were in Wulls. However, now that it was mentioned to them, they did remember seeing more girls ying out on the streetspared to boys. When looking at the people working at the stalls, there were slightly more femalespared to males. They originally thought that this was because males were more likely to apply for upations which involve working outside the town. However, it was also likely that there were naturally more females among the poptionpared to males.
This may be obvious, but it is hard to say that the census done in Darl and Fane are urate. This is only natural as the authority members are only aware of one half to two-thirds of the poption. However, it is hard to believe that only one of the sexes is more dominant within that one half to one third which wasn¡¯t recorded. So, even if a portion of the country¡¯s poption was missed during the census, it is unlikely that the ratio between male and female will change significantly.
¡¸So, since that is the case, how about you try exploring the female body with me? It will be very useful when ites to doing it with the song muse, the princess priestess and that elf girl?¡¹
¡¸As if I could do somethin¡¯ that terrifyin¡¯!!¡¹
¡¸Oh, how disappointing. Oh well, I am a little intimidated by the song muse¡¯s re. I also do not want something like this reaching to Worm. I acted so crudely before so I shall quietly step back from this one.¡¹
She said such thing jokingly and gave a seductive look towards Haruna.
¡¸In that case, song muse, would you like to learn how to seduce a man with me?¡¹
¡¸¡ I shall kindly decline your offer.¡¹
¡¸I guarantee that I would not do something which would ruin your innocence?¡¹
¡¸I feel like I won¡¯t be able to say that proudly after that so¡¡¹
¡¸What a stiff minded crowd.¡¹
To Haruna who was dense in many aspects, the Queen seemed to be very disappointed. She has tried to flirt with Tatsuya next. However, he red back so she gave back and shrugged quietly.
¡¸Anyways, this is ¡®nough proof that her majesty is Alvan.¡¹
¡¸Oh, how forgetful am I? That is what I wanted to ask you in the first ce.¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯sment, the Queen brought the conversation back to what she has initially wanted to ask.
¡¸Workshop owner, at what point did you realise that I was Alvan? It was only once which Alvan and yourself have personally met.¡¹
¡¸I realised dat the Queen was Alvan when we met earlier today. But I knew that Alvan was female ¡®ight from the beginnin¡¯¡¹
¡¸And what is your proof?¡¹
¡¸Tis hard to call it proof but I can tell if a person has feminine or masculine physique just by lookin¡¯ at em. No matter how they dress emselves up, females just terrify me.¡¹
¡¸¡ You surely are hopeless.¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, the Queen gave a worn-out response. It was then, Artiem who has been trying to say something finally brought up a strange question.
¡¸Um, may I ask something?¡¹
¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹
¡¸Who is Alvan?¡¹
To Artiem¡¯s simple question, everyone fell silent. Seeing everyone else¡¯s reaction, she realised that she has asked a question which she wasn¡¯t supposed to. The person who broke such silence was Alvan herself.
¡¸Oh, Elf, I remember hearing that for some time, you have been living in the Vast Southern Forest. I guess it is natural for you to not know about the affairs which have been happening in Darl.¡¹
¡¸Tis only been ¡®bout two months since she¡¯s moved out o¡¯ the forest¡¡¹
¡¸I guess it makes sense that she wouldn¡¯t know about a thief that¡¯s been rampaging around Darl.¡¹
¡¸So Alvan is a thief?¡¹
¡¸Alvan was a thief that targeted corrupted nobilities and great merchants.¡¹
To Tatsuya¡¯s blunt description, the thief herself gave a bitter smile.
¡¸It is the truth, but could you please change the wording a little?¡¹
¡¸Even when you say that¡¡¹
¡¸Anyways, you get what¡¯s been happening. Since the culprit herself has admitted being guilty, they wouldn¡¯t be able to talk themselves out of the situation. At least, that¡¯s usually the case.¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t believe you have done something so reckless.¡¹
¡¸Oh well, even if I have made a mistake, I have plenty of escape routes which I have prepared for.¡¹
Hearing the Queen admit it so confidently, everyone in the group decided that it was pointless to say anything at this point. The fact that this Queen is quite a character has been obvious from the beginning. Making anyment will only make the conversation flow in a loop.
¡¸By the way, there is something which has been on my mind¡¡¹
¡¸¡ Um, I feel like you are about to say something unbelievable, so I really don¡¯t want to hear it. But what would it be?¡¹
¡¸In kind of fictional works which males tend to find pleasure in, I often see a thief like me end up getting caught by some pervert. Those pervert ends up doing whatever they want with the female. Why do those female always listen to their kidnapper?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t really know how to answer that question ¡¡¹
As they have expected, she has asked an unbelievable question. It was more questionable that the Queen knew about smut fiction which was targeted towards the male audience.
¡¸There is no reason for them to actually obey these kidnappers. On top of that, the world is wide. If they put themselves out more, they could find a truly wonderful partner somewhere. Also, I do not understand the mindset of a woman who wants to be yed around by those filthy males who most likely carry some type of disease.¡¹
¡¸Um, your majesty, we do have an underaged person in this room so if you could, can you try to keep those type of conversation to the minimum?¡¹
¡¸Oh my, I am terribly sorry. It was very intrusive of me.¡¹
To Queen who was about to start a conversation which the high school boys may enjoy, Tatsuya sessfully got the Queen to stop talking. Then he red at Mio and Makoto who clicked their tongue after he stopped the Queen. To the weird conversation which the Queen brought up, Haruna stood on the spot ufortably, blushing bright red. Aearis, on the other hand, sat on the spot calmly with a smile. Nobody knew if she really understood what they were just talking about. Regardless, Artiem waspletely clueless.
¡¸Either way, we did fulfil the promise of having lunch with Mr Hero.¡¹
¡¸That was a promise¡ ?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m purty sure she rejected that offer¡¡¹
¡¸Who cares. Anyways, we must discuss the ns for the immediate future.¡¹
The Queen brought the conversation to an end with a cheerful tone and a questionable statement.
¡¸In general, all of your requests tie into the matters rting to the main temple of Igreos temple.¡¹
¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹
¡¸That will be the case for myself and Artiem-sama as well.¡¹
¡¸My side also has some queries regarding the temple¡¯s affair. We would have to make you guys wait as I would have to adjust the schedule with my team. However, I should be able to leave Darl in two days at earliest, five at thetest. I apologise foring in uninvited but I will like to apany you all.¡¹
The Queen freely started to organise the time. Saying things which could lead to something much bigger carelessly. This was a questionable behaviouring from the nation¡¯s most respected Queen. However, nobody would be able to stop her.
¡¸Also, while we are at it, I would like to make a quick detour over to the underground tunnel which the workshop owner has discovered. It will dy the time which we will reach the destination, but is everyone fine with that?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t have any problem with that decision but why are you interested in the tunnel?¡¹
¡¸That is because I see the importance of making a connection with the people of the continent. Are there any objections?¡¹
She clearly stated that this was an important matter as the Queen of Darl. She must gain as much information about her country as possible. Especially when there is a possibility of an organization beyond her control moving around her country. Since they have made contact with the royal family, it was likely that they wanted to form some type of partnership with the country.
However, everyone was concerned at the idea of the Queen herself going to investigate the matter.
¡¸I git that tis an important matter for ya. However, don¡¯t ya think tis a little risky for her majesty herself to directly go to the tunnel?¡¹
¡¸If I was to hire someone to investigate and they go missing, I would be out of solution. If it is on the way to our destination, we might as well take a look. I am less likely to leave behind evidence anyway. Regardless, I heard that these people of the continent are generally friendly.¡¹
¡¸Welp, ya not wrong ¡®bout that¡¡¹
¡¸This Queens is way too easy-going¡¡¹
¡¸I am keeping this country in order as a woman. I cannot just sit around waiting for something to happen.¡¹
To Hiroshi and Tatsuya who were exhausted by the Queen¡¯s attitude, she responded with a wide grin. The Queen truly was a troublesome person. It was understandable why people were tired of dealing with her.
¡¸Well, it is gettingte. If I do not go back now, Sergio will be yapping at me.¡¹
¡¸Yes, I agree. We have settled on the important matter for now.¡¹
¡¸Indeed,¡¹
Wrapping up the conversation, the Queen was about to leave when she remembered one more thing which she wanted to ask.
¡¸Oh my, Ipletely forgot, song muse.¡¹
¡¸Yes? Was there something which you would like to ask me?¡¹
¡¸Dentlis has not given up his hope. I have tried to warn him, but it seems to have backfired. I deeply apologise for my powerlessness.¡¹
¡¸Oh~ he does seem like a stubborn type¡¡¹
¡¸If the situation continues, he might cause some trouble to the workshop owner. But could you please try and turn him down as well as you can?¡¹
To the very likely situation, Hiroshi, Haruna and Mio gave a bitter smile. The Japanese people had a very third-party view on the Darl¡¯s affair which they must help resolve and how long the process might take.
The concern towards the group¡¯s productivity is bing more and more concerning¡
Volume 3 12.1
Volume 3 Chapter 12.1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸How the hell did it end up like tis¡ ?¡¹
Hiroshi muttered to himself as he started to lose touch with reality, with a wooden sword often used for practice in his hand. The thought of needing to face the giant in front of him exhausted Hiroshi. Many people stood around them to watch their battle.
¡¸So you showed up without running away.¡¹
¡¸I still don know why I need to somethin¡¯ like tis¡¡¹
To fully determined Dentlis, Hiroshi gave an unenthusiastic response.
¡¸You¡¯ve been rejected fair n¡¯ square. So can¡¯t ya just cut this foolish act and move on¡ ?¡¹
¡¸If you gave up after failing once or twice, you will never get anything you want.¡¹
Dentlis did have a point. It was a very straight forward justification. However, such determination could only be perceived as a clinginess regarding rtionship matter.
¡¸Why do I hafta fight ya? I¡¯m purty sure I¡¯ve got nothin¡¯ to do with tis.¡¹
¡¸Now that we havee this far, there is no point asking any questions. Now fight me like a brave warrior!¡¹
¡¸al¡¯ight, al¡¯ight,¡¹
With Hiroshi¡¯s enthusiasm only decreasing, he held the sword with its tip slightly pointing towards the ground.
¡¸Now, if I win this duel, you will surrender your Haruna-kun to me.¡¹
¡¸How many times do I need to tell ya that we ain¡¯t datin¡¯¡¡¹
Dentlis¡¯s enthusiasm skyrocketed as Hiroshi showed a very slight motivation towards this duel. However, Hiroshi still felt very burdened, especially after what Dentlis has just said.
¡¸I am sorry, workshop owner.¡¹
¡¸If ya really feel that way, could ya please do somethin¡¯ to stop that man¡ ?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, if he did listen to me, this duel would not have been a thing in the first ce.¡¹
¡¸So I¡¯ve git no other option¡¡¹
As Hiroshi desperately looked for a way out of this situation, he pleaded to the Queen who seemed very apologetic about this situation. Hiroshi won¡¯t gain anything from winning this duel. But losing wasn¡¯t an option either. For him, this was a very bothersome situation. Even if Hiroshi loses, if Dentlis does anything forceful without Haruna¡¯s consent, then they can easily make this national matter, so the duel was pointless. However, the process of making this a national affair was very troublesome. So, he can already imagine what his party members would say if he loses this duel.
¡¸Now, let us confirm the conditions for thest time.¡¹
Although seeing how un-motivated Hiroshi was, seeing that he has epted the duel, the Queen spoke.
¡¸This will be a one-on-one duel, using a weapon which the participants are most familiar with. The duel will continue until one of them be unable to continue thebat. Skills which possess enough force to kill someone or skills which are used with the intent of killing their opponent is banned. A participant who uses such skill will be disqualified and will lose the duel with no exceptions. The person who loses this duel will be banned from approaching Toudou Haruna from this point onwards. Do both participants agree to this condition?¡¹
¡¸Of course,¡¹
¡¸Yup, whatever¡¯s fine¡¡¹
The Queen, who was has agreed to be the witness for this duel stated the condition and confirmed the agreement from both parties. The Queen nodded and raised her arm to signal the start of the duel.
¡¸I must admit, I am impressed that you managed to take down that Gram Dawn. However, I don¡¯t think you deserve Haruna-kun!¡¹
¡¸I really don care¡¡¹
Dentlis¡¯s determination only seems to increase. He rushed into the battle with immense force. While Hiroshi remained un-motivated. Attacking back only because he has to.
Ten minutester, Dentlis continued to attack without nning ahead. His weapon started to wear out. His stamina started to run low. He let his guard down from exhaustion. Then, Hiroshi attacked with continuous Smash. Dentlis was flung up into the air multiple times and Hiroshi won the battle with ease.
==
When the duel ended, the Queen had few questions which she wanted to ask Hiroshi. So, excusing his friends, she took him to the Eastern hut to talk to him. Expectedly, the audiences were waiting for the seclusion barrier to be lifted.
¡¸I am very sorry for causing you such a burden.¡¹
¡¸If ya think you¡¯ve caused me some burden, then please, ¡®t least try n¡¯ have ya subordinates under control¡¡¹
¡¸I could not agree more with your words. However, Dentlis is more of a guest than subordinates. So, it was difficult for the court to make a move as well. Even if there was a special condition on your side, on the surface level, you¡¯re just an ordinary adventurer. So, matters rting to an intimate rtionship will be put aside as personal issues.¡¹
¡¸On top o¡¯ dat, people say whatever they like ¡®bout ya decision. May I ask exactly in what area ya status is helpful?¡¹
¡¸What a blunt statement you make.¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯s dead honestment, the Queen gave a bitter expression and returned yet another honestment.
¡¸Anyway, do you not think it was strange?¡¹
¡¸Strange?¡¹
¡¸Indeed, Dentlis can be blunt but he is not an airhead. He would have known that the way he fought would not have impressed the song muse. Well, I am sure even you would know that much¡¡¹
¡¸Welp, he didn¡¯t look ill, n¡¯ there wasn¡¯t anythin¡¯ odd when he heard Haruna-san¡¯s song. So I don think there was an issue on his side.¡¹
¡¸But it was true that he was very out of character when he fought today. Workshop owner, did you not think it there was something strange when you were fighting Dentlis?¡¹
¡¸To be frank, the reason why dat duel was a thin¡¯ in the first ce was strange.¡¹
There were many aspects of that duel which Hiroshi would have liked some answers on. Since the purpose of the duel itself was veryical, Hiroshi was unsure where to start questioning so he gave azy answer.
¡¸T¡¯ begin with, I don understand why we needed to duel in the first ce. But puttin¡¯ that aside, tis hard to believe that Dentlis would fight like some arrogant jock.¡¹
¡¸He certainly does not. However, hisbat skill does not match up to yours. I can understand his fighting style if thebat was based on how many critical hits the participant was able to give to their opponents. However, with the type of duel which we have chosen for today, even an idiot would know they would lose from fighting like that. Dentlis has seen you fight against a Gram Dawn. He would have known that he had to be smart about his tactics.¡¹
¡¸Yet he approached me so mindlessly, tis absurd.¡¹
¡¸Indeed, it is absurd in every way.¡¹
¡¸Um, I really don want to hear what ya might be thinkin¡¯ to ask me¡¡¹
As Hiroshi made a whinyment with a bitter smile, the Queen frankly asked the question which she just had to simply ask. Hiroshi¡¯sment was understandable, but if the Queen missed this opportunity, she would miss out on very important information.
¡¸To start with, have you seen something simr to today¡¯s incident previously?¡¹
¡¸Welp, I certainly have seen somethin¡¯ simr to today¡¯s incident. Even though tis a burden to exin it.¡¹
¡¸Just as I thought. Another thing I would like to confirm, did it happen after you fought against Barold?¡¹
¡¸ No, not after za battle.¡¹
Either of them didn¡¯t think to bring up a mindless question such as ¡°Barold should have died¡±. Hiroshi took down the one in Fane and the Queen took down the one in Darl. There was a report on someone who has imed to spot a creature in Torrid desert which closely resembled Barold. No matter how many Barold people took down, there was no exact way to tell if all the Barold has been defeated.
¡¸And what happened precisely?¡¹
¡¸Durin¡¯ the incident at Fane, there was one purson who was mind-controlled. Everyone thought the purson¡¯s gone insane from some kind o¡¯ illness. But nothin¡¯ changed even after Haruna-san¡¯s son¡¯ or from priest¡¯s exorcism.¡¹
¡¸I see, how did this person go insane?¡¹
¡¸Tis purson¡¯s hatred towards my group seemed to git worse by the day. Apart from dat, the purson waspletely normal. So in general, it jist looked like the purson had a reverse grudge towards my group.¡¹
¡¸I see, it does sound very simr to our current situation.¡¹
The Queenpared the information which Hiroshi has given out and concluded that the two cases were very simr very easily. Ignoring the precise details, these two cases were identical.
¡¸Do you know how Barold mind controls others?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, no. However, with tis purson in Fane, there was no record o¡¯ em meetin¡¯ up with someone suspicious. So I recon¡¯ Barold is usin¡¯ an item which no one would suspect it to be the cause o¡¯ mind-control.¡¹
¡¸Is there a way to free the individual from mind-control?¡¹
¡¸At Dentlis¡¯s level, puttin¡¯ him through intensive counsellin¡¯ n¡¯ makin¡¯ him realise there¡¯s soemthin¡¯ wrong with his thoughts n¡¯ actions would be the only way. If the situation gits worse, then ya can stop it by pourin¡¯ all purpose potion on the item that¡¯s causin¡¯ the mind control. But that won¡¯t dispel the mind control.¡¹
¡¸How terrible.¡¹
¡¸The most troublesome thing ¡®bout mind-control is that tis different from status disruption. If a speech spell is used tu slowly manipte the purson¡¯s thoughts, then there¡¯s no difference from someone changin¡¯ their values after goin¡¯ through a traumatic experience. So I doubt a potion or a spell would work against za mind-control.¡¹
¡¸That truly does sound troublesome ¡¡¹
After hearing Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, the Queen stated in a dull tone. When it came to things which were this bothersome, it was only natural for people to want to resolve the matter as quickly as they can. However, that is usually not the case.
¡¸There is really nothing we can do?¡¹
¡¸Not by usin¡¯ potions.¡¹
¡¸Not by using potions, so there is a way?¡¹
¡¸Dere are solutions tu most problems. However, tis method is not formally epted.¡¹
¡¸Just the general description will suffice. Could you provide me with some details on this method? Just in case the timees to use it.¡¹
¡¸Za context is simple. Use a psych based magic n¡¯ dispel the mind-controllin¡¯.¡¹
The context was really simple. However, as Hiroshi said, this method is not formally epted. If they were to make any reckless move, it could result in the individualpletely losing their sense of self. Yet, if the mind-controlling was to continue, there would be nothing which they can do. There was a reason why their enemy targeted Dentlis, who was one of the authority figures in this country with no sessor. This would be a huge advantage towards their enemy. The Queen understood why Hiroshi was hesitant on mentioning the possible cure. Now that she knows the method, she has decided that this was a risk which was not worth taking.
¡¸Very well, would you agree to only allowing this cure to be used when the situation worsens and there is no other option left?¡¹
¡¸T¡¯ would be the a normal decision. However, their n seems tu be a little violentpared tu the incident in Fane. How should I put it, t¡¯ almost seems as if they don¡¯ haf a solid n¡¡¹
¡¸I was not able to gain any precise information regarding the incident in Fane. Is this situation that different from back then?¡¹
¡¸Welp, they certainly didn¡¯ use a method which could be seen through so easily. Thanks to their method, we didn¡¯ realise it until the veryst minute. Then at the worst timin¡¯ Haruna-san was injured n¡¯ it gave everyone a chill.¡¹
¡¸Putting aside your friends, it is strange that the Prince and the King of that nation did not notice anything.¡¹
¡¸T¡¯ really was real strange. Yet, t¡¯ was understandable why they didn¡¯ notice anythin¡¯. On top of Barold¡¯s method, while they were evacuatin¡¯ the civilians who worked at the pce, the royal family mistook the enemy as one of nobility¡¯s maiden. N¡¯ then other kinds of mistakes piled up n¡¯ the incident took ce. Welp, I¡¯m sure Barold manipted the situation so that there would be some kind of mistake made.¡¹
Barold¡¯s sophisticated n has failed miserably due to a simple factor named Hiroshi. If Barold was really behind their current incident, he would not have chosen such a half-a**ed method. He would have either be very violent to the point where nobody could predict his next move. Or detect Hiroshi¡¯s presence and use a method which can be executed swiftly but difficult to deal with.
¡¸I thank you for your insight. I shall research the rest myself.¡¹
¡¸Ya don mean to say¡¡¹
¡¸Do you not think it is a bandit-like solution?¡¹
¡¸I beg ya to not get dragged along with Dentlis-san¡¯s pace¡¡¹
¡¸Of course, anyway, putting that aside¡¡¹
As if to say she has gained enough information, the Queen¡¯s attitude shifted from a politician to seductive woman. To her feminine energy, Hiroshi¡¯s face turned pale and winded the already long enough distance with the Queen. Then, he started to tremble in a corner of a room. With the incident which has caused Hiroshi phobia, the female student who was arrested for attempting to kill him also had seductive energy simr to the Queen. Obviously, the female student had no interest in Hiroshi. She also had some self-inflicted issues. However, she only made the attempt to kill him as she imagined how satisfying it would feel when she manages to kill Hiroshi.
Volume 3 12.2
Volume 3 Chapter 12.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Welp, t¡¯ look like we¡¯ll be able to solve the problems rtin¡¯ to Dentlis-san.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna were currently walking back from the hut to catch up with their teammates. Haruna was feeling slightly restless as she was alone with Hiroshi. Aftering to Darl, being alone with Hiroshi was a rare urrence. However, Hiroshi spoke in apletely opposite manner, looking somewhat nervous. Even though Hiroshi was the one who initiated the conversation, the distance between the two of them was longer than usual. However, it was understandable considering what has happened before.
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸The Queen herself is goin¡¯ to work on it. I¡¯m sure somethin¡¯ll be resolved.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
The issue regarding Dentlis will be solved. Haruna was visibly relieved from hearing that news. To be honest, she was really bothered by him.
¡¸Welp, I guess I should give ya this now. Since I forgot t¡¯ from all the fuss that was goin¡¯ ¡®round.¡¹
¡¸Something you forgot to give?¡¹
¡¸I finished makin¡¯ one clothes usin¡¯ the spirit cloth. Welp, I¡¯ve only managed to make a blouse n¡¯ haven¡¯t made pants or anythin¡¯ like that yet.¡¹
¡¸Are you sure you want me to be the first one to use it?¡¹
¡¸Even though Haruna-san doesn¡¯ equip alotta defence material, ya usually fightin¡¯ in the front lines. On top of that, ya¡¯ve got useful skills like advanced auxiliary magic, healin¡¯ magic and other skills that help the party. Like brother, tis important for ya to have better defence equipment.¡¹
¡¸oh~ I see.¡¹
Agreeing with Hiroshi¡¯s exnation on why he was prioritizing her, she received the simple white blouse. Apart from the blouse being made to fit feminine physique, it was a kind of blouse which would suit anyone. However, the fabric which was used to make the blouse made it seem like a very valuable piece of item.
¡¸I¡¯ve put on Auto-size-adjust while I was swein¡¯ up the blouse so ya don¡¯t hafta adjust the size yaself.¡¹
¡¸Got it, I¡¯ll try it onter.¡¹
For a moment, Haruna wanted to get changed on the spot for defence reason. However, she held back her temptation as they were in a ce where anyone could walk past at any given time. She would not have minded it if Hiroshi saw her undressed. In fact, she wanted their rtionship to develop to a point where they couldfortably show each other¡¯s body. However, she knew getting changed in front of Hiroshi now would worsen his condition. The moment she loses her modesty would be the moment she was done as a female. If they were in a game, none of these issues would have existed and would have happily gotten changed on the spot.
Thinking through her current situation, Haruna held back the excitement of trying on a new blouse and changed the topic of conversation.
¡¸Anyway, we¡¯ve been invited to the pce but should we take some kind of gift?¡¹
¡¸I think so, we probably should take somethin¡¯ with us. Any ideas for za gift?¡¹
¡¸Water is valuable in Darl so, water?¡¹
Hiroshi thought deeply about Haruna¡¯s suggestion. If they were to gift something rting to water, the royal family would definitely be pleased. However, Hiroshi also saw the risk in giving the royal family an item which can infinitely produce water.
¡¸ T¡¯ would be risky tu give magical item dat can easily produce water.¡¹
¡¸I think so too, in a country like this, water ess would probably have a big influence on politics.¡¹
¡¸Even if we were to give em somethin¡¯ like that, t¡¯ would be better to design it so it cun only be used as a family or a national treasure.¡¹
This was a country where water was more expensive than alcohol. It would be a better idea to give the royal family an item which can only be used during the drought. It wouldrgely benefit the country to give them an item which can easily produce an infinite amount of water. But that would cause some major issues with property rights and so on.
¡¸Welp, I guess I could git the royal family to agree on only usin¡¯ the item once a day or only when the dam is empty. I could design it so ¡®t would only produce ¡®nough water to fill up the dam. Other than that, I can make it so that the item uses up alotta magical energy that ¡®t would even drain out nobility¡¯s energy to fill up the dam. If I put on those limitations, ¡®t shouldn¡¯t cause any major issues.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, if it¡¯s the current Queen, she would understand why you made those adjustments to the item. ¡¹
¡¸ ya ¡®ight.¡¹
¡¸Maybe make something else as well? Something that would be easy to use but it¡¯s not necessarily essential, but it¡¯s kind of handy to have one ¡¹
¡¸So t¡¯ would be any o¡¯ the handy items I¡¯ve made before.¡¹
To Haruna¡¯s suggestion, Hiroshi started to list out the things he would be able to make. It has to be a simple item so he didn¡¯t have to put in a lot of effort in the materials used.
¡¸¡ Like, makin¡¯ all the toilets in the pce washlets?¡¹
¡¸¡ It¡¯s not a bad idea but taking another item that can create water might cause some issues.¡¹
¡¸So that we won¡¯ make any enemies, we fix up za underground sewage system along with za washlets?¡¹
¡¸That project scale is too big.¡¹
¡¸Den I guess a massage chair would do.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I think that¡¯s a better idea.¡¹
As Hiroshi downgraded his ideas for the gift, Haruna gave a green light, feeling very relieved. She didn¡¯t mind the idea of renovating the underground sewage system. Yet, such arge scale project would be a burden.
Just a moment ago, they were talking about making adjustments to the water production item to reduce their burden. Haruna didn¡¯t want that effort to go to waste by giving something else which was more troublesome.
¡¸Welp, we better head back n¡¯ prepare to make the gifts.¡¹
¡¸Is there anything I can help?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s plenty for the massage chair. How many do ya think I should make?¡¹
¡¸Maybe around five?¡¹
¡¸roger dat.¡¹
After agreeing to the general idea for what they should gift to the royal family, they hurried to catch up with the others. While they were talking, the distance between them was back to normal. Haruna¡¯s mind filled with joy as she noticed this small detail; and again, noticing that they were alone right now.
(It¡¯s funny to think how the day we got teleported over to this universe, we were always alone¡)
Haruna thought back nostalgically to the day they got teleported over to Fane. In the beginning, it was normal for them to be alone. Haruna didn¡¯t see Hiroshi as a romantic interest at the time. So, she was able to talk to him without feeling nervous or joyful. When they got teleported over to this universe, Haruna was too busy coping with the situation in front of her and Hiroshi¡¯s phobia. So, she didn¡¯t have any time to even think about a romantic rtionship.
(Thinking about it now, I feel like I wasted all those times I had with him in the beginning¡)
Haruna did not regret the way she spent her time in this universe. However, she did feel as if she has wasted some time. Haruna couldn¡¯t help it but sigh internally as she thought back to the time when they were in Fane. Because she didn¡¯t make any effort to be liked by Hiroshi even though a guy who would never judge someone by their appearance was always by her side.
There was no doubt that that time was needed for their rtionship to be where it is right now. It was important for Haruna to develop her feeling towards Hiroshi, so that time, in the beginning, wasn¡¯t wasted entirely. However, she was envious of her past self for being able to spend those days so naturally.
(When we make it back to our original universe, I wonder if we won¡¯t be able to do things like this anymore¡)
As they continue to walk in silence, Haruna continues to think about the past. Back then, she would not have been able to live in the same house as Hiroshi. Either way, Haruna¡¯s current feelings towards Hiroshi was very one-sided for now. On top of that, even when Hiroshi¡¯s condition improves, it would be difficult for him to live in the same house with Haruna alone.
Haruna was aware that this was an inappropriate wish. However, she knew that she couldn¡¯t live in the same house with Hiroshi and not make any move towards him. She was able to control herself at the Workshop as other people were living in the house. However, Haruna did not trust herself enough to maintain herposure in an environment where there would be no potential interruption.
It was natural for her to feel the physical attraction whenever she was around Hiroshi. If she could hold his hand and give him hugs, she would eventually want a kiss; and after a kiss, it¡¯s only a matter of time for her to want to take their rtionship to the next stage. Haruna was very serious about this rtionship, so from her perspective, it was understandable for her to have these tendencies. However, Hiroshi¡¯s family and Hiroshi himself would differ greatly.
(¡ It¡¯s really out of character for me to be thinking this ahead into the future¡ )
To her own convenient imagination, Haruna sighed deeply. The entire time, her eyes were looking over at Hiroshi, so she was very astonished with herself.
¡¸T¡¯s the matter?¡¹
¡¸Hm? Oh, it¡¯s nothing, I was just thinking about something.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¹
Her action has made Hiroshi worried. Although she was reflecting on her own thoughts just a moment ago, she was over-joyed at Hiroshi worrying for her even over the smallest things.
(I guess my real problem here is how do I get Hiroshi-kun to think about our rtionship seriously without triggering his phobia.)
She took a deep breath to calm down her thoughts which has jumped freakishly ahead into the future. She thought about what she can do right now while still being honest towards her feelings. The first thing which came to her mind was to make the emotional pressure on Hiroshi much lighter. For someone in their group to be able to make any romantic approach, they would need to shorten their physical distance they have with Hiroshi.
(I hope all these memories and feelings will stay the same even when we make it back to our own universe¡)
Love isn¡¯t always sweet. After Haruna noticed her feelings towards Hiroshi, she has wished many times that she hasn¡¯t fallen for Hiroshi. But even through all these pains, she has hoped for her feelings towards Hiroshi to remain even when they return to their original universe. Haruna wished for that situation as madly as she is in love with Hiroshi.
Volume 3 12.3
Volume 3 Chapter 12.3
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸That¡¯s unlike you Tatsuya, drinking alcohol from the middle of the day.¡¹
¡¸I was just feeling a little down from¡ them¡ I guess¡¡¹
On the same day in thete noon, Tatsuya who has shut himself in his room was snacking on smoked sand oyster while drinking sake. No matter how anyone looked at it, he was stress drinking.
¡¸I sometimes get bothered by people who are so straight forward with their feelings. Especially looking at it from my position¡¡¹
¡¸I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡¹
¡¸I finally married the woman I love. We were finally settling down into our new life. Then, this happened. I don¡¯t know how much longer I can bear to sleep alone at night¡¡¹
Mumbling about such thing, he chugged down another ss of sake. As the oldest member in the party, Tatsuya usually remainedposed. However, he is still a youngster who is barely in his thirties. Even when he was separated from his newlywed wife, he took on many roles in this universe as a member who had a stable job back in their original universe. Due to this position, it was difficult for him to make any pettyints. So, it couldn¡¯t be helped, that he was drowning himself in alcohol in a ce where nobody would find him.
¡¸God sure is mean, isn¡¯t he? Why would he sperate a newly-wed man from his wife?¡¹
¡¸Really, what even am I¡¡¹
Sighing out his alcohol stanched breath, he bit off a part of the oyster and took another sip of sake. Since the ¡°children¡± of the group have gone back to the workshop, he was finally able to drink off his concerns. He didn¡¯t even bother hiding his state from Makoto.
¡¸You sure bottled up a lot Tatsuya. You say that you¡¯ve devoted yourself to your wife about why don¡¯t you pay an escort to have a little fun? We do have plenty of money.¡¹
¡¸Makoto, I knew this for a while now but you¡¯re oddly understanding.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been in this universe for three months longer than you guys. And the person who looked after me was Doul. So, I would oftene in contact with knights and bodyguards. So naturally, I developed some understanding of guys living in this universe. It¡¯s only natural for me to be like this.¡¹
¡¸I guess, is that why you tried to force Hiro to sleep with Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Something like that. Personally, I would rather beat people like you know who, into a finishing bait but Haruna¡¯s not like that. So, I thought at least let her first time be with a guy that she likes.¡¹
Taking out her own ss, she sat across from Tatsuya and poured herself some sake as she blurted out an honest opinion. Working with knights and bodyguards meant having many opportunities to see the harsh conditions which people were ced in.
¡¸Anyway, if you can¡¯t bear it anymore and you want to have a one night stand, I¡¯m not going to judge you. If you¡¯re going to go insane, then I¡¯d rather have you use the money that we have to solve the problem; since there is a way to pay your way out of it.¡¹
¡¸You and Haruna are sometimes so much braver than us guys¡¡¹
¡¸What a way to put it.¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t mean it as an insult. Afterall, life is never easy.¡¹
Tatsuyamented with a bitter smile as he opened a new bottle. The others would be back by dinner. But he wasn¡¯t stable enough to stop drinking for such reason. Yet it would rude for them show up to dinner wasted so he did prepare some all-purpose potion which worked well against alcohol.
¡¸Men are more sensitive than the media portraits them. Unfortunately, for me, it just has to be Shirori.¡¹
¡¸¡ Has to be?¡¹
¡¸Yep.¡¹
¡¸¡ I thought all men thought with their genitals.¡¹
¡¸Well, most men are like that. But there are many others only devote themselves to one partner.¡¹
As they continued to talk about things which they could not let the minors listen to, they poured themselves more drink. Maybe, it was because Makoto brought up the topic. Or maybe, it was because she was a fujoshi. But she continued the conversation which would have been very sexual if they took one wrong step. It was hard to believe this conversation was taking ce between two near middle-aged people.
¡¸You say that but you were kind of seduced by Haruna¡¯s appearance at first.¡¹
¡¸I think there might be something wrong with a person who wouldn¡¯t feel some type of attraction towards a person with physiques like hers.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡¹
As Makoto brought up something which has happened in the past, Tatsuya admitted honestly. Haruna¡¯s physique was on a level where she could seduce a monk. She was born with the body type which naturally fits the society¡¯s beauty standard. So, in the situation which Tatsuya saw her in, her attractiveness multiplies. Makoto agreed with Tatsuya¡¯s exnation and even seemed relieved that Haruna was able to seduce him to an extent.
¡¸Since you say that it¡¯s just not the same, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve tried it before?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not like I had one night stand but just once I was invited by Julius to go to a ce that sells a certain kind of service.¡¹
¡¸Oh~ I know, isn¡¯t it that ce where with money and mutual consent, you can take home the dancer that you like? Well, those girls aren¡¯t so na?ve that they would follow back home with any customer either.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s questionable that you know about that ce but let¡¯s just turn a blind eye on that. I feel like that was more of a social thing, like guys night¡¡¹
¡¸And you didn¡¯t feel anything even when you saw those dancers?¡¹
¡¸Nope.¡¹
Tatsuya¡¯s devotion to his wife was more than a phrase. Makoto, who knows how most men react to the services in those ces, she could only think that Tatsuya had some kind of mental illness.
¡¸¡ Are you sure you¡¯re okay? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s normal to not have any reaction.¡¹
¡¸I know, but it¡¯s Shiori, even if it¡¯s just a dream, I do get the attraction. So I¡¯m not ill.¡¹
¡¸No, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s some kind of illness. Those ces havedies with a body like Artiem. Or even if they have a body like Mio, they are still somehow very seductive. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something wrong with you if you didn¡¯t get any reaction from them¡¡¹
¡¸Hey, realise that what you just said can¡¯t say anything about Mio.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¹
As Tatsuya pointed out the truth, Makoto suddenly struggled to find a response. However, Tatsuya felt a lot better, finally being able to talk about issues which he could not talk about it to the minors. Makoto was not Tatsuya¡¯s type, but they were good friends.
¡¸Anyways, it¡¯s not fair if I do all the talking. What about you Makoto?¡¹
¡¸Wha, what do you mean?¡¹
¡¸I mean, you seem to be cheering for Hiroshi and Haruna but what about yourself?¡¹
Makoto¡¯s eyes shifted frantically as Tatsuya brought up a topic which she was hoping to avoid.
¡¸Do I really need to say?¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t have to say if you have a condition like Hiro.¡¹
¡¸¡ Unfortunately, it¡¯s not that bad.¡¹
To Tatsuya¡¯s condition, Makoto gave a troublesome expression. It was something which has happened a while back. It was quite a private issue, so she didn¡¯t really want to talk about it herself. It was something which she couldugh it off in the near future. But there was no doubt that it would be a kind of story which a guy would enjoy listening to.
¡¸Screw it, I should be able to get over my mistake when we¡¯re the ones talking about helping Hiroshi ovee his phobia.¡¹
¡¸Mistake, huh. Is that the reason why you were shut-in?¡¹
¡¸Yup, well, half of it was my fault. I was just being a naive, self-pitying brat.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re fault, huh.¡¹
Seeing that the topic might get gloomier, Tatsuya pulled out crackers and smoked marga eggs.
¡¸So, what did you do?¡¹
¡¸To put it simply when I was at uni, I was dating a social reject and I wrote yaoi based on him and his friend. Then he found it and realised the character was based on him since the character had the same surname.¡¹
¡¸¡ that¡¯s, really damaging¡¡¹
¡¸It was bad enough that he saw it but before I knew it, everyone at uni knew about it as well. So both my ex andplete strangers woulde up to me and talk b******t.¡¹
¡¸I see, no wonder you ended up bing a shut-in.¡¹
Tatsuya understood why Makoto said it was half her fault. When it came to BL, not many people were bothered if it was a smut fiction. But when it came to hardcore BL, normal guys would struggle to ept it. On top of that, it was obvious that the character was based on himself. So, it was only natural that he was furious about what happened.
¡¸I¡¯m not ashamed of being a fujoshi. But I failed as a human being when I wrote that thing. It¡¯s not something that should be forgiven. But at the time, I was only a brat so I thought it was fine as long as they didn¡¯t see it.¡¹
¡¸¡You and your boyfriend, it¡¯s a type of issue where neither of you can be defended.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s no need for you to defend me. He wasn¡¯t the type of person who would simply look past my hobbies anyway. So, even if that incident didn¡¯t happen, I would have messed up eventually and ended up like this anyway.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
Tatsuya finally understood why Makoto didn¡¯t show any interest towards men other than for BL purpose. He finally understood that the reason why she didn¡¯t want a romantic partner wasn¡¯t that Makoto was a fujoshi.
¡¸So, since something like that happened, I¡¯ve just had enough with love.¡¹
¡¸Well, those type of pain takes a lot of time to heal.¡¹
¡¸Oh well, although it was forced, I¡¯m no longer a shut-in. So, for now, I don¡¯t want to look for anyone.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been wondering since the first time we met but guessing from how you talk about this, are you speaking from experience?¡¹
¡¸Yep, I am.¡¹
To Tatsuya¡¯s question which would have been difficult to ask a woman face to face, Makoto gave a light-hearted response.
¡¸Oh, by the way, that was the first rtionship I was in.¡¹
¡¸¡ Same goes to Hiro but you¡¯ve experienced a lot in your life as well¡.¡¹
¡¸Same to you Tatsuya. I mean, just look at your current situation.¡¹
¡¸Well, if I didn¡¯t get teleported over to this universe, I would have had a normal life, apart from looking after Mio.¡¹
As Tatsuya looked back on his life, he remembered Mio had a hard life as well. Even Haruna who seems to be on the winning side of life had not-so-normal life due to her ethnic background. So, the only person who had an ordinary life before getting teleported to this universe was Tatsuya.
¡¸By the way, while you were a shut-in, were you living off your parents¡¯ ie?¡¹
¡¸Hm? Oh no, I paid for it myself.¡¹
¡¸Oh? what was your job?¡¹
¡¸It was pretty much a date trade. I had some money saved up from selling doujinshi at conventions before. Until two years before I became a shut-in, I managed to sell all of my copies so I had plenty saved up.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know how much you can make from selling doujinshi but were your savings really enough for you to live off date trade?¡¹
¡¸There was this one time I made a huge hit. So even when I paid the tax for it, I made enough to livefortably for the rest of my life.¡¹
Tatsuya almost spat out his sake as Makoto casually pointed out something outrageous.
¡¸Hold up, Makoto, how does that even happen¡ ?¡¹
¡¸I wasn¡¯t expecting such a huge hit either. I bought copies for a story that was easy to predict the cash flow and made 100,000 yen from that stock. Then one of the employees at the publisherpany came up with some lifechanging innovation or something and before I knew it, the sales multiplied. The cost for each copy was cheap considering its stock so the sales went up pretty quickly as well.¡¹
¡¸And you repeated something like that for three or four more times?¡¹
¡¸Yup, the ime where my joke brought me some ridiculous luck¡¡¹
Makoto¡¯s eyes nkly looked over into the distance as she remembered how her recklessness was once her strength. However, as she was na?ve and new to the publishing industry, she didn¡¯t even think to do a quick research on what was going on in thepany. If she had known that M&A had a big win in the stock, if she researched about the breakthrough one of their employees had, and bought her stocks then, her doujinshi would have continued to sell at the highest possible price.
The only huge mistake Makoto made in this situation was that she didn¡¯t change the price. By repeating a simr process, she could have increased her sales by tenfold.
¡¸So, were you doing date trade even before you got teleported here?¡¹
¡¸Not for that long, I¡¯ve saved up enough money to be a shut-in so there was no need for me to do anything.¡¹
¡¸I see, that¡¯s a solid reason.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not good to keep gambling anyway.¡¹
¡¸Couldn¡¯t have agreed more.¡¹
To Makoto¡¯s very ethical response which makes it hard to believe she used to be a shut-in, Tatsuya gave a bitter smile and took another shot.
¡¸Our age is pretty close but you¡¯re a millionaire and I¡¯m just a salesman stressing over the housing loan.¡¹
¡¸Personally, I have more respect for people like you. Karma will eventuallye around for people like me.¡¹
¡¸Do you really think so?¡¹
¡¸I do, I had a lot of anxiety back home just because I made so much money.¡¹
¡¸I guess there would be a lot of responsibilities thate with wealth.¡¹
Tatsuya poured more sake as he learnt more about Makoto and respecting her thoughts. The bottle which they opened were starting to empty. So, they were thinking to stop the stress drinking.
¡¸There¡¯s one more thing which I been wanting to ask you for a while.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Even though you became a shut-in, I¡¯m amazed that you still had the motivation to continue Fairclo. From what I heard, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if you developed some kind of phobia or something.¡¹
¡¸Oh, about that¡¡¹
Hearing Tatsuya¡¯s understandable question, Makoto gave a bitter smile and took a sip from her ss. After clearing her throat, she confessed the reason why she decided to continue ying games.
¡¸My username was Nenabe and my avatar was a muscr giant so nobody would have thought I was that fujoshi who screwed up at university.¡¹
¡¸Oh~ I see.¡¹
Tatsuya thought it was slightlyical that a muscr giant was fighting with Katana, but apart from that, everything else made sense.
¡¸You would never expect a story like that from someone who looks so normal.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯repletely normal yourself either.¡¹
¡¸Come on, do you really think people like me are that unusual?¡¹
¡¸Well, I guess¡¡¹
Feeling something out of ordinary about Tatsuya, Makoto took another shot.
¡¸Don¡¯t you think this is such a weird situation?¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸From Mio¡¯s perspective who¡¯s all about dating sims, she would say that there was something wrong with both of us.¡¹
¡¸Yeah~ she would. But I guess that¡¯s a normal reaction.¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯m romantically burnt out and you¡¯re only attracted to your wife, I guess there really is something wrong with both of us..¡¹
To Makoto¡¯s sarcasticment, Tatsuya finally gave a genuineugh. They weren¡¯t each other¡¯s type and they would never see each other as a romantic interest. But they couldn¡¯t find a better drinking buddy.
¡¸Anyway, let¡¯s cut the drinking for now. We don¡¯t know when others wille back.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡¹
The two wanted to enjoy this drunken atmosphere for a little longer but as the adults of the group, they drank the all-purpose potion and sobered up.
Volume 3 13.1
Volume 3 Chapter 13.1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
The regtions fixed in Igreos Temple¡¯s inner sanctuary, it was the day before the queen¡¯s procession departed.
¡¸Alvan! You bastard!¡¹
¡¸Dentlis-kun, it is quite honestly disgusting to know that you had a grin on your face while you gazed at something like this.¡¹
Dentlis¡¯ second residence was in an uproar in the middle of the day.
¡¸Why did you bring that over of all things!?¡¹
¡¸Because this is the most suspicious?¡¹
The reasoning was very simple. Alvan had boldly crashed his way in in broad daylight and carried out an unpleasant-looking ck figure. At first nce, this strange-shaped thing appeared to be that of a dark god which practically screamed ¡°On the window! On the window!¡±, and to quote Alvan, anyone grinning happily at something like this was truly a disgusting person.
Honestly, Alvan himself also probably hated carrying this thing around, but it was even worse to leave such an object in the home of a man who was likely to cause a nationwide scandal at any moment. Continuing to have mental fortitude and hoping he would not be mistakenly taken captive, Alvan pulled out of the estate and went outside.
¡¸Wait, Alvan!¡¹
¡¸Why would I do that? No reason to.¡¹
Alvan leaped onto the roof of the building that Hiroshi had undercoated£¨measuring more than 10 meters in height£©in an elegant fashion that any average human would struggle to not lose sight of, let alone chase. He then traveled along it to disappear off to the low-lying part of the city.
¡¸Damn it! Find Alvan! That¡¯s the one thing I cannot afford to have stolen from me!!¡¹
Hearing Dentlis¡¯ shriek, the upants dashed over to the lower town. Honestly, they were extremely in agreement with Alvan¡¯s opinion about that dubious figure and really weed him stealing and disposing of it, but they could not disobey their master¡¯s orders.
They searched all around town as hard as they could until the day grew dim, but due to interference from a mysterious girl, they were unable to obtain even a shred of information about Alvan, and ended up returning dejectedly to get scolded by their master.
¡¸Seriously, that was one tough job in difficulty level¡¡¡¹
¡¸There must have been an alternative to go so far as to steal from Her Majesty herself¡¡¡¹
That evening. Skillfully eluding the gazes of Dentlis¡¯ followers, the queen muttered to herself as she let herself be healed by the massage chair she received from Hiroshi. Makoto had epted the unidentified dark god statue wrapped and sealed in spirit cloth, making an exasperatedment. Hiroshi and the others had returned to the workshop for various preparations, and Tatsuya was called over by Prim, unable to help with anything. Therefore Makoto hade over here as the representative.
¡¸It¡¯s because I knew that the other people would not be able to manage. Otherwise I would most certainly not steal this item of bad taste.¡¹
Still rxing in the massage chair, the queen dered in a melting voice.
¡¸Unable to manage what? The security measures??¡¹
¡¸That too, but if anything, carrying the statue around has incredible risk in and of itself.¡¹
¡¸That much?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Even I would have been taken in had I been careless. If humans with low resistance to this type of item touch it without a way to deal with it, bang. Two Dentlises.¡¹
The queen listlessly thrust the harsh truth at her. In actuality, that feeling of having something drained more and more out of you just by waiting wasn¡¯t something most people could bear.
¡¸All things considered, this chair is truly fabulous. At first I underestimated it, but the rubbing and pushing is at the perfect rhythm.¡¹
¡¸Annnd now there¡¯s another victim of the massage chair¡¡¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, Fane¡¯s king¡¯s three daughters¡I hear they took quite the liking to this chair.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, they apparently had quite a bit of stiffness here and there, so whenever they have free time they generally just nap in the massage chair.¡¹
Makoto unveiled the everyday life of the royal family she had heard from Aearis.
¡¸I have also heard that. This chair is truly not to be underestimated. I simply cannot resist this¡¡¡¹
At a nce, she appeared to be quite free, but this queen, even with all of her twists, was the still the leader of a country. She seemed to be tired enough to have to be healed by a massage chair.
¡¸I truly understand now just how dangerous it would be to have you all as my enemies¡¡¡¹
¡¸You exaggerate.¡¹
¡¸Not in the slightest. Humans can endure quite a bit of pain, but once they taste a life of pleasure, it¡¯s nearly impossible to let go. It¡¯s just like narcotics.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well, I guess I can see that?¡¹
What the queen said was one thing even Makoto could not entirely deny. To Makoto and the others, if Hiroshi were to somehow drop out, it was doubtful they would even have felt like continuing their trip. Heck, they may have even had impediments in their everyday life without him. A certain amount they could manage with Mio¡¯s help, but she didn¡¯t have Hiroshi¡¯s insane crafting power. There were several things, including furniture, that were simply no good without him.
¡¸To put it bluntly, if we were to force everyone around us to surrender with this method, I do not think even one such as royalty would be able to resist such advances. I am truly grateful to have the workshop master himself on our side.¡¹
¡¸Right, you don¡¯t normally see those types of things as a threat after all¡¡¹
¡¸Indeed. If it were any respectable craftsman, then we could normally force them to sumb to our authority, but youds andsses just aren¡¯t that type¡¡¡¹
¡¸No no no. Even we would never dare to revolt against the state¡¯s authority.¡¹
¡¸What are you saying. If you wanted you, could you not escape from this current situation and run off in the night?¡¹
Although her voice was quite rxed due to her massage she was receiving, the queen¡¯s thoughts and quips had not lost their edge in the slightest. Although the queen did not know what it involved, she had certainly anticipated that Hiroshi¡¯s group would constantly have escape items on hand. She truly couldn¡¯t be underestimated.
¡¸Besides, even with all our material resources, it wouldn¡¯t be all that easy to ovee opposition from you all. Perhaps eventually, barely, but thinking of all the casualties it would take to get to that point, using violence would be one of the most silly ideas I could ever think of.¡¹
¡¸If you¡¯re that cautious of us, that almost makes me feel like it¡¯s possible for us to try a few things here and there.¡¹
¡¸As long as you keep it on the downlow, I would be grateful.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll do our best in that regard.¡¹
Makoto could only grimace at the queen¡¯s rather direct remark. Even though she said they¡¯d do their best, the one who really needed to take responsibility was Hiroshi, not Makoto. However, there had not been even one instance of any of them being able to stop Hiroshi from his rampages. The most they could do was to object to what he was doing and attempt to steer him on the right course, but once Hiroshi was in his own little world, it was truly impossible to get him to hold back.
¡¸Yes, please do. And I take it that it is fine to leave the disposal of that statue to the workshop master?¡¹
¡¸I think it will be fine. If he can¡¯t do it then no one can.¡¹
¡¸Very true. Then please take care in doing so.¡¹
¡¸Understood. Please excuse me.¡¹
Finishing her chat with the queen, Makoto carried out the troublesome object. Left alone in the room, the queen continued to enjoy the rxing massage chair to her delight.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the pce. That particr area was known for being a dating spot, and Tatsuya gazed down at Prim with a strange poker face.
¡¸So what did you want?¡¹
¡¸I think you of all people would have guessed, Tatsuya-dono.¡¹
¡¸I see, so it is what I thought¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya¡¯s face had a visible frown on it. His demeanor answered for him.
¡¸So it is true. I¡¯m no good for you¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sorry, I¡¯m not interested in any woman who isn¡¯t my wife.¡¹
Tatsuya put it as clearly as possible to as to reduce the damage incurred. He had only given her the minimum amount of care while they were living together to make sure she had no hard feelings about it, but that ended up not being enough.
¡¸She must be such an amazing person to have you so infatuated¡¡¹
¡¸Dunno. To me she¡¯s the best wife I could ask for, but it isn¡¯t like she¡¯s the ideal woman or anything.¡¹
Prim had already begun to devalue herself from this one rejection, while Tatsuya attempted to convey that it wasn¡¯t because she necessarily had no appeal. It was just that him and Hiroshi were a little special, and if Prim or Judith had confessed to any other guy, things might very well have been different. She certainly had enough appeal.
¡¸See, my wife can be somewhat aloof. There¡¯s many a time when I¡¯ve marveled at how she manages to keep her job despite risking so much, and sometimes it¡¯s ridiculous how clumsy she is. She can cook and all that, but sometimes it does feel like shecks life skills.¡¹
The way Tatsuya talked about his bride made it clear that she was the pr opposite of Prim.
¡¸Still, despite being like that, just like you, she¡¯s an independent woman. She does love me from the bottom of her heart, but I¡¯m sure that even if I weren¡¯t there, she could make it on her own. If anything, I¡¯m probably the one who wouldn¡¯t be able to make it without her.¡¹
Prim did her best to listen to Tatsuya as he spoke fondly of his wife without changing her expression. It would be have been one thing if she had only been rejected, because some would still have wrongly assumed there was still a chance.
Unfortunately, Prim was still a female who had normal sensitivity. Consequently, despite her calm facial expression, she was gripping her knuckles to where it felt they would break.
¡¸So I have to go back, no matter what. Not for the sake of my wife. It¡¯s so that I don¡¯t be broken.¡¹
Tatsuya confessed in a matter-of-fact tone, but that made his words have a strong impact. This ensured that there would be no misunderstanding, and something burst within Prim.
¡¸So that¡¯s how it is. It isn¡¯t that you¡¯re unappealing. I just cannot ept any other woman, not even a goddess. Sorry.¡¹
¡¸Please do not apologize. Despite knowing that you had a spouse and still holding some sort of hope, I am the one who should be ashamed.¡¹
When Tatsuya had bowed his head in apology, Prim found herself unable to do anything but answer with a teary-eyed smile. This had in fact not been anything Tatsuya should have apologized for. Prim had one-sided, illicit love for him and had been firmly rejected as a result. Besides, Tatsuya had always proven through his words and his actions that he was not interested in anyone but his wife. Prim simply hadn¡¯t found the will to give up on him.
Volume 3 13.2
Volume 3 Chapter 13.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Still, although I know I am in no ce to say this, if you still do not dislike me as a person, I would ask you to please let me remain by you as a friend.¡¹
¡¸Of course. There wasn¡¯t any problem with you personally, Prim. As a person, even I think you¡¯re great. I just couldn¡¯t see you in the way that you wanted, but I always was grateful to have you around.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s more than enough, then.¡¹
Prim said, lowering her head once and then leaving. At times like these, there was only one thing for men to do: watch them leave.
¡¸No matter how many times I do this, it¡¯s really tough, y¡¯know¡¡¡¹
Once Prim waspletely out of sight, Tatsuya sighed as he expressed his innermost thoughts. Rejecting someone was tough not only on the one who confessed, but the one who rejected them as well. For Tatsuya, he was very simr to Hiroshi in how he wanted to avoid any confrontations¨Cjust in a slightly different way.
¡¸I¡¯d better do something to improve my mood too now.¡¹
Everything, including the results, was already obvious from the beginning, but it wouldn¡¯t do for him to have a sunken expression on his face just because of that. In order to raise his spirits, Tatsuya opted to walk all the way back to the temporary base rather than use transportation magic.
¡¸Now this is just vexing¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s rare to find figures that look so obviously evil.¡¹
¡¸If any normal person were to look at this, I bet their sanity parameters would plummet into the danger zone.¡¹
Opening the package that Makoto had given him, Hiroshi¡¯s initial impression was probably the same impression anyone would get by looking at it.
¡¸So what do you think?¡¹
¡¸Makoto-san, what the heck do ya expect me to say when ya thrust this creepy thing at me?¡¹
¡¸Ah, sorry sorry. How troublesome do you think the figure will be?¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re just breakin¡¯ it then we can do it, but it¡¯s gotta be in the right way or else things¡¯ll prolly get sour.¡¹
After carefully scrutinizing the item, Hiroshi conveyed his thoughts straight to them, not even bothering to discuss how he arrived at the conclusion.
¡¸So what even is that thing?¡¹
¡¸Interferes with the mental state of the target that it touches, making their thoughts go haywire. Think of it as dementia that constantly gets worse.¡¹
¡¸And apparently the person afflicted by this has no idea that they¡¯re going mad, nor does anyone around them until the condition has worsened enough for them to notice.¡¹
¡¸Yup, that¡¯s the gist, y¡¯all. But it¡¯s still different from dementia cuz ye can still remember that fact, so it¡¯ll be even more of a drag than usual.¡¹
The troublesome thing about all of this was that it wasn¡¯t miasma infiltrating one¡¯s train of thought. It was unclear what type of mind control it was. All they knew was that restoring someone back to normal would be quite a hassle without counseling-rted skills.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, can you take care of this by tomorrow morning?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, gotta do somethin¡¯ about it.¡¹
Hiroshi answered carelessly as he stared gloomily at the evil god figure. It asionally would exhibit an intimidating aura. Despite being able to change one¡¯s cognition and thoughts, the figure was actually ineffective as long as you kept using your mental resistance from the outside. And Hiroshi¡¯s mental resistance had already been powerful enough from the outset to practically cancel out any sort of grand magic, plus his skill had been secretly increasing with all the crafting he had done up to this point and even more so after arriving in Fane. No evil idol could match up to his mental game.
¡¸Then let¡¯s cleanse it lightly before beginnin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸How are we going to do that?¡¹
¡¸I already had Elle make sum holy water before we left Wulls, so I¡¯m nnin¡¯ to use it up. By the way, this holy water is made with super effective ingredients: highly pure water, leftover solmizen juice, and the remaining lifeforce ocean fertilizer all mixed together. I bet it could cleanse Barold¡¯s counterpart.¡¹
¡¸Why does this item sound so cheap¡¡¡¹
¡¸I mean, solmizen is already fishy enough as a crop¡¡¹
Theymented as they poured out half of the bottle onto the evil god figure. As she looked at the figure clearly writhing in agony, Mio thought up a meddlesome prank.
¡¸Haru, can you sing holy songs?¡¹
¡¸Well sure I can, but why?¡¹
¡¸I want to test something.¡¹
Understanding what Mio meant by testing things out, Haruna figured it would be fun to follow along and try singing several typical holy songs. The figure now seemed to be in even more pain. Haruna herself happened to be secr other than participating in the asional shinto tradition, so she didn¡¯t have an ounce of faith toward any god, but sure enough, even the songs of an infidel such as her were working their magic.
¡¸It¡¯s working, it¡¯s working.¡¹
¡¸Looks it is weak to purification skills after all.¡¹
¡¸I sorta feel like all we need is for Tatsuya toe back and use his mes of Judgement attack.¡¹
The girls began twittering on about whatever they pleased. And as for what Hiroshi was doing¡¡
¡¸Alright, got it all recorded.¡¹
¡¸Recorded? Oh, what, you mean that cassette recorder thingy?¡¹
¡¸Nah, that¡¯s literally what it is, mate.¡¹
It was unclear when he had made it, but sure enough, Hiroshi had been recording Haruna¡¯s songs with the cassette recorder. Then again, though it looked like a cassette recorder, the medium used to record was a lot more simr to something else¡
Incidentally, the reason why Haruna knew about the recorder was quite simple: because it yed quite an active role in the entertainment field. Mio had barely seen the item outside of old manga, but Makoto had never seen it even once, so she had not initially understood what it was that Hiroshi had taken out.
¡¸Okay, so I get that it¡¯s a cassette recorder, but what are you using it for? And what do you mean by saying you have it recorded?¡¹
¡¸Well it¡¯s obviously the songs Haruna-san was singin¡¯ just now.¡¹
¡¸Wha¨C?¡¹
Hiroshi replied without hesitating. Despite anticipating this answer of his, Haruna couldn¡¯t help but let out a strange voice as she gaped in shock. Apparently it was just too much for her brain to handle that her voice was being recorded in another world.
¡¸Sensei, when¡¯d you make that tape recorder?¡¹
¡¸Yer actin¡¯ like I never have time on my hands.¡¹
¡¸Fair enough.¡¹
Ignoring Haruna¡¯s stiff posture, Hiroshi continued their carefree conversation as he set the tape recorder in front of the idol. Was he imagining things, or was the idol quivering in fear?
¡¸Uh, um, I wonder what, we do now?¡¹
¡¸Whaddya mean ya wonder? Obviously we¡¯re gonna rey Haruna-san¡¯s voice ¡®n see what happens.¡¹
Haruna had brieflye out of her daze to inquire about what Hiroshi was trying to aplish, but his answer only threw her back into a daze. Singing was one thing, but hearing your own voice from a recording is actually quite embarrassing, especially if it isn¡¯t your profession. Haruna also fell into this category.
The songs they listened to with the radio while traveling in the minivan consisted of songs from nts or the earth, whatever had a frequency. asionally they came across a god singing, but it didn¡¯t really bother them.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s give it a flick.¡¹
Completely ignoring Haruna¡¯s demeanor, Hiroshi got right to ying the recording. Soon after he pressed the switch, the first song Haruna had sung earlier began ying. Compared to the actual singing, the power was not as effective, but still had an incredible impact, overwhelming the entire room. ying this music would probably be more than enough for a wrapped offering.
¡¸Ooo¡«¡¢look at it thrash around!¡¹
¡¸I guess all we need is a recording of her voice.¡¹
¡¸But the damage is less than the actual song would do.¡¹
The idol moved around in pain like some ripoff flower rock. Hiroshi and the others analyzed the effects as they watched it. Meanwhile, much like the idol, Haruna was thrashing around, but in embarrassment.
¡¸Well now we know what to do.¡¹
¡¸And that is?¡¹
¡¸Cut it up into a decent size, seal it in holy water, ¡®n then we try endlessly repeatin¡¯ the song from earlier inside a soundproof room for about a night?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that sounds like it¡¯ll do the trick.¡¹
¡¸Maybe we could even cleanse Barold¡¯s whole body?¡¹
Hiroshi hade up with an extremely brutal idea. Makoto and Mio found it to be very enticing. It¡¯s often said that you should get the job done thoroughly, but¡maybe not this thoroughly.
¡¸W-Why does it feel like my song is being treated like jaian recital¡¡¡¹
¡¸I guess even though we¡¯d pay all our money to hear these songs, they just don¡¯t see it the same way?¡¹
¡¸I realize they¡¯re weak to this stuff, but it¡¯s still shocking to hear¡¡¡¹
Even though she understood the situation, this was simply too much for Haruna to bear. Unlike her mother or sister, she was not aiming to be a singer, so she did not have much pride in her singing, but she still had some confidence. Of course this improper use of her singing would make her sad.
¡¸But wow, guess this was no surpriseing from you.¡¹
¡¸I totally assumed that a recording would have zero effect in this case.¡¹
Makoto and Mio weren¡¯t sure whether to be exasperated or impressed by all this. Haruna probably didn¡¯t even have to be the one to sing to eliminate such a small fry.
But that was nofort to Haruna. She could have sung a less serious song and it would have worked just as well.
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢now I kinda feel pissed¡¡¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, stop that song real quick.¡¹
¡¸Ah, mm, kay.¡¹
Intimidated by Haruna¡¯s gaze, Hiroshi nodded his head frantically as he stopped the recording. If this were anyone else, it would have been around the time where they should check on the idol¡¯s sanity in a few seconds, but now that the song had stopped ying, the idol went back to its normal demeanor.
¡¸So whatcha doin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸I figured we didn¡¯t need a specifically holy song, so I want to test something.¡¹
She put power into her voice and began singing¡the Heart Sutra. And this wasn¡¯t even the chant, but a rock remix.
¡¸H-Haruna¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I think she¡¯s angry this time¡¡¡¹
The idol was now writhing in several times the agony it had been earlier. Once Haruna had finished the rock version, she moved on to the gospel version. The idol continued to feel pain. Then there was the death metal version, the pop version, the bad version, and pretty much any other arrange she could think of.
¡¸Phew. I feel better now.¡¹
Once she had finished up the enka version, Haruna sighed with a refreshed look on her face. Each of these was high level and enough to turn the room into a solemn atmosphere.
Volume 3 13.3
Volume 3 Chapter 13.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Haru, that was savage¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well you can say goodbye to any chance of me singing a serious song in front of a rude audience ever again.¡¹
Haruna blurted out something rather questionable for a singer to say.
¡¸Well now Haruna-san seems to be content, so let¡¯s disassemble this sucker.¡¹
Hiroshi got over his fear of Haruna¡¯s anger and proceeded to cut up the sacrificial idol into suitable chunks. It appeared to have been thoroughly demolished by Haruna¡¯s heart sutra attacks. Submerging it in the dwarf killer god liquor holy water mixture, he shut it in the bottle with a holy seal to prevent escape.
¡¸Wow, now it actually looks like a sacrifice.¡¹
¡¸But a sacrifice to whom?¡¹
¡¸Maybe to quell Haruna¡¯s anger?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯tpare me to an evil god.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but it¡¯s pretty standard to present offerings to any sort of angry god.¡¹
Haruna was indignant at theparison. She began secretly plotting revenge in the form of tonight¡¯s dinner for Makoto and Mio. Hiroshi only got off because she was too in love with him to do so.
¡¸Let¡¯s go ahead ¡®n take this to the forge, erect a soundproof barrier ¡®n then st the music, y¡¯all.¡¹
Hiroshi held the bottle (in which the idol was still thrashing around) and dered their next move as he hurried out. If it¡¯s not broken, then don¡¯t fix it.
¡¸Alright, time to make dinner.¡¹
Haruna dered with a rather happy smile, to which the other two responded by nodded their heads several times. Her smile was so powerful that not even Mio felt like helping out.
The meal ended up being an arrangement of Darl cuisine, but¡
¡¸Ah, it¡¯s spicy!!¡¹
¡¸Haru, this is a bit too much!!¡¹
¡¸Oh? But the seasoning is perfectly edible.¡¹
¡¸Ah, no, I can eat it, I can eat it!!¡¹
The spices were carefully selected to bring about the most intense effect you could think of, with every bite feeling like you were breathing fire but unable to stop eating because of how addicting this fearsomebination was. To make matters worse, the two of them weren¡¯t given any beverages, and they were left to writh in their own kind of agony until the next morning, especially since theypletely finished the food.
Also, the evil god idol waspletely white by the next morning, all traces of ck wiped away and¡ª-
¡¸Hey, I might be able to use this as an ingredient for somethin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸But first let¡¯s try some more experiments.¡¹
And with that, Hiroshi¡¯s wish was granted on the premise that something might change once the item was cleansed. As a result, they had to listen to the song on repeat all the way to Igreos Temple. But that is just between you and me.
¡¸Quite the luggage ya have there.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I have a rather urgent matter to attend to with this documents. As much as I¡¯d like to, I cannotpletely ck on my responsibilities.¡¹
¡¸Queens have it hard, I see.¡¹
¡¸The country is in my hands. Of course it is difficult work.¡¹
¡¸Right, right.¡¹
The queen stared at arge assortment of luggage that could not possibly just be clothing. While inwardly fed up with all of this, she kept herposure as an administrator. As much as she loved freedom, the queen was aware of what she must do.
Hiroshi was riding together with the queen in the minivan. The queen had strongly requested this, which was why the Norton siblings and Sergio were riding with Aearis¡¯ group in the carriage. Then came several members of the imperial guards, following along in a royal golem carriage. There weren¡¯t enough golem carriages for anything more than this, so for the sake of time they settled on this.
¡¸Then maybe we shouldn¡¯t have set up our stand every single day¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, these documents truly came out of the blue. Besides, that week, I didn¡¯t have any appointments or any sign of an urgent matter. A typical day consists of early morning and evening work, not much else.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not sure if I should be in awe of how capable a ruler you are or be exasperated at how much you want to gallivant about¡¡¡¹
Haruna expressed her rather mixed feelings in response to the queen¡¯s statement. But when you think about it, Alvan was allowed to run about wherever he pleased, so in a sense, thisment was needed a long time ago.
¡¸So what happened to the idol?¡¹
¡¸We took care of it a good amount.¡¹
¡¸Although it¡¯s rather curious how you managed to take care of that matter.¡¹
¡¸Believe me, I don¡¯t know either.¡¹
Taking it apart and dissolving it in water like some kind of cooking procedure? Tatsuya still wasn¡¯t satisfied with how strange this operation was. Usually when you thought of taking apart evil god items, you would think ofrge-scale rituals or special sealing tools. But instead, they had treated the idol like the ingredient in a meal or pickled hormalin. Tatsuya couldn¡¯t possibly be the only one who felt weird about all of this.
¡¸Hm. But how specifically did you go about disposing of it?¡¹
¡¸Broke it apart, submerged it in holy water, ¡®n then we yed purification songs repeatedly next to it. But I thought it might make a good ingredient if left to ferment so I just left it sealed at the entrance.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Hm, this type of disposal does sound a bit¡worrisome.¡¹
Stamping several documents she had brought with her with a magic stamp, the queen interjected with her own exasperated thought. She, too, had apparently envisioned something more bombastic along the lines of sealing or destruction.
¡¸Let me ask. Is this really going to be okay?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, s¡¯long as no one interferes, I think it should be fine. Entrance is firmly shut too.¡¹
¡¸Well, if it was sealed by one such as yourself, then I suppose there is no issue.¡¹
If Hiroshi was the one to seal it, no normal human could dissolve it. Besides, in order to infiltrate their temporary base, even with Alvan¡¯s help it would be nearly impossible. The queen had already confirmed this when she snuck outside their base, so there was no worry about any disturbance at all.
¡¸So what happens after you approve those documents?¡¹
¡¸These? Everything takes care of itself as long as I do it this way.¡¹
The queen answered Makoto by actually showing her the process. Putting a bit more mana into the magic stamp would make the entire document glow momentarily beforepletely disappearing. Apparently this had to be done with several papers at once, as the queen was doing.
¡¸And then the person in charge should take care of the rest.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
¡¸This paper costs quite a bit after all. The price is a bit high, so I don¡¯t generally do it this way.¡¹
The queen said as she continued approving things. At first nce, it seemed as if she were approving each document without urately reading them, but in the middle of her work she tossed a few of them to the side without stamping them, so apparently she was reading the contents.
¡¸Well, I have now finished everything needing sanctions. Everything left consists of unauthorized or deferred documents.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re quite the hard worker.¡¹
¡¸Honestly, those people are underhanded scoundrels for waiting until I went outside to thrust a bunch of papers in front of me.¡¹
¡¸Wow¡¡¡¹
Everyone eximed in response to the queen¡¯sint. There was no way she would approve matters that were forced on her like this. These underhanded, unskillful methods were truly not much different from any country.
¡¸Although I already know what is in store for the people who made these cheap tricks.¡¹
¡¸Wait, could it be¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. I have already gathered plenty of evidence.¡¹
¡¸Alvan¡¯s back at it again¡¡¡¹
Mio praised the queen¡¯s rather free demeanor as she sent her a nce of what appeared to be admiration and respect.
¡¸After this is over, it¡¯s going to be over for them too.¡¹
¡¸I get the feeling that Barold wouldn¡¯t have been able to let loose if Alvan were in Fane.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s just the way politics are, Little Apprentice.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Barold only got to do as much as he did because of the faulty system that Fane¡¯s previous king created. When you have to gather that much evidence, even I could have not solved such an issue.¡¹
The majority of Fane¡¯s problems existed because of their attempt to suddenly restrict the rights of the privileged ss and the extreme, clean-freak system created in order to prevent false usations. If you couldn¡¯t even present evidence that matched the writing of the author, then no matter how much evidence Alvan gathered to expose evil deeds, there was no way to prove that anything was not a fabrication.
Maybe not as extensive as Alvan, the king of Fane and Layotte had both gathered enough evidence to destroy an entire household with ease, and yet it still wasn¡¯t enough to convict anyone. The previous king must have had enough with the mess that the king from two generations ago had created.
Volume 3 13.4
Volume 3 Chapter 13.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Thanks to you folks, Fane has be a better ce, and the kingdom of Darl is grateful for it.¡¹
¡¸I always assumed that it wasn¡¯t a good thing for neighboring countries to get powerful¡¡¡¹
¡¸Maybe where your folkse from, songstress, but over here there is no country that would want its neighbors to weaken. The weaker the country, the bigger the burden on its neighbors.¡¹
In this world where monsters were spawning on a constant basis like natural disasters, it was not unusual for the decline of one country to lead to the next. In the case of small-scale nations like those participating in the Midas Confederation, it was easier to look after one another, but withrge nations like Fane, all jokes aside, one wrong step and the world would be thrown into chaos.
¡¸Now then, moving on.¡¹
¡¸What is it now?¡¹
The queen had gotten tired of discussing politics, changing the subject. If things continued like this then she might say something unnecessary, hence why Hiroshi and the others decided to go along with it.
¡¸Prim, you were clearly overexerting yourself. Did that magician reject you?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Oh, so you can tell?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t think of any reason why you would look that way. Besides, I can just observe him and tell that he does not share your feelings.¡¹
¡¸I do understand that having such a wish granted would be too luxurious for one such as I.¡¹
¡¸You cannot change the hearts of people. Besides, if you say it is too luxurious a desire for you, keep in mind there are not many men who can win against the master of the workshop.¡¹
¡¸Oh boy, now I¡¯m suddenly involved¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi was expecting Tatsuya to get roasted, but now that he found himself on the coals, he reeled back in fear.
¡¸The magician already has ady, so I understand that, but in the case of the workshop master, I feel that he is too stubborn. Obviously, the songstress is fooling herself into seeing something that is not there. I assume you would happen to know something about that?¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
¡¸Workshop master, I do not recall giving you permission to remain silent.¡¹
The minute she changed the subject to rtionships, the queen mercilessly cut in with her glossy face. Hiroshi was unsure how to answer such sharp hounding.
¡¸It is not for me or for other people to decide whether the workshop master epts the songstress¡¯s feelings. But if you do not wish to ept them, I would advise you to not give her the wrong idea with some of your actions. That is simply bad manners¡¹
¡¸So ya want me to change the way I act around her?¡¹
¡¸Not just around her. If you are so scared of women, then you may as well just stop trying to be so nice to them. That will make things easier for both sides.¡¹
Hiroshi thought deeply about the queen¡¯s advice, unable to really say anything back. Apparently this particr matter was not something he would be able to exin to the queen, let alone the average person.
¡¸¡¡Hm. So you are scared of that too. This seems to be a difficult topic.¡¹
¡¸If you get that, then maybe it¡¯s best to stop pushing Hiroshi-kun into a corner¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ah, I do apologize. It just seems like the master¡¯s actions and the way he thinks are a bit too distrusting of women as a whole. So I was a bit miffed at it and attempted to change his mind. Unfortunately, it seems I was rather arrogant in jumping to conclusions, rather than try and understand what you went through.¡¹
Chastised by Haruna, the queen had no choice but to admit she was in the wrong. She was somewhat aware that she was going a bit too far, but she felt very sorry for Haruna and all the other girls who had fallen for him. It was difficult to keep her mouth shut even if she knew she was going too far. In a sense, she was like the typical overly helpful auntie.
And it wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t understand what the queen was trying to say, but trying to force things would only have the opposite effect. Haruna knew painfully well what Hiroshi was like, but she was prepared to deal with any sort of rudeness from him. It was reassuring to hear how the queen felt, but in this case she was justplicating matters in Haruna¡¯s eyes.
¡¸I am thankful to hear such words from Your Majesty, but I will continue tomunicate my feelings the same way I always have.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Even if the load bes too much?¡¹
¡¸If that happens then it happens. It¡¯s my decision.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Fine, then. I suppose I shall watch from afar to see whether the master gets a backbone or the songstress gets fed up with unrequited love and finds someone else.¡¹
Besides,menting on someone else¡¯s love affair was simply uncouth. She felt sorry for Haruna, but in general, as long as it did not connect to an international problem like with Dentlis or a crime, the queen was not the type to pry into personal matters. She definitely wanted to avoid bing ¡°food for the worms¡±.
¡¸That being said, leaving aside the master, the magician seems quite interesting as well. For instance, his wife. How alluring must she be to attract the attention of such a man? I am curious.¡¹
Returning back to Tatsuya as a topic, the air in the room seemed to slightly loosen up. Originally somewhat of a scapegoat, Tatsuya still happily spoke of his wife Shiori until they reached the desert.
¡¸So these are the depths of the earth¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, there do seem to be quite a few rare-looking things here.¡¹
¡¸Please try not ta interfere in the process. There ain¡¯t no traps that¡¯ll injure ya greatly, but ye could still get hurt.¡¹
¡¸I know.¡¹
The queen and Aearis were getting a bit careless with their curiosity, so Hiroshi warned them before contacting the mole. He wanted to avoid anyplications in these floors filled with traps and attractions, instead opting to use a secret, direct passageway.
¡¸Oh yeah, Elle-chan.¡¹
¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹
¡¸You remember the underworld god from before? I was wondering if Alfemina-sama had an answer about it yet.¡¹
¡¸She seems to know about what happened, but does not currently have the time to exin the details.¡¹
¡¸So she¡¯s busy, yet still finds enough leisure to tell us these little things?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because it¡¯s easier to transfer small amounts of information to me.¡¹
Apparently Alfemina messaging Aearis was like a kind of breather. Then again, what in the world was she doing that made her so busy? Curious indeed.
¡¸I contacted the other side, so let¡¯s giddyup to the passageway, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Okay. It¡¯s a shame we cannot see just what this ¡°attraction¡± thing is, but suppose there is not enough time for it.¡¹
¡¸Ah, about that. Ye can deploy several people per floor to check it out if yer interested.¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, the residents of thend said they were starving for entertainment. In that case, I need only use the imperial guards for that.¡¹
The knights grew stiff as they heard that. They did want toin that they did not be knights just to entertain the queen, but then again, they could not allow the queen to tarnish herself for the entertainment of others. Either way, they would be staying the night here, with hardly anything to do. They decided to split the toon into three and deploy them to the various floors to try and break through.
As the knights swallowed their discontentment and resigned themselves to their task, the queen and her procession were already heading directly to the passageway where the moles were. Yes, this was how vertical rtionships usually went, but it was still a little messed up.
¡¸We thank you for providing entertainment.¡¹
¡¸Nay, we came over here without notice, so this much cooperation is to be expected.¡¹
¡¸You queens on the surface are quite agreeable people, I see.¡¹
¡¸Incidentally, would we be able to watch the guards as they exert themselves?¡¹
¡¸I will guide you to the monitor room. From there, before you leave, I will provide a digestive video for you to watch.¡¹
¡¸I am grateful for that. Depending on what is in there, I would be quite willing to present more offerings on a periodic basis.¡¹
¡¸You really are a reasonable queen. Are they really that needy of entertainment where youe from?¡¹
The queen grinned, nodding at the mole. Afterwards, they would be all rooted to the spot as they watched the guards struggle, pushing any important conversation to the next morning right before departure. Then Aearis would propose an attraction n geared toward children, from which everyone would be absorbed in discussing and forget what they had evene here for in the first ce.
Volume 3 14.1
Volume 3 Chapter 14.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Is what we see vaguely in the distance Igreos Temple?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. We shall arrive soon.¡¹
About one day after leaving the underground ruins at sixty km/h, and finally their destination, Igreos Temple, was gradually bing visible.
¡¸I am still impressed at what incredible power this golem car has.¡¹
¡¸I tried not to make it too crazy, but is it still a bit out there?¡¹
¡¸Well, that strange beam just fell a sand shark in one hit, did it not?¡¹
¡¸Well, if ya find its weakness then that¡¯s how ya strike.¡¹
They didn¡¯t normally use the weapon function in the minivan, but now they had several opportunities. A lot of the monsters in the desert were surprisingly quick in moving about the desert, and much of them could not be shaken off by driving at 60 km/h, so they ended up having to use the magicser to open the path several times. Of course, any monster they defeated within a close enough range, Tatsuya absorbed with Apport.
By the way, a magicser could not normally take down a sand shark in one hit. However, it had a special quality that allowed it to hit an enemy several times depending on how long it illuminated the enemy. If you moved theser in a clean sweep, you could gather enough damage to take them down.
¡¸Do you happen to know that most carriages do not have any power whatsoever?¡¹
¡¸I knew about the regr ones not havin¡¯ any, but don¡¯tcha have a few golem cars with those capabilities here ¡®n there?¡¹
¡¸No no no.¡¹
As per usual, Hiroshi disyed hisck ofmon sense, and the queen called him out on it in a sh. Regr golem cars, or at least the ones with devices tounch fire while in motion hardly existed. The most they could do is bump into things, and anything that could do more was usually called a tank.
¡¸It seems to me that you do not know the value of tanks, young master.¡¹
¡¸Tanks? Not golem cars?¡¹
¡¸Golem cars with offensive power are just referred to as tanks.¡¹
¡¸So this car can be a tank too?¡¹
¡¸It sure could, yes.¡¹
Hiroshi felt extremely weird about what she just said. Needless to say, to him, a tank was a caterpir track with gun turrets rotating around. In one of those tank excavation games, a minivan was already treated as a tank, but Hiroshi hadn¡¯t even thought of it as anything more than a minivan.
¡¸Incidentally, how strong might a regr tank be?¡¹
¡¸Yes, well¡the ones that the military purchases are a trade secret, so I cannot say much, but I believe that my merchant friend¡¯s tanks had more than enough firepower to take down sand sharks or rock worms in one hit.¡¹
¡¸And they had firearms equipped?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Although all they do is shoot out fireballs. Giant hoppers are one thing, but sand sharks and above require at least ten hits in order to go down.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
Apparently the tanks in this world weren¡¯t a whole lot different from the ones in the middle east that remodeled Japanese cars to attach machine guns and rocketunchers in a more ¡°technical¡± manner.
¡¸Even those ones have twenty times the firepower. And the speed is not much different from that of a horse.¡¹
¡¸So much!¡¹
¡¸That is usually the kind of vehicle we mean when we talk about weapons shooting out fireballs unlimitedly with no drawbacks other than charge time.¡¹
¡¸Even if you say that¡¡¡¹
Regr golem cars were cheapest at 100,000 chrones, a price that would amount to 10,000,000 in seneca or yen. In the game it was hardly considered rare at the mere price of 100,000, but now that Hiroshi and friends had adjusted to the market price over here, they couldn¡¯t help but feel that a vehicle with such inferior specs was only worth 2,000,000 chrome at best.
Naturally, Hiroshi¡¯s group had a distorted idea of the price. Magic crystals, which powered the golem cars, could only be made by about ten people per country, and there were not a whole lot of raw materials produced to enable those functions. Inevitably, it took two weeks to make a basic magic crystal, and there were even less products made using offensive capabilities.
In addition to the issue of dynamics, the number of frames necessary to take an attack or the processing of increased weight would most certainly cause the materials for the main body to be expensive, so it was reasonable that the price jump up exponentially.
¡¸Minivan, did you say? The price of this tank would, not joking, be enough to topple an entire country.¡¹
¡¸Totally absurd.¡¹
¡¸Oh no, it is not absurd in the slightest.¡¹
To Hiroshi, the manufacturer, the minivan wasn¡¯t all that significant, but as it was abundant in functions and its performance was on a whole other level, the price would be greater than a ss 1 potion. Defensive capabilities of enduring firepower enough to turn arge city into ruins, long-distance capabilities enabling smooth rides in any wastnd, and simple management because of the vehicle being able to fit in one¡¯s pocket when in a bind. Even if it wascking in built-in functions, that simply meant Hiroshi did not see the need to make the load bigger and that he was still able to cast Expand Capacity plenty more times.
There were so many options with this car. If Hiroshi sold it, that would probably cause some country out there to try and get their hands on it even if they had to start a war over it. Thankfully, only the queen, Sergio, Norton siblings, and the royal house of Fane knew that there was more than just a magicser equipped in the car. To top it off, people from other countries didn¡¯t even know it could attack. As a result, countries with equivalent or greater firepower tanks did not think to try to acquire the vehicle for their imperial guards, but had they known of the Worldshaker, things might have gone very differently.
¡¸You seem to have realized the potential of your vehicle, but I would ask that you refrain a bit more from using said vehicle on a regr basis.¡¹
¡¸Hey, we wouldn¡¯t go making that submarine thingy if we didn¡¯t consider that.¡¹
¡¸Well, that is true.¡¹
The queen just smiled awkwardly at the question Tatsuya hurled at her. She seemed to be familiar with these types of craftsmen who rampaged as far as they could once they got going.
¡¸But wow, this road is inessible on foot, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m amazed they put such a rigorous thing in ce.¡¹
¡¸That is because this road existed prior to Darl¡¯s existence as a country. Then again, they also say there was no desert at the time.¡¹
¡¸Ah, gotcha.¡¹
It made sense to everyone. Thinking about it normally, no one would usually build temples or towns and roads to go along in a ce with severe terrain such as this without a very good reason. It was more natural to assume that an area with roads and towns gradually turned into a desert.
¡¸Would the Sweltering Tower be rted to the desertification?¡¹
¡¸From what I know, a poisonous bog arose near Purgatory around the same time the tower did, so maybe they¡¯re the same kind of thing?¡¹
¡¸They are most likely rted in some way. Then again, my country does not have urate records of such things, so all we can do is conjecture.¡¹
¡¸Think we¡¯d find information in Rupheus Library or something?¡¹
¡¸Either that or the People of the Earth, but depending on when the tower came about, they could have been in hibernation at the time.¡¹
The group considered their approach to the Scorching Desert. Then again, none of this information would be of any help to finding out when the desert emerged or what caused it to.
¡¸Now then, we had best begin preparations to disembark. At the rate we are moving, it is already at the tips of our noses.¡¹
Hearing the queen¡¯s words, they looked out the window. Before they knew it, a gigantic oasis spread out before their eyes as well as ancient stone ruins, a townscape spreading around it, and a tough-looking city wall protecting the town. They would reach the town in a matter of five minutes once they went down the slope in front of them.
¡¸I wanna take a look at that there oasis before we go to the temple. How ¡®bout it?¡¹
¡¸We have procedures to take care of, and time-wise we cannot go to the temple today anyway, so that will not be a problem, but why?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m just a mite interested in the area.¡¹
¡¸Hm. Is there something you see using as an ingredient there?¡¹
¡¸I wanna go and see what¡¯s there to figure that out.¡¹
Everyone looked at each other when Hiroshi said that. They knew from experience that letting him run amok by himself would lead to nothing good, but the worst he could do in this case was to go exploring underground ruins likest time. As long as they disregarded the possibility of being dragged into some confusion, there wasn¡¯t a particr problem with the idea.
In addition, sometimes doing something irresponsible led to ensuring their safety, so it was difficult topletely call it out as being bad.
¡¸What should we do?¡¹
¡¸I think as long as Tatsuya or I tag along, nothing crazy will happen.¡¹
¡¸Sensei makes things, that¡¯s the kind of person he is. I say let him go.¡¹
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢solo travel concerns me for many reasons, so how about both Tatsuya-san and I tag along?¡¹
As Haruna casually tried to get herself next to Hiroshi, everyone else sent her lukewarm gazes. Makoto was gripping the handle and couldn¡¯t look, but she, too, felt the same way. Maidens in love are truly desperate.
Volume 3 14.2
Volume 3 Chapter 14.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Well, maybe not Haruna, but wouldn¡¯t Tatsuya be a good brake for Hiroshi if they go together?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not confident I can totally stop him, but hey, I can try. If Hiro gets caught up on something then I feel it might have something to do with us.¡¹
¡¸Although I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have enough time to take another detour.¡¹
¡¸Haruna, c¡¯mon. You wouldn¡¯t stop him even if you knew that.¡¹
¡¸Depending on the circumstances.¡¹
Makoto interjected as she stopped the car for the inspection, and Haruna replied with a seriously unreliable answer. Hearing her say that, Tatsuya and Makoto were beginning to give up on preventing detours.
¡¸But the more I look at this ce, the more I realize how huge it is.¡¹
¡¸Definitely bigger than Lake Biwa.¡¹
¡¸So what are we looking for?¡¹
Taking permission from one of the people involved, Hiroshi, Tatsuya, and Haruna hade to look around the oasis near the temple. No one was in the area where they arrived, but since bathing was allowed in the bay-like area on either side of the temple, there were many people in the area once the sun set.
¡¸Well first we gotta check water quality, but when it¡¯s this big¡¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t get any ideas about diving underwater and looking for ruins?¡¹
¡¸Nah, we don¡¯t got no permission, plus I ain¡¯t got the guts to do that.¡¹
Hiroshi immediately responded to Tatsuya¡¯sment. To turn his reply inside out, Hiroshi meant that if he had the permission then he would have no problem diving right in to search for ruins.
¡¸But it¡¯s true that I¡¯m super interested in this here oasis. How should I put it, it¡¯s like the mana or air is extremely different, mate.¡¹
¡¸Maybe that¡¯s because there¡¯s a temple here?¡¹
¡¸Maybe so, but this is a temple of a fire god and there¡¯s water near it with a special aura. Why¡¯d that be?¡¹
As soon as they heard the water had a special aura, Haruna and Tatsuya found themselves exchanging nces.
¡¸I dunno how the oasis is here without evaporating, but if we look at the feng shui or geological features around us, it just ain¡¯t sit right with me that ake of this size exists. Plus¡¡¡¹
¡¸Plus?¡¹
¡¸The town¡¯s gotta be bigger if they got this much of a water resource. Instead, this town ain¡¯t even as big as Ortem. Even if their surroundings¡¯re all desert not suitable for farmin¡¯, the town should still easily have enough water ¡®n food to growrger than Ortem.¡¹
Attentively listing the things he found suspicious from pure observation, Hiroshi scooped up a cup of water for the water quality inspection. After checking it in many ways, he concluded
¡¸It¡¯s drinkable without any modifications. Also, maybe cuz it¡¯s next to a temple, it seems to be in a holy water-like state.¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s only a little bit, so it ain¡¯t gonna have the same effect that the special holy water Elle made us did.¡¹
They should probably expect it at this point, but wow, what a crazy discovery.
¡¸Hey, can I ask you something?¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸If we were to knock Barold into the water, would it damage him?¡¹
¡¸It ain¡¯t that strong. His skin would sting but that¡¯s about it.¡¹
What a half-baked conclusion.
¡¸Anything else you¡¯re looking for?¡¹
¡¸Ton of things I wanna find out, but with the permission we got, all I can really do is¡¡¡¹
He dug up the roots of the grass at his feet, studying it before burying it back in the ground.
¡¸Examine the nt life in this area.¡¹
¡¸So did you find anything different?¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t say with full confidence if there is, so noment, mate.¡¹
After seeing various strange differences, Hiroshi had decided to remain silent. The one thing he could say was that there was some strange power at work. The kind of grass growing near the summit of Spirit Spire Mountain was mixed in with the grass over here. Then again, he couldn¡¯t just say with full confidence that this sort of grass only grew near the peak of Spirit Spire Mountain, so he had no choice but to notment this time around.
¡¸Honestly, I¡¯d like to test things out at an inn or somethin¡¯, but we¡¯re technically in a holy area and probably shouldn¡¯t go takin¡¯ things away. I think it¡¯s about time we head back.¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s only a bit of grass then I doubt the temple would mind all that much, but okay.¡¹
Re-burying all the weeds he had finished checking, Hiroshi had figured it was time to return to the inn when a refreshing-sounding voice of an unknown gender replied to him. A person of average height of around twenty years old (simr to Hiroshi) hade closer, about several meters away.
¡¸Don¡¯tcha think it¡¯s a bit childish to sneak up on people for no reason?¡¹
¡¸Ah, how rude of me. You appeared to be scrutinizing something with keen interest, so I wasn¡¯t sure whether to get in your way or not.¡¹
¡¸Nah, ya can just talk to me like a normal person.¡¹
Hiroshimented while still not throwing caution to the winds but not showing his surprise as he looked at this beautiful person (whose gender could go either way).
¡¸So I assume yer rted to Elle or Artiem. Whatchae here for?¡¹
¡¸You could actually tell?¡¹
¡¸Lately I¡¯ve just been able to tell.¡¹
Hiroshi continued as he began moving slowly away to keep his distance. At that point, Haruna got over her stiffness and asked him.
¡¸Hey, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸You said she¡¯s rted to Elle-chan and Artiem, so does that mean¡¡¡¹
¡¸Prolly Igreos-sama¡¯s priestess, and a woman of course.¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have quite the chest that you do. People get my gender wrong a lot when they meet me for the first time.¡¹
Tatsuya felt like interjecting that her chest wasn¡¯t the only issue here, but hurriedly stopped himself. That was clearly sexual harassment.
¡¸So imma ask ya again, why does a priestess like yerselfe all the way here?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t personally have a reason, but I was just interested in the person who the queen has taken a liking to and who two priestesses hold in such high regard. I didn¡¯t want to see you in some official, constricted space, but rather I wanted to see you doing what you usually do.¡¹
¡¸Ya really got an issue there.¡¹
¡¸Oh, that¡¯s nothing. I hear that the priestess of the ocean goddess Lefia is the queen of bad taste. I¡¯m just a normal human and the difficulty is pretty low.¡¹
¡¸What kind of difficulty are ya talkin¡¯ bout¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi immediately interjected when he heard what the priestess had to say. And before that issue, he wanted to question her for an hour to figure out what she meant by a non-human priestess.
¡¸Okay, I see ya got an interest. So whaddya think about us now?¡¹
¡¸Truly interesting. It seems that you were having a highly intriguing conversation. Nothing about authority or profit, I just want to get to know you.¡¹
¡¸Well thank ya much.¡¹
¡¸So is it alright if I ask you a bit more about when you said ¡°noment¡±?¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t tell ya much.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s fine.¡¹
Then Hiroshi organized his thoughts.
¡¸Kay. Honestly, I can¡¯t say for sure, so take it with a grain of salt¡¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll see if I believe after I hear.¡¹
¡¸That there grass I dug up earlier can also be harvested from the top of Spirit Spire Mountain.¡¹
¡¸¡¡From Spirit Spire Mountain?¡¹
¡¸Yup. When I say I can¡¯t say for sure, I mean I dunno if it grows in other ces.¡¹
The priestess was now at a loss for words.
¡¸Is that really the same grass you can get from Spirit Spire Mountain?¡¹
Volume 3 14.4
Volume 3 Chapter 14.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Two problems. How we get there, and what to do if it¡¯s a dud.¡¹
Everyone went silent when Mio pointed that out. They had never gone to the Sweltering Tower, so they couldn¡¯t use a transportation stone or magic. They didn¡¯t know the shortest route for cars and would end up making a lot of detours. Even if they somehow got to the tower as quickly as possible, if it were all a ruse then they probably wouldn¡¯t even have enough time to locate the right ce.
Even worse was that theycked adventurer experience. Even with special permission, the Norton sisters still had to be escorted, and they could not enter by themselves right now. They needed someone who could be used as a special permit.
¡¸Unless we got a real good lead, it ain¡¯t gonna be easy¡¡¡¹
¡¸And this was just an analysis based on conjecture¡¡¡¹
No demands from the culprit, nor was there any means of contacting them. 30 minutes had already gone by. They felt tense, but could not do anything. But then a carefree voice broke the deadlock.
¡¸Message¡«¡¢message¡«¡¹
¡¸£Ñ£²¡«¡¢£Ñ£²¡«¡¹
¡¸To short dial¡«¡¹
¡¸Almost uwful¡«¡¹
¡¸Large sum of money requested¡«¡¹
¡¸Shut up!¡¹
As per usual, the octogals appeared out of nowhere and yed a strange word game while gathering around everyone.
¡¸Telegram¡«¡¢telegram¡«¡¹
¡¸Milk in critical condition¡¢go back now¡«¡¹
¡¸Sakura abduction¡«¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t need your memes right now, just inform us on the matter.¡¹
Mio cut them off. She did find pleasure in memes and gags, but now was really not the time.
¡¸Informative matter¡«¡¢informative matter¡«¡¹
¡¸Elle-chan and Chem-chan are being held captive at Sweltering Tower¡«¡¹
¡¸Enemies are swarming all over the ce, so be quick in rescuing them¡«¡¹
¡¸And that was all of our message¡«¡¹
After being cut off by Mio, the octogals just said what needed to be said. Now the group knew their deduction was correct. There was only one thing left to do.
¡¸Our destination is secure, so gather your equipment and move out!¡¹
¡¸What about the permit?¡¹
¡¸As long as we git to the tower we can figure somethin¡¯ out.¡¹
¡¸No, there will be no need for that.¡¹
The queen had returned amidst all their preparations.
¡¸I shall be your permit.¡¹
¡¸Ya sure bout that?¡¹
¡¸I am a queen after all. I should have that much authority.¡¹
¡¸Then we just got one problem¡¹
Hiroshi now had pliers out in addition to his pole axe and giant mace for some odd reason. He asked the octogals hisst question.
¡¸Hey. Couldja transport us all to the Sweltering Tower?¡¹
¡¸We can¡«¡¹
¡¸But we get hungry¡«¡¹
¡¸Then first I¡¯ll feed y¡¯all some earthworm burgers, and then I¡¯ll serve ya takoyaki after it¡¯s all over.¡¹
¡¸Roger¡«¡¹
¡¸Transactionplete¡«¡¹
The octogals swarmed happily over the mountain of earthworm burgers he took out from his bag. As they did that, he checked to make sure everyone was ready before checking back.
¡¸Kay, everyone¡¯s ready so I¡¯d like ya to start carryin¡¯ us.¡¹
¡¸Oki¡«doki¡¹
¡¸Ah, forgot to tell you¡«¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re kidnapped on the top floor¡«¡¹
¡¸Someone likes high ces¡«¡¹
¡¸As I thought.¡¹
Hiroshi said, cutting off the additional information. It would be a real drag if the girls were being kept on the fourth or eighth floor instead of the fifteenth floor.
¡¸Time to teleport¡«¡¹
¡¸Please do! It¡¯s time for a raid!!¡¹
Hiroshi was oddly pumped up to beat up, or rather, kill something, and the sentiment spread through everyone else. The big Darl incident had reached its climax as soon as it had begun.
Meanwhile, atop the Sweltering Tower.
¡¸Quit singing that annoying song!!¡¹
As the two Barolds writhed in pain at Haruna¡¯s song ringing throughout, Aearis borrowed the power of the goddess and continued casting a quarantine barrier like mad.
¡¸Oh dear, it really works.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m getting the feeling that the miasma is letting up spectacrly.¡¹
Looking down from the safe area, Aearis and Artiem observed the thrashing Barolds with keen interest. The current song ying was Sutra of Love Death Metal Arrangement. Haruna¡¯s voice didn¡¯t seem like it would have so much force to it, but the music yer oddly did have enough power, so it was a very strange arrangement.
¡¸How very peculiar indeed.¡¹
¡¸Now what might you be finding so peculiar, priestess princess?¡¹
¡¸Well, there was a fight we had with these people back in Fane.¡¹
¡¸Hm, and then?¡¹
¡¸Haruna-sama¡¯s song didn¡¯t have as much of an effect then. But now once we use this magic tool with the sound toned down, the effect is greater than that time.¡¹
Aearis sounded quiteposed despite the fact that danger was at their door. But she genuinely felt that way. Aearis and Artiem werebining their moves to erect a blessing attack amplification field across the entire floor, their defenses were perfect with a good luck charm made from spirit cloth for the revised version of Dancing Edge, they had the souls of fallen adventurers assisting them, strength in numbers to fight back against the odds. If need be, Aearis could even give her body over to Alfemina and ughter everyone on the floor with the highest powered time-space attacks.
Then again, Alfemina¡¯s descent was ast resort. Alfemina wouldn¡¯t be able to move at all, plus it would take a lot of energy out of Aearis.
¡¸You and Alfemina-sama have quite a few options I see¡¡¡¹
¡¸We have rescue on the way and some trump cards up our sleeves. Right, Artiem-sama?¡¹
¡¸Yes, yes we do.¡¹
Judith clicked her teeth together, squeezing out ament. Much like Aearis, Artiem also had it pretty good. Aranwen enabled her to call out to the fallen adventurers and have them support her. Douga¡¯s defenses, Aearis¡¯s Dancing Edge, and Artiem¡¯s impediment magic would be more than enough to stall for time.
¡¸Unbelievable. I¡¯m simply jealous of all your abilities.¡¹
¡¸Absolutely. Despite being a priest, I can¡¯t even use much magic.¡¹
¡¸And I¡¯m supposed to be a priestess, but once I¡¯m out of the temple I¡¯m no different than a regr human. How pathetic.¡¹
The three Darl residents sighed all at once. True, the two priestesses had it good, but that was mainly due to the items Hiroshi made for them. Then there was Douga, who left them what he called ¡°parting gifts¡± which included magic steel te mail, ance, and three sets ofrge shields. Activated with just one keyword, these items were reigning in the Barolds.
¡¸Well there¡¯s no use crying about it, so getting back on topic¡¡¹
¡¸Are you talking about the song?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I¡¯ve never heard it in person so I don¡¯t know, but this already sounds like an amazing song. And yet you¡¯re saying it¡¯s inferior to the original?¡¹
¡¸Yes. By several levels.¡¹
Aearis said confidently as she listened to Heart Sutra Gospel. She didn¡¯t know what the lyrics were saying, but a hundred out of a hundred people would definitely think she had an amazing voice. But Aearis had already heard it in person and decided that the raw version was far more outstanding. Artiem and Douga and even the sisters happened to agree.
¡¸But this one has more of an effect. Which means there might be a difference in the song variety.¡¹
¡¸Song variety?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Maybe the song or the song¡¯s contents has strong power to drive off miasma.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see. That does make sense.¡¹
Aearis had to agree with Nazarina. She didn¡¯t know this, but Nazarina¡¯s guess was actually super correct. The original had greater power than the songs ying right now, and if Haruna really tried with some of the blessing songs, all miasma would be sted away within a certain range.
The cleansing effect was one step behind the hymns, but the heart sutra gospel was skilled at prating through demons. The evil god figure even testified that the gospel version had the strongest effect.
Hiroshi¡¯s group hadn¡¯t tested this, but apparently thebination of holy songs from the west and the east had an even stronger effect. Haruna had been half joking when she sang the whole heart sutra series, but if she had sung it right here it would have tortured the Barolds far more.
¡¸Oh dear, Mana Charge is almost over.¡¹
¡¸Then turn that off briefly and I¡¯ll activate mine.¡¹
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
She nodded at Artiem¡¯s proposal and cut off the switch once the song was over. Now that the mana had been cut off from the magic tool, the Barolds got back up with a grin and raised their fists to smash through the barrier this time when suddenly a super powerful acape song burst through the area. And once again, the strong cleansing song caused them to writhe on the ground.
¡¸This is really working.¡¹
¡¸When Haruna-sama arrives, we will have to request some live music.¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t wait.¡¹
The three priestesses were saying pretty savage things, and the Barolds looked up with angr but still couldn¡¯t do anything but groan. As they were considering just risking thest resort attack and crushing them, the tower began shaking tremendously.
¡¸Eeek!!¡¹
¡¸W-What is this!?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢it looks like¡¢rescue has arrived.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-chan is here¡«¡¹
¡¸The pitcher is chicken¡«¡¹
The octogals who had been fine until now popped out with carefree voices, as if answering the Norton sisters. The only reason they hadn¡¯t said anything until now was because no one had mentioned asking for help.
¡¸That was faster than I thought it¡¯d be.¡¹
¡¸We brought them here¡«¡¹
¡¸All you can eat takoyaki¡«¡¹
¡¸I see, that is very handy.¡¹
Douga went from intimidation rxed mode into battle formation as he agreed with the octogals.
¡¸Well at this rate, the boss fight will be far more of a let-down thanst time.¡¹
Despite being trapped at the top of the dungeon, everyone was in a winning mood. It was a little exasperating, but Douga cautiously prepped his attacks.
Volume 3 15.1
Volume 3 Chapter 15.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸We¡¯re here¡«¡¹
¡¸Oho, thank you.¡¹
As Barold and the other enemies were writhing in agony on ount of Haruna¡¯s Heart Sutra Gospel (recording), Hiroshi¡¯s group had reached The Sweltering Tower with the help of the octogals.
¡¸Alright, I shall go off just a bit to fulfill my duty as your pass.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re counting on you.¡¹
ncing at the soldiers¡¯ cautious demeanor from the group¡¯s sudden appearance, the queen decided to quickly finish what she had to do. Thinking clearly about the current situation, even if all the members were to be ss 5 or above, without the queen, it was unlikely that the guards would let them in so easily.
¡¸Better feed these fes while Her Highness talks to those peeps.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right.¡¹
The octogals raised their heads up from the ground in expectation, and Hiroshi¡¯s group entertained them with rockworm burgers as promised. Before they knew it, there were about a hundred octogals gathering around, but as long as they each got one burger then there would be plenty to go around.
¡¸How tasty¡«¡¹
¡¸How grateful¡«¡¹
¡¸Three stars¡«¡¢Pass¡«¡¹
The octogals, as per usual, conveyed the taste with their bodies.
¡¸Takoyaki, yer turnes after the tower. S¡¯that fine?¡¹
¡¸Good luck¡«¡¹
¡¸Tiem-chan, we¡¯re waiting¡«¡¹
¡¸Elle-chan, we¡¯re ying¡«¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re disposing of the body¡«¡¹
¡¸What body are ya disposin¡¯ of¡¡¡¹
¡¸Barold¡«?¡¹
The octogal answered without hesitation. Hiroshi didn¡¯t think there even was a body to dispose of, but he decided to say nothing.
¡¸Kay Yer Highness, can we git in now??¡¹
¡¸Hold on a moment. Apparently you cannot enter the tower right now, regardless of if you have a pass.¡¹
She motioned for Hiroshi to remain where he was as she looked for an exnation from the soldiers.
¡¸You see, The Sweltering Tower has a phenomenon where it rearranges itself. Every floor besides the top floor periodically changes structure. This morning happened to be one of the times that the rearranging urred. At this time, the entrance to the tower is closed and we can¡¯t open it from the outside.¡¹
¡¸If the door is the only problem then ya don¡¯t gotta worry.¡¹
¡¸Do you intend to break through that door, Craftsman?¡¹
¡¸Nah, nah, I was never considerin¡¯ that as an option.¡¹
He said as he took something out of his bag, beckoning Mio.
¡¸This area¡¯s ¡®bout to turn into an isted dimension. Do ya detect anything inside?¡¹
¡¸All clear.¡¹
¡¸Any people inside?¡¹
¡¸Not until the 3rd floor.¡¹
¡¸Actually, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone in there anyway, because they knew you all would be starting today.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty.¡¹
Nodding at Mio and the soldiers, he began messing with the tower¡¯s outer wall with tool in hand.
¡¸Uhh, Hiroshi-kun. What exactly are you doing?¡¹
¡¸Well ya see, this here tower wall is made of bricks.¡¹
Answering Haruna¡¯s query, Hiroshi took out one brick with excellent hand technique. It only took him three seconds.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, I know you like gathering resources, but now¡¯s probably not the best time¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well sure ye could use ¡®em for many things, but that ain¡¯t the main objective right now.¡¹
Responding to Haruna¡¯s criticism without batting an eye, Hiroshi took out bricks in a way that was iprehensible for beginners. After about three minutes of going around the perimeter, he broke off brick pieces around it like an apple. Afterward, he attacked several areas with pliers in order to create crevices.
¡¸Never had a chance to do it in the game cuz there were a buncha peeps¡¡¡¹
After checking the moth-eaten formation and nodding, he took out the heavy mace as he exined something to Haruna. Examining the tower one more time, he pinpointed all the areas to aim at and then swung at his prey with a wide swing.
¡¸Giddyup!!¡¹
Striking each point with unbelievable uracy for a heavy weapon, he knocked them away with a full-powered smash. The next moment¡¡
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸Oh my¡¡¡¹
¡¸Wait, hold on!!¡¹
With an incredible vibration and roar, the first floor of the tower hadpletely copsed, leading to both the second and third floors breaking apart from the impact.
¡¸Mio, just in case, how far until we start hittin¡¯ people?¡¹
¡¸No issues until the ninth floor. But there are a bunch of monsters.¡¹
¡¸Kay, I¡¯ll break all the other floors off.¡¹
Hiroshi and Mio had proceeded to break down the tower like wooden blocks while slightly trying to make sure that nothing fell on top of those standing around the tower. Haruna was the first of all the bewildered spectators to ask the question they all had in their minds.
¡¸Umm, Hiroshi-kun, Mio-chan¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸What, Haru?¡¹
¡¸This tower is a dungeon, right? Are you actually trying to break it down?¡¹
¡¸It wouldn¡¯t normally be possible. Carpentry, engineerin¡¯ both gotta be above intermediate, and then maybe depending on yer AP ye can do it.¡¹
¡¸Although with my AP, even if I knew what to extract from which area, I wouldn¡¯t be able to crush anything.¡¹
They continued their work while answering Haruna¡¯s question, pulverizing another three floors. Carpenting and engineering were both integral parts of dismantling and wrecking buildings.
¡¸Now we have twelve floors down.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve detected Elle¡¯s group. As expected, they¡¯re at the top.¡¹
¡¸Kay, only two more to go. Gotta be more careful than earlier.¡¹
Hiroshi proceeded with the bricks once again as he said this, although it was rather questionable if he had even tried to be careful in the first ce. This was already a superhuman feat, but now he was thinking of going faster? This was truly no joke. As Mio sung some sort ofpany song for demolition workers, although not as adept as Hiroshi she did more than a good job at extracting the bricks.
¡¸Let¡¯s-a-go!¡¹
Hiroshi hit the wall with the mace, making sure that the remaining two floors werepletely demolished. With the songs from the top floor, the monsters on every floor were being both crushed and purified alongside the tower.
¡¸We¡¯vee to the rescue, y¡¯all!¡¹
Peeking through the window unique to the top floor, Hiroshi called out to Aearis and the others.
¡¸Thank you foring, Hiroshi-sama.¡¹
¡¸Ya seem pretty calm for the situation yer in.¡¹
¡¸The octogals sought out help, or so they said. So I figured it wouldn¡¯t take long.¡¹
Aearis stood up with a calm smile on her face.
¡¸Thanks for doing this for me, everyone. I truly apologize for worrying you such.¡¹
¡¸Elle-chan, you made it okay!?¡¹
¡¸Yes. The recorder that Hiroshi-sama gave me, and the song recorded in there from Haruna-sama¡¯s singing. It was thanks to both of you.¡¹
¡¸So you used it in the same way, huh¡¡¡¹
Haruna had braced herself for the worst when she heard the song, but still felt dejected knowing that her songs were still being used as offensive weapons.
¡¸Chit-chat can wait. Let¡¯s take down Barold first!¡¹
¡¸Yup. Also, how ¡®bout we beat up the boss on the top floor to ensure they don¡¯t do nothin¡¯ter.¡¹
Lending a hand to Aearis¡¯s group and pulling them outside, Hiroshi decided the next n of action. Since they couldn¡¯t ignore Barold¡¯s presence, it was best to take down their opponent while they were still weak.
¡¸Alright, imma head over there. Yer Highness, Old Man, please take good care of the priestess andpany.¡¹
¡¸Of course we shall.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s my duty,d. Leave it to me.¡¹
Helping everyone evacuate to a safe area, Hiroshi left everything else to the queen and Douga before going in. Barold was still writhing on the floor.
¡¸You bastards¡¡¡¢is it so fun making a fool out of me¡¡!¡¹
¡¸Nah, it ain¡¯t like we tryna make a fool of ya.¡¹
As the Heart Sutra Bad yed, the two Barolds got back up to their feet with pure willpower and guts, ring at Hiroshi. His pride would not allow him to be thoroughly mocked like this.
¡¸You¡¯ve made us very angry!¡¹
¡¸You will die regretting having made fools out of us!!¡¹
¡¸Wait, we ain¡¯t never made fools outta ya, mate.¡¹
Hiroshimented in a ratherposed manner despite the fact that Barold had immediately begun changing into his third, life-draining form. This time around, it had mainly been Aearis who was making a fool out of Barold in a misguided attempt at protection. It was unlikely that she had meant to treat him like a toy.
Although it didn¡¯t seem likely that Barold would have the capacity to listen to what they had to say.
¡¸We shall not give you fiends the opportunity to prepare!¡¹
¡¸Full power from the outset!¡¹
The two Barolds were oddly desperate for how overpowered they were. They forced the top floor boss, Evil Ifrit, out to the front as a decoy to stall for time before charging up Armageddon and Implosion. Both spells were definitely not to be made light of.
Volume 3 15.2
Volume 3 Chapter 15.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Bro, can ya do somethin¡¯ about Ifrit!?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll try!¡¹
Once Haruna had begun singing the series of sutras, Hiroshi left the evil ifrit (possibly the most annoying one to deal with) to Tatsuya.
¡¸Now I just gotta do one thing.¡¹
Hiroshi followed up on Tatsuya¡¯s multiplex ice activation magic, changing his weapon from heavy mace to pole axe. This was because he had overused the mace in destroying the tower and it needed time for repairs.
¡¸Come ¡®ere!!¡¹
Hiroshi exerted pressure with Outss, a strategy he always began with. Sometimes it had no effect, but without it he wouldn¡¯t feelfortable.
¡¸Take this!!¡¹
The evil ifrit was attracted to Hiroshi¡¯s pressure, charging at him. At that moment, he sent the ifrit flying back at Barold with a Smash. It directly hit the Barold who was chanting Implosion, but it had little effect. Both Barolds continued to charge their attacks.
¡¸Tiger w!¡¹
Makoto unleashed Tiger w, thinking it might have a great enough impact to affect the Barolds. Their defense was quite high due to miasma, and breaking through said defenses would require great cost. Resisting the urge to drop down on her knees, she took out a stamina potion and gulped it down. Makoto only had one stamina potion left before it would begin to poison her. She would have to wait an hour at the very least, otherwise poisoning was all but guaranteed. Then again, these potionspletely erased any trace of fatigue, even the kind that immobilized you, so it only made sense that there had to be some sort of side effect to over-consuming these otherwise overpowered potions.
Makoto, who had suddenly cut through all of her healing resources, seemed to have effectively put a stop to Implosion. The damage dealt was nothing noteworthy, but she was able to halt a powerful move. This made the expenditure worth it, even if this was just the beginning of the battle.
¡¸Freezer Storm!¡¹
Seeing that Makoto was out of thepetition, Tatsuya followed up with a powerful area of effect ice attack, activating yet another one for good measure. Barold himself suffered no damage, but the ifrit suffered a great deal of damage.
Though imperfect, the evil ifrit was the boss of The Sweltering Tower. Despite how adept Tatsuya¡¯s staff was at amplification, and despite its weakness being struck two times with high level magic, the ifrit would not go down that easily. True, whenbined with Makoto¡¯s Tiger w, the damage was nothing to be taken lightly, but it wouldn¡¯t be much of a boss if it could be taken down with just those two attacks.
Tatsuya understood that much, so he went straight to his next move.
¡¸Oxygen Ring!¡¹
This special offense magic may as well be an alias for Tatsuya by this point. Usually, it had hardly any effect on dungeon bosses, but for monsters like ifrits and re spirits whose bodies wereposed of mes or monsters like darkness candles that took damage when you put out their mes, these attacks were treated the same as regr offensive spells.
¡¸Take that!!¡¹
Bypassing the ifrit whose movement had been halted with Oxygen Rings, Hiroshi sent Barold flying with Smash, preventing him from continuing the meddlesome chant for Armageddon. Of course no damage was inflicted in the process, but because of Haruna¡¯s song kicking into effect, the miasma had be rather thin, unable to cancel the blowback.
As a result, the Barold ended up hitting the ifrit and the other Barold, sending the three of them to get smacked into the wall, momentarily stopping the chant.
¡¸Gotcha!¡¹
Mio used Piercing Snipe on the Barolds as soon as they crumpled into the wall. Just as the name suggested, it was a ranged attack that nullified about half of the defense of all targets in a given area. As it was limited to the defense of the equipment and only half the cost, hitting opponents like the Barolds that had high defense would make the costparatively lower.
This wouldn¡¯t inflict especially high damage on the Barolds, but it had a great effect on the evil ifrit. Right after that, Tatsuyanded two hits of Holy Octo-Cannon, and Haruna, who had been sneakily preparing her move this whole time, bounded to the front lines to put a stop to the evil ent with her magical sword skill, Icicle Dance, before retreating. This was quite impressive, considering how she still had not stopped the heart sutra bad.
Hiroshi¡¯s group had relentlessly pushed their opponent into a chess problem, but of course this would notst for long. They had been quite a nuisance to the Barolds, but unfortunately did not manage to cancel Armageddon, and the enemy¡¯s great move was finally unleashed.
¡¸Too bad for you!This will end it!!¡¹
Great Magic, Armageddon. This magic was devastating, or at least it would have been if one man had not stepped out right away,pletely cancelling the attack.
¡¸Defensive Circle, mate!Too bad for you!!¡¹
Thanks to Hiroshi¡¯s wide range defensive skill, the attack that should have turned the area into ash waspletely redirected to Hiroshi, and then¡
¡¸Do ya really think usin¡¯ Armageddon again is gonna work after Fane!!¡¹
With Hiroshi¡¯s invigorating voice, Armageddon¡¯s power was reduced to below-average power, soon disappearing without even scratching theser armor.
If Hiroshi had not grown since Fane, it probably would have done a bit more damage. But with the growth of his agricultural/engineering skills and all the other activities, he had gained basic mental fortitude and smithing upgrades, in addition to the upgrade of Fortress from getting thoroughly smacked around by the evil ent. Even if Barold used great magic attacks on him, the probability of being able tond a hit on Hiroshi had be exceedingly low.
Also, one truth that no one had realized yet was that unintentionally so, the tower destruction from earlier had also resulted in the disposal of arge amount of monsters, leading to an extraordinary amount of experience points. As a result, Hiroshi, Haruna, and Mio (not originally very high in level) had risen up two digits in levelling up.
Azuma Hiroshi didn¡¯t realize this, but since he was already so strong in the first ce, now that he had levelled up some more, he had stepped into a realm of defense that not even the gods could break with just one attack. Without attacks that nullified defense, no one could damage Hiroshi. In fact, they were basically expending their own magic and stamina for no reason.
Barold could not damage Hiroshi enough, therefore he could not defeat him. He wasn¡¯t even a threat.
¡¸Now it¡¯s time to put a stop to ya!!¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t underestimate me, brat!!¡¹
Hiroshi tried to swing the pole axe at the Barold with the Armageddon, but wasunched off by the other Barold¡¯s Smash.
¡¸It¡¯s true that I cannot defeat you as of this moment, fiend. I admit it.¡¹
¡¸However, there are not two of us just for show!!¡¹
As they howled, they discarded their physical forms and joined together to form an amalgamation of miasma.
¡¸I kinda feel uneasy about this, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Everyone, get back!!¡¹
Hiroshi and friends had a bad feeling about staying here. They couldn¡¯t exin their reasoning, but idling here would be fatal. Following this gut feeling, Hiroshi¡¯s group made haste out of the window. And then a few secondster¡
¡¸For serious¡¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s crazy¡¡¡¹
Heat Haze Tower had revived and transformed into a gigantic golem. Of course Hiroshi¡¯s group simply gawked at the sight. Judging by the strange shape the tower transformed into, the top floor would have definitely not been a safe ce to reside in during that time.
¡¸Mr. Craftsmaster, what on earth is that¡¡?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not sure what it is either, but it seems that the two Barolds fused together into somethin¡¯ weird.¡¹
¡¸Oh dear, what a troublesome situation¡¡¡¹
And as the two of them gawked at this troublesome situation, the golem¡¯s transformation was atstplete.
¡¸Take that!!¡¹
Unlike what they had previously thought, the golem was not that much of a threat.
¡¸It¡¯s clumsier than it looks.¡¹
¡¸But it makes up for it with incredible toughness.¡¹
What Makoto and Mio noted about the golem afternding several hits pretty much summed it up. The only other thing worth mentioning was maybe that if the attacks even grazed anyone other than Hiroshi, they would be in trouble.
¡¸Hiro!Something¡¯sing!!¡¹
¡¸Got it!¡¹
About two seconds after Tatsuya¡¯s warning, a beam shot out of the golem¡¯s eye area. However, the attack was magical and therefore vanished upon contact with Hiroshi¡¯s body.
¡¸Heave-ho!!¡¹
Evading the golem¡¯s punch, Hiroshi smashed the golem¡¯s left ankle with the heavy mace, imitating a series of low kicks. Then again, that was really the only ce to hit the golem, but it apparently felt aggravating to get hit in that area. Hiroshi wasn¡¯t even doing much damage but it aimed at him quite frequently.
Volume 3 15.3
Volume 3 Chapter 15.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸This sucks¡¡¡¹
¡¸What does?¡¹
¡¸Not enough firepower. I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m doin¡¯ much damage.¡¹
Hiroshimented as he fled from the golem¡¯s kick in a panic.
¡¸Well yeah, he¡¯s huge¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya agreed. He didn¡¯t feel he was making progress either.
¡¸I¡¯ll try Holy Octo-Cannon one more time, but it really hasn¡¯t been working¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya grumbled as he got in another hit of Holy Octo-Cannon. It took off a few bricks but wasn¡¯t doing any real damage.
¡¸Geez, is there any way to beat this thing¡¡¡¹
¡¸What if I cast Over elerate on Hiroshi-kun? Would it amp up damage a bit?¡¹
¡¸Maybe a bit, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be too different.¡¹
¡¸Right¡¡¡¹
Haruna proposed an idea that would hopefully get them out of this deadlock, but even she knew that the small reward was not worth the risk. If Hiroshi had a strong blunt weapon skill then the situation could have been more in their favor, but unfortunately, they knew no one who had such skills. Hiroshi hadn¡¯t made any progress on improving his attack skillset. There were other problems that he was more motivated to tackle.
¡¸Hiro could always use that one attack, just this once¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya muttered as he waited for Holy Octo Cannon to cool down, thinking of the best n for this situation. Titanic Roar. That was the team¡¯s most destructive closebat attack, and Hiroshi was the one who had it. It would probably have the greatest effect on the golem since it couldunch even the heaviest of weapons. Hiroshi had only used it once against Barold in Fane, but was unable to figure out how it was activated. It was doubtful that such a miraculous event would ur right now.
¡¸Come to think of it, Mio-chan, you got an extra skill from Aranwen-sama, right?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll have much of an effect on the golem if we don¡¯t know where the core is located.¡¹
¡¸But it will do some damage?¡¹
¡¸Some damage, yes.¡¹
Mio continued to fire carefully measured shots as she responded to Haruna and Tatsuya¡¯s queries. Piercing skills could at least puncture, so the effect would be greater if the location struck were a bit weaker.
¡¸Hiro, any idea?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, I don¡¯t got enough of an idea.¡¹
Hiroshi answered as he gantly resumed his attack on the golem. He had been evading every attack so far, but the golem¡¯s movements were bing slightly more acute, and truth be told, Hiroshi was sweating bullets.
¡¸But uhh, if we were gonna do somethin¡¯, maybe try shootin¡¯ the chest area?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s the basis for that?¡¹
¡¸Whether there¡¯s a core or not, takin¡¯ only a foot off him would be a waste, right?¡¹
¡¸I see your point.¡¹
Agreeing with Hiroshi¡¯sment, Tatsuya noticed that cooldown was over and began to ready another Holy Octo Cannon when all of a sudden, the golem jumped.
¡¸What the heck!?¡¹
¡¸This ain¡¯t good!!¡¹
Hiroshi retreated as soon as he sensed the golem¡¯s intent. It was only a light jump, so the golem would be back on the ground any second.
What would happen when a golem with the height and weight of a fifteen-story tower jumped up three meters? The impact of the golem¡¯snding shook the ground enough to throw everyone off bnce.
¡¸Gaah!!¡¹
Hiroshi rolled to the side, barely avoiding the golem¡¯s stomp but taking a direct hit from a kick the next moment and getting blown back to where Haruna and the others were.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun!!¡¹
Haruna screamed.
¡¸I¡¯m good, for the most part¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi reassured her as he endured his aching back, barely managing to get up. If the attack had hit Haruna or Tatsuya then it would have minced them, so even Hiroshi could not escapepletely unscathed. The size itself was definitely going to be a threat.
They had to be thankful to the queen for leading the octogals in order to evacuate Aearis and the others. This was not an opponent that they could let their guard down with.
¡¸Mio, I don¡¯t think we have any longer!¡¹
¡¸Got it!¡¹
Following Tatsuya¡¯s order, Mio atst began to ready her extra skill. The skill in question, Dragon yer, enabled the user to fire out arrows filled with astronomical energy that ignored affinity and pierced straight through any opponent to wreak havoc on their insides.
It got its name from the time when a certain hunter slew a dragon the size of a castle with Aranwen¡¯s protection. Unlike the name suggested, it didn¡¯t have any particrly special effect on dragon type monsters, but it didn¡¯t need any extra power to wreck its opponents.
¡¸Fire!¡¹
Mio let out an unusually fired up voice as she shot the arrow. The bow groaned as it released the energy-filled arrows, aiming straight for the golems chest and piercing through it. A fissure ran throughout the whole torso, but the attack was not enough topletely crush the golem.
¡¸One more hit¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, look at the state the bow is in.¡¹
Looking at the bow like Mio said, it did indeed seem to have been warped from the previous attack. It could probably be repaired right away, but it was likely to still break apart with one more shot.
¡¸That¡¯s to be expected from an extra skill. Without enough practice, you¡¯ll go through weapons like no tomorrow¡¡¡¹
Nodding at Mio and her situation, the team looked back at the golem, still alive and well despite suffering so much damage. If the golem had regenerative abilities, then it would probably be preferable to risk the bow in order to fire another shot. But from the state her bow was in, it would be quite the gamble to try and fire another shot of the extra skill.
¡¸If the fissure is that ginormous, maybe my trump card will work.¡¹
¡¸Makoto?¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t mention this yet, but I also have it. An extra skill.¡¹
All present almost cried out in astonishment at Makoto¡¯s ing out¡± moment, unable to understand why she had kept quiet all this time. The first thing toe out of anyone¡¯s mouth was, of course, an inquiry.
¡¸Did you not mention it because it was a katana skill?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Although I never used it in the game.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Right, the weapon¡¡¡¹
Things were beginning to make more sense. Everyone who heard the reasonpletely lost the will toin. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like Tatsuya and the others were in any position toin, so they never thought about saying anything from the start.
¡¸Hiroshi, can you give it another go?¡¹
¡¸I got enough resources in storage to remake everyone¡¯s weapons, mate.¡¹
¡¸Then please do it again.¡¹
Makoto said as she put the katana back into its sheath. Lightly raising her hands up, she confronted the golem with no outward emotion. Makoto was too far away to slice across the fissure, so she waited for her target to swing a punch and miss. Stomp, kick, and then finally the third attack, the punch she had been waiting for. Once she dodged the punch, she hopped onto the arm and raced up to the top.
¡¸I¡¯ll show you a secret technique!!¡¹
Hand at the hilt, Makoto ran up to an area from which she could reach the torso, releasing the energy she had stored up all at once and elerating her speed past its limit.
¡¸Razor Wind sh, Earth!¡¹
The secret technique derived from various forms. Makoto released one of the most fundamental attacks. Swift above all else, and able to cut through its target multiple times. Or at least that was what it sounded like by word of mouth. However, when you realized that the ¡°speed¡± consisted of twenty katana strikes in one second, no one could simply refer to it as being ¡°fast¡± even if they wanted to.
This simple, yet specialized attack that pierced through one end to the other was more worthwhile than trying anyplicated variations. Although¡
¡¸Darn, it¡¯s still not enough¡¡¡¹
Makoto already knew from the moment she unleashed the attack that it would not be enough to finish off their opponent.
¡¸Even that move isn¡¯t enough? You gotta be kidding me¡¡¡¹
¡¸If I had at least known Hiroshi from the game, then I bet I would have been able to pull it off right now.¡¹
Makoto responded with a grimace as she held out her katana that had broken during thest sh attack. Just as she said, if she had known Hiroshi from the game, she should have been able to use god steel katanas, and the amount of training with the katana would have raised the proficiency of the secret technique. As a result, the katana would not break, the same move would be even more powerful, more precise, and would have been enough topletely pulverize the golem. Although in all honesty, the attack just now only had to be 10/20% times more powerful to win the fight.
In another what-if scenario, if Makoto¡¯s katana had not been apound of magic steel and mythril, but instead orichalcum or adamantite, there would have been added power from the katana to finish things off.
But of course, discussing such possibilities is pointless. Besides, leaving aside activation, they had one more extra skill attack left. Their opponent¡¯s defense being as high as it was, the HP had several dots left so it could not be polished off with a regr great attack, but this extra skill would overkill them.
Volume 3 15.4
Volume 3 Chapter 15.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸But yeah, there you have it. It¡¯s your turn now¡¹
¡¸Give ¡®em hell, Hiro.¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯all be sayin¡¯ that, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s gonna work.¡¹
¡¸Thrash ¡®em around till they go flying into the stratosphere!¡¹
The elder members of the group attempted to motivate a half-hearted Hiroshi with rough words. In actuality, if Hiroshi did not use Titanic Roar right here right now, there was a good chance that the golem would turn the tables. There was also the option of using an extrarge pom, but unfortunately, even using thergest one they had would not reach the power of an extra skill and the destructive power always had the possibility of scattering, so it was incredibly dubious as to whether they could take the golem down or not.
In the end, Hiroshi had no choice but to be a hero.
¡¸Kay, I¡¯ll do what I can y¡¯all.¡¹
He answered, swinging the heavy mace around above his head and charging at the golem, who appeared to be getting ready to intercept him, but then all of a sudden it did something very strange.
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸For some reason, I¡¯m getting a seriously bad feeling about this.¡¹
¡¸Wait, if it¡¯s plucking its arm off, there can only be one thing it¡¯s trying to do.¡¹
The four of them nodded at what Mio just said, panicking as they spread out. But unfortunately for them, their opponent¡¯s movement was far quicker, and the golem threw its left arm at them before they couldpletely escape.
¡¸I ain¡¯t lettin¡¯ ya do that!!¡¹
The golem¡¯s arm was flying at them with incredible momentum. Hiroshi intercepted it with all of his might, suffering record-breaking amounts of damage as he took the mass head-on, but still managed to prevent it from reaching the other four. But the attack¡¯s might overwhelmed Defensive Circle, and although Hiroshi had prevented the bulk of the arm from going any further, he was not able to nullify the entire attack, leading to¡¡
¡¸Haruna!?¡¹
¡¸Haruna!!¡¹
One of the fragments from the arm that Hiroshi had stopped flew at Haruna, of all things. Nearly all of the momentum from the arm had been lost in the process, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that the fragment was as big as Haruna herself was. Unable to even shriek at the direct hit, Haruna went under.
¡¸Haruna-san!¡¹
Of course they couldn¡¯t leave her there. Hiroshi ignored the boss and went to move the rubble out of the way, but the golem leaped in front of him to challenge him. The moment he saw that, a switch flipped inside Hiroshi.
¡¸Stay¡¡¡¢outta my way!!¡¹
Dashing at the golem as itnded, he used Smash to lunge into it with his entire body. If the golem hadnded, it would have crushed both Hiroshi and Haruna, so this n was more than just excessive; it was reckless. But nevertheless, Hiroshi had seeded inunching the golem far away, tumbling onto the ground.
As the payment for his bold move, a decent amount of blood spurted out from the previous wound, but he did not care about that in the slightest right now.
¡¸I don¡¯t care ¡®bout the stupid ingredients! Hurry up ¡®n pass on to the next life!!¡¹
Its feet torn off from beingunched away, the golem could not stand up. Hiroshi took advantage of its helpless state by mming his strongest attack into it. The extra skill that had never activated no matter how much he tried up till now had already gathered max power like it was an everyday thing, pulverizing the golem and behemoth into dust. Naturally, Hiroshi himself received some knockback, but his body wasn¡¯t so fragile that it had a severe effect or anything.
Splitting the core in half with some difficulty using the leftover handle, Hiroshi dropped everything and rushed to Haruna¡¯s side.
¡¸Haruna-san, you okay!?¡¹
¡¸No, I¡¡¡¢don¡¯t think I¡¡¡¢can really¡¢say that this time¡¡¡¹
The debris that had hit Haruna had enough weight to where even the other three friends together could not lift it up with all their might. Hiroshi lifted it up like it was nothing, worriedly looking down at Haruna. Apparently having double Makoto¡¯s strength really paid off.
¡¸For now¡¡¡¢return heal¡¡¡¹
Haruna reverted her body condition back to before the rubble hit her, standing up a bit drearily. While she was at it, Haruna also used Healing of the Goddesses and elerated Regeneration Extra Skill: High Speed Regeneration on Hiroshi to fully heal some of the wounds he had generated.
¡¸Hmm, I get the feeling that things would have been much worse if I hadn¡¯t been wearing this cutter shirt.¡¹
¡¸And maybe that brooch as well?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, maybe.¡¹
Haruna nodded a bit cheerfully at what Makoto had pointed out. She had been protected in more ways than one by the man she loved. No way she wouldn¡¯t be happy.
¡¸Still, I never expected you to get that pissed, Hiro. Like hot damn.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s cuz even a loser like me can¡¯t just stand there calmly when one of my pals is about to be killed.¡¹
Expecting something a bit different than the word ¡°friend¡±, Haruna grimaced as her hopes and dreams werepletely shattered. In Hiroshi¡¯s case, he probably would have gotten seriously angry and crushed the golem regardless of if Tatsuya or Makoto had been in her ce. Haruna knew full well that there was no special treatment for her.
Still, despite that, Hiroshi throwing aside his items with reckless abandon toe and rescue her was one of the few things in life that made Haruna unbelievably happy, because it meant she was just that important to him.
¡¸Haruna-san, I¡¯m real sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸About what?¡¹
¡¸If I had properly sealed the attack, this woulda never happened. I¡¯m real sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon, that¡¯s ridiculous. Perfectly controlling the trajectory of cracked fragments? I don¡¯t even think Doul himself would be able to.¡¹
¡¸But I¡¯m a tank. Can¡¯t just let a ginormous attack like that get behind me, mate.¡¹
He seemed to be shocked that Haruna almost died. Hiroshi was more than just depressed.
¡¸If the tank had blocked all the attacks, we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about armor.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, the monsters in this world aren¡¯t going to be defeated just because of a paper-thin wall standing in their way.¡¹
Makoto and Mio gave Hiroshi the solemn truth in order tofort him. Truthfully, the battles Hiroshi had been in until now were all too stable. Usually the tank was not the only member able to handle a fair amount of damage. There were countless times in the game where teams had been utterly destroyed by a great attack to the rear guard.
¡¸Umm, Hiroshi-kun. If it¡¯s the tank¡¯s job to not let the team get attacked from behind, everyone else¡¯s job is to not get KO¡¯ed from a surprise attack.¡¹
¡¸Precisely. Now then, let¡¯s end the evaluation meeting and see what loot we got.¡¹
It was already enough to brag that they had gone up against a golem that huge and survived without anyone getting seriously wounded. Tatsuya thought about all this as he changed the topic to the materials that Hiroshi had ignored. Not just Hiroshi, everyone was remorseful that they almost let Haruna die. He didn¡¯t have to shoulder it by himself.
¡¸Sensei, if you refine the rubble around the core you might be able to get some oricalchum.¡¹
¡¸Really now?¡¡¡¡Yup. If I do it well I might be able to do somethin¡¯ about Makoto-san¡¯s katana.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun. Can you use this core for anything?¡¹
¡¸Lots of ways to use it, but let¡¯s put it on hold.¡¹
They discussed as they secured a good amount of stone for building materials and any brick that remained. Stone, brick, and sand were all in the center. A lot of it was high-ranking material that was really difficult to obtain, and Hiroshi beamed happily at all of it.
¡¸Oh yeah, just thought of something.¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¡Whazzat?¡¹
¡¸Could we eat this if we cooked it?¡¹
¡¸I think we could, mate.¡¹
¡¸Are we seriously eating these kinds of things again¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya asked with a dejected face as they harvested. There weren¡¯t enough machinery parts, so the day would likely nevere when they would eat it. But he also knew that was not absolute. Low-quality products should be made into earthworms. That was the earnest wish of a man who lived in the heart of the city.
¡¸Come to think of it, what happens to the Sweltering Tower after this?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s still an isted dimension over here, so maybe it¡¯ll sprout back up?¡¹
¡¸Sprout back up¡¡¡¹
Grimacing at Hiroshi¡¯s wild statement, Haruna nced at where Sweltering Tower would have been standing and then gaped in shock. Of course anyone would when they saw such a sight.
¡¸It¡literally sprouted back up¡¡¡¹
¡¸I said it as a joke, but wow, wouldja look at that.¡¹
The tower had sprung up out of the ground like a bamboo shoot right when Haruna looked at it.
¡¸I wonder what caused it.¡¹
¡¸Maybe it reset once the drop items were collected?¡¹
¡¸Ahhh, that makes sense.¡¹
Tatsuya brought up themon trait that most dungeons shared, and everyone highly agreed with him. Sweltering Tower was not an instance dungeon, which reset for every new party that entered in. But on every floor after defeating a boss, the monsters and chests would always reset. It wasn¡¯t too difficult to see this as an extreme version of that format.
Each boss on each floor of the Sweltering Tower would respawn either via 30 minutes to 8 hour intervals after defeating them or by defeating the evil ifrit on the 15th floor. The respawn time for the evil ifrit was randomized, and unlike the other floor bosses it would not respawn any other way. Other than preventing a group from monopolizing a boss, this was also to prevent floors from resetting from overhunting. The amount of time it took for bosses to respawn differed each time, so instead of staying on one floor to rack up experience it was more effective to go to an instance dungeon.
¡¸It seems that you made it out.¡¹
The queen walked over to where they were, probably having already seen the tower sprout back up.
¡¸Anyone hurt?¡¹
¡¸The escape went off without a hitch.¡¹
¡¸d to hear it.¡¹
Hiroshi said as he approached the tower and patted it down.
¡¸What are you doing?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s all over so I was thinkin¡¯ of gettin¡¯ some more bricks from here.¡¹
¡¸That would probably break the tower. I¡¯d rather you did not.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s fine. I won¡¯t take off too much, plus give it eight hours and it¡¯ll be right back, mate.¡¹
¡¸Well, okay, but don¡¯t overdo it.¡¹
The queen looked at Hiroshi with an exasperated smile when she realized he would once again be fixated on materials. In the end, Hiroshi was still Hiroshi.
Volume 3 Epilogue 1.1
Volume 3 Epilogue 1.1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸I¡¯m still amazed that we managed to win against that thing¡¡¹
As the group was having a very dyed dinner, or rather, a mid-night snack back at the inn, Tatsuyamented about the Stone Golem which they somehow managed to defeat. The Octogals have also finished eating their Takoyaki and now the only person who hasn¡¯t eaten a thing was Hiroshi. Aearis and others have gone back to Igreos temple to sort out tomorrow¡¯s schedule.
¡¸That was a raid boss monster without a doubt¡¡¹
¡¸Even if we¡¯re just looking at tanks, we would need at least 20 or 30 of it, and probably about 200 volunteering soldiers. There was nothing we could do about it this time but that wasn¡¯t a monster a 500 member party could defeat.¡¹
Haruna added agreeing with what Tatsuya said. As someone who has fought in many front lines, the Tower Golem¡¯s strength was something that could not bepared to any other monsters. If it came to monsters stronger than that, even Makoto could only name Dragon Road Balshem.
This Balshem is only a field ss boss but there has been no record of anyone defeating this monster. Even the hardcore no-lifers have issues likeck of fire force. But moreover, Balshem could knock out any yers with one sweep so hardly anyone could have decentbat with this monster.
¡¸It would have been different if we had three more heat-tolerant extras. But if we fought ording to theory, we would have definitely run out of stamina and lost¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right, it didn¡¯t have as much fire forcepared to Balshem. But if our tanks got attacked three more times, they would have been destroyed. Thinking back to its defence stats, all I can say is as expected of Golems. We would run out of stamina or magic power if we only focused on breaking through its defence.¡¹
¡¸When you were back in our original universe, how easily do you think you would have defeated a monster like that?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d say fifty-fifty. I can think of about five yers who had the useful extra skill but when ites to monsters like that, nobody knows what weapon is most effective against it. Also, I didn¡¯t have any extra skill at the time so ¡¡¹
¡¸I see, so it was a miracle that we managed to win against that thing.¡¹
To Tatsuya¡¯s conclusion, Makoto nodded seriously. To be honest, if Hiroshi and Mio never obtained an extra skill, the two of them would have been defeated. It was likely that a country named Darl wouldn¡¯t have existed either.
¡¸If Mio didn¡¯t activate Armor Smash on her staff, I don¡¯t think her attack would have given that much damage on the monster. But Hiroshi¡¯s Titanic Roar would have caused a lot of damage on Golems like that without decaying them so I think something would have worked out in the end.¡¹
¡¸Hearin¡¯ that, if Makoto-san used made another swin¡¯ ya katana, wouldn¡¯t it have shattered then?¡¹
¡¸Putting aside my stamina, it requires cooling time so I can¡¯t use that skill a couple of times in a row. Extra skills that are at a novie level has a cooling time so long you¡¯re not even sure if you can use it at least once every battle. Also, my weapon gets more damage againstrger opponents so I doubt I could have made another hit.¡¹
¡¸True dat.¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯s question, Makoto quickly exined the problem which cannot be fixed. Makoto¡¯s Gale sh had a problem with both its activation time and the frequency that she could use. It also doesn¡¯t help with increasing any skill levels or provide any defence. Her weapon also doesn¡¯t convert the stamina it is absorbing. So, the most they could do was ce an enchantment on that cuts stamina absorption by 75%. This was how she was able to make an average amount of hits in all of the battles they have been in.
However, they couldn¡¯t do anything about the cooling time. For example, with Makoto¡¯s Gale sh, since the skill level is only on novie, it has a cooling time of 1500 seconds. If the skill level was at its max, the cooling time will decrease up to 5 seconds. But this didn¡¯t change the fact that she could not use this skill in a row. On the other hand, Mio¡¯s Dragon Fall has a very short cooling time. However, there is a time where she would not be able to use it for around 3 to 5 seconds. Thanks to Haruna¡¯s numerous extra skill, their limitations could have been minimized but issues other than that are much bigger than it is difficult to find any use for it at this current time.
The amour crash which Makoto mentioned previously automatically activates whenever the yer is fighting against an opponent with a hard outeryer like Golems, or an opponent wearing a bronze armour. It automatically activates whether if it¡¯s a boss ss monster or not. However, even if the opponent is wearing armour, if the equipment¡¯s defence status is any less than soft leather armour, then this skill will not activate automatically. There is also an abnormal condition where it cannot be used against monsters with extremely high defence status like Kraken. On top of that, certain metallic equipment has an enchantment on that can neutralize armour crash. In fact, as long as the equipment has auto-repair enchanted, the damage it gets from the attack can be healed fairly quickly.
¡¸Anyway, from today¡¯s battle, I can confirm that what I was worried about is true¡¡¹
¡¸A thing that you were worried about?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I was looking at Hiroshi¡¯s defence which made me think about something. That there might be monsters which are too strong for us topletely avoid their attacks. Even if Hiroshi attacked them with his full set of holy steel armour.¡¹
To Makoto¡¯sment, everyone gave a grave expression. It was because such problems could bring a matter of life and death.
¡¸This world has some aspects which are different from the game. But putting aside the battle formations, the strength of each monster isn¡¯t that different from the game in general. Don¡¯t you think?¡¹
¡¸Well, you¡¯re right.¡¹
¡¸And in the game it¡¯s programmed so that at least one or two boss monsters which are almost impossible to defeat.¡¹
¡¸So what you¡¯re saying is that almost impossible monster that¡¯s been programmed in is the Dragon Road Balshem?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not the one to say but if it¡¯s Balshem¡¯s strength, Hiroshi would be able to handle it with ease once he trains Fortress. Or even levelling up his stats until there¡¯s not much more space for improvement. So even Balshem is within the range that Hiroshi can handle.¡¹
To Makoto¡¯s terrifyingment, Tatsuya lost his words. It was true thatpared to Hiroshi¡¯s abilities it was a fairly a low-level monster. If Hiroshi trained up to level 300, which would be easy for him, his HP would increase to the point where a Tower Golem¡¯s fire fore wouldn¡¯t be a threat.
Considering the number of monsters, they have defeated after being teleported, Hiroshi¡¯s current level would be close to 200. Increasing 100 more levels may make it harder for him to level up. Yet it would still increase his armour by one or two points and his defence stats and HP would be ridiculously high.
¡¸Taking that into consideration, I guess it would make sense for a stronger monster to show up.¡¹
¡¸Right? I don¡¯t want any incidents happening so we really need to n ahead keeping that condition in our mind.¡¹
¡¸¡ I guess we should all learn Fortress.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that would be the bare minimum.¡¹
To this terrifying truth Makoto brought up, Tatsuya sighed and nced over to Hiroshi. Although they could do something about their skill levels, it wasn¡¯t something that could change over-night. So, Hiroshi was already nning to make some items.
Apart from Fortress being a useless skill other than defence, the reason why nobody has trained this skill was simple. It would overshadow their self-amplifying offence skills. Fortress is harder to train for as hit count is a vital part of the training. With magic-based attackers and healers, their equipment is mostly fabric-based and it¡¯s difficult to increase their defence stats. So, defending themselves by learning Fortress was a rare thought to ur considering its likelihood and risk.
As an insight, it hasn¡¯t been an issue previously but apart from Haruna, everyone else has been using self-amplifying skills in battles up until now. The reason why Haruna doesn¡¯t use the self-amplifying skill is that a skill which is effective against her opponent depends on the condition at the time. Also, recently her role during battles have been more focused on fighting and singing to provide aiding magic whenever it¡¯s needed. So, there¡¯s no need for her to use self-amplifying skills.
¡¸Hey, Hiro, have you got any ideas for items that could avoid instant death in case we mess in the middle of a boss fight?¡¹
¡¸A few, but t¡¯ would be difficult to prepare em overnight.¡¹
¡¸Could you tell us the general idea of it?¡¹
¡¸Welp, one non-reusable defence item, defence enchant that requires coolin¡¯ time n¡¯ for the rest, t¡¯ would be somethin¡¯ alon¡¯ the lines o¡¯ God¡¯s liquor.¡¹
Makoto flinched at the phrase God¡¯s liquor. It was a rare item even among the no-lifers. Only a very few of them have been obtained that it¡¯s difficult to quantify the item¡¯s rarity. It was a very mysterious item. If there was any information Makoto could get, she wanted to hear everything she could about it.
¡¸When you say along the lines of God¡¯s liquor, do you mean there are ones other than Soma of the Gods?¡¹
¡¸The items that¡¯re categorized into God¡¯s liquor would be Soma and Amrita. In general, their effective time-span is 5 minutes, if ¡®t a non-reusable one, the time-span would be ¡®round 10 minutes. Apart from preventin¡¯ any unexpected-incidents, ¡®t also can avoid death.¡¹
¡¸¡ Any unexpected incidents? Not only the ability to avoid instant death?¡¹
¡¸Yup, includin¡¯ HP damage. As lon¡¯ as the item¡¯s active, no matter how much damage ya git, ya HP doesn¡¯ git any lower than 1. Dependin¡¯ on its quality, there are ones dat can even cancel death due t¡¯ HP damage..¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see, since the one we had was a drop item, it was low in quality.¡¹
Makoto agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. The disadvantage of drop items was that it variedrgely in quality. God¡¯s liquor crafted by a clocksmith can even be considered a high-quality item. However, if the item¡¯s rank were lower by one, the quality would be so low that it will not be ssified as a high-quality item. This is fairly obvious, yet if a certain monster was defeated using high ranking weapons, then God¡¯s liquor dropped from that monster is most likely going to be low in quality. With Soma of the Gods, yers can even expect to find the lowest quality of its kind from using high-ranking weapons.
When low-quality God¡¯s liquor is obtained, if the individual does not possess apatible skill, it is impossible to determine the item¡¯s exact status. This was why Makoto didn¡¯t know anything about Soma of the Gods that they used to have. However, if God¡¯s liquor was used as equipment, its general ability can be determined even without special equipment or appraisal, as long as the yer¡¯s level is high enough.
¡¸Soma focuses more on healin¡¯ so while tis active, the yers¡¯ HP, MP n¡¯ stamina recoverspletely every second. On the other hand, Amrita is an offence item so while tis active, all o¡¯ the yers¡¯ abilities increase by times five. Amrita n¡¯ Soma has different range o¡¯ consumables so ¡®t can be active at the same time. But if ya¡¯ll to choose, ya¡¯d rather have ¡®t as a way to avoid instant death while waitin¡¯ for the other item¡¯s coolin¡¯ time, ight?¡¹
¡¸¡ Both options are extreme,¡¹
¡¸Welp, ¡®t requires extra skills to craft it so tis only natural that they have extreme functions. Oh, n¡¯ with ability enhancement, there¡¯s an item called holy medicine. The high-quality ones will increase za yer¡¯s lowest skill by times five for 3 hours. ¡®t takes ¡®bout twelve hours for the effect topletely ware off but ¡®t doesn¡¯t haf coolin¡¯ time. So, if ya not worried ¡®bout tis addictive side-effect, ya could activate it again once ¡®t starts to ware off. But if ya drink it in five-hour intervals, the side-effect shouldn¡¯t show up.¡¹
¡¸No wonder extra skill is needed to craft that item.¡¹
¡¸Other than that, I could make a potion where dependin¡¯ on tis quality, ¡®t can permanently increase the yer¡¯s ability by three points. I didn¡¯t make em this time since I thought they were useless for solvin¡¯ ourst problem. N¡¯ I¡¯ve never heard o¡¯ most o¡¯ the materials that are needed so ¡®t would be difficult to craft em.¡¹
Makoto¡¯s expression changed as Hiroshi mentioned a potion that could permanently enhance abilities. In the past 5 years, only 4 have been found in drops. They were the rarest out of any rare items. To think that an item like that could be crafted, the battlefront no-lifers realised how much they¡¯ve been looking down on crafting skills in Fairclo. They started to think that perhaps it was a good decision that crafting no-lifers kept their information to themselves.
To be honest, now that they continued to operate with Hiroshi, Haruna and Makoto both understood why crafting skills are so hard to level up. Considering all the items that can be crafted in the game, if crafting skills were something that could be easily obtained, it would ruin the game bnce. The impact would be visible even if all the craftsmen were to only reach the intermediate level.
¡¸¡ maybe, consider that potion for a future project? What are some items you can craft it quicker?¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re excludin¡¯ the side-effects, there¡¯s a defence item that I only a couple more materials for. If we¡¯re talkin¡¯ ¡¯bout defence items n¡¯ enchantments without any side-effect than I would need some materials from Lorren n¡¯ Spirit Spire Cave.¡¹
¡¸So, from a practical perspective, first, let¡¯s make the item with side-effect for everyone. Then maybe craft more clothes made from spirit silk?¡¹
¡¸Don be ridiculous. Tis better to use higher quality materials n¡¯ some materialsbined from different monsters. That way, we can triple the item¡¯s ability. There¡¯s a material I don know where we can harvest ¡®t from, but with that, could easily make a cheat item like God¡¯s clothes.¡¹
¡¸If we were to make back-up clothes for everyone, would we have enough yarn to make God¡¯s clothes?¡¹
¡¸Eazy.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s statement, Makoto decided to wrap up their discussion.
¡¸Then to start with, we should make the defence item with side-effect, one for everyone. Hiroshi, where would we be able to gather thecking materials?¡¹
¡¸T¡¯ at Forre.¡¹
¡¸In that case, once we finish our business in Darl, let¡¯s head towards Forre. And for Haruna and others, make sure to train Fortress.¡¹
Everyone nodded to Makoto¡¯s words. The direction in which the group should be heading in was decided. And like that, the day ended with everyone doing what they can do for now.
Volume 3 Epilogue 1.2
Volume 3 Epilogue 1.2
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸I am the God of Fire, Igreos!¡¹
The following morning, Hiroshi¡¯s party was forcibly taken back to Igreos temple. They were led into the sanctuary located in the furthest room at the temple. In that room, the group came across the owner of the temple, Igreos, the God of Fire. The priestess and the Queen who was apanying them were now absent. It was obvious that Igreos was going to mention something which he did not want either of them to hear about.
As expected from the God of fire, he had a fiery appearance. A muscr build, Toga over his shoulder, and his face framed with a fiery red fair. He also had what most people would call it a masculine face. Furthermore, the Igreos temple, in general, had an impressive build. However, this alluring room which they were in was wless in every way.
¡¸I would like to personally thank you all for the help which you have provided throughout our nation¡¯s affair!¡¹
Yet without a doubt, the one thing that really stood out in this room was how Igreos would strike a pose every time he spoke.
¡¸One of our friends were dragged into the affair so there is no need for you to thank us.¡¹
Tatsuya politely responded, fighting off the overwhelming presence which Igreos possessed. Having a trait which made people want to make ament about it seems to be a thing among the Gods of this universe. It seems that there are no decent Gods in this universe.
¡¸Nay, it does not change the fact that you folks have saved my priestesses! Thus it is only natural for me to give my thanks to you all!¡¹
¡¸If that is the case, could you please stop making those poses ¡¡¹
¡¸Oh! As expected! It was not appreciated!! ¡¹
Tatsuyamented as the God of Fire casually changed his pose from flexing pose to Oliver pose. Igreos stopped posing with a shocked and disappointed expression. It seems that his poses weren¡¯t appreciated by the authorities working at the temple either. Everyone wondered under what logic did Igreos thought bodybuilder poses would gain positive attention.
¡¸Um, we have received enough gratitude from you. So, could you inform us on why the Norton sisters were attacked or why the God of Underworld, Zanafel disappeared from the Underworld?¡¹
¡¸To inform you all on those topics is my responsibility. So, I will dly provide you all with the information even if you did not ask. However, those two events are strangely rted. I am not sure where to start.¡¹
Hearing the word ¡°rted¡± Tatsuya internally buried his head in his hands as he thought this will be another difficult situation.
¡¸Well, putting aside the details, could you please tell us the overall conclusion?¡¹
¡¸Yes, I see, firstly, the reason why the sisters got attacked; this one is simple. Those two are the previous king of Darl, or rather, the current Queen¡¯s husband¡¯s father¡¯s love child. Therefore, both sisters possess the trait of bing the priestess to myself and Zanafel. So the sisters¡¯ presence must be very much in the way for those who worship the fallen God.¡¹
Hearing Igreos¡¯ exnation, the group could not help it but give a twisted expression. The Japanese people did consider Prim and Judith being rted to the royal family since they weren¡¯t fond of visiting the pce. Also, they slowly realised that people of the royal bloodline are more likely to possess the trait to be Igreos¡¯ priestess. With the two information, the group did think that the Norton sisters might be rted to the royal family. However, none of them thought that the God of Underworld would be somehow connected to them.
¡¸The reason why I have not made the sisters my priestess is simple. Since there are political affairs mixed into this matter, I am not able to bring them to such a position. They have not shown any sign of it; however, the sisters also possess the trait of hereditary magic of Darl¡¯s royal family. That is also one of the reasons why I have not made them my priestess.¡¹
¡¸That, would be very burdensome¡¡¹
¡¸With all of that in mind, I am very grateful that the gentlemen which the sisters sparked the me of love towards were you two. If the rtionship was to progress and the child which the sisters gave birth to activated the hereditary magic, it will cause a nation-wide panic without a doubt.¡¹
Makoto pitied Prim and Judith seeing that even God was grateful that they had fruitless love. Hiroshi and Tatsuya, who were the reason why the sisters had fruitless love seemed very awkward. Tatsuya seemed especially awkward as he rejected Prim clearly, face to face.
¡¸However, as the God of Fire, I am pleased to know that the sisters were able to spark the fire of love. Even if their feelings did note from the right ce, all is well as long as the me burns bright and strong.¡¹
¡¸It would not be nice if the me ends up burning into a mud puddle though¡¡¹
¡¸The me of jealousy is also a form of me. However, those in-pure mes are likely to go out of control and burn off thend.¡¹
¡¸Well I hope something like a mass bushfire would not take ce¡¡¹
Tatsuya sighed, ignoring half of Igreos¡¯s very questionable statement. Since Tatsuya has felt those emotions himself, it made it much harder to ept Igreos¡¯s statement.
¡¸If anything, to make sure something like that would not take ce, lets spoooorts away those in-pure emotions and burn the me we should be fuelling! So like that, song muse, just spooooorts away those emotions!¡¹
¡¸Wha, why me!?¡¹
Haruna panicked as Igreos suddenly pointed towards her. She wasn¡¯tpletely clueless, but it made her want to yell that she¡¯s not the only one to be called out in this group.
¡¸It is obviously because the me of jealously is burning strongly within yourself! They say that feeling of jealously is the farther to all emotions. But if it progresses, it bes impossible to turn it into a healthy emotion. So spoooorts those emotions away!!¡¹
¡¸I agree with most of what you are saying but I don¡¯t think sports has anything to do with this!¡¹
¡¸If you y sports and sweat, then you would not get jealous of someone who is not even your lover dating another person!¡¹
¡¸Does this God knows what he¡¯s talking about!?¡¹
To Igreos¡¯ very spontaneous logic, Haruna spoke without watching the way she spoke. She did act cold from time to time because she was feeling jealous. However, ying sports would not change those attitudes. No matter how much an individual puts in the effort to improve their fitness, it is unlikely that those efforts would have any impact on the individual¡¯s emotional maturity.
¡¸Um, if you excuse me, I think we have gone off track. I think the important topic right now is the background of Norton sisters and the God of Underworld Zanafel.¡¹
This conversation would be endless if Igreos continues to tease Haruna. As Makoto noticed this, she stepped in and corrected the direction of the conversation. Hearing Makoto¡¯sment, Igreos seemed slightly disappointed but he went back to the original topic.
¡¸Yes, you are indeed correct. Let us leave this topic behind. We were talking about the Norton sisters and Zanafel right?¡¹
¡¸Yes, your holiness. I understand why it is difficult for the sisters to be your priestess. However, I was wondering why Barold has attacked the sisters with an intent that he must absolutely kill them. Although the sisters have the trait to be Zanafel-sama¡¯s priestess, I believe that would be irrelevant as Zanafel-sama himself is absent.¡¹
¡¸In general, you would be correct. However, it is rted to why Zanafel is currently missing.¡¹
¡¸So you are aware of where Zanafel-sama is?¡¹
¡¸Of course, he is sleeping in the pyramid at the bottom of this Oasis.¡¹
Everyone looked at each other to the outrageous response Igreos gave. It seemed that every answer they got, there were at least three more questions that came along with it.
¡¸This is something which people living in the light are not aware of. However, about 3000 years ago, there was a sudden disease outbreak in the underworld. When that happened, other fallen Gods decided to take advantage of the situation and they started to attack Zanafel.¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t mean to say¡.¡¹
¡¸Indeed, both sides were defeated so the fallen Gods were notpletely resolved about the matter. The ones who survived, although they were not as strong as Alfemina, Zanafel and the other five major Gods, but none the less they survived that battle. Those survivors are now working towards revolution and nning to start the pandemic here on the surface as well. That is why they are sending in Barold around the world.¡¹
¡¸So the reason why Alfemina-sama is currently busy is because ¡¡¹
¡¸Is because she is doing everything she can to make sure that the fallen Gods does not do anything suspicious. However, due to our position, we have no way of directly visiting the human world unless it is done through one of our priestesses. Thus, the incident is bing more and moreplex. To start with, this has nothing to do with Zanafel. If you want to know more about it, you are better off asking the God of Knowledge, Daljan. I have my hands full with Zanafel¡¯s seal and purification.¡¹
As numerous serious topics were brought up, it was giving Hiroshi and others a headache. As they were dragged into many affairs in Fane, they were prepared to hear something like this to an extent. However, they wanted to cry over how deeply they have gotten themselves into this matter.
¡¸Well, with Zanafel, I am sure you folks could guess this much but when the battle was tied, part of the fallen God was dug into Zanafel very deeply. Thankfully, that fallen God was cking off so they ran off somewhere with their priestesses. Then, with the help from the royals in Fane, Alfemina at the time, the priestesses of the remaining major Gods, myself and the God of Water, we managed to seal Zanafel. To reduce the damage made to the surrounding, we chose a pyramid to seal him in. But it seems that the fragment of the Fallen God was stronger than we expected. When we finished the seal, only this area was turned into a desert.¡¹
The party members fell silent as they heard a veryrge scale and very fantasy-like scenario. Although the line of the story made sense, to think that the origin of the Torrid desert was rted to sealing of the fallen God was beyond their expectations. Following such events, the Sweltering Tower was built to contain the worshippers of Fallen God which could not be dealt with at the time.
The castle was 15 storeys high and its architecture was breathtaking. There were many theories to how the castle has managed to stay up for so long. However, the situation which the castle was built upon will exin why the castle could never be demolished.
The insanely purifiedkes suddenly turning into saltkes, the sudden outbreak in eutrophication, all of those phenomena are rted to the sealing of Zanafel. When sealing Zanafel, the Ocean Goddess and her assistant, God of Water came for purification, they purified the entireke and ced a production line in the underground water system to minimize the damage.
¡¸To seal Zanafel, human sacrifice was inevitable. So, we got consent from the King at the time and his lover who was Alfemina¡¯s priestess. Using Zanafel¡¯s hidden ability, the King and Zanafel¡¯s priestess who understood the situation gave birth to their child. That priestess was then ced under my care and was sealed together with Zanafel. Her soul would be worn out by now so even if we were to dispel the seal, I doubt she would be able to say a single word.¡¹
It was likely that Igreos has left out many details of this story. However, it did exin the problem behind sisters.
¡¸In other word, those two are the key to Zanafel-sama¡¯s revival.¡¹
¡¸Indeed, Alfemina¡¯s princess priestess has been a powerful leader for many generations now. Now that she is one of the most powerful figures, she must be very much in the way of Fallen God¡¯s worshippers. Afterall, Zanafel¡¯s revival is connected to demolishing the fragment of Fallen God. Though, I doubt that is all that is needed for his revival.¡¹
¡¸So you mean to say that the sisters are still been targeted¡ ?¡¹
¡¸There is no need for you folks to worry about that. It has been confirmed that the two of them will be epted at the main temple of Alfemina. Even the worshippers of the Fallen God would struggle to n any direct actions towards Alfemina¡¯s main temple. Even if they were to attack Wulls in terrorism style, the defence force of that country is too strong. The worshippers would not be able to entre or leave the country.¡¹
Turns out, Alfemina wasn¡¯t possessing Aearis just for a change in scenery. All anyone could say was, as expected of one of the five major Gods.
¡¸Since that is the situation, I would like you fellows to help with Zanafel¡¯s purification and revival.¡¹
¡¸I am assuming that you are not going to take a no for an answer?¡¹
¡¸Well, I doubt you will make it back alive if you go on your own. Currently, the remaining four Gods are doing works on Zanafel¡¯s behalf. So, even if we were to reset a deceased soul and send it back to the underworld, it would be very difficult to travel through that gate alive.¡¹
¡¸¡ This incident will likely affect us in the long term so we will dly ept your request. It seems like we will be dragged into this matter sooner orter so I am sure we would have to do this job in the future even without your request.¡¹
¡¸I thank you for your cooperation. For everything which you have done to help us, I shall grant you my power.¡¹
Once Igreos has said his statement, the party members were wrapped in me. Not giving them a time to be shocked, the harmless fire swiftly wrapped the Japanese people andforting heat rushed through their body.
¡¸I have provided you all with pyrokic abilities. This should make it easier to use any fire-rted abilities. Also, any item that requires fire to craft it will have better quality; although, it will only be a very slight difference. Also, the maiden who uses Katana, was it Makoto?¡¹
¡¸Ye, yes, ¡¹
¡¸For you, I have granted one of my hidden abilities. Like Alfemina¡¯s hidden ability, which the song muse uses, you would need to train your physical strength before you can use it to its full potential. However, once you do so, your physical ability would improve significantly.¡¹
The element of fire whichy deep within yourself. If you manage to activate its strength to its very limit, that individual would be able to use an extra skill that provides the individual with an undefeatable strength. epting that she has obtained such a skill, Makoto nodded with a serious face. She knew that this wasn¡¯t an easy skill to master. That was always the case with anything under the name of extra skill.
¡¸Also, Workshop owner, take this with you.¡¹
¡¸ Tis, tis is, no way!¡¹
¡¸Indeed, an item to ignite the true me, ¡ºGod¡¯s me¡». I believe you will make good use out of this.¡¹
¡¸I shall use ¡®t with greatness. Since we jist crashed down the Swelterin¡¯ Tower, there should be ¡®nough material to use the st furnace.¡¹
Igreos looked over Hiroshi with a protectively. Hiroshi was grinning like a child as he held the treasure in his hands. It seems that Igreos has taken a liking towards Hiroshi¡¯s creative burst.
¡¸Now that I have given you all what I wanted to, let us spoooorts!!¡¹
¡¸So we¡¯re going back to that topic¡¡¹
Tatsuyamentedzily to Igreos who seems to just want to y sports.
Volume 3 Epilogue 1.3
Volume 3 Epilogue 1.3
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸We will be heading back to Wulls now. I am looking forward to meeting all of you again.¡¹
¡¸Indeed, please look after the sisters.¡¹
¡¸Of course, we will do everything in our power to keep them safe.¡¹
As Hiroshi and others came our of the Igreos temple, Aearis informed them that they will be heading back to Fane first. To the incredibly busy day they had so far, Hiroshi could only respond with a difficult expression.
¡¸So ya really in hurry.¡¹
¡¸I was required to return to Wulls once I have finished my business at Igreod temple anyway. I apologize for not being able to provide as much help due to myself being under a disguise. However, I am certain you will have some business in Wulls soon so please allow me to show my hospitality then.¡¹
¡¸I see, are ya goin¡¯ back on a chariot? Thought ya¡¯ll Golem chariots were crashed?¡¹
¡¸As long as the locations are memorised, the teleportation magic we use can teleport us from one end of the continent to another. Regarding our chariot ¡ well, there is nothing we can do about it. So, we have decided to re-make them. I deeply apologize for causing so much burden to this nation due to my own selfishness¡¡¹
¡¸That wasn¡¯t ya fault so don¡¯ worry ¡®bout it. If ya want, as lon¡¯ as ya make an order, I could make ya¡¯ll a chariot that¡¯s more study, convenient n¡¯ even with a built-in defence system? I¡¯ll give ya a discount as a friend.¡¹
¡¸Are you sure?¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯s words, Aearis asked with shining eyes. She has never said it out loud before, but she has always been envious of the van Hiroshi¡¯s group used.
¡¸Welp, we¡¯re goin¡¯ back to Wulls soon so it¡¯ll hafta wait until we¡¯re back though.¡¹
¡¸Of course, that is fine. I would love to order the chariots.¡¹
Although it was merely an exchange of words, a contract which cannot be dismissed was formed. Then, the Queen who was listening in to this conversation cut in as if to take advantage of the situation.
¡¸I would like to order one as well. However, with the rtionship we have, I guess it would not be that easy, is it?¡¹
¡¸To put ¡®t bluntly, ya ¡®ight. I believe we don¡¯ have ¡®nough trust towards each other for me to leave this may products in tis country.¡¹
¡¸As I thought. However, I would regret dismissing all the help you will be able to provide this country. So, as a reward for helping this incident, I shall gift your party the temporary workshop you have in Darl on behalf of the royal family. Also, simrly to Ortem vige, we allow you to make a teleportation circle from your main workshop in Wulls. I have contacted King Regnas yesterday and have gotten his permission.¡¹
¡¸Welp, if we can do dat, ¡®t would be very helpful. But are ya sure we¡¯re allowed to do somethin¡¯ like that?¡¹
¡¸If something was to happen in Darl, it would benefit me to have an escape route to a neighbouring country. On top of that, there were few favours which I wanted to ask you. Considering all of that, I think it would benefit both of us to have a teleportation circle between your main workshop and the workshop here.¡¹
Hiroshi only got a bad feeling when the Queen mentioned that she had few favours which she wanted to request them. Help from the royal family is very much appreciated. However, if they were to step into their favours too much, it will only lead them towards more trouble.
¡¸Welp, ¡®t would depend on what kinda favours ya wanna ask.¡¹
¡¸Well, at this very moment, there are two favours which I would absolutely want to ask your party. The first one is I would like you to build a teleportation circle for us to excavate fossils. The second one, well, this request from both the nation and the temple. I would like you to teach the trainees at the temple on how to make the water production item.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s face twisted as he heard therge-scale favours. The context of those favours was not too difficult. In fact, he had no issue with making a teleportation circle to the fossils. But the problem was teaching trainees how to make a water production item.
¡¸ ¡ welp, I was thinkin¡¯ o¡¯ teachin¡¯ my apprentices in Wulls how to craft magical items. So, the idea o¡¯ teachin¡¯ the trainees isn¡¯t a problem. But¡¡¹
¡¸Even if it is a request by the temple and the royal family, it is a difficult request for a small business to be epting. I am sure you understand our concerns regarding water rights.¡¹
Haruna bluntly said the words which Hiroshi was afraid to speak out. To Haruna¡¯s words, the Queen showed a bitter smile.
¡¸As expected that was your concerns.¡¹
¡¸Well, I don¡¯t think there is anything else we should be worried about.¡¹
The Queen once again gave a bitter smile to Haruna¡¯s words which she could not disagree with. Even if they were to mention royal purveyor, the favour which the Queen was asking was very specific; it could easily cause a conflict over water rights. That aside, teleportation circle is something normal people can¡¯t easily craft multiples of. So, it was odd to think that there were people making their living out of building them.
¡¸Just for a reference, if you were to teach the trainees, how long will it take until they are capable of crafting the water production item? Also, assuming that we have plenty of materials, how long would it take for them to make one?¡¹
¡¸Welp, I would hafta start from basic enchant so ¡®t¡¯ll take ¡®t least two months before they can craft any magical item. If we¡¯re talkin¡¯ ¡®bout the water production item, ¡®t¡¯ll take ¡®t least six months before they can craft the simplest one. At first, ¡®t would take ¡®bout a month for em to craft the water production item.¡¹
¡¸What would be the amount of water the item can produce in one day?¡¹
¡¸If tis the simplest one, with average purson¡¯s magical energy, they should be able to produce ¡®bout two cups o¡¯ water.¡¹
¡¸If that is the case, there is nothing to worry about. Even if we were to train 10 trainees to craft that item, and they develop their skill so they can craft the item faster, the most we can craft would be 20 in a month. The most impact that would create is Darl finally meeting its water Demands and reducing the cost of water bills. If we have any excess water, we will just send those water to the desert.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
Even the Queen did not want the water rights to be against her. Her aim seems to be weakening the control that the neighbouring country has on Darl by slowly implementing policies and slowly solving the issues surrounding water security.
¡¸Welp, if ya ept those conditions, I¡¯ll take on those favours. Either way, I don¡¯ think ya goin¡¯ to take ¡°no¡± for an answer.¡¹
¡¸My apologizes.¡¹
Aearis who was listening in to their conversation saw that general conditions have been settled and brought back their original conversation.
¡¸If you excuse me, I would like to bring back my request. The Golem chariot, I will write out an order as soon as I have returned home. Thank you very much for your help.¡¹
¡¸Nah problem, but I have teleportation circle n¡¯ other stuff I need to do first so t¡¯ll take some time till I¡¯m back in Wulls.¡¹
¡¸Of course, until then, I shall talk with grandfather Doul on what kind of chariot we would like. Oh, and Queen Mishe,¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Do you mind if we use the underground ruins without permission from Darl?¡¹
¡¸If it is the princess priestess and the elf one, there is no problem. Octogals¡. well I guess there is no way I can ban them can I?¡¹
Artiem looked down apologetically as she could not cut into a conversation between authority figures. To such sight, the Queen and Aearis spoke.
¡¸Well then, I really should be heading off now.¡¹
¡¸Of course, I apologize for dragging you into this burden.¡¹
¡¸Please do not worry yourselves over it. Well then, we shall be heading our way now.¡¹
She shook the Queen¡¯s hand with a smile and returned to Wulls with teleportation magic. The moment they were about to be teleported, Judith looked at Hiroshi with a refreshed look and bowed. As Hiroshi said farewell with that sight engraved into his mind, they headed back to Darl using teleportation stone to sort out where to build the teleportation circle. Like this, the matter which ced Darl under great fear came to an end.
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 1.1
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 1.1
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
1. Norton Sister¡¯s (somewhat against their will) luxurious lifestyle.
The morning for Prim and Judith Norton, the trainee priestesses at the main Igreos temple started with the sweet scent of tea.
¡¸Oh, good morning.¡¹
¡¸Good morning¡¡¹
It has been three days since they have been relocated to Azuma Workshop¡¯s Darl branch. As usual, by the time they woke up, the breakfast was ready in the kitchen. Ever since they started living with Hiroshi¡¯s party, they have never been able to wake up earlier than Haruna.
¡¸Were you able to sleep well?¡¹
¡¸Yes, it was as if I was catching up with all the sleep I have lost¡¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t help it but let out augh at Prim who really did sound refreshed. It seems that both Prim and Judith have been losing against thefortable bed which they have been provided with.
To keep up the sisters¡¯ reputation, the sisters did not wake upte. In fact, most people would be still asleep; apart from fishermen and other people working in a specific industry. It was that these Japanese people who happen to wake up very early.
The reason why Hiroshi¡¯s party had early morning was simple. The other three have been influenced by Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s routine from when they were running a food stall back in Wulls.
¡¸I am sorry for not being able to help this morning either¡¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s not much to do in the morning anyway so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹
Haruna swiftly got the sisters a breakfast while talking to them. Today¡¯s breakfast was garlic grilled rock boar sandwich. It was the stall¡¯s main menu. The most popr dish was curry bun but other menus at the stall changed depending on the day.
At least today¡¯s dish was something cute using rock boar. Yesterday¡¯s dish was a soup-based dish using Wyvern¡¯s milk and it was exotic, to say the least. At the stall, one bowl cost 1000 seneca which was expensive for a food stall. Even though the dish was limited to one bowl per person, it was sold out within half an hour of opening.
Although Wyvern milk soup was refreshingly light, it had a rich,plex vour to it. The team managed to introduce the beauty of light and a savoury dish to people of Darl who was used to the spice-heavy dish. This was expected from a dish using high-quality ingredient which only a handful of people know how to cook.
Yet eating a high-quality dish for breakfast every day would be bad for their system. That is especially the case for the temple authorities who have been living a minimalist life.
¡¸By the way, if we introduce soy sauce, do you think people will buy them?¡¹
¡¸If we manage to arrange the use for it, I think a lot of people would be interested in buying them.¡¹
¡¸Onee-chan, if we increase more items that we import from Fane, don¡¯t you think that would cause a national problem?¡¹
Judithmented to Prim¡¯s response with a bitter smile. Darl did not grow soybeans and even though they could make miso from wheat, it didn¡¯t work as an ingredient for soy sauce. So, if the demands for soy sauce was to increase, they would have to import soybeans from Fane.
¡¸Then how about curry powder¡¡¹
¡¸Well, I think they will sell well once people understand the amount they should be using.¡¹
¡¸Well, that was the same in Fane as well.¡¹
Not only in Darl but people who are from this universe are very careless on the amount of ingredients which they use. Precise instruments that can measure up to grams are only ever used for brewing medicine. However, looking at Hiroshi¡¯s work, it was obvious that even those measurements weren¡¯t precise each time. Also, the reason why normal people don¡¯t weigh out their ingredient and why Hiroshi¡¯s group doesn¡¯t weigh them had apletely different reason behind it.
The reason why normal chiefs don¡¯t weigh out the ingredient is that they don¡¯t feel the need to weigh them out. However, Hiroshi¡¯s group has not only learnt to measure the ingredients with their eyes, but they also adjust its amount depending on the temperature, humidity, season and the state of magic the ingredient had while harvesting. So, the amount of each ingredient used in their dishes was different each time.
¡¸So, do you think this dish will sell well in Darl?¡¹
Haruna questioned.
¡¸Personally, I think they will be sold out very fast.¡¹
Judith responded honestly.
¡¸At this point, as long as you don¡¯t sell something pretty strange looking, I think they will all be sold out before noon.¡¹
Primid out her opinions based on all the food which she has tasted at the Workshop.
¡¸I see, then I guess it would be fine?¡¹
Hearing the sister¡¯s opinion, Haruna confirmed the potential sales for the garlic grilled rock boar and left her seat. She has finished eating her breakfast a long time ago.
¡¸Judith, do you think we can go back to our original diet?¡¹
¡¸How about you, onee-chan?¡¹
Although it hasn¡¯t even been one week, the Norton sister¡¯s eating habit was already starting to change. The sisters knew that they could not let this lifestyle overtake them. However, the Japanese people continued to treat them as guests and the two ended up spending another luxurious morning.
==
Midday on the same day.
¡¸We¡¯re sold out!¡¹
As usual, all the dishes were sold out. The customers who came inte dispersed to nearby stalls with regretful face after Haruna¡¯s announcement. Hiroshi¡¯s food stall has been keeping their stocks low so they wouldn¡¯t cause any negative impact towards other stalls in the area. Even then, their sales were consistent. Depending on the dish, some of them were so expensive you would only order one from a luxurious restaurant. However, it seemed that the higher the price, the faster they were sold out.
Some of their customers were chiefs. However, the party members were not worried since although curry buns and fish and chips would be manageable, they would not be able to copy Takoyaki and fish cakes which requires special equipment. On top of that, their daily menus used ingredients which only a skilled adventurer could obtain it. And most other ingredients weren¡¯t something which normal chiefs would be able to cook like rock boar and wyverns. So, most of the time, the chiefs were more interested in how the Japanese people were arranging the food rather than copying the dishes.
¡¸Your dishes were delicious as usual.¡¹
A beautiful woman who visits the food stall every day came up to them with a satisfied look. Every day, she shows up at the time where she would be able to buy all the dishes, eat everyst crumb that¡¯s left on the te, observe how the food stall is doing then stays around until they start busking. Sometimes she wonders off after all the dishes are sold out but almost always, she was back for busking and sorts out the queue and so on, on her own will.
¡¸I shall prepare for the busking. So how about you all go and get something to eat.¡¹
Bowing at the woman who always helps them on her own will, they headed off to stalls in the area to research the food in Darl and also to disperse the ie they made. As their current lifestyle does not cost them a lot, if they don¡¯t use it up some of their ie, the money which they have in their hands would save up to a dangerous amount.
¡¸Oh, this one is pretty good!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a stewed dish but you barely notice the alcohol¡¡¹
¡¸I think there¡¯s too much spice on this one¡¡¹
As they continued to chat away, they finished one dish after another. Although they thought that the food they usually eat is better, or his wife back in their original universe cooked better food, they never said it out loud. Although they gave their personal opinion the dish, they never insulted the overall dish and ate everything that was on the te.
¡¸Shall we start the busking now?¡¹
¡¸Sure,¡¹
As the beautiful woman asked, Haruna stepped outside and bowed. The others watched her sing while cleaning up.
¡¸¡ Although it is your job, I feel like we have been given a very luxurious lifestyle¡¡¹
¡¸Maybe just think of it as a perquisite?¡¹
¡¸I am unsure if we are allowed to spend such aid back time even while we are working¡¡¹
¡¸Well I don¡¯t think just being busy is part of work.¡¹
As Judith and Prim listened to Tatsuya¡¯s failed attempt atforting them, Mio gave the sisters chai which she has made for them. As Mio finished giving out chai to everyone, Haruna¡¯s prologue¡¯s end song started.
Like that, the Norton sisters spent another rxed working day and spent the rest of the noon listening to beautiful songs.
==
At night.
¡¸¡Life here is really ruining the proper life routine¡¡¹
¡¸Onee-chan, I think I gained weight after we moved in here¡¡¹
In their room which was dimly lit by a magic-poweredmp, they blurted out their new most used phrase after they had a bath. As they felt ufortable for just being treated as guests, they have also been cleaning up equipment around the workshop, preparing bathtubs, and other chores which they could help with. After all, those were jobs which the sisters have been doing every single day back at the temple. Apart from the chores, they have also been continuing with their religious practices. However, they admit that their routine was less strict now.
The over-convenient lifestyle which the environment of this workshop creates was the reason behind it. The building was designed to maintain the optimal temperature at all times. All the furniture at the workshop were high-quality. The chairs were designed so you could naturally sit in afortable position. So, even if they were to work for long hours, they did not get tired. On top of that, they were able to take a bath every day and the food which they prepared were always delicious. Even the royals of this nation would struggle to take a bath every single day. In another word, the sisters were having a lifestyle which was more luxurious than the royals.
That is problematic enough, but the workshop also had a massage chair and a washlet. The most surprising part for the sisters was that for the Japanese people, although not every household had them, none of these items wasn¡¯t a rarity. And the sisters could tell that the party members could not understand why the sisters were so surprised. And that again made them realise the difference in the lifestyle which they were raised in.
¡¸The saying ¡®the devil¡¯s whisper will overtake any good intentions¡¯ seems to be true¡ ¡¹
¡¸Onee-chan, people at this workshop are doing this from a ce of good intention¡¡¹
¡¸That is why the nature of this situation feels even worse¡¡¹
Prim checked her hair and skin in the mirror as she said that. Along with the bath, ever since they started to using shampoos and soaps, the condition of her hair and skin has gotten better. Their new diet could also have an impact. But considering how fast the effects were, their new routine was most likely the cause. So, even though they weren¡¯t using any cosmetic items, from Prim¡¯s perspective, Judith was much better looking than before. As they have been living in the same condition, Prim thought that the same effect must have applied to her as well.
Even before the sisters moved into the workshop, they were considered good looking. So, when the sisters started using high-quality soaps and shampoos, they would be looking like a goddess. Even though it¡¯s not their fault, if they go back to their original lifestyle, they were guaranteed to be told that they have be very in. That was the level of change which they have gone through in this short period.
¡¸We moved in to return our favour but I feel like we¡¯re still been treated by them¡¡¹
¡¸Onee-chan maybe this is our punishment for pushing our request to them¡¡¹
As they were not able to enjoy the lifestyle which everyone dreams of, Judith made a regretfulment and Prim added to her sister¡¯sment.
¡¸Judith, tomorrow, let¡¯s wake up earlier than anyone in this workshop and do all the work we can in the morning!¡¹
¡¸Yes, onee-chan! Let¡¯s do our best!¡¹
They thought that making regretfulments weren¡¯t doing them any favour. So, the Norton sisters set their mind to improve their position. However, their extremelyfortable bed was not letting the sisters wake up until their usual time.
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 1.2
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 1.2
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
2. People of the continent awakens.
Deep under the torrid desert, in the furthest section of the mines, outsiders have stepped in after 3000 years ofplete istion. In the strictly secluded area, which the visitors have stepped their foot in, a group of fewer than 100 people have awakened.
¡¸¡. finally, the time hase¡.¡¹
A figure who resembles a badger molemented as he looked at others who were slowly waking up. He was one of the first to wake up and was responsible for the group of people gathered here. Although the group mostly consisted of mole people, among them were humans, elves and even dwarves. The only specie in this group which seemed incapable of living on the surface was the mole people. The rest were mostly species which could survive up on the surface.
¡¸How much time has passed?¡¹
¡¸It seems that 3000 years have passed since we have fallen into slumber.¡¹
¡¸3000 years¡¡¹
As they questioned others who were waking up, they tried to take in the fact that 3000 years have passed.
¡¸So after all, nobody came back¡¡¹
The sleeping system which they made was designed to wake them up once an outsider has stepped into the mines. The outsider also included their people who have gone off to look for the fallen God and his priestesses. So, the fact that they have been asleep for 3000 years prove that nobody hase back from the search.
¡¸I wonder if our friends who made it to the surface managed to find a ce to live there?¡¹
¡¸Now that so many years have passed, we can only pray that they have managed to do so.¡¹
Their people made the difficult decision of leaving their home for arge-scale task of investigating the God of the underworld. Not a single one of theming back meant that not a single one of them were able to find the God of the underworld. So, the most they could do was to wish that wherever their friends have ended up in search of the God of the underworld, they found a way to live happily at their destination.
The only reason why they managed to survive for 3000 years was because they used cold sleep. So, before they changed the topic, they took a moment to pray for their friends and family whom they will never get to see again.
¡¸So, who were the visitors from the outside?¡¹
¡¸7 human types, 2 males and 5 females. They are currently wandering around the first level of the mine.¡¹
¡¸I see, then let¡¯s observe their behaviour through the monitor.¡¹
¡¸The monitors are all good to go. If it seems that they can make it through the secondyer, we would need to prepare some kind of reward.¡¹
The moles fell silent after hearing the word ¡°reward¡±. Since they are forcing these people to go through booby trap-based attraction, it would be wrong for them to not prepare any award for these visitors. The problem is, they didn¡¯t have anything which they could gift to the visitors as an award.
¡¸¡ Gems, we don¡¯t have enough stocks.¡¹
¡¸We have enough stocks for smoked sand oyster and coffee. Would that be enough?¡¹
¡¸This time around, we have no other option.¡¹
Pyroxene, gems and other minerals which would be very valuable up on surface were mostly used up when they built this underground system. So, it was difficult for them to prepare a decent reward and their food stocks weren¡¯t the best either. However, there was a sustainable amount of fresh food as it has been stored in a shed with prevent rot enchanted on it. For sand oysters and coffee, the farm has been operating properly for the past 3000 years and it was in good condition. So, their hospitality would not send them to poverty.
¡¸Now, we just have to observe how well these visitors go through the obstacles.¡¹
¡¸I hope the visitors are good people.¡¹
As they chatted on like that, the people of the continent continued to observe the visitors who were making their way to the teleportation point.
==
Their start was very in.
¡¸These people are not falling for any of our traps.¡¹
¡¸From what they are saying, it seems that they have some level of knowledge about the origin of this mine.¡¹
¡¸Perhaps they are the visitors from the unknown continent.¡¹
They started mentioning different possibilities as they observed the visitors who have not shown any actions that stand out.
For context, the reason why the people of the continent could understand what the visitors were saying was simple. A trantion enchantment was ced on every mic which is set up around the mine. As they had no idea how long it will take until someone steps into the mines, they wanted an easy way tomunicate with the visitors. This mine was a highly nned out system which was designed to ovee any potential issues they might face once waking up.
However, the real reason why they invented a trantion enchantment was to understand the debris which got teleported over to this universe from the unknown continent.
¡¸¡ it seems that they are going to split.¡¹
¡¸I wonder if they will show a little more reaction from here on?¡¹
¡¸We will find out.¡¹
Their hope was not wasted. The first reaction was seen by the group which split off to investigate the library.
¡ºOuch!¡»
The clumsy-looking male tried to push in the book which clearly didn¡¯t fit into space. This made a book on a different shelf fly out and hit a good-looking male in the face. It was a system where if you push in a book in one space, it pushes out a book on a different shelf. However, as it was a trap which was easy to determine the trigger, a woman with tanned skin warned everyone and that was the end of that trap.
¡¸Well, it is difficult to put them through a challenge with a trap like that.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s why that handsome guy¡¯s reaction was good.¡¹
While they were rating the visitors¡¯ reactions, the other group whose investigation was going smoothly fell for a trap which people of the continent were looking forward for.
¡¸That timing, it¡¯s beautiful!¡¹
¡¸Taking the hit three times in a row even knowing when to avoid it, it¡¯s perfect!¡¹
Instead of the female who identally pulled the rope, the people of the continent were most pleased with the attack that the smallest female among the group got. The humiliated expression on the girl¡¯s face was pleasing to the people of the continent.
After that, the group responded to the props which they have prepared next, they continue to be entertained by the visitors¡¯ struggle.
¡¸That small one, she has cracked down all the traps which we have set up.¡¹
¡¸Interesting, is she part of the group?¡¹
¡¸That girl withrge breast, she has a neat face but she seems to be really into same-sex novels. ¡¹
¡¸That, my friend, is called a closet pervert.¡¹
As the visitors try to get over the obstacles with all their strength, the people of the continent continued to watch the screen as if they were watching a game show on TV.
¡¸It looks like they are finally getting to the next level. ¡¹
¡¸It seems so. They did not fall for the dismantling trap and the explosion trap. ¡¹
¡¸Are those two traps safe?¡¹
¡¸It looks bad on the surface but it won¡¯t harm the person who gets caught by the trap. Its what people call cold firework. The explosion trap would only fry up the person¡¯s hair and cover their face with soot.¡¹
¡¸If that is the case, it should fine. It seems that those visitors are having lunch so we should probably grab something to eat as well.¡¹
As the visitors decided to have lunch before heading off to the basement, the people of the continent also decided to have their first meal after waking up from a very long slumber.
==
¡¸This has been a great reference.¡¹
¡¸So the adventurers respond to those traps like that.¡¹
People of the continent gave their opinions as the visitors started to set up a camp. Unfortunately, the visitors did not fall for all of their traps like they did in the movies. The adventurers have done many things to neutralize the traps. However, people of the continent found their visitors¡¯ struggles as an entertaining form of documentary. So, they ended up watching their visitor¡¯s challenges to the end.
¡¸I was thinking, for a group of humans that group seems a littleplex.¡¹
¡¸That hopeless looking guy is strangely popr.¡¹
¡¸It is interesting how he¡¯s popr yet he seems to be afraid of females.¡¹
¡¸However, if there was only one love interest, even if they were to get together, people would be fine with it.¡¹
As they chatted on, one of the mole people brought up a trap based off Rolling Stone. It was a scene where they were all pushed into the evacuation area. The screen showed the girl with fair skin,rge breast and blonde hair joyfully cling onto the hopeless looking guy. The same could be seen with a woman with blonder hair and tanned skin. Looking at this scene, if someone was to say he has no chance with a woman or to say get together already, either of thosements can be epted at this point.
¡¸Anyway, I¡¯m surprised that there were sand oysters in that area.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m guessing they escaped from the nt but they are surprisingly hard to kill.¡¹
The hopeless looking guy swiftly caught the sand oysters and cooked grilled oyster and fried oyster. The people of the continent discussed as they were surprised to see the sand oysters there. The area was quite a distance away from the enclosure. They have no idea how the sand oysters managed to make it to a ce like that.
¡¸Either way, we should probably get some sleep as well.¡¹
¡¸Tomorrow is the real deal, they should get to the O castle. We can¡¯t miss that.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right.¡¹
Although they have just woken up from cold sleep, the people of the continent have decided to follow their sleeping schedule. Even though they are in an environment where they can¡¯t tell day or night, it seems that they have been following a healthy routine.
However, as they have only woken up from a 3000-year long sleep, and they were too excited for the trap which they have set up ahead, none of them was able to get a good night sleep.
==
¡¸Come on, increasing their own mass? That¡¯s not fair.¡¹
¡¸Now the Strong Steel Golem can¡¯t lift them up.¡¹
¡¸How about we give it enough strength so it can lift them up?¡¹
¡¸If we give it too much power, we might injure the visitors.¡¹
The people of the continent were now losing. The problem was that magics and skills did not exist in the movies which they based the traps off of. With magics and skills, the adventurers could do things which would be impossible for ordinary people. So, they were more likely to fight against the traps which the people of the continent has set up.
However, magics did not affect them too much as it was possible to neutralise spells. The only exception was with self-amplifying skills, any skills that boost physical abilities and any other aiding magic; those could not be cancelled. So, those particr skills and magics were a problem for the people of the continent.
¡¸Maintaining bnce is really difficult¡¡¹
¡¸If we make the traps too difficult than it¡¯s not fun for the people participating in the obstacles. But if we make it too easy, it¡¯s not fun for us. We want the traps to make the visitors struggle and show their clumsy side while making sure they get a sense of satisfaction to counteract the feeling of shame. We need to find a way to maintain that bnce.¡¹
As they discussed about bnce, the screen showed the final attraction, the bridge. People of the continent decided to leave out any traps which werepletely up to the participants¡¯ luck. So, the trap in the movie where an individual had to crawl through the hole was not included in this mine. As there was no way for the participants to know which hole would lead to the end, people of the continent thought it would be unfair. They didn¡¯t want the ending to these obstacles to depend on the individual¡¯s luck when the participants have gotten through all the previous traps with their own ability. That kind of ending wouldn¡¯t be fair for both the participants and the people of the continent, so they decided to leave that trap out.
¡¸¡ It¡¯s that hopeless looking guy again ¡.¡¹
¡¸¡ A heavy warrior type like him won¡¯t be swayed by peashooter like that¡¡¹
The screen showed thest remaining challenger. The hopeless looking guy caught the gold ball safely and without being bothered by the attack from the ck ball, he managed to slowly cross over the bridge.
¡¸Hmm, this is kind of annoying.¡¹
¡¸But this is about if the person is made for the challenge or not. There were some challenges which he lost and struggled so let¡¯s call it even.¡¹
¡¸If we were to set up traps that bnce out each individuals strength and weaknesses, we¡¯ll end up with a system that nobody canplete.¡¹
¡¸I know but it¡¯s still annoying.¡¹
¡¸Should we make a different trap system for the professionals?¡¹
The challenge ended and the result was obvious. But seeing the problem with the obstacles, the people of the continent chatted away about different ideas on traps. But then somebody mentioned one thing which made everyone freeze on the spot.
¡¸Shouldn¡¯t we organise the prize before we discuss the problem with the obstacles?¡¹
While the people of the continent continued their discussion, the screen showed the adventurers who were celebrating their victory with their hands covered in sweat. To such sight, the youngest ground elf girl asked such a question.
¡¸Indeed, I doubt coffees and sand oysters would show our appreciation for going through the obstacles.¡¹
¡¸Even though it was long, it seems that those adventurers are about to finish their break. It seems that now is not the time for us to be discussing the ws in the obstacle course.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. For this round, we didn¡¯t have a lot of time to prepare anything else so we have no other option but to serve what we can. The least we can do is to celebrate the end properly.¡¹
Taking in his subordinate¡¯s words, the elder mole person put on their army uniform and headed towards the final attraction. If the visitors seemed hostile, then there was no need for him to greet them. However, the people who have stepped into the mines this time, although they were very curious, they seemed friendly overall. So, the people of the continent must return the entertainment which they have received through proper hospitality.
¡¸I wonder what they¡¯re like in person?¡¹
¡¸Well, looking at how they acted throughout the whole thing, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to suddenly jump up and start attacking us.¡¹
Looking at the elder walkout, the people of the continent restlessly looked over to the screen; waiting for the opportunity to talk to these adventurers in person. Although it was very one-sided, the people of the continent became found of these adventurers while observing their actions through the screen. At this time, none of them knew that this encounter will greatly influence their life.
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 2.1
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 2.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
£±£®Wulls and Ortem Vige
Lately they had begun checking the soy sauce and miso storages in Ortem.
¡¸What kind of thing is it eh?¡¹
¡¸Three artificial growth storages for miso, and two for soy sauce. That¡¯s how much we can sell, eh.¡¹
¡¸Den it¡¯s time to go to market.¡¹
The forest giants listened to the guard elf¡¯s answer as they carried the barrels for sale. The sight of the two giants carrying off the two meter high barrels was quite grand.
This wasn¡¯t usually the best time to sell soy sauce or miso, but these storage containers (made by Hiroshi) sped up fermentation. The elves were still learning how to manage the process, so the quality was never all that good, but they always put enchantments on it to ensure it never went bad. They could only manage the process in three days¡¯ time in order to even meet the bare requirements of the Japanese. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like the enchantments were helping the quality to increase any more.
¡¸S¡¯the pure brew still not done, eh?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯ll be three more months, guy.¡¹
Foeldan and the storage guard did as they were taught without speeding up the fermentation process. The pure-brewed miso wasn¡¯t made only with soy beans, but with wheat and rice as well.
¡¸If we can do dat, den it¡¯ll sell for higher.¡¹
¡¸Okay but I ain¡¯t part of you an yer greedy n. I¡¯m happy nuff just by havin¡¯ me some soy sauce ¡®n miso.¡¹
¡¸Uh-yup, you right. How¡¯s dat dere ponzuin¡¯ along?¡¹
¡¸We need a lil bit more time for da rest dood. We don¡¯ even have all that many ingredients.¡¹
¡¸Mkay. Well, for the time bein¡¯ we just need enough to put in the pot.¡¹
The guard nodded in agreement with Foeldan and shut the storage door. The forest giants only did manualbor like stocking up, while the storage watch was left to the guards.
¡¸Den I¡¯mma go an get some more.¡¹
¡¸Thank ye much.¡¹
The forest giants said their parting farewells and teleported one by one to the factory in Wulls, barrels on their shoulders. Ortem Vige¡¯s influence on Wulls¡¯ food culture was not to be underestimated. And so yet another nonchnt day began in the merchant business.
¡¸Is Trata here?¡¹
Wulls Harbor, shortly before sunrise. The forest giants got on the first ferry across the waterway and made it to the fishing harbor, from which they called for the manager fisherman.
¡¸Oho, Foeldan. Perfect timing.¡¹
¡¸Ye got enough miso and soy sauce?¡¹
¡¸Nope, not at all. Also, if youe back here tomorrow, bring some rice if you can.¡¹
¡¸Okay dood. Is three bags enough, dood?¡¹
¡¸A little bit more, I¡¯d say. Also, for miso and soy sauce, leave one barrel each.¡¹
Foeldan nodded and kept a straight face despite the manager¡¯s rather manly tone. Lately in Wulls Harborm, fishermen had began to eat rice and miso. Hiroshi had taught them the way to make dashi from kelp and how to make miso broth. They truly began eating all of these things when Hiroshi had introduced Foeldan¡¯s group and they had learned how to cook rice and make set meals with fish.
The kelp over here was known as ¡°Hydra Kelp¡± with a strong life force and growth. Once it got to a certain size, it would split apart into a million pieces and float along the surface, snagging the rudders of ships and fishing tools. This caused the seaweed to be quite detested among fishermen.
The kelp reproduced a lot, yet it couldn¡¯t garner a single cent. But when Hiroshi¡¯s team spread cuisine containing kelp dashi, the demand had increased sharply, prompting people to gather more kelp, which reduced idents and enriched the table.
With these hydra kelp, you could umte the hard-to-use ones in the boat and process it in order to have it alongside miso, soy sauce, salt, and rice, in addition to freshly caught fish for a tasty breakfast. And for the people who came in the morning to stock up, they brought out breakfast specials with botched fish that couldn¡¯tpete but which used miso, soy sauce, and rice. Now, they didn¡¯t just go through one barrel per day, but it definitely consumed a lot. Lately, new customers had surged in when they heard rumors of the specials. No amount of miso, soy sauce, or rice could be enough for this.
¡¸Alright, here¡¯s the payment. So what are you doing today?¡¹
¡¸As per usual, 100 kilograms of kelp. Also, what kinds of fish are here today dood?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d rmend a garyo bika. That¡¯s the seasonal fish. Tastes great boiled in soy sauce. We hauled in a lot today, so there¡¯s enough to give to everyone in your vige.¡¹
¡¸Den how ¡®bout three thousand servings ¡®n five hundred small fish that can be used for dashi. I¡¯d ¡®preciate it if ye carried ¡®em to Azuma Workshop.¡¹
¡¸Got it. Today¡¯s market price is five tirols per person, so that¡¯ll be 150 chrone. And I can give you a discount of a discount for small fish and kelp at 50 chrone.¡¹
Not especially surprised at Foeldan¡¯s hearty purchase estimation, Trata simply conveyed his understanding. The value of miso was set to decrease, and the growth promoted miso was lesser in quality so that was set to decrease even more. Even with all the discounts, the overall profit of the fishing harbor was greater. Fishermen had never been all that crazy about the prices, so even with the reduced quality, as long as the Japanese were content with that level of miso then there was no room toin.
No one at the harbor could exactly afford the highest quality Azuma Workshop miso and soy sauce barrels anyway. Even the reasonably priced barrels that Foeldan¡¯s team brought in this morning would them a gigantic surplus. Still, by profiting bit by bit with the morning specials and whatnot, the fishermen could gain a decent amount. In fact, thanks to the morning specials, some of the unseble fish could actually sell at a better price than normal, so it was more than just an appealing offer to the fishermen.
To add one more thing, Foeldan asking for only three thousand fish was both because not everyone in Ortem ate fish, as well as because several people tended to eat one fish. This held especially true for the fairies, who ate one fish in groups of four or six, so with fifty fish, an entire vige could be fed.
When youbined the surrounding goblins and forest giants, Ortem Vige¡¯s poption was barely short of ten thousand. With such a gigantic vige of course came a variety of different tastes.
¡¸So, you wanna eat breakfast here today?¡¹
The forest giants nodded at Trata¡¯s invitation, filling themselves with the breakfast special before heading back out.
¡¸Do ye want some miso or soy sauce?¡¹
Receiving the permit from the business guild, the forest giants went around the backside of a restaurant in the eastern district, calling out to passerby.
¡¸Miso, about the same weight as this stone.¡¹
¡¸One cup of soy sauce in this bottle please.¡¹
As they called out to people, orders came in droves. This fishing harbor method of using miso and soy sauce truly began to spread around the time of the slum region¡¯s soil amelioration project. The pork miso they made for everyone during the winter procedure had ended up spreading the word around to the public about how good miso was. The main way through which soy sauce spread around was due to the buckwheat dumplings they made on certain days.
¡¸Thanks so much foring here to sell.¡¹
¡¸Cause the Wulls-made soy sauce or miso is usually either too high-quality or not good enough.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re grateful to ye peeps too. Ortem Vige is in the middle of the forest and don¡¯t have that much variety in foods.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup. ¡°N we ain¡¯t never had any dashi other than the chicken bone kind. Not havin¡¯ a sea around has definitely been taxing, dood.¡¹
As they chatted with the restaurant owners, the forest giants promptly measured out the amounts and sold them, taking the money in return. At the current moment, their peddling from both sides was a win-win rtionship.
No one had hidden the recipe for miso or soy sauce. In fact, at the outset they had given guidance here and there, so the miso and soy sauce would probably be cheaper eventually, but as of right now, the supply had yet to catch up to the demand. All of Azuma Workshop¡¯s good quality miso and soy sauce had already been swept away to the pce and to high ss restaurants, so they were extremely grateful for the cheap miso and soy sauce with the minimum amount of quality. There was definitely a huge difference between being able or unable to use the new, groundbreaking seasoning.
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 2.2
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 2.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸How¡¯s business, dood?¡¹
¡¸At the moment, the seasoning you sell us is part of the new menu, which has rave reviews. Everything is going quite well.¡¹
¡¸The only problem might be that the effects of the seasoning won¡¯tst for long.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we dunno.¡¹
¡¸We can bring over Ortem vegetables and the like, but we gotta be careful, else the farmers near Wulls¡¯re gonna hate us, dood.¡¹
TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29
The forest giants casually said something rather severe. The agricultural products from Ortem Vigepeted at a fairly high rate with the farms around Wulls. Currently, the items most anticipated to be at a set demand were rice and a fraction of monster ingredients, but try bringing in anything else on a wide scale and the tolerance for their business might very well end.
In actuality, even if Foeldan¡¯s group sold out their crops on a wide scale near Wulls, the farms and businesses in that area would hardly be overwhelmed in any way. It was just that they were wary of any conspicuous groups like theirs making their way in and selling things.
Even if there was plenty to go around, even if there was demand for it, you couldn¡¯t just sell to people who wanted it. That was the difficult aspect to business.
¡¸And I get it, I really do, but y¡¯know¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s because things are going so well that I worry, yeah.¡¹
¡¸But I really don¡¯t think it¡¯s an issue if you sell crops that aren¡¯t really in cirction¡¡¡¹
The restaurant owners were also desperate to survive. Once new condiments became taken for granted, there was a need to search for some sort of solution.
¡¸The only thing I think ain¡¯t in cirction right now isrs wheat ¡®n that¡¯s ¡®bout it.¡¹
¡¸Lars wheat?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re usin¡¯ the name ¡°rice¡± to refer to thers wheat they put in their specials.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Oh, so you do have something!¡¹
Once the restaurant owners realized what they meant they looked at Foeldan¡¯s group with expectant eyes. Foeldan gave them a wry smile as he calcted the amount in his head. The amount needed for the harbor plus the samples to distribute in this area and the people needed to cook the food.
¡¸¡¡We¡¯ll go back ¡®n talk a bit. You¡¯d all be troubled if we brought in crops ye don¡¯t even know how to cook, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, true.¡¹
¡¸Wait a bit, but don¡¯t expect nothin¡¯.¡¹
Foeldan said as he went off, carrying a half barrel of miso on his shoulders. The soy sauce was already sold out.
And so on this day Foeldan and his group went to the eastern markets for theirst business.
¡¸Oh, you came to sell today too?¡¹
¡¸Yup, but the soy sauce sold out.¡¹
Foeldan said as he repsonded to the merchant whose house frontage he always borrowed, entering to sell the remaining one-third of the miso. But by this time, their objective had all but beenpleted, so he simply sold the rest and left it at that.
Foeldan¡¯s group hade here selling miso and soy sauce because they wanted marine products, especially kelp and fish for dried sardines. There was no need to be greedy. Normally all they needed to do was trade with the fishermen, but there was only one reason as to why they had traveled all the way here to sell items: because Hiroshi¡¯s group had asked them to.
Now that their miso and soy sauce had been distributed to the high ss shops in the center marketce, Azuma Workshop wanted to try and deliver miso from Ortem Vige to the marketces and restaurants in the north, south, east, and west. But unfortunately, Ortem Vige hadn¡¯t been able to produce that much, only able to subtract the amount the vige used and sell so many barrels per day. So they were spreading out the market to the east district, the area of which Hiroshi¡¯s group was all too familiar with.
¡¸Old man, get me some miso please¡«¡¹
¡¸How much ye want?¡¹
¡¸Whatever I can buy with this money.¡¹
¡¸Aight.¡¹
A boy about Lime¡¯s age took out a container and handed him two copper tirols. The giant epted it and put a little more volume in the serving than usual for him.
¡¸Here ye go, take care and get home safely.¡¹
¡¸Thanks old man¡«!¡¹
The forest giant watched the girl (who was a regr for miso) and then the other customers filed in one by one. It hadn¡¯t been that long since he had set up business here, but he had already be a familiar face in this area as he sold miso and soy sauce.
¡¸Thirty tirols¡¯ worth please.¡¹
¡¸How much do I have with this container after levelling it out?¡¹
¡¸Only miso today? What about soy sauce?¡¹
As customer after customer threw orders or questions at him, Foeldan piled up the rest of the miso from the barrel and announced the end.
¡¸We¡¯re all out for today, eh.¡¹
¡¸Sorry doods.¡¹
¡¸Oh my.¡¹
¡¸How unfortunate. You¡¯ll be here tomorrow too, right?¡¹
¡¸We intend to, dood.¡¹
¡¸Then I would be really happy if you could just reserve a bit for me tomorrow.¡¹
The customersmented disappointingly and left. Foeldan simply didn¡¯t have much to sell this time, so no one got angry or confronted him.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s go do some shoppin¡¯ ourselves eh? But first, the usual.¡¹
¡¸Here you are. Thanks for your continued patronage.¡¹
Foeldan bought some roasted nuts and almonds in ce of a venue fee, chewing on them as he finished cleaning up. Then he hoisted the empty barrel on his back and walked off nonchntly. And so the day¡¯s business in Wulls had ended.
¡¸That¡¯s what we got for today, dood.¡¹
¡¸How d¡¯ye eat this here fish?¡¹
¡¸Ye can grill it with salt ¡®n soy sauce, or ye can stew it and it tastes good.¡¹
¡¸Think we could cut this boar meat into light pieces ¡®n dunk it in da miso?¡¹
¡¸That sounds good too, dood.¡¹
Early afternoon, Ortem Vige. The representatives of each district were excitedly appraising the food products that Foeldan and his crews had bought. Of course, having everyone gather in one ce would cause the situation to go out of control, so first they decided who from which district would be allocated certain amounts.
¡¸We need ¡®bout five hundred fish.¡¹
¡¸We need three hundred fish ¡®n three blocks o¡¯that meat o¡¯er there.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re gonna research dat fruit o¡¯er there a bit. Hundred pieces for purposes unrted to eatin¡¯, please.¡¹
After equally splitting the kelp and small fish for the dashi, more and more people began asking for things. Foeldan followed their orders and and loaded item after item into trucks that carried supplies to each area.
¡¸Oh yeah, Foeldan. Can I have a moment?¡¹
¡¸Whatcha want?¡¹
¡¸Ye ever seen this before?¡¹
The elf that stopped Foeldan brought out mochi wrapped in a green paste.
¡¸¡¡Walnut mochi? I never had mochi so I ain¡¯t never seen it. I ain¡¯t never seen that paste either dood.¡¹
¡¸Ye think I¡¯d get my money¡¯s worth for this?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll ask around tomorrow, eh.¡¹
¡¸Aight. I¡¯ll make five ¡®undred portions.¡¹
Ortem¡¯s unique walnut mochi began to show quite a bit of promise, bringing a new dish into Wulls. Even though other ces attempted the same thingter on, due to an issue in quality of walnut or rice they were never quite as famous as the Ortem brand, which set in as the best kind.
And so in this way, Ortem Vige continued to contribute to Wulls¡¯ food culture without even realizing the inevitable oue.
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 2.3
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 2.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
£²£®One Day In Wulls Castle
Wulls had been quite peacefultely.
¡¸Elena-chan, morning¡«¡¹
¡¸Yeah, morning¡¹
The octogals came to Elena first thing in the morning at breakfast. Her movement had be sluggish as an after-effect of the emilrad, so the octogals were the perfect partner to spend the time with because they didn¡¯t mind those things.
¡¸Elena-chan, you alright¡«?¡¹
¡¸I guess I¡¯m alright.¡¹
¡¸Are you eating properly¡«?¡¹
¡¸From now on, as you can see.¡¹
Elena said, looking at the maid. In front of her was a cart with breakfast on it. This was breakfast customized for Elena specifically, since she couldn¡¯t eat all that much in the morning. As for what it consisted of¡
¡¸I smell tea¡«¡¹
¡¸I smell rice¡«¡¹
¡¸Porridge¡«?¡¡Porridge¡«?¡¹
¡¸Looks like today¡¯s tea gruel.¡¹
Tea gruel, eaten regrly in Western Japan, Wakayama, Nara, as well as South Osaka and parts of Kyoto. Porridge made from roasted and stewed green tea was truly refreshing. You could eat it cold and have it still taste good, plus it was good for the stomach. Truly a meal worthy of rmendation to someone who¡¯s under the weather.
The only problem would probably be that rice was hardly in cirction, even thought you could technically get some of it from Ortem. Currently, the only people who could eat it were those at the harbor with connections to Azuma Workshop or the royal house. It wasn¡¯t a matter of finances, but a matter of opportunity.
¡¸Will you all be eating too?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t need any toda¡«y¡¹
¡¸Full energy¡«¡¹
¡¸If there¡¯s any left we¡¯ll taste test¡«¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
From previous experience, you would assume the octogals to be gluttons, but their physiology made it so that they didn¡¯t want to eat much at full energy. Maybe because they sampled new recipes from the head chef yesterday, the octogals didn¡¯t really want to eat much today. And Elena knew that they in fact enjoyed porridge because they had eaten it several times with her before. Actually, the octogals generally didn¡¯tment on the taste of anything unless it was truly bad.
¡¸How about a drink?¡¹
¡¸Tea ple¡«ase¡¹
¡¸Roast green tea love¡«¡¹
¡¸You heard them.¡¹
The maid obeyed and poured roast green tea for the octogals. She had a bitter smile on her face; probably out of slight amusement.
¡¸Delicious.¡¹
Finishing thest spoonful of light porridge from thecquered bowl, Elena gave a contented sigh and expressed her gratitude for the meal. This morning was, as expected, still difficult to really eat anything for breakfast. She had eaten porridge that filled up 60% of a regr-sized bowl and a little bit of scrambled egg, and two cuts of pickled vegetables; not an especiallyrge meal.
And because Hiroshi and his friends had taught them a lot about pickled foods, today¡¯s was rice bran pickle.
¡¸Already done?¡¡Already done?¡¹
¡¸Is it hard?¡¡Is it hard?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve just never been too keen in the mornings.¡¹
¡¸Will you eatter?¡¡Will you eatter?¡¹
¡¸I can eat fairly well at lunch, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹
Elena reassured the octogals with a light pat on the head and a smile. This was something that happened every morning. Also, the remaining porridge and side dish would go to waste at this rate, so Elena had ordered a manualborer to eat the remainder whenever that happened (of course they enjoyed it). There was generally never any habit of discarding food in this castle.
¡¸So what are you doing today?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll y with Mark-O in a bit¡«¡¹
¡¸Okay, but don¡¯t distract him too much from work, alright?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s fine¡«¡¢We know when to behave¡«¡¹
The octogals said before pouring their own tea and drinking it. They didn¡¯t sound very trustworthy, but the octogals always behaved in the proper situations, so they truly did know when to behave.
¡¸Time to go¡«¡¹
¡¸y nice now¡¹
After chatting a bit over tea, the octogals proimed their departure and leapt off from Elena¡¯s head andp. After watching them disappear from sight, she stretched lightly and went off for a walk as part of her rehab. Although she did hear Mark scream about halfway through.
¡¸¡¡Life is peaceful.¡¹
This was a usual urrence and the octogals never did anything all that bad, so Elena just left it at that.
Just before noon that day, in the king¡¯s office.
¡¸This is all I have for the petition. How about you, Layotte?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s it for me too. I haven¡¯t heard any informationtely from the open or hidden side of the world that warrants any action on our part. It is truly peaceful.¡¹
¡¸Although it truly pains me to think that things became this way as soon as Katarina-sama left¡¡¡¹
Fane was just too peaceful nowadays. Any administrator should be grateful for these things, but to drag an outsider into this mess and have them clean it up rather than the actual person responsible was, in many ways, painful.
¡¸Speaking of headaches, we also must think about your and Elena¡¯s weddings.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, just thinking of the family Older Sister marries into hurts my head.¡¹
¡¸With all the inward unrest, any decent options were all taken¡¡¡¹
Elena was already twenty, an age that most would say was at thest line before being toote. Aearis¡¯ position was shaky, plus Katarina had wrecked a lot of things, so as a result Elena¡¯s marriage period hadpletely eluded her. Age-wise and status-wise, any good partner for her was pretty much taken.
¡¸Elena-chan¡¯ste¡«?¡¹
¡¸And it¡¯s the fact I can¡¯t deny the possibility that truly grieves me¡¡¡¹
¡¸Lay¡¯s gonna be single for life¡«?¡¹
¡¸I couldn¡¯t care less, but my position doesn¡¯t allow that.¡¹
The king and Layotter ignored the octogals as they suddenly appeared and spoke. They had to list any potential suitors for Elena that looked ok.
¡¸And marrying her off outside the country is out of the question.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Even if Older Sister is a bitte in age and is carrying the aftereffects of a poison that nearly killed her, we cannot just let the potential queen heir of our country be the concubine of some forty, fifty year old man. Plus everyone in the other royal houses that might ept Older Sister is rather dodgy with the way they treat women.¡¹
¡¸And the same goes for the crown princess. The eldest among the unmarried crown princes are is seven years old. Even with all of our leniency, I really do not think anything below thirteen years of age is a good idea.¡¹
¡¸Even for Older Sister Magdarena, we had to adjust some things to meet the expectations of the other party. And that prince so happened to be thirteen and able to handle the marriage with no issues. This situation was quite different from Older Sister Elena¡¯s.¡¹
Layotte analyzed the current situation, clearly troubled. By this point, Elena had no room to try and get a ce in the royal families outside the country.
¡¸But I also wish to avoid marrying her off to the nobility of other countries. If we go about it the wrong way, it might destroy that country¡¯s power bnce.¡¹
Even Princess Maria, who had married into the coteral line of the younger brother duke, had unintentionally shifted the power bnce in Malkt to an unbelievable degree. So if the crown prince¡¯s sister and direct heir to the blood line of Fane, Elena, were to ever marry an earl or marquis from another country, who even knew what would happen with their internal affairs.
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 2.4
Volume 3 Behind the Scenes 2.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Marriage of convenience¡«¡¹
¡¸Fake couple¡«¡¹
¡¸Separate rooms¡«¡¹
¡¸Insurance murder¡«¡¹
¡¸Dispose of body¡«¡¹
¡¸Not really sure what you mean by insurance, but remember this is a serious topic. Do not say such things so lightly.¡¹
The king sharply rebuked the octogals and their dangerous game of association before dering all out-of-country options as negative. He didn¡¯t even have to ask Aearis to know that all of these people brought nothing good.
¡¸What about Julius-chan¡«?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯d look good¡«¡¢look good together¡«¡¹
¡¸Handsome couple¡«¡¹
¡¸Julius, eh¡¡¡¹
¡¸That is an option, but¡¡¡¹
Julius, Layotte¡¯s right-hand man in the military. He had enough power to defeat a wyvern by himself and was firmly dedicated to the kingdom of Fane to the core. In addition to his age, his personality was already more suitable than anyone else, but¡
¡¸The status of the Felnock house is¡¡¹
¡¸Low? Is it low?¡¹
¡¸Not quite low. But in order to marry Older Sister, a bit low.¡¹
¡¸He can¡¯t rise up?¡¡Rise up?¡¹
¡¸¡¡If he had another achievement, he would make it right to that position¡¡¡¹
Ordinarily, they would have raised the Felnock house from earl to marquis status for helping out after Katarina¡¯s rebellion. But Julius¡¯s father, the current head of the Felnock house, refused the award, firmly believing it to be the equivalent of a looter taking advantage of a crisis. After a bit of a scuffle, the royal family managed to force somend on them temporarily, ending the discussion.
¡¸We could always just have Julius¡¯s younger brother take over the Felnock house and make Julius the first generation earl¡¡¡¹
¡¸Auros? Not bad, but he is a bit averagepared to his brother. Regardless of what he thinks about Julius, I do not think that his father would agree that the younger brother is more suitable. Because that would mean his brilliant older son getting taken away from him.¡¹
There apparently wasn¡¯t any clean way to resolve this. They couldn¡¯t just ignore the traditions or customs of an old country.
¡¸Elen-chan, hard time?¡¹
¡¸It is quite the difficult situation. Well, at worst, we may have to use our authority to persuade Count Felnock.¡¹
The king decided that if they couldn¡¯t find a more suitable partner, then even he would resort to the iron fist. Sure, you might argue he could have done that from the beginning, but after already resorting to the iron fist in order to resolve Katarina¡¯s rebellion, he didn¡¯t want to risk anything over this.
In actuality, the only issue here was power bnce, so without a political say in this, there was no real problem with letting Elena free to be with amoner. There really wouldn¡¯t be, but it was difficult to prove that such a person was alright, and the Fane royalty had hardly ever had any connections with suitablemoner men. Also, the amount of time and effort spent to persuade the nobles of such marriages were even more strenuous than with royalty and nobles outside the kingdom, so there were really no options at this point.
Some exceptions like Tatsuya or Hiroshi were technically there, but it would be rather ungrateful of them to force Elena on Tatsuya, who already had a wife, or Hiroshi, who had gynophobia. Plus Aearis was doing her best every day to make Hiroshi notice her. So neither of these choices would work either.
¡¸What about Lay¡¯s bride¡«?¡¹
The octogals seemed to recognize that Elena¡¯s suitor had been decided, turning to look at Layotte. He snorted and told them exactly what he thought.
¡¸I do not care who is my bride, as long as they know their ce and say nothing regarding my politics. Ideally, I would love to have women like Haruna or Makoto. It is pointless to seek very much from the daughters of royalty or nobility. As long as they do not interfere in politics, I would not even care if they were to go off and find another man and get pregnant.¡¹
¡¸Layotte, that is a bit too upfront to say.¡¹
¡¸Father, if you can look at a partner of marriageable age and still deny what I said, how about you bring along such a woman?¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
It would seem that Elena wasn¡¯t the only one dealing with marriage troubles. As they looked at the two royals puzzledly, the octogals decided to go ahead and pour some more tea and drink it.
Elena¡¯s requirements were the same as Layotte¡¯s. Besides, the founding king had picked up his queen from the slums, and the most recent fifth generation queen hailed from a street of craftsmen. It wasn¡¯t like the bride even had to be human. One famous instance of this was the eighth-generation queen, who was an elf. No country could evenin about Fane, the kingdom of food exports making a move. Besides, there was also the added bonus of strengthening ties with other countries, as marriages of convenience usually went, so even if the other country grumbled about it the first two years, they wouldn¡¯t say much more.
In the end, whether it was Layotte or Elena, the king was focusing on royalty and nobles simply because he had rtively fewmoner connections and couldn¡¯t find ¡°the one¡±. For various reasons, he had no choice but to exempt Hiroshi, then proceeded to lose the will to search formoners or other races because of all the hassle. Which only left royalty or nobility for marriages of convenience.
¡¸¡¡Well, if we disregard the age gap, there might be a promising aristocraticdye five years. I would like to have a princess for you by the time you turn twenty if possible¡¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d rather wait thanpromise with a sucky woman. Because the day they bring in a reject aristocrat from some random country that they don¡¯t know how to handle is the day that this country will be aughingstock to the neighboring countries.¡¹
¡¸Sheesh, you are quite the hardcore misogynist¡¡¡¹
¡¸It isn¡¯t that I hate all of them. They just more often than not happen toe from families of power.¡¹
Finding the treasured rice crackers while the king and Layotte continued their conversation, the octogals attempted to reach in and grab some when Layotte casually blocked them from doing so. The octogals truly did as they pleased even though they were the ones to ask about Layotte¡¯s bride in the first ce.
¡¸We¡¯re gonna go y elsewhere now¡«¡¹
¡¸Alright. As per usual, you don¡¯t tell anyone about what you heard here.¡¹
¡¸We know¡«¡¹
¡¸Secret secret¡«¡¹
¡¸Leave it to the secret ¡ðkid¡«¡¹
The octogals undertook the request with a rather dubious attitude before abruptly disappearing. These odd creatures still seemed to have a sense of loyalty and had never once revealed anything that the king and Layotte had said to keep a secret. And they knew this too, since they had tried asking the octogals about the secrets of other nobles and the octogals kept their mouths sealed shut.
¡¸As per usual, they just said what they wanted and left with thest word.¡¹
¡¸Father, what in the world do you expect from those things?¡¹
¡¸Because sometimes they say¡sharp things?¡¹
And as they continued their leisurely conversation, they could hear Rayna¡¯s angry voice from the training grounds. Considering how far away the castle was from the training grounds, someone must have done something considerably bad to anger her.
¡¸It¡¯s peaceful here.¡¹
¡¸That it is, that it is.¡¹
It was another peaceful day in Wulls.
Volume 3 Sequel 1.1
Volume 3 Sequel 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Haru, what do we do?¡¹
¡¸What to do¡¡¡¹
Haruna and Mio were fretting excessively over what the queen had asked them to do. Hiroshi had gone to the workshop in Darl to prepare the transportation circle. He also had ns to go to the workshop in Wulls, taking Makoto along with him for good bnce.
¡¸What are you worried about?¡¹
¡¸The queen asked me if I could tell her all about making chocte.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Oh, I see, that¡¯s what you mean.¡¹
¡¸Choctes are rather strong in their scent after all¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya strongly agreed with Haruna. Thinking about how Hiroshi would go into full panic mode every time he so much as picked up the whiff of a chunk, it was going to be quite the dangerous task making chocte treats that carried their scent through the body.
¡¸I know I should have refused her, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯m sure you all wanna eat too¡¡¡¹
Haruna responded in an uneasy tone, to which Tatsuya pointed out the probable source of distress with an indescribable expression on his face that was close to a grimace. That was what it all came down to.
¡¸If this was just a matter of like or dislike, I don¡¯t think anyone has the right toin about you all eating some chocte.¡¹
¡¸And his strong reaction is an innate sort of thing¡¡¡¹
The two of them both recalled the time the choctes had emerged without warning, bitter smiles on their faces as they nodded at each other. Especially considering how he wavered on the brink of death for three days and three nights, Hiroshi had to have this fear on an innate level. Even if the real source of the smell was rotten meat, his body might mistakenly register it as chocte and feel as if he had literally eaten chocte. There was no helping him.
Even worse was that although Hiroshi imed to be not scared of anything other than chocte (for the most part), but he actually didn¡¯t dislike it. If he were to look at choctes in movies or pictures, Hiroshi wouldn¡¯t get any shbacks. It was truly tragic that he found chocte to appear delicious in pictures but could not actually see the thing in real life without freaking out.
Still, much like his gynophobia, this chocophobia was getting a lot better. When he was hospitalized, it wasn¡¯t just pictures or paintings of women that scared him; the mere sight of someone¡¯s silhouette caused him to panic and possibly faint, and the mere mention of chocte meant he needed to be tranquilized. Reflecting on all this, the current situation showed him making miraculous progress.
¡¸So you talked to Hiro, right? What¡¯d he say?¡¹
¡¸He said as long as he knows from the beginning that there¡¯s a smell, he can prepare himself and that we don¡¯t have to worry.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, Sensei said that, but¡Would you really be able to follow what he says about not worrying?¡¹
¡¸¡¡True, it¡¯s a bit tough.¡¹
Although Hiroshi had built trust with all of them, it was a burden to have three girls within his vicinity. Both Tatsuya and Mio hesitated to inflict anything further on him. Or at least they didn¡¯t want to inflict anything, but¡
¡¸I still wanna eat chocte¡¡¡¹
¡¸I suppose it¡¯s not the best idea to just deprive ourselves of it.¡¹
¡¸Tatsu, even for you, it¡¯s gotta be difficult to refrain from drinking the coffee in front of you even if someone¡¯s scared of it.¡¹
¡¸Well, yeah¡¡¡¹
All they wanted to do was eat chocte. Why did this have to be soplicated? Even worse was that there was less of a reason for him to conquer his chocophobia as opposed to his gynophobia.
Chocte was just a luxury item when it came down to it. There were cases in which it was a bad idea to eat it (calories, nutritional value) when being stranded in a disaster or on a snowy mountain, but at least Hiroshi didn¡¯t have to worry about such things right now.
They did feel bad about forcing Hiroshi to ovee his fear simply because they wanted to eat chocte, and who even knew what terrible things would happen if they did that. So even Mio, who was a spartan when it came to things like this, did not think to force him.
¡¸Maybe just one time¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, but that ¡°one time¡± probably wouldn¡¯t be the end.¡¹
¡¸Eat it even once and you¡¯ll want to eat it again. At least I don¡¯t trust my self-control in that area.¡¹
¡¸Me too, I guess.¡¹
Makoto probably agreed on this. As a fellow woman, she of course loved chocte. Of course she¡¯d eat it if she saw it, and if she ate it then of course she wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the urge for another bite. It was probably because she understood this that Makoto epted Hiroshi¡¯s request without question.
¡¸It¡¯s the queen we¡¯re talking about. I doubt she¡¯d say anything more if we refused, but it¡¯s just troubling to have to refuse something like that.¡¹
Honestly, Tatsuya felt they had no choice but to have Hiroshi get the short end of the stick if it meant having these regrets. If they epted this burden, then it might catch up to themter.
¡¸Hey, so I was wondering¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸How about we make choctes that can be eaten even with Hiro nearby?¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸Even Hiro has a line where he can handle some exposure, so all we gotta do is find the limit and make something to that effect, yeah?¡¹
Haruna and Mio clearly had never thought about that idea. It was true that Hiroshi was fine with pictures or illustrations, so there must be a certain line that he didn¡¯t mind. Even if it were impossible to have him eat it, there must be some way to make chocte that they could eat without Hiroshi reacting.
¡¸But I could also see it being taxing on him until weplete it¡¡¡¹
¡¸In the long term that would reduce casualties, so we need him to endure a bit. It should shorten the amount of time overall.¡¹
Haruna and Mio thought carefully about Tatsuya¡¯s persuasiveness, orck thereof. But they were beginning to lean toward it being a possible option.
¡¸¡¡Yeah. Even if he can¡¯t eat them, maybe we could use that as a foothold, and eventually seeing the real thing wouldn¡¯t cause him to overreact.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think this would happen, but it would be no joke if Sensei were to be incapacitated due to chocte, so let¡¯s try to help him ovee his fear without overdoing it.¡¹
In the end they lost to their desires, and after a further barrage of theories from Tatsuya, Haruna and Mio agreed to the testing. Indeed, people eat what they love to eat.
Still, it wasn¡¯t like they only gave in to their food cravings. They also wanted to make chocte for Hiroshi if there was a kind that he would be able to eat, even if it might not be possible. The idea of not being able to eat something out of fear was really sad to them, and the girls felt it was a maiden¡¯s duty to resolve such fears.
Then again, in Haruna¡¯s case, she was also flirting with the prospect of expanding her culinary knowledge once she began using cacao, so it was difficult to tell who was more sinful: her, or Mio, who just wanted to have some chocte.
¡¸There¡¯s something else that¡¯s not as important, but just to check¡Tatsuya-san, do you prefer mushrooms or bamboo shoots?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d have to say mushrooms.¡¹
¡¸And you, Mio-chan?¡¹
¡¸Bamboo shoots all the way.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
After asking them about the national chocte treats from a certain brand, Haruna nodded as she continued to unravel her n. Incidentally, Haruna loved both equally. Her stance was both mushrooms and bamboo shoots had their own good qualities.
¡¸Still, I think the first thing we ought to aim for is the bamboo shoot/mushroom chocte bar variety that you can buy for a hundred yen. That¡¯s pretty standard, right?¡¹
¡¸Well they do say those three varieties are the standard for choctes.¡¹
The best reason for Japan beingte in the chocte game was probably the standard chocte bars. They were also at moderate prices and were even well-liked overseas for the good bnce in taste, so you could already see how sinful the country of Japan was from this example.
Digressing a bit, the hundred yen chocte bars could be purchased in Japan with one coin, but it was apparently quite difficult to make the same quality product in foreign countries for the same price. This was mainly because the quality in milk chocte was higher than that used in the hundred yen variety. As a result, rather than make borate choctes, the Japanese were already plenty content with the hundred yen variety, so Japan inparison to Europe tended to not be very developed in the chocte sphere.
This had a close resemnce to when people decided that the matchlock was good enough topete with the capabilities and precision of the first rifle, stopping any progression of weapon-making and eventually bingte to the game in firepower.
¡¸I do get why you want to start there, but wouldn¡¯t that just double the damage done to Hiro?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll tweak it from there of course. Starting with the smell, right?¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay.¡¹
¡¸While we¡¯re at it, tell me what your favorite chocte is, Tatsuya-san.¡¹
¡¸Right, let¡¯s see¡¡¡¹
Volume 3 Sequel 1.2
Volume 3 Sequel 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
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Haruna asked Tatsuya what his favorite chocte was, so he contemted it for a bit. He didn¡¯t hate them or anything, but neither did he eat them actively. If they were there he¡¯d eat them, but there wasn¡¯t anything in particr he wanted to eat. At most Tatsuya would say he wanted to avoid ones that were too sweet, but if asked if he liked bitter choctes, that wouldn¡¯t be the case either.
Essentially, he was fine with regr chocte.
¡¸Gotcha. Yeah, guys tend to be in that category, huh.¡¹
¡¸Pretty much. But girls aren¡¯t all that keen on sweet stuff either, right?¡¹
¡¸There are a few exceptions, but yes, of course girls have their limits.¡¹
Haruna agreed with a grimace on her face when Tatsuya pointed out the obvious. Quite a few girls really didn¡¯t get along well with sweet things, so there probably wasn¡¯t a huge difference between either gender. While there were those who would engulf any sweet thing that men had difficulty with, there were plenty of instances in which girls would agree that the sweets men liked were ¡°not very sweet, but tasty¡±.
¡¸Also, this is just a personal preference, but I like the idea of finger chocte.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢yep. That¡¯s pretty good too.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s cheap, but it goes well with liquor.¡¹
¡¸Umm, isn¡¯t that because it¡¯s made to go with liquor?¡¹
¡¸I won¡¯t deny that.¡¹
Haruna took a brief note of Tatsuya¡¯s preference. It wasn¡¯t what she wanted to prioritize, but there was nothing wrong with mixing it up.
¡¸Well, either way we¡¯ll be making a lot of different things, so we might smell like chocte for a week.¡¹
¡¸Probably. Well, do your best.¡¹
¡¸Mm.¡¹
Deciding their initial objective, Haruna began preparations. Looking at how she hummed a tune while scrutinizing the ingredients, all said and done, Haruna was truly just happy to be able to eat chocte.
And so the project designed as both an excuse to eat chocte and to help Hiroshi ovee his weakness had begun without him knowing it.
That day in Darl¡¯s detached pce kitchen, the smell of chocte wafted about in the air.
¡¸I guess this is as far as we go with Darl goat milk¡¡?¡¹
¡¸With the quality we were able to get, yes.¡¹
Haruna and Mio came to that conclusion after sampling several trial products and tilting their heads to the side. They were on a pretty good course, but something was a bit too little, or maybe too excessive, they felt.
¡¸Yeah, kinda feels like it¡¯s too demanding to aim for the quality of the Japanese choctes.¡¹
¡¸Plus the taste is just way too different with goat milk as opposed to cow milk.¡¹
Haruna said in a dampened tone, while Mio agreed and brought up a problem she felt was relevant. If you wanted a mellow taste, then the vor would be richer, and if you wanted to prioritize the bnce between sweet and bitter and the aftertaste, then the smooth, melt-in-your-mouth sensation or the good taste would have to go. They tried adding and subtracting all sorts of things, but they couldn¡¯t seem to reach that golden bnce the Japanese chocte bars had.
¡¸Plus, I just thought about it. Would people from Darl even consider the Japanese choctes to be tasty?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Come to think of it, we should have really considered that.¡¹
With different climate and topographyes different taste in vors. Other than wyvern bone soup, they probably wouldn¡¯t be huge fans of the Fane dashi vor. But judging from that exception, the chances that the choctes they made got top ranking in Darl were not entirely none.
¡¸Which means we need to have someone else sample it.¡¹
¡¸Who are we going to have sample it?¡¹
After ventting the area to lessen the smell of chocte, they thought of a candidate for sampling. They didn¡¯t know many people in Darl. The only ones who might do it for them were a few people at Igreos Temple, the queen, Sergio, Dentlis, or maybe the servants who helped them out there when they were staying.
Although the queen had given the instructions, they hesitated to make the greatest figure in Darl stoop so low as to sample food, which automatically meant they would have to take her retainer, Sergio, off the list. Dentlis was just a drag to deal with in many ways, and the people at Igreos were a bit too far away.
So by that logic, the servants would be the best idea, but disturbing them during work would be burdensome and didn¡¯t sound like a good idea. As for the chefs, this kitchen in the detached pce was cleaned from corner to corner, but it was hardly used. As a result, there were no chefs in the area and there was no one to ask the opinion of. They had to prepare for a sudden feast and had not been able to reserve space for taste-testing.
The apologetic looks of the workers in the detached pce were enough to make them feel grateful, in fact.
¡¸So in order to get a pro¡¯s opinion, we needed the main kitchen.¡¹
¡¸Seems like you¡¯re in the middle of preparing for a food war. Is it gonna be okay?¡¹
¡¸It should be fine to have one of them take a bit.¡¹
Haruna felt herself get a bit uneasy at Mio¡¯s overeager attitude, but they had never been able to find anyone to taste test in this area of the pce since no one came in except for cleaning and maintenance in the morning and couldn¡¯t think of any other ideas, so she decided to go ahead and barge in for a bit.
They managed to shrink it down to three candidates before adequately wrapping two of them that had a more extreme mixture of ingredients. When the girls got up to leave, they sensed someone enter the kitchen.
¡¸Is your workplete for today?¡¹
Before Haruna and Mio could turn around, one woman with a refined tone called out to them.
¡¸Magdarena-sama?¡¹
¡¸I heard that Her Highness asked something difficult of you, so I snuck over here to see how things were going¡¡¡¹
When she mentioned the queen ¡°asking something difficult¡± of them, Magdarena had a rather exasperated tone in her voice before continuing on in her gentle, refined voice. They had only once seen her with Aearis¡¯ introduction. This was the former Fane First Princess Magdarena.
¡¸I¡¯m really sorry that we had youe out to work in an inconvenient ce like this. It was just a sudden interruption unfortunately.¡¹
¡¸That won¡¯t be an issue, but are you going to be okay by yourself in a ce like this?¡¹
¡¸Maybe not two years ago, but now there isn¡¯t an issue with me walking around the pce.¡¹
Magdarena had to get married to a younger prince, a thirteen year old at the time. They could sense the firmness of character in her voice, which was unusual. The assassination of the previous king seven years ago and the chaos that followed. In order to suppress it and solidify the queen as the rightful ruler, Magdalena had to be the crown princess.
In addition to thoseplicated circumstances, anyone marrying into their family couldn¡¯t say anything careless without things turning grim, so other than when she had to do the bare essential work as a crown princess, Magdalena generally pretended to not exist. Because of that, people onlyplimented her appearance but knew nothing else about her, good or bad.
¡¸Umm, is that all you wanted?¡¹
¡¸Well, now that I¡¯m here, I was wondering if I could have one of those cacora¡or, you called them choctes back in your country? One of those choctes that you¡¯re making.¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re still trial products, and we were thinking of hearing what others had to say before adjusting the vor¡¡¡¹
¡¸Then you may have my opinion as well.¡¹
Haruna and Mio weren¡¯t sure what to make of her intangible suggestion. The thing was that Magdalena¡¯s sense of taste was most likely different than those of Darl.
Volume 3 Sequel 1.3
Volume 3 Sequel 1.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸If I might offer my true feelings¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes¡¹
¡¸Aftering to this country, not only was there sharp-vored food everywhere, there was hardly anything sweet despite the fact the region produces sugar, you know? I was craving a moderate amount of sweetness in my snacks.¡¹
Magdarena truly appeared to have an urgent expression in her unique royal eyes, fervently asking them. This was still the mother of one child they were talking about.
¡¸Uh¡huh.¡¹
¡¸I¡sort of get it¡¡¹
They knew what she wanted to say, but it was a bit questionable for Magdarena to just leave her daughter (not even one year old) be. At least that was what Haruna and Mio thought. In reality, Magdalena cared very much for her daughter. Everyone around her could see that from how snugly her daughter was sleeping, and they had infact rmended her to go to where Haruna and Mio were for a change of pace.
¡¸So with that being said, might I have a bite of one of those trial products?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Alright then.¡¹
Magdarena strongly insisted, so they lined up the three varieties in in sight, alongside some tea to cleanse out the taste.
¡¸The arrangement is different depending on the chocte you choose. We would greatly appreciate it if you told us which one appeals to you.¡¹
Nodding at Haruna, Magdalena picked out a chocte that had a different milk distribution and proportion from the rest, starting with a ck-looking one, carrying it to her mouth.
¡¸¡¡They¡¯re all delicious, but I think I prefer the one in the middle.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I figured.¡¹
Haruna muttered as soon as she heard Magdarena¡¯s reply. The people in Fane had simr tastes to people in Japan. Haruna and Mio had therefore expected that Magdarena preferred the same chocte they did, and rightly so.
¡¸The only thing I¡¯d wish is that the taste be a bit less heavy.¡¹
¡¸I think the vor might be a bit more refreshing if we were to use cow milk instead of Darl goat milk, and high quality milk at that.¡¹
¡¸Ah, right. That¡¯s probably it right there.¡¹
¡¸Yep, that¡¯s it.¡¹
With Haruna¡¯s answer, Magdalena understood the gist of the problem. This was supposed to be a Darl local specialty, so they had to use supplies that could be easily obtained in Darl to achieve that sensation.
¡¸Plus I don¡¯t really understand the tastes of people in Darl, so it¡¯s not clear whether or not they¡¯d agree with my taste.¡¹
¡¸So you¡¯re saying we need a local to test this?¡¹
¡¸Yes. And if we were to mass produce cac in an efficient way, we have the tools for it. Right, Mio-chan?¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
Mio didn¡¯t have any particr issue with Haruna¡¯s assertion. They had in fact seeded in elevating the production rate with easy-to-use tools that weren¡¯t even magical. Anyone could do it if they saw the actual product. This was their method of processing 99% cacao or chocte drinks. It was only made possible because the cacora fruit differed in nature from cacao. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to aplish it so easily.
¡¸Which means all we can do is feed random people and hear their thoughts.¡¹
¡¸Although I¡¯d rather it not interrupt their work too much.¡¹
¡¸Then I can just ask the people who take care of me and my daughter. Their work is anything I ask them to do.¡¹
As this situation did involve the advancement of Darl¡¯s industry, there was hardly any issue with the crown princess ordering the people around her to act. This was just an easy task of having people taste test and give their opinions. It wouldn¡¯t interfere with the centerpiece of the country, so no one wouldin.
¡¸I think my daughter will wake up soon, so how about we get going? Do you have enough samples to bring along?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸No problem.¡¹
¡¸Thene along.¡¹
Haruna and Mio followed the crown princess out of the kitchen to the other detached pce. Just between us, along the way they ended up bumping heads with the crown prince, who got his hands on some chocte before anyone could test it for poison, which ended up panicking everyone around him.
Also, there didn¡¯t seem to be much of a difference in sweet preferences between Fane and Darl. The tastiest type of chocte to thempletely matched Magdarena¡¯s pick.
That day, Azuma Workshop (main location Wulls) was quite noisy.
¡¸Hiroshi, is this fine here?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s good, mate.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi, there ain¡¯t enough cement, eh?¡¹
¡¸Yeah wait a sec. I¡¯m polishin¡¯ it right now.¡¹
Buying three storages and lining them up in order to add new smelting facilities, Hiroshi was in the middle of making thergest smelting furnace ever to be seen. In only five hours¡¯ time he had taken away all the partitions of the storehouses,bining them into one building with heat-resistance, and then dug three meters into the ground. While building all this and the smelting furnace, Hiroshi never stopped being efficient to a frightening degree. There was no use questioning it, but anyone who saw this wondered if there really was a point going to these extremes of making such a gigantic furnace, even if it was technically the entrance to the heavy industry.
Because of the scale of the project being what it was, not just Makoto and the other craftsmen, but also the forest giants skilled at engineering or field officing were being mobilized. Still, Ortem Vige was indebted to Hiroshi and he had requested this. In addition, it was impossible to work on such a wide-scale construction in the vige, so everyone wasing over this way as if it were some sort of festival, moring and making merry as they worked.
¡¸So it¡¯s fine that Haruna and Mio aren¡¯t here to make this gigantic furnace?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cuz Mio¡¯s arms ain¡¯t gonna cut it and she won¡¯t learn much. She¡¯d be better off eatin¡¯ chocte.¡¹
¡¸I have a lot I¡¯d like to point out there, but well, I guess I won¡¯t.¡¹
Handing the super heat resistant cement over to Foeldan, Hiroshi cooled down the freshly baked heat resistant bricks. Makoto had less and less she could assist with when it came to the furnace, so as she rested and observed Hiroshi, Makoto thought of what she should begin asking him and decided to just hurl her firstment at him.
¡¸I¡¯m just amazed at how quickly you purchased the contract for thisnd.¡¹
¡¸Soon as I got the live coals from Igreos-sama, I called Lay ¡®n Merizza-san to get somend reserved.¡¹
¡¸They were rather fast on their feet, weren¡¯t they¡¡¡¹
¡¸These were the same materials used to make the golem car, and when I told Lay that he got super into it.¡¹
¡¸Oh, okay.¡¹
The minivan that Azuma Workshop used. With the most recent events, a portion of the royalty now knew their group had an unnecessary amount of power. Everyone in the Fane house had been sending love calls their way even before they knew the information, saying they wanted a car like that.
They wanted defensive functions rather than offensive ones on the car. Hiroshi said he needed the gigantic smelting furnace,nd, and the three storages, and theyplied without hesitation.
This wasn¡¯t for anything on par with the minivan, however. This private automobile could endure Armageddon, could fit in one¡¯s pocket, and could go 80 km/h. It was not so cheap that it could be made with just three storehouses.
Volume 3 Sequel 1.4
Volume 3 Sequel 1.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸So you really need a gigantic furnace like this?¡¹
Makoto asked the thing that was most on her mind as she watched the forest giants put up the scaffolding and build up the bricks. The building that had taken Hiroshi five hours was about six meters high from the outside. But on the inside it was three and a half meters higher. In other words, the inside went down another floor or so. The furnace¡¯s height was seven meters. The space between the roof and the furnace was two whole meters.
Maybe because of the sheer height, the furnace¡¯s outer wall was exceptionally thick, with seven super heat resistant bricks a meter and a half thick. Considering how they had only used two bricks for thickness in Darl, this was a hrious difference.
Incidentally, therge amount of sediment that came out of the ground when digging through it was now intended to be used for the farnd near the slums and for the new fields near Ortem Vige. ording to Hiroshi, the most crucial part of construction was not letting anything go to waste.
¡¸If I had some holy steel on me, I wouldn¡¯t need this kinda furnace. And if I nned to make a god ship or somethin¡¯ then I¡¯d be makin¡¯ the steel frame with this.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I see¡¡¡¹
Apparently the rail stretched around the ceiling that screamed ¡°Attach a crane to me!¡± was in fact going to have a crane attached to it. The structure of this building was almostpletely identical to factories in Japan. As per usual, the fantasy elements were thinning out. Sure, cranes are overall simr to one another, but there was no reason to have such a mechanical, advanced, present-day, convenient appliance.
¡¸But if that¡¯s the case, was there even a need to dig up this area?¡¹
¡¸Speakin¡¯ from the size of the buildings, we gotta hold down the sides with somethin¡¯ thisrge, else there¡¯ll be a lottaintster on I think.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Right, that¡¯s true.¡¹
Looking up at the mostlypleted smelting furnace, Makoto nodded, recalling some of thewsuits in Japan rting to scenery or the right to sunshine. There were workshops and storehouses lined up in the area, so having a six meter high building wasn¡¯t an issue. But having the furnace enter the ten meter ss did worry her that there could be trouble with those around.
¡¸But if you¡¯re going to talk about the environment, what about the gas and heat expelled from the furnace?¡¹
¡¸Already thought about that. I¡¯m gonna equip it with a recycling system based off the state of the art tech they got in Japan, so there ain¡¯t gonna be no toxic substances leakin¡¯ out. Heck, the exhaust and drainage can prolly be converted to be even cleaner than regr air ¡®n water.¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t all that a bit much?¡¹
¡¸But that¡¯s what we need for this, don¡¯tcha think? Plus, puttin¡¯ aside the exhaust, the drainage can be recycled for a different use and doesn¡¯t even hafta go outside, and then after usin¡¯ it for somethin¡¯ else we can bring it right back to be used in the furnace.¡¹
¡¸¡¡That¡¯s rather advanced for what¡¯s supposed to just be a simple furnace¡¡¡¹
¡¸Cause there ain¡¯t no point doin¡¯ any of this if we getints ¡®bout worsenin¡¯ the environment. Y¡¯know, prevention is better then cure ¡®n all that.¡¹
All said and done, Hiroshi was always aware that he and his team were foreigners. In order for them to be epted, they had to respect those around them.
¡¸Okay,st question. Was there any point in me evening over here?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m gonna put some fire in the furnace soon enough, so the first thing I¡¯m gonna make is yer katana, Makoto-san.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I get it now.¡¹
¡¸I n to forge all the remaining magic steel into katanas, so I wantcha to throw a buncha ideas at me.¡¹
¡¸Now wait just a minute.¡¹
Hiroshi had just said something Makoto couldn¡¯t ignore. She immediately pressed Hiroshi for information as she red at him sharply.
¡¸What do you mean ALL of them? Didn¡¯t you say we had plenty left over after you made the submarine?¡¹
¡¸We did, but after putting some aside for the golem car, I figured the rest could be used for about five katanas.¡¹
¡¸When do you n to use all those katanas?¡¹
¡¸Just in case, I guess?¡¹
Makoto still felt like questioning Hiroshi, even if she somewhat understood what he was getting at. Hiroshi was probably taking Gale sh into consideration. She got that. She really did, but wasn¡¯t it a bit much to make five katanas just for that?
¡¸I¡¯m fine with two katanas, spares included. Why don¡¯t you just remake your maul or something.?¡¹
¡¸Even without a maul I got my pole axe, and in my case I need better materials than yer weapons, otherwise the effects won¡¯t be as good.¡¹
For Hiroshi, who generally could only use skills that didn¡¯t multiply attack power, weapon capabilities changing by twenty or thirty percent would hardly benefit him. True, he might end up breaking a weapon again using Titanic Roar, but unlike Makoto, he still didn¡¯t know the precise rules for activating it. Hiroshi just didn¡¯t feel like making a bunch of weapons with minimal improvements for a special move that he didn¡¯t even know how to use.
Also, as for the orichalcum they obtained from the tower golem, if they were to make new tools with it, there wouldn¡¯t be enough to allocate to katanas, hence why he had abandoned the idea and allocated it to the anvil and smithing hammer.
¡¸Oi Hiroshi, we done wit da bricks o¡¯er here,e take a look, eh?¡¹
Makoto was about to argue vehemently with Hiroshi when they heard the forest giants¡¯ call letting them know the work was done.
¡¸Roger. Wait just a minute, y¡¯all.¡¹
Hiroshi raised a hand in response and began checking the cement and other parts of the furnace. He filled in areas that didn¡¯t have enough cement, fine tuned the cement and tapped it to make sure the sound was the same all around, correcting what needed to be corrected. Writing it out like this, it sounds like a job that would take quite a bit of time, but the work was actually done in a matter of fifteen minutes.
¡¸Right, that¡¯s that. All that¡¯s left is the finishing touch.¡¹
Writing letters on the surface of the giant smelting furnace, Hiroshi put the magic stones in their ce and began preparing the ritual.
¡¸Right, time to start the machine!¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s boundless mana poured into the magic circle the same time that his war cry sounded through the air. Theplex energy changed the furnace, tempering it into an appropriate container for storing god fire. The co-starring of thirty different mana elements continued, and after all the energy had been swallowed up, the former cluster of boorish bricks had transformed into a magnificent, practically godly structure.
¡¸Alright, sess.¡¹
¡¸This is¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Yup. It¡¯s one of the holy equipments called True Furnace. Then again, I barely managed to get it to that rank with the materials, so it¡¯s a bit of a thin line as to whether we can make the highest ranked holy steel or not.¡¹
Makoto just looked up dazed as Hiroshi said something quite manly. Though this goes without saying, even supplies that didn¡¯t quite reach holy steel ranking could create the highest ranking if you tried hard enough.
Incidentally, the other holy equipments also included Kitchen of the Gods and Loom of the Emperor. As they did not have a single shred of the ingredients for those, Hiroshi could not make them right now.
¡¸Now, ignite the me and strike the katanas!¡¹
Hiroshi did a trial run as per usual, ignoring Makoto as she lost her words at the sight of this part of the world of the gods. Maybe because he knew that he wouldter be suffering under the smell of chocte, the day¡¯s smithing continued longer than usual.
Volume 3 Sequel 1.5
Volume 3 Sequel 1.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢guess that¡¯s that?¡¹
Haruna had returned from Darl Pce. Ensuring that no scent remained in the kitchen by properly ventting it, she continued fixing the choctes. Mio was readying the bath in order to wash away the smell.
¡¸Tatsuya-san, can I have a moment?¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¹
Tatsuya went down to the dining hall when Haruna called him. He saw her standing by her product with confidence.
¡¸Is it alright if I have your opinion?¡¹
¡¸Sure. Is that what I think it is?¡¹
¡¸Mhm. I came up with the best way to keep the taste the same but lessen the smell.¡¹
¡¸Oho?¡¹
Tatsuya listened to her as he took one in his hand, closely examining it. True, if he put his nose close to it there was hardly any trace of it.
¡¸Barely smells like chocte.¡¹
¡¸I know, right?¡¹
¡¸Still, I do think that smell is an importantponent of eating. What about that?¡¹
¡¸Guess we¡¯ll know after we try it?¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
Heplied and carried the square mouthful to his mouth. After lightly biting into it, the scent and vor of chocte spread throughout his mouth.
¡¸Oho, I see now.¡¹
¡¸Now we just need to get rid of the smell from the breath and the first step will beplete, I think. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. That¡¯s it.¡¹
The first step in the chocte problem. The objective of making chocte that Hiroshi wouldn¡¯t recognize as chocte seemed to have been practically solved on the first day.
¡¸So what about the taste?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a bit thick, but there are a bunch of even weirder ones overseas. Well, I think it¡¯s passable.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I thought everyone might find that part concerning.¡¹
¡¸Everyone? So you asked others for their opinions as well?¡¹
¡¸Mm. They began by saying it wasn¡¯t a huuuge deal but then sort of just gave their honest thoughts.¡¹
Tatsuya smiled ufortably at Haruna as he put another bite to his mouth. It truly was tough on the consumer. Although the vor was thick, he also felt like he could get used to it for some reason. It was probably due to the nature of the dairy product used, but if it weren¡¯t for Haruna the chocte likely wouldn¡¯t have been edible. The only ones who couldin about this were maybe those ustomed a bit to the refined taste of the pce food, thought Tatsuya shrewdly.
He was in fact spot on with his predictions. This is just between us, but anyone who was used to sampling their food from open market stalls were in high approval of this, and there was a scramble for it like never before.
¡¸For now it depends on Hiroshi-kun¡¯s reaction, but I¡¯m thinking of making this a base for the choctes we eat from now on.¡¹
¡¸Sure, why not? And so you wanna make a bunch of stuff using this as the base?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I can make finger choctes. And then chocte pudding and all that.¡¹
¡¸In that regard, you really are a normal girl, eh? In the end, you put all your energy into sweet things.¡¹
¡¸Why not? I can use the skill as a weapon in negotiations and whatnot.¡¹
Even though the premise was that she wanted to eat chocte herself, Haruna seemed to be diverging from her original intentions in a severe manner.
¡¸Haru, bath¡¯s ready.¡¹
¡¸Mm, I¡¯ming right now.¡¹
Once they hade to a satisfactory conclusion, Haruna went off to where Mio was in order to wash the smell off. Tatsuya, who went to the kitchen to check it out, found himself in awe at how skillfully she had erased the smell from the area.
¡¸Wow, a maiden in love is not to be trifled with¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, although I think it¡¯s a shame in many ways that she chose Hiroshi.¡¹
Tatsuya muttered in both exasperation and disbelief as he munched on a mint to clear up his breath when Makoto came from behind with ament of her own. Apparently no one had been there when she got back, and she had gone in the kitchen to check if anyone was there.
¡¸So you¡¯re back. Is your little errand over?¡¹
¡¸In no time t. Although I still feel there were plenty more things to say to that boy.¡¹
Feeling a tinge of unease at Makoto¡¯sst sentence, Tatsuya asked her about the other person who was supposed to be there.
¡¸What about Hiro?¡¹
¡¸He¡¯s finishing up over there. He should be back anytime now.¡¹
¡¸Okay. We have some things to take care of by the time he gets back.¡¹
¡¸Things to take care of? You mean the chocte on the table?¡¹
¡¸Yep. I mean, we just left them there. We¡¯d better hurry back.¡¹
Things would not go well at all if Hiroshi were to return and identallyy sight on them. Tatsuya and Makoto thought of that as they returned in a hurry. Of course this kind of trouble wouldn¡¯t be urring every time like this, and after they returned and Makoto taste tested the chocte, Hiroshi had returned.
¡¸I¡¯m back. Hey, what¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸You can¡¯t smell it?¡¹
¡¸I got a hunch based on the ns ye had today, but I don¡¯t smell nothin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Just in case,e a bit closer.¡¹
Hiroshi could easily guess what was going on, but he came closer to the te of chocte just as Tatsuya had told him to.
¡¸Think you can handle it?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Even if ya sneak up behind me with summa this, I ain¡¯t gonna be shook or nothin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Then all that¡¯s left to fix is the breath.¡¹
¡¸What is my breathing like?¡¹
¡¸Ya don¡¯t smell all that much despite eatin¡¯ a chocte.¡¹
Hiroshi answered the question after sniffing and still appeared to be the same. He probably wasn¡¯t entirely fine, but neither was he particrly out-of-sorts. It went without saying that this was the fruit of all his extrabor after being strengthened in this world.
¡¸So if it¡¯s at this level, do you think we could eat it frequently and you¡¯d still be fine?¡¹
¡¸I think so. I might even get used to it.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s good. Tell that to Haruna and I bet she¡¯ll be overjoyed.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. Seems like I made her work a heck of a lot.¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s mainly because Haruna wanted to eat some, so it makes sense to work this much.¡¹
Makoto felt a bit sullen at Tatsuya¡¯s slightly arrogantment. Still, Makoto saying anything in this situation wouldn¡¯t be right at all, as she simply received the fruits of everyone¡¯sbor while not putting in any work herself. After all, Tatsuya could still live without chocte, but the girls could not stand being without it. They just weren¡¯t made that way.
¡¸Hopefully you¡¯ll be able to eat it soon.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Once I¡¯m able to, no one¡¯s gotta worry ¡®bout what we eat.¡¹
Hiroshi calmly remarked. Both men truly felt humbled by Haruna¡¯s perseverance and passion. It would have been great if it had ended here, but
¡¸Obviously the mushroom variety is the best!¡¹
¡¸Bamboo shoots are supreme! How do you not understand this!¡¹
¡¸Hey, what are we going to do now¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ahahahaha¡¡¡¹
Haruna had let Hiroshi¡¯s gratitude go to her head, making a bunch more choctes and causing a war to break out in Darl pce between mushrooms and bamboo shoots. They would receive a grim reminder of the consequences of their actions in ces like Forre and Lorrenter on.
Volume 3 Sequel 2.1
Volume 3 Sequel 2.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
On that day, sounds other than the usual hammer sounds could be heard from Wulls Workshop.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun¡¹
¡¸Mm?¡¡Whazzup?¡¹
¡¸Lunch is ready so I came to call you. So what exactly have you been doing?¡¹
Very shy sounds echoed throughout the area, and bluish-white light shone through True Furnace Tower. Haruna, who came to call Hiroshi as he was working, cocked her head at the spectacle as she told him what was going on. She pretty much guessed what Hiroshi was doing, but had no idea what he was making.
¡¸Can¡¯tcha guess by lookin¡¯?¡¹
Hiroshi held out the thing he had been messing with in order to answer Haruna¡¯s question. It was something that should be familiar to anyone who¡¯d lived in Hiroshi¡¯s world, welded together with metal tes and metal pipes.
¡¸¡¡Could this be a bicycle?¡¹
¡¸Mhm. I was just thinkin¡¯ it mighte in handy in Wulls or Darl.¡¹
Yes. What Hiroshi was making was the frame of a bicycle. He was probably using steel pipes rather than logs in order to lighten the load. Although he had yet to put the whole thing together, he had finished the front frame where the handle should be (called the bicycle fork, but Haruna didn¡¯t know the proper word).
Also, he hadn¡¯t been thinking about it. He had actually just thought of the idea as he was testing out the smelting furnace. Of course, the whole ¡°handy¡± thing was just an excuse he madeter.
¡¸Is this regr iron?¡¹
¡¸Yup, just normal iron. Got a buncha scraps that couldn¡¯t even be repaired and now I¡¯m restorin¡¯ ¡®em in the furnace.¡¹
Every little bit helps, and this situation was no different. He had gathered arge amount of iron scraps lended to him from acquaintances and associations that were either going to dispose of them or sell them for dirt cheap. Of all the iron he nned on using for craftsman training, Hiroshi decided to allocate thirty percent to one bicycle¡¯s worth of ingredients + ¦Á. You can probably guess how much iron he had in total.
¡¸But if I don¡¯t make the line equipment then I definitely won¡¯t be able to mass produce nothin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I can tell by looking, y¡¯know.¡¹
¡¸I ain¡¯t gonna have a problem with the weldin¡¯. The real problem would be the chain, wheel, chain foil, etc.¡¹
¡¸Chain foil?¡¹
¡¸The gear that¡¯s powered by your legs. Also called the sprocket or chain foil.¡¹
Hiroshi said, showing her an almostpleted gear. He had apparently made it as part of his manualbor, and there was a mark from a file on the edge of it. There was a groove carved into the focal point of the hole, but Haruna didn¡¯t know what it was used for.
¡¸There¡¯s a difference between gears and chain foils?¡¹
¡¸Gear is basically the generic term. I dunno if an amateur would be able to tell the difference by lookin¡¯ at the individual item, but there¡¯s a buncha different areas like the mold where you line ¡®em up and see the difference immediately.¡¹
But since both varieties counted as gears, the manufacturing process wasn¡¯t all that different. Still, with the chain foil where the gear and chain meshed together, there were many other different areas.
¡¸Also, I¡¯ve been wondering, what is this groove?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s called a key groove. Ya dig into the axle about the same width and wedge a pole lookin¡¯ thing into it to make sure ya ain¡¯t goin¡¯ in circles.¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay. What about this pachinko ball looking thing?¡¹
¡¸Ya use it for the bearing. All I did was mold and quench it, so it ain¡¯t very weighty or spherical yet. Once I¡¯m done with the frame it should be nice ¡®n cool with a kink in it, so after that I n to use abradant with an allowance of 1/100 microns.¡¹
And just like that, Hiroshi answered all the different questions that Haruna had about manufacturing. This went without saying, but no matter how much highly precise or beautiful the surface was after polishing, it was quite rare to secure anything near 1/100th of a micron allowance, even if you used a machine. In fact, even getting near an allowance of one micron made you a fairly aplished mechanic.
After all, even though it did depend on the size of the product, anything up to one-hundredth of a mili could very easily shift in digits depending on expansion/contraction caused by temperature change. And this wasn¡¯t just for products; the same could be said with tools for sharpening or whetstones for polishing. Gathering the measurements in addition to paying attention to thermal expansion was not something you could do without decent skill, experience, and quick wit.
Then again, even if Haruna were not the only person here with Hiroshi, they probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to object to those numbers either. After all, the only one on this team with any knowledge about modern metal manufacturing was Hiroshi himself.
Hiroshi answered a few more of Haruna¡¯s questions about other ridiculous things besides polishing. Haruna lost track of time as she continued to fire questions at Hiroshi out of curiosity for knowledge, and Hiroshi bounced the answers right back in a perfect, stinging tempo. As they continued this back-and-forth¡
¡¸Sensei, Haru, you¡¯rete.¡¹
Worried about how long it had taken them to return, Mio had arrived. Haruna and Hiroshi¡¯s conversation had continued until she showed up.
¡¸Ah, sorry.¡¹
¡¸What were you doing?¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun was making a bike, so I asked him a bunch of questions before I knew it¡¡¹
¡¸I get how you feel, but try to leave that for after we eat.¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
Haruna apologized sincerely when Mio admonished her. It was true that they had gotten caught up in a conversation that could have been continuedter.
¡¸You were sote that we thought you might have given in to your vices and pounced on Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Whaaat!?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s just crazy y¡¯all¡¡¡¹
When Mio said those words, Haruna shrieked, her eyes shing ck and white, while Hiroshi just muttered an exasperatedment on the ridiculousness of that statement. He was well aware that Haruna had been a bit yfultely, but he was still pretty sure she wasn¡¯t desperate enough to tackle him down in an unfitting environment such as this.
To speak inly, Hiroshi did want to deny that he had ever considered the possibility of Haruna pushing him down, but whatwith the string of events in Darl, the queen, Princess Magdarena, and even Elena or La, Goivejon or Foeldan warning him, Hiroshi simply could no longer avert his eyes from this being no coincidence.
¡¸Haru, did you not realize you were alone together?¡¹
¡¸I was just interested in the bicycle and didn¡¯t realize what was happening.¡¹
¡¸Haru¡¡¡¹
Mio muttered, exasperated. These were clearly not the words of a maiden in love. If this weren¡¯t Hiroshi they were talking about, Haruna truly could have made any other man fall for her within three days with all her attributes. What a truly unfortunate woman.
¡¸But y¡¯know, Mio-chan¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Just because I¡¯m in love with him doesn¡¯t mean that¡¯s all I think about 24-7 when I¡¯m with him.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well, that is true¡¡¡¹
Mio couldn¡¯t find a proper response to Haruna¡¯s argument, as she could rte. But still.
¡¸I think it¡¯s pitiable that you didn¡¯t even think of this as a rare chance to take advantage of.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Now that you mention it, I really do feel that way¡¡¡¹
Haruna realized how pitiable she was when Mio pointed it out.
¡¸Couldja just give that conversation a rest y¡¯all¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ah, sorry.¡¹
The conversation was already one that shouldn¡¯t be discussed in front of the man in question, and it was now canceled with Hiroshi¡¯s extremely ufortablement.
¡¸Oh yeah, what¡¯s for lunch mate?¡¹
¡¸Seasonal vegetable tempura special, I guess?¡¹
¡¸That sounds super tasty, mate.¡¹
The uneasy topic quickly shifted to the lunch menu.
Volume 3 Sequel 2.2
Volume 3 Sequel 2.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸At the current moment, it seems like it¡¯ll be tough to mass produce bikes, mate.¡¹
¡¸Why¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸We gotta get a gear-cuttin¡¯ machine or some sorta contraption or else it¡¯ll be super tough to make a bunch of high-precision parts, I think.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I¡¯m getting the feeling that we¡¯ve suddenly plunged our way into the world of modern-day technology. You agree?¡¹
¡¸Hey mate, ya can¡¯t worry about li¡¯l things like that.¡¹
They were finally done eating. As they drank their tea, Hiroshi and Tatsuya discussed the work they¡¯d been doing. Rayna came back after being gone for a while and invited Makoto to join the knights in their training. Makoto, who had no crafting skills other than the one she gave up on early on, didn¡¯t have any reason to get into making things, so she usually had a surplus of free time in situations like this. This resulted in her going solo or Tatsuya apanying her a lot, since he also had too much time on his hands.
Haruna and the others either said they¡¯d be attending lectures after lunch or cleaning up, or taking a nap because they were kids, or whatever reasons they had, so the two men were the only ones here.
¡¸So what¡¯s the issue here?¡¹
¡¸The most troubling part would be the bearing cause ya gotta make the precision of the ball inside super good or else it¡¯ll ovep and won¡¯t rotate.¡¹
¡¸But isn¡¯t it lighter than just stabbing in the axle?¡¹
¡¸Guess I can try it, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll get all that heavy.¡¹
Tatsuya attempted to steer Hiroshi¡¯s thoughts away from his bad habit of trying to replicate current technology. This world was already quite advanced, but much of its advancements were due to magic and had strange controls. Even inventions that Hiroshi considered to be safe were quite revolutionary here.
And the bearing was the newest example of this. Fast-moving golem parts could always be substituted. In addition, with carriages or carts, no one really cared if the axle shook a bit too much or if it was too heavy and stiff. So technology that you lightly revolved with your hand was hardly valued, and the current technology simply relied on magic whenever you were in a pinch.
So even without super precise technology from the modern period, Hiroshi could just make something with the concept and construction of a bearing without anything extra.
¡¸And is there even any point in making such aplicated bike?¡¹
¡¸Whaddya mean?¡¹
¡¸I feel like one of those super primitively designed ones you¡¯d find in a museum would be great to start with. How about it?¡¹
¡¸Maybe not for the feet-pedalling ones, but I¡¯m purty sure the tires directly connected to the pedals would be way too inconvenient.¡¹
Things went out of fashion for a reason. Everything other than the initial stage foot-pedalling variant was directly connected in the current bike genealogy (front pedals attached to the front wheel). But even those ones had issues with user friendliness and had gone out of fashion to where you couldn¡¯t find them in any town.
¡¸You can go ahead and make the basic structure the same as present-day bikes, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll ever reach the feet ofmoners unless you make the design simple enough to where the workshop can make it too.¡¹
¡¸Yup. I did think I might wanna go further with the heavy industry approach, but that¡¯d prolly be a bit much.¡¹
¡¸Well then again, I get the feeling you already passed that threshold when you made that instant ramen.¡¹
Hiroshi just grimaxed at Tatsuya¡¯sment. The instant ramen production line also came about because of the royalty and knights fiercely pushing for it, which ended up making it quite the business.
They were currently in the middle of discussing where to put the production line, but there were plenty of other aspects in discussion such as what other kinds of ramen to make, the ratio between bagged and cup noodles, how much to produce, wholesale or no wholesale, and so on.
And the most pressing of all these issues was whether to leave it all to Merizza Trade Guild or not. Merizza Trade Guild had recently be a sort of purveyor to the imperial household. They definitely couldn¡¯t just leave the rights to instant ramen in the hands of one guild. In this world, where you could just enchant food with Prevent Rot, packed food wasn¡¯t as much of a thing. Instant ramen, which could immediately be eaten as long as you had a pot, water, and fire would make quite the impact in this world.
And Merizza knew just how much of an impact it would make, which was why even she hesitated to handle all of the involvement in this business. This was the same reason why she chose to not monopolize the curry powder, soy sauce, and miso. While it could certainly expand the business, she also knew that having too much of a say in the business would make things impossible to handle by herself.
¡¸Anyhoo, first we make the trial products and then simplify ¡®em to where Teres and the others can also make ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Yep. For now, ignoring the first one, the second one should be prioritized so that Fum and Lime can ride on it.¡¹
¡¸An why¡¯s that again?¡¹
¡¸Well dude, it¡¯s super taxing to get from here to the east gate with those childlike legs of theirs.¡¹
¡¸Ah, right.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded, understanding what Tatsuya was saying.
¡¸Either way, this time we have all the parts here for the manualbor, but scrapin¡¯ away scraps from the gear with a file is a real drag, so if we gon¡¯ make a bunch of ¡®em we best have a simple gear-cuttin¡¯ machine around, plus there ain¡¯t gon¡¯ be any decent equilibrium with the axle unless we open up a perfect hole, so I guess it¡¯s best we have athe on hand. We also gotta cut the corners at the tip of the axle, so we¡¯ll need a milling machine for it.¡¹
¡¸No, like I said, that¡¯s overdoing it¡¡¹
¡¸Ya got a point with the gear-cuttin¡¯ machine, but this world¡¯s actually got a close equivalent of thethe.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Really?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, water wheels ¡®n all that. Uses natural energy when it spins around, it ain¡¯t stable, ¡®n on top of that it turns slowly an can¡¯t process things as urately, but it¡¯s plenty useful for diggin¡¯ a hole in the axle.¡¹
Tatsuya sort of understood what Hiroshi was referring to. This was, by the way, the processing method used in their own world.
¡¸It¡¯s just, I don¡¯t know too much about this, but aren¡¯tthes dangerous? Every so often I hear some pretty graphic stories of deaths at the ces I conduct business with.¡¹
¡¸It ain¡¯t justthes. Machine tools are just generally purty dangerous mate.¡¹
¡¸Then shouldn¡¯t we be more careful in making these things? There are children here after all.¡¹
Hiroshi just grimaced at Tatsuya. True, thethe was the cause of about as many deaths per year as the press machine. However, the majority of cases would never ur as long as you followed the proper procedures, and it¡¯s justmon sense to not be careless next to a moving machine. Besides, if you were just manufacturing bicycle parts, you didn¡¯t even need that big of a machine. You didn¡¯t have to worry about earthly standards when making it yourself, and there was always the option of not making a machine big enough to engulf your whole body.
Still, no matter how careful you are about ensuring safety, idents happen. Therefore, all that really matters is how thoroughly you educate people on safety training.
¡¸I get that yer worried, but there are a ton of other dangerous jobs out there like potionmakin¡¯ an alchemy. Heck, the smeltin¡¯ or forgin¡¯ that we¡¯re gonna teach ¡®emter is the best example of a situation where ya can¡¯t let yer guard down for even a second. There ain¡¯t really no work that ain¡¯t a bit physically dangerous when ites to makin¡¯ things.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that might be the case, but still¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya still appeared to not be content with the persuasion. Not knowing how to exin it to him properly, Hiroshi grimaced again and drank his tea dry. Tatsuya was probably just really concerned, especially with this being an unfamiliar genre and all. No amount of exnation would cure this sort of concern.
¡¸Welp, I¡¯ll go ahead ¡®nplete the first one for the time being.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
Still not satisfied, Tatsuya was left on his own in the dining hall.
From there time went by. It was now approaching evening.
¡¸Alright, got the first trial product done, mate.¡¹
Hiroshi had ended up crammed in True Furnace Tower for nearly the whole day, appearing in the garden near the workshop carrying two bicycles: one for an adult and one for a child.
¡¸That was unbelievably fast for putting everything together by hand, but for someone like you, that took quite a bit of time.¡¹
¡¸Well, that¡¯s cuz I put together a buncha other test projects.¡¹
¡¸Other projects?¡¹
¡¸Just l¡¯il toys. Like this thing right here or this thing over here.¡¹
As Hiroshi answered Tatsuya¡¯s question, he pulled out several varieties of sports equipment like a pogo stick or a unicycle. There were also stilts made from leftover steel pipes and things made alongside the bearing prototype like skateboards, roller skates, inline skates, etc.
¡¸Whoa, a pogo stick? That takes me back.¡¹
¡¸I see, you were working on all that too.¡¹
¡¸A small amount of mill ends came out, ya see. Figured I may as well make some tools for kids to y with usin¡¯ their bodies.¡¹
Haruna nodded at Hiroshi¡¯sment, reaching to the stilts before the bicycle. The y equipment was still in use at her rtives¡¯ house, but she had hardly ever seen something like that near her house.
¡¸Going for that first now, are we, Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸I yed with these all the time back at my rtives¡¯ house. Hadn¡¯t seen them in a while and sorta wondered if I can still ride them.¡¹
As she said this, Haruna skillfully took bnce and began taking a shortp around the area, stopping when she got in front of Hiroshi and the others. Seeing how effortlessly she pulled this off, all were reminded once again of the truly amazing specs thisdy had.
Volume 3 Sequel 2.3
Volume 3 Sequel 2.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Sensei, Haru, how do you ride this thing?¡¹
Her eyes glinting at all the things she had rarely been able to touch as a child, Mio asked as she took a pogo stick Haruna hadn¡¯t picked up. Her face appeared to be full of expectation. She was generally expressionless, so it was pretty easy to tell at times like these.
¡¸Did your generation not really y with these things, Mio?¡¹
¡¸Generation? More like Mio¡¯s body was weak, so she didn¡¯t have much experience with stamina-based activities like this.¡¹
¡¸Ah, right.¡¹
Understanding Tatsuya¡¯s exnation, Hiroshi began thinking of how he could help Mio properly ride the pogo stick when suddenly, he remembered something rather unnecessary.
¡¸Might not be a good idea to ride the pogo sticks in the garden.¡¹
¡¸Mm? Why¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸Cuz I think Lime nted solmizen, plus there¡¯s a buncha other experimental nts being cultivated.¡¹
¡¸¡¡So is that why Lime was sneaking around in the middle of the night?¡¹
¡¸Yup. It ain¡¯t bad or nothin¡¯, but she wants to keep it hush hush so we gotta be adults ¡®n not say nothin¡¯. At least that¡¯s what I thought.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah.¡¹
Tatsuya concurred with Hiroshi¡¯s statement. Normally this would be something to pay attention to if she were messing around at night, but if all she did was tend to the nts at night in a sneaky manner, all they could really do was question why she chose nighttime rather than boldly in the daytime. Besides, she wasn¡¯t exactly staying up all that much; only really till ten o¡¯clock or slightlyter. Compared to Makoto, who would often stay up into the morning, this was nothing. It wasn¡¯t like anyone would find it surprising for her to wake up in the bathroom or something like that.
Incidentally, the reason why everyone was asleep and quiet at this time was because people in this world tended to be early to bed, early to rise. Other than precious few exceptions, people (both children and adults) tended to eat dinner from six o¡¯clock to seven o¡¯clock pm and go to sleep around nine. Restaurants also mainly closed shop eight o¡¯clock at thetest, with no shops operatingte night except for taverns.
¡¸So I know Makoto-san¡¯s still off doing her thing, but what about Fum ¡®n the rest?¡¹
¡¸Fum-chan and Lime-chan are off ying with friends. Teres-san and Nora-san said they were going to restock spices alongside delivery. La-san is cleaning the Darl workshop.¡¹
¡¸Okay then.¡¹
They listened to Haruna¡¯s exnation of where the workers went and changed locations to y around some more.
¡¸So we were talkin¡¯ bout pogo sticks, right?¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
¡¸But I don¡¯t think I gotta exin much for you to ride it.¡¹
As he said that, Hiroshi gripped the handle, put his feet on the step, and began bouncing around with unbelievably springy movement. It takes skill to get it right the first time, but once you get past that barrier it isn¡¯t especially difficult. The only thing was, you need quite a bit of skill to hold the bnce for a long time as you find yourself getting more and more tired.
¡¸And that¡¯s basically how ya jump around.¡¹
¡¸Dude, that¡¯s not even an exnation.¡¹
¡¸D¡¯ya think it¡¯s even possible to exin this by word of mouth?¡¹
Hiroshi rebutted Tatsuya¡¯s fierce interjection. Exining this sort of exercise was in fact difficult. Illustrations were much moremon than manuals or articles, but when it came down to it, actually watching someone riding it was the easiest way to understand.
¡¸So go ahead ¡®n try it.¡¹
¡¸Mm.¡¹
Taking the pogo stick from Hiroshi, Mio attempted to jump, eyes glinting. In this case it seemed that attribute values and skills had less to do with it than the sense of the individual, and for a brief while, the clumsy sight of her failing to get on or losing her bnce after one or two jumps andnding on her feet continued.
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s more difficult than it looks.¡¹
¡¸Yup, you need a good sense of it for this kinda y.¡¹
¡¸And I fully realize that my athletic sense is in the negatives.¡¹
Besides, Mio hardly had any experience of ying outside, as she was mainly watching people in gym ss ny percent of the time. As reflexes and athletic senses are most influenced by working out in that period, even with athletic skill obtainedter on, Mio seemed to be struggling with getting the hang of it. On the flipside, she had picked up crafting rtively quickly, most likely due to her having to y alone in the room all the time.
¡¸Ah.¡¹
¡¸Did it.¡¹
She tried several more times after that, finally being able to jump around like normal. Mio had high attribute value, so once she got the hang of things she did whatever she could to repeatedly ensure everything was working out. Other than the times shended on the ground on purpose, Mio continued to enjoy jumping around, despite her expressionless face. Ten minutester¡
¡¸¡¡I¡¯ve had my fill.¡¹
¡¸Kay. Was it fun?¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
Mio nodded at Haruna with a rather glossy expression before locking on to the unicycle.
¡¸How do you ride that?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢sorry¡¢I just made it but can¡¯t ride it too well. What about you bro?¡¹
¡¸Nah, it¡¯s impossible for me too.¡¹
¡¸Well hey, I can ride it.¡¹
Unicycles were just in difficult for anyone. Haruna once again demonstrated her unusually high specs by volunteering in ce of the men who were quite honest about not being able to. As soon as she adjusted the height of the saddle, Haruna borrowed someone¡¯s shoulder instead of touching the wall and mbered up onto the seat while retaining her bnce, gliding forward and backward and moving around in a figure eight shape.
¡¸Well this is what it¡¯s like. With this being your first time, you¡¯d better have someone support you when you get on.¡¹
¡¸Even with support, there are plenty of people who still can¡¯t manage to pull it off though.¡¹
¡¸Yup. I¡¯m just clumsy and can never manage to really ride the thing.¡¹
Tatsuya and Hiroshi said something unnecessary in response to Haruna¡¯sment. To their credit though, unicycling has a much higher starting difficulty than pogo sticking does.
¡¸Haru, give me a hand.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay.¡¹
As Mio requested, Haruna did her best to support her bnce. Still, there was no way that Mio could immediately ride the unicycle after her struggle with the pogo stick¡
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s hard to do.¡¹
¡¸I guess you¡¯re not quite suited for doing something with these kinds of equipment.¡¹
¡¸Mm.¡¹
Unable to really get started on the first pedal, Mio quickly fell to the ground. For Mio, who was incredibly adept at ropewalking and wall climbing, this was an unexpected weakness.
¡¸How ¡®bout we take a break for now?¡¹
¡¸Sure.¡¹
¡¸Agreed.¡¹
It took fifteen minutes practicing pedalling while being supported by Haruna. After Hiroshi finished checking the other toys, he proposed that they change gears, to which Haruna and Mio agreed without objecting.
¡¸But that was super fun.¡¹
¡¸d to hear it mate.¡¹
Handing the unicycle she couldn¡¯t quite master back to Hiroshi, Miomented with a fulfilled expression on her face. Still, there were plenty of toys left to try out, and she was more than ready to take on the challenge tomorrow with enough time.
¡¸So for tomorrow, I say we practice ridin¡¯ bikes.¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m excited for that too.¡¹
And as they wereying out the ns for the next day, the group felt a resentful re pointed at them.
¡¸Without me? That¡¯s so unfair¡¡¡¹
As everyone frantically turned around to look at the source of the re, they saw Aearis reproachfully ncing at them from the workshop entrance, murmuring in a truly sad tone. Of course she had her usual disguise on.
¡¸Elle-chan?¡¹
¡¸The specifications for the golem car were decided and I trying over here to brief everyone, and what do I find¡¡¡¹
¡¸W-What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸All of you, enjoying yourselves like this, so unfair¡¡¡¹
Volume 3 Sequel 2.4
Volume 3 Sequel 2.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
Hiroshi and the others found themselves at a loss for words as Aearis continued to go on and on about how horrible it was of them to exclude her from their activities. There was no exclusion in the first ce. Hiroshi had simply thought of something off the cuff with all the items he made and did not think to call anyone over.
¡¸Even if ya say it¡¯s unfair¡¡¡¹
¡¸We barely began testing the items he just made.¡¹
¡¸We didn¡¯t even have enough time to contact you, Elle¡¡¡¹
¡¸I understand I am being selfish, but I still think this is just unfair¡¡¡¹
Lately, Aries was not holding back in her assertions. Though it was easier this way, saying the group was being unfair for something that was out of the blue was rather troubling.
¡¸Well, we still n to y with the toys tomorrow in this area, so juste ¡®n y with us when the timees. Or are ya busy tomorrow?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Please wait a moment.¡¹
epting Hiroshi¡¯s proposal, Aries began using some sort of transmission device to consult someone. She spoke to them two or three times in a quiet voice before her face began to sparkle.
¡¸I was able to get the day off!¡¹
¡¸d to hear it. So ya gonna stay the night?¡¹
¡¸Yes! Let me just go back and get ready!¡¹
Aearis said, hurriedly returning to the temple with transportation magic. As they watched her go, Hiroshi¡¯s group decided to go ahead and clean up.
¡¸Now then, what¡¯re we gonna do for dinner.¡¹
¡¸We have a bunch of sandshark fins left over, so maybe sharkfin soup?¡¹
¡¸Which means gyoza or shaomai on the steel te, mate.¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯ll make sweet-and-sour rock boar pork and then stir-fried greens and mabo tofu. How¡¯s that sound?¡¹
¡¸Sounds great. White rice or fried rice?¡¹
¡¸We have a lot of rich tasting foods in there, so how about we stick with white rice?¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna took no hesitation in confirming the menu. From the perspective of the average housewife struggling to decide the menu day in day out, the quick wit and repertoire of these two individuals must be quite desirable.
¡¸So we¡¯re going Chinese today. That¡¯s fine, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, Haru, I think everyone should wrap the gyoza.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Elle ¡®n Lime would rejoice.¡¹
Wrapping gyoza was a typical family pastime. It was fun regardless of how much you messed up or made too much of.
¡¸Then imma get some skin an gyoza stuffin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯ll prepare the shaomai ahead of time.¡¹
If everyone were wrapping gyoza, skin would be a necessity. There also needed to be a good amount of stuffing or else the gyoza-making would end abruptly, so since several people would be working on this, it was best to get enough to run a business with on this asion.
¡¸Sensei, I¡¯ll help get the skin.¡¹
¡¸Thanks mate.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll head over there too once I finish the preparations.¡¹
Tatsuya watched Hiroshi and the others warmly as they showed more gusto than usual in their cooking. At times like these, elders like him were at their best when they said nothing.
¡¸Now then, I guess I¡¯ll just wait here for Elle to get back.¡¹
After thirty minutes of waiting, Tatsuya greeted the returning workshop craftsmen, lightly chatting with Makoto and Rayna before once again having nothing to do, when Aearis returned.
¡¸Thank you for waiting.¡¹
¡¸We came over to y¡«¡¹
¡¸You came along too, huh. Well, I guess it¡¯s fine.¡¹
Tatsuya smiled awkwardly as he looked at the octogals on Aearis¡¯ head, soon guiding her to the room she always used. Sure, she could have walked there herself, but Aearis definitely wouldn¡¯t do anything as bold as that.
¡¸We¡¯ll all be helping make dinner today, so you should wash your hands and wait downstairs.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
¡¸Can we do it too¡«?¡¹
¡¸Of course, since we already nned to feed arge number of people. But we do have a limit on ingredients, so keep it to just one more octogal, okay?¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y¡¹
As soon as they said that, one more octogal appeared with a plop. They then flew down the stairs, lightly harassed Teres and Nora, and then went to wash their hands (?).
¡¸I see they¡¯re as crazy as ever.¡¹
¡¸But they seem to be having fun, so I don¡¯t see why not.¡¹
Tatsuyamented, exasperated, while Aearis gave a cheerful response, truly enjoying this.
¡¸I guess we¡¯d better get going too.¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
The gyoza seemed to be ready downstairs. If they waited too long, their share of the food might disappear. They quickly finished washing up and headed to the dining hall.
¡¸This is unbelievably difficult.¡¹
¡¸Well, you have to get used to it.¡¹
¡¸Oi, there¡¯s too much stuffin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Ah, right, right.¡¹
In the midst of this fantastical scene full of creatures from all sorts of races, the gyoza making proceeded in a harmonious environment.
¡¸tten it, tten it¡«¡¹
¡¸t-topped¡«¡¢t-topped¡«¡¹
¡¸Not boobs, the pectoralis major muscle¡«¡¹
¡¸Rayna-chan¡¯s pectoralis major muscle¡«¡¹
¡¸Well SORRY for something I can¡¯t help!¡¹
The octogals skillfully wrapped the gyoza as they continued their odd game of wordy. Looking at these octopus things wrapping gyoza was akin to a nightmare depending on your perspective.
¡¸But if we¡¯re on the topic of pecs, Makoto isn¡¯t all that different¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, is that how you wanna go? I¡¯ll fight you, kay? And you know what, at least I have more feminine appeal than you do.¡¹
¡¸Oho? Sorry, I¡¯m a little unclear on what part of you has appeal. Could you perhaps enlighten me?¡¹
¡¸Hey, at least I¡¯m better at wrapping gyoza than you are?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Knights don¡¯t need to have skill at wrapping things like this.¡¹
¡¸No, but we¡¯re talking about feminine appeal right now. And didn¡¯t youe here to learn anyway?¡¹
Makoto and Rayna industriously wrapped the gyoza as they badmouthed each other. Makoto was piling a pretty even amount of stuffing into the gyoza, making it beautiful, whereas Rayna¡¯s was bing a tragedy in the making. Rayna was probably used to whole roasting when camping, while Makoto had begun cooking taiyaki at the food stalls recently and probably had acquired cooking skills.
¡¸Oi, I suck at this sorta work, dood¡¡¡¹
¡¸Dat¡¯s cuz ye hands¡¯re big, Foeldan-sa. Ye can¡¯t work with tiny things.¡¹
Goivejon skillfully wrapped the gyoza as he reassured Foeldan, who was struggling with theparatively tiny skin due to hisrge palms. Ironically enough, he was better than Teres at this, who simply sucked at cooking.
¡¸Boss Man¡«¡¢I wrapped it pretty good¡«¡¹
¡¸Oh¡¢Lime¡¢good job mate!¡¹
¡¸Heehee.¡¹
Lime proudly held out her finished work of art. She not only surpassed Teres and Rayna, but also surpassed Nora by a long shot. The people unable to do this really did not seem to have an excuse now.
Volume 3 Sequel 2.5
Volume 3 Sequel 2.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Ugh, Lime¡¯s ahead of me¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, Teres, it isn¡¯t like you can¡¯t do it, okay¡¡¡¹
¡¸Why do I suck so much at cooking¡¡¡¹
¡¸Teres-chan, mass production elf¡«¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think that has anything to do with this.¡¹
Teres had a tendency to immediately botch any cooking. Noraforted her fellow partner. In her case, she was never good or bad at anything, and the same could be said for gyoza.
¡¸Is this how you do it?¡¹
¡¸Artiem, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bit too much?¡¹
¡¸Ah, yeah. You¡¯re right. Fum-chan, apparently it¡¯s easier to fold it when you start from this side.¡¹
¡¸Ah, you¡¯re right.¡¹
Fum and Artiem told each other what things they noticed from Lime¡¯s method as they watched her. They did seem to be close in age appearance-wise and looked like actual sisters. La looked at all of them with affection, doing her part in a timely manner.
¡¸This is quite fun, huh?¡¹
Aearis murmured in a truly happy manner while moving her hands as she gazed at everyone having a good time wrapping gyoza. In this country she was the top, while La and the others were essentially at the bottom of society with themoners. Aries and the other humans, goblins, elves, forest giants, moras, and even the octogals who were retainers of the gods were all gathered round the table, doing the same work and eating the same food regardless of status.
Hiroshi¡¯s group didn¡¯t realize this, but this was actually quite the miracle. Although Fane hardly had any discrimination, lifestyle choices and customs often caused friction with locals. As a result, a line was drawn and most races did not interact with each other beyond what was necessary.
There were hardly any races besides humans staying/living in Wulls anyway, so there were hardly any cases of multiple races working at the same tables unless you counted the entrance to Wulls where there were crowds of people. This was evident of peace for the nation and a great hope for the future in Aearis¡¯s case.
¡¸Yup, of all the family activities, makin¡¯ gyoza is the best.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s fun even if you do it sloppy.¡¹
¡¸I haven¡¯t made gyoza since I went to elementary school.¡¹
With or without knowledge of how Aearis felt, Hiroshi¡¯s group enjoyed this situation to the fullest. Coming from another world, as long as they couldmunicate with others then race did not y much of a factor in this. When it came tomon sense or ways of living, humans, elves, they were all the same to Hiroshi¡¯s group.
Therefore no one even tried to avoid offending anyone. They all just chatted away without questioning their situation as they wrapped gyoza together harmoniously.
¡¸Elle-chan. I¡¯ll teach you the recipeter, so when they have time, how about you bring along His Highness and Elena-sama to make some with you?¡¹
¡¸Yes, that sounds fantastic.¡¹
¡¸I bet Mark-o would have a super tough time wrappin¡¯ it all.¡¹
¡¸And King Avin seems like he would be a natural at this.¡¹
Aearis nodded, imagining what the scene would look like. Though royalty was quite a constrained way of life, the temple could always just carefully select ingredients for Hiroshi to use in order to carefully make panaceas. That should shut up anyone who asked about testing for poison. All that was left after that was really just matching their schedules.
¡¸Now then, we¡¯re just about outta stuffing ¡®n skin, so how bout we get to cookin¡¯ it.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, wanna cook it in the kitchen?¡¹
¡¸Nah, doin¡¯ it the same as always is a buzzkill. We gotta go to an extreme with this one.¡¹
¡¸I agree. Then I¡¯ll go ahead with the other food.¡¹
¡¸Thank ya. I¡¯ll use steel te right here to cook ¡®em.¡¹
Watching Haruna go off to prepare the remaining food, Hiroshi heated up the steel te and poured oil on it. Mio, who had been watching him, rushed to the kitchen and took out chopsticks and gyoza tes for everyone alongside a small te to put sauce in.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s do it all at once, y¡¯all¡¹
Confirming that the steel te had gotten hot enough, Hiroshi began cing gyoza after gyoza on it. The gyoza roasted with wild abandon, the noise and smell bolstering everyone¡¯s appetite whether they liked it or not.
¡¸Alright, it¡¯s almost there y¡¯all¡¹
Hiroshi poured water into it and covered it with a lid to bake it as he proimed. Everyone else looked like they could not handle any more waiting. Even Aearis had a dignified look on her face, but her eyes were absolutely locked on to the steel te.
¡¸Alright, looks good.¡¹
He scooped up the first batch with a spat and piled them onto all the tes. At the same time, the stir-fry greens were carried out from the kitchen as the first dish.
¡¸We still got morein¡¯, so eat up while it¡¯s hot.¡¹
Hiroshi urged them on. Unable to handle it any longer, they said their prayers and then piled the gyoza into their mouths.
¡¸Hot!¡¹
¡¸So good¡¡¡¹
¡¸Dang, if we had some cool beer on us then it would be even more amazing.¡¹
¡¸Right?¡¹
Artiem¡¯s eyes flickered ck and white at the seriously hot gyoza, while Tatsuya and Makotomented the absence of the goldenbo of beer and gyoza. Almost as if she had heard them discussing alcohol with food, La brought out sweet ¡®n sour pork and beer.
¡¸Ooo!¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san told me you two would probably enjoy these.¡¹
¡¸Way to go, Haruna! I love you!!¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto let out cheers of happiness as they saw the cold beer handed to them. After putting some gyoza into their mouths, they gulped down their beers with indescribably happy expressions on their faces.
¡¸Gah¡«¡¢this hits the spooot!¡¹
¡¸Yep, beer is the foundation for a good meal!¡¹
As if dering that tasty beer and tasty food go together, Tatsuya and Makoto did not stop at the gyoza, but began going after the sweet-and-sour pork and stir-fried greens, piling them up. Goivejon and Foeldan were making simr expressions now that they also had beer.
¡¸Dis here food is always tasty, eh.¡¹
¡¸An it goes perfectly with booze, eh.¡¹
The only people here who drank in the workshop besides Tatsuya and Makoto were Goivejon and Foeldan. Teres and Nora did not dislike drinking, but also were not especially attached to it, and everyone else was not old enough to drink.
¡¸Big Sis Teres, is alcohol really that good?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d say it¡¯s a matter of taste. I don¡¯t feel like drinking too much today, but I do get that liquor would go quite well with this food.¡¹
¡¸Artiem, you don¡¯t drink?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think anyone would be angry at me if I did, but I¡¯ve never tried it, so I guess I¡¯m a little scared to?¡¹
And as the girls of different races discussed liquor,
¡¸Chem-chan¡¯s probably a violent drunk¡«¡¹
¡¸Maudlin drinker¡«¡¹
¡¸Unpleasant drunk¡«¡¹
¡¸Stripper¡«¡¹
¡¸Body disposed of¡«¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, I kinda feel like someone¡¯s ndering me!!¡¹
The octogals went straight to bullying her.
¡¸Come on¡«¡¢Bi¡«g Sis¡¢this is tasty¡«¡¹
¡¸Lime, you need to calm down and eat your food!¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t be talking if I were you, Fum.¡¹
Fum admonished Lime, who was rifling through her tasty food, while La chastised Fum for practically doing the same thing. Such a heartwarming time spent between mother and daughter.
¡¸¡¡You know, I really like having lively feasts like this.¡¹
Haruna murmured thoughtfully, carting in the remaining shark fin soup, shaomai, mabo tofu, and white rice and serving it out as she looked at everyone merrymaking while they ate.
¡¸That¡¯s cuz a fun atmosphere an a hungry stomach are the best kinda seasonin¡¯, mate.¡¹
¡¸I agree. I feel that eating here with everyone makes the food that much better.¡¹
¡¸Right, you don¡¯t have much of an opportunity to eat in a rxed environment, do you Elle-chan?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. That is why I feel that Father would also take refuge here while everyone is present.¡¹
¡¸Although maybe you could keep the refugees to a minimum, yeah?¡¹
Haruna mumbled with a grimace at Aearis¡¯ questionable statement. Although this would always be a free and easy gathering, everyone still tended to choose their words carefully around those of high status.
¡¸¡¡Hey, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d love it if we could have this sort of excitement at the dinner table as much as possible whenever we¡¯re all here.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mm, for sure.¡¹
The words naturally spilled out of Mio as she watched everyone busily eating their food. Haruna nodded at her in an impressed manner before bringing her chopsticks down to her te to get some more ready-hot food.
Also, digressing a bit to bicycle practice the next day¡
¡¸This is so fa¡«st!¡¹
¡¸Lime, keep your focus ahead!!¡¹
¡¸So this bicycle thing can just go fast without any mana or anything.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s handy, but I bet it¡¯s quite the hassle to make it yourself.¡¹
The workshop crew and Aearis took turns riding the bicycle as two people watched them from the side.
¡¸Ugh¡¡¡¢I resent myself for being so clumsy¡¡¡¹
¡¸Why do I feel so humiliated¡¡¡¹
Somewhere in the distance were the silhouettes of Mio and Artiem, desperately practicing, falling down, getting back up, and practicing again.
Volume 3 Sequel 3.1
Volume 3 Sequel 3.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
This particr event urred the day that the workshop finally began training the apprentices in magic toolmaking. It also happened to be the day that certain employees left from Igreos temple.
¡¸Ah, Master Hiroshi, might I have a moment?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹
¡¸I hear sounds from below this building. What might it be?¡¹
¡¸Sound¡¡?¡¹
The temple employee asked Hiroshi, who contemted it briefly. There were three rooms below Darl¡¯s workshop: a storage room and two work rooms. Thanks to enchantments, the storage room had expanded capacity and was connected with the other storages, so that couldn¡¯t be it. The sound must therefore being from one of the work rooms.
¡¸A sound from one of the underground rooms, eh¡I wonder if somethin¡¯ happened¡¡?¡¹
Still, now that it was interconnected with the workshop in Wulls, there was hardly any need to use the underground work stations in Darl. No one should be using either room right now, so there should be no noise. As he thought about it, Hiroshi felt that something was off, but he couldn¡¯t recall what precisely it was.
¡¸I can¡¯t remember off the top of my head, so imma head down and see.¡¹
Hiroshi still couldn¡¯t remember, figuring it was quicker to go down and check it out. He left the men where they were. As soon as he headed downstairs, Hiroshi immediately remembered what he had forgotten.
¡¸Right, right. I forgot that I cleansed the evil idol.¡¹
Hiroshi muttered as he heard Haruna¡¯s voice escaping from the door that was firmly sealed off. Before going to the underground ruins he had soaked it in holy water and left Haruna¡¯s song ying before leaving the area and forgetting about the idol. If it were Haruna in this scenario, she probably would have remembered at the word ¡°underground¡±, but Hiroshi did not have such inhuman memory. And so he did not remember until he was face to face with it.
Although the door was firmly sealed shut, as they never had the intention of leaving it that way for a long period of time, the effects were beginning to thin out. This resulted in the sound barrier gradually diminishing until atst the sound was escaping out to where people could hear it.
¡¸I think it¡¯s marinated long enough, so I better just throw it out already.¡¹
Using the word ¡°marinate¡± was a little odd, but anyway, quite a bit of time had psed since the idol had soaked in the liquid. By this point, the idol could very well just be destroyed, but Hiroshi didn¡¯t think it was that fragile and figured it was best just to dispose of it, so with that in mind, he decided to contact Haruna and Mio.
¡ºHaruna-san, Mio, I needa tell ya somethin¡¯.¡»
¡ºWhat?¡¡What happened?¡»
¡ºSensei, is there work for us?¡»
Haruna and Mio responded quickly. Today, the two of them were working on different tasks that they said they wanted to focus on. It wasn¡¯t really all that important though. Haruna was just checking the seasonal food stocks for Hiroshi and Makoto¡¯s birthdays and Mio was having a bra newly made now that her current bra had begun to wear outtely, hunting giant spiders near Ortem vige.
They already had a ton of spirit thread, so why hunt more giant spiders? Mio was aware of this, but there were two reasons why she decided to: one, because Hiroshi making women¡¯s underwear, especially brassieres, wouldn¡¯t evenst half a day, plus Mio didn¡¯t have any skill in handling spirit thread or spirit cloth. She could maybe make a fairly uncool set of panties, but who knew how many tools she¡¯d go through before making even one set. So Mio saw this also as a good opportunity to up her skill at making spider silk in depth.
¡ºYa¡¯ll remember the evil idol?¡»
¡ºAh¡«! We left the song on y, didn¡¯t we!?¡»
¡º¡¡Oh yeah, we did. I totally forgot.¡»
Once they heard the reason for Hiroshi calling them, Haruna let out a loud voice and Mio came in one secondter. Both of them seemed to have forgotten. It hadn¡¯t been a high priority for them, plus other things, so in a sense, this was to be expected.
¡ºOne of the boysin¡¯ from the temple for trainin¡¯ said that they heard a sound underground. I just remembered when I went down, and I figured it¡¯s about time I dispose of it.¡»
¡ºYeah, you definitely should.¡»
¡ºAnd, so¡It¡¯s a bit dangerous dealin¡¯ with it by myself, so if ya ain¡¯t pressed for time, couldja maybe help out?¡»
Haruna and Mio consented to Hiroshi¡¯s petition without hesitation. Neither of them were dealing with anything particrly pressing. Haruna¡¯s errand could be taken care of tomorrow or the next day, and Mio already had secured plenty of cocoons. All she needed to do now was stay up and work on it every night.
¡ºThen imma prepare over here, so get back as soon as ya can. Sorry ¡®bout this.¡»
¡ºAlright.¡»
¡ºBe there soon.¡»
After hearing their answers, Hiroshi ended the call and decided to give instructions to his pupils for dealing with the aftermath. This would involve harvesting a catalyst. Hiroshi was nning to make his students gather the ingredients for the enchantments in today¡¯s lesson. He wasn¡¯t going to have them use ingredients from dangerous ces or anything like that, but just in case, Hiroshi made sure to contact Tatsuya and Makoto for protection.
¡¸Now then, let¡¯s see what¡¯s goin¡¯ on.¡¹
Hiroshi breathed out a small sigh as he prepared the barrier tools and whatnot. The idol seemed to have marinated for far too long, and he just had the feeling that things were going to progress in an undesirable direction.
And so this dangerous cleanup that would probably invite more trouble than it was worth began to speed along as preparations were made.
¡¸So, Sensei, what¡¯s going on?¡¹
Mio asked Hiroshi for the situation as soon as she got back to the workshop in Darl.
¡¸Imma look inside right now, but I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anythin¡¯ good waitin¡¯ inside.¡¹
Mio nodded, encouraging Hiroshi to continue, and so Hiroshi cancelled the seal and opened the door very slightly. On the other side of the door was an oddly clean room.
¡¸¡¡There ain¡¯t a shred of miasma in sight¡¡¡¹
¡¸The feng shui¡¯s been cleansed too?¡¹
¡¸Seems that way.¡¹
It would seem that they had both underestimated the capabilities of the hymnals. Sure, they had left it ying for over two weeks on repeat, but who knew that a simple recording like this could have such an immense cleansing effect? Still, Aearis could easily bring about the same effect without any ritual if she got serious, so this was still a discount version of her power.
¡¸And now, for the goods.¡¹
After they finished looking over the room, Hiroshi and Mio saw what state said evil idol was in before quickly releasing the idol from its physical form and watching the figure in a trancelike state as itpletely stopped moving. By this point there was not a single fragment of miasma remaining.
¡¸Y¡¯know, this is kinda creepy.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s creepy.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s totally creepy¡«¡¹
Hiroshi and Mio turned around to see the source of the voice, Haruna, who was suddenly there behind their backs peeking at the idol.
¡¸Haru, when¡¯d you get here?¡¹
¡¸Right about now. But sheesh, who would have thought just leaving a recording ying would have such astounding effects?¡¹
¡¸Yup, seems that way. When makin¡¯ cleansing equipment, we should prolly blockade the forge ¡®n smelting furnace for two weeks or so ¡®n then y the song on repeat.¡¹
¡¸I sort of feel like singing is slowly losing its original purpose¡¡¡¹
Haruna remarked, looking at Hiroshi with reproachful eyes. Hiroshi grimaced at her before going ahead and taking the bottle with the idol in it. Regardless of how they were going to dispose of it, first things first, they needed to disassemble it. After all, they couldn¡¯t just crush it and throw it away.
¡¸Now then, what¡¯s goin¡¯ on with this thing¡¡¹
¡¸Can we use it for materials?¡¹
¡¸I think so, but I dunno what for.¡¹
Hiroshi responded to Haruna¡¯s question, deciding to go to the other underground room. The workstation upstairs was going to be used by the priests for training, so it wouldn¡¯t be good to have strange effects surrounding that area.
¡¸So, Sensei. What would you like to start with?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s start with the easy stuff, like what¡¯s been going on with the bottled holy water.¡¹
Haruna and Mio watched Hiroshi as he took out water quality checkers. At this point, the girls still had nothing they must do.
¡¸¡¡Physically drinkin¡¯ the water shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Now, as for magic or mystical, well¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi then squirted some holy water onto the magic stones and other machine parts with a dropper, checking for any reactions or changes. There weren¡¯t any visible signs of harm from the looks of it, but there was no mistake about it: the water was no longer holy water.
Volume 3 Sequel 3.2
Volume 3 Sequel 3.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸It prolly ain¡¯t harmful, but it sure ain¡¯t holy water no more. I¡¯m gettin¡¯ real bad vibes from this.¡¹
¡¸Bad vibes?¡¹
¡¸I just feel like there¡¯s somethin¡¯ deadly, kinda?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know why that would be, but I understand what you¡¯re worried about.¡¹
¡¸So even though it prolly ain¡¯t harmful, we best not directly touch it.¡¹
The two of them nodded at Hiroshi¡¯s obvious warning. Honestly, they didn¡¯t want to touch it anyway. But trouble always urs no matter how much you try to prevent it.
¡¸Achoo!¡¹
There wasn¡¯t anything that could make the situation dangerous, but all of a sudden, Haruna gave a small sneeze, unable to hold in the sudden impulse. That action of hers shook the work desk, and the holy water spilled out of the bottle.
¡¸Ah-¡¹
¡¸S-Sorry!¡¹
Haruna hurriedly took out a dishcloth once she realized that a dangerous substance that they had to be careful with was now spilled onto the floor. Panicking at any point in time was always bound to lead to more disaster, and this situation was no different, with Haruna frantically wiping the desk with the cloth using her bare hands, which was absolutely uneptable in a dangerous situation like this. Hiroshi and Mio couldn¡¯t get to her in time, and the holy water that was soaking into the floor directly touched her.
¡¸Haruna-san, ya gotta believe that ain¡¯t safe in the slightest¡¡¡¹
¡¸Haru, first I think you should use rubber gloves or something to cover your hands¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ah¡¡¡¹
Once the two of them pointed that out, Haruna made a surprised face as she realized what she had done, but it was toote. She could already feel moisture in the palm of her hand.
¡¸First, show me the area it touched.¡¹
¡¸O-Okay¡¡¡¹
Still flustered from the situation, Haruna obeyed and showed Hiroshi her palm. From what he could see, all that really happened was her hand getting slightly damp. Her skin also looked oddly shiny, but that was what temporarily happened when your skin made contact with holy water, so that wasn¡¯t strange either. It had yet to lose its holy properties, so there was no issue with her skin glowing.
¡¸¡¡Well, don¡¯t seem like nothing¡¯s wrong¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sensei, any effects from these sorts of items won¡¯t emerge immediately.¡¹
¡¸You right. Let¡¯s watch over her for a bit.¡¹
Hiroshi and Mio looked at Haruna, who seemed perfectly normal, deciding to watch her for a bit. They would not know how to deal with her unless symptoms appeared.
¡¸Uu¡¡¡¢I¡¯m sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸Welp, physiological responses are always like this¡¡¹
¡¸I sort of feel like I¡¯ve been wreaking havoc everywhere since we came to Darl¡¡¡¹
¡¸Welp, I dunno Haruna, I think all of us humans¡¯ve been there at one point.¡¹
Haruna seemed to be truly dejected at how many times she had been carelesstely. She probably wanted to be more calm in her decision-making to benefit the team.
Hiroshi reassured her in a nonchnt manner. But in terms of degrees of carelessness, the one in the leaderboard of shenanigans was in fact Hiroshi, who had gone so far as to drag Haruna and the others underground.
¡¸Speaking of shenanigans¤½¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm? Mio, somethin¡¯ happen?¡¹
¡¸Uhh, you know how Dentlis-san brought about the whole idol business? What ever became of him after that?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢now that ya mention it¡¡¹
Dentlis hadn¡¯t tried anything else since then. Everyone had practically forgotten he existed thanks to this.
¡¸Didn¡¯t really care, so I ignored ¡®im, but it would be super annoying if he tried somethin¡¯ again. Guess I¡¯ll spare some time ¡®n ask the queen or the high priest.¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
Even though the topic of Dentlis hade back up, they didn¡¯t really care about him anyway, so the topic just ended as abruptly as it had begun. Most likely, if Hiroshi had not done anything as brazen as going to underground ruins, there would have been more leeway to inflict a blow before the brainwashing, but at this point it was dumb to even discuss it.
¡¸Now that we¡¯ve changed gears, let¡¯s try ¡®n see what characteristics this fe has.¡¹
Nodding in agreement, Haruna and Mio examined everything they possibly could, from the mana patterns to anything else. By the time they had finished, the group hadpletely forgotten about Dentlis or the holy water fiasco.
Meanwhile, Tatsuya and Makoto were tagging along for the ss harvest excursion.
¡¸You sure it¡¯s okay to help us?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I already finished my investigation in Darl. His Majesty even gave me permission.¡¹
¡¸Okay, if you say so¡¡¡¹
Together with Rainy, who had suddenly appeared, the group was randomly defeating the monsters around them. The ce Hiroshi selected was quite a distance from Darl and even the highway, so even though the monsters weren¡¯t especially skilled in attack, they were too troublesome to be left alone.
Of course these were only monsters that happened to be near town, so a bite or two wouldn¡¯t hurt that much. Even with the worst luck, there was nothing that an unssified potion couldn¡¯t heal. And unlike the game, getting bitten once didn¡¯t mean that you¡¯d receive continuous attack damage before defeating them. Step a bit away from the monster¡¯s territory at a leisurely pace and the battle wouldn¡¯t even feel like a battle. That was just how little danger there was in it.
Still, injuries were injuries. And this time around there were three priests who were not used to harvesting or fighting, hence why Tatsuya and Makoto had tagged along, despite knowing full well that they were being overprotective. If this were just about Fum and the others, the two of them wouldn¡¯t have needed toe along. Give them a transportation stone for emergency and that would be it.
¡¸So what brought about this change of heart?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m headed to Forre tomorrow. I won¡¯t be around here for a while, at least not until the priority investigation concludes.¡¹
¡¸And?¡¹
¡¸If I help out here and rack up points, I thought I might get some sort of reward from Deary.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Alright, I guess it¡¯s okay then¡¡¡¹
Makoto didn¡¯t even bother to hide her exasperated expression at Rainy¡¯s unbelievably ulterior motive. At this rate, Hiroshi might very well have to fondle Rainy¡¯s chest before long.
But wouldn¡¯t it only be a reward depending on how you fondled said breasts? At least that was what Makoto thought as she snuck nces at Rainy¡¯s fairly ample chest area (though it still didn¡¯t quitepare to Haruna¡¯s). But either way, such a task would be tantamount to torture for Hiroshi. If Hiroshi really were the type of person to fondle your breasts when asked to, then he wouldn¡¯t have taken such severe damage from being in a cramped environment with the opposite gender like he was in the underground ruins. Normally any guy would be overjoyed, even if it wasn¡¯t a romantic situation.
¡¸Hiroshi¡¯s really got it tough now¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, no joke.¡¹
¡¸Still, even though I know what he¡¯s struggling with, for some reason I still don¡¯t find myself empathizing with him.¡¹
Hiroshi practically took damage in situations that any other guy would be envious of. Tatsuya and Makoto just shook their heads with grimaces on their faces as they took down a giant caterpir, considering what materials they could pick up from it. This type of monster hardly ever came after you, but its teeth could easily pierce through leather gloves. One wrong move and it could bite off one of your fingers like nothing, so they took it down ahead of time.
¡¸Just letting you know that this level of cooperation with us isn¡¯t going to make him want to fondle your boobs. You still ok with that?¡¹
¡¸No problem. That¡¯s only the first goal marker.¡¹
¡¸First goal marker? Don¡¯t tell me, thest goal is¡¡¡¹
¡¸Thest goal is of course to have him touch and lick and suck and bite and vite me all over my body and then have plenty of chi¡¡¡¹
¡¸Okay, that¡¯s enough. No discussing things like that in front of actual children.¡¹
Makoto sighed in exasperation at just how honest Rainy was with her goals. The most troublesome part about this girl was that Hiroshi could literally do anything, like whip her into submission and she¡¯d totally enjoy it.
¡¸Now, I really don¡¯t care about this, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I sort of feel like this girl¡¯s goal is, in a sense, the same as Haruna and Mio¡¯s. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Maybe, but I think their end game is a little more normal¡¡¡¹
It was true that Rainy wasn¡¯t the only one who wanted sexual rtions with Hiroshi. Yes, some girls were more subtle about it and wanted a softer approach, but at some point, all of their desires were in essence the same.
Still, there were many checkpoints to clear before such things, including ethical/moral values like marriage, or so you would assume, and yet Hiroshi couldn¡¯t even think about anything like marriage, so this situation was just seriously troublesome, all in all.
Volume 3 Sequel 3.3
Volume 3 Sequel 3.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
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¡¸¡¡Is this enough for material?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I¡¯d say so.¡¹
After defeating a snake that one of the priests carelessly provoked by entering into its territory, Rainy checked with Tatsuya and Makoto. This snake in particr was not only quite well-behaved, but also didn¡¯t have any sort of venom in it. Still, its tacklebined with its constrict move could potentially crush your bones if worst came to worst. By this point you probably understand why Hiroshi wanted to send guards alongside the priests, with all the monsters they provoked in their negligence.
¡¸Alright, looks like we¡¯re going to have a little review meeting when we get back for everyone from the temple.¡¹
¡¸Yep. A little bit of carelessness is to be expected, but we need them to be just a bit more careful.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto discussed the ns for when they returned as they drove out the grasshopper that was aiming at a priestess. Considering how they would need to collect materials by themselves, it was imperative the priests learn how to focus specifically on finding materials while paying attention to their surroundings and gently taking what they needed.
At first nce, it sounded rather unreasonable, but Fum and Lime were already doing that all the time by themselves. The priests were adults, so it would be shameful if they couldn¡¯t do what even children could. Even Makoto, aplete outsider to harvesting, could focus on it enough to get some results, so this wasn¡¯t unreasonable in any way.
Then again, since Makoto¡¯s harvesting skill was at the first bonus at level 10, she couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between half the things she found.
¡¸¡¡Punishment?¡¹
¡¸Hate to break it to you, but regardless of what it is, you won¡¯t be part of it.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Aww¡¹
¡¸¡¡Even though I knew you¡¯d say that, you¡¯re such a horrible choice for educating children¡¡¡¹
¡¸Makoto, you do realize that you¡¯re not one to talk, right?¡¹
After Rainy heard the term ¡°review session¡± and decided to link it with the word ¡°punishment¡±, Tatsuya and Makoto looked at her, disgusted, as they continued a rather indescribable conversation. The worst part about all of this was that Haruna was probably the only one here safe for educating children.
¡¸Anyhow, are we still going?¡¹
Despite this being the conversation she started, Rainy acted as if it had never happened, instead asking a question about the present situation.
¡¸Mm? Oh, right. It¡¯s almost lunchtime, so we¡¯d best head back soon. Let me go check something.¡¹
Answering Rainy¡¯s question, Tatsuya decided to see how the harvesting squad was doing.
¡¸Nora, how¡¯s it going?¡¹
¡¸Well, judging from the amount in my basket, I¡¯d say that it¡¯s pretty good for today.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Well, it¡¯s almost lunchtime, so let¡¯s finish up and get back.¡¹
¡¸Yes indeed.¡¹
Nora obeyed Tatsuya and went around to call Teres, Fum, and the priests. As they watched the priests walk toward them with tired, staggering steps, the three girls from Azuma Workshop regrouped with Tatsuya and Makoto.
¡¸Well that was something¡¡¡¹
¡¸Indeed, those three temple people need plenty of guidance.¡¹
¡¸So even you three thought that was pretty bad?¡¹
¡¸Although this is the first day they tried harvesting, so this is the expected oue¡¡¹
¡¸Still, this isparatively terrible to the time we took Lime out for her first harvest, and in more ways than one.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto gave them a faraway look, clearly taken aback by Teres and Nora¡¯s harsh words. Even they were displeased with the priests.
¡¸So Tatsuya, you guys also thought that was pretty bad?¡¹
¡¸Yeeeah, kinda.¡¹
¡¸I know it¡¯s unfair topare them to the likes of Hiroshi¡¯s crew, but usually you try and keep a lookout, right¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡They¡¯re full of openings.¡¹
Even Tatsuya and Makoto were merciless in their criticism. They honestly weren¡¯t sure if outsourcing was such a good idea.
¡¸Anyhow, when we get back it¡¯s a lecture of love.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I get the strangest feeling that you just made a reference to something, but I do agree on the thorough lecture aspect.¡¹
Grimacing at Nora¡¯s expression (rather reminiscent of the kind ofnguage thatte-night shows used), Makoto made a mental note of the ns they had after returning to the Darl workshop. Things never went quite ording to n, but they couldn¡¯t just run around aimlessly.
¡¸So was I useful?¡¹
¡¸Hm? Yeah. You were quite the help.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because the temple group scattered everywhere. These two were probably the busiest out of anyone.¡¹
They answered Rainy¡¯s sudden question, and there was a slight expression of relief on her face. Her sense of self was going in a bit of a different reaction from Mio¡¯s, so although Rainy was still expressionless, there was a definitive change in her personality as the days went by.
¡¸So could I plead for a reward?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Maybe, depending on the reward.¡¹
¡¸Maybe a towel drenched in Deary¡¯s sweat or something?¡¹
¡¸¡¡You really are as straightforward as theye, kid¡¡¡¹
Then again, this developing personality just reeked of stupidity.
¡¸Well, maybe you could try some negotiation?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll do my best.¡¹
¡¸I think you have your priorities wrong.¡¹
As they continued their conversation, they waited for the temple group to regain their walking ability. A bit of a troublesome situation would ur soon after at the workshop, but as none of them were divine entities, they could not anticipate whaty ahead.
¡¸Alright, guess it¡¯s time for lunch, y¡¯all.¡¹
After receiving Tatsuya¡¯s message that his party was on their way back, Hiroshi and the other two decided to start on lunch. Still, thinking of the kind of lunch every time was just in bothersome.
¡¸Sensei, Haru. Nora¡¯s gang and the people from the temple are also here, so I think we¡¯ll have difficulty making a variety of food.¡¹
¡¸True. With all that considered, is there anything you¡¯d like to eat, Mio-chan?¡¹
¡¸Something on the refreshing side, not spicy.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna wracked their brains after hearing Mio¡¯s roundabout but difficult request. Refreshing probably meant some cooled food¡
¡¸In this case, the avable options are¡¡¡¹
¡¸Zaru soba, cooled udon, soumen, cooled chinese food, cooled pasta, stuff like that?¡¹
¡¸Yup. And when ya consider how ain¡¯t no one from the temple can use chopsticks, cooled pasta¡¯s prolly the best option.¡¹
Nodding at Hiroshi¡¯s proposal, they checked off the ingredients one by one.
¡¸So we got cool pasta, but do we make regr and then cool it or make a cool soup?¡¹
¡¸We have plenty of roots, so a cold soup pasta is probably the better choice.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Then let¡¯s go wi¡¯that.¡¹
And so Hiroshi began gathering all the ingredients for a cool cream soup but made sure not to put too many different ingredients in. As per usual, with rock worm just casually thrown in, this was no diet to be trifled with.
¡¸Hey, Mio. How about ya go ¡®n make ice cream or somethin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Mm. Okay.¡¹
Once Mio had switched over the ingredients, Hiroshi called her elsewhere and Mio began making the ice cream with an oddly cheerful attitude. She certainly did have the equipment and the skill to make ice cream, but because of herck of skill in the crafting field, she wasn¡¯t able to sell it, especially not in Darl.
In addition to that caveat, she could only really make vani, matcha, and a few fruit vors in ice cream. Mio had simply made vors that catered to women by-the-by, and by this point she was pouring her everything into challenging her limits. She had started out with the orthodox vani and matcha, but whenever Hiroshi vacated the kitchen, she would work together with Haruna on chocte, chocte mint, and things like that.
Volume 3 Sequel 3.4
Volume 3 Sequel 3.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Ah, right. I forgot.¡¹
¡¸What is it, Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Speakin¡¯ of dessert, I made this real good one but forgot about it till now.¡¹
Hiroshi said, taking out coconut gel. Darl also had tropical regions, so ingredients like these were always in cirction.
¡¸I got plenty of red algae saved up too, so once I make some agar we can have fruit punch.¡¹
¡¸Then once you finish with that I might wanna put in some almond jelly.¡¹
¡¸Yup, that¡¯s another possibility.¡¹
Haruna felt her face light up at the fullness of all these sweets. All they needed now were azuki beans and they could have some mitsumame. So now she really wanted to get her hands on some¡
¡¸We have the perfect lineup for dessert here, so why can¡¯t I find any azuki beans in our inventory?¡¹
¡¸Yeeeah¡¡¹
¡¸Now you got me wanting azuki bean soup.¡¹
¡¸And don¡¯tcha forget soft azuki bean jelly, mate.¡¹
Chocte, coffee, coconut gel, there was a whole plethora of things that would expand anyone¡¯s eating habits, and yet they simply could not find any azuki beans. At this point it had to be someone¡¯s cruel joke.
¡¸Welp, we don¡¯t got what we don¡¯t got. We just gotta go all out when we find some.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡¹
As they spoke, Haruna made side dish after side dish to go with the pasta. This included sand oyster carpio, Darl vegetable putty, and sand urchin. Quite the extravagant choices there.
¡¸Now all we gotta do is boil the pasta after Bro and the others get back and we¡¯re all done.¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
As they continued conversing, a considerable amount of people showed up at the doorstep. This was a perfect stopping ce, so they went out to greet them¡
¡¸¡¡Sensei, Haru. I feel like the weirdness has been amplified.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Welp, if Bro and Makoto-san decide it¡¯s cool to have ¡®er along, then I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a problem¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡And she¡¯s physically appealing too¡¡¡¹
Rainy was already starting to make pervertedments as she saw Hiroshi, while Tatsuya and Makoto were there holding her back as hard as they could.
¡¸So howe you didn¡¯t let us know?¡¹
¡¸We met up with her out in the field, that¡¯s why.¡¹
¡¸And she did help us quite a bit, so we figured it wouldn¡¯t do much harm to invite her over for some food¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto were a bit put-off by Rainy¡¯s reaction, however, thinking they might have done wrong. Even though she had been severely criticized, Rainy had been previously rather obedient, so they might have been a little too careless this time around.
¡¸Deary!¡¡Deary!¡¹
¡¸Ah, hey, stop iling!!¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll kick you out if you don¡¯t behave!!¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto restrained Rainy with pure determination as she tried desperately to leap at Hiroshi. She was like a dog that didn¡¯t listen to its owners.
¡¸Deary!!¡¹
Rainy didn¡¯t heed Tatsuya or Makoto, using whatever assassin techniques she had in order to finally escape her restraints and lunge at Hiroshi. However
¡¸No.¡¹
As if seeing this three steps ahead, Haruna embraced Hiroshi and pulled him to the side,pletely evading Rainy¡¯s charge. She then thrust Hiroshi¡¯s head into her chest, unwilling to hand him over to anyone as she covered him, ring at Rainy.
¡¸Uu¡¢Deary¡¡¡¹
¡¸You can eat with us, but no more.¡¹
¡¸Uu, how mean¡¡¡¹
Now Rainy was held down not only by Tatsuya and Makoto, but even Mio this time around. But Haruna, who generally saw her as an enemy, was not moved by any of this.
¡¸I¡¯m fine with giving you food, since you helped Tatsuya-san and the others. But any more than that and you don¡¯t get any reward, got it?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Okay, I¡¯ll stay put¡¡¡¹
Haruna thrust the conditions in a sharp tone as she hugged Hiroshi even more tightly. Seeing that her minimum reward was about to be rescinded, Rainy reluctantly epted Haruna¡¯s conditions. Once they had determined that she had no further intent of rampaging, Tatsuya and the others released Rainy. As she watched all this, Haruna¡¯s attitude immediately rxed.
¡¸Okay, let¡¯s eat.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s fine and all, but Haruna, could you maybe release Hiroshi now?¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¡Ah!¡¡S¡¢Sorry!!¡¹
Once Tatsuya pointed that out, Haruna frantically released Hiroshi from being buried in her cleavage. His face was now deathly pale.
¡¸¡¡Soft¡¢¡¡Scary¡¢¡¡Soft¡¢¡¡Scary¡¹
Hiroshi mumbled incoherently after he was released. The closest he had ever been to a woman¡¯s body was in the underground ruins, and at the time, Haruna and Mio were wearing leather armor all around and Judith had even worn thick defensive robes, so he hadn¡¯t really experienced the soft sensation of skin.
He had already taken a considerable amount of damage at that stage, yet this time around he hade into contact with Haruna wearing only spirit cloth fabric and an apron, plus Haruna had directly pulled his face into her ample chest. Hiroshi had made contact with the female body and he knew it full well. Although she hadn¡¯t hugged him at an angle that would suffocate him, that was nofort to Hiroshi.
As a result, although this was with clothing and a bra on, her young skin and breasts had pressed against half of his face and Hiroshi ended up losing his sanity (though not in the way you would expect from a normal guy).
¡¸Sheesh, Haruna. You¡¯re kinda crazy.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, c¡¯mon, no matter how sudden this was, you could have done a better job just by guarding him.¡¹
Tatsuya joined Makoto in pointing out Haruna¡¯s shameless behavior, taking out his forging hammer again likest time.
¡¸Actually, Haruna? Why are you trying to hold on to Sensei¡¯s arm?¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¹
This time it was Mio who pointed out what she was doing, and Haruna realized that she was unconsciously trying to embrace Hiroshi¡¯s arm.
¡¸Haruna, you¡¯re seriously acting weird.¡¹
¡¸Something must have happened.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I wonder, if I know¡¡¡¹
Getting as far away from Hiroshi as possible, Haruna looked away as far as possible as she tried to answer Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s queries.
¡¸Wait, Mio-chan, if there¡¯s a cause to it, don¡¯t you think it could be¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah. It¡¯s probably exactly what you¡¯re thinking.¡¹
¡¸I never knew that holy water could have such bothersome aftereffects¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto made suspicious faces at Haruna and Mio¡¯s conversation. Completely out of the loop, Fum and the others were secretively talking about Haruna¡¯s bold move. This situation was bing very chaotic, and one more person was about to jump into it:
¡¸Oh, I seem to have arrived a bitte.¡¹
¡¸Elle-chan?¡¹
¡¸I received a divine message from Alfemina-sama, so I hurried over here to see what the deal is¡¡¡¹
Aearis joined the fray, which only served to make the situation even moreplicated. She seemed to have some form of information.
¡¸Haruna-sama, you did make contact with the holy water that the evil idol soaked in, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I think that me trying to touch Hiroshi-kun unintentionally was because of that. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸That is correct. That holy water from Alfemina-sama does have an effect that releases thetent emotions and desires of whoever touches it, to a reasonable degree.¡¹
¡¸¡¡And you say that this just now was ¡°to a reasonable degree¡±¡¡¡¹
Haruna simply could not feel right knowing what she had done. She wasn¡¯t a female molester, and she didn¡¯t think that hugging a man¡¯s head into her breast was reasonable or moderate in the slightest.
Volume 3 Sequel 3.5
Volume 3 Sequel 3.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸I just got here, so I do not know what precisely it is that you did, but as long as it wasn¡¯t anything that would garner hate, like just holding their arm, then it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¢that¡¯s what you meant¡¡¡¹
Once Haruna recognized that the ¡°reasonable¡± action was to hold someone¡¯s arm, Aearis continued.
¡¸Usually that would be reasonable and not problematic, but in Hiroshi-sama¡¯s case¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mm¡¡¡¹
¡¸Also, there is another troubling matter.¡¹
¡¸Troubling?¡¹
¡¸Yes. The effects are not poison or status ailments, so you cannot cure them with a panacea.¡¹
Aearis began the most troublesome topic of all as she looked at Haruna¡¯s cautious expression with a look of slight pity in her eyes. Haruna¡¯s face went pale as she heard this.
¡¸The effects shouldst about three days, and during that time you will be somewhat vulnerable to your impulses. And so I think it might be in both of your best interests to stay at a distance until the effects are gone.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah. But why did it cause me to get this way despite not being a status ailment?¡¹
¡¸You might find this strange, but it is actually a type of blessing.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Blessing?In what way?¡¹
¡¸I do not know why exactly that is, but I believe it to count as a blessing due to the holy water affecting you.¡¹
Everyone agreed that this was a nuisance. In actuality, the effects of hearing Haruna¡¯s music probably pushed her to stop merely trying to appeal to Hiroshi and go a little bit further, but even Alfemina didn¡¯t know that much.
As a result, no one actually understood the precise rtionship, and thus a new type of holy (?) water was born.
¡¸Well, since we do need to do something about this, how should we go about distancing them?¡¹
¡¸I have an idea. How about youe along with me to fully enjoy all the underground attractions?¡¹
¡¸Two nights and three days? You think they¡¯d allow that?¡¹
¡¸I do have plenty of matters to discuss with the people of the earth as the priestess princess, so I could use that as an excuse.¡¹
Aearis had a face like a saint, buttely she had been saying things that were quite self-serving. A bit put-off at her strange reliability, everyone decided that this was the best n of action.
¡¸Well, now that Sensei¡¯s back in action, let¡¯s have lunch. Are you joining us, Elle?¡¹
¡¸If you are fine with that, then I will eat before being on my way.¡¹
¡¸We have plenty¨C¡¹
Seeing that the conversation had reached a conclusion, Mio suggested that everyone hasten to finish lunch. But then, someone cut her off.
¡¸Haruna, you can¡¯t just be the only one to flirt with Deary¡¡¡¹
Rainyined, but
¡¸That¡¯s just the difference in your performance, so give it up.¡¹
¡¸Haruna¡¯s one thing, but who knows how Hiroshi would react if you were to try something.¡¹
And Rainy was in turn cut down by the two elders. And so lunch began after a feat of strength¡¡
¡¸Underground? You mean those ruins you mentioned before?¡¹
¡¸Yup. You interested too, Nora?¡¹
¡¸Of course I am.¡¹
And now the barrage of questions about the underground attraction emerged.
¡¸Well there¡¯s a transportation circle leadin¡¯ right there, an there¡¯s materials over there we can get too, so s¡¯long as ya don¡¯t see it conflictin¡¯ with work, I¡¯m fine with yain¡¯ along too.¡¹
¡¸Then once the lecture¡¯s over today, everyone should do their best in their work.¡¹
¡¸Lime cane along too, right?¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re talkin¡¯ attractions, then it¡¯d be better to have her along.¡¹
So with this being the perfect opportunity and all, Azuma Workshop¡¯s members hastened to be part of the sudden ¡°field trip¡± to the underground resort.
¡¸So what about the evil idol that caused all sorts of trouble?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t say it¡¯s totally harmless, but it ain¡¯t gonna go in the same direction that Dentlis intended no more.¡¹
¡¸As a material?¡¹
¡¸It can make some purty grim things, but I gotta deal with other materials first, so nothin¡¯ right now.¡¹
Hiroshi dered in response to Tatsuya¡¯s question, putting the second serving of pasta in the stew. Aearis looked at it, almost as if asking to have just a bit more. She was getting closer to an adult in her growth period, so she was requiring more than usual.
¡¸So Haruna-san, Elle, I¡¯d like ya to lead the way. As for me, I¡¯m gonna just proceed with the preparations for direction¡¯ everyone from the temple and for going to Forre.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
¡¸Please leave it to us.¡¹
Hiroshi said as he gave Aearis a third of a pile of noodles, and both Haruna and Aearis expressed their readiness. And so the lively lunchtime and the lecture of love to the priests had both ended, and the day ended without any trouble besides the incident with Haruna unconsciously grabbing Hiroshi¡¯s hand. And then
¡¸Haruna-san, you¡¯re so reckless¡¡¡¹
¡¸Haruna-sama, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹
¡¸Hm, maybe we should have raised the difficulty a bit?¡¹
¡¸Nah, I don¡¯t think we shouldpare ourselves to her level¡¡¡¹
Haruna, who could no longer be around Hiroshi now that the holy water was taking effect, was trying her best to vent her withdrawal symptoms and ended up easily mastering an attraction two times. Together with Lime, who had exceptional reflexes for a five year old, the two of them ended up causing the moles to have to reconsider the difficulty, truly inconveniencing them.
Volume 3 Extra 1.1
Volume 3 Extra 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
Extra?People Involved In a Certain Incident and What Became of Them
Warning:This topic may contain content that causes some people to experience difort.
This will not affect the main story in any way, so anyone concerned can feel free to not read this particr section.
£±£®A Certain Public Senior High School Third Year?The Case of Matsushima Yukari£¨former female ssmate£©
I will most likely have to shoulder these regrets for the rest of my life.
¡¸Yukari, let¡¯s go home.¡¹
¡¸Wait a sec. I gotta write an entry.¡¹
¡¸Kay.¡¹
I wrote in the ss duty journal as I had my friend, Kono Shiho (same middle school) wait for me. This was your average school, with schrly ability on the low side but no particr breaches in discipline or anything like that. This was quite recent after the new school year had begun, and as you would imagine, there aren¡¯t usually incidents that ur around this time to write about.
¡¸But wow, same thing as always, eh?¡¹
¡¸It ain¡¯t like I wanna do this, mkay. The other two sses might get away wit it, but us third years gotta keep up appearances.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but don¡¯tcha think it¡¯s ¡®bout time we had one or two people who don¡¯t try ¡®n hang us for what we did in middle school?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sure that Azuma-kun wanted to say the same thing at the time.¡¹
It had been three whole years since that event. The incident in question had finally begun to die down in the eyes of the public, but our generation was not done with its punishment. We had barely begun our third year, but by that point, any sort of chance at human rtions was hopeless, and there was no indication that the environment would be changing anytime soon. After all, when we advanced to this school, the effects of the incident were still thick in the air,pletely isting any and all girls from that specific middle school. Us fellow girls had to band together in our own little group. The boys from the same middle school were better off, since some of them at least tried to stop the incident, but even they were not seen very favorably.
Several scandals emerged after that as well. The school alreadycked students due to the aging poption, and this only served to ensure the closing of the school. Various circumstances had resulted in several students being thest students to enroll at said middle school this year. The underssmen one year behind us were already not well off, but then you had the new students enrolling this year or the studentsing in next year, stillpletely dragged into the mix of people to avoid. This was the gravity of what we had caused, and we truly felt that. The confidentiality was essentially zero at this point, yet even the juniors behind us had to take on the penalty. We felt seriously awful about all this.
¡¸Hey, at least I tried to stop the other ssmates.¡¹
¡¸Yup. So you got more leverage, but me ¡®n Saki can¡¯t say nothin¡¯ even if we wanted to.¡¹
¡¸Saki¡¯s one thing, but Yukari, they gotta forgive ya at some point, I think¡¡¡¹
¡¸One person broke him to such a degree, ya can¡¯t expect forgiveness for that.¡¹
That¡¯s right. I broke one boy to a fatal degree. I wasn¡¯t the principal offender; I wasn¡¯t even an aplice, but I was in a position to stop the incident from happening, yet I did nothing. I lightly brushed it off, thinking it to be the same pattern as usual, and didn¡¯t see it as going beyond that. If I had actually been paying attention, I would have recognized that this was not only beyond the boy¡¯s usual treatment, but it was just pure violence. Even a child could understand that much.
And to top it all off, the worst part about what I did was despite not even trying to dispel the horrible rumors about Azuma-kun that the girls banded together and spread throughout the school, I still went to see Hiroshi-kun when he was finally able to go back to school in the infirmary, under the pretext that I was ¡°visiting¡± him and ¡°apologizing¡± to him, but this was only to fulfill my own satisfaction. And the worst part of that worst part was that until that moment, I didn¡¯t even think what I had done was that bad at all. I don¡¯t think I will ever be able to forget the look in Azuma-kun¡¯s eyes that day.
¡¸We just kept attackin¡¯ Azuma-kun till he began makin¡¯ that face. An until we saw that face, we didn¡¯t even realize just how much this situation couldn¡¯t be undone.¡¹
¡¸I heard that a buncha times already.¡¹
¡¸Then ya understand that I can¡¯t be forgiven, right?¡¹
¡¸But it ain¡¯t like yer the one to me fer this, and ya don¡¯t gotta shoulder it all by yerself either, Yukari. And I know that yer doin¡¯ yer best now.¡¹
¡¸Nah, I¡¯m just satisfyin¡¯ my own conscience. I don¡¯t wanna ever repeat that mistake again.¡¹
Since then, I¡¯ve never let even a prank go unnoticed. Not if they were clearly joking around, but I was never able to endure letting even one person be aughingstock, even if it were a trifling matter. I couldn¡¯t even watchedy skits on TV because they just made me ufortable.
And when I continued doing those things, everyone around me naturally considered me a nuisance. I did my best to persuade them in as soft a manner as I could, ever so careful to not provoke them, but of course someone as dim as myself could never get that far, and I instead made an unnecessary amount of enemies. I felt danger approach me more than once or twice. Still, whenever I saw someone being forced to endure something, that same face of Azuma-kun¡¯s shed in my head, and I couldn¡¯t just shut up and watch.
No matter the cause, she would never allow bullying.
¡¸Yukari. I get how ya feel, but we don¡¯t got exams this year, so how ¡®bout wey on the downlow, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Toote fer that. Even the teachers gimme mean res, plus the cat¡¯s way outta the bag.¡¹
¡¸That ain¡¯t the issue here.¡¹
Unfortunately for Shiho, I would not be yielding on this issue.
¡¸Yurika, don¡¯tcha dare try ¡®n atone for your mistakes by crawlin¡¯ on the ground ¡®n makin¡¯ a buncha enemies at this stupid high school. If ya really regret whatcha did so much, then ya gotta be an adult ¡®n then try bigger things.¡¹
¡¸I know that much, but I can¡¯t just disregard the things in front o¡¯me ¡®n then climb up the ranks. Besides, there¡¯s no way I can just let myself live leisurely after all this.¡¹
¡¸The main offender ain¡¯t even repented of what she did, so someone like you who ain¡¯t even help her out should never be subject to all this bashin¡¯.¡¹
I of course knew what Shiho was saying, but I had still contributed to breaking someone. I had to carry this for the rest of my life.
¡¸Ya don¡¯t look like ya get it¡¡¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be human if I can just forget these regrets.¡¹
¡¸But if ya dwell on it too much then that¡¯s gonna have a worse oue¡¡¡¹
Those words only made me realize my own clumsiness and stupidity. In fact, if I had Shiho¡¯s sense of bnce, then I might have been able to prevent that incident even though I wasn¡¯t the main culprit.
¡¸Sorry, Teacher. I can¡¯t persuade Yukari¡¡¡¹
Volume 3 Extra 1.2
Volume 3 Extra 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸Teacher?¡¹
¡¸Aoba-sensei, the principal, and Tachinami-sensei, the homeroom teacher. Everyone¡¯s concerned that yer overdoin¡¯ it.¡¹
¡¸Oh¡¡¡¹
I felt even more pathetic now. It¡¯s sad that I even made the people around me worry. But still, I must¡
¡¸I¡¯m dumb ¡®n clumsy, so I prolly can¡¯t change this way o¡¯livin¡¯¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yukari¡¡¡¹
¡¸And I honestly can¡¯t do nothin¡¯ to atone for what I did to hurt Azuma-kun. If I could, it¡¯d be to neva get involved with ¡®im again. So I gotta do my best in all otha things.¡¹
Yes. I can do nothing for the victim. All I can hope is that he can recover enough to love again. I pray every day that there will be an amazing woman that can help the broken Azuma-kun to get back on his feet. At any rate, it¡¯s important that I never do anything to him ever again. It would be outrageous should I get him into more trouble by trying to atone just to fill my self-satisfaction.
¡¸Yukari,e on¡¡¡¹
¡¸Whatever. Let¡¯s head back.¡¹
Because I fully intend to live out my life carrying these regrets.
£²£®A Certain Private Highschool, Third Year, the case of Katsutoshi Hideomi£¨former male ssmate£©
¡¸Wazzup Katsutoshi, ya seem super pissed.¡¹
¡¸Oh, it¡¯s you, Omori. Flirtin¡¯ around as always I see.¡¹
¡¸Nope, I ain¡¯t.¡¹
¡¸Nah, I heard. Ya did it with the fifth one, right?¡¹
Looking coldly at the dandy man of the ss, I check to see if what I heard was true or not. In actuality, no matter how many girls Omori did in session, as long as it didn¡¯t harm me I didn¡¯t care. But for some reason, every time this guy changed girls, I always got caught up in the mix. It wasn¡¯t like I teamed up with Omori or anything. We were hardly even friends, and I was reluctant to even hang out with him.
¡¸So Omori.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸If ya don¡¯t put a can in it, yer gonna seriously be fed raw meat chocte one day.¡¹
¡¸Nah nah nah, I ain¡¯t do nothin¡¯ like that unless it¡¯s a real nice girl, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸It don¡¯t matter how fine a girl they is, when it happens it happens.¡¹
I really don¡¯t want talk about this, but the one who messed up Azuma this bad was just a normal girl who, other than in ss, or more urately, other than when she made contact with Azuma, never stood out in a good or a bad way. Even the girls who blindly imitated her and the girls who beat Azuma so bad he got sent to the hospital were all super normal girls that didn¡¯t fall far from the cloth that you could find anywhere.
Thanks to that, both me and the other guy who came from that middle school couldn¡¯t trust these living creatures known as women.
¡¸Welp, ya really don¡¯t like girls, so I get why ye say that. But why¡¯re ya so grumpy?¡¹
¡¸Same reason yer grumpy. Why do the gals ya dump alwayse to me fer revenge time afta time¡¡¡¹
¡¸They do?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Wanna try askin¡¯ the others?¡¹
Omori looked around as he heard me say that. Several of the boys who met his gaze gave me a dirty look before staring fixedly at Omori with slightly harsh expressions as they nodded.
¡¸For serious¡¡?¡¹
¡¸And they act like I¡¯m tellin¡¯ ya lies about ¡®em to getchu to break up with ¡®em. I don¡¯t even care about who ya decide to go out with, an look what happens to me.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¢I¡¯m real sorry ¡®bout that¡¡¡¹
¡¸If ya really feel that way, then make sure to rein in ya women real close, or else don¡¯t get close to me eva again.¡¹
I¡¯m just tired of it all, so I told him off loud and clear. Ever since Azuma¡¯s incident, I¡¯ve hated girls. I honestly never want to get involved with any guy who even tries to be a yboy.
¡¸You hate me?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t like or dislike ye. Ya greet me, I¡¯ll greetcha. But imma tell ya upfront that I don¡¯t wanna progress no further, and I don¡¯t got a single interest in who ya are as a person.¡¹
¡¸Man, that¡¯s even worse than sayin¡¯ ya hate me¡¡¡¹
Omori frowned, but I don¡¯t care.
I know that this guy wonders why both I and the other guy who came from that middle school hate women. But he¡¯s a fool and he goes about things the wrong way, and even if that wasn¡¯t the case, I don¡¯t need him butting into our affairs. He was an unbelievably charming guy, so I couldn¡¯t hate him, but neither do I want to get to know him, nor do I feel there would be any merit in doing so.
¡¸I won¡¯t say that I¡¯m without ma ws. Yer prolly talkin¡¯ to me outta genuine concern, and I git that. But that ain¡¯t no reason fer the girls ya dump to be handed off to me fer disposal, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸I neva intended to do that¡¡¡¹
Well of course he didn¡¯t intend to. If he didn¡¯t know what the girls would do after he dumped them, it would be weird for him to be aware of it.
¡¸Hey, why they even goin¡¯ to you forints?¡¹
¡¸Cuz apparently everyone knows I hate girls. They im I toldja things about ¡®em to get y¡¯all to getchu to break up with ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸I neva heard nothin¡¯ about ya interest in women¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course not. Ya don¡¯t try ¡®n get to know none of them so ya don¡¯t know what they be like.¡¹
Precisely that. Not a single ssmate knew a single thing about what each girl was actually like. No one knew what would set off and mine, so everyone knew their names and faces, but other than greeting or talking to them in a professional manner, none of the boys tried to forge connections with them.
Honestly, it¡¯s already painful enough to have to memorize the names and faces of people I either have no interest in or despise, so I¡¯m not so much of a masochist that I¡¯d go out picking fights with these girls. Several boys in the ss, including Omori, said they weren¡¯t scared of girls and imed the girls never tried to snap at them, but it was still ridiculous to insist that I trust the same bunch who whispered malicious gossip behind people¡¯s backs in ss or banded together to ostracize others.
First of all, the girls who imed women aren¡¯t scary were hardly different from the same kinds of girls that bullied and sent Azuma to the hospital, nearly killing him and leaving him with a mental disorder in the process. What they really meant was that they decided whether or not losers had the right to live. Maybe some of them had good intent in their warnings, but ultimately, what they advocated for was generally ndering other people¡¯s personalities and interests.
And although they imed that men should wear clean, proper clothing, the girls had still ended up finding a way to nder Hiroshi, who only looked a bit uncool but was not dirty nor sloppy. This was truly double standards in a nutshell.
Volume 4 Prologue 1.1
Volume 4 Prologue 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸I¡¯m treating all of ye today! Drink up, drink up¡«!!¡¹
¡¸Yeah!!¡¹
¡¸Booze, booze!!¡¹
¡¸Bring it all over here!!¡¹
Hiroshi and the others simply stared dumbfounded at the sight of the banquet started with the yell of one dwarf. They were not ustomed to this.
¡¸Hey,dy.¡¹
¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹
¡¸Is this town always so lively?¡¹
¡¸Well, not just this town. Any city with a pub that has a lot of dwarves is always this way.¡¹
Turn to the right? Dwarves. Turn to left? Also dwarves. This attendant was one of the few humans in the area, answering Makoto¡¯s questions with an awkward smile.
The current city Hiroshi and his group were in was a town by the name of Aragod Mine, fifty kilometers to the north from the northernmost country of the Midas Federation, Genoa, making it one of Forre¡¯s border cities. With it being a mining town, the poption demographics consisted of seventy percent dwarves (a bit skewed), but the mining towns at the base of spirit spire mountain were basically the same way.
¡¸Well, I did hear of a huge cave-in incident today, but apparently there were no deaths or casualties, so I do get why people are so cheerful.¡¹
¡¸Hahaha¡¡¡¹
The attendant spoke as she lined up some food, while the Japanese party just let out dryughter. After all, the whole reason Hiroshi¡¯s group was here was because they had been involved in the rescue operation for the cave-in incident, demonstrating vigorous spirit in the process. In other words, they knew that there were not only no deaths, but no casualties, and since they were definitely the reason for that, the group couldn¡¯t quite hold back their driedughter.
¡¸And look at them go. At this rate they¡¯ll drink up the shop¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s all barreled liquor by this point¡¡¡¹
They had started out drinking from mugs for a toast, but by this point there was a barrel at every table despite the food not even being done yet. Not pitchers or even bottles, they were just at whole barrels now. And the dwarves weren¡¯t shocked in the slightest by the quantity, simply opening the corks with glee and pouring the contents into their mugs all around.
These barrels were filled to the brim with quite a bit of weight to them. From how they poured the liquor into their mugs without spilling a drop, you could tell how ustomed they were to drinking on a daily basis.
¡¸Y¡¯know, the three of us kinda stick out, don¡¯t we¡¡¹
¡¸We sure do¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hooray for being minors?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, probably¡¡¡¹
At present, the only ones in the shop not drinking were Hiroshi, Haruna, and Mio. Not just in this country, but in any country, Mio (naturally), Hiroshi and Haruna were strongly opposed to drinking liquor before they became twenty. Hiroshi and Haruna were generally responsible, only ingesting it on New Years or from food that used it, but they had never drank liquor under any illegal means. As for Mio, her body being weak, her parents were rather overprotective of her and there had not been a single trace of alcohol in the house before she was hospitalized. As a result, even if she did sometimes eat food that used liquor in it when going out, Mio had probably never even seen liquor beforeing to this world.
So although the minor trio had an interest in the concept of getting drunk, they didn¡¯t have much of an interest in liquor itself. They used liquor quite often in cooking, so they were ustomed to the taste, but it was precisely because they knew the taste that they weren¡¯t especially eager to break thew just to drink it.
¡¸Well, that¡¯s probably it.¡¹
¡¸What is?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s just one thing that doesn¡¯t seem right to me, based on what happened with the elves¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I get what you¡¯re trying to say. I feel a bit weird about that too.¡¹
These dwarves¡¯ heights ranged from 140-150 cm, with beer barrel body builds and brilliant bearded faces. No matter how you looked at it, these were your typical dwarves found in any fantasy world. At least if they were all men.
¡¸Right? The elves were one thing, but the dwarves are super loyal to their image.¡¹
¡¸But they don¡¯t have to be so loyal that both genders have bearded faces, do they?¡¹
¡¸I mean, don¡¯t ask me, I dunno.¡¹
Indeed, the dwarves in this world were your typical fantasy world dwarves, with splendid beards on both genders. You couldn¡¯t tell which was which just by looking at them, and yet they sounded just like humans or elves in the way they talked, which felt very off. Some of the female voices were beautiful enough topete with Haruna or Aearis despite the outward appearance, which created an odd sh between appearance and voice.
¡¸Wait, but if dwarves are this way, why are the elves like that?¡¹
¡¸Mio, Mio. I don¡¯t think ya can figure that out just by thinkin¡¯ about it.¡¹
¡¸But these are dwarves. We could have had legal lolis or something¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, I think Makoto-san¡¯ll hafta question that strange expectation of yerster on. But anyhow, when it¡¯s this hard to tell ¡®em apart, ma sensors¡¯re gettin¡¯ purty dull.¡¹
Hiroshi muttered with an odd expression as he thought about this rather pressing issue. It wasn¡¯t like it was problematic to not be able to distinguish between men and women, but this was Hiroshi we¡¯re talking about, who couldn¡¯t trust the majority of women in general. Even if they looked that way, there was always the possibility of them being maidens at heart, so Hiroshi couldn¡¯t be med for cautioning himself.
¡¸Well, while we¡¯re here, let¡¯s forget about the silly things and eat some Forre cuisine!¡¹
¡¸Exactly. If there¡¯s any trouble, we¡¯ll deal with it then.¡¹
Tatsuya and Haruna figured it was time to wrap up the conversation, despite Hiroshi¡¯s earnest predicament. Hearing the proposition, Hiroshi grimaced, nodded, and then started taking some food.
Forre¡¯s cuisine resembled that of German cuisine, which consisted mainly of potato and sausage. Being that this world just didn¡¯t really use vinegar as a whole, there was also no pickled food and therefore no pickles or sauerkraut, but in exchange there were stir-fried foods, and cabbage was found frequently in sds. Unlike Darl, the spices here didn¡¯t contain anything other than pepper, but as a result, the taste of the ingredients was very clear. From the viewpoint of seasoning, the food here was more simr to Japan¡¯s than Darl¡¯s.
¡¸This sausage is supa good.¡¹
¡¸And the cooked meat and vegetables are quite nice.¡¹
¡¸But the bread, as usual, is hard to the point where you can¡¯t bite it through. It¡¯s firm in a different way from American or German hard bread.¡¹
The minor trio couldn¡¯t do much besides eat, immediately beginning a critical evaluation of the food.
¡¸Actually, when ya eat tasty sausages, don¡¯tcha think about wantin to make hotdogs?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢true.¡¹
¡¸Actually, it kinda feels like they threw in a pinch o¡¯seasoning ¡®n tried to make these into hot dogs¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi said as he sneakily took out ketchup, curry powder, and mayonnaise out. This was probably the Kansai-style type with cabbage and curry powder. Some people weren¡¯t keen on powdered mustard, so he was probably going to put it on afterward.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, I get how you feel, but how about we don¡¯t do that in a restaurant?¡¹
¡¸Right. You need to get permission at least.¡¹
No matter how you sliced it, bringing your own seasoning into restaurants and added it to the food was seriously bad manners.
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢sorry sorry. I almost sumbed to temptation there.¡¹
Scolded by Haruna and Tatsuya, Hiroshi quickly put away the condiments while the attendant wasn¡¯t looking. Mio was a little bummed out that Hiroshi was prevented from making new food there, reaching out for salt-grilled river fish.
¡¸Still, even though it¡¯s close to German cuisine, there isn¡¯t really anything raw besides sd, is there¡¡¡¹
Haruna said that weird statement as she smacked her lips at the food in front of her. Everyone around her looked at her.
¡¸There¡¯s raw food in German cuisine?¡¹
¡¸Mhm. I think it¡¯s called mett, and it¡¯s basically specially processed pork that you eat raw.¡¹
¡¸Is that seriously okay¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Well, there seems to be a trick to properly raising the meat to avoid food poisoning, so it¡¯s probably simr to how people feel about eating yukhoe. I don¡¯t know too much though, since I didn¡¯t eat it while I was in Germany.¡¹
The Japanese group wasn¡¯t sure whether they were fully convinced of Haruna¡¯s exnation. This was especially true for Hiroshi, who had met with a terrible fate with the ground beef/pork mince. Still, Japanese people ate properly processed horse meat and cow meat, so it was a little weird to criticize the food habits of other countries simply because it was pork, so they said nothing.
¡¸Well anyhow, there isn¡¯t a huge difference between Fane and Forre in terms of specialization, so there might not be much in the way of new breakthroughs in cuisine.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Seems like there¡¯re a lotta goods imported from Fane.¡¹
Volume 4 Prologue 1.2
Volume 4 Prologue 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
Hiroshi nodded at what Haruna had said. There was currently some typical Forre food on the table, and most of it was the kind you¡¯d see in Fane, with only maybe German omelettes being the unique food. It was just a bit more tasty than that of Fane¡¯s variety, and it wasn¡¯t like Forre was the only country with sausages.
In terms of meat, Forre¡¯s food often consisted of insects or lizards, but that wasn¡¯t all that different from Fane either. The difference was at most 5-5 or 4-6 ratio.
Also, both Fane and Forre cooked their meat by smoking it, but while Fane smoked block meat right away, Forre mainly turned the meat into sausage before smoking it. This was probably due to the region being mountainous and ill-suited for agriculture and apparently dairy from the looks of it. Unlike China, where you ate just about anything with four legs (besides desks), Forre was a bit toned down, but they still had a policy of trying to eat as many living things as possible. With the reasoning that sausaging saved more parts of the animal than smoking blocked meat, the residents apparently had the custom of turning all meat into sausages.
Conversely, in Fane, those parts that were difficult to eat were instead processed into fertilizer. As a result, there weren¡¯t many variations in sausage cuisine, and the taste itself fell back one or two steps from that of Forre. In exchange, Fane excelled at smoked block meat.
And as they were evaluating all of the dishes,
¡¸Are ye kids drinking up?¡¹
A dwarf with a fineplexion came over to Hiroshi¡¯s table, mug in one hand. Upon further nce, the newest barrels on the other tables had all been emptied (the brands on them were different, hence why they were clearly new), some of them with at least three barrels (some of which had fallen over).
The attendants who retrieved the empty barrels and left the unfinished ones over at the tables only appeared to be slender and youthfuldies, but they clearly had quite a bit of arm strength.
As they made all of these fruitless observations, the group¡¯s gaze moved to the dwarf in front of them. This man happened to be the top in the mining union as well as a top-ss technician in mining.
¡¸What¡¯s the matter with ye? I treat ye to all this booze, and yet ye don¡¯t drink a single drop.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢those three over there still aren¡¯t eligible to drink in our home country, you see. It would just get bothersome if they returned addicted to alcohol at that age, so we¡¯re ensuring they don¡¯t drink anything.¡¹
¡¸Is that it? Ye need not worry yeselves over something small like that. Just don¡¯t tell anyone and it¡¯ll be all right, youngsters.¡¹
The guildmaster attempted to make them drink liquor like some country drunkard. To the dwarves, not drinking liquor in a ce that served liquor was a very reckless thing to do.
He was essentially the same as those drunkards at rural banquets.
¡¸Hey, gramps.¡¹
¡¸What is it,ss?¡¹
¡¸There isn¡¯t any liquor here to waste on kids who don¡¯t even understand how great alcohol is. Rather than make them drink it, hand it all over to me.¡¹
At this rate, sensing that the children might actually be forced to drink, Makoto interjected in the nick of time. Although this was quite honestly how she felt.
¡¸Oho, I see, I see. Then I will no longer say such boorish things. Drink, drink up!!¡¹
The dwarf said, pouring in waves of high concentration liquor into a gigantic mug. Makoto epted it with a cheer.
¡ºLet¡¯s leave drunks to Makoto from now on.¡»
¡ºAgreed.¡»
¡ºMako would probably never be defeated.¡»
¡ºActually, Makoto-san¡¯s surprisingly used to this.¡»
¡ºEven those knights were pretty much like this once it got into their system, other than Julius.¡»
Deciding they would push all the troublesome drunks on Makoto in the party chat, the other our continued eating their food enjoyably and at a leisurely pace. Makoto herself had intended this, so no one was about toin.
Even after Hiroshi and the other three left the building, Makoto remained within, drinking all the liquor in the shop in addition to knocking out all the dwarves without breaking a sweat before taking her leave withpleteposure, but that is just between us.
At this point, I should touch a bit more on where the group currently was, aka Forre. The stage for this chapter, the Forre kingdom, is also known by its other name, ¡°The Kingdom of Iron¡±, one of the three great western kingdoms. It is positioned to the neighboring east of Fane in the middle of Spirit Spire Mountain as well as between Midas Federation, Sharne River, and Arga River and to the north of Darl. As this alias implied, the country was a mining and manufacturing industry with plenty of mining resources buried underground.
As Forre had quite the number of mines in its nation, the majority of its cities built their livelihoods around excavating minerals. Due to that, about thirty percent of its inhabitants were dwarves, and in addition to the other races there, humans were more outnumbered than they were the majority, which was quite the rare case.
Perhaps because the towns were adjacent to mines, it wasmon for cities to have ¡°cave¡± or ¡°mine¡± in their names. The poption of those cities wasposed of a minimum of fourty percent dwarves, and for smaller towns, ny percent or more dwarves, which was one of the reasons why the dwarf poption was so high in these areas.
The reason why dwarves did not make up one hundred percent of the poption in those towns was quite simple: they were incredibly bad with business, especially that of food and drink. It was obvious why they were bad at it: because dwarves cannot simply sit and watch people drinking/eating without wanting to join in. As a result, they drank more liquor than they sold and ate more food than what they gave to customers. Only a few dwarf-run shops were exceptions that could actually maintain their business.
Being a country well-versed in mining and in a rtively high region oftitude, Forre had not made much progress in agriculture. With an abundance of mines probably came a high stiffness in the quality of much of its water, which was so filled with minerals that it couldn¡¯t be drunk directly, which limited the kinds of crops that could be grown there, hence why Forre didn¡¯t have much in the way of farming. In fact, it was precisely because Forre had limitations on agriculture that it used so many dwarves as resources in order to make a variety of high-quality metal products, leading to its rise to importance in the world (in a different direction than Fane).
From the restrictions on its territory, Forre¡¯s greatest weakness was its high reliance on Fane for food in addition to the fact that said food could only be transported through a few specific routes, which included the northern road or port (both of which were inessible in winter) or routes passing through Midas Federation and Darl in the south, and these restrictions were the sources of many worries for the leaders in Forre on a constant basis. Lorren, neighboring Forre to the east, did not have enough agricultural production to support Forre, and Mida Federation already had their hands filled, so their food resources were not in much of a very different situation from that of Forre.
Forre, with its mining strength and agricultural weakness, naturally had adopted an ¡°elect few¡± military, with the highest skill in soldiers among the big three and equipment on par with that of Douga and Julius. Were the kingdoms to fight one another without any cheap tricks, 5% of the Forre troops could easily turn the tables in any battle with their prowess. Add in the superior armor and the sheer battle ability was made very clear. Then again, even with all that power, just by having Douga, Rayna, and Julius standing there, the Forre army would be half destroyed, but that was just one of those cruel facts of this world.
The country of humans and dwarves, the iron kingdom that was both strong and weak. That was Forre.
¡¸Come to think of it, back at the cave-in from yesterday, we obtained a hefty amount of stones and whatnot, but was that okay?¡¹
Breakfast the next day. Bread, soup, sd, and some sausage added in for an extra fee. Haruna had recalled something Hiroshi did that she could not ignore.
¡¸Yeah, I got permission, mate.¡¹
¡¸Well okay then.¡¹
Hiroshi answered as he dunked his bread in the soup, and Haruna tentatively nodded, seeming to understand that Hiroshi had gotten permission in some way. The stone in question that he had obtained was bedrock that had been blocking the entrance during the cave-in, now crushed into several stones.
¡¸But that was a weird ¡®ol incident with the cave-in, I¡¯ll say.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Havin¡¯ a b o¡¯rock, firmly reinforced to the tunnel entrance suddenly crumble? That¡¯s purty irregr.¡¹
Haruna and Mio exchanged nces at this ufortable topic. They had only just arrived in Forre and things were already strange. Tatsuya groaned in a low voice and Makoto sighed with a facepalm. Whenever the term ¡°unnatural¡± came up, there was always one thing that immediately surfaced in their minds, but even though the city of Aragod Mine was on quite therge scale, it wasn¡¯t an especially important mine. There was no reason to copse it, or at least they couldn¡¯t find any.
¡¸Hiro, what¡¯s your take?¡¹
¡¸I really can¡¯t say, mate. I didn¡¯t feel no miasma around, nor were there any traces of explosions or the like.¡¹
Tatsuya just groaned even more at Hiroshi¡¯s answer. An unnatural cave-in, with no traces of anyone tampering with the area, and urring the very day they arrive. The warning signs were so obvious that the team didn¡¯t know what to do next.
¡¸Well, I do think that it woulda been difficult to copse the tunnel with an explosion. Unless ya broke off that thick b at the precise level that connected to the cave, ya can¡¯t really do anything to make it budge.¡¹
¡¸Sooo?¡¹
¡¸The cave-in was prolly just a natural phenomenon.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
Everyone was just silent, trying to figure out why Hiroshi had seemed to essentially contradict himself. Or at least it seemed to contradict itself, but it wasn¡¯t necessarily impossible to engineer a natural disaster with enough intentional buildup.
¡¸¡¡Sensei, is there something you¡¯ve figured out?¡¹
¡¸Not figured out, exactly, but I do think we oughta examine the feng shui real quick.¡¹
Volume 4 Prologue Part 3
Volume 4 Prologue Part 3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸You think there¡¯s a rtionship between the feng shui and the cave-in?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t say for sure, but whenever the feng shui weakens or the current changes, I feel the ground weakening. I¡¯ve thought this on numerous asions. Not the za where the branching path begins, but the straight tunnel path and where the entrance¡¯s firmly reinforced, ¡®n then the bedrock that¡¯s clearly wider than the tunnel crumbles and gets pulverized, causin¡¯ this shy cave-in. I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ it really might be best to suspect the feng shui.¡¹
Hiroshi, knowledgeable in both engineering and excavation answered, Mio¡¯s question with consideration, and everyone just fell silent again. If they were to epted Hiroshi¡¯s suggestion that the feng shui was at y here, there was a fair chance that another incident like this one would ur. After all, this was not an issue of excavation technique, so no one at the actual scene of the incident would have any way of preventing such a disaster.
¡¸¡¡So how exactly do we go about checking this out? Go to the temple as usual?¡¹
¡¸Yup, not really much else. With big feng shuiesa natural connection to most temples.¡¹
Hiroshi said nothing to the contrary when Haruna asked him about their course of action. There was a high chance that the feng shui acting up was an indication of some sort of irregrity urring in the temple. Still, the only countries whose temples¡¯ locations were made avable to outsiders were mainly Fane and Darl, while Forre, whose feng shui was thergest, was aplete mystery to anyone outside the country, including the god it worshipped.
¡¸I think the goddess worshipped in Forre went by the name Elza-sama, right?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what I hear.¡¹
¡¸One of the five great gods, eh¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto sighed simultaneously at how much of a sitting duck this goddess was.
¡¸The moment wee here, we get a hint of trouble. I bet this country is in one heck of a conundrum¡¡¡¹
¡¸You act like this is new, but have we ever really found a country over here or over there where the higher-ups aren¡¯t struggling with something?¡¹
Tatsuyamented yet another difficult situation, and Haruna burst out with her own remark as she grimaced. Unable to retort to that bluntment of hers, Tatsuya just decided to gulp down the rest of his soup rather than say anything more.
¡¸But I¡¯d be really d if the government didn¡¯t get wrapped up in all this. We seem to be wrapped up in all the nationwide nonsense all the time, after all¡¡¹
¡¸Well, it ain¡¯t like we gonna get involved in the center of the country EVERY time, so let¡¯s just try ¡®n avoid that g this time around, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it¡¯d be real good if we could, y¡¯know. But wait, Hiroshi. The whole reason the central figuresy their eyes on us was because you kept going too far!¡¹
¡¸Fane was a coincidence, and I¡¯m purty sure that people had their eyes on us right away in Darl¡¯s case¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi attempted to excuse his way out of Makoto¡¯s harsh criticism. In actuality, had they not gotten themselves noticed in Fane, the world would have probably been in crisis, but in the case of Darl, although they were monitored from the start by the royal family, it was Hiroshi¡¯s fault that the group was forced to get involved in the events there, so he had no room to retort.
¡¸Well, anyhow, returning to the first topic¡¡¡¹
¡¸The first topic?¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s that stone you mentioned obtaining?¡¹
¡¸Oh, that. It¡¯s got a lotta mineral content, but it¡¯s mainly iron ore. I was thinkin¡¯ of usin¡¯ it fer Haruna and the others in forgin¡¯ ¡®n smeltin¡¯ practice. When I considered the amount o¡¯potions that could be released or the amount o¡¯work ¡®n difficulty of dealin¡¯ with the crushed bedrock when I removed it, I didn¡¯t have no problem with takin¡¯ it all.¡¹
Hiroshi announced some of the things he had nned from the start when Haruna inquired. The reason they hade all the way here to this mining town was to train Haruna, Mio, and the craftsmen in Fane in the ways of smelting and to gather the resources needed for that. And, if this were also a possibility, he wanted them all to dig up their own iron ore for Haruna¡¯s practice, but what with the cave-in incident and all the noise that had followed it, he hadn¡¯t been able to get to it.
¡¸Practice is fine and all, but where and how will we do this?¡¹
¡¸I do happen to have a portable smeltin¡¯ furnace ¡®n forge set with me, so we can do it anywhere, mate.¡¹
¡¸Portable smelting furnace? The heck is that¡¡¡¹
¡¸Just as the name suggests. Thanks to Igreos-sama, I was able to make a furnace with ample heat fer its size, and I made it just for times like these.¡¹
¡¸But is that really safe¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya couldn¡¯t hide his difort (?) at these new, rather questionable items. Incidentally, this portable smelting furnace was foldable and able to fit into one¡¯s pocket when fullypressed, but when fully outstretched, it was twenty percentrger than your average furnace. Due to its size, the amount you could smelt at once was limited, but the output quality actually outstripped your average furnace, with many a revision on it.
Furthermore, it was pointless to question this foldable,pressible morphing machine that clearly ignored thews of conservation of mass. It was also pointless to question why Hiroshi couldn¡¯t have just put a normal-sized furnace into a capsule to carry around to save time.
¡¸Well, in any case.¡¹
Hiroshi conveyed the current ns that were set in stone as he cleared up everyone¡¯s finished eating implements, a habit he had picked up recently.
¡¸No point stayin¡¯ in this town too long, so let¡¯s skedaddle today.¡¹
¡¸Agreed.¡¹
¡¸How ¡®bout we practice refinement ¡®n forging when we take a break on the road?¡¹
¡¸During our break, eh¡¡¡¹
Haruna murmured with a faraway look at Hiroshi¡¯s outrageous suggestion. Although she didn¡¯te close toparing with Makoto or Mio, Haruna felt she had gathered a wider amount of power than the average ss 7 adventurer. While Hiroshi had already attained an unbelievable amount of muscle mass from helping out in the family business back in their world, Haruna looked like she had hardly any muscle mass whatsoever. This seemed to be due mainly to her attribute points not falling even if she cked, which was why she had nearly no change in her appearance (Mio was an exception because of her growth period) other than regeneration. She honestly didn¡¯t want to have a massive build in the first ce, so it was best not to question anything in this regard.
In Tatsuya¡¯s case, it was truly strange that his nails, hair, beard, etc grew like normal, yet stuffing himself and drinking liquor didn¡¯t fatten him up, but as that was no inconvenience to him, Tatsuya epted it without over analyzing things. Tatsuya¡¯s next birthday would be his twenty-seventh, so any form of aging also had yet to be seen. But of course Tatsuya had no inclination of staying that long, or else he would probably break at some point.
¡¸Well, we know what our ns are, so how about we get going to the capital?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
There was no point in quarreling any further. Leave toote and they risked getting caught by the dwarves again, so Tatsuya announced their departure.
¡¸Thanks for the food. Bill, please.¡¹
¡¸Yes sir. That will be With five sausages added that will be twenty domas.¡¹
¡¸Kay.¡¹
Paying the aforementioned amount (which was about twenty tirols in Fane currency), the group got straight to leaving the inn. After this, there would be a bit of a disturbance with Haruna making weapons and tools every break and no one helping her in the slightest, but that will beginter on.
And so the curtains on the stage of the group¡¯s adventure in Forre opened with many ups and downs from the very first day.
Volume 4 1.1
Volume 4 Chapter 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
A week after entering Forre. Hiroshi¡¯s group had yet to reach the capital, Stiren. The reason was simple.
¡¸Well we can¡¯t have this, mate. It¡¯s all an isted dimension.¡¹
¡¸Yeeeah¡and you can¡¯t use transportation magic to get out.¡¹
¡¸From the looks of it, we best think ¡®bout makin¡¯ sure it don¡¯t spread to town from the tunnel before we try ¡®n dissolve the istion.¡¹
Crest Cave boasted the highest quantity of ore that could be found in Forre. About two days before Hiroshi¡¯s group arrived, the tunnel had suddenly begun shifting into an isted dimension. Rted to that matter, around yesterday or so, anyone who was ss 7 or above got sent out to investigate. By this point they were in the middle of checking the deeper areas.
¡¸Is it pretty well underway?¡¹
¡¸That, and also, I think that the core¡¯s in a fairly deep area that can¡¯t be reached via the tunnel. So at that point when it¡¯s an area that ain¡¯t even on a map, we definitely ain¡¯t screwin¡¯ wit that.¡¹
Makoto asked Hiroshi about the isted dimension, since she was the dullest in sensing these things out of all the party members, and Hiroshi replied by discussing the flow of miasma and whatnot as well as physical elements that anyone could understand. This area was practically a dungeon already.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, what do you think about all this?¡¹
¡¸I mean, I dunno. From my own thoughts, somewhere fairly deep in these mines there¡¯s a puddle o¡¯ miasma that¡¯s a bit difficult to reach (unless ya cause an artificial cave-in) but it¡¯s expandin¡¯ as we speak.¡¹
¡¸I give my vote to Sensei.¡¹
¡¸From what I gather about the miasma, I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s all we can do¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, it is certainly unnatural¡¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s group continued their conversation in a rather fed-up tone as they knocked down oing bats. Unfortunately, they knew a ton of people who might be responsible for this sort of thing.
¡¸Well, even if they¡¯re the ones responsible, I dunno if we can find a way to contact them anytime soon, so I say we search the heck outta this area for now.¡¹
Ending the fruitless conversation, as they did not have sufficient information, Hiroshi rmended they focus on the current quest. For some reason, he was holding a pickaxe.
¡¸So with that bein¡¯ said, how ¡®bout we dig a lil¡¯ bit here ¡®n there to check for a dungeon?¡¹
¡¸Is that okay?¡¹
¡¸I got permission, since this is a crucial investigation ¡®n all.¡¹
Hiroshi said as he handed pickaxes to both Haruna and Mio. His face spelled out exactly what he was thinking: ¡°I wanna dig out that wall right now!¡±
¡¸For now, Bro ¡®n Makoto-san, y¡¯all can go ahead ¡®n look out fer monsters.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. And how far are you digging?¡¹
¡¸A full basket per person, then go a bit further in, ¡®n then a full basket per person, and repeat that about ten times.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re really going to dig that much?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a mine after all. It¡¯s purty important to figure out if there¡¯s ore, what the distribution is, ¡®n then what happens after we dig it up.¡¹
The reason Hiroshi gave for his sudden desire to dig up a wall made a lot of sense. Even though he probably wanted to do it most because it was his hobby to gather materials, it seemed to also be that Hiroshi was not only considering that in this moment. Then again,
¡¸This area¡¯s lookin¡¯ purty nice.¡¹
As they looked at Hiroshi all cheerful swinging down his pickaxe, the group realized that the pretext he gave for this was only to justify his own desires.
¡¸So what do you n to do with the ore you dig up?¡¹
¡¸Whaddya mean? Of course I n to send it all to the mining guild.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Gotta submit paperwork with the proper map ¡®n everything tellin¡¯ ¡®em where I got what kind of ore.¡¹
¡¸And all for free?¡¹
¡¸Nah. Separately from the distribution map I¡¯m givin¡¯ em, they¡¯ll buy off the ore I give ¡®em with rangin¡¯ prices dependin¡¯ on the substance ¡®n quality. It don¡¯t seem like the other adventurers got the energy to spare to dig up the wall, so we get the rewards fer the distribution map ¡®n the ore all to ourselves.¡¹
Hiroshi said as he fulfilled his quota in a heartbeat. Mio finished her side of the deal in about five minutes.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun¡this basketful¡is kinda hard to get¡¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s just an issue of skill proficiency, so it¡¯s to be expected¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I get that, but¡¡¡¹
Haruna¡¯s stamina was expended at such a rate that it felt like the ground was sucking the energy out of her. This feeling of weariness, which she had also experienced with other crafting skill training, was not something she could get used to, no matter how many times she did it. Haruna didn¡¯t finish her quota until fifteen minutester.
¡¸Ugh, I¡¯m tired¡¡¡¹
¡¸Good job. After we rest for a bit, it¡¯s time for the next point.¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y¡¡¡¹
Responding to Hiroshi with the uttermost exhaustion in her voice, Haruna took out towels and drinks from her belongings. There wasn¡¯t any real stamina restoration effect in these drinks, but she didn¡¯t care about that; she was simply thirsty.
¡¸I think the work¡¯ll end purty soon after we finish all the points.¡¹
¡¸That would be good, yeah¡¡¡¹
¡¸The first wall for beginners in proficiency¡¯s generally somewhere between ten ¡®n twenty five. If ya get past that, the stamina cost will begin to git closer to the reward, so it¡¯ll feel less like a drag.¡¹
¡¸It just naturally happens like that?¡¹
¡¸Sure does. Haven¡¯tcha experienced simr things?¡¹
Pondering Hiroshi¡¯s question, Haruna recalled all the times she had woven with thread and nodded. True, at first she had gotten extremely tired (not just physically, mentally too) and the thread often broke anyway. As she continued the work daily, eventually she began to weave without as much difficulty, and even the physical strain be a bit more bearable. She probably grew rather quickly for such a beginner level.
¡¸Well now we should prolly get goin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, understood.¡¹
Encouraged by Hiroshi, Haruna got up a bit wearily. Though she had regained much of her stamina, Haruna was still not quite rejuvenated. From the standpoint of beginning crafting skills, Haruna had revised quite a bit of her stamina throughout the various levels, battle skills and crafting skills thus far, and yet she still had it pretty bad (though not as much as Makoto did).
After all, beginner level tasks drained 1% of your overall stamina in a matter of a few seconds and did not boost your overall stamina in any way after the fact. While it was true that once you got past intermediate (which fixed the energy consumption), the people with the highest stamina points were at an advantage, the work time and frequency were not to be underestimated in the beginner bracket. In addition, excavation drained one¡¯s stamina even faster than other crafting tasks.
When you considered the bnce breaker that crafting was, it was very easy to understand why the initial level was so severe, but understanding and actually experiencing the difficulty were twopletely different issues.
£¨I definitely should have raised my crafting skills to a more suitable level before¡¡£©
Though this was something she had wanted, Haruna truly regretted putting herself into a position where she had to struggle so much.
¡¸Howdy again. We¡¯re here to pick our reward, mate.¡¹
Returning to the ore guild¡¯s inn, Hiroshi took out a bag filled with coins and announced their arrival.
¡¸Wee back. So how was it?¡¹
¡¸The ore was, well, just about as we expected.¡¹
As he answered Haruna¡¯s question, Hiroshi spread out the map and information on the ore they had collected on the table.
¡¸First, the distribution seems to have a tendency where the deeper ya get, the more slightly elemental ore ¡®n magic steel ya find. Anywhere within a certain radius of the core will prolly have the same sorta things ya find.¡¹
Hiroshi exined to Haruna and the others in an easy-to-digest manner about the tendency as they gazed intently at the list. Everyone could onlye to one conclusion after hearing the information.
¡¸So everything went to n, basically?¡¹
¡¸Exactly. Well, I didn¡¯t sample enough, and I ain¡¯t check anything past a surface level approach, so it ain¡¯t totally confirmed.¡¹
Makoto inquired on everyone¡¯s behalf, and Hiroshi affirmed, but with some caution in his words. But then again, things like this were to be expected in games, so there was no need to be surprised about it.
¡¸Next we got the percentage of minerals, but well, this was also within expectation.¡¹
Haruna and Mio nodded. Tatsuya and Makoto didn¡¯t nod, but neither did they seem to be surprised.
Volume 4 1.2
Volume 4 Chapter 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
_______________________________________________________________
¡¸I guess when you get to be as good as Sensei, the proportion of magic steel and mythril and all that increases before your very eyes.¡¹
¡¸Dunno if that¡¯s a good thing for the other people out there, but yeah, mate.¡¹
Just as Mio had pointed out, everyone had dug in practically the same ce, yet Hiroshi, Mio, and Haruna had found clearly different information surrounding the ore they dug up.
Haruna really only dug up bad quality iron, being a novice as she was. There also wasn¡¯t much in the way of kilograms of minerals, essentially trash iron ore.
With Mio, who had her excavation skill in Advanced ss, she uncovered seventy percent high quality iron ore, while the remaining thirty percent consisted of magic steel and mythril, essentially mid-level metals, still not enough to paint a good picture of the distribution but nheless outputting some earth elemental ore.
Now, with Hiroshi, the percentage of normal iron ore dropped to thirty percent, and all of it could easily be melted and hardened once to shift the material into normal iron ingots, with essentially low purity. The remaining seventy percent consisted of magic steel and mythril in a one-to-one ratio of sixty percent, which were unfathomably versatile to where you could practically use them as metals just by melting/solidifying them one time, and then thest ten percent consisted of every kind of element ore you could think of in addition to orichalcum, adamantite, high quality metals that would give anyone a run for their money.
Hiroshi had anticipated this to an extent, so he was not particrly surprised, but this was still troublesome.
¡¸So we know the substance is the same as we thought it would be, but is it really okay to tell the other people that Hiroshi can dig up that kind of ore?¡¹
¡¸That prolly ain¡¯t no problem. Mythril, magic steel, ¡®n all that jazz, there¡¯s so much of it and there are plenty of people who could pull off the same stunt.¡¹
¡¸Can you guarantee that being high level in excavation won¡¯t be problematic, though? When you consider your other crafting skills and everything, I don¡¯t think we can be so optimistic about how they¡¯ll receive you.¡¹
¡¸Excavation, harvesting, ¡®n felling are said to work well if ya have other craftin¡¯ skills, and if ya continue like that day afta day diggin¡¯, fellin¡¯, ¡®n harvestin¡¯ materials, yer abilities are gonna skyrocket. Long-lived races like dwarves could dig day in and day out and I bet ya there¡¯s a few o¡¯ them who¡¯ve practically maxed out advanced ss.¡¹
Makoto gave Hiroshi a doubtful look for his optimistic expectations. Hiroshi¡¯s unusual manufacturing skills were fairly well known here and there, but she couldn¡¯t help but think it would still be dangerous to just casually let everyone know who he was.
¡¸Well, it¡¯s a lil¡¯ weak fer evidence, but there¡¯s another reason why I think it¡¯s gon¡¯ be alright.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s the reasoning on that?¡¹
¡¸People are already excavatin¡¯ orichalcum ¡®n adamantite, even though there ain¡¯t much of it. Processin¡¯ technology ain¡¯t caught up yet, plus there¡¯s hardly any ya can get from mines, so products, ore, whatever ya name it, it ain¡¯t circtin¡¯ around.¡¹
¡¸¡¡And that¡¯s your reason?¡¹
Still not satisfied by Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, Makoto interjected with yet another question. Haruna and Tatsuya didn¡¯t appear very convinced either. Conversely, Mio, who also had high crafting skill, was extremely persuaded by what Hiroshi said.
¡¸Production would imply that there¡¯s someone who¡¯s got the skills to dig up the stuff. If ya take those kindsa people along to dig up dungeon walls, I¡¯m purty sure half of ¡®em would change to mythril or magic steel, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸In order to dig up orichalcum in a regr mine, you have to double back on advanced ss excavation or else it¡¯s impossible.¡¹
Mio added a supplemental exnation to what Hiroshi said. In the game, fields, regr mines, and dungeons each had slightly different excavation difficulties, and the ore table you could excavate had gigantic differences all around. The excavation difficulty in the field was high, and you needed at minimum enough skill to double back on beginner ss in order to find ces where you could dig up decent quality ore. Naturally, the higher quality the ingredients you wanted to dig up, the more the necessary skill would jump up, and unless you got into fairly dangerous regions, you probably wouldn¡¯t even get your hands on any magic steel, a truly thorny predicament.
Though it did take quests and money in order to enter mines, on the other hand, the excavation points were easy to find and the varieties of minerals were guaranteed the minimum quality, such as iron yielding iron, mythril yielding mythril, etc. In exchange, there was practically no bonus for proficiency skills like in the field, so if you wanted to get your hands on more rarely produced resources, such as trying to get magic steel or orichalcum in mythril mines, it would be impossible unless you had the advanced ss to back up your skills like Mio said.
Things were entirely different in mining dungeons, where the urrence table of ore for every excavation point you had would be decided at random. Proficiency points and random numbers would revise each table, so on asion, despite having high proficiency points, all you would get might just be iron, for instance. But despite all this, if your proficiency was low, then not only orichalcum or adamantite, but also magic steel or mythril or any sort of high quality iron could not be excavated. Then again, it was more that pickaxes simply lost in the production table when your skills were that low, so this whole situation was practically harassment. When you also considered how stronger monsters than in the field woulde and pick fights with you all throughout this, the dungeons probably had the highest total excavation difficulty.
¡¸I dunno if it works the same way in these dungeons as in the game, but I can say for sure that unlike normal mines, yer skills influence a heck of a lot. Seems like these mines already had a lotta orichalcum in the first ce, so I bet there¡¯s a ton of people who¡¯re able to extract orichalcum.¡¹
¡¸Fair enough. Come to think of it, how do you even go about checking what minerals are in the stones you dig up?¡¹
¡¸Once ya pick up some skills, ya generally get an idea of it, but if ya wanna git precise results ya gotta use ¡°search metal¡± magic. Use this magic ¡®n ya know immediately how much is mixed in of what, but unfortunately there¡¯s a limit on it: ya can¡¯t use it on anythin¡¯ but stones you¡¯ve dug up before. Findin¡¯ veins basically requires ya to rely on yer craftsman¡¯s skills and yer intuition.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t know whether to call it convenient or inconvenient magic¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hey, it has its uses for sure, mate. Yer always gonna know what purification method ya gonna use.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto weren¡¯t sure if they should trust what Hiroshi had just said. Meanwhile, for Haruna and Mio, who were in the middle of training in smelting and excavating, knew very well how handy the magic was, nodding strongly.
¡¸So, leavin¡¯ the ore and whatnot aside for now, there seems to have been some discussion about how the investigation wasn¡¯t quite thorough enough.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s to be expected.¡¹
¡¸Everything barely happened yesterday, so most of the tunnels connecting to the depths ain¡¯t been investigated yet, plus they gotta figure out what kind of a mine it is, so they¡¯re gonna ask me to help out s¡¯more startin¡¯ tomorrow, but what¡¯re y¡¯all gonna do?¡¹
Hiroshi asked them a question that was practically decided anyway, and everyone just grimaced. Havinge this far and not going into the dungeon itself? That was the same thing as an entertainer in a bent-over posture getting ready for something, telling you to ¡°not push¡± them, and you not pushing them even though that was what they were hinting at.
¡¸But from the way you¡¯re talking about it, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to another town or anything, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, no, not usually.¡¹
¡¸As an entertainer, I do think there¡¯s something wrong with you, Hiroshi-kun. You don¡¯t just pretend like we have other options.¡¹
¡¸Ah, makes sense¡¡¹
Scolded by Haruna, it was Hiroshi¡¯s turn to grimace as he nodded. He, too, had simr thoughts, so there was no way to argue back.
¡¸So we know we¡¯re going underground, but how much effort do you intend to put into it?¡¹
¡¸Yup, that¡¯s the problem. We gon¡¯ hafta decide what benefits us more based on how strong the monsters are and whether it¡¯s best to destroy the dungeon ¡®n return it to the previous mine or lettin¡¯ it settle for a bit. Trying to go for equilibrium, essentially.¡¹
¡¸Figured¡¡¹
Tatsuya sighed, basically expecting it to turn this way. Assuming no monsters emerged from the dungeon like what happened with Sweltering Tower, the team could very well choose to let it be destroyed on its own. Plus most of the monsters that swarmed out of the tunnels could pretty much all be defeated with ease, and with proper protection and patrolling, there wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue with just using it like they used the original mine. As long as nothing especially dangerous came out from the depths, leaving the dungeon be might not be so unrealistic.
¡¸But I¡¯m amazed you even brought us into this situation despite us only being a ss Seven adventurer team. How¡¯d you do it?¡¹
¡¸From yesterday and today¡¯s investigation, we checked both the regr monsters ¡®n the map, so nobody else knows what kinda ce the mines are right now. So in order to get data on this, they need a team that can get their hands on some good metals ¡®n who have goodbat prowess.¡¹
¡¸And so they wanted us to help out, you¡¯re saying?¡¹
¡¸Purty much. Tomorrow¡¯s the same sorta thing we did today, and after that we enter through other entrances ¡®n take two days excavatin¡¯ that area until we go around all the entrances, then we take two or three days diggin¡¯ through the deeper areas.¡¹
¡¸Mm, got it.¡¹
Everyone nodded as Hiroshi told them what the mining guild wanted. They hadn¡¯t nned to rush on this trip in the first ce. It wasn¡¯t the first time that the group had taken a detour.
Volume 4 1.3
Volume 4 Chapter 1.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Ah, right, Haruna-san.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸As a partial reward from tomorrow onward, I n to negotiate with the guild to see if both you and I can get around half of the ore we dug up once they¡¯ve evaluated the quality, and yer gonna train in smeltin¡¯ ¡®n forgin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸¡¡So we¡¯re going through with this?¡¹
¡¸In a li¡¯l bit yer gonna get to Making Mastery, so just give it a bit more.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Okay, I¡¯ll do my best.¡¹
Encouraged by Hiroshi, Haruna decided to aim for the current goal. Honestly,pared to weaving, sewing, or potion making, she wasn¡¯t all that keen to get to forging or smelting. Maybe this was due to it not feeling like the kind of work that a normal, powerless woman typically did.
But if she didn¡¯t ovee this, Haruna would also have trouble with improving her sewing and weaving skills. This was a necessary trial in order to fulfill Haruna¡¯s most splendid goal: to finally be able to make her own underwear with spirit thread.
¡¸Sensei, it¡¯s fine training Haru, but what do we do with the weapons? She¡¯s made quite a hefty amount by this point.¡¹
Mio checked with Hiroshi, as this was an important issue. Technically speaking, the ¡°hefty amount¡± consisted of mostly failed products, but she left that out to preserve Haruna¡¯s dignity.
¡¸Well, I¡¯ll think about it. We can save the first product tomemorate it, ¡®n the other ones¡¯ll be throwaway expendables, ¡®n once we get those remodeled into fairly decent quality/capability products we can use ¡®em for whatever.¡¹
¡¸Mm, okay.¡¹
While she felt a bit of unease at what Hiroshi meant by ¡°decent quality/capability¡±, Mio figured that it was a reasonable conclusion. Afterward, Hiroshi¡¯s so-called ¡°decent quality/capability¡± equipment would cause an inevitable disturbance. This was of course to be expected, and everyone other than Hiroshi anticipated it. However, what they didn¡¯t know was that they would be the ones most proactive in causing this disturbance.
Forre¡¯s capital, Stiren, a week before Hirosh¡¯s group began obtaining information. Rainy ended up having to report on the irregrities within Forre, quite troubled.
¡º¡¡So you¡¯re saying that incident after incident is urring in Forre¡¯s mines.¡»
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
¡º¡¡idents in mines aren¡¯t actually so umon. Dig up the wrong area and you get gas filling the area, dig up the ground where it¡¯s loose and you get a cave-in. Tunnels are just filled with danger in general. Thanks to the dwarves, there aren¡¯t too many idents in Forre, and the people helping out in the excavation field have a decent ranking, but in most countries (ours included), that sort of work is what we have criminals do.¡»
Rainy found what Layotte had just said to be quite fascinating. She had only recently gained her self-awareness and was therefore quite unfamiliar with that line ofmon knowledge.
¡ºHowever, I am curious about the fact that these incidents began increasing in frequency right after Darl, in which three total Barolds were defeated.¡»
¡¸I also found that weird.¡¹
¡ºPerhaps there are those simr to Barold, or a variety of nobility or influentials who are taking unnatural measures?¡»
¡¸So far, I have not found anything as obvious as was in Darl. There are many humans here who share simr views to those of the dwarves, so I think it would be difficult to curry favor with anyone like in Fane or Darl.¡¹
¡ºIs that right.¡»
Layotte nodded at Rainy¡¯s report, making a difficult expression. Just as Rainy had pointed out, the entirety of Forre had taken influence from the dwarves¡¯ unique value system. This influence had of course spread out through diplomacy, and there was many a time when Forre had issues with other countries over what seemed to be trifling affairs to the other countries. Mary issues, country borders, honor and whatnot, all of those things that would normally be considered problematic by most countries weren¡¯t an issue to Forre, which could be considered a relief, but it was still a troublesome country to deal with all of its neighbors.
¡º¡¡At this point, we have too little information to determine anything. Are there any other strange points?¡»
¡¸The great mother goddess of the earth¡¯s temple has had less traffic, they say.¡¹
¡º¡¡Not sure what to think about that.¡»
¡¸I always assumed Barold would head for the temple, but there wasn¡¯t enough information to back that up.¡¹
¡ºI see. Then please continue the investigation on your end. I will also use whatever connections I have in order to investigate.¡»
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Once she had heard Layotte¡¯s instructions, Rainy ended the call. After that, taking a small sigh, Rainy psyched herself up and got to her feet.
¡¸I may have to work out my liver and stomach first.¡¹
Forre, the country where you were forced to drink liquor and force fed to a shameful degree. Though it wasn¡¯t poisoning her persay, the dwarves often figured that her body type was too thin.
Had she breasts asrge as Haruna¡¯s, Rainy might have been let off, but big breasts are always subjective to whoever categorizes them. Many people in Forre who valued volume in appearance would see her as weak.
¡¸I¡¯d better do my best to work out so I don¡¯t get fat and make Deary hate me¡¡¡¹
Rainy Moon, the maiden in love£¨?£©, was forced toe to terms with her need for a diet for the first time in her life.
Meanwhile, in the royal house of Darl.
¡¸There are signs of a rise in the price of iron?¡¹
¡¸Apparently there have been idents urring frequently in Forre¡¯s mines.¡¹
¡¸Hm. I could see this bing yet another headache.¡¹
¡¸I couldn¡¯t agree more.¡¹
Darl¡¯s royal leader could not hide the grim expression on her face upon hearing the important report from the envoy staying in Forre.
¡¸If the supply of iron runs out, the country will fall into chaos.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Still, it isn¡¯t like the supply will dry up today or tomorrow, so making noise right now would just cause more problems.¡¹
¡¸But!¡¹
¡¸The only thing to dwell on is that there is an indication of rising prices. Sergio, can you not increase the excavation at the mine in Akraus?¡¹
Silencing the rather boisterous retainers, the queen asked her confidant something that anyone would logically think next.
¡¸Our country¡¯s excavation technology would only be able to increase the amount to about fifty percent, taking the safe margin into ount.¡¹
¡¸Very well. Then how about the people of the earth?¡¹
¡¸That will depend on negotiations. However, they have high-performance technology in all fields, not just excavation. Depending on how far we can take negotiations, I do think they may provide us with not only iron to buy, but also technology for the excavation in Akraus Mine.¡¹
¡¸I see. I suppose we will need to rely on Markto for that. Though not as much as Forre, the country is rich in ore, and we have had many a trade with his country. If you recall exports like heat-resistant bricks and the items from The Sweltering Tower, if we can get The People of the Earth to sell iron inrge quantities in exchange for this expansion, we may not be able to prevent the rise in price, but we will certainly be able to hold our ground.¡¹
Volume 4 1.4
Volume 4 Chapter 1.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Therge country in the eastern region of The Large Continent, Markto. Having no choice but to go to Darl for trade with Fane or Falldania, Markto was a valued client for Darl. As a result, both countries were on quite amiable terms with each other, and with Fane¡¯s first princess Magdarena marrying into Darl as well as Fane¡¯s third princess Maria marrying into Markto, the ties with Fane for both countries were stronger than ever before. Were they to hear of these information from Forre, Markto might very well be willing to temporarily increase the amount of iron exported to Darl.
¡¸If they avert their eyes from these rising prices, then we might be able to pull through with this. Fane has hardly ever relied on one country for resources/goods that they specialized in, so it is highly unlikely that this will cause any sort of problem. In which case, the real issue is¡¡¡¹
¡¸The Midas Federation¡¡¡¹
¡¸Indeed. There isn¡¯t a single good mine in that country despite it having adjoinednd with Forre. If these disturbances worsen, the effects will probably be greater than even that of Forre.¡¹
The retainers now had grave expressions on their faces, but for a different reason from earlier as they heard what the queen said. The Midas Federation was sandwiched between Darl and Forre, atrgest a poption of several million and at smallest the size of a city-state like the Vatican, seventeen small countries in all. Looking at the big picture, it might seem rather flimsy, but it was still an important cluster of countries that held the trade route between Darl and Forre.
If Darl were to fall into chaos, there was a possibility that Darl and Forre¡¯s direct trade would be cut off, and at worst, one third of Forre (no small area) would be a nest for monsters. In that sense, this issue was in a whole other dimension. This was what enduring the rising price could lead to.
¡¸Why not simply merge our country and Forre together?¡¹
¡¸We are not Woldeus. I will not have us being ndered for carrying the name of dirty invaders without any decent resources or farnd and cutting off thend.¡¹
Despite Midas Federation being in a geopolitically crucial position, the reason it had yet to be invaded by Darl or Forre was for all the reasons the queen had listed. After all, the countries in Midas, all the way from the top to the bottom of the political spectrum, were on truly bad terms. Despite this, however, military andmerce were being handled in an unbelievably organized fashion.
If they felt like it, Darl and Forre could easily overtake the federation, but with the inevitable civil wars and insurrections that would follow, so it was only natural for any policymaker to think ¡°over my dead body!¡± at the mere thought of suppressing the region. Looking at the many hundreds of years that these regions were sandwiched between the giants of Darl and Forre without any leader to unite them, entering into civil war and splitting apart whenever the poption of each country reached more than ten million, it was no wonder.
So there was already ack of desire to spend money and the lives of soldiers on thisnd, and yet this region had a low self-sufficency in food supply. Though the reason was unclear, despite being a region abundant with greenery (unlike Darl), there seemed to be ack of decent soil to nt crops, and leaving out a small portion of the hybrids, most humans could not digest the natural vegetation growing there (and it neither hindered nor helped them). As there wasn¡¯t anynd to take salt water or rock salt from, Midas Federation¡¯s self sufficiency rate of food was less than Darl¡¯s.
Were they to merge, there would be unbelievable burdens of order maintenance and food supply increase. Trade route safety and the tariffs apanying it were important elements that should not be ignored, but it was not cost effective and the risk was too great, so neither Darl nor Forre felt like trying anything.
¡¸For now, we need to get in secret contact with Forre and yield to Fane so that we can get ess to as many harbors as possible.¡¹
¡¸Honestly, if they were to form their own allied nation, I wonder if they could finally find a way to band together¡¡¡¹
¡¸Were they able to do such a thing, they would have long ago been called Kingdom of Midas or Midas Empire, not Midas Federation.¡¹
¡¸They cannot disobey our country, Fane, or Forre due to their food and resource problems, so I would prefer that they at least quit bringing their disputes over to us like it¡¯s our responsibility¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s been like that for many years, so you need not expect anything to change at this point.¡¹
The queen said rather negligently about the troublesome neighboring country. Their rtions had always been poor, which was a fairparison to how things were on Earth.
In the darkness, elsewhere¡
¡¸It only went well in one location, hm?¡¹
The lord of darkness spat out as he read the flow of the feng shui. This person was filled with miasma to the point where they could twist even the darkness itself. They seemed to be displeased with the work in Forre.
¡¸Is it not splendid enough that things are going well in one location?¡¹
¡¸As if. We only seeded in exchange for notifying the goddess of our movements. It is hardly worthwhile to have only one dungeon in one area!¡¹
Another lord of darkness asked a question, and the first lord spat in an annoyed manner. They had nned on turning half of the whole region into a dungeon, but unexpectedly enough, the earth mother goddess had been quite fierce in her resistance, and all they could manage was a cave-in. This still ended up lowering Forre¡¯s productivity drastically, but there were an unbelievable amount of dwarves in Forre. Judging by their passion for mines, it was likely to only take a month before the dwarves were again ready to begin excavation.
In other words, it had already been a failure when they had decided on dealing a fatal blow to Forre¡¯s industry.
¡¸I figured Barold could not handle it on his own and intervened, but I have no choice but to admit I was careless.¡¹
¡¸But still, one dungeon would be useful in gathering holy energy, would it not?¡¹
¡¸We can only hope that it has gone that far, or else it will not have been worth it to risk the goddess identifying us.¡¹
If there were one good thing toe of this, that would probably be the fact that they seeded in turning Forre¡¯srgest mine into a dungeon. Crest Cave¡¯s output amount was the world¡¯s number one. This mine would simply be forced to close off, and three cities would be forced to endure a shortage of iron. At that time, the voices of deep resentment would surely birth much holy energy.
¡¸Either way, we first need to deal with the earth mother goddess.¡¹
¡¸I have also heard that the Barold in Forre is struggling a bit, to which I have pulled a few strings.¡¹
¡¸Oh?¡¹
The dark lord who had been irritated at their own work ending in failure expressed interest at what their cohort had to say. The earth mother goddess was the greatest threat to Forre. Any amount of reduction of her power would be appreciated.
Volume 4 1.5
Volume 4 Chapter 1.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸What precisely did you do?¡¹
¡¸Nothing important, though. I simply created a mechanism that thickened the holy energy on the road leading to the temple of the earth mother goddess, activating higher monster activity and maddening the senses of anyone who approaches.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I see, so you iste them with starvation tactics.¡¹
¡¸I doubt that they care that much about the faith of humans, but if traffic decreases and the holy energy thickens, then they will eventually be forced to make a move.¡¹
The first dark lord nodded gratefully at theirpatriot¡¯s words. To him, though this was but a small help, he was grateful for any amount of assistance since he could not even do anything at this point as a result of his scheme failing. As none of the brethren here ever feltpetitive or antagonistic toward one another, they assisted each other, received assistance, and had no qualms about it either way. They would only refuse assistance if there was an overwhelming chance of winning or they wanted to conservebor.
¡¸Thank you, you have been a good help.¡¹
¡¸Think nothing of it. Now that ns are at a deadlock with Fane and Darl, I simply cannot sit around and y.¡¹
¡¸I see. Then again, we could also flip this around and say that if the guests from the unknown continent had not meddled in all of this, the earth mother goddess would not have had enough power remaining to foil the n¡¡¡¹
¡¸Until now we had assumed they were only skilled in battle with practically no knowledge in government, seeing no need to proactively seek their expulsion, and none of us could have predicted how much that would take us by storm.¡¹
The first dark lord groaned at the second lord¡¯s words. From the way things seemed to be going, these guests did not seem to be any different from the ones from before, in that they were politically powerless. However, they had more than enough power to shift the bnce in any kingdom, moreso than any ruler.
No one in their encampment was underestimating these ¡°mere¡± craftsmen any longer.
¡¸This time, I intend to take them on directly.¡¹
¡¸And the chances of winning are?¡¹
¡¸They were in a bit of a predicament with The Sweltering Tower and the two Barolds. Though I do not guarantee it, I do have a rough estimate.¡¹
¡¸Is that so. If there is anything you would like assistance with, I will help.¡¹
¡¸There is. But it would be troublesome if our existence was made known to the public. We will need to n the timing correctly.¡¹
Barold himself was no longer enough. Though they might win with a hundred of him, doing something that drastic would absolutely cause the goddesses to intervene. As there was no guarantee that the time, effort, or cost would be worth it, it was better to directly, and quickly, sh with these people.
¡¸We will not be able to do much more than stir up trouble in Forre for now. We even have Barold out there. Let us make good use of him.¡¹
¡¸Right. Though Darl is not out of the question, we cannot interfere in Fane now, so we had best pour our remaining resources into Forre and Loren.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. For now, how about I look into interfering with the area around the mine.¡¹
¡¸Then I will think in terms of disrupting cirction of goods. After all, Midas Federation is in quite the interesting predicament.¡¹
¡¸Alright. I will leave that to you. May the world be filled with holy energy.¡¹
¡¸May the world be filled with holy energy.¡¹
Exchanging the designated greetings, the two lords blended back into the darkness. Neither of them had realized that two goddesses had been listening in on their little meeting.
¡¸¡¡Elza, I can only assist you as far as this.¡¹
In the realm of the gods which exists between worlds, Alfemina, who had been peeking in on the meeting between the dark lords, conveyed this to the earth mother goddess Elza.
¡¸¡¡Thank you for your assistance, Alfemina. Still, it would be rather troublesome if the path to my temple is crushed.¡¹
¡¸But the only thing we are permitted to interfere in directly is the cleansing of the feng shui. Thankfully, we have Master Hiroshi and hispanions in Forre as of now. Aearis, too, will be making her appearance soon enough, so let us have her convey the information from us to her.¡¹
¡¸Sorry to burden you such.¡¹
¡¸We cannot worry about such things right now. As for the awakening of the priestess, Lefia, Sores and I will lend a hand, but as Zanafel and you as well cannot do any proper work right now, we cannot follow up as strongly as we would like.¡¹
¡¸I truly am sorry.¡¹
Elza was truly sorry to have caused Alfemina such a burden. Elza, whose priestess for various reasons was absent from her temple, was keeping many an equilibrium by doing most of the work that a priestess would normally do. As a result, she had to increase the amount of work for many a procedure, which was stalling her work as one of the three goddesses and as one of the five gods.
¡¸Once the masters Hiroshi and Haruna reach your temple, the priestess issue will be resolved. After that I will have you work quite a bit, so please do prepare yourself.¡¹
¡¸Yes, I understand.¡¹
¡¸Now then, I have no remaining power in this area. You will need to make do with your own power for the time being.¡¹
Alfemina said before returning to her own professional duties. After seeing her off, Elza put her own power into the feng shui and mines that had been damaged by suspicious means, doing her best to resist these unwanted trespassers.
¡¸Oh, to think that the parting gift from previous times is just now beginning to show its effects¡Truly, this requires patience¡¡¡¹
The disturbance from seven hundred years ago and the seal on the priestess that she had left as a parting gift. The goddess made a deep sigh at just how greatly this had affected things.
¡¸You appear to be making a detour through Crest Cave, but you have a more fierce path ahead than you think, Master Hiroshi.¡¹
As she cleansed the miasma that was gradually encroaching in, Elza sighed once again (who knew how many times she had sighed) with pained words. The reason Hiroshi and the others hade to this world was because they got wrapped up in the affairs of the gods, which Elza understood. She really did. But still, the current state of affairs was not so benign that she could hold back from letting our her grievances and entrusting her wishes to these unrted people.
¡¸Now then, let us see how much I can show these people, even as I am shackled, the willpower of the five great gods¡¡¡¹
As she cleansed the miasma from the road leading to her temple via the feng shui, Elza whispered softly with a stern expression. The world of the gods was in more tense of a situation than Hiroshi and his friends were aware of.
Volume 4 2.1
Volume 4 Chapter 2.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Two weeks after Crest Cave became a dungeon, the investigation was going through difficulties.
¡¸Poison gas region? This is the third ce we¡¯ve seen.¡¹
¡¸So now all the paths going in have been crushed.¡¹
Tatsuya made a sour face as he grumbled at Makoto¡¯s report as she marked spots on the dungeon map. This was your typical eruption in the mines, coal mines, etc. Unlike normal mines, the isted dimension dungeon version had poison that you couldn¡¯t drive out. In other words, you needed a gas mask or something or else you couldn¡¯t go forward.
¡¸What¡¯s our victim report look like?¡¹
¡¸Three dead from the gas trap.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya red at the map, frowning at this unpleasant report. Twelve with poison gas, ten with pitfalls, 15 with cave-ins, and adding those up to the total number of people dying practically every day, this dungeon had already taken over fifty lives.
This was a new, or newly discovered dungeon, so death was unavoidable. Still, fifty people in such a short amount of time was noughing matter. If anyone was to use these minester on, such a number of casualties could not simply be dismissed as ¡°being sacrificed for a good cause¡±.
¡¸What did Hiro say?¡¹
¡¸That this amount of poison gas can be stifled with environmental enchantments via spirit cloth.¡¹
¡¸So we may actually be able to go further in.¡¹
¡¸Apparently so.¡¹
Tatsuya felt anxious with this basically expected answer. There wasn¡¯t actually an issue with charging forward into the gas region. They would stand out, but that didn¡¯t faze them.
The real issue was more that Tatsuya felt they were being set up.
¡¸Hey Makoto.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸You think it¡¯s ok?¡¹
¡¸¡¡I really can¡¯t say.¡¹
Makoto frowned, reserving her answer at Tatsuya¡¯s roundabout question. Of course she knew what he was getting at.
¡¸We were able to get through the dungeons in Ortem vige and beat that tower golem, so I think it¡¯s mostly fine. But I have the same bad feeling you do.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what I thought¡¡¡¹
Now that Makoto¡¯s specialty was an orichalcum-made katana and she had strengthened her body with the highest self-amplification extra skill, only something major would stop her. This was also true for the weaknesses that both Makoto and Mio had back in Ortem¡¯s dungeon were they couldn¡¯t use light-based elemental attacks. Both girls had practically conquered these issues thanks to daily practice and the blessings of Igreos, so now the only problem was how to deal with traps. Normally thinking about it, there wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem delving into proliferating dungeons, but Makoto couldn¡¯t just shake off this bad feeling.
¡¸Let¡¯s discuss what to do after Hiroshi and the others get back.¡¹
¡¸Agreed. Hiro might begin finding a way to help the others break through the poison gas areas.¡¹
It was no use just idly chit-chatting. The two elders reached that conclusion and began talking about strategy and anything feasible while they waited for the other three to return.
¡¸Finished analyzin¡¯ the poison gas, mate.¡¹
¡¸¡¡That was quick.¡¹
¡¸Well, I pretty much knew from the start.¡¹
¡¸I guess we shouldn¡¯t be surprised, mister workshop master.¡¹
The meeting between the Adventurer¡¯s Association and the mining team. Hiroshi conveyed the results of the poison gas analysis, while all the organization leaders from Crest Cave nodded, impressed. Azuma workshop¡¯s reputation had already sprung up in Forre, hence why they had entrusted Hiroshi with the job, so they expressed their relief when he had delivered.
Needless to say, the Crest Cave division leaders of the Forre Adventurers¡¯ Association were humans. Leaving the job to dwarves would certainly note to anything good. This wasn¡¯t racial discrimination, but came from actual results. The dwarves in question were not simply fine with that; they pushed the job on other races, so this would never be problematic.
¡¸So you have a way to deal with it?¡¹
¡¸That ain¡¯t gonna be a problem. Alchemists can make novice-ss expendable amplification items, so once ya learn the trick ya can easily make the tools. But it ain¡¯t without its problems.¡¹
¡¸Such as?¡¹
¡¸The easiest tools to make are throwaway expendables, so ya can¡¯t change the time limit. When ya use it ya create a power field round yer eyes, nose, ¡®n mouth, so ya can¡¯t avoid havin¡¯ difficulty seein¡¯, breathin¡¯, which is the second problem.¡¹
The two leaders fell silent at his exnation.
¡¸We can also make gas masks but the equipment solidifies and the vision impairment is way worse than the expendable version.¡¹
¡¸Anything we can use to tolerate poison gas?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately we can¡¯t make nothin¡¯ with the herbs we got here. Even if we were, it¡¯d only have a temporary effect ¡®n won¡¯t block all the poison, so it ain¡¯t really viable.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Is that so¡¡¡¹
So all they could do was rely on making gas masks or using expendables. There wasn¡¯t a problem with that, but they couldn¡¯t just have both methods with holes in them, and gas masks would put a huge restriction on using potions. It would be quite troublesome for the items to have no effect without bringing along antidotes.
Still, there was a possibility that the expendables would lose their value depending on how long you had them out, and also, if the effects wore off in the poison region due to some unforeseen trouble, that would be that. Besides, if there were a bunch of traps that nullified the effects of these items, this was just too risky.
¡¸¡¡There really is no other way?¡¹
¡¸The resistance enchantments o our equipment¡¯s the best, but makin¡¯ anythin¡¯ ss Five¡¯s purty hard y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸Well, that is true.¡¹
The Adventurers¡¯ Association Division Leader grimaced at how even more impossible that method was. Were they able to do that or had a number of adventurers there with that sort of equipment, they wouldn¡¯t have struggled with poison gas in the first ce.
¡¸You cannot give it to us?¡¹
¡¸There ain¡¯t much more catalyst left, only for one or two people.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Then there is no point¡¡¡¹
The two elders made sour faces at Hiroshi¡¯s proposed numbers. Also, there was a clear reason for the catalyst hardly remaining. It was because it had already been used on new clothing/equipment. Not only did multiple resistance enchantments make the effect slightly greater, you could also maintain the minimum amount of resistance even if the equipment were to break, so Hiroshi made sure to always attach this enchantment to new clothing/armor as a lifeline.
¡¸¡¡It seems that we must rely on that expendable thing. How much time per usage?¡¹
¡¸Depends on the quality, but the standard items are about half a day for full effect. Ya won¡¯t know till ya experiment, though.¡¹
¡¸Experiment, eh¡¡¡¹
True, an experiment probably was necessary. But who were they going to use for the experiment? This poison was the kind that makes youatose within just thirty seconds and then kills you within five minutes tops. Forcing a regr human to undergo this was nothing short of inhumane. On the other hand, they didn¡¯t have too many death row prisoners. While many were sentenced to death by execution, the executions tended to proceed immediately after examination, so it was very rare to find sentenced criminals who were still alive.
¡¸Well, we do not seem to have other options, so I suppose we shall think about this experiment.¡¹
¡¸Agreed.¡¹
With no other conclusions, the two elders epted Hiroshi¡¯s offer of expendables and began developing a strategy. Once they hade to a consensus on the problem before them, the elders sighed and then began discussing the biggest problem.
¡¸So, Adventurer Association. Will the isted mine return to normal?¡¹
¡¸We shall have to take down the boss first. Honestly, from the perspective of public order, we cannot allow a dungeon to appear in an area that links to towns¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm. If a dungeon were not in the middle of the city, we could profit quite a bit off it.¡¹
¡¸I know. No matter how much revenue we gain from the increase in adventurer work, not being able to use Crest Cave as a mine is a veryrge minus for both Forre and this town.¡¹
Two weeks after the mine Crest Cave became a dungeon. Thanks to the adventurers assembling from every area, the town was very lively. Money they dropped, profit on sales from dungeon items, and the money the merchants dropped in pursuit of the adventurers. All of these elements proved without a doubt that Crest Cave as of now had an unprecedented boom.
But that was only because they had about three months¡¯ worth of iron ore. Once the storage depleted, without being able to use the mine, the current boom might not hold up for long.
Volume 4 2.2
Volume 4 Chapter 2.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸If we added in the cost of security, I think we might be able to use it as a mine, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸True, the parts we dig up will resurface after a time, so the conditions have be preferable to before with not having to worry about drying out.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢so the production amount for magic steel ¡®n all that¡¯s goin¡¯ up.¡¹
¡¸Aye. The production of iron is lower than half what it was before. Thanks to that, we have an abundance of magic steel and mythril.¡¹
Hiroshi could sense the gravity of the situation from the elder¡¯s sour face. He had anticipated this to an extent, but it seemed that mine workers at Crest Cave were too skilled and had actually contributed to the lowering of the iron supply. Also, magic steel and mythril could not be processed so easily, not even with Forre¡¯s technology.
They had a resolution for magic steel and mythril processing, but mentioning that would be a bit too risky.
¡¸If we can at least refine the extra ore, the processing will have a fair amount of reserve power to back it up¡¡¡¹
¡¸Is refining magic steel and mythril all that hard?¡¹
¡¸Not only do ye need arge amount of mana, ye have to keep the fire on at a delicate level. Bncing the two of them is quiteborious¡¡¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¡¹
Magic steel products being so expensive stemmed from the issue of ore refinement.
¡¸If we could at least make do with mana, we¡¯d have a prospect of recing twenty to thirty percent of the equipment circting within Forre to magic steel¡¡¡¹
¡¸Can ya make do with mana?¡¹
¡¸Do ye have a n or something?¡¹
¡¸Leave me to my discretion and it¡¯ll soundplicated, but I do got an idea.¡¹
Hiroshi began showing his hand from the get-go, not hesitating to wield his authority (despite trying to avoid that previously). They hadn¡¯t even been to this country before, and yet Azuma Workshop¡¯s name had spread throughout. Hiroshi had probably figured that there wasn¡¯t much of a point in keeping their skills confidential.
Then again, the main reason why Hiroshi had given in was definitely due to what he had heard from Igreos.
¡¸What idea?¡¹
¡¸Leave a smeltin¡¯ furnace ¡®n forge right there on the feng shui ¡®n then make a smeltin¡¯ furnace that draws out mana and a building with a barrier that can be used fer processin¡¯ the mana of the feng shui then yer mana problem¡¯s solved.¡¹
¡¸¡¡True, Master Azuma. It does not seem to be a resolution that we can manage with your discretion.¡¹
¡¸With the feng shui, we¡¯d need permission from the temple, and for makin¡¯ the smeltin¡¯ furnace we¡¯d need the cooperation of the Darl house and Igreos Temple, or else findin¡¯ ingredients gonna be tough.¡¹
Hiroshi brought politics into the conversation, and the guild leader just groaned, unable to figure out what to do.
¡¸We have intermediaries in Darl and Igreso Temple, so if ya provide some gifts as representing Forre then I can help ya git somewhere. But remember that the temple over here ain¡¯t got nothin¡¯ to do with it, so even if I talk to ¡®em about it, it¡¯ll take everything just to get the Fane priestess princess and Darl priestessmunicatin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Either way, we cannot do much about it today.¡¹
¡¸I reckon I agree. Makin¡¯ enough smeltin¡¯ furnaces would take several months, plus ya ain¡¯t gonna be able to supplynd to go along the feng shui right away.¡¹
The guild leader calcted a careful conclusion based on Hiroshi¡¯s appealing, yet not immediately implementable proposal.
¡¸I am certain that they will sanction it soon after I consult them, but I do not quite have enough materials in order to go before their majesty. Master Azuma, could ye perhaps make one or two trial products consisting of that smelting furnace and smithy?¡¹
¡¸If that¡¯s all ya want, then as long as ya can resolve the site and the temple issues, two days in one ce fer ingredients ¡®n a half a day fer the smeltin¡¯ furnace, and if ya need a building then that¡¯s one or two days.¡¹
¡¸Then I and the adventurer association will go to talk with them, so might I ask that you proceed with the ingredient side of things?¡¹
¡¸Roger that.¡¹
There seemed to be a course of action now. Once again, Hiroshi would be getting busy on something other than adventuring, but heck, this always happened, so he didn¡¯t care. In fact, the only time Hiroshi ever did anything adventurer-like was in the dungeon at Ortem and Darl¡¯s underground ruins, in addition to the rescue mission at Sweltering Tower when Aearis and the others had been captured.
And so Hiroshi and friends once again became involved in a matter directly rted to the core of the country despite not strongly identifying as adventurers or as guests from the unknown continent.
At the same time Hiroshi was speaking with the adventurer association and ore guild leaders, Haruna and Mio were borrowing a furnace and forge set for smelting and forging practice.
¡¸¡¡Yet another crack¡¡¡¹
Haruna¡¯s shoulders sank as she saw the huge crack in the small throwing knife used for practice. This would make the third time she failed at quenching.
¡¸This is the first time it¡¯s gone tis horrible¡¡¡¹
¡¸Haru, you just need to keep practicing.¡¹
¡¸I know, but after failing ten times in a row, you get kinda down¡¡¡¹
Wiping her sweat off from the forge heat, Haruna sighed at slow progress. Four items she failed at smelting with too little me, three broke in the process, and three had too much me in them and broke.
Right now, the onlypleted forged item that Haruna could use was the one that Hiroshi had instructed her in all the way. Incidentally, Haruna¡¯s first product had a bad shape at the end of the forging process, as she had failed with the whetstone, unable to cut or stab (rendering the knife pointless) so they had made it over again. Everything else she had consisted primarily of arrowheads and devices.
¡¸Mio-chan, is forging really this difficult?¡¹
¡¸If you managed to even make fivepleted products without anyone¡¯s help at proficiency 50, you essentially still have luck on your side.¡¹
¡¸Wow¡¡¡¹
Haruna just groaned at what Mio said. The difficulty was heartrending.
The ranks were all ultimately severe, but novice was especially tough with forging. The reason was simple: there were no ¡°easy¡± products to make. Not even arrowheads were all that easy, hardly any different from molding a knife if you wanted to make something that stabs when shot; truly devilish.
In addition, even if you could make arrowheads like that, you couldn¡¯t go up more than 20 proficiency. Also, proficiency 20 still meant the sess rate for knives was practically the same as 0 proficiency. If so, then growth would increase the most by starting from knife practice, as you could learn everything you needed to know about forging from there.
Then again, there wasn¡¯t really a proficiency in novice where you levelled up by failure. You had to be fairly adept at it so that you realized why you failed, probably, but failing at low-sess rate work truly yielded nothing, which had broken the hearts of many a yer aiming to be a cksmith. Though it was still a lot better than the other crafting skills where you don¡¯t rise at all with failure, it was hardly reassuring to get only a tiny bit up.
This world was different in many ways other than physics, but this particr element seemed to not have changed. So Haruna wouldn¡¯t have any clue as to what went wrong in the forging or quenching process just with three failures.
Volume 4 2.3
Volume 4 Chapter 2.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Do you know why I failed, Mio-chan?¡¹
¡¸I do, but I doubt you¡¯d understand just by me exining.¡¹
¡¸Oh¡¡¡¹
Haruna¡¯s shoulders dropped immediately at Mio¡¯s reply. The current problem was feeling the processing elements on an intuitive level. Most normal humans would definitely not be able to understand even with an exnation.
¡¸What I can say is that the breaking during the forging process is because you keep trying to stretch it too far. You just have to pay attention to how you strike.¡¹
¡¸It makes sense in my head, but I really don¡¯t know when I¡¯m breaching it.¡¹
¡¸And that¡¯s just where you strike a bunch and figure it out.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what ites down to, huh.¡¹
¡¸You aren¡¯t yet at the level where you can follow along and copy.¡¹
With these kinds of machines that didn¡¯t interpose traditional techniques, you couldn¡¯t ¡°steal¡± anyone¡¯s move until you were able to do the work from scratch by yourself. You had to fail over and over again while being scolded by your boss and the higher-ups,piling work after work diligently and neatly until finally you attained the skill.
In that sense, Haruna was kind of blessed. Other than food, she generally wasn¡¯t seen as a source of revenue or a replenisher of consumables. Even if she were to fail, she would be using novice materials, which could generally be gathered inrge quantities without difficulty. She was already contributing a good amount with stands and street concerts, so the team had a good amount of funds. Thanks to that, no matter how many mistakes she made, no oneined about her, and Haruna was able to focus solely on polishing her skill.
Then again, in such a lukewarm water-like situation, it was difficult to say whether or not this was good for polishing one¡¯s skill.
¡¸I¡¯ll just try a bit more.¡¹
¡¸Hang in there, Haru.¡¹
Haruna reinvigorated herself, tossing the failures in the furnace and ring at the fire, thermostat, etc. Unlike smithing, where she couldn¡¯t tell she was improving, Haruna had begun getting an understanding of smelting. Now she could correctly time when she took out the ingots, making sure that it was properly quenched.
¡¸This time, I at least want to get to tempering it.¡¹
¡¸Good luck.¡¹
With Mio¡¯s encouragement, Haruna psyched herself up before she began hitting the ingot, molding the shape. Though she herself hadmented theck of progress, Haruna¡¯s handiwork with the knife had improved quite a bit from when she had begun. And then, finally¡¡
¡¸The quenching didn¡¯t work, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸You might have held back a bit too much on that.¡¹
¡¸But if I redo it, then¡¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯d better not. Wait till it¡¯s annealed.¡¹
¡¸Ah. Then I¡¯ll anneal it.¡¹
With annealing and everything else, the knives they made for practice took way too much time to make. Even when they were made, it wasn¡¯t like the knives would be used, so Haruna figured she may as well just follow the correct procedure through all the way, putting the knife in the furnace for annealing and looking at the thermometer as she adjusted the temperature ordingly.
¡¸So, Haru.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think you need to be so urgent for something as simple as sewing¡¡¡¹
¡¸No way, this is a matter of life and death.¡¹
Focusing a good amount on overseeing the annealing, Haruna gave Mio a curt reply. Hiroshi would have been able to finish this process in just a few seconds, but Haruna had to take her time with it, plus she had to control the temperature a certain amount by herself or it would get tough.
Still, Haruna had enough leisure to chat with Mio, so she decided to pass the time by doing that.
¡¸A matter of life and death?¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
¡¸How so?¡¹
¡¸Many reasons, but the main one is underwear, I guess?¡¹
Concerned about this environment filled with men (although they were pretty much all dwarves), Haruna told Mio about her truly serious problem in a lowered voice. All this time she had yet to separate her eyes from the thermometer, moving the temperature back up whenever it got too cool. This level of conversation must not really distract her.
¡¸Underwear?¡¡Why?¡¹
¡¸Cause I can¡¯t get my hands on cute underwear without making it myself.¡¹
¡¸Especially with bras?¡¹
¡¸Mm. The same was true for Japan, but a lot of the time you can¡¯t even get a good designed bra for anything past D-cup.¡¹
¡¸Is that bragging I sense?¡¹
Mio made a rather darkment on Haruna¡¯s unique ¡°worries¡±. Though she had grown quite a bit recently, Mio was far from even a C cup, plus her stature had all but halted, stretching and shrinking by one millimeter. When you realized she still probably wouldn¡¯t be over 105 centimeters tall upon entering high school (even without this weird flux in height) you could tell this was rather heartrending.
¡¸Bragging? Mm, more like the cold hard truth?¡¹
¡¸And with that statement, you¡¯ve made enemies of me, Mako, Lina-san, and Nazaria-san all at once.¡¹
¡¸Although I would say that regardless of chest size, whoever likes you is going to like you for you. The rest is just a problem you have to settle yourself.¡¹
Haruna adjusted the temperature back down from being slightly too hot as shemented on Mio¡¯s anxiety with a pained tone, possibly convinced that Mio¡¯s worries took greater priority over hers. When it came down to it, even when you saw the design of a bra is important, it was just an issue of trying to appeal to the male in question, but in Haruna¡¯s case, there was a strong, symbolic implication that she had given in and rewired her brain.
In other words, she was a maiden in love and wanted to ensure that she was always at the ready, even in areas that weren¡¯t visible.
¡¸¡¡I always think this, but you really are a cheater.¡¹
¡¸How so?¡¹
¡¸Because, you¡¯re already so big, and yet you wear clothing that doesn¡¯t go with the size all the time.¡¹
¡¸Really? I still struggle, you know¡¡¡¹
Haruna would definitely fit in the big-boobed category, and yet she looked good in just about anything. Even when you had her wear clothing that looked silly with big breasts, something clouded the senses and she still ended up looking perfectly fine without pressing her chest down or anything; quite the fearsome phenomena. From Mio¡¯s standpoint, it wasn¡¯t as shoddy as ¡°looking slender¡±, but a fragment of something more sinister, no doubt. Makoto went a step further and just referred to it as ¡°the heroine effect¡±.
¡¸Anyhow, I feel like there are loads of enemies prowling around for this matter, so I definitely want to be able to make my own.¡¹
¡¸And it has happened before, so I can¡¯t deny that¡¡¡¹
Green with envy at Haruna¡¯s bust size, Mio had previously forced her to wear strange-designed underwear that she made. If that had caused Haruna to be wary of her, then Mio really couldn¡¯tin.
¡¸Still, if all you wanted is to make underwear from spirit thread, you¡¯d have to at least be able to make proper throwing knives¡¡¡¹
Haruna began grumbling in a pained tone for a different reason this time as she looked at the knife she was in the middle of annealing. This seemed to be the first time in her life that she hade to such a standstill with something, and right now Haruna appeared to have lost some self-confidence.
In the end, once Haruna had finished annealing the throwing knife, its shape was still an odd failure, the bnce improper and unfit for throwing in a straight line. It was a truly pitiable product.
Volume 4 2.4
Volume 4 Chapter 2.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸So what were we even discussing?¡¹
Dinnertime. Haruna confirmed as shey out boiled edamame on the table. These were ones that she had reserved from Ortem when returning from Darl to Wulls Workshop, teaching the residents the correct way to eat it while she was at it. Of course, just as the name suggested, all it involved was sticking the edamame with the branches still attached into a pot and boiling them. By this point in time, no doubt, the elves were enjoying it with some cool ale.
Other than edamame, there were also sausages, cheese, and dry-cured ham on the table (a menu that practically screamed ¡°this goes well with liquor!!!¡±), and around all of that filling in the fine details included things like pickled cabbage river fish and german omelettes.
As you may have gathered from Haruna being the one cooking, Hiroshi¡¯s group had moved out of the inn and was now renting an apartment with a decent amount of space that the Adventurers¡¯ Association had introduced them. Finance-wise, they could have still stayed at the inn, but either way, the minors had all agreed that the apartment was better for cooking without reserve.
¡¸First, in regards to conquerin¡¯ the mining dungeon, we decided on assemblin¡¯ all the alchemists and teachin¡¯ ¡®em how to make aqua presses.¡¹
¡¸Aqua press, eh? Come to think of it, it wasn¡¯t just maintaining breathing and vision underwater, you could also protect against poison gas, dust, and the like.¡¹
¡¸Well, ya gotta rememba there¡¯s also a w to it where ya visual senses drop by about 10 percent.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto nodded with slight grimaces at what Hiroshi had just pointed out. The item in question was one they had been veryfortable with back in the game. After all, there weren¡¯t many pieces of equipment sitting around that had strong environment-resistant capabilities like what Hiroshi made, and yet there were plenty of dungeons and quests that you couldn¡¯t progress through without first thinking of some sort of countermeasure. As a result, in exchange for this slight penalty, throwaway items like these with perfect environmental resistance for a certain amount of time were always in high demand, with practically every yer relying on them for adventuring.
¡¸Oh yeah, how long did that onest?¡¹
¡¸Minimum six hours guaranteed. After that, it depends on the ability, but at most twenty four hours. And if we try usin¡¯ it in the poison gas region we just discovered, it¡¯ll nullify it plenty, but with more severe poison gas, the aqua breath ain¡¯t gonnapletely nullify it.¡¹
¡¸So if we pick up worse readings further in, it¡¯s a no-go.¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
Hiroshi conveyed the correct information to Makoto and Tatsuya. Even though they wouldn¡¯t be the ones using the items, there would be less issues if they knew what was going on.
¡¸So, about directions for makin¡¯ the aqua breath, I kinda wanna ask Mio to do it.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Why?¡¹
¡¸She already has to bar hop between Wulls ¡®n Darl on separate errands. Tomorrow, the next day, and the day after that, she ain¡¯t gonna be here.¡¹
¡¸I see. What for?¡¹
¡¸She¡¯s gotta test out smelting furnaces in order to more easily refine magic steel. It don¡¯t seem like that dungeon¡¯s gonna go back to normal even if weplete it, so she figured it was best to act under that assumption.¡¹
Everyone nodded as they listened to Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. Were Crest Cave to remain a mine dungeon, the production of iron would fall, also bringing about excessive amounts of magic steel and mythril ore. This could very well result in a worldwide decline in iron products.
In such a situation, it was then best to take care of the excessive products and rece them with iron-made products. At least on paper that was how it should go, but things were never quite that simple¡
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, is it really ok to increase production of magic steel and all that?¡¹
Haruna let out a worried voice about the prospect of increasing the production of these military-rted products. Though she was far from aware of the international situation, even an amateur could guess what the impact would be.
¡¸As a prerequisite, we gotta at least send part of it to Fane ¡®n Darl, as understood by the guild leader in this town.¡¹
¡¸Well, one has the smelting forge ingredients, and the other has the food supply.¡¹
Hiroshi replied rather happily to Haruna, and Tatsuya nodded as he recalled the power rtionship between the three kingdoms.
One actual problem was that even if all the military equipment became magic steel-made, Forre and Fane shing would only lead to a draw with injuries on both sides. Besides, in order tounch a widescale attack on Fane, Forre would have to have much better food production capabilities. Logistics would crash, Forre would lose, and Fane would end up losing power to sell its food to a country. No one would profit from this.
Also, in the case of Forre picking a fight with Darl, first it would need to gain total control of Midas Federation. Midas Federation dered that the queen of Darl was too annoying to deal with and therefore they refused to merge, also ignoring a portion of the countryposed of war hawks. Even if Forre tried to approach Darl from their direction, invading this country in the prospect of an all-out war with Darl would risk back-stabbing which they could not afford.
Then again, before any of that, as there wasn¡¯t even a single country of the great western three kingdoms that had grown as a result of foreign campaigns, Forre didn¡¯t evenprehend the idea of trying to erge theirnd by waging war after war. Fane had simply be a country as the surrounding cities drew near in light of its heroic deeds, while Darl found it difficult to even take on monsters without being safe in their country¡¯s environment. When it came down to Forre, they generally had no interest in anything besides mines and liquor, only bing a big country in the middle of their pursuit of mine development and iron transportation routes.
Even if that were not the case, Forre constantly had its hands tied with monster extermination and abruptly appearing dungeons, so even if they had the energy to go all the way out on expeditions, no, precisely because they were a big kingdom, they did not have the energy to spare.
¡¸In the first ce, even with magic steel equipment, the only thing changin¡¯ is that less normies get hurt when fightin¡¯ monsters.¡¹
¡¸Right. The wars in this world generally depend on the grade of the monster rather than the grade of the equipment.¡¹
Makoto agreed with Hiroshi¡¯sment. Saying this would make them sound a bit bad, but no matter how many normal soldiers put on magic steel-reinforced armor, Julius, Douga, or someone of Rayna¡¯s caliber could easily sweep them with their special moves. All three of them could only lower their power to about three times the power of regr people (where it was originally ten times their strength), so it would still be overkill either way.
It was the same with regr attacks. The average person could equip as much magic steel weapons as they pleased, but all that would amount to would be slightly superior to the average iron weapons that Hiroshi brought out to the market. Withparatively high attack skills in intermediate ss, the soldiers probably could score a little damage on Julius and Rayna, but all it would do to Douga would be a slight scratch to him. But even before that, Julius and Rayna wouldn¡¯t have normal equipment on them for war, so there wouldn¡¯t be any sort of advantage for regr soldiers even with strengthened armor.
Volume 4 2.5
Volume 4 Chapter 2.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
In order to ensure that no one yer had an extreme difference in battle, there were a variety of adjustments made in-game, so even if Hiroshi were to go up against someone at level 10 with hardly any skills, he wouldn¡¯t receive no damage like he did over here, and even if Makoto or Tatsuya were to fire at him with one of their strong attacks, they wouldn¡¯t kill him in a single hit with a critical. But in this world, such kind restrictions did not exist. Hiroshi in fortress mode would practically suffer no damage from Makoto, Tatsuya, or Haruna¡¯s highest firepower, and Teres or Artiem wouldn¡¯t be able to so much as scratch him with whatever weapons they used.
In this world, once you got to a certain point, every individual¡¯s power level woulde into y, no matter how cruel it was.
¡¸Well, at any rate, right now it¡¯s just an experiment/test run. She can¡¯t make more than the kind o¡¯furnace that individuals can handle, so while her craftin¡¯ ability¡¯ll be higher than most, it¡¯ll only be a one percent difference, I think.¡¹
¡¸And anything beyond that concerns politics, eh.¡¹
¡¸Prolly yeah.¡¹
It probably wouldn¡¯t be enough to disrupt the power bnce between the countries. That was what the Japanese people determined based on previous considerations. In a sense, they were right. Just because Forre¡¯s magic steel products increased did not mean that tensions would be rising between the three powers or Midas Federation, nor did it mean that the power bnce between the western countries would crumble. However, even if the western countries appeared to be intact, from a global perspective it was not only not that simple, Hiroshi and friends did not realize how much they had influenced the world, or at least would not realize that until they had toter on solve some trouble in the Great Library of Rufeus in the capital, Lorren.
¡¸Well, and so she¡¯s gotta go around talking to people here and there for two to three days, so during that time, Haruna-san, ya should just do somethin¡¯ productive with Bro and the others.¡¹
¡¸Got it. I already have some ns anyway. How about some food for starters?¡¹
¡¸Yup, thanks for making it.¡¹
Prompted by Haruna, Hiroshi expressed his thanks and reached out for the pickled cabbage and river fish. The older members of the group already had edamame in one hand and were gazing intently at the homemade beer.
¡¸Edamame is the best!¡¹
¡¸Yep, beer and edamame go perfectly together!¡¹
Nicely cooled beer and organically cultivated, fresh tasting edamame. The salt amount was also perfect, a happy taste independent of the liquor.
¡¸Tomorrow, I guess I¡¯ll go ahead and work at the stall. Been a while.¡¹
¡¸What are you selling?¡¹
¡¸Hot dogs. We got all these delicious sausages we made, plus I kinda wanted to make something a little orthodox Kansai style.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I see. True, the hotdogs you made using these countries sausages were great.¡¹
In response to Haruna¡¯s answer, Tatsuya nodded as he remembered the hotdogs they ate yesterday. The orthodox kind was certainly good, but the Kansai cabbage and curry powder version was great too. Either one of those could easily sell.
¡¸¡¡I don¡¯t care either way, but don¡¯t you think there might be an alternative to simply rushing to the stall every time we have nothing to do?¡¹
¡¸Oh? But I think that basically sums us up, don¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mio, you say something too.¡¹
¡¸Edamame and beer, do they really go that well together?¡¹
¡¸Absolutely, but you need to wait eight years, little miss¡¡¡¹
Losing her strength at Mio¡¯sment from out of left field, Makoto rebuked her. Unfortunately, there were hardly any countries in this world either who would allow Mio to drink liquor out in the open, based on appearance and age.
¡¸When the team¡¯s out doing their own thing, I think we should at least ensure safety.¡¹
¡¸So you¡¯re in agreement with operating the food stand?¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon, food stands never lead to any issues, as long as you don¡¯t roughhouse with the customers.¡¹
Making a small sigh at Mio¡¯s pointer, Makoto figured ¡°why not¡± and conceded. In reality, she had no idea what else there was besides food stands anyway.
¡¸While we¡¯re at it, Haru, how about you go with Tatsu and the others to Stiren and help secure a transportation point there?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I don¡¯t see why not.¡¹
¡¸Are we seriously going all the way to the capital just to sell food¡¡¡¹
Haruna nodded at Mio¡¯s proposal while Tatsuya looked fed up. True, they would eventually have to go to Stiren anyway, but for something like this?
¡¸Seems like the capital would have more strange sausages where those came from, so I say that¡¯s a pretty good reason, right?¡¹
¡¸Alllll right¡¡¡¹
¡¸Fine, sheesh¡¡¡¹
Exasperated at what Haruna had just said, but also unable to deny they liked some good sausage and liquor, the two elder members sighed on the surface while expressing agreement. In the end, they gave in to some of their food cravings (or rather, that was now their main priority in going to Stiren), once again proving how nonchnt these people were.
Meanwhile, in Igreos Temple (main branch)¡
¡¸Special delivery¡«¡¢special delivery¡«¡¹
¡¸Octogal Dispatch, at your se¡«rvice!¡¹
¡¸Delivery¡«¡¢delivery¡«¡¹
Three octogals had moved to where Nazaria and Igreos were.
¡¸Home delivery¡«¡¢home delivery¡«¡¹
¡¸Delivered at the appointed time¡«¡¹
¡¸Delivered without regard for appointment¡«¡¹
¡¸Absent¡«¡¢absent¡«¡¹
¡¸Takeout¡«¡¢deliver at another time¡«¡¹
¡¸Dispose of body¡«¡¹
¡¸Uhh, I don¡¯t really understand what any of you are saying¡¡¡¹
The octogals did their little game of association as per usual, while Nazaria, not used to these strange creatures, grimaced as she threw ament their way.
¡¸Letter from Elle-chan¡«¡¹
¡¸Stamp on the receipt, please¡«¡¹
¡¸Or a sign, that works too¡«¡¹
Signing the receipt brought before her by the octogal, Nazaria also took the handwritten letter from Aearis into her hands.
¡¸Safely delivered¡«¡¹
¡¸We will send the receipt to her in a jiffy¡«¡¹
¡¸We will standby¡«¡¹
Having finished their task for Aearis, one of the octogals teleported back to Wulls. The remaining two, upon dering their standby, were now enshrined atop the heads of both Nazaria and Igreos. It was a little off-putting to see an octogal on Igreos¡¯ head, but he himself showed no signs of difort, so it must not be all that problematic.
¡¸¡¡I see, so as a preventive measure for Crest Cave, they¡¯re thinking of building more new smelting furnaces and increasing the amount of refined magic steel.¡¹
¡¸A frontal attack, hm. Truly a great tactic.¡¹
¡¸It is?¡¹
¡¸Crest Cave likely will not go back to being a mine now that it has shifted into a dungeon. ording to what we know from Alfemina, it would seem that the underlings of the evil god put up quite a fight. The isted dimension appears to have been solidified quite quickly this time around. So by that logic, magic steel ore crafting will skyrocket. Indubitably, strengthening one¡¯s crafting prowess with magic steel products is the most constructive option as of now.¡¹
Conveying this information from the god grapevine to Nazaria, Igreos meanwhile thought of his own role in all this. No matter how the pieces would fall, at the moment, things were guaranteed to be terribly busy with Forre¡¯s increase in smelting furnaces.
¡¸Igreos-sama, it seems that Aearis-dono will be showing up here along with Hiroshi-dono tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸In that case, we must quickly set up the production increase of holy fire-baked heat-resistant bricks.¡¹
¡¸Should we tell Her Majesty about any of this?¡¹
¡¸Eh, this is the strong, independent priestess princess we are talking about. No doubt even if one such as myself had not told her about it, she will have known.¡¹
¡¸Then all that remains now is just how the Forre royal family will respond to this.¡¹
¡¸The only thing in their heads is iron. If the amount of refined magic steel is to increase, they will undoubtedly try to push this n forward without thinking of profit or loss.¡¹
This insistence on iron from the Forre family was also consistent with the entirety of the nation, regardless of status. This disposition (iprehensible to the other countries) was hiding a lot of Barold¡¯s secretive movements, and just as much so was it troublesome to deal with in regards to diplomatic rtions with their allies.
¡¸Either way, this appears to be a momentous asion for history.¡¹
¡¸Well, it would be nice if it results in something amazing for the world¡¡¡¹
Sighing at Igreos¡¯ excited demeanor as he struck a pose, Nazaria decided to send the octogals back to Wulls with a response and a gift.
Volume 4 3.1
Volume 4 Chapter 3.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I¡¯ve been waiting for your return.¡¹
Soon after returning to Wulls Azuma Workshop, Hiroshi was met by Aearis, waiting at the entrance.
¡¸Elle?¡¡Oh, right, Alfemina-sama must have mentioned it.¡¹
¡¸Yes. I am rather sorry, but I simply followed what Alfemina-sama told me to do and had things go a little my way.¡¹
Seeing as how Alfemina had intervened through Aearis, it would seem that even the gods saw this n as being in their interest this time around.
¡¸Well, that¡¯ll lighten our load, so I don¡¯t mind. Heck, I¡¯m grateful. But how far along are y¡¯all?¡¹
¡¸We barely started, so nothing crucial. At most, I discussed this with Father and Brother, in addition to sending the message to Queen Mishe and Nazaria-sama.¡¹
¡¸Nah, that¡¯s plenty far. Wait, how¡¯dja even send it¡¡¡¹
¡¸I asked the octogals to send it.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¹
Hiroshi let out a voice of understanding at what Aearis said. The octogals loved these sorts of errands. Especially when someone as beloved as Aearis asked them, the octogals would happily run around as many times on as many unconventional errands as they pleased.
¡¸But Alfemina¡¯s priestess princess ain¡¯t got any real power, right? Is it cool to do whatever?¡¹
¡¸Generally, I cannotmand anything other than what is decided in Alfemina Temple. However, as Alfemina-sama¡¯s priestess princess, I can ask the king, the prince, or the prime minister to do something. I can only ask them, while the ones who run the country with the actual power are the ones who determine if it goes through, but this time Alfemina and a number of things to say, along with all of your achievements, and I was able to proceed things ahead quicker than usual.¡¹
¡¸Kay then.¡¹
Come to think of it, this was reasonable, but even if she only had authority without the power to back it up, Aearis could easily use her connections with powerful figures and ask them favors. Whether they would listen differed from time to time, but whether Aearis had any power or not didn¡¯t matter.
Besides, a priestess was, by definition, a mouthpiece of the gods. If the words of a god were to be conveyed, regardless of who was in power, there came a time when orders had to be carried through without exception. In fact, most temples were distancing themselves from power for that reason.
¡¸Well, I got most of that. Imma git a gift real quick, so sit tight mate.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
Asking Aearis to wait at the dining hall she had just obediently entered, Hiroshi frisked through the storehouse for things best suited for gifts. They would generally be going to Darl, so based on the current season, something cool seemed best, and so what Hiroshi chose was ice cream that Haruna and Mio had made with obsession. And for the Darl pce, he chose three cooled in soups that were ready to eat by merely pouring cool goat milk in, each of which were economical size, with ten meals packed in each variety. Incidentally, there were also soups for other kinds of milk as well, like cow milk.
¡¸For starters, how ¡®bout this?¡¹
¡¸I understand the ice cream part, but what might that box over there be for?¡¹
¡¸Magic powder to make cooled milk and cooled soup, mate. Darl specializes in goat milk, so it¡¯s a seasoning that goes well with it.¡¹
¡¸Cool milk, you say?¡¹
Aearis¡¯ eyes glinted in curiosity at Hiroshi¡¯s words. She had already seen examples of how boiling water could thaw powder into soup with instant varieties, but cold milk was on another level. After all, the powdered soup she had seen up till now hadn¡¯t melted all that well with cold water.
¡¸¡¡We¡¯re gonna test it out in the pce, so wait a bit, kay?¡¹
¡¸Okay. Understood.¡¹
Comforting Aearis, who seemed to be incredibly itching to see the food in action, Hiroshi went into the transportation circle to atst show up to Darl Workshop. With unbelievably dexterity, the moment the two of them emerged in Darl Workshop, a carriage appeared out of nowhere to pick them up and take them to the pce.
¡¸Whoa, they¡¯re super quick on the uptake¡¡¡¹
¡¸Calcting our arrival this skillfully¡I am impressed with my sister Magdarena and Her Highness.¡¹
¡¸Wait, is it really ok fer us to get this vip treatment¡¡¡¹
¡¸Actually, I think they only do this for state guests.¡¹
The splendor of the carriage that came for them and the quality of the tea brought immediately before them. Clearly this was state guest reception. There was also the timing of the carriage, and Hiroshi was worried that he, of all people, was being treated so well. Needless to say, Hiroshi did not seem to realize how crucial he was to both Fane and Darl.
¡¸Thank you very much¡«¡¹
The capital of Forre, Stiren. As soon as they arrived, Haruna and the others got permission to set up shop and then steadily increased their sales. Tatsuya went off on his own, going around and gathering information on things like what was going on in town or events that were being held.
¡¸How¡¯s storage look?¡¹
¡¸I think we¡¯re about done.¡¹
¡¸Plenty of shopspeting, and we still manage to make a sale? Wow.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, crazy.¡¹
It wasn¡¯t clear whether Makoto was impressed or grumbling, and Haruna just smiled in a rather difficult to describe way as she responded. There wasn¡¯t a single clear difference between their shop and the others, unless you counted the taste. Still, she didn¡¯t want to believe that was the reason.
¡¸Miss, can I have one Kansai-style?¡¹
¡¸Coming ri¡«ght up.¡¹
Haruna took an order and skillfully made a hotdog before handing it out. It was simply fast food, so it never took much time other than heating the sausages, and said sausages were continually being put on the me in order to keep up with the constant flow of customers. As a result, everything was ready-made in under thirty seconds after taking an order.
¡¸That¡¯ll be twenty domas.¡¹
¡¸You got it.¡¹
Either it was Forre¡¯s regional character or their food was just high in general, but still, mere hotdogs should not fetch such a high price. Although there were always changes via exchange rates and food prices, but in the case ofrger scale hot dog market prices, the western nations had pretty much the same prices as Japanese yen, which was basically two hundred.
¡¸Thank you very much¡«¡¹
Haruna sent them off with her usual clear voice, and the customer walked off in a good mood as they bit into the hotdog. Pulled in by the same voice, new customers showed up one by one. Compared to the peak in Wulls or Darl, this pace was far more leisurely, but still with plenty of customers.
¡¸Ah-¡¹
¡¸Almost done?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Ten more sausages to go.¡¹
¡¸Ah.¡¹
Hearing Haruna¡¯s report, Makoto stopped her work at the right amount of sausages, making slits in them. Today, Makoto had done very rudimentary work (such as cutting slits through bread or inserting ingredients that Haruna prepared toplete hotdogs, etc) that anyone without cooking skill (or low cooking skill) could aplish without greatly affecting the taste. Haruna was the one doing things like seasoning it with cabbage or adjusting the cooking level of the sausages, so even if Makoto¡¯s part were a little careless, Haruna easily made up for it with ingredients.
¡¸But wow, you seem to be handling your feelings quite well recently, huh?¡¹
The hotdogs finished selling without any trouble, and then Makoto asked Haruna something she had been wondering as they cleaned up shop.
¡¸I am?¡¹
¡¸Yes. But it¡¯s not like you¡¯ve calmed down any. In fact, you seem more fiery than ever. Kinda weird. Any idea as to why?¡¹
¡¸Idea, huh¡¡¡¹
Haruna contemted a bit. Unlike in Darl, Haruna knew this time around that she no longer had the urge to touch Hiroshi. There must have been something that prompted this¡
¡¸The moment I touched the holy water from the evil idol, I was quarantined underground for three days right?¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
¡¸And I sort of felt refreshed after I rampaged a bit. Since then, rather than touch him, I felt more like I want him toe to like me, no matter how long it takes. So I guess it sorta became a war of attrition.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Ah, so you let it out when you y sports¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, I guess so?¡¹
Hearing the reason Haruna gave, Makoto just gave her an exasperated look. She hadn¡¯t thought that Igreos¡¯ im, of all things, could be urate.
¡¸Well, that just about does it then. Also, good thing Tatsuya isn¡¯t here right now. There¡¯s a little something I wanna ask.¡¹
Having asked the first question, Makoto then went to another topic that was best discussed away from Tatsuya, serious in both expression and voice.
Volume 4 3.2
Volume 4 Chapter 3.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been wondering for a while¡Haruna, do you want to go back to Japan?¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not really condemning you or anything, but it seems like you and Hiroshi aren¡¯t all that keen on getting back to Japan.¡¹
Haruna was at a loss to answer Makoto¡¯s oddly sharp question. In a sense, that was an answer, but Makoto wanted a proper answer while they had the chance. She added some more input.
¡¸Thinking about it logically from an objective standpoint, no one besides Tatsuya actually has a reason to return, right? Living arrangements and food might actually be far better over here, plus there¡¯s plenty to do over here.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well, yeah, you¡¯re right.¡¹
¡¸The same goes for human interaction. You have Hiroshi with his gynophobia and probably ack of friends, or Mio with her bedridden state, inability to go to school that often, and clearck of rtionships. She at most has her parents and family back home that she might miss. Not much else honestly.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mhm. Probably, no, definitely, you¡¯re correct.¡¹
¡¸And even in your case, if you go right back to Japan from here, you¡¯d have much more difficulty living with Hiroshi like you¡¯ve been doing here, right?¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
As Makoto brought up topic after topic that Haruna had tried to avoid thinking about, Haruna just began to quiet down, unable to speak. If they were to return to Japan, mental health was one thing, but their positions in society would greatly shift in a negative direction. That was to be expected, but then there was her love for Hiroshi and all the hurdles that came with it, so anything more was rather cruel. If Hiroshi said he weren¡¯t returning to Japan, then Haruna may very well have to force herself to stop loving him even without proper rejection.
But on the other hand, Haruna didn¡¯t have much reason to stay here besides her rtionship with Aearis and everyone else, and her feelings for Hiroshi. Thinking of her parents, siblings, and everyone around her, Haruna also felt no reason to sacrifice herself just for her love.
¡¸¡¡Honestly, I probably don¡¯t have much attachment to here or Japan.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I have people who I never want to cut ties with in both ces, and I like both worlds a decent amount, so by that logic I don¡¯t have a preference. But¡¡¹
¡¸But?¡¹
¡¸When I think of everyone in Japan, regardless of what decision I make, I need to at least go back once.¡¹
Unlike before, with hesitation, this time Haruna spoke confidently. She seemed to have her ownplicated background regarding this.
¡¸¡¡Is it okay if I ask you why you¡¯re so adamant about that?¡¹
¡¸Even assuming I were to live here, I¡¯d need to convey that to some people at home, or else it¡¯d be inconvenient for them. I do need to check some things though, y¡¯know.¡¹
¡¸Inconvenient? How so?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s highly likely that some people would break anything in their way to try and search for me.¡¹
Haruna said something unpleasant with a light grimace on her face, and Makoto went immediately silent. Disregarding that, Haruna continued speaking.
¡¸In actuality, if things drag on too long, I could totally see someoneing for me.¡¹
¡¸Someone?¡¹
¡¸A certain aunt of mine (far younger than a typical aunt), as surprising as it sounds, just so happens to be a genius scientist who¡¯s made VR systems, android with human-like AI, and room temperature nuclear fusion reactors that fit in the pam of your hands?¡¹
¡¸Ah, I know about them. Uhh, I think their name was Ayase Amane? What was their rtionship with you like?¡¹
¡¸My mom¡¯s cousin, about two years older than her. She¡¯s young enough that you¡¯d hesitate to call her an aunt, but she¡¯s been around since I was a baby, so I kinda just naturally stuck with calling her that.¡¹
¡¸I think this every time, but the people you know must make things really lively for you, huh.¡¹
¡¸And I¡¯m not even all that special anyway.¡¹
Haruna had mentioned yet another incredibly influential figure in her life. She herself was just a super beautiful natural airhead who was skilled at singing and cooking, but the moment her parents were involved, suddenly everything became worldwide ss. Haruna appeared to have some mixed feelings regarding the connections her parents had, but as Makoto didn¡¯t directly know anyone involved, all she could say was that it gave her those vibes.
Incidentally, the genius scientist, Ayase Amane was also the mother of twin girls, and said twins were at the same high school as Hiroshi and Haruna, two years below their ss. Despite having two high schoolers as daughters, this woman practically looked the same age or slightly younger than Makoto, but her personality fit her age.
¡¸Wait, even if she is a talented scientist, can she actually just up and move over to this world?¡¹
¡¸As someone who knows of some of her yet-to-be-revealed inventions, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising at all. Seriously, you¡¯d think a rtive would get that there¡¯s no issue with me taking detours to and from school.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I see¡¡¡¹
Haruna would just barely enter into the ¡°normal person¡± category in everything other than household affairs, not surrounded by special police or tight security; simply living a normal life at a normal school. This ¡°Ayase Amane¡± was probably throwing a wrench in all of that. Judging from Haruna¡¯s tone of voice, there were probably actually more people meddling in her life than just Ayase.
¡¸So in addition to all that, I can make a number of hypotheses about what things will be like for us over there, but that isn¡¯t something to discuss right now. Honestly, regardless of if my theory is true, it isn¡¯t going to benefit us right now, plus it¡¯s better to discuss it when everyone¡¯s here if we had to.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
Makoto nodded at Haruna¡¯s proposal as they finished clean-up with good timing. True, she was still curious about Haruna¡¯s little theory, but it was a drag to discuss the same thing multiple times.
¡¸So, as it¡¯s kinda unfair just to ask me questions, allow me to ask my own here.¡¹
As the two of them headed for the center of the marketce, Haruna figured it was good timing to begin a counterattack. Unlike Fane¡¯s market center, Forre¡¯s wasn¡¯t always handling high grade items, so it went along with her objective.
¡¸You¡¯re asking about me?¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
¡¸Well,pared to you or Tatsuya, it must sound suuuper dumb, plus a little toote, but I want to return for a pretty urgent reason.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean by toote?¡¹
With a fairly serious look on her face, Makoto told Haruna something rather bitter. Haruna just cocked her head.
¡¸Ah, from a regr person¡¯s viewpoint, it must sound really dumb.¡¹
¡¸But for you, it¡¯s a really pressing matter, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, yeahhh¡¡¹
¡¸Most people would consider it dumb, but the person who has the problem considers it to be very serious, and now said problem might be toote to resolve¡I¡¯m not sure what that might be though.¡¹
Looking at Haruna, who really didn¡¯t seem to get what was going on, Makoto truly felt the difference in their upbringing. This was also rather toote, but she really wondered, just for a moment, if it was okay to let this girl go through the same thing she and Mio went through.
¡¸I want to dispose of the things on my closet, hard disk, etc. You see, thebined mass of my dark past, hobbies, preferences, and fetishes slumbers in that sacred realm.¡¹
¡¸Dark past¡¡¡¹
Volume 4 3.3
Volume 4 Chapter 3.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Makoto¡¯s dramatic words practically made Haruna exasperated. Haruna was also at that age, so it wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t have an interest in pictures, videos, books, etc, that were embarrassing to show others. But as someone who grew up in a house of worldwide-renowned big-shots, Haruna also couldn¡¯t just get her hands on those things so easily, so she had a rather clean upbringing despite having superficial knowledge about sex.
As a result, Haruna had lived without having to deal with the embarrassment or difort of parents, siblings, or male acquaintances finding erotic books hidden around her. She really didn¡¯t get how pressing of a situation Makoto was in.
Digressing a bit, in the current year that Haruna and friends had left their world, anime-rted word usage had be quitemonce. As a result, even Haruna, who was essentially a regr person and not much of an otaku, had an idea of what Makoto was talking about.
¡¸Even if fujoshi are recognized as a great force in the world, BL is still something normies would look at you with cold eyes for reading, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸If you say so¡¡¡¹
For Haruna, who had no interest in such things, it was impossible to understand what sort of things fujoshi had to deal with. As a result, all she could do was answer Makoto¡¯s im with a slightly confused expression.
¡¸Wait, you do have books, or pictures that you¡¯d rather not have anyone see, right? Maybe not the 18+ ones, but at least R or something?¡¹
¡¸I had friends show it to me before, but I don¡¯t own any.¡¹
¡¸Whaat? Isn¡¯t that unusual for your age?¡¹
¡¸It isn¡¯t like I don¡¯t have some interest, but I also don¡¯t really want them. If I keep those things around and don¡¯t watch out, there are sure to be several people who will ask troublesome questions when I go house searching¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ah, got it.¡¹
In an environment like Haruna¡¯s house where an unspecified amount of people entered in and out, she probably couldn¡¯t just carelessly get her hands on even slightly suggestive material like idol pictures. When you also considered that Haruna¡¯s parents had a decent amount of prestige in the entertainment world, 2d was one thing but products involving 3d men would risk leaving unneeded suspicion. Sensing these unique predicaments at y, Makoto just grimaced.
Haruna probably didn¡¯t realize how pampered of an upbringing she had, and her parents probably didn¡¯t intend for it either. But with the environment being as it was, Haruna was in fact a well-off youngdy. Already ustomed to it all, she hadn¡¯t realized it much, but observing Haruna¡¯s little mannerisms or walking postures, or the way she ate at mealtime, Makoto could not bring herself to say that Haruna was not a rich girl, because she most certainly was. Even the taciturn mannerisms that she asionally exhibited in her words and deeds were clearly reflecting theck of openness she was allowed in the environment she was raised in concerning her type, sexual curiosity, etc.
¡¸Anyway, for that reason, I¡¯ve been betting on the time difference ever since we got sent here, and I want to quickly go back and conceal the evidence before it¡¯s discovered.¡¹
¡¸Hmmm?¡¹
¡¸You act like this doesn¡¯t concern you, but I¡¯m pretty sure Hiroshi has those sortsa things too y¡¯know? Just not as severe as Mio and I.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not even that weird for men to have erotic books and all that, so I¡¯m really not that concerned¡¡¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t consider it to be indecent?¡¹
¡¸IIt isn¡¯t even like I have zero interest, so I¡¯m pretty sure it would just be wrong in many ways to ridicule people for having those things, right?¡¹
A bit overpowered from Haruna¡¯s extremely reasonable, upright argument, Makoto couldn¡¯t help but nod with a serious face. She was so insistent on protecting her chastity, and maybe that created a decent perception of bnce within her to be so magnanimous.
¡¸So, you briefly mentioned Mio-chan earlier. Does she want to return for the same reason?¡¹
¡¸I think so, yeah. Also, when you¡¯re as otaku to the bone as she is, it¡¯s super difficult to change, I think.¡¹
¡¸Pretty much the same, huh?¡¹
¡¸From the way she talks, I often feel that way, yeah.¡¹
From this area, Mio was also in aplicated position. Honestly, a healthy body with no problems was something not exchangeable, something to be grateful for. Ever sinceing to this world, Mio didn¡¯t show it on her face initially, but she was unbelievably happy to be able to taste food with her own mouth and eat it.
But once humans adjust to their environment, they quickly begin to exhibit desires of the flesh¡
¡¸Right now Hiroshi¡¯s here and she¡¯s suppressing it, but if given the opportunity, she¡¯d start saying ¡°this is a real dating sim!¡± and stirring things around with everyone¡¯s romantic interests.¡¹
¡¸No, c¡¯mon, you must be exaggerating¡¡¡¹
¡¸Actually, it¡¯d be great if it stopped there, but back when we took out the maneater in Ortem, she secretly went and grabbed some of Hiroshi¡¯s test products we used for that, so she might actually start treating this like a real eroge and have Artiem, the underground elves, Nora, etc fall into a trap. I¡¯m serious, you know?¡¹
¡¸Whoa¡¡¡¹
Haruna recoiled in shock as she remembered the test products that Hiroshi made tobat the maneater. Not a single one of them had the power to strangle a person to death, but much like what happened with tying Artiem up into a position that was not presentable, there were plenty of items among them that could make some very vivid 18+ scenes. Hiroshi should have disposed of them, but apparently this time Mio¡¯s tenacity won out.
¡¸W-Well, first off, we shouldn¡¯t discuss this too much while walking, so once we meet up with Tatsuya-san and window shop a bit, let¡¯s get back early and resume the discussion, kay?¡¹
¡¸Yep. I don¡¯t think anyone would really get it by listening, but it¡¯s not something to discuss while walking, I agree.¡¹
The topic had turned to one that mature women probably shouldn¡¯t discuss, so Haruna hurriedly changed the course of ns and Makoto followed along. It wasn¡¯t like there weren¡¯t any other serious topics to discuss, but the majority of them were better off waiting until everyone was gathered, so the two girls began talking about Forre fashion- a rtively safe topic.
Until now, Haruna and Makoto hadn¡¯t had much time to work together due to the differences in the jobs assigned to them and theirpatibility, but it wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t get along or had anything they couldn¡¯t deal with. They were close in age after all and had much to discuss about the differing fashion of Fane, Darl, and Forre as they walked around looking at the various shops before reconvening with Tatsuya.
¡¸Raise your heads.¡¹
Around the time Haruna and the others were surveying the marketce. Andrew Misen, the envoy of the kingdom of Fane, had an audience with the king of Forre, Gouto the Eighth, letter in hand delivered from the king of Fane.
¡¸Now then, I have read the letter from King Regnas.¡¹
¡¸Yes, Your Majesty.¡¹
Putting power into his abdomen so as to not be overwhelmed by the astonishing height (almost 2 meters) and girth (steel flesh like that of an ogre or giant) of this ¡°human¡± king Gouto, Andrew saluted him in response.
¡¸If it is truly possible, then we would love to have it. However¡¡¹
¡¸I understand your concern very well.¡¹
Andrew nodded at the king of Forre. Even he would have tried to persuade the Fane king to reconsider by putting his own neck on the line (literally) had this not involved Elena¡¯s dagger. That was just how unrealistic this was.
Then again, he had been staying in Forre for five years by this point, polishing his eye for smithing items, plus he was an aplished enchanter, so he was able to understand immediately just how remarkable Elena¡¯s dagger was.
Volume 4 3.4
Volume 4 Chapter 3.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸And my master does not seek immediate assistance on all fronts. Currently, people are discussing the making of prototype smelting forges, so he simply wishes for a bit of assistance, or at the very least tacit consent for the project.¡¹
¡¸I know. Crest Cave is a head-scratching problem for our country. If this n goes well, then even if Crest Cave does not return from a dungeon, our production will not have to drop, and even if it returns to its original form, magic steel ore and mythril ore will be immediately be oversupplied, and the products will not have enough supply. Either way, our country has nothing but profit. Also, even if we fail in the process, we only have one smelting furnace. Contribution from our side would hardly cost us.¡¹
The ministers of finance and technology nodded, affirming the king¡¯s words. They were already contributing arge budget to researching and developing new smelting furnaces with new excavation machinery. Another country introducing new technology (albeit from the unknown continent) was something to be weed, not something to be evaded. No matter the oue, no one here thought such funding would go to waste.
So it was something else that the king saw as problematic.
¡¸What I am concerned about is whether or not we can trust Azuma Workshop.¡¹
¡¸Would it not suffice to say they have the support of my master as well as Darl¡¯s Queen Misha herself?¡¹
¡¸Well, I am a man of prejudice. Unless I see them directly, I cannot determine if they are to be trusted or not.¡¹
As the king of a country, he surely could not just trust someone based on the evaluation of anotherrge country, even on the same level.
¡¸I do not mind if you wish to make a new type of smelting furnace. If it will give us technological feedback, we will of course dly ept. However, I will not have them interfering in our affairs because of that.¡¹
¡¸Your concerns are most valid, but if they intended that, the group would have tried to start something back when they defeated Barold.¡¹
¡¸You see, I am a coward. I cannot seem to erase the suspicion that they might gain influence and do as they please after digging into the center of the three great western countries.¡¹
¡¸I also have yet to meet them, so I cannot disy enough evidence to clear your doubts. Therefore, at the very least, I ask that you permit this smelting furnace idea. Also, no matter the oue, I ask that you do not pin anything on them.¡¹
¡¸I know. Our country is always supporting the development of smelting furnaces alongside new prototypes. Even I and the citizens of this country are not so shameless as to punish the introductions of items from other countries.¡¹
Andrew bowed deeply at the king¡¯s words. Things would have likely been different had this not concerned iron and had Crest Cave not isted. Then again, had Crest Cave¡¯s mines not turned into an isted dimension dungeon, then Hiroshi would never have even considered making the new smelting furnace variant, and Andrew would never have needed to persuade the Forre king in a situation like this.
¡¸Still, if it were to go well, how many years ahead would this innovative technology bring us?¡¹
¡¸Somewhere around ten years, I would imagine.¡¹
The minister of technology answered the king¡¯s query. Unfortunately, these past ten years had not yielded anything as auspicious as a technological revolution, but even so, the quality of manufactured goods, the amount of time for refining, and the amount they could refine at once had allparatively increased several times since the country had stopped breakthroughs. Still, when you looked at the amount of investment in research and development and the output, you couldn¡¯t help but feel that Forre wasn¡¯t getting much out of it.
¡¸Assuming this n of yours takes off, what sort of merit does it bring your kingdom?¡¹
¡¸If the supply of magic steel goes up, the amount our country can buy will increase as a matter of course. Once that happens, the casualties fromrge monster raids will decrease, enabling us to focus more effort on securing trade routes, food supply, and other increases in production. This would also potentially be a great merit for your kingdom as well.¡¹
¡¸And you do not consider that we might try and invade your country with the increased production of magic steel equipment?¡¹
¡¸It is veryudable of you to say such a thing. If a war were to erupt between my country and yours, the increased miasms would invite a dragon lord down from Spirit Spire Mountain. His Majesty is not so optimistic to think we can handle dragon lord talons or breath with mere magic steel aromor.¡¹
¡¸Right, very true. Besides, if our Melkuod or Daites were to sh with your Sir Felnock or Sir Douga, imagine how much destruction it would cause. Every soldier in my country is regarded on average to have the most proficiency out of the three kingdoms, but even with magic steel swords/spears on regr soldiers, we are not so decrepit to think they would even inflict a single scratch on Sir Felnock or Sir Douga.¡¹
Bringing up the case of the heroes from both kingdoms, King Forre expressed how meaningless fighting would be. Possessing powerful, wide-range attacks that might as well be used for targeting entire armies, these heroes were the kind that could easily hunt wyverns or cerberus. If such heroes were to sh on the battlefield without holding anything back, just one shockwave from the first attack was enough to render any regr soldier unable to battle.
¡¸At any rate, I am currently unsure as to if we should get involved as a country. First we can follow the system and give out subsidies, but anything further will be after we observe some.¡¹
¡¸Of course, that is not a problem.¡¹
¡¸Then please convey what we just discussed to King Regnas. You may leave.¡¹
¡¸Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for having me.¡¹
The king motioned for him to be on his way, and Andrew bowed before leaving the audience room. Inwardly relieved that things had mostly gone as the king of Fane had predicted, he also felt slightly saddened that this country might be weakened by them as well.
Seeing that Andrew had gone out, the king of Forre spoke in a heavy tone.
¡¸So, what do you think?¡¹
¡¸I do not think there is much of a need to be cautious with his workshop. After all, there is hardly any merit to encroach into our country with all the fetters that apany it.¡¹
The king of Forre raised an eyebrow at how confident the minister was. This appeared to be a fairly unexpected opinion.
¡¸And your basis for this?¡¹
¡¸From what I hear, they can take on not only wyverns single-handedly, but even garvarenjia, and in addition to their battle prowess, they also appear to have the technological prowess for makingfortable settlements (even more so than what we have) with the ingredients gleaned from the monsters. With those two elements, they would be a lot better off not dealing with the troubles that apany nobility, instead opting to seclude themselves far into the reaches of the Great Southern Forest or Spirit Spire Mountain, where they can live much more freely.¡¹
¡¸I do not think that is particrly sound evidence¡?¡¹
¡¸The other conviction is just as the envoy from earlier mentioned: Fane will be safe regardless of what happens. With all that power backing them up in addition to thwarting Katarina¡¯s revolt, the workshop has proven themselves. If they wanted to, they could easily fake outward appearances while taking over Fane behind the scenes and taking it easy.¡¹
¡¸Although I do hear that Wulls holds them in high regard?¡¹
¡¸I hear it isn¡¯t much different than giving a valued merchant preferential treatment. In fact, in terms of achievements and prestige as a country, I think it might even be an admirable thing to do.¡¹
Volume 4 3.5
Volume 4 Chapter 3.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
The king just groaned at the minister¡¯s confident statement. Currently, the only preferential treatment present in Forre was maybe relieving real estate taxes, while Wulls¡¯ treatment of Hiroshi¡¯s group was so favorable because practically everything Azuma Workshop produced was something that either Azuma Workshop had that was exclusive or something that Azuma Workshop was too far ahead in with quality/performance for others to try and attempt the same thing. No one was treating the workshop with preference because of pure favoritism or meritorious service; it was simply that everyone was confident in purchasing goods from them.
The only elements of their treatment that you might consider slightly preferential were the fact they could pretty much get freely in and out of the castle and that their proposals were easier to implement than that of the other shopkeepers. However, the only proposals that dealt with all of Fane or Wulls were really just the slum soil amelioration project and the experimental farm. In this case as well, had the workshop not acted, all of Wulls could have very well fell into wide chaos, so even if Hiroshi¡¯s group had not proposed the n, the king would have had them implement it at some point.
The experimental farm hade about when Hiroshi¡¯s group brought the topic up early morning, and without it, the probability of quarantining/disposing/burning down the entire division due to suspicion of an epidemic would have been fairly high. Compared to that bad aftertaste, the country instead had lost nothing, and it wasn¡¯t like Hiroshi¡¯s group was gaining much mary/societal profit from any of this.
Then again, you might say that their being able to experiment with crop cultivation all they wanted using the country¡¯s money was a tremendous profit for them.
¡¸What if their leader changes after ten years?¡¹
¡¸I can say nothing regarding that, as there is no organization that does not go through change.¡¹
¡¸Hm¡¡¡¹
Although he understood the king¡¯s concerns, the minister could only argue that there was no point trying to be too cautious right now. In ten years from now, even if they were to sessfully dismantle Azuma Workshop, there was the possibility of another organization taking over the center.
¡¸There is not much else we can do besides finding an excuse to meet them once and determine their nature.¡¹
¡¸Very true. Besides, even if these guests from the unknown continent were to take over after I die, that would simply mean the king after me is ipetent. The kingdom would doubtless end up destroyed regardless.¡¹
¡¸Right you are.¡¹
¡¸Needless to say, I have no intention of allowing anyone toe to the forefront.¡¹
The vassals around the king looked up at him trustingly. If Fane or Darl¡¯s core members (who were weakened, in a sense) were to hear this statement, they would have undoubtedly had awkward smiles on their face while nodding absentmindedly.
Also, these concerns of the king of Forre were in fact valid. While they had never ravaged the country or screwed up politics, a hundred yearster, Azuma Workshop would be taking over the world due to everyone overdepending on their crafting/distribution as well as the rted partiester using their positions at Azuma Workshop to continue to make the things they wanted to make, but that is between us.
¡¸We¡¯re back¡¹
¡¸Wee back¡¹
When they had finished everything, Haruna¡¯s group returned to the base at Crest Cave and were met by Mio, who seemed to have finished her aqua breath instructing.
¡¸Where is Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Sensei just told me he¡¯s going to be a while.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
Apparently he was caught up in something the queen and Magdarena asked him to do in the pce in Darl, and had yet to finish the conference in Igreos Temple.
¡¸It seems like Sensei won¡¯t be able to do anything tomorrow either, and I wanna test out the capabilities of the aqua breath, so is it cool?¡¹
¡¸Test? How so?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m going to actually go into the dungeon and confirm if we can get through the poison gas area.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto just went silent at Mio¡¯s proposal. Haruna had seemingly decided to leave the decision to the elder two, beginning the tea.
¡¸First, could you tell me why we¡¯re included in this too?¡¹
¡¸If it¡¯s all of us, we have methods to deal with the effects wearing off.¡¹
¡¸Well, I certainly do get that, but¡¡¡¹
Mio spoke confidently, and Tatsuya just let out a grimace. Actually, inside his bag were plenty of items to deal with status irregrities. Thinking also of the environmental resistance on his equipment, there would be no no issues with the effects of aqua breath.
¡¸And what merit is there in us participating in this efficiency test?¡¹
¡¸I made sure to negotiate that as well. You¡¯ll be properlypensated, and they¡¯ve also said that anyone from Azuma Workshop has free ess to Crest Cave while it¡¯s still a dungeon, excavation and everything.¡¹
¡¸I see. What kind of reward?¡¹
¡¸Money, orichalcum, adamantite, and some ore called hihiirogane that the dwarves have too much of.¡¹
¡¸So they¡¯ve thought this out. Great.¡¹
Makoto just grinned at how spot-on the rewards sounded. Even if there were quite a few people who could process magic steel, anything beyond orichalcum seemed to be a threshold that had not been reached by anyone in the skill department within thest three hundred years. The same could be said for refinement, of which thest known person to possess the skill died in an ident before they could convey it to anyone. Additionally, the smelting furnace, not having been maintained properly, simply ceased to function.
These metals were particrly rare in their element to begin with, so there hadn¡¯t been much reason to panic, but after three hundred years there was sure to be quite a buildup of ore, in addition to demand for someone to carry on the processing skills for it, so the reward was to release a bunch of that ore to Makoto and the others, logically.
Then again, even if they flung out all the ore from way back, dungeons had unlimited supply in them, so it didn¡¯t really matter that much.
¡¸The equipment has problems with weight, sound, etc, so making the equipment with those sorts of metals seems to be something Hiroshi and I should handle, but the weapons, we can probably make super strong and shy for everyone.¡¹
¡¸I can barely handle orichalcum, but my sess rate with adamantite is close to zero, and hihiirogane is way too unique for us to even try.¡¹
¡¸This is the perfect opportunity to train, don¡¯tcha think?¡¹
¡¸After we talk to Sensei.¡¹
Now that they heard about getting their hands on high-quality material, there was no turning back. And they had too much time on their hands. Sure, it would be a bit too dangerous to go all the way to the depths without Hiroshi there, but if they were just going to a rtively close area to see if they could break through the poison gas, then surely that wouldn¡¯t be a problem.
Without hiding their greed (in fact, they werepletely open about it), the group proceeded the conversation onward. In fact, there was no doubt that even high ss cuisine could never bring out as much motivation as this did.
¡¸Then tomorrow is dungeon exploration time.¡¹
¡¸No objections.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll go with whatever you guys do.¡¹
¡¸Then it¡¯s a go.¡¹
Their desirespletely stimted by the word ¡°new equipment¡±, the whole group decided with unanimity to be guinea pigs. At this point, Tatsuya hadpletely forgotten to tell the group all the rumors he had heard. Not that this was particrly high on their list of important or urgent affairs, but had they actually discussed the information he had gathered, there was another route they may have gone, but now he had utterly forgotten it.
¡¸Seeing as we¡¯re exploring, is it cool if I dig through some wall for my practice?¡¹
¡¸Sure, why not?¡¹
¡¸Tatsuya-san, Makoto-san. What¡¯re we going to find deeper in?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯ve apparently found giant centipedes and other monsters like that.¡¹
¡¸Well, even if you say giant, they¡¯re only about half a meter.¡¹
Albeit on the light side, now that they were going to be exploring the dungeon, Haruna lost any opportunity to bring up the discussion with Makoto back at the food stand, so she figured since Hiroshi wasn¡¯t even there, she figured she may as well wait until the smelting furnace deal was all over with as she got to advancing arrangements for tomorrow. The question of how badly Hiroshi wanted to return would not end up being asked until quite a bitter.
Volume 4 4.1
Volume 4 Chapter 4.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Hiroshi, who had gone off to Darl, had yet toe back on that day.
¡¸I wonder what they forced Hiroshi-kun to do¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Sensei¡¯s weak to pressure when he¡¯s by himself.¡¹
Hiroshi was probably being forced to do something that took a lot of time and effort. While concerned about all that, the group continued preparations for the dungeon crawl at a brisk pace.
¡¸Well, regardless of what they pushed on him, if this involves Igreos-sama, Her Highness, and Magdarena-sama, then he can¡¯t be dealing with anything too dangerous.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m not concerned about that, but Hiroshi-kun is like a ticking time bomb wherever he goes¡¡¡¹
¡¸Elle¡¯s supposedly with him, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll keep him in check.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s gynophobia went very deep, given its origins. This sometimes caused him to relive trauma unexpectedly, and Haruna was especially concerned that he was with the queen of Darl, who had the tendency to tread in that area on purpose. As Tatsuya said, it was a good bonus to have Aearis with him, but the tug of war between Aearis¡¯ spiritual insight and the queen¡¯s mischievous nature would probably actually lead Hiroshi¡¯s symptoms into a worse state, and that made her very scared.
¡¸Worrying about it right now won¡¯t help Hiro¡¯s situation. Let¡¯s do what we set out to do.¡¹
¡¸Exactly. If we get advanced materials and hand them to him, I¡¯m telling you some of that trauma will blow away!¡¹
Knowing very well what Haruna was worried about, and understanding it wasn¡¯t something to be taken so lightly usually, Tatsuya and Makoto said slightly lighthearted things in order tofort Haruna. The main problem right now was that it was too much for Tatsuya¡¯s group to meet up with Hiroshi time-wise, and even if they were able to, by that point Hiroshi would probably be almost done with everything. They were just far toote for that.
¡¸Anyhow, time to get nning. Makoto, sorry, but I¡¯d like you to be the tank.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, yeah, I got it. But just know that I¡¯m not anywhere at Hiroshi¡¯s level, so I¡¯m going to protect myself a good amount too.¡¹
¡¸Right on.¡¹
Makoto said matter-of-factly, and Tatsuya and the others nodded with serious faces. In the first ce, Hiroshi was just abnormal. When attacked from behind, it was almost as if he had eyes on the back of his head that allowed him to capture the target without fail. Usually back attacks or interruptions from patrolling monsters, sudden appearances of monsters in dungeons were difficult situations for tanks to deal with, so it was normal for healers or damage dealers to have some ways of defending themselves. Also, usually the front had at least two people as an established practice so as to guard the healers/dps with lightning speed.
¡¸I do happen to haventerns and mana lights, but what will we use first?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s scary dealing with mmable gas, dust explosions, etc, so other than areas that cancel mana, we should stick to mana lights.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I also prepared something for lunch, but how far exactly will we be going?¡¹
¡¸Aqua breath lots at least six hours, right? So probably somewhere around there, I think.¡¹
Makoto and Haruna continued checking basic preparations, including food. This will have been the second time they went head-on into a life-threatening dungeon. The investigation of the dungeon¡¯s specifications the other day was in an area where even normies wouldn¡¯t die from one hit (as long as they had equipment on and weren¡¯t hit in the vitals like the neck area), with essentially weak monsters and that was it. With their equipment, their lives would never have been in danger.
The other dungeon besides Crest Cave and Ortem was Darl¡¯s underground ruins, but said ¡°ruins¡± were simply an amusement facility, so it was difficult to group it in with the dungeon attacks.
¡¸No other things we missed, right?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think so. Normally I¡¯d say transportation stones, but unlike the game, the dungeons over here just reject special transportation stones or special transportation magic.¡¹
¡¸That part is a drag, isn¡¯t it.¡¹
That was probably the most fatal difference between the game and the world: whether you could teleport or not. In the game, even if it was impossible to teleport inside from outside, you could go from inside to outside. However, in this world, you could not go from outside to inside or from inside to outside. You could only really teleport within the dungeon itself, and unless you were an octogal, there was no guarantee that you could perfectly avoid being ¡°trapped in a rock¡±, so ti was ba to overuse it, and if you were going to use it, it would most likely be for short distance teleportation to an area in your field of vision.
It was a bit strange when you realized that the enchantment effects of Share Capacity weren¡¯t cancelled, but any sort of teleportation waspletely cut off. Still, that sort of specification was set, and they could do nothing about it.
¡¸Do we have a good amount of pome in storage?¡¹
¡¸Lately, we haven¡¯t used it for food or explosive power, so we¡¯re good.¡¹
And as per usual, Haruna made ament based off her apprehension of using pome for food, while Tatsuya nodded and determined that everything was prepared. After checking luggage once more, Tatsuya announced departure.
¡¸Now that it looks like we have everything we need, guess it¡¯s time to go inspecting.¡¹
Nodding at Tatsuya;s deration, the group checked to make sure everything was locked before leaving. This was a light dungeon search without a main tank. This easy job, which everyone had slight premonitions about uing trouble, began with the usual flow of events.
¡¸C¡¯mon, this is ridiculous¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi grumbled for many reasons as he repaired the temple¡¯s treasure house. Right now, in front of him, was a wrecked stone building. How on earth did it get this way?
¡¸I¡¯m terribly sorry about this.¡¹
¡¸So how¡¯d it even get like this?¡¹
¡¸Maybe it¡¯s because Darl¡¯s feng shui has been greatly cleansed, but yesterday shortly before noon, all of a sudden a fragment wedged into Zanafel began to rampage. And then as we detached it to clean it, the other sealed fragment began to resonate with the first piece and began running amok as well. Since the feng shui cleansing began a ways back, I was careless and fell behind.¡¹
¡¸S¡¯that right¡¡¡¹
Apparently what Hiroshi¡¯s group did wasn¡¯t entirely unrted to this. Still, no matter the reason, he needed to thoroughly repair the building before anything. As he grumbled about doing all thisrge-scale repair by himself, Hiroshi¡¯s hands and body had already repaired the most urgent spots before you even realized it in the matter of a few seconds.
Furthermore, as to what Hiroshi and the others had been doing before noon yesterday, it was tending to a young daughter of nobility who had yet to reach one year of age. Magdalena and a few other high-ranking members of society asked him to do this. The treatment itself ended within thirty minutes, but Hiroshi had been forced to stay for a medical follow-up until around 3.
The illness itself was not an umon one in Fane or Forre, transmitted from mother to child at a young age. As long as neither your luck nor the way people tried to heal you were bad, then you would almost never die from it. It only emerged in infants and was one of the types that never manifested again, one of the easier diseases to catch as a child and withmon symptoms.
Fane would likely have dealt with it without calling Hiroshi over. However, as there were hardly any emergences of this sickness in Darl, the doctors at the imperial court didn¡¯t know how to deal with it, and had no medicinal herbs to work on specifically rare diseases like these. As a result, the court had no idea what to do, so they conveniently asked for Hiroshi¡¯s help right when he came by.
As she exhibited symptoms yesterday morning, Hiroshi had arrived before anything worsened, but had he missed the timing, they would have possibly resorted to calling over a doctor from Fane, and you could imagine how much of an uproar that would cause. Considering how Hiroshi might have walked off before Igreos temple¡¯s evil god fragment went on its rampage, it was perfect timing for everyone other than Hiroshi, who had to deal with all this.To Hiroshi, who had many heavy responsibilities forced on him, this really wasn¡¯t something he took kindly to.
Also, Aearis was currently in Darl Castle. She had gone to check on the young girl¡¯s well-being. Although Aearis herself had not showed symptoms, as priestess princess she had heard plenty of stories about this illness. Among these were cases of people dying without the specific cure, or living with slight impairments, so despite knowing it would be all right, she just had to make sure.
¡¸But for the rampage of an evil god fragment, there weren¡¯t many casualties, huh?¡¹
¡¸Nay, of course I am not so decrepit that I would allow such arge rampage. The reason I fell behind in dealing with it was because of the scale of this problem.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¹
As he continued the repair process, Hiroshi gathered whatever information he could from Igreos. As expected, repairing this without any proper information was not good enough considering how the treasure house was a bit too damaged to overlook.
Volume 4 4.2
Volume 4 Chapter 4.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸What else was in there besides the evil god fragment?¡¹
¡¸Other than things here and there to strengthen the seal, there are just a few small tools used for ceremonies once every hundred years, tops. Anything besides sealing tools aren¡¯t much of a problem.¡¹
¡¸Nah, I think that ceremonial tools breakin¡¯ is a pretty huge problem¡¡¡¹
¡¸After using them a few times, they eventually sumb to mine and the feng shui¡¯sbined energy and they get remade anyway. As long as they aren¡¯t historically important artifacts, it doesn¡¯t matter if they break.¡¹
Hiroshi found himself agreeing with what Igreos asserted. They were directly epting the power of a god, so if the items weren¡¯t something with exceptional affinity or superior finesse, then it only made since for them to break after several uses. Still, wouldn¡¯t the tools still have historical significance if they were only used a few times and every hundred years? Also, Igreos must have done a seriously good job in making sure to continue a tradition that took ce every hundred years. But both of these thoughts in Hiroshi¡¯s head were left to slide withoutment.
¡¸So do I gotta have the tools order made again?¡¹
¡¸Nay. The next time they are used will be in approximately fifty years, and unlike the treasury, there are plenty of craftsmen here who can easily make them.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Even if Igreos were a god, he did not seem so shameless as to force it all on Hiroshi.
¡¸All in all, seems to have been a good idea to leave the barriers over the area yesterday¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi let out a grumble at the work that never seemed to end. I had beente toe yesterday, so by the point in time he was asked to check out the treasury, it was already toote to do any sort of work. The slight miasma leaking out had a dangerous atmosphere to it, so he had at least made sure to erect a cleansing barrier, but by that point it had be dinnertime.
Even with speed like fast-forwarding or rewinding, up till now Hiroshi had still notpleted anything other than the repair of the entrance area. Ordinarily, it would be faster and safer to rebuild it from scratch instead of mending it, but with the inside being structured as it was, and with every kind of barrier still active in the treasury, he could not carelessly disassemble the building and rebuild it. Hiroshi could probably finish the outer wall by lunch, but with how dangerous the condition it was in, no one had confirmed what had urred in the interior, so he really couldn¡¯t say how long it would take to finish.
In exchange for Hiroshi undergoing the repair process, craftsmen deeply familiar with the temple were providing bricks with specific manufacturing methods that Hiroshi asked for. Although they didn¡¯t have as much power as holy coals, Igreos had directly sparked a fire in them, so the finished bricks were the perfect quality for using in magic steel-made smelting furnaces. The correct amount would probably be gathered in half a day. However, Hiroshi¡¯s hands were folded now that he wanted to bring those back with him. The time that Aearis had gone out of her way to secure for him had now been gulped up spectacrly.
¡¸I made tea. How about a break soon?¡¹
As Hiroshi was about to finish repairing the second wall, Nazaria approached him.
¡¸Yup. I¡¯ll be done with this here wall in a jiffy, so after that it¡¯s break time.¡¹
epting Nazaria¡¯s offer, Hiroshi neatly, quickly, and thoroughly filled the remaining fissures before wiping off his sweat and washing his hands with water magic. As a precaution, he erected a cleansing barrier and then moved to the rest area in the temple.
¡¸Sorry for pushing all this on you¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s a valid concern, and not mendin¡¯ any o¡¯that after seein¡¯ the state it¡¯s in is kinda messed up¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi responded to a seriously apologetic Nazaria with a sigh as he tipped the tea toward his mouth. It was a fact that leaving the situation like this with the evil god involved woulde back to haunt himter on, plus having so many people feel indebted to him was not a bad thing, even if they were not people in power. In fact, not having power dynamics involved made the work proceed in a more cheerful manner, most likely.
¡¸But is it cool if I grumble ¡¯bout how many annoying things piled up in a row?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that much is a given.¡¹
Nazaria agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s grievances, the same serious expression on her face. Hiroshi¡¯s reputation would be higher if he just held in hisints, but he just kept on letting his thoughts out, which was one of the reasons why people saw him as a wimp. Even if he did have an instinctive aversion to power and authority, it wasn¡¯t very cool of Hiroshi to express his discontent through grumbling, especially when it involved the crafting work he loved so much.
¡¸So how much longer do you think?¡¹
¡¸Well, the outer wall¡¯s gonna end by the afternoon, I think. Dunno ¡¯bout the inside.¡¹
¡¸Is that right¡¹
¡¸But that¡¯s justparin¡¯ it to the outer wall. In actuality, first I gotta clean up the inside before any repairin¡¯ is done, yeah?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Come to think of it, you¡¯re right. How about I bring over some people from the elder/priest side?¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s pointer, Nazaria nodded earnestly, announcing she would proceed things along.
¡¸I rebuilt Aranwen-sama¡¯s main temple before, but this procedure¡¯s takin¡¯ a lot longer¡¡¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Well, there were plenty o¡¯wood supplies I cut down to rebuild the thing, plus the temple didn¡¯t even have the build of a temple. The size wasn¡¯t even that big, and it didn¡¯t take much time to get itpletely rebuilt.¡¹
¡¸Could it be that Aranwen¡¯s temple is smaller than the treasure room here?¡¹
¡¸It really is. Well, the only people who usuallye are elves or forest giants, plus not even that many show up, so Aranwen-sama himself ain¡¯t mighty concerned.¡¹
¡¸Oh? But I do not care much either.¡¹
Igreos, who had been listening on and off, butted in.
¡¸Well, I do kinda understand when I see that¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ugh, such a irresponsible reaction!!¡¹
¡¸Wait, actually, in general the gods¡¯re all fine with it as long as they gotta priestess ¡¯n holy realm, right? Even Alfemina-sama sometimes don¡¯t even seem to care about religious festivals, ceremonies, rituals, or any o¡¯ that.¡¹
¡¸Aye. Thought I am grateful for all the faith, most rituals/ceremonies are just bluffs, with only a few possessing actual meaning.¡¹
¡¸I wondah if it¡¯s a good thing fer a god to be saying this in their own temple¡¡¡¹
Igreos let out an unexpected statement while holding a double biceps pose as Hiroshi made an exasperated quip.
¡¸Well, I¡¯ll go ahead ¡¯n git back to repairin¡¯. ck too long ¡¯n the sun¡¯s a¡¯gonna set.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Then again, if you think also of what¡¯s inside the building, I highly doubt it will end within the day.¡¹
¡¸Igreos-sama, even if that¡¯s true, there¡¯s also the Forre smelting furnace he¡¯s working on. I happen to question confining Hiroshi-dono much further¡¡¹
¡¸Aye. Depending on the catastrophe that awaits us within, I do intend to have him instead go over to making the magic steel furnaces.¡¹
Igreos proimed with a ringing voice in response to Nazaria.
¡¸Then regardless of how screwed up the inside is, I¡¯ll at least think o¡¯some kinda time-savin¡¯ treatment for now.¡¹
Volume 4 4.3
Volume 4 Chapter 4.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I really am grateful for your hard work.¡¹
Igreos bowed to Hiroshi once after he said that. Finding it a little baffling that a god would do something like that, Hiroshi just returned to his work and then got to finishing the outer wall maintenance as pledged before looking inside¡
¡¸Whoa¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mm, it appears to be still thrashing around.¡¹
In the center of all the junk that used to be the treasury, there was an evil god fragment attempting to crush the barrier that Igreos had erected.
¡¸Before repairin¡¯ this or anything, don¡¯t we gotta do somethin¡¯ bout that?¡¹
¡¸Aye¡¹
¡¸Even I feel like I¡¯d lose my sanity if I weren¡¯t next to Igreos-sama right now, so I bet regr priests/faculty wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.¡¹
Looking at the wriggling evil god fragment, Hiroshi, Igreos, and Nazaria continued their conversation while grimacing. Honestly, you would have to possess a sharp mental game like Hiroshi or Igreos¡¯ direction protection like Nazaria in order to keep your sanity. Of the members from the Japanese team, Mio could probably handle it somehow, but the other three, probably not, unless they had a preventive measure.
¡¸Well, since we obviously gotta erect a barrier to prevent anything leakin¡¯ outside, Igreos-sama, do ya gotta holy elemental offensive strengthening field or somethin¡¯ you can make?¡¹
¡¸Aye, as I am a god. That is the most basic of basics.¡¹
¡¸Then followin¡¯ past procedures, how ¡®bout we y Haruna-san¡¯s sutra gospel on repeat.¡¹
By this point, Haruna¡¯s song was essentially being treated like a talisman or like the salt in pickles. Nazaria inwardly expressed her deepest sympathy.
¡¸Now I¡¯ll just fill in the crevices that stick out ¡®n then coat the surface with a sheet, I guess.¡¹
¡¸Aye. Please do.¡¹
Since Igreos gave his stamp of approval, Hiroshi moved the work along speedily. Igreos¡¯s barrier (which outssed Aearis¡¯s holy offensive strengthening barrier) forced the evil god fragment to pour all of its remaining energy into maintaining its life force, now unable to interfere with the outside at all.
Rewinding a bit to the time Hiroshi was rxing with some tea on break.
¡¸We should be at the first poison gas region soon.¡¹
¡¸About how far do we have?¡¹
¡¸ording to the map, that tunnel over there makes a turn, and it¡¯s right at the end there. The spacious room ahead ispletely filled with it.¡¹
The dungeon crawl with Haruna¡¯s group was going pretty smoothly. Already at the entrance there were just monsters that even amateurs could deal with, and even going a little further in only yielded capybara-sized mice. Big rats were certainly a handful to beginning adventurers/warriors or amateur excavators, but to adventurers who were ustomed to taking on quests, all they amounted to were sitting ducks.
Approaching the poison gas region, there were monsters like giant centipedesing out, which were a nuisance, but even these were no enemies of Haruna¡¯s group. The moment they showed up, Makoto sliced them in half, Haruna cut them up, Mio sewed them onto the wall, and Tatsuya froze them in ice.
Also, the reason Tatsuya didn¡¯t use Oxide Circle was because despite the monsters in this dungeon being of the biological variety, depriving them of oxygen did not work.
¡¸Dungeons are weird ces though.¡¹
¡¸Pretty sure when they¡¯re isted they¡¯re beyond weird, yeah, but specifically what do you mean?¡¹
¡¸Cuz the monsters we defeat disappear if we leave them too long, but the ingredients we retrieve from them, like meat, don¡¯t disappear right?¡¹
¡¸Oh, that¡¯s what you meant¡¡¡¹
Tatsuyamented on Haruna¡¯s ratherte observation. Normally you¡¯d think after watching the tower sprout back up after being pulverized, this would be nothing new to see, but apparently Haruna just liked to pay attention to small, pointless details from time to time.
¡¸Also, the monsters disappear, but why not human corpses?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I see what you¡¯re getting at¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, the search parties that all got destroyed apparently were one day past expiration when they were found.¡¹
Understanding what Haruna found so peculiar, Tatsuya and Makoto found themselves agreeing.
¡¸Y¡¯know, listening to your observation, Haruna, I thought something¡¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸It seems like some of the corpses from the search parties had all their flesh eaten. I think the dungeon monsters spawned suddenly out of thin air. So byt hat logic¡¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re wondering if they excrete their food?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Rather, they shouldn¡¯t even be organisms, so it¡¯s weird they¡¯d even require food.¡¹
¡¸Ah©`¡¹
The elders of the group let out impressed voices at Mio¡¯s oddly sharp question. Upon hearing it, Haruna tilted her head a bit as she came up with her own new problem.
¡¸I also found that odd. In fact, are they even eating for preservation?¡¹
¡¸What do you mean?¡¹
¡¸What if the monsters in the dungeon grow from experience too¡?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s one freaky theory¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, a lot changes, like if it¡¯s from individual experience or if the dungeon grows at a uniform rate, etc¡¹
¡¸And so we go back to the initial question¡¡¡¹
Of course, being a talented woman who got third ce on the national mock examination, Haruna sometimes had unfathomably sharp intellect when she wasn¡¯t twitterpated. Had she began her first question with the premise she just offered, no one would be questioning why she cared. Instead they would have known it was an important element to consider.
¡¸Honestly, the only dungeons we¡¯ve really been through were Ortem¡¯s and the one over here, so I get the feeling we don¡¯t have sufficient information about the dungeons in this world.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢that¡¯s very true¡¹
¡¸With the Ortem one, we were split into different groups, and with Sensei being together with Artiem, none of us could keep all that calm, so we didn¡¯t even end up properly researching theyout.¡¹
¡¸In that sense, this is almost the first time we¡¯re going through a dungeon, huh¡¹
It seemed like this topic, emerging from Haruna¡¯s misgivings, was more crucial than they gave it credit for, especially when it came to figuring out whether the monsters in dungeons grow or not, and if so then was it on an individual basis or a group thing? They couldn¡¯t ignore that.
¡¸The real problem is how we figure that out.¡¹
¡¸Right¡Guess I should have tried asking that when we were at the Sweltering Tower.¡¹
¡¸Well, we didn¡¯t have the leisure to do that, plus we only recently started caring about the dungeon specs.¡¹
Tatsuya recalled an incident in which they could have learned something, clicking his tongue, while Haruna scolded him. But before this whole issue of not knowing enough about the dungeonyout, the team hadn¡¯t even entered the Sweltering Tower to begin with.
¡¸When you think along these lines, there¡¯s a heck of a lot of things we didn¡¯t care about initially that we probably should have pointed out.¡¹
¡¸Such as?¡¹
¡¸Especially with the Sweltering Tower, but just in general, how are these isted dimensions staying activated?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I¡¯ve been wondering that for a while. Aranwen-sama and Igreos-sama aren¡¯t experts on that, I don¡¯t think, so I didn¡¯t ask them at thest exnation meeting. If we¡¯re going to ask anyone, it¡¯d be better to try Alfemina-sama or the god of knowledge, Darjan-sama for that¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, Alfemina-sama¡¯s pretty busy usually¡¡¡¹
The group nodded in a serious manner as Tatsuyamented on one of the five gods they had yet to meet directly through Aearis. Darjan didn¡¯t seem to be staying in one specific area like Aranwen or Igreos, and he didn¡¯t visit the priestess more than one or two times a month.
Volume 4 4.4
Volume 4 Chapter 4.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Tatsu, Haru, Mako. No one to talk to right now, so first let¡¯s just examine the dungeon we¡¯re in to see what type it is.¡¹
¡¸Right. We should almost be near the poison gas, so do we pull out the aqua breath?¡¹
¡¸Sounds like a good idea¡¹
Mio asked Haruna and the others as she shot through a giant miasma bat the moment it solidified. It would defeat the purpose of this mission if they let the unsolved problem distract them from dealing with what was in front of them.
This dungeon was brand new. There were still plenty of things that were unknown. The distribution of monsters, the design of the passageways, respawn time, the existence of traps, just tons of things to check out.
¡¸For the time being, we need to examine the poison gas region.¡¹
¡¸Right. If it turns out one aqua breath isn¡¯t sufficient, we won¡¯t be able to go any further. Also, wouldn¡¯t it be a good idea to understand how much resistance it has to poison gas?¡¹
Taking out a blue sphere the size of a ping-pong ball, Tatsuya and Makoto ripped off the paper cover as they confirmed their first goal. The blue spheres, needless to say, were aqua breaths. The cover was a light mana seal, and its role the same as that of the surface of a battery. By tearing this off, the mana circuit ¡®s remaining area would be connected before gaining function as an item. This structure was built to share all alchemy-made, endurance-based supportive expendable items.
Also, as the mana circuits were securely nted within, these items notified the user when the effects were wearing out or the defensive effects had been breached. In this case, if the aqua breath was unable to prevent the poison gas from entering the mouth or nose areas, the user would immediately know that aqua breath was unable to do so. Of course, even if the gas touching the skin was hazardous, the aqua breath would still function properly, so it was entirely possible for your defenses to be breached without aqua breath notifying you. All in all, aqua breath was simply a means to protecting the vital organs of the face and maintaining proper breathing in hostile environments.
¡¸Mio-chan, can you investigate the condition of the toxicity?¡¹
¡¸Unsure. I do think I get most of it, but detailed analysis is definitely best left to Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Hm, okay. Do you know if skin contact is safe?¡¹
¡¸I think we¡¯ll pull through.¡¹
Handing one bottle each for poison gas collecting to them and preparing a simple air measuring instrument, Mio answered in a slightly regretful tone. Though they were able to do all sorts of things now, this team was still inferior to Hiroshi by a lot. Also, Mio went to the trouble of analyzing the area because it was always possible that three different poison areas had three different levels of poison. So this time, they were examining different locations from which Hiroshi had investigated beforehand.
¡¸Now it¡¯s time to map it out.¡¹
A limited map in hand and Makoto and Mio in the lead, the group stepped into the poison gas region. Usually mapping was something left to Tatsuya, who wouldn¡¯t be at an inconvenience if his hands were full. Mio mainly attacked with her bow, and right now her hands were full with the air measurer. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t even participate in battle.
You might imagine poison gas to have a poisonous glint to it filling the air, but but no adventurer would plunge into such an obvious trap without preparing in some way. This dungeon¡¯s poison regions were colorless and transparent, filled with gas that even pros had difficulty recognizing.
If this were outdoors or in a regr room, it might have been easier to discern the scent. But unfortunately, these were all dungeon rooms, and there were numerous smells mixing in and out (not necessarily bad smells). Unless you had a good sense of smell and observation, it would be difficult to recognize it anytime soon.
¡¸Absorption via skin contact?¡¹
¡¸As anticipated, nothing in particr. I think aqua breath will block it out.¡¹
¡¸Roger that. So the gas in this region is safe to traverse.¡¹
Nodding at Tatsuya¡¯s additional confirmation, Mio continued checking the rough density of the poison gas with the simple air measurer. Conveying several numbers to Tatsuya and having him record them, Mio continued onward. All the monsters that appeared were killed mercilessly by Makoto and Haruna in mere seconds.
¡¸Poison gas density eight. A little further down and we should be able to breathe normally.¡¹
¡¸Roger. Unless we get stalled by something seriously malignant, we pretty much just break through with aqua breath.¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
Three hours after entering the poison gas region. Tatsuya and the others continued through the area at a turtlelike pace where they would normally have taken only one hour to move through. Mio¡¯s report was certainly good news, as everyone was beginning to feel their concentration dipping, but they still didn¡¯t look especially lighthearted just yet. If there was one thing the group understand right now, it was that they could get through the region, but considering how violent the gas was for its tasteless, odorless nature, who knew how twisted the nature of the other areas was ahead.
¡¸For the time being, once we get to a ce where we can breathe normally, I¡¯d like to dig through the wall. Is that alright?¡¹
¡¸Alright. Careful though.¡¹
¡¸Yeah¡¹
Nodding at Haruna, who expressed her desire for another essential search, Tatsuya once again wrote in numbers from Mio¡¯s report. Once the poison gas meter hit six and the group approached an area where they could breathe well enough for a while without any negative health effects, Haruna began digging through the wall. Mio slightly changed location as well in order to collect information and begin excavation.
¡¸So what now¡¹
¡¸I feel weird, so let¡¯s check for any crevices. I don¡¯t think Haruna or Mio would fall behind much if they were attacked by the monsters over here while excavating.¡¹
¡¸Roger.¡¹
The ce could cave in after they got past the gas region. It was a reasonable trap. No one, not even their team could survive being crushed, so it was best to check anywhere that could be deadly. With that strange conviction in mind, Tatsuya and Makoto began checking the walls and ceiling. After a brief while, once they hade to the densest region, the group heard a loud sound and felt a thundering vibration from the entrance.
¡¸¡¡So it¡¯s THAT kind of trap!¡¹
¡¸More borate setups!¡¹
Immediately knowing what had just transpired, they quickly checked the passage that was the entrance to the poison gas region, and as predicted it was half buried with rubble.
¡¸Not enough space for people to get through¡¹
¡¸But it¡¯s not like it¡¯s totally sealed off¡¹
¡¸Must be one of those things where carving one path crumbles another elsewhere¡¹
¡¸Most likely, yeah¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto just scowled at the ill-natured trap that had activated on their way back. They had investigated all over the ce, including for traps, and it hadn¡¯t been all that long since they had given the ce a light lookover. As a result there was still time remaining for aqua breath, but not enough for going to another location. That would just be a death g.
Volume 4 4.5
Volume 4 Chapter 4.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Now then, let¡¯s meet up with Haruna/Mio and figure out how to deal with it¡¹
¡¸All we can do. Plus I¡¯m hungry¡¹
¡¸Yep. Let¡¯s discuss it over food¡¹
It was already gettingte for lunch, but the only people who¡¯d get to discussing food at a time like this were the members of the Azuma Workshop aka Tatsuya and Makoto. They had already shifted the mood of the conversation, livening it up with talk of what food Haruna had made as they returned to the safe (though still poisonous) zone.
¡¸We heard a loud sound. Was it a cave-in like we thought?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Anyhow, we¡¯re hungry and we also want to ask your opinions on dealing with something after eating.¡¹
Haruna asked for the excavation crew, and Tatsuya responded with a grimace. Even ss Five adventurers couldn¡¯t act as leisurely as this, but this group in question was not going to realize that.
¡¸Well, we also are hungry, so let¡¯s eat lunch first¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah. What¡¯s for lunch?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been cooking German style foodtely, so I put a little twist on it and went at it from an Italian angle.¡¹
Haruna said as she took out a table alongside an odd variety of pizza whose dough was covered in cheese/smibo and tomato sauce, fried in oil and a sd/appetizer with a slight stateless vibe to it.
¡¸Now, I figured that cooled meat or pastas weren¡¯t the best for this environment, so I didn¡¯t bring them, but how¡¯s this so far?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I say it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like I feel the need to eat noodles in a dusty environment like this anyway.¡¹
¡¸Agreed.¡¹
¡¸Looks good. Let¡¯s eat right away¡¹
Everyone voiced their thoughts on the food Haruna had made, saying their thanks for the food in a rushed manner so they could get right to reaching for the food. Ripping the crisp pizza apart with your teeth would unveil the fragrance and taste of hot cheese and tomato, an unbelievably delectable sensation. Normally you¡¯d think it to be extremely rich, but you could hardly feel that strong of a taste, and everyone felt they could eat both dishes.
¡¸This crepe thingy is good¡¹
¡¸Yeah, the greasy vor in your mouth feels refreshing¡¹
A crepe-like appetizer you could grip with your hands, with vegetables and whatnot wrapped around it. Chronologically, this shoulde first, but with the environment being as hostile as it was, Haruna seemed to have made several adjustments to make it easier to consume. This aim of hers seemed to have hit the lottery, and the splintered air around the group mellowed out quite a bit with this ingenious and delicious meal made out of consideration.
¡¸¡¡Now that we¡¯ve eaten our fill, we gotta think of a way to get out.¡¹
¡¸Tatsu, we¡¯ll decide that after looking at the area.¡¹
¡¸Got it¡¹
Taking in Mio¡¯s opinion, Tatsuya lead them to the copsed area in question. Mio brought out her general conclusion as she looked around the area to see what situation they were in or the state of the rubble.
¡¸Sensei would just dig it all up and then move on, but we probably can¡¯t.¡¹
¡¸Probably not. But can we make a path at least?¡¹
¡¸No problem. We¡¯ll detonate it with poms.¡¹
¡¸Wha!?¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto blurted out at Mio¡¯s overly violent conclusion. They were already concerned about making excessive moves, so this was out of the question.
¡¸With the explosive power of poms, there won¡¯t be that big of a shock wave to make other areas crumble.¡¹
¡¸Wait, so you¡¯re saying we can actually do something about this rubble?¡¹
¡¸I would never suggest the impossible.¡¹
Answering Tatsuya¡¯s question in a cid tone, Mio took four, standard-sized poms out from her bag and strew them together with leaf threads before tying their feet together to prevent escape. Any sort of impact would detonate them, so there was a need to get work done quickly and carefully. Tatsuya and Makoto were probably out of the question, but even Haruna¡¯s work would be getting dangerously close to the warning line with reliability.
¡¸What do you n to aplish by tying them up?¡¹
¡¸First we set them over here.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I see. Too dangerous to keep them too close, right¡¹
¡¸Mm¡¹
Understanding the meaning of Mio¡¯s actions, Haruna measured out a probably good amount of distance before retreating. Following her example, Tatsuya and Makoto made sure to escape a good distance. Seeing that the members were all plenty far away, Mio also took her distance from the mountain of rubble as she took out the poms. And then
¡¸Hyah¡¹
Along with an extremely vorless shout inparison to Hiroshi¡¯s throwing came the loud ¡°woo woo¡± shrieks from the nearby poms as Mio threw them at the rubble, the pom bundle hitting it dead-on. Small explosions urred immediately in session until a few temposter, the mountain of rubble fell.
¡¸Like this¡¹
¡¸Wow, you can do it after all¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hey, I said I could.¡¹
Mio countered Makoto¡¯s oddly impressedment with (albeit expressionless) a somewhat angry tone oozing from her emotions. Anyone could make decisions like this as long as they had around initial intermediate level in excavation or engineering. Haruna might be fine with engineering, but her excavation skills werecking, so of course she couldn¡¯t make such precise judgements.
¡¸Anyhow, let¡¯s stop fighting and get out quickly.¡¹
¡¸Yep. In an isted dimension, you never know what traps are hidden¡¹
Hearing Haruna¡¯s scolding, the group went back to the area near the entrance, which wasparatively safer.
¡¸So what now?¡¹
¡¸Still plenty of poms in storage¡¹
¡¸Aqua breath¡¯s going to end pretty soon¡¹
Mio and Makoto told Tatsuya the current state of things in response to his question as the basis for their decision-making. Pondering this information, Haruna made the optimal decision after checking the current time.
¡¸I don¡¯t think Hiroshi-kun¡¯s returned yet, so how about we check one of the remaining two ces before going back?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t really mind.¡¹
¡¸Same here¡¹
¡¸Agreed with Haru¡¯s proposal¡¹
They had to investigate anyway, as per the request, so they may as well check another location before going back. After deciding that, they quickly headed to the poison trap which hadn¡¯t been discovered by Hiroshi. As expected, the same kind of trap activated and they resolved the situation the same kind of way. By this time it was past 8 pm.
¡¸Yeah, at a time like this, there probably aren¡¯t many people in here¡¡¡¹
¡¸I guess we let our greed go out of control?¡¹
¡¸Probably, yeah.¡¹
Smiling awkwardly at Haruna¡¯s dejected observation, the group walked into the apartment they were temporarily using.
¡¸Wee back. Y¡¯all be superte tho.¡¹
¡¸d to be back. Yeah, we kinda took too much time in our search.¡¹
Hiroshi, already back by this time, met them at the door, and Haruna, immediately a bit lively now, responded with a somewhat cheerful tone as she greeted him. Getting as close to Hiroshi as she could, Haruna began the report on today¡¯s findings. She was quite a bit more calm than she was in Darl, but this apparently did not mean that her love interest had subsided. Her outward demeanor was one thing, but her eyes and tone seemed to be telling their own story.
¡¸You seem a lot calmer than in Darl. Or is it my imagination?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, I sure am. Actually, it¡¯s more like I learned how to distance myself from my feelings, and nothing has essentially changed. In fact, I think things might have gotten even worse.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well, that¡¯s just the way love is, yup.¡¹
¡¸Yeah¡¡¡¹
While a bit uneasy at this calm yet unstoppable formation of love toward Hiroshi by Haruna and Mio (who was doing the same thing Haruna was), who were both distanced but clearly attached to him, Tatsuya and Makoto were rubbernecks by nature and decided to enjoy this disy with grins on their faces.
Volume 4 5.1
Volume 4 Chapter 5.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Wadda we goin¡¯ to do?¡¹
As they finished their breakfast, Haruna and others told Hiroshi about what was happening with the mining union. To this information, he thought through both sides of the argument andmented. The solution was not looking good for either side.
¡¸Is there something wrong?¡¹
Tatsuya asked as he saw Hiroshi groan over the document he was given yesterday while drinking coffee. The girls have gone off to take a quick bath after breakfast as they were still self-conscious about the smell of gas which has rubbed onto them from yesterday¡¯s dungeon run.
¡¸I feel like we can narrow down the candidates on the minin¡¯ union end.¡¹
¡¸Why do you say that?¡¹
¡¸Most o¡¯ the areas t¡¯ would be ideal for installin¡¯ the new st furnace is oveppin¡¯ with residential areas.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
Even though they are mostly mining towns, having a steel mill near a residential area is not ideal for both the miners and the residents. It was given that people living near the steel mill would face issues with water and construction noises.
¡¸Do you think we can do something about it with the rights that some of the mines have?¡¹
¡¸I doubt ¡®t.¡¹
Since they are dealing with mining towns, a word from Crest Cave wouldn¡¯t bepletely useless. However, there are limits to what the mining union¡¯s rights can do. Buying off thend and kicking out the current residents would be passed that limit. It¡¯s also morally uneptable to forcefully suppress the opinions of the current resident just to build a new st furnace.
¡¸Are there any steel mill along any of thosends?¡¹
¡¸Welp, dere are some but that¡¯s where the problem is.¡¹
¡¸A problem?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re makin¡¯ the furnace with the union¡¯s money so the problem is who¡¯s furnace are we breakin¡¯ apart to build our own? ¡¹
¡¸Oh~¡¡¹
Tatsuya agreed to Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. No matter the solution, this will cause some conflict.
¡¸I see how that¡¯s an issue for the mining union but I still don¡¯t see how that¡¯s connected to the issue you¡¯re trying to figure out?¡¹
¡¸The minin¡¯ union asked me to rmend an area t¡¯ would be ideal for tis project.¡¹
¡¸Well that¡¯s¡¡¹
¡¸If I can, I really don¡¯ wanna make anyments on these kinda issues but wadda ya think?¡¹
Tatsuya also groaned over Hiroshi¡¯s very understandable problem. The mining union will most likely make their own decision if their party were to never give their rmendations. However, if there were to do nothing about it, nobody knows how long this project will be post-pone. That was the very problem which they were trying to solve.
¡¸n¡¯ I doubt that I can jist refuse the offer n¡¯ join the investigation ya¡¯ll doin¡¯ so I really don¡¯ know what to do ¡®bout this.¡¹
¡¸Oh~ I see.¡¹
¡¸I mean, thinkin¡¯ ¡®bout it realistically, our jobs are practically done.¡¹
Tatsuya was currently working on Aquabreath suitability examination. All the request which has been listed under this job has beenpleted. Indeed they have yet to investigate thest area. However, they have proven that as long as they are not being careless, the other two areas are safe to go through. Since the request only asks to determine if aquabreath can be used as a method of managing poisonous gas, if they could get through at least one area safely, they have done their job.
Since they don¡¯t know the exact size of the dungeon, they didn¡¯t know what kind ofndforms or traps there would be. It was likely that in some areas one aquabreath would not be enough to manage the obstacles there. But even if there are a couple of areas like that, it would not be a huge problem. Even if Haruna¡¯s group couldn¡¯t get through all of the dungeons, as long as there is one path which someone could get through safely, the job was considered done.
¡¸If they said we hafta use aquabreath than I could think o¡¯ couple o¡¯ items that we could remove. But t¡¯ isn¡¯t the case this time ¡®round.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I don¡¯t think there would be any problem.¡¹
¡¸Ya, so I didn¡¯ think t¡¯ would be a good ¡®nough excuse for me to refuse their offer.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I get your point.¡¹
As Tatsuya listened to the situation which Hiroshi was troubling over, he could not help it but agree with Hiroshi. Even Tatsuya¡¯s group could say that there was no real need for them to go into that dungeon. Investigating another area wouldn¡¯t increase their overall reward either.
¡¸This is really troublesome. By the way, while we¡¯re at it, should we all go and take a look at the Feng Shui?¡¹
¡¸I appreciate the help but are ya sure?¡¹
¡¸Well to be honest, if there¡¯s another fall trap, it¡¯s kind of burdensome to get back up without you in the group.¡¹
¡¸True dat.¡¹
Hearing the burden of dealing with fall trap, Hiroshi agreed with Tatsuya request. Dealing with that trap was really troublesome.
¡¸Welp, once we finish eatin¡¯ let¡¯s go n¡¯ take a look.¡¹
¡¸Cool, the girls seem to havee out of bath do I¡¯ll go and tell them.¡¹
¡¸Thank ya.¡¹
As Tatsuya heard the bathroom door open, he got up and left. He did not want to send a guy with gynophobia to a group of girls who have just gotten out of the bath.
¡¸I wonder where we should go n¡¯ take a look first.¡¹
This wasn¡¯t a decision which they could make lightly. Any careless move could be fatal to them and the union. As Hiroshi heard Tatsuya¡¯s footsteps leave the room, he looked at the map in his hand and thought of a way to get there.
==
An ufortable atmosphere wrapped around the cksmith town as usual.
¡¸I feel like everyone¡¯s guard is higher than usual¡¡¹
¡¸Ya, somethin¡¯s not ¡®ight.¡¹
Harunamented as she noticed that the atmosphere was more hostile than usual. Hiroshi narrowed his eyes and agreed. Tatsuya, Makoto and Mio also had their guards up. They continued walking through the town, taking a stance so that they could defend themselves from any unsuspecting attacks. From their daily activities, it is easy to forget that they are adventurers. But in times like this, their response to the change in atmosphere that they noticed shows how much they have grown as adventurers.
¡¸I¡¯m guessin¡¯ that¡¯s the cause¡.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I think so too ¡¡¹
It¡¯s been a couple of minutes since they started to head towards where the shouting wasing from. They finally reached the centre of the uproar which was at an area away from cksmith town, the central town of Crest Cave and from any mines or roads.
The uproar seems to be a conflict between two groups. They were only yelling at each other for now, but they were only seconds away from breaking into a physical fight. One group of people looked like workers at the Crest Cave. Most of them were dwarves and seemed strongerpared to the other group. The other group looked like a group of social rejects and were not decently dressed. They also seemed weaker than soldiers and adventurers but were equipped with weapons.
The group of rejects seemed to mostly consist of dwarves as well. However, they were wearing distasteful clothes with shy design and had a build that did not resemble a typical dwarf. It was unlikely that they worked as tradesmen or in a battle-rted job. In any stories, they would be portrayed as viins.
¡¸Welp, by the looks of it, ¡®t seems like the most cliched scenario but wadda ya think we should do?¡¹
¡¸We should hear out both sides of the story before making any decisions but I¡¯m guessing that those tiny viiny-looking guys are after some kind of deal.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m against judging people based on their appearance but the fact that they brought along weapons and a group of rejects is already a pretty bad look.¡¹
The third part impression on this situation all seemed to be very simr. If they were to show this scene to 100 people, 90 people would most likely make the same judgement as well. That is how clear the situation was on the surface.
¡¸Sensei, how about you ask them what is happening?¡¹
¡¸Ya, nothin¡¯s goin¡¯ to change by just standin¡¯ ¡¯round.¡¹
Hearing Mio¡¯s suggestion, Hiroshi looked around to see if there were any dwarves that he was acquainted with. In a situation like this, if he went up to a dwarf which he didn¡¯t know, it was likely that he would get dragged into the uproar.
¡¸Old man, old man, what¡¯s goin¡¯ on?¡¹
¡¸Hm? Oh, it¡¯s you.¡¹
As Hiroshi asked, one of the dwarves who was about to break out into a fight held back his temper and responded. He was one of the dwarves who represented the area and the two has seen each other around at the mining union.
¡¸¡¯t seems purty bad but what happened?¡¹
¡¸Oh, that reject, Garzo came to pick a fight with Kakashi. They¡¯re forcefully pushing their point through so we¡¯re here resisting against them.¡¹
Turns out the situation was exactly what everyone else has imagined it to be. However, that did not mean that the other party could have their own reason for the way they are acting. They still didn¡¯t have enough information on the situation to make any decisions yet.
¡¸What¡¯s the point their tryina to push through?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re saying that they caught Kakashi selling fraud items. So they¡¯re requesting him to pay for the damage.¡¹
¡¸Welp that¡¯s¡¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s even more troubling is that I don¡¯t know where they got their hands on it but apparently they have a formal testimony.¡¹
¡¸Welp¡¡¹
Hiroshi lost his words to the childish method the other party was using. The uproar and stupidity is one thing. But the fact that they managed to progress the situation like this was making his head hurt the most.
¡¸I dunno who made that testimony but they¡¯re definitely tryina pick a fight with the minin¡¯ union¡¡¹
¡¸Exactly, so that¡¯s why we¡¯re here.¡¹
Hiroshi sighed at the troublesome situation which was taking ce in front of him. From what this dwarf is saying and from all the arguments that have been yelled back and force, the testimony does sound official. However, the whole situation seems to have been making progress without Kakashi being directly involved in the matter. If that is the case, an objection can be submitted to the court, making the other party¡¯s statement invalid and thorough investigation can be done on the situation. Although Forre isn¡¯t like the previous Fane where its legal system was controlled by the strict set ofw, they still had a decent enough legal system.
So, the other group tried to get the conversation done and over with by bringing up this so-called ¡°solid proof¡± resulting in this idiotic and violent method.
¡¸I git the over-all situation. So how good is this Kakashi¡¯s works?¡¹
¡¸For a dwarf, he¡¯s skinny and tall and looks unreliable but his works ain¡¯t bad. Like his appearance, he doesn¡¯t have much stamina or magic for a dwarf craftsman. So, he can¡¯t smelt things like magical steel. But to make up for that, any metal items he has crafted are fine quality. Looking at his skill sets and the number of items he has crafted, I doubt about him crafting close to hundred fraud items.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha.¡¹
As the situation became more cliched, Hiroshi¡¯s headache worsened. Looking at the building which Hiroshi assumed to be Kakashi¡¯s workshop, it was a lot smallerpared to an average workshop. When it came to workshops like this, they would use materials that would minimize their cost. So, it was unlikely that they kept any records of where they imported their materials. When it came to craftsmen, the tax system in this universe was very mild. For independently owned workshops, the sales rate was irrelevant. Most of the time, the registration fees are treated as their tax. So, many workshops didn¡¯t keep their records of material importation. But even if they did keep the records of their materials, it was unlikely that the other group would ept it as legal proof.
¡¸Garzo has a lot of criminal records so if the police force or the mining union has an intervention, we can win. But from those criminal records, it seems that Garzo only learnt how to cause more trouble¡¡¹
¡¸Welp wadda troublesome fe.¡¹
To the dwarf¡¯s words, Hiroshi gave a deep sigh. To be blunt, this wasn¡¯t the kind of issue which Hiroshi should get involved in. He and his party have nothing to do with the issue and they are not employees at the mining union either. Although this may sound cold, these kinds of conflicts aremon in towns like this. If they were to get themselves involved in the matter every time a conflict like this happened, it would be endless.
However, if they don¡¯t do anything about it, they can¡¯t do their work. The most troublesome part is that Hiroshi has noticed something. He realised that Kakashi¡¯s workshop is located right where the two Feng Shui intersect. Due to this conflict, it is unlikely for Kakashi can continue working at this workshop. If that is the case, they could build the new st furnace here and if possible, make it a relocation base for Azuma workshop.
¡¸Haruna-san, Mio, can I ask the two of ya a favour?¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Tis a simple errand. Can ya bring the government official n¡¯ the head o¡¯ minin¡¯ union here?¡¹
¡¸Okay, Mio-chan, let¡¯s go.¡¹
¡¸hm.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s favour, Haruna quickly activated teleportation magic. The reason why Hiroshi asked Mio to go as well is that Haruna wasn¡¯t acquainted with the union head. Tatsuya could have gone as well since he can use teleportation magic and was not acquainted with the union head. However, due to some circumstances, Haruna would be better at convincing the government officials. Also, if the situation gets worse, Haruna would userge scale magic like putting everyone to sleep. But with Tatsuya, he would just create a seclusion barrier between the two groups. So he can handle the situation less forcefully.
So, Hiroshi assigned the right role to the right people and decided to keep an eye on the incident from a third party¡¯s perspective. The dwarf who told Hiroshi about what was happening heard that Haruna and Mio went to get the government official and the union head and told the two parties to hold back on any violent actions.
Volume 4 5.2
Volume 4 Chapter 5.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Not too long after that incident¡
¡¸Both side, quiet!!¡¹
The union head, chief from police force and the head of themercial sector appeared on the spot along with Haruna and Mio.
¡¸There was a report from a civilian. Garzo Mohne, both parties will be escorted to the court on the ount of abuse in power.¡¹
¡¸We have an official testimony!!¡¹
¡¸We will investigate the matter at the station including that testimony.¡¹
The chief tried to take Garzo¡¯s arm as he made his statement. As expected Garzo resisted and threw a fist; or rather, a punch which the chief just let it hit him. Garzo was than forcefully escorted to the nearest station by the police officers who havee along for a backup.
¡¸You are under arrest for violent behaviour. Take them all to the station!!¡¹
With the chief¡¯s order, Garzo¡¯s group was arrested one after another by the police officers. The others in the group were also escorted along with Garzo and few were even arrested.
¡¸We thank you for your cooperation. ¡¹
¡¸Well we were prepared for a situation like this.¡¹
Due to the barrier spell which Tatsuya cast, there was no injuries during this uproar.
¡¸We¡¯re innocent! This is a false conspiracy! I was framed by Kakashi!!¡¹
¡¸Regardless of what happened, the one who showed violence first was your group. This will be a different case of antisocial behaviour against Mr Basso. We will also investigate you regarding the fraud incident.¡¹
Garzo pitifully continued to resist, yet the chief managed to drag him over to the closest station. To such an obviously guilty behaviour, the rest of the officers looked at Garzo with a helpless gaze.
¡¸By da way, who¡¯s Basso?¡¹
¡¸Oz Basso is Kakashi¡¯s real name. But in public, no one calls him by his real name. Oh, by the way, that¡¯s Kakashi over there.¡¹
Looking at the figure the dwarf pointed towards, Kakashi really did look like a scarecrow for a dwarf. [1. TL Note: ¡°Kakashi¡± is ¡°a Japanese term meaning scarecrow¡±.] He was around 180 centimetres tall and it was difficult to determine if he really was a dwarf. His overall physique neither had any muscle or fat and he was very slender. From a human standard, his facial structure was slightly neaterpared to Hiroshi. With his messy hair, it was understandable why he was called Kakashi.
¡¸Well, it looks like we can finally sit down and talk this out. ¡¹
¡¸We have caused you so much trouble¡¡¹
¡¸No need to apologize. We had other issues with those guys before. We¡¯ve just about had enough with them. Well, we haven¡¯t fully resolved the situation so I was wondering if you coulde to the station with us for the investigation?¡¹
¡¸O, of course!¡¹
Kakashi continued to apologize for the situation which has be more drastic than he has originally imagined it to be. Even seeing Kakashi in such a state, the union head still informed him that the issue is yet to be resolved. Hiroshi sighed at such sight.
¡¸¡¯t doesn¡¯t look like we can git any o¡¯ our work sorted today.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right, I apologize for the number of times we have cause you folks a burden¡.¡¹
¡¸Not at all, this incident wasn¡¯t ya fault. ¡®t just, those kinda people tend to hold onto grudges. So, to make thin¡¯s easier, we were wonderin¡¯ if we coulda build the new st furnace here? ¡¹
¡¸Are you sure you want to build one here?¡¹
¡¸Ya see, tis the ce where two Feng Shui intersect. So I thought ¡®t would be the ideal ce to do a test run.¡¹
The union head agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s favour. To be honest, they have not done thorough research on Feng Shui yet.
¡¸n¡¯ was it Basso?¡¹
¡¸Kakashi¡¯s fine.¡¹
¡¸Welp, Kakashi-san, from what I heard, ya seem to be skilled at craftin¡¯ but yack in magic. So I thought ya¡¯d be a perfect fit for the test run.¡¹
Kakashi tilted his head as he heard Hiroshi call him a perfect fit. He has been insecure about the fact that he has less magical powerpared to an average dwarf. So, he wanted to know why Hiroshi thought having less magic was a positive trait.
¡¸Oh, the new st furnace will have a system that uses magic from the Feng Shui. So even if youck magical power, you can smelt things like magical steel.¡¹
¡¸So for the test run, we¡¯re lookin¡¯ for someone who¡¯d be skilled ¡®nough to smelt magical steel but don¡¯ have ¡®nough magic to do it emselves.¡¹
¡¸So you thought I would be the perfect fit for the test run?¡¹
¡¸Exactly, so we wanna buy ya workshop n¡¯ build a st furnace. Wadda ya say?¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s favour, Kakashi nodded mindlessly. However, he quickly realised the responsibility which this favour came with.
¡¸Ho, hold up!¡¹
¡¸Hm? was there a problem?¡¹
¡¸Are you sure that you want to do such arge-scale construction at my workshop!?¡¹
¡¸Well, we would have to buy someone¡¯s workshop anyway so it doesn¡¯t really matter who¡¯s workshop it is.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s not what I meant. Why are you choosing my shabby workshop? Please talk to the president and find a better ce!¡¹
Hearing Kakashi¡¯s words, Hiroshi turned to face the dwarf next to him. As Hiroshi turned, the president nodded and gave a thumbs up. It seemed that there wasn¡¯t any problem with using Kakashi workshop.
¡¸Welp, ¡®t seems that the prezdent agrees with ma decision..¡¹
Kakashi scratched his head at the president¡¯s response
¡¸I don¡¯t mind you modifying my workshop but when that happens, what would be my position in the workshop?¡¹
¡¸Well, your role will change from an owner to an employee but everything else will remain the same.¡¹
¡¸Welp, considerin¡¯ ya safety, there¡¯s also an option o¡¯ bein¡¯ an employee at ma workshop and move to Fane?¡¹
¡¸Fane? Sir, who are you?¡¹
¡¸I run a workshop in Fane called Azuma Workshop. I made a new st furnace but I haven¡¯t taught any o¡¯ em on ckmithin¡¯ or smeltin¡¯ so they can¡¯t even use the old furnace we have.¡¹
The moment they heard the name Azuma Workshop, all the dwarves froze on the spot.
¡¸Hm? Guessin¡¯ from that reaction, is our workshop purty famous? ¡¹
¡¸We heard some rumours about it. Like how they brew high-quality and very effective medicines or how they are stocking ingredients which no one has ever seen before.¡¹
¡¸I heard that they craft high-quality items and furniture.¡¹
¡¸Huh? I thought they were doing civil engineering works?¡¹
Hiroshi gave a bitter smile to the contradicting information that dwarves spoke out. In reality, he has done at least some of the works which the dwarves were bringing it up.
¡¸But we never heard anything about cksmith work so I didn¡¯t think you guys made furnaces as well.¡¹
¡¸Welp, I gotta make ma own equipment so tis only natural that I can craft a furnace. By the way, I made these maself.¡¹
As Hiroshi stated, he showed the other craftsman pole axe, katana and rapier which were made of magical steel. One thing for sure is that even the best cksmith among them would not be able to make a replica of these weapons.
¡¸I see, so the rumours were true.¡¹
¡¸I wasn¡¯t expectin¡¯ for people in Forre to know ¡®bout ma workshop though.¡¹
¡¸Well, you did build a relocation ce in Darl so by now, I¡¯m sure the western countries have at least heard of the name.¡¹
As Hiroshi replied to dwarf¡¯s question with a bitter smile, Tatsuya, who was listening to the conversation stepped in.
¡¸Um, sorry to interrupt but shouldn¡¯t we be heading to the station?¡¹
As the conversation started to go off-topic, Haruna stepped in and brought back an important point. To Haruna¡¯s words, the union head, Kakashi and the government official gave a look of realisation.
¡¸You¡¯re right, we better get that criminal arrested.¡¹
¡¸If we were to look past these kinds of methods every time, it will be very difficult to do proper business in this town.¡¹
¡¸Anyway did they really think a method like that would work? I mean it¡¯s not that difficult to see through their intentions once you get the officials involved in the case.¡¹
¡¸I guess they thought it will be fine as long as they didn¡¯t get the officials involved in the matter. What a simple-minded bunch.¡¹
Saying such things, the union head and the government official headed to the nearest station while defending Kakashi¡¯s statement. To this, Hiroshi spoke up to double-check.
¡¸So, Kakashi-san, tis really okay if we modify ya workshop?¡¹
¡¸Yes, do whatever you like with it.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. We¡¯ll git on to it then.¡¹
To Kakashi¡¯szy response, Hiroshi gave a childish grin and immediately went to check the state of the workshop.
¡¸Guess they¡¯ve been lettin¡¯ that idiot do whatever they like with the workshop. Tis really damaged in alotta areas. We should renovate the workshop while we¡¯re at it.¡¹
¡¸Are we allowed to do that much ¡ ?¡¹
¡¸Welp, he said we can do whatever we like with it. So, first thin¡¯s first, we needa take out the thin¡¯s inside n¡¯ dismantle the buildin¡¯. Brother, Makoto-san, can ya help me with that?¡¹
¡¸Got it¡¹
¡¸As you wish¡¡¹
To the scenario which they saw iting, Tatsuya and Makoto showed a helpless expression. They entered the workshop from a broken entrance and started to carry out the equipment and cleaned up the workshop as well.
¡¸Haruna-san n¡¯ Mio, could ya dismantle the furnace?¡¹
¡¸Okie dokie.¡¹
¡¸On it.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s instruction, Haruna and Mio started to dismantle the core of the workshop, the st furnace. In the afternoon, Kakashi visited the workshop as he managed to sort out the paperwork for the court trial before sun-down. There, he saw debris of his st furnace which has beenpletely dismantled and the framework on the workshop which the Japanese people have already started working on.
Volume 4 5.3
Volume 4 Chapter 5.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Three dayster, in the morning.
¡¸How is the workshop already renovated ¡¡¹
¡¸If tis a workshop ¡®round this size, three days would be ¡®noguh for construction time even if we renovated other thin¡¯s.¡¹
Kakashi, who was staying at the amodation located at the centre of mining union visited his workshop after been called over by Hiroshi. As he saw the finished building, he blurted out his thoughts from shock.
¡¸No no no, you say a workshop of this size like it¡¯s not a big deal; but if you were to build a workshop this big from scratch, even if you had all the materials, to begin with, it would at least take two weeks¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, for Hiroshi, this is pretty normal. It¡¯s better not to question it.¡¹
¡¸How¡¡¹
To Tatsuya¡¯s words, Kakashi mumbling response. In reality, Kakashi¡¯s estimation isn¡¯t wrong. If a normal person was to work on this project, it will take them at least one day to dismantle the building and clean up the debris. Then it would take them another full day for surveying the building. It will be another one to two days to build the framework and so on. Like this, each process will at least take one day to work on. For this project, they did not need to do surveying or checking thend status but if they did, that would be another seven days added to the construction time.
If they kept the original framework of the building, they could cut down on the construction time. However, because of the uproar that urred, many areas of the original framework was damaged. So apart from the basics, the whole building was rebuilt for this project. If they used a technique from the high-level craftsman, they might be able to finish the project in a week. But three days was unheard of.
¡¸Hey, Kakashi-san¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸If you¡¯re surprised over a mere construction task, you¡¯re going to struggle to work with us. So can you try and ept that a single workshop was constructed over a couple of days?¡¹
¡¸A mere workshop? You¡¯re asking for the impossible¡¡¹
To Makoto¡¯s outrageous favour, Kakashi responded without thinking. He reyed the phrase ¡°mere building¡± in his mind.
¡¸Wait, when you say a single workshop¡¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ve finished building the st furnace as well.¡¹
¡¸What the¡¡¹
Kakashi gave an unearthly cry after hearing an overwhelming amount of information. Hiroshi,pletely ignoring Kakashi¡¯s reaction opened the door and pushed Kakashi into the workshop. Seeing that, Tatsuya and Makoto went off to tell the president about the new st furnace. Haruna and Mio went off to buy food for the home-warming party which they have nned forter today.
¡¸Lookin¡¯ at the originalyout of ya workshop, I guessed t¡¯ would be the best ce to build the furnace.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m still not over the fact that the entire workshop has been rebuilt so I don¡¯t have anyment about the insideyout of the workshop¡.¡¹
Although hepletely ignored Hiroshi¡¯s question, Kakashi was surprised once again as he saw theyout of the workshop has barely changed from before.
¡¸¡ Hm?¡¹
¡¸Was there somethin¡¯ ya didn¡¯t like?¡¹
¡¸No at all, it¡¯s just I don¡¯t remember seeing this hammer so I was surprised. What is this used for?¡¹
¡¸Oh, that. Since ya goin¡¯ to be usin¡¯ magical steel from now on, thought t¡¯ would make it easier for ya to work with equipment made of magical steel. I made it while I was testin¡¯ the st furnace yesterday.¡¹
¡¸While you were testing, huh¡¡¹
Kakashi dropped his shoulders and mumbled, exhausted from the amount of information he was surprised by today. It was an item that he would need to use sooner orter, and they made it for free. So, he had nothing toin about it. He was definitely surprised that they just decided to make such a high-quality item for a test run. Yet, the process didn¡¯t disadvantage anyone, so he decided to not question about it.
¡¸I tried to make it as close to the hammers ya were usin¡¯ before but the material ¡®tself is different so ¡®t would be ufortable to use it at first. I¡¯m sorry but ya just hafta git used to usin¡¯ it.¡¹
¡¸It is new equipment. It¡¯s only natural that it requires getting used to.¡¹
As Hiroshi noted about the hammer, Kakashi replied with a bitter smile and took the hammer in his hand. As Hiroshi mentioned, the way it felt in his hand was not too different from the other hammers he has used before. Since the hammerhead was made from different material, the bnce of the hammer was a little different. But it wasn¡¯t to the point where he wouldn¡¯t be able to work precisely with it. For a while, some of his work might be a little rough but after fifty or so hits, he should be able to work as usual.
¡¸¡ this is a well-made hammer.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m d ya liked it.¡¹
Completely ignoring Hiroshi¡¯s words, Kakashi observed the hammer intently and gave a light shake. Now that he has new equipment, only one thing was on his mind. He wanted to make something with it.
¡¸Since ya liked the hammer as well, let¡¯s move onto the main topic.¡¹
¡¸¡ the main topic?¡¹
¡¸We need ya to learn how to operate the new st furnace.¡¹
¡¸¡ Oh that!!¡¹
Kakashi, who was so mesmerized by his new equipmentpletely forgot about the st furnace. Like every other craftsman, it seems that once something catches Kakashi¡¯s thought, all of his focus will go to that one particr thing.
¡¸Also, try craft somethin¡¯ with the magical steel ya smelted with the new st furnace.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but is the operation that different from a standard st furnace?¡¹
¡¸Welp ¡®t take up magic from an outside source so there are few extra steps that ya need to know ¡®bout..¡¹
Extra steps¡ Kakashi¡¯s expression stiffened as he heard that phrase. New workshop and a new furnace that required new operation, if he doesn¡¯t learn each step carefully, it will be a hazard.
¡¸Just vaguely, what kind of operations would I have to do?¡¹
¡¸First o¡¯ all, if the furnace doesn¡¯t take in magic when ya start up the fire, ¡®t won¡¯t be any different from a normal furnace. ¡®n when ya add in the materials, ya need to adjust the temperature as well as the magic flow. If ya mess up the adjustment, the magical steel woulde out in a state that ya can¡¯t really work with.¡¹
¡¸How bad is it ?¡¹
¡¸¡¯t won¡¯t turn into cursed steel n¡¯ stuff like that so ya don¡¯t hafta worry ¡®bout that. Ya¡¯ll mess up until ya git the hang o¡¯ it. ¡®t just when ya mess up the adjustments, the end product won¡¯ be magical steel but some other steel that¡¯s hard to re-use as ordinary steel. When it¡¯s in that state, an ordinary craftsman can¡¯t really work with it so tis harder to get rid o¡¯ it. But ¡®ight now, the stock for magical steel ore is purty good so even if ya mess up heaps, they¡¯d say tis only natural n¡¯ give ya more stocks.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯s vague exnation, Kakashi became more worried. Unsure if Hiroshi was aware of Kakashi¡¯s thoughts, Hiroshi started to exin how to start up the new st furnace. The initial step of starting up the st furnace was exactly the same as starting up an ordinary st furnace. The only difference was that when he¡¯s cing the fire into the furnace, he would have to flow the magical energy in from the magic line.
¡¸Is everythin¡¯ clear up until here?¡¹
¡¸Yes, I understand the process. It¡¯s done like this, right?¡¹
As Hiroshi checked in with Kakashi, Kakashi decided to try starting up the furnace. When he¡¯s taking the magic from the magic line, it does use up some of his magical energy. However, the process only takes about a second and it uses less magicpared to using items like pot so even for people like Kakashi could operate the furnace.
¡¸Welp, this is where tis important so pay attention.¡¹
As Hiroshi gave notice, he started to smelt magical steel (precisely a mixed steel of magical steel and mithril) by using the fire which Kakashi has started up. They stocked up enough magical steel and mithril ore so there was plenty for them to y around with.
¡¸Then adjust the temperature to this much n¡¯ magic ¡®bout this much n¡¯ if ya continue tis process¡¡¹
Around the time one steel would be made, liquidy mixed steel was pressed out into a shape of an ingot. The moment the steel was poured out from the furnace, it cooled down and solidified at a ridiculous speed. Just like that, the ores were finally smelted into magical steel.
With Hiroshi¡¯s experience, he could have smelted the steel in half the time. However, if he smelted the steel at his usual pace, it won¡¯t be helpful for Kakashi. Not only that, the invention of this furnace meant that craftsmen whock magic will now be able to smelt magical steel. If someone with a ridiculous amount of magical energy and craftsman experience used their talent to minimize the operation time, it would defeat the purpose of inventing the furnace.
¡¸n¡¯ like this, ya smelt the magical steel.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
Kakashi, who has been ring at the screen that showed the amount of magic and heat used, responded with a serious expression. As he switched ces with Hiroshi, he carefully weighed out the magical steel and mithril ore. Keeping everything single procedure of the operation in his mind, he raised the temperature and flowed ton of magic into the furnace.
Immediately, he red over to the screen, not wanting to miss the slightest change in the condition. He directed all of his focus and senses to the change in sound, magic and the temperature of the furnace. After operating the furnace for what felt like an hour, he mixed the magical steel and mithril, sorting away any unnecessary parts. Finally¡
Volume 4 5.4
Volume 4 Chapter 5.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸How is it?¡¹
Kakashi pushed the ore into a shape of an ingot and waited for it to cool down, hoping for a positive result.
¡¸¡ the quality still ain¡¯t good but ya managed to properly smelt magical steel.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see ¡.¡¹
¡¸To think that ya managed to smelt magical steel on ya first go, ya got some talent.¡¹
¡¸Not at all.¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯spliment, Kakashi mumbled back. The ingot which Kakashi smelted would be considered a high-quality item if it¡¯s looked at it on its own. However, once it¡¯spared to the ingot which Hiroshi has smelted, it would have the difference of high-quality metal and scrap metal. They used the same furnace and used ores which were close enough in quality. So, there was nothing to me it on except his own inexperience with working with magical steel. To Kakashi, this proved that with his current skills, he cannot smelt decent magical steel.
¡¸Also, even if I could smelt an ingot, it¡¯s pointless if I can¡¯t craft anything with it.¡¹
¡¸I see, welp, why don¡¯t ya try craftin¡¯ somethin¡¯ with it? But we have more stuff that we needa git through so please choose somethin¡¯ simple.¡¹
As Hiroshi finished talking, he prepared the furnace and showed Kakashi how to flow the magic in for heat forging. Forging magical steel used about the same amount of magic as smelting one.
¡¸I will try crafting a small knife.¡¹
Hearing that there were more which they needed to get through, Kakashi chose to craft an item that wouldn¡¯t take more than an hour to craft. Not noticing the crowd that started to gather around him, Kakashi got into forging. To contrast his weak, skinny appearance, he had the power of a craftsman. Not only that, he seemed to work with the level of holy steel.
¡¸So, tis how the furnace works but wadda ya think o¡¯ it as the president o¡¯ minin¡¯ union?¡¹
¡¸If Kakashi can operate it than I think we can use it at our workshops as well.¡¹
¡¸I agree. We would like this st furnace built in our workshop as well. What would be the cost and the construction period?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll send the quote for the costter if that¡¯s okay with ya. I¡¯ll be directin¡¯ the first two so those won¡¯ take no more than a fortnight to build. But while I¡¯m buildin¡¯ the first two furnaces, I¡¯d need to gather more materials to build other st furnaces. ¡®therwise, the materials I gathered in Darl won¡¯ be ¡®nough. So I¡¯ve gotten a clue on the construction time or the cost for the other st furnaces.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
While looking over at Kakashi¡¯s forging process, Hiroshi started to organise future orders. Kakashi had no idea that the president was watching over his crafting process. In fact, it was only after he finished crafting the knife that he realised that the president was at his workshop.
==
¡¸Cheers to the end of Crest Cave¡¯s magical steel problem!¡¹
One hourter. They were now at a meeting ce in cksmith town. Arge amount of food, liquor and dwarves gathered as the party started.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, good job out there.¡¹
¡¸Ya too, Haruna-san.¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t it fun to cook food for parties?¡¹
¡¸¡¯t sure is. By the way, a new month will start after this week so we shoulda probably finish preparin¡¯ for Makoto-san¡¯s birthday party.¡¹
Looking over the room where ten barrels of liquor has been emptied already, Hiroshi and Haruna started to talk about their next party. As they are still very conscious of thews from back home, the two refused to have any drink. However, they loved this kind of party where a group of acquaintances just get together without any business formalities. They also found it more motivating to cook up meals for partiespared to cooking up food for their usual meals.
¡¸Makoto-san said she wanted alcohol for her birthday but how is that going?¡¹
¡¸I got a couple o¡¯ people to taste test n¡¯ I think tis goin¡¯ good.¡¹
¡¸I see, but I don¡¯t know about just making alcohol for her birthday.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve been preparin¡¯ some stuff for other present as well.¡¹
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
Haruna reluctantly thanked Hiroshi for his subtle yet thoughtful action.
¡¸Isn¡¯t ¡®t weird for Haruna-san to be thankin¡¯ me?¡¹
¡¸Well, yeah, I guess.¡¹
To Hiroshi who almostughed out loud, Haruna replied with a gentle smile. If they weren¡¯t standing 90cm apart, they would have actually looked cute together.
¡¸¡¯nyways, Kakashi-san is really talented.¡¹
¡¸Was he?¡¹
¡¸To haf sessfully smelt magical steel which he has never used before, usin¡¯ a furnace that he¡¯s never operated before, he¡¯s a genius.¡¹
¡¸Wow, that is impressive¡.¡¹
Haruna praised Kakashi¡¯s talent half speechless as she has yet to smelt a decent-quality metal. Most craftsmen around her tend to be out-standing professionals like Hiroshi and Mio. But as someone who has done a certain level of crafting herself, she understands how difficult it is for someone with Kakashi¡¯s condition to sessfully smelt magical steel.
¡¸Professional craftsman are really somethin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I won¡¯t pretend to fully understand what it¡¯s like to be a craftsman. But I really do look up to people with such talent.¡¹
¡¸I genuinely admire his talent. ¡®specially since he built up all em skills by himself, unlike us who practically cheated our way through ¡®t.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, me too.¡¹
From Hiroshi¡¯s perspective, Kakashi was at least an intermediate level in crafting. With a little more training, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if he was to reach an advanced level. On top of that, Kakashi would have only ever worked with standard metal and steel, or at the best, bronze and silver. To think he has built up so much skill only using those sort of materials, the effort which would have gone into his craftsmanship was unimaginable. Considering Kakashi¡¯s age, the only way he could have built up that much skill is if he put in his best for every single item which he has crafted.
Hiroshi was really impressed that Kakashi has managed to reach not only intermediate level but even get close to advanced level without Making Mastery. Reaching an intermediate level in crafting without Making Mastery was something which nobody could dare to imagine.
¡¸If tis Kakashi-san, he would probably level up his skills real quick if I were to brush over some stuff ¡®bout craftin¡¯¡¹
¡¸Uh huh, I should get him to teach me crafting.¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san, I don¡¯ think ya need to practice craftin¡¯ that much¡¡¹
¡¸Well, that¡¯s true for forging and smelting but I have my own personal reasons for wanting to improve my crafting skills.¡¹
¡¸Tis so¡¡¹
In general, you can add auto-size-adjust to most things which you can craft through forging. So, for Haruna who has done Making Mastery, learning forging would only serve as a foundation knowledge. However, she thought that she should at least be able to craft her own breastte.
¡¸Haru, Haru.¡¹
¡¸What is it Mio-chan?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s around time you sing.¡¹
¡¸Oh, you¡¯re right.¡¹
Mio stepped in and requested Haruna to sing as she saw that the two of them were getting along but weren¡¯t talking anything personal. Haruna pulled out a Shamisen which they made and sung folk songs and other kinds of songs which people in cksmith and crafting industry seem to like. [1. TL Note: ¡°Shamisen¡± is ¡°Traditional Japanese instrument that looks and sound simr to Banjo¡±.] It was very Haruna-like that not a single pop song was sung.
¡¸I still can¡¯t get a grasp of Haru¡¯s range.¡¹
¡¸She did mention that she can purty much sing any song that she¡¯s ¡®t least heard o¡¯ it once.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s impressive but not impressive at the same time.¡¹
¡¸Ya lose the moment ya try to git ya head ¡¯round people like her.¡¹
As they cooked up more food, they talked about Haruna as always. Stewed pork and Tofu seemed to be popr among people in Forre as well. They also cooked up dished which they saw often around Forre like vegetables and grilled meat sandwich, and potato soup. They also tried arranging sausage which was one of themon dishes in Forre by marinating it with curry powder. All of those dishes seemed to be liked by the people of Forre as well.
¡¸Oh, by za way Mio,¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸We hava line up o¡¯ magic-powered st furnace order so I¡¯ll git ya¡¯ll to work real hard from tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
As Mio nodded firmly, she deliciously ate a piece of meatloaf which got on her face.
Volume 4 6.1
Volume 4 Chapter 6.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Just a little more¡ like this¡¡¹
As Haruna red at the de, which was glowing red, she muttered to herself as if to measure the timing. After failing to craft many knives, she finally started to get the hang of it. If this goes well, this would be the fifth de she has sessfully crafted in a row today.
¡¸Okay, now!¡¹
After observing the de intently, she decided that the de was in the right condition and quickly pulled it out of the fire and dunked it straight into the water. The de made a loud shriek as it quickly cooled down and solidified its form.
¡¸¡ I think it went well ¡¡¹
She lifted the de out of the water and checked for any significant cracks or strain that she wouldn¡¯t be able to fix it. Seeing that there were none, she gave a sigh of relief.
¡¸After this, I just have to temper the de and finish it up on the whetstone.¡¹
The two des which she tempered before was already at the cooling process. Unlike quenching, she couldn¡¯t let the de cool down quickly. So, when she finishes tempering this de, that would it for today.
¡¸I wonder if the first de would be cool enough now?¡¹
The first de she crafted has already gone through quenching and was already at the cooling process of tempering. As it has been cooling down since this morning, the tempering process should be done by now.
¡¸¡ hm, it¡¯s perfect.¡¹
Harunamented out of happiness as she inspected the finished product of her knife. As soon as she shapes the other des, that would be it for today. However, no matter how much she would hammer the de, the quality won¡¯t be any better than a cheap knife. Yet this was still an improvement for herpared to her crafting skill when she was just teleported over to this universe.
¡¸I¡¯ll give it another shot tomorrow and once I can craft knives like these without a struggle, next thing to work on would be improving the quality.¡¹
Although she has barely started her training, her skills as a cksmith was improving. Haruna enjoyed developing her cksmithing skills so much that she forgot about her original aim of wanting to get better at crafting. It was these aspects of her that she gets often told how she fits the societal concept of an ideal woman, yet it can be somewhat disappointing.
¡¸Misses, you¡¯ve gotten your skills up a lot.¡¹
The dwarf who owned the workshopmented while Haruna was checking the other de as it has cooled down enough for her to touch it with her bare hands.
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸For sure! When you first started, I couldn¡¯t bare to look at the final product no matter how much you hammered it. But with these des, if you do the finishing touch properly, you should be able to sell them.¡¹
¡¸Do you think so?¡¹
¡¸Of course, it needs a lot more work for it to reach a high-quality product but it should be just fine for everyday use.¡¹
As a professionalplimented her work, she was happy to see that her intuition wasn¡¯t too far off.
¡¸While you¡¯re at it, why don¡¯t you give those two des a finishing touch?¡¹
¡¸Can I?¡¹
¡¸You have to wait for those ones to cool down before you can take it back home, right? If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t mind you staying at the workshop until you finish those des.¡¹
The dwarf said as he pointed at thest de which was being tempered. The de was still too warm for her to handle it with her bare hands.
¡¸If you don¡¯t mind, I can give you some advice?¡¹
¡¸Are you sure?¡¹
¡¸Of course. Although I can¡¯t give precise advice like the owner of your workshop, I can exin it better than that expressionless girl whoes in every day.¡¹
The dwarf stepped in as he subtly hinted at being better than Mio. Looking at the cksmithing skill alone, there wasn¡¯t much difference between Mio and this dwarf. However, Mio does produce a better final product as she makes adjustments to the weapon with enchantments and other things. Yet aside from such arrangements, the dwarf could likely craft better equipment than Mio. Also, due to the greater age gap, it gave the dwarf some sense of pride in teaching the younger generation.
Mio isn¡¯t a bad teacher either. She¡¯s good at exining things that show clear results like medicine and alchemy. However, with cksmithing, each process is based on how it feels. Therefore, Mio found it more difficult to exin the process clearly. Also, most of the time she¡¯s not sure if she should say something or not which makes it difficult for her to give good advice.
¡¸Then, I would like to hear your advice.¡¹
¡¸Not a problem.¡¹
epting the dwarf¡¯s offer, Haruna started to give the knives a finishing touch as she received advice from the dwarf. After she gave the finishing touch to the first de, she got the basics and for the second de, she barely needed any advice.
¡¸It looks like you got the hang of it in general.¡¹
¡¸I guess?¡¹
Haruna gave an uncertain response to dwarf¡¯spliment. Although her skills have improved, she still couldn¡¯t tell what part of the de needed adjusting just by looking at it. Although she was finishing it off on the whetstone, there was no way she could craft a beautiful de on her first go. She poured ink over it, polished off any bumps and cing the de on a wooden board to check for any dents. However, even with all that work, she still couldn¡¯t craft a knife that would make a clean cut every time. She had no idea how long it would take her before she can polish off bumps and dents just by looking at the de-like Hiroshi and the dwarf.
¡¸Considering your age and that you only recently started to take cksmithing seriously, I¡¯d say you¡¯ve got more than enough skill. If anything, I think your workshop owner and that expressionless girl is not human.¡¹
¡¸hahaha¡¡¹
Haruna gave a dryugh to dwarf¡¯sment. From someone who was born in this universe, Hiroshi and Mio have practically cheated their way up. So it was a little awkward to receive suchment wholeheartedly.
Although the two cheated their way up, they still managed to level up their skill in a field where there were many dropouts even after corrections were made. Mio had a mentor, but Hiroshi built up his skill just by exchanging very little information with his acquaintances. It was admirable how far he hase considering he received almost no help. That was what Haruna, Makoto and Tatsuya who didn¡¯t take crafting seriously thought.
But that still didn¡¯t change the fact that they cheated so Haruna still felt awkward about what the dwarf said. All she could do right now was to keep checking the tip of the de.
¡¸Haruna-san, have ya finished yet?¡¹
¡¸Oh, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
As Haruna was caught up in her own thoughts, Hiroshi who finished the meeting popped into the workshop. It seems that he came to get Haruna after hearing that she was still working back at the workshop.
¡¸Are those ya work from today?¡¹
¡¸Yeah.¡¹
¡¸¡ Considerin¡¯ ya background I think their real good.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
As Haruna answered nervously, Hiroshi picked up the knife which hasn¡¯t been neatened to check the progress.
¡¸¡ If ya manage to craft five more des like this, I¡¯d say tis it for ya knife practice. Don¡¯t ya agree, old man?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, something like that. Normally, you would spend about another six months crafting knife but you¡¯re a quick learner so it might be good for you to try crafting different things.¡¹
Haruna smiled with joy as she got confirmation not only from Hiroshi but from the dwarf as well. If she was a normal girl, she wouldn¡¯t think that it was something she should be happy about. But the fact that she was honestly happy with the progress she made, made it her positive trait and a disappointing trait as well.
¡¸Anyway, that¡¯ll be it for today. Mio finished a while ago ¡®n caught up with brother ¡®n others already.¡¹
¡¸Got it,¡¹
With Hiroshi¡¯s help, they cleaned up the workshop and Haruna got all of her belongings. As she checked that all the equipment was put back in ce, she turned to the dwarf.
¡¸Thank you for helping me until sote today.¡¹
¡¸Old man, thank ya for helpin¡¯ Haruna-san.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t sweat it, it¡¯s part of my job to help motivated young people like you.¡¹
The dwarf replied, feeling somewhat bashful after being thanked by two young people. It was always nice to meet people like Haruna and Hiroshi who could interact with others regardless of race.
¡¸There¡¯ll be more meetin¡¯s ¡®n exin¡¯ to do tomorrow ¡®n tis gonna take up the whole day. So Haruna-san, ya¡¯ll be back practicin¡¯ cksmithin¡¯ again. Welp, if there was somethin¡¯ else ya wanted to do, I don¡¯ mind if ya do that instead.¡¹
¡¸No, I¡¯m starting to enjoy it so I will practice again tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded as he replied. It seems that she is slowly but surely bing a craftsman.
¡¸Welp, tis seems to be the case so please look after Haruna-san tomorrow as well.¡¹
¡¸Of course!¡¹
As Hiroshi asked while checking that all the windows and doors were locked, the dwarf replied confidently. Although she wouldn¡¯t be considered as a possible romantic interest, she was definitely good looking even from dwarf¡¯s standard. To see a girl like that working hard towards her goals, an old dwarf like himself couldn¡¯t help it but give all the support he can. He couldn¡¯t ck off when young people depended on him. He¡¯s motivation increased as he thought about it.
The dwarf was really grateful for Haruna¡¯s interest as he was getting paid to teach the younger generation. But even without the ie, he enjoyed helping young people who were working hard towards their goal. So, he didn¡¯t have any reason not to help.
¡¸Then I¡¯ll see ya tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Take care.¡¹
The dwarf did another round of check to see all the fires have been put out as he watched the two walk off; looking like any normal couple, only that they were consciously keeping 85cm gap between them. The dwarf¡¯s interest was in helping Haruna improve her cksmithing skill. But even he couldn¡¯t help it but notice Haruna¡¯s feelings towards Hiroshi. However, he could also tell that Hiroshi had a sever gynophobia and that Haruna waspromising for that.
¡¸What aplicated pair of youngsters.¡¹
The dwarf left the workshop, remembering Hiroshi and Haruna who are opposites in every way and feeling somewhat sympathetic towards Haruna.
Volume 4 6.2
Volume 4 Chapter 6.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Oh, there was something I wanted to ask you while I was practicing.¡¹
¡¸Wha was ¡®t?¡¹
¡¸Why don¡¯t we forge copper products?¡¹
¡¸Oh~ dat¡¡¹
Hearing Haruna¡¯s question, Hiroshi remembered that he got to exin that to her. Though, the reason for not forging copper product was simple.
¡¸The copper in this universe is a bit too soft ta craft weapons with ¡®n the ductility is slightly too big as well. ¡®t can be used for makin¡¯ pots but tis never used in cksmithin¡¯. The stock isn¡¯t that different from steel either.¡¹
¡¸Than what about blue copper?¡¹
¡¸Those are too hard ¡®n ¡®t doesn¡¯t really solidify even when ya hammer it so tis not fit for forgin¡¯. So tis normally forged with refinement skill.¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, Haruna couldn¡¯t help it but agree. Since the stock amount is simr to steel, using copper for equipment which is used in battles was rare. Unlike Earth, weapons are more frequently used in this universe. So, the lifespan of the weapons in this universe was much shorterpared to weapons used on Earth. So, there was no point in using a metal that was softer, expensive and not fit for forging weapons.
¡¸Well, I have another question. Above magical steel and mithril is orichalcum, adamantite, then hihiirokane, right?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t they have any wootz steel or damascus? ¡¹
¡¸In Fairclo, those sorta steels are made by mixin¡¯ magical steel with another high-quality metal. Welp, just cuz ya mixed a low-quality metal with high-quality metal, doesn¡¯t mean ya always end up with a high-quality product.¡¹
As Haruna developed her craft in cksmithing, she started to develop more questions about the field. As she asked the questions which she had on her mind, Hiroshi answered each one in the simplest way possible. It was unfortunate that Haruna has spent this short, precious time she had with Hiroshi asking such questions.
¡¸So, the one right above orichalcum is holy steel?¡¹
¡¸Nope, between em two are amion steel ¡®n gardolium.¡¹
¡¸What kind of steel are they?¡¹
¡¸Amion steel, quality-wise is like if ya mixed admantite with orichalcum, mithril or any other slightly higher-quality metal. Even though they¡¯ve got good endurance, their sticity ain¡¯t bad so when ya use it as a core iron ¡®n skin iron for craftin¡¯ a katana, ya get a katana that¡¯ll give a mighty nice slice. On top ¡®o that, they reflect off any curses ¡®n when ya use skills, ¡®t¡¯ll allow the magic to flow smoother. ¡®t also has a trait where the quality ¡®n sturdiness increases dependin¡¯ on the user¡¯s mood.¡¹
¡¸Wow¡¡¹
As expected, high-quality metal had exceptional traits associated with it. However, due to these traits, it was difficult to arrange a weapon crafted out of this metal. But that was given so Haruna didn¡¯t say anything about it.
¡¸Gardolium would be somewhere between admantite ¡®n amion steel. Tis not much different from Hihiirokane, just a bit stronger.¡¹
¡¸By the way, what kind of traits did hihiirokane have? I know that orichalcum induces constitution and it¡¯s good against curses, but the magic doesn¡¯t pass through it easily. And admatite doesn¡¯t have any special trait but it has outstanding strength and sticity, right?¡¹
¡¸Tis ¡¯bout ¡®ight. With hihiirokane, as lon¡¯ as ya smelt it, ¡®t¡¯ll automatically develop self-healin¡¯ trait. Tis a type ¡®o metal that adjusts to the user. But cuz ¡®o that, ¡®t difficult to make mixed metal with it ¡®n arrangin¡¯ isn¡¯t impossible but annoyin¡¯. Though ya can adjust hihiirokane ¡®n gardolium, they both don¡¯ reach up to holy steel. Welp, holy steel ¡®tself has the trait ¡®o adjustin¡¯ to the user so that alone makes holy steel superior.¡¹
¡¸¡ Could holy steel possibly be¡¡¹
¡¸¡¯t has all the traits which every metal in exitance has.¡¹
¡¸¡ Just as I thought ¡¡¹
It was the best of the best.
¡¸Oh, by the way, I got some ores for orichalcum¡¡¹
¡¸I think ¡®t would be difficult to smelt em with the equipment we have here. Even at Kakashi-san¡¯s ce, I don¡¯t know if we can definitely smelt em.¡¹
¡¸I thought so.¡¹
¡¸Even though orichalcum ¡®n admatite is still better, if ya see how hihiirokane are smelted, ya would be shocked. To be honest, tis somethin¡¯ I don¡¯t personally like workin¡¯ with either.¡¹
¡¸What do you mean by shocked¡¡¹
Haruna gave a weird look to Hiroshi¡¯s choice of words. Most of the method Hiroshi used for crafting was something which a normal person would be shocked by. To hear him say that she will be shocked made Haruna worry.
¡¸Welp, I guess ya¡¯ll hafta see it sooner orter. Considerin¡¯ Makoto-san¡¯s ultimate move, ¡®t might be better to learn to make a katana out ¡®o hihiirokane.¡¹
¡¸Well, if the only difference is that it¡¯s hihiirokane is not self-adjusting, then I guess it would be a better material to make katana out of.¡¹
¡¸¡¯t doesn¡¯t mean that hihiirokane doesn¡¯t have tis own limits though.¡¹
The conversation ended with that being thest thing said. With that, all the questions Haruna had on metals were answered and the same went for questions rting to cksmithing. Even if they were to talk about things that happened that day, that has mostly been talked about so there was nothing much they could talk about.
Although there was nothing to talk about, there wasn¡¯t a sense of awkwardness between them. At this point, Haruna was just happy to spend time alone with Hiroshi and Hiroshi wasn¡¯t awkward walking next to Haruna anymore. Although their feelings for each other were worlds apart, they acted like an old married couple; adding more contrast to their dynamic.
¡¸¡ by the way.¡¹
¡¸Hm? wha is it?¡¹
¡¸Oh, it¡¯s just, I remembered a conversation I had with Makoto-san a while back but Hiroshi-kun, do you still want to go back to our universe?¡¹
¡¸¡¯t so suddenly?¡¹
Haruna suddenly asked as they were about to reach their workshop. Hiroshi frowned at the blunt and sudden question.
¡¸When I thought that we¡¯re almost home, it just reminded me of that conversation I had with Makoto-san.¡¹
¡¸I see, wha did Makoto-san say?¡¹
¡¸She said she wants to clean up the mess she made back home so she wants to go back at least once.¡¹
¡¸Oh~ I see. If we go back ¡®n there¡¯s some time gap, she could do somethin¡¯ ¡®bout the incident before someone finds it.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, she was saying something like that.¡¹
Hiroshi agreed with Makoto¡¯s reason. Let¡¯s make this clear. This was very important for anyone who says they are an otaku.
¡¸I guess ¡®t would be the same for Mio as well.¡¹
¡¸Makoto-san thought so as well.¡¹
¡¸Welp, we know that brother wants to go back for sure. What ¡¯bout you Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸For me, regardless of my intention, I need to go back at least once.¡¹
¡¸Why so?¡¹
As Hiroshi expectedly asked the question, Haruna gave the same exnation she gave to Makoto.
¡¸I see when ya have outrageous rtives, ya got some problems hey?¡¹
¡¸I got used to it but I still have mixed feelings about it.¡¹
Hearing Haruna¡¯s exnation, he couldn¡¯t help it but toe to a stop at the front door and blurt out suchment. When they¡¯re rtives were all authority figures, it was more troublesome than helpful to their children.
¡¸So, what about you, Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Welp o¡¯ course, I wanna go back ¡®t least once.¡¹
¡¸Howe? Thinking about it logically, I think it would be better for both you and Mio-chan to stay in this universe.¡¹
¡¸Tis simple, I just wanna give my family ¡®n friends who were relieved ta see me readin¡¯ ero-manga a peace o¡¯ mind by tellin¡¯ em that I made a female friend.¡¹
¡¸Friend, huh¡¡¹
¡¸Welp o¡¯ course I still can¡¯t imagine maself bein¡¯ in a rtionship though.¡¹
Haruna felt conflicted after hearing the word ¡°friend¡±. Hiroshi added with a bitter smile as Haruna didn¡¯t even try to hide that inner conflict. After the events which took ce in Darl, Hiroshi stopped avoiding Haruna¡¯s feelings towards him. But that doesn¡¯t mean Hiroshi was now emotionally avable. Those were two very different things.
Haruna was aware of that. She knew how much time and effort it requires for Hiroshi to have a female friend. And she was genuinely happy that Hiroshi wanted to introduce her to his family and friend as that female friend. But greed isn¡¯t an easy emotion to manage.
¡¸I¡¯m really grateful that you think of me that way but I¡¯m just disappointed in myself for not being able to ept that title whole-heatedly¡¡¹
¡¸Nah offense but Imma not gonna say anythin¡¯ on that. I mean, no matter what I say, tis like ¡®says ya!¡¯¡¹
¡¸hahaha¡¹
Although it was said jokingly, Hiroshi gave his honest opinion on the situation to which Haruna couldn¡¯t help it butugh back.
¡¸That aside, when we go back ¡®n there¡¯s a bigger time gap then we¡¯ve imagined, ¡®n if we managed ta get back before we were teleported, I was wonderin¡¯ if we could keep some distance between us¡ ?¡¹
¡¸Do you really think I would agree to something like that?¡¹
¡¸Welp, tis really up ta the condition that we get back in. Even if we managed ta make ¡®t back home, we don¡¯ know in what shape we¡¯re gonna get back to our universe.¡¹
¡¸Oh~ ¡ okay, I get it.¡¹
Even if they get back to their original universe, there was no guarantee that they will have their memories from the time they spent in this universe. It was something which Haruna didn¡¯t want to think about but there was no way of telling if she could carry on her feeling towards Hiroshi even when they make it back to their universe.
¡¸If we still have our memories from this universe ¡®n that there was only half a day difference in time, then I wanna keep some distance between us ¡®t school. But outside school, I wanna introduce ya ta people who really helped me ¡®n my friends from middle school that I became friends with a sweet girl like yaself. Is that too much ta ask?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m still a little conflicted about needing to keep some distance while we¡¯re at school but I¡¯m happy that you think of me that way.¡¹
She gave a bright smile not being able to hold back her happiness. She was over the moon as she heard the boy she likes to refer to her as a ¡°sweet girl¡±. Haruna was friend-zoned as always but there was nothing she could say about that.
¡¸Have you two finished talking yet?¡¹
¡¸Oh, Tatsuya-san we¡¯re back.¡¹
¡¸Wee back, now if you two are done talking about your feelings, hurry up and go wash your hands. We¡¯re all hungry.¡¹
¡¸Ya ¡®ight.¡¹
If Hiroshi didn¡¯t have gynophobia and if he wasn¡¯t referring to Haruna as a friend, he was practically proposing to her. And Tatsuya heard the whole conversation, word to word. To Tatsuya¡¯s tease, Hiroshi showed no sign of embarrassment and went to wash his hands as usual. Unfortunately for Hiroshi, what he said didn¡¯t mean any more or any less than what the words say. So, there wasn¡¯t any deeper meaning to what he said.
To see Hiroshi refer to the girl that clearly have feelings towards him as a ¡°sweet girl¡±, get teased about it, and continue on with his routine so calmly was worrying in a different way. The reason why Hiroshi was so calm about the situation is that he didn¡¯t see how that could be seen as flirting and saw no reason to be embarrassed about saying how he really felt. That was the aspect which made everyone worry the most.
¡¸¡ Hey Haruna.¡¹
¡¸¡ Hm?¡¹
¡¸When he gets older and gets to an age where an expensive suit will fit him, do you think he will be an unintentionaldy¡¯s man?¡¹
¡¸¡ well, that¡¯s a long way into the future but I think so as well ¡¡¹
¡¸Good luck¡¡¹
¡¸hahahaha¡¡¹
To Tausya¡¯s sympathetic words, Haruna¡¯s feelings calmed right down and couldn¡¯t do anything but give a weak, dryugh.
Volume 4 6.3
Volume 4 Chapter 6.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Hey, Hiroshi. There¡¯s something I wanted to check with you.¡¹
¡¸Sure, wha was it?¡¹
After they finished their meal and have started to clean up, Makoto asked with a serious expression. That night, Makoto and Mio wanted to eat some sort of junk food. So, the dinner that night was bag ramen with shells that were arranged to taste like a dumpling and fried rice along with it. It was the type of meal that did not really take the calories and nutrient bnce of food into consideration. Since it was a simple dish, it didn¡¯t take them long to cook either.
¡¸Wha was it that ya wanted ta double check?¡¹
¡¸How¡¯s the talk on the new st furnace going?¡¹
¡¸Today, we got up ta part on which part of the workshop we¡¯re gonna remodel. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll start with where we shoulda start workin¡¯ on, exin the details ta people who are involved in the construction, ¡®n we shoulda start buildin¡¯ by tomorrow afternoon.¡¹
¡¸And exactly how long will it take to build one furnace?¡¹
¡¸The first one we¡¯re buildin¡¯, includin¡¯ the remodellin¡¯ shoulda take ¡®bout five days. The second one, I¡¯m only given¡¯ out the instructions so shoulda take ¡®bout ten days. The third one that we¡¯re installin¡¯, Imma not be involved in that one ¡®n only give out advice if they need any so haven¡¯t gotta clue how lon¡¯ that one¡¯ll take.¡¹
¡¸Okay, got it.¡¹
Makoto nodded, confirming the time span that Hiroshi listed out. Although they said that they will look for the main temple, their party has already used up a lot of their time on Crest Cave. If this project goes on for more than a month, they would need to revise their n from the beginning. However, it seems that there was no need to worry about their current n.
¡¸Okay, there¡¯s one more thing I wanted to check with you. During those days, is there any chance that you would be free for like¡ maybe three days?¡¹
¡¸For the first ¡®n the second st furnace, I told em that I would give em instructions until the outeryer¡¯s done so I doubt I¡¯ll haf any time but why ya ask?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s just I think we really should finish that dungeon mission.¡¹
¡¸Oh, Gotcha.¡¹
Hearing Makoto¡¯s opinion, Hiroshi nodded in agreement. He has been ignoring that mission since he didn¡¯t think they have enough equipment to go back to the dungeon. However, he did agree that they should at least defeat one of the bosses sooner orter.
¡¸¡¯n when we do, there¡¯s somethin¡¯ that I¡¯ve been troublin¡¯ over.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re gonna do that, wouldn¡¯t ¡®t be better if we dived into the dungeon ahead, collect up the ores ¡®n go back when we¡¯re better prepared?¡¹
¡¸Oh~ ¡¡¹
To Hiroshi¡¯s extreme suggestion, Makoto thought through it very seriously. They are going to go against a boss which they knew nothing about. Considering their safety, it would be better for their party to work more on their preparation before they headed off to their mission.
¡¸How long would it take for you to build the equipment?¡¹
¡¸¡¯t depends on what we¡¯re gonna make but one day should be ¡®nough to finish craftin¡¯ em all.¡¹
¡¸Do you think you can make some time to collect the ores?¡¹
¡¸For the first furnace, ¡®t would take ¡®bout two days for demolishin¡¯ ¡®n remodellin¡¯. For buildin¡¯ Imma only give out instructions for the first bit so I shoulda have ¡®nough time ta go ta the dungeon ¡®n craft up some equipment.¡¹
¡¸I see.¡¹
Makoto confirmed after hearing the approximate schedule Hiroshi gave out.
¡¸If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll help you collect the ores so can I count on you for making the equipment?¡¹
¡¸ Nah problem, if tis the case, I¡¯ll craft a katana ¡®n somethin¡¯ else as well so if ya have anythin¡¯ on ya mind, lemme know.¡¹
¡¸Let me see, the armour that I was using back in Wulls was a little too heavy so probably not those. So how about a te armour that is light and easy to move around in?¡¹
¡¸If tis the type that ya carry ¡®round with, I won¡¯t have any problem craftin¡¯ it.¡¹
¡¸Then could you craft those?¡¹
¡¸Nah problem.¡¹
Noting down Makoto¡¯s request, Hiroshi started to design an armour based around what Makoto has mentioned in his head.
¡¸Oh, by za way Makoto-san.¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸Tis a material that we might be able ta git our hands on if we¡¯re lucky. But if ¡®t looks like somethin¡¯ ya can manage, could ya go ¡®n git one?¡¹
¡¸Well, since you¡¯re asking me specifically, I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s a material from a monster but what is it?¡¹
¡¸Adracia Saurus¡¯s bone, gallstones ¡®n pancreas.¡¹
¡¸Got it, so I just have to cut its head off and bring back the rest of the body unharmed.¡¹
¡¸Ye, purty much.¡¹
Makoto gave a very casual response to Hiroshi¡¯s request. Just from that conversation, it may sound that Adracia Saurus isn¡¯t a very strong monster but that is not the case at all.
Adracia Saurus resides in a remote area of the United Nations of Midas. The creature has an overall length of around ten meters, and it is a highly agile, carnivorous dragon. As you can imagine from its size, some half-a**ed close-rangebat would note close to leaving a scratch on its scales. Contrary to its size, it has the agility and speed of a robin. So, even a decently skilled adventurer would not even dare to get any closer than a couple of hundred kilometres of this monster.
However, the only ability which Adracia Saurus possessed was speed and agility making it much weaker evenpared to a Wyvern. It was also weakerpared to Galvarencia in strength and Adracia Saurus did not possess any troublesome traits. So, for Makoto, this monster was nothing more than a goose. Since Adracia Saurus is not as resistant to oxygen circle as Wyverns are, as long as Tatsuyaes along with her, it wouldn¡¯t be that difficult for them to kill the monster without leaving any scratch on its remains. The moment this partyid its eye on this monster, it bes nothing more than a meatball.
¡¸Is Adracia Saurus¡¯s meat good?¡¹
¡¸Unlike Cerberus, tis jist manageable ta eat but tis not delicious like Wyvern.¡¹
¡¸I see, that¡¯s a shame.¡¹
¡¸But if ya give it ta Haruna-san, she should be able ta arrange it so that we can eat ¡®t somehow.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, maybe.¡¹
Makoto replied mindlessly to Hiroshi¡¯s mindless excuse. In the field of crafting, one thing Haruna was better at it than Hiroshi would be arranging food. To be honest, the amount of devotion she has for eating and the number of monsters she can cook at this pint has surpassed the level of helplessness and was nothing but impressive.
Even that Haruna was not able to arrange Cerberus and Man Eater meat to the point which was edible. Seeing that, it was safe to say that a day which the human race would be able to eat those monsters will nevere.
¡¸Oh well, I¡¯ll go and see if I can find any tomorrow. Would three be enough?¡¹
¡¸If we¡¯re just preparin¡¯ for our party, yeah, that should be ¡®nough.¡¹
¡¸Okay, oh, is there any part of the Adracia Saurus that¡¯s possible to redeem?¡¹
¡¸Think tis leather can be sold. The leather of Adracia Saurus can be skinned ¡®n made into an armour even with a novie level ¡®o sewin¡¯ but the traits ¡®o the leather¡¯s only slightly weakerpared to steel.¡¹
¡¸I see, but is it skinning or sewing?¡¹
¡¸Fur some reason tis sewin¡¯.¡¹
Hearing a surprising piece of information, Makoto gave an impressed cry in response. To be precise, all skills rting to handling sheets of leather wille with skinning skill. However, that piece of information was not very well known and even Hiroshi believed that it can only be obtained through sewing.
¡¸Either way, I¡¯ll go and look for them tomorrow so I¡¯ll take the van.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha.¡¹
Like this, Hiroshi and Makoto sorted out their ns. As expected, to the duo which would not lose against some dragon that was weak against oxygen circle, the two were back at the workshop by noon with five bodies of Adracia Saurus. Its meat was given to Haruna who thoroughly smoked each piece, then marinated them, fermented it over three days, and marinated each meat again with Miso for another three days. In the end, it ended up being meat with very rich vour and not only Hiroshi¡¯s party but even the dwarves at the Crest Cave enjoyed a filling, delicious meal out of it.
Volume 4 6.4
Volume 4 Chapter 6.4
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
Two days after they set their future ns with Makoto. Hiroshi, Haruna and Mio came back to the centre of fire ridge in Azuma workshop at Wulls. Tatsuya and Makoto had favour from the dwarves, so they stayed back at Crest Cave.
¡¸tis still bit early ta start craftin¡¯ equipment.¡¹
He stated to Haruna and Mio as heid out the ores, which they have collected from a dungeon dive they went a couple of days ago. Seeing that he was about to say something serious, Haruna and Mio waited for his next words with a serious expression.
¡¸We¡¯re gonna upgrade our current weapons anyways, but are there any other equipment ya want?¡¹
¡¸As in?¡¹
¡¸Welp, all steels hava stronger traitpared ta Wyvern leather armour but do ya wanna change ¡®t ta metal armour or do ya wanna keep the leather armour?¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s question, Haruna realised that she just assumed that they were going to upgrading all of their equipment to steel. Since there are certain aspects which they couldn¡¯tprise for just by upgrading their defense, it was natural to think through the pros and cons of upgrading their equipment seriously.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, is it difficult to craft equipment that¡¯s better than our current ones that are made of leather or some other kind of fabric?¡¹
¡¸With the fabric, we would need ta craft the spirit emperor¡¯s loom first ¡®n prepare a catalyst for it. The clothes dat I made for everyone has more defense than wyvern leather armour. But the natural decision ta make would be wearin¡¯ somethin¡¯ else on top ¡®o it.¡¹
¡¸I see, what about leather?¡¹
¡¸Even atta bare minimum, we would need some materials from Lesser Dragon. Otherwise, ¡®t would be difficult ta craft somethin¡¯ that has a good defense stat.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
Haruna agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. Lesser dragon referred to any dragon that was weak but had strong fecundity. Although they are weak, they are still dragons so even their basic attack would be equal to, or only slightly weakerpared to Galverencia. However, like their tough appearance, they do not show any sign of intelligence and attack purely based on its instinct. Even its special ability is only attributed to breath and like Wyvern, the threat level was low once you managed to bring the beast to the ground.
Therefore, lesser dragons have attributes in each species of dragon and one specific group within the oceanic dragon. Dragons that can be identified from the colour of its scales are almost always from a stronger species. However, Wyvern does not count as a lesser dragon.
¡¸Even though lesser dragons are stron¡¯, they¡¯re still a trash mob so tis an easy opponentpared ta Barold¡¯s three monsters.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, we don¡¯t have enough time to go hunt a monster like that now.¡¹
¡¸Ya ¡®ight. Also, dragons are immune ta oxygen circle so tis difficult ta obtain the leather without scratchin¡¯ it.¡¹
¡¸So there¡¯s only one option to begin with.¡¹
¡¸Nah, ya don¡¯ hafta upgrade ya equipment ta steel based. Instead, we could just remodel the wyvern leather.¡¹
Mio gave a doubtful look after hearing Hiroshi¡¯s suggestion. At least with Mio¡¯s ability, it was difficult to obtain wyvern¡¯s leather.
¡¸By remodel, I meant that we can glue on a te that¡¯s made o¡¯ either Orichalcum or Hihiitokane onto the wyvern leather armour. That should make it into somethin¡¯ tis only a bit weaker than equipment crafted from a lesser dragon¡¯s leather.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, if we upgrade the leather-based equipment using that method, wouldn¡¯t it ruin the leather?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s not a problem. Tis why the remodellin¡¯s needed. The advantage o¡¯ remodelled wyvern leather armour is that tis has all the traits o¡¯ leather-based armour. The Disadvantage is that tis not much o¡¯ an upgrade.¡¹
¡¸I see, I do need a bit more time to think about it.¡¹
Taking in the pros and cons that Hiroshi has listed out, Haruna though through her options seriously. One of her current weakness was having a weak defense while often fighting on the front lines. However, if she changes all of her equipment to steel-based, she is potentially killing herbat speed which is one of her strength and something that¡¯s needed for a couple of her trump cards. This was a decision that she needed to think through carefully.
¡¸With the ores we have, what kind of equipment can we make?¡¹
¡¸With Orichalcum, puttin¡¯ the traits aside, ¡®t can be used like every other steel ore. Admantite is heavierpared ta normal steel ¡®n ¡®t would craft up an armour that can stop some attacks. Kinda simr ta ol¡¯ man Dol¡¯s armour. Hihiirokane is only a bit heavierpared ta leather ¡®n tis purty flexible. But ¡®t takes a while until it grows. Welp, the weight o¡¯ the steels can be managed with enchant ¡®n additive. The easiness ta move ¡®round in can be changed heaps dependin¡¯ on the design o¡¯ the armour. So the only thin¡¯ ya hafta be worried ¡®bout is the steel¡¯s ability.¡¹
¡¸As in?¡¹
¡¸Welp, the easiness ta move in changes dependin¡¯ on if ya goin¡¯ for a full te or sectioned armour. That, defense, ¡®n the noise that armour would make also changes dependin¡¯ on if ya goin¡¯ for a chain mail, rin¡¯ mail or a scale mail armour.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see.¡¹
Haruna agreed with Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. The only metal-based equipment which Haruna has used before were breastte and gauntlet. However, she did remember hearing about what kind of armours hold well against certain attacks and what type of armours are weak against certain attacks. But she did not think about thefort of the armour being affected. Though, she wasn¡¯t too surprised by this information since they are changing the structure and the shape of the armour. It was only natural thatfort would be affected by this change.
¡¸It¡¯s difficult to decide on what armour I should go for just based on that information. So can I ask what kind of equipment Makoto-san and Hiroshi-kun is going for?¡¹
¡¸Makoto-san is goin¡¯ for a breast te, skirt armour, boots ¡®n gauntlet ¡®t has a metal piece with adjustable operation range in it. Mine¡¯s gonna be the same as the armour I gave ta ol¡¯ man Doul. Durin¡¯ our search, Imma gonna go for a te armour that can change between half te ¡®n full te.¡¹
¡¸I see, but if you¡¯re going to that extent, wouldn¡¯t it be better to craft a pieced armour like Makoto-san rather than crafting a breastte or a full te?¡¹
¡¸If I wore somethin¡¯ like that, the search rate would drop.¡¹
¡¸So that¡¯s your reason¡¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, Haruna blurted out suchment as she showed expression which was a mix of helplessness and admiration. It did not cross her mind until now, but Hiroshi didn¡¯t have any skills that would increase his agility. Even if the weight of the equipment didn¡¯t matter, if he wears equipment that would restrict his movement, his speed dropped as well.
¡¸Sensei, if it was sensei¡¯s strength, I don¡¯t think wearing equipment that would restrict your movement would have that much impact¡.¡¹
¡¸Agility bes important when ya wear armour with more ¡®en three pieces ta it. With movement restriction caused by an armour, even when ya have good agility, ya still need ta adjust ¡®t usin¡¯ some kinda skill. But I don¡¯ have any skills like that. So breastte is the only armour ¡®t is metal-based ¡®n have no trouble workin¡¯ at ma usual speed.¡¹
In Fairy Tale Chronicles, the rules for the equipment was that te armour is a type of armour that requires three or more pieces to cover the yer¡¯s body. Different penalties applied depending on how many tes were used and what part of the body those tes were mounted on. Those penalties could be overwritten with a skill for heavy equipment training, aka heavy march. However, it was time-consuming to obtain this skill and even when the skill was obtained, it was a very slow developing skill. Also, apart from penalties caused by heavy equipment, there were penalties caused by te armour. However, those penalties were very thin. So, even with their initial equipment, for a no-lifer who wouldn¡¯t take any damage in the field, obtaining and developing such skill was a waste of time.
As for a full te armour made of holy steel, the final product was entirely up to the craftsman and it did not get categorized as heavyweight equipment. It also didn¡¯t have any penalties of typical full te armour. That is one reason why crafting no-lifers don¡¯t tend to craft heavy armour or obtain heavy march.
Although this universe was simr to the game, the penalty of the armours was less digital. The limits in wearing armours came from the structure of the equipment, the material used and its weight. However, those limitations could be covered with the user getting used to wearing those items.
¡¸I see.¡¹
¡¸So, Mio, have ya decided what kinda upgrade ya want for ya equipment?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll go with the remodelled wyvern leather armour. Even though we can put on silencer enchant, thieves are usually not good with metal equipment and my basic defense aren¡¯t as low as Haru.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha, I¡¯ll make a te that I think would be good ¡®n put it inta the armour.¡¹
As Hiroshi finished saying the sentence, he immediately got into refining work. Haruna was still deciding on what upgrade to get but if it was Orichalcum, refining wouldn¡¯t take a long time. So, Hiroshi thought that Haruna could decide while he was working and started to get into work beforehand.
Volume 4 6.5
Volume 4 Chapter 6.5
Trantor: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸If ya really strugglin¡¯ ta decide, then there¡¯s an option that wouldn¡¯t require ya ta change ya current equipment.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸¡¯t won¡¯t be metal-based equipment anymore but I could y ¡®round with hihiirokane ¡®n turn it inta liquid metal. I just hafta put a coatin¡¯ on it ¡®n ya¡¯ll be able to manipte it however ya want.¡¹
¡¸Would the defence stat increase with equipment like that?¡¹
¡¸¡¯t would increasepared ta ya current stat. But if ya don¡¯ train the metal ¡®nough, tis difficult ta work with.¡¹
As Hiroshi brought up another ridiculous idea, Haruna gave a doubtful look. The credibility was low from the point where he mentioned ¡°training¡± so light-heartedly even though they were talking about metals.
¡¸Mio, did ya want ta change yours ta that too?¡¹
¡¸¡ Maybe Haru can manage it but I¡¯m not sure if I can manage to hold it in ce.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha, welp, I¡¯ll make one for Haruna-san just as a sample. If ya don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll melt it ¡®n use it for somethin¡¯ else.¡¹
Although they have not really talked through it, Hiroshi decided the type of equipment that he was going to craft for both Mio and Haruna. For the most part, it looked like he just wanted to craft something. Mio was worried that he was nning something ridiculous. Meanwhile, Haruna, having some Japanese aspect to her could not say no now that he has started working on it. She also did not want to sound picky when Hiroshi was crafting all of the armours for her.
¡¸Welp, let¡¯s make all the weapons first. Orichalcum-base should be good ¡®nough for both Haruna-san¡¯s rapier ¡®n Mio¡¯s dagger, ¡®ight?¡¹
¡¸Yup,¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll leave it up to you sensei.¡¹
Hearing both of their response, Hiroshi decided to do whatever he wants with the weapons. Now that he was in that mentality, he threw away allmon sense. He threw together different materials into various shapes, not only during the refining process but in forging process as well.
However, once Hiroshi was close to the finishing stage, intense sparks were flying out from his working area. At this, Haruna and Mio who is used to Hiroshi¡¯s ridiculous methods were very worried as well. But unlike when they were working with magical steel, Haruna did have some level of understanding of what Hiroshi was doing. However, Haruna was starting to understand the depth of crafting in a very questionable manner.
¡¸¡¯t should be ¡®nough for the orichalcum-based weapons. Makoto-san wasn¡¯t sure what kind o¡¯ weapon she wanted. So I¡¯ll make one outta hihiirokane as nned ¡®n another one made outta admantite just in case ¡®n get her ta try out both o¡¯ em.¡¹
As he finished crafting the weapons out of orichalcum, he instructed Haruna and Mio on other things to craft as he caught his breath. Hiroshi was also thinking about different weapons he has crafted in the past for future reference. The weapons which he has crafted (including Hiroshi¡¯s and Tatsuya¡¯s) was high enough in quality that they didn¡¯t need any adjustment or corrections. The final product of the weapon was a weapon crafted with magical steel with its abilities enhanced. However, since Hiroshi crafted it, it wouldn¡¯t surprise anyone even if he has mixed in different materials as well.
¡¸Sensei, I think hihiirokane would be enough.¡¹
¡¸But even when ya git used ta the weapon, hihiirokane takes time ta grow. I doubt ¡®t would suit the dungeon ¡®n boss battle that we need ta finish for this mission. Lookin¡¯ at the fragments o¡¯ thest Katana, if I craft it out o¡¯ admantite, ¡®t should hold it tagether for ¡®t least two rounds. ¡®n if I enhance the stats, ¡®t might even be indestructible.¡¹
As Hiroshimented on Mio¡¯s opinion, he started to graft admantite ore. The problem with Makoto¡¯s current Katana was that it would break if she used her extra skill once. So, if they craft a katana out of admantite which is known for its sturdiness, it should solve that issue. However, Katana crafted out of admantite doesn¡¯t have much growth after that. Also, unlike hihiirokane which would grow and strengthen by using extra skill, admantite would break after using it only three times. So, in that sense, Katana crafted out of admantite was a little inconvenient.
Though hihiirokane sounds like the ideal metal to use condition-wise, it was quite a character. The metal possessed many advantages and disadvantages. It was difficult to go into a battle with hihiirokane-based weapon alone if you didn¡¯t have any backup. Even though Hiroshi knew hihiirokane would be a bad bet, he wanted to craft what he could craft.
¡¸Welp, I guess I¡¯ll work on the in admantite first than work on the main sword which would be hihiirokane. But, tis not somethin¡¯ I really wanna smelt it in front o¡¯ others.¡¹
Although Hiroshi wasining, he got to work immediately. Soon, he crafted up a Katana that was somewhat different from the one made of orichalcum but a beautiful katana that would grab the attention of any high schooler. To think that this wasn¡¯t enough to bare against the strength of extra skill, that was probably the most troubling part of being able to use an extra skill.
¡¸¡¯n finally, tis the lon¡¯ awaited hihiirokane. Haruna-san, I know ya gonna be shocked but tis how this metal works.¡¹
¡¸Haru, if you¡¯re going to get into cksmithing, it¡¯s a path that you can¡¯t avoid.¡¹
After hearing Mio say that, Haruna¡¯s worry only grew. She felt as if she would regret many things after watching the forging process of hihiirokane.
¡¸Welp, here we go!!¡¹
As Hiroshi cried out, he mmed the hummer against the well-heated hihiirokane with the amount of strength which Haruna has not seen before. Then, hihiirokane changed its shape as it gave out an unearthly cry.
¡¸Wasn¡¯t that ¡®nough for ya?¡¹
Hiroshimented in an arrogant tone and mmed down the hammer again, making the entire building shriek. Again, hihiirokane changed its shape with a sharp shudder that nobody would believe it came from a metal.
¡¸Ya might be actin¡¯ mighty stubborn ta show off but ya only a metal, ¡®kay. The one who has control over ya life is me!¡¹
As Hiroshi continued to throw insults, he started to lightly m against the surface of the metal. At this point, Haruna is already set back.
¡¸Hey, Mio-chan¡¡¹
¡¸When working with Hihiirokane, you have to hurt its pride like that and make it obedient. If you forge it normally, you won¡¯t get a decent material out of it.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¹
With Mio¡¯s exnation, Haruna is even more set back. As the two were talking, Hiroshi continued to yell out insults at hihiirokane as it gave a lively shriek which was definitely not a sound an inanimate object should be able to produce.
¡¸Well, what Hiroshi-kun is saying kind of sets me back but that oddly lively noise that the metal gives out is ufortable too¡¡¹
¡¸It is what it is. It¡¯s better to give up. All the other metals in this universe are normal so don¡¯t worry.¡¹
To Mio¡¯s words, Haruna¡¯s concern towards hihiirokane grew. After a while, it started to give out sounds that sounded more metallic and with great force, the final strike was made. Immediately afterwards, Hiroshi cried out ¡¸This is ya reward!¡¹and got started on quenching. As he finished making the sword in records time, Haruna was set back again. Especially his tone when he cried out the word ¡°reward¡±.
¡¸So, tis a method that ya wouldn¡¯t want ta show it in front o¡¯ other people unless ya were demonstratin¡¯ ta ya apprentice.¡¹
When Hiroshi finished, he spoke in an exhausted tone. Although Haruna was ufortable watching the forging process, knowing Hiroshi¡¯s personality, she knew that this wasn¡¯t something he enjoyed doing. For Haruna who was used to showing a bright, enthusiastic persona up-front even when she didn¡¯t want, there was no way she didn¡¯t understand how Hiroshi felt in this situation.
However, the need to put on an act like it was some kind of role-y just to forge a metal was something she struggled to understand.
¡¸It¡¯s kind of irritating that the forging process is so messed up but the finished product of this metal is so breathtaking¡¡¹
¡¸Haru, that is how hihiirokane works.¡¹
¡¸¡ I feel like another one of mymon sense just burnt to ashes.¡¹
¡¸Haru, you¡¯re not in a position that canment onmon sense.¡¹
As Mio outright rejected Haruna¡¯s mindlesslyment, she felt even more down. However, she couldn¡¯t be feeling blue forever.
¡¸Hey, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sorry but could you change my equipment to breastte made from orichalcum.¡¹
¡¸I see, ya don¡¯ want equipment made from hihiirokane¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, after seeing that¡¡¹
She requested a change in order after losing all trust in this metal called hihiirokane. As Hiroshi epted the change with a bitter smile, he started working on equipment which was probably more important than the weapon. Not including Tatsuya and Mio¡¯s order, Hiroshi finished crafting a breastte which was made of orichalcum.
¡¸Sensei,¡¹
Volume 4 7.1
Volume 4 Chapter 7.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
About ten days after renewing equipment¡
¡¸Mako, there is a giant centipede (uncertain) behind you.¡¹
¡¸Okay¡¹
¡¸Sensei, there¡¯s a bone lizard (uncertain) approaching from the front.¡¹
¡¸Aight¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s group finally got to delving into the dungeon. There was an easy exnation to why they were sote in doing this.
¡¸¡¡Yep, seems we were right in warming up.¡¹
When they were ustomizing their equipment, Hiroshi hadn¡¯t been able to stop himself.
¡¸Is it really that different now mate?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, quite different¡¹
Hiroshi asked Makoto while mercilessly pulverizing the bone lizard (which never had any real useful ¡°materials¡± to gather), and Makoto replied while splitting the giant centipede in half with one strike as she replied seriously.
¡¸Not only is the de sharper than before, but the biggest changes are the leather and metal armors.¡¹
¡¸It was half te before wyvern leather, mate.¡¹
¡¸When did this even take ce?¡¹
Hiroshi had brought up a topic that took ce before Makoto met up with him and the others, and she questioned him with an exasperated look on her face. Though it was only a year since they had changed to wyvern leather, it had been even less time than when they had used the Fane knight half te. The team was already beginning to forget what the metal armor even felt like.
¡¸But I seem to recall that we never limated the equipment with the wyvern leather, mate.¡¹
¡¸That time, our defense increased and our weight was light, so you might even say we managed to finish everything with Tatsuya¡¯s oxide circle alone.¡¹
¡¸But it ain¡¯t like Bro took on all of it by himself, right?¡¹
¡¸Aside from a few exceptions, pretty much anyone with that half te armor hardly got hurt at all, so it was a super good idea to train them.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I gotchu¡¹
Receiving an answer he could totally rte with, Hiroshi gave a broad nod. It was true that the number of monsters they defeated at the time were many in number, but there were only a few kinds of monsters they fought who were able to pierce through half te armor and damage them, and on top of that, the wyvernser armor (and especially Hiroshi¡¯s which had max defense) were maybe evil tigers and hell hounds. But even for those two monsters, Tatsuya probably didn¡¯t even need a ss 7 potion with the armor he had on.
Needless to say, had this not been equipment created by Hiroshi, there would not have been nearly as much defense implemented.
¡¸On another note, this hihiirokane katana is quite nice.¡¹
¡¸Ya like it?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Of course, orichalchum and adamantite aren¡¯t bad at all. It¡¯s just that this katana feels right.¡¹
¡¸At present, the worst performin¡¯ one is that one, though¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s true that this katana has the lowest performing edge among the three variants, but I feel more ustomed to it having used it the most. Also, whether it be a living thing or a nonliving thing, every time I sh something it feels like the sword is alive, as if it¡¯s rejoicing over someone using it.¡¹
At Makoto¡¯s description, all the minors suddenly turned far in the other direction, clearly in an awkward situation. Clearly the training had gone well, but as a result, sadly enough, you couldn¡¯t deny that this ¡°katana¡± seemed to have acquired a strange new fetish.
¡¸Ah, right, Makoto-san¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸I think I toldja that thing grows the more ya use it. Well, just know that depending on how ya use it, the growth can go in many different directions. Looking at the equilibrium between cooldown time, auto repairing, etc, I say ya just use yer extra skill when ya find the right timing.¡¹
¡¸Got it¡¹
Listening to Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, Makoto gave a nod. In many ways it was an appealing idea, that being the katana shifting into whatever its owner desired.
¡¸On another note, it was quite unexpected to see not Haruna, but Hiroshi of all people with a breastte.¡¹
¡¸I already told Haruna-san or Mio that if I put on a half te of armor, the dungeon exploration would take a week or so longer.¡¹
¡¸Right, the whole penalty aspect¡¹
¡¸Yup. I did try ¡®n move about with full te when we were testin¡¯ the armor out, and the weight was fine, but it¡¯s supa hard ta move around, so while it¡¯s fine with battle, I best not activate it much when just movin¡¯ round. That¡¯s how it felt.¡¹
Makoto got what Hiroshi was saying. Hiroshi¡¯s position made it guaranteed that he would take on the brunt of attacks, so while it was difficult to move around, he could make up for it with his skills to a certain extent. Outss, for instance, didn¡¯t take any penalties for attracting attention, and even if attacked from behind, Cover Dive was pretty good for following up in such instances. No one was depending on him for firepower, so if Hiroshi so much as got a smash attack on them it was plenty already, and with all of those elements together, you could say that even with very dull movement, the team would manage.
But they didn¡¯t have all that many followup skills when exploring, plus acquiring and practicing all this was extremely troublesome. Even if they were to perfect this formation, with the current skills they had it was unfortunately not possible to move around that skillfully. So other than shut-in battle experts that specialized in clearing advanced ss dungeons that were constantly at their throats if they didn¡¯t constantly have full te armor on (including tanks), there really weren¡¯t that many people mastering those rted skills.
Things appeared to be the same for this world¡¯s adventurers. The only ones really doing this were knight wannabes. The majority of adventurers stuck with breast te armor, even if it was metal, and the heaviest worn was half te armor covering all the vital parts.
¡¸Oh right, Makoto-san¡¹
¡¸Yes?¡¹
¡¸I did put a water movement enchantment on yer half te just in case, but unlike mine or Haruna-san¡¯s, it don¡¯t float in water, so just remember that, kay¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I remember now, we did have a problem like that, huh. Wait, breasttes float?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s only limited to above-intermediate metal (excluding magic steel and adamantite) armor that¡¯s been lightened to an extent.¡¹
The greatest demerit to metal armor was itsck of buoyancy. Makoto recalled struggling with this several times in the game. Although not instantaneous (more like 5 seconds), she had managed to swap out armor when traversing across water to the leather sub armor. Regr swimming skills couldn¡¯t cover for the ws in metal armor, and casting only a few enchantments on water movement would just go to waste, so she really only had that choice.
However, unlike the game, this world forced you to actually swap out everything. Although certainly longer than 5 seconds, you could have a fairly easy time taking off breastte armor, but with halfte, it would be a lot more difficult, and it was incredibly difficult for one person to take off their fullte armor by themselves. With that in mind, you therefore could not equip metal armor when going to ces with a high chance of water spots, likely one of the reasons why regr adventurers evaded metal armor.
¡¸When you think of it that way, I¡¯m d we had wyvern leather back in the underground ruins.¡¹
¡¸Yuuup. Especially that third floor with its gimmick using water for a lot of the attractions.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that first pond attraction was nooot something you wanna try with metal armor.¡¹
¡¸Well, even before that, goin¡¯ to the desert with regr metal armor is nothin¡¯ but suicidal without me enchantin¡¯ it.¡¹
As soon as she brought up the ruins, Hiroshi gave Makoto a fierce rebuttal, and she just looked far into the distance. True, unless you had a high-performing heat-resistant enchantment¡nay, even an enchantment like that probably would onlyst you an hour in the desert wearing metal armor. The rays from the sun were intense enough to bake you within an hour even if you came prepared. And if, heaven forbid, you were toe into direct skin contact with the desert sun, you would immediately sustain a burn, no question about it. It¡¯s fairly easy to picture this if you think of a yground slide or metal handrail exposed to the rays of the sun.
¡¸Sorta feels like we keep getting bit in the back for all our stereotypes surrounding the fantasy world¡¡¡¹
¡¸And then ya got the clothing ¡®n armor lookin¡¯ mighty simr to the kind in fantasy books or games. Oddly makes sense.¡¹
¡¸No, I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s as simple as either of you are making it out to be¡¡¡¹
Makoto had a faraway look in her eyes as she realized how many times they had bumped into this wall of reality, or rather, physics. The struggle was truly real.
¡¸Y¡¯know, depending on how you look at it, maybe even bikini armor with all its skin exposure is actually logical over here too?¡¹
¡¸No, Mako, that¡¯s even more impossible than fullte.¡¹
¡¸And Makoto-san, you don¡¯t seriously think any woman has the guts to skulk around town with that kind of outfit, right?¡¹
Volume 4 7.2
Volume 4 Chapter 7.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Bikini armor was definitely stretching it a bit far for Mio as she immediately threw a quick retort Makoto¡¯s way and Haruna threw in her own two-sense. But this was clearly a joke and Makoto didn¡¯t take any real damage from hearing theirments.
¡¸Oh yeah, I always wonder why those kinds of bikini armor are so high defense. Is it magic?¡¹
¡¸Hm¡«?¡¡Thinking about it logically, it¡¯s probably just as Tatsuya said about having some sort of special magic on it¡¡¡¹
¡¸One vote for martial arts that make you stronger the more you strip¡¹
Mio made an unnecessary remark at Haruna¡¯s attempted answer to Tatsuya¡¯s question.
¡¸But I don¡¯t think you¡¯d need bikini armor if you get stronger the more you strip¡¡¡¹
¡¸Maybe it¡¯s abination of shyness,mon sense, and battle prowess?¡¹
¡¸So shyness is actually part of it, huh¡Wait, does such a martial art exist?¡¹
¡¸In one of those dungeon crawlers where you get inside the wall via teleportation, being fully nude actually gives you the most defense if you¡¯re one of those ninjas who lop off the heads of coin monsters or slimes with their bare hands.¡¹
Bringing up a certain game where high level ninjas could in fact lop off the head of the final boss, Mio casually brought up her personal opinion. Mio in fact knew that there were card battle adventure games in which girls could fight while stripping and gained power from abination of shyness, defense, and attack.
But Mio knew no one would understand her if she discussed products from back before they were born where you just booted up the PC with ROM and BASIC, the supply medium consisting of a floppy disk, OS being DOS, etc. Therefore she had brought up games with partial settings like that which had been recently released as new releases or remakes.
¡¸Nah, you do realize that ninja is already being misunderstood, right?¡¹
¡¸But in someic releases, it was normal for their faces to be covered and everything else naked¡¹
¡¸Eh? I¡¯m pretty sure that wasn¡¯t how it goes¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya attempted to reason why these ninjas were in fact misunderstood, all with a sour face. But misunderstandings like these that had already spread around were not going to go away so easily. Especially not interesting memes like this.
¡¸At any rate, if we¡¯re going to have anyone wear that specification of armor¡¡¡¹
Mio brought the topic slightly back, and all eyes fell on Haruna.
¡¸Eh? Why am I supposed to wear that?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯ll only be a sad sight if someone like me or Mako were to wear a bikini.¡¹
¡¸No, I mean before any of that, why is there a need to wear armor like that¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Fanservice?¡¹
¡¸What fans¡¡¡¹
She had no obligation to wear armor like that for fanservice to males, and in Hiroshi¡¯s case it would only have the opposite effect. Having understood that, Haruna would much rather die than wear armor that did nothing but embarrass her.
¡¸So Sensei, with that being said¡¹
¡¸I have no reason nor do I see any meaning in makin¡¯ it. Not gonna happen¡¹
¡¸Cheapskate¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi immediately shot down Mio¡¯s inquiry. Besides, if he could actually make something as outrageous as bikini armor, then he should also be able to make Haruna or Mio¡¯s underwear. He could technically make the basic shape and then have it auto-adjust to size, but Hiroshi had no inclination of going to all that trouble just to be met with cold gazes from the other girls. He was no masochist.
¡¸Then Haru, if you had to choose between wearing bikini armor or one of those transforming/magical girl outfits, which would you go for?¡¹
¡¸All I can see in either route is a future filled with disaster, but I¡¯d say the transforming heroine one sounds slightly better¡¡¡¹
¡¸I see¡¹
Mio seemed to be content after hearing that, and Haruna got the strange feeling she had been a bit too quick to answer there.
¡¸Ah, Mako. Unidentified snakeing from the front.¡¹
¡¸Alright¡¹
Finishing this rather bizarre conversation, the group entered into exploration mode. Whatwith the floor being close to the service, the group still had plenty of ease.
¡¸Our footsteps sound quite a bit different now, mate.¡¹
¡¸We might need to be more careful now¡¹
Passing the first poison gas region and using a variety of tools to travel on foot through the area after the tunnel (which did a 180 from the tunnel¡¯s smoother surface, now with bad footing), Hiroshi and Mio called out to everyone letting them know to be careful. Hearing the details, Haruna lightly kicked the ground to check the touch of it.
¡¸¡¡Yep, something¡¯s definitely off¡¹
¡¸It might just suddenly copse, so we gotta really watch ourselves, mate¡¹
Hiroshi mentioned this type of trap from past experience to warn the group, who all nodded and proceeded with caution. Mio, who had been tapping the ground ten feet ahead, suddenly had a rare expression of doubt on her face as she turned back.
¡¸Sensei¡¹
¡¸Find somethin¡¯ weird?¡¹
¡¸I got a real bad feeling¡¹
¡¸Lemme see?¡¹
Hiroshi took the pole from Mio and lightly tapped the ground. He might not be as sensitive to traps as Mio, but he was far more knowledgeable regarding architectural structure, geological features, etc. In a suspicious case such as this, it was best to leave things to Hiroshi, the expert.
¡¸¡¡Hey y¡¯all, there¡¯s a super ginormous cavern.¡¹
¡¸A pitfall?¡¹
¡¸Nope. Feels more like a hole that was created after underground water dried up, or maybe after some worm-like creature passed through it. It¡¯s thick enough to not copse if we walk on it, I think, but there¡¯s somethin¡¯ kinda dicey about it.¡¹
Lightly tapping the area ten feet ahead of them, Hiroshi gave Mio his conclusion. After poking around some more here and there, Hiroshi stuck a stake deep in the ground at their feet and secured it with rope.
On a sidenote, this rope was even more firm than your typical strong wires, made by twisting all the abundant amount of spirit thread that remained in storage. The length went well over a hundred meters. You¡¯d be hard-pressed to find rope or wire in the game that had specs as magnificent as this monstrosity.
Wrapping several coils of rope around his waist, Hiroshi began carefully prodding the area for inspection as soon as the sound changed. And his conclusion¡
¡¸It¡¯s too dangerous to pick fights in this area, so how bout we break it in ¡®n head right on down?¡¹
¡was this.
¡¸Is that even safe?¡¹
¡¸I dunno till we try, but it¡¯ll definitely be better than dealin¡¯ with somethin¡¯ appearing up here.¡¹
¡¸And how do we go about breaking it?¡¹
¡¸All I know is that we can rupture the center with a king-size pom, but then the other areas might burst too, so eh.¡¹
Everyone nodded with stiff faces. Apparently Hiroshi actually had enough restraint to not use the king size pom in this situation.
¡¸So what now?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll try ¡®n give it a light dig to where it don¡¯t go overboard. I think it¡¯ll b fine, but I¡¯d like y¡¯all to wait up ahead from where ya hear different sounds with yer feet, from where I have the rope. Also, ya best keep it wrapped around ya just in case.¡¹
¡¸Alright¡¹
Moving to where Hiroshi instructed, Makoto stood by on the ready. Haruna and Tatsuya moved a bit ahead of her, readying themselves to cast any assist magic if need be. Mio was in charge of perimeter security.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s-a-go!¡¹
Volume 4 7.3
Volume 4 Chapter 7.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Seeing everyone evacuate, Hiroshi carefully decided on a position that didn¡¯t appear to have a cavity in it. Standing right next to the cavity area to where he could swing the pickaxe down, Hiroshi gave a loud shout and made a precise crack in the ground. The next moment, a wide fissure opened up in the ground ahead of where he had sted the shot, and within seconds it all came crumbling down. The aftermath¡¯s effects stretched all the way to where Hiroshi had been standing, stopping only before hitting the cracked ground with the stake secured with rope.
And now that his footing waspromised, he was bound to fall down too¡
¡¸Oh, ya actually learned Falling Control too huh¡¹
¡¸I figured it would be helpful to learn it. d I can help.¡¹
Thanks to Haruna instantly activating falling regtion magic, Hiroshi was able to avoid getting trapped in the rubble, instead descending slowly on top of it.
There was always debate as to whether you activate the magic as soon as you see the people falling or not, but in the case of Fairy Tale Chronicles, this spell was nonverbal and had instant activation with no cooldown, so the moment you saw them falling and didn¡¯t panic while activating the spell, you¡¯d totally make it in time as long as the fall wasn¡¯t too short. But if the target fell at a height you couldn¡¯t intervene in, they at least wouldn¡¯t suffer fatal injuries as long as theynded properly.
¡¸And, well, turned out just as expected eh?¡¹
¡¸But if the fissures are this bad, we¡¯ll have a tough time going forward¡¹
Looking at the destruction of the passage and the space below it, Makoto couldn¡¯t stop the cold sweat from running down her shoulders. Hiroshi was 30 meters above where he fell. Sure, he had inhuman specs, but even Hiroshi could very well die from a height like that. He could still realistically survive, but buried under rubble? Not much of a chance there.
That was probably why Makoto was so scared. Without their team here, there was a high chance of everyone getting caught up in the cave in and ughtered. This dungeon had its own vor of bloodlust, different from Ortem¡¯s.
¡¸I¡¯ll go ahead down then.¡¹
¡¸Aight. Take care mate¡¹
¡¸Mm¡¹
Haruna saw grumbling as pointless so she got straight to reconvening with Hiroshi. Using a light Falling Control spell with rope around her waist as a precaution, Haruna descended safely. Then Tatsuya and Makoto followed, and Mio jumped down, projectiles in hand.
¡¸Aight, how do things look here¡¹
Looking around this floor big enough to house a neighborhood, Hiroshi asked everyone a slightly difficult question. This was no limestone cave, but there were remnants of water here and there.
¡¸Think we¡¯ll get back up ok?¡¹
¡¸Hm¡can anyone fly?¡¹
¡¸Sure, but I can¡¯t fight midair¡¹
¡¸Same here¡¹
Hiroshi asked after hearing Haruna¡¯s question, looking up at the crumbled tunnel. Tatsuya and Haruna responded with less than satisfactory answers. In other words, there was the possibility, but it was a little uncertain.
Thankfully, as the way up not only had the rope from earlier securely attached, but also a slope (though a little steep), it was clear they could climb back up. However, climbing up the opposite side with apletely perpendicr wall was looking a bit grim, especially considering the dangers of flying monsters or wall cave-ins.
Even if Haruna or Tatsuya took the risk and reached the other side of the passage, Hiroshi and the others would take too much time getting up. It wasn¡¯t a great option.
¡¸Found a monster. An unidentified nocturnal bird.¡¹
¡¸Aura Bird!¡¹
¡¸Wind Cutter!¡¹
The monster appeared right after their discussion of possible danger. Yeah, Haruna and Tatsuya did make short work of the bird immediately, but now it was very clear that the wall was not an option.
¡¸Seriously, what now y¡¯all?¡¹
¡¸How about we look for areas with thick miasma?¡¹
¡¸Ye¡¹
Hearing Tatsuya¡¯s proposal, the group decided on their next route based on the level of miasma. It was quite the wide cavern, but with plenty of side holes.
¡¸¡¡I found somethin¡¯ intrestin¡¯ earlier so is it cool if we go back real quick?¡¹
Hiroshi said suddenly as they peered into the path with the thick miasma.
¡¸Sure, but why?¡¹
¡¸Nothin¡¯ important, I just kinda feel it¡¯d be good to adjust the area with the rope so that we can climb up more like adder.¡¹
¡¸Alright. How long?¡¹
¡¸Well, somewhere around 30 minutes¡¹
Everyone heard Hiroshi¡¯s promation and decided they may as well tag along. They didn¡¯t end up using the emergency staircase that Hiroshi went to the pain of making, but it was a great decision on their part to retrieve the rope, because¡
¡¸Sensei, I hear the sound of water¡¹
¡¸I got a bad feeling. It¡¯s gonna suck walkin around, but how bout we move with the rope tied round us¡¹
¡¸Kay¡¹
Because those sounds of water they heard up ahead would lead to great catastrophe without rope.
¡¸Sensei, there¡¯s an undergroundke and river.¡¹
¡¸Usually there¡¯s a pattern here¡¡¡¹
¡¸sh flood?¡¹
¡¸Prolly. An there aint nowhere nearby we can run¡¹
Mio had a strained look on her face, and when Hiroshi made a simr expression on his face and looked closely, he recognized that the water pouring into theke was slowly increasing, their feet beginning to get a bit wet.
¡¸Everyone got the rope around ya!?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re fine!¡¹
¡¸Then hold on tight y¡¯all!Armor, Full Open!Remove Lightweight!Heavy Weight!!¡¹
Instead of stone weights, Hiroshi took out his pole axe and heavy maul, activating his fullte and releasing his lightweight state, maxing out his weight to the fullest before the sh flood ferociously flung itself at the friends.
Stretching out the spikes from his boots to the limit and piercing them into the ground firmly, Hiroshi countered the advances of the water. He already had an underwater enchantment, so breathing was no issue, but Hiroshi still had to use Around Guard to prevent the flowing gravel from hitting his friends while supporting their four bodies as they were carriedpletely into the flow, which was quiteborious.
In addition to all the skills, equipment enchantments, and weight increase, we were looking at a hundred tons of weight. Hiroshi already was 171 cm tall with that amount of weight on him, so the density was something to be reckoned with. While the sh flood was indeed powerful, it didn¡¯t seem to be capable of pushing all that weight into the flow, and Hiroshi ended up enduring a ten second long raging stream.
¡¸Is everyone ok?¡¹
¡¸At the moment yeah¡¡¡¹
¡¸Thought we were goners, but I guess we¡¯re fine¡¡¡¹
¡¸This time around, I seriously doubt that armor or metal has anything to do with it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Without Sensei We¡¯re Destroyed, Version¡¡¡¹
Confirming that everyone was (physically) safe, Hiroshi took a breath and returned the armor to breastte. Impressed that the ground didn¡¯t break underneath all that weight, Hiroshi checked the surroundings.
¡¸Seems there¡¯s more bloodlust toe for us here¡¡¡¹
¡¸Even if we survived the sh flood, it¡¯ll only mean the emergence of amphibious monsters¡¡¡¹
Grumbling at the gigantic (3 meters when crouching) crocodile right in front of them, Hiroshi and Tatsuya went straight into battle stances. The other members took off their own portions of the rope and immediately did the same.
¡¸Now then, we gotta make an alligator handbag¡¹
¡¸Or fried alligator¡¹
¡¸Uhh, if this were Australia then it¡¯d be whole roast, right?¡¹
¡¸Could you guys just try stepping away from materials and ingredients for once¡¡¡¹
And like that, the group had their usual interactions as they continued their pacing. Makoto ended up making short work with the giant croc with all her extra skill practice and Wind sh: Earth, disassembling it in the process.
Volume 4 7.4
Volume 4 Chapter 7.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Afterward, the group advanced through the dungeon going every which way before starting to think of setting up camp when Hiroshi atst found a ce where a boss might be.
¡¸Judgin¡¯ from the thickness of the miasma, I say there¡¯s a boss riiight over there.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s definitely something over there.¡¹
They turned at the end of the naturally decorated hallway until they came to a clearing 200 meters away. Due to the dim and miasma-thick environment, they needed to get closer, but there was clearly something abnormal waiting up ahead.
¡¸Now it¡¯s time to scout¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, in this case we should all go together¡¹
¡¸It isn¡¯t like we can surprise attack them, so it would be a mistake to split up. I don¡¯t think anything wille out of that area, so let¡¯s take a breather and get ready before going in.¡¹
Halting Hiroshi, who was about to check on the boss, Tatsuya and Makoto insisted they all go together. From all the ill-spirited traps they had dealt with, traveling alone could lead to yet another ¡°ident¡±. It was too uncertain.
¡¸Kay, then after we eat. Wanna munch on a frankfurt or somethin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s a good idea. What do you think, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we should eat a bit of that.¡¹
Hiroshi roasted some frankfurts on skewers until they were at a nice color, giving them to everyone. Makoto asked some questions as she took hers and nibbled on it.
¡¸First, how do you feel about the miasma here and the boss?¡¹
¡¸The miasma¡¯s above an evil ent, while the boss seems like it¡¯s not quite a tower golem.¡¹
¡¸The boss appears to be alone. A bit bigger than average, but not quite the size of a tower golem.¡¹
¡¸Not sure how I feel about it, yeah¡¹
Makoto had a rather difficult expression on her face when she heard Hiroshi and Mio¡¯s answers. The evil ent, Hiroshi had defeated solo, so it was quite difficult to get a reading on its strength, but Makoto knew for a fact that its firepower was enough to one hit ko them.
It probably was weaker than a tower golem, but it was difficult to determine how weak. Besides, there was a specific weaknes rather than an overall weakness, such as inferior in attack but equal or greater in defense. Take Hiroshi¡¯s group for instance: plenty of trump cards but slightly struggling with firepower. Maybe this boss would end up being actually tougher than a tower golem.
¡¸Well, we can¡¯t exactly use gigantic poms right here, can we¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, just imagine what would happen if we tried that in this fragile cavern¡¡¡¹
¡¸And for the same reason, Titanic Roar is out of the question. Welp, we still dunno what the conditions are, but yeah¡¹
¡¸For my Dragon Drop it depends on how I use it¡¹
¡¸My Elemental Dance is a little weird, I¡¯m not sure if I should think of it as an attack¡¹
Everyone groaned as they listed their strong attacks. Although first they needed to see their opponent, things still felt unsteady.
¡¸Oh yeah, Tatsuya-san, didn¡¯t you get Armageddon as a present from Igreos?¡¹
¡¸Sure I can use it, but not in a ce like this.¡¹
¡¸You can¡¯t narrow the range?¡¹
¡¸Not currently, no. Maybe if I practice more and get a hang of its control¡¹
Hearing Tatsuya¡¯s fairly logical answer, Haruna sighed. Of course things weren¡¯t going to be so convenient. Plus practice had to be done in a safe ce because of the sheer range.
¡¸What about Haruna¡¯s music or Tatsuya¡¯s Oxide Circle?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think it had that much of an effect on the evil ifrit at the tower¡¹
¡¸Dungeon monsters and dungeon bosses generally have oxygen loss resistance and oxygen poisoning resistance, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯d affect this boss more than maybe a poor-performing binding spell.¡¹
¡¸Sorta feels like we¡¯re cornered here¡¡¡¹
Makoto anticipated this, but she couldn¡¯t help but grimace at how blunt everyone was about it. She yanked the remaining frankfurt off the skewer and chewed it before getting a drink and contemting all of this.
¡¸So in conclusion, we gotta look at the boss first, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸If it makes ya feel better, we do got status items in storage, mate¡¹
¡¸Such as?¡¹
¡¸Full Power Potion, ss 5. Raises yer base stats by 20 fer a good hour.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto widened their eyes at ¡°20¡±. While it was true that lower levelled yers would only ¡°feel better¡± with these boosters, in Fairy Tale Chronicles, where numbers increasing brought up the value by one point, things like Hiroshi¡¯s resistance, Haruna¡¯s nimbleness, or Makoto¡¯s muscle would bring about a crazy amount of change.
¡¸Why didn¡¯t you bring those out before?¡¹
¡¸ss 5, we got the ingredients for after Forre, but before that I couldn¡¯t make nothin¡¯ but ss 7 by myself. Plus there¡¯s a small chance of potion poisoning, so the risk is too big.¡¹
¡¸I see. Yeah, it¡¯s gotta be around ss 5 or so or else it¡¯ll be difficult¡¡¡¹
¡¸Right? So whatcha wanna do?¡¹
¡¸I say we drink. Any other ideas?¡¹
¡¸We can also cut damage by thirty percent, boost attack power for ten seconds, etc. Maybe not all the extra skills at once, but there¡¯s a long cooldown time of one minute, so ya gotta use it wisely.¡¹
The expendables that the team had given a blind eye to all this time were actually quite varied. Hiroshi had only just now brought this up because the effects were too indistinct with the materials he gathered and he didn¡¯t feel like using most of them.
The items he made in the past were only at the level where they could activate once every few minutes, for five seconds at a time with five percent increase in strength, so they really wouldn¡¯t have much of an effect on the enemies they defeated so far. The same could be said for explosion damage cuts, only at 3 or 5%, the effects rather slim for anyone other than Hiroshi against near one-hit ko moves. Honestly, those types of items weren¡¯t even reassuring, let alone insurance.
¡¸For things like constant effect, I feel 5% has plenty o¡¯value¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sure, if you think of timeg with using item after item, we¡¯d want at least 2% for attack increase. In fact, I remember not using any of those kinds of items from the market.¡¹
¡¸Yeah I¡¯ll bet. Plus with the same effects it¡¯s 5%, 3%, same buffs same cooldown, so ya can¡¯t even use ¡®em in a row.¡¹
Hearing some more useless information, Makoto found herself sympathizing with Hiroshi¡¯s reasoning. Even if you handed her something like that, she¡¯d probably just find it too bothersome and not use it.
¡¸But the damage cut is fairly reassuring, so I think we can try usin¡¯ that.¡¹
¡¸Agreed¡¹
Nodding at Hiroshi, the group used the yellow orbs he gave them. When he saw this, Hiroshi then took out thest precious item.
¡¸This is my ace in the hole. It¡¯s an item that can take all the cooldown from an item or skill ya use ¡®n make itgless for thirty seconds. And when ya use it it makes all the remaining cooldown timegless, so you can activate a buncha other stuff before usin it. I was only able to make three with the ingredients I got, but you go ahead ¡®n take one, Makoto-san¡¹
¡¸¡¡I see you¡¯re back at making sturdy products. Which materials do you need?¡¹
¡¸A garbarenjia adam¡¯s apple and tower golem parts. There are substitutions fer the tower golem one, but I still ain¡¯t found ¡®em, so I can¡¯t make the orbs all that soon.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Alright. If I see that we need more Gale sh then I¡¯ll use it without hesitation.¡¹
¡¸Please do. Also, I¡¯m sure I ain¡¯t gotta repeat this, but it can¡¯t negate potion poisoning. Just remember that.¡¹
¡¸Yeah yeah, I know.¡¹
epting this rather valuable item, Makoto carefully put it into a position where she could take it out at a moment¡¯s notice. It wouldn¡¯t go so well with her stamina and whatnot, but Makoto was still grateful to be able to use her coup de gras as much as she wanted.
Volume 4 7.5
Volume 4 Chapter 7.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸That¡¯s about all the prep I can do. You good?¡¹
¡¸Yep. Let¡¯s go then¡¹
Nodding at Hiroshi, Makoto motioned to go after prepping her three katanas for takeout. When he heard that, Hiroshi stood at the front to prevent sneak attacks. Haruna began partial chanting so that she could activate healing magic if anything happened, while Tatsuya stocked a defense barrier using a new staff with newly added functions.
Fully prepared, the moment they peered into the boss room, the elder members had slight looks of despair on their faces, and the student age members¡¯ faces looked surprised.
¡¸Behemoth? Are you kidding me¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yep, it¡¯s Behemoth all right¡¡¡¹
¡¸We got ourselves a behemoth!!¡¹
¡¸All right, it¡¯s a behemoth!!¡¹
¡¸Behemoth¡¡!!¡¹
Indeed. The opponent enshrined in the boss room waiting eagerly for the arrival of the intruders was a famous big boss, possibly on the level of a dragon in notoriety, the king of the beasts that went by the name Behemoth. In the case of Fairy Tale Chronicles, its design was half bull and half bear, with other animals like dogs, cats, and boars mixed in for good bnce. It was quite the sight to behold.
Its overall height was half a tower golem¡¯s, but still a ridiculously gigantic stature to the point where that didn¡¯t even matter, and it possessed enough battle prowess to overwhelm ss 3 adventurers. Normally this would be a desperate situation, but¡
¡¸Behemoth katsudon, teriyaki, kabayaki, so many options mate¡¹
¡¸Sensei, I say we start with roast behemoth¡¹
¡¸Or behemoth stew and behemoth strogonoff. Those sound good too.¡¹
Normally this would be a fearsome foe to behold, but the only thing on the minds of Hiroshi and the teenagers was food, and nothing but food.
¡¸So, Hiro¡¡¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸Are we seriously going to eat it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mah boi, this feast is what all true warriors strive for!!¡¹
Hiroshi proimed boldly at he stared intensely at Behemoth, tightly gripping the poleaxe. The only thing in his eyes was appetite.
¡¸Plus maybe not you Bro, but Makoto-san, ya knocked down a behemoth no problem before right?¡¹
¡¸I mean, I won¡¯t say I haven¡¯t, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s just a lil big, but it¡¯s a chumppared to them tower golems, mate¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s weirdparing the two, but behemoths are NOT chumps okay!?¡¹
Cold sweat running down her shoulders, Makoto interjected desperately in response to Hiroshi¡¯s food-obsessed rambling. She was not about to go into a suicidal battle just because Hiroshi assumed it was an easy win.
¡¸It¡¯s alright, just look at the pressure and miasma in the area. We can totes deal with it mate!¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s not reassuring at all!¡¹
¡¸It ain¡¯t like I¡¯m gonna change nothin¡¯ I¡¯m doing, ¡®n then we got ss 1 potions ¡®n materials to use against that dude. If ya got time to grumble, ya got time to beat ¡®im up mate!¡¹
¡¸Ugh, fine! I get it, okay! Not like I even have a choice in the matter!¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s-a-go! Come to papa, ya big hunk o¡¯ food!!¡¹
With a battle cry, Hiroshi activated Outss at the outset of battle as per usual, exerting pressure. The intimidation emanating from Hiroshi this time around was strong enough to pummel Behemoth into outright fear, something a normal human could never evene close to aplishing. The beast apparently understood it was literally (and culinarily) about to be eaten, and that its opponent did in fact have the means to carry it out.
¡¸Behemoth is scared, guys¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ah, who frickin¡¯ cares!! We might as well just take him down and eat our fill!!¡¹
Makoto, who had already interjected so many times to where she could no longer interject, snapped at Tatsuya (who had a look of mute amazement on his face) before running to join the fray. In the end, the behemoth, frightened from the very start instead of using its special move, was forced into an upright position by Hiroshi before having its neck sliced off by three consecutive hits from Makoto¡¯s desperate but magnificent extra skill, having ultimately no chance to even show off and existing only to be eaten by everyone (and was very tasty).
¡¸Behemoth was defeated in the Crest Cave dungeon¡¡¡¹
¡¸Seriously?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
¡¸I do admit that the dungeon was still under growth and the behemothcked its original strength, but is this not a little quick?¡¡¡¹
¡¸Still, we cannot change what has transpired. Thankfully, the dungeon itself has now be fully established. We only happened to have a few strong ones go all the way in by coincidence this time around, but next time will not be so easy.¡¹
Approximately one month after Crest Cave turned into a dungeon. The dark lords had apparently not anticipated the existence of adventurers who would clear it this early on. In the first ce, even thieves would have trouble with the amount of natural-looking cave traps, and to go all the way to the end should still take you a year or so, even if you came prepared.
But then there were the traps, most of which you couldn¡¯t get through even with the proper information. In fact, because there was so little in terms of proper information, they had predicted an increase in casualties, so perhaps it was not all that bad to have the first adventurers clear it more quickly than anticipated.
¡¸Seeing as a lot of holy energy will be taken up with the regeneration of Behemoth, the amount of holy energy to divert to the dungeon at present will decrease by a substantial amount, but if wordes out about the dungeon and reckless peoplee to take on the challenge, we can undoubtedly replenish what was lost rather quickly.¡¹
¡¸Right. As long as the dungeon grows, it will be impossible to excavate ore in Crest Cave. And with that, we shall be able to shake the framework of Forre.¡¹
¡¸The only concern I have is how many times these adventurers have seeded in defeating Behemoth. Such a feat should not be possible.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Even if it is not at full strength, it is impossible to defeat it with such ease.¡¹
But as the lords of darkness continued thisparatively optimistic conversation, the adventurers in question were¡
¡¸It ain¡¯t like no one else is showin up, so how bout we wait for respawn and beat it two more times?¡¹
¡¸Umm¡you do realize we can¡¯t stay here for that long, right?¡¹
¡¸I think average respawn time fer bosses was 8 hours, so I think if we camp around at the previous clearing for a night the behemoth¡¯ll be there again¡¹
¡¸Wait, two more times? That means we¡¯ll run out of those orbs. We can¡¯t make any more, right?¡¹
¡¸Nah. Got me some gallstones from Behemoth, so if ya hunt down some garbarensias again I can make em. The tower golem pieces were only substituted after all.¡¹
If the dark lords knew that such a conversation were unfolding, they would have most certainly immediately rethought the whole process. But now¡
¡¸¡¡Not only did they ignore the return gate, they waited for Behemoth to respawn before immediately taking it down again. Remind me again of who the monsters are here¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Who would normally think to battle a boss again and again anyway¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡And to top it off, these aren¡¯t even just veteran adventurers like we thought, they¡¯re those ¡°visitors¡±¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡We definitely should have gotten rid of them right when they came to Forre¡¡¡¹
Unable toprehend the actions of these video game shut ins, a total of three behemoths were now defeated after two days at a high pace, and the dark lords were faced with no alternative but to weaken the dungeon in its entirety.
Volume 4 8.1
Volume 4 Chapter 8.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸How¡¯d it go on your side?¡¹
¡¸Everywhere we went was full. You?¡¹
¡¸No space anywhere, they said¡¹
The next day, after the dungeon run, the group ran into a problem in Forre¡¯s capital, Stiren.
¡¸It seems like all the slightly pricey inns are out of the question¡¹
¡¸At this rate, even inns without adequate levels of security or privacy are looking grim¡¹
¡¸Tatsu, Mako. I think maybe the only ones open are super expensive inns¡¹
¡¸Yeah, probably¡¹
Every inn in Stiren was packed. There was a simple reason why.
¡¸Their fighting tournaments are super crazy after all¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, they¡¯re essentially like Wulls¡¯ new years celebrations¡¡¡¹
¡¸We really shoulda listened to what that old gatekeeper dude said¡¹
After they wandered out of Crest Cave, the group ran straight into Forre¡¯s greatest event, the fighting tournament. And this year held the greatest prominence ofpetitions held every three years, the preliminaries taking a week or more. With so manypetitions being held naturallyes arge amount of spectators. And with so many peopleing from everywhere to watch, despite Stiren¡¯s reputation as one of the fewrge cities in the world, the inns still would not have enough room for everyone.
Wulls¡¯ new years celebration was the same in that every year many spectators flooded in for the event and packed the inns. Then again, as it was a two day event where everyone partied through the night, many people argued there was no need to take an inn. But unlike Wulls, there weren¡¯t any notable events at night, in which caseck of lodging was quite problematic.
¡¸And they told me there weren¡¯t any convenient inns for adventurers in any surrounding viges, msot likely.¡¹
¡¸So I guess we just settle for an expensive one at this point?¡¹
¡¸Gotta sacrifice something in this situation, so if that¡¯s the case we can¡¯tin. But is our budget fine?¡¹
¡¸We have plenty of cash, so no problem¡¹
Haruna shot down Makoto¡¯s concerns over money. In the first ce, this team didn¡¯t tend to use money on anything other than expendables or food. You could make a case that the biggest expenses were Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s liquor. When Hiroshi was stuck in making things, he would generally just go andplete requests from food vendors or the adventurer¡¯s association to save up money. During that time he would also hunt and harvest food, so they hardly had any expenses to pay on equipment, far lower than your average adventurer.
So there would be no dents in their money even if they stayed at high-end inns for a week or so. The group was raised with amoner¡¯s sense of wealth from postwar Japan where you saved money at every opportunity you got, so none of them had a single shred of interest in the celebrity life, and therefore hadn¡¯t even considered high-end hotels until this point.
This was a small group, and therefore fine in this case, but they truly were not good for the economy with how much they saved and how little they invested.
¡¸So the budget is no problem. Then the next issue is¡¡¡¹
¡¸Whether or not they¡¯d take in regr, mere ss 5 or 6 adventurers who aren¡¯t affiliated with nobility, right?¡¹
Makoto began discussing the other problem when Haruna cut around her and continued. Azuma Workshop¡¯s fame spread all the way to Crest Cave, but who knew if that same logic would work in Stiren. They were also acquainted with Fane and Darl¡¯s royal families, and although those connections might indeed get them somewhere in Forre, it was doubtful that all the owners/staff would grasp this.
There were certainly inns that were pricey and peaceful, but generally the higher you got, the more fussy they were about status. This wasn¡¯t really because they felt they were the ¡°chosen¡± people or because of stubborn pride. These inns would have nobles from other countries, and possibly even royalty staying in, so they couldn¡¯t just let in dubious figures on ount of how much they paid. That was just a social rule.
Of course, not all ces were like that, and some inns were still hung up on historical issues or prideful of their nation to where they behaved arrogantly. But for high-ss hotels or shops, they knew they were simply being given superb service and didn¡¯t turn anyone away in an arrogant manner just because they didn¡¯t meet the requirements.
The group might really end up dealing with the ¡°chosen¡± mentality even if they got let into a hotel, but it wasn¡¯t like this was going to change their ns.
¡¸Guess we just gotta give it a go?¡¹
¡¸Yep¡¹
Haruna agreed with Mio. At worst, they could simply make camp somewhere while looking for rental homes, but hotels were the best option.
¡¸So where do we start from¡¡¹
¡¸In situations like these, I say it¡¯s best to go consult the adventurer¡¯s association and ask them to show us a ce that¡¯ll take money from our ranks¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Quicker than wandering around aimlessly.¡¹
¡¸Actually, maybe we should have done that in the first ce¡¹
Everyone smiled drily at Haruna¡¯sstment. They had truly taken a thought detour for something that was only one or two days, even if thepetition was partly to me. Then again¡¡
¡¸Seems like we underestimate a lot of things¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, once every three years? That¡¯s bound to be crazy¡¡¡¹
Any high-ss inns that would let them stay with enough money were already filled in.
¡¸Guess we just brace ourselves ¡®n camp outside the gates?¡¹
One of thendmarks that symbolized Stiren, the arena. Seeing someone earlier try and set up a tent in a blind spot corner near the za only to get caught and chased off by guards, Hiroshi proposed this new n.
¡¸We might as well try just one more building.¡¹
Haruna responded with her own desperate idea. No one got a good feeling from looking at her ominous expression.
¡¸Sure, but where ya thinkin of?¡¹
¡¸You know, there was that one super high status hotel towering over the city center and a shop in the corner dealing with high ss goods¡¹
¡¸¡¡For real mate?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s gotta be room in that area, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯m sure there is, but¡¡¡¹
Haruna was talking about the highest status hotel in all of Stiren, or rather, all of Forre, ¡°Grand Forre¡±. The fee for one night was at least 30,000 doma per person, which was an abnormal pricing of 300,000 yen in Japan, but it didn¡¯t end there- for adventurers, you had to be at minimum ss 3 (the rank that allows you to have a free audience with the regional lord) or else you were out of luck.
Even Haruna herself didn¡¯t have any funny idea of trying to stay there. Still, they hade all this way, so why not check it out? Or so it seemed, but¡
¡¸How many nights will you be staying for?¡¹
¡¸Eh? We can actually stay?¡¹
¡¸Of course you may.¡¹
For some reason, they got immediate permission.
¡¸Since we¡¯re looking for a base, how about 3 days?¡¹
¡¸Yup, sounds bout right¡¹
¡¸So go ahead and make it three days, including today¡¹
¡¸Certainly.¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t have that many doma on us, but would chrone still be ok?¡¹
¡¸Yes, no problem at all. In this hotel you can exchange any currency.¡¹
Yep, first rate hotels always have great service. There were after all bigwigsing from out of the country, so there was a necessity for exchange services. Prepaid 450,000 domas equated to around 4,500 chrone, so Haruna paid with the appropriate amount.
¡¸I will begin preparations for you right away. Please wait a moment. Thank you.¡¹
Not batting an eyelid, the front receptionist counted the money and gracefully bowed before going further in the hotel.
¡¸What now? We actually managed to get a room, I can¡¯t believe it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Although it¡¯s a lil disturbing that they let us stay without even askin¡¯ where we¡¯re from.¡¹
¡¸Wait, are we going to be fine on money?¡¹
Volume 4 8.2
Volume 4 Chapter 8.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸We have about 500,000 chrones left over in pocket, so we¡¯re fine. Although staying a month in the most pricey room would be questionable¡¡¡¹
Realizing just how much money they still had on hand, Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s eyes flew wide open in surprise, which was to be expected. Near half of these dividends stemmed from their near monopoly on curry powder/miso/soy sauce as well as for the royal family¡¯s love of instant ramen, which they also received payment for. Probably best that no one in the group knew this.
¡¸When did we get so much¡¡¡¹
¡¸Not by illegal means, but I don¡¯t think you want to know.¡¹
¡¸Heck does that mean¡¡¡¹
As they continued this careless conversation in not the best location, the front desk receptionist brought along a somewhat splendid looking man out to meet them.
¡¸Thank you for your patience. You will have the manager of this hotel guide you all to your room.¡¹
¡¸Pleased to meet you, and thank you foring to Grand Forre. It is a great honor to wee all of you from Azuma Workshop, famous and rumored about far and wide..¡¹
The manager of the most highly esteemed hotel actually came all the way out, giving the group the best possible reception and causing them to freeze in astonishment.
¡¸Eh, ehm. It¡¯s we who should be thanking you for your gracious reception!¡¹
This was very out of the blue, but they couldn¡¯t just stay awestruck. Haruna did her best (though not perfect) to put on a professional greeting.
¡¸Sorry for asking such a dumb question, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸What might you like to know?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re very honored and all, but why does one as high up as yourselfe down to greet and guide normal young adults like ourselves?¡¹
¡¸How peculiar of you to say something like that. There is no one in this establishment who would be so ignorant as to belittle Azuma Workshop, recognized by the royal families of Fane and Darl for making superior products higher than even first ss as being nothing more than young people.¡¹
¡¸Whoa¡¡¡¹
Haruna just groaned at the manager¡¯s statement. It was true that both the royal families of Fane and Darl were directly stocking themselves with goods from Azuma Workshop. However, currently, this was because no one had yet figured out all the particrs with buying from Azuma Workshop, plus for Wulls they only used ingredients that anyone in Wulls could get their hands on. Besides, although Hiroshi and Mio were exceptional by this world¡¯s standards in the business, anyone else from the workshop had yet to leave the realm of normal craftsmen.
Honestly, they were being overhyped.
¡¸But I feel like we got permission even before introducin¡¯ ourselves. Are our faces all that recognizable, sir?¡¹
¡¸No. However, employees at our Grand Forre do not look down on anyone, regardless of position.¡¹
¡¸Oh? And why is that?¡¹
¡¸The equipment that all of you have. Although I am but an amateur in that field, I do know that your equipment is not the kind that any novice adventurer can carry around. Regardless of how you went about obtaining these items, we would never reject anyone who owns and looks the part, ad I certainly do not know of any employee who would behave in this manner.¡¹
The manager dered with a very earnest look on his face. Indeed, it would appear that this hotel¡¯s legacy and status was no mere decoration.
¡¸Also, those in charge immediately saw the connection between your appearances and Azuma Workshop.¡¹
¡¸But ain¡¯t there a possibility that we¡¯re only pretendin¡¯ to be them?¡¹
¡¸As I mentioned previously, you dress very well, in addition to behaving properly and asking for permission to stay the night like reasonable citizens. At that point, I can say with full conviction that I would love for such people to stay in our hotel, that they belong here. Regardless of who you actually are, it does not matter so much.¡¹
The manager said all of this with a beaming smile, and the crew was at a loss for words, exchanging nces. They hadn¡¯t done anything more significant than maybe vending food (on the surface), and yet their names had somehow spread far and wide.
¡¸Your room is right this way, everyone.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Are all the rooms this big?¡¹
¡¸You are a party of five, so I made sure that you have adequate room to yourselves.¡¹
The room they were led into was quite spacious, although not quite a suite. They really couldn¡¯t try smithing here, but at least it had more room than the rental homenear Crest Cave.
¡¸Now then, please feel free to rx and make yourselves at home.¡¹
The manager walked off, still with a beaming smile after handing the key to Haruna, the representative.
¡¸There¡¯s gotta be a limit on unexpected things, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯ll be Makoto-san¡¯s birthday in a lil bit and we¡¯ll be ttering things around after this, in which case it¡¯ll be difficult to celebrate, so how bout we throw an early party ¡®n go all out?¡¹
¡¸Mm, yeah. We already paid after all¡¹
¡¸Although I don¡¯t quite feel right about throwing around the money that we made so easily in Fane¡¡¹
¡¸Well the amount ain¡¯t that much, and we saved up quite a bit in Forre¡¹
While a bit put-off at how famous they were, the group figured they should enter the room since they already paid. And this was how a desperate situation led Haruna and the others to experience the most exquisite hotel in the country (Haruna¡¯s first experience sinceing to this world, everyone else¡¯s first experience in their life)
¡¸This is supposed to be a high ss hotel, so I expected some shy items lined up, but I guess not?¡¹
The room they were led into was fabulously spacious, but the equipment and whatnot was a bit in while taking on its own personality. As a result of this, the room was chic and rxing.
¡¸Pricey hotels do sometimes have those, but for ces that are trying to sell their status, you don¡¯t really see all that many shy items.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what it¡¯s like?¡¹
¡¸Yep. But in exchange for the in look, the ¡°in¡± items you see, such as the leg of an innocent looking chair, might in fact be worth somewhere in the hundreds of thousands.¡¹
Makoto felt her face stiffen at Haruna¡¯s exnation. Now that she had heard that, literally anything lying on the floor suddenly looked like valuable items.
¡¸¡¯N if ya look at that sofa over there, it¡¯s prolly more than the overnight stay fee that we paid. Although I think the one in our Darl room was better quality.¡¹
¡¸But that one¡¯s made of wyvern membrane, so that¡¯s not a goodparison¡¹
Tatsuya motioned to sit down until Hiroshi began an unnecessary supplemental exnation, at which he stopped moving. Mio interjected, although it wasn¡¯t much of an interjection.
¡¸Well, high ss items are the way they are cuz they don¡¯t break easily. Besides, even with some scratches here ¡®n there ya can just mend it in a covert way. Go ahead ¡®n rx mate. At worst we can just give ¡®em a behemoth leather sofa to pay for it.¡¹
Volume 4 8.3
Volume 4 Chapter 8.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Yeah, that sofa¡¯s gonna be worth way more after all¡¡¡¹
Once the idea of wyvern/behemoth products was brought up, Tatsuya and Makoto could feel their apprehension toward fancy hotels begin to disappear. Of course they still needed to take care so as to not scratch the furniture with their equipment, but any notion of holding back was immediately dropped.
¡¸¡¡Mm¡«¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡So weird. It¡¯s not bad, but why do I feel so let down¡¡¡¹
The sofa felt fine. In fact, normally you might even say it was the finest quality. Or even before that, it was their first time seeing a sofa in a hotel¡¯s guestroom, so surely it would leave an impression. But both of them had dissatisfied looks on their faces.
¡¸Tatsu, Mako. Usually you would expect this sofa to be top tierfortable, or close to it.¡¹
¡¸We probably should forget about the ones in Fane and Darl, huh. Cause wyvern and behemoth sofas are out of this world¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, Lay asked for one of them so we put it in storage¡¹
In other words, the team was currently using the royal furniture of the Fane house. Even though it was the highest grade furniture, there was no need to fear when it came to mere hotels.
¡¸Y¡¯know, I just feel really sad now¡¡¡¹
¡¸Same¡¡¡¹
Now their apprehensions toward their first expensive hotel werepletely erased, which was not a bad thing, but it was for that specific reason, which just felt kinda screwed up. You might say it was a psychological effect of traveling with Hiroshi.
¡¸Well, we¡¯re here now, so we might as well check out the room¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Seems like there are a bunch of magic tools and such¡¹
After doing just that and checking around, it turned out that the room did in fact have a lot of different things in it.
¡¸I found a bottle of expensive looking wine in this anti rotting cab¡¹
¡¸With a side dish¡¹
¡¸Can I like, just drink this?¡¹
¡¸Wait, let me examine it first¡mm, there¡¯s a memo. Says it¡¯s a wee drink. Seems like all the drinks and food in this room are included in the price for staying. I think there are non-alcoholic ones too?¡¹
¡¸Hm? Ah, you mean this. There¡¯s some grape, apple, and orange juice¡¹
¡¸Then we¡¯ll take those. I¡¯ll let Hiroshi-kun and Mio-chan knowter.¡¹
There were various drinks and small food portions in the kitchen-like area.
¡¸Oh, there¡¯s a bath. Forre ain¡¯t got a bathin¡¯ culture, so I didn¡¯t think pricey hotels would have somethin¡¯ like this.¡¹
¡¸But Sensei. It¡¯s not a very big bath. We never did use it, but the one at the Adone Hotel was bigger.¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t goparin¡¯ Fane and Forre, mate. Saunas are more normal in Forre, and they don¡¯t got a custom of heatin¡¯ up the bath every day.¡¹
On the other side of the door in the room was a bathing area whose existence was barely even there.
¡¸Yeah. Toilets seem to be super clean too. Another benefit of being at a hotel like this one.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, can¡¯t exactly call it the country¡¯s best if they ain¡¯t even doin¡¯ that.¡¹
The magic-operated flush toilet was indeed clean as could be,
¡¸What a big bed¡¹
¡¸Although they don¡¯t seem to have domes over them. Well, I don¡¯t even want those attachments anywyay¡¹
¡¸Really? I totally thought you¡¯d be into the princess style.¡¹
¡¸Nah, nah¡¡¹
The bedding fit perfectly with the spacious room, just as splendid as anything else you saw. It also was clean and neatly arranged by a professional for optimal sleepingfort. Small nods like this were what reminded you this was a high ss establishment with truly disciplined employees all around the board.
¡¸Yeah, this is the first ce I¡¯ve seen that had towels furnished with the room, so other than the size, it¡¯s identical to Japan¡¯s regr tourist hotels.¡¹
¡¸Well, from what I know, practically all fancy hotels in the world are like that. I guess it¡¯s the same way no matter what world you¡¯re in.¡¹
¡¸Even if there¡¯s a small difference in furnishment, both types are essentially the same. So if you think along those lines, that¡¯s pretty incredible, right? That¡¯s what I think.¡¹
Everyone nodded at Tatsuya. In this world, you didn¡¯t have useful tools like washing machines or even facilities that had that sort of equipment in them, so actually being able to furnish rooms with extra towels for no extra charge was pretty major. Also, when it came to high-ranking ces like these, employees were expected to have a decent amount of humanity, so it wasn¡¯t easy to hire lots of people just to run washing machines.
Of course Hiroshi¡¯s group had been in this world long enough to understand the grand scheme of things, which was precisely why they were so impressed at this hotel¡¯s services.
¡¸The only problem I can pinpoint is that the furniture we¡¯ve been using is superior in quality to everything in this room¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but don¡¯t you think that¡¯s always going to be a given? At least I think so. Right Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Why ya askin¡¯ me?¡¹
Though they felt a fresh sort of vibe sinceing into the room, the team was bound to end up preferring their own style.
¡¸So I¡¯m guessing the food¡¯s going to be along simr lines?¡¹
¡¸Hm, who knows? There were quite a bit of tasty snackeroos at some of them hotels.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, just think of the food at Wulls or Darl Castle. We¡¯re bound to have some good food.¡¹
¡¸Yeah? If you say so.¡¹
Tatsuya responded somewhat doubtfully to Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s words of reassurance. It was true that they hadn¡¯t tasted much bad food up to this point. The court food they had tasted in Wulls and Darl was most certainly what you would call delicious. However, Tatsuya didn¡¯t think he should expect anything worthy of true ¡°deliciousness¡± in this hotel, even if it was good.
After all, thanks to Hiroshi and Haruna, the group was also ustomed to good food. The highest quality of food had to be at least greater than wyvern cuisine. Considering how they had not even once eaten cooking of that caliber in hotels or pces, he didn¡¯t think he could expect that high of a caliber of cuisine, even from a hotel restaurant in Forre.
¡¸Y¡¯know, I kinda¡¡¹
¡¸What, Mako?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m super grateful, and I know I have no right toin, but I kinda feel like Hiroshi and Haruna have made our adventure half the fun it should be.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re asking too much, Mako.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, yeah, I know.¡¹
Mio pointed out the w in what Makoto was saying, to which she admitted it. Of course Makoto was grateful for Hiroshi and Haruna, but thanks to their meddling, none of the hard work the hotels put into anything was as fun as it should be. Also, the students of the group didn¡¯t seem to like the thought of not having to cook. Other than trying local foods, traveling would no longer bring as much excitement as before.
Volume 4 8.4
Volume 4 Chapter 8.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Well, we just have to wait and see what¡¯s happening with food. It¡¯s already a separate purchase, and there¡¯s also the dress code, so it might end up being room service.¡¹
¡¸Ah, right. I doubt our belongings will be professional enough.¡¹
Makoto nodded thoughtfully in her simple spirit thread clothing after taking off equipment. Most adventurers couldn¡¯t deal with dress codes.
Since the food was separately priced, it could be eaten outside, but it just felt wrong to eat outside after being guided all the way to their rooms by the manager, plus they were curious what high ss Forre food was like.
¡¸Such a drag to hafta deal with all this fancy standard garbage¡¡¡¹
¡¸This will only just increase, so may as well adjust to it¡¹
Haruna scolded Hiroshi for grumbling about the situation. The group didn¡¯t want to move for a while, so in the meantime they just rxed with the drinks.
The group actually made it into the main dining area without a hitch.
¡¸¡¯N somehow we got in¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi grumbled softly as he felt the atmosphere swallow him up. The adventurers¡¯ clothing, while on the safe side, blended into the stylistic room without sticking out.
¡¸I think it¡¯s because of the spirit thread clothing¡¹
¡¸Prolly yeah. Even if all we¡¯re wearin¡¯ are blouses ¡®n cutter shirts, the materials¡¯re worth more than silk by a good amount. I ain¡¯t look too good in it though¡¹
At thatst statement, everyone grimaced. It wasn¡¯t that Hiroshi literally did not look good in the clothing. Maybe because of all the battles they had been through, or maybe because they were wearing this clothing on a regr basis, Hiroshi had managed to pull off this simple but refined design without making a fool of himself.
Although Hiroshi had his misgivings, at least he wasn¡¯t rejected for beingme. Now, maybe have him wear something trending in a fashion magazine and then he would, as usual, look reallyme.
¡¸But I wonder what kind of food high ss Forre cooking will have?¡¹
¡¸Can¡¯t wait¡¹
Changing the topic, Haruna and Mio began discussing the food. Haruna because of her cooking skills, Mio because of her gluttony, but both of them were looking forward to a full course of fancy Forre cuisine.
¡¸I only just realized this right now, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸What is it, Tatsuya-san?¡¹
¡¸This is our first time paying for high ss food in this world, right?¡¹
¡¸Ah, you¡¯re right,e to think of it¡¹
The group had the opportunity several times before this, but all those asions were invites. They had technically brought along gifts, so the meals weren¡¯t totally free persay, but this was their first time eating with their own coin.
¡¸Well, the food we ate at the Adone hotel was like a reward for our work, so you might call that paying with our own dime too.¡¹
¡¸Maybe it¡¯s better not to dwell so much on how much free stuff we have, eh?¡¹
¡¸Yup yup¡¹
And as they were having a leisurely conversation (tensions lowered?) the aperitifs were brought before them. The type of drink and tendency, taste, etc, greatly differed, but it appeared that the full course meals in the three great western kingdoms had the same sort of basic form. The regions differed in what came after the aperitifs, such as soup or sd first, but in Forre, just like the other ces, next came fish and meat-based cuisine.
And for the minors in the group, the sparkling beverages of that particr day were brought with the meal. The taste was subdued but with a luxurious sort of taste, so calling it ¡°juice¡± felt weird.
¡¸Mm, then let¡¯s have a toast for making it out of Crest Cave safely and for Makoto¡¯s early birthday celebration.¡¹
¡¸Cheers¡¹
This was a great opportunity to raise sses and have a toast. But unlike in Japan, you did not sh the sses together; just a light, refined raise.
¡¸Ah, this drink¡¯s really good. What is it though?¡¹
¡¸Good question, cuz it¡¯s just called ¡°Today¡¯s Beverage¡±. Let¡¯s askter¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I never drank something like this before so I¡¯m itching to replicate it after someone tells me the ingredients and recipe.¡¹
After taking a mouthful, Haruna and Hiroshi let out excited voices at the mysterious vor and immediately gained an interest in the ingredients/recipe. One of them from a cooking standpoint, the other from a crafting standpoint, butpletely the same.
¡¸The wine in the room was good, and now we have some more good quality here. I never thought I¡¯d taste such amazing quality liquor in Forre.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cause dwarf liquor is usually drunk inrge quantities and well, to be blunt, isn¡¯t very dignified or elegant¡¡¡¹
The elder members spoke in low but bewildered voices at how sophisticated and refreshing the taste of the aperitifs were. They had assumed that something more rustic would be brought out, so for better or for worse, this was very surprising.
¡¸I don¡¯t mean to badmouth Forre, but maybe because of all the dwarves, I never thought there¡¯d be any liquor that fits the image of ¡°upper ss¡± or ¡°refined¡±.¡¹
¡¸All the visitors whoe here say the same thing, do not worry.¡¹
The attendant inserted themselves into the conversation, all the while with a beaming smile. Despite lowering her voice so as to not let anyone outside the table hear, the attendant had apparently overheard that statement just as they were approaching the table to serve the hors d¡¯oeuvres. No one had even heard them approach the table because of their movement.
¡¸Ah, s-sorry.¡¹
¡¸No, no. It¡¯s very true that Forre is, as a whole, is unaffected and sincere, with fortitude and vigor, to say the best. To say the worst, the country doesn¡¯t tend to care about its image, so it¡¯s normal for visitors from all over to feel that way. In fact, the establishments and their food that resemble ours are a very small minority in Forre, with the main priority ced on the downtown food being of enough quantity to feed the royal family, followed by taste and then charmst.¡¹
The attendant didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the badmouthing. As theyid out the splendid proportions of hors d¡¯oeuvres consisting of Forre¡¯s traditional vegetables (cabbage, potato, and leafy greens resembling legeck, a daikon leaf), they did not boast nor look down on their country as they spoke cheerfully about it.
¡¸I personally like the mentality of not oveplicating the little things and piling food on your te. That has a charm of its own. The food¡¯s always good, and everyone can live it up while eating, which is a good aspect of setting out food in a rough manner. Although of course if you enjoy eating food in a rxing environment, this is the best hands down.¡¹
¡¸I agree. In smaller groups like this, I enjoy being in this sort of eating environment, but with lots of people getting excited over something while eating, I say regr Forre food is the best. The situations that call for them are different. It¡¯s not like either food is superior to the other. Ah, and of course I think the food right here is also tasty and lovely to look at!¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹
Smiling happily at Makoto¡¯s follow-up with all of her excuses, the attendant gave her a bow of the head before going back to get the next dish. After seeing the attendant go off in that direction, Haruna realized she had forgotten to ask something.
¡¸Oh no¡¡¹
Volume 4 8.5
Volume 4 Chapter 8.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸What¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸I forgot to inquire about the drink¡¹
Tatsuya just had an exasperated look on his face. Yep, that was Haruna, always thinking about cooking. Seeing this as an opportunity, Mio, who had been silently eating her hors d¡¯oeuvre, opened her mouth.
¡¸Hey, Haru¡¹
¡¸Yes?¡¹
¡¸I want more to drink. Is that cool?¡¹
Mio seemed to be concerned about the price of extra drinks, with this being a fancy restaurant and all. Tatsuya and Makoto were beyond exasperated; they had grimaces on their faces. Up till now they had dealt with supply and refills on their own, so Mio appeared to not realize how rich they were in the eyes of society and that using a little money would not be an issue.
So she was basically a very frugal person.
¡¸Well I also wanted a refill, so yeah, let¡¯s ask. Hiroshi-kun, what about you?¡¹
¡¸Yup yup. I¡¯ll git another in my ss¡¹
At this point, everyone had decided on adding more drinks, so they figured they may as well ask for wine/soft drink bottles. There weren¡¯t a whole lot of people in Hiroshi¡¯s core group, plus as long as Makoto was around there would never be any excess liquor. Of course, seeing as they were also using her birthday as a pretext for the celebrating, there was no way there would simply be ¡°one¡± bottle of liquor Makoto took back.
Also, the soft drinks used in ce of the aperitifs happened to be traditional high ss beverages known as ¡°dorutzen¡±, truly delicious and costing more than double a drink of cheap sake.
¡¸I see. So you get the fruit ¡°dorufett¡±, squeeze it, mix it in with ¡°garen¡± herb juice so as to not let it ferment into alcohol, and then mature it until it foams up. Is it easy to get our hands on some?¡¹
¡¸Yes. However, you need the highest quality of dorufett, or else it will taste odd and the acidity of the garen will emerge and the resulting dorutzen won¡¯t be very tasty.¡¹
¡¸Guess we need to ask around about how to know which dorufett is the best option¡¹
¡¸In that case, I am sure that the chefs at this establishment would be more than happy to help.¡¹
¡¸Okay, thank you¡¹
Asking what she needed to when ordering, Haruna happily brought some new sd to her mouth. Although there was a tendency in Forre to eat mainly cabbage and regex for leafy green vegetables, this particr sd contained also lettuce as well as an unfamiliar leafy green, probably taken from a monster. Haruna wrote in the memopad of her mind to remember to check that informationter before levelling out the polished soup and fish cuisine (worthy to be called one of Forre¡¯s traditional meals) in front of her.
¡¸¡¡What a great fancy hotel. The thought didn¡¯t cross my mind that we¡¯d see new monster meat emerge in the food.¡¹
¡¸Yeah? I totally thought we ate all this at least once on the other side of the world, but maybe I¡¯m trippin¡¯¡¡¡¹
Haruna and Hiroshi spoke to one another in an impressed manner after finishing the meat courses and waiting for the dessert. The ingredients used in question were likely the minimum exquisite kind that regr cooks could use, such as troll birds or rock worms, but who knew what kinds were in this meal. Perhaps they were eating animals that didn¡¯t previously exist in the game, such as poms.
¡¸Yep, we need to ask the chef about this too.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna, who neverpromised on food, were once again ready to go at it. While a bit exasperated at their mannerisms, Tatsuya and the other two also found themselves hoping just a bit for new foods being added to their repertoire.
¡¸The dessert is lovely too¡¹
While mentioning her thoughts on the newly arrived dessert, Mio showed no mercy when eating. She had already eaten plenty of bread since that was a free refill, but her appetite had yet to fade away. Makoto was the same way with liquor, but with Mio you never knew where in that stomach of hers she was storing all that food. Thankfully, it was only her chest that had some thickness, and not her stomach. So where, if not her stature, chest, or stomach? The world may never know where those calories have gone.
¡¸This was definitely the best food I had from any of the hotels.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it was as good as the time I had it in the pces of Fane or Darl¡¹
As they savored the regional tea, Tatsuya and Makoto remarked on how they would give the food here full marks as the best they had eaten (other than Hiroshi/Haruna¡¯s cooking). The reason why their reviews were slightly dicey was because of all the special meat like wyvern, garbarensia, behemoth meat, etc.
¡¸The ce¡¯s got that super fancy vibe, so I worried we¡¯d stick out like a sore thumb, but thanks to Haruna-san we got through a-ok.¡¹
¡¸You think?¡¹
Haruna asked, puzzled, in response to Hiroshi while everyone else nodded at the same time. Despite having no prior experience to this, everyone had imitated the way Haruna and the royals like Layotte ate their food, and had ended up looking the part when eating here. So even if they weren¡¯t as high ss in their table manners as the other guests here, Hiroshi¡¯s group was certainly distinguished enough not to bebelled as ¡°savage¡± or ¡°crude¡±.
¡¸Anyhow, you still want to ask the head chef a lot of things, right? How about we get on with the check and head over there?¡¹
¡¸Right on¡¹
Following Makoto¡¯s advice, Haruna, followed by Hiroshi and Mio, headed straight over to the kitchen. Hitting it off with the head chef and learning as much about the region¡¯s food as they could, they then taught the head chef in return some recipes for condiments and cooking methods before ending the exchange, both parties beaming happily.
And then, three dayster.
¡¸You sure like to set up things in spacious areas.¡¹
¡¸There just so happened to be a cheap ce open with a foundry attached to it, so I figured there wouldn¡¯t be an issue if we put the teleportation circle in here for Stiren.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢there¡¯s always the possibility after all¡¡¡¹
The group was now at the new workshop/residence base Haruna had found.
¡¸And we left the temporary base at Crest Cave as it was, if I recall¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we got that as a reward, so we can use it as a warp point whenever.¡¹
¡¸Got it, got it¡¹
The technical fee for Hiroshi teaching people how to make the new smelting forge variant and the cost of three prototypes. One portion of that, the group negotiated be transferred in for the provisional bade near Crest Cave. The reason was simple: because it was convenient. Other than that, the group was also able to arrange that they show the ID of their workshop to get free excavation in the dungeon, and then the remaining part of the reward was simply pocket money. They had after all received many things, and as the remaining portion was only 500,000 doma, they had instead paid with chrone currency for their lodging at the hotel to save their domas.
¡¸Yup, this kinda environment calms me down the most.¡¹
Mio, who had gotten right to setting up the behemoth leather sofa in the living room, muttered as she stretchednguidly on the sofa. Her face only appeared expressionless, but it was clearly softer.
¡¸But it¡¯s all fine ¡®n dandy to take on first rate hotels once in a while, y¡¯know.¡¹
¡¸I thought it was super well taken care of, given the standards in this world. Did you find it ufortable?¡¹
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢how should I put it¡¢the rooms¡¯re fine but all that excess space had this exquisite vibe like the pce back at Fane, etc, just felt kinda off to me¡¹
¡¸Oh, I get you¡¹
Haruna knew exactly what Hiroshi meant. As she had many the opportunity due to family matters to go to first rate hotels, restaurants, etc, she was ustomed to that sort of environment. But being ustomed to something is not the same as beingfortable with something, and Haruna still felt that the environment she liked the most was, just like it was for Hiroshi and the others, in themon sort of living arrangement.
Then again, if she were toe out and say that, even Haruna¡¯s parents (supposed celebs) would agree that they loved the typical neighborhood lifestyle.
¡¸Let¡¯s go ahead and divide up the rooms and bring out the beds.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup. Imma be smithin¡¯ ¡®n whatnot, as y¡¯all know, so I¡¯m good with the first floor.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, then same for me.¡¹
And with all that, having determined the partitioning in a split second, Hiroshi and friends set out the various furniture that engulfed even the finest of hotel furniture inparison, creating an at-home but somewhat regal environment in the blink of an eye.
Volume 4 9.1
Volume 4 Chapter 9.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I hear that they arrived here in Stiren yesterday. How are things going right now?¡¹
¡¸Yes sir, they have been here since four days ago. Until yesterday they were staying at the Grand Forre, and then subsequently moved to their new workshop rental base on the outskirts of town.¡¹
¡¸Hm¡¡¡¹
The king¡¯s office in Stiren Castle. After just about finishing his work for the day, the king asked the prime minister, who answered without pause.
¡¸I see, so they were able to stay at Grand Forre. Perhaps they really are bigshots.¡¹
¡¸Yes, it would appear thus.¡¹
¡¸And after that?¡¹
¡¸They are not currently doing anything of importance.¡¹
The king slightly furrowed his brow at that. They had done so splendidly in Crest Cave, so it just sounded in fishy and diforting to hear they were doing nothing.
¡¸Really? They did not even get involved in the martial arts tournament?¡¹
¡¸After they found their base, the group just did a few things and now they¡¯re doing nothing.¡¹
The king asked a followup, to which the minister dered confidently there was nothing going on. Just as he had said, the team was truly doing nothing of note other than getting excited about the tournament underway.
¡¸I see. So they are not doing anything suspicious.¡¹
¡¸It depends on what you deem to be suspicious, but right now they are not currently defying thew or doing anything that would appear to be uncouth. Then again, they haven¡¯t done anything particrly noteworthy outside of Crest Cave, so I think perhaps we do not have much of a pretext to interfere other than that.¡¹
¡¸Hm. Then it seems that we should observe for a bit.¡¹
Hearing that Hiroshi¡¯s group was behaving, the king figured that was that. In regards to Aragod Mine and Crest Cave by extension as well as from what he heard from Fane/Darl consultants, Hiroshi¡¯s group was not the type to spearhead their own ambitions at the expense of others. Although he knew this to be true, the king had not actually seen them directly and they appeared to overesteem their own abilities, so he could not lower his guard.
¡¸Ah, yes. What kind of situation is Crest Cave currently in?¡¹
¡¸The third furnace and fourth furnace, I have heard are operating smoothly. It isn¡¯t quite enough to make up for how much steel production has fallen, but once the fifth and so on arepleted in an orderly manner, we anticipate within three years that we will be able to switchpletely from steel to magic steel manufacturing.¡¹
¡¸Hm¡¡¡¹
The manufacturing rate of magic steel products seemed to have been going up steadily. Arge part of this was due to dwarves possessing the ability to refine magic steel with the right amount of mana, plus there were a lot of them. As a result, as long as they solved theck of mana then it wouldn¡¯t be hard to upgrade crafting.
¡¸Oh yeah, on that note, I heard that the trash did something unnecessary. Any new developments?¡¹
¡¸Yes. We have already identified and apprehended the one who gave him the official documents. They appear to be attempting to talk their way out of this, but doubtless will be confessing to their crime by the tournament.¡¹
¡¸I see. So what kind of person is this that they almost had everything taken away from them on false charges?¡¹
¡¸I hear they are among the top five craftsmen of Crest Cave, capable of making simple finished goods. Unfortunately, their mana as a dwarf is exceptionally low, so despite having amazing skill, they don¡¯t appear to be capable of refining or processing magic steel ore, but since they were provided with a new furnace in the name of experimentation, I hear they are creating never-before seen quality in magic steel products.¡¹
¡¸All right then¡¡¡¹
At that point, the Forre king seemed to catch on to the mechanism of the incident, a mixture of anger and exasperation on his face.
¡¸Regardless of the reason, I think that someone has been underestimating me, Gouto, by working such injustice in my country with all of these craftsmen and expecting to get away with it. Do you not agree?¡¹
¡¸Most certainly.¡¹
Sensing immediately what the king wanted, the minister deeply bowed his head before anything was even said. Of course, the king¡¯s anger was shared with the minister, or in fact, shared with everyone involved. The problem was far more than being stupid. Whoever this was did harm to upright, skilled craftsmen despite being in a position to send out official documents and without considering the consequences.
¡¸Now then, there is only so much time remaining until the deadline for the tournament. Ensure that you continue monitoring those adventurers to see what actions they will take.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
After making a detour in their conversation to discuss taking out the ¡°trash¡±, the Forre king returned to the original point at hand. The higher ups could do nothing but wait a bit longer for Hiroshi and friends to make a real move in Stiren.
¡¸The deadline for the tournament is tomorrow. What will we do?¡¹
¡¸I ain¡¯t got a reason to participate, mate¡¹
One week after arriving in Stiren. Not realizing they were being monitored by the Forre king, the group had finally gotten around to discussing their future course of n concerning the tournament. But since Hiroshi immediately cut down the suggestion, the group had no reason to participate in such a shy event , especially not being actual martial artists themselves.
¡¸Or does one of ya wanna get in?¡¹
¡¸Pass¡¹
¡¸Me neither, I guess?¡¹
¡¸I pass too¡¹
All the girls immediately refused Hiroshi¡¯s question. One on onebat was more of a drag than anything else, plus the prizes weren¡¯t anything particrly appealing. Even without prize money, there were plenty of ways to rack up money, so they would much rather pass on fighting with opponents who could very well kill them, or, if they killed the opponent in the process someone might hold a grudge on them, etc.
Then again, Stiren¡¯s tournament arena did have life protective functions built in that nullified attacks that went beyond a certain amount of damage (as long as the attacks weren¡¯t extra skills like Titanic Roar or Gale sh that busted through defense), meaning that the receiver of the attack would only be rendered unfit to battle. Therefore, normal matches would never bring about casualties.
¡¸Bro, if ya wanna go at it we ain¡¯t stoppin¡¯ ya.¡¹
¡¸You think I actually want to?¡¹
¡¸Nope¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what I thought. Plus in 8 or 9 cases out of 10 I would win by holding back using oxide circle at the outset of the battle. That¡¯s no fun at all, my guy.¡¹
Hiroshi and the others found themselves agreeing with Tatsuya. Oxide Circle was naturally good against regr people, and even though the time it took to take them down via oxygen deprivation couldn¡¯t be changed, it was extremely easy to hold back enough to render thematose without leaving any after-effects.
¡¸But you know, it¡¯s such a convenient spell and yet I never actually heard about Oxide Circle until I saw you using it.¡¹
¡¸You can¡¯t use it until proficiency of 75 or above, plus it doesn¡¯t have much of an effect on dungeon monsters or behemoth-ss field bosses. It¡¯s honestly not too surprising why those on the front lines going through dungeons don¡¯t use it.¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay, so it¡¯s one of those technicalities.¡¹
Volume 4 9.2
Volume 4 Chapter 9.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Makoto now understood why no one around her had used such beneficial magic before after hearing Tatsuya¡¯s exnation. If such a spell didn¡¯t work on dungeon monsters, obviously no one would use it in dungeons. Maybe someone she knew could use it effectively, but it had been nearly a year since she tried field hunting and got sted off here. That was also a boss hunt, so there was still a high probability no one would have the opportunity to use it.
Digressing, once you learned Oxide Circle, you would find that the spell only had enough range to block off the mouth and nose of rabbits near Wulls and only enough time to possibly suffocate them. Also, the spell didn¡¯t affect the body so it had no binding capabilities. You instead had to either have someone restrain the target or use a binding skill or spell of your own and then suffocate the target. Repeat the process thousands of times and your proficiency would go up by one. This was the reason why Oxide Circle was stuck as one of the minor spells.
¡¸Well, we diverged a bit there, but I assume none of us are participating then?¡¹
¡¸Nope. We don¡¯t even got a reason to, do we?¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. Then we don¡¯t do anything in rtion to the tournament, yes?¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s mannerisms were a bit dodgy when Tatsuya confirmed this, and Tatsuya did not let that slip by his observant gaze, ring at Hiroshi.
¡¸You¡¯re nning something sinister again, aren¡¯t you?¡¹
¡¸Sinister, more like a prank really¡¹
¡¸What in the world would that be?¡¹
Tatsuya questioned Hiroshi, whose gaze wavered midair as he attempted to exin. While it was truly worthless, Hiroshi figured it would affect many things if implemented properly, so he had to express it in a way to where he wouldn¡¯t get shot down.
¡¸Well, I¡¯m still formting it, but there¡¯s two things I wanna do¡¹
¡¸Oh? Such as?¡¹
¡¸First off, this is a good opportunity to get ahold of the practice weapons Haruna-san made and tweak ¡®em to where we sell ¡®em at a street stall. And I do got the permission from the guild.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, it¡¯s not like we have practical uses for them, so might as well sell as many as we can. What¡¯s the other thing?¡¹
While a bit taken aback at how wholesome, or normal, the request was, Tatsuyamented while keeping his guard up. This was Hiroshi they were talking about; who knew what he was thinking this time. Seeing as the other members were also somewhat on guard, you could tell no one trusted Hiroshi on even a matter as seemingly simple as this.
¡¸The other thing is also rted to takin¡¯ care of the tweaked weapons Haruna-san made.¡¹
¡¸If that¡¯s the goal in mind, I don¡¯t think you need to try anything else¡¡¡¹
¡¸But just sellin¡¯ that stuff ain¡¯t no fun at all¡¹
Sure, Haruna¡¯s creations were nothing great, but she still couldn¡¯t bear the thought of someone messing around with them, so she scolded Hiroshi with her own objection, to which Hiroshi responded with the gut of only the most talented entertainer tobat her objection. Seeing this version of Hiroshi behave all jittery only made everyone feel more at unease.
¡¸¡¯N so, for the other thing I wanted to tackle¡¡¡¹
Leaning forward, Tatsuya and the others just waited with nervousness and unease for Hiroshi to continue with his rather grandiose-sounding n.
¡¸Don¡¯tcha think it¡¯d be fun if some nobody won the tourney with the power of equipment?¡¹
¡¸Heck no! That¡¯s going overboard and you know it!!¡¹
As expected, Hiroshi was always up to no good.
¡¸Periodic message, periodic message¡¹
Rainy contacted Layotte, while feeling relieved inwardly that her weight had not gone up this week.
¡ºAnything different as of yet?¡»
¡¸Several matters to report. The first is that Deary and his friends went to Stiren.¡¹
¡ºHm, took them long enough¡»
As he inwardly remarked on how long it had taken, Layotte gestured for her to continue.
¡ºAnd how were they doing?¡»
¡¸Same as always, for the most part. They don¡¯t seem to be operating a stall this time.¡¹
¡ºI did think they might skip out on the tournament, but they¡¯re not even going to sell, huh¡¡¡»
¡¸Yeah. They moved their base yesterday and didn¡¯t do any adventuring like searching for bases or running off ces while they were in that hotel.¡¹
As he heard the periodic report from Rainy, Layotte furrowed his brow at this first part. He could feel something was wrong.
¡ºIs Hiroshi outside?¡»
¡¸Deary¡¯s been inside since he started using the workshop.¡¹
¡ºI really do not get a good feeling about this¡¡¡»
Nine times out of ten, Hiroshi being a shut-in never led to anything good. No, it never resulted in huge casualties, but it frequently screwed up the expectations of both friend and foe.
¡ºAnd what are the others doing?¡»
¡¸Haruna and Mio are doing something with Deary. Tatsuya and Makoto seem to be doing odd jobs and hunting monsters.¡¹
¡ºHm¡¡¡»
This was truly suspicious. Preconceptions were never good, but Layotte could not see anything gooding from this.
¡º¡¡Well, even if they¡¯re up to no good, the only ones who will have to keep up with their shenanigans are the country they¡¯re in and the evil god followers. Fane will likely not be affected all that much.¡»
¡¸Your Highness, that¡¯s an awful thing to say¡¹
¡ºI am merely stating fundamentally what will happen. And it isn¡¯t as if Fane can intervene in Forre affairs without them asking us to, yes? You intervening where you can is one thing, but things will get much too convoluted if I were to get involved.¡»
¡¸How awful my master is. He won¡¯t even let me see Deary, and yet forces me to do everything just because I have no power¡¡¡¹
¡ºThat¡¯s always what those in authority do. Give it a rest. So what else is there to report?¡»
They couldn¡¯t keep up this two-manedy skit. Forget the nonsense and move on.
¡¸The big news is that no one can reach Elza Temple Main Branch¡¹
¡º¡¡That is very big news¡¡¡»
¡¸Yeah. The situation being as frantic as it is, I though to emergency contact them, but the first source of information wasn¡¯t trustworthy enough so I tried to get higher reliability info. Simply contacting them based off a dubious rumor at best would only lead to this getting out of control, which I figured it was best to avoid.¡¹
¡ºHm, I see. And when did you first pick up this info?¡»
¡¸The night before yesterday. So even if I don¡¯t get urate enough info, I intended to report to you today. If this were right after the previous followup and I managed to gather enough by the afternoon the next day, I would have used the emergency contact without hesitation. Maybe waiting one week would have been rather bad, but waiting too days, I figured wouldn¡¯t affect too much.¡¹
Layotte nodded at how Rainy had handled the situation, for better or for worse. If there were dubious rumors such as this spreading around, they had to have had time to spread this far. Taking time to assess the validity of this information, whenpared to that, was not going to have that major of an effect.
Volume 4 9.3
Volume 4 Chapter 9.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡ºSo from how you said it, I take it that it¡¯s pretty much confirmed?¡»
¡¸Nearly. People trying to get to the main temple, several of them have gone missing. Also, people who should be arriving there have yet to show up. They say things started feeling suspicious around Stiren Temple right around when I reported to youst time. They were busy with the search around town and preparations and were only able to send out search parties yesterday early morning. And then things got hectic this morning when they realized the search party had yet to return the periodic contact.¡¹
¡ºI see. It sounds like a troublesome situation.¡»
¡¸Yeah. I will, just in case, be checking out a route tomorrow, but honestly, it will be difficult for me to search much further than that. It¡¯s Aearis¡¯ realm of expertise now, I say.¡¹
¡ºYeah, it sure is. I¡¯ll take care of this particr matter. Depending on the situation, Aries herself may very well head over there.¡»
¡¸Understood¡¹
The earth mother goddess, Elza, one of the three great goddess pirs. Not being able to contact her in her own temple was a very bad sign. For this particr case, Forre couldn¡¯t really fuss about ¡°interfering in domestic affairs¡±.
¡¸So next is Earl Dident, marked for forging documents and arrested by the Forre house.¡¹
¡ºAtst, I see¡»
¡¸Mm. The opportunity directly came about when the delinquents tried to get in Deary¡¯s way with a worthless certificate. The hoodlums got arrested and they got a lot of info out of them bit by bit. Until about yesterday they were making these really cringey excuses and yapping, but I think they will have fully surrendered by afternoon today.¡¹
¡ºI see. Rather specific there. Where¡¯d that infoe from?¡»
¡¸From one of the dwarves near the country¡¯s center. We became chummy in exchange for weight, one of woman¡¯s greatest hurdles.¡¹
Layotte quickly knew what she meant.
¡ºWere you actually that close with Marquis David?¡»
¡¸Yeah, close enough to where we drink twice a week since I got wrapped up in the banquet at the tavern I was inspecting?¡¹
¡ºOh, he really must like you.¡»
¡¸So now as of recent, I¡¯ve been obsessive about my liver and my weight.¡¹
¡ºYeah, we¡¯re talking dwarves after all. Sorry, but I¡¯d like you to quit that, temper your liver and work at losing weight.¡»
While surprised to hear what a bigshot Rainy had found, Layotte had to be a bit cold to get Rainy back on track, even if it wasn¡¯t her fault.
¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s really difficult to hang with dwarves two times a week. Your Highness, would it be alright for me to consult Deary about my liquor/diet n?¡¹
¡º¡¡Well, I¡¯ll allow it as long as you¡¯re okay with exposing yourzy body.¡»
¡¸Ugh¡¡¡¹
Pinpointing it where it hurt the most, Layotte made up for it by giving Rainy permission. She had certainly appeared to have made many important connections by giving up on various things while Hiroshi¡¯s group was ravaging Crest Cave.
¡ºSo that¡¯s all for the report?¡»
¡¸Nothing else all that special. At most, maybe the fact that they¡¯re starting to receive magic steel goods made from Crest Cave¡¯s new furnaces and that the price of steel products has begun to stabilize.¡¹
¡ºI see. They are involved after all, so I should expect as much, but that was rather quick.¡»
¡¸Also, in the words of the mining guildmaster over here, they should be able to bring the exported amount of steel products back to normal not long from now.¡¹
¡ºThat¡¯s great to hear.¡»
Layotte¡¯s face loosened up on the other end when he heard Rainy¡¯s good news. Unlike Darl, in Fane you could excavate enough ore with enough demand as long as you didn¡¯t care too much about quality. But with the quality of iron ore being the quality it was, Fane was about two steps behind Forre in terms of both iron manufacturing and processing, so the limitations on exports from Forre were a serious pain of a problem.
Fane had suppressed arge amount of its cuts in food supply, as it did, to an extent, procure its own food. Darl and Loren also procured a certain amount of iron for themselves, so they might have been fine, but for any other country, this would be a sucky situation.
After all, Forre was second in iron tech, with Fane and Markto two steps behind. The other countries were even more steps behind, so you could easily see which countries might not take it well.
¡¸And that¡¯s about it for what I have to report.¡¹
¡ºGot it. And thank you for your work. I sent some extra budget, so make sure to go pick it up sometime tomorrow at the embassy.¡»
Hearing the rest of Rainy¡¯s report, Layotteplimented her efforts and conveyed the mary info before ending the transmission. Once that was over, Rainy gave a small sigh. As she had beenying off on the usual food intake, Rainy actually had quite a bit more freedom with money. Then again, she didn¡¯t know what she should do with that freedom, so she just went along with epting the amount.
¡¸Guess I should work out a bit more before bed¡¡¡¹
Layotte didn¡¯t have to tell her she was packing on the pounds. Though she was intently putting effort into reshaping her body every day, Rainy still ended up consuming more than a week¡¯s worth of calories twice a week out of coercion. Without Mio¡¯s level of fuel consumption, there would be no end to how many times she had to keep exercising.
¡¸ I really should consult Deary tomorrow¡¡¡¹
Honestly, she didn¡¯t want to show her current physique to Hiroshi, but constantly putting it off might make things toote for her when the time actually came. So before things became toote for her both as a woman and as a spy, Rainy was determined to expose her everything in front of the man she loved.
The same night that Rainy gave her periodic report, the workshop members had finished their job for the day, with Hiroshi constantly by a tired Haruna¡¯s side to instruct her and with Mio and the other two assisting the operation, discussing advance arrangements for the finished products.
¡¸Guess this is it for the lineup, y¡¯all?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mm¡«¡¢yeah, I think this is about it¡¡¡¹
Haruna concurred with Hiroshi after he made his conclusion based on the inspected products, her stamina and mana on the verge of being drained. The lineup in front of them consisted of ten longswords, eightrge swords, five spears, three axes/hammers- quite the assortment. All of these were Haruna¡¯s products over thest few days. Half of the longswordsrge swords were items she had put a thorough amount of effort into at Crest Cave, while the remaining ones were remakes of the versions she had worked on at Crest Cave.
¡¸¡¡I sort of lost track in the process, but what do you think of their overall function¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Other than your longswords, which are the best, the pure performance is quite a bit greater than what they sell in Fane, but not quite up to dwarf standards.¡¹
¡¸Okaaay then. But I sorta expected that¡¡¡¹
Shoulders drooping at Mio¡¯s precise evaluation, Haruna reached for the stamina potion. Without drinking it, Haruna did not feel she could recover from her fatigue today.
¡¸So what I¡¯m thinkin right now is we make em look juuust a lil bit defective n exaggerate the price to match the feel. Whatcha think?¡¹
¡¸Why exactly are we doing that?¡¹
¡¸old back the price so that we don¡¯t get too much cash on hand, and then see if anyone can see through the disguise. Also, I n to mix in some actual defects that Haruna made.¡¹
Hiroshi answered Mio¡¯s question with two reasons; one fairly sound, and the other clearly biased toward his own hobbies. While a bit put off at the reasoning, Haruna and Mio decided not toin.
¡¸So I think the real good ones will give some of the lower end magic steel products a run for their money, ¡®n I n to put this ¡®n that into the final products¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s all well and good, but how do you intend to tweak them?¡¹
¡¸Well, first ya gotta know that the bare requirements have all been met for functionality. I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ we gotta make some thorough enchantments.¡¹
¡¸Such as?¡¹
¡¸Harden it up with some real tough defense enchantments, maybe make it to the point where someone of Elle¡¯s skill level can take on Wyverns¡¹
Haruna and Mio interjected immediately into what Hiroshi said (he was clearly intending to y around too much). As scary as it sounded, attack enchantments were already in y during the forging process, so at this point the weapons had enough power to get the minimum necessary damage on the weaker wyverns.
¡¸Now then, first we use behemoth oil to up all defense by 200%. Then we get an alligator tailbone for Passive Barrier 70% generation sess rate, garbarensia poison sac for strengthening resistance against status effects (all) by 75%, ¡®n then to top it all off, strengthen parry by 75% as well as lil status up adjustments, somethin¡¯ like that, ¡®n then¡¡Ah, right. Gotta stick in some hidden functions that activate when the user¡¯s in a pinch with their attack ¡®n all that¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sensei, that¡¯s way too much¡¡¡¹
¡¸The frick you talkin¡¯ bout gurl? This is only the beginnin¡¯!¡¹
Volume 4 9.4
Volume 4 Chapter 9.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Mio had to interject into Hiroshi¡¯s ridiculous enchantments, especially since he joked about it like it was some kind of prank. Nheless, it wasn¡¯t like Hiroshi was nning on listening to that. There were even some enchantments mixed in that Haruna had never heard of, like the enchant/special ability Passive Barrier. And there was the whole ¡°hidden function¡± thing. Just so many things that were questionable.
¡¸Right, it¡¯splete. Wanna try holdin it?¡¹
¡¸¡¡The heck is this sword supposed to be, Excaliber¡¡?¡¹
¡¸I named it Defender Sword, mate. Someone like Doul uses it ¡®n bam, Barold don¡¯t even got a chance.¡¹
Haruna simplymented at this clearly overprotected sword, half fearful and half exasperated. Hiroshi just had a smug grin on his face as he continued saying very rming things.
¡¸Only misgiving I might have is that since the material¡¯s iron, I wasn¡¯t able to strengthen it with a 100% Passive Barrier rate or a high parry rate. I guess 200% power up for all defense on lower level materials cranks up the difficulty for other enchantment types.¡¹
At this questionable statement of Hiroshi¡¯s (Seriously? You¡¯re dissatisfied?) Haruna¡¯s feelings went straight past exasperation to a sort of respect. To put it clearly, this sword was strong enough to help a rookie adventurer clear out a stone ant nest.
¡¸Sensei, how¡¯s the output for this sword¡¯s passive barrier?¡¹
¡¸It absorbs 5,000 from any damage not blocked by defense. It ain¡¯t no problem with Doul or Juli¡¯s regr attacks, but intermediate level skills¡¯ll pierce right through it.¡¹
¡¸And with the efficiency rate, it does feel a bit meh¡¹
(You think that¡¯s ¡°meh¡±?) thought Haruna to herself as she listened to Hiroshi and Mio¡¯s conversation with a faraway look in her eyes. But in fact, absorbing 5,000 damage, once you got above a certain level, attack intion increased by drastic numbers to where 5,000 became very ¡°meh¡± indeed, at least in Fairy Tale. However, you only truly began to feel that way once you got into the realm of the shut-in yer. Take Tatsuya for example, who was near the edge of the 200¡¯s in level, only a few digits away.
Besides, the weapon had more than excellent capabilities in terms of guaranteeing reduced damage, and for those like Hiroshi or Douga with fantastic defense, with all the other enchantments loaded onto the thing, 5,000 damage absorption was actually pretty crazy.
In the first ce, criticizing these numbers wouldpletely end up ostracizing other popr, simr functioning intermediate defensive absorption spells.
¡¸So, Hiroshi-kun¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm?¡¹
¡¸If I recall, when you get Absorb to proficiency 75 or so, if your Knowledge is around 300 then that¡¯s how much defense gets added to your stats. And you still think it¡¯s ¡°meh¡±¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yup, cuz its invocation rate is only 70%. A lil difficult topare it with Absorb, which always activates.¡¹
¡¸And I do get that part, but when you consider how it activates without any cost or cooldown, isn¡¯t it a little dismissive to call it ¡°meh¡±?¡¹
Haruna, who could theoretically be seen as the ¡°sanest¡± member of the group, interjected into Hiroshi and Mio¡¯s conversation, which hadpletely dropped any sense of sanity. If Tatsuya and Makoto were here with her, they would have most definitely agreed.
¡¸My senses have been dulling recently, but I still think that Hiroshi-kun reallycksmon sense when ites to making things¡¡¡¹
¡¸Whaaat? Such a horrible thing to say mate¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, I bet if a level 1 beginner made a weapon that could easily take out stone ants and all that, people would be saying some stuff¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, but level 1 yers increasing their defense wouldn¡¯t change their papier mach¨¦ stats.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s products were always questionable, and recently he had been making more intermediate/advanced weapons, so Haruna didn¡¯t question that aspect, but now that he had mana-modified the longsword that she had made, she was forced to once again recall thatmon sense did not apply to this man.
¡¸Haru, Haru¡¹
¡¸Yes?¡¹
¡¸This is probably just a result of critical manufacturing, but still, you can make the basic form of said weapons, so you¡¯re not any different from him, Haru.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re one to talk, Mio-chan, making all those weapons without even batting an eye¡¡¡¹
Mio thrust the unavoidable truth before Haruna, who still managed to squeeze out a retort. Either way, any outsider would see all three of them as the same. More normal workshop members like Teres or Nora would undoubtedly give a firm agreement that Haruna couldn¡¯t talk.
¡¸So Haruna-san, seems like there are plenty of regr enchantments we don¡¯t know round here. What exactly were normal enchanting crafters like?¡¹
¡¸One of the people I knew was very popr, and they said they were on the edge of intermediate. Also, it appears that all they could do was strengthen the performance ofmonly known enchantments.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«. Yeah, that¡¯s cuz ya can¡¯t git original enchantments to seed until ya git into advanced. ¡®N then if ya wanna level ¡®em up ya gotta enchant ¡®em durin¡¯ the manufacturin¡¯ process or apply ¡®em to the treatment sequence. That way ya raise ¡®em quicker. Yeah, I can see why they had trouble with it.¡¹
¡¸Is that so¡¹
¡¸It sure is mate. Actually, Haruna-san, yer boutta git into intermediate at the rate yer goin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Whaaa!?¡¹
Haruna eximed in pure amazement at what Hiroshi pointed out. However,e to think about it, this time they had practiced using enchantments from the refinement step and continued to use the applications of initial enchantments in both alchemy and potionmaking. If they were going along the lines of Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, then there wasn¡¯t a single reason why Haruna shouldn¡¯t finally be getting into intermediate level.
¡¸Well, it ain¡¯t anythin¡¯ too weird. Alchemy, enchanting, ¡®n crafting have many applications in the manufacturin¡¯ field, so it ain¡¯t rare at all to find people who git to intermediate before learnin¡¯ Making Mastery.¡¹
¡¸Really now¡¹
¡¸Yup yup. And then ya got Mio, who also got alchemy ¡®n enchanting to intermediate first.¡¹
Haruna looked from Hiroshi over to Mio to confirm, and Mio affirmed it by nodding.
¡¸Well, once ya git into intermediate, ya can restore an even wider assortment of enchantments from documents, so when we got time imma teach ya summa them.¡¹
¡¸Right¡¹
¡¸Now then, from tomorrow onward we have the stall ready to go, ¡®n then we couldn¡¯t give Makoto-san a proper birthday celebration with all the hustle ¡®n bustle after the pre-celebration.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, but the pre-celebration was already so magnificent that I dunno if we can top it.¡¹
Hopping onto the obvious change in subject, Haruna pointed out a potential issue. Sure, they were in a pinch that particr day, but they had still ended up celebrating Makoto¡¯s pre-birthday with luxurious food and expensive beverages. Making the actual party celebration any more grandiose than that sounded like a very tiring process, which was a turn-off for her, but then again, it wasn¡¯t like she wanted to not celebrate it.
¡¸She said the same thing ¡®erself, so this time around we drop the act ¡®n just git sum new booze ¡®n food that Makoto-san likes to eat, ¡®n then we¡¯ll prolly end up washin¡¯ down cake with sum tea.¡¹
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢I really do feel sorry about this, but there aren¡¯t any other options right?¡¹
¡¸Well, I do got pen, paper, every kind of screentone ¡®n a printin¡¯ press chillin¡¯ over here, but I guess it¡¯s up to her if she wanna use it, eh¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, when in the world did you get your hands on a printing press¡¡¡¹
Either way, Hiroshi had apparently gotten all of that ready as if it were perfectly normal. Haruna just had a genuinely exasperated look on her face.
¡¸Cuz with that ya can make doujinshi ¡®n much more. By the way mate, it can also do offset printin¡¯ ¡®n book makin¡¯ all on its own.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, that¡¯s clearly skipping a few steps in the technological process¡¹
¡¸Eh, the peeps down below have basically the same gear, so don¡¯tcha think it¡¯s pretty normal?¡¹
Mio wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to counter Hiroshi¡¯s overqualifiedparison with the abnormal people of the earth. True, their technology waspletely isted from the standards of the overworld residents, but at least they weren¡¯t imitating something they shouldn¡¯t even be able to make and thenpleting products that would make anyone nearly wet themselves in shock.
¡¸Well, anyhoo. Now we gotta ask ¡®er what she wants to eat tomorrow¡¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m back¡«¡¹
¡¸Oh. Speak of the devil, or however it goes, eh?¡¹
Makoto and Tatsuya got back at just the right time to find Hiroshi and the other two rather restless over the next day¡¯s discussion. Neither of them could possibly know this, but anyhow, they showed up to the forge where everyone was.
¡¸Bro, Makoto-san, wee back¡¹
¡¸Sup my guy, d to be back¡¹
¡¸Hello. Are you done with the weapons? Also, what¡¯s for dinner?¡¹
Looking at the facial expressions of the student trio, Makoto gave a quick greeting before immediately jumping to what she was most concerned about.
¡¸Weapons are done, mate. We¡¯re gonna get to dinner in a minute here. Anything ya had in mind, Haruna-san?¡¹
Volume 4 9.5
Volume 4 Chapter 9.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢I found something simr to a bitter gourd, so I thought maybe I could mash it together with rock boar to make gourd champloo. And then there¡¯s also a winter melon-like item (though the shape is different), so I intend to stew that up. Ah, and of course we still have seasonal edamame and miso sauce I can put in, kay?¡¹
¡¸Ooo¡«¡£Haruna, I love you!!¡¹
¡¸Thanks¡¹
This was apparently a direct strike into Makoto¡¯s current appetite, although Haruna had to grimace a bit at how overdramatic she was.
¡¸So Makoto-san, what do you want to eat tomorrow?¡¹
¡¸Tomorrow? Ah, right. Don¡¯t worry too much about it, but if I had to say, it¡¯d be great if I could get a bunch of tasty snacks, I guess? And it¡¯d be amazing if the snacks went well with rice.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. I¡¯ll think of all sorts of ideas. And the cake?¡¹
¡¸I do kinda want one with plenty of fruit inside, but I¡¯m always fine with keeping it simple.¡¹
Nodding at Makoto¡¯s request, Haruna began nning even more things than earlier. There would be no issues with stocking up, so all that was left was to meet the requests and go all out. For now, a whole cake cut up into slices with something small on each piece for everyone should satisfy both requests. Everyone here was still young, so there was no doubt they could all easily consume two pieces of cake.
¡¸I finished the nning right now, so all that¡¯s left is to find some tasty looking liquor tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡¹
Once they finished a simple briefing on tomorrow¡¯s dinner, Haruna unveiled the day¡¯s deliverables. The majority of them just proved how far Haruna¡¯s skills hade, but of course, as for the main weapon¡
¡¸Dude, what kind of boss are you nning to screw with¡¡¡¹
Makoto had no option other than to make an exasperatedment, but this stays between us.
And the next day.
¡¸Oh? Rainy, you¡¯re here?¡¹
¡¸Sorry foring so early. I have something I¡¯d like to discuss with Deary. I have permission from His Highness. Is it alright?¡¹
Tatsuya, who Haruna had asked toe with her to find some good booze for the night, noticed Rainy waiting for someone to greet her outside. Haruna herself was currently giving the food storage another check to figure out what to stock up on.
¡¸Discuss? Like what?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s embarrassing, but I guess I¡¯ll just say it¡¯s about my diet.¡¹
At the word diet, Tatsuya immediately scanned Rainy¡¯s body. He didn¡¯t think she had to worry about anything, but it was true that she was maybe a bit more all-around bigger than before. Honestly, he was more concerned about her face seeming slightly pale.
¡¸¡¡I don¡¯t think you need to worry about it too much¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s difficult to even keep it in this shape when I get dragged off to dwarf banquets twice a week¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I see your pain¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya understood a lot more when Rainy mentioned dwarf banquets. Indeed, you would have to maintain a diet when attending those functions. Even if you tried to maintain efforts to reverse the negative effects, the moment you ran into an issue and became unable to continue exercising was the moment you put on weight.
¡¸So this is also a countermeasure against alcohol, I assume?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I don¡¯t even think all the alcohol has left me from two days ago¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Wow, the struggle is real with you¡¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m envious of Makoto and Mio¡¡¡¹
Rainy, who had her own challenges at emotional expression (a bit different than Mio), actually had an empathetic look on her face as she mumbled earnestly. As a girl whose growth period was nearing its end, a dwarf banquet was, in many ways, the cruelest environment.
¡¸Tatsuya-san, thanks for waiting. Wait, Rainy-san?¡¹
¡¸I have something I need to consult with Deary. I have permission from His Highness. Is that ok?¡¹
Sensing an unusualck of power in Rainy¡¯s demeanor, Haruna immediately looked over to Tatsuya.
¡¸I¡¯m sure you feel some way about this, but go ahead and let her off this time.¡¹
¡¸Well, if you do indeed have His Highness¡¯s permission, then I¡¯m fine with it as long as you don¡¯t throw yourself at him. Oh, not only is your face kinda pale, but have you put on some weight?¡¹
With a merciless straight liner from Haruna, Rainy unleashed an atmosphere of gloom. At that very moment, Haruna knew she had stepped hard on and mine. Before she could correct her mistake, the dull Rainy opened her mouth.
¡¸Haruna, even you would definitely pack on weight if you had to tag along with dwarf banquets more than twice a week¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Grasping the entire situation with Rainy¡¯s words, Haruna empathized with all her might. Seeing as everyone appeared to agree on this matter, you can easily tell just how dangerous dwarf banquets were to women of other countries. So for Makoto and Mio to go to those things ande out with nothing different with their body in any way was seriously wack. The two of them were clearly drinking more liquids or eating more food than could fit in their stomach, or even their entire body¡¯s capacity. The two of them could give heavy drinkers and food fighters a run for their money.
¡¸But is your body holding up?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m starting to get the impression that the alcohol isn¡¯t quite leaving my body¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡In that case, it would definitely be in your best interest to consult Hiroshi-kun about it.¡¹
Realizing the gravity of the situation even more than Rainy herself, Haruna decided to have Hiroshi talk it over with her. Although their rtions weren¡¯t great, Haruna didn¡¯t dislike her to the point of wanting her to die or anything. Yeah, she was one heck of a pervert, but every time they met Haruna felt like Rainy was gaining more and moremon sense, and there was no way she could bear to leave Rainy in this predicament.
¡¸First thing is you need to behave yourself. Rush at Hiroshi-kun even once and I¡¯ll revoke this discussion of yours, okay?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t disrobe in front of Deary with this loose body of mine¡¡¡¹
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s that bad, but well, I get you¡¡¡¹
No matter how much you understand there are no issues, as a maiden in love, it¡¯s never fine to reveal yourself to your man when you pack on weight. Haruna understood that mentality more than a little. Beforeing here, as long as she wasn¡¯t that hard on the eyes she was fine. Or so Haruna had thought, but now that she had fallen in love for the first time, that mindset just sounded ridiculous to her.
Of course, she also hated the thought of slimming down too much and looking wretched. A maiden in love must always find the best digits to maintain continuously.
¡¸Anyhow, we shouldn¡¯t just talk out here. Come on in.¡¹
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
Encouraged by Haruna, Rainy timidly entered the house. She was quite meek at the moment, not with her usual presence of mind, but decided to go on in to where Hiroshi was.
¡¸Eh?Wazzup y¡¯all??Wait, it¡¯s you Rainy?¡¹
A puzzled expression on his face as he looked at Haruna and Tatsuyae back in, Hiroshi immediately tensed himself when he saw Rainy hiding behind them. Granted, this was to be expected with three previous incidents on her record.
¡¸Hiro, I think it¡¯s fine this time¡¹
¡¸Actually, she¡¯s totally got the short end of the stick. Help her out okay?¡¹
¡¸If y¡¯all say so then I¡¯m cool wit it, but, oh, did yer bod git bigger Rainy?¡¹
¡¸Agh¡¡¡¹
With Tatsuya and Haruna smoothing things out, Hiroshi kept his guard up but also noticed that detail about Rainy. Groaning at that onement of his, Rainy put both hands on the ground with a crestfallen pose.
¡¸Ya don¡¯t look so good either, wazzup mate?¡¹
¡¸Well, she¡¯s bound to look like this after going to dwarf banquets twice a week, my guy.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I get it now¡¡¡¹
At that, Hiroshi grasped the details of Rainy¡¯s slightly off appearance and what she hade to him for. Again, you could really tell just how different the dwarf world was by how quickly everyone here had intercepted Rainy¡¯s ongoing dilemma so far.
¡¸Actually, I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ yer better off thanst I saw ya. I was all like ¡°How does her chest stay intact?¡±, but right now yer lookin¡¯ kinda just right¡¡¡¹
¡¸Deary, you just don¡¯t get it¡¡¡¹
Volume 4 9.6
Volume 4 Chapter 9.6
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Yeah, but I dunno how to respond to that¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi really didn¡¯t feelfortable trying to grasp an understanding of the female psyche. But of course, humans are not always the most rational of beings.
¡¸Even as a spy, I seem to be nearing a fatal end¡¡¡¹
¡¸Is it really that difficult to move around?¡¹
¡¸I can barely move around like I¡¯ve been. If this food habit continues, it won¡¯t be long before I can¡¯t keep up the pace¡¡¡¹
¡¸Riiight¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi could no longer tell Rainy to not worry as he saw her serious expression. As it seemed that Rainy was continuously trying to thin herself out by training to the max and yet still gradually increasing weight, they might need to implement a strategy.
¡¸Well, although we certainly don¡¯t got nothin¡¯ that can drastically decrease yer weight, I do got potions that speed up caloriebustion ¡®n dietary foods that speed up waist fatbustion.¡¹
¡¸We can count on you for that then?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cuz it sounds like yer gonna be in a real pinch if ya screw up. But this is just to cancel out yer intake from the dwarf parties, and it prolly ain¡¯t gonna reduce yer current weight during that time. Also, once yer not involved in those gatherings anymore, there¡¯s a risk of yer body weight goin¡¯ down too quickly, so if ya don¡¯t git back to regr eatin¡¯ habits within a week or two of that yer gonna be in danger.¡¹
¡¸Okay, got it¡¹
Rainy nodded meekly at Hiroshi. She of course knew full well not to drop her weight too much. Without an urgent situation like this, she would probably never have even considered a diet.
¡¸Now for the alcohol countermeasure, first how bout we git rid of all that alcohol in ya.¡¹
Hiroshi said, handing a panacea and a ss 3 stamina potion to Rainy. She appeared to be on the brink of getting prognostic symptoms. Unless she drank at least a ss 3 stamina potion her liver would gradually stop rejuvenating. Since she wasn¡¯t quite there yet, ss 3 would work fine, but give it two weeks and she would either need a ss 2 or a long process of healing.
¡¸¡¡I sort of feel like my body is super light now¡¡¡¹
¡¸Cuz it seems liver symptoms havee up. Sure, I git some of it¡¯s part of the job, but ya really been overdoin it mate.¡¹
¡¸I know, but I really can¡¯t refuse when dwarves hand me liquor¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, prolly can¡¯t. So in that case I¡¯ll make some potions for ya to drink before ¡®n after the parties that help dissolve alcohol. I also gotta prepare the diet stuff, soe back ¡®round evening, aight mate¡¹
¡¸Okay. Thanks, Deary¡¹
Finding the slightest amount of light to help her escape this turmoil, Rainy lowered her head to Hiroshi with a slightly faraway, happy look in her face from the bottom of her heart. The only reason she didn¡¯t resort to perverted stunts this time around was probably because of her screwed up biorythm, which wouldn¡¯t go back to normal just from subtracting the liver damage.
¡¸Ah, right. I should also give a report¡¹
¡¸Mm?Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m still investigating the details, but we haven¡¯t been able to contact the main Elza Temple.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Welp, that sounds troubling. Where even is the main temple anyhoo?¡¹
¡¸Spirit Spire Mountain, at the halfway point. Lots of stuff happened in the past, and it¡¯s closed off to the general public. So the precise location and routes to get there are confidential.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna made difficult expressions at Rainy¡¯s info. Such a strange urrence.
¡¸So being closed off to the public means ya gotta have a connection that can git ya in¡¡¡¹
¡¸I decided to leave the temple for Aearis-sama to deal with. As for the routes, I managed to calcte that the temple¡¯s about midway from what I gathered. I¡¯ll be searching around that point a bit today.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I think yer underestimatin¡¯ yer bod right now, so I rmend ya rest for now.¡¹
¡¸¡¡You¡¯re concerned about me?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, I wouldn¡¯t sleep well knowin¡¯ that an acquaintance is in harm¡¯s way. Haruna-san ¡®n everyone allowed this cuz they thought the same thing right?¡¹
Haruna and Tatsuya nodded at Hiroshi. They didn¡¯t have much of a connection with Rainy, nor did they want to, but neither did they wish ill will on her. This was why Rainy¡¯s pitiable condition was more than enough to persuade the good-natured Azuma Workshop to help out.
¡¸Right now yer digestive organs¡¯re prolly weakened, so imma git out some potions over here. But don¡¯t go sshin¡¯ around just cuz ya got healed¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯ll go make some porridge¡¹
¡¸So once yer done drinkin¡¯ the potion, eat the porridge ¡®n git some rest, ya should be back to full health by evenin¡¯. Take it easy at yer ce fer today, mate¡¹
¡¸Thank you¡¡¡¹
Rainy said her thanks in a slightly hoarse voice as she faced the ground, impressed by their kindness. Haruna¡¯s eyes widened when she observed this, but she soon smiled kindly and nodded before wordlessly going off to the kitchen.
¡¸Today¡¯s Makoto-san¡¯s birthday party, so dinner¡¯s gonna be snackeroos with liquor for you. Now that I gotcha here, I wanted to have Bro or Makoto-san teach ya how to properly drink liquor ¡®n all that.¡¹
¡¸I might be able to, but do you really think Makoto would be a good source?¡¹
¡¸Welp, Makoto-san does feel like she¡¯s just jumpin¡¯ into a sea of liquor when she glugs it down, which is kinda dicey, yeah¡¡¹
Hiroshi said as he handed all the potions he mentioned to Rainy on the spot. Hiroshi¡¯s group didn¡¯t need stomach potions, antipyretics, or anti-travel medicine, but as these were all frequently used items, they had quite the assortment of the various categories.
¡¸Porridge is ready. As a precaution I wrapped it with rot prevention cloth, so take care on your way home and take off the cloth before eating, okay?¡¹
¡¸Thank you so much.¡¹
Rainy just expressed her gratitude over and over again, knowing that Haruna didn¡¯t even like her but was still being nice to her. With this she would be fully restored by night, and then with Makoto¡¯s birthday celebration of behemoth horn stew and edamame (among other things) to go with the drinks, Tatsuya would teach Rainy how to put on an act while eating a certain amount of food as well as how to drink while keeping in pace with the dwarves.
¡¸I know they wouldn¡¯t want to be this rxed, but I still think the dwarf parties should tone down the aggressiveness a bit¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I totally agree¡«¡¹
Rainy remarked keenly, not being forced to do anything and just eating/drinking at her own pace at this rxed party, to which Haruna agreed with all her heart.
¡¸Oh, but I actually like those lively parties.¡¹
¡¸Yes, I¡¯m quite jealous of you Makoto, for how you just go at it with the dwarves to see who gets knocked out first¡¡¡¹
Rainy remarked, truly envious, to which Makoto felt a bit sorry for her and joined in on giving her proper drinking guidance. And with that, the mellow party continued its course.
¡¸I haven¡¯t tasted good food in so long¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah? d you like it. There¡¯s dessert too by the way.¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t wait¡and this fried tree bud is tasty¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s one of Stiren¡¯s local specialties, and it gets sprouts this season I hear. Yep, lots of things you can¡¯t find in Wulls.¡¹
Rainy appeared to be truly enjoying this long sought after food, and the members of Azuma Workshop felt themselves mellowing out a lot as they watched her. She was doing her best to keep herself from overdoing things while thoroughly savoring the taste of each bite.
¡¸Apparently the individual tournament division this year is a three way struggle.¡¹
¡¸Hmm, hmm¡¹
¡¸Thebinations will be revealed tomorrow. The likely candidates to win are¡¡¡¹
Since this was a party and all, Rainy proactively shared stories that might end up being good conversation topics. Information particrly centered around thepetition was something Hiroshi and the others were grateful for, as they had lived a mostly secluded lifestyle since arriving in Stiren. The information she gave early would already have been plenty, but¡¡
¡¸An earl¡¡from Fane, and another¡¡from Darl¡¹
¡¸Huh? Are you for real?¡¹
¡¸And then one of the members of Fane¡¯s regional order of knights¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oo! Fill me in on that one!¡¹
¡¸And then¡¡¡¹
¡¸Fwaaah!! I feel the energy flowing through me!!¡¹
Receiving an unnecessary birthday present from Rainy in the rotten form of a fresh info dump, Makoto was now more than ready to fully operate the art supplies and printer she had received from Hiroshi.
Volume 4 10.1
Volume 4 Chapter 10.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
The day of the tournament preliminaries was upon them atst. Evaluating the items in order to carry out their n, Hiroshi and the others sallied forth to Forre Arena.
¡¸So that was the first day. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸Well, we already know who the top choices are, but how about the third match?¡¹
¡¸I personally can¡¯t rule out that fifth game.¡¹
A battle royale that quickly siphoned out its numbers. Eight matches took ce simultaneously, and the workshop team gave their thoughts on their personal favorites.
The preliminary battle royale had around twenty participants per match with a total of around hundred participants duking it out at the same time. With normal arena sizes this would be impossible, but Forre¡¯s gigantic arena¡¯s total area could be shifted to the limit of something like five hundred cavalrymen versus five hundred other cavalrymen. The person who sculpted the arena a thousand years ago had the extra skill of carpentry, enabling them to makerge scale monitors, arena structural functions, and plenty of overkill spec features.
Still, even with all these features, it was slightly painful for the management because they couldn¡¯t change much about the number of spectator seats other than add standing room.
¡¸Games three ¡®n five are a lil different than what I¡¯m into, so that¡¯s a pass for me¡¹
¡¸What you¡¯re into, huh. Then I guess I¡¯ll ask, what are you into Hiro?¡¹
¡¸Well first lemme emphasize this only rtes to the goal of our current n.¡¹
¡¸No need to emphasize, my guy¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, nah. I gotta emphasize here or else it¡¯ll end up pourin¡¯ unneeded fuel on Makoto-san.¡¹
Makoto had a slightly let-down expression on her face at what Hiroshi said, while Tatsuya, Haruna, and Mio could find themselvespletely agreeing with Hiroshi. Makoto¡¯s attitude only went to show how justified Hiroshi¡¯s concerns were.
¡¸So, back on topic, from our n, I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ veterans aren¡¯t gonna be juicy enough¡¹
¡¸I sort of get what you¡¯re going for here, but what¡¯s the reasoning?¡¹
¡¸Half to show off, and the other half is cuz I feel some way about veterans relyin¡¯ on my equipment to get by. Like, get yer own stuff, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸I sort of agree, yet also feel like this is extremely biased¡¡¡¹
Haruna had a rather mixed expression on her face at Hiroshi¡¯s reason. Sure, she got what he was saying, but affirming Hiroshi¡¯s actions would also mean admitting that Azuma Workshop also fully relied on their equipment to get by. It would only be a super powerful boomerang that woulde back to stab them through the head.
¡¸Welp, first half is more of a joke. But I am gonna stick with the whole idea of given¡¯ a helpin¡¯ hand to younger, decently skilled neers who haven¡¯t been blessed with opportunities or proper equipment. Just has a nice ring to it. Besides, if veterans wanna win they gotta do what all veterans do ¡®n give us nicepensation fari ¡®n square at the established price. Plus ya know them ¡°favorites¡± are gonna be gettin¡¯ some good quality equipment by their own means.¡¹
¡¸Well, I mean yeah, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t agree¡¡¹
Makoto affirmed what Hiroshi said. As an actual problem, the top contenders all had powerful magic swords made from monster drops or high functioning equipment made by top dwarf smiths.
The majority of heroic tales were, as Hiroshi put it, about young rookies with potential but no results to back it up who either got their hands on some powerful item or seeded in finding some amazing human connections and used those victories to their advantage to climb up the ranks despite any setbacks.
The equipment that Hiroshi was plotting to throw at these contestants had plenty of functionality topete with these legendary items in the epics, so rather than helping veterans who were fully prepared from the start, it was much better to lend a hand to less experienced fighters who had to struggle a bit with the equipment while taking slow steps. It was precisely because Hiroshi was aiming for that kind of result that he used plenty of light enchantment multipliers to cover for amateur weaknesses and went to the trouble of adding hidden features.
¡¸So right now we got a young person basically our age who¡¯s maybe at most done some work outside town, mains the longsword, and looks like they¡¯re progressing alright to the finals. All that¡¯s left is to determine what kind of person they are.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, you care about their personality too?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah mate, what if they git all conceited just cuz they got some good equipment ¡®n go over the edge ¡®n die or be a bragger ¡®n start causin¡¯ friction in theirmunity, that¡¯s not gonna be any good right? Sure, they can git a lil carried away, but if they can¡¯t take a critical look at themselves when they suffer for it then I aint¡¯ gonna choose ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Very true¡¡¡¹
Highly agreeing with Hiroshi¡¯s viewpoint, Mio decided she wouldn¡¯t say anything further.
¡¸So who¡¯d you pick out?¡¹
¡¸The winner of the second, tenth, ¡®n thirty first matches, I¡¯d say. The twenty third round kid wasn¡¯t too bad, but I kinda feel like we should try gals a different time, if ya get me¡¡¹
¡¸Oh? But I personally think it would be kinda cool to have a girl be a hero, don¡¯t you? That twenty third round girl did have a lot of cool moves that might get her quite the exciting future.¡¹
¡¸I can already see some unnecessary gs if we go that direction, so I wanna stick with the orthodox dude route this time around¡¹
Hiroshi countered Makoto¡¯s carefree opinion with his own. He was partially concerned and partially interested in his own idea he had chosen from the start. Makoto couldn¡¯t deny the part about identally setting off another g, so she decided to agree with Hiroshi while grimacing.
¡¸Okay, okay. So how are you going to go about checking them out?¡¹
¡¸Well, therein lies the problem, mate. Could we try havin¡¯ Bro ¡®n Makoto-san try to chat ¡®em up?¡¹
¡¸There you go again, asking the unreasonable. Welp, I¡¯ll try and do what I can. You fine with that, Tatsuya?¡¹
¡¸Sure am¡¹
Now that they had a rough idea of today¡¯s remaining objectives,
¡¸So that¡¯s all we do today, but what about tomorrow and onward? There are still preliminaries.¡¹
¡¸Right, it was another battle royale tomorrow?¡¹
¡¸Yup. They¡¯re going to apparently shred it down to sixteen people with the two matches after that.¡¹
¡¸Then we¡¯ll look around some more tomorrow ¡®n figure out some other person to reach out to¡¹
¡¸Alright¡¹
They set the daily objective and course of action in a smooth manner. The candidates for the weapon would probably end up being six people, but only one of them would be the winner.
¡¸So what are you going to do after this?¡¹
¡¸Right, so since I got permission ¡®n all, I may as well set up the suspicious shop in the alleyway ¡®n do my best to clear out storage¡¹
¡¸Right on. Haruna and Mio, what about you?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll be applying for permission for setting up shop in two days. Apparently there¡¯s still room.¡¹
¡¸And then stocking up alongside that¡¹
¡¸£Ï£Ë¡£Then I¡¯ll see you twoter.¡¹
Deciding what they all would be doing, the group got straight to work. Hiroshi must have done quite the job getting customers, because the next day around noon, there were already quiet rumors floating around among a small minority of people that a certain dubious shop in the alleyway dealing in weapons had quite the treasure trove of bargains amidst the mass of its inferior goods.
Volume 4 10.2
Volume 4 Chapter 10.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸It¡¯s here, then?¡¹
As Hiroshi and the others were progressing with their little ¡°game¡±, Rainy (fully restored) tracked down the road to Elza Main Temple, beginning the search. It had been a week since she was incapacitated from spy duties, the break taking effect when she epted her recent funding.
£¨¡¡Something¡¯s clearly off about this area¡¡£©
After walking five minutes to the narrow path leading to the trail, Rainy noticed the subtle shift in the atmosphere; a feeling of brutality that she couldn¡¯t quite ce. This sensation was probably new to Rainy because she had been in that environment for so long as an assassin. When she was summoned to the embassy this morning, they had given her (courtesy of Aearis) things like talismans and miasma counters, and at this moment they were disying odd signals.
That was totally fine. She had anticipated this after all. The real problem was¡¡
£¨Weird. Aearis-sama¡¯s tools are disying crazy readings, but the miasma leak is too small£©
Rainy frowned at the disparity between the miasma counter digits and her own intuition. If the numbers were correct, then even an amateur like her should sense something, but even with the tense air, the presence of miasma was so faint she could hardly tell. Normally you¡¯d doubt the machinery in this case, and normal priests would almost certainly do so.
Although amateurs or people thoroughly out of the loop wouldn¡¯t get it, Rainy, who was a resident of the boundary of both worlds, was able to tell there was a clear abnormality in the air. In this case, she needed to doubt not the machinery, but her own intuition.
£¨¡¡It¡¯s probably a trap from there on¡¡£©
Setting her eyes on the area the miasma counter indicated with a severe warning sound, Rainy thought carefully about what she should do. She didn¡¯t think any of the people out of contact would have disappeared in this area. But there was definitely something up here.
£¨The main source of this is probably further ahead, and there¡¯s a high chance that something might ur here in order to lead to it£©
That much was clear, but Rainy had an extremely bad feeling about what kind of trap this might be. Her intuition told her she wouldn¡¯t be able to use the charms on hand. In that case, it would be logical to investigate just what this was, but she probably wouldn¡¯t being back if she were to do this. Rainy just felt that to be true, paralyzed with horror.
£¨¡¡I¡had bettere backter¡¡£©
After five minutes of inner conflict, Rainy decided to throw in the towel and head back. The next moment¡¡
¡¸Mm! I knew it!!¡¹
The trees around her twisted into a dance, the ground turned into slush all at once, and tons of ¡°hands¡± sprouted out.
¡¸I¡¯d better get back and report this!!¡¹
Jumping high up before the sludge got to her feet and evading the tree branches attempting to grab her with a kick, Rainy yelled out. Cutting the branches off with her knife, Rainy desperately tried to escape while avoiding the ground as much as possible. She nearly got captured several times, her armorpletely rupturing with unidentifiable attacks and her lower clothing ripped apart in several areas, a very immodest appearance, before escaping the forest.
You wouldn¡¯t think this exhaustion came from simply running away. Her energy had probably been sucked out of her every time she had a close call. Rainy had at least managed to avoid losing the tools given to her, but returning to her base right now would be quite difficult. Besides, she should tell Hiroshi and the others first.
£¨I shouldn¡¯t go around the city looking like this¡¡£©
Although Rainy didn¡¯t have much shame in that area, her instincts as a spy and an assassin convinced her it was a bad idea to walk around town in such a crude appearance. However, she did not currently have a cloak in her possession to hide this fact, which only left one option: thoroughly erase her presence and go along a route that no one usually went down to get to Hiroshi¡¯s base. Thankfully, the base was closer to her rtive location and on the outskirts of town, so there were plenty of those kinds of routes.
In order to report what she was obligated to, as well as to seek additional help from her beloved Deary, Rainy erased any traces of herself and carefully made her way back.
¡¸Are you still continuing that project in a situation like this?¡¹
After shey the downed Rainy on the bed and sat down at the briefing table, that was the very first thing Haruna asked.
¡¸Sure, we¡¯re in a bit of a pinch, but there¡¯s a lil problem that came up, mate¡¹
¡¸What problem?¡¹
¡¸I think we ain¡¯t gonna make progress till the temple people, Elle ¡®n Artieme over here¡¹
Haruna seemed half convinced, half dissatisfied at Hiroshi¡¯s statement, and it showed in her eyes. On the other hand, Tatsuya and Makoto seemed to be against rushing in with this half baked information, slightly relieved at hearing that Aearis and Artiem needed to arrive first.
¡¸Dark god fragments rampagin¡¯ around, Crest Cave Mine¡¯s a dungeon, shy stuff like that is goin¡¯ on, so I don¡¯t think they¡¯re havin¡¯ that good of a time. So although I do think we needa hurry up, it¡¯s just in idiotic to go rushin¡¯ into what we know¡¯s a trap, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s true, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Plus from what Rainy tells me, it sounds likeElle ¡®n Artiem¡¯re gettin¡¯ ready over there, so it¡¯s a fool¡¯s game to charge in ¡®n make their efforts pointless.¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
Even Hiroshi, who was usually the one to charge on in, admonished Haruna, who decided to just suppress her discontent.
¡¸So when will Elle and Artiem being over here?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think y¡¯all gonna know until ya hear from ¡®em, but thinkin¡¯ of the car¡¯s speed ¡®n all that, maybe earliest when the tournament ends?¡¹
¡¸That sounds about right¡¹
Tatsuya immediately agreed as he considered the distance from Wulls to Forre. Even in the case of using transportation circles to cross the borders for shortcuts, they would take three days to arrive.
¡¸Wazzup Haruna? Ya look like yer about to fall forward.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. This time you seem to be discontent with the idea of not moving to action.¡¹
Volume 4 10.3
Volume 4 Chapter 10.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
With puzzled nces from Hiroshi and Makoto, Haruna took a deep breath to cool her head down before speaking honestly about her thoughts.
¡¸I actually felt the blood rush to my head when I saw the state Rainy-san was in. I just never thought I cared that much for her, so it surprised me too.¡¹
¡¸Ah okay, I get it. It makes sense why ya¡¯d feel emotional since ya helped herst week.¡¹
¡¸You think¡¡¡¹
Haruna felt a slight misgiving when Hiroshi said that. Was she always that emotional? But in actuality, she just didn¡¯t realize how hospitable she was, even among all the members. Haruna was just the kind of human to have a certain amount of empathy for anyone like Rainy, stumbling into their base only once or twice.
With that being said, Haruna also had rather harsh feelings for people like Dentlis whom she never wanted to let into their base, so she was quite firm in her inspections. Despite this, however, Haruna also had a certain amount of motherly love in her topletely forgive anyone depending on their actions after making mistakes.
Therefore in Rainy¡¯s case, it was pretty much guaranteed that Haruna would awaken those maternal instincts, but unfortunately, she did not seem to think she was that great of a person.
¡¸Well I¡¯m d that Haruna-san thinks of Rainy as one of our own. But Mio, what¡¯s with that look?¡¹
¡¸Well if you let me give my own two cents, I sort of expected Haru to go through one of those events that those R rated heroines from those anime not aired on tv go through¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t got a good feeling about this, but uhh¡whatcha mean by that?¡¹
¡¸You know, those rules where heroine = strip?¡¹
As soon as Mio said that rather udylike statement, Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s gazes moved to Haruna¡¯s upper body area, specifically the chest area. Flinching at the concentrated gazes, Haruna reflexively hugged her own shoulders to cover it.
¡¸For a second there I was about to agree with you, but I think there¡¯s something kind of wrong about rejoicing over the misfortune of a friend, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸I think if we look at how badly messed up Rainy was, most people would expect such an event.¡¹
Tatsuya was at aplete loss for words when he heard her oddly convincing opinion. He didn¡¯t have any particr responsibility for Mio¡¯s upbringing, but seeing her go down such a perverted path really made Tatsuya feel his ipetence.
¡¸You do sound quite persuasive, but there¡¯s a giant problem with expecting such an event.¡¹
¡¸How so?¡¹
¡¸The first thing is that there¡¯s hardly any chance of Haruna being the only one targeted.¡¹
¡¸Then you and me can just avoid getting caught, right Makoto?¡¹
¡¸If it was that easy, Haruna would be able to avoid it too, y¡¯know. Besides, even if she were captured, do you really think she would be the way Rainy is if she¡¯s wearing orichalcum breastte and behemoth leather armor over her spirit thread clothing?¡¹
Mio couldn¡¯t find a way to respond to Makoto¡¯s sharp edge retort. Regr steel armor might be okay, but the current armor they all had was far higher in defense and resistance than any of the magic steel equipment you could find anywhere else. If thew of heroine £½ strip applied here, all their lives would be in danger, so with the proper equipment on, there would be no ero scenes.
¡¸¡¡I didn¡¯t consider that¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, how about you get enoughmon sense to realize that?¡¹
Makoto quipped, exasperated at Mio for being so devastated. Yes, she had a hunch that they might be toote, but Mio was seriously acting up more frequently.
Then again, it wasn¡¯t like Makoto was one to talk.
¡¸Anyhow, looks like Mio lost that argument. More importantly, Haruna¡¡¹
¡¸Yes?¡¹
¡¸The pose you¡¯re in right now is a bit too risque.¡¹
¡¸Wha?¡¹
Makoto gave Haruna (who still had her arms covering her chest) some unnecessary advice that didn¡¯t fall far from what Mio said. In fact, when Haruna made that hugging pose, her chest¡¯s ample size was only emphasized, even more erotic than puffing out her chest. Even Makoto, a person of the same gender, was induced into feeling a bit weird.
Haruna started out with a totalck of sex appeal (with rare moments of allure), but ever since awakening to her love for Hiroshi, Makoto felt that Haruna was getting more and more off the deep end. It is often said that girls are able to use magic the moment they love, but surely not to this extent. There are still limits to how quickly one can be a first rate magician.
¡¸Well, that aside, considering how severe the situation would be if Rainy¡¯s miasma attack turns her all weird, I think it¡¯s a perfectly eptable reason to wait for Elle andpany.¡¹
Laying out all the reasons for why they shouldn¡¯tunch a charge attack, Makoto attempted to postpone their actions. Now that two inexcusable reasons were out there, those in support of charging in (Haruna and Mio) could not argue back.
¡¸So let¡¯s eat out ¡®n enjoy the tourney as they make preparations.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Okay. I¡¯ll go ahead and maintain the food stall as we wait for them to get ready.¡¹
Having cooled down a bit, Haruna decided to go the safe route. Rainy¡¯s pitiful state ended up not being quite enough to halt their worthless n.
Once the third preliminary round had ended, seventh ss adventurer Jon Kotrey was faced with a weapon-rted issue.
¡¸I guess it won¡¯tst till the main fight¡¡¡¹
In the current, not-so-spacious room he was borrowing, Jon stared at his weaponying on the table with a harsh face as he groaned. His weapon had sustained great damage this match. Jon had already felt wear and tear recently, so he treated it carefully in order to save as much money as possible, but this effort did not seem to be bearing fruition.
It had been five years since he took his adventurer certification at thirteen, partially to make things easier for him and his family. This was his partner that he had saved up steady money for through odd jobs. Although it was a used, second-rate item, Jon had been through thick and thin with this longsword for nearly four years. No matter how perfectly he tried to maintain it, the sword was, all in all, not an especially great product. In a sense, it was extremely clear that this sword would not hold all the way to the end of a huge tournament held once every three years.
¡¸See? I told you that you need to hurry up and get a new sword.¡¹
Arisa Baagman (the healer/buffer of the party) said with an equally harsh face. With a slender physique, ample protrusion in the chest area, and long, chestnut-colored hair, she still wasn¡¯t a match for Haruna or Mio, but was still a gorgeous woman who caught the attention of one-third of anyone she passed by in town. However, this expression of hers that made her look like she had just swallowed a bunch of sour tarts practically cut said mor in half.
She was in fact concerned for her lover, Jon¡¯s, well-being, telling him for the third time to buy a new weapon that wasn¡¯t degrading like the longsword. Jon¡¯s armor, on the other hand, thanks to his superior finesse, hadn¡¯t taken many direct hits from enemies since he started out, so it wasn¡¯t damaged enough to where he needed new armor.
¡¸But good swords are expensive, and the cheap ones aren¡¯t much different than what I have¡¡¡¹
¡¸Still, remember what they say. Adventurers who skimp on equipment won¡¯tst long, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I understand that, but¡¡¡¹
Equipment upgrades, probably the greatest object of worry for adventurers. Of course you wouldn¡¯tst long if you skimped, but neither was it a cheap prospect. After all, even amongst used weapons, the ones with better performance were possibly more expensive than even the cheap, newer, decent-performance varieties (which were already minimum 50,000 yen (Japan) /50 chrone (Fane) /5,000 doma (Forre).
Volume 4 10.4
Volume 4 Chapter 10.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
New weapons with proper functionality would cause the price to skyrocket, with standard performance longswords pricing 50,000 domas and top-grade longswords pricing 200,000 domas; quite therge profit. Although these would fall under the corporation equipment expenses category, these were no light costs for your average adventurer, working day in and day out to save up.
Now that it had broken this much, Jon absolutely had to trade in for a new one, but he couldn¡¯t even trade in parts from how broken it was. It was toote to regret not trading it in, but both inferior and new products were not cheap by any means. Jon was at his wit¡¯s end. No trading in parts like before; he had to buy it all together without any reduced price.
¡¸Anyhow, Kate is currently going around looking for bargains, so once she gets back we¡¯re going shopping.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, I was wondering when she¡¯d get back. Guess she already began. But do you really think there are bargains just floating around?¡¹
¡¸Well actually, rumor has it that there¡¯s a shady shop dealing in tons of defective goods, many of which are quite the bargain.¡¹
¡¸And she¡¯s looking for that?¡¹
Arisa nodded at Jon¡¯s question. They were talking about Kate Owens, a mage/thief girl who appeared pure at first nce but was still part of Jon and Arisa¡¯s group, with her own odd disposition. The three of them had formed their party after promotion to ss 9. Regardless of who else entered/ left the party, the three of them were always together.
Then again, Kate¡¯s night inclinations (which they had discovered two years ago) were a real pain in the head for Arisa. Other than that, she was for better or worse a virtuous girl who you would never suspect of being a thief, and they¡¯d never think of recing her with anyone else, so these two contrasts were quite the Achilles heel for Arisa.
Also, Jon being in that sort of rtionship with Arisa and Kate was fine with both of them. Being one step away from a meathead, he couldn¡¯t refuse the advances of any woman. But Arisa and Kate agreed that was preferable to going out at night and using money.
The three of them so happened to be Fanians from the city near the border of Forre, Gardeit. As to why they were no longer in Gardeit, the reason was quite simple: not only was the city practically sandwiched between both countries; it also closed off during winter due to snow, causing the absolute amount of work to decrease and the busy season differing too greatly, causing life there to be a hassle. They were in Stiren, not Wulls, simply because Stiren was closer.
¡¸Well, Kate is good at finding things like those, which is all well and good¡¡¡¹
¡¸But you do realize she¡¯s also more capable than you at negotiating, right? She¡¯s really only bad at dealing with conspiracies and whatnot.¡¹
¡¸Although that is a bit troubling in its own way¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hey, still better than you.¡¹
True to her unusually nice thief persona, Kate, much like Azuma Workshop, had a very low ability in regards to gathering information from the ¡°other side¡±. She insisted she was a thief, but the term ¡°scout¡± was more aptly put. Also, you would think Kate¡¯s voluptuous body (totally opposite from her innocent face) with all its curves would be a great bargaining chip for information, but she apparently hated that sort of behavior, a clean freak of sorts. Jon and Arisa were also reluctant to use the female body for such purposes, so they thankfully didn¡¯t press Kate on that regard.
At any rate, Jon and friends were well aware that they couldn¡¯t handle such nefarious things, so neither him nor Arisa saw any need to have Kate get over said weakness, leaving it be.
¡¸Jon, Arisa, are you back?¡¹
¡¸Oho, and speaking of her¡¡¹
As they were discussing Kate, the person herself had returned. Judging by her cheery tone, she had probably found the street stall in question.
¡¸How did it go?¡¹
¡¸Right on the mark!¡¹
Kate dered confidently in a cheery tone, puffing out her splendid chest (only slightly inferior to Haruna). In sync with this mannerism, her tinum-colored wavy hair fluttered. This hint of joy present on her face only served to ent this pure, clean, pretty image of hers. Most people would probably say that Arisa and Kate werepletely opposite roles based off their appearance and vibe. Kate also had a slightly small stature for someone from Fane, which only served to heighten that image.
For better or for worse, the two of them were contrastive. Unpopr males would probably look at Jon getting along with the two girls and be green with envy, but unfortunately, day and night, the girls were the ones taking the initiative. If they felt like it, the girls could totally not let Jon have a say in anything.
¡¸How¡¯s the price?¡¹
¡¸At first nce, they were at suspiciously cheap prices. In this case, averaging about 10,000 doma.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Is that¡really okay?¡¹
¡¸They had this really hard-to-discern camouge, but more than half of the weapons were probably above average.¡¹
Jon and Arisa instinctively grimaced at the word ¡°camouge¡±. They weren¡¯t so sure they could trust a shop that did such things.
¡¸Camouge, eh¡¡¡¹
¡¸This¡is just my personal opinion, but I think the person running that shop is giving rookies like us a chance. Otherwise they wouldn¡¯t bother erecting that repel barrier.¡¹
As Jon began to have a cold look in his eyes, Kate hurriedly cut in with a follow-up. At first nce, it was true that the shop¡¯s atmosphere, the owner, and the items on sale were questionable, but for all the trouble they went to, the shop didn¡¯t have many products that were actually defective. If they were truly trying to clean out their defective stocks with a treasure trove as bait, there would have to be a lot more defective items.
Then again, before any of that, it was rather strange that the shop owner went to the trouble of preventing people froming to the shop with a barrier if they actually wanted to clean it out.
¡¸Repel barrier, eh¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, this is just¡seriously weird.¡¹
¡¸I think it¡¯s going to be fine. So Arisa, Jon, let¡¯s go¡¹
True, she couldn¡¯t deny there were many peculiar points, but Kate had actually been there and felt this could be their chance; she just couldn¡¯t exin it in person, hence why she did her best to persuade them toe along.
¡¸All right Kate, if you say so¡¡¡¹
¡¸We can always just decide whether to buy or not once we get there¡¡¡¹
Prodded by Kate¡¯s zeal, Jon and Arisa got off their backsides, promptly bringing along arger amount of funds just in case as they followed Kate, who led the way with light steps.
Unfortunately for her, the thief Kate did not happen to notice the person watching their group.
In a certain alleyway¡
¡ºSensei, the targets are on their way¡»
¡ºGotcha¡»
Hearing back from Mio, Hiroshi excitedly switched out the product lineup. She had contacted him right when a male customer (with no discernment) had picked a dud item and went off, so it was pretty good timing. Then again, this so-called ¡°dud¡± was higher than a ss 3 and lower than the norm, which was still good enough to avoid anyints price-wise.
Furthermore, Hiroshi was constantly shifting out the lineup each time a customer arrived. The probability of hitting a sess increased with every novice, while veterans had a higher chance of getting a dud. The man this time around was certainly not a youth, so the dud probability (withrger duds included) had been raised to seventy percent, and he had made a spectacr miss.
¡ºThey¡¯ll be here any moment¡»
¡ºI see ¡®em in the distance. It¡¯s business time, mate.¡»
Volume 4 10.5
Volume 4 Chapter 10.5
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Sensing other people within the magic blockade as soon as Mio reported in, Hiroshi upped the suspicious meter. Dressing up as a dodgy looking old man and changing his voice to fit the role was quite the impressive facade. This time someone who was of interest had arrived, so the product lineup was now at 100% guessing. If these individuals could get through the dubiousness of it all and recognize the big hit item (which had slightly less camouge than the others), it was their victory.
¡¸Is this the ce, Kate?¡¹
¡¸You can almost tell how intentional the shade is here¡¡¡¹
Shortly after preparations wereplete, the young targets had arrived at the shop. Needless to say, these young folks were John and the other two girls. This was quite the sight to see, but Hiroshi was actually happy to see this.
If this guy could already deal with more than one carnivorous woman, that would decrease the chances of Hiroshi being hounded would decrease. Normally these were Hiroshi¡¯s mortal enemies, and without a man they liked, their attacks would only increase in intensity. Thankfully, this world was quite magnanimous in allowing one person to have multiple partners, so the more men out there like him would mean less risk for beings like Hiroshi.
¡¸Heydy, are those two the ones with the purse strings?¡¹
¡¸Mm, yes. More urately, we really need to get a new sword for this guy.¡¹
¡¸Well, I thought someone¡¯d be showin¡¯ up about now, ¡®n I have out some of my finest goods, so feel free to pick out somethin¡¯. Everything¡¯s 10,000 doma, mate.¡¹
Hiroshi offered these items all at well-past exceptional prices. Jon had a really suspicious look on his face, and Arisa wasn¡¯t looking especially pleasant either.
¡¸I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be able to tell just by starin¡¯. Go on ahead ¡®n feel ¡®em in yer hands.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not¡cursed or anything, right?¡¹
¡¸Everything here¡¯s stuff my student made, so rest assured they ain¡¯t got enough skill to make cursed swords.¡¹
Exining one reason why the price was so low, Hiroshi tried to rx his customers. Jon, who seemed to have epted the reason to an extent, began earnestly surveying the goods to see if there was truly a bargain to find.
¡¸You said you have a student, so I assume you¡¯re a cksmith?¡¹
¡¸Well, somethin¡¯ along those lines, yup.¡¹
Hiroshi responded to Kate¡¯s sudden question with a shady smile on his face to apany his tone of voice. The unpleasant part of all of this was just how he wasn¡¯t telling a lie but also wasn¡¯t anywhere close to the truth.
¡¸Hey, I¡¯ll throw in a hint, how ¡®bout that. There¡¯s one l¡¯il sucker in the bunch that¡¯s a bit touched up and tougher than the rest.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Uhh, yeah, hold up there old man. Who the heck are you?¡¹
Now that Hiroshi had offered an unnecessary hint, Jon the main target was beyond serious. He red at Hiroshi with a scary face.
¡¸Who am I? Whatcha mean, boi?¡¹
¡¸Stop ying the fool. There are enchantments on every sword I see here. These aren¡¯t things you can just sell for 10,000 doma.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, of course yer gonna find one or two enchantments. Without ¡®em you¡¯d be stuck with ss three items, at least from my point of view.¡¹
Jon frowned at the term ¡°ss three¡±. These swords, even without all the enchantments, were slightly better quality than regr swords. If these were truly ss three weapons, then most of what was in Stiren was equal to a pile of scrap. Jon knew he wasn¡¯t the brightest tool in the shed, but he certainly wasn¡¯t so ignorant that he couldn¡¯t at least point that out.
¡¸Well hey, even if this old man¡¯s a lil bit shady, these are some good prices for y¡¯all youngsters, so why worry ¡®bout it?¡¹
¡¸¡¡I really don¡¯t like that answer, but whatever¡¡¡¹
While a bit put-off at all of this, Jon tried to look on the brighter side of things and took a few swords into his hands to examine them. When he had taken the fourth longsword out from the row of eight, his facial expression changed.
¡¸Hey old man. Is this one the same price as the rest?¡¹
¡¸Right on the money sonny¡¹
¡¸Then I¡¯ll go with this one.¡¹
Jon said as he held out the weapon. Just as Hiroshi had intended, it was the magically modified weapon he had dubbed ¡°Defender Sword¡±.
¡¸Right on the mark, boyo. Now, in respect of yer sharp eyes, I¡¯ll throw in a lil somethin¡¯ extra for 5,000 more. How ¡®bout it?¡¹
¡¸Extra? Like what?¡¹
¡¸A ring that heals its wearer¡¯s wounds ¡®n stamina as long as ya put mana into it. Put a bunch in at once and ya get effectsstin¡¯ up to fifteen seconds. And I threw in just a lil defense boost ¡®n life boost for free.¡¹
¡¸¡¡No, I¡¯m pretty sure that isn¡¯t something you sell just for 5,000¡¡¡¹
Arisa interjected in an exasperated tone at the word ¡°for free¡±. She waspletely confident that this so-called ¡°extra¡± could be resold for enough money to retire and livefortably.
¡¸Yer free to use it how ya like, but it¡¯s personalized to its owner. I don¡¯t think yer gonna have an easy time sellin¡¯ it, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸¡¡No, we¡¯re grateful for your kindness. We won¡¯t do that.¡¹
¡¸But I bet ya thought about it, didn¡¯tcha?¡¹
The suspicious shopowner responded, almost as if seeing right through her, and Arisa covered her reddened face instinctively.
¡¸So it¡¯s a total of 15,000, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Yup, that¡¯s it.¡¹
Ignoring Arisa and her embarrassment at being exposed for her shallowness, Jon jumped to purchasing. After paying up, he lightly swung the sword and checked the bnce.
¡¸¡¡I think this sword could get me pretty far into the tournament.¡¹
¡¸Well ain¡¯t that nice. Break a leg out there, mate.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Also, maybe this is indulging too much, but¡¡¡¹
At that point he cut off, turning to look at the two girls staring his way before speaking up again.
¡¸Are there any weapons suitable for these two? The ones they have here are fine, but now that I¡¯ve seen this sword, I sorta want a bit more, you know¡¡¡¹
¡¸Aight. Before I do that, can I have a look at that there sword dangling from yer waist?¡¹
¡¸This old thing? Its de is done for and it wasn¡¯t even a good weapon in the first ce.¡¹
Jon said as he handed the sword to the shopkeeper, not missing a beat. He seemed to now only see Hiroshi as a strange person rather than a bad one.
¡¸¡¡Aight, I think I get the picture.¡¹
¡¸Not very impressive, right?¡¹
¡¸Maybe, but what I do gather is that yer someone who takes good care of yer partners.¡¹
Listening to Hiroshi, the girls had oddly happy looks on their faces. In fact, Jon¡¯s sword was always well taken care of, with hardly a scratch on it. You wouldn¡¯t be able to tell it was a second-rate sword that he had used for two years. Yes, it was old and probably wouldn¡¯t havested much longer no matter what you did, but if Jon hadn¡¯t fought so fiercely in this tournament, it could very well havested around two more years. If Jon had not been the owner, it would very likely have broken from use long ago.
Then again, Hiroshi had actually understood this from what he saw in the battle royale preliminaries, but watching was one thing and actually touching was another thing. Hiroshi always wanted to be up close for appraising these sorts of things.
Volume 4 10.6
Volume 4 Chapter 10.6
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Hold on a sec. Imma check storage.¡¹
After returning Jon¡¯s ¡°partner¡±, Hiroshi pretended to peek into his bag as he secretively began transmission. These were second hand goods no longer in use, and Hiroshi wanted to check before selling them on his own decision.
¡ºHaruna-san, Bro¡»
¡ºWhat is it?¡»
¡ºSomething happen?¡»
¡ºI needa ask ya somethin¡¯ about the rapier Haruna-san used in Fane ¡®n the makeshift staff Bro uaed. Is it cool with y¡¯all if I sell ¡¯em off?¡»
Hiroshi could feel the air of confusion on the other side of the transmission in response to his sudden question. They didn¡¯t seem to get why he wanted to sell.
¡ºWell this is sudden. Why¡¯s that?¡»
¡ºCuz the guy said he wanted somethin¡¯ for his buddies too. I took a likin¡¯ to these folks, so I just wanna get ¡¯em weapons with decent functionality. How bout it?¡»
Not responding right away, the two of them went momentarily silent. They must have had their own conversation in the background.
¡ºI¡¯m cool with it, man. It¡¯s not like I was super attached or anything.¡»
¡ºI¡¯m fine with it too, as long as they take good care of it. Although I would like to keep it by my side, not using it would be unfair to the weapon.¡»
Hearing their answers, Hiroshi made his conclusion.
¡ºGotcha. Then imma sell the good weapons to these young¡¯uns with a promising future at a suitable price. I think these folks¡¯ll treat ¡®em with care.¡»
In fact, Hiroshi secretly thought his own team might be worse at handling weapons. Sure, their weapons had auto-regeneration, but even they had to tend to them, which was prone to result in fatal treatment due to this being an opportunity to train their low-proficiency extra skills. In addition to that, they had many an asion of fighting opponents that couldn¡¯t be defeated by treating their weapons gently or protecting with their skill, which only added to the consumption of resources.
Now, they weren¡¯t being reckless with their weapons on purpose, and were doing their best to thoroughly repair when need be, but overall Azuma Workshop seemed to break things beyond repair more than make things sometimes.
¡¸Kay, these¡¯re second-hand goods but I found two ones that¡¯re just right for ya.¡¹
Getting permission from Haruna and Tatsuya, Hiroshi was finally able to take out the rapier and staff, pretending to have finally found them. Of course, he had not forgotten to enchant the weapons with auto-repair while this was happening. Arisa scowled momentarily when she heard the word ¡°second-hand¡±, but then realized what Hiroshi had in his hands and widened her eyes.
¡¸Hey, you, the girl with the chestnut-colored hair. Ya use rapiers, daggers, etc for yer weapon of choice, right mate? ¡®N then you, the girl with the tinum-blonde hair. Yer a mage, so ya want a magic staff, right?¡¹
¡¸¡¡This is what you call second-hand? What on earth happened to its owner¡¡?¡¹
¡¸We found owners more fittin¡¯ of the weapons. Still, the previous owners did warn me to only give ¡®em to people who¡¯ll take good care of ¡®em.¡¹
Arisa straightened her posture at the words ¡°take good care of ¡®em¡±. It was slightly inferior to what Jon had found, but there was no mistaking it: this rapier was more than just enough; it was incredible. Without enchantments it was far superior. These sorts of weapons were always the kind you got once in a lifetime. Arisa was scared to even imagine what kind of qualities this new rapier would have.
¡¸Both weapons are 10,000 doma. We do have ¡®em made to not break, but make sure ya don¡¯t treat ¡®em too roughly.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I know. We¡¯d never get into situations beyond our control that would require the use of crazy weapons like these anyway.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup. Even if an adventurer¡¯s job is to adventure, there¡¯s a mighty fine line between actin¡¯ responsible ¡®n actin¡¯ reckless.¡¹
The three adventurers nodded with serious faces at Hiroshi¡¯s words. New faces like them usually got carried away when receiving such rare weapons for groundbreaking prices. Still, even if they were not necessarily veterans, Jon¡¯s team had a good amount of experience. They were not about to make things more difficult than necessary. Now that they had ovee recklessness and could distinguish between adventure and foolery, Hiroshi didn¡¯t need to tell them to be wary of pride.
¡¸Then in respect of yer partner, here¡¯s thest freebie. Lemme see¡¹
¡¸¡¡Alright¡¹
Jon reluctantly handed their ¡°partners¡± over to Hiroshi. He wondered if it was like this for the previous owners of the weapons Arisa and Kate bought.
But in reality, Tatsuya didn¡¯t feel all that attached to his makeshift staff, and Haruna didn¡¯t care all that much when she shifted weapons.
¡¸Now then, here¡¯s thest job for ya partner.¡¹
Hiroshi said, lightly prodding the lost portion with his fingers. The next moment, a rift opened up in the sword and the de was smashed up without a trace left. And then¡
¡¸The sword¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, ya see, weapons that ya use for long periods of time can be real good catalysts for strong enchantments.¡¹
Jon looked at his new partner with bewildered eyes as Hiroshi spoke. Now the camouge was entirely undone, and his skills and experience were now clearly far inferior to this weapon.
¡¸It¡¯s the same for ours¡¡¡¹
¡¸I could actually see this weapon being the one in control here¡¡¡¹
The standards were now also raised on Arisa and Kate¡¯s weapons simultaneously. This was far past a joke at this point. Kate in particr seemed like she¡¯d be thrown about by her support weapon without even being able to adjust to it and use magic.
¡¸I also personalized ¡®em, so these¡¯re all yers. Thest enchantment also gits stronger the more ya use it with care, so that¡¯s another reason to be careful.¡¹
¡¸Yes, I wouldn¡¯t treat it any different either way.¡¹
¡¸Adventurers always take good care of their partners. That¡¯s just how it is right?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re not that stupid, or at least we¡¯d like to think that.¡¹
Jon and the others dered with serious faces at Hiroshi. These weapons, an extravagant bargain, were too strong for them. The group swore that they would one day be worthy of owning these weapons that outranked them, acknowledged by anyone who saw them.
Jon and his team wouldter on charge through the ranks of this year¡¯s tournament with great vigor, clutching out a close match in finals with opponents several ranks above them, oveing all challenges with skill, their new weapons, and teamwork, before leaving their names among the top five adventurers in Forre. This first step would be widely discussed afterward, but behind all of it was a story not well known (nor should it be). What was this story? Well¡
¡¸Well that was one heck of a bet, y¡¯all¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hey blockhead, there was literally no point lowering the price if you just went and bet it in football pools!!¡¹
¡¸But y¡¯know, I never thought they¡¯d get first ce.¡¹
¡¸Wait, Hiroshi-kun, how much did you pay?¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, I bet all the earnings from runnin¡¯ the odd shop during the prelims¡¹
¡¸Whoa¡¡¡¹
This was the difficult-to-exin backstory surrounding Jon¡¯s team¡¯s victory: Hiroshi had thrown all of his shop earnings in Jon¡¯s favor (Jon didn¡¯t have many people betting for him) and hoisted arge amount of money from the other football pool participants, having set them up.
Volume 4 11.1
Volume 4 Chapter 11.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸They got us good.¡¹
¡¸Aye, that they did.¡¹
After the tournament ended, this specificment was all you could hear being whispered at the Forre king¡¯s private party.
¡¸I figured that as long as he doesn¡¯t care for prizes, he would not be directly participating, but I never thought that he would give a nameless contestant a weapon and have them win.¡¹
¡¸Indeed, we were a bit careless.¡¹
The core members of the king¡¯spany said words that would normally apany a bitter tone, but the expressions on their faces were actually that of admiration.
¡¸I figured they wouldn¡¯t win just by getting better weapons, but apparentlymon sense isn¡¯t everything. This was quite the loss.¡¹
¡¸You too,d? I also ended up having to pay a staggering amount of money.¡¹
The authorities all had simr financial holes as a result of this expenditure, and yet they all talked of it in such cheerful voices, assessing who ¡°suffered¡± the most damage. It was a very strange drinking party. As to why this was not really a banquet or party, that was because of this harmonious atmosphere.
¡¸Still, even if you say it hurts your wallet, is this not a paltry sum of money for all of you?¡¹
¡¸Perhaps in terms of our family, but not for pocket money. This really did take a toll.¡¹
¡¸Aye, mayhaps I should reduce the amount of times I go drinking this month.¡¹
These affluent nobles, who could easily spend money on drinks for three generations, spoke as if they weremoners. The way they acted was also reminiscent of themon folk, enjoying liquor in a bar on the outskirts of town and loving football pools more than anyone. This sport was enjoyed by all echelons of society, from the nobles to the knights.
In addition, the nobles had this strong idea that only fools ruined themselves over football pools, so no oneined about anything more than losing some pocket money. If you questioned their drinking habits, however, everyone would essentially cover their ears saying ¡°Ah, ah, I can¡¯t hear youuu¡± and ignore the question.
¡¸So what about Your Highness?¡¹
¡¸Me, you ask? I brought in quite the profit. What of it?¡¹
¡¸Sharp as ever, Your Highness.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because I heard that those fellows sold their weapons to Jon Cotori¡¯s group. I gambled quite the sum to test both their mettle and my observation skills.¡¹
As a result, the king of Forre seeded in increasing his pocket money by a wide margin, hence why this drinking party had meat and drink twice the value it usually did.
And no one in this country would tell him not to get money via pools.
¡¸Still, I fall short of their profits.¡¹
¡¸Is it really that stark a contrast?¡¹
¡¸Aye. They put all their earnings from the back alleyway into the pool.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s just incredible confidence on their part¡¡¡¹
Upon hearing the king¡¯s words, the room¡¯s atmosphere took the shape of a grimace. Ultimately it was a huge sess, but weapons were still weapons, no matter how cheap one sold them for. And the amount of weapons sold was surely not low by any means. Betting all of that on one of their customers winning a tournament was impossible without confidence in both the weapons sold and the customers who bought them.
Also, the first battle Jon fought in had him fairly high on the pools (not so much the second or finals). His opponent, although not a favorite to win, was still skilled enough to where simply having a good weapon would not overturn the odds.
¡¸Seriously. Thed chooses a nameless adventurer capable enough to transform when carrying one good weapon and sells his team equipment for cheap, backing them from the sidelines. Then he makes up for the deficit by ripping off the masses. As someone who has already taken the backbone out of Fane and Darl¡¯s higher-ups, this is quite well thought-out. ¡¹
¡¸Indeed, twas a spectacr move that required the necessary judgement.¡¹
¡¸Even though I shared a small part of the profits, I have to say it is hard to tell whether this bunch is virtuous or wicked.¡¹
The Forre king evaluated Hiroshi¡¯s meddling in the tournament in a magnanimous light. In actuality, Hiroshi was using and manufacturing the mountain of ore he dug up in Crest Cave practically for free, not suffering a ¡°deficit¡± of any kind, plus the little experiment with the pools. The money he had thrust at the pools was not part of the original n, but it also wouldn¡¯t hurt to gamble it all, so winning big was indeed a surprise to him. The king and his friends didn¡¯t know the fine details and therefore assumed it to all be part of Hiroshi¡¯s n from the get-go.
¡¸Still, there is one thing I wonder.¡¹
¡¸What be that?¡¹
¡¸I have no qualms with recognizing him for finding that loophole, but is it really fine to let this go unnoticed?¡¹
¡¸Why not?¡¹
One of the leaders asked the king only for the king to question them back. Sure, the way that Hiroshi went about gathering this money did feel like cheating, but which part precisely? And it was exactly for this reason (no foul y had actually urred) that the leader could not quite find an exnation.
¡¸That is what we call not being able to exin your reasoning.¡¹
¡¸But if this happens time and time again¡¡¡¹
¡¸I doubt they are so deprived that they will try that again.¡¹
Everyone around the king just grimaced. If all Hiroshi wanted to do was earn money, he could easily do so without taking such a risky method, since he was part of a workshop. Before that even, judging by his usual actions, it was doubtful as to whether he even wanted to earn money.
¡¸Besides, even if we were to ban this, what aspect of it would we ban?¡¹
¡¸What precisely might you mean?¡¹
¡¸Would we ban importing equipment? Or would we ban purchases during tournaments? Would we ban people selling equipment from entering betting pools?¡¹
¡¸T-That¡¯s¡¡¡¹
¡¸Banning imports is already defying the whole point of the tournament. Banning purchases would mean the immediate failure of any contestant who breaks their weapon, and the merchants selling equipment would no doubt revolt. Banning gambling participation is almost the same thing as taking away half the enjoyment of it all, which could lead to riots.¡¹
The leader who had disyed opposition to the king¡¯s opinion could think of nothing further to say, falling silent.
¡¸Sure, there may be some sort of an issue with this, but it isn¡¯t that easy to pull off. Changing regtions every time exceptions ur would justplicate things.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Without anything too insane, we should be careful in considering change.¡¹
¡¸And even if we did, we would need to carefully consider the problems sprouting from the change and the problems stemming from the current regtions in addition to anticipating the unexpected so as to quell any possible chaos that would fly in the face of this whole n.¡¹
No one countered the king¡¯s decision. In the first ce, without insane capabilities like the weapon Jon now had, this idea could nevere to be, and in many cases, selling weapons of that caliber would make a better profit than gambling. Also, while the possibility of victory existed with new weaponry in the preliminary rounds, there weren¡¯t many people who could easily search for human resources with weak-looking equipment.
¡¸Anyhow, this owner of Azuma Workshop is someone I would much like to chat with over food sometime.¡¹
¡¸About that¡it appears you will have that opportunity soon.¡¹
¡¸Is this regarding the priestessdy?¡¹
¡¸Yes. After all, the rtionship between Azuma Workshop and Alfemina¡¯s priestess is famous.¡¹
¡¸It does appear to be of quite the discussion.¡¹
¡¸If I may oblige, it would be very strange to not be widely discussed.¡¹
The king nodded at the leader¡¯sment. Hiroshi had rescued Aearis before opening the workshop and had been a huge help in bringing her back to her priestess position- quite a famous example. Considering she was also ten at the time, it made a lot of sense for her to trust Hiroshi and friends, and no one doubted that she gave them special treatment, not even the key figures in Forre.
Of course, it wasn¡¯t like everyone felt good about Aearis being on amicable terms with these outsiders. There were those who, with envy, suspected that Hiroshi had a lot of influence on ount of Aearis and the royal family from the incident with Katarina. Azuma Workshop¡¯s name had quickly spread, expanding its domain. There was much to be wary of, and bad rumors were not few by any means.
But it was also unclear to anyone watching from the sidelines as to whether Hiroshi actually benefited from his royal connections. The only clear example of the royal family giving them something was Wuls Workshop. Although they were also involved in the slum soil renovation project, that also had several vendors sharing in the order, and so Azuma Workshop didn¡¯t exactly benefit from that.
And then for the other business like the main seasoning recipes, they were even offering malted rice ferment alongside miso and soy sauce. The only reason they currently monopolized these recipes was because the other factoriespanies still couldn¡¯t make enough products to get shares for themselves. In fact, they were already getting shares inparatively easier-to-make condiments like mayonnaise. This resulted in there being no way to get soy sauce other than via Azuma Workshop, and it became a royalmodity.
Other than this special treatment, there wasn¡¯t much else going on, which spawned needless concerns like these, but this was an issue bound toe around anywhere. The people in question, whether they realized it or not, were building up quite the ill reputation by doing whatever they pleased in this country.
¡¸We had our Fane envoys tell us about the workshop members when they entered our country. From what we gathered on a regr basis at least, they don¡¯t seem to be doing anything shady or abusing their connections to royalty. If anything it seems like they mainly suffer through trying to respond to all the demands from the kingdom.¡¹
¡¸I cannot really talk, but royalty typically demands selfish things.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Anyhow, back to the discussion, ording to Her Majesty the priestess princess, they¡¯ve been going around to temples in every region. We suspect that they will be apanying the priestess princess in some way with Elza Temple as well.¡¹
¡¸Still, it is shameful to have to borrow the aid of another country in our own, especially when it involves crucial facilities.¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s only so much we can do about that. Elza-sama¡¯s priestess suddenly died, and then this sequence of events happened before we could find a sessor. Even in Fane¡¯s case, when the predecessor ascended, they had borrowed help from Darl and us, so might as well call it even.¡¹
¡¸Aye.¡¹
The king felt a grimacee across his face at the minister¡¯s words. No matter how much power you had as a country, there were plenty of things that could not be done without enlisting the help of others. He knew this of course, but still, being so helpless was pathetic.
¡¸At any rate, this is a matter of great importance for the country. As would it ruin my image to just let things solve themselves, I must have a direct conversation with the priestess princess at least once and request them to solve this on behalf of the country.¡¹
¡¸It is as you say.¡¹
The prime minister gave a bow upon hearing the king¡¯s intention. With their activities in Forre drawing to a finish, it was atst time for Azuma Workshop toe into contact with the royal house of Forre.
¡¸It sounds like the tournament went off without a hitch.¡¹
¡¸It would indeed appear so.¡¹
The next day, Aearis and her team had atst reached Stiren, sensing theck of vitality in the air after a celebration.
¡¸Elle-sama, did you have an interest in the tournament?¡¹
Artiem asked Aearis as she drove the vehicle at a slow, safe pace. Figuring that Douga would have trouble driving all the time, Artiem had practiced driving once the car had been delivered. It had taken quite some time before she could ride in an automobile, and yet here she was driving after only three days, perfectly adjusted. This only goes to show how unbnced this girl was.
¡¸Not so much for that, but I had a deep interest in what Stiren looked like during opening time.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¡¹
Artiem truly got what Aearis wasmunicating. Aearis liked seeing lively cities, hence why she loved festivals. It wasn¡¯t like she wanted to participate in events or the like, but those events were what made the atmosphere and the people more lively and cheerful, and watching all this was beyond fun for her.
Of course, it wasn¡¯t like she hated calm, quiet areas. It was just that calm and quiet was different from a deste ce with ack of energy. Also, she didn¡¯t necessarily hate the remnants of energy and loneliness left over from festivals, but those kinds of things had to be after fully experiencing the festival, or else such a half-baked sensation wouldn¡¯t work.
Artiem and Douga understood that mentality full well, hence why they felt somewhat regretful about not being able to make it in time for the tournament.
Volume 4 11.2
Volume 4 Chapter 11.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Festival is over¡«¡¹
¡¸Not many stands¡«¡¹
¡¸Too bad, Elle-chan¡«¡¹
The octo-gals, floating in the backseat, wasted no time in pointing out how dejected Aearis was. Aearis slightly grimaced at what they said.
¡¸Well, it is true that most of the strange shops distributed ording to the people present at the tournament are nearly all gone¡¡¡¹
¡¸No shady shops in sight¡«¡¹
¡¸No forgeries being sold¡«¡¹
¡¸Less cheap food¡«¡¹
¡¸Only half as interesting¡«¡¹
The octogals lined up in a disorderly manner all the fun aspects of festivals. Douga made a slightly sharp face. He was very thankful to Hiroshi and friends, but felt rather pained that they had instilled the slightest expectations in Aearis¡¯s mind.
Needless to say, this was clearly not the way that a priestess princess ought to feel about festivals, given her status. Douga could take a few steps back and allow her to go around eating some cheap food, but some items, like elbel toad sweat ointment, were not only suspicious but appeared not to have any proper effects, and then she also interested herself in shoddy ¡°handy¡± goods goods that would crumble with hardly any use. As her guard/chaperone, it was truly an inconvenience to have her waste so much (although this was mere pocket change) on things at times.
That being said, Douga was most disgruntled with Hiroshi, who had probably told Aearis the most about festivals despite hardly even going out to them out of his fear of women.
¡¸I think we should eat something light about now, but what do you all think?¡¹
Somewhat sensing a weird turn in direction, Artiem steered the conversation back on track.
¡¸Aye, that we should¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s a good point, as my stomach is beginning to feel empty.¡¹
Douga and Aearistched on to Artiem¡¯s change of topic. Sure, they were indeed famished, but still felt a slight impediment in continuing this conversation and were relieved to get out of it.
¡¸So what shall we eat?¡¹
¡¸True, as if we¡¯re not careful we might end up going to a dwarf banquet¡¡¡¹
Douga groaned worriedly at Artiem¡¯s question. These dwarves would find any excuse to throw a party, at noon or whenever. This may paint them as drunkards, but in actuality they had an unfathomable amount of work on a daily basis and it was a general consensus not toment on the frequency of these parties. Also, even though they tried toe up with pretexts for partying, the dwarves knew when to turn their party game on and off, which was exactly why no one could stop them from partying, which was one of the issues.
¡¸Right, it would be bad if we got roped into one of those events.¡¹
¡¸It would be one thing for me, but youngsters like Your Majesty and Artiem participating in such things would have too many problems.¡¹
Douga deeply sighed at Aearis¡¯sment, a grimace on his face. There were not many humans whose livers could survive a dwarf party unscathed. Quite honestly, Makoto was an exceptional case. There were only one or two people in viges with above-average poptions who could match her level.
¡¸Oh?¡¹
¡¸Elle-sama?¡¹
¡¸Ah, it¡¯s nothing. I see that there are a lot of people gathering around what appears to be a line of stands, is all.¡¹
Artiem stopped the car momentarily at Aearis¡¯s words. This road happened to be for royalty to ride through in limousines, so stopping in the wrong area would be extremely inconvenient for others, but since something had piqued Aearis¡¯s interest, Artiem felt obligated as a servant to listen rather than ignore her and move on.
¡¸I wish to disembark and check this out for a moment¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡I don¡¯t see why not, as long as we¡¯re all together¡¹
Briefly considering Aearis¡¯s selfish request, Douga decided to give permission. They were currently the procession for the princess, not a group of traveling merchants. These garments would not sh well with the area. Still, at the word ¡°stand¡±, even Douga had to admit he felt enticed, and figured there was no harm in checking out the area.
¡¸Then could I have you make sure there¡¯s no one dangerous ahead for these children?¡¹
¡¸Aye. I think that is in order.¡¹
Nodding at Artiem¡¯s proposal, Douga escorted Aearis out of the car. Seeing that Douga had safely gotten off, Artiem followed suit and stored the car. The onlookers made noise as they saw the strange designed golem car that had been blocking the road a moment ago suddenly disappear in front of them.
¡¸We¡¯ll go take a look then¡«¡¹
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
Seeing the octogals fly off, the princess procession sketched out the area near the entrance to this vige of booths. Well, it was more of a rough wall of low fences to keep horses from entering than it was an ¡°entrance¡± persay, so all you had to do was climb over it and you¡¯d be inside. This was fine for Douga, but Aearis and Artiem would have some problems doing that in their current dress.
¡¸Hm, it appears that the entrance is over that way.¡¹
¡¸We may as well cool off while we¡¯re at it.¡¹
Nodding at Aearis¡¯s proposal, Douga walked over to the vige of booths selling misceneous items. This jumbled atmosphere of different scents from different foods mixed together somehow enlivened the heart. Douga wanted to get his hands on all kinds of foods if that meant satisfying Aearis¡¯s curiosity, but since he was not more hungry than slightly so, he admonished himself to not pick out just anything.
¡¸¡¡Aye, ye cannot find a ce more suitable than a booth to find crowds of people¡¡¡¹
The octogals on his shoulders informed Douga that there were no dangerous individuals in sight, so he continued onward until he heard a familiar, beautiful voice.
¡¸Haruna-san¡¯s at it again, I see.¡¹
¡¸Aye, that she is.¡¹
Haruna¡¯s booth had an unbelievable amount of presence. Artiem and Douga weren¡¯t sure whether to feel exasperated or awed at her direct performance. Aearis had left her two attendants behind as she got in the end of the line, her eyes glittering. Those lined up took one look at her and then parted like the Ten Commandments did with Moses.
Aearis herself didn¡¯t intend for this to happen, but apparently she had an aura that unconsciously forced bystanders to make way for her. Her eyes wide open at this sudden turn of events, Aries bowed her head apologetically, which only instilled further awe in the crowd.
¡¸Elle-chan, long time no see. Did you just arrive today?¡¹
As she smiled awkwardly at this situation, Haruna called out to Aearis while preparing hotdogs for three. She seemed to have figured that Aearis hade here just to fill her stomach a little.
¡¸Long time no see, Haruna-sama. Yes, we arrived just now.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah? Good job making it all the way here. I have some Kansai hot dogs here. You okay with these?¡¹
¡¸Yes!¡¹
Aearis nodded at Haruna¡¯s question, her eyes sparkling as she took the hot dogs. Douga soon came up behind her to pay for three, and Aearis gracefully bit into hers while waiting.
¡¸¡¡Yes, this is the taste I like.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m d you always enjoy it. Hey, while you¡¯re here I might as well give you a little something extra.¡¹
Smiling at Aearis, who was clearly enjoying herself as she ate, Haruna took out theted stove from her bag and began preparations. The customers in line mored over what could be happening.
¡¸¡¡Extra? Are we talking monster ingredients?¡¹
¡¸Yep. Just try it and see for yourselves.¡¹
Haruna said as she dipped skewer-sized chunks of meat in some sauce before putting them on theting to cook. In less than a minute, the meat was fully cooked, and a stimting scent never before smelled permeated the atmosphere, stirring up everyone¡¯s appetite and holding them entranced.
¡¸Alright, it¡¯splete. Still hot though, so take care.¡¹
¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹
Piercing the cooked kabayaki meat onto a skewer, Haruna handed it to Aearis, who already seemed to have finished her hotdog by this time, receiving the shish kabob and gracefully cooling it down before nibbling off one of the edge pieces. Her expression soon grew into a smile, her blue eyes glittering as she looked at Haruna.
¡¸It¡¯s very, very delicious!!¡¹
¡¸Great, d to hear it.¡¹
Handing additional skewers to Douga and Artiem, who had been waiting as they watched Aearis try hers, Haruna smiled happily. Yes, this was a recipe she had absolute confidence in, but it was always good to hear that your food tasted good.
¡¸Hm. Aye, this be some tasty food indeed,ss.¡¹
¡¸What kind of meat is this anyway?¡¹
This particr meat had thebined qualities of allnd meat and their highest rated cuts, with near-perfect harmony and taste. Astonished at the practically miraculous harmony of meat and sauce, Douga and Artiem let out their impressions as they also softened their expressions to a shameful degree while they looked at Aearis, who was chewing on her meat innocently.
Volume 4 11.3
Volume 4 Chapter 11.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Shall I tell you?¡¹
Everyone there nodded at Haruna, who had given a response to Artiem¡¯s question.
¡¸Right before we moved base to Stiren, we took down a behemoth in Crest Cave. This particr chunk would be near the rear end.¡¹
¡¸I see, that exins why it is tasty.¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san has done it again.¡¹
The priestess princess and her procession had expected that kind of answer from Haruna. However, the crowd around them didn¡¯t seem to quite grasp the situation¡
¡¸Did she just say¡¡¡¢behemoth¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Wait, did she seriously take down that thing?¡¹
¡¸Nah, she¡¯s clearly just trying to act cool.¡¹
¡¸But I don¡¯t see why she would risk telling lies to people of that status¡¡¡¹
The crowd became disorderly when they heard the outrageous name. Douga, who saw this, masticated thest piece of food as he thought to himself.
¡¸Hm, aye. Haruna, I have a bit of an idea for ye.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸While it¡¯s true that they gave the line to us spontaneously, I wish to make up for cutting through line. Can ye make enough of it to feed this many people?¡¹
¡¸We have plenty of meat to go around if you give me enough time.¡¹
¡¸Then please do. I shall pay you as much as you require.¡¹
¡¸Roger. After that I¡¯ll add your tab.¡¹
Haruna said as she began cooking up more and more behemoth meat chunks. Some new customers arrived, enticed by the smell, but¡
¡¸We¡¯re full here¡«¡¢we¡¯re full here¡«¡¹
¡¸Only the people who were lined up first please¡«¡¹
¡¸Come next time¡«¡¹
Suddenly there were more octogals in the area (either they split off or called their friends), blocking the big path as they led customers to other booths, with disinterested voices. Sometimes there were unreasonable customers, but since the octogals were mollusks and extraordinarily strong against blows, they wouldn¡¯t get damage from regr punches.
¡¸Punishment for bad boys and girls¡«¡¹
¡¸Che¡ðDivine Punishment¡«¡¹
¡¸Fig¡«¡¢fig¡«¡¹
For customers who were both unruly and physically violent, the octogals began saying things like that as they yed a variety of pranks (that we would rather not discuss) in order to drive them away. The other customers watching this spectacle didn¡¯t seem to want to be in that situation in public, deciding not to pick quarrels and go off to other booths.
¡¸Cooking done¡«?¡¡Done¡«?¡¹
¡¸Yep. Thanks.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re wee¡«¡¹
Estimating thepletion of the cooking, the octogals had returned to their original size and assembled in front of the food stand. Thanking them, Haruna handed out some scraps. You might see this as a reward for organizing the line.
¡¸So Elle-chan, since you came here, I¡¯ll take it as a sign to close up shop for the day.¡¹
¡¸Is it that really okay with you?¡¹
¡¸We didn¡¯t have much in stock anyway. I¡¯ll either have everyone finish it off or sell on a different asion.¡¹
Haruna said, quickly closing up shop. In actuality, their stock consisted of curry bread and hot dogs, with abined total of fifty servings. This was the kind of amount that would not be hard to finish off in their home, especially considering the Prevent Rot enchantment storage.
¡¸Plus, this seems to be an unavoidable situation.¡¹
¡¸Right you are¡¡¡¹
Thinking of everything that would be happening after this, Aearis stiffened her expression. Thanks to Hiroshi¡¯s meddling in Crest Cave, the situation went from worst to much better. Still, this wasn¡¯t an optimistic sort of situation and would not change the fact that they had to resolve it as soon as possible.
¡¸Hold on a moment, kay? I need to clean up here.¡¹
Haruna said, putting away thest bit of machinery before cing the booth into the capsule. Any onlookers made amotion at this unexpected function.
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s go. Where¡¯s the car?¡¹
¡¸Artiem-sama has it.¡¹
¡¸This is pretty far away from where we¡¯re going, so I think the car¡¯s the best option. Is it cool if I hop along?¡¹
¡¸Of course.¡¹
Aearis responded cheerfully to Haruna¡¯s request. Artiem had already returned to the entrance to bring out the limousine again.
¡¸So Artiem-san¡¯s driving now, huh¡¹
¡¸Her driving is far safer and gentle, so feel free to rx,ssie.¡¹
¡¸I can kinda see that honestly.¡¹
Haruna was surprised to hear that Artiem was driving, but after hearing Douga¡¯s additional exnation she kind of had to agree.
¡¸Ah, sorry. Gonna make a little detour.¡¹
¡¸Something happen, Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸I need to go report to the trade guild and let them know I¡¯m done.¡¹
Nodding at Haruna, Artiem drove safely and gently as she listened to Haruna¡¯s directions. After this little detour, the priestess princess and her group went straight to Stiren Workshop.
¡¸Sorry for asking ye toe so soon.¡¹
Fastforward to Stiren Castle. Soon after Haruna got back, she was met by the Fane ambassador and Forre Castle¡¯s emissary, and Aearis ended up going into the castle before she even had a chance to rx.
¡¸I intended to see you right after analyzing the situation, so it really wouldn¡¯t have made a difference. Please do not worry on my behalf.¡¹
¡¸I am d to hear that.¡¹
Aearis kept a smile on her face as she responded to the Forre king¡¯s apology. It was in fact a bit hard on her to not have a breather or two, but considering how she got a quicker permission to meet with the king, this situation was ultimately a plus.
¡¸Then let¡¯s get this errand over with quickly. Ye no doubt anticipated this discussion concerning Elza Temple.¡¹
The king charged straight into the conversation without any of the pleasantries. Still, everyone was aware of the situation, and thus no one showed any signs of surprise.
¡¸There¡¯s been an abnormality on the road to Elza Temple. I do not know the precise time this happened, but it was probably after Crest Cave became a dungeon.¡¹
¡¸I have also confirmed this through Alfemina-sama. I¡¯d like to apologize for something.¡¹
¡¸What might that be?¡¹
¡¸The crown prince of our country investigated without asking your permission in order to find more information. I apologize for not prioritizing the report and petition for permission.¡¹
¡¸That is fine. Although it is concealed from the general public, it is not off-limits. There is no issue with someone entering or researching the location. Besides, such a location is not the kind that just anyone can stomp into without the proper qualifications. The fact that you were able to find the path to the temple without permission shows that Elza-sama has permitted you, and therefore I have no reason to judge you.¡¹
¡¸I thank you for your generous words.¡¹
Volume 4 11.4
Volume 4 Chapter 11.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Aearis had no qualms with apologizing if it meant having a frank exchange of conversation. The king likewise responded in an easygoing manner. Usually this would be an international affair, but other than being rted deeply to the royal family, the temple had always been independent from the royal house. The only exception was Alfemina Temple, which was inside the Fane pce, but it was still essible to the public and the royal family could not interfere with that.
¡¸But that is but a trivial issue. What I am more interested in is the information that His Highness Layotte brought back with him.¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately for his informant, who risked their life to obtain it, the information wasn¡¯t especially important. As expected, the road to the temple ispletely isted. The area near the entrance is a bottomless swamp and the trees around it have been turned monstrous. ¡°Hands¡± alsoe out of nowhere and attempt to snag any intruders. Andstly, if you do get captured, you¡¯re going to lose a ton of your life force. We only know these things listed.¡¹
¡¸That is still better than what our investigation team came up with, as they have yet to even return.¡¹
Aearis nodded when she heard the king¡¯s grave words. He then turned to the members of Azuma Workshop, who had been listening intently.
¡¸So, Azuma Workshop¡How do you intend to use this information?¡¹
¡¸Honestly, we were gonna think about it after hearin¡¯ Aearis-sama¡¯s n, so we ain¡¯t got no ideas right now.¡¹
¡¸Very well. Then, Priestess Princess, what was your n?¡¹
¡¸After receiving permission from Your Majesty, we were going to start by purifying the entrance and having Azuma Workshope right after that. Alfemina-sama has entrusted us with various tools, which should provide a better result inparison to plunging in recklessly. Unfortunately, I am but a burden when ites to battle, so I would be staying posted with Artiem, Aranwen Temple¡¯s priestess to keep watch over Stiren Temple.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi and Aearis¡¯s ¡°n¡±, the king nodded. As the only current information they had involved the traps near the entrance, there wasn¡¯t much they could n out. Considering how Alfemina herself had given them tools (of which the members of Azuma Workshop were probably the only ones capable of using), this was much better than charging in recklessly.
¡¸All right. Then you mean to say that using those tools, Azuma Workshop can get into the main temple, yes?¡¹
¡¸This is notpletely guaranteed, but no doubt better than entrusting anyone else with the n. I am convinced of this.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s team had difficult expressions on their faces as they heard this full disy of trust. They hadn¡¯t done enough as adventurers to deserve such recognition, or so they would im.
¡¸Then I make my decision. Azuma Workshop, I entrust you withfreeing Elza Temple.¡¹
¡¸As ya wish. But don¡¯tcha think it¡¯s a bit soon to be trustin¡¯ us based solely off that?¡¹
¡¸I know full well from speaking to you that none of ye are the kinds of folk to dirty your hands with selfish ambition or conspiracy. No one with a treacherous heart admits to theirck of nning. And besides¡¡¹
¡¸Besides?¡¹
¡¸Ye cashed in on a lot of money by giving a weapon to an unnamed adventurer and betting on their victory. If ye wanted to increase yer prestige, ye would not resort to such a roundabout, uncertain method. If ye truly could make a weapon strong enough to help an unnamed adventurer win, ye could simply give it to some noble somewhere, and ye have the eyes for which people could win, so ye would not choose just any noble out there.¡¹
Hiroshi wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to this over-the-top praise. Sure, he thought it would be interesting to have Jon win, but he wasn¡¯t exactly assured on his victory. Doubtless the king would not ept this exnation anyway.
¡¸So how confident are ye about seeding in this n?¡¹
¡¸Since we do have Alfemina-sama assistin¡¯ us in this, the possibility sure ain¡¯t zero, but as we don¡¯t know the full situation, we also can¡¯t guarantee nothin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Oh?¡¹
¡¸When ites to makin¡¯ smeltin¡¯ forges, which we have experience and repeated sess with, as long as the location is secure ¡®n there ain¡¯t no idents, I can guarantee sess. But in this case the conditions are unclear ¡®n quite a bit different from what our line of business is ustomed to, so I can¡¯t just act all alpha ¡®n tell ya to leave it to us.¡¹
Hiroshi wasn¡¯t trying to hide anything, make anything up, or portray himself as better than he was, to which the king of Forre smiled, truly enjoying this.
¡¸I like this attitude of yours. Others may have quivered at the thought of abandoning their responsibility, but ye have the guts to admit ye do not know if this shall seed, and so be it.¡¹
¡¸The real silly thing to do is talk big ¡®n fail. Besides, not bein¡¯ able to tell ¡®em ya don¡¯t know means the quality of the job¡¯s unstable, ¡®n that leads to more casualties ¡®n trouble for the client. Runnin¡¯ from challenges ¡®n speakin¡¯ honestly about the risks arepletely different things.¡¹
¡¸As I thought, you are truly a craftsman, through and through.¡¹
¡¸And Your Highness also seems to have the temperament of a craftsman, by the looks of it.¡¹
¡¸Aye. I would not be called the king of the country of iron if I did not have that mindset.¡¹
The king and Hiroshi were hitting it off in the strangest way. Haruna and the others opened their eyes wide at how cool Hiroshi looked for once.
¡¸Ah, umm, Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸Usually I feel like you¡¯d chicken out at a task like this¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh. Yeah, that¡¯s cuz I changed my state of mind after Crest Cave.¡¹
Hiroshi concluded with a faraway look in response to Haruna¡¯s insolent outburst.
¡¸Was just thinkin¡¯ to myself, dungeons ¡®n the like ain¡¯t nothin¡¯pared to how scary chocte is.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Haruna joined Hiroshi in making a faraway look, unsure if she was persuaded by him or not. It was problematic for Hiroshi to consider something like a tower golem to be worse than the chocte incident, but she had even more of a problem with how she felt a bit persuaded.
¡¸Well, I can¡¯t very well be careless, so we gotta brace ourselves.¡¹
¡¸Definitely.¡¹
¡¸I apologize for forcing such trouble upon you, but if you seed, then I will give you all the metal in the national treasury that we have not been able to process and permit the connection of your workshop, Wulls workshop, and the Crest Cave base in addition to throwing arge banquet to celebrate the freedom of Elza Temple. Do the best that ye can.¡¹
¡¸Well, I can assure ya I¡¯ll do ma best.¡¹
Hiroshi gave a ratherckluster reply to the king¡¯s generous reward. He didn¡¯t have an interest inpensation from the beginning, plus he felt parties to be dangerous, but saving Elza Temple was an important task to Hiroshi¡¯s group.
¡¸Your Highness, I don¡¯t think that a banquet is necessary¡¡¡¹
¡¸What do ye mean? It is not every day that we get to have a country-wide celebration, no? Do ye think I would turn away a pretext to throw a party when we barely have anything besides New Years?¡¹
Tatsuya¡¯s words (concerned for Hiroshi) were cut down by His Highness¡¯s vigorous statement.
¡¸Oh crap. This king is basically a dwarf in disguise¡¡¡¹
¡¸Tatsuya, you¡¯d best quit while you¡¯re at it.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll expect good things from you¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya¡¯s shoulders drooped at the inevitable banquet. Aearis was grimacing at his demeanor while Mio spoke to her.
¡¸Aearis-sama, you¡¯re not an outsider in this.¡¹
¡¸Huh?¡¹
¡¸Judging by your body type, they¡¯ll force feed you a lot. In my case it would be the perfect amount, but your stomach is normal size¡¡¡¹
¡¸W-What¡¡?¡¹
Aearis cocked her head cutely, unsure what Mio meant. Haruna felt rather uneasy at that, whispering to Douga.
¡¸Doul, Elle-chan and Artiem-san will probably be in a lot of trouble, so take care of them.¡¹
¡¸Of course I was going to.¡¹
Artiem watched them discuss this with a strange face, not familiar with Forre banquets, but she held her tongue.
¡¸We can count our chickens after they done hatched, mate. First we see what Aearis-sama brought with her ¡®n then we think about what preparations we need.¡¹
The carefree air in the room suddenly grew tense. This next mission would be studied with the most scrutiny in Forre¡¯s history.
Volume 4 12.1
Volume 4 Chapter 12.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Well this sucks¡¡¡¹
Looking at the road to Elza temple, Hiroshi eximed with a grimace. It appeared to be a normal road, but was in a terrible condition for anyone who looked at it. If you stepped forward any further you would be devoured in less than ten seconds.
¡¸How could they do this to the forest¡¡¡¹
Artiem let out a frustrated voice. At first nce this was a normal forest, but with miasma this far in, who knew if it would ever return to normal.
¡¸Artiem-sama, let¡¯s solve the situation quickly. We might still have a chance.¡¹
¡¸R-Right.¡¹
Chided by Aearis, Artiem rposed herself. Aearis looked rather calm, but it wasn¡¯t like she wasn¡¯t angry about this sight. She knew from past experience that these situations required outwardposure, regardless of feelings.
¡¸So can you deal with the cleansing?¡¹
¡¸Please leave it to me, Hiroshi-sama¡¹
¡¸The forest is crying. There is no reason why I, Aranwen¡¯s priestess of the forest should not try to help!¡¹
Aearis spoke cidly, while Artiem spoke with full fury. While they appeared to be pr opposites, both girls had the same level of urgency in their tone. Watching the two of them, Hiroshi felt reassured that they would not fail at purification.
¡¸Now then, Artiem-sama¡¹
¡¸Yes!¡¹
Aearis called Artiem, charging her purification power. She did a small dance, and the area around her was purified a bit with each motion. Once a certain radius had been cleansed, she left the area to Artiem.
Once her turn hade around, Artiem pulled the mythril bow she had asked Hiroshi to make (with no arrows attached). She pulled, then let go; pulled, then let go; continuing this process as she assembled the few remaining ancestral spirit fragments and charged purification power just like Aearis did.
¡¸O slumbering ancestors of Stiren Forest! Please lend us your power to drive away the twisted sadness and rage that dwell here!¡¹
Responding to Artiem¡¯s petition, several masses of power untainted by the miasma moved into her bow. Once Aearis had confirmed this, she followed suit with calling for power.
¡¸O heroic spirits that doth slumber in Stiren¡¯s history, Aearis, princess priestess of Alfemina asks that ye lend us feeble humans power to drive away the evil fiends in thisnd and to clear the regrets of your descendants.¡¹
The heroes, famous and unnamed, who gave their lives for Forre¡¯s sake. Their souls, which had by this point be one with the earth, wind, and world, answered Aearis¡¯s plea and rushed to devour the twisted environment of the forest. Once a tear appeared in the fabric, Artiem shot through it with the ancestors¡¯ help.
With the overpowered purification, the maddened forest was momentarily stripped of its miasma, reverting to the previous clean state. However, most unfortunately, the greenery in the contaminated area did not return to normal, practically writhing in pain as they withered mercilessly.
¡¸As I thought¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sorry, Artiem-sama¡I cannot do anything about miasma this prevalent¡¡¡¹
¡¸No. You are not the one to me, Elle-sama. The real one to me is the fool who desecrated this area!¡¹
Dropping her shoulders dejectedly, Aearis apologized, to which Artiem responded as she red at the tunnel connecting to Elza Temple. Despite cleansing it with such power, the tunnel just didn¡¯t seem to be any closer to escaping its istion. It didn¡¯t appear to be fully set in, but there was clearly a location from which the miasma was flowing in.
¡¸You can be depressedter. Elle and Artiem, hurry up and get back to Stiren Temple or our workshop. Rainy, you¡¯re there too, right?¡¹
Reacting to Tatsuya¡¯s words, Rainy appeared from an area of the forest not yet infected.
¡¸¡¡You knew I was here?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, cause you clearly feel a rather peculiar amount of responsibility. It would be far more surprising not to find you in this situation.¡¹
Rainy cocked her head, wondering why Tatsuya gave her such praise. From her viewpoint, she was only taking on the job assigned to her. Professionals always did this.
¡¸Well, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t get what I mean. From here on is our job, and a danger zone at that. You also need to regroup with Doul-san and guard Elle and Artiem on their way back to the safe zone.¡¹
¡¸Roger¡¹
Nodding at Tatsuya¡¯s instructions, Rainy looked at Aearis and Artiem. She had onlye here as a precaution to if something happened to Douga and they needed more people.
Also, Douga wasn¡¯t here because the temple people seemed to resist the idea of too many individuals approaching the area. He was instead keeping watch near the forest entrance alongside the affiliated people. It was meaningless if someone intruded from outside the road like Rainy did, but it was still better than doing nothing.
¡¸I contact people¡«¡¹
¡¸Octopus pot¡«¡¢octopus pot¡«¡¹
¡¸Take it with you¡«¡¢take it with you¡«¡¹
The octogals, who had behaved themselves thus far, held out the small pot they had been using for makeshift teleportation.
¡¸¡¡Okay, but we don¡¯t know what will happen from here on out, so try to stay well-behaved.¡¹
¡¸We know¡«¡¹
After thinking over it a bit, Makoto took the pot. Octogals didn¡¯t have a shred of battle prowess, and yet they were oddly long-living specimens when it came to survival. They also had many convenient abilities and knew when to use them, so this shouldn¡¯t be an issue.
¡¸Wait, I¡¯m the one who took this, but I¡¯m going to be in front, so wouldn¡¯t it be better for Haruna or Mio or Tatsuya to carry it?¡¹
¡¸That is true¡if we¡¯re bombed, I¡¯d be the most screwed, so maybe I should hold onto it¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya agreed with Makoto¡¯sment as he sighed, epting the pot. Hanging it from his neck, this was quite the bizarre sight.
¡¸Mm¡this really doesn¡¯t fit me¡¡¡¹
A handsome guy with a pot (not even fashionable at that) dangling from his neck was, all jokes aside, not a goodbination. It even shed with his new behemoth armor, further serving to clear away the tension in the air.
¡¸¡¡Deary and the others seem to be taking this pretty well¡¹
¡¸No point getting all serious in a situation like this¡¹
Mio responded indifferently to Rainy¡¯s observation. She was right that getting too nervous wouldn¡¯t tip the scales in their favor. The current mood was maybe a bit too loose, but nervousness or fear at its max would destroy them.
¡¸So I take it we¡¯re good to go?¡¹
¡¸Yup. It ain¡¯t like we can make any other arrangements by this point anyway¡¹
Hiroshi figured that idle chitchat would prevent further progress, so he expressed agreement with Haruna as she steered the conversation back to their objective.
¡¸Kay then, we gonna head on now, so grab yer things ¡®n giddyup¡¹
¡¸Okay. Take care, everyone.¡¹
Listening to Hiroshi, Aearis left despite some painful reluctance. Artiem also followed, despite her own regrets. Aearis had no battle prowess, and Artiem had the kind of body that attracted all sorts of unwanted attention. Stepping a single foot into this danger zone would spell disaster in more ways than one.
¡¸Kay, here we go y¡¯all¡¹
Once he saw that the two priestesses had gone back to town, Hiroshi dered departure. Given the situation, he by default stood at the forefront alongside Mio.
¡¸¡¡Ah¡¹
¡¸Mm? Whazzup, Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸Nothing important, just thinking I maybe should have asked them something.¡¹
¡¸What are ya thinking of?¡¹
¡¸This probably has nothing to do with what we¡¯re about to do, but I was just wondering why Elle-chan and Artiem-san borrow power from different things. Also, maybe ask them the definition of ancestral spirits vs heroic spirits¡¹
¡¸True, that does seem a bit outta the blue mate¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi felt a bit exasperated at Haruna suddenly caring about these things, but they continued their pace.
The tunnel was a maze.
¡¸But basically as I expected¡¹
Hiroshi spat out, irritated at the 90 degree path turning right ten meters ahead of the entrance. Based on the outside appearance, this should in fact go straight or maybe paint a light curve to the destination. Now that there was a dead-end in that spot going right instead, this was a maze.
¡¸Sensei, shall we use Fleming¡¯s right-hand rule?¡¹
¡¸Seems like there will be a lotta infinite loops ¡®n shifts in structure, so I doubt that method¡¯ll really be of help¡¹
Hiroshi dismissed Mio¡¯s proposal, recalling Ortem Dungeon. The only time Fleming¡¯s rule would apply would be in pure dungeons with no teleporters, infinite loops, regr walls and no functions that changed theyout from outside.
Volume 4 12.2
Volume 4 Chapter 12.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Guess they can¡¯t keep up the fantasy genre for too long, eh¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think this is the time to be suddenly discussing fantasy¡¹
¡¸Yeah, well¡But Mio, it¡¯s generally fantasy, ya know¡¹
Mio cast a doubting gaze at Hiroshi when he said that. It was true that the scenery, the people walking around, and the monsters were all fantasy, but the person throwing a wrench in all of this was Hiroshi, bringing in sci-fi and modern technology, so he had no right toin about the world not being ¡°fantasy¡± enough. Still, you could also argue it was partly the world¡¯s fault since they were essentiallypliant in this takeover.
¡¸Oookaaay, how about the two of you quit having this worthless meta conversation and tell us what to do next?¡¹
¡¸Whatcha mean. We just do like always ¡®n search out the intensity of miasma.¡¹
¡¸I agree with Sensei¡¹
After Makoto scolded them, Hiroshi and Mio gave a quick response.
¡¸So with that being the only n of action, how ¡®bout we just break down the wall ¡®n go straight?¡¹
¡¸There might be strange traps set up, so let¡¯s use that as ast resort, kay?¡¹
Casually silencing Hiroshi¡¯s odd amount of determination (dangerous determination), Makoto looked at the graph paper Tatsuya was in the middle of writing. They didn¡¯t currently have anything as convenient as auto mapping (not enough to make it), so there was no option other than recording theyout on foot.
¡¸In gaming terms, maybe this would be the divergence point?¡¹
¡¸Probably, yeah. And in most cases, the routes that look alluring at first nce turn out to be dead ends.¡¹
¡¸I suppose the greatest outer circumfurence is this line behind the entrance?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t say. Hiro, what do you think?¡¹
¡¸S¡¯long as it ain¡¯t warped in some strange fashion, then yeah, this is prolly the circumference.¡¹
Everyone began their trip through the maze using their meta, gamer wits. Despite stopping Hiroshi from breaking down the wall, they apparently still had no intention of braving it on foot.
¡¸Let¡¯s just determine which areas are definite for now.¡¹
¡¸No point discussing that here¡¹
Haruna and Mio admonished Tatsuya and Makoto for squabbling over the map that only covered up to ten meters ahead of them, proposing they record by actually going the distance. Who knew how long the conversation would go on without them intruding in.
¡¸Right. We always do this so we ended up getting a little too into it, but I think we should begin by filling in the straight path.¡¹
¡¸Wow, I¡¯m surprised ya can anticipate based off such lil evidence.¡¹
¡¸Well if you tackle a maze head-on, you¡¯ll never see the end of it.¡¹
Makoto responded to Hiroshi¡¯s exasperatingment with her own shut-inment. Shut-in gamers, while being yful masochists in nature, are also beings that seek efficiency to the max. This is probably why FaiChro¡¯s crafting ss had rtively few crafting shut-ins, as it did not bnce the line between masochism and efficiency. But this is digressing too much, so let us leave it at that.
¡¸I git where yerin¡¯ from, but either way ya gotta realize that shut-in gamers still end up fillin¡¯ out maps.¡¹
¡¸¡¡No idea what you mean¡¹
Makoto looked into the far-off distance as she yed dumb. Tatsuya also avoided looking at Hiroshi.
While they imed to like efficient y, it was also a fact that shut-ins and gamers have a desire to fill out empty areas of maps. They wouldn¡¯t be inside ying online games if they didn¡¯t obsess over every little detail, even when it was unnecessary.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, we won¡¯t get any further if you keep pursuing that train of thought, so let¡¯s just go to the intersection and check it out, okay¡¹
¡¸Yer right. No point bbin¡¯ on about the ¡°gamer spirit¡±¡¹
Nodding after Haruna scolded him, Hiroshi gestured to Mio and began moving forward. Ten minutes after taking their first step into the tunnel, the group finally made progress, but¡
¡¸Sensei, trap three steps ahead¡¹
¡¸Well ain¡¯t that sudden¡¹
¡¸Mako. Watch out for that switch on the wall over there¡¹
¡¸¡¡Y¡¯know, I¡¯m impressed you notice all this¡¡¡¹
Once they had walked but a few steps from the entrance, there were already a wealth of trapsid out, almost like a fun test for those in the thief profession.
¡¸Annnd I¡¯m guessing these switches do more than just drop metal basins on your head, right?¡¹
¡¸Haru, I think the only ce with those ¡°traps¡± is that attraction the People of the Earth have.¡¹
The traps here were so thorough you might say they formed a thick wall. Haruna, stumped by the obstacle before them, said something silly, only to have Mio interject. Still, it wasn¡¯t like there was a trap right behind every trap, so they had the leisure to chit-chat about silly things. For now, at least¡
¡¸Anyhoo, I ain¡¯t about to step on a trap in this narrow maze.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think you¡¯d want to step on a trap in a wide maze either, y¡¯know¡¡¹
Hiroshi made an offhandment and Tatsuya immediately rebuked him. Who knew what lethal traps awaited them? The width of the path wouldn¡¯t matter in that case.
¡¸Makoto-chan, danger¡«¡¹
As they continued to avoid traps while having this leisurely conversation, the group reached the first fork in the road when one of the octogals informed them of danger, but also in a rather casual tone. Makoto frantically tried to halt when she heard those words, but it was toote. She tripped right over one of the switches that snagged her and the next moment was hanging upside down from the ceiling.
¡¸Hold on! The heck was that!!¡¹
¡¸Oh, now that I look at it, there sure was a switch there¡¹
¡¸How terrible¡my raison d¡¯¨ºtre¡¡¡¹
This particr trap was the kind that actually went out of its way to emerge and yank anyone who came within range, somethingpletely new to the group that twisted the definition of what a trap was. In the game, some dungeons would have their traps regenerate over time, but there was never anything as brutal as having new traps spring up right when you stepped in.
Online games often required that dissolved traps and opened treasure boxes be restored. In the case of FaiChro, other than instant dungeons that reset upon clearing or after a certain amount of time, everything regenerated after intervals of time. However, traps scheduled to reset would not do so when detecting nearby yers, and this situation with Makoto would never ur.
If the developers of FaiChro had implemented these elements that denied the hard of work of thieves who had taken the risks and honed their skills, the yers would revolt, so these rules were quite reasonable. But since this wasn¡¯t the actual game, those rules didn¡¯t apply.
¡¸Mako, I¡¯ll get you down right now, just an fyi.¡¹
¡¸Okay¡¡¡¹
Though a little bit taken aback, Mio quickly regained herposure and did what she had to. Analysis orining woulde after Makoto was able to move again.
¡¸Hyah¡¹
As they could not reach Makoto from their height, Mio had Haruna cast Falling Control before hurling a knife at the rope to cut it, shouting in an uninterested voice as she did so. The knife made a splendid cut, dropping the rope.
¡¸Honestly, I really wish they¡¯d go easier on me¡¡¡¹
Makoto grumbled the moment shended. Not to borrow Mio¡¯s words, but no matter how hard thieves tried at this, no matter how much attention they gave to it, it did not matter.
¡¸This is some serious trouble¡¹
¡¸This might be a little tough if we don¡¯t think of a n¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Maybe take precautions for the ground?¡¹
As long as you avoid the well, no motion triggers would activate. Non-contact traps were fairly easy to detect, so even if they suddenly activated there was a way to deal with them. The same could be said for the ceiling. Therefore, it was most dangerous when there were traps at your feet. Makoto wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape the sudden trap no matter how close her feet were to the ground.
¡¸Hiro, isn¡¯t there a way to float in the air?¡¹
¡¸Well sure, but it¡¯s a lil meh.¡¹
¡¸How so?¡¹
¡¸If ya ain¡¯t used to it, it¡¯s hard to nt yer feet in the ground, so it¡¯s super tought to fight and ya can¡¯t brace yerself for sudden happenings. Also, it onlysts 30 minutes, which is also kinda meh.¡¹
Tatsuya groaned when he heard Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. If you couldn¡¯t nt your feet on the ground, it could mean a fatal oue when you weren¡¯t able to dodge attacks. Considering the current situation, this was very scary.
30 minutes was also not very desirable. If the effects wore out in the middle of the dungeon then it was highly possible to trip on a trap and this risk would emerge quite frequently.
¡¸So maybe not this time.¡¹
¡¸I agree. It¡¯s only 30 minutes, so we should leave it for when we needa cross poison swamps and such.¡¹
Hiroshi spoke firmly, so Tatsuya crossed that idea out. There were too many uncertain elements.
¡¸¡¡Sensei, there is ast resort option. Wanna hear it?¡¹
Mio had been thinking about this quite seriously, finally opening her mouth but with an oddly sour tone in her voice.
¡¸Last resort? Kinda sounds pretty sus, but wazzup?¡¹
Volume 4 12.3
Volume 4 Chapter 12.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I¡¯ll detect the pitfalls and suspended ceiling, so you can stomp on all the traps.¡¹
¡¸Yer just gonna use brute force again!!¡¹
Hiroshi burst out in objection to Mio¡¯s egregious proposal. Sure, most traps weren¡¯t scary, but forcing people to deal with all of them was no joke.
¡¸But then we wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with sudden traps, right?¡¹
¡¸Just as Haru says, we won¡¯t be able to deal with those. But actually, it would be safer to cause them to all activate and ensure safety beforehand.¡¹
¡¸Grrr¡¡¡¹
Unlike when they snuck into Wulls Castle with Aearis, this would be an afflicting decision, as Mio¡¯s voice suggested. Haruna was groaning, conflicted between logic and ethics.
Mio herself didn¡¯t want to try this method. Not only would she be discarding her role, but she would be pushing a dangerous position on someone she liked. This time around they could not guarantee the safety of activating traps all around them. Only someone insane would try this. Mio herself was very sane, which was why she had an extremely apologetic, frustrated, bitter expression on her face.
¡¸I dunno right now. Seems like it¡¯d be better to activate ¡®em from the safe zone ¡®n then consider the rest from there.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Experiment a bit.¡¹
Agreeing with Hiroshi, Mio tried throwing a pebble at a fairly faraway location. Right after that, there was a shy explosion.
¡¸¡¡I¡¯d say¡about ten poms all together?¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be a bit dangerous for Tatsu or Haru?¡¹
¡¸Pretty much. Not as dangerous as extrarge poms though.¡¹
Analyzing the results of the explosion trap, Mio and Hiroshi thought about it a bit.
¡¸How ¡®bout we check three more?¡¹
¡¸Okay¡¹
Hiroshi gestured, and Mio activated the next three in session, which consisted of a falling stone from above, spikes from below, and spears from either side.
¡¸¡¡From the looks if it, this wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near the power of an evil ent.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, but don¡¯t you think it would be plenty lethal for me or Tatsuya?¡¹
¡¸Sure, but I don¡¯t think Haruna-san or Bro will get an instant K.O. It¡¯s just that if ya git hit by several traps in a row that¡¯s when things get a lil troubling¡¡¡¹
Checking the activated traps, Hiroshi analyzed them alongside Haruna before concluding.
¡¸So are we okay with our speed plummetin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Wait, do you seriously intend to step on all of them!?¡¹
¡¸Yup, looks like the best idea. Of course it ain¡¯t gonna feel good to take ¡®em all head-on, so we¡¯d just move slowly usin¡¯ Fortress in full te mode. That okay?¡¹
Hiroshi appeared to be getting ready to do something crazy, and Mio halted him.
¡¸Sensei, you don¡¯t need to overdo it.¡¹
¡¸This is the safest way, Mio, ya said it yerself.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but¡¡¡¹
Mio hadn¡¯t thought the situation would develop like this, feeling confused. It was her turn to be indecisive.
¡¸¡¡Ah¡«e to think of it¡¡¡¹
¡¸What is it, Makoto?¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi did have this tendency to get carried away with going on dangerous missions that no one else can¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah¡¡¡¹
Recalling when he used overelerate, Tatsuya and Makoto nodded at each other with indescribable expressions. Considering all that, this time around was probably not an issue for Hiroshi.
¡¸So I know we¡¯re going to activate everything, but please don¡¯t get us caught up in it. That would defeat the entire purpose.¡¹
¡¸I know. I¡¯ll make sure to use Around Guard when steppin¡¯ on ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Judging from your demeanor I¡¯m tempted to believe you¡¯ll be fine, but just remember that not all the traps are going to have equal power. If you suffer a great wound then I can¡¯t guarantee we¡¯ll remain calm. Seriously, take good care of yourself.¡¹
Nodding at Tatsuya¡¯s warning, Hiroshi activated full te mode. Mio, who saw this, looked apologetic but set to ascertain the variety of traps with earnesty.
¡¸Sensei, you can step on all the traps in this area.¡¹
¡¸Roger. Get outta the way a bit.¡¹
Hearing Mio¡¯s report, Hiroshi proceeded to slowly step on everything. With every step, there would be explosions with loud noises, spears jumping out, axes swinging down, multiple lethal traps, and his armor repelled all of them. Lastly, a thorn-covered rope twined around him, trying to lift him up only to be sliced to bits like it was just a fun game.
¡¸Wow, the killing intent is strong here¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a little impossible to deal with traps on purpose like this.¡¹
Agreeing with Tatsuya, who expressed his displeasure, Mio tried to once again announce defeat. If their opponent was breaking the rules, they would just do the same.
¡¸So Mio¡¹
¡¸What, Mako?¡¹
¡¸Rather than have Hiroshi step on them, why not just take our distance and try activating them like earlier?¡¹
At Makoto¡¯s words, everyone besides Hiroshi looked at Mio, but she responded with a clearly grim face.
¡¸The area won¡¯t be controlled unless Sensei steps on the traps.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Everyone understood why Mio was so assertive in saying this. Hiroshi probably epted the dangerous job for that reason.
¡¸So, Hiroshi-kun¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸You seem to have been picking up various things. What¡¯s up with that?¡¹
¡¸Oh, I¡¯m a lil miffed at just taking the brunt of the traps, so I¡¯m gatherin¡¯ whatever looks like it can be a good ingredient to use.¡¹
This was once again a reasonable answer, and no one objected. And then right in front of them, Hiroshi reflexively grabbed onto an oing arrow.
¡¸Wait, how the heck did you do that!?¡¹
¡¸Uhh, I just thought I could grab it, so I did?¡¹
Hiroshi spoke so nonchntly that Tatsuya and Makoto just stared with nk expressions. Meanwhile, Haruna and Mio didn¡¯t look especially surprised.
¡¸I don¡¯t think agility is affiliated with grabbing flying arrows. It¡¯s probably just dependent on how good your parry timing is, I guess?¡¹
¡¸With Sensei¡¯s intuition and dexterity it would probably be fairly easy.¡¹
Apparently grabbing arrows was more dependent on parrying than agility, which only came into y when multiple arrows came at once.
¡¸And you just casually catch all those arrows¡¡¹
¡¸Well it¡¯s a waste just to leave ¡®em here.¡¹
Makoto pointed out as many issues as she could while Hiroshi continued to leisurely ce arrows into his bag. As they continued this rather calm conversation, the group walked onward into thicker miasma areas, amidst all the loud noises.
Several hourster¡
¡¸This is some tough stuff¡¡¹
¡¸I think we might be getting to the natural terrain area?¡¹
¡¸I dunno, but we still ain¡¯t outta the tunnel.¡¹
At this poison swamp-looking body of water spreading out before them, Hiroshi and Haruna threw offhandments back and forth, clearly annoyed. The previous area was a tunnel, so it made sense to be mazelike, but they really weren¡¯t having this poison swamp terrain.
¡¸I honestly wanted to wait till we were more united, but I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any point talkin¡¯ to the other ¡®bout this, so I¡¯ll leave it aside.¡¹
¡¸How do we get through this?¡¹
¡¸Well first we look at the depth.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna had plenty of bitter encounters with poison swamps, so they did not hesitate in getting to discussion. Hearing those words, Mio drank a longsting panacea potion before beginning the search.
¡¸¡¡Seems to be the usual. A bottomless swamp.¡¹
¡¸Thought so. Drinking a panacea potion and going through is out of the question.¡¹
Tatsuya groaned with a grimace when he heard Mio¡¯s report, sticking a ten foot pole under the surface. He had anticipated this, but it was still unpleasant to hear upfront that the easiest solution was unusable.
Volume 4 12.4
Volume 4 Chapter 12.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸The water depth up to where the mire begins is about seventy centimeters. Rafts can easily float.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s pretty deep. Well, I definitely don¡¯t want to swim it.¡¹
Everyone nodded at Makoto¡¯sment when they noticed the ck, poisonous purple, yet oddly vivid blue surace of the water. Even if they did drink panacea potions, no one was going to step a single foot near this liquid.
¡¸And so the good option is to use the rafts. But can you make them?¡¹
¡¸Heck yeah, rafts are easy peasy. Plus I have a buncha wood supplies I ain¡¯t used.¡¹
¡¸How long does it take to make?¡¹
¡¸15 minutes with our team¡¯s size, but I don¡¯t like the idea of goin¡¯ out immediately, so first let¡¯s have Haruna-san practice ¡®n try makin¡¯ a small one.¡¹
Hiroshi told Makoto what he thought before bringing out the materials right away. Tatsuya and Makoto just shook their heads at the mountain of wood that came out.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun. I thought we ran out of wood, but we still have this much?¡¹
¡¸Remnants from makin¡¯ storage for miso, mill ends from makin¡¯ the True Furnace Tower, rebuildin¡¯ Kakashi-san¡¯s workshop, we got a lot mate¡¹
Haruna asked the same question on Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s mind, and Hiroshi exined roughly how they got the amount they did. In most cases, supplies could never be fit evenly, especially when it came torger scale factories.
Then again, the leftovers from the miso and soy sauce storages were due to the elves/forest giants going at it a little too hard and taking down every tree monster around them, pushing arge amount of wood supplies on Hiroshi even though he had no idea what to do with it.
¡¸Anyhoo, Haruna-san. This is prolly thest part of Making Mastery, so do yer best.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Rafts do that much for levelling?¡¹
¡¸Well not on yer first try obviously. It¡¯s too hard to make small boats without doin¡¯ rafts first.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, totally agree on that.¡¹
Haruna expressed to Hiroshi, getting on the job. Following his instructions, she found some decent sized logs and tied them together with maneater vines. After one hour, she had made a raft with enough space for one person to ride on.
¡¸Phew, that was tiring¡¡¡¹
¡¸Good job. I went ahead ¡®n made one myself, so first let¡¯s check out yers.¡¹
Hiroshi said, throwing the raft onto the swamp that Haruna had made and pushing it out with a smash kick. The raft, now moving at fiercely high speeds, suddenly gotunched away by something and split into pieces.
¡¸Okay, as expected. Bro, Mio, go ahead ¡®n git the projectiles ready.¡¹
¡¸Roger¡¹
¡¸Looks like it¡¯s time for the big one.¡¹
Looking at the gigantic fish (a fusion between a goby and catfish), the group quickly began their counterattack. Judging by the size of the miasma, this was probably a mid-boss. The miasma in the swamp was the thickest with this fish while the other fish were normal-sized and with less miasma, so they were not an issue.
¡¸This is Hiroshi we¡¯re talking about, so I thought he¡¯d say take out the fishing rod, but not this time I guess¡¹
¡¸Well it¡¯s a bit far for that. The string wouldn¡¯t go that far.¡¹
Hiroshi told Makoto why he wasn¡¯t going for the fishing. In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the distance issue, Hiroshi could easily catch the fish with his fishing skill and raw horsepower. However, when you were separated by more than 100 meters, you really couldn¡¯t throw that far. The fishing rod wasn¡¯t even made to reach that far.
¡¸So with that, here¡¯s the next one!¡¹
¡¸Alright¡¹
¡¸Ready whenever you are¡¹
Tatsuya and Mio announced they were ready, and Hiroshi smashed the second raft into the inlet. And this time, to deal with the giant fish¡
¡¸Holy Octocannon!¡¹
¡¸Snipe Roar!¡¹
Tatsuya and Mio unleashed their coup de gras.
Tatsuya had the usual octocannon, which was normally 25 meters, but extended with mana. It also had the newly-added four level activation sequence, which shot out four times the original amount. The big fish¡¯s miasma was slightly less than Barold¡¯s first form, so it wouldn¡¯t be able to escape with no damage.
Mio¡¯s Snipe Roar was an advanced shooting skill specializing in distance and pration. It cost the least out of all the defense-piercing skills, but it didn¡¯t have any added effects like Armor Break and wasn¡¯t all that high in the ranking of power adjustment, simply good at KOing enemies with critical hits.
Those two moves hit the fish right on point as it howled, fiercely charging at the group, but-
¡¸Hyaah!!¡¹
Hiroshiunched it away with a smash attack before it got onnd,
¡¸So we take it down to three¡¹
Makoto used her Gale sh. Maybe things would be different if they just got here, but by this point a mere mid-boss, not even as strong as Barold¡¯s first form, was no enemy for them.
¡¸¡¡I didn¡¯t even get a piece of the action¡¡¡¹
Haruna was the only one who didn¡¯t attack the midboss, mumbling slightly sadly. She felt left out for not being able to add to thebo chain.
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I was really getting into it¡¢sorry¡¹
¡¸I know, but I didn¡¯t even get to use support magic.¡¹
Haruna pouted, looking at the fish fillet before them. Makoto also saw it and slightly regretted using her special move for overkill.
¡¸¡¡And we probably can¡¯t eat it¡¡¡¹
¡¸THAT is what you care about!? Heck, you even seem more regretful about that instead of being left out of the action!?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, because that¡¯s even less for me to do!?¡¹
Haruna shot back at Makoto. She couldn¡¯t use support, couldn¡¯t attack, and they couldn¡¯t eat the enemy, sp she couldn¡¯t cook. In other words, Haruna was useless in the entire ordeal.
¡¸Haru, sure we can¡¯t?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s super poisonous, so it¡¯s impossible with only a little cleansing. Hiroshi-kun might be able to, but I don¡¯t guarantee it tastes good.¡¹
¡¸Guh¡¡¡¹
Haruna firmly denied Mio¡¯s question. Also, even if poison extracting had seeded, it was doubtful if there would be any meat left to consume.
¡¸¡¡Yeah, better not¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mhm. No food. Hiroshi-kun, any other ideas?¡¹
¡¸Only for antidotes, methinks. Plus there are many alternatives.¡¹
¡¸So we just discard it¡¹
¡¸Yup. I thought it¡¯d be a great opportunity for fish food but this ain¡¯t it chief¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna threw the fish back into the swamp. Makoto opened her mouth in an awkward manner as she saw this.
¡¸Sooo¡let¡¯s say we had just cut off the head rather than used Gale sh. Would we have gotten any ingredients?¡¹
¡¸I dunno. It ain¡¯t like the organs would yield much even if ya used a coup de gras.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡¡¡¹
It was a pretty anticlimatic boss overall. Even the giant coral fish they fought in seconds made for good food. Well either way, both bosses were defeated in seconds.
¡¸Well trash is trash either way. Let¡¯s get on with it.¡¹
¡¸Roger. The next one¡¯s probably a big boss, and you¡¯ll definitely have a role to y in it, Haruna. Cheer up.¡¹
¡¸Mm. Can¡¯t just keepining, so I¡¯ll do that.¡¹
Chided by Makoto (even though it was her fault), Haruna decided to rpose herself. She hadtely stood out for her erotess and craftsman skills, but finally Haruna showed a logical side.
¡¸Now then, what¡¯s happenin¡¯ next.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m hungry, so I¡¯d like to eat before we get to the boss.¡¹
¡¸Sounds good¡¹
The miasma showed no signs of faltering despite defeating the mid-boss. The group was still very self-absorbed, casually eating in this situation.
¡¸Here they are¡¡¡¹
¡¸As expected, not a challenge at all¡¹
¡¸You choose to say that now?¡¹
Dark lords A and B mumbled as they observed Hiroshi¡¯s team near the tunnel exit. They oversaw the western countries and deeply hated these intruders who crushed their ns. They must end this now so that casualties did not spread to the other regions.
¡¸So what now?¡¹
¡¸We must wait for them to leave the tunnel. Judging by their toughness, sending mobs into a narrow space would only end with each one being taken out.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. But are you sure we fight with numbers?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t think of any other way to effectively tire them out. Plus, it¡¯s better than not doing anything to at least annoy them.¡¹
Lord A nodded at Lord B. Honestly, it was unpleasant for only the two of them to pick fights with Hiroshi¡¯s group based on what happened. However, with powerful purification attacks beingunched on Igreos Temple¡¯s treasury, the miasma was at an all time low and it was difficult to seek help from lords from other regions.
¡¸Then what shall we use for this battle of numbers?¡¹
¡¸I say Barold. We¡¯re used to manufacturing him and the cost is cheap. We could send out 100 and it would be rtively cost effective.¡¹
¡¸But surely they are also ustomed to him. Is this really okay?¡¹
¡¸There are no other options for immediate, cheap battle power.¡¹
B nodded at A. Now that Hiroshi¡¯s group was able to unleash coup de gras, they could easily take out behemoth-ss opponents. However, their own expenditures in energy would not be anything to overlook. Barold¡¯s two forms working together to be the tower golem was because they took on arge amount of miasma to unify with it.
They couldn¡¯t do anything reckless now that they had unleashed miasma to interfere with Earth Mother Goddess Elza. Also, after doing such reckless things, it would be even worse if Hiroshi¡¯s group defeated these mobs and then got all the good ingredients from them like with Fane Barold or Crest Cave.
Therefore, as they couldn¡¯t produce female monsters in this region, there were no good ingredients besides cores, and other than Barold who had a sizeable amount of power without going into his second form, there weren¡¯t any amazing options.
¡¸Anyhow, if we do not take them down here, our n is in jeopardy.¡¹
¡¸Yes. We must take them down right here right now.¡¹
The dark lords set themselves toplete their mission. Their phrases were all death gs, so it was likely what kind of end they would face,ing closer and closer.
Volume 4 13.1
Volume 4 Chapter 13.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Leaving the tunnel, they were met with a Rot Realm.
¡¸¡¡This is pretty bad¡¡¡¹
The stench of sludge and spores, decay all around, and undead-looking nt monsters. Tatsuya spat out his clear opinion with a grimace.
¡¸So we¡¯re still in the dungeon?¡¹
¡¸I dunno, but I see the sun out.¡¹
Hiroshi responded to Haruna¡¯s feeble voice as he looked up at the sky. In the game there was no sun in any dungeon. Not just in caverns or buildings, but also for wide in dungeons.
There was no guarantee of this being the same, but just like with the tunnel entrance, it wasn¡¯t a low chance that this area might be another isted dimension.
¡¸Sensei, the feng shui¡¡¡¹
¡¸I know. This is yet another weird situation.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded at Mio. Haruna, who had been expressionless, made a puzzled expression.
¡¸What¡¯s with the feng shui?¡¹
¡¸This kinda situation usually means the feng shui is very polluted. But this feng shui¡¯s clean as a whistle.¡¹
Haruna pondered what Hiroshi said. Focusing on her surroundings, she tried to analyze the situation¡
¡¸¡¡Nope. I can¡¯t figure it out¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, that¡¯s to be expected. I do have one thing to say though.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸This prolly ain¡¯t no dungeon.¡¹
Mio nodded at Hiroshi¡¯s statement while the other three appeared to be incredulous. This kind of scenery usually implied there was ast boss.
Looking at their confusion, Hiroshi called out to the pot hanging from Tatsuya¡¯s neck.
¡¸So y¡¯all can teleport, right?¡¹
¡¸No problem¡«¡¢no problem¡«¡¹
¡¸Not isted¡«¡¹
¡¸Enter and exit as you please¡«¡¹
The octogals demonstrated this by multiplying and decreasing in number. Haruna and the others had previously doubted this, but now they were convinced.
¡¸Then that means this is¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s gonna be a cursednd, I say. Basically like a graveyard with loads of undead sproutin¡¯ up. Lots of miasma, and thend is altered before actually bing isted.¡¹
Hiroshi answered Haruna¡¯s question clearly.
In actuality, when a bunch of miasma piled up in one ce, it was rare to be an isted dimension dungeon. Usually the area be a cursednd.
Cursednd attributes usually depended on the area¡¯s situation beforehand. Most areas became undead spawners or warped the animals in that region, potentially creating new species, or even in rare cases bing almost synonymous with a dungeon without the istion. In this case, the main difference was that you could get in/escape via teleportation skills and that there was no clear boss.
Also, it wasmon for dungeons to exist in the middle of cursednd, since both were rted via miasma. These dungeons grew quickly and many of them were high difficulty.
Then again, for cursednd, unlike the dungeons, it wasn¡¯t difficult to cleanse the area. It would go back to normal once cleansed, and priestesses like Aearis could do it solo or gather arge crowd of priests/priestesses to use their skills and force thend back to normal before things got out of hand.
Currently there was no way to cleanse the area without someone as good as Haruna with singing, but it was possible to return this area to normal. However, the situation was abnormal, and they could not just clean it and have it turn back this time.
¡¸Okay, so assuming we can change it to normal, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unusual for Elza¡¯s Temple to be in this state?¡¹
¡¸Yup, which is why there¡¯s gotta be a mastermind pourin¡¯ the miasma into here.¡¹
Everyone grew tense at Hiroshi/Haruna¡¯s conversation. There was no way they were solving this for free.
¡¸And based on what¡¯s happening, there¡¯s no way the mastermind is just sitting back.¡¹
¡¸They probably won¡¯t let us go without a fight.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, we probably took one too many detours this time around.¡¹
Makoto and Mio regretted their actions as they grimaced at the situation worsening. Sure, they ended up strengthening their equipment, but they had no intention initially of producing new equipment to deal with bosses, but this could have been saved for Crest Cave.
¡¸We can mope about itter. Haruna, how about you sing the usual?¡¹
¡¸Oh, right. Let¡¯s try out the first song and go from there then?¡¹
Haruna obeyed Tatsuya and sang the lotus sutra gospel at the top of her lungs to try and cleanse something. The overwhelming power from this normal-sounding song immediately cleansed the birds/wolves that were beginning to watch, returning them to normal via euthanasia. The poison mushrooms spewing out spores twisted, dried up, and crumbled. The big trees moving around were all uprooted and dried up, the malice and miasma driven from their bodies before melting away.
All monsters within the sound distance were immediately cleansed.
¡¸The heck is this¡¡¡¹
¡¸Did Haru¡¯s song always have this much power?¡¹
¡¸Her cleansing power has increased since she first sang the sutra gospel, but certainly not this much¡¡¡¹
Once the first song was over, the swamnd all around had half returned to normal. Tatsuya and the others were all bewildered by how easy it was. Hiroshi seemed to feel differently.
¡¸¡¡You don¡¯t seem surprised Sensei. Any reason why?¡¹
¡¸I ain¡¯t 100% sure. Haruna-san¡¯s craftin¡¯ skills are quite high now though.¡¹
¡¸Why¡¯s that matter? Wait, are you saying¡¡¡¹
¡¸I do remember hearin¡¯ that curse songs rely on the spirit¡¹
Everyone immediately knew what he was getting at. Not just Haruna, but also Hiroshi had cooked nearly every say, refined iron in the forge, swung the hammer, sewed with yarn, practiced the proper potion procedures, essentially living like a craftsman. She was not only boosting her skills but also her mentality and endurance, in addition to training against mehemoths. Clearly her willpower was much stronger than in Darl.
¡¸So it wasn¡¯t just her bing better at singing?¡¹
¡¸That too, but curse songs don¡¯t really have proficiency, do they?¡¹
Hiroshi nced at Haruna quizzically. After finishing her second song she exined.
¡¸Curse songs don¡¯t have an acquisition process, so there is no proficiency involved. And when your proficiency goes up for chanting, you¡¯re able to use much more resources. You just pull the activation trigger when singing a curse song and the effectse right away.¡¹
¡¸Whatcha mean by trigger?¡¹
¡¸All you do is focus on which effect you want before singing, so no bystanders would understand. I think the same goes for special stages.¡¹
Everyone listened to Haruna¡¯s exnation with awe. Singing and dancing were especially minor skills, though not as rare as shut-in craftsmen. Plenty of people had the skills, but those with high enough proficiency in curse songs or special dances were suddenly in the minority, while those who used such skills in battle were practically non-existent. They were difficult to use, mainly because they didn¡¯t differentiate between enemy and ally.
¡¸I been at this for 5 years and I still got a lot to learn¡¡¡¹
¡¸Not all the skills are there at the same time either, and there are plenty of unfinished dungeons, so there probably isn¡¯t anyone who knows everything other than the developers.¡¹
Hiroshi mumbled about not knowing everything and Makoto likewisemented on how deep FaiChro was.
¡¸But I do wonder whether the heart sutra gospel is categorized as a curse song or not¡¹
¡¸And I doubt that Haru pulls the trigger each time she sings a song¡¹
Listening to Tatsuya and Mio¡¯s conversation as she sang, Haruna had a rather awkward look on her face. Seeing this, Hiroshi and the others realized that Haruna never thought about much when she was singing.
¡¸I think we have the main picture now.¡¹
¡¸Yup. I think Haruna-san¡¯s purification from her songs are automatically set in as the result of an extra skill and the power relies on the attribute points and the contents of the song.¡¹
¡¸Probably.¡¹
Listening to Haruna¡¯s song, Hiroshi and Tatsuya discussed the results of the inspection. In a sense you could say that talking amongst themselves during Haruna¡¯s singing was a sign of disrespect, but this was also to prevent any idents when listening to her sing. Even if this was a slightly weird song when you listened to it, it was easy to get sucked into it with her skill.
During battle it was never really an issue since they were focusing on fighting, but in this situation where there were no visible enemies but they were still in a dangerous area, it was extremely dangerous to listen in. Therefore, they were having a conversation in order to distract themselves.
¡¸Aight. Then let¡¯s check a lil somethin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll do it so that Sensei can be next to Haruna just in case.¡¹
Volume 4 13.2
Volume 4 Chapter 13.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
The area around them entirely cleansed, Hiroshi¡¯s group realized they needed to keep their voices going a bit longer. First, in order to approach the temple, they ensured everything was back to normal.
Although the miasma was now gone without a trace, there was probably someone sending a stream of miasma in to cause such a shift, so they couldn¡¯t move carelessly. As per usual, Mio checked the situation.
¡¸¡¡Not really any problems¡¹
¡¸¡¡Wonder what¡¯s up. Nearly all the miasma¡¯s gone, ¡®n we established there ain¡¯t any traps, so why do I feel uneasy about this?¡¹
Hiroshi actually increased caution when he heard Mio. He just didn¡¯t like this. There was no way the situation would just end like this without repercussions. It was beyond weird.
¡¸¡¡Mio, any enemies within range?¡¹
¡¸I do sense something living¡¹
¡¸Are they watching us?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Can¡¯t really say¡¹
Mio answered without changing her expressions at Hiroshi¡¯s volley of questions. Sure, several gazes were aimed at their group, but it didn¡¯t feel like they were staring or anything.
¡¸¡¡Nothing ventured nothing gained, I suppose¡¹
Really, this didn¡¯t feel good. Sure, they had been through simr situations, but it really felt like it was time to go. At this rate they would get themselves into something dreadful. However, even if they did turn back, the condition would only worsen when they returned. In that case, Hiroshi figured it was time to quickly finish things, proceeding with careful steps.
Mio walked about two paces in front of Hiroshi, followed by Haruna two paces behind him. Tatsuya followed after that, and Makoto took the rear guard. The older two also had a bad premonition, not scolding Hiroshi and not walking particrly. They didn¡¯t feel it as clearly as Hiroshi did, but ultimately no one felt they could reach the temple withoutplications.
Mio made periodic checks, and as they proceeded ever so carefully, until it happened.
¡¸!¡¡Haruna-san!¡¡Mio!¡¹
Something cold raced through his spine, and Hiroshi called them over. Unsure what was happening, the girls darted their eyes about. Once Hiroshi had them covered, a sudden darkness began spreading out from where the three of them were standing.
¡¸¡¡¡¹
Artiem tried to put the teacup in her hand to her mouth before putting it back on the table with a sigh. Douga saw her repeat this and attempted to say something, but ended up not knowing what to say and closing his mouth again.
It would seem that Stiren¡¯s Elza Temple branch had more than enough leisure to stare at Artiem and her dark demeanor.
¡¸Artiem-sama¡¹
¡¸I know. I really do, but I just¡¡¡¹
Seeing that this behavior would not be changing anytime soon, Douga called her name only to receive the same kind of dejected response and another sigh. Artiem really wasn¡¯t feeling it right now.
¡¸Aearis-sama, what in the world has happened?¡¹
¡¸Nothing all that major Just that our power was insufficient to turn the forest back to normal. That¡¯s all.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I see¡¹
Douga felt he got the situation from what Aearis said. No doubt this was a shock for Artiem, the elf. Although sometimes paving paths through forests and undergoingrge-scale farming, elves generally kept away from meddling too much with forests, instead coexisting. In addition, she was the priestess of the forest god, Aranwen. It was only natural for her toment her ownck of power to alter this twisted miasma reality.
¡¸I am a true failure as an elf¡¡¡¹
¡¸That isn¡¯t true at all.¡¹
¡¸Elle-sama, it¡¯s th undeniable truth that I am a bad elf¡because I haven¡¯t been useful one bit thus far¡¡¡¹
Artiem seemed to currently be in full-on self-denial mode. You really couldn¡¯t change the minds of anyone when they got in this mood. Honestly, it would be quite a hassle to get her back on her feet, but it wouldn¡¯t be good to have a priestess of the gods depressed to such a degree.
At times like these, all you could do was let people spill out all of their grievances. Aearis was led to feel that way from prior experience and had decided to first try listening all the way.
¡¸My work in the fields, harvesting, bow and arrow skill, they¡¯re all half-baked and there¡¯s not a single thing I¡¯m good at¡¡¡¹
Aearis appeared to be quite taken aback by the first thing that came out of Artiem¡¯s mouth. Honestly, no one at the top of the organization could carelessly admit that Artiem was acting masochistic. After all, society cannot function if everyone does the same exact work as one another. If one person falls, everyone is in the same boat, so this made sense.
Anything other than the number one spot or the ¡°outstanding¡± job position was regarded harshly. Still, it wasn¡¯t like people who take lower-end jobs were of no value. In a sense, if there was no cognition of inferiority or superiority with the crucial jobs that only a few people could do well, then you might even say they were better than maybe a lower-end ¡°number one¡± job.
And even if things were not that extreme, most jobs can be aplished by anyone with enough training. Mocking people for working any of these jobs would just cause everyone to stop working these essential jobs. Once you got to that point it was all over. In that sense, you might say that human resources working jobs below ¡°number 2 jobs¡± were far more valuable. So, to make an extreme conclusion, other than the leaders of businesses or organizations, society would function fine without the outstanding or number 1 jobs.
But even before that, even if she were still immature, Artiem was th only priestess of Aranwen. It was clear to everyone she was one of the people with crucial, outstanding jobs. No one but Artiem could do her work. It was quite troubling that she had no self-awareness in this regard, but normally she wouldn¡¯t even pretend to be Aearis¡¯sdy-in-waiting, but rather treated as a VIP guest.
So in two ways, Artiem¡¯s self-deprecating words were not correct. From Aearis¡¯ point of view, working as the priestess princess for over half a year, she had enough experience to confirm this. Still, this probably couldn¡¯t be transmitted to Artiem as of now.
¡¸And my chest is big so Hiroshi-san got angry at me, saying¡ºApologize to Tolkien Sensei!¡»¡¡¡¹
¡¸Tolkien Sensei, you say¡¡?¡¹
Aearis wasn¡¯t able to hide her perplexion at the sudden reference she didn¡¯t understand. Of course none of them would have knowledge of the founder of modern fantasy novels from Hiroshi¡¯s world.
Still, no one besides Aearis would let Artiem say that she was only good for her oversized breasts, since from the point of view of voluptuous women, her body line was slightly less in shape than Haruna¡¯s, and that actually in many ways was more appealing to men.
¡¸I got all excited about helping Hiroshi-san, yet ended up not contributing whenever it counted¡¡¡¹
¡¸Artiem-sama, I¡¯m the same in that regard¡¡¡¹
Aearis let out her thoughts in response to what was probably Artiem¡¯s most grievous point. Neither of them had been of help to the man they loved when it counted.
¡¸If my hand at archery were better, I could have at least tagged along with dragging them down¡¡¡¹
Artiem had brought an unchoosable choice in front of Aearis. Then again, it wasn¡¯t as if simply being good at archery would mean you wouldn¡¯t drag your team down, she figured.
Still, it might be better to at least have a method of self-defense. After all, Aearis had fallen into the hands of the enemy three times before this. The second time was right in front of Hiroshi and the others so she escaped soon after, but the first and third time, they really had their work cut out for them.
In that line of reasoning, Aearis wanted herself to at least be able to resist enough to make an escape. Getting kidnapped time after time would make anyone doubt one¡¯s crisis management or defensive cognition.
Digressing a bit, when she had let out these thoughts to everyone at teatime, Mio had replied by saying Aearis getting kidnapped was ¡°to be expected as a trope¡± or had the ¡°power of being captured: ¡Þ¡± so it was ok, or something weird like that.
¡¸I have someone I like, yet I have no opportunity to appeal to them (not that I had any in the first ce), plus there are plenty of people better suited to be by his side with high specs¡¡¡¹
Everyone left in the room slowly began feeling unsure about Artiem¡¯s words getting more and more strange. This was still better than her depression from earlier, but out of context they really wanted to ask Artiem if she was joking about not having any appeal points with her body.
¡¸Chem-chan¡¯s appeal point¡«¡¹
¡¸Hyan!?¡¹
¡¸Coming through loud and clear¡«¡¹
Now that the grumbling had shifted its course, the octogals who had previously been behaving by notmenting came out of the jar, reading the mood of the room yet again.
¡¸Strip¡«¡¹
¡¸Watch¡«¡¹
¡¸Touch¡«¡¹
¡¸Fondle¡«¡¹
The octogals who had been kneading Artiem¡¯s bust from above her clothing began mercilessly stripping her. And yes, this was them reading the mood. At most they would just strip her to where you may or may not catch a glimpse of her undergarments.
¡¸Ah, wha, no, stripping in this situation is really not¡¡¡¹
Artiem resisted as best she could against the octogals¡¯ strippping attack. And as per usual, the more she resisted the more some strange power caused her to be more uncovered. And no, not even the octogals had th power to cause this phenomenon. You just felt sorry for the young priests doing their best to resist the sucking urge to look at her slowly exposed cleavage.
Volume 4 13.3
Volume 4 Chapter 13.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸You¡¯d better stop doing that.¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y¡¹
The octogals obeyed Douga, who had a wry smile on his face. But they were still in prank mode, as demonstrated by how they left Artiem and went straight on top of the priests¡¯ heads.
¡¸How¡¯s it feel¡«?¡¹
And they asked strange questions.
¡¸This isn¡¯t Wulls, so keep the pranks to a minimum¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y¡¹
Aearis lightly scolded them, and the octogals returned to their vase, except for one of them that of course jumped on Aearis¡¯s head.
¡¸Did that help a bit?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yes. Sorry¡¡¡¹
¡¸No no. People always have those days.¡¹
Artiem apologized profusely while straightening her clothing as Aearis responded cheerfully. While relieved that the room had rxed, Artiem also felt rather bad about forcing Aearis to listen toints she also probably had.
¡¸But ultimately no problems have been solved.¡¹
¡¸These problems can¡¯t be solved in a day or a night, so don¡¯t worry about it. Plus I am even less capable than you at protecting myself.¡¹
¡¸But you¡¯re better at being a priestess, right?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s just years of experience.¡¹
Aearis said firmly to Artiem¡¯s objection. She had used this power since she was born. Sure, their powers were of equal essence, but Aearis wouldn¡¯t lose to Artiem, who had only awoken to her power three months ago.
To borrow Hiroshi¡¯s words, most situations were a culmination of limation, guts, and inertia.
¡¸So all we can really do is keep training.¡¹
¡¸Yes. It¡¯s usually never a good sign when you get an amazing ability in a short amount of time. Haruna still struggles with the magic she learned from Alfemina at Wulls castle.¡¹
¡¸Is that true?¡¹
¡¸Yes¡¹
Artiem¡¯s eyes were wide open at what Aearis said. Haruna always gave off the impression that everything was easy for her, so you¡¯d never imagine she struggled, even with goddess powers.
¡¸Haruna-sama is really no different. Normal people like us have no choice but to work at it.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right.¡¹
Artiem nodded multiple times at Aearis. Neither of these girls appeared to realize that everyone around them was seriously questioning the notion of them being ¡°normal¡±.
¡¸Then first I need to reduce the size of my overlyrge chest. Instead of appealing, it actually puts on the pressure and makes things worse.¡¹
¡¸No no, please don¡¯t do that!!¡¹
This next objective of Artiem¡¯s was something that the priests, maids, octogals, and even Aearis strongly objected to.
¡¸Haruna-san!¡¡Mio!¡¡Are you okay!?¡¹
Hiroshi asked the two girls in his arms as he stepped firmly on the darkness that had quickly spread out, which in turn shattered with his attack, leaving nothing.
¡¸Eh, ah, yeah. I¡¯m fine.¡¹
¡¸Sensei, we should be asking you if you¡¯re okay.¡¹
Unable to keep up with the situation and shocked at being hugged by the man they liked, Haruna and Mio just managed to get out their answers with their faces red as beets. But as excited as they were by touching his sturdy body, they were equally concerned for him.
¡¸Nah, this ain¡¯t nothin¡¯. I¡¯m fine.¡¹
Hiroshi appealed, but with a clearly ashen color on his face. The darkness had in fact not managed to deal with Hiroshi¡¯s ridiculously tough spirit, vanishing without doing anything. The reason his face was pale was actually because he had held two female bodies in his arms (even if it was in the heat of the moment).
¡¸You sure don¡¯t look it¡¡¡¹
¡¸So, I¡¯m sorry but could we git outta this position now?¡¹
¡¸Eh? Ah, sorry! Yeah, we¡¯re fine now!¡¹
Haruna and Mio did their best to step away from Hiroshi, panicking when they saw the color of his face and gaining a distance that wouldn¡¯t be of too much pressure on Hiroshi. It took a bit of work to rip themselves off him, since they were sofortable.
¡¸So what was that¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Prolly the mastermind. Actually, I feel like they got us good.¡¹
Looking frantically around, suddenly the girls saw a multitude of miasma emerging, surrounding them in a magic circle.
¡¸Dunno if this is a skirmish or the real deal, but this looks like a boss fight.¡¹
¡¸Yeah¡¹
Nodding at Hiroshi, who had shifted to full te mode, Haruna reluctantly put on her fluid metal armor just in case. She had coating over her orichalcum breastte, so this was not the typical fanservicey style as when she wore it over her clothing.
Upon further inspection, Mio also had the same coating over herser armor. This was made with behemoth materials just like Tatsuya¡¯s, so it had more defense than that of the orichalcum.
¡¸Let¡¯s see what arrives before us.¡¹
¡¸Probably going to be an pleasant visitor one way or the other.¡¹
Tatsuya spoke next to Haruna, and Makoto stepped in front of him as shemented. As if verifying their words, multiple ¡°somethings¡± emerged from the magic circle.
¡¸¡¡Are you kidding me¡¡¡¹
Gaping at the new enemies, Tatsuya groaned out a few words.
¡¸Depending on how you look at it, this might be our chance.?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mio, to be able to say something like that in this situation, you¡¯re a bigshot alright.¡¹
¡¸Actually, it¡¯s a staple to defeat enemies one by one when the same varieties appear in numbers of more than 3 digits.¡¹
¡¸What kind of universe has that staple¡¡¡¹
Makoto and Mio had their little two-man routine as they saw over 100 enemies appear.
¡¸That system does often work in TRPGs.¡¹
¡¸No, I don¡¯t really see that working with barolds as our opponents.¡¹
Mio continued to speak in a meta manner as Haruna made a low key remark, feeling cold sweat develop on her back. Yes: the enemies that had emerged were unmistakably Barold, and over a hundred of them.
¡¸But hey, at least it¡¯s just Barold. We pretty much have their attack patterns down.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Even if they don¡¯t go down in one hit, it¡¯s just Barold, y¡¯all. If we clean ¡®em up in their first form then there ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ to be afraid of!¡¹
Hiroshi dered with fighting spirit, in agreement with Mio¡¯s bold statement as he swung the pole axe in a wide arc above his head.
¡¸So with that said, c¡¯mon over here!!¡¹
As per usual, howling with Outface activated, Hiroshi gathered the attention of as many barolds as he could. And thus, the spark in the final fight in the evil god arc of Forre had been lit.
¡¸And so it begins.¡¹
¡¸Indeed.¡¹
Far off, the dark lords in charge of the western region were watching the fight.
¡¸As expected, the initial firepower turned out to be a dud, but it looks like we have them where we want.¡¹
¡¸But this is still Barold, and in mere numbers, without any sort of superior intellect. We do not know how long they willst.¡¹
A nodded slightly at B. They hadn¡¯t put much stock in this to begin with, and there was even the possibility of Hiroshi¡¯s team sweeping the floor without tiring. If that were to ur, the lords would no longer have any options left.
¡¸So for now, you prepare so that you can ess the location whenever?.¡¹
¡¸Yes. Of course I was never thinking of just watching from the shadows without meddling.¡¹
¡¸Is that so. Then what is your first n of action?¡¹
¡¸With that man there, any sort of direct magic approach will just be canceled, which in that case, I think it would be proper to interfere with the very ground he stands on.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I see.¡¹
Volume 4 13.4
Volume 4 Chapter 13.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Dark lord A nodded at dark lord B, whose n was to interfere with the earth Hiroshi stood on and turn it into a bottomless poison swamp. However¡¡
¡¸It seems that the origin was too shallow. He erased it.¡¹
¡¸Then how about I try making arge hollow to trip his feet up.¡¹
¡¸Can you?¡¹
¡¸I can try, but¡¡¡¹
Lord A found a strong resistance when he attempted to pour miasma through the earth, unable to aplish his objective and stepping back.
¡¸How was it?¡¹
¡¸The goddess blocked me. As expected, it is not easy to interfere from below with the feng shui so close.¡¹
¡¸Never thought that we¡¯d get all the way here from Crest Cave¡¡¡¹
A and B found themselves grinding their teeth at this obstruction from Elza. These Visitors were really a pain in the knee to deal with time after time.
The lords had been in a fairly decent position in contrast to the goddesses when they turned Crest Cave into a dungeon. Casualties had only increased due to this killer dungeon, resulting in the pollution of the feng shui and reversing the tides by swapping the original ore with higher grade ore that was difficult to process. At length, the feng shui had been polluted to a satisfying degree.
This desirable oue had onlysted for a single moment before the Visitors had raised refinement capabilities all around them with magic steel and mythril by making the new smelting furnaces, increasing overall productivity by a wide margin.
Once that happened, the previously increasing miasma had plummeted, and the lost advantage was given back to the goddess Elza. With greater-functioning equipment came a decrease in in-dungeon casualties and the dark lords¡¯ influence dwindling.
As the lords recoiled from this strange introduction of technology, the Visitorsunched an additional attack against Behemoth. It would have been bad enough one time, but then they had the gall to wait two more times for respawn to defeating it a total of three times, weakening the dungeon to an extreme.
Now there was no way to turn the tables. Reflecting on both Fane and Darl¡¯s defeats, it would likely be impossible to destroy the western region in this amount of time unless they pushed a decent n through in the span of a hundred years. They could admit this, but it was still more than unprecedented to see the earth mother goddess gain this much power without a priestess.
¡¸If it is impossible to impede them on arge scale¡¡¹
¡¸We can only directly attack some sort of weak spot.¡¹
¡¸Weak spot, hm. Then maybe that male magician or that female who sings those atrocious songs.¡¹
After trying this and that, the goddess had blocked them on all counts. A had given up on inflictingrge damage when he realized this, and B nodded at him, looking at the man and woman guarded by the other three teammates. It would be more than just tedious to get rid of either of them.
One-third of all barolds had been defeated. Their second form took a lot of miasma, hence why they limited it to a few barolds. There wasn¡¯t enough to go around, but it was still too quick to have this many barolds go down. The two main causes of this were the female¡¯s songs and the one doing the actual damage, which was the male magician.
Honestly, defeating one or the other would not change the situation. If the lords truly wanted to take the Visitors down, they needed to get rid of the man in full te armor. However, if they could have taken them down with these indirect attacks in the first ce, they would have all gone down long ago.
After all, that full ted man took plenty of attacks full on unscathed that would normally KO a regr adventurer, intercepting any attacks that flew at the two in the middle without blinking.
¡¸Considering their equipment, there is no guarantee of taking them down, but¡¡¹
¡¸We just need to damage him a bit. Better than doing nothing.¡¹
The two dark lords seemed to have decided their course of action. It was time to interfere with the ground under the middle teammates.
¡¸Feel yourselves scream in agony as we pierce through you!!¡¹
The dark lords yelled as they poured out arge amount of miasma. The next moment, the space behind Hiroshi¡¯s guard was twisted where Haruna and Tatsuya stood and the ground protruded out as if tough at his efforts, bing a spearshing out at the two targets.
¡¸They appear to be quite frantic now.¡¹
Watching the dark lords begin their direct meddling, earth mother goddess Elza furrowed her brow as she muttered. It had been approximately 3,000 years since the evil gods had encroached on this world. Barold¡¯s higher-ups, who had never revealed themselves, were now moving to directly show their hand. While surprised at this turn of events, she also couldn¡¯t help but feel exasperated at the chain of events that had led to this.
¡¸All things considered, their detour is diverging more and more from the rails¡¡¡¹
Elza recalled the process that lead to the lords emerging from the shadows. Ever since they had rescued Aearis in Wulls, these Visitors had solved one problem after the other in a bizarre fashion, the likes of which had never urred from any other Visitor. Normally she would be embarrassed to rely on them for everything, but Elza could not deny that they were the ones who had given this world the opportunity to break out from its immobolization from the long war with the evil gods.
Having been trapped in Crest Cave for such a long time, Elza couldn¡¯t help but panic, but the situation was actually getting better from this little detour.
¡¸Now then, they really saved me more times than I can count, so how about I show them what a goddess can do.¡¹
Unfortunately, no matter how many times they helped her out, the world¡¯s system would not allow Elza to directly intervene. The gods of this world were only stage settings. Without those restrictions, they could yield infinite power and potentially destroy the world, but that also meant they were limited in dealing with enemies. This dilemma was very vexing, but there was no point inining about an established fact.
Elza couldn¡¯t directly interfere with enemies or Hiroshi¡¯s group, but she was allowed to interfere a bit in the feng shui. Conveniently enough, the two males of the group had begun delving into the realm of god skills. Tatsuya was a bit further off from mastering such things, but Hiroshi was plenty, as long as the opportunity presented itself. If he were to interact with the feng shui and expose himself to Elza¡¯s power, it would be plenty easy for the trigger to activate.
The dark lords were meddling too much with the feng shui from a remote location. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to have Hiroshi and his friends help awaken her power by asking them to guard the feng shui as a pretext. Once she had control of the feng shui, Elza could thwart the advances of the dark lords.
¡¸I¡¯m very sorry, but anything past this will conflict with the restrictions. It is painful to not be able to help past this point, but if you can get through this, I will pay you handsomely.¡¹
When the dark lords stopped their meddling, Eliza took the opportunity to move the feng shui as she whispered what sounded like an excuse, knowing full well the Visitors could not hear her. As a result of some moving around, the feng shui protected by the goddess rose very close to the surface.
¡¸Please continue to give it your all.¡¹
While maintaining careful watch to ensure there wasn¡¯t any more interference, Elza threw the baton to Hiroshi¡¯s group.
¡¸Great re!¡¹
Shooting out fireballs strengthened by Igreos¡¯s power, Tatsuya burned up three barolds. The situation was moving in a decent direction.
¡¸You thought you could get through!?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re a nuisance.¡¹
Makoto and Mio intercepted the barolds swooping down from the sky. The next barold tried to take advantage of the opening-
¡¸Git over here boi!!¡¹
Hiroshi stopped his movement with one roar, which gave Makoto the opportunity to cut him up before he turned to ash and vanished.
¡¸This is going so well that it feels wrong¡¡¡¹
¡¸These barolds are too stupid.¡¹
With a practically mechanical rhythm, the barolds rushed forward defenselessly. In the game, most monsters behaved this way, but for barolds to fall this far? This was just weird.
Sure, if barolds were being produced en masse, it was easy to believe why their attack patterns were so sloppy. The issue here was that mass producing them meant they could increase in number at any time.
Even more troubling than that was how whoever was sending out all these barolds had yet to directly show themselves. Since the team was convinced this was not the end of it, they had to refrain from using their coup de gras.
¡¸There don¡¯t seem to be any reinforcements, so if we just stick it out¡¡!!¡¹
The moment he was about to finish his sentence, Hiroshi felt a shiver down his spine. In a split second he had flung two of the barolds away, following his gut and activating Cover Move. Letting go of his heavy mace, Hiroshi moved to pull Haruna and Tatsuya to his side.
¡¸Eh?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
Haruna and Tatsuya let out perplexed voices after Hiroshi¡¯s sudden action, suspending their songs/chants. After all, they couldn¡¯t find any reason why he had to guard them, not from what they could observe around them.
¡¸Out of my way!!¡¹
Hiroshi kicked away another barold who had tried to find an opening, picking up Haruna¡¯s whole body and then pulling in Tatsuya a bit further away. At the same time, or maybe one beat early, the space around them was twisted, the earth protruded, and two giant spears lunged for the two of them.
Volume 4 14.1
Volume 4 Chapter 14.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
The two stone spears jutted out of the ground, aiming at Haruna and Tatsuya and creating a shy noise as they tried to pierce Hiroshi, who was trying to guard them.
¡¸Are you two ok!?¡¹
¡¸I am, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Grazed my side. If I weren¡¯t practicing Fortress with different armor then I¡¯d be a lot worse off, even if you got to me in time.¡¹
Hiroshi asked as he fully blocked one of the spears with his abdominal region. Haruna, who had made it within cover, and Tatsuya, who had taken it in the nk, responded.
The spear that went for Tatsuya had just barely been stopped by Hiroshi, only grazing the nk, but it was evident that if he had not worn hihiirokane equipment (the highest grade magic equipment) over his behemoth armor then it would not have been a graze, but a gouge.
Tatsuya¡¯s reinforcement armor was made of hiiirokane because it took away any penalties for magic invocation.
¡¸But Hiro, what about you?¡¹
¡¸No damage, mate. But the armor near the stomach area was pierced through.¡¹
Hiroshi responded as he flicked off another barolde for trouble, while Tatsuya and Haruna shifted their gazes to his abdomen. Indeed, the full ted section waspletely destroyed, exposing the spirit thread clothing on the inside.
Tatsuya was also not without his damage to the nk, even if it was a scrape.
¡¸Dang, these barolds are a total pain.¡¹
Hiroshimented with a fed-up expression as he continued to send barold after barold flying. They just wouldn¡¯t let up, and yes, enemies were supposed to attack, but they were still annoying.
¡¸Why don¡¯t y¡¯all just git! Try this attack on for size!!¡¹
Hiroshi threw three superrge poms near the center of all the barolds before focusing energy into Around Guard to contain the shockwave. Even barolds level 2 and above weren¡¯t able to evade therge damage inflicted, despite their attempt at countering. Three attacks from this and any normal form barold could not endure. Honestly, if he hadn¡¯t had the innate confidence that Around Guard was at its highest proficiency, even Hiroshi probably wouldn¡¯t have attempted this attack from close range.
As a result ofunching those essentiallyrge scale magic attacks, 70% of the barolds in front of Hiroshi were destroyed with an extraordinary explosive sound, leaving behind only cores.
¡¸And now I can rx and mend the armor.¡¹
Gazing at the barolds disappearing from Haruna¡¯s song that had started up again, Hiroshi took a sigh before pouring mana into his armor. The emergency repair enchantment reacted with Hiroshi¡¯s mana, restoring the broken abdominal armor to its original. Likewise with Tatsuya, the ripped armor in the nk got repaired.
¡¸But why don¡¯t these chumps transform?¡¹
¡¸Who knows?¡¹
Seeing that the front was well taken care of, Tatsuya responded with a listless answer as he lifted the lock on his Holy Octocannon to take down some more barolds. As there was always the possibility of the barolds transforming, it was good to be cautious, but thinking any further on it forck of information was a waste of time.
¡¸Well no matter how things go, first look at their numbers¡¡!!¡¹
¡¸Yeah, seems like they can¡¯t all transform.¡¹
After finishing off some more barolds with roundabout attacks, they began transforming when they got to about 20% of the original number. Hiroshimented on the situation in Tatsuya¡¯s ce as he swallowed what he said.
¡¸So the number of enemies is what triggers the activation.¡¹
¡¸Hey, maybe they didn¡¯t actually have enough miasma to transform earlier.¡¹
Everyone nodded at Hiroshi/Makoto¡¯s words, changing formation. At the moment, the enemies¡¯ attacks were roundabout and unorganized, so except for the sneak attack from earlier, the team had not taken any damage at all. Still, despite their attack patterns, the barolds¡¯ strength and range jumped up in their second form.
Things would be very different from here on. They would need to increase their caution more.
¡¸Who wants to get a whuppin¡¯? Step right up!!¡¹
Regaining his fighting spirit in response to the situation, Hiroshi gathered the enemies¡¯ attention with Outss. The battle to drag out the mastermind had moved to a new phase.
¡¸¡¡Didn¡¯t work, huh¡¹
¡¸The next attack isn¡¯t going to work, I see.¡¹
Unable to seed with their sneak attack, the dark lords spat out their pure bitterness. Hiroshi went right to throwing his giant poms at the barolds to further decrease their number, and at this moment the dark lords knew the battle was over.
¡¸Doesn¡¯t seem like we¡¯ll be getting anything more out of this.¡¹
¡¸The feng shui had shifted positions. We can¡¯t interfere anymore, I don¡¯t think.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s already toote, but we should have reced a few barolds with subuses.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll say this again, but the eastern allies couldn¡¯t even do that. I think once Fane was crushed, the western front was decided.¡¹
Dark lord A pointed out a way they could have done better, while B weakly shook their head. Right before Hiroshi¡¯s group entered Forre, the amount of unstable elements had increased in this n concerning the eastern region. In order to cover this, everyone other than them from the overwhelmed western front had gone to help out the center and the east, severely limiting the actions of lords A and B in their actions here in the west.
Now that the western team had gone to the east, the east¡¯s situation was greatly improving. However, they could not move an unnecessary amount of people or ask them to do any unnecessary work. The situation would be precarious if they were any more careless. Now that the western front¡¯s operations had ended in irrevocable failure, they couldn¡¯t inflict any burden on the east side.
Hiroshi¡¯s group was certainly a threat, but it would defeat the whole purpose to have the east side lose its footing to help them out. Figuring that they could preserve the situation as is, the two lords had things moving fine up till Crest Cave, even if things didn¡¯t always go as nned.
In the end, underestimating Hiroshi resulted in the failure of their organization. Although they hadn¡¯t analyzed it that far in Darl, it was a mistake to not crush them then and there, perhaps usingrge amounts of female monsters to strike at Hiroshi¡¯s weak point for an advantage.
But there was no use dwelling on it. Even if A and B called back the eastern members, it would likely be a wasted venture. Yes, having someone make the female monsters would be effective to an extent in dismantling the tank of the group. However, in order to take advantage of this, it had to be when that wall of meat was by himself.
So now all they could do was go for broke.
¡¸¡¡Looks like all the barolds are about done.¡¹
¡¸¡¡In the end, I guess we could only afford to lose a few of them.¡¹
¡¸And because of that wench¡¯s singing, there¡¯s less holy energy left than expected.¡¹
The dark lords made sour faces at the grim situation. While this was certainly not their everything, this was their best move at the time and it failed spectacrly. They say that poverty dulls the wits, but at this point it felt like a curse to misjudge their opponents¡¯ power.
¡¸¡¡Regardless of how things go, we will not be turning things around from here. We will probably not be defeating Azuma Hiroshi.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah. However, we cannot let them get us like this. We must take down at least one of them to help out the eastern group in some way.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I will be the one to take care of that. You visit the east.¡¹
¡¸What are you talking about sote in? What will making them give us more help do for our cause when they¡¯ve already given us so much?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s because it¡¯s sote in. Taking down only one or two of them with us will not change the fact this will be a meaningless death on our part.¡¹
¡¸And what guarantee do we have that we don¡¯t end up dying meaninglessly without taking any of them with us?¡¹
B tried to get A to go east to reduce casualties, but A opposed their idea by insisting they go for efficiency.
After a staring contest of a few seconds, B was the one who caved in.
¡¸¡¡Right. There is a chance the goddess will directly interfere. I can¡¯t do much by myself.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. We should probably avoid any further investments. Plus our failure after doing so much would be a good example for the eastern group to learn not to underestimate them.¡¹
B nodded at A. However, the saying ¡°poverty dulls the wits¡± was indeed true, and neither A nor his cohort realized they were still expending military strength.
Indeed, they had not considered the idea of themselves going out to battle alongside the barolds, which ended up being the real waste of this situation.
¡¸Now then, shall we?¡¹
¡¸Yes. To fill the world with holy energy.¡¹
¡¸To fill the world with holy energy.¡¹
The two dark lords, who had not seen this as an opportunity to not just take down one or two people, but the whole group, walked to theirst battle without ever realizing this fact.
¡¸Three more to go.¡¹
¡¸In the end, they still didn¡¯t change up their attack pattern, huh.¡¹
¡¸Mako, we can¡¯t let our guard down yet.¡¹
Volume 4 14.2
Volume 4 Chapter 14.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸You¡¯re right.¡¹
Makoto and Mio expressed their thoughts as they ran thest spurt on the barold purge. The mass-produced barolds never did reach third form, wiped out one by one until they were all cleared out, with no real harm done to Hiroshi or his team.
¡¸Keep itin¡¯ y¡¯all!!¡¹
While there were only three left, they couldn¡¯t let their guard down. Hiroshi solidified his position and used Outss to make himself the target instead of Tatsuya.
With thebined effects of the mastered Fortress skill on their equipment and Haruna¡¯s Increase Defense magic, Hiroshi would no longer be taking damage from Barold. However, Tatsuya would still take a hefty amount of damage from Barold¡¯s second form even with Fortress. Also, with damage came pain, as well as reduced magic control. There was even a possibility of losing control from the pain and going friendly fire on teammates.
In order to prevent such an ¡°ident¡±, they really had to make sure that no one got an attack on Tatsuya. Though he wouldn¡¯t die in one or two hits, the team could very well get destroyed if the healer and main attacker fell in power.
¡¸Two more!!¡¹
Makoto cut down another one. On closer inspection, he had swapped from hihiirokane to adamantite for the katana, most likely giving the previous one a rest.
Trying to take down another one, Tatsuya¡¯s magic and Mio¡¯s arrow reached their target.
¡¸Next one is thest one!!¡¹
¡¸Hold up! Something¡¯sin¡¯!!¡¹
Makoto tried to go straight for thest one before Hiroshi hurriedly stopped her. A culmination of miasma was forming here that would put the tower golem to shame.
¡¸¡¡I think I get the picture, but what exactly ising?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Based on the situation, it¡¯s gotta be the boss of the barolds.¡¹
Tatsuya answered Haruna¡¯s question with affirmation, gulfing down a mana potion as a precaution. While the battle up till now had felt like a breeze, it hadn¡¯t been the easiest of battles. They had used their coup de gras several times, expending mana to take on thetter half of the wave. The only reason they hadn¡¯t expended this resourcepletely was probably due to Haruna singing continuously.
And even Haruna had been singing with intent for thirty minutes. While her stamina and mana were not extinguished, Haruna¡¯s (or rather, the daughter of the world-renowned singer yukina) nature caused her singing to consume more calories than a small battle. Potions didn¡¯t restore calories, so this problem might actually be worse than everyone else¡¯s.
¡¸They¡¯re almost here.¡¹
As Mio spoke, thest remaining barold twisted and split into two pieces in an instant, only to be swallowed up by the encroaching darkness along with the scattered barold cores.
¡¸We done goofed¡¡¡¹
¡¸How so?¡¹
¡¸We shoulda gathered the cores while we had the chance.¡¹
¡¸Because they¡¯re good ingredients? Or to prevent them from powering up?¡¹
¡¸I mean, both, but yeah.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna had a slightly offhand conversation that was strangely appropriate for the situation as something emerged from the darkness.
¡¸Looks like the boss is here.¡¹
¡¸But it honestly ain¡¯t the same kind of pressure that the evil god fragment had, so this one¡¯s also prolly just a minion.¡¹
Makoto and Hiroshi expressed their thoughts as they looked at the ck robed male-looking figures. While they were emitting a tense aura, it wasn¡¯t all that strong.
The figures¡¯ statures were equal to Hiroshi¡¯s, and while a hood covered their faces, it was possible that they didn¡¯t have faces to begin with. Their clothing, stature, and miasma intensity were exactly the same, so you probably wouldn¡¯t tell the difference if they were swapped.
¡¸So what kinda trick ya gonna pull¡¡!?¡¹
Before Hiroshi could finish talking smack, a multitude of hands shot up from the ground beneath their feet. The other four instinctively dodged to avoid getting captured, but Hiroshi having full te on and unable to run very well caused him to get captured, although¡
¡¸Yer attacks ain¡¯t nothin¡¯, punks!!¡¹
The moment he was captured, Hiroshi focused energy through his body and activated Outss in a loud voice as he knocked aside the hands that had grasped him. These hands appeared to be the same as ghosts, easily crushed by using mind interference skills like Outss.
¡¸Noments and right into a preemptive strike, eh? Guess they ain¡¯t talkative.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯d think they¡¯d at least say ¡°I¡¯ll tell you as a gift for the afterlife¡± or something viinous, but seeing as that hasn¡¯t happened I would assume there¡¯s some real bloodlust in the air.¡¹
Hiroshi and friends felt the seriousness of this ¡°boss¡± with this strange action of theirs, regaining theirposure. As usual, they were never quite careless, but to have an enemy rush at you without at least talking beforehand waspletely out of the blue.
¡¸Oh crud!!¡¹
Crushing the right-hand robed figure¡¯s shockwave from above with Around Guard, Hiroshi then cancelled out the left-hand robe¡¯s curse shot that came flying at him with Focus. Sensing something was off, he then cancelled full te mode and jumped aside. The moment he did so, the ground copsed like crazy.
¡¸Watch out y¡¯all! They don¡¯t feel like attacking directly with magic or miasma and they got quite the strategy!¡¹
¡¸Alright!¡¹
Following Hiroshi¡¯s warning, Tatsuya and the others shifted gears from attacking to monitoring their opponents¡¯ attacks. Unlike before, Hiroshi wasn¡¯t sure if he could demolish the opponent, so they had to protect themselves to a certain extent.
Right as Hiroshi warned them, darkness spread out below their feet. Hiroshi immediatelyunched Magic Bullet to restrain it, barely slowing down the advances. In that slight interval of time, Tatsuya had activated Hell Fire Sanctum, clearing away the darkness by burning it down. Only one instantter, a centimeter of the surface of the earth changed to sludge.
¡¸Haruna-san, we gotta activate that!¡¹
Looking at the boss-like members¡¯ attack patterns, Hiroshi gave Haruna instructions. They had saved their trump card this long, and there was no better time to use it than now.
¡¸Roger!¡¹
Following Hiroshi¡¯s instructions, Haruna paused her song and prepared the trump card, which was an extravagant throwaway item given to them by Alfemina through Aearis and modified by Hiroshi to amplify its effects, which turned a certain area briefly into a holy realm; truly deserving to be called a trump card.
¡¸Sanctuary, expand!¡¹
Haruna boldly proimed the activation keywords.
¡¸Artiem-sama¡¹
¡¸Yes¡¹
Aearis and Artiem casually nced at each other and nodded after they had been drinking tea for some time in the temple cafeteria. They had finished eating the teacake and had only a third left of their tea. This was as good a time as any to leave the area.
¡¸Excuse me. Might we borrow the Room of Ritual?¡¹
Aearis elegantly drank down her tea and called out to the priest in the back.
¡¸Please wait a moment.¡¹
The priest gave a bow before going off to ask permission from the head priest. Seeing him leave, Aearis gave Douga a look, who knew what was going on and carried Aearis/Artiem¡¯s luggage to their side.
¡¸What does the situation look like now?¡¹
¡¸The big boss came out¡«¡¹
¡¸Robe, robe¡¹
¡¸No face¡«¡¢no face¡«¡¹
¡¸Cluster of miasma¡«¡¹
¡¸Persistent attacks¡«¡¹
¡¸Haruna-chan activated Sanctuary¡«¡¹
The octogals who had been minding their own business eating teacakes conveyed the situation to Artiem when she asked. Aearis and Artiem took out the pendant from their luggage that Douga had brought over and underwent the ritual on the spot.
¡¸And now the first reinforcement isplete.¡¹
It was a poem of three lines in a specialnguage. After she finished singing it, Artiem looked at her pendant.
¡¸Artiem-sama, the next one is the real deal.¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
The two priestesses nodded at each other as they looked at the priest who had returned. Quickly putting on jewelry needed for the ritual (which for a few reasons had to be prepared in advance), the girls followed the priest.
The dispute with the western faction of the evil gods was reaching its starting point bit by bit.
¡¸You impudent brats¡¡¡¹
The dark lord who had been until now attacking Hiroshi¡¯s team without a word was unable to hide his bitterness with the holy realm that had juste up. That was the first sentence directed toward Hiroshi¡¯s group.
Volume 4 14.3
Volume 4 Chapter 14.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I think their trump card that interferes with the ground is done away with!¡¹
¡¸Of that, you are correct. However, do not think we are so ipetent as to be out of options!!¡¹
Screaming without even bothering to hide their malice, the dark lords opened their robes, from which darkness squirmed around and spread out. Something fired out inrge quantities.
¡¸If ya wanted to fight us with numbers ya shouldae out sooner!!¡¹
As he smash attacked the snake-like being that jumped out at him (probably a variant of Barold¡¯s third form), Hiroshi taunted it with Outss. Now that the first enemy had been forced back, any further enemies that emerged would be dyed.
The few seconds gained from Hiroshi¡¯s attack drove the lords into an even worse corner, because¡
¡¸©¤©¤©¤©¤¡¹
Haruna¡¯s heart sutra gospel had clearly resounded with the sudden arrival of apaniment and back chorus. The divine song with its power increased by the divine realm and amplified by the ancestral/hero spirit apaniment/chorus immediately purified and extinguished any mass-produced barolds within range.
¡¸Dang, no chill I see.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but it looks like it won¡¯t affect the boss much.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s to be expected. If it really had such an effect on the boss then all the priestess princesses woulda done something about it already.¡¹
Focusing on the dark lords¡¯ actions, Hiroshi and Makoto confirmed the situation. While they could easily beat Barold, there was no question this would not work against the boss. While it would affect them slightly, it would only beparable to forcing Form 2 Barold to listen to a zundoko melody. Sure, it was slowly chipping away at them, but the divine realm would soon expire.
¡¸They are truly a loathsome bunch¡¡¡¹
¡¸But we know your weakness, you fiends.¡¹
¡¸Your ring weakness is¡¡¡¹
¡¸The physical weakness shared by all of Azuma Hiroshi¡¯s friends!!¡¹
Loudly yelling something that needn¡¯t be said, the dark lords proceeded tounch individual attacks on all of Hiroshi¡¯s friends that he could not cover in time. While they couldn¡¯t change the whole area into a bottomless swamp or realm of darkness, the dark lords could still form stone spears in the ground or make kamaitachi out of thin air. These attacks were powerful enough to lethally wound your average adventurer, and they targeted the team at random.
¡¸This ain¡¯t nothin¡¯, punks!!¡¹
Taking all the attacks that hit him, Hiroshi managed to cover both Haruna and Tatsuya too. Half of the attacks were magic-based, disappearing before they hit them. However,
¡¸Ah!¡¹
¡¸Gah!¡¹
Several attacks slipped by Hiroshi¡¯s guard, directly hitting Tatsuya and Haruna. Cover Move¡¯s weak point was that it couldn¡¯t block stray bullets 100%, and the robes made good use of this knowledge.
The damage was far from fatal, not even enough to lop off any limbs, but taking multiple hits would still be dangerous.
¡¸Haruna, Tatsuya!!¡¹
¡¸¡¡I¡¯m fine¡¡¡¹
¡¸But I guess our Fortress wasn¡¯t quite enough¡¡¡¹
Evading every attack that came for her, Makoto checked on the two who were hit. Haruna and Tatsuya¡¯s faces twisted in pain as they healed their wounds, insisting they were fine. Now they had to deal with Hiroshi¡¯s weakness as a tank- saturation attacks. There hadn¡¯t been any attacks of lethal density prior to this, but things seemed to be different this time around.
¡¸Thanks to our armor, the damage was nothing special, but now that we know it directly pierces through, things are going to be a little difficult¡¡¡¹
Haruna mumbled, her breathing under control as she looked at Hiroshi barely blocking the next barrage. She was trying to ascertain where the attacks¡¯ blind spots. Singing during all this just wouldn¡¯t do.
¡¸If I had even a fraction of Hiro¡¯s defense, I bet it¡¯d be easy peasy¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya chimed in as he executed a defense barrier, kneading mana for his coup de gras. Still, rather than waste time grumbling over something not there, he had to bear with his current arsenal.
¡¸Makoto-san! Mio! Can ya help out right here? I¡¯ll take any help ya can give!¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll do what I can, but I¡¯m pretty spent here too y¡¯know!?¡¹
¡¸Sensei, remember we have our limits!¡¹
¡¸I know! Just cut down one or two of ¡¯em ¡®n that¡¯ll do!¡¹
Four total attacks had slipped through. If the two of them had taken that amount of damage from two attacks each, decreasing the amount of stray bullets would at least help things move along. As ifughing at this hopeful optimism, the dark lords who had regained a certain amount of strength with the song being cut offunched around the same amount of attacks as earlier. It didn¡¯t seem to be possible to bring out barolds at the same time as their saturation attacks, but this fact also wasn¡¯t of much help.
Of course it would be difficult to do anything about this. As previously mentioned, each hit was not especially strong in and of itself. Jon¡¯s sword with the ability Passive Barrier was more than enough to block the attacks. However, even that damage would became dangerous once it culminated, and Haruna and Tatsuya would not be the only ones receiving damage from direct hits.
¡¸Ow!¡¹
¡¸Sensei! They¡¯re going through me too!¡¹
The attacks were even going through Makoto and Mio¡¯s defense.
Unlike Haruna and the others, these two had not taken more damage than was perhaps a bitughable. In game terms, somewhere around a digit of damage per shot against tens of thousands of HP, or maybe two digits of damage if we¡¯re being generous. These were the kind of wounds that would probably vanish without a trace with natural healing around ten seconds.
However, wounds were still wounds. The damage was barely superseding natural healing, so they would likely be entering the danger zone at some point. Most importantly, getting hit at all dulled their movements by a bit. This would prevent them from defending or attacking well. As a result, everyone besides Hiroshi was getting chipped away at bit by bit.
£¨This freaking sucks¡¡£©
Running Minor Heal continuously, Hiroshi¡¯s sense of danger worsened as he healed Haruna and Tatsuya¡¯s wounds. Haruna and the others were one thing, but not being able to move to offense at all would also be bad. The worst oue would be for the divine realm to dissolve while they were unable to act, as the robed figures¡¯ attack power might very well skyrocket.
Tatsuya¡¯s Defense Barrier was barely functioning either due to the number of moves the opponent was throwing out. Unlike Absorb, Defense Barrier had nothing to do with defense stats. As a result, the more numerous the stray bullets , the closer he was to going over capacity. Still, even if he had used Absorb or the rted skills, Tatsuya still had to deal with cooldown time and would be unable to actually execute it continuously.
Honestly, the situation was not looking too good. Something had to be done, but Hiroshi was currently limited with his actions. And if he was going to act, he needed to somehow get back to the tunnel entrance and limit the directions from which attacks could arrive. Or he could find some solution that involved Haruna singing as long as she could while he protected her from airborne attacks.
Needless to say, thetter was no good. Although Hiroshi and Haruna knew each other well, Hiroshi had yet to ovee his gynophobia enough to be cooped up with females for long periods of time, and then Tatsuya would be left out of the loop. Still, the former was also tough. If he retreated then he would have to deal with high density attacks from behind as well as healing while he did so. But before any of that, it was pretty much guaranteed that the robed figures would increase the number of attacks as Hiroshi retreated.
Anyhow, they had to improve their situation by any means. Hiroshi desperately moved his body, reading the flow of power so as to be able to guard even one shot. He felt the feng shui to be a bit closer than expected, but that didn¡¯t really matter for this time.
£¨¡¡Hm?£©
As he was monitoring not just magic but the entire flow of power in order to read his opponents¡¯ attacks, Hiroshi recognized he was able to mobilize a type of power on his surface (probably life energy). Stretching it out thinly, widely, he could tell that every attack that came into contact with that power drastically dropped in power. And this happened regardless of physical or magical properties.
£¨Could it be!!£©
Crushing as many attacks aimed at Tatsuya and Haruna as he could, and continuing Minor Heal all the while, Hiroshi spread out the power to cover the two of them. This did weaken the power covering Hiroshi, but he already had insane defense stats. This would change nothing.
¡¸Huh?¡¹
¡¸They directly hit us but it doesn¡¯t hurt?¡¹
¡¸Alright, just like I thought mate!!¡¹
The attacks directly hitting Haruna and Tatsuya were intercepted by Hiroshi¡¯s widened power field, decaying until the attacks bounced off their defense.
¡¸Huh? Huh?¡¹
¡¸Hiro, you do something?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll tell ya moreter! I¡¯m gonna keep guardian¡¯ here, so first ya gotta attack!¡¹
Conveying what they had to do next to a perplexed Haruna and Tatsuya, Hiroshi continued to monitor their opponents¡¯ attacks, checking how far his power could be extended.
£¨So the area of effect is a five meter radius, huh£©
A bit too narrow for him to attack anyone. Also, it took a good deal of stamina to expand his range to the limit. Then again, these functions were probably areas he could improve with training or battle.
£¨Now it depends on how far my own defense has fallen, lessee¡¡£©
Hiroshi blocked arge kamaitachi headed for Haruna and crushed it along with any stone spears he saw that might hit Tatsuya with his pole axe as he continued to verify the skill. These were all actions Hiroshi had performed numerous times in the past, so stifling these attacks was basically an instinct for him. Unlike before, he just needed to cover any ces where attacks would be most damaging, so no need to use much unnecessary thinking in that area. Therefore Hiroshi was prioritizing checking the skill specifications right now until things changed.
Lowering of defense via skill usage was certainly urring. The real problem was determining the extent of the attacks currently flying at them.
While this was not an immediate issue, there would likely be a situation where, depending on the opponents¡¯ attacks, Hiroshi would have to stop expanding the power field and focus on his own defense. In order to ascertain where this line was, he had to grasp it a bit intuitively. Unlike in the game, you couldn¡¯t see the damage digits in front of you, so it was never quite clear how low any of your stats were. Still, it was suicidal to use skills with huge demerits without actually inspecting them.
Volume 4 14.4
Volume 4 Chapter 14.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Hiroshi, herees the big one!¡¹
¡¸Roger, mate!¡¹
It appeared that one of the dark lords was storing up arge amount of miasma to move into an attack. This was definitely a coup de gras. In order to stop it, Tatsuya fired three shots from Holy Octo Cannon, but although it damaged the enemy a bit, it wasn¡¯t enough to halt the move from preparation.
¡¸You cannot stop this attack with your paltry defense screen!!¡¹
The dark lord seemed to have seen through Hiroshi¡¯s actions as he created a giant dark mass.
¡¸Devour all before you, Hell¡¯s Dinner!!¡¹
The giant darkness opened its maw to swallow Hiroshi as he spoke. If he didn¡¯t do anything then all three would be swallowed. Still, no matter how great the effect or high the firepower, area of effect was area of effect.
¡¸Too bad so sad, Around Guard!!¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s Around Guard twisted the environment, preventing the darkness¡¯s jaw from getting Tatsuya or Haruna. This was the moment where the weakness of area of effect attacks was made clear.
On top of that, this kind of attack that used miasma clusters had a deficiency not too different from most magic attacks. In other words, depending on the opponent¡¯s magic resistance, your move could lose both power and range. Conversely, the majority of attacks were exceedingly difficult to evade (including singr-target attacks) as well as having more power than physical attacks, and magic defense/magic resistance were much harder to raise than physical defense.
¡¸Guess we can¡¯t go totally unscathed.¡¹
Blowing away Hell¡¯s Dinner with Focus, Hiroshi grumbled about his situation. As a result of having the defense field from earlier still active, his actual defense had decreased which had increased the damage received. He hadn¡¯t taken that much damage, so without the defense field deployed, Hiroshi probably wouldn¡¯t have received any damage.
Hell¡¯s Dinner seemed to be a drain-type attack. Hiroshi felt something sucked from him, and the damage that Tatsuya had dealt was slowly restoring. Still, the damage Hiroshi had taken was negligible, so the dark lord was hardly ¡°healed¡±.
¡¸If that was yer trump card then y¡¯all ain¡¯t got a chance.¡¹
Nearly at the same time as those words, the power that Aearis and Artiem borrowed from Alfemina and Aranwen as a result of the ritual traveled through the feng shui and poured out into the divine realm.
And with this, Hiroshi¡¯s team¡¯s overwhelming victory was solidified.
¡¸It looks like he managed to gain the first technique with no problems¡¡¡¹
Elza had primed herself to intervene whenever necessary, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Hiroshi¡¯s team had ovee this difficulty.
With Divine Realm activated, nearly all the prerequisites for the goddess to intervene were fulfilled. She could certainlye through right now, but there were more dark lords than those two, and there were higher ups who hadn¡¯t even shown up, let alone expend energy. Elza lightly pulling some strings wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a bad idea, but neither was it good.
Now, no matter how many hundreds of dark lords showed up, they wouldn¡¯t win with Elza and the others. Even the higher ups could be dealt with, albeit with a little more work. This was precisely why there were many restrictions on divine intervention. In order to make waves without priestesses as media, goddesses had to either follow the rules or pick a fight with the world¡¯s rules. Without evil gods as opponents, they couldn¡¯t continuously go against the world, and obeying the rules required a good amount of time and effort for even one venture.
This was why Hiroshi wasn¡¯t able to learn the earth-type extra skill Guardian Field and Elza had waited until the worst case scenario of Divine Realm running out in order to advent.
In order to advent without Divine Realm or being called by priestesses, goddesses had very struct rules to follow. In addition, it took a lot of time to have the same god advent with the same conditions. As she couldn¡¯t afford to lose Hiroshi or his friends over this, Elza was prepared to shoulder whatever risks were necessary, but now that it was clear that she needed to directly advent, she wanted to save her attempts forter, which was reasonable thinking.
¡¸Alfemina, Aranwen, thank you.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because we intervened via priestess rituals. With Artiem or Aearis¡¯s qualities, there are no risks for this level of intervention.¡¹
¡¸However, without either of them on site, we can¡¯t intervene more than this.¡¹
¡¸Yes, I know. Now we just do what we can in light of the risks.¡¹
Thanking Alfemina and Aranwen as they looked in on her, Eliza checked to see what else she could do.
¡¸¡¡I suppose I could at least try streamingrge amounts of power into the feng shui and strengthening Divine Realm further.¡¹
Eliza came to that conclusion after analyzing the situation. Only fools would risk this perfect opportunity by being careless and losing their ability to advent. She kept her intervention on the downlow to conserve power forter.
¡¸¡¡So it would appear we have a foothold now.¡¹
Makoto was hopping up and down around one of the dark lords in the divine realm in order to shift the situation.
The dark lords were frantic.
£¨Not even Hell¡¯s Dinner worked? Are you kidding me!?£©
£¨Not good¡¡£©
Now, the dark lords were aware that Hell¡¯s Dinner would get blocked. Of course they wouldn¡¯t be taking down Hiroshi like that. Still, it was most certainly a miscalction for Hiroshi to not even get a single scratch on him despite having an active defense field that ate at his defense.
¡¸If that¡¯s all you got, I¡¯ming for you!¡¹
After Mio used Minor Heal on her, Makoto¡¯s umting damage vanished without a trace before she loudly proimed her advance. Hearing this, the dark lords prepared the appropriate skill to counterattack, but
¡ºHaruna, can I have you use Over elerate!¡»
¡ºRoger!¡»
¡ºMio, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re still up to no good, so go ahead and shoot one in to distract them!¡»
¡ºHm, okay.¡»
Secretly contacting each other via the party chat, the attack/backup troop discussed what they might do to outwit their opponent.
¡¸Opening debut of our country! Extra Skill Ignition Soul!¡¹
In order to follow up immediately, Makoto activated the peak of self-amplification skills given to her from Igreos, Ignition Soul. Being an extra skill, the cost was heavy, but when activated, it would boost stats well past their initial point, such as Hiroshi¡¯s endurance/mentality, Haruna¡¯s agility, and Makoto¡¯s muscle strength. However, stats like HP, MP, or stamina wouldn¡¯t increase, and neither would intelligence, perception, or dexterity.
Just by how powerful the move was, both the startup cost and the maintenance cost were heavy. Makoto could hold it for five seconds at most. However, this team was capable of utilizing these five seconds.
¡¸Over elerate!¡¹
Indeed: this was due to Over elerate, the eleration spell. This is a questionable topic, but items and skills wouldst only as long as theysted in real time. The same could be said for magic requiring maintenance costs, such as with Ignition Soul. While activated, Makoto could use Over elerate to act for a value of 100 seconds but only having to pay 1 second worth of the cost.
With thisbination in y, she could just momentarily gain greater attack power than a low proficiency Gale sh.
¡¸We¡¯ll show you how feeble your resistance is!¡¹
As if scoffing at Haruna for stopping her song and beginning something else, the dark lords deployed dark fog all around to counter her move. At the same time, one arrow flew in to pierce through a dark lord¡¯s head before it was swallowed by the fog.
But as if this were some sort of trap, the fog that had swallowed the arrow cleared up in an instant. Throwing in a follow-up attack at the startled dark lords, another arrow came rushing in before one beatter, the dark lord¡¯s body was ripped to shreds.
¡¸I can easily predict your actions!¡¹
¡¸As I thought, the liquor that Elle and Artiem directly cleansed works well.¡¹
Indeed. Mio, who had anticipated their opponent moving for a counter, saw that Divine Realm would strengthen divine-type attacks and had dunked the arrows in Liquor for the Gods, turning them into hamayas.
Now, of course mere Liquor for the Gods would not have brought about such drastic effects. Mio was only able to get the desired effects by getting the highest quality god¡¯s liquor from Hiroshi and having Aearis and Artiem purify it with their respective deities adventing.
Of course, with an item of this caliber, you could deal plenty of damage by directly sprinkling it on your opponent. However, they only had three bottles of the stuff, which was not enough to substitute for me bottles, hence why they used the divine bottles in cement of a simple divine enchantment.
¡¸¡¡You bastards!¡¹
Seeing that his partner was already losing their corporeal form, the dark lord who was not attacked burst out in rage. His partner saw this, barely managing to squeeze out a voice.
¡¸¡¡Use it¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Are you sure?¡¹
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s much better than¡¡disappearing¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Alright. I will use it as much as I want then.¡¹
The mysterious conversation finished, the unaffected lord pierced their partner¡¯s chest, digging out the core.
¡¸Sensei, is that¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, seems that way.¡¹
Hiroshi squeezed out a dry voice as he looked at the dark lord who had taken the core out with a big wound on it.
¡¸They took out Barold¡¯s core so there¡¯s no reason why they can¡¯t do the same with their partners.¡¹
As if reacting to Hiroshi¡¯s words, the dark lord who took the core out immediately grew gigantic.
Volume 4 Snippet 1.1
Volume 4 Snippet 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
£±£®Octogal Babysitting
The octogals generally had a lot of time on their hands, so they would show up anywhere whenever they felt like it.
¡¸We came to hang out¡«¡¹
On this day, the octogals had decided to visit the private room of the queen of Fane, Elizabeth¡¯s private area. Needless to say, it was usually closed off to any outsiders, but since the octogals were mysterious creatures that were rted to the gods and could teleport anywhere besides dungeons, no one in the castle bothered to stop them. It just seemed like it would be a waste of both time and effort to even attempt.
¡¸Oh, hello there.¡¹
Queen Elizabeth returned the greeting, not particrly surprised at seeing the three octogals. She was dandling the two twin babies, so she couldn¡¯t stand up, but still showed a sign of wee. The maids around her didn¡¯t say much.
Also, needless to say, for Fane and any other country, the queen was never the only one taking care of the children. In fact, queens couldn¡¯t get enough time to their children. It was already hard enough to create small windows like this in the afternoon and while the children were awake. Other than breastfeeding, changing diapers and whatnot wasn¡¯t usually a privilege that the queen had.
Also, the children¡¯s names were Redrick (boy) and Elize (girl). As it had not been half a year since their birth yet, it was only recently that she had revealed them to the castle. The queen had only officially unveiled the information to the people, with their debut toe at ater date.
¡¸Are the babies OK¡«?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Very much so thank you.¡¹
Queen Elizabeth smiled cheerfully as she showed the children to the octogals. The twins were moring happily as they looked at the octogals while clinging to their mother.
¡¸Can we y with the babies¡«?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
After getting permission from the queen, the octogals yed with the babies. With Mark it was ¡°Mark-O¡± but the babies were simply ¡°the babies¡±. It¡¯s surprising that Mark didn¡¯t cry about this.
¡¸Expand¡«¡¹
¡¸Stre¡«tch¡¹
¡¸Swing around bi¡«g¡¹
The octogals entertained the children by inting their faces, extending their feet longer than usual, and twirling around in strange,plicated motions. The twins were both overjoyed. The octogals also did something unique to them like shaking toys with multiple arms. In addition,
¡¸Ultimate At¡«tack¡¹
¡¸Three bodybination¡«¡¹
¡¸Open¡ðtto¡«¡¹
The octogals jumped around with clearly illogical movement as they spoke. They must have also been thrilled by the twin¡¯s reactions.
Also, ording to them, the three-body form had three modes: well-behaved, noisy, and Poseidon. Needless to say, no human could tell the difference.
¡¸And further division¡«¡¹
¡¸Up u¡«p¡¹
¡¸Barrel ro¡«l¡«l¡¹
¡¸Dispose of the body¡«¡¹
¡¸Catch¡«¡¹
The babies clung on to the octogals now, so they yed even harder. One of them became a trampoline for safety on stand by, andbined with whatever had split off and multiplied, with a group of two flying around in a strange, fluffy orbit, saying dangerous things while purposely dropping and catching the children, a sight that would make anyone panic who saw it.
While this was not the kind of y that good children should get into, the octogals, being rtives of the gods, had a perfect safety. When catching the children, the octogals made good use of their mollusk features so as to absorb any shock.
Initially the staff watching the octogals had panicked upon seeing this extreme form of babysitting, but after seeing how they were much more careful than they appeared to be, the staff didn¡¯t make any unnecessaryments.
¡¸Aua¡«¡¹
¡¸Almost done¡«¡¹
Seeing that the twins were tired from so much excitement, the octogalsforted them with strange movements before returning them to the queen. A bit displeased to be done, once the twins were in the arms of the queen and nanny, their eyes began drooping.
¡¸We¡¯re gonna get going now¡«¡¹
¡¸Thanks for letting use¡«¡¹
¡¸Yep, pleasee again.¡¹
Seeing that the babies were fast asleep, the octogals spoke their farewells in low voices so as to not wake them before immediately teleporting out of the room.
After the octogals went away, all that was left was Elizabeth lovingly hugged her sleeping children and the people watching over them.
¡¸Lilia-chan, you okay¡«?¡¹
The next ce the octogals appeared was the living space of the crown prince and his wife in Darl Pce.
¡¸Aye.¡¹
¡¸Yes, she hasn¡¯t gotten sick ever since.¡¹
Showing no signs of surprise at the sudden appearance of the octogals, the crown prince and his wife responded in a nonchnt manner. They were also used to this.
¡¸Expand¡«¡¹
¡¸Cushion¡«¡¹
Princess Lilia (technically not the princess, since her parents had yet to be enthroned) attempted to stand up. In order to assist her, the octogals inted themselves to be cushions. This was awfully considerate of them.
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢oo¡«¡¹
Lilia, now standing up, attempted to walk to her parents from a slightly faraway location before she fell, snugly into the octogal cushion. She was barely learning to grab, so it made sense that she couldn¡¯t walk.
¡¸Da¡«¡¢da¡«¡¹
Thrilled at the octogal cushion¡¯s sticity, Lilia began softening up and getting into a good mood. As she was ying around a bit, Lilia¡¯s interest moved to the octogal¡¯s feet floating near her, to which she grabbed it with incredible reaction speed before putting it in her mouth. Either because this was right after breastfeeding age or because children around her age tended to do this in general, Lilia was at a point in her life where she wanted to put everything in her mouth.
¡¸Don¡¯t eat that¡«¡¹
¡¸Bad children get punishment¡«¡¹
¡¸Pick her up¡«¡¹
¡¸Dispose of the body¡«¡¹
¡¸Catch¡«¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢ah¡«!¡¹
Breaking desperately out of the hold Lilia had on its foot and cleaning the saliva covered foot off through a mysterious means unique to their species, the octogals began their punishment of the ¡°bad kid¡±.
That being said, all the octogals were doing to Lilia was lifting her up to a decent height before dropping and catching her without letting her get hurt, so it was questionable whether it was a punishment or not. As evidence, all of these motions just excited Lilia more and more.
¡¸Lilia-chan gonna sleep now¡«¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re going back¡«¡¹
¡¸We¡¯lle again¡«¡¹
¡¸Aye.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re wee anytime.¡¹
The octogals went off after ying a lot with the princess who would be shouldering Darl¡¯s future. After going off to y with the children in Ortem Vige and the children near the Wulls workshop, their free time for today had ended.
And so the octogals had spent thest few days in this manner. Many people around them in general would ask favors like ¡°change the baby¡¯s diapers¡± or ¡°help get them to sleep too¡± or ¡°my child just got lost! Please find them at once¡±. Now, there was a downside to this¡¡
¡¸Yaaay¡«¡¢yaaay¡«¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s body disposal time¡«¡¹
There was a small headache of an issue with children learning the octogal¡¯s catchphrase ¡°dispose of bodies¡±. This especially held true with the royal education administrators. True as always, nothing came without its negative side.
Volume 4 Snippet 1.2
Volume 4 Snippet 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
£²£®Haruna¡¯s Stand/Tournament Arc
¡¸So are we fine on stocks?¡¹
Haruna murmured with a serious face as she red at the day¡¯s products. Today was technically the first day of sales in ordance with when the tournament began. The products were three different varieties: the usual curry bread, taiyaki, and then adrasia sauras zapre (Fane-style leaf wrap baking). Taiyaki was really the only time consuming one, while she could get a good amount of zapre via the oven in the minivan food stand and the curry bread could be fried in her sleep.
They had some alcoholic lees, which was why Haruna considered sake lees, but that was more for cold seasonal food than it was for the uing hotter season. Since there was no guarantee of it being popr, Haruna decided to pass on that for this time.
¡¸I wonder what this stall is selling?¡¹
Once she had lit the oven and began to bake the first batch, the first customer had arrived for today. He was an older middle aged man.
¡¸So I guess this would be Fane cooking? The super popr curry bread and the traditional zapre, and then our hometown¡¯s dessert, taiyaki.¡¹
¡¸Then zapre must have been the leaf wrap bake. I wonder what¡¯s inside it?¡¹
¡¸Adrashiazaurus peach flesh. I¡¯m extracting the stench with a special manufacturing method to make the flesh softer to eat and wrap bake it with myocream leaves.¡¹
Hearing the word adrasia zaurus, the man¡¯s face showed his curiosity. Adrasiazaurus was a dinosaur that could barely be defeated by ss 5 adventurers , and the skin had the highest quality of what normal craftsmen could handle. On one hand, the meat could be eaten, but it had a unique stench and with muscle all around, and the meat was certainly not tasty. Then again, the monsters were so strong that their materials hardly circted and there was hardly ant human who had tasted it.
Also, myocream was a one year herb you could easily find in the area, its big leaves the size of two clenched adult fists. Smoking these leaves made a nice fragrance, so you often found smoked leaves under me broiled food. While myocream was technically a weed, it was still a nt rooted in Forre¡¯s society to some extent.
¡¸Then I will have one zapre. After that, how about that curry bread thing. Taiyaki¡I am not especially fond of sweetness, so I shall pass on that this time.¡¹
¡¸Ka©`y. I just started the grilling, so hold on a sec.¡¹
Haruna told the customer after she took the order, briskly frying the curry bread. The man already knew that zapre took a fair amount of time to prepare, so he nodded without anyint. Besides, there was a fried item he had never seen. He had no intention of caring about the small details.
¡¸Come to think of it, are you from Fane?¡¹
¡¸In a sense yes, and in a sense no, I suppose?¡¹
¡¸Hm, it sounds fairlyplicated.¡¹
¡¸Well, more like I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d be able to exin it as you wait for your zapre to be grilled up. ¡¹
Haruna said as she quickly drained the oil from the dried curry bread, wrapping it in wrapping paper before handing it to the man.
¡¸Oho, this seems quite tasty.¡¹
¡¸And did you know that there would normally be lines in front of this shop in Wulls?¡¹
¡¸How exciting. I will go ahead and pay for the zapre right now. How much?¡¹
¡¸Curry bread is 35 doma, zapre is 40 doma.¡¹
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s a bit interesting that curry bread is so pricey, but then why is zapre with high ss monster meat as an ingredient so cheap?¡¹
Hearing Haruna¡¯s price, the customer made a strange face. In total, perhaps it would bnce out, but the monster meat was just too cheap.
Considering how 10 domas could satisfy for the minimum amount of food and 100 domas could (ignoring rent) keep you going, curry bread was unmistakably expensive.
¡¸The curry powder we¡¯re using for curry bread is currently at a high price due to excess in demand. I pay my own expenses to mix the stuff, which is why I can lower the price, but there are still other factors that pile up, making it difficult to change the price very much.¡¹
¡¸I see. I understand the curry bread part. What about the zapre?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s meat that my friends hunted, and it¡¯s not in demand so there¡¯s no market price. That¡¯s why we have it so cheap.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I see.¡¹
Convinced with Haruna¡¯s exnation, the customer paid 75 doma. It was just around that time when the first batch of zapres came out of the oven, nice and roasted.
¡¸Alright, thanks for waiting.¡¹
¡¸And here is yet another good bake.¡¹
The zapre was still a bit too hot for bare hands. Haruna put it on a leaf-covered te, which the customer took. In this world, thanks to Lorren, the country of sages, paper was no longer such a valuable article, but of course there was yet to be anything like a paper te. As there was arge amount of recycled paper from unimportant documents circting around for dirt cheap, food stands did in fact use it like newspaper for wrapping food, but that was about it.
¡¸¡¡I see. Curry bread is plenty good to have a value of 35 doma, and zapre is too good to be only 40 doma. I¡¯m bbergasted by how deep the vor is and how soft this adrasiazaurus is.¡¹
The man quickly cleaned out the food before him, expressing his amazement and requesting another round. Nodding at him with an wry smile, Haruna took 75 doma in exchange for another curry bread and zapre.
Onlookers with a deep curiosity and children who wanted to know more about these baked fish treats rushed over to Haruna¡¯s stand. Thanks to the oven¡¯s conveyor belt function, she was able to sort through the customers without making them wait too long, but the word seemed to spread faster than anticipated, and within half a day all the food besides taiyaki had sold out. The taiyaki took more time simply because of the amount Haruna could bake at once, and even that was entirely sold out by the afternoon.
All in all, things were off to a great start.
¡¸Oh my. Is today a different menu?¡¹
¡¸Today I decided to go with the vor of my hometown.¡¹
One of the female customers who had lined up yesterday looked at today¡¯s menu, inclining her head. Today¡¯s menu was curry bread, meat-wrapped rice balls, and spit-roasted dumplings. Curry bread was already a staple, which was why Haruna didn¡¯t do away with it.
The dumplings in this case were mitarashi dango with either miso sauce or sugar soy sauce. This particr recipe was quite the sight.
¡¸What¡¯s being skewered over there?¡¹
¡¸Those are dumplings we made with rice, or to borrow the elves¡¯ phrasing,as wheat, a type of grain. I guess you could say it most resembles a type of confection?¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¡So what¡¯s spread over them?¡¹
¡¸Miso and soy sauce. Both of them are condiments from my hometown, currently booming in Wulls. The sauce over here has a soy sauce base with many things I added in. The meat wrap onigiri sauce also has a differentposition but still uses soy sauce.¡¹
Hearing that the food was booming in Wulls appeared to have piqued the woman¡¯s interest.
¡¸How much?¡¹
¡¸10 doma for one stick¡¹
¡¸Then please give me one of each type.¡¹
¡¸Coming ri¡«ght up¡¹
Volume 4 Snippet 1.3
Volume 4 Snippet 1.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Taking the order, first Haruna handed one of each of the sugar soy sauce/miso sticks (one per leaf) to her before pouring lots of sauce on the fairly heated dango and setting it on its own leaf and handing that to her as well.
¡¸Your cooking never skips a beat,dy. One set for me too.¡¹
¡¸Same here. Also, I¡¯d like that meat wrap onigiri you mentioned and curry bread.¡¹
Things always sped up after the first customer came in. In fact, thanks to yesterdays¡¯ achievements, the idea that there was some rare delicious food around here was quickly seeping into themunity, with some oddballs showing up to swipe some for themselves.
¡¸It¡¯s strangely soft¡¡¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re a little sticky, so make sure you eat without getting them stuck in your throat.¡¹
Haruna cautioned the customer who had taken their first bite expressing their thoughts. As the dango weren¡¯t really different from mochi, you had to be careful when digesting.
¡¸Everything¡¯s usually salty sweet, but this is on a whole new level.¡¹
¡¸I like this miso vor.¡¹
¡¸I like the sauce over here¡¹
¡¸Soy sauce is supreme¡¹
¡¸The meat wrap onigiri¡¯s also crazy good. Soy sauce is really something else, eh?¡¹
The food was getting quite the acmation. Some customers couldn¡¯t quite handle the softness or stickiness, but even they were highly likely to favor the meat wrap onigiri, with an additional approval of soy sauce.
¡¸Lady, I¡¯d like one more round on the meat wrap onigiri!¡¹
¡¸Coming right up~¡¹
Easily selling out the 45 doma meat wrap onigiri, Haruna had managed to carve her footprints in Forre¡¯s rice culture.
The third day was chinese dumplings.
¡¸And here¡¯s another strange one.¡¹
A customer murmured puzzedly at the bread-like item with steam emanating from it.
¡¸How¡¯s this one differ?¡¹
¡¸The inside is different. I can¡¯t describe anything very well other than the curry bun¡¡¡¹
Haruna went into contemtion as the customer pointed at the four different varieties of steamed meat buns.
¡¸The meat bun here isprised of ground meat and onion with soy sauce added, and the curry bun is practically the same as the curry bread. But I guess it would be a little smaller inside than the curry bread? The pizza bun is made of ground meat and cheese with tomato sauce, and the seafood bun has its ground meat as shrimp with scallion.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s the price?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s 20 doma for a piece of each, all around the board.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d like a meat and a seafood.¡¹
Hearing about the soy sauce base, the male customer chose the meat bun and seafood bun. He appeared to have taken a real fancy to the soy sauce from the day before.
¡¸Then I guess I¡¯ll go for the curry bun and pizza bun. Maybe we could share half of each of ours?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, why the heck not?¡¹
The other man with him ordered what the first man didn¡¯t order, and the first man agreed to his proposal. They both felt they may as well go for all the varieties if the food was to their liking.
¡¸The bread-like material on the outer area is super fluffy.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, the stuffing there is a bit thin. Is there a reason for this?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s hard to wrap the buns unless I keep the stuffing a bit low, and even if I went through with steaming them up, the outer area would expand a crazy amount, if you can believe it.¡¹
¡¸Ah, that makes sense.¡¹
They nodded at Haruna¡¯s exnation, ripping their shares in half before sampling.
¡¸Hey, this is seriously good!¡¹
¡¸All of them are!¡¹
The customers smacked their lips at the vor of this food, which could probably sell for double its current price just with the stuffing alone. The moment the meat bun entered their mouths, the meat juices and the sweet taste of the onion matched with the soy sauce, seeping into the dough to create perfect harmony. Words could not express how delicious this was. The same could be said for the pizza bun, with the cheese, ground meat, and tomato saucebining in perfect harmony, and also for the seafood bun with its wless seasoning to cancel out the raw stench unique to seafood and bring out its synergy. We needn¡¯t even discuss the curry bun. Everything other than the seafood bun was a staple in Japanese food, and no one said they got any duds.
¡¸Y¡¯know, I get meat, curry, and seafood, but what¡¯s that pizza thing anyhow?¡¹
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢it would be hard to exin, so I¡¯ll make it for you tomorrow.¡¹
Hearing the two customers¡¯ questions, Haruna casually decided the next day¡¯s menu. Along with the chinese dumplings from the third day and pizza from the fourth day, everything sold out before all the matches had even ended, and faster than anticipated, despite being served during the main event.
¡¸So I made quite the profit from the shop.¡¹
The day all the events were through with, Haruna gave a slightly happy report regarding the overall sales during that time.
¡¸Yeah, it was above average pricing and still managed to sell out before the end of the matches every day, which is quite something.¡¹
¡¸I could have stocked up some more, but it wasn¡¯t like I had to get a ton of money anyway, so I just called it there.¡¹
¡¸Which was a good choice. There are some idiots who don¡¯t know when to throw in the towel.¡¹
Tatsuya red at Hiroshi, who couldn¡¯t resist the urge to whistle as he faced the opposite direction, pretending to not be involved. Considering how this mannerism seemed to fool Mio, you had to apud their rtionship of master and pupil.
¡¸So how much exactly?¡¹
¡¸About enough to pay off three months¡¯ worth of this workshop¡¯s rent, maybe?¡¹
Haruna puffed her chest out as she answered Makoto¡¯s question, holding out a profit loss statement. Even after extracting the cost of materials, location fee, and taxes, the profit was an astounding sum of money. There was one heck of abor cost, but this is basically what happens when you put your livelihood first in business.
Thanks to Hiroshi, the situation became extremely disorderly, but Haruna had made sure to make a bnce sheet, a profit loss statement, and even a statement of ount. This was because the minute they decided on buying out a location for the workshop, she had figured it was best to properly finance everything, or else they likely wouldn¡¯t be able to contrive funds.
That effort on her part had not ended up being very helpful, and because they had gotten their hands onrge amounts of capital without a price, the contents of this bnce sheet were bing very questionable, but now that things had already begun, they may as well continue as they always had.
To borrow Hiroshi¡¯s words, this was no doubt a techniqueprised of experience, inertia, and tenacity.
¡¸I always am amazed at how Haruna can literally provide for us all.¡¹
¡¸I know right? Just from simple units of hours, Haruna charges ahead of us.¡¹
The two elders felt dejected that they lost to a girl still in her teens at making money. On one hand, they were saved by this unique circumstance of having a tournament, but even deducting from that would only change it from half a day to a whole day. In light of that, they couldn¡¯t even brag about taking down a slightly strong creature.
Then again, even returning to Japan wouldn¡¯t prevent them from losing to Haruna once she had a source of revenue and got serious.
¡¸So what do we do with the earned money?¡¹
¡¸After we stock up on materials and ingredients exclusive to Forre, I was thinking of focusing our research on those delectable dortzens.¡¹
¡¸And we¡¯re back to talking about food again¡¡¡¹
¡¸Not like there¡¯s anything else we can spend our money on.¡¹
The elders just groaned at Haruna¡¯sment. There was barely a cost to buying equipment for their group, a situation which normal adventurers would kill to gain.
So in the end, thanks to Haruna¡¯s sale-a-thon in Stiren, question after question began rushing into their workshop regarding miso, soy sauce, and curry powder, and then all those condiments increased in demand, if you can believe it.
Volume 4 Snippet 1.4
Volume 4 Snippet 1.4
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
£³£®Hiroshi¡¯s Kitchen Garden
Azuma Hiroshi had a secret he was keeping from his friends as of recent.
¡¸¡¡Just about finished here, maybe?¡¹
Hiroshi had in fact been secretly tending to his kitchen garden,prised of flowerpots, ever since they left Darl.
Now, don¡¯t think of these as any ordinary flower pots. Hiroshi was the one taking care of the nts, so there was no way this would end well. In the first ce, the pots themselves were specially made so as to harvest nts within the day. With Hiroshi using these pots to cultivate nts, it was impossible with regr kitchen gardens or ntations.
¡¸Aight, good stuff there mate. Guess I¡¯ll let ¡®em dry a bit.¡¹
Drying the herbs (an unbelievable amount for just being in flowerpots) with magic, Hiroshi stored them secretly in the ingredient section of storage. You would never believe these herbs to have been harvested in only a day from flowerpots, because they were very high-quality. Depending on where you took this stuff, it could amount to an average person¡¯s monthly pay.
¡¸Now, what to nt next¡¡¹
Recording the data in his notebook, Hiroshi lined up all the seeds and everything else he had stored up for the kitchen garden as he thought of the next step. His facial expression was akin to that of a mad scientist.
¡¸Ah yeah. Guess I¡¯d better selectively breed this tomato.¡¹
Hiroshi said, nting two varieties of tomato from today¡¯s harvest into different flower pots. He began by cultivating the base variety.
¡¸Now, doin¡¯ this the normal way would mean the nts¡¯ll pollinate on their own by tomorrow ¡®n git fruit on ¡®em, but there ain¡¯t no point doin¡¯ it that way, so how ¡®bout I speed things up?¡¹
Once he had made the sheet of paper for the data, Hiroshi used the function of the flower pot to elerate the growth. This required a fair amount of mana, but Hiroshi¡¯s mana was practically limitless. He wouldn¡¯t realize if only a little bit of mana were sucked out.
¡¸So first I gotta cross fertilize the two right here.¡¹
He extracted a suitable amount (not all of it, but half, as is the procedure) and pollinated each nt.
¡¸Now then, gimme some nice fruit mate.¡¹
Hiroshi said after adding fertilizer and water as he poured in mana one more time. The tomatoes ripened to a bright red as they grew bigger and bigger by the moment. He evaluated them with his secret breeding tester that he made recently.
¡¸Yup, looks like there are a buncha results just from cross fertilizin¡¯ the same variety. It just keeps goin¡¯ with two or three flower pots.¡¹
As he murmured all this, Hiroshi first decided to raise all the new varieties he had harvested at once and then increase their number. As if not deeming this to be worth his time, Hiroshi quickly poured mana in to increase their number, checking all of them and separating the fruit that would be of no use, which he nned toter process into fertilizer.
¡¸Then how ¡®bout I finish up all the ones fit for feedin¡¯.¡¹
Hiroshi was dissatisfied with the tomatoes in this world. After all, most of the ones you got your hands on were both too sour to eat raw and with a tough skin, and yet even if you tried heating them up, the vor was sub-par. They had managed to cover this to a degree with Haruna¡¯s talent and passion, but limits were still limits, in which case the only option left was to gamble his craftsman spirit and create what he sought after.
In Japan, there is a saying: ¡°If you do not have it, then make it¡±, and as a Japanese craftsman he was more than willing to do just that.
¡¸Now it¡¯s time for some cross-fertilization, eh¡¹
Once the amount and quality were beginning to solidify, Hiroshi finally began the selective breeding process. Finally, three dayster, Hiroshi had bred tomatoes for processing and food to his heart¡¯s content, but only after bringing about arge amount of failed products.
¡¸Hey Sensei?¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸What have you been doing, all cooped up in your room?¡¹
¡¸Just some hobbies I got goin¡¯ for me.¡¹
Hiroshi answered Mio¡¯s question truthfully, in a sense. However, Mio immediately heard warning sirens go off in her head at the word ¡°hobby¡±. After all, when it came to Hiroshi¡¯s hobbies, the only thing he enjoyed doing in this world was crafting. And when he was up in his room working on something, it was bound to be nothing good.
¡¸¡¡Sensei, what are you making?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a secret, mate. I still have a lot of duds in there.¡¹
¡¸Duds¡¡?¡¹
When she heard further suspicious, dangerous wordse out of Hiroshi¡¯s mouth, Mio hade to a decision.
£¨I¡had better check in on this.£©
This wasn¡¯t the first time Hiroshi had gone off to make un-called for inventions, but this just felt especially fishy. She just felt like this issue might not end with their household if they weren¡¯t careful.
Following her intuition, Mio snuck into the room to see what Hiroshi had been hiding from them. What she saw was¡
¡¸Nah, this ain¡¯t very tasty¡¡¡¹
She saw Hiroshi grabbing some artificially-enhanched korn and yanking it off, eating it on the spot.
Needless to say, korn was a type of monster. Grown to their full potential, korn were essentially humanoid grass with several arms of crops, and on average you could harvest 12 corn from each stalk. Once fully grown, korn were meddlesome, prone to scamper away in pursuit of new horizons, and were not something just any warrior could take down. Not giving them an inch and capturing them before ripping off the headpiece fruit to silence them in an instant was a sign that you were experienced in the art of farming.
If you weren¡¯t careful, however, you could instead get a fierce chop to your face and meet a terrible end.
¡¸Sensei, what are you doing¡¡?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Ah, Mio. You were here¡¡¡¹
¡¸You were acting suspicious, so I hid and watched.¡¹
¡¸How careless of me¡¡¡¹
If Mio were to truly hide, even Hiroshi would never find her. That fact was proven with this little venture, but honestly, she didn¡¯t care about that right now. After both parties shared their agreement on that fact, Mio went straight to the questioning.
¡¸What are you trying to aplish by spawning monsters here?¡¹
¡¸Well obviously I¡¯m doin¡¯ selective breedin¡¯, mate.¡¹
¡¸Selective breeding¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi had a previous incident of selective breeding on king-size poms. There was even a risk with selectively breeding korn, as unbelievably strong ones could potentially emerge. This was not something you should ever go off and do by yourself.
¡¸I think I¡¯m makin¡¯ some good progress, but I just can¡¯t seem to git myself any white korn¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sensei, it would be dangerous if you were to spawn a strong one, so could you at least stop it with the monster ingredients¡¡¡¹
¡¸Normal crops aren¡¯t too different, y¡¯know. I even had to turn tomatoes into monsters twice when I selectively bred ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Sensei¡¡¡¹
Mio red at Hiroshi both for the tomatoment and for secretly raising monsters as she blurted out her thoughts. Hiroshi, noticing this re, threw the ultimate tomato (nowpleted) at Mio.
¡¸Try it¡¹
¡¸¡¡This is¡¡¡¹
¡¸Tasty, right?¡¹
Mio nodded, somewhat peeved. Now that she agreed with Hiroshi, she couldn¡¯t exactlyin.
¡¸Sensei. If you¡¯re going to go through with this, at least do it where everyone can see, ok?¡¹
¡¸Roger that, mate.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded easily. And now that he had e out¡± about tomorrow¡¯s agenda,
¡¸So the herbs with super good quality I don¡¯t remember buying and new varieties of tomato I¡¯m not familiar with being mixed in were all your doing, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup.¡¹
¡¸Sure you¡¯re happy about using them up?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s the whole point of makin¡¯ ¡®em.¡¹
Before Tatsuya or Makoto could lecture Hiroshi, Haruna¡¯s question jumped out, stifling their attempts. The vegetables, fruit, and herbs that Hiroshi selectively bred at this time would go on to spread throughout the world via the Wulls experimental farm, After causing this agricultural revolution, Hiroshi would once again create an unneeded ripple in the world.
Volume 4 Snippet 2.1
Volume 4 Snippet 2.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Forre Snippets/Tidbits
Snippet 2
£±£®One day in Azuma Workshop
¡¸Hello¡¹
¡¸Oh, Kurt-san. Wee, wee.¡¹
One day, slightly past ten o¡¯clock. Having fulfilled her quota of curry powder and potions for the day, Nora was wondering what to do when Kurt showed up.
¡¸Is Randy-san not with you today?¡¹
¡¸He had another errand to run, so no.¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
Nora didn¡¯t find this to be particrly odd, promptly cutting off the small talk in ce of a greeting. While they were fairly close, she didn¡¯t want to stoop so low as to pry into an adventurer¡¯s personal life.
¡¸So I want the usual.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢yes yes. Do you have containers?¡¹
¡¸This one, please. Also, here¡¯s a gift. A jack lizard¡¯s innards and skin. I think the innards were usable for ss 7 potions, right?¡¹
¡¸Not an official recipe, but yes they are. Thank you so much. I will give extra special service.¡¹
Nora, who took the bag with the containers, money, and gift, put a little more soy sauce, miso, and curry powder in than what the money was worth. Quie honestly, this was skimming the line of the cost of materials.
Randy and Kurt had connections with the workshop on ount of helping Hiroshi and friends in numerous ways upon their arrival in Wulls and cooperating with the cleanup after saving Aearis, so once the workshop was opened they directly sold them many things. Other than potions, which had to be legally passed through Meriza¡¯spany, the two of them were at an extreme advantage with favorable treatment when it came to the leading products such as condiments, able to purchase the most expensive items below wholesale price.
Needless to say, Randy and Kurt had no intention of keeping all the benefits for themselves, procuring materials here and there during missions that were usable and diligently contributing them to the workshop as gifts. The workshop certainly preferred this trade rather than cash, so you could say they had a bit of a give-and-take rtionship.
The workshop was especially grateful in this case, because just like the jack lizard materials right now, there were many of these items that were unobtainable without going past the city perimeter of each workshop in Wulls, Ortem, etc. The materials that Hiroshi and friends shoved into the storage were often things beyond the control of the craftsmen in Nora/other¡¯s shops.
¡¸Is there anything else you need?¡¹
¡¸I would greatly appreciate it if I could get more of those speed amplifiers you sold mest time. Whether it¡¯s for escape or for safekeeping, I value them very much.¡¹
¡¸Yes, please wait a moment.¡¹
Nora withdrew to the storage to check on the item Kurt had indicated. While she was at it, she also recorded the condiment she had sold to Kurt on her notepad. As Nora did not have Haruna¡¯s inhuman memory, she couldn¡¯t perfectly memorize how much of which item was in storage.
Thankfully, as they had used remaining resources to make lots of speed amplifiers, there were plenty of ss 7 items in storage. Taking ten of them out from storage, Nora went back to Kurt.
¡¸Thank you for waiting. We have a few ss 7 versions. I took ten out of storage. Will that be enough?¡¹
¡¸Well they are essentiallyst resort items after all. But how much?¡¹
¡¸Fifty chrones apiece.¡¹
¡¸Roger that.¡¹
These amplifiers were doping items, usually selling for ten times the amount, but Azuma Workshop¡¯s material fees were basically nonexistent, making direct sales staggeringly cheap. You could say that 50 chrones was purely a technical fee.
Inparison to the other alchemists, it was easier for Azuma Workshop to supply with ss 6 and below. After all, Ortem¡¯s perimeter was surrounded by materials that were all above ss 6 and ones you could drop the rank on purpose to ss 7 and so on. Also, the parts of crops cultivated in the vige that were not used often were viable to be ingredients for ss 7 items. This vast amount of resources was not something only three craftspeople (five including Lime who had barely begun touching safe elementary objects and the elfing from Ortem to study) could use up on their own.
Consequently, since the five could continue expending resources without worrying about failure, Nora and the others¡¯ skills were growing much fasterpared to the pupils of other workshops, enabling them to make more and more so as to naturally lead to a decrease in technical fees, and this was the virtuous cycle that had emerged.
They could actually lower the price some more for friends, but Meriza, Randy, and other adventurers who were in direct trade with the workshop warned them to keep the discounts at 10% of the market price (technically the adventurer association¡¯s selling price), so that was how it stayed.
These items at a ten percent discount already had a wide variety of prices and quality, making buying them a bit of a gamble. This price was generally what most dealers had for adventurers they were friends with. Then again, in the case of those dealers, more than half the price was on material fees.
¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll get going now. Thanks as always.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s what we should be saying. Thank you.¡¹
Chatting a bit after that and exchanging valuable information, Kurt ended the conversation. This was a bit early for the afternoon, but apparently Randy¡¯s errand was clearing up faster than anticipated, therefore he had decided to meet up right away and search for work to do tomorrow.
¡¸I might need to check the ount book.¡¹
Once Kurt had gone off, Nora decided she may as well take another look at the storage chck book as she recalled the temporary tightening fromst month involving a certain bnce sheet.
¡¸Oh? That you, Kurt?¡¹
¡¸Ah, Hansome-san, what¡¯s up?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Wow, I guess that nickname is beginning to make its home here, huh¡¡¡¹
Soon after they got back from the workshop, Kurt ran into a fairly famous adventurer.
Haan Sandrom, one of the key adventurer figures from a fairly sessful team that had gone up to ss 5 two months ago. Hiroshi and friends had gotten to know him when they took on the job of escorting and practicing for long distance travel. After that they had worked together with him several times on various missions, and before long he was close enough with them to maintain direct trade.
Everyone began calling him Handsome because of Hiroshi saying unnecessary things at their first meeting, and so whenever they worked together henceforth Hiroshi had continued to refer to him as such, spreading and solidifying these nicknames like wildfire.
¡¸You guys going shopping too?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Just some condiments and boost items.¡¹
¡¸Okay then. Curry powder is always good to have around.¡¹
¡¸Yes, really. With long-term missions like what I have right now, I¡¯m practically treated like a hero just by having curry powder and soy sauce.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, normal ones are super high priced after all¡¡¡¹
Kurt nodded keenly at Handsome¡¯s words. After all, demand for curry powder had begun skyrocketing, and buying it through official means via the city only meant you got enough to fit into a hand cream container at an astounding price of 5 chrome. As for soy sauce and miso, Azuma Workshop¡¯s varieties fetched 20 chrones for both amounts, enough tost you ten days at some inns without meals. The items the forest giants wereing to sell were remarkably higher, but it was practically luck if you could buy those.
Honestly, you didn¡¯t need to know much in order to get your hands on cheap versions of Azuma Workshop¡¯s widespread condiments. With some human wave tactics, you could easily mass produce mayonnaise. The other condiments were heavily involved with fermentation, so a portion of the culinary shops were doing all they could to offset the cost.
Soy sauce and miso were the extreme examples, so for the soba shop that Aearis went to, they had barely managed to offset costs and stabilize before opening business. The quality couldpete with that of the forest giants, and they hadn¡¯t even made enough to sell to other ces. The other ces were much the same, selling products that other shops here and there couldn¡¯t even imitate, only to scald themselves in the process.
As for curry powder, only a handful of dealers who had solidified a means of quickly measuring and mixing it were there. Azuma Workshop had already been mass producing and circting the powder, but it was only so much cheaper than soy sauce and miso, and this continued to hold true. This was an unpleasant situation regardless of how quickly anyone snatched up the powder, so it would be some time before this world be like Japan where you could easily get your hands on some regardless of status
¡¸Handsome-san, you are also looking into curry powder?¡¹
¡¸In addition to boost items and instant ramen for the long stretch.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢so you can also get into that field.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, figured we¡¯d splurge this time around.¡¹
Currently, the pce was buying up every instant ramen possible. As a result, storage space was always at risk, with instant ramen at a higher price than anything else. Specifically it was worth about two containers¡¯ worth of market-sold curry powder.
¡¸Oh yeah, Nora said something about instant ramen getting a specialized factory in the near future.¡¹
¡¸Oho, I¡¯ll be happy to have that.¡¹
¡¸Yes, really¡¡¹
Volume 4 Snippet 2.2
Volume 4 Snippet 2.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
At Kurt¡¯s good news, not only Handsome, but another woman also let out a happy exmation.
¡¸Oh, Irva. How long have you been here?¡¹
¡¸Just now. It¡¯s going to be a long haul over here too, so my side is also looking into getting a more than decent amount of curry powder.¡¹
The one who spoke up was Irva Miil, leader of the adventurer teamprised of only women called ¡°Bloody Rose¡±. Everyone knew her via Makoto. Needless to say, she was approaching the age where it was natural to be concerned about finding a suitable marriage partner, although she didn¡¯t want anyone to know this.
¡¸So is that information correct?¡¹
¡¸Yes, Nora said it so I think it is. She never talks about fake info or things she isn¡¯t supposed to.¡¹
¡¸Right. If so, I really am grateful for that.¡¹
And so the adventurers chatted excitedly about the usefulness of instant ramen for long trips outside the city.
¡¸I always get nervous when this happens¡¡¡¹
¡¸But hey, it¡¯s better than going to the pce, right?¡¹
¡¸Yes, but either way you don¡¯t see people from the slum like myself around¡¡¡¹
Somewhere around noon, leaving Nora behind to watch, Fum and Teres were at the department store in the center market to deliver goods. Usually Meriza¡¯spany came around to do so, but as they were gradually bing purveyor with political ties to the imperial household, thepany was bing more and more busy, some days not even able toe and collect the goods from the workshop. So at times like these, members from Azuma Workshop would directlye to deliver and receive payment from Meriza Association. They were selling on credit anyway, so there wasn¡¯t an issue as long as the vouchers were urate.
¡¸Thank you for waiting. We¡¯re always grateful for your assistance.¡¹
¡¸Likewise. Here are the goods for today.¡¹
As Teres handed over the list and vouchers, Fum began stacking up all of today¡¯s goods atop the trolley. Everything gathered would be several hundred kilos, so this definitely required a trolley. The soy sauce and miso were especially heavy, and Fum couldn¡¯t even take anything out with her arm strength if it weren¡¯t subdivided. This only served to demonstrate just how much stamina and muscle the forest giants had when they could easily lift barrels full of these.
¡¸¡¡Yes, all right then.¡¹
¡¸Negotiations in that regard can be with either the workshop leader (supposedly in Forre right now) or the head of Meriza Association.¡¹
¡¸Ah, so this won¡¯t work.¡¹
¡¸Not with only us in charge here. Besides, I doubt we can do much with our numbers anyway.¡¹
Teres cut off the person in charge at the department store who had stood up to examine the items, and so they sighed at this quick response, knowing it wasn¡¯t going to work. The department store in the middle of the marketce was the secondary partner that all the associations and workshops in Fane dreamed of for direct trade. When you factored in the pce as the number one partner, you could almost argue that this store was the real number one.
So even with this department store, direct trade with Azuma Workshop wouldn¡¯t be possible. This fact only served to boost their cognition of the workshop¡¯s value.
But still, with requests sting in from the number one pce, Azuma Workshop with its small size could never contrive resources for direct trade with the department store. Lately even Darl¡¯s pce had been making connections with the workshop and ordering detailed items, so honestly, this was more of a mental blockage than a question of production. Adding more and more new trading partners was just not viable.
¡¸All right, I¡¯ll send over the vouchers, so please pay via Meriza Association as always.¡¹
¡¸Understood. Thank you for your continued support.¡¹
Any more arm twisting than this and their business connection with Meriza was in deep waters. The person in charge swallowed a sigh and smiled as they sent off Fum and Teres.
Evening.
¡¸Is everything there we asked for?¡¹
¡¸Barely, but yes.¡¹
¡¸Thanks for your hard work as always.¡¹
Rayna woulde from the pce to collect instant ramen and curry powder. Soy sauce and miso were yesterday, ketchup and every sauce variety she got three days ago in ten barrels, so with this amount it wasn¡¯t necessary toe daily. The trainees were doing their best to replicate mayonnaise every day, so there was no need to procure any from the workshop.
Rayna came all the way over because she was one of the few people who had direct connections with the workshop. For several reasons, the royal family did not want to increase the number of people who knew the workshop, but didn¡¯t want to have royaltying to takerge amounts of baggage, so Rayna was used as an errand girl.
¡¸So it seems we can finally buy up the site.¡¹
Rayna started a conversation as Fum finished writing the vouchers. Her superiors had told her it was best to let the workshop know ahead of time.
¡¸So you finally got to it?¡¹
¡¸Yes. With this we can cancel out a certain amount of the instant ramen deficit. We do have plenty of raw materials after all.¡¹
¡¸You sure do. I remember you saying that items like wheat that couldn¡¯t be stocked upst year are filling up storage.¡¹
Fum nodded with a wry smile at Rayna¡¯s expectation-filled words. Instant ramen wasn¡¯t currently circting around the marketce other than to a select few adventurers via Azuma Workshop. However, viarge-scale knight military subjugation and specific adventurers, the existence of the workshop was widely known. More and more people could say they had actually tried this food before, and it was currently the top on the list of items in demand, so the workshop also wanted to find a way to increase production.
Also, Rayna and Fum weren¡¯t lying. Thesest few years, in addition to increase in agricultural technology, harvests had continued to be abundant in Fane, with wheat overflowing in stocks despite max exportation to other countries. Residents of the slums like Fum and the others were able to somehow survive despite not being able to get jobs because of the country buying up these overflowing stocks of weight, processing them into bread, and distributing them to the slums free of charge as part of welfare. It was clear as day that the slum¡¯s public order didn¡¯t get any worse thanks to this food policy.
There was also arge decrease in wasteful products, as small shrimp and fish not often used in cooking could be inserted into instant ramen or used as soup stock, as well as shellfish that had previously been discarded more than used. Not only did this reduce the amount of mouths that needed to be fed, it also guaranteed the employment of many young peopleing from the countryside to work away from home, so in many ways, the instant ramen factories had a big influence on the economy.
¡¸So did you spread the rumor?¡¹
¡¸Yep. All that¡¯s left is to gather a bunch of people once the factory¡¯s done, right?¡¹
¡¸Seems that way. I don¡¯t understand much in that field, but I think His Highness Layotte will do something about that.¡¹
¡¸Well, there¡¯s also the issue rting to soy sauce and other things, so even atpletion with all the human resources gathered, I doubt it would be possible to suddenly increase the output of ramen manufacturing.¡¹
And so the two of them engaged in enthusiastic conversation in light of the hopes of the big project tomorrow. This would actually begin after the site acquisition and Hiroshi had gotten back to make the factory and equipment, but both of them already knew this and saw no point discussing that part.
¡¸Okay, it¡¯s about time to leave. Keep me updated next month too.¡¹
¡¸For sure. Thanks as always.¡¹
Taking the finished voucher from Fum, Rayna checked a few required portions before standing up from her seat. And just like that, another day in the life of Azuma Workshop had ended.
Volume 4 Snippet 2.3
Volume 4 Snippet 2.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
£²£®Makoto-san¡¯s Doujinshi
¡¸Finally finished inking the sketch¡¡¡¹
One night, after finishing a certain task, Makoto muttered as she did a long stretch. On the manuscript paper in front of her were two men entangled with one another, depicted in quite the gorgeous design. This was probably one of theparatively softer drawings of hers. The pages maybe went up to 36 or so.
¡¸Yeah, these are some big gaps. I never thought it would take this long with this amount¡¡¡¹
Makoto muttered with a sigh after gulping down milk. It had been one week since Hiroshi bought her a doujinshi making set plete with printer). Despite cooping herself up for over half a day every day to draw, she had only just finished sketching. Considering how there was still a lot more to do here, a normal night¡¯s work could very well stretch to a month¡¯s worth.
¡¸Man, but when I was back in action, I could easily take college sses,plete assignments, and watch anime and stillplete this thickness within a month¡¡¡¹
This was what you¡¯d expect from a previous entrepreneur in doujins. If Makoto meant what she said just now, her work pace must have been even faster way back when.
¡¸I mean sure, there¡¯s no deadline, but this is my first time drawing over here, so I¡¯d rather not be sluggish, y¡¯know. And besides that there¡¯s also the naming, the plot, and all that.¡¹
Makoto groaned at how dyed the work was as she checked the notebook and almost rough sketches. In contrast to her fiery urge of creativity, she just wasn¡¯t making much progress.
Still, simplymenting would not cause things to improve. As Makoto motioned to get back to her work, there was a knock on the door.
¡¸Ye¡«s¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s me. I brought dinner.¡¹
¡¸Door¡¯s open, so go ahead.¡¹
Responding to Tatsuya¡¯s call, Makoto went ahead and quickly cleaned up the scattered paper. Since she had to dry the ink of any sketches, she left those alone.
¡¸So what¡¯s for dinner?¡¹
¡¸They say it¡¯s dangos they n to sell tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸But Haruna made them, right? So why are you the one telling me?¡¹
¡¸Said something about her and Mio not wanting to go in your room, so they pushed the task on me. Pretty gutsy thing to do, huh?¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s true this would be problematic to show to underage kids.¡¹
Makoto just grimaced at Tatsuya¡¯sint about Haruna. After all, even if she were drawing rtively soft images, the self-limitations of the industry would absolutely mark it as 18+. Haruna was one thing, since she was legal age, but even showing her wasn¡¯t something Makoto really wanted to do. Mio was simply out of the question.
¡¸But for something Rainy brought up as an idea, you don¡¯t seem to be imitating anyone. Doesn¡¯t seem like we¡¯re being shipped either.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, if I do that it won¡¯t seem like I¡¯ve turned over a new leaf, right?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, very true.¡¹
¡¸Besides, what kind of idiot would put you and Hiroshi together in a manga? Even I am capable of learning a good amount from mistakes and I don¡¯t have any death wish, kay?¡¹
Tatsuya had an indescript expression on his face, unable to counter this very honest statement. Many things would fall apart if she drew that and it would certainly seem that she learned nothing from the past. Still,
¡¸For someone who has supposedly moved on, you still seem to fantasize about it, eh?¡¹
Apparently no matter how much one reflected on their actions, habit was still second-nature. Despite regretting how this prevented her from getting into an actual rtionship, Makoto still seemed to really like the idea of shipping Tatsuya and Hiroshi together.
¡¸Yeah, well just think of it as a bad habit of us fujoshi. There¡¯s more than just one guy here and it¡¯sparable to how y¡¯all would look at Haruna¡¯s lightly dressed bod and imagine some sort of insertion.¡¹
¡¸I mean yeah, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get you, but¡¡¹
¡¸It doesn¡¯t count as long as we don¡¯t say anything, so I¡¯d really appreciate it. Could you?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Hmm, so just don¡¯t say anything and no one gets hurt.¡¹
Telling fujoshi not to fantasize was like forcing drunkards to abstain from alcohol. If it were really possible to abstain, none of them would be this far down the rabbit hole.
¡¸Sure, I don¡¯t see why not, but just don¡¯t let any of it catch the ears of anyone, alright? It won¡¯t go down well at all.¡¹
¡¸Yeah yeah, I know.¡¹
Makoto nodded seriously. Tatsuya was quite lenient toward BL lovers, so having him say this meant he was using the minimum amount of etiquette. Makoto herself was aware she had broken this etiquette leading to trouble before and that she got what she deserved.
But from Tatsuya¡¯s perspective, even men would find it weird for you to just proim around the campus that you got shipped with someone. Maybe this wasn¡¯t true 100% of the time, but the average sane individual (with heterosexual tendencies) would generally find the mere thought of beingbeled as gay repulsive and would never allow anyone to assume such a thing. At least, if you considered that to be a risk, you¡¯d never do that.
But the fact this guy had actually done that meant either that he wanted to get revenge on Makoto even if it meant his self-destruction or that he wanted to make Makoto the viin so that she could empathize with him. Considering how this reached the entire school, it was a bit much.
In actuality, these spections of Tatsuya¡¯s were practically spot-on: the male was in fact searching for some sort of pretext to dump Makoto. This was because he had been satisfied by the first attempt, which went quite well and ensnared a fairly cute girl.
Makoto as she was right now probably wouldn¡¯t fall for anyone like that again, but at the time she was just a regr fujoshi who had zero romantic experience and with an unfavorable position in society and no lens through which to determine what men were like based off experience. BEsides, if she hadn¡¯t gotten hurt when she did, Makoto would have simply made the same mistake in the workforce and suffered a more fatal blow. So in that sense, this wasn¡¯t all that bad.
¡¸Well, leaving that aside, can I ask you something?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t really have a problem with what you draw, but would it be possible to draw regr manga alongside your BL?¡¹
¡¸Why?¡¹
Makoto let out an exmation at Tatsuya¡¯s unexpected proposal. Anticipating this, Tatsuya spoke straightforwardly.
¡¸Again, no issues here with BL. But! There isn¡¯t even a manga culture in this world, at least not the kind we grew up on, right?¡¹
¡¸Well no, there isn¡¯t. Books aren¡¯t cheap enough formoners to buy in the first ce.¡¹
Makoto nodded meekly at Tatsuya. Paper technology had progressed a fair amount in this world, and there was in fact moveable type printing technology. As a result, books were not so expensive thatmoners couldn¡¯t buy them, but in part due to a low literacy rate, books were still not cheap, and there were not many from the entertainment genre.
Moveable printing meant that books with Makoto¡¯s high quality, delicate illustrations did not exist, and so by that logic, no one wanted to make manga that usedrge amounts of pictures. Even the morous books tat Queen Misha had in Darl had zero pictures, not even on the cover. Not even shunga (erotic or pornographic woodblock prints) had been made, so that particr book still fetched a good price.
Consequentially, there was no foundation from which to begin the manga revolution.
¡¸So that¡¯s where we bring in our nostalgic manga, and then of course that starts a new era, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. That would make sense.¡¹
¡¸So don¡¯tcha think starting it off with BL would create the wrong impression about manga, that perhaps BL is the only way to go?¡¹
¡¸¡¡¡¹
Makoto had to strongly agree with Tatsuya¡¯s sharp observation. As someone deeply invested in her hobbies, she hadn¡¯t looked at it from that perspective.
¡¸So I was wondering if maybe you could make the kind that¡¯s okay for children can look at.¡¹
¡¸Okay, no problem. I¡¯ll think of something. Could I still model you two?¡¹
¡¸As long as it¡¯s not some kind of extreme diss, then I don¡¯t personally mind.¡¹
As she heard his response, Makoto began thinking of some ideas. Or rather, she had immediatelye up with two ideas. If it was fine to use people she knew, she could easily use both of them and ¡°manga¡± fy them.
¡¸Right off the bat I have a four panel manga titled¡ºRecord of the Struggles of Azuma Workshop¡»and a loveedy titled ¡ºHaruna-chan Does Her Best¡», so what do you think?¡¹
¡¸Sounds interesting, yeah. The workshop is chock-full of talented people, so I doubt that¡¯s problematic. As for the loveedy, make sure you get Haruna¡¯s permission, alright?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, yeah, I know.¡¹
¡¸Also, I¡¯d like you to show me the details when you get to the rough sketch part, as I¡¯m sure there are some parts I¡¯d discourage you from putting in there.¡¹
¡¸Roger. Then I guess I¡¯ll go at it for a bit longer.¡¹
Makoto said, putting the finished dango skewer back on that te and handing it to Tatsuya. Afterward, right before meeting up with Aearis and the others, the fruits of Makoto¡¯s struggles would birth the 120 page¡¸Record of the Struggles of Azuma Workshop¡¹and the 140 page¡¸Haruna-chan Does Her Best¡¹sketches, and then after seeking permission from all parties involved would go on toplete both right before leaving Forre.
The two newpleted manga would open up a new realm of entertainment that seeped out of Azuma Workshop to Darl, from which it would explode everywhere via the People of the Earth¡¯s printing tech. Afterward, everywhere in the world would put their effort into developing their own printers via their workshops and the manga culture would solidify itself, except
¡¸¡¡Nah, you know that Alvan x Dentlis is the main attraction here¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡But if we wanted to break the status quo and go for the Layotte x Alvanbo¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Nay, nay, first we need milord and the retainer to be paired¡¡¹
Denizens spontaneously emerged underground who had a simr mindset to Makoto, never showing themselves in daylight but nevertheless the creators of new varieties of books. Needless to say, the real people who the characters were based on would not be seeing these.
Volume 4 Snippet 3.1
Volume 4 Snippet 3.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
Forre Extra Snippets
Snippet 3
£±£®One Day in Alfemina Temple
The day always started off early in Alfemina Temple.
¡¸Good morning.¡¹
Prim and Judith got up earlier than everyone for kitchen duty today, greeting the other people who were on-site.
¡¸Good morning. Where might Aearis-sama be today?¡¹
¡¸She appears to have been gone since yesterday. I think she will not being back for a bit.¡¹
¡¸Is that right.¡¹
The fellow male priests coworkers breathed sighs of relief at Prim¡¯s information. In Alfemina Temple, Aearis often snuck into the kitchen before the sun was even up to prepare breakfast, so the priests could not let their guard down.
If she had just made one dish that would be fine. Even if she were a priestess, Aearis was still in training. No one had any problem with giving her special treatment and she could simply call it part of her training regiment and no one would refuse her in.
However, Aearis¡¯s breakfast preparations were not so gentle. She would go so far as to make food for the priests, pastors, and trainees (who totaled over 100).
And of course, being by herself, Aearis couldn¡¯t make anything all that borate. She always resorted to meals that could be easily spooned out into portions or inserted into the oven to cook on their own inrge amounts, yet somehow seeded in making breakfast with a charming appearance and vor in perfect bnce with ease.
This would do nothing to help her training. Therefore, the management staff, starting with the high priest, rebuked her with a warning while the people on breakfast duty got up early to prevent Aearis from doing anything, or if they did they left it at one dish max. In a sense, you could certainly say she was going through some harsh training.
¡¸Then if Aearis-sama is not in the temple, it would appear that we can rx and cook.¡¹
¡¸Yes. However, that does not mean we get to ck off, right?¡¹
Prim went ahead and warned the coworkers, who appeared to be loosening up a bit.
¡¸Of course not. It is simply that with Aearis-sama here, we could never slip up lest we lose our work, and we were so frantic¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, well I do understand that part¡¡¡¹
Prim and Judith grimaced at their colleagues¡¯ words. Despite only being eleven years old, Aearis was actually more skilled than these priests who had been training for years and years supposedly. Perhaps this in and of itself was training for the priests to take on pressure withposure as they made food of actual quality.
Then again, wasn¡¯t this something that cooks should do, rather than priests?
¡¸But Sis, even if we have time to cook with less pressure, there is still not a lot of time. Let¡¯s go about this in a professional manner.¡¹
¡¸Right you are.¡¹
As soon as she heard Judith say that, Prim got right to the pre-cooking. While there was some pressure from Aearis and her skill, as people who came from Darl, the sisters were unbelievably grateful to not have to deal with someone who would always get up early to make breakfast.
Morning training in Alfemina Temple was for farmwork. Other than positions dealing with petitions or positions that would head out to the temple subsidiaries scattered around Wulls, everyone generally, as per Alfemina tradition, would gather round to work in the ntations.
¡¸The soba in this division is definitely a harvest.¡¹
¡¸Sis, I think we should first secure the edamame.¡¹
Primmented on how good the soba looked as Judith pointed out something else they had to do first. Aearis¡¯s nts in the ntation had bloomed a second time, bing her personal favorites, so several varieties of soba were being cultivated and could be harvested in practically any season.
The temple was also cultivating soybeans, since miso and soy sauce were essential for eating soba. They were raising other crops as well, but the main ones that stood out were these two.
But all in all, these were amateur priests. They weren¡¯t so aplished at agriculture that they could easily cultivate crops, and their harvested amount and quality was nothing special. Not only was this insufficient to support food at the temple, it was really just one part of training.
Then again, soy sauce and miso were different. While they were purchasing the ingredients from farmhouses, they made enough to spend on the temple. The quality was just about as meager as the other temple crops, but at least the amount was more than enough. Hiroshi had not trained them for nothing.
¡¸It would seem that today¡¯s dinner will consist mainly of edamame tofu and new soba.¡¹
¡¸And we also need to make soba powder, so let¡¯s hurry and get this harvesting out of the way, Sis.¡¹
¡¸Indeed.¡¹
Nodding at Judith, Prim hastened the harvesting pace. The other priests were also diligently working at it. Working hard enough to emit sweat on your brow felt truly nice.
¡¸Looks like today¡¯s farm work isplete!¡¹
Tying up the harvested soba and carrying it all over, Judith took a breather before confirming. There were mainy grains that could not simply be harvested and finished. Hiroshi and all the farmers appeared to have many techniques for greatly reducing the work time like sun drying, but priests like themselves had no such skills. Rather than do the impossible, it was best to let nature take its course.
¡¸Now we use what¡¯s in the storehouse to make soba.¡¹
¡¸It would indeed be nice if we could eat some tasty soba.¡¹
The other priests would be excused as of this moment, but the kitchen duty was still not over. They had to finish lunch and dinner by the time afternoon training began. Incidentally, the people in charge of miso and soy sauce were quite busy at this time.
¡¸So as to not be rude to the ingredients, let us cook with all our might and all our spirit.¡¹
The head minister in charge of today¡¯s kitchen duty conveyed this to everyone with a severe expression on his face. Once upon a time, Alfemina Temple ate food regardless of what quality it had, but as of now, the mindset was that even sloppy food could be worked on to see if it got at least a bit more tasty, out of respect.
This was, needless to say, Aearis¡¯s influence. Rather than put up with nasty food, it was harder to actually work on bad ingredients so that they tasted good, which really did be extra training in that respect.
¡¸Judith. This will not go like it did with Haruna-san or Aearis-sama, but let¡¯s take our time and do our best so that the food is not angered.¡¹
¡¸Of course, Sis!¡¹
Anyone would agree that food was better tasty than not. The priests cooked the food so as to eat it in the best manner, being thankful for every portion of it.
Afternoon. Finishing preparations for dinner and thanking the food, the priests finished lunch before entering into an important training session with a holy ritual at its core.
¡¸Judith-san, your mana waves are out-of-sync!¡¹
As she heard the head priest¡¯s warning, Judith gritted her teeth, moving the waves back to form. Now, there were many different rituals, but they generally consisted of the same activities with only slightly varying methods. As a result, the Norton sisters who came from a different temple and its goddess practically did the same thing as always.
¡¸Prim-san, we would appreciate your assistance over here.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Prim epted the head priest¡¯s instructions and moved position to reconfigure her mana waves. While this was at Igreos Temple, Prim was still a legally qualified priest, unlike Judith. If the only difference was in the methodology then she could take on it without issue.
¡¸Your wavelength is messed up!¡¹
¡¸You aren¡¯t letting your guard down just because Aearis-sama is not here, are you!?¡¹
The sounds of priests rebuking other trainees echoed through the room. This process was more difficult than it appeared to be, and as long as new trainees continued to trickle in, there was no end to the scolding.
Then again, it was even more mentally straining to have Aearis look at everyone in a worried manner than it was to hear a bit of scolding, and the amount of angry yells when she was there versus not there were worlds apart.
¡¸Judith-san!¡¹
Hearing her younger sister get reprimanded, Prim reorganized her off-course mana, the unsung hero.
¡¸We got some nice training today, huh Sis?¡¹
¡¸We sure did.¡¹
¡¸Initially, I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be able to blend in so easily here aftering into contact with that haven, but it looks like things are working out.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m just d that we can make whatever as long as it tastes good. I have no qualms with frugal meals, but it¡¯s also true that our ability to endure is partially swayed by the food quality.¡¹
Prim and Judith discussed their situation amongst themselves, recalling what life had initially been like their first days at Alfemina Temple. Their beds had been tough, the quality of soap extremely bad, and even if they were told that this was to be expected, neither girl would have been able to endure such mental strain. Or rather, it was far easier on the psychepared to training in an environment where they were treated like royalty, as this actually gave them the impression that they were training.
Unlike every temple in Darl, Wulls Temple was furnished withrge public baths, which greatly helped. The meaning and feeling of soaking in there daily was no longer something the sisters could turn back from, and even if they couldugh off most of their living arrangements, bathing was now something equally important to eating that they would not part with.
Then again, the sisters were aware that apart from their mental state, their physical state was considerably suffering. Even if they could now adjust to their sleeping arrangements with a month, it was an undeniable fact that they woke up every morning with jarring movement. The difference in elevation was too big, so it would probably be some time before their bodies fully adjusted.
¡¸Sis, let¡¯s train super hard tomorrow too.¡¹
¡¸Indeed.¡¹
And with none the wiser as to how fulfilled the sisters were feeling, another day in the life of Alfemina Temple was approaching its end.
Volume 4 Snippet 3.2
Volume 4 Snippet 3.2
Trantor: Reflet
£²£®One Day in Fane¡¯s Royal House
¡¸Oh, Brother?¡¹
¡¸I see you were in your room.¡¹
¡¸Yes. I didn¡¯t have any ns to go out today.¡¹
One night, Layotte showed up at Aearis¡¯s room, to which she responded with a puzzled look.
¡¸Did you perhaps miss out on food again?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Various affairs took longer than expected at my destination.¡¹
He had not eaten.
It actually wasn¡¯t all that rare for Layotte to visit Aearis¡¯s room. One reason was that he had changed his interaction with Aearis, no longer keeping her at a distance due to her position worsening, but there was another reason, that being¡
¡¸What will you be eating?¡¹
¡¸Well, if it¡¯s fine to use donburi, then I guess I¡¯ll make it pioneer bird bone soup for today.¡¹
Layotte hade to get some of Aearis¡¯s instant ramen she was secretly storing. In fact, the only royal in this castle who was in a position to directly receive instant ramen and store it was Aearis. Elena simply couldn¡¯t get permission to go to town too often, and the king and Layotte weren¡¯t in the position where they could just store food in their rooms.
The king barely had some spare liquor that he could hide without anyone making a fuss about it, and Layotte only had packed food for times of emergency. Avin, who was about to marry in, and Mark, who was likely to be the next prime minister, were both in a simr situation, not able to carry around much personal belongings.
Aearis was an exception because of her slightly independent status as both a royal and a priestess, her ability (given by Alfemina) to detect danger in food or drink, and having her own charisma in a different sense than Layotte. She certainly had some leeway.
Incidentally, Layotte did not have all of Aearis¡¯s tendencies memorized. Other than when she was acting as priestess or princess and had to leave the country, Aearis generally went to Azuma Workshop or the underground resort, and this was always after getting permission from the parties concerned, but Layotte was too busy to remember every little report and wasn¡¯t clear on much other than her official business trips.
¡¸I have some good eggs here, so shall I put a few in?¡¹
¡¸Yes please.¡¹
¡¸Then I shall prepare them, so please wait inside.¡¹
Led by Aearis, Layotte walked over to the carpet-covered corner of the room that had a low dining table.
¡¸Layotte, did you also forget to eat?¡¹
¡¸You too, Father¡¡?¡¹
Ripping off the meat udonbel, the king was also in the room about to eat. Taking off his shoes, Layotte walked onto the carpet and sat before the low table as he spoke to the king.
¡¸It is true that those worthless petitions have decreased since that incident¡¡¡¹
¡¸But now there has been a sharp increase in discussions that eat up our time¡¡¡¹
Ever sine Katarina¡¯s rebellion, the number of corrupted nobles had sharply dropped. However, that resulted in a shortage of human resources, and the chaos in the upper echelons was still continuing. Even so, this was not hindering the lives of regr citizens in the slightest, so you could say that the people who avoided the purge were quite exceptional.
Then again, there were many things that became possible without the restrictions previously imposed, and the establishedws with all their precautions were beginning to really show.
¡¸Brother, thank you for waiting.¡¹
¡¸Ah, thank you.¡¹
Dropping an egg in and inserting some lightly heated bean sprouts before closing the lid, Aearis had finished the pioneer bird instant ramen, carrying it over to Layotte. Thanking her for it, Layotte waited for the noodles to soften. Everyone had their preferences, but Layotte simply waited for the water to steep a minute before digging in.
¡¸Alright, I say it¡¯s about time.¡¹
As the king took in his second mouthful, Layotte got to eating his own ramen. Mixing around the neatly unravelled noodles, he crushed the egg, wrapped some noodles around the chopsticks, and slurped a round. The crispiness of the bean sprouts and the hardness of the noodles went together quite well, with a cheap but rxing vor spreading throughout the mouth.
¡¸¡¡It tastes great.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m d to hear that.¡¹
Aearis smiled at Layotte¡¯s impression. She often put her own twist on instant ramen when eating it. Sure, the ramen was fine by itself, but adding things in only made things tastier.
Therefore, rather than throw the cup udon the king was eating right into the water, Aearis had thrown in a bit of shredded konbu, as she had known that was her father¡¯s preference.
¡¸Still, if the head chef were to know that the king was eating food in his daughter¡¯s room prepared by her, I could see him grieving up quite the storm.¡¹
¡¸But this was necessary, Father. While it¡¯s true that the head chef makes very good food, entrusting this task to him would mean waiting a whole day.¡¹
¡¸True. After all, asking them to make something simple quickly would still be too tall of an order¡¡¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because it¡¯s the head chef¡¯s duty.¡¹
Perhaps because of his pride as the chef of the royal pce, the head chef hated making any food that took little effort. The main parties he fed were only really the royals or the nobles. He could not afford to serve out haphazardly made food thatmoners ate, or else it could very well be off with his head.
And even if the head chef knew that any royal or noble worth their salt had done anything so horrifying as eating the crude dishes served to regr soldiers or adventurers out in the field and not thought anything bad of it, this and that were two different problems entirely.
¡¸We could very well have just eaten at the barracks¡¡¡¹
¡¸Layotte, there is no way the barracks would have enough energy to spare for us, and at this time there are no chefs at work anyhow.¡¹
The king admonished Layotte, who was suggesting something crazy. As an actual problem, the only chefs around at this hour were the head chef himself and a few others living in as employees. No chefs actually lived in the barracks or the knight dorms. Besides, even if they did, the mess hall was already barely scraping by as is with its ingredients forrge numbers of soldiers that ate a lot and were in positioning for war, so they would certainly not be able to just dish out food for sudden visitors cutting in line.
And even for the servants¡¯ dining hall, it was a type of sacred realm. While the king could order that they let him in, it wasn¡¯t a ce for high ss individuals, and it certainly was no ce to order people to make food. This was justmon sense for the ss system.
¡¸Oh?¡¹
Once Layotte and the king had finished up the rest of their food (and their worthless conversation), they heard a knock on Aearis¡¯s door.
¡¸I wonder who it could be?¡¹
The maid, who had pretended to not notice the royals eating like slobs, went to receive the guest.
¡¸It¡¯s me, Elena. Is Aearis still up?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Please wait a moment.¡¹
Al three royals made rather bizarre faces upon seeing the Elena had arrived. There was usually no real reason for her to show up at Aearis¡¯s room at such an hour. The queen and Elena did have a recent tendency of fawning over Aearis, so this wasn¡¯t the most unexpected thing to do. Well, normally it wasn¡¯t so unexpected, but¡
¡¸Sister Elena, Brother Avin, and Brother Mark?¡¹
¡¸Brother Avin and Mark simply came together.¡¹
Aearis grew even more confused as she saw the other princess and princes gathered around. Who knew what Elena was here for, but Aearis was pretty sure that the brothers hade for ate-night snack.
Volume 4 Snippet 3.3
Volume 4 Snippet 3.3
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸So today I ate with Mark and the others, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸For some reason there were a bunch of octogals stalking us today.¡¹
¡¸And so we gave them a little too much food¡¡¡¹
Surmising the situation that Avin and Mark discussed, Aearis grimaced. If those octogals of all things were the ones showing up here, they had to have taken a ton of food.
¡¸So what will you be having?¡¹
¡¸Yeah¡Just regr cup noodles is fine.¡¹
¡¸And I guess I¡¯ll¡go with soba today.¡¹
¡¸Very well. Please wait inside. And what about you, Sister?¡¹
¡¸Right. I felt a bit under the weather this evening and couldn¡¯t eat, so maybe something on the light side.¡¹
Nodding at Elena, Aearis proceeded to prepare each of their requests.
¡¸It¡¯s kinda weird how we¡¯re all bonding together in this unusual situation¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, all we need is Mother to be here and we¡¯ll have the whole royal family, minus the babies.¡¹
¡¸Although you must admit that it¡¯s a crazy sight with the family gathered in the priestess princess¡¯s room eating instant ramen. And if this was winter we¡¯d be wearing padded kimonos, in all probability.¡¹
Picturing Elena¡¯s image in his head, the king had a really weird look on his face. Not to be arrogant, but he couldn¡¯t help but find that strange.
The whole reason Aearis had changed the corner of her room to wooden flooring and put down carpet was to ce a kotatsu. She also wanted to put down tatami, but that would have taken longer and she decided instead to turn it into a space for discarding shoes and reclining.
¡¸Thank you for waiting.¡¹
¡¸Thanks.¡¹
¡¸Appreciate it.¡¹
Taking the cup noodles and cup soba Aearis handed them, Avin and Mark gratefully slurped down. Bean sprouts were added in extra for the soba, but nothing in particr for the cup noodles. There was already a wide variety of ingredients added in, so Avin didn¡¯t really see the need.
¡¸Sister, here you go.¡¹
¡¸Thank you.¡¹
Elena took her half-size pioneer bird soup, giving thanks. There was also a mug cup with miso in it.
¡¸If this room had a kitchen, I would be able to make some simple meals for everyone¡¡¡¹
¡¸No,e on, that¡¯s no job for a priestess or a princess.¡¹
¡¸Oh? But I always cook in the temple.¡¹
Now all the royals gathered here grimaced at Aearis. Doubtless, when everything went to shambles, Aearis would be the most dependable candidate, having been the youngest child until recent times.
¡¸So what about you, Aearis? Gonna eat anything?¡¹
¡¸No, I already had plenty today.¡¹
Aearis said, slurping the miso (in ce of tea). This was simply miso, no dashi or anything mixed in, so it was urate to say she was drinking the stuff. Based on the time, she had assumed eating any more than this was a bad idea. The temple didn¡¯t put much salt on their food and the training was mostly manualbor, so drinking a cup of this extra, in miso wouldn¡¯t be a problem.
Then again, this miso Hiroshi was selling to Aearis was low on salt, so there was even less in there than she assumed.
¡¸So Elena, how has your health been as ofte?¡¹
¡¸Not good, not bad, I suppose. I have some muscle and weighting back, but sometimes I let my guard down and eating bes a hassle.¡¹
Avin and Elena moved their discussion to the family, talking about things like health and recent events as they skillfully moved their chopsticks to eat the noodles. asionally the king, Layotte, or even Mark would chime in. Considering they all used chopsticks better than most Japanese people, this was truly an unusual sight.
¡¸¡¡Oh?¡¹
Even after they were done eating, the chit-chat continued amongst the family, and then there was another visitor at the door.
¡¸Your Highness, I would think it quite unfair for you to just monopolize all the children!¡¹
¡¸Yeah, what she said. And even without that, Elizabeth-sama is busy taking care of her twins and has little time to connect with family!¡¹
¡¸Please, grant us an equal opportunity!¡¹
As expected, King Regnas¡¯s three wives had arrived. Apparently, they had caught wind of this from the octogals when they yed with the twins. These creatures were seriously not to be underestimated.
¡¸Aearis, might I also have some miso soup?¡¹
¡¸Yes, Mother.¡¹
¡¸Aearis-san, might I have the same?¡¹
¡¸Me too.¡¹
¡¸Of course you may.¡¹
Responding to the requests of the wives, Aearis presented them with in miso cups in ce of tea.
¡¸This fragrance, this vor, it¡¯s just so refreshing¡¡¡¹
¡¸Your Highness, I do think that all the residents of this country ought to drink more miso.¡¹
¡¸While there is currently an issue with the amount of miso produced, we simply cannot keep all this to ourselves.¡¹
The king just nodded with a grimace on his face, noticing how charmed the wives were by the miso soup. Even without their saying so, the king was indeed promoting an increase in miso, soy sauce, and soybeans (which were the raw materials used to make the two others), with Azuma Workshop assisting and giving him the know-how. Still, it took half a year to make these things without quickened fermentation, and even though there were a few shops in the business, these were either people who began making the sauces early on due to Hiroshi or because they got the stock cheap from the forest giants.
While this quick pace brought on an increase in miso and soy sauce storages, many of them were rotten failures, and it would be several years, or maybe even ten years beforemoners could begin using them as regr condiments.
Rice was no different, and the demand far outstripped the supply. There were also other products that Wulls simply relied on Ortem for. Thanks to that, the vige was greatly busy figuring out how to greatly increase the year¡¯s amount of nting, with a fraction of the elves and goblins taking the lead, still quite busy.
¡¸Elizabeth, how are Redrick and Elize doing?¡¹
¡¸They are growing quite rapidly and healthily. The octogals y with them a lot too.¡¹
¡¸Mother. I have some qualms with allowing those creatures to babysit¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, it¡¯s an unwritten rule that you get all the help you can in raising children. Layotte, once you became a parent, you will alsoe to understand this.¡¹
Queen Elizabeth dered confidently. The other two concubines nodded in agreement.
¡¸Elena. There will also no doubt be a time in which you bear children. When that timees, whether it be us three or the octogals, don¡¯t hold back and try to rely more on others.¡¹
Elena nodded meekly at her mother¡¯s words. These sorts of family gatherings would continue with frequency even after Avin entered the family and Elena married off elsewhere until Layotte essioned to the throne.
Volume 4 Extra 1.1
Volume 4 Extra 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Now Stiren and Crest Cave are finally connected.¡¹
¡¸Thanks for all the hard work.¡¹
Two days after therge banquet, Wulls workshop, Stiren workshop, and the base at Crest Cave were fully connected via transportation circle. Hiroshi and Haruna had finally finished checking functionality. As to why it wasn¡¯t immediately after the banquet was over, the answer was simple: because the banquet had been far worse than the team had anticipated.
The reason why only Hiroashi and Haruna were currently here was because Tatsuya was still incapacitated, Makoto was focusing on her manga, and because Mio was giving lessons in the workshop. As to why Tatsuya was down, it was because he failed to escape the banquet and was forced to tag along with the dwarves until yesterday afternoon.
It was apparentlymon sense that Stiren¡¯s entire functionality be shut down the day after the big banquet, so other than maybe some guards at the gates doing their jobs yesterday, the executive, judiciary, and even criminals all stopped business for the day. Rainy¡¯s condition deteriorating and Barold not encroaching into Forre practically felt like a given, with how lively everything was.
¡¸So, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸The system changed and list is out there, but do you think we could directly move from here to ces like where the People of the Earth live?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, pretty sure.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded at Haruna¡¯s question. As Wulls workshop was bing convoluted with all the destinations, they had decided to put all the transportation circles together and select any given destination from a list.
The transportation circles generally came in pairs. Therefore, if one of their properties changed, the other circle would automatically change in ordance. This resulted in integration of Wulls¡¯ circles and reciprocality between the other circles as well.
¡¸Although if ya think about it, even if it¡¯s convenient from here to Crest Cave, I don¡¯t really see there being much of an opportunity to go from here to Ortem vige, Darl, etc¡¹
¡¸Very true.¡¹
Haruna nodded at Hiroshi. Generally, the circles in every city were set with the purpose of connecting back to Wulls workshop, the hub base. Consequentially, there wasn¡¯t much of a need to go anywhere but Wulls.
¡¸Now, along with Teres and the others¡¯ trainin¡¯, we start with the bricks used for repairing Elza Temple and the rest.¡¹
¡¸Yep. It was rather a lot to take in at once and we only ever got cleaning and purification done.¡¹
¡¸Plus a lotta areas totally got crushed from thest battle. It definitely ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ that¡¯s easily fixed.¡¹
Elza Temple was in far worse condition than simply filling in the crevices. Even Hiroshi didn¡¯t have all the proper ingredients on hand, only able to remove as many pieces of rubble and clean up the ce in the little time he had. Haruna had handled all the purification with singing.
¡¸Also, I needa git to teachin¡¯ ya ¡®bout refinement ¡®n forgin¡¯ now, so first we¡¯ll have Teres, Nora, and Fum go to excavate in rotation.¡¹
¡¸What about Lime-chan?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, she¡¯s a little insufficient for diggin¡¯ through walls. In that sense Fum¡¯d also be a bad idea, but not quite as bad.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Haruna nodded gravely at Hiroshi¡¯sment.
Lime was barely turning six this August and was not fit to be handling something like excavation. Fum was also barely eight, and hardly someone you would send out to excavate.
However, whereas Lime had yet to do anything other than measuring and harvesting, Fum had yet to even became half an adult but probably still felt strongly opposed to Hiroshi deciding he wouldn¡¯t let her excavate despite her already working as a craftsman.
And with Teres and Nora also treating Fum as being on par with them despite their age differences, the problem only worsened. While they all had their own areas of expertise, you had to treat these three equally or else you¡¯d have an annoying situation on your hands.
¡¸Yeah, so I gotta git a pickaxe that Fum can handle alright and whatnot.¡¹
¡¸Sheesh, making child excavate who¡¯s not even ten has gotta be a lot worse than the average corrupt business.¡¹
¡¸The girl volunteered herself, but I agree this ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ that should be happenin¡¯.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna discussed this troublesome issue. If they could, they would love to prevent childbor. At least someone of Aearis¡¯s physique would be preferable, but age and growth just weren¡¯t a thing right now.
So then one might ask, ¡°What if you let them do it when they¡¯re a bit older?¡± but excavation and harvesting in this world had to be done in a timely manner before things got problematic. Getting all the girls to Making Mastery was the main objective right now.
¡¸So that¡¯s that, but don¡¯t you think we¡¯re starting to need some more people here? Fum and the others are bing quite skilled at this, so I feel they could look after a newbie or two.¡¹
¡¸Yup¡¡¡¹
Layotte and the queen also said something simr about increasing workers. Fum and the others were already getting used to making their own tools and whatnot, so while not as aplished as Haruna, they were close to reaching Making Mastery.
To add further, the current craftsmen at the workshop could all do just fine without raising their level. Also, they had mastered the basics of applying alchemy and enchanting to other things, so letting them do their thing would probably get them to intermediate and able to make things like ss 4 potions, although this wouldn¡¯t happen until around ten years in th future.
So it would not be a problem to put in a subordinate or two if it helped the girls brush up. From the standpoint of running the workshop, this was also something necessary. The problem was that the current Azuma Workshop was in qutie the unique position.
¡¸There ain¡¯t much of a problem from a teaching standpoint. The real issue is who we let in.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢true true.¡¹
Azuma Workshop, which currently had transportation circles directly linking to all three of the great western countries and their capitals was not in the position to where it could hire just anyone. Or if they did, it had to be through a screening process and with permission from every royal family.
¡¸Yeah, we can¡¯t just pick ¡®em up from the slums without given¡¯ it much thought anymore.¡¹
¡¸Very true.¡¹
¡¸So for now I was thinkin¡¯ of findin¡¯ someone likeminded from Ortem Vige to cooperate as a back-n-forth¡¡¡¹
¡¸Cooperate? Who will?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s Kakashi-san.¡¹
¡¸Ohhh.¡¹
Haruna greatly concurred with Hiroshi¡¯s statement. Kakashi, who was rather tall and gangly for a dwarf, was practically made for the life of a craftsman with how honorable and tight-lipped he was. Letting him in and out of Azuma Workshop would not be an issue, never on his part.
¡¸We also prolly need someone to help out L-san.¡¹
¡¸Agreed. Ortem Vige just has sheds, so the vigers can easily repair that, but the Darl, Stiren, and Crest Cave workshops are made differently and are not as simple.¡¹
¡¸Yup, L-san really needs a helpin¡¯ hand, so dependin¡¯ on the situation we may wanna have Lay or the queen introduce someone.¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t see any reason to counter Hiroshi¡¯s opinion. Craftsmen were not the only things needed, but also the people who worked behind the scenes in support.
Anyhow, they needed to pave the way for the workshop to be able to function and develop even without Hiroshi¡¯s being there or else it might be a hindrance to returning to Japan.
¡¸It feels like the workshop suddenly became real busy, huh?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Well, it had to happen sooner orter.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, but I feel like it¡¯s unnecessary to bring any new craftsmen in besides L-san as of right now.¡¹
¡¸Of course I¡¯d agree with ya, but we gotta strike the iron while it¡¯s hot or else we might not have the time.¡¹
¡¸Not enough time for what?¡¹
Haruna had to tilt her head at what Hiroshi said, her blue eyes quizzically staring at him.
¡¸I can¡¯t say this for sure, but I mighta found a way to make tools that let us travel between worlds.¡¹
¡¸Whaaa!?¡¹
¡¸This is only a possibility so don¡¯t get yer hopes up. Cuz what we know so far is that I don¡¯t currently got a high enough enchantin¡¯ skill ¡®n that we need a better core than the barold bosses, plus that we can¡¯t be too careless with returning, as we don¡¯t know what the situation is.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I agree with you on thatst part, but how can it be that youck in enchanting¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, well I think it would be easier to understand if we looked in Rufeus Library or some book ce. The least we can do right now is meet Daljan-sama in Lorren ¡®n check what¡¯s goin¡¯ on over there.¡¹
Haruna agreed there was precious little information. Alfemina had the most crucial details that Hiroshi and friends needed, but she was busy all the time and it was unclear what needed to be done to get back to their world.
¡¸So when I think of how being too involved with the workshop might hinder our progress or how we might git back to our world before the workshop¡¯splete, I just¡¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. There might not be enough time.¡¹
Haruna finally got what Hiroshi was trying to convey.
¡¸But at least it ain¡¯t like today or tomorrow is the deadline, so first let¡¯s go back to Wulls ¡®n see where we get.¡¹
¡¸Roger that. And before we return, we have to get sand for bricks from Darl, right?¡¹
¡¸Yup. And while we¡¯re at it let¡¯s do a lil test at the other connected locations to see what else we can find.¡¹
¡¸Agreed.¡¹
Volume 4 Extra 1.2
Volume 4 Extra 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
_______________________________________________________________
Agreeing with Hiroshi¡¯s proposal, Haruna organized themodities needed in her head. In one sense you could im this was a date, but 90% of the procurement was food/condiments and the remaining 10% was for materials for practice. She was simply not the best example of a woman well-versed in love affairs.
¡¸Can we also get some sand oysters and cacti?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course we can.¡¹
While showing some signs of joy (but subtly so as to not make Hiroshi ufortable), Haruna made a totally unromantic suggestion. Hiroshi immediately gave her the go, not thinking all that deeply about why she asked. So in the end, despite being all cheery about just the two of them going around gathering things, poor Haruna never quite realized that this could very well be considered what one might call ¡°a date¡±.
¡¸So I hear that you¡¯re back?¡¹
Layotte visited the workshop after Hiroshi had finished making Fum¡¯s child-sized pickaxe.
¡¸Lay, wazzup?¡¹
¡¸I thought this might be a good time to discuss a few things.¡¹
¡¸Yup, I also have a few things mate.¡¹
Layotte showed up at what one might consider perfect timing, and Hiroshi weed him.
¡¸Let¡¯s start with what ya wanted to tell me, Lay.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Then first is the instant ramen factory.¡¹
¡¸Oh, ya really startin¡¯ with that eh.¡¹
¡¸Yes, seeing as how it¡¯s an important industry in this country.¡¹
Hiroshi inwardly felt repulsed at Layotte¡¯s serious expression. Really, what kind of country builds its foundation of government management and national policy on instant ramen factories?
¡¸We currently have a clear idea of when the sites will be acquired. We only need three more people to sign the contract, pay the money, and then move to that area.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I¡¯m d ya aplished this so fast, but ya did it without pissin¡¯ anyone off, right?¡¹
¡¸Why would we risk that?¡¹
¡¸Well hey, good point there.¡¹
Ignoring Hiroshi¡¯s slightly doubtful demeanor, Layotte began marking the location of the nned factory site on a detailed city map. Hiroshi¡¯s face did a double take on the scale.
¡¸This is mightyrge, mate.¡¹
¡¸When developing/manufacturing new products and brewing soy sauce, miso, and mirin ensite, including material storages and storages for putting away goods prior to shipping, wouldn¡¯t you say that we need about this much space?¡¹
¡¸¡¡I mean, you ain¡¯t wrong.¡¹
Understanding what Layotte meant, Hiroshi now really wanted to know how many people Layotte removed from the premises just to secure them. The same could be said for the budget and the assistance given to the people who were forcibly removed.
¡¸And I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be concerned about this, so let me tell you a few things: we purchased the area at double the market price, and we also ensured that the people we moved got better property than they originally had, with the government paying the moving fee. Our budget for this is provided for by using the remnants of ruined properties, so there is no need to worry about the treasury taking a hit or the people getting more cumbersome taxes. Hoarding money will only kill the economy at any rate.¡¹
¡¸Good job gettin¡¯ the budget for that.¡¹
¡¸The Minister of Finance is also a fan of instant ramen, that¡¯s why.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s seriously the reason¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi just weaklymented on these inside stories regarding the budget. Of course this was not the only reason the budget was allowed. With any new industry, and specifically those that you know are 100% going to hit it biges guaranteed increased tax revenue. The Fane Minister of Finance was certainly not so daft as to be stingy with all this in mind.
In the first ce, if we¡¯re talking about bad influences on the economy, Hiroshi and friends were already at that point in any RPG where you almost cleared the game and have no use for your money, so they couldn¡¯t talk.
¡¸Also. This general area is already filled with empty houses, so would it be alright if you went ahead and began demolition?¡¹
¡¸Well hey, sure we can. Give us three days ¡®n you¡¯ll git vacantnd far as the eye can see.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Then go ahead and start at your leisure. Also¡¡¹
Layotte¡¯s face grew serious for the next topic. Getting a bad feeling about this, Hiroshi still straightened his posture.
¡¸Instant ramen is great and all, but we¡¯re going to need more variety than that. Is there anything else just as easy to eat and carry around?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well¡¡There¡¯s always cup soup, and then stuff like stew, broiled freeze dried retort, vacuum packaging, and then I guess stuff to heat up ¡®n put in cans, bottles forter.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s freeze dry?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a method where ya pour boiling water in to make it go back to normal.¡¹
¡¸And that¡¯s somehow different from instant ramen?¡¹
¡¸Well the method used for noodles is a bit different, but yes, there¡¯s also a freeze dry variety for cup noodles.¡¹
Layotte couldn¡¯t quite keep up with Hiroshi¡¯s overly advanced technology. This world hardly had any concept of dried food in the first ce, so of course you had to exin the necessity and functionality involved with the method of draining food to preserve most of the nutrients and reduce the volume until you needed it again and pouring water (boiling or not) to restore it.
While it was true that there were preserved foods in the form of dried salted meat, this was to prevent parasitic activity. Also, the meat was less dried than it was smoked. Not only was the meat tough, but also very salty, and not very well eaten other than in soup to substitute for salt.
¡¸Well, I¡¯ll show ya a few prototypes. And then retort is whatcha git when ya heat a container all the way up to kill off bacteria ¡®n put in the food ¡®n close it. And if ya put in anything that ain¡¯t soup then ya also gotta take all the air out. Now while it ain¡¯t as longstin¡¯ as Prevent Rot, with the right amount of care it couldst over a year, mate. Vacuum packagin¡¯ is the same as retort except takin¡¯ the air out when ya seal it.¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t get this bacteria thing very well, but all you do is add heat?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, the reason ya can¡¯t eat stuff is usually cuz of microorganisms ¡®n oxidation caused by air. Most bacteria are weak to heat ¡®n if ya go the vacuum route then all the air¡¯s sucked out. Here¡¯s another trial product.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Then what about thest thing you mentioned regarding cans and bottles? At least the bottle part uses bottles, so I get that, but¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s the base form of retort, essentially. When ya eat retort, usually ya warm it in a vessel ced in hot water, but many cans ¡®n bottles can save food even if it¡¯s cold. These methods all rely on airtightness, mate. I¡¯d better show ya another trial product.¡¹
¡¸So the bottled variety is different than putting potions into a bottle?¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re definitely simr, but sliiightly different.¡¹
Layotte¡¯s face was somewhere between understanding and confusion. As expected, exining something to someone who has no concept of it wasn¡¯t so simple.
¡¸Welp, I better make all of ¡®em so I can show ya.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I probably won¡¯t be able to say much until I actually see them.¡¹
Agreeing with Hiroshi, Layotte decided to end that topic. While it was an important problem not just for the military, but for adventurers alike, this could be solved by instant ramen in the meantime.
¡¸One more thing. You could say it¡¯s somewhat rted, but it¡¯s a different issue that I want to hear your input on.¡¹
¡¸Like what?¡¹
¡¸Well, not so much of an issue, but just a question as to whether or not we can create a method to makerge amounts of food efficiently.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯d ya do until now?¡¹
¡¸We just made fires or used improvised kilns to cook at campsites. This is working to an extent, so it isn¡¯t the highest priority, but you know¡¡¹
Hiroshi nodded a few times at Layotte. It certainly didn¡¯t seem like a high priority, but they might as well clear up all military food problems well they were at it.
¡¸I can certainly think of a tool to put on the horseload and throw a buncha rice in in there to cook it, if that¡¯s what ya want.¡¹
¡¸You can make something like that?¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s only really for cookin¡¯ rice ¡®n maybe makin¡¯ miso soup, that¡¯s about it.¡¹
¡¸So you¡¯re basically saying you can cook rice and soup with that contraption?¡¹
¡¸Yup, basically. ¡®Bout 45 minutes for the rice, and 100 servings per each machine at once, but the real problem here is the amount of rice.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, I guess this can¡¯t be solved immediately.¡¹
Hearing the exnation, Layotte felt confident in what had to be done next. Indeed, simply changing the food from wheat to rice solved the transportation issue to a certain extent. Compared to wheat, rice took less time to cook and taste just as good. With wheat you had to first make it into bread or noodles, which be really bulky inrge amounts, and turning them into powder to eat would still take time and effort.
Milling wheat into flour to resolve the transportation problem wouldn¡¯t work in this world. In powder form it had the same properties as wheat on earth, but for whatever reason the human race could not digest grains in their pre-milled form. As a result, wheat or sand wheat with its simr property to regr wheat used for porridge or boiled barley was never used. If the non-human races hadn¡¯t been turning barley into powder to make bread, wheat probably would have never been a staple food.
There was always the option of bringing along barley to use in porridge instead of rice, but there was a difference taste and texture that would make a difference to most people. The battleground was already a tough ce to get tasty food, bread would at least be a bit better. Even if the soldiers weren¡¯t as picky as Hiroshi¡¯s group, Layotte saw it as crucial that his soldiers had the best quality food possible so that they kept their morale and disyed more than enough of their power.
So in light of all this, anything other than rice was probably not a good idea. In which case, it would be more constructive to think about a rice production increase.
¡¸That will have to be after we see the prospects improve a bit.¡¹
¡¸You sure about that? From what I can tell, the experimental farm fields are lookin¡¯ pretty good.¡¹
Volume 4 Extra 1.3
Volume 4 Extra 1.3
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Thanks to the help of Ortem Vige, I foresee all the demand in Wulls being met within three years or so. Their soil can be adjusted for rice cultivation a lot easier.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s mighty great to hear.¡¹
¡¸Then again, this is just the initial stage in which supply breeds demand. Considering how the military takes up a good amount of the quota, I think it will be at least ten years before all demand in Wulls is met.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded at Layotte¡¯s report. Increasing production of any new crops was never easy. Even farming in Japan normally required ten years beginning from soil amelioration to introduce new crops into the fold. Agriculture was always something you thought about in super long spans of time.
Layotte mentioned ten years, and that was the amount of time it had initially taken to establish a new cultivation method, whereas they had thought it would take thirty years, so it was already a good sign that the estimated time had shrunk to a third of the original. You had to hand it to these experienced farmers.
If people on Earth knew about the skills in this world, they would certainly see it as the most unfair thing ever.
¡¸So what was it you wanted to discuss?¡¹
¡¸We wanna increase members.¡¹
¡¸Craftsmen, huh?¡¹
¡¸Them too, but I mean more of the workshop administrators. All the branches at Darl, Stiren, and Crest Cave. La-san¡¯s an aplished person but she ain¡¯t gonna be able to handle all that by herself.¡¹
¡¸But of course you can¡¯t just hire someone ipetent. Is that what you¡¯re getting at?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
Hiroshi nodded in affirmation. Layotte inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that.
In all honesty, even if Hiroshi picked someone from somewhere and insisted on adding them to the workshop, Layotte and his people didn¡¯t have the authority to reject that. Regardless of what Hiroshi himself was thinking, generally speaking, Azuma Workshop actually had more power than the royals of each country. While this was a problem that could interfere with the safety of the country, if Hiroshi got angry and vanished, this would cost the country more than having one or two spies.
As Hiroshi did not seem to be thinking about such things, he thankfully kept getting permission from the Fane house, and this was unmistakably because he trusted them. Examining Hiroshi¡¯s group¡¯s actions thus far, it was obvious they could have made plenty of self-centered decisions regardless of how much it hurt the country.
Hiroshi most likely hadn¡¯t thought of the idea of not consulting the state or the house. Layotte wasn¡¯t so conceited to think that Hiroshi¡¯s group would always submit to him unconditionally. Therefore, while inwardly relieved, he did his best to focus his mind elsewhere to avoid suspicion.
¡¸I understand the summary. So on our end for craftsmen, we can interview the applicants and offer candidates, while for administrators, we find people who we feel can be trusted and who can handle misceneous matters without making a fuss. This will all be done very shortly.¡¹
¡¸¡¯Preciate it mate.¡¹
¡¸This does concern all of Fane, after all. I¡¯ll assist in any way I can. However¡¡¹
¡¸There some kinda issue?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Wulls Workshop is fine as is, but you should also consult Darl and Forre about the Darl, Crest Cave, and Stiren workshops. For country-to-country affairs you should elect La as the superintendent, while you can ce human resources delegated by the royal houses of each country to be stationed at each location and have them be the administrators there to decrease the likelihood of any future problems.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«, ya got a point there mate.¡¹
Hiroshi scratched his head when Layotte pointed that out, feeling a bit careless. It was true; Hiroshi had workshops in three different countries and as such should gather residents of said countries. He was grateful for Layotte pointing out something he himself should have thought of.
¡¸Then I guess I better contact the queen ¡®n king of Forre too.¡¹
¡¸I can deal with that on my end. It had better be in person, I think, so when that timees can we use this Japanese-style room?¡¹
¡¸Go right ahead mate. When that goes down I¡¯ll tell Teres ¡®n the others that there¡¯s an important conversation ¡®n not to enter.¡¹
¡¸Thanks.¡¹
Not realizing howrge-scale of a conversation this was bing, Hiroshi casually gave out permission. This very discussion was what set the stage for a fairly regr urrence of the Conference of the Three Kingdoms in Azuma Workshop.
Afterward, finished with their small conversation, Layotte motioned to leave when he ran into Haruna, who had returned from her outing.
¡¸Ah, Layotte, your highness. I didn¡¯t know you were here.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. We just had a briefing session concerning the instant ramen factory.¡¹
¡¸Mind if I ask what you decided on?¡¹
¡¸The purchase for the factory site is nearlyplete, so in the near future, we n to use the sectors that we bought and had the residents move out of and make them into vacantnd.¡¹
¡¸Wow, so you¡¯re already talking about that.¡¹
Haruna was genuinely surprised to hear Layotte¡¯s exnation. Yes, this was a nationwide project conducted by a monarchy, but it was going faster than even Japan¡¯s projects.
But thinking about it very carefully, even if you ignored the abnormally fast slum district soil renewal and experimental farm project, the projects that Hiroshi was involved with always got done at a terrifying rate. Not only was Hiroshi there, but the projects had the utmost urgency, normally impossible to finish in such an amount of time.
Judging from all this, Fane probably had a great understanding and expectation of what was toe in theserge-scale projects.
¡¸I also asked Hiroshi to produce several varieties of portable foods. If it¡¯s possible, could you also assist, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸Portable food?¡¹
¡¸Well, basically just retort, canned goods, etc. There¡¯s also block-type bnced nutritious food if yer into that.¡¹
Haruna was slightly puzzled at what Layotte was talking about, while Hiroshi threw in an additional exnation. Haruna pretty much got it when he exined.
¡¸Yep, must be pretty tough to only have smoked meat and crackers.¡¹
¡¸Plus it seems like dried fruit¡¯s only in a minority of regions, like Ortem.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, and it¡¯s more difficult than it seems.¡¹
Hiroshi and Harunamented the inconveniences as they listed packed meals, but they themselves ate luxurious food every day in abundance that was thanks to their portable and convenient cooking devices, so they were not exactly ones to be talking about this.
¡¸And then, about the workshop craftsmen and administrators, this does involve the others and isn¡¯t something to talk about right this moment.¡¹
¡¸Oh, so you discussed that as well.¡¹
¡¸Somewhat, yeah. The personnel selection will involve the country interceding.¡¹
¡¸I see. If it¡¯s your majesty and the king selecting the personnel, then I say that¡¯s a relief.¡¹
¡¸I promise the best for my country. Still, I cannot say anything regarding Darl or Forre, as that is up to them.¡¹
¡¸Darl or Forre?¡¹
Haruna furrowed her brow the minute Layotte said that. She didn¡¯t seem to understand why those two other countries would be involved.
¡¸This is an international problem, but it¡¯s still necessary that we not bring about discord within the groups who are currently supporting the workshop. Before the selection is finished, we need to exin to Teres and the others in order to gain their approval.¡¹
¡¸Then I think that should be done today.¡¹
¡¸Is everyone gathered here today?¡¹
¡¸There haven¡¯t been any checksing in for staying the night elsewhere, and Govejon-san and Foldan-san will being here for dinner because of their errands. While we¡¯re at it, how about we have you eat with us, Your Highness?¡¹
¡¸Sounds like an idea. However, I do have some errands that will take around thirty minutes toplete, so I need to go back for a bit. Once that¡¯s over I¡¯ll return, so will that be all right?¡¹
¡¸No issues here.¡¹
Nodding once at Haruna¡¯s answer, Layotte quickly went back to the castle via transportation magic. Finishing everything within thirty minutes as was promised, Layotte also conveyed ths to King Regnas and took care of all the steps prior to rmending human resources for administering the Fane workshop. And then, when he finally got back¡
¡¸Queen Mishe and King Goht, I see they contacted you rather quickly. Did Aearis and the Octogals help with this?¡¹
Among the people standing by in the dining hall were those who probably shouldn¡¯t be moving around and about.
¡¸Yeah. Seems like the priestess asked the octogals to be messengers. Before you went to speak with King Regnas, I got permission toe here via the octogals.¡¹
¡¸And the same for me. This workshop and the octogals, I must say, are quite helpful when ites to certain situations.¡¹
Seeing Layotte react to their sudden appearance without much surprise, the queen and king of their respective countries revealed the reason with slightly bored voices. Thanks to Aearis, Layotte had acquired quite a bit of an immunity to these situations recently.
¡¸Still, I thought that Teres and the others would shrink away from something like this, but here they are, fine as can be?¡¹
¡¸This isn¡¯t the first time that royals havee to the workshop, you know. These two have been making appearances in the workshops of the other countries, and aren¡¯t the kinds of people to snap due to the rudeness of other people not knowing their true identities, so there isn¡¯t any reason for us to be reluctant.¡¹
¡¸¡¡But yes, limation is a terrifying thing indeed¡¡¡¹
Nora and Teres responded to Layotte¡¯s curious question with awkward smiles. Fum and Lime were even sitting on theps of the two royals, so who even cared about being rude at this point? As for Govejon and Foldan, they had an errand in the vige soon aftering this way and couldn¡¯t meet the royals before leaving.
Volume 4 Extra 2.1
Volume 4 Extra 2.1
Trantor: Reflet
It happened when the children hade over to harvest as per usual.
¡¸Huh?¡¹
Lime, who had been rustling through the thicket, found something slightly rare.
Honestly, this was not rare by itself. The area near Wulls maybe had more wildlife forward or backward than in the area she was, but this was certainly not unexpected. Also, depending on the variety, some of these were the kinds you found every day, so finding the item was nothing special.
So then why use the term rare?
¡¸Whoa, that¡¯s a big egg!¡¹
Indeed, what Lime had found was a fairlyrge egg. Specifically, it was big enough to surpass a superrge pom. Even if she wasparatively well-built for her age, Lime couldn¡¯t carry it without hugging it with both arms. There were norge egg bearing animals in this area, so normally getting your hands on such arge egg was out of the question.
So this massive-sized egg was dropped skillfully into the thicket, effectively hiding it, and it would have most likely not been found had a small child like Lime not discovered it. Timewise as well, eggying peaked a little before or after right now, so that was another reason why no one besides Lime could have easily found it.
¡¸Sis, Sis!¡¹
Excited at the size, Lime called over Fum, who hade with her. Hearing her voice, Fum and Lumina raced over, wondering what had happened.
¡¸The heck happen, Lime?¡¹
¡¸Lime-chan, what happened?¡¹
¡¸Look, look!Biiig egg!¡¹
Lime showed Fum and Lumina the egg, to which they gazed at its size in amazement.
¡¸¡¡What kind of egg is this?¡¹
¡¸If neither of you know, why would I know¡¡¡¹
Lumina threw in the towel when she heard Fum ask that question, shaking her head. The difference in knowledge between Fum, Lime, and then Lumina was no contest, which goes to show you there was a reason why they were working at Azuma Workshop.
¡¸Sis, do you think we could make a bunch of pudding with this egg?¡¹
¡¸Considering the amount of egg yolk in there, I¡¯d say minimum ten puddings, maybe?¡¹
¡¸Woohoo!¡¹
¡¸Wow, I¡¯m jealous¡¡I wanna eat that too¡¡¡¹
If this were a fairy tale, adults would usually expect a young girl to try and hatch the egg, but instead these girls immediately thought of food. This world was not so naive.
From elders to youngsters, among every humanoid race, eggs were nothing more than food. The only exceptions were eggs that were unsuitable for food and eggs used for breeding.
Let¡¯s also mention that Fum and Lime were living in Azuma Workshop, which handled the state of the art Fane food. This was the first time the children saw a big egg, so of course they would only think about eating it.
¡¸How about we go ahead and take it back with us, at least.¡¹
¡¸Sis, open the bag.¡¹
¡¸Wait a sec¡¡Alright¡¹
¡¸Here we gooo¡¹
They could count their chickens after they hatched, or after they obtained the egg, so to speak. Using mana to boost her physical strength, Lime lifted up the egg and threw it in the bag, which was directly connected to storage. The gigantic egg, which weighed just as much as it looked, wasn¡¯t something a little girl like Lime could even tip over without a boost.
¡¸And now there¡¯s no worry of it breaking.¡¹
¡¸Sis, let¡¯s search for some more!¡¹
¡¸O©`kay!¡¹
Getting the rarest of the rare, the young¡¯uns of Azuma Workshop beamed at each other. No one had noticed this, but the moment Lime lifted up the egg with magic, it had oscited in a wavelike motion. For a group that was the youngest, they sure did tend to pick up the rarest items. And just like that, the group returned to base.
¡¸We¡¯re back¡«!¡¹
¡¸Wee, wee. Did you find anything cool?¡¹
Nora greeted the triumphant children when they got back. Surmising from their demeanor that they had found something good, she asked to confirm.
¡¸Yep, something really really cool!¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s definitely something rare but neither Lime nor I could tell what it was, so I¡¯d like it if you called over Boss Man, Haruna-san, and Mio-san.¡¹
¡¸Alright then.¡¹
When she heard Fum¡¯s request, Nora quickly went to call Hiroshi and the others. Lime was a bit on the younger side, but Fum had some pretty good judgement. If those two couldn¡¯t figure out what they got, then Nora probably wouldn¡¯t know just by looking at it either.
¡¸I hear ya got a pretty rare thingamajig?¡¹
¡¸What kind of item is it?¡¹
Hiroshi and the others had arrived alongside Nora. Not only had Haruna and Mioe with him, but also Tatsuya, Makoto, and Teres.
¡¸Uhh, so yeah, Lime found a super crazy big egg. We went ahead and stored it, but we don¡¯t know what kind of egg it is and therefore aren¡¯t sure if it¡¯s edible or not.¡¹
¡¸And so yer askin¡¯ us to appraise it.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, and sorry, but I think only you, Haruna-san, or Mio-san would know.¡¹
Hiroshi and the others nodded at Fum. Seeing this, Lime took out the egg from the bag.
¡¸Heave-ho, heave-ho¡¹
¡¸Lime-chan, if it¡¯s heavy then you shouldn¡¯t carry it by yourself.¡¹
Haruna held out a hand when she saw Lime trying to pull the egg out with all her might, as this could have potentially lead to the egg falling and cracking.
¡¸Up you go¡Yeah, I think this is a bit difficult for a child by themselves.¡¹
¡¸Prolly yeah. It¡¯s bigger than Lime¡¯s face, mate.¡¹
Hiroshi simply had to agree with Haruna¡¯sment as she covered for Lime by taking hold of the egg and cing it on the table. Now in in sight (and clearly bigger than not only Lime¡¯s face, but Fum¡¯s face as well!), the big egg roused everyone¡¯s curiosity.
¡¸So Boss Man, which egg would that be?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, other than the size there ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ that sticks out about it. I can¡¯t quite whittle down the possibilities. Welp, regardless of which it is, there ain¡¯t no problem eating it.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Can it be used for pudding?¡¹
¡¸Yup, you can make pudding with most shelled eggs.¡¹
Hiroshi answered as he ran a small amount of magic over the egg, touching it, to which Fum and Lime¡¯s faces lit up with excitement. Children do like their pudding after all.
¡¸¡¡Wait, c¡¯mon you guys.¡¹
¡¸Wazzup, Makoto-san? Actin¡¯ all fed up with us suddenly?¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t you generally think of heating up eggs like this to make them hatch?¡¹
Everyone but Tatsuya just stared at Makoto for her fairy tale-esque idea.
¡¸Eh? What? Am I really saying something that¡¯s so strange?¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, Makoto-san.¡¹
¡¸Whaaat¡¡¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t even know what kinda egg it is, so there ain¡¯t even a way to tell if it¡¯s fertilized or not.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s your reasoning!?¡¹
Hearing the reason for not incubating the egg, Makoto broke into a full-fledged outburst.
It was true that normal eggs would not incubate without fertilization, no matter how much you tried. There also wasn¡¯t a single guarantee of whether the egg would hatch, whether it would be a chick or arva, whether it was safe or not, etc, so in other words, just eating the darn thing would be safe and avoid future trouble, and it would have the most benefit.
¡¸Hey, Hiro¡¡¡¹
¡¸Ya opposed to eatin¡¯ it too, Bro?¡¹
¡¸Well, not for the same reason as Makoto, but yes.¡¹
¡¸Not the same reason? Then why?¡¹
¡¸I think with a big egg like this, the parent¡¯s also gonna be pretty big, so what if we eat the egg and then the parentes for revenge?¡¹
Everyone in the workshop had new expressions on their faces, realizing that Tatsuya had a point.
¡¸If they drop the egg in an area like this, I bet they already considered the egg might be eaten.¡¹
However, Hiroshi responded to Tatsuya with his own blunt thinking. No revenge-seeking creature would drop their young so close to the city in the first ce.
Now, assuming they had in fact stolen an egg from a creature who would get upset at the fact, such a creature should have alreadyunched an attack on Wulls long ago. Besides, even if someone were to steal the egg, in this case it was hidden in a half-assed location.
In other words, eating the egg would not bring about any kind of obstacle.
Volume 4 Extra 2.2
Volume 4 Extra 2.2
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸¡¡You pick up a rare egg and you go straight to talking about food? That can¡¯t be right¡¡¡¹
¡¸Makoto-san, this ain¡¯t no fairy tale, and we can¡¯t just not eat high quality protein like this.¡¹
¡¸Mako, give it up.¡¹
Makotoined in a low voice, to which Hiroshi and Mio poured further salt on the wound. Not only did the other students say crude things; no one had taken her side, and that broke her.
¡¸Then, let¡¯s take it to the kitchen and smash it.¡¹
¡¸Lime wants to do the smashing!¡¹
¡¸Well, Lime-chan did find it, so I don¡¯t see why not.¡¹
In response to Haruna, who was by this point super intent on cooking, Lime pleaded. Generously nodding at her, Haruna carried the egg into the kitchen. Figuring they might as well follow, Hiroshi and Mio went along with her. Teres and the other two also tagged along for whatever reason.
¡¸Sooo Tatsuya¡¡¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Am I really that weird¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Not really for a Japanese person, no.¡¹
Watching Teres and the others go into the kitchen, Makoto was crestfallen at having her opinion and sensibilitypletely disregarded, and Tatsuya inwardly sighed as heforted her.
¡¸With a size like this, it would be difficult to break it the normal way, right?¡¹
¡¸Yuuup. I think we gotta do it with a hammer or it won¡¯t work.¡¹
Lightly hitting the surface to check the hardness, Hiroshi and Haruna came to that conclusion. Mimicking them, Lime was tapping the surface.
¡¸Then we gotta get a cookin¡¯ hammer.¡¹
¡¸We might even need a chisel, y¡¯know.¡¹
Picking up tools that didn¡¯t seem to have much rtion with cooking, Hiroshi and Haruna made preparations like bowls for dividing the yellow from the white. They were truly excited for this, in more ways than one.
Maybe you wouldn¡¯t know what to think if you heard for the first time that cooking hammers were a thing, but you could use them to break salt crusts and to split or crush hard-shelled ingredients, or perhaps they might be necessary to hammer nails into sea eel eyes; honestly a lot of options. It was a little more questionable that these hammers weren¡¯t directly involved in the cooking process, but they still more than counted as cooking utensils.
¡¸Hard, very hard¡«¡¹
¡¸This seems quite firm¡¹
As Hiroshi and Haruna were taking out the cooking utensils, Lime and Mio attempted to mimic the two of them by tapping all over the egg. Drawn in by this, Fum, Teres, and Nora also began touching the egg to see what it felt like.
¡¸It might actually be hard enough to use as armor.¡¹
¡¸Can you really smash this with only a hammer?¡¹
While agreeing with Nora, Teres asked a question out of curiosity. Everyone was truly immersed in this egg.
¡¸Kay, gonna smash it now¡«¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y¡¹
Lime, who was still touching the egg all over, heard Hiroshi¡¯s promation and stepped back. Seeing her retreat, Haruna put her hands on the egg to stabilize it. Hiroshi pushed a very specific-use tool called the Cooking Chisel into the egg. Everyone had touched it all over, and yet no one had even recognized the pulse that had begun to run through the egg.
And then-
¡¸Lime, swing down as hard as ya can.¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y¡¹
Obeying Hiroshi, Lime swung the hammer down as hard as she could. At that very moment, Aearis jumped into the kitchen.
¡¸You must not break that egg!!¡¹
Lime barely managed to stop the hammer in time when she heard Aearis¡¯s scream.
¡¸Don¡¯t break it¡«¡¢don¡¯t break it¡«¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t eat it¡«¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s gonna be born¡«¡¢gonna be born¡«¡¹
The octogals who had teleported in with Aearis also asked Lime to stop. Upon further nce, one of the octogals had taken a position right where the hammer was about to strike, blocking the area of impact.
¡¸It seems like we made it in time¡¡¡¹
Aearis breathed a sigh of relief at their making it barely in time. Getting an odd feeling about this after observing her mannerisms, Hiroshi looked into her eyes and realized:
¡¸Are ya Alfemina-sama?¡¹
¡¸Yes. This was an emergency, so I borrowed Aearis¡¯s body.¡¹
Alfemina nodded casually at Hiroshi¡¯s question. She borrowed Aearis¡¯s body an awful lot for someone who was supposedly busy, and for trivial matters, but this time seemed to be no joke.
¡¸So what kinda egg¡¯s this?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s a divine beast egg.¡¹
Hiroshi asked, and Alfemina casually said something dangerous. Hiroshi and the others were fine with that answer though. It made sense why the goddess hade over so frantically.
¡¸So what kind of creature is supposed to hatch?¡¹
¡¸We won¡¯t know until it does.¡¹
The goddess responded to Haruna¡¯s question in a roundabout way. Seriously, was she actually concerned about this or not?
¡¸Goddess~ Howe we can¡¯t eat it?¡¹
¡¸Because divine beasts are one of the support systems for this world.¡¹
¡¸What happens if they¡¯re gone?¡¹
¡¸Various conundrums, to put it inly.¡¹
Lime asked, and Alfemina made a vague response. Clearly it was pretty hard to describe.
¡¸But it¡¯s getting close to the time. I apologize for not being able to exin more¡¡¡¹
Leaving them with that note, Alfemina left Aearis¡¯s body. No joke, the goddess literally just gave no concrete exnations and then left.
¡¸So ya know what¡¯s goin¡¯ on Elle?¡¹
¡¸All I can really say is that it¡¯s difficult for me to tell you¡¡¡¹
Aearis had no choice but to respond in an apologetic tone. As neither her nor the goddess were able to go into any further detail, this really must not be something that you could put into words.
¡¸Anyhoo, looks like we confirmed we gotta hatch the egg now.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, looks to be so. Pudding willeter then.¡¹
¡¸That sucks¡¹
Hiroshi reluctantly concluded, while Haruna and Mio seemed to be disappointed from the bottom of their hearts. They were so eager to have pudding, so it must be difficult to have to put it off like that. The other members were also extremely let-down by this, as they too had been excited.
¡¸Boss Man, are there any other rare eggs and such?¡¹
¡¸One second mate¡¡¡¹
Teres asked on behalf of the other craftsmen, who just couldn¡¯t bear to give up, and Hiroshi responded, checking storage. As it was unexpectedly hard to obtain eggs, it was improbable that there were any eggs lying around unknown.
¡¸There ain¡¯t no rare ones, but there is a rare milk. Haruna-san, do ya think we can make puddin¡¯ maybe?¡¹
¡¸We have to try first, but sure, sounds good.¡¹
Haruna epted Hiroshi¡¯s suggestion with a slightly out-of-breath voice. This rare milk that Hiroshi mentioned was milk from one of the monsters they encountered while passing through Midas Federation, called moldres. Aside from its half bull half tiger appearance and its rugged-sounding name, the moldres was actually quite an intelligent, docile monster who would asionally give you some of its milk as long as you were kind to it.
Now, of course when it came to battle, it had high fighting prowess to run contrary to its appearance, able to possibly even charge at and gnaw on adrasiazauruses to take them down in a truly fierce way. Also, the moldres was almost an herbivore but not quite, still counting as an omnivore, so after defeating an adrasiazaurus, the moldres ate its remains with gusto.
Moldres milk was rich, yet had no gamey taste, with a refreshing but with a strong, sweet aftertaste; truly delectable. You could always drink it by itself, but this gourmet product also tasted great in stews or as cheese. Though it had a gentle property, this was still not the kind of monster you could just tame, so of course this exquisite product was not high in cirction.
¡¸Sensei, Haru, one question.¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸We use milk from things that aren¡¯t cows, so is it even correct to call it cow milk pudding?¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna just realized this, judging by their expressions when Mio asked that simple question. While there were some simrities to cows in moldreses, they were clearly something other than cow. Calling such a pudding cow milk based would most certainly be ingredient falsifying, even if it were far higher than cow milk in quality.
¡¸But what if we just call it milk puddin¡¯? Wouldn¡¯t that be pretty on-point?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. The name doesn¡¯t say which kind of milk, so that can¡¯t be mistaken.¡¹
Volume 4 Extra 2.3
Volume 4 Extra 2.3
Trantor: Reflet
Hiroshi and Haruna decided to resolve the problem by changing the way they referred to the milk. The only people eating it would be them and their acquaintances, so there wasn¡¯t much of a point getting high strung about it, but at this level, Azuma Workshop had a habit, or perhaps custom of dealing with everything in an about manner. Them ending up like this might be the result of periodic problems with food product falsification in Japan, so in that sense, maybe putting up a fuss about silly things like this was for the best.
¡¸So that¡¯s what the pudding¡¯s gonna be, but how¡¯re we gonna hatch this egg?¡¹
Hiroshi both hastened the resolution to the pudding and began figuring out how to solve thest problem, which was unbelievably troublesomepared to something like pudding.
¡¸Elle, ya hear anything?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, Alfemina-sama has said nothing regarding this.¡¹
¡¸Welp, guess there¡¯s jack diddly squat important information, as per usual.¡¹
Aearis¡¯s answer was, in a sense, to be expected. Hiroshi mixed in some exasperation when he said that. Other than her jurisdiction and the events in which she was directly involved in, without Dhaljan¡¯s permission, she couldn¡¯t speak about most things, so not receiving the most crucial information was something to be expected to some degree. However, this time was definitely Alfemina¡¯s bad.
¡¸Maybe try the usual thing and warm it up with your skin?¡¹
¡¸I mean sure, that¡¯s a typical thing to do, but who will be doing this?¡¹
¡¸How about Lime, since she discovered it?¡¹
Nora went ahead and interjected after Teres¡¯s own idea, to which Teres responded by making a rather innocuous proposition, to which everyone else just grimaced at.
The current issue was that it was difficult for humans to replicate the amount of heat that eggs felt wrapped in bird wings. Making the youngest and least patient member of the group, Lime, handle this job was truly a sign that Teres, another impudent personality, had thoroughly been contaminated with Azuma Workshop¡¯s leisurely way of life.
¡¸Warm it up? Like thiiis¡«?¡¹
Hearing Teres, Lime clung onto the egg. That very moment, a giant crack appeared in it.
¡¸Eh?¡¹
Lime tilted her head at the sudden crack, puzzled. She might have clung on, but certainly not tackled the egg, because even if she was trying to embrace it, she wasn¡¯t putting her strength in. Then again, even before that, if Lime were to break the egg with pure power and no tools, it would have already broken before Alfemina got here.
¡¸It¡¯s about to hatch¡«¡¢it¡¯s about to hatch¡«¡¹
¡¸Just a little bit more¡«¡¢little bit more¡«¡¹
¡¸Celebration¡«¡¹
¡¸Red rice¡«¡¹
Seeing the crack widen, the octogals began moring atop Lime and Aearis¡¯s heads. As if further pushed by their voices, the crack began to spread even further until it suddenly halted.
¡¸It stopped?¡¹
¡¸I wonder what¡¯s up, y¡¯all?¡¹
Looking at this egg that had stopped mid-transformation, Hiroshi and Haruna cocked their heads as they touched the egg for confirmation. While there was indeed a crack in it, the egg didn¡¯t appear to be broken by any means and would not cave in with a simple prod.
¡¸Oh?¡¹
Hiroshi had further touched all around to search when he finally realized that the egg had a pulse. Getting a sneaking suspicion, Hiroshi attempted to pour in some magic from his palm. Once again, there was a pulse.
¡¸Lime, try pourin¡¯ in some magic.¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y!¡¹
Obeying Hiroshi, Lime poured magic from her entire body into the egg, which pulsated more rapidly.
¡¸Heck, how bout we have everyone pump in magic one by one.¡¹
Hiroshi was now in a good mood due to the egg¡¯s reaction, calling out to everyone in the vicinity and stepping away. Fum, the first one to respond, pumped in a hefty amount of magic.
¡¸Ah, it¡¯s moving.¡¹
¡¸Fum, time to switch.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
Nora said, and Fum obediently let her exchange. And just like that, after pouring in a certain amount every time, Nora switched to Teres, to Mio, to Aearis, and then Haruna, who was finishing up when the egg pulsated conspicuously.
¡¸Haruna-san, Lime, just keep pourin¡¯ it in till the egg hatches.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay¡¹
¡¸Okay¡¹
Hiroshi asked them to do this, figuring the egg was nearly there. Listening to him earnestly, the two of them vigorously pumped in magic. The average person would have long exhausted their amount of mana, but Haruna (of course) and Lime were not members learning at Azuma Workshop for nothing. It wasn¡¯t just physical prowess that set apart these girls from regr humans; if anything, it was their nurturing mana that set them apart the most from humans.
As a result, Lime imbued the egg with mana equalling more than an average magic caster¡¯s capacity and possibly slightly more than Tatsuya¡¯s capacity when he had first arrived here, to where atst, the shell was broken from the inside.
¡¸Oh, somethin¡¯sin¡¯ out mate.¡¹
¡¸I wonder what it¡¯s gonna be?¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna watched excitedly over the hole that began to grow slowly wider and wider. Needless to say, everyone else present was just as excited as they were. Exposed to their gazes brimming with curiosity, the divine beast atst crawled out from the hole in the egg.
¡¸S-So cute!!¡¹
¡¸A little homely, but it has charm.¡¹
Haruna let out a shrill voice upon seeing the divine beast emerge. Mio also, when she saw its form, muttered a bit of spite but still admitted it had a cuteness to it.
The beast had a body style that could only be described as stout and plump, much like the kind of chick that you¡¯d find in manga. Born with fluffy and clumpy down feathers, the creature was a little homely but had plenty of charm to make it cute.
Then again, even if you called such a creature cute, it size was not the kind of small chick size you would normally think of. The egg itself was bigger than Lime¡¯s face, so of course the chick would also be bigger than her face.
Said chick attempted to crawl out of the egg, only to get stuck, and as it kicked and struggled it fell forward, toppling over onto its back. At this point, everyone in the woman circle (everyone other than Hiroshi, in other words) let out shrieks of joy that could not be put into words, ringing throughout the room.
¡¸¡¡The heck? This thing¡¯s supposed to be cute, yet what is this unknown feelin¡¯ of unease¡¡?¡¹
While a bit put-off at how excited the girls were, Hiroshi also felt a strange unease based off prior experience. He seemed to have no choice but to caution himself against any sort of small creature that appeared to be cute in this world that came into contact with them.
Unbeknownst to Hiroshi¡¯s caution, the beast iled about until it finally managed to stand up, tottering around and nuzzling everyone as it did until it stopped at the speed of a fly, floating up onto Lime¡¯s head only to find an octogal there ahead of it, and it began to give up.
¡¸Excha¡«nge¡¹
¡¸Co¡«me right up¡¢co¡«me right up¡¹
Sensing the beast¡¯s intent to give up, the octogal on Lime¡¯s head vacated the premises. Now that the spot was open, the beast slowly moved onto Lime¡¯s head, making a softnding.
¡¸Y¡¯know, I feel like the size in and of itself is a huge indicator that something¡¯s a bit uncanny.¡¹
¡¸Lime, you ok? It¡¯s not too heavy?¡¹
¡¸Suu©`per fine, Sis.¡¹
Just as Hiroshi hadmented, the very sight of a gigantic chick enshrined atop Lime¡¯s head was exceedingly strange. Fum was a bit worried given its size, while Lime triumphantly puffed out her chest and dered that nothing was wrong.
¡¸Boss Man¡«¡¢is it cool if I name it¡«?¡¹
Volume 4 Extra 2.4
Volume 4 Extra 2.4
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Tweet?¡¹
¡¸Well, Lime did find the egg, plus it likes ¡®er the best, so yeah, how ¡®bout it mate?¡¹
Hiroshi confirmed with the female side, who all nodded with a smile. And just like that, the name Lime bestowed upon it was-
¡¸It moves along very gently, so Hiyohiyo!¡¹
And it was a truly childlike, simplistic name.
¡¸Alrighty. Looks like the divine beast¡¯s name is Hiyohiyo. Now that we settled the name¡Haruna-san.¡¹
¡¸Mm? What?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s make some milk pudding, mate.¡¹
¡¸Ah, good point.¡¹
As there had been a series of rather impactful events, everyone had forgotten about making the pudding. When Hiroshi brought that topic back up, Haruna quickly got to preparations. Indeed, it seemed that she also had some lingering attachments to that idea. Now she pitched the ball with all her strength and overwhelming passion to make the ultimate delicious pudding.
¡¸So what does this kid eat anyway?¡¹
¡¸Elle-sama, what does Alfemina-sama say?¡¹
¡¸Apparently it pretty much eats what you would assume it does, but if you just even give it mana then it can grow without eating anything.¡¹
As Hiroshi and the others were moving to the kitchen to make the pudding, Nora, Teres, and Aearis were having this conversation. Hearing Aearis¡¯s answer, Mio and Fum rifled through storage to find something that a chick could eat, but they soon found out that Hiyohiyo could eat anything a human could eat, and this fact was disyed at the dinner table that very night, with everyone having a faraway look in their eyes at the beast¡¯s ecological sloppiness.
¡¸Is it true that the little girl in Azuma Workshop began taking care of a strange creature?¡¹
¡¸You don¡¯t need to check with us. Why don¡¯t you just stick around the east gate early morning? Within a week you can check that out yourself.¡¹
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s actually true¡¡¡¹
An information broker from a thieves guild and an impoverished looking man discussed this matter with each other. These people were associated with the underworld in Wulls, albeit an even deeper section of it.
¡¸I¡¯ll say this right now. If you n to try anything with Azuma Workshop, we cannot help you in the slightest.¡¹
¡¸Why not?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s nothing in it for us. They have the goddess Alfemina on their side and high support from the Wulls royal family. Calling it suicidal would be an understatement.¡¹
The man scowled unpleasantly at the broker¡¯s reply.
¡¸And you¡¯re fine with just letting these people do whatever they please?¡¹
¡¸Sure, since they haven¡¯t harmed us. Then again, even if they did inconvenience us in some way, the risk of eliminating them is too high and we still can¡¯t try anything carelessly.¡¹
The broker followed up with that statement, to which the man¡¯s face grew dreadful.
¡¸You make quite the scary face, but even assuming you tried anything with Azuma Workshop, we would align our steps with the country in eliminating you.¡¹
¡¸Why, only them¡¡¡¹
¡¸The current situation you¡¯re in was something you brought on yourself, I have to say.¡¹
Fed up with this man¡¯s constant stream of grudges, the broker ruthlessly cut him off.
The man who the broker was seeing had been one of the members of the organization siding with Katarina in her rebellion, after of which he lost his status and assets due to guilt by association.
While he hadn¡¯t directly participated in the rebellion, the man had followed suit with the (at the time) powerful faction, ndering the royal family and the temple, not to mention he couldn¡¯t make excuses for being connected behind the scenes with the ve trade (exposed by Hiroshi and friends), so there was no reason to excuse him from punishment.
And despite there being plenty of reasons to put him on execution, the man had a younger sister who married off, the ndering of the royal family wasn¡¯t so bad that it needed a punishment, and the sister¡¯s married family didn¡¯t have such close ties to him. Executing everyone at this level would not be worth the loss in terms of cleansing, so he was barely pardoned.
Also, regarding the ve trade, the man had twice used money under the table to prioritize and shorten his screening through immigration, and it wasn¡¯t as if security let him entirely off the hook, but understood he was at least suspicious and didn¡¯t go any further into his background, not quite colluding.
The system itself, which prioritized inspections for an extra handling fee, was not illegal in Fane as long as you clearly wrote the amount of money and made it public knowledge. The shortening was allowed in human-wave tactics when undergoing an inspection as long as you filled out all the required parts. Therefore, the only things punishable in this case were the under-the-counter money and the intentional overlooking and omission of items linked to criminal activity, which were not quite enough to make it a heavy punishment.
Normally, such a small fry would not have had their assets and everything they owned confiscated. And yet, here he was, with everything lost and the fire of resentment burning within him. Why? The answer is simple: After putting up a vain fight, he attempted to pin the crimes on innocent people, further ndering the royal house and temple, this time less tolerable.
If this had been after the legal reform, at the very least he himself would have been guaranteed execution. Now, normally you would think he should be grateful to the royal house for their pity, but here he was, still continuing his unjustified resentment and fanning the dark mes of passion. Truly an irredeemable man in many ways.
£¨Darn, now I have to deal with this loon.£©
Lamenting hisck of luck, the information broker decided to squeeze whatever money he could out of the man by overcharging him. Hopefully this would drain him of any remaining energy for doing anything stupid. And of course, the broker fully intended to inform the royal house of this man right after he left.
The real annoying thing about all this was that the man here with him was not the only one with such a grudge. From what the broker knew, 80% of those who poured into the underworld resented the royal house, the temple, and Azuma Workshop. The only reason nothing had happened up till now was that they had lost nearly everything and were in no condition to make aeback, and also because there were secret guards escorting the members.
Now, while the unfavorable conditions were being guided by outsiders, the other affair would only be a matter of time before the brakes were pulled off. Then by that logic, in order to make sure the outsiders didn¡¯t bite off more than they could chew, these underworld dwellers would have to get these irritating fools executed, even if they had to frame the children of Azuma Workshop.
¡¸So that¡¯s how it is. What are you going to do, sir?¡¹
¡¸Right. So while it is a bit unfair to expect these guests from the unknown continent to be self-aware, the other people are way too clueless about their position. This is a good opportunity, so let¡¯s have them understand the position they ought to aim for.¡¹
The informant called out after the man hadpletely gone out of the room to the person who had been stealthily listening to their conversation from the middle to the end, determining their next move. If the direct information from the temple was correct, the beast sitting on the head of Azuma Workshop¡¯s youngest member, no matter how stupid it looked, was still a divine beast, so they of course needed to protect it, but it would also be bad to have anything happen to the youngster.
However, there was no way that no one would aim for the divine beast, and even if that were not the case, Azuma Workshop was already a target and the youngest girl would be the easiest to capture, with added value. Whether it be allies of the evil god, dilettantes, or criminal organizations, people who understood they would be making enemies of the country and the temple and still might go through with this were too numerous to count.
This situation was far beyond not being aware that you¡¯re a target or finding protecting yourself to be a hassle. They needed Azuma Workshop to run into some sort of trouble that their escorts could deal with but would cause them to realize they were being targeted.
¡¸We cannot afford to risk anything, so we will increase the number of staff for a bit and guard them. I ask that you also do what you can to assist.¡¹
¡¸Yes, yes. It would seem that I have the opportunity to unleash my full power on a boss once again.¡¹
These people, incapable of moving out into the open, had banded together to begin the steps for cleaning out the fools. It would be a little longer before they would find out just what a divine beast actually is.
Volume 4 Extra 2.5
Volume 4 Extra 2.5
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸¡¡And they splendidly fell for it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Was there really a reason for us to sneakily follow them¡¡?¡¹
One week after Hiyohiyo hatched, Tatsuya and Makoto had hidden to the side as Fum and the others went out cheerfully to harvest, appalled at the stupidity of their enemies. Warned by numerous sources, they had taken to the shadows alongside their guards to watch over the kids just in case, but there honestly didn¡¯t seem to be a need for that.
If they not only found their enemies but their enemies didn¡¯t even realize they were the ones being followed, it was all over. Now, if it were Mio as a thief or Hiroshi and his ridiculously high detection and stealth abilities, it would make sense for no one to notice them. But now, with Tatsuya and Makoto who hardly had any skills useful for stalking, everything was over before it was nned if the enemies still didn¡¯t notice them.
¡¸And not only us, but the other people who were leaking out their presence and making it obvious still didn¡¯t get noticed. It¡¯s seriously over for them, in more ways than one.¡¹
¡¸And y¡¯know, in that sense I guess it¡¯s okay to rx¡¡¹
As they were having this secretive conversation, Tatsuya and Makoto went out from the east entrance with their free pass. There were no guards to stop them at the gates of Wulls. Of course the hikikomori students in town and Tatsuya and Makoto who went more frequently out weren¡¯t aware of this, but their faces were known all around Wulls¡¯ public ordermittees and governmental facilities.
¡¸But what exactly do they intend to aplish by grabbing Fum or Lime?¡¹
¡¸Probably to use them as an example or something? Either that, or make them hostages and make us liten to their demans.¡¹
¡¸And again, that just sounds stupid¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya wanted to just hold his head from all the silly possibilities that Makoto listed. Azuma Workshop was not sox that it would just send children outside the gates without considering some sort of preventive measure. Putting these precautions into practice with monsters or thief brigades naturally created precautions for these kinds of situations as well.
Whenever a workshop member went outside to harvest, they always wore spider silk clothing as armor, which boasted enough defense to reflect a one-handed sword with no enchantments that most adventurers used. This meant that Fum and Lime couldn¡¯t even be harmed by the majority of adventurers. They also had cheap but heavily enchanted leather jackets on. It was just impossible to make a lesson of them.
In the case of hostages, the workshop members all had security buzzers and gps devices. Were any of them to be abducted, with those devices activated, everyone would soon know where they were being isted. When the rescue signal activated, Hiroshi and friends if nearby, or even without them, the country¡¯s special forces and adventurer¡¯s association would move in that direction, so the moment someone got abducted it was all over for the abducters.
Well, before any of that, in addition to the everyday crafting practice and harvesting work, the workshop members, who ate food from rtively high level monsters on a regr basis, had greater physical strength than the average adventurers, as well as battle prowess, so capturing or killing them would be more difficult than taking on a powerful monster.
¡¸Anyhow, until I see the decisive moment, I¡¯ll probably just stay hidden.¡¹
¡¸Agreed. Judging from how they¡¯re doing so far, it doesn¡¯t seem like we¡¯ll even have to do anything.¡¹
From the way the group tailing Fum and Lime were conducting themselves, Tatsuya and Makoto concluded they may as well follow them in a carefree manner. Even the dull-witted abductors didn¡¯t seem to have any intention ofying their hands on the kids while the gate was still in view, content with meekly following after the children stealthily.
Soon enough, the east gate disappeared from view, and around the time the groups decided to move out to harvest, one fool couldn¡¯t take it anymore and began taking action.
¡¸Tweet?¡¹
One of the fools who tried to jump out from the shadows was discovered by Hiyohiyo, but ignored it and tried to continue on with the kidnapping. At this point he was already a dolt, but then he tried to capture Lime and and missed as she crouched down to sift through the foliage, while his body that was poised to grab her missed and mmed headfirst into the foliage, only to get stomped on by Hiyohiyo right after, who had almost gotten caught up in this.
As a result, the fool who had charged straight into the thicket ended up being burnt with white me the moment Hiyohiyo stepped on him.
¡¸Tweet!?¡¹
¡¸Whoa, I¡¯m burning!?¡¹
mes that burned nothing but the fool himself. At the manifestation of these mes, even Hiyohiyo who had caused them was surprised, its round and cute eyes even wider than usual.
¡¸Hiyohiyo, you do something?¡¹
¡¸Tweet, tweet!¡¹
¡¸Huh? You say you only identally stepped on this man as he charged this way?¡¹
¡¸Tweet!¡¹
Hiyohiyo exined to Lime (who could understand the creature somehow) what had happened. Judging from what happened, Hiyohiyo was inevitably the cause, but didn¡¯t appear to have any idea what it had done.
¡¸What should we do?¡¹
¡¸Tweet¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s just pretend we didn¡¯t see this and do our best to get ingredients.¡¹
¡¸Tweet!¡¹
Lime apparently didn¡¯t want to get any more involved with a pervert who jumps on children, so she and Hiyohiyo continued their harvesting without paying the incident any further heed. They firmly ignored the fool who was still burning to the side. The strange boldness here was no doubt a result of being trained at Azuma Workshop.
¡¸Ah, found a rhe.¡¹
¡¸Tweet-¡¹
Lime had gone back to autopilot, gathering every variety of item diligently anywhere from ss 9 to ss 6. During this time, the other fools finally regained their senses and came for Lime and Hiyohiyo only for all their bodies to ignite upon touching Hiyohiyo before fainting.
¡¸We got lots of stuff today too.¡¹
¡¸Uhh, seems like you did indeed get a lot today, in more ways than one.¡¹
¡¸Ah, Sis.¡¹
¡¸With this many suspicious individuals running amok, maybe we should ask his highness or Elle-sama to oversee a strengthening in security?¡¹
Lime had finished gathering materials worth about ten days or so, as per usual, while Fum questioned her in an exasperated tone (for more reasons than one). The first weirdo to be burned didn¡¯t have a single burn on him, although his hair now clearly resembled an afro.
¡¸So, hey. What do we do about these guys?¡¹
¡¸We never saw anything!¡¹
¡¸Okay. I haven¡¯t seen anything either.¡¹
In agreement with Lime¡¯s consistent response to these deviants, Fum did the same. And doing the same meant to leave these man all where they were.
¡¸These pipsqueaks really are growing into gutsy girls, I¡¯ll tell ya¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well hey, that makes them pretty reliable, right?¡¹
As they gathered all the leftover idiots, Tatsuya and Makoto discussed the good (?) or bad (?) growth rate of Fum and Lime.
¡¸At any rate, we now have yet another thing to investigate in Rufeus Library, eh?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, this time, we might not have the leisure to take so many detours.¡¹
And just like that, this unknown species of divine beast, Hiyohiyo ter used as the workshop¡¯s mark), began its life as an additional member of the workshop.
Volume 4 Extra 3.1
Volume 4 Extra 3.1
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Alright, let¡¯s go harvest y¡¯all.¡¹
One day, when the paperwork for the raw material concerning the factory construction, Hiroshi suddenly came up with that idea.
¡¸The way you said that makes it sound like we¡¯re going to Kyoto or something. Anyhow, where specifically would we harvest?¡¹
Haruna, finishing up with breakfast, tilted her head at Hiroshi¡¯s sudden promation as she confirmed what he meant.
¡¸Well obviously that¡¯s gonna be deep in Forre¡¯s mountains, mate.¡¹
¡¸Nonono. Don¡¯t suddenly act like we¡¯re supposed to expect that we¡¯re going there. And why is this?¡¹
Haruna couldn¡¯t help but st Hiroshi for hisck of exnation. It was true that after all that had happened they still hadn¡¯t entered Forre¡¯s mountain region. Still, that wasn¡¯t reason enough to suddenly announce they were going to go harvest there.
¡¸Well c¡¯mon, we gotta go get materials to make a buncha stuff. What else would it be?¡¹
¡¸Well yes, but why that topic all of a sudden?¡¹
They always went to harvest, but Haruna didn¡¯t get why Hiroshi was treating it like some Kyoto excursion.
¡¸I was just thinkin¡¯ it¡¯s about time I taught Teres ¡®n the others some more advanced collectin¡¯ tips.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s it?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
Hiroshi found himself grimacing at Haruna¡¯s oddly doubtful demeanor. He had truly just thought of it on the spur of the moment, and wasn¡¯t exactly contriving anything strange. This was one example of how his track record was beginning to disy results.
¡¸So what all will we be making exactly?¡¹
¡¸First we have throwaway items for one-hit KO avoidance. There are two patterns for this, and if we make both then we can avoid insta death twice in a row.¡¹
¡¸Twice? So you mean we make a bunch but we can¡¯t actually use them over again once they¡¯re activated?¡¹
¡¸Right, cuz they both got limits on usage. Also, one of them uses a system that shoulders the damage ya take, so if ya equip multiple ones at the same time then they all break at once.¡¹
¡¸I see. That¡¯s worldbuilding for you-things just don¡¯t go the way you want them to.¡¹
Haruna found Hiroshi¡¯s exnation to be convincing. Not only was there potion poisoning, but there was always a limit on anything convenient in this world. This time around, the limitation seemed to be even more extreme with death prevention.
¡¸So how many times can you re-use the items?¡¹
¡¸The shouldering one has other penalties as well, so its effects are 24 hours, while the one that just prevents death would be 48 hours.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s a bit troubling, isn¡¯t it.¡¹
¡¸Welp, it¡¯s not too unusual if ya think about it.¡¹
As expected, there was quite the severe re-usability restriction on both, and Haruna made a huffy face. From Hiroshi¡¯s perspective, if it were that easy to activate the insta death function then they would be in trouble, so if anything these restrictions were light.
¡¸Okay, that¡¯s solidified then. What else?¡¹
¡¸Weapons for Elle ¡®n Artiem. Elle can have an upgraded version of her dagger, and Artiem of course gotta have a bow.¡¹
¡¸If we only strengthen the bow, I doubt regr arrows would do it much good.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll think bout that, don¡¯t worry.¡¹
Hiroshi indicated that this was no problem. Mio¡¯s arrows were also regr ones, so of course he intended to finesse a lot of things.
¡¸Anyhoo, that¡¯s what we¡¯re aimin¡¯ for, so after we get bentos ¡®n tools ready we¡¯re off hikin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha¡¹
Nodding at Hiroshi¡¯s information, Haruna got to preparing their portable meals, consisting of onigiri as the principal ingredient. She already saw meatballs as a given, but was a bit torn between behemoth, garbarenzia, and wyvern meat. During this time, she was unconsciously working on fried eggs and fried shrimp; a fruit of herbor from the food stands.
¡¸Telegram¡«¡¢telegram¡«¡¹
¡¸£Ñ£²¡«¡¢£Ñ£²¡«¡¹
¡¸Elle-chan can¡¯t make it¡«¡¹
¡¸Oh dear, that¡¯s a shame.¡¹
As Haruna was cooking, some octogals flew over and conveyed the message to her. Apparently Hiroshi had used Tatsuya¡¯s octopus pots to confirm Aearis¡¯s ns via the octogalwork.
¡¸Well, if she can¡¯t make it she can¡¯t make it.¡¹
Haruna murmured, fairly disappointed as she gave the octogals conveying the message some fried eggs and meatballs. Also, the meatballs used appeared to be garbarenzia. She picked it because they had behemoth recently and because she had decided to have wyvern friedter.
¡¸Lunch is ready, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Kay, then after ya git changed, we¡¯re off. Hiyohiyo guards the ce with the octogals.¡¹
¡¸Tweet!¡¹
Encouraged by Hiroshi, Haruna left the kitchen as she took off her apron. They ended up leaving about an hour after Hiroshi suggested the excursion.
¡¸Boss Man, there are a bunch of things that really have me wondering¡¡¡¹
Two hours after departure. Past the halfway point, as they were getting closer to the destination for harvesting, Nora looked around and furrowed her brow as she checked with Hiroshi about something.
¡¸Well yeah, the ingredients over here are a treasure trove. Which part of this has ya wonderin¡¯?¡¹
¡¸Okay, so that tree over there, its leaves, its bark, flowers, fruit, I feel like all of these can be used for something.¡¹
¡¸Correct, mate. That thing¡¯s called a ordot. Ya can use it for materials for every variety of potion near level 6. But it¡¯s a bit of a drag to get the leaves to use it, so not any amateur can handle it.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I kind of see why¡¡¡¹
Nora nodded with a serious face as she heard Hiroshi¡¯s exnation. Teres and Fum had a simr reaction. Nora and the other two could tell from the smell and mana that ordots were exceedingly good as medicinal ingredients, but the current probability that they could actually obtain an ordot as a proper material was around 30%, they could somewhat tell.
¡¸There are a buncha other things there, but I¡¯ll exin more once we reach the destination.¡¹
¡¸Yes indeed.¡¹
Nora obediently drew back when Hiroshi told her that. There was a great danger of losing crucial information when you wrote down memos while walking. These kinds of lectures were best listened to while rxing down somewhere.
¡¸Boss Man¡«¡¢Boss Man¡«¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸Can we eat that thing?¡¹
Lime tugged at the bottom of Hiroshi¡¯s jacket. In order to answer her, Hiroshi turned to look at the direction she was talking about, to which¡
¡¸Oveel, eh? There¡¯s another rare one.¡¹
Forre¡¯s early summer fruit, ripened. The tree had to grow big in order to produce fruit, so wild ones with ripe fruit were fairly rare.
¡¸Can we eat them?¡¹
¡¸Ya sure can. Want one?¡¹
¡¸Yeah!¡¹
Responding to Lime¡¯s request, Hiroshi went to go and pluck an oveel fruit, but then Lime once again tugged at the bottom of his jacket, stopping him.
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸I wanna take it! Pretty please?¡¹
¡¸Kay, sure. Wanna piggieback?¡¹
¡¸Yeah!¡¹
Giving a small nod and smiling at Lime, who had burst out a second time, Hiroshi grabbed her young body and hoisted it up onto his shoulders. Compared to the equipment he normally carried around, Lime¡¯s weight was nothing.
¡¸¡¡¡¹
Fum stared straight at the two of them. This situation appeared somewhatplicated.
¡¸Fum-chan, what¡¯s wrong?¡¹
¡¸Nothing.¡¹
Haruna saw Fum acting strange, to which she shook her head, pretending nothing was wrong. Haruna sort of understood how Fum felt during the sequence of events.
¡¸Fum-chan, you know you can ask for the same thing, right¡¡¡¹
¡¸To the boss man, I still count as a woman¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm¡«¡¡¡¹
Haruna thought about what Fum said for a bit. It was true that Hiroshi counted Fum as a woman. This wasn¡¯t in a sexual way at all, but more of as someone he was wary of. This sort of ssification was an instinctual mechanism on Hiroshi¡¯s part, not something he could just solve.
Fum and the other workshop members had no idea what kind of trouble Hiroshi had gotten into before, but had surmised he had been through some real trauma, thereby acting more careful around Hiroshi by copying Haruna¡¯s mannerisms in an attempt to not overwhelm him.
Volume 4 Extra 3.2
Volume 4 Extra 3.2
Trantor: Reflet
Currently, the only exception to that was Lime, and all that being said, Hiroshi listened to her requests quite often. Of course, he did tell her when something was a no-go.
The problem here was that Fum and Lime were only two years apart. Fum was barely turning 8 years old for her birthday in September. While she was responsible for her age, Fum was still at the age where she wanted to receive attention.
¡¸Boss Man saved our lives, so I¡¯d rather not make him carry a burden just because I want something.¡¹
The way they met was one thing, but it wasn¡¯t like Fum wasn¡¯t attached to Hiroshi too. Maybe she didn¡¯t have romantic attachment like Haruna or Mio did, but she did revere Hiroshi from the bottom of her heart as a good father, a good brother, a respectable guide, and the person who saved her life.
That was exactly why she resisted any urge that asionally came in to want Hiroshi to pamper her, instead acting as a sensible elder sister.
¡¸Fum, you know you can be a little more selfish, right¡¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m the older sister, so I¡¯ll leave that stuff to Lime.¡¹
¡¸Fum, children don¡¯t need to hold back like that.¡¹
Fum attempted to act tough, while Teres and Nora admonished her. Although a certain amount of self-reliance was necessary from the household she came from, there was no reason to be this patient.
¡¸Hey Teres, Nora, can I ask you something?¡¹
Makoto, watching this interaction, suddenly noticed something and spoke up. From Fum¡¯s behavior and Teres/Nora¡¯s expressions she had felt something slightly off.
¡¸What is it, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Is it something Nora and her friends would know about?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re not in the workshop very often so I don¡¯t know, but has Fum actually been getting attention from La=san recently?¡¹
The two of them turned around, and Makoto whispered her question in a low voice so that Fum didn¡¯t overhear. They both returned silence in response. At this point Makoto pretty much knew what was going on.
¡¸Tatsuya, can you go?¡¹
¡¸Sure.¡¹
Tatsuya, who had just used oxygen ring on a sneaky raketen ape to take it down, nodded at Makoto. He hadn¡¯t been participating directly in the conversation, but Makoto had used the guild card to convey this conversation to everyone. There was no one here who didn¡¯t get the significance of Teres and Nora not responding, based on what had happened here so far.
¡¸Haruna, Makoto, help.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
¡¸I know.¡¹
While they had decided on what to do, the obstinate Fum wouldn¡¯t give in so easily. Therefore, Tatsuya had asked Haruna and Makoto for assistance.
¡¸Mio.¡¹
¡¸Ok, I¡¯ll disassemble it.¡¹
Still, it was unprofessional to just leave the raketen ape¡¯s body sitting there, so Tatsuya left Mio in charge of that. In many ways, it was a convenient resource for Fum and the others¡¯ training, so she had no intention of wasting so much as a drop of blood. The explosive projectile inside its body was especially useful for many different joke items, so she had to make sure that was secured as well.
¡¸And now we have it.¡¹
¡¸Wha!?¡¹
Fum, who had been focusing her attention on Lime and her harvesting the oveel, did notice Makoto, who had snuck up on her to grab her. Seeing Makoto sessfully capture Fum, Haruna helped lift her up. It¡¯s easy to mistake their appearances as fragile, but both girls had enough muscle mass to swing around Hiroshi¡¯s heavy maul with ease. Lifting up Fum by herself was a cinch.
¡¸W-What!?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s just say even if Hiroshi-kun isn¡¯t possible, Tatsuya-san is an option.¡¹
¡¸Now be a good girl and let Tatsuya carry you.¡¹
¡¸Whaaa!?¡¹
Fum momentarily forget to resist when Haruna and Makoto spoke. Not letting that breach in defense go uncontested, Haruna and Makoto swiftly set Fum down on Tatsuya¡¯s shoulders as he was squatting down.
¡¸Alright, up you go.¡¹
¡¸T-Tatsuya-san!?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t have an issue if all I have to do is carry you on my back. You¡¯re a kid so you really don¡¯t need to be so reserved.¡¹
As he said that, Tatsuya took safe steps as he joined in harvesting the oveel.
¡¸Sis, you¡¯re so high uuup~¡¹
¡¸Well, Fum is older than ya, plus Bro¡¯s a lot taller than me.¡¹
Fum was on the short side for her age, but being two years older than Lime, she was still bigger. Combine that with Tatsuya, who was around 10 cm taller than Hiroshi, and of course Fum¡¯s head would end up being higher up than Lime¡¯s.
¡¸Now let¡¯s grab a buncha these suckers.¡¹
Hiroshi prompted, and Fum and Lime picked out well-ripened fruit to divide among the group. Putting their noses closer, the fruit had a sweet scent and appeared to be delicious. The size as slightly bigger than an adult¡¯s clenched fist, but smaller than Lime¡¯s face.
Harvesting this fruit in droves, which could be ssified as a melon and subsequently a vegetable, eventually everything within their reach was gone, and Fum and Lime got down from the shoulders they had ridden on with satisfied expressions.
¡¸Did you get your fill?¡¹
¡¸Yep.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m d to hear that.¡¹
Fum responded with a beaming smile of joy, and Nora had the same expression on her face.
¡¸Teres is way older than any of us, which makes sense why she wouldn¡¯t be, but what about you, Nora? Are you not jealous?¡¹
¡¸They spoil us a whole bunch before we leave the nest. I am no longer at the age where I miss my parents¡¯ attention.¡¹
Nora responded to Mio¡¯s question with aposed expression. In actuality, the mora tribe¡¯s children left the house at age 12, but before that point it was customary to pour a torrent of love over your children and make all preparations necessary for departure, so while she may have felt lonely at first, getting to this point, Nora was not lonely at all.
And of course, whenever she got the opportunity to meet her parents, both sides showered love and affection on one another with no pretense.
¡¸But I do feel a bit of pity for Boss Man and Tatsuya-san to take the ce of a father figure.¡¹
¡¸Neither of them look the age to be having kids that old.¡¹
¡¸Tatsuya-san would make a bit more sense, but Boss Man¡¯s age range is definitely not the age to have big kids like that.¡¹
As they looked at the men and Lime (almost like parent and child)m Teres and Nora sort of felt likementing the overwhelming absence of male figures in Azuma Workshop. While they didn¡¯t necessarily seek romantic work partners, they did want something a little fresh, in many ways.
¡¸Oh yeah, Haruna?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t think you think Hiroshi and the others look like mothers with their children when they¡¯re next to each other like that?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Mm¡«¡¢I would want children at some point, but I still haven¡¯t thought that far ahead, I guess?¡¹
Makoto asked Haruna in more of a teasing tone, since she knew how Haruna had been as ofte, while Haruna replied with a fairly serious response. Apparently she was thinking about these sorts of things pretty earnestly.
¡¸I sort of get that a mother isn¡¯t quite the same thing, but I feel like I¡¯m not quite up to par with raising children, so probably when I really be an adult, y¡¯know.¡¹
¡¸Haru, if you¡¯re not up to par then we¡¯re out of the question¡¡¡¹
Just as Haruna casually raised the bar, the other girls able to have children let out groans. Fum watched this with a slightly puzzled gaze. She was already quite capable, but in this case, still a child.
¡¸Well, that aside, looks like we¡¯re getting close to the destination.¡¹
Looking ahead of where Haruna indicated, suddenly an open area spread in front of them.
¡¸And now it¡¯s right on the dot for noon, so let¡¯s eat first ¡®n then gather.¡¹
¡¸This really is a pic, huh.¡¹
Haruna said, smiling awkwardly as per usual when they reached the grasnd halfway up the mountain. Spreading out a carpet and opening up the lunch boxes could not be anything other than a pic.
¡¸Well, it¡¯s the real deal after we eat our lunches, so it¡¯s cool if we make this a pic.¡¹
When Hiroshi said that, Haruna simply figured it was fine if they had some enjoyment. She briskly opened up her lunchbox.
¡¸Wow, another impressive portable lunch on our hands.¡¹
The lunches consisted of sack-style onigiri with numerous well-garnished side dishes. When he saw this, Tatsuya let out a voice of admiration. Then you had people like Mio with her eyes glued to the contents for the past minute. The octogals had already snatched up some of the lunchbox food earlier, so they did note out at this moment in time.
¡¸I tried packing in a staple menu.¡¹
When she heard Tatsuya¡¯s voice, Haruna exined with a strangely triumphant face. The contents consisted of deep-fried wyvern, garbarensia meatballs, fried komao shrimp, rolled eggs, piled potato sd, etc; an overall staple menu as long as you were fine with what was in it.
¡¸Alright, time to firmly chew ¡®n firmly harvest.¡¹
¡¸What should we do?¡¹
¡¸Pick out some monsters ¡®n tie ¡®em up. There are some things I want all around here that are monster materials.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
¡¸Now that we have our direction decided on, let¡¯s eat, mate.¡¹
At Hiroshi¡¯s call, everyone said ¡°itadakimasu¡± in unison. After this, everyone gathered up a mountain of materials, returned to Stiren with beaming smiles, going to Crest Cave along the way, introducing the craftsmen to Kakashi and lightly instructing them in the basics of refinement and forging. With the ingredients gathered and a new itinerary in technical education set for the craftsmen, yet another preparation for going to Lorren was set.
Volume 4 Extra 3.3
Volume 4 Extra 3.3
Trantor: Reflet
The next day.
¡¸Now then, the ingredients are all gathered, so we can make a buncha stuff¡«¡¹
Hiroshi announced to Haruna and Mio after they had finished breakfast and lecturing Fum and the others. Right about this time they were probably frantically working on the materials they had gathered yesterday.
¡¸Sensei, what do we start with?¡¹
¡¸First it¡¯s gonna be the scapedoll.¡¹
Laying out therge amount of zebra grass-like nts they had gathered yesterday at the pic venue, Hiroshi firmlyy out the n in response to Mio¡¯s question. Haruna tilted her head at this item name she had never heard of.
¡¸Substitute scapedoll?¡¹
¡¸Yup. As the name implies, it¡¯s a doll that substitutes in for the damage you normally would have taken. Dependin¡¯ on the quality, the amount of substitution shifts though.¡¹
¡¸Give a specific example?¡¹
¡¸To give a gameified exnation, they shoulder a total of 50%-150% of yer max HP from damage. Regardless of the remaining amount, they block status ailment one-hit KO moves once, and if ya take an attack that surpasses the substituted amount, the user takes whatever damage that remains. If ya take on another one-hit KO attack even after the doll breaks, ya hang on with 1 HP. And that¡¯s about it.¡¹
¡¸So basically it acts as external HP with the capability of blocking just one death attack, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Basically, yup. Welp, it does have a side-effect, or w, if ya wanna call it that.¡¹
When she heard the word ¡°w¡±, Haruna felt a bit of unease. She wasn¡¯t saying it had to be a wless item of perfection, but it would certainly be great if there weren¡¯t any gaping deficiencies.
¡¸It¡¯s a little diforting to hear that. What is this w exactly?¡¹
¡¸The damage the doll receives goes to the user. Well, no matter how much damage the doll takes, the user still has 1 HP left over, but yeah.¡¹
¡¸Whoa¡¡¡¹
Haruna let out a small groan at this cursed doll w. This was seriously not something she wanted to have.
¡¸There also some other lil problems like the item not taking the initial damage, not being able to block against senility attacks, or not bein¡¯ able to heal from the damage the doll took for ya, but that¡¯s about as bad as it gits.¡¹
¡¸And this is really going to be okay, right?¡¹
¡¸Yup, it alles down to how ya safekeep the doll. As long as we put ¡®em in storage, well, should be all fine.¡¹
Haruna still couldn¡¯t find herself feelingforted from what Hiroshi said. Mio, who noticed this, interjected from the side.
¡¸Haru, even if the doll breaks, we still don¡¯t insta die, so let¡¯s just call it good.¡¹
¡¸I dunno, it¡¯s pretty difficult to just concede on something like this¡¡¡¹
Haruna still had a worried expression on her face with Mio¡¯s opinion. Comparing the merits with the demerits, the merits definitely won out, but having your life in danger due to one of the demerits was not a cheery thought either.
¡¸And then 24 hours after this sucker breaks, the new one¡¯s effects kick in. Usin¡¯ multiple ones will just have all them break at once after all.¡¹
¡¸You can use more than one simultaneously?¡¹
¡¸Yup, if ya wanted to for the heck of it. But as I said just now, any dolls ya use at the same time will shoulder the same amount of damage and will break all the same, so it¡¯s meaningless. And then the next 24 hours after a doll breaks, even if ya go about the same procedure it still won¡¯t work. Well, of course once the waitin¡¯ time¡¯s over the substitution will begin again.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I get it.¡¹
One might think of potentially using several at once, but it was more likely that Haruna, Hiroshi, or one of their acquaintances would have tested that out anyway.
¡¸So I n to make another one. This would be a talisman for life preservation. In exchange for not havin¡¯ damage reduction, it perfectly repels any sorta death one time.¡¹
¡¸And that¡¯s the one that takes 48 hours until further use?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Well, havin¡¯ this lil guy around ya is already plenty effective, and it ain¡¯t like ya gotta use it no matter what.¡¹
¡¸Which item should we prioritize between that and scapedoll?¡¹
¡¸Scapedoll for damage, life preservation talisman for status ailments or insta death.¡¹
Apparently using these in an advantageous order would be the key to evading death.
¡¸So Haruna-san, I called ya here cuz scapedolls requirete-novice skill level in alchemy to even take a crack at it. So I figure this would be at the very least good practice for ya.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re okay with leaving Making Mastery where it is for now?¡¹
¡¸Honestly, I do wanna prioritize that, but we ain¡¯t got a convenient reason to make a ship as it stands. We could do it just for practice, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll make a huge difference if we go the alchemy route for now.¡¹
Hiroshi said something rather thoughtless, and Haruna eventually just gave up on interjecting. Making Mastery being here or not was probably within error range as of this moment.
¡¸And then for Mio I¡¯ll teach ya the life preservation talisman, so work hard at it. That one don¡¯t really got no quality effects.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
Mio nodded at Hiroshi pointing that out. The three-man crafting procedure began.
¡¸Sensei, is this the proper magic form to insert for the papermaking process?¡¹
¡¸That should be fine, mate.¡¹
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, is this how high the straw needs to be?¡¹
¡¸Yup yup. Make that into a doll shape ¡®n then pickle it in the batter as ya put the form in.¡¹
Mio made the paper as she imbued an enchantment, while Haruna began cutting the zebra grass down without wasting too much. As he instructed the two of them, Hiroshi began making skillful copies of both items as a temte for them to follow. Then again, even if they looked at Hiroshi¡¯s work process, all the girls really could do wasprehend the procedure without being able to replicate it.
¡¸¡¡Hey, Hiroshi-kun, Mio-chan¡¡¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸Haru, what¡¯s the matter?¡¹
¡¸This work we¡¯re doing looks pretty suspicious from the side, doesn¡¯t it¡¡¡¹
Haruna muttered ament as she made the straw doll. That and the strange looking talisman were both nothing other than preparations for a cursing ritual. Now all they had to do was wear white clothing, put headbands on to secure candles, attach the talisman to the straw doll with the hated person¡¯s face, and then hammer a long nail into the doll at night and you have yourself a splendid cursing ritual set up.
¡¸Well, alchemy already looks weird from the side, mate.¡¹
¡¸Yes, I know, but¡¡¡¹
This kind of suspicious behavior was a lot weirder than that. If someone saw this they would probably report it. To be fair, as this wasn¡¯t a crime, they wouldn¡¯t be arrested, but still.
¡¸You know, I was wondering something when I looked at the doll.¡¹
Anyhow, worrying too much about how strange this procedure was useless. As they worked diligently at the dollmaking, Haruna recalled a scene from looking at the doll, asking a question she had about it.
¡¸Wait, so cursing rituals require you to wear a headband with a candle fastened to it, right?¡¹
¡¸They do indeed.¡¹
¡¸But if you have a candle in a dangerous ce like that, couldn¡¯t the wax drip down and get your head into a horrible situation?¡¹
As soon as Haruna pointed that out, Hiroshi and Mio went quiet. They hadn¡¯t realized this until she said that, bute to think of it, putting a lit candle on your head was not without potential consequences, in more ways than one.
There was probably also the opinion that you could light the fire only right when you hammer in the nail, and keep your head in the same position to ensure the wax doesn¡¯t drip, but most of these motions were difficult to emte without moving your head, and moreover, impossible to emte for amateurs. Besides, it only makes sense that the impact of hammering in the nail causes wax to drip down.
¡¸Y¡¯know, just imagining that process makes me think it¡¯s pretty darn hard to pull off.¡¹
¡¸Who even came up with the idea of cursing someone in that getup?¡¹
After thinking about it for a bit, Hiroshi and Mio gave their thoughts. And by that logic, there probably were plenty of other things out there that were impossible to implement.
¡¸¡¡Anyhoo, I best not look too deeply into this.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I agree with Sensei. Prod at it too much and we¡¯ll realize some more things.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Right. Sorry ¡®bout that.¡¹
About to realize some more unnecessary things, Hiroshi decided it was dangerous to pursue this conversation too far. Mio also felt the same way, and Haruna attempted to end the conversation with an apology, since she started it in the first ce.
In actuality, Mio was jumping ahead in her thoughts to people who used red, low-temperature wax for S&M and how in the world they got the wax off when it got on their hair. However, as discussing something like that here would definitely be questionable, she wanted a change of topic.
Mio honestly didn¡¯t want to discuss that sort of indecent talk around Hiroshi and Haruna, although maybe Tatsuya and Makoto were fine. This was especially true for Haruna. No matter how much knowledge she might have about these dirty things, Mio could see Haruna taking serious damage from the gap.
¡¸So the ritual goes like this, right?¡¹
¡¸Yep, that it does. Now just stick it in the batter ¡®n yer preparations are all set.¡¹
As she got the conversation back on track, Haruna also checked her work by Hiroshi again. She remembered everything in the work process and enchantment perfectly, but there was always a possibility that she had misheard the initial exnation. Also, this was a task that surpassed her skill level, so she couldn¡¯t deny the possibility of notpletely understanding everything. So in light of all this, Haruna was confirming with Hiroshi every step of the way.
¡¸Uhh, like this, then like this, yeah.¡¹
Checking with Hiroshi once more, Haruna then plunged the straw doll into the batter, which then reacted to the mana, causing a change¡¡
¡¸Ah!?¡¹
The doll went ¡°foom¡± and turned into partially burned charcoal.
Volume 4 Extra 3.4
Volume 4 Extra 3.4
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Aww, I failed¡«¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, this is above yer skill level, so failure is to be expected, mate.¡¹
¡¸What do you think went wrong?¡¹
¡¸The way ya diffused the magic was a lil uneven. This ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ ya can just replicate by copyin¡¯ people, so the only way is to just get used to it, yup.¡¹
¡¸Just practice, huh¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi collected the charcoal as he exined Haruna¡¯s failure in detail. This charcoal also had its uses.
¡¸Ah¡¡¡¹
¡¸Mio, ya fail too?¡¹
¡¸Sorry, Sensei. I think I majorly goofed¡¡¡¹
As Hiroshi and Haruna turned to look in the direction of Mio¡¯s voice, where mana was sprialling out of control, they saw an awfully distorted magic circle floating in the air.
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢got a weird lil thing that came out here.¡¹
¡¸Uhh, is that safe?¡¹
¡¸Well, ya might wanna git a weapon out, at the very least.¡¹
¡¸Umm, that sounds quite worrisome¡¡¡¹
Despite the urgency of the situation, Hiroshi was oddly cid. Haruna, ufortable at his demeanor, gave a low-key objection. And the result?
¡¸Take that!¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s pole axe cut into the gigantic fly that had emerged from the magic circle, splitting it in half in a brilliant fashion and resolving the situation in an instant.
¡¸So what¡¯d ya goof up on?¡¹
¡¸At right about the same time that Haru screwed up, a fly flew into the paper during the manufacturing process.¡¹
¡¸Mm, ¡®n then Haruna-san¡¯s mana failurebined with the spell imbued in the paper to make a strange reaction, I take it.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I honestly couldn¡¯t control it.¡¹
¡¸Well, no biggie. It didn¡¯t turn into nothin¡¯ major, we got some mighty fine materials, and we always expect idents of these sorts with high rank alchemy.¡¹
There hadn¡¯t been any particr issue, and so Hiroshi ended the conversation abruptly on that note. After that, there weren¡¯t any particr problems, and the items Hiroshi and friends intended to make in the morning had eventually umted a good amount.
Finishing lunch, and then almost done once Aearis and Artiem¡¯s equipment wasplete, Layotte paid the workshop a visit.
¡¸I hear you were making Aearis and Artiem¡¯s equipment. Is it finished already?¡¹
¡¸Nah, I was gonna git to makin¡¯ it right now.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Then sorry, but could you also take on Rainy¡¯s equipment while you¡¯re at it?¡¹
Hearing Rainy¡¯s name, Hiroshi made a surprised face. They all were bing fairly attached to Rainy, but he had thought Layotte only thought of her as a throwaway pawn.
¡¸Last time in the investigation of Elza Temple, her equipment became fairly useless, as you probably know.¡¹
¡¸Yup, I was there after all. Still, ya sure ya want me to make all this equipment for someone who¡¯s just a pawn?¡¹
¡¸Well yes, as she is no longer just a pawn. While she of course is not suitable for the role of priestess, Rainy appears to be quite favored by the queen of Darl and the leaders in Forre and I cannot simply discard her anymore.¡¹
¡¸Yeah?¡¹
¡¸Besides, it would not sit right with me to have a subordinate with so many connections treated the same way as all the other grunts.¡¹
Hearing Layotte¡¯s words, Hiroshi sent a somewhat lukewarm gaze his way. All said and done, Layotte also appeared to have taken a bit of a liking to that deviant of a spy.
¡¸Well alright, but specifically what would ya want?¡¹
¡¸Well first we need armor. Rainy often gets herself into scuffles, so something nice and sturdy would be great. If possible, something that can trick detection skills and something that would be difficult to leave an impression. For the weapon, something you can hide. Generally a dagger. After that, if possible, I want you toe up with a transportation method.¡¹
¡¸Transportation method?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Given that she¡¯ll be going on ahead of you, it¡¯s getting a bit difficult to manage regr transportation. So I¡¯d like something that has speed and maneuverability.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. And what about the armor material? Also, if I¡¯m makin¡¯ clothes, I can make ones that allow ya to change the design around to a certain degree.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s suggestion, Layotte went into deep thought for a moment, eventually deciding that he would determine this after hearing upfront what the materials were.
¡¸Alright. What are the options for materials?¡¹
¡¸Soft leather armor seems good, and have it from somethin¡¯ like rock boar, wyvern, garbarensia, or behemoth. Clothing can be regr cotton ¡®n hemp, spider silk, or spirit thread. I could throw in an oddball like a pseudo hemp made from maneater fiber, but I don¡¯t exactly got it in storage, so it would take time to get the ingredients.¡¹
¡¸¡¡If we have the clothing as spider silk, which armor material would you rmend?¡¹
¡¸From the specs I¡¯d say behemoth or garbarensia. We already took down three behemoths in the dungeon fromst time, so there¡¯s a mountain of supplies we have all to ourselves. We haven¡¯t had much of an opportunity to use garbarensia either, so the pelt is pretty much all there in storage too.¡¹
¡¸In other words, those two have no difference in price, correct?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. Also, I¡¯ll just go ahead ¡®n make orichalcum-based weapons, as there¡¯s a buncha that in storage too.¡¹
Inwardly dizzy at all the shy materials that Hiroshi kept bringing up, Layotte nodded, feigningposure outwardly. He wouldn¡¯tst too long if he got surprised at every one of their absurd actions, and it was pointless to seekmon sense from these guests of the unknown continent in the first ce anyway.
¡¸Alright. What about the price for that?¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, I never actually got to putting a price on any of the equipment. If I recall, the best equipment we sold at the Adventurer¡¯s Association was 10,000 chrone, so maybe about ten times that amount would be urate?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Isn¡¯t that a little too cheap?¡¹
¡¸Eh? Is it?¡¹
¡¸Because from your current skill level, an orichalcum-made weapon, and not to mention with special functions added on cannot even be bought for ten times that amount, you realize?¡¹
¡¸¡¡But that price is on par with the state budget, mate¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi groaned with a stiffened expression, and Layotte breathed a deep sigh upon seeing this. Then again, there was only a market price for magic steel products at best, so it wasn¡¯t all that unreasonable for Hiroshi not to understand the price for orichalcum or behemoth leather equipment.
With that being said, it was also true that these pieces of equipment were way too pricey to just be casually giving out to a subordinate. Usually, the most you bestowed to people with achievements was 30,000 chrone for daily use items.
If one of the leaders in Forre who became friendly with Rainy had not spoke out about how they were willing to use any amount of money to buy her good equipment, this would have most certainly been a price Layotte would have immediately refused. Even he was not so attached to Rainy as to get her something of that caliber.
¡¸Well, I don¡¯t care much about gettin¡¯ all that money, plus it¡¯s an acquaintance who¡¯ll be usin¡¯ the equipment so I¡¯ll keep it at 20,000 chrone per each article. Transportation can be half the price off for a golem car. So with the armor, clothing, weaponry, ¡®n transportation golem we¡¯re lookin¡¯ at 100,000 chrone altogether.¡¹
¡¸Alright. I shall take you up on that offer. I can prepare the money by tomorrow.¡¹
Nodding at the price Hiroshi had offered, Layotte left the workshop. Seeing him go off, Hiroshi went right to work.
Volume 4 Extra 3.5
Volume 4 Extra 3.5
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸We got a lil change of ns. Bro, Makoto-san, d¡¯ya got a motorcycle license?¡¹
Before getting to work, Hiroshi called out to Tatsuya and Makoto who had been reclining in the japanese-style room. Both of them had gone wild yesterday and were apparently rxing today because of that. Because of a surplus in time being cooped up in their rooms, the two of them were ying shogi since the afternoon began, along with some light drinks and small snacks.
¡¸No, I don¡¯t have the one for two-wheels.¡¹
¡¸I do have the license forrge-size ones, but why do you need that?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s cuz I got asked toe up with transportation for Rainy. Figured I might as well build a motorcycle.¡¹
¡¸Interesting. And you say you want me to give it a spin.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s exactly what I mean, mate.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto got the gist of what Hiroshi said. Thebination of spy and motorcycle was basically a given.
¡¸But this is you we¡¯re talking about, so I take it you won¡¯t just stop at building a motorcycle, right?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, I n to install a few gimmicks here ¡®n there. At the very least I gotta make sure there¡¯s a capsule storage ¡®n a user identification device installed.¡¹
¡¸True, that is needed, but again, I just don¡¯t see you stopping there and that¡¯s what makes me uneasy.¡¹
¡¸Well, at this point the most I¡¯ll do is attach reinforcement parts to make space travel or underwater travel safe for the rider.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢in a certain simtion game where a bunch of different robots band together to take on strong opponents, you could definitely expect that kind of unfairness.¡¹
This was very reasonable for Hiroshi, at which Makoto ironically felt a bit of exasperation as she nodded. In this game, you had scenarios like a woman not wearing a space suit with the cockpit open despite being in space as she shoots down enemy robos with rifles, or again not wearing a space suit as she rides on a motorcycle around through space and then attacks the majors and spinning tops, and then atst a group of thugsing into the scene with leather jackets on, violently attacking the enemy robots with spiked bats.
It was a pretty major game, so it wasn¡¯t unusual at all for Hiroshi to try and replicate something like that.
¡¸Honestly, I thought you were going to include a gimmick like powered suits or robot transformation¡¡¡¹
¡¸Golly gosh, how¡¯d ya know!?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Guess I was an idiot for thinking you intended to go the safe route.¡¹
Makoto red at Hiroshi disapprovingly after his confession. In many ways, she had been too naive about this.
¡¸Anyway, I¡¯m countin¡¯ on ya to check the bike ¡®n all its functions, Bro.¡¹
¡¸I mean sure, that¡¯s fine, but could you spare me the trouble with the underwater/space functions?¡¹
¡¸¡¯Course. Ya just gotta test the transformation ¡®n midair flight functions.¡¹
Tatsuya gave Hiroshi the warning, who narrowed it down to a fairly more mild test run. Then again, these two tests were already a headache to think about.
¡¸So Hiroshi, I just thought of something.¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸If the motorcycle can fly through the air, could we also find a way to get a minivan to fly through the air?¡¹
¡¸Sure, but I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ of addin¡¯ those flying functions to a different prototype. Besides, even if ya wanted to attach said function to the minivan as is it would take a heck of a lotta ingredients, so this should be fine for goin¡¯ to Lorren as is. We¡¯ll hafta make the prototype at some point anyway, so modifyin¡¯ the minivan at this point would just be meaningless.¡¹
¡¸Fair enough.¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s response to Makoto¡¯s simple question prompted both her and Tatsuya to readily agree. It was pointless to apply the earth¡¯smon sense to magic technology, but thinking about it normally, there was a huge leap in energy and difficulty in making a personal-use motorcycle versus a seven-man minivan.
If there were other ns to make flying vehicles, there was no need to modify what already worked just fine.
¡¸Still, you probably still need to practice in order to master a motorcycle. Where even is Rainy right now?¡¹
¡¸Y¡¯know, I didn¡¯t hear that part. Guess I¡¯ll ask the octogals.¡¹
Nodding at Hiroshi, Tatsuya brought in the octovase from his room. As long as you didn¡¯t mind the appearance, it was an extremely useful item.
¡¸We¡¯re gonna ask¡«¡¹
After receiving some of the snacks and hearing the situation from Hiroshi and friends, the octogals went ahead and checked without hesitation. A few secondster
¡¸Rainy-chan is tuning up in Wulls¡«¡¹
¡¸Stiren is dangerous¡«¡¹
¡¸Reverse, reverse¡¹
The octogals all made their reports. Essentially, as she couldn¡¯t afford to get wrapped up in another one of those Stiren banquets, Rainy was briefly back in Wulls to get her body back in shape, toning up loose areas. She was also using the gyms that the people of the earth had, seeding in whittling down her weight.
¡¸Hm, I see.¡¹
¡¸Rainy-chan, diet¡«¡¹
¡¸Growth period¡«¡¹
¡¸Her chest will never be the same again¡«¡¹
¡¸Nah, ya really ain¡¯t gotta give us that unnecessary info¡¡¡¹
As Hiroshi showed his admiration, the octogals added unnecessary information that dealt him damage. Rainy already had a chest that stood out a good amount, but apparently it had be even more noticeable.
¡¸Well if that¡¯s the case, she should still be around till tomorrow, and I better git on workin¡¯. Time-wise, I¡¯ll hafta save Elle¡¯s and Artiem¡¯s equipment forter.¡¹
¡¸Yep. Well, seems like I won¡¯t have anything to do today, either way.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Yer gonna test it tomorrow mornin¡¯ as of now.¡¹
Hiroshi said, moving to the workstation and telling Haruna and the others the change in ns before beginning with the necessary material refinement.
¡¸Sensei, what kind of design do we have?¡¹
¡¸Is it going to be a moped?¡¹
Grinning at Mio and Haruna, who were also quite intrigued, Hiroshi said all they had to do was wait till it waspleted before he then began making the frame straight away. He then piled on more and more parts that you would never think belonged on a motorcycle, also making the orichalcum dagger with its collection of secret gimmicks. Keeping pace with that, Hiroshi also took care of the rough processing for Aearis¡¯s dagger.
¡¸Now all we gotta do is put it together. Haruna, ya think it might be a good time to git started on the food?¡¹
¡¸Ah, I think you¡¯re right.¡¹
¡¸The motorcycle ain¡¯t gonna run away if ya go somewhere else, so go ahead and git that outta the way with.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay¡¹
Hiroshi chided her, and Haruna went off to prepare dinner. Feeling it would be unfair for only her to stick around and see the product first, Mio went to help Haruna. And so as Hiroshi continued the work process by himself, he finally got it done before dinner.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun, dinner¡¯s ready.¡¹
¡¸Alrighty. The motorcycle¡¯s also done, so I¡¯ll give a lil reveal before we eat.¡¹
¡¸Ah, yeah. I¡¯ll call everyone then. What will we do about Fum-chan and the others?¡¹
¡¸Showin¡¯ ¡®em just that part don¡¯t mean they gonna understand how it¡¯s constructed, so I doubt an exnation would hurt, since they can¡¯t replicate it.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Then I¡¯ll just call over Tatsuya-san, Makoto-san, and Mio-chan.¡¹
Hiroshi told her, and Haruna went off to call their friends. Once everyone was gathered and saw the motorcycle revealed from beneath the sheet, Haruna cheered, saying:
¡¸Ooo¡«¡¢super cool!!¡¹
However, the other members had a slightly different impression:
¡¸Sensei, is that Garl¡ðnd?¡¹
And that was all Mio said.
¡¸Well yeah, if ya wanna have a vehicle that shifts to a humanoid form ya gotta go with that idea first, right?¡¹
¡¸Well yes, but Tatsuya and I barely know about the name and appearance of the motorcycle. Where the heck did you get all the details from?¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon mate, it¡¯s that one robot simtion game.¡¹
Hiroshi had apparently gone full throttle with the game reference he had discussed in the afternoon. It was true that he had a recent tendency to reference new games, but take one eye off him and you might see anything ranging from the 60¡¯s to the 80¡¯s, and not even just shows but also minor OVAs would casually show up. Many minors like Hiroshi were actually quite knowledgeable about shows that came out before they were born.
¡¸Anyhow, the transportation method itself isplete. After we eat, I make the clothing ¡®n leather armor and then Rainy¡¯s equipment will beplete.¡¹
¡¸You think these people can drive something as crazy as this?¡¹
Contrary to Tatsuya¡¯s concern, the next day in the afternoon when Rainy came over she mastered all the functions in the blink of an eye-
¡¸I can feel Deary¡¯s love¡¡¡¹
And so she sniffed and licked everything Hiroshi had given her, including the beloved car and equipment. Hiroshi and Tatsuya had let their guard down because of how well-behaved she had been in Stiren, and they ended up taking unnecessary damage by being subjected to this sight.
Volume 5 Prologue Part 1
Volume 5 Prologue Part 1
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸That¡¯s Rufeus? It¡¯s a lovely city isn¡¯t it?¡¹
The moment she saw the city of Rufeus appear on the opposite side of the river, Haruna let out a voice of admiration. This city, which was built along the world¡¯srgest freshwaterke, Lake Luder, and the rivers running from it, appeared to have a beautiful splendor to it.
¡¸As one would expect of the capital of sages, it¡¯s quite clean.¡¹
Makoto, in the driver¡¯s seat, shared Haruna¡¯s sentiment. Maybe this was only true for the side visible from the river, but either way, you could see several buildings lined up in an organized manner, clearly having care put into them to give off a dainty appearance.
Five days since leaving Stiren, and two days and a half since crossing the border to Lorren. Taking a detour through the mountains and producing through grasnds and breadbaskets, the group had atst reached the region one might call the center of Lorren.
¡¸Wulls was also a pretty town, but I guess Rufeus is more on the elegant side?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, plus Wulls had quite the difference depending on the section you were in.¡¹
Makoto responded to Haruna¡¯s impression with her own thought. Just as Makoto said, there was quite a difference in both the townscape and the atmosphere between the castle, the upper echelons of society, the bourgeoisie, the harbor, the section with many adventurers going to and fro, and all the other sections of town. The thing they all shared was having a liveliness. Even the upper echelons of society in Wulls had a certain liveliness to them, even if they were still regal and quiet. You could feel it.
Nevertheless, this was just when youpared it with Wulls, and it wasn¡¯t like Rufeus had a mncholy to it or anything. While you didn¡¯t feel the kind of power oozing from it like Wulls, Rufeus had many schrs and young students, creating its own tranquil dynamism formed by intellectual passion, spreading from corner to corner of this town. There was no coldness there, but admittedly an atmosphere that naturally made you want to straighten your cor.
¡¸Looks like there¡¯s an inspection to enter town once we cross that bridge and join up with that highway.¡¹
Everyone focused on the bridge that Makoto pointed out. While not as impressive as the one suspended over Sharne River, this bridge was nevertheless quite splendid, with a wide berth between its girders for fairly big ships to pass through, more than enough to help you understand the sheer quantity of traffic via the river. Then again, the bridge itself had quite the scale, and the bridge¡¯s traffic volume was about the same in that regard. This wasn¡¯t even the peak time of early morning or evening, and yet there were plenty of horses and carriages passing through, lending more credibility to this assumption.
The bridge not being immediately connected to the entrance to Rufeus was probably just an issue of convenience and cost. Carriages with urgent deliveries constantly going through inspection before cutting through would be no good. There weren¡¯t too many people out there who would pass through Rufeus, but there were still a considerable amount of carriages viand with urgent goods that couldn¡¯t just be ignored.
Even regarding the cost, directly connecting Refeus via bridge would mean setting it up where the river¡¯s width abruptly increased, the equilibrium between that and theke shifting and making things more puzzling, which also meant that not just the bridge construction and maintenance, but the management side of things as well would have unnecessarybor and costs. There wasn¡¯t any particr issue with gathering near the entrance connecting to the highway, so in a sense it was to be expected that they would ce the bridge in an area both easy to build it and manage it.
¡¸Come to think of it, there weren¡¯t any towns on this side of the bridge, y¡¯all.¡¹
¡¸Maybe it¡¯s just because there¡¯s not much profit over here?¡¹
¡¸I really do wonder. Just feels like they woulda build a town over here too when they set up the bridge¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi cocked his head at Tatsuya¡¯s opinion. In actuality, the reason for this was due torge scale monster invasions that urred frequently on this side of the river, forcing the residents here to seek refuge in Rufeus, simply migrating there and not returning. However, this kind of local history, while more prevalent in Rufeus, was difficult to investigate in other regions, not to mention that the towns formerly on this side of the river had been destroyed for more than a thousand years, with not a single trace of the previous town in sight, so it was impossible for Hiroshi and the others to be able to discern this fact.
¡¸Sensei, I think you would know the answer to that question if you just asked someone in town.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Someone prolly knows.¡¹
¡¸More importantly, since this is the capital of sages, there should be some tasty food here.¡¹
¡¸Yer always thinkin¡¯ about food, Mio¡¡¡¹
¡¸Every time we go to a new location, you magically modify the local food just because you don¡¯t like it, so I really don¡¯t need to hear that from you or the others.¡¹
Hiroshimented on how much Mio talked about food, but then she cut him down savagely with a fierce rebuttal. And truth be told, Hiroshi and Haruna had no right to say anything regarding Mio¡¯s gluttony.
¡¸They said this was the world¡¯srgestke, but this kind of scale isparable to the ocean, y¡¯know¡¡¡¹
¡¸And supposedly you can easily catch fish over a meter tall here. The aquaculture here at theke is a crucial industry, they said.¡¹
Tatsuya marveled at the size of theke as they began crossing the bridge, while Haruna added a supplemental exnation. Haruna had apparently researched the area beforehand this time. Tatsuya, who had not researched much other than the library and sage academy, nodded his head in understanding.
Digressing a bit, Lake Luder¡¯s area was about 500,000 square kilometers. Large rivers either flowed in from every direction or streamed out to the ocean, making this a freshwaterke, but if Daljan hadn¡¯t insisted that this was ake it could have very well been called Luder Sea.
¡¸So what do they do for salt over here?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m told there¡¯s a pretty big saltke about two days away by horseback. Also, you can get rock salt there too, so no one in this area is inconvenienced in any way.¡¹
Salt, something indispensable to human life. From time to time it was even a strategic resource, and every country had a fair amount of ways to procure it.
¡¸Almost at the gate check.¡¹
As everyone gave their insight on the town, theke, and the surrounding regions, the group had finally caught up to the end of the line to get into town. Then again, this held the same for practically any other town. Assuming you didn¡¯t try to bring in anything questionable, all you did was pay a tax to get in.
¡¸Wee to Rufeus.¡¹
It was finally Hiroshi¡¯s group¡¯s turn, and they were greeted in a friendly manner by a beaming female gatekeeper, the one in charge for this particr section. The other gatekeepers overseeing the other lines were also overall smiling and friendly. They probably had many visitors from other countries with frequent dealings. Thisrgely resembled Wulls in that aspect.
Darl and Forre¡¯s gatekeepers never were this friendly, even at the capitals. This was not to say they were arrogant, but that they were strict on the rules, with absolutely no gatekeepers behaving as haughty or oppressing as every city in Midas Federation did.
¡¸Are you adventurers?¡¹
¡¸Yes. We aren¡¯t very high up in rank though.¡¹
¡¸You have a golem-drawn vehicle and your rank isn¡¯t that high, huh?¡¹
¡¸One of our friends made it themself.¡¹
Answering the questions the amicable woman asked them, everyone got out of the carriage and presented their adventurer cards. Looking at the cards and appearing to be wide-eyed for a moment, the woman quickly returned to normal and finished the counterfeit check before returning the cards.
Volume 5 Prologue Part 2
Volume 5 Prologue Part 2
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Alright, everything¡¯s been checked. Please, enter.¡¹
The Japanese made suspicious faces at how quickly the woman had returned their cards and gave them permission. Darl and Forre had actually checked their luggage.
¡¸Are you sure you don¡¯t want to check our belongings?¡¹
¡¸No, if it¡¯s anyone from Azuma Workshop, there won¡¯t really be a problem. ¡¹
¡¸¡¡Don¡¯t tell me that we¡¯re also known over here?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ve heard about all of you quite a bit as of recent, and we have our own circumstances.¡¹
Hiroshi and friends immediately knew what was going on when they heard the gatekeeper¡¯s words. The higher-ups in this country seemed to be scheming in their own way.
¡¸I believe there will be further contact your way shortly, so I advise that you contact the adventurers¡¯ association or government office to find a ce to stay as soon as possible.¡¹
¡¸Ah, okay.¡¹
The woman said as she bowed her head, and Makoto instinctively nodded as she responded.
¡¸I should really be telling you more, but I¡¯m just a gatekeeper and the higher-ups have only said to convey this to you as quickly as possible once I¡¯ve seen you through¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, no. You¡¯ve already exined plenty, don¡¯t worry.¡¹
Thedy was a bit ashamed, but Makoto felt she should be the one apologizing, telling her with a smile not to worry about it. After all, she had understood the majority of the situation when thedy mentioned ¡°contact¡±.
¡¸Also, this is our first time here in Rufeus. Are there any hotels you would rmend? We¡¯d be especially happy if they have good food.¡¹
¡¸Right. I would rmend the Sage Bell Pavilion near the central za. It¡¯s one of the few hotels continuing their long and honorable tradition in Rufeus since the city¡¯s beginning. It¡¯s a bit pricey, but the security is top-notch, it¡¯sfortable, and the food is delicious, as per the ratings.¡¹
¡¸Sage Bell Pavilion, huh. Are there any outer characteristics to look for?¡¹
¡¸As the name implies, there is a belfry on the hotel roof. It¡¯s built in a fairly conspicuous location, so I think you will quickly recognize it.¡¹
¡¸Okay, thank you.¡¹
Asking thedy for information, Makoto returned to the minivan.
¡¸I asked what to look for to get to the hotel, so I n to go there. It¡¯s fine right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Thanks.¡¹
Conveying this to the members who had returned to the car before her, Makoto readied the car for departure. Tatsuya spoke up for everyone else to respond to Makoto¡¯s question, and like that they headed for the hotel. Unlike in Stiren, this time the group found a ce to stay in quite smoothly.
Now, I should probably give a supplemental exnation here about Lorren.
Lorren, also known as the Country of Knowledge, was a country that developed around its capital, Rufeus¡¯s academy and library, as well as the god of knowledge, Daljan¡¯s temple. Rufeus did technically have a castle in the center for an executive position, but the academy had an older building with an equally high degree of familiarity, so the castle didn¡¯t stand out as much.
Rufeus¡¯s political structure was something akin to an open monarchy, with the king in charge of the executive position selected through elections via parliament. Of course, frequently changing the king would only create chaos in the politics, so new kings were only elected when either the predecessor died, announced their abdication, or was determined to be considerably unfit to lead. The elected consisted of the royal descendants of one of the six sages who built the academy who became candidates based on inheritance, age and other things.
Parliament consisted of legitors selected from royalty and nobility for the House of Peers and legitors selected from the people regardless of status for the House of Representatives. While you might think Parliament had an incredible amount of power for being able to select the king, in actuality their power was limited just to that. The king had to truly mess up for them to recall him, and their work practice all in all could never win against the king, who was always involved in everything. The king also had the authority to dissolve parliament.
Still, ignoring Parliament and doing whatever you wanted would in fact legitimize the recall, so neither party could do anything silly to the other side. Then again, more than that, both branches of government were bound by the fact that the country was renowned as the country of knowledge and the fact that the capital Rufeus¡¯s academy had the most authority and power in the world. Unable to have pride in this fact, chasing one¡¯s own profit all the time, and not being able to so much as debate properly would make it impossible to be a legitor or a king. Also, being a country of wisdom, everyone who despise you if all you did was chase the ideal and couldn¡¯tpare and adjust it with reality.
A country who couldn¡¯t even govern itself would never be trusted, no matter how much it touted its own academy¡¯s brilliance. No one would acknowledge your intellect if you imed to be the country of knowledge yet acted arrogant.
In the end, because everyone from the top to the bottom of society knew full well what their country was built on, no one could make any rash decisions, which was both the high point and perhaps the limitation of Lorren.
The average citizen¡¯s pride toward their country and self-confidence toward the foundation, as well as the measure of the god of knowledge, Daljan. Thanks to this, Lorren as of now had evaded the paper-thin difference ofplete corruption.
¡¸Just as I heard, it seems to be afortable inn.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Kinda has a calm vibe to it.¡¹
Hiroshi agreed with Makoto¡¯s impression of the Sages Bell Pavilion. Its calm, historical appearance exuded the kind offorting atmosphere present at Japan¡¯s old ryokans.
¡¸Hey, Haruna. How much was the fee?¡¹
¡¸With breakfast and dinner attached, it¡¯s 25 chrone for one night per person. Sure it¡¯s a little pricey, but not so much that we can¡¯t stay long-term, I¡¯d say?¡¹
¡¸With an average ss 5 ie, I guess you¡¯d be able to stay a month with one quest.¡¹
Hearing Haruna¡¯s response, Makoto calcted roughly what the price would be. Also, Lorren¡¯s currency was the same as Fane¡¯s. This was due to one of the sages being friends with the founding king of Fane after it was built and making the academy in Rufeus. After epting all sorts of aid from Fane, the currency just became the same.
Furthermore, while Lorren¡¯s key currency did consist of chrones and tirols, but as the distance was close enough, Forre¡¯s domas could also be used without having to exchange. The strong point here was that the rates were practically the same.
¡¸Rufeus apparently is known for its duck, green pheasant, and freshwater fish cuisine. Also, there¡¯s a giant deer monster called nidred that they hunt in the steppe and they say it¡¯s one of this region¡¯s gourmet foods.¡¹
¡¸Nidred, eh. Never heard of it. What about you, Makoto?¡¹
¡¸Me neither. Isn¡¯t it like the poms with how it wasn¡¯t in the game?¡¹
¡¸If neither you or Haruna knows then yeah, that¡¯s probably the case.¡¹
Based on the info that Haruna brought in, Tatsuya and Makoto surmised where the nidred came from. Most of the monsters up till now were unfamiliar, but this time theparison made since.
¡¸That being said, I guess it would be difficult to just go out hunting today, tomorrow, or even the next day if we¡¯re talking about leisure.¡¹
¡¸Agreed. Plus they said there¡¯s supposed to be contact.¡¹
¡¸And it would suck if we crossed without meeting.¡¹
Recalling the conversation with the gatekeeper, Tatsuya and Makoto gave small sighs. The countries and regions they had stayed in until now had always ended with having the royalty or executives get fairly deeply involved with them. Even with the kingdom of Forre, which still barely had a connection with Azuma Workshop, rumor had it the royal family just had a fondness of the adventurers and it seemed like it was impossible to cut rtions with them.
Considering all this, the fact that executive organizations were seeking contact with the group was basically a given at this point. Still, it was a little out of the ordinary to just have immediate notification of this upon arrival.
Volume 5 Prologue Part 3
Volume 5 Prologue Part 3
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Anyhow, we finished the check-in, so I was thinking of sending a report to the adventurer association and governmental office.¡¹
¡¸Good idea. We all need to go through the formalities tomorrow anyway, plus the earlier the better.¡¹
Tatsuya nodded at Haruna¡¯s suggestion. Even if hunting was not easy to get to right now, it also wasn¡¯t like they would be contacted immediately today.
¡¸Tatsu, Haru. You decided on going through the procedure, now what will we do for lunch?¡¹
¡¸Maybe ask around near the association to see where the good restaurants are.¡¹
Tatsuya gave Mio an innocuous proposal. There was always the option of eating here, but right now was a bit early for lunch.
¡¸You know where the office and association are, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I made sure to look it over beforehand.¡¹
Makoto asked, and Haruna confirmed everything was set to go. Sometimes Haruna made huge blunders because of her romantic obsession, but she was generally tactful in this field. This time, too, she appeared to have already researched everything she wanted to know.
¡¸It¡¯s along the main street, so not too far away from here. It¡¯s on the opposite side of the office, so once we finish our errands at both ces, I think it¡¯ll basically be noon.¡¹
¡¸Ya think we can go sightseein¡¯ after we eat?¡¹
¡¸I think so. While we¡¯re at it, we should totally look for property to turn into a base.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s an idea too, yup. Even if we can¡¯t go too far away from the inn here for three days, it ain¡¯t like we can¡¯t go lookin¡¯ for property.¡¹
The first day¡¯s ns were decided without a hitch. With this being the fifth time they looked for a base, you¡¯d certainly expect them to be used to this.
¡¸So that¡¯s what we do for noon, but what about night?¡¹
Now that the day¡¯s ns were set in stone, Hiroshi suddenly brought up nighttime.
¡¸What do you mean by night?¡¹
Makoto, getting a bad feeling about this, pressed Hiroshi for an answer.
¡¸Oh nothin¡¯. Just thought the potted nt agriculture is in a bit of a pickle at the moment.¡¹
¡¸You will do that after we move to base, Hiroshi.¡¹
¡¸Fiiine¡¡¡¹
Makoto immediately shot down Hiroshi. She would not be able to deal with crops suddenly transforming during the night if that ever happened.
¡¸We have the ingredients, so I guess we can make scapedolls? Nah, I gotta think of Haruna and git to focusin¡¯ on the snake leather coat¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Hey, Hiroshi. Ever thought of just staying put and not doing anything crazy?¡¹
¡¸If I don¡¯t make nothin¡¯ then what¡¯s there even to do?¡¹
Makoto, who had interjected at Hiroshi¡¯s muttering, felt a dizziness when she heard his reply. The vast majority of every suspicious contraption he had made up till now was a result of having nothing to do, and she seriously did not want to deal with that.
¡¸Oh yeah, somethin¡¯ I forgot to do.¡¹
¡¸Like what?¡¹
Haruna asked Hiroshi, who had suddenly recalled something, as she tilted her head. Makoto, who was originally supposed to interject here, was currently out ofmission, so she stepped in for her.
¡¸Nah, it¡¯s just that I been kinda wanton¡¯ some ctely, ¡®n I was thinkin¡¯ of tryna replicate it using whatever ingredients we got.¡¹
¡¸Ahhh,e to think of it, we didn¡¯t really do much for drinks other than liquor.¡¹
¡¸I know right?¡¹
Everyone had to empathize with the item Hiroshi brought up. With liquor they had sake, shochu, dry beer, pretty much anything the adults enjoyed drinking in Japan moving along at a good pace, but had barely tried anything with soft drinks.
Now, why hadn¡¯t the group put much effort toward soft drinks? The reason was simply that it was too easy to get your hands on tasty fruit, and the group had satisfied themselves with fresh juice up to this point.
¡¸So when you say c, which kind? C¡ðke?P¡ðpsi?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯re gonna start off with both. Other winners are McC¡ðl ¡®n Dr. P¡ðpper ¡¹
¡¸And as a punishment, you make people drink soda warm, right?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
Tatsuya and Makoto made sickened faces at Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s conversation. Mio, who enjoyed strange drinks, was outwardly conducting herself as usual.
¡¸Could you quit trying to take it from there?¡¹
¡¸Whatcha mean? That¡¯s standard, mate.¡¹
¡¸No, uhh, I mean it being standard is probably why I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t¡¡¡¹
¡¸Then how ¡®bout I start with the ones that everyone thinks are gross?¡¹
¡¸No, just don¡¯t¡¡¡¹
When Tatsuya interjected, Hiroshi continued going down the rabbit hole of things not to say. They might have to test out some questionable drinks if this continued.
¡¸Sensei, Tatsu. Let¡¯s just go.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Good point.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll think of what to do when it actually gits to nighttime then.¡¹
When Mio pressed them to go, Hiroshi and Tatsuya ended the conversation. Finally exiting the room, the group took about 30 minutes finishing their errands at the adventurer¡¯s association and public office before proceeding to fully enjoy the beautiful city of Rufeus as best they could.
Also, lunch (of which was eaten at a rmended restaurant) consisted of pheasant pie and Lake Luder fish grill. Let us state right here that the vor, as per its reputation, was highly satisfying.
Rufeus Academy¡¯s noble visitor room.
¡¸Word just came in regarding Azuma Workshop¡¯s arrival.¡¹
¡¸Alright. It was just as we thought based on what Fane said.¡¹
As the Lorren king and the academy headmaster were making various arrangements, the eagerly awaited report came in. This was around the time Hiroshi¡¯s group had arrived at the Sages Bell Pavilion.
¡¸I half believed half doubted when I heard it from Her Majesty from Darl, but they actually arrived¡¡¡¹
¡¸But this is good, is not, Headmaster? Now the preparations we made based on this info wille to fruition.¡¹
The report, which was expected but also unexpected, prompted the two men to have mixed expressions on their faces as they discussed this.
¡¸So have they decided on a ce to stay?¡¹
¡¸We still don¡¯t have word on this, but I hear that the gatekeeper introduced them to the Sages Bell Pavilion. Also, the gatekeeper requested they send word to the public office or adventurer association once they find a ce to settle down.¡¹
¡¸Alright. If they listened to that request, at thetest we should have word sometime tomorrow.¡¹
Hearing about the update on correspondence, the king nodded as he muttered to himself.
¡¸Thank you for the information. You may leave now.¡¹
Bowing once to the king when he said that, the liaison politely exited the room. Seeing him off, the king and headmaster breathed small sighs.
¡¸I tried to get the best gifts I could for them, but I wonder if they will actually listen to our requests¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, we really don¡¯t know at this point.¡¹
When the king made an oddly faintheartedment, the headmaster also made a fainthearted response. Only three years after seeding the throne, and only several months since actually using his authority as a young king, there were various aspects of him that stillcked confidence here and there.
Then again, the headmaster who couldn¡¯t even reprimand the king was also quite fainthearted in his own way. After all, Azuma Workshop was an organization whose behavioral principles were unknown. He absolutely wanted to link them with the king of Lorren, who had ack of achievement and was currently suffering, but he was also unsure whether the bait heid out for them would suffice or not.
Volume 5 Prologue Part 4
Volume 5 Prologue Part 4
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸At any rate, I didn¡¯t think that the headmaster and Professor Frute would agree with this n.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s because Rufeus Academy has seen a stagnation in research thesest hundred years. Not only that, but thesest five years have uncovered absolutely nothing new, so some drastic measures will no doubt be in order.¡¹
¡¸Even if there is a possibility that your research will all be denied?¡¹
¡¸No researcher worth his salt can fear on that basis.¡¹
The headmaster dered with a grim expression in response to the young king¡¯s words. In this world, there was always research that would end up being useless. There were countless examples of this. Fearing something like that would not bring about fresh oues.
If anything, researches down to failure and futility.
¡¸Assuming we¡¯re fine with this, is there any merit for them epting our request for anything other than what we intend to give them?¡¹
¡¸I cannot really say at this moment, no. I understand that their aim is in the library, but anyone has the right to enter the library. And anything besides that is likely to be something they can manage better on their own than relying on others.¡¹
¡¸If anything, maybe having that assumption is safer.¡¹
¡¸Honestly, this is a vexing subject.¡¹
¡¸Hopefully them taking in our request and sending someone to the academywill have some sort of merit for them as well¡¡¡¹
The headmaster nodded at the king¡¯s request. Rufeus Academy still maintained the top ranking position in the world¡¯s academic pursuits and education, but unfortunately, the current tide was clearly ebbing away. Perhaps there would not be anything to gain from sending these overly prepared technology experts.
Lorren being the only one to benefit from this was not a goodsting rtionship.
¡¸Either way, there will be nothing wrong with quickly getting in touch with them.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Weck manners to summon them so quickly as soon as they arrived today, but it would also be rude to ask for their lodging and then wait one or two weeks, and the whole purpose of giving them presents could very well falter.¡¹
The king was overanalyzing this meeting with a mere civilian workshop master. However, for someone like him who not onlycked a solid foundation for his authority butcked even a decent foundation for said authority, interacting with the leaders of the three western kingdoms in a struggle required him to be this highly strung.
Then again, it was not rare in Lorren to have a king without a firm authority foundation even after three years since enthronement. After all, Lorren¡¯s royal elections more often than not consisted of people who had generally not involved themselves with politics. Also, for the purpose of appearance as an election, it was nearly impossible to educate the candidate while the predecessor was still in office or advance the delegation of the foundation of authority, so you might as well say that if anything, having a proper foundation of authority was highly likely to be in a collusive rtionship with designated influences and factions.
In order topensate for the foundation of authority andck of experience, the Senate and Council of Elders did exist, but the older generation who had retreated from the line of politics became the sponsors, and in exchange for limiting the power of the king for two years, this system in practice allowed them to teach the king the fundamentals of politics.
In exchange for not questioning any of the inconveniences or issues during this period of time, any striking results would not count as achievements, so it was quite difficult to use the rite of passage as a reason for not having any achievements and unify the retainers in getting to listen to you, as was the case with the current king who had just finished his trainee period.
To him, no matter how well he prepared, the king could not have confidence in negotiating with Azuma Workshop and its tremendous influence. At the same time, the king was dealing with many problems due to hisck of achievement and was on the path to losing ever shred of confidence as the king, so it was imperative to him that he aplished this affair of building a cooperative rtionship with Azuma Workshop, who had definite, clear achievements.
At some point, Azuma Workshop had be an exceedingly influential organization among the three kingdoms. The only ones who had no idea of this were probably the workshop members in question, ironically enough.
¡¸Anyhow, it¡¯s tomorrow. Let¡¯s aim for right after breakfast and send an envoy.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s probably the safest route, yes.¡¹
¡¸And we must carefully choose who we send out. No matter what, we cannot afford to send out an overbearing fool.¡¹
The headmaster inwardly grimaced at how humble the king was in all his actions. From there up until they had lunch, various briefings including tomorrow¡¯s ns continued their course.
¡¸Deary and friends appear to have arrived.¡¹
¡ºI see. What state is Lorren in as of now?¡»
¡¸Just as you have heard prior. Unlike Darl, the nobility and diet members appear to be behaving themselves.¡¹
¡ºRight, as they do at least have a sort of pride of residing in the country of knowledge.¡»
Layotte let Rainy¡¯s report go in one ear and out the other, not making any particr remark. Unfortunately, there was not currently any information to specially mention.
¡ºAnd the academy?¡»
¡¸This is just a rumor, but apparently the reformist faction with the headmaster at the top is ignoring the conservative faction and proceeding with hard-line policies.¡¹
¡ºThat makes sense. Infightingsts quite a while over there. I could see why movements are starting to emerge.¡»
¡¸Also, there are no signs of Barold making any movement.¡¹
¡ºThat¡¯s because Lorren is a difficult country for Barold to move in, although not in the same way it was with Forre.¡»
Rainy tilted her head at Layotte. She couldn¡¯t think of any reason for Barold¡¯s movement to be hampered there.
¡ºLorren, from all echelons of society, pathologically hates all form of bribery and corporate entertainment for the purpose of inducing one¡¯s own profit, or what you might call money under the table. It¡¯s extremely difficult to have that initialmon ground if you even so much as try to indoctrinate them by whispering half-truths into their ears.¡»
¡¸Do they have no social life?¡¹
¡ºIn that area, the rules dictate that there can be no conversations linked to money or personal interests. Also, unlike Fane or Darl¡¯s high society, anyone who badmouths or gossips in a way that could damage someone¡¯s reputation is instead scorned and expelled. In order to criticize someone, you are required to provide objective and decisive evidence; truly an annoying national character to have.¡»
¡¸And how are they negotiating in that area?¡¹
¡ºApparently they just have open meetings. Now, of course there are still secret meetings they can¡¯t openly discuss. Also, they only hate money under the table, so there isn¡¯t such opposition with diplomatic wining/dining/gifts for gaining the country or region¡¯s profit, or sending favorable treatment and gifts to specific individuals or organizations so as to invite them in. Gifts for things like apologies for trouble or gratitude for a favor, also known as etiquette gifts, aren¡¯t seen as especially problematic either. Basically, no one has an issue as long as the reason is public and doesn¡¯t go against social standards, conducted openly.¡»
Hearing Layotte¡¯s exnation, Rainy made an exceedingly tired face. No wonder it was so difficult to gather information.
Of course, being human, it wasn¡¯t like no one in Lorren gossiped or bad-mouthed people. It was impossible to fully eliminate shady money circting around. However, the culture shamed anyone who brought it into high society, parliament, or any sort of formal sphere.
Well, conversely, this meant that taverns and other personal spaces were filled with badmouthing, groundless rumors, hush money/treats on a daily basis.
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t something unfamiliar like this make things harder for Deary and the others?¡¹
¡ºWell, in their case, it¡¯s not so much profit inducement as it is them wanting to do as they please, which ends up benefiting both sides immensely anyway, so I don¡¯t see there being much of an issue.¡»
¡¸Either way, the country sounds like a drag to live in.¡¹
¡ºNo, I¡¯m pretty sure anyone from any country feels that way about ces other than home.¡»
Layotte¡¯s words had an odd persuasion to them that caused Rainy to agree, recalling what the country she had previously operated in was like. It was true; any other country seemed bothersome inparison with Fane.
¡ºAt any rate, the Lorren royal house and Rufeus Academy will be making contact with them, so things will probably get a bit morous. As per usual, I¡¯m counting on you to gather intel and support them.¡»
¡¸Understood.¡¹
Nodding at Layotte¡¯s order, Rainy finished her periodic call. Unable to imagine herself actually doing something in an academy, Rainy considered the manner in which she should sneak in.
And so Hiroshi and friends¡¯ first day in Rufeus passed by like the calm before the storm.
Volume 5 1.1
Volume 5 Chapter 1.1
Trantor: Reflet
The envoy appeared around when breakfast had ended the following day.
¡¸So sorry to trouble you all this early in the morning.¡¹
The envoy, a man possibly approaching his fifties, lowered his head along with the two knight-looking men behind him.
¡¸No, don¡¯t worry about it. How might we help you?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s more in the documents, but our master has asked to see all of you and wants to know when it might be convenient to meet.¡¹
Handing the official letter to them and bowing once again, the envoy politely asked them what their ns were. Astonished at the man¡¯s demeanor, Tatsuya quickly nced at the other members.
Checking the contents of the letter and studying it to ensure there was no forgery anywhere, Hiroshi nodded once at Tatsuya.
¡¸Well, we have yet to set any ns, so as long as there is no problem with it, we would be fine with heading out right away. Actually, it would probably be a lot easier to set ns if we headed out right now. How about it?¡¹
¡¸Understood. In that case, I will confirm with my master, so might I have you wait a bit longer?¡¹
Seeing Tatsuya nod, the envoy took his distance to where no one could overhear before contacting someone with a transmission device. After two or three words, the envoy returned to where he previously stood and bowed.
¡¸My master also says he is ready to receive you all. I do apologize for how sudden this is, but once all of you have gotten ready, would you mind embarking with us?¡¹
¡¸Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡¹
The envoy bowed his head once again at Tatsuya¡¯s reply. Feeling a bit of unpleasantness at the man¡¯s demeanor, the group returned to their rooms to get ready. Seeing them do that, the envoy ordered the most expensive tea as an additional apology for intruding into their space.
¡¸I thank all of you for answering the sudden summons.¡¹
Rufeus Academy¡¯s visiting room. Waiting there was a young man who bowed his head as soon as Hiroshi and the others got to their seats. The headmaster, sitting beside him, copied the man and bowed his head.
¡¸Thedy at the gate told us that earlier, plus we already figured this would happen ¡®n prepared ordingly so it really ain¡¯t an issue¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi nearly let out a voice of perplexion at how quickly the man had lowered his head, even though there was technically no one else watching. If the document was not mistaken, the young man in front of them should be the country¡¯s top, and even if that were not the case, he was certainly affiliated with the upper echelon, so wouldn¡¯t it be bad to just lower your head to these strangers from who knows where?
¡¸Umm, if yer the king of this country should ya really be bowing yer head to us so willingly?¡¹
Hiroshi ended up asking something silly when he saw how quickly the man had bowed.
¡¸While I am indeed the king, and in front of the public I behave as such, is it not proper etiquette to lower my head in a situation like this?¡¹
¡¸Mm, normally sure, I guess¡¡¡¹
The king responded to Hiroshi¡¯s silly question with a highly serious answer. Hiroshi and the others weren¡¯t quite sure what to do with this king and hisck of dignity. The rulers of the three great western kingdoms were all very quirky individuals, but when acting as rulers, you could feel the dignity that apanied their positione out naturally.
His ascension to the throne having been only a few years ago probably influenced this as well, but the Lorren king just didn¡¯t have that same air of dignity about him.
¡¸W-Well, anyhow.¡¹
While very taken aback by all of this, Hiroshi realized the conversation wouldn¡¯t move forward like this and decided to get to the main topic. The important thing here was not about the king lowering his head so willingly. Usually this position was Tatsuya¡¯s to fill, but Hiroshi figured this really wasn¡¯t the best time to be making others do his part.
¡¸Could ya tell us why ya called us here now?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Ah, yes.¡¹
Hiroshi asked, and the king decided to get to the point. Discussing the need orck thereof for a king to bow was not going to get them anywhere.
¡¸The reason I had you alle here was for none other than the fact that I want to request your help for Lorren¡¯s sake.¡¹
¡¸We can¡¯t stay exclusively here, if that¡¯s whatcha want. We¡¯re in the middle of findin¡¯ a way back to our country, ¡®n even if we weren¡¯t, stickin¡¯ around one country would put us in a problematic position.¡¹
¡¸I won¡¯t ask anything so reckless as that. Even I do not wish to have the three great western kingdoms as my enemies, after all.¡¹
The king grimaced as he responded to Hiroshi¡¯s warning. While this was thergest country in the center of the continent, Lorren did not have the national power to oppose the three great western kingdoms.
The food sustenance was more than enough, but unlike Forre, Lorren did not have the kind of manufacturing ability or technology to cover all of its costs whenever it felt like it. Lorren imported plenty of resources from Fane, and it also relied on various things from Darl and Forre.
Most of all, if Lorren were to halt its exports to the western nations, arge amount of unemployed people would emerge. Of course, the three great kingdoms would probably also suffer some damage, but they also had plenty of ces to sell their products to. Taking on one country was one thing, but when it came to three, Lorren clearly had a disadvantage.
As a result, Lorren absolutely did not do anything that would risk stepping on the tiger¡¯s tail.
¡¸Lorren wishes to have a workshop set up in Rufeus as well, in addition to sending just one person, either one of your employees or acquaintances, into Rufeus Academy to enroll.¡¹
¡¸I mean, for the workshop, we were nnin¡¯ on findin¡¯ a base anyway, so that¡¯s not gonna be a problem, but I¡¯m a lil unsure about the goin¡¯ to school part. There¡¯s the issue of expenses, staying long-term that is gonna be difficult, ¡®n the employees are currently limited and I doubt they¡¯ll be able to just go to school like that.¡¹
¡¸The funding will be a national expenditure. As for the workshop, we already have several buildings reserved, so just pick one you like. You can set the transportation circle up right away.¡¹
¡¸Those are some mighty favorable terms, mate.¡¹
¡¸That is simply how much of a pinch my country is in, after all.¡¹
Hiroshi suddenly made a sour face at the king¡¯s conditions. He could smell trouble in the air.
¡¸Let¡¯s speak inly. Whatcha really want from us?¡¹
¡¸Azuma Workshop¡¯s technology. I would like you to coborate with some of the research in Rufeus Academy.¡¹
¡¸So yer askin¡¯ us to sell our tech to ya?¡¹
¡¸¡¡I, suppose that would be the case, yes¡¡¡¹
When Hiroshi pursued him further, it was now the king¡¯s turn to grimace. When he saw that, the headmaster spoke to the king.
¡¸Your Majesty, perhaps I should exin from here, as I was one of those present.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Right. Please do.¡¹
Realizing that his exnation would simply not sound right, the king yielded the task to the headmaster. epting the king¡¯s words, the headmaster opened his mouth to exin.
¡¸What we want is, strictly speaking, not your technology. If anything, we want your flexible way of thinking you have shown thus far.¡¹
¡¸Flexible, eh¡¡¹
Tatsuya let out a remark at the headmaster¡¯s words. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that Hiroshi and Haruna were not so much flexible as they were loyal to their greed.
¡¸Thesest five years, Rufeus Academy has not unveiled any new theses. Every research field is experiencing stagnation. This is more than just us hitting a teau in technology advancements; organizations are stiffening and ways of thinking are bing rigid.¡¹
¡¸Umm, I¡¯m pretty sure that basic research in this world, especially to gain results, normally takes around 50-100 years, y¡¯know¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Yes, of course it is as you say. However, that is only possible by continuously repeating trial and error with new challenges. Rufeus Academy does not even currently have that.¡¹
¡¸Then what kinda research are ya workin¡¯ on?¡¹
¡¸It really seems like we¡¯re just repeating experiments whose results have already been proven. I think we truly seem to hate the idea of conducting a new experiment and having all of our research results denied.¡¹
As the headmaster exined the academy¡¯s situation with a sigh, Hiroshi didn¡¯t even bother to hide his tired expression.
Volume 5 1.2
Volume 5 Chapter 1.2
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸I can pretty much see where yer goin¡¯ with this. Clearly the current faculty of professors have been ostracizin¡¯ any young or key figures with ambition ¡®n not lettin¡¯ ¡®em disy their results, right?¡¹
¡¸Ah, so you understand.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s gotta be the reason for not gettin¡¯ any results thest five years.¡¹
Hiroshi pinpointed the cause, and the headmaster took a deep, deep sigh.
¡¸But wouldn¡¯t it be pointless for us to interfere in a situation like that?¡¹
¡¸Would you still say the same thing knowing that those young, key figures with ambition are the ones causing this narrow-minded mentality?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Apparently after taking hindrance after hindrance, the rigidness had spread throughout the entire research facility. This was quite the troubling topic.
¡¸Ah, but we don¡¯t really wanna git involved in power struggles like that¡¡¡¹
¡¸Please, reconsider, I beg you.¡¹
¡¸Kay, so that¡¯s the situation. What do y¡¯all think?¡¹
Looking at the headmaster continue to single-heartedly lower his head, Hiroshi first threw the conversation to the other members. This was definitely not something that Hiroshi could decide by himself.
¡¸I wouldn¡¯t personally mind helping.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m against the idea. Darl and Forre were one thing, but this time we would end up getting too closely involved with power struggles.¡¹
¡¸Noment. Not enough information to go off of and there are demerits if we help and if we don¡¯t help either way.¡¹
¡¸I agree with Tatsu, noment. Sensei, you can decide.¡¹
Both agreement and opposition had one vote, while two voters chose abstention. Hiroshi, now with all the responsibility piled on him, contemted this for a bit, and then¡¡¡¢
¡¸Honestly, there ain¡¯t enough to go off of and even if we go back to discuss it the result¡¯ll be the same. Even if we hear more info and take the time to consider it I think we¡¯ll have made the same decision anyhow. But I ain¡¯t man enough to just throw down a decision like that, so I¡¯ll just leave it to the god of the dice here.¡¹
Hiroshi decided to leave this to Lady Luck.
¡¸The god of dice, you say?¡¹
¡¸Ah, it¡¯s just a super minor faith in our country, don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹
The headmaster made a puzzled face at the mention of this unfamiliar god. Giving him an extremelyckluster exnation, Hiroshi took out two six-sided die. Digressing a bit, these die were made together with sugoroku to kill time. To ensure there was no deviation in the shape, these fine items were created after a ridiculous amount of effort spent in firmly adjusting their center of gravity, air resistance, etc.
¡¸Let¡¯s have his majesty and the headmaster grab one dice each ¡®n roll ¡®em. If thebined total from both die is seven or more then we¡¯ll help out.¡¹
As he exined, Hiroshi handed one dice each to the king and headmaster. Combinations of seven or more could result from 21 of 36 oues. The probability that Hiroshi would assist them was a bit higher.
epting the die, the king and the headmaster rolled the objects with stern, praying-like faces. Being two of the top people in this country of knowledge, they did catch on to the fact that both die reaching abined total of 7 or more was likely, but they also knew full well that this did not necessarily mean it was guaranteed sess.
The sides that came out were one and six, making precisely seven.
¡¸Looks like it¡¯s right on seven, so we¡¯ll help ya out.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Oh, thank you.¡¹
The king breathed a sigh of relief at Hiroshi¡¯s words before saying his thanks. He seemed to have felt an extreme amount of pressure, considering everything was riding on his dice. Not only that, but the headmaster¡¯s dice rolled several tempos faster than the king¡¯s and was the number one, which meant nothing other than six on the king¡¯s end would be eptable; truly a severe situation in which it was impossible not to feel pressure.
¡¸So that¡¯s our decision. You cool with it?¡¹
¡¸Hey, if that¡¯s what the god of the dice says, we gotta listen.¡¹
Makoto, the only one opposed to cooperation, willingly responded to Hiroshi¡¯s query. Unexpectedly enough, she didn¡¯t fret over how they made the decision and simply epted the oue. It seemed that Makoto happened to also have faith in the god of dice.
¡¸But I¡¯m astonished they got such a precise amount.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s the god of dice for ya.¡¹
Hiroshi and Mio expressed their amazement at the faces that came up on the die. While this was in the expected value range, you had to think it was the work of the dice god toe up right on the seven in such an exciting manner.
¡¸Now that we decided we¡¯ll work with ya, first I need to see the workshops.¡¹
¡¸Yes, right you are. After we show you the workshops, let uspare and adjust how we want you to assist us and how you are actually able to assist us.¡¹
Their course of action decided, the group got right to action. Having reached the fourth kingdom, this was the first time that Azuma Workshop got the state backing their actions right from the get-go.
¡¸Dang, ya got some workshops with great conditions for locations¡¡¡¹
After they checked all the workshops, Hiroshi expressed his feelings in a half impressed half exasperated tone.
¡¸Well, we are the ones asking you to go out of your way here, so it¡¯s only reasonable that we set everything up to your liking, yes?¡¹
The headman informed Hiroshi with a straight face. The three workshops that Lorren had provided were all exceedingly rich sites positioned along the main street and also close to the academy and adventurer association. In addition, these were even more magnificent and gigantic than the initial workshop building in Wulls. Then again, even they were impressive workshops, their scale was no smaller than the current Wulls workshop with expansion after expansion.
¡¸So where have you decided on? Actually, if you so desire, you may use all three facilities.¡¹
¡¸Nah, I say one ce is fine for now. Also, if we could have one trusted person to handle management whenever we¡¯re away that¡¯d be great.¡¹
Hiroshi said as he pointed to the first workshop they were guided around. The size was slightly smaller than the other two workshops, but in exchange for that, it was close in proximity to the city gates, market, and the center of the business district. Then again, other than the two adults in their group, Hiroshi and friends didn¡¯t really care about that part.
¡¸Remodelling and all that can be easily done tomorrow, so now the question is who we let into the academy.¡¹
¡¸Right. We are sending them in as a student, correct?¡¹
Hiroshi brought up what could arguably be the most important issue. Hearing him say that, Haruna confirmed with the headmaster.
¡¸Yes, we would hopefully have them enrolled as a student in the academy. However, that is not an absolute necessity.¡¹
The headmaster brought the academy¡¯s wishes to the forefront when Haruna asked him to specify the fairly important conditions. When he heard that, Hiroshi came up with a few more items to review.
¡¸Are there any age restrictions?¡¹
¡¸Not particrly. We would prefer someone over the age of ten, but as we are the ones asking the unreasonable here, it is perfectly fine to bring anyone over here even if they do not fit that age. We will ept them.¡¹
¡¸And the amount of people? Not over a certain amount, or not under a certain amount?¡¹
¡¸Yes, well¡¡One at minimum, but you are free to bring over however many you wish.¡¹
¡¸And how many hours are students bound to?¡¹
¡¸Generally lecturesst from 9 am to 3 pm, and anything past that is research conducted in theboratory, so I cannot give anything too specific.¡¹
Hearing the gist of the schedule, Hiroshi briefly went into contemtion.
¡¸From what ya tell us, it sounds like the students need to continue going here, but Teres and the others ain¡¯t got that kinda leisure, honestly¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, they really don¡¯t.¡¹
Haruna nodded at Hiroshi. Losing one person when they were already short on members to begin with was just not going to happen.
¡¸And in our case we can only attend school for about 2 months max as students.¡¹
¡¸And let me just add¡we can¡¯t all be bound by the school schedule, you realize?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s a given too¡¡¡¹
The academy¡¯s demands and their own convenience. Hiroshi was at his wit¡¯s end with this trickypatibility issue.
Volume 5 1.3
Volume 5 Chapter 1.3
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Well hey, starting out, we see what kinds of courses the academy has, what format the sses are in, etc, and after checking all that we hammer out the details. Sound good?¡¹
Several problems arose, and in order to solve all of them, Makoto proposed they directly examine the school.
¡¸Good idea. Guess we really can¡¯t say unless we see it for ourselves.¡¹
¡¸Exactly. Also, once we get more members and Teres and the other girls have more free time, there¡¯s always the option of having them swap enrolling here every year.¡¹
¡¸Yup, that¡¯s probably what their future will look like.¡¹
Their course of action set for the time being, now they had details that were a bit more fleshed out. While the workshop members couldn¡¯t say much until they directly examined the lecture content and ss structure and other systems present in the school with their own eyes, they knew the general direction they were aiming for.
¡¸So first I wanna try actually attendin¡¯ a lecture. Are there any that¡¯re okay for us amateurs to mix in with?¡¹
¡¸Yes, if you wanted to look at the lectures for middle admission students.¡¹
¡¸Then let¡¯s say we take those lectures ¡®n then have someone tell us what the course system is like ¡®n how units are treated ¡®n all those details.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
And as they were transitioning from nning to action, Mio interjected.
¡¸Hey, Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Mm? Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be a drag if Rufeus Academy was a boarding system?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢good point. That¡¯s pretty important right there.¡¹
Listening to Mio point that out, Hiroshi looked back at the headmaster, who had also been listening to her as he quickly answered.
¡¸It¡¯s true that our academy is a boarding system. However, that doesn¡¯t mean you absolutely need to live in a dorm.¡¹
¡¸d to hear it, mate.¡¹
Hiroshi relievedly smoothed down his chest at the headmaster¡¯s response. Everything else would now be after they examined the fine details of the school system.
¡¸So getting back on track, can we attend the course right now?¡¹
¡¸Not right now, no. It¡¯s already begun, and once it¡¯s over, all lectures from that course are supposed to be over for the day. Also, the middle admission lectures are conducted each with one lecturer per time slot.¡¹
¡¸Then we¡¯ll leave that for when the school gits that back up, and in the meantime how about we check all the details about the system?¡¹
¡¸All right. I will be handing out the materials now. Allow me to exin based on those.¡¹
Right now the group just wanted to get everything over and done with. Surmising this much from Hiroshi¡¯s demeanor, the headmaster proceeded to the next topic. Also, the only reason he had waited this long to hand out the documents was because everything had begun so suddenly and he had missed the timing to do so.
¡¸Sensei, I¡¯m hungry. Before we get into the details, I wanna eat something.¡¹
¡¸Ah, good point.¡¹
When Mio asserted this, Hiroshi remembered they had gone without lunch. Thest lecture having already begun today meant that lunch break was already over.
¡¸Right you are. I am terribly sorry for forgetting this. I will have them prepare something right away.¡¹
Apologetic when he heard Mio¡¯s assertion, the headmaster hurriedly underwent preparations. Apparently someone had anticipated this happening due to the group being holed up in the same room even during lunch break, so thanks to that person, not even five minutes after the contact, a fairly exquisite lunch of roast duck and rabbit stew as the main course was carried over to them.
¡¸So the credit system involves you picking a lecture and attending it. Doesn¡¯t seem too different from our world.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Yes. The only difference would be that once you take the minimum level of required subjects, it¡¯s up to you when you graduate.¡¹
¡¸So there ain¡¯t a real graduation date.¡¹
¡¸So it would seem. As long as you can pay the tuition then you can pretty much study at the academy as long as you want.¡¹
That very evening. Hearing the exnation and receiving the document, the Japanese finished several procedures and then continued the briefing while drinking tea in the Sages Bell Pavilion.
¡¸Anyhow, I¡¯m d they got a crash course, mate.¡¹
¡¸Yep. There¡¯s also a month-long course that fits perfectly with our agenda, so maybe have one person try that one out.¡¹
Hiroshi and the others all looked at Makoto when she said that.
¡¸I feel like Makoto-san would be the perfect one for the month-long course. Whadya say?¡¹
¡¸Agreed. Makoto-san is usually free as it is anyway.¡¹
Haruna readily agreed with Hiroshi. When she heard that, Makoto frantically stood up and tried to counter, but-
¡¸Mako, if you don¡¯t take this opportunity you¡¯ll be on a straight path to bing a meathead.¡¹
¡¸Hey, keep me out of this!¡¹
Makoto snapped at Mio for her extremely savagement.
¡¸Makoto really does have too much time on her hands though, the most out of us in fact¡¡¡¹
¡¸I admit that I do, but aren¡¯t you just making me do something you don¡¯t want to?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t deny that. However, I think I¡¯ll be staying in the library for a while. Now which sounds more tiring; studying at an academy or at a library?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Right, you do have a point¡¡¡¹
Makoto attempted to get out of this tiring task, but Tatsuya thrust an even more terrifying alternative before her. Tatsuya probably had the most work cut out for him in Rufeus.
¡¸Also, while we¡¯re at it Mako, I think you should try and use some of that excessive mana.¡¹
¡¸I admit I have an excess, but it isn¡¯t so abundant that I can just use it all the time, you know?¡¹
¡¸Still, use whatever resources you can.¡¹
Everyone other than Makoto agreed with Mio¡¯s persuasive (?) opinion. You might think that Makoto, who faltered inparison to haruna¡¯s dexterity, would simply lose her strong point by shifting her focus to magic, but there was always a purpose to increasing the varieties of type attacks. From that perspective, it was difficult topletely deny that viewpoint.
¡¸The school over here is also interesting, so I did want to attend if I could¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, there ain¡¯t no point in Haruna taking short-term lectures¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I know¡¡¡¹
Haruna was more than willing to go to Rufeus Academy, as she didn¡¯t necessarily hate study, but she unfortunately already had the knowledge and skills that the short-term courses offered. Even if she didn¡¯t have as much to do as Hiroshi or Tatsuya, there was no merit in it for Haruna to confine herself to this.
¡¸Wait, Makoto-san, ya really hate studyin¡¯ that much?¡¹
¡¸Well yes, it¡¯s true that I don¡¯t like it.¡¹
Makoto could be categorized among the majority of people who are fine with studying their hobbies or areas of interest to the deepest level but do not necessarily enjoy studying in and of itself. Whenever she was pressed to study out of necessity she did what she had to, but everything she could skip out of she also did.
As a result, she only really attended and yed around in college, only studying to the point where she wouldn¡¯t fail sses.
¡¸I don¡¯t even like studying, so going to school after all this time is just¡¡¡¹
No one could deny they shared Makoto¡¯s rtable sentiment, quickly going quiet. Haruna, not quite a studyholic but still someone who enjoyed studying didn¡¯t quite empathize, but understanding that there were plenty of people who felt the same as Makoto, she had no intention of countering that assertion.
¡¸Then Mako, let¡¯s change perspective for a moment.¡¹
¡¸What now?¡¹
¡¸Rufeus Academy has quite the number of girls there.¡¹
¡¸So?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t you think it would be the perfect environment to influence with your hobbies?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Ah, I see what you¡¯re saying.¡¹
Understanding what Mio was trying to say, Makoto was now wondering why she hadn¡¯t thought of this sooner. It was true that in order to propagate (more like infect if we want to use ng) everyone with her interests, school was the ideal location. After all, Makoto herself was infected during her high school years by a ssmate.
¡¸Right. That¡¯s definitely an idea.¡¹
¡¸Mako, are you going to school then?¡¹
¡¸I just got finished with one volume, so I may as well study as I infect everyone.¡¹
Taken in by Mio¡¯s tempting words, Makoto agreed to go to school at Rufeus Academy. Later, she would end up regretting her careless decision when she missed the mark in both schoolwork (starting from lectures) and human rtionships, but life is pretty much like this for most people anyway.
Volume 5 1.4
Volume 5 Chapter 1.4
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Now that we got that decided, the workshop is the next thing to figure out, mate.¡¹
¡¸Actually, I have a thought regarding that.¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san, ya got a good idea?¡¹
¡¸Well, not so much an idea. I just thought if we¡¯re trying to implement the headmaster¡¯s wishes, we have to think in the long term, in which case maybe it¡¯s not such a bad idea to select people right from the start to attend.¡¹
Not quite sure what Haruna meant, Hiroshi made a puzzled face. Sure, thinking in the long-term was a given, but what did she mean by selecting people?
¡¸Who specifically do ya mean?¡¹
¡¸Just thinking we could have Lime-chan attend. You already nned to teach her how to spin textiles and make potions out of her rank, right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but c¡¯mon, do ya really think Lime¡¯s age and academic ability can handle this school¡¯s level?¡¹
¡¸Well, we can have her test out the lecture material and then possibly have her take a special ss if necessary. Besides, Lime-chan¡¯s academic ability can wellpete with the average adult in this world.¡¹
In a sense this was both the safest and also quite a dangerous proposition. Hiroshi had an unusually stern expression on his face for his typical loser vibe as he went into thought. He did n to have Fum and Lime to go school, but that was supposed to be an elementary school in Wulls, not in a school of higher education like Rufeus that had a certain level of knowledge and academic prowess as a requirement.
Now, of course if she herself wanted to attend, Hiroshi would be fine with that, and if she could get by at school while doing work he had already nned for her to attend such a ce. However, Wulls¡¯ higher education schools and Rufeus Academy hadpletely different standards. Lime, who had learned mainly by herself with some guidance from Hiroshi and the others might not be able to keep up with the education here.
Then again, the scariest oue would be if Lime¡¯s own education and this school¡¯s education opposed each other, and the headmaster did in fact seem to want such a thing, which was one troubling area.
¡¸¡¡Okay, so let¡¯s say she tests out the lecture. Ya really think they¡¯d be able to hold a special ss for a kid who ain¡¯t even six years old yet?¡¹
¡¸Well, I was thinking they might be able to try education for lower ages here as a test. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸We gotta negotiate some more for that, mate. Also, Lime¡¯s quite the fearless gal, so I could easily see her insistin¡¯ on somethin¡¯ and havin¡¯ the professor re at her¡¡¡¹
Haruna made a small grimace at Hiroshi¡¯s concern. If the academy really was the kind of ce that would ostracize Lime, at that point she figured it was fine to cut ties with them. True, maybe things weren¡¯t so simple as that, but they were already proceeding the conversation in that direction. Even if Lime were to cause a problem in that regard, no one looking out for anyone but themselves would take away the whole meaning of Azuma Workshop helping out and would not lead to any reform the headmaster wanted.
¡¸I don¡¯t think we need to worry about that. If anything, the objective here seems to be causing a ripple.¡¹
¡¸What I¡¯m worried about is Lime developin¡¯ a hatred for school or studyin¡¯. Besides, Fum¡¯s got it somewhat under control, but Lime can¡¯t restrain herself from speakin¡¯ out even when the person¡¯s in the wrong ¡®n not her.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s something she¡¯ll have to experience and learn from anyway, so I was thinking why not just let that time be now¡¡¹
¡¸Haruna-san, ya got the heart of a spartan¡¡¡¹
¡¸Right now, both us and La can be there at her side, and as she learns while we have her back, Lime herself is sure to grow.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna had suddenly began a theory of education debate, with Makoto and Mio¡¯s eyes darting about in confusion. Both opinions, extreme in their own way, caused Tatsuya to hesitate in how he should cut into the conversation.
¡¸¡¡Well, I at least agree we should send Lime to school.¡¹
Bracing himself, Tatsuya broke into Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s debate. Both parties were still fairly calm at this point, but these sorts of debates often escted if left alone, and thest thing Tatsuya wanted was to have Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s rtionship grow sour. Especially for the sake of Haurna¡¯s romantic feelings.
¡¸Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit quick toe to a conclusion about sending her here or not?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yup.¡¹
¡¸Right. Until we check the actual educational content, we can¡¯t really say.¡¹
¡¸Precisely. It isn¡¯t even clear right now if they¡¯d take in Lime or not.¡¹
Tatsuya scolded the two of them, who had finally regained theirposure after the argument.
¡¸Then assumin¡¯ they¡¯re cool with her bein¡¯ there, what do ya think shoulde next, Bro?¡¹
¡¸Why not have it be a one month trial run? If we have her study the same type of subjects as Makoto, she can help Lime out whenever things get tough.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢ya got a point¡¡¹
Hiroshi nodded at Tatsuya¡¯s realistic opinion.
¡¸Also, there ain¡¯t no limit to how many years ya take sses, so don¡¯tcha think we could just adjust the time ¡®n have Teres ¡®n the others swappin¡¯ takin¡¯ a ss each day ¡®n then have Lime study together with ¡®em?¡¹
¡¸Oh, that¡¯s an idea too. Guess we need to check up on that tomorrow as well.¡¹
¡¸Once that¡¯s over, we just gotta make arrangements to move to the workshop we got. Firstes the transportation circle, I say.¡¹
Thanks to Tatsuya¡¯s proposal, their course was set and Hiroshi began deciding the rough outline.
As it turned out, the academy was actually overjoyed and onboard with Hiroshi and team¡¯s suggestion, immediately working at establishing a younger ss including elementary education, and by the time Hiroshi¡¯s group reached the Rufeus workshop, a temporary curriculum and selected lecturer had been decided on. In this respect, one could say that this academy¡¯s sense of danger was openly manifesting itself.
Furthermore, apparently it was not so rare for people to adjust lectures to only afternoon in a three day interval, so the time slot business got permission with no problem, which resulted in all trueborn members of Azuma Workshop going to Rufeus Academy.
¡¸Ah, Boss Man. Wee back.¡¹
¡¸Setting up the transportation circle? Wow, that was fast this time, huh?¡¹
Seeing Hiroshi who was supposed to currently be in Rufeus, Fum and Nora greeted him in a fairly normal manner. Waving a hand to the two of them to return the greeting, Hiroshi first got to quickly finishing setting up the transportation circle.
¡¸As per usual, you put these circles down so quickly I can barely believe they transport you long distance.¡¹
¡¸Well, I been real ustomed to doin¡¯ it by this point¡¡¹
¡¸Finishing such a high maintenance task so easily makes the world¡¯s enchanters and magic technicians look like shams.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m gonna eventually make sure y¡¯all do the same work at the same pace as me, so ya best not git too surprised by somethin¡¯ like this.¡¹
Hiroshi asserted something egregiously unfair as if it were the most natural thing in the world, prompting Nora to re at him with reproachful eyes. She was already having a hard enough time with Mio and Haruna demanding outrageous things.
¡¸Also, this is perfect timing. How ¡®bout ya call down Teres ¡®n Lime to the cafeteria? I got somethin¡¯ I needa talk to ¡®em about.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Shall I pour tea while we¡¯re at it?¡¹
¡¸Yup, thanks mate.¡¹
Listening to Hiroshi¡¯s instructions, Nora headed to the kitchen to make some tea while Fum went to call Teres and Lime over. If the workshop master had to call all craftsmen down, this must be quite the important errand.
¡¸So what was it you needed to talk to us about?¡¹
¡¸The king in Lorren asked somethin¡¯ of us, ya see.¡¹
Nora asked as she finished pouring the tea, while Hiroshi began discussing this oundish request from someone of high status like it was something that happened every day. However, at this point, no matter what new king or queen Hiroshi met, the employees of the workshop would not feel surprised. Or rather, feeling surprised at every shenanigan like this would create a serious impediment in their duties as workshop members every time some royal showed up.
¡¸You have another request from royalty, huh.¡¹
¡¸Yup, and it¡¯s as much of a drag as it usually is.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m already used to this, but I feel like it¡¯s seriously weird for you of all people to find it a drag, Boss Man.¡¹
¡¸Nope, it really is a drag, mate.¡¹
A request from someone who you would normally never meet in your life. Teres released a sigh at her employer finding this tiresome, even if she had be ustomed to it. As an elf from the country, she really wanted him to stop taking on these requests.
Volume 5 1.5
Volume 5 Chapter 1.5
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸So what¡¯s the mission now?¡¹
Seeing that the conversation wouldn¡¯t progress by ignoring the issue, Fum asked what was going on. The fact that she, a girl whose age was still in the ones, was the one who had to steer the conversation already spelled doom and gloom for Azuma Workshop¡¯s future.
¡¸Well, nothin¡¯ all that crazy. Just gonna have all of us enroll in Rufeus Academy.¡¹
¡¸Whaaat?¡¹
When Hiroshi threw that bomb into the open, other than Lime who didn¡¯t fully understand the gravity of the situation, everyone got taken off-guard and let out inane voices.
¡¸Well, I do gotta hear La-san¡¯s opinion regardin¡¯ Fum ¡®n Lime, but yeah.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re, asking me¡¡?¡¹
¡¸No, I mean I can¡¯t just have the kids go off somewhere without their mom¡¯s permission, mate.¡¹
When Hiroshi said that, La briefly went into thought. Sending her children to attend Rufeus Academy. This was a status symbol, and a very powerful one at that, for households with both a certain amount of financial muscle and educational standards.
Thinking back on how she and her daughters had lived in the slums for a time, barely able to get them education at primary school, this was truly an awe-inspiring moment. However, as the administrator of the workshop who was studying whenever the asion mandated it, she had a firm grasp of the importance of proper education.
After worrying herself sick, the conclusion she came up with was¡
¡¸I¡¯ll leave this Fum and Lime. As a parent, I do believe they should be going to school, but I doubt they will acquire knowledge if I force it on them, plus if they went to school and something happened, it would be more difficult for them to see me as a ce of refuge¡¡¡¹
And that was what she decided.
¡¸Alright, got it.¡¹
¡¸Boss Man¡«¡¢Lime¡¯s gonna go to school¡«?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Do ya not wanna?¡¹
¡¸I wanna go!!¡¹
As Teres and the others were freezing, Hiroshi, La, and Lime had suddenly wrapped up the conversation. Once she heard them speak and returned to reality, Teres hurriedly cut in.
¡¸Uhh, umm, Boss Man!¡¹
¡¸Wha?¡¹
¡¸If we all enroll, what will happen to work!?¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry mate, I gotcha.¡¹
Hiroshi said, exining they would go in rotation once every three days in just the morning or afternoon to attend lectures. While he was at it, Hiroshi handed them all lists that picked up all the lectures that would fit the aforementioned time slots.
¡¸If it¡¯s once every three days for just half a day, we can all follow up right?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well, sure we can, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Still, it¡¯s going to be real busy for a while, no joke.¡¹
When Hiroshi reminded them, Teres reluctantly agreed and Fum mentioned her own concerns. Everyone felt oddly jealous of Hiyohiyo, snoozing in the basket without a care in the world.
¡¸It seems like we¡¯ve reached some sort of decision, so I¡¯ll give in and study alongside you all, but could we at least wait until the royal house brings along new candidates and teach them a little bit about how we work here?¡¹
¡¸But then we won¡¯t know when we¡¯ll be in Rufeus. Sorry, might be a bit tough, but I wantcha to try enrollin¡¯ ¡®n attendin¡¯ lectures startin¡¯ next week.¡¹
¡¸If that¡¯s how it is, I can¡¯tin, but next week is rather soon, don¡¯t you think?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s a lotta new experiments goin¡¯ on over there, so during that time we¡¯ll be samplin¡¯ some problems at hand ¡®n I guess they want us to be there for that.¡¹
Hearing the new experiments portion, Nora suddenly realized they were all being sacrificed. Looking at her coworkers, she saw that they also recognized this, with clouds over their heads.
¡¸And so, ya can choose whatever ya want from the lectures, but whatever y¡¯all decided on I¡¯ll have Lime also take, so make sure to think of her when yer decidin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, I never asked, but how is Lime going to fit into all this?¡¹
¡¸She¡¯ll pretty much attend every day. Makoto-san¡¯s also gonna go ¡®n learn magic fundamentals in the short-term course, so we¡¯re thinkin¡¯ of makin¡¯ Lime¡¯s mornin¡¯ schedule match that subject. For the afternoon we see if one of us has a lecture ¡®n match Lime to that, and if not then we call it quits for that day.¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s fiendish ns, Nora¡¯s face began growing terrifying. She had realized that this employer of theirs was practically forcing them to have at least one person taking lectures every morning, in consideration of Lime¡¯s stamina.
¡¸¡¡I don¡¯t have a choice, so I, Nora, will take the morning curriculum¡¡Yes, how about Biology 1? It¡¯s the first lecture on the day of the moon and the day of the wind, so Fum and Teres will need to select something else.¡¹
¡¸In that case, I will take Mathematics 1 in the morning for water and earth.¡¹
¡¸Then I guess I¡¯ll do Beginning Enchanting Magic 1 in the afternoon for fire and time?¡¹
Teres and Nora figured they should leave the afternoon as open as possible, choosing the morning instead, while Fum figured they needed someone to take an afternoon slot, choosing lectures in the afternoon.
A littlete into the game, but I should exin that this world has the seven days of moon, fire, water, wind, time, earth, and sun, and businesses other than stores had the day of the sun off. The naming was slightly different, but it was practically the same as the earth¡¯s calendar.
¡¸Gotcha. Also, if the time yer there feels a lilcking, yer free to pick another lecture.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, Teres¡¯s schedule is definitely unfinished.¡¹
Hiroshi and Nora discussed this, and Teres went into thought for a bit. The lecture Teres had actually chosen was from 10:30 to noon. Doing work until 10 am was certainlyckluster.
¡¸¡¡Alright. If Nora and the others don¡¯t mind, I guess I¡¯ll also take History: The Western Regions?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t mind. In exchange, though, at night I would like you to at least tell us what kind of content they went over.¡¹
¡¸Then when dinner¡¯s over, and also for the purpose of review, let¡¯s make it the timeslot for anyone who went to school that day informing everyone else of the lecture content.¡¹
¡¸Ah, that does sound good.¡¹
Initially the three of them had grumbled about this negatively affecting their work, but now that they knew they were going to school, an unexpected sort of learning desire rose up within them. Apparently the main thing they were concerned about was work bing difficult to handle, but they all loved the idea of attending school.
¡¸Come to think of it, Lime has a slot open in the morning for sses. What do we do about that?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ll consult the school ¡®n have ¡®em fill it in with some other general education segment. Also, if it ever seems like there¡¯s an inconvenience, we¡¯ll have another person out there teach her things like grammar, arithmetic, fundamental stuff like that, so if there¡¯s a need for it we¡¯ll have ourselves as possible house tutors.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay.¡¹
Cool with Hiroshi¡¯s exnation, Nora and the others were grateful that everything besides work getting harder was more than satisfactory. Seeing their reactions, Hiroshi spoke directly to Lime, the centerpiece of all this.
¡¸Lime, ya cool with this as yer curriculum too?¡¹
¡¸Yeah!¡¹
Hiroshi asked, and Lime answered with enthusiasm. Of course, a child of five years like herself wouldn¡¯t have any specific thing she wanted to study. Lime was just happy to go to school and study.
¡¸Then we¡¯ll proceed with what we discussed tomorrow, y¡¯all.¡¹
With everyone at a consensus, today¡¯s conversation was over.
The next day, just in case, everyone attended each ss they had epted together, and other than a few things that were not entirely clear, Lime and everyone else were all able to keep up with the content. This would end up greatly astonishing the academy, but as to whether this was because of Azuma Workshop¡¯s education standards being oddly high or because Rufeus Academy¡¯s schrly ability standards being oddly low, the world will never know.
Volume 5 2.1
Volume 5 Chapter 2.1
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸¡¡I think this might need a little revision, maybe?¡¹
Rufeus Academy¡¯s cafeteria, one week after the workshop members had begun attending the academy. Haruna was muttering with an earnest face in front of several tes of food.
The reason for it taking a week was simple. The instant ramen factory construction waspleted earlier than anticipated, so the members had joined Hiroshi, who had joined Mio in hurriedly trying to make the amodations to set the factory in that location. With that being said, the most Haruna and Mio had made were promoted growth fermentation barrels for soy sauce and miso, while all the important amodations were made by Hiroshi.
¡¸This costing 30 tirols is absolutely expensive.¡¹
Haruna spat in a moaning tone as she red at the lunch set and the various kinds of individual dishes in front of her.
The lunch set consisted of hard, bad quality rye bread that you would almost never see in Fane, not even at the lowest grade dining halls, a stew that you could barely eat with the absolute minimal amount of seasoning, and a rather nd soup. The food was all small in amount and unless you were a really light eater, you probably wouldn¡¯t be full even with two servings of everything there.
Teres and the othersined about the bad taste and price of the cafeteria, so it made a lot of sense for them to prepare their own lunches. At first it seemed more like they had a discriminating pte because of Haruna and the others, but no, it made a lot of sense toin about this food.
There weren¡¯t many diners in the academy¡¯s vicinity, and all the shops you could reach within lunch break were minimum 70 tirols per meal, which might exin the students who ate there on a fairly regr basis. However, from Haruna¡¯s perspective, it was far more preferable to eat that amount at those stores than to have to eat two meals here.
¡¸¡¡Either way, we still gotta finish everything here¡¡¡¹
Haruna had heard the food was bad and the amount was scarce, so she had ordered four other dishes without much thought in addition to the lunch set. These were all around double the market price, or perhaps more than double (although the market price was just one tirol), yetcked the proper amount. Haruna continued to prepare herself for the worst as she desperately shoveled the food in through her mouth, insisting to herself that even if none of the foods were good, this was the chef¡¯s fault and not the food¡¯s fault.
The vexing thing about all of this was probably that even if you ignored the serving size, the food was still supposed to be cheaper than it was. This establishment was most certainly taking advantage of the students.
£¨Or maybe the residents of Rufeus actually find this stuff tasty¡¡£©
Haruna¡¯s heart was almost breaking from how bad the stuff was as she considered this factor. This type of food with barely any taste but no vor brought out from its ingredients reminded Haruna of her mother¡¯s other hometown and some of its food.
Then again, you could kind of tell from the expressions on most people¡¯s faces that the food here was considered bad even by Rufeus¡¯s standards. They just didn¡¯t appear to be enjoying it. The majority either continued to eat silently and expressionlessly like some sort of ascetic monk or ate their food as they read articles, as if to say they had no interest in the food itself. It was clear that no one thought of this as a meal, more like simple nutrition to replenish the body.
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢I can¡¯t do it anymore. Sorry, but I¡¯m just gonna break the rules here¨C¡¹
Haruna experienced a setback halfway through eating, stealthily taking out soy sauce, salt, pepper, curry powder, and wasabi paste before adjusting the vor without getting found out.
One male student who was secretly looking over at Haruna seemed very fascinated by what she was putting on her food, but seemed to not have the courage to talk to a stranger, simply observing and then leaving without saying a word.
¡¸¡¡Mhm. I¡¯d say this is now pretty edible?¡¹
Adjusting the vor of the food on the table to a suitable degree, Haruna finished eating as she hid the evidence. The vor didn¡¯t seep all the way through in some ces, or maybe despite the stew being tough to chew, the vor enhancers didn¡¯t properly stay in the food, or the tabletop condiments didn¡¯t quite do the trick overall, but it was still better than doing nothing.
¡¸But I¡¯ll be muddleheaded if I keep eating this kind of food. The cafeteria here needs reform!¡¹
Managing to somehow finish eating, Haruna renewed her resolve. This happened every time, but the starting point was always the same.
¡¸This needs a lil reform¡¡¡¹
Rufeus Academy¡¯s school store. Looking at all the goods lined up there, Hiroshi muttered with narrowed eyebrows.
That being said, there was more than plenty of stationary here for school. The paper sold here wasn¡¯t even parchment, but was on par with developed countries on Earth, basically normal paper for us. There were even lined paper varieties to make it easier to enter letters, so the onlyint one might have is that the paper¡¯s size was either mostly A3 or B5 and nothing else.
Then again, this was just regarding stationary. All the everyday goods that tended to be essential for student life made you want to narrow your eyebrows in regards to both quantity and quality, and then there was a poor excuse for a selection of food, which consisted of yesterday¡¯s unsold rye bread. They might as well not even leave the bread there at this rate.
Now, it is a solid argument that school stores really only need stationary to be sufficient. However, this location seemed to feel that was inconvenient, which is probably why it started dealing in other items as well. In that case, it may as well stop being so half-assed and bring in the kind of variety that convenience stores have.
¡¸Gotta at least make sure they have unssified healin¡¯ potions lined up here.¡¹
As insurance for emergencies, every household everywhere had unssified potions, the only exceptions in the long list of fairly frequently regted potions, which were like slightly high value bandaids that you might find at general stores if they had permission to sell them. Unexpectedly enough, Rufeus Academy¡¯s school store wasn¡¯t selling them despite being the nucleus of the country of the sages. It wasn¡¯t like there wasn¡¯t demand, but it seemed like the academy was basically saying to just use the doctor¡¯s office.
Another problem at hand was that even though there were plenty of courses andboratories that underwent fieldwork outside town, the school store didn¡¯t sell even the most basic of necessary items for that. Most of these items wouldn¡¯t even bulk up that much, let alone rot, so the store could very well have cooperated with an adventurer association to ensure you could buy them, but the store appeared to be leaving this problem unattended due to inconvenience.
And the thing Hiroshi was most dissatisfied with¡
¡¸But if yer gonna sell bread at the school store, ya gotta at least sell sandwiches ¡®n yakisoba bread, like c¡¯mon mate.¡¹
¡was this.
Volume 5 2.2
Volume 5 Chapter 2.2
Trantor: Reflet
Now, of course thisint of Hiroshi¡¯s was a little spoiled. Sandwiches were one thing, but yakisoba bread couldn¡¯t even exist in a world where there was no such thing as yakisoba. In the first ce, before the store even tried to stock up on things like that, they should start out with portable food suited for fieldwork like crackers or jerky.
However, if thatmon view were to be the norm here, then there would have never been all these silly cultural invasions all over the ce.
¡¸If I¡¯m gonna meddle in this, I gotta git permission from the top ¡®n then verify the stock route.¡¹
This was clearly not one of the things that the headmaster wanted reformed, and Hiroshi had just decided to meddle in it.
¡¸Ya can¡¯t just say ¡°oh all ya need is to study¡± and overlook this kinda blunder with the school store. No wonder this academy ain¡¯t got no progress in its research. Reform¡¯s necessary.¡¹
Hiroshi reaffirmed some kind of determination as he chewed on this rare, bad quality rye bread. This sort of thing did happen every time, but the starting point was always the same.
¡¸So it turns out that the personal library archives open to the public weren¡¯t too different from what¡¯s in Wulls Castle¡¡¡¹
As Hiroshi and friends were exploring the campus facilities and setting their hearts on working vigorously toward unnecessary reforms, Tatsuya atst hardened his resolve to step into the special section of the archives.
Unlike the public archives, the special archives required a written agreement in order to enter. Both required a fee, but thanks to the free pass that the Lorren king had provided, Tatsuya was exempt from this.
¡¸But really? A written agreement for entering this section? I have a seriously bad feeling.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. Without a really good reason, we cannot rmend that those without librarian qualifications enter alone.¡¹
Tatsuya muttered as he looked over the formalities for entering the special section, and a young woman approached him. She appeared to be somewhere between herte teens and early twenties. The librarian¡¯s uniform she wore went quite well with her slender but explicit body and quiet, intelligent beauty. In a sense, she might be perfect with sses on, but unfortunately she seemed to have good, unaided vision as she moved about. Her long, dark hair had blue tinges that were tied simply around her back, but that in itself looked great on her too, so no issues there.
¡¸You are Kazuki Tatsuya-sama, yes?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I am, but who are you?¡¹
¡¸I do apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I am Daljan-sama¡¯s priestess, Librarian Sasha. I look forward to working with you, sir.¡¹
¡¸Ohhh, so you¡¯re the priestess here. Nice to meet you too.¡¹
¡¸Well, if I had to say which profession is my main one, it would be the librarian position.¡¹
Tatsuya found what Sasha said in her introduction to make a lot of sense, with the god of knowledge¡¯s priestess being a librarian and all. Also, Sasha had the perfect image of what the god of knowledge¡¯s priestess would look like.
¡¸So I take it that you being here means I don¡¯t have to enter the archives, since you can answer all my questions, right?¡¹
¡¸No. Although I am indeed the priestess and spokesperson for Daljan, this does not mean I can get an answer to simply anything. Also, Daljan-sama can generally only discuss whatever Alfemina-sama has requested.¡¹
¡¸In other words, if we want to know about Fairy Tale Chronicles and the Guests of the Unknown Continent, we must investigate it ourselves.¡¹
¡¸That would be the case, yes.¡¹
Apparently, the world was not so kind to let them off easy. While Tatsuya did feel this way, he also recognized that their group had yet to contribute anything to Daljan. The other gods up to this point had also worked many things in their favor in exchange for tribute.
Now that the gods themselves had stated definitively that they were stage settings, there was no way that Daljan would be any different.
¡¸In that case, I guess I¡¯ll finish these procedures and get to searching. As a reference, what should I do in order to enter the forbidden section?¡¹
¡¸You will need Daljan-sama¡¯s permission. I have been entrusted with assisting everyone in going inside there, but I definitely cannot give you permission by yourself, Tatsuya-sama.¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t go in by myself? Is there a reason?¡¹
¡¸Once you enter the special section, I believe you will notice why.¡¹
¡¸I see, got it.¡¹
Nodding at Sasha, Tatsuya signed this contract with all the dangerous-sounding terms on it, presenting it to her.
¡¸So which way is the special section?¡¹
¡¸Over here. What will you be looking into?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see¡to start off, I want to look into whatever I can find in the special archives regarding documents on Dark God Temr and the incidents they were behind, in the meantime.¡¹
¡¸Received¡¡Searchplete, connected. I will guide you through the area, so please step over to this transportation circle.¡¹
¡¸Alright.¡¹
Sasha motioned to the circle, and Tatsuya stepped into it. In an instant, he was moved in front of a different door.
¡¸Anything past this point will require that you are fully prepared. Are you ready?¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah.¡¹
¡¸Technically, you are able to use a transportation stone once you go in, but you can only go back to this point. Keep that in mind before you go.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
Listening to Sasha¡¯s warning, Tatsuya somewhat braced himself and opened the door. Beyond it was a space of bookshelves continuing to the horizon.
¡¸¡¡Yep, I see why you need a contract for this.¡¹
¡¸It seems that I now have your understanding, so we shall continue this way.¡¹
As he felt a type of dizziness from therge space in this room bound to make anyone get lost and the sheer, terrifying volume of all the books and shelves, Tatsuya followed Sasha as his guide and began rummaging through materials. Wandering aimlessly alongside Sasha, Tatsuya finally began to understand why a contract was needed, but he still kept going, thoroughly regretting havinge there alone.
¡¸So that¡¯s how it is mate.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s the same for you, huh.¡¹
¡¸And since it¡¯s the same for you, then the school food¡¯s also that way?¡¹
¡¸Yep. I honestly felt like murdering someone.¡¹
Soon after returning to Rufeus Workshop, Hiroshi and Haruna began discussing the first orders of business. Tatsuya and Makoto made exasperated faces when they heard this. No matter how much they tried to justify it, this just seemed like a sudden detour.
Meanwhile, Mio was currently at Wulls Workshop, teaching various things to to a fox beastman, the long-awaited newbie that Layotte had brought over. The second person and onward appeared to all be struggling with the screening process, with the king, Darl¡¯s queen, and the Forre king at a loss as they continued the interviews.
Once the workshop¡¯s employees were decided, they had to get right to gathering employees for the instant ramen factory, which was beginning its construction, so they grumbled about having to busy themselves with securing human resources for the time being.
Volume 5 2.3
Volume 5 Chapter 2.3
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I have no intent ofining about every little thing, but how about we begin with reforming the school cafeteria and the school store?¡¹
¡¸There¡¯s no way any other reform would work if we leave those uninspired sections alone.¡¹
¡¸Yup. I don¡¯t think any facility takin¡¯ money with such amateurish practices will ever git stable, talented employees at this rate.¡¹
The two of them couldn¡¯t seem to suppress their anger. Hiroshi and Haruna fiercely snapped at Tatsuya¡¯s question. Makoto just watched all this with a slightly drawn-back expression.
¡¸Okay, that¡¯s settled, but how specifically do you intend to aplish this?¡¹
¡¸First, I¡¯m thinking we need to do something about the cafeteria¡¯s seasoning. Judging from the amount of food, I figure there¡¯s no point increasing it if it¡¯s still bad, right.¡¹
¡¸And I wanna start off with unssified potions. Next, I see they¡¯re sellin¡¯ bread, so I might as well have ¡®em increase variety ¡®n make them tastier.¡¹
¡¸I understand the cafeteria, but I didn¡¯t expect the school store to be about food too¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya simply had to make an exasperated remark on how Hiroshi and Haruna were back at it with their usual antics.
¡¸So you say you¡¯ll be starting out with the seasoning, but how exactly will you go about it?¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t say much unless I see them cooking, but I need to at least have them study from the basics with seasoning.¡¹
¡¸Okay, it¡¯s cool you want that, but does Rufues even have all that many different seasonings? You really think they can just do everything you can?¡¹
¡¸I know. And before that, it¡¯s a bit dicey if they¡¯ll even ept the same seasonings from the west, so I would need to tweak that a bit.¡¹
The two elders of the group made unexpected faces when they heard Haruna¡¯s response to Makoto¡¯s question. Grimacing a bit when she saw that, Haruna exined all the shared elements she had sensed from Rufeus¡¯s cuisine they had tasted up to now.
¡¸I think it¡¯s a feature of the center northern regions of the continent, but the people of Rufeus seem to have less tolerance for spicy foods than those in Japan. Also, they appear to like the harder kinds of bread even if they¡¯re a bit exquisite, and too strong of a smell is a turnoff.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. For instance, I had some of the people at the inn try curry powder and they said it was a bit too strongpared to what they use. Soy sauce and ponzu seemed to have too thick of a taste to just put on food, while miso and cooked rice also had too strong of a smell. At least the stew I put in with the rice had a pretty good review, so condiments like mirin seem okay.¡¹
¡¸Wow¡¡¡¹
Even Darl had epted a certain amount of the Japanese food culture, but now it was the first defeat sinceing here. Makoto heard this and made aplicated face. It was probably reasonable, since they were in another environment, but it was also still probably reasonable for them to feel like their entire existence had been denied.
Then again, not only had she just brought in items that Darl might ept, Haruna had also made sure to make minimal tweaks to match the food culture there, but Makoto didn¡¯t know that much.
¡¸Well, considerin¡¯ all that, the pioneer bird bone instant ramen had a super good rating despite the noodles bein¡¯ too long.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, that was awesome.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna threw an odd explosive into the conversation, not realizing what kind of face Makoto was making. When she had heard this, Makoto¡¯s eyes opened wide.
¡¸I-Is this true?¡¹
¡¸Sure is. The world¡¯s deep, mate.¡¹
¡¸I know right? Pioneer bird ramen strikes again.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna earnestly discussed this as Tatsuya and Makoto quieted down, unable toment. They really had to hand it to super gigantic pioneer bird industry, which had the world¡¯s aggregate demand numbering around a hundred billion meals. This one at least seemed to be always hitting the bull¡¯s-eye.
¡¸Well, leaving that aside, from what you said earlier, Japan-esque seasonings aren¡¯t super popr over here, right? So how are you going to implement that into the cafeteria food?¡¹
¡¸I have a decent grasp on most of Rufeus¡¯s seasonings, so I try to match it with the vors here and adjust various things. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll do it or not, but when I set up shop I¡¯ll go that route too.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
The prospect seemed to hold firm. In that case, Tatsuya concluded he may as well let them do as they wanted.
¡¸So Bro ¡®n Makoto-san, whach¡¯all do?¡¹
Hiroshi threw the torch to the elder members, who made sour faces. Judging by their demeanor, this wasn¡¯t a very good situation.
¡¸First allow me to give a report¡¡¡¹
¡¸Wazzup mate?¡¹
¡¸I¡kinda underestimated the library.¡¹
¡¸Was it that difficult?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Honestly, there was nothing I could do about it by myself.¡¹
Tatsuya suddenly began with aint, to which Hiroshi and Haruna just looked at each other. Sure, this was supposed to be a huge library, but there was no way Tatsuya would just give up like that, right?
¡¸What in the world happened that made you struggle like this?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, you see, the archives were actually a dungeon.¡¹
Everyone¡¯s expressions froze at Tatsuya¡¯s report. The naive thought that a building could only be sorge was crushed to powder in an instant.
¡¸¡¡No matter what happens we¡¯d be right in a god¡¯s turf, and when no miasma emerged we let our guard down. I didn¡¯t expect that mate.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Yeah, seriously.¡¹
¡¸But if ya think about Spirit Spire Cave, it ain¡¯t impossible. I definitely let my guard down there, mate.¡¹
A sourness spread across Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s faces at Tatsuya¡¯s report. This was certainly something they could have anticipated. And yes, they were a bit too naive this time. Still, having the result be something like this was just too dreadful.
¡¸So Tatsuya, what kind of state was the library archive in when you went there?¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t go past the shallow sections, so i can¡¯t say for sure, but in that area at least there were no monsters. Still, there were traps ced all around the area, and it would have been seriously difficult for me to go by myself.¡¹
¡¸In other words, we have to basically wait till Mio¡¯s free.¡¹
¡¸Exactamundo.¡¹
Hearing Tatsuya¡¯s report of traps, everyone decided to immediately postpone the investigation. You sort of got the impression that the group always ended up getting involved with a dungeon in every region, but this was always for the sake of the mission, so it¡¯s not like they could help it.
¡¸But if there are enough books to make it a dungeon, wouldn¡¯t it be super difficult to look for the right ones?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Quite a hassle. We do have Daljan-sama¡¯s priestess and priests working as librarians, so if need be they can use holy power to narrow down the locations a bit, but that would still leave us with the amount of books you¡¯d find in a prefectural capital library.¡¹
¡¸Whoa¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya continued to give troubling answers to Haruna¡¯s questions. The situation was starting to sound worse and worse, and Hiroshi and the others could only let out parched voices.
Volume 5 2.4
Volume 5 Chapter 2.4
Volume 5 Chapter 2.4
Volume 5 Chapter 2.3
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it just be faster to directly ask Daljan-sama in that case?¡¹
¡¸Makoto, did you really think I wouldn¡¯t consider that?¡¹
¡¸Darn, so that¡¯s no good either?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I asked the priestess, and she said Daljan-sama would only tell us what Alfemina-sama intended on exining to us and what¡¯s been going on regarding us in our own world. Everything else, we need to investigate on our own.¡¹
¡¸Ugh¡¡¡¹
Makoto seriously groaned at how spartan Daljan was with his policies. At this rate, once they had finished a certain amount of their requests, their entire group would end up moving out to search.
¡¸For the time being, I¡¯ll search a bit more in the safe zone, but I¡¯d like you all toe and help as soon as possible.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll finish these quests as quick as we can to get to you as soon as possible.¡¹
¡¸Although in my case, I¡¯m confined to the school with my time¡¡¡¹
Everyonepared their ns with one another for the original goals. With that being said, Makoto was the only one whose ns were currently set in stone. Depending on Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s progress, their daily tasks could very well change.
¡¸What about Rainy? She¡¯s headed over right?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. She¡¯s apparently done with all her investigating in Rufeus for now, so she¡¯ll be riding the motorcycle around the neighboring regions for intel. I heard she sent the report Layotte¡¯s way, so His Highness will probably eventually organize all that for us.¡¹
¡¸Ah, I see.¡¹
Tatsuya answered Makoto¡¯s lingering question. While she was fine with his exnation, Makoto was also disappointed at not having Rainy around to help her. While her genre of information gathering was different, you could not underestimate Rainy. Her not being around was seriously a handicap.
¡¸So I¡¯m fine with that, but what about you, Makoto?¡¹
¡¸No, I really don¡¯t know. Lectures are easier than expected, but that¡¯s really it. It¡¯s only been a week, so of course you can¡¯t expect me to have that much of a result, right?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, you¡¯re not wrong¡¡¹
While expressing understanding at Makoto¡¯s reason, Tatsuya still couldn¡¯t quite escape the feeling of disappointment. He had a lot of expectations for Makoto, or for their group in general, so he had figured she would have caused some sort of fun ruckus.
¡¸Makoto-san, how¡¯s Lime holdin¡¯ up?¡¹
¡¸The only ss we have together is a lecture for Magic Fundamentals, but she¡¯s keeping up with the ss no problem. However, her practical experience in that field asionally shes with the lectures, since she¡¯s never had that kind of ssroom learning.¡¹
¡¸Yup, can¡¯t help that. The school still hasn¡¯t said it¡¯s time for practical experience.¡¹
This was one of the main concerns about Lime. At least her keeping up with the ss would not be an issue.
¡¸And she¡¯s not sticking out too much?¡¹
¡¸If anything, I feel like the one who¡¯s sticking out. I¡¯ve adjusted to ittely, but wearing that kind of a uniform just hurts¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi and the others knew exactly what Makoto was talking about. Rufeus Academy¡¯s uniforms for women had fairly normal designs, but it just didn¡¯t look right to have a Japanese woman over twenty to be wearing it. If Haruna were to wear it, she might have looked more like a magical girl or beautiful knight, but Makoto just didn¡¯t look suitable in it, and it was cringe.
Also, any other women in their twenties living in this area didn¡¯t look particrly out of ce in that regard, so the world was just a cruel ce.
¡¸And how¡¯s the vibe when Lime¡¯s around?¡¹
¡¸A child¡¯s curiosity really is something, isn¡¯t it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t tell me, is it tense when she¡¯s around?¡¹
¡¸With the teacher, yeah. The students seem to enjoy just thinking of all the strange things to poke fun at. Oh, and this isn¡¯t because the students are meanies or they hate the teacher or whatever, just that Lime always finds blind spots in the lesson prep material and it¡¯s always a super good learning experience.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that makes sense. Well, these people are paying to go to school, so they must have a strong passion for learning.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, seems that way.¡¹
The objectives of putting in the Azuma Workshop members. One of those was already beginning to take fruition thanks to Lime, the unique human resource. Also, Makoto hadn¡¯t tried to get too involved in magic, doing her best not to interject or question anything in ss. As a result, magic fundamentals was in aparatively calm position for all the courses that the Azuma members were taking.
Now, when it came to the sses Teres and the other members were taking, Lime wasn¡¯t the only one who was like this; they also gave plenty of sharp, savage questions, some of which the lecturers couldn¡¯t answer right on the spot and went into the Rufeus library¡¯s special archives to discover new things that overturned the modern-day theory, which was quite the stormy scene. However, Hiroshi and the others hadn¡¯t gotten so much as a peep from Teres and the others regarding what was going on, so the situation probably wasn¡¯t as grave as it sounded.
¡¸Also, even without favoring them because they¡¯re one of us, Lime¡¯s still super cute. So from what I can see, even if not in ss, outside of ss the teachers and students all dote over her a lot, so I¡¯m pretty sure that kid¡¯s enjoying going to school.¡¹
¡¸d to hear it, mate.¡¹
Hearing that Lime was enjoying school, Hiroshi was truly relieved. While one reason for this was that he thought of Lime¡¯s future, a lot of this was on behalf of the adults and their affairs. Hiroshi would never live it down if having Lime going to the academy made her hate school and studying.
Also, if everyone around Lime fawned on her, another worry emerged. After all, as Makoto said, Lime was a cute little girl with a promising future. This wasn¡¯t the case when they had first taken her in, but now they were daily giving her nutrition-filled food and shampoo, soap that matched her physical constitution, for bathing, with plenty of love from everyone around her, so she was bing more and more charming every day. Lime was appealing enough to make you wary that some thugs might be thinking some unpleasant thoughts.
La and Fum had fairly ordinary appearances, but Lime with half the same genes looked like she was on the way to bing a beauty in the future. You could clearly see just how unfair these things called genes were.
¡¸So do you think it¡¯s about time to bring Hiyohiyo along to school?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I think it¡¯s fine.¡¹
For various reasons, Hiroshi and Makoto began discussing Hiyohiyo, who had been looking over the ce. Learning that there were quite a few students bringing along familiars with them, they figured Lime should also be able to bring along Hiyohiyo now that she had blended in. Currently, even though Hiyohiyo himself had zero fighting capability, he did have the special ability to ignite anyone with even the slightest malicious intent with holy mes, and since it was obvious that anyone trying to pick a fight with Lime had malicious intent, Hiyohiyo was the most reliable guard to have around.
Well, not so much ignite as just be hot enough to knock someone unconscious, without any sort of burn or wound. As a result, even if a victim were to try and use Hiyohiyo of violence, there would be no concern of Hiyohiyo¡¯s actions actually beingbelled as overprotective. This was, in many ways, the ideal n.
¡¸Okay, so Lime-chan doesn¡¯t seem to be an issue, but how are your human rtions, Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Crawling along. I did make a few friends, like someone who wants to be a magic knight.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Then if you ever hear something interesting from them, let us know.¡¹
¡¸Yeah yeah, I know. I¡¯ll also make sure to tell you the school store and school cafeteria ratings whenever the opportunity arises.¡¹
¡¸Mm, please do.¡¹
Relieved to hear that Makoto was doing fairly well in her school life, Haruna checked around one more time regarding everyone¡¯s tasks. Lately, knowing Makoto¡¯s hobbies, Haruna had felt some unease, but she confirmed that had nothing to do with the ratings of the school store or cafeteria.
Volume 5 2.5
Volume 5 Chapter 2.5
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸I guess that¡¯s about all we have to discuss?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Kay then, Haruna-san. Guess we should git to makin¡¯ some bread that¡¯s easy to make ¡®n that¡¯s eptable for the cafeteria ¡®n school store improvement.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Curry bread doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯ll work this time around, so we¡¯d better try various things.¡¹
Seeing that the discussion had basically ended, Hiroshi and Haruna immediately got started on their hobbies. The conversation suddenly turning to food yet again with these two gluttons made Tatsuya and Makoto want to facepalm.
¡¸Maybe save staple foods forter and focus more on snacks for now?¡¹
¡¸Ah, that might be good. What specifically were you thinking of?¡¹
¡¸If the peeps in Rufeus are fine with custard cream, I wonder how they¡¯d feel about cream-filled rolls?¡¹
¡¸Good point. We really never did make those kinds of sweetbread varieties.¡¹
The two of them arguing over Lime¡¯s educational path seemed to have definitely been an exception. Hiroshi and Haruna were now discussing the next task at hand in an extremely harmonious manner. To think that this was not the banter of two lovers but simply Haruna¡¯s one-sided love just made it all the more questionable.
¡¸I¡¯ll bake a few of them up right now, so Makoto-san and Tatsuya-san, we¡¯re counting on you to try them outter, kay?¡¹
¡¸Well, I don¡¯t mind that, but do you really think we¡¯d be the most reliable critics?¡¹
¡¸If the food¡¯s right there then I¡¯m all for it too, but haven¡¯t we established that Japan¡¯s sense of taste won¡¯t be reliable in this scenario?¡¹
¡¸I think sweet things might be fine in this case. Just for reference, okay?¡¹
Haruna smiled cheerfully, telling Tatsuya and Makoto not to worry. And so because of their answer, the elders of the group ended up being used as guinea pigs, snacking between meals every day with all sorts of bread recipes, which led to some concern about their weight and abdominal thickness.
¡¸Suuuper weird¡¡¡¹
Wulls, Azuma Workshop. Nora and the others¡¯ free time at night. In but a weeks¡¯ time, the simple lecture exnations had be customary. Before that time slot, Fum was groaning with her notes and materials in front of her.
¡¸Fum, what¡¯s wrong?¡¹
¡¸Oh, the materials I got from school today are conflicting with what I already know.¡¹
¡¸You didn¡¯t ask the teacher for rification??¡¹
¡¸I didn¡¯t get that far today. So while I reviewed today¡¯s contents, I figured I should prep for the next lecture, and that¡¯s when I realized.¡¹
Messing with her short hair, Fum made a grim face, clearly not taking this well. The contents differed, and yet the theory was consistent, which made it even more convoluted.
Fum knew that not everything they were taught at Rufeus Academy was entirely urate. Along the same lines, nearly everything Hiroshi and the others had taught them was experience-based, which might as a whole not be entirely urate either. Still, she had surmised with direct observation and perception that what they already knew was correctpared to the current content they were studying.
And yet, she couldn¡¯t find any huge w in the theory. This unpleasant feeling was irritating Fum.
¡¸If you¡¯re curious, you can always just try it out. Thankfully, we have mountains of enchantment catalysts and failed prototypes for optimal practice. Using up all of these is one of the things that Boss Man and the others want to do anyway.¡¹
¡¸¡¡You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll try it a bit. Is it fine if today¡¯s exnation goes a bitte?¡¹
¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹
Nora motioned, and Fum took out unusable tools like worn-out pestles from storage and mortar damaged from task failures, in addition to argest amount of catalysts. Nora, Teres, and Lime watched her with excited expressions as she did so. Also, the new fox beast recruit waspletely incapacitated from Mio¡¯s spartan instruction and the cultivating plus spadework and had no leisure to be gawking at Fum.
Then again, even if he were to hear about this, the fox man didn¡¯t even have a foundation in enchanting and this would serve absolutely no purpose to watch, as it was gobbledygook to him.
¡¸So it¡¯s an enchantment that raises the strength of the objects listed in the material. First, you use the boss man¡¯s form, with this catalyst, then this way, like this, you put this amount of mana in over here¡¡¡¹
Fum managed to pull off the enchantment basics with a flowing hand movement as Nora and the others watched without batting an eye, earnest expressions on their faces as they nodded. Up to this point, even Lime had been able to seed without looking at a manual.
In actuality, if you could do this much, then you could already receive enough ie to live the minimum life as an enchantment magician, but none of them could possibly know this. Working hard for about four months at Azuma Workshop wasn¡¯t necessarily so easy that you could have a leisure-filled time as you whistled, but at the very least you stopped failing at this level of enchantment once you adjusted to life there.
¡¸So, provided everything written in the material is correct, the catalyst we use is this one, and we follow this step in order to raise the mana affinity between the catalyst and the target, connect the conductor line between the catalyst and the target, determine the substance with this circle, and then make it stick with this amount of mana.¡¹
Fum implemented the enchantment as she checked every step meticulously. This was of course an exnation for Nora and the others, but it was also Fum¡¯s first time and shecked the self-confidence.
¡¸It seems to be going well, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, still feels way off. But I don¡¯t know precisely what feels off¡¡¡¹
¡¸Exactly¡¡¡¹
Teres and Nora both wracked their brains over the proper resulting out. Fum also had an expression on her face that showed she wasn¡¯t satisfied with this.
¡¸¡¡Sis, the second method¡¯s mana cirction is kinda weird.¡¹
As Fum and the others were tilting their heads, Lime, who had been observing intently, made this particr im.
¡¸Weird? Which part is?¡¹
¡¸I think when you connected the conductor lines? The mana moved through in a strange way.¡¹
Lime indicated what she found to be weird, and Fum repeated the part where she connected the lines together. She used different waste matter this time.
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢you¡¯re right, I do feel something off here.¡¹
Testing it out, Fum realized that the weird feeling they all had urred with the timing of connecting the lines. Despite being connected, the mana returning across the lines from the target¡¯s side was oddly scarce. This was within the range of error, which was why she didn¡¯t immediately notice it, but now it made sense why this felt weird.
¡¸Lime, good job figuring that part out.¡¹
¡¸Seriously, we didn¡¯t even notice that!¡¹
¡¸It was different from the correct mana flow that we learned in the magic ss.¡¹
Teres and Nora praised Lime for seeing through to the core of the issue when they couldn¡¯t, and Lime revealed how she knew.
Volume 5 2.6
Volume 5 Chapter 2.6
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Well, we at least got this far, so let¡¯s go ahead and take it to the end.¡¹
The wave of unease on her shoulders relieved, Fum decided to take the enchantment all the way through its course. It was at this time that an irregrity urred.
¡¸Huh? Wha!?¡¹
Letting out a pathetic ¡°btoom¡± sound, the enchantment fixed in ce had been repelled. Fum hurriedly examined the pestle she had tried to enchant.
¡¸¡¡Nothing¡¯s happened to it yet, huh?¡¹
¡¸Right, it¡¯s just a normal pestle.¡¹
¡¸There wasn¡¯t a single enchantment on it before, so I assume it¡¯s still that way?¡¹
Gazing intently at the failed pestle, three of them gave their conclusions.
¡¸I guess we need to test this out one more time?¡¹
Teres and Nora nodded with serious faces at Fum¡¯s question. Once Fum got back into the procedure, Nora gave Lime instructions in a low voice.
¡¸Lime. After this is over, I want you to show me your magic ss notes.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay.¡¹
Lime replied in a low voice, and as she did so, the enchantment failed with the same timing as before.
¡¸Weird. Guess I¡¯ll try a bit with the boss man form.¡¹
As Lime went to get her notes, Fum cast the same enchantment with the same method she always used. This time it was sessful. The enchant was imbued into the pestle like normal.
¡¸Reeeally weird. As I thought, there must be a hole somewhere in the theory¡¡¡¹
¡¸And in order to figure that out, I had Lime bring her notes over.¡¹
As they were discussing this, Lime, notes in hand, came back alongside Hiroshi. He seemed to havee back here from Rufeus to run some sort of errand.
¡¸Oh, Boss Man?¡¹
¡¸Heard from Lime that y¡¯all were doin¡¯ somethin¡¯ cool. I¡¯ll spectate a lil bit.¡¹
Hiroshi grinned as he motioned for Fum to start the process. Nodding, Fum first exined what they were doing and then used a pestle of the same material to begin. As he watched her do that, Hiroshi suddenly interjected.
¡¸Another mighty darn weird way of doin¡¯ things, mate.¡¹
¡¸Ah, so I am doing something wrong. We also thought something was off, but didn¡¯t know what specifically.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, there¡¯s no way y¡¯all would git that. The steps themselves ain¡¯t gonna make a huge difference other than the school of thought they emerged from, but the catalyst has a horrible affinity with Strength Up.¡¹
Immediately pointing out the irregrity, Hiroshi took out several other catalysts and began an exnation.
¡¸Y¡¯see, while it¡¯s true those catalysts ain¡¯t got many kinks in ¡®em ¡®n ya can use ¡®em for most enchantments, their affinity¡¯s horribly bad with several enchantments like Strength Up, like lethally bad. The wood materials used to make pestels are also bad with Strength Up, so if yer gonna do it ya gotta first do it with the catalysts I got right here, mate.¡¹
¡¸But the mortar went fine, didn¡¯t it? Besides, the weird part was when I connected the lines, and Lime also said the main abnormality had to do with the flow of mana.¡¹
¡¸The main reason it went fine was purely cuz the mortar¡¯s materials have a fantastic affinity with Strength Up. I won¡¯t be able to say much about the flow until I try it myself.¡¹
Nodding at Fum¡¯s question, Hiroshi implemented the enchantment via the same method Fum previously did in order to investigate the cause. The conclusion¡¡
¡¸The procedure, the catalyst, the enchantment material, all these are super wack with their affinities, mate.¡¹
¡was that.
¡¸If ya swap out the first step for a different one, the process bes that much better, mate.¡¹
¡¸Ah, really now.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Give it a whirl.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay.¡¹
Fum and the others responded to Hiroshi¡¯s encouragement and tried it themselves. Compared to the initial experiment, this felt a lot better, and Lime was also fine with the flow of mana.
¡¸You¡¯re right, it¡¯s a whole new experience.¡¹
¡¸Seriously, why do they have such an unreliable procedure written in these documents?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, really. Sometimes the textbooks tend to have super illogical methods in them¡¡¡¹
Fum and the others let out groans at the result. Hiroshi grimaced as he gazed at them.
¡¸So what did youe back here to do anyway, Boss Man?¡¹
¡¸Mm? Ah. I tried makin¡¯ a drink. Have y¡¯all tried carbonated water or foamin¡¯ drinks before?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, we have¡¡¡¹
Teres answered for everyone, responding to Hiroshi¡¯s question. Unbeknownst to any of the Japan people, Wulls also had several locations with carbonated water wells, and several times when they had gone to deliver goods, the girls had drunk from those wells. Also, there were several fruits that you could leave fermenting in juice form right before they became alcohol and obtain sparkling juice. Not only did Hiroshi and the others make everything themselves, they also had a narrow field of activity, so they had never drunk any of this, but all the personnel working at the workshop had tried the beverages at least once.
¡¸Great, then y¡¯all already know what¡¯s up. Imma replicate one from our country and I¡¯d like y¡¯all to try it.¡¹
Hiroshi said as he took out a dark liquid with a different color than the bottled soy sauce. As they looked at it, Fuma and the others appeared slightly repulsed by this, but Lime, filled to the brim with curiosity and cing her full trust in Hiroshi, quickly extended a hand.
Needless to say, this dark liquid was c. Hiroshi had apparently begun with the redbel version.
¡¸Boss Man, can I drink it!?¡¹
¡¸Hold on a sec. Imma put it in a cup right now.¡¹
Soothing Lime, who appeared to have a serious appetite for the drink now, Hiroshi poured the dark liquid into a cup, filling it to the brim. After he handed it to Lime, she drank half of it in one strong gulp, not losing to the carbonation.
¡¸It¡¯s sweet, bubbly, and tasty!¡¹
¡¸Oh, d to hear it mate. But don¡¯t drink too much; it ain¡¯t great for yer health. Let¡¯s keep it at that for today.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay.¡¹
Grimacing at Lime¡¯s reaction, Hiroshi warned her to not drink too much.
¡¸Tweet! Tweet!¡¹
¡¸Oh, ya wanna drink some too, eh Hiyohiyo?¡¹
¡¸Tweet!¡¹
As if he had a sensor of some sort, Hiyohiyo, who was supposed to have been sleeping, was up and about, pestering Hiroshi for some c. As he poured some into a cup for Hiyohiyo, the bird grabbed the cup skillfully with its wings and then loudly gulped down the drink.
¡¸Tweet!¡¹
¡¸Oh, d to hear ya like it. But no more, kay?¡¹
¡¸Tweet!?¡¹
¡¸Nah, nah. Yer not supposed to gush it down like that in the first ce.¡¹
¡¸Tweet¡«¡¹
Hiroshi attempted to somehow calm down Hiyohiyo, who had begun insisting that he get more of this drink. Once he understood that he couldn¡¯t get any more from Hiroshi, Hiyohiyo pped back over to his bed.
Looking at Lime and Hiyohiyo, Fum and the other two timidly put their own cups to their mouths. For whatever reason, it wasn¡¯t Teres or Nora who reacted weirdly despite being the elders of the group, but instead it was Fum who did not find the vor of the c desirable.
Volume 5 3.1
Volume 5 Chapter 3.1
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸You haven¡¯t pulverized it enough.¡¹
¡¸Still no good, huh¡¡¡¹
The fox-eared boy dejectedly dropped his shoulders when Mio, with an expressionless face and detached voice ordered him to redo the task.
The boy¡¯s name was Geno Cothel, age sixteen, the new recruit that Layotte had brough over. He was slightly shorter than Haruna, a boy who was a bit on the short side for this world and a youth who had yet to even be an apprentice a week sinceing here.
¡¸You need to keep crushing it until it loses its base form. Otherwise it won¡¯t have any effect.¡¹
¡¸No, but um, it already doesn¡¯t look very much like its former shape¡¡¡¹
¡¸If it looks that way to you, your eyes suck. Right here and over here there are still stems, and these fragments over here aren¡¯t crushed at all.¡¹
¡¸Ah, you¡¯re right¡¡¡¹
Taking Mio¡¯s fierce pointers to heart, the fox boy¡¯s ears fell powerlessly. Had he paid proper attention, he would have easily found these mistakes, so there was no room for argument.
¡¸If it¡¯s as an unssified potion, there¡¯s no issue there. But are you really satisfied with an unssified potion, Geno?¡¹
¡¸¡¡There¡¯s, no way I would be.¡¹
¡¸In that case, it might be tough right now, but you need to just focus on crushing the herbs down till you get it right. Sensei, myself included, and Fum and everyone else all got past this.¡¹
Geno dropped his shoulders, and Mio motivated him with rough words. Crushing leaves was part of the basics of potion making and you must never neglect it, lest you not improve. What you were making would influence how much you needed to crush, so you needed to do it over and over again until your body memorized the motions.
¡¸For today, once you¡¯ve crushed enough leaves to fill this container, you¡¯ll measure the curry powder. Measuring is also essential to potion making, so first you need to adjust to it.¡¹
¡¸Right¡¡¡¹
Shoulders drooped, Geno got back to work. As she watched him, Mio was reminded of the time when Fum and the others had barely arrived at the workshop, feeling somewhat nostalgic. It had already been half a year since then, but you could also say it had only been half a year.
And in that interval of less than a year, Fum, Teres, and Nora had be capable of securely making ss 7 potions to a degree, with Lime even making an unssified potion despite not really being taught how to. Mio tried not to think about that part too much.
¡¸Ah, Mio-san, can I ask you something?¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
As she indulged herself in these deep sentiments, Fum herself called out to Mio.
¡¸There are several unfinished-looking materials over here, but do you think we could put them all together to make a potion of some sort?¡¹
¡¸Show me the list¡Mm, if we make full use of alchemy, we can make a ss 7 stamina potion. Want to try?¡¹
¡¸I do. Mio-san, a hint if you will.¡¹
¡¸Got it.¡¹
Already having finished all of today¡¯s quotas, Fum was doing independent research, going into a new challenge alongside Teres with Mio as the director. They nned to teach the method to Nora in the afternoon as well.
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s a little difficult, but I think it¡¯s still possible.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. This is actually possible for us too, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
Teres and Fum felt a response after two wins and one loss in their tag team challenge. As he looked at the two of them, Geno was forced to realize that he did not have anyone there to work alongside him.
¡¸Okay Your Highnesses, now I¡¯d like you to quickly bring the next person over here.¡¹
¡¸Mio-san, what¡¯se over you?¡¹
¡¸As I was looking at the two of you, I thought that Geno might be having trouble piling up goods by himself.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Hearing Mio¡¯s concerns, Teres understood more than well as she recalled her and the others¡¯ first time here. They had their own gripe sessions together, learned new things together, and rejoiced over those things together, which was extremely essential when it came to motivation.
And it didn¡¯t just have to be friends, it could also be as rivals. As long as you have someone who you think ¡°I will never lose to them¡± then you can get through a bit more without breaking.
¡¸Well, but Goivejon-san and Foeldan-san are following up like they should, and he looks like a boy who really doesn¡¯t want to lose, so I was thinking he¡¯d be fine as is.¡¹
¡¸And when you were gone, he asked us plenty of questions, so even if he¡¯s down in the dumps right now, Geno seems to have some real determination, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll fold by himself.¡¹
¡¸If you say so.¡¹
Teres and Fum asserted fairly confidently without much thought. Hearing this, although she expressed concern, Mio decided not to say anything further.
After this, the youngest twins from a poor noble family in Fane (one male one female) and a woman who transferred her registry over from Igreos Temple would be added two weekster, but by that time Geno would be in charge of mixing unssified potions and would feel slightly out of ce.
There was a heated argument in the Rufeus Academy cafeteria.
¡¸What would an outsider like yourself understand!?¡¹
¡¸Uhh, first off, something being tasty or not tasty has nothing to do with if we¡¯re outsiders or not. Second of all, the anonymous survey of one thousand participants regarding the cafeteria had 15 votes for ¡°tasty¡± and ¡°super tasty¡±, while ¡°can¡¯t say¡± and ¡°noment¡± got 70 votes, but that¡¯s it for anything remotely positive, you realize? Every other response was either ¡°bad¡± or ¡°extremely bad¡± , so at this point wouldn¡¯t you say that¡¯s a good enough reason to reform this cafeteria?¡¹
The head chef spat out a threat, and Haruna responded in an exasperated tone, using the data she had as backup. The conversation had started with formalities, but since nothing was progressing that way, their tones had be more in midway.
¡¸Also, there were also a lot of voices saying that the food is expensive, so I¡¯ll have you know that I made sure to check the buying price beforeing here.¡¹
¡¸And so what if you did!?¡¹
¡¸If this is the buying price, then you can make plenty of profit just by doubling the amount per food, right? I mean, look at the items on an individual basis. They¡¯re taking double the market price, so you should atst be able to makerger serving amounts, right?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t need to hear stupidints from someone who doesn¡¯t know the first thing about the struggles we face in the kitchen!¡¹
¡¸Struggles you face in the kitchen, eh¡¡¡¹
True, Haruna didn¡¯t have experience managing this scale of a kitchen. However, she had experienced serving several hundreds of people, and she also knew plenty of shops of this size that offered tastier, cheaper food.
There were in fact shops who had that sort of business practice even while paying rent and all that. Haruna truly didn¡¯t understand why despite receiving a location from the academy as well as support that this ce couldn¡¯t do the same as those other locations.
Volume 5 3.2
Volume 5 Chapter 3.2
Trantor: Reflet
Also, these guys barely picked up trash right before lunchtime, otherwise being toozy to tidy up the ce. No matter how much they might insist on the struggles of the kitchen or whatever, Makoto simply couldn¡¯t share in their sentiment.
¡¸Besides, there are a bunch of people here to eat all the time, so that clearly shows we aren¡¯t doing anything wrong, you little twerp!¡¹
Haruna inwardly facepalmed. Just as she had expected from her advance investigation, the head chef didn¡¯t want to hear what a little girl like herself had to say. Besides, the only reason people kepting there was an issue of selection. Since the surrounding restaurants couldn¡¯t absorb all the demand in terms of price and size, everyone else had no choice to eat at this cafeteria, even if the food was indeed bad.
Despite having such an overwhelmingpetitive edge, the cafeteria wasn¡¯t full; it barely even reached 70% at peak hours. It was insulting to think that these people were citizens in the country of knowledge, yet didn¡¯t realize how problematic this was.
¡¸Then if they stoping, you¡¯ll recognize that your way of doing things is mistaken, right?¡¹
¡¸Sure, only if they stoping!¡¹
¡¸Okay. Make sure to remember what you just say.¡¹
Inwardly grimacing at the details of n B they hade up with, Haruna feigned bold confidence on the surface. The other chefs jeered at her. As she felt their gazes on her back, Haruna quickly left the slightly dirty kitchen as quick as she could.
¡¸Well that exceeded expectations¡¡¡¹
Haruna said with a grimace and a shrug as she exited the kitchen to meet the elderly woman who was waiting outside. When she heard that, the woman shook her head hopelessly with a sigh.
Of course Haruna would question why this greedy cafeteria was just being left alone. That was why she had gone to check with the professors and secretariat, and they told her the head chef hadn¡¯t listened to them. Even if they were to try andpletely change the employees, it was apparently difficult to break a contract based simply on a bad reputation, and in with other work coupled in for extra business, they said they had never gotten around to it.
As a result, in regards to this incident, nearly all the instructors who were conflicted about Azuma Workshop were practically guaranteed toe to their side. Now that Haruna and the group had nothing to tie them down, in a sense many great things were expected from them.
¡¸So, Professor Fluit. This is a rather mean-spirited method, but are you still okay with it?¡¹
¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹
The woman by the name of Professor Fluit nodded with a serious expression when Haruna confirmed with her. Her face really was telling Haruna to do it.
¡¸I willy the ground work at the academy.¡¹
¡¸Please do. The location will be the now currently empty house next to our workshop, so we will purchase it and renovate it.¡¹
¡¸Will you be alright on the funding?¡¹
¡¸No problems there. Still, I wonder why the neighbor suddenly stopped their work?¡¹
¡¸Who knows? Still, that ce never did have very good rumors about it, so I¡¯m sure that had something to do with it.¡¹
Haruna and Professor Fluit cocked their heads at this unusually convenient oue.
The building in discussion here was an extremelyrge one next to Azuma Workshop Rufeus Division, formerly used as the main headquarters for Duston Trade Guild, which was a fairlyrge guild. Being arge building, there were some fairly bad rumors surrounding it, but the business itself was steady, with everything out in the open conducted in the proper manner, so no outsider knew the reason why they suddenly closed up shop and made a metaphorical night flight. This was exceedingly convenient for Haruna and the others, but the academy at least didn¡¯t seem to have put pressure on that business, which just made it all the more ominous.
In actuality, Layotte and Rainy were the ones who had been involved in the bankruptcy of Duston Trade Guild. Rainy had been investigating various things about the academy¡¯s cafeteria in order to back up Haruna when she picked up some information regarding Duston Trade Guild that she couldn¡¯t overlook, choosing to report to Layotte. As a result, Duston Trade Guild with its proud history spanning over a hundred years was cornered into bankruptcy within only three days. As to what precisely Layotte did, he simply said it was a secret as he smiled like a viin, so even Rainy, who had only taken part in this, didn¡¯t know.
As this directly rted to Fane¡¯s national interest, Layotte had given no mercy, but knowing that Haruna and the others were feeling suspicious, he couldn¡¯t tell them the specific details without making things worse, and Rainy was also keeping her mouth shut, so right now the rumor was taking on a life of its own. Coupled with the convenience of the situation, this incident was amplifying the distrust within Azuma Workshop more than it should.
Still, favorable circumstances were favorable circumstances, and Haruna fully nned to use this to their advantage. After all, the building was within five minutes of walking distance from the academy entrance, a great position with a plot ofnd wider than the Azuma Workshop Rufeus plot. There were many ways they could make use of this.
¡¸So is the supply route doing fine?¡¹
¡¸We do have it figured out to an extent. Well, at worst, I think we can currently stock up in Wulls or Ortem Vige.¡¹
¡¸As someone who lives in Rufeus, I would certainly prefer it if you could stock up here on any items you obtain here¡¡¡¹
¡¸And we do generally intend to go about it that way. We also want to recruit only people from this city if possible, but doing that would take up a bit too much time that we don¡¯t have, so I¡¯m thinking we may have to rely on our connections from various ces to pull us along for a bit.¡¹
Hearing about Haruna¡¯s n, Professor Fluit sighed, realizing they would probably have to go with that for now.
¡¸At the moment we do n to endure with having the shop open for ten days, but could we count on you for moving behind the scene during this time?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m fine with that, but will this really be okay?¡¹
¡¸The future employees will probably have to shed a few tears, but I¡¯ll whittle down the material, so it should be in proper form in one week.¡¹
Haruna said something rather fiendish despite her pretty face, and Professor Fluit slightly took her distance.
¡¸At any rate, there is no time, so once you get back, have Hiroshi-kun help you and then proceed to quickly secure the premises and get to construction, if you will.¡¹
¡¸Understood. I will alsoy the groundwork on my end as soon as possible.¡¹
¡¸Much appreciated.¡¹
Quickly deciding their course of action, Haruna and Fluit continued their detailed briefing session for a bit longer before concluding. Deciding to take a little break before moving into action, Haruna went in the direction of the professors¡¯b, noticing Hiroshi partway and calling out.
Volume 5 3.3
Volume 5 Chapter 3.3
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Ah, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Oh, it¡¯s you, Haruna-san.¡¹
¡¸How¡¯re things going for you?¡¹
¡¸Smooth sailin¡¯ mate. Seems like the school store wasn¡¯t necessarily unmotivated but just didn¡¯t know where to start cuz they¡¯re inexperienced.¡¹
¡¸That makes me so jealous¡¡¡¹
Hearing Hiroshi¡¯s situation, Haruna truly felt envious. To put it bluntly, the stubbornness of the cafeteria was no joke.
¡¸So, what about¡¡¡¢wait¡¢I¡¯m guessin¡¯ based on yer attitude that it¡¯s pretty tough.¡¹
¡¸Honestly, the whole situation needs a seriously vicious, drastic treatment.¡¹
¡¸So I should go ¡®n help ya out too then?¡¹
¡¸Yeah. I¡¯ll give you more detailster, but just know there¡¯s a lot to work on.¡¹
¡¸Then how ¡®bout I go over ¡®n help right now?¡¹
Seeing Haruna struggling quite a bit, Hiroshi proposed the idea, considering both his work and hers.
¡¸You sure?¡¹
¡¸Yup, I feel like it¡¯ll be fine just waitin¡¯ to see how things y out after a week.¡¹
Her face lighting up at Hiroshi¡¯s proposal, Haruna still wanted to make sure. Hiroshi just nodded.
In actuality, nearly all the initial work involved with the school store was finished. All that was left was to monitor sales and demand and adjust various things based on that, and they already had a connection with the person in charge of the school store and each new businessman, so unless there was a consultation, Hiroshi wouldn¡¯t bementing much on the situation.
¡¸In that case, I have tea with Professor Fluit in theb, so feel free to join in as I exin the current situation and n.¡¹
¡¸Gotcha. In that case, how ¡®bout ya try the bread I n to sell at the school store while we¡¯re at it?¡¹
¡¸Ah, so thest adjustment before sales ended, huh.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, at least for the cream rolls ¡®n yakisoba sandwiches.¡¹
Hiroshi said, taking out two pastry-based products, or more precisely, strangely colored noodles stuffed in between bread, the visuals of which repelled Professor Fluit.
¡¸It¡¯s a weird color now.¡¹
¡¸Yup, cuz this is our country¡¯s traditional sauce mixed in. As opposed to oyster sauce or yakisoba sauce, I thought this type might go better over here. Same reason for not includin¡¯ red pickled ginger.¡¹
¡¸I see, makes sense.¡¹
Haruna understood why Hiroshi did what he did. They definitely had to consider that every country preferred their own condiments the most. It was probably true that Fane and Forre were the weird ones in this case, suddenly epting any sort of oddity like soy sauce or miso.
Then again, in Forre¡¯s case, food with thick soy sauce and mirin went well with most alcohol as a side snack, so that was the most likely reason.
¡¸I think Professor Fluit might have some difficulty eatin¡¯ two of these breads, so how ¡®bout the two of ya split it?¡¹
¡¸I agree. At my age, eating two of these breads at a time like this could very well mean not being able to eat anything else until dinner.¡¹
Professor Fluit concurred with Hiroshi¡¯s offer. Being aware she was getting to that age where eating one portion was difficult, she was grateful for the thoughtfulness. Some people out there might make fun of her for that and bacsh, but Professor Fluit would like to think she was above the foolery of not being able to admit the changes brought through age, especially as a citizen of the country of knowledge.
¡¸¡¡I see, they are both very delicious. The one over here was a yakisoba sandwich, you said? As long as you fix up the appearance, I think it will be more than enough to be epted here. And the cream roll just hits me hard and makes me wonder why no one had tried making this type of thing before.¡¹
These two breads, half size to be served alongside tea, truly satisfied Professor Fluit¡¯s pte, and would go on to be sold alongside c, gathering poprity at a rather quick pace and bing the first step in dealing serious damage to the cafeteria.
Incidentally, if you were wondering about the issue with the yakisoba sandwich appearance¡
¡¸If youpare it to eating the cafeteria food, this appearance doesn¡¯t look half bad.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s tasty, it¡¯s cheap, and it fills you up, so if we griped over something as silly as appearance we wouldn¡¯t have anything decent to eat.¡¹
¡¸Once you get used to it it¡¯s no biggie.¡¹
So any objections to the appearance immediately were shot down like that. This demonstrated just how low the ratings of the school cafeteria had fallen, although ironically enough, Hiroshi and Haruna had never intended to deal damage to the cafeteria¡¯s sales in this manner.
And just like that, the academy¡¯s cafeteria received its just dues.
¡¸Lime-chan, morning!¡¹
¡¸Lime, you¡¯re cute as ever today!¡¹
¡¸Lime, who¡¯s that little chick? It¡¯s super cute!¡¹
And today, as per usual, Lime was greeted with an impressive entourage of pampering as soon as she went into ss. Hiyohiyo, seated on her head, darted his eyes in bewilderment at Lime¡¯s poprity.
¡¸Morning! His name is Hiyohiyo!¡¹
¡¸Tweet!¡¹
Unfazed by the torrent of excited ssmates, Lime returned their greeting with an equally enthusiastic greeting of her own. This attitude, far removed from any bashfulness, only served to grip an even tighter hold over the ssmates¡¯ hearts.
¡¸It¡¯s true that Lime¡¯s cute, but Le-san will have an even harder time with her as is, so I¡¯d prefer it if you didn¡¯t spoil her too much.¡¹
Nora smiled awkwardly at the ssmates endlessly doting on Lime, giving them a warning. If she left this be, the ssmates would give Lime a little too much attention.
Nora was also quite the looker, but rabbit-eared girls didn¡¯t have as much of a scarcity value, so while of course Nora wouldn¡¯t be unpopr, she also wouldn¡¯t be something to freak out about.
¡¸Hmph, well aren¡¯t you a goody two shoes.¡¹
¡¸I agree, but I can¡¯t go against my higherup¡¯s orders.¡¹
Nora felt herself agreeing with the male ssmate who had made a snide remark. This was because had their positions been different, Nora could see herself having the exact same thought.
Then again, in Nora¡¯s case, she might in fact just go right ahead and dote over Lime.
¡¸This is a ce of study. Don¡¯te here dragging kids along.¡¹
¡¸Actually, both Lime and I havee here to study. Besides, Lime might ask questions, but she never gets in the way of ss.¡¹
Thinking she definitely needed some sort of retort for this kind of nder, Nora stated the truth inly. The guy probably wouldn¡¯t care to listen to her, but it was always important to state the facts as they were. Nora spoke in a detached manner because getting emotional would have the opposite effect.
¡¸Hmph. But clearly she¡¯s doing shady stuff behind the scenes toe here, right? Otherwise how in the heck could a little brat have the ability to enroll here?¡¹
¡¸And you saying this with no evidence is just pure nder. If you¡¯re truly enrolled at the school of sages, you need to bring forth actual proof before picking fights.¡¹
Nora t out asserted, exasperated at this low level usation. Upon further nce, other ssmates who also did not feel excited about Nora or Lime also agreed with her.
Volume 5 3.4
Volume 5 Chapter 3.4
Trantor: Reflet
Nora was confident not just because she could say with full assurance that they weren¡¯t involved with anything shady but also because they didn¡¯t have a need to go to school. While aware that the instructors were annoyed by how frequent questions and arguments were thrown at them, this was kind of the position they signed up for. Besides, arguing and thoroughly questioning was something in which both sides were encouraged to remain calm unless you wanted a proviso.
And even if Nora and the othersing here conflicted with thew in some way, the responsibilityy on the king and the headmaster, since they orchestrated all this.
¡¸Tch. I¡¯ll rip that facade off you eventually, just watch!¡¹
The situation turning unfavorable and his face reddened, the man spit that sentence out before going off elsewhere. The ssmates stared at him with cold gazes. To put it out there, not a single person allied themselves with him, but this was of coursepletely his fault, as the thing Lorren residents despised the most was attacking an individual based purely off of spection, prejudice, or hearsay.
¡¸Lime, we need to get our seats soon. And Hiyohiyo can be behind us so as to not cause trouble.¡¹
¡¸Kay.¡¹
¡¸Tweet-¡¹
Sensing that the lecture was to begin soon, Nora spoke to Lime and Hiyohiyo about it. Responding meekly to Nora¡¯s callout, Lime and Hiyohiyo began moving to their seats. Gasps could be heard throughout the ssroom at this spectacle. Nora, who noticed this, made sure to give their ssmates a warning.
¡¸I¡¯m going to warn you right here that even though Hiyohiyo looks how he does, he still is a divine beast. If you touch him with any evil intentions, you will be punished regardless of whether he wants you to be hurt or not. I hear it¡¯s super hot.¡¹
The ssmates froze when they heard this announcement, and then slowly, jaggedly, almost like you could hear the rust in their movements, turned their attention to Hiyohiyo. Now in the limelight, Hiyohiyo simply groomed himself as if it had nothing to do with him.
¡¸¡¡You talk a big talk, but I won¡¯t be fooled by those lies of yours!!¡¹
Ignoring Nora¡¯s thoughtful warning, the same ssmate who had picked a fight with them earlier charged at Hiyohiyo. And the aftermath¡¡
¡¸Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!¡¹
¡¸I did warn you¡¡¡¹
Burned with white me, the student was now a well-done color with a precise afro, and with no bruises to match the pain. Hiyohiyo looked down at this man in a quizzical manner.
¡¸Well, as you can see, you need to be careful around Hiyohiyo. We don¡¯t currently know the criterion.¡¹
Nora exined the most crucial matter to their ssmates, who werepletely frozen. The ss would not end up thawing out until the lecturer entered the room.
¡¸Honestly, this is all just so tiring¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya muttered while catching a book that flew straight for him after beingunched from a bookshelf. Once again, today the special section of the library¡¯s archives stood in the way of Tatsuya¡¯s search.
¡¸Can¡¯t something be done to make this easier?¡¹
¡¸No, I don¡¯t know either¡¡¡¹
The librarian on shift for today (24 years old, male, single) replied to Tatsuya¡¯s carefreeints in a very troubled tone.
¡¸I sort of get that none of the librarians are targeted in attacks, but is there any reason as to why everyone else using the library gets attacked so much?¡¹
¡¸Well, we librarians have many things we still do not know regarding the special archives¡¡¡¹
¡¸So basically you¡¯re saying I need to ask Daljan-sama¡¡¡¹
¡¸I am very sorry¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya asked as he took his distance from the bookshelf that had shaken itself violently, and the librarian profusely apologized as he replied with how powerless he was. No one besides Daljan even knew when the special section had morphed into a dungeon. There was also no way to figure out why all intruders other than the librarians were forcibly eliminated.
¡¸At any rate, I¡¯m grateful to know two things: that once activated, a trap will not attack the same person again, and that the books collected in the shelves don¡¯t swap out with one another. Especially that second one, as we¡¯d be at a total loss if the books¡¯ positions shifted every time.¡¹
¡¸Very true. At that point, even us librarians would not be able to manage that section.¡¹
Tatsuya and the librarian remarked to one another as they checked the bookshelves on the map. Regardless, having such an archiverge enough to take up a whole division ofnd guaranteed they needed to keep those books in ce.
¡¸Oh yeah, I was wondering if there wasn¡¯t some sort of magic or something you librarians had that could search up the location of the books in question or call them over?¡¹
¡¸Unfortunately, while we can indeed narrow it down to this area, we cannot pinpoint anything. It would be convenient if we could, but the world just doesn¡¯t go quite the way we want it to¡¡¡¹
¡¸I see, sounds like you¡¯re struggling in your own way. Oops, this book looks like a dud. Gotta put it back.¡¹
Tatsuya asked, wondering if things couldn¡¯t go a bit more smoothly, and the man simply told him with an indifferent expression that the world was a difficult ce. Then again, even though he had asked, Tatsuya himself was only slightly expectant but not dependent on the librarian¡¯s answer, so he didn¡¯t show many signs of being all that let-down and continued to check the contents of the books that flew at him without batting an eye.
¡¸Actually, thinking about it more carefully, even if such a convenient magic existed, I doubt it would help you very much in this case.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, you¡¯re not wrong. The requirements are way too ambiguous, so there¡¯d be no way to narrow it down further other than to say it¡¯s in this area.¡¹
Fully prepared to take the straightforward route, Tatsuya continued monitoring the bookshelves with all their books packed in.
¡¸¡¡Hm. Three hundred years ago concerning the guests at Markto¡¡Do you at least know the basic section where the documents to back this one up are?¡¹
Scanning via speed reading for about five minutes, Tatsuya copied all the important-looking sections with the copy machine he had borrowed from Makoto before then asking the librarian.
¡¸Right. Please wait a moment¡¡Third to the east, fourth to the north, or perhaps somewhere in that vicinity.¡¹
¡¸Okay. I¡¯ll be done with the copying pretty soon, so I guess I¡¯ll go over that area next.¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
The librarian nodded at Tatsuya¡¯s next goal. Searching up their current location¡¯s bookshelf with the map close at hand, he made sure to put the correct mark over the area of investigation and waited for Tatsuya¡¯s copying to finish.
¡¸But it¡¯s still not anywhere close to being over, huh¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well yes, this is only ten percent of the entire ce. But in actuality, while this is only a block of the special archives, I think it¡¯s amazing that you managed to even finish ten percent of the search in such a short amount of time.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, you¡¯d think so.¡¹
And as they chatted about this, the two of them continued this tedious movement down the endless-looking array of books on bookshelves. Tatsuya¡¯s battle had only just begun.
Volume 5 3.5
Volume 5 Chapter 3.5
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸So yeah, I think I¡¯ll put a cap on the school cafeteria soon enough, but the school cafeteria¡¯s gonna be a drawn out war.¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon, you guys¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya made an exasperated face at Hiroshi¡¯s report. Makoto and Mio had simr expressions on their faces.
¡¸Seriously, I can¡¯t believe how much you two keep veering off the beaten path.¡¹
Speaking for Tatsuya and Mio, whose mouths were open and didn¡¯t seem like they would close anytime soon, Makoto made her own exasperatedment.
¡¸C¡¯mon Makoto-san. Unlike the school store, the cafeteria ain¡¯t got no inclination to renovate.¡¹
¡¸Even if you did make the food better, it has practically nothing to do with us.¡¹
¡¸Well sure it ain¡¯t rted, but if Lime ¡®n the other girls keepin¡¯ here, smoothie¡¯ out little things like this would be great for their experience.¡¹
Hiroshi said something pretty sensible, so Makoto lost any further motivation to debate. Still, while it was sensible, if they continued to rush off a thousand miles away, would there even be enough time left? But this was a recurring issue so she saw no point in interjecting there.
¡¸So what do you have nned?¡¹
¡¸Well, we managed to get ahold of a piece ofnd with a building, and starting tomorrow morning, Hiroshi-kun will be fiddling with the upholstery and equipment, and during that time I¡¯ll be gathering people around the area, I¡¯d say?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ll be starting your own restaurant in order tobat the cafeteria, but how exactly will you go about it?¡¹
¡¸We offer a prepayment service. We¡¯ll briefly have the menu limited to the standard foods, and we do our best to provide it as quickly as possible so it leaves an impression.¡¹
Tatsuya asked for the ns, and Haruna told him everything they had decided on.
¡¸Standard, eh. What specifically do you n to serve?¡¹
¡¸Pot-au-feu, bouibaisse, and stew for three main patterns, and then several me broiled foods. Sets wille with bread and sd, while drinks will be more of a light barley variety, and the first cup is always free. We¡¯ll wait and see about an all-drink menu forter, I guess.¡¹
¡¸I see. What about deep-fried food?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t have enough time to research their preferences, so we won¡¯t serve it immediately after opening shop. As we conduct business, we¡¯ll throw out an announcement and pinpoint a vor that would go well before promoting it to the menu, probably.¡¹
¡¸Well, this ce seems to have very different tastes than Fane, so it has to be this way¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya understood from Haruna¡¯s hard work in this unnecessary direction that this was the only way to go. In the first ce, there would never have been a need to struggle this much if they had simply set up a food stand rather than an entire restaurant, but they were now far past the point where saying this would be meaningful.
¡¸So does it look like you¡¯ll be getting revenue?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I think it¡¯ll work out fine. Right now we¡¯re getting assistance from the academy itself, the equipment funding is directly from material fees since we¡¯re making that, and food logistics already makes us profit, so the only thing that might be a problem involvesbor cost.¡¹
¡¸Do you think you¡¯d be able to pay all of them?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll add some color in on the market price and say 3 chrome per person per day plus staff meals, so hiring somewhere around ten people with 200 lunch sets sold would be plenty forbor costs per day. This is because we n to offer lunch sets for 30 tirols apiece, and material costs might reach ten tirols, might not.¡¹
Selling 200 lunch sets might be a little overachieving, thought Tatsuya, but Makoto looked his direction¨C
¡¸I can¡¯t say about the first few days, but I think they¡¯ll end up with not simply 200, but 300 easy. The menu is also basically just putting lots of ingredients in a stew and arranging the food, so preparing meat on arge scale won¡¯t be much of an issue. Also, Haruna will be overseeing the cooking, so they¡¯d definitelye here in droves even if the price was ten tirols higher than that cafeteria.¡¹
¡¸Is it really going to be that drastic?¡¹
¡¸You¡¯ll get it once you actually try it. Well, even if the cafeteria weren¡¯t a thing, Haruna¡¯s cooking is already worth 30 tirols in a proper lunch menu, or maybe even a price that would destroy all the surrounding restaurants.¡¹
¡¸Maybe to us it looks that way, but will that really fly in a country like this where taste is viewed differently?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s difficult to say, but what I can tell you is that if regr volume is 30 tirols, then as long as there¡¯s a safe menu out there then the students will absolutely jump on it.¡¹
Hearing Makoto¡¯s exnation, Tatsuya was now curious as to just how bad the school food was, but as he looked around him at everyone¡¯s reactions, he figured that it wasn¡¯t worth trying.
Unless this was some sort of punishment game or investigation, Tatsuya was not so entric that he would go out of his way to eat nasty food.
¡¸So, if you¡¯ll be making sales of 200 or 300 daily, wouldn¡¯t dishwashing and those sorts of things be difficult to aplish?¡¹
¡¸Well I¡¯ll be takin¡¯ care of the equipment, so I¡¯ll set up sterilized-functionality dishwashers ¡®n dryers to reduce the burden. Plus one that processes leftovers into fertilizer.¡¹
¡¸¡¡No, how about you just limit it to the typical functions you find at restaurants¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya interjected, feeling a headache from how Hiroshi showed no signs of self-control. Perhaps things were a bit different in modern Japan with staff canteens, but in this world, this was not the kind of equipment you¡¯d find at a cheap shop selling meals for 30 tirols apiece.
Unless you were to use monster ingredients or scarce, high value foodstuffs, the price of the ingredients would hardly change. Therefore, if you were trying to offer cheap food, you would either have to raise the customer turnover rate or be stingy with the equipment.
Putting a high performance contraption in the restaurant that not even high ss establishments were able to simply because you could practically make the equipment yourself for free was seriously breaking the rules, and Tatsuya really wanted to cross-examine Hiroshi for nearly an hour because of this.
¡¸So what aboutying the groundwork in the vicinity? After all, you¡¯re essentially raising havoc all of a sudden.¡¹
¡¸Actually, Professor Fluit said she¡¯d take care of it. This is after all the recement for the school food, so if the other shops in the area are too full, those individuals wille over, and depending on how well she sets the stage, if any issues surface she¡¯s thinking of implementing a school system.¡¹
¡¸School system, eh. Is there anything to prove that you¡¯re a student?¡¹
¡¸They do have student IDs, right?¡¹
Haruna asked on behalf of Tatsuya, and Makoto nodded. Seeing this, Tatsuya felt more content and tried to see if there was anything else toment on.
Volume 5 3.6
Volume 5 Chapter 3.6
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Operating hours?¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll try to bnce it with the hours of the other shops and say just lunchtime. From 11 to 2. That¡¯s also why we¡¯re making thebor costs low despite all the color we¡¯re adding. Also, the reason why we can go with this much rental payment is because hired chefs more often than not hold two or more positions concurrently, like daytime only or nighttime only.¡¹
¡¸Hm, I see. In other words, depending on how well the groundwork isid, you would have anything problematic covered for the most part.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, probably. There might also be tant hindrances, but we already n to match each hindrance with its own solution each time such an event urs.¡¹
Regardless of whether it was a perfect n or not, Haruna had answered that they were prepared for the majority of problems in the foreseeable future, and Tatsuya figured it was pointless to question anything further. While he did think that setting up this restaurant was too much in many ways, the operation had already begun and it was pointless to question it.
¡¸Wow, I know this happens every time, but you two really put all your effort into racing tomorrow¡¯s direction¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah, we¡¯re always putting 100% effort in, mate.¡¹
¡¸No, I really don¡¯t see how that¡¯s the case¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna were dissatisfied at Tatsuya¡¯s statement, which could either be taken as aint or as an interjection. However, even Mio, who was more on Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s side had to agree with Tatsuya, and then even Teres and Nora who hade on an errand from Wulls Workshop agreed with him to where the two of them simply quieted down, unable to object.
¡¸I see they¡¯ve begun yet another intriguing escapade.¡¹
¡¸Indeed. I had heard about it before, but I was quite surprised to see how far their drive can take them.¡¹
¡¸Well, even if normal people hadints against the school cafeteria, I doubt they would consider making a new dining hall for all that.¡¹
Hearing from Professor Fluit about Hiroshi¡¯s group¡¯s activities, the headmaster nodded, eyes narrowing. Looking at the situation in its entirety, this was a fairly trivial problem, but this conflict with the cafeteria was now something that they couldn¡¯t just ignore.
The cafeteria itself was an actual decent location when the head chef from two generations ago had ran the establishment. The predecessor was where things had began going awry, and with the current generation, the norm was fraud,pletely overlooked.
The unnatural thing here was probably that ever since the predecessor began dropping the menu quality, the restaurants and cafes that would have been receptacles had slowly but steadily began relocating and closing up shop on an increasing scale. While questionable, there was no solid evidence, and unable to undergo any sort of deep delving into this without any proper jurisdiction or authority, before long all the potential receptacle shops had been wiped out. Now all that was left was a choice between the nasty, ripoff food that was still an okay amount, slightly cheaper than anything outside the academy, or tasty but minimum 70 tirol food with low serving sizes for their prices, difficult for regr students to ess.
There weren¡¯t any receptacles around to abolish the school cafeteria, and it was profiting, so even if there was a lot of dissatisfaction, it was difficult to rece employees. This particr environment had been continuing for thest three years, but now a new obstacle had appeared their way in the form of Azuma Workshop and their cafeteria. Judging from the bacsh thus far, unless the cafeteria¡¯s food really didn¡¯t appeal to the pte of the Lorrenians, it was sure to be a roaring business.
¡¸The reform of the school store has already begun, and at this rate, it would be amazing if they could clear up the rest of the internal problems.¡¹
¡¸We have only our ignorance to me for the school store. The person responsible had the motivation, yet we did not heed their words or follow up, simply leaving them be because they did not have as manyints as the cafeteria. Honestly, had we thought a bit more carefully, there were plenty of matters we could have found. This is truly shameful.¡¹
One of the instructors let out words of confession from all the embarrassment and shame when the headmaster spoke. In just one day, thanks to Hiroshi¡¯s guidance, the school store¡¯s sales info had been enhanced, the teachers quickly receiving the benefits from this. Also, the varieties of bread they dealt in had increased, and drinks were newly added to the store as well, two big changes that ended up greatly benefiting the rted parties even further.
It was made possible in one day, so the changes weren¡¯t all that shy. At most, you had unssified potions on a shelf that stood out and then notices detailing the shop¡¯smencement with dealing in handy goods like rope. Other than that, there were just a few small new items lined up, not any particrly drastic appearance changes, but because the shop was now selling these ¡°small¡± new items, the ratings had gone up, saying they were d they didn¡¯t have to run to the market any longer.
Other than the bread varieties, which were admittedly not the easiest part of this, the handled goods weren¡¯t difficult to stock up on the first day, with hardly any need to fiddle with the shelfyout, and to top it all off, they thought it inconvenient for themselves, so it was the kind of thing that anyone would think to shore up on. Therefore, it was a bit self-exnatory as to why these teachers of the school of sages felt embarrassment at their stupidity for running straight to the market without first considering the school store.
¡¸Well, schrs are after all those who tend to have narrow vision outside of their specialty. I think it would be fine as long as you learn from this to look at things from a broader perspective. What say you?¡¹
¡¸Yes. I have truly realized a number of things from this event.¡¹
¡¸I am still opposed to their meddling in this school¡¯s affairs. However, I do also feel the utmost gratitude for them teaching us what viewpoints wecked.¡¹
Voices of endorsement rose up across the room from both the factions in agreement and those in opposition to what the headmaster was asking. Of course, this did not mean that the opposed faction would stop resisting. However, if they were willing to pay heed to their thought processes and make sure they were not stubbornly clinging to their cherished opinions or ttering themselves with their authority, that already meant that these people saw significance in taking a risk by epting Azuma Workshop¡¯s assistance.
¡¸In the meantime, let¡¯s watch over them to ensure we don¡¯t get in their way over the school cafeteria issue.¡¹
¡¸Certainly.¡¹
¡¸While I could care less about the taste of the food, it¡¯s also true that the current cafeteria food¡¯s price is extremely high. I do not intend to get in their way if it means the prices will fall.¡¹
Indeed, it appeared that the teachers simply could not stomach the current cafeteria. Regardless of agreement or disagreement, if the majority of people here could eat cheap and fair portions, then the teachers could confidently say there was no need to intervene.
¡¸Now, I would also be grateful if you could tell us how the arrangement of restaurants in this area became so unbnced.¡¹
At that one request, the group that had been silent for a good while began to behave a bit strangely. The headmaster, aware of these mannerisms, chose to pretend like he hadn¡¯t noticed.
Volume 5 4.1
Volume 5 Chapter 4.1
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Huh? Goivejon-san and, Foeldan-san?¡¹
On a certain day, with the cafeteria taking shape, Haruna was waiting to open shop when Goivejon and Foeldan appeared at Rufeus Workshop.
¡¸We came when we heard that you was beginnin¡¯ the cafeteria.¡¹
¡¸Is it goin¡¯ alright?¡¹
¡¸Oh, there are a few concerns I have, but it¡¯s going fine at the moment.¡¹
Goivejon and Foelda,rge luggage hauled on their backs asked Haruna, who responded with a smile exuding confidence. The cafeteria was, in fact, proceeding better than expected.
One of the grounds for concern, securing chefs, was quickly resolved when ten of them appeared out of the blue, and highly skilled ones at that (seriously, where were they hiding?). Thanks to their overflowing determination, Azuma Workshop as able to offer all the nned menus without any problem whatsoever.
¡¸Are ye all good with the veggies, eh?¡¹
¡¸We have plenty of them stocked up just in case. I¡¯ll tell you if we ever start running low, so when that timees please help.¡¹
¡¸Okay, we got any amount of veggies ye want. Please ask away, eh.¡¹
Haruna responded to Goivejon¡¯s question with a smile. If they had Ortem Vige¡¯s backup of diverse and varicolored vegetables, it was super easy to profit if all the people they served a day numbered a few hundred to a thousand. That was just how much of a surplus of agricultural production Ortem had.
¡¸But wow, there¡¯s a great smell in there, eh. I kinda feel hungry now, dood.¡¹
¡¸Then how about you eat inside? The tab¡¯s on us and we¡¯ll just call it sampling.¡¹
¡¸Thanks for the offer, but no need to worry. We got quite a bit of money.¡¹
Foeldan, who had expressed his hunger, grimaced when Haruna offered them free food, to which he chided her.
Goivejon and Foeldan both had a lot of money, which was an actual problem. After all, despite having arge enough poption in Ortem Vige to count as a town, they did not have a mary economy. Generally, the economy revolved around trade and the vige¡¯s location was isted from the rest of the world, which meant that the money they had saved through peddling couldn¡¯t be used other than to buy marine products in Wulls. As a result, there was a hefty amount of money in the hands of these two, who frequently worked away from home.
Still, Haruna¡¯s side didn¡¯t exactly want that money either. At the current moment, not only did they have plenty of money; Goivejon and Foeldan¡¯s money should be circting throughout Fane. And even if it wasn¡¯t, they were taking away quite a bit of money from Fane, and it would be rather problematic to have any more money taken out of the country.
¡¸We do have room in our funding for samples on opening day, and they would be practice meals, so taking money for that would be a little bad anyway.¡¹
¡¸That right?¡¹
¡¸It sure is.¡¹
Goivejon asked doubtingly, and Haruna suppressed that with her own definitive answer. Even if it wasn¡¯t a bad thing to have pocket money ready for opening day, it would be bothersome to ount for the revenue at this awkward timing. Haruna, who wanted to do all of this properly, wished to avoid receiving money from Goivejon and Foeldan for more reasons than one.
¡¸Yeah, so eat a lot and tell us what you think. It¡¯s the kind of vor that appeals to the people of Rufeus, so it might not sit too well with your taste buds, but it¡¯ll still be useful information.¡¹
¡¸Okay dood.¡¹
¡¸Time to chow down, eh.¡¹
While feeling a bit tricked by Haruna, Goivejon and Foeldan just nodded meekly. Picking their seats in the cafeteria Haruna guided them into, they waited leisurely for the food.
¡¸It¡¯s a simple building, eh.¡¹
¡¸Ye got a lot of seats. Are ye sure ye can deal with all of them?¡¹
¡¸I intend to investigate that very thing once we open. The menu currently only has seven different varieties, and the system is one where you pay money beforehand and clear up the tableware yourself, so I think we¡¯ll manage with that. We¡¯ve also implemented magic tools for automatically washing and disinfecting the utensils. In addition, depending on the circumstances and demand, we might even increase the amount of people.¡¹
Goivejon and Foeldan got the gist of what Haruna meant. She appeared to have put a good amount of thought into constructing a system that didn¡¯t need more personnel.
¡¸So what are ye doing fer serving tables?¡¹
¡¸Oh, we have them get the food themselves after paying.¡¹
¡¸Then we should go get our own food too, eh.¡¹
¡¸Ah, don¡¯t worry about it today. It¡¯ll be a slightly differentyout than usual.¡¹
Haruna said, bringing along a tray withrge amounts of food on it. Every meal had quite the quantity to it.
¡¸The lunch sets generally consist of one of these meals along with this bread and this sd, and then cheap tea attached.¡¹
¡¸Ye got quite the volume there, eh.¡¹
¡¸The youngsters will love the volume packed in these dishes, eh.¡¹
As they listened to Haruna¡¯smentary, Goivejon and Foeldan split up appropriate amounts of this food for the youth between themselves. Since Foeldan was here, both of them could certainly finish up, but if it was Goivejon by himself, even a third of this stuff would have been pretty impossible.
Not only that, but the bread and sd that Haruna said came in sets also had ample mass. The bread was regr rye, but much higher quality than that of the school cafeteria¡¯s, with the size also being somewhat bigger than the regr kind. The sd also had enough to distribute, and it was unlikely that the nutritional value would be heavily biased.
¡¸This stew¡¯s tasty, eh.¡¹
¡¸The me-broiled meats all have salt ¡®n pepper on ¡®em, eh. Seems to be a seasoning anyone would like.¡¹
Goivejon and Foelda said as they divided and checked the food¡¯s vor. They also made sure to dip the bread in the stew and put some of the meat between slices.
After trying various ways of eating the food, the conclusion the two of them came up with¡
¡¸I say it¡¯s a matter of taste but it¡¯s purty decent, how about you Foeldan?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, prolly is a matter of taste. I felt it was a bitcking, but it was purty good for ye eh Goivejon?¡¹
¡¸Aye aye.¡¹
¡was this.
¡¸How much ye pay fer this?¡¹
¡¸25 tirols per individual product, 30 tirols per set, so far is the n. So if we decrease the amount, we¡¯ll also decrease the price 5 tirols, and we increase it, it¡¯ll be 5 higher.¡¹
Haruna responded to Goivejon¡¯s question with the prices they had nned. Hearing this, Goivejon and Foeldan agreed that these were cheap prices.
¡¸If these prices correspond to these amounts, that¡¯s purty darn cheap. While I can see the taste bein¡¯ a split of interest between other countries, they also ain¡¯t dramatic vors to the point where they¡¯re inedible, so with the price ¡®n amount I doubt there¡¯s room forint.¡¹
Volume 5 4.2
Volume 5 Chapter 4.2
Editor: Weasalopes
Goivejon also nodded at what Foeldan had said. As both he and Foeldan had gone around eating in Wulls while they went about their peddling, they knew the market price of the majority of restaurants. It probably wasn¡¯t the same in Rufeus, but prices in these kinds of cheap eating houses aimed atmoners didn¡¯t have much of a drastic difference whether it was Wulls versus Darl, Wells versus Stiren, etc. With the currencies being the same and all, it was probably reasonable to assume that shops of the same rank were nearly identical.
Incidentally, the market price in Wulls was generally around 35 to 40 tirols. Darl, in which groceries were expensive, ranged from 2 to 3 tirols higher, and Forre was around 5 higher. Also, this cafeteria¡¯s food was 30-50%rger in quantity than Wulls, so overall the price wasparatively cheap.
¡¸Also, it sucks that we can¡¯t get refills on bread, eh.¡¹
¡¸And we already had ns to allow people to bring their own bread, so we were thinking that would suffice for now.¡¹
¡¸Bring their own bread? That¡¯s purty rare, eh. Can they bring in rice too?¡¹
¡¸I think so, as long as it¡¯s onigiri. Then again, they don¡¯t eat rice at all over here, and when we tried cooking some for them it got a pretty bad rating, so I doubt it¡¯ll spread.¡¹
Responding to Foeldan¡¯s question, Haruna figured she might as well exin the current situation in the country, to which Goivejon responded¡
¡¸Well, we also have things we can¡¯t eat too much of from other countries, so not eatin¡¯ rice over here is to be somewhat expected, eh.¡¹
¡with a truly sensible statement.
¡¸Depending on how you think about it, ces like Fane and Forre that casually ept vors like miso sauce with peculiar vors are probably the actual peculiar ones.¡¹
¡¸Aye aye.¡¹
With change in sceneryes change in quality. Haruna and the others were beginning to get a thorough taste of how big the world was and how food pte changed depending on the region.
¡¸Then after we take measures to ensure nobody takes anything out, I was thinking of lining up various tabletop condiments.¡¹
¡¸Tabletop condiments? Ye mean soy sauce and stuff?¡¹
¡¸Bingo. For now I was thinking of soy sauce, oyster sauce, mayonnaise, and ketchup.¡¹
¡¸And you¡¯re just gonna advertise that, eh¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, since we won¡¯t be able to increase the variety of food in this cafeteria otherwise. If ketchup spreads around, we¡¯ll be able to bring out tomato paste stew, which would be totally awesome. Ketchup is quite a bit cheaper than soy sauce, so the cost will also be a plus.¡¹
So this wasn¡¯t apparently the usual cultural invasion, but a sincere problem. As they couldn¡¯t make food that took time like pie, Haruna was extremely grateful to have an increase in the varieties of condiments for widening the breadth in appearance and voring.
Also, the cheapest condiment amongst all the ones Hiroshi and the others had brought in was mayonnaise, which needless to say didn¡¯t need fermentation, and the same went for tomato ketchup, which generally didn¡¯t need to be fermented either, and it was cheap enough to even contend with mayonnaise. However, with its process a bit moreplicated than mayonnaise, the price was slightly higher.
¡¸Well, I intend to look at it in the long term. We can already make a lot with the ingredients on hand as it is.¡¹
¡¸Mm, that right. Well, do ye best,ss.¡¹
Goivejon just grimaced at Haruna¡¯s rather patient outlook. They seemed rather nonchnt for people trying to search for a way back to their country.
¡¸Now then, we already came here, so we¡¯re gonna take a look around Rufeus.¡¹
¡¸If we find any strange crops around, we¡¯ll buy some, take ¡®em home ¡®n try cultivating ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Kaaay, have fun guys!¡¹
After running out of things to discuss, Goivejon and Foeldan decided to do some brief sightseeing before going back. At this time, several of the vegetables they would take back to Ortem and Wulls¡¯ experimental farms would go on in three years to attain the proper amount of harvest for shipping out, something that closely resembled that of a certain farming household somewhere else, but this is just between us.
¡¸Now then¡There are tons of people from different nations in Rufeus Academy, so I need to see if I can¡¯t look into other culinary foods besides the Rufeus variety.¡¹
Haruna murmured something that most cooks would tremble in fear at, considering the workload. Thanks to this woman, the cafeteria¡¯s work would be a lot more difficult, but for better or for worse, this was an obscure bunch. No one said anything in particr, simply epting this n of action.
¡¸Starting tomorrow, Hiroshi¡¯s going to be free, so he¡¯ll be able to help you, Tatsuya-san.¡¹
The night before opening, Haruna finally announced this.
¡¸I¡¯m d that¡¯s the case, but are you sure it¡¯s okay?¡¹
¡¸Mhm. Although it¡¯s more of the fact that Hiroshi-kun doesn¡¯t have much to do once the shop actually goes into business.¡¹
¡¸Really?¡¹
Questioning Haruna¡¯s words, Tatsuya confirmed this with Hiroshi himself, who gave him a small nod.
¡¸Y¡¯see, when we get down to business, dealin¡¯ with the customers is gonna be the main focus, so there ain¡¯t much else I can do. That¡¯s why if ya want me to do somethin¡¯ it¡¯s gotta be after business hours in the night.¡¹
¡¸Also, other than for meal prototypes, entering the kitchen and cooking is a no-go for us two, so it¡¯s perfectly fine just to have one of us here just in case.¡¹
¡¸Ah, ok.¡¹
Tatsuya expressed understanding at Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s exnation. It was true that they couldn¡¯t just stay at the shop indefinitely, so it wouldn¡¯t be good for Hiroshi or Haruna to directly interact with customers or cook. Still, there was a good chance that when any trouble arose they would have to deal with the customer in question, and when that urred, Hiroshi would be half useless probability-wise due to his gynophobia.
It was already ridiculous to ask Hiroshi to deal with customerints as it is. While it had all but halted recently, anypse in security meant Hiroshi¡¯s loser mode rearing its ugly head. The probability of going loser mode was never quite zero when it came to customers with fierce expressions and loud voices, regardless of gender.
In which case, it was unmistakable that Haruna, who was ustomed to dealing with customers and had high battle prowess, was the safest choice for being in charge. Besides, Haruna was a beauty with a tender nature that you rarely saw even in each royal household with all their beautiful features. There would not be many people continuing their grumbling even after Haruna apologized to them in all sincerity. Therefore, considering all this, Hiroshi would not y a part in looking after the shop.
¡¸If that¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be, then I will dly have you along to help me.¡¹
¡¸That bein¡¯ said, I dunno how to git around the library, so I need ya to gimme proper directions, Bro.¡¹
¡¸Yeah yeah, I got you fam.¡¹
Understanding the gist of the situation, Tatsuya solidified Hiroshi¡¯s apanying him to the library starting tomorrow.
Volume 5 4.3
Volume 5 Chapter 4.3
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸So what about you, Mio?¡¹
¡¸Geno¡¯s gotten into making unssified potions, so I will be observing him all day tomorrow. If nothing problematices up, then I¡¯lle around to the library the day after.¡¹
¡¸That right. Sounds like it¡¯s goin¡¯ pretty well.¡¹
¡¸Mm. I sincerely apud his highness Layotte for bringing along such a gem. Still, it¡¯s also super disheartening for Geno.¡¹
¡¸Nah, that¡¯s just normal. Right now is the time for umtin¡¯ failure upon failure, and of course yer gonna feel a bit down when that happens.¡¹
A grimace on his face, Hiroshi backed up Mio, who had conveyed Geno¡¯s disappointment. In the original game, there had already been many discouraged individuals when it came to crafting-rted activities. If anything, you shouldpliment those people for not just throwing down the towel.
¡¸At any rate, once he gets to unssified potions, even Teres and the others with all their busy work can help out.¡¹
¡¸Yup. Also, dependin¡¯ on the situation, I¡¯ll directly look at the progress ¡®n maybe you cane help Bro instead.¡¹
¡¸I personally think you should oversee their progress up to ss 8 minimum, Sensei.¡¹
¡¸Sure I can, but why?¡¹
¡¸Considering everything that will happen from here out, as long as I¡¯m here as a leader, it¡¯s better that Sensei exudes more authority by not instructing them with kind exnations from the get-go.¡¹
Everyone had to agree with Mio¡¯s oddly well thought-out retort. While it wasn¡¯t a problem with this scale, now that new membersing in was set in stone, having the workshop master himselfe and exin everything in detail from the very beginning for every new recruit and stick by them was simply impossible for many reasons.
¡¸I do wonder if it¡¯s cool to talk about concepts like cultivation of human resources or authority with middle schoolers, y¡¯know?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s true that Mio¡¯s oddly sharp for thinking that up at her age, but if anything, I think you didn¡¯t give it enough thought, Hiroshi.¡¹
¡¸I mean, I won¡¯t deny that¡¡¹
Thanks to Mio¡¯s speech on organizational theory, Hiroshi and Makoto had a conversation most teens and early twenties didn¡¯t even get to have.
¡¸So there are other things on your mind you have yet to say, right?¡¹
¡¸Mm. I think there will be a lot more problems cropping up than just authority if Sensei¡¯s personal pupils increase.¡¹
¡¸Like what?¡¹
¡¸If Sensei directly teaches them, their skill acquisition will grow way too fast.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Makoto couldn¡¯t find any rebuttal to Mio¡¯s point. Of course there was Haruna, a visitor from the unknown continent who frequently gave direct guidance to the workshop members, and Hiroshi who gave direct guidance to Teres and the others, who were oddly quick with learning and with growth in talent. Everything Hiroshi had taught them was not something that could normally be acquired in a half year or full year.
Azuma Workshop was already beginning to protrude as it was with their technology, so having the new trainees match that pace could seriously beckon chaos. Even if Teres and the others went hard on raising their juniors to a high level, this senior junior apprentice rtionship would probably have to continue without serious repercussions.
And even before that, Hiroshi and Mio both could not stay in this world indefinitely to help train people, so they should probably install a system that solved this issue.
¡¸But Teres and the others are in fact your pupils, right Mio? So if you¡¯re the one to instruct them, won¡¯t the result be the same?¡¹
¡¸The material I teach is way different from the material Sensei teaches in proficiency, adaptability, and the spirit of inquiry involved in both.¡¹
¡¸Is it really all that different?¡¹
¡¸Yes, it would astonish you.¡¹
While they somewhat understood what Mio was getting at, Makoto and Tatsuya also knew that Mio had brought Teres and the other two¡¯s abilities up to making ss 7 potions in under a year, so she really wasn¡¯t one to talk. But at that very moment, Mio mentioned something that would put a stop in their line of thought.
¡¸Lime is a prime example.¡¹
¡¸Whaaa?¡¹
¡¸Whenever Sensei instructs someone, he asionally puts Lime on hisp. She has a special seat to observe Sensei¡¯s mana diffusion and work procedures, so even though he hasn¡¯t directly taught her, Lime just learned how to do all this by herself.¡¹
Apparently you can¡¯t underestimate a child¡¯s absorbing power or curiosity. When work didn¡¯t involve much stamina or physique, Lime could do it better than the average craftsman. Lately, when friends were too busy to y with her, she went off and used remaining materials to make unssified potions or thread and paper from weeds she obtained while helping to cut the grass in vacantnd.
This was another reason that Geno was dejected. Lime learning work on her own and helping out/making things instilled the impression in him that this was something that was expected, which was why no one had caught on to that. The adults thought that it was fine as long as you did it in front of them.
Furthermore, the potions Lime made all had great quality, which was why Merizza Trade Guild had them delivered. The only thing to be wary of was when she made ss 8 potions while everyone let their guard down.
¡¸Actually, Sensei, Teres and the others are almost at the wall for novice rank.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s prolly right. Gotta tell ¡®em to use their free study time for smithin¡¯, engineerin¡¯, ¡®n furniture makin¡¯. Then if they can gather ingredients from Ortem or Crest Cave, we¡¯ll be off to a good start for many reasons.¡¹
Mio pointed out the problem of quick pacing, and Hiroshi came up with a countermeasure.
¡¸They¡¯re partially catching up to Haru. How¡¯s that going by the way?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ of havin¡¯ Haruna-san make a small lil boat when she¡¯s got free time. I think that¡¯ll kick her up to Makin¡¯ Mastery.¡¹
Hiroshi proposed a new genre of trailzing for Haruna, who was quite a bit stuck against the wall of Beginner. She nodded at what he said. By this point, making potions every day was something Teres and the others were expected to catch up to her on. This wasn¡¯t all that problematic, but Haruna was their senior and it would surely look good to maintain that rep.
Also, people tended to forget about fishing as part of the crafting skills, and Haruna had for a time been diligent in fishing for ingredients to train her cooking, so by this point she didn¡¯t even have to train because those requirements were met.
¡¸Well now I finally feel like I understand the requirements for Making Mastery.¡¹
¡¸Sounds about right.¡¹
When you have one high-level field of expertise, you need a wide foundation in order to put it to more than enough use. Making Mastery and its burdensome acquisition requirements were probably a result of this line of thinking. Every time a new field came up, Haruna thoroughly reflected on this fact.
Volume 5 4.4
Volume 5 Chapter 4.4
Editor: Weasalopes
Then again, when you were like Hiroshi with all the fields of expertise from crafting extremely high, at that point it was reasonable to scoff and say, ¡°Yeah right, foundation my ass!¡±.
¡¸So, well, going back to discussin¡¯ the cafeteria, Makoto-san.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s bing the talk of the town gradually. I think the majority of people are just happy that horrid school food isn¡¯t the only choice anymore. Half the people I became friends with said they¡¯d go over to eat some.¡¹
¡¸And the rest pretty much make their own lunches?¡¹
¡¸Or they supply it themselves or just buy bread from the school store. Which reminds me, apparently the bread in the school store is selling super well because of its contents. Plenty of the girls there are saying thanks to that, they don¡¯t have to rely on the school food anymore.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna immediately looked at each other when they heard this information from Makoto. They hadn¡¯t really intended on dealing damage to the school cafeteria with the school store bread¡or more precisely, they had considered it as a supplemental option for securing food outside of the school cafeteria¡¯s business hours, but ironically this was now bing one of Azuma Workshop¡¯s main attractions.
¡¸It doesn¡¯t appear to be creating much of a problem within the school, but what about the shops in the general area? Is there an equilibrium?¡¹
¡¸From what Professor Fluit says, the main target is different, they stopped because lunch business has a bad turnout rate¡mainly those two, so it should be fine. Doesn¡¯t sound like too many students showed up there in the first ce anyway.¡¹
¡¸Wow. It¡¯s amazing how new shops still haven¡¯t sprouted up.¡¹
¡¸Weird, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
Haruna told Makoto about what Professor Fluit had conveyed to her. This was rather suspicious, and everyone certainly had their own ideas.
¡¸So yeah, I¡¯m thinking it would be good to be on our guard tomorrow, all in all.¡¹
¡¸Right. Do you have any ns established?¡¹
¡¸We do have some preparations we made, although this is partially reliant on governmental authority¡¹
¡¸How so?¡¹
¡¸We asked them to send a few soldiers from the castle over here for a bit, slightly close to opening time, and then there should also be a system that acts as a garbage disposal and immediately transfers any raw garbage lying around the shop thrown into it into trash containers to be processed into fertilizer, I think. Right, Hiroshi-kun?¡¹
Haruna announced their ns with an oddck of confidence. Hiroshi nodded.
¡¸We also set up a barrier to differentiate between insects used for regr food and vermin. It¡¯s a pretty fuzzy theory that we¡¯re goin¡¯ by, so it¡¯s also pliable with grey zones, mate.¡¹
They had pretty much anticipated some form of harassment, hence preparing to some extent.
¡¸Well, before that, we also discussed forcibly teleporting away anyone who fights in or around the store or tries to cause trouble into a guardroom.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, after all, implementing that would mean most conflict is easily resolved.¡¹
¡¸Although the people in the guardroom are gonna be awfully busy.¡¹
Makoto for the most part was in agreement with Hiroshi¡¯s exceedingly dangerous suggestion. Then again, they were still only at the discussion part and shouldn¡¯t just jump off the rails.
¡¸Then for arson or physical attacks, we have the same person, or the same group that we determine to be in cahoots with each other¡¯s attackspletely cancelled if they attack three or more times, ¡®n then the fourth time on we reflect their attacks back at ¡®em.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I could definitely see someone sending a false usation your way.¡¹
¡¸¡¯N when that timees I¡¯ll resort to the governmental authority. Besides, we ain¡¯t got no reason to burn or hit other people anyhoo.¡¹
¡¸So what¡¯s the reason for changing tactics with the fourth attack?¡¹
¡¸Touch the Buddha¡¯s face three times and he¡¯ll get annoyed, as they say.¡¹
Makoto really wanted to interject and ask if that was really the buddha¡¯s face. Looking around, Tatsuya had the same exact thought on his mind.
¡¸Well that about does it for security measures. All that¡¯s left is maybe includin¡¯ security cameras, a recordin¡¯ system, prove it¡¯s a system that can¡¯t be remodelled, ¡®n use it as evidence with the chivalric order or rted parties so we git their authorization.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢that way when someone falsely uses you it¡¯ll be a cinch to ask the state for help.¡¹
¡¸Exactamundo. Lately we been testin¡¯ the waters with a few of ¡®em in Wulls. Thanks to Lay¡¯s stamp of approval, we got a pledge of proof of authorization in no time at all.¡¹
¡¸Seriously, you did it in Wulls already¡¡?¡¹
¡¸Especially for when there¡¯s a lotta trouble or we can¡¯t guard every lil thing, we been emphasizin¡¯ that in our experiments.¡¹
Thest thing Hiroshi said might actually be the most harsh security measure listed, and everyone just had dazed looks on their faces. Absolutely, the ones doing the crimes were to me, but still, it was seriously messed up to think that once you tried attacking the shop it was all over for you.
¡¸Well that about does it for Haruna ¡®n I. We already talked about Mio earlier, so what about you ¡®n Makoto-san?¡¹
¡¸Nah, I don¡¯t have much to talk about yet. I do feel like I¡¯ve gotten better efficiency with my magic, but then again that¡¯s really it. I did show Tatsuya the text, but it didn¡¯t seem to have much in there besides what people ustomed to using magic would considermon sense.¡¹
Tatsuya nodded in agreement at Makoto¡¯s report to Hiroshi.
¡¸That right. Go ahead ¡®n show me the text after this just in case. There might be somethin¡¯ written in there that could be of use.¡¹
¡¸Well sure, no problem, but you realize it¡¯s still just novice rank, right? Pretty sure people with marking mastery in novice do this stuff all the time.¡¹
¡¸Well, prolly, but still, y¡¯know.¡¹
¡¸Roger that. Also, for human rtions, there aren¡¯t any super remarkable developments. There do appear to be two or three cliques forming around Lime and the other two, but there¡¯s nothing ostensibly wrong with that.¡¹
Nodding at Hiroshi¡¯s demands, Makoto moved the conversation along some more. When the word ¡°clique¡± came up, Tatsuya momentarily raised an eyebrow.
¡¸Cliques? What are they like exactly?¡¹
¡¸Well, it¡¯s not as convoluted as it sounds. Simply put, there¡¯s a clique that wants to love on Lime, a clique that wants to use Lime as an excuse to dispel us, and a clique in the middle, or more of a clique from our side. Currently that¡¯s basically it for groups that are emerging, and nothing in particr has happened yet.¡¹
¡¸Ok, makes sense.¡¹
Hearing Makoto¡¯s exnation, Tatsuya got the gist of the situation. Nothing had happened yet, there wasn¡¯t any particr incident, and the cliques didn¡¯t appear to be banding together, but leaving this be also wasn¡¯t too great. It was a delicate situation.
¡¸We can¡¯t just step in, but leavin¡¯ it like this definitely sounds scary.¡¹
Volume 5 4.5
Volume 5 Chapter 4.5
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸I¡¯ve certainly seen this before, but in organizations like schools orpanies, any parties directly involved making any sort of move risks the situation blowing up, and yet staying on the outskirts and speaking up is never good either.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s right. Well, this time around it seems like it¡¯ll end after it turns into a conflict between cliques, ¡®n at worst we pull Lime ¡®n the others outta there if it seems like they¡¯re gettin¡¯ turned into leaders, so when the goin¡¯ gets tough we have a super easy n, thank goodness.¡¹
¡¸Maybe it¡¯s fine for us, but isn¡¯t it going to be a different story for the headmaster who has to deal with the aftermath?¡¹
¡¸Still, that¡¯s part of their objective so we gotta have ¡®em clear that one up. In the first ce, outsiders like us ain¡¯t obligated to stick around with the school¡¯s reform or the factional disputes ¡®n push it all on little girls who ain¡¯t even ten years old. We ain¡¯t got the duty nor the responsibility.¡¹
Hiroshi said something quite irresponsible, but no one bothered to counter him, since inexperienced outsiders sticking around till the chaos dissipated not only was practically useless, but in fact could probably lead to more unnecessary chaos. They really couldn¡¯t say that sticking around longer was worth it if it meant pushing a burden on Lime, but then again, if they took Lime out right now then it was doubtful anyone would allow Azuma Workshop to have authority or the right to say anything as outsiders.
In the end, other than Hiroshi¡¯s im that they could afford to slightly sully their reputation for being irresponsible, there were basically no other preventive measures open to them. Even if their reputation got a scratch on it, it was doubtful that the three western kingdoms would care in the slightest, plus Azuma Workshop¡¯s technology and influence was not so small that the higherups of other countries would oppose them simply based off one thing like this.
In other words, this so-called damage to Hiroshi and the others was reallycking.
¡¸Well, Makoto-san¡¯s side of things is fine as is, so how about you, Bro?¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯m not sure what to say¡Sadly, I only organized some folklore at best.¡¹
¡¸Oh, and what kind would that be?¡¹
¡¸Let¡¯s see¡three instances where yers were definitely here. One of said incidents is a different item from what we couldn¡¯t find in the Fane archives. I also got ahold of one about a shut-in mage who probably had the most influence, and then a yer who seems to have been sent over here along with him, and some pieces of evidence.¡¹
¡¸Ohhh, I see.¡¹
Tatsuya summarized what he had found after over a half a year of searching. Picking up this info from such a bountiful collection of documents on these incidents that yers possibly caused was something he couldn¡¯t quite make progress on by himself.
¡¸Well, either way, the number of people is set in stone and I got a rough understanding of the folklore.¡¹
¡¸How many people were there total?¡¹
¡¸Precisely 20 people including us. Markt, who we found recently, counts as one, and then three or four others that are established. The other seven, I am currently trying to substantiate. Then again, this is over a span of a thousand years, so it¡¯s taking time to make progress, as you¡¯d expect.¡¹
Hearing about this gap of over a thousand years, Hiroshi and the others gaped in amazement. A thousand years was not the kind of scope you could dismiss as a time difference.
¡¸To think we came that far apart is just rough mate¡¡¡¹
¡¸Seriously. To think we all managed to gather here within half a year.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m unsure if we should be thankful for that miracle or grumble about being thrown over here in the first ce. So difficult to choose.¡¹
Not a single person countered Tatsuya and Haruna¡¯sments regarding over a thousand years passing.
¡¸So there you have it. It¡¯ll take a bit longer.¡¹
¡¸Ok. Also, Bro, are ya lookin¡¯ into the divine beast-rted stuff?¡¹
¡¸I did do a light skim in the regr section, but not only are there not enough examples, there are way too many documents. In fact, there wasn¡¯t any uniformity with the appearance and abilities of the divine beasts, not even from what I investigated in the regr section. So even with proper searching, I¡¯ll have you know the data¡¯s incredibly sketchy.¡¹
¡¸That right. Then I guess we gotta wait for that.¡¹
¡¸At least that¡¯s what I figured. Well, Hiro, I¡¯ll be getting your help tomorrow, so I¡¯m sure the info on the yers will be gathered soon enough. After that, it should be fine, right?¡¹
¡¸Yup.¡¹
Once again, no one seemed to have any objections to Tatsuya¡¯s decision. This conversation had determined their course of action for the next day.
¡¸Then once we eat dinner, how ¡®bout you make a boat, Haruna-san?¡¹
¡¸Okay. How long should it take?¡¹
¡¸Well, we got all the materials, just gotta process ¡®em, so I think it¡¯ll end after a week of gradual work little by little.¡¹
¡¸Mm, okay. I¡¯ll do my best.¡¹
Despite tomorrow being opening day, Hiroshi and the others had an oddposure to them.
At the same time, in a certain room.
¡¸Ugh, they¡¯re such a vexing bunch¡¡!¡¹
The head chef in Rufeus Academy¡¯s cafeteria spat out spitefully. His hands were gripping the ount book from thest few days.
¡¸Can we not just eliminate them like we¡¯ve always done!?¡¹
With an awful look on his face, the head chef called to the other unpleasant-looking man, who shook his head.
¡¸Unfortunately, there appears to be a lot of people watching us this time. If we try anything before they begin business, I can easily see the garrison leaping over here.¡¹
¡¸Damn it! I¡¯m seriously pissed!¡¹
When he heard that response, the head chef took his anger out on the table as he ranted.
¡¸Could we at least stop them from selling their breads at the school store?¡¹
Briefly moring his egotistical rhetoric, the head chef finally calmed down and asked another man who had a slightly tidy appearance; the airs of an official.
¡¸No, that¡¯s probably impossible. Unfortunately, there was already plenty of demand for the bread, so unless food poisoning or something rted urs, I doubt there will be any self-imposed control over the sales.¡¹
¡¸Then what if we drug the bread?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s also difficult. The current system for bread selling is taking it out after an order is ced, and the delivery of goods is in sealed, anti-rot bags. Most importantly, that man in question made a suggestion to not only wrap each bread individually and seal them, but also has made them in a way that you can know immediately if one of them is not sealed, so any outer tampering will immediately be clear.¡¹
¡¸Can we apply pressure to the bread shop?¡¹
¡¸For the same reason we can¡¯t try anything with the school store, I think it will be difficult.¡¹
¡¸How seriously annoying this is!¡¹
Hearing that they already had a firm preventive measure in ce, the head chef spat out with hatred enough to kill someone.
Volume 5 4.6
Volume 5 Chapter 4.6
Trantor: Reflet
Incidentally, the bakery that was making cream-filled rolls and delivering them to the school store was the same bakery that was delivering to the school cafeteria. The reason they were even making such nasty rye bread was a result of having the price haggled to hell and back. Even if they cut the trade with a matter of conscience, speaking out always seemed to coincide with suspicious incidents urring around them, so they were unable to go through with this and reluctantly continued to bake and deliver this bread that was barely above garbage in value.
When they used this as an excuse for refusing Hiroshi and his cream-filled rolls, the headmaster who already had the suspicion caught wind of this and in the blink of an eye had underwent several countermeasures, beginning with a patrol.
Also, in digression, Hiroshi was the one who had the machine that sealed bread in bags. He had simplified the structure to where Teres and the others could make it, in addition to enchanting it with Prevent Rot, Disinfection, and Seal Determination, and could mass-produce this machine to a certain degree if he felt so inclined.
Not only was the bagging system prized for its safety, you could also eat the bread without having to worry too much about the cleanliness of your hands, and professors who specialized in field work gave it a high rating. Unbeknownst to anyone else, there were already several people who, gaining an interest in the machines from the bread they saw in the school store, approached Hiroshi via the school store management.
¡¸Well, once the shop begins there will be many a method.¡¹
The unpleasant looking man interjected,forting the chef.
¡¸You¡¯re not pulling my leg?¡¹
¡¸No, I am not. It¡¯s not hard at all to crush one petty little restaurant.¡¹
¡¸So you have a n? I expect great things from you then.¡¹
¡¸Yes, leave it to me.¡¹
The unpleasant-looking man firmly asserted, and the chef was finally in a good mood.
¡¸Now then, I guess I¡¯ll get back so I can stock up for tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Ha, you barely stock up at all, so it¡¯s funny hearing that from you.¡¹
¡¸Hey, I do touch up the ce a bit. Rude.¡¹
¡¸Right, in order to prevent anyone eating at your ce from dying?¡¹
¡¸Pretty much.¡¹
Grinning at the unpleasant man, the head chef then left the room.
¡¸Good grief, I told him to keep it to a minimum¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, looks like his time hase.¡¹
¡¸It sure has. Well, once we take care of that restaurant, we seize the opportunity¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, don¡¯t worry, I know.¡¹
Right after the head chef left, the unpleasant man and the government official whispered to each other with incredibly vulgar expressions on their faces. It would appear that they intended to push all the responsibility for the series of unjust events on the head chef to get rid of him.
After that they briefed each other on the specific n for when they put an end to the shop, leaving in dyed intervals. From the time they entered the room to the time they left, none of the members present had realized that someone had been recording them this entire time.
¡¸And there you have it.¡¹
¡¸Well well¡¡¡¹
¡¸I did anticipate this sort of thing, but to think that the secretary-general was so deeply involved in something as scandalous as this¡¡¡¹
Early morning the next day. Rainy, who had filmed the whole meeting, had under instruction from Layotte reported this to several of the pro-reform faction member leaders, represented by the headmaster and Professor Fluit.
Needless to say, the members gathered here were all people with nothing shady to them. Those who did have something shady to them had been screened by Rainy and secretly expelled from the center of the faction.
¡¸While we¡¯re at it, I brought over the school cafeteria¡¯s unauthorized ounting. The one over here is the secretary-general¡¯s secret ount.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m grateful that you have these, but are they really so easy to find?¡¹
¡¸Maybe not for an amateur, but these people were not hiding it well enough to fool me.¡¹
¡¸Is that so¡¡¡¹
The headmaster and everyone else fell silent at Rainy¡¯sment that showed just how well she prepared for this meeting.
¡¸¡¡When you track down something that we could not even find and with such ease, it truly shows our ipetence. This makes us feel quite pathetic, if I say so myself.¡¹
¡¸I specialize in it. The right person in the right ce, if you will.¡¹
¡¸Well, yes, that may be true, but¡¡¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m no good at studying, and schrs aren¡¯t any good at what I do. Schrs should pursue academics and search for hints to make the world an easier ce to live in.¡¹
Rainy conveyed her true feelings in an indifferent manner to the headmaster, who seemed to be prone to dejection. If schrs could wlessly pull off this work behind the scenes, Rainy and her kind wouldn¡¯t have a ce to belong.
¡¸So, I¡¯m pretty sure this level of evidence is still insufficient in this country. What shall you do?¡¹
¡¸Good question. Indeed, unless we not only confirm the direct orders from the judicial but also get ahold of them in action, I cannot say that this will be solid evidence, and it will likely be difficult to prosecute based on this.¡¹
The headmaster nodded once at Rainy¡¯s question.
¡¸It¡¯s possible to see the judicial directlymanding them and to make them step into our trap.¡¹
¡¸Are you serious!?¡¹
¡¸I already finished investigating their base. Their security was a joke, and their detection skills are weak. If I have Deary help me out a bit, I could send 20 regr people in easy.¡¹
¡¸¡¡With such a state of affairs, I¡¯m astonished no one has caught them until now¡¡¡¹
¡¸They would have already been toast had this country not had a sluggish judicial system.¡¹
The headmaster really wanted to facepalm at how trivial of an opponent these small fries were sounding like. Rainy estimated that even Fum would have been able to sneak into that meeting without being noticed, but determining there was no need to mention this, she had kept silent, and the headmaster did not know that fact.
Then again, while Rainy had investigated all the bases, she couldn¡¯t solidify the timing for the order. Even if she and Hiroshi were to disguise themselves, it was impossible to stay that way for several days straight, so it was also difficult to figure out where to set up the and sneak in a judicial.
¡¸Well, looks like we have a test of patience up ahead¡¡¡¹
¡¸Deary and the others are quite good at that. However, this isn¡¯t something we can deliberate for too long on, so I¡¯ll alsounch my own information centre for the time being.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Please do.¡¹
The headmaster and everyone else present bowed their heads to Rainy¡¯s offer. And just like that, the disposal of these small fries (who were reminiscent of a certain someone) was carried out nonchntly into total war, unbeknownst to Hiroshi and friends.
Volume 5 5.1
Volume 5 Chapter 5.1
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Morning, Makoto.¡¹
¡¸Morning, Kei.¡¹
¡¸Was it today?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
Opening day. Makoto, who had just arrived at school for her lecture, was met by her ssmate she had grown friendly with. Her name was Kei, a red-haired human female who worked as a servant at a noble¡¯s house. She went out of our way to go learn magic here in this short course for one simple reason, that her employer had ordered her to do so. There were quite a few people like her, sent by their employers in rotation to learn the pure basics of magic.
¡¸You know how there are cream rolls and yakisoba sandwiches? Well our head chef said toe and scout them out.¡¹
¡¸Yes, but I will say you should expect the taste to resemble primarily Rufeus¡¯s cuisine, albeit neither good nor bad.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s still ok. Neither good nor bad still has the widest range.¡¹
Kei tutted at Makoto¡¯s pointer as she retorted.
¡¸But really, what¡¯s it like?¡¹
¡¸Well, the cuisine generally consists of dishes for mass production, so they only made the seasoning consistent with Rufeus¡¯ but it¡¯s all food that anyone from any country can eat. They say they¡¯ve put together recipes that their employees can make continuously in short periods of time, so it doesn¡¯t sound like it¡¯ll be the super amazing food that we always eat either.¡¹
¡¸Ah. Well, even then, I think it¡¯s highly preferable to the cafeteria food here that practically oozes out malice.¡¹
¡¸Compared to that, pickling meat in salt and eating it just like that is a good contender, so don¡¯t you think yourparison is fairly unfitting?¡¹
Kei let out a grimace at Makoto¡¯s interjection. If it was this bad, normally ten or twenty written petitions would easily reach them, and yet for some reason the headmaster and management assembly hadn¡¯t received a single one. At that point things became quite suspicious, but unable to find any evidence of someone tampering, the headmaster and circle of professors apparently couldn¡¯t take the extra step of reformation with only their opinions and their authority being misused.
Normally, this was the kind of cafeteria that no one would enter, but as it held near 70% of of the students staying in the dorms and there weren¡¯t any grocery shops, let alone restaurants other than the expensive ones surrounding the school, so not relying on the school cafeteria would make the options scarce. For that very reason, they had taken full advantage of the students and the cooks just did whatever they pleased.
Then again, there was no way these evil deeds would continue, andtely thanks to the dressed bread that the school store had begun selling, the customers at the cafeteria had dwindled to two-fifths of what it had originally been, signifying they had straight up lost to the school store and that people who couldn¡¯t get dressed bread at the cafeteria were going to the school store instead.
¡¸At any rate, I¡¯m so d that we get a cafeteria with reasonable prices for the menu. Not everyone goes to school with lunch prepared like we do, and even we don¡¯t always get lunch made for us every day.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, tell me about it. Oh, right, I forgot to say.¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸The new book¡¯s published, so here you go.¡¹
¡¸Woohoo!I waited long and hard for this one!!¡¹
Cheering at what Makoto said, Kei happily epted the book with its cover depicting two men gazing at one another aesthetically. The contents seemed to be aimed at intermediate learners, or at least by Makoto¡¯s standards, so by this point it was basically toote to exit the world of fujoshi. Lime wasn¡¯t here because of it being practical skill time, which was precisely why Makoto was able to hand the book out right now.
¡¸Oh, the new one¡¯s out already.¡¹
¡¸Let me read itter, kay?¡¹
¡¸Makoto, don¡¯t just focus on that one, I also wanna see a continuation for¡ºHaruna-chan Does Her Best¡»¡¹
The ssmates gathered around the manga Makoto had brought out, squirming to get a look.
¡¸I¡¯ll bring along the Haruna-chan and Azuma Workshop continuations tomorrow, so wait a bit longer, kay?¡¹
¡¸Really? You promise?¡¹
¡¸Yes. I only brought these ones today because they were bound and that was more convenient.¡¹
Makoto made her excuse as she handed them books with different covers, and slightly doubtful gazes concentrated on her. As a current problem, yes it was true that bringing bound books to school was easier, but Makoto had in fact simply weighed the page numbers and remaining paper on a scale and prioritized the book more up her alleyway since she saw the opportunity to make three productions when going for ten copies, so she was kinda guilty.
¡¸Ah right, while we¡¯re at it, could you go to the shop when it opens today and tell me what you think?¡¹
¡¸Of course.¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll go there without mercy, so prepare yourself.¡¹
¡¸Yes, well, the ones preparing themselves won¡¯t be me, but the people in charge of the cooking and the employees.¡¹
And just like that, the ssmates of the short term course continued to chit chat harmoniously until ss began.
Around the same time, in the library.
¡¸We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.¡¹
¡¸Is Sasha-san in charge today?¡¹
¡¸No. We have heard that a representative from Azuma Workshop will being via Daljan-sama, so I have asked to substitute in as the person in charge.¡¹
Hiroshi, who hade to the library as of today to scale the dungeon, was met with an introduction from Daljan¡¯s priestess, Sasha, who exchanged a greeting with Tatsuya.
¡¸It¡¯s nice to meet you. My name is Sasha, and I have the pleasure of serving concurrently as both Daljan-sama¡¯s priestess and a librarian of this great library. I look forward to working with you, sir.¡¹
¡¸Well thank ya kindly. My name is Azuma Hiroshi. Nice to meetcha.¡¹
Caught up in Sasha¡¯s introduction, Hiroshi timidly bowed his head. Sasha, who was looking at Hiroshi, had a somewhat enchanting gaze.
¡¸¡¡Umm, is there somethin¡¯ on my face perhaps?¡¹
¡¸No. I just thought it peculiar that I would be able to meet with the ideal man of my dreams in a manner like this.¡¹
¡¸Wha?¡¹
Hiroshi and Tatsuya immediately froze at Sasha, who had just said this in an ecstatic manner. While many a woman had indeed fallen prey to Hiroshi¡¯s gant attitude as he made items or stood in front of enemies and blocked their attacks with his body, this was the first time anyone had fallen for him at first sight.
¡¸¡¡Wow, what can I say, ya got some bad taste, Sasha-san¡¡¡¹
¡¸Oh, there¡¯s no need to hold back when talking to me. Please, just call me Sasha and speak how you normally do.¡¹
¡¸No no no!¡¹
Hiroshi immediately and furtively shook his head from side to side with all his might at Sasha, who appeared to be oddly delirious with her words.
¡¸So, Sasha-san. Could you enlighten us as to what precisely you like about this guy¡¯s appearance?¡¹
¡¸Sure, I don¡¯t see why not, but wouldn¡¯t you know, being his friend?¡¹
¡¸Honestly, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t think he has physical appeal, but I always thought it wasn¡¯t the kind of appeal that was geared toward young women like yourself. There have been multipledies who fell for him along the way, but they were infatuated not with the exterior, rather the interior, so I didn¡¯t think this kind of awareness was totally wrong.¡¹
Hiroshi grimaced, agreeing with Tatsuya. He was fully aware that his face would absolutely not be ssified as a hunk, so he didn¡¯t feel any type of way about Tatsuya¡¯s evaluation.
Volume 5 5.2
Volume 5 Chapter 5.2
Editor: Weasalopes
In actuality, while Hiroshi certainly wouldn¡¯t be regarded as handsome or a hunk by any women he first met, it was a lie to say he didn¡¯t have any appeal whatsoever. At the very least, his appearance didn¡¯t make anyone feel ufortable, and if he had a talented cameraman and stylist by his side, Hiroshi would have a decent, fresh, good-natured appearance without needing to use any makeup forpensation.
In other words, other than the weakness of looking weirdlyme with anything he wore, Hiroshi¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t have anything in particr for women to evade him. Surely if he had a set of clothing that fit his appearance a bit better, even if love at first sight wasn¡¯t likely, there would have at least never been girls who attempted to steal his right to life. Hiroshi really did just look like a normal person.
¡¸Those vigorous eyebrows, that sharp chin line, and that gentle expression on his face make an especially appealing contrast, but that stoic, toned body and that fickle fashion sense not matching the atmosphere he exudes is also fantastic.¡¹
To directly trante what Sasha had just said, she really did like everything about his face, and how he lookedme in fancy clothing. Thatst point in particr seemed to have something inmon with Haruna, Aearis, and Artiem with how they evaluated Hiroshi looking at home in his work clothes.
¡¸¡¡I really dunno if I¡¯m bein¡¯ praised or disparaged, mate¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, the older the age range with women, the more there are who say they hate men who look nice in shy clothing, so it¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t women who prefer average-looking guys to hunks¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi and Tatsuya whispered to one another at Sasha¡¯s difficult-to-evaluate interests. That being said, in Tatsuya¡¯s case, he couldn¡¯t say he fully didn¡¯t understand Sasha¡¯s tastes.
This was something both men and women shared, but with enough age and experience, the weight that your partner¡¯s appearance holds decreases, with the men and women who are considered good catches having a tendency to ceparatively less value on appearance, regardless of age.
Then again, strangely enough, those same types of people who see value in their partner¡¯s internal appeal begin to see his or her appearance as attractive once dating them for some time, or in fact like appearance from the very beginning.
When you considered that these were Sasha¡¯s same tastes, who was either the same age as Haruna or slightly older, it was an unexpected line, but from Tatsuya¡¯s viewpoint, who had experienced the hardships of society, women who could understand the appeal in Hiroshi even in his normal attire were pretty high value.
¡¸Well, I¡¯m sure that Sasha-san wants her time to appeal, but I think that¡¯s best demonstrated in the line of work, so how about we get started?¡¹
¡¸Yup, good idea.¡¹
¡¸Right you are. I shall do my best to prove my worth as a capable woman.¡¹
Sasha got rather into it when Tatsuya said that. While inwardly remarking how he would have preferred she act this way instead of toppling over her first impression, Tatsuya wisely chose to stay quiet.
¡¸Come to think of it, I did hear that everyone would be starting the cafeteria job today.¡¹
¡¸Yup yup. I think Haruna-san¡¯s prolly busy with instruction¡¯ the workers with stockin¡¯ up around this time?¡¹
¡¸Is that so? It is an incredibly joyous thing to hear that there will finally be a cafeteria in that area with reasonable prices. Thanks to a certain selfish fool, any decent shop, or even any convenient shop is nowhere to be seen.¡¹
Hiroshi and Tatsuya looked at each other when Sasha said that.
¡¸Sasha-san, wouldja happen to know the reason for there not bein¡¯ hardly any cafeterias near the academy?¡¹
¡¸Yes. In fact, I¡¯d say I have a grasp on the whole situation. However, someone in a position such as mine saying such a thing without being prompted would be problematic in many ways, so I¡¯m sure you feel some type of way about this, but for now, the temple has decided to maintain silence.¡¹
¡¸That right.¡¹
¡¸And also, Hiroshi-dono. Please refer to me without honorifics.¡¹
¡¸Yer really fixated on that, huh¡¡¡¹
Hiroshi and Tatsuya now knew an unexpected truth regarding the cafeteria wars.
¡¸Well, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a lot to say about this, but for now let¡¯s leave that aside and start searchin¡¯ through some documents, mate.¡¹
¡¸Agreed.¡¹
¡¸Do your best to gather all the documents you want as quick as you can. I sure would love to go to the new cafeteria, especially if I¡¯m on a date with a certain someone.¡¹
¡¸Ma¡¯am, ya don¡¯t gotta talk about dangerous things like dates. Besides, that ce ain¡¯t even geared toward couples in the first ce.¡¹
Their conversation veering slightly off-track, the three of them stepped into the special archives. And thus, the reading spree headed toward a new oue.
¡¸Haruna-san, we got a refusal for supply of goods!¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢so it¡¯s begun right away, huh¡¡¡¹
Azuma Workshop, Diner Division after work had begun. This shop, which had the trade name Azuma Diner on it, had begun the day first thing in the morning with a refusal to bring food ingredients right from the getgo, which was a pretty bad outlook for the day.
Of course, this supply of food noting was a verymon form of harassment. Haruna and the others had yet to realize it, but they had indeed thought of it as a possibility.
¡¸Well, what we nned to use for today, we already supplied yesterday, and at worst, if we need to rece several vegetables, we can quickly get those from Ortem, so there really isn¡¯t any need to get so flustered, kay?¡¹
Haruna said, pulling out not just today¡¯s portion from storage but what looked like more than a whole weeks¡¯ worth of food ingredients. Azuma Diner¡¯s food storage had Prevent Rot enchanting on it inside of arge container, expanded to the limit with capacity. With the exchange of 300 meals per day, there was enough space tost an entire year¡¯s worth of food at full capacity.
Needless to say, regr restaurants didn¡¯t have such absurd storage capacity. At most, the average shop would have three days¡¯ worth in storage.
¡¸So assuming we¡¯ll think about tomorrow¡¯s stocks when the timees, first let¡¯s stock up for today with all our might!¡¹
¡¸R-Right¡¡¡¹
Almost as if they had expected this (no, who am I kidding, they probably did expect this), the the employees below the head chef nodded once at Haruna while clearly put-off at her attitude.
Then again, despite mentioning beginning stocking up, Haruna wasn¡¯t going toy a finger on anything. This time around she was simply the person in charge of starting up the business and the personnel who dealt with trouble. As a result, while she did instruct, she would not be making anything whatsoever.
¡¸Make sure to cut that chicken a bit smaller and make the size uniform all across.¡¹
¡¸Okay.¡¹
¡¸Hey, you have the seasonings in the opposite order.¡¹
¡¸Ah, sorry about that!¡¹
Haruna politely instructed the trainees who the head chef had brought along with him from somewhere. She had pounded the general cooking procedure into their heads, but it still felt like they had a bit more to learn in the small areas.
Volume 5 5.3
Volume 5 Chapter 5.3
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Haruna-cha¡«n¡¹
¡¸Reinforcements¡«¡¹
¡¸Have arrived¡«¡¹
¡¸Dispose of the body¡«¡¹
And as everyone was cooking to the best of their ability, several octogals came barging in.
¡¸Ah, wee. Would you mind checking the cleanliness of the shop for me real quick?¡¹
¡¸Ka¡«y¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll be right back¡«¡¹
epting Haruna¡¯s instructions, the octogals flew about the inside of the shop all at once.
¡¸All the tables are £Ï£Ë¡«¡¹
¡¸Chairs are clean¡«¡¹
¡¸No problems with the ceiling¡«¡¹
¡¸Floor¡¯s clean¡«¡¹
¡¸Windows squeaky clean¡«¡¹
¡¸Shop perimeter is a-ok¡«¡¹
¡¸Body disposed of¡«¡¹
Finishing the sister-inw high speed check, the octogals quickly returned to report. There wasn¡¯t anything in particr to throw or drop, so that one octagonal talking about disposing of bodies was probably just doing it for fun.
¡¸Kay, thank you. Business starts in thirty minutes, so I¡¯d appreciate it if you help again at that time.¡¹
¡¸Ro¡«ger¡¢ro¡«ger¡¹
¡¸We¡¯ll do our best¡«¡¹
¡¸Work is fun¡«¡¹
¡¸Dispose of the body¡«¡¹
Returning a gleeful response to Haruna, the octogals killed time while doing their own littleyout adjustments in the shop. While they wanted to question these strange creatures, the employees were far to busy with stocking up to say anything.
¡¸So just vegetables today, I take it?¡¹
Haruna let out her thoughts at there not being any particr harassment today. In fact, for both the shop¡¯s defense system and the octogals¡¯ detection system, there were no thugs around who got caught in either.
¡¸I guess it¡¯s about time to open up?¡¹
¡¸Haruna-chan, there¡¯s a guest here¡«¡¹
¡¸Okay. Today is this shop¡¯s first battle, so let¡¯s go into it with everything we¡¯ve got! Business begin!¡¹
¡¸Alright!!¡¹
Hearing the octogals¡¯ report, Haruna gave the order to open up shop. The moment she unlocked the entrance door, ten hasty customers who had been waiting outside poured into the shop. Nearly all of them were students, but three others mixed in were either lecturers or office workers.
¡¸Customer number one¡«¡¹
¡¸Congrattions¡«¡¹
¡¸But there isn¡¯t really a prize or anything¡«¡¹
The octogals said this trivial thing to the first student who walked in as they led the student to the counter for payment and the trays.
¡¸Wee, wee. Today¡¯s menu is over here. Every individual item is 25 tirols, bread and sd sets are 30 tirols, andrge servings are an additional 5 tirols, while if you decrease the amount it¡¯s 5 tirols less.¡¹
¡¸The menu is over here?¡¹
¡¸No, pleasee over to the receipt counter. For both sets and quantity changes we will send you a ticket, so please hand it to the person in charge.¡¹
Nodding at the ountant, the first customer ordered a set menu with an extra serving. That was only the beginning, as more and more customers finished their payment to grab set menu tickets.
¡¸Wow, they all look great.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯ve decided. I¡¯ll go with pot-au-feu.¡¹
¡¸Alright, then it¡¯s beef stew for me.¡¹
¡¸Bouibaisse.¡¹
Unable to resist the powerful aroma, each customer said their order and took their food. Impressed at the extra helping set that was double the normal one, they then began eating the ingredient that stood out the most. Momentarily their movement stopped, and then they began chowing down silently and ravenously.
Haruna, who had been watching this, let out a small sigh of relief and returned to the kitchen.
¡¸¡¡Yep, it¡¯s been a while since I had some actually decent lunch at school¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡The vor isn¡¯t especially amazing, but it¡¯s still great, y¡¯know¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Actually, I say there aren¡¯t too many shops out there better than this one¡¡¡¹
Completely engulfing this food which had quite the volume to it, the students were calmly discussing this over the tea that was offered free of charge.
¡¸If it¡¯s this price with this amount and this taste, I really can¡¯tin.¡¹
¡¸Having it only open in the daytime is a shame.¡¹
¡¸But if we think of this as another thing to look forward to¡¡¹
¡¸Wow, never thought the day¡¯de when I look forward to lunch.¡¹
The students who had marched in as the advance party were nowmenting happily as they returned their utensils, and the octogals watched them as they left. The other groups that hade at different times also mainly had satisfied expressions on their faces as they left, which gave their friends who had been waiting for a verdict the stamp of approval.
¡¸Seems like all the customers were satisfied, so I imagine peak time¡¯s going to be busy.¡¹
Hearing the students¡¯ conversations via the octogals, Haruna gave her expectation. Nodding at Haruna, the head chef went and ordered additional ingredients.
And so on the first day of Azuma Diner, peak time flourished to the point where it got lines and lines of customers.
¡¸This sucks¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, it really does¡¡¡¹
One week after the opening of Azuma Diner. The secretary-general and head chef were whispering to one another with dismal faces in a corner of the school cafeteria that everyone had stopped going to. The interferences they were attempting which wereparatively hard to trace all appeared to be backfiring.
The cooks in the kitchen with free time on their hands also had quite the dismal expressions on their faces as they moved about listlessly. Apparently no one was optimistic enough to see this as an opportunity to polish their hand at cooking or try new recipes.
¡¸It sounds like those farmers aren¡¯t selling ingredients to anyone¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, they appear to have their own independent supply route¡¡¡¹
First was the interference in ingredient delivery. This was probably an utter failure. Azuma Diner appeared to be by all means procuring foodstuff, stocked up to the brim every day. Going near the end of business hours revealed there were some items on the menu out of stock, but it wasn¡¯t like you couldn¡¯t still eat something there. If this wasn¡¯t failure, then what was it?
¡¸And even when we tried disturbing them inside, for some reason these octopi keep finding us and chasing us away¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes. Despite their appearance, they do appear to be the retainers of a god, so they must have an acute perception to these sorts of things.¡¹
¡¸Not to mention the people the octopi chased out are all unmistakably beyond recovery¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yes, as it seems that they were driven out of the shop in a pretty humiliating way¡¡¹
When the men attempted to bring in bugs from the outside and try the ssic fault-finding technique with the food, the minute they arrived the bugs were repelled by the barrier, which made this impossible. When the small fries changed their tactics to bringing their own meals, no matter how many times they tried taking out their food, the octogals saw them do this and made them exit the shop while making humiliating poses, bullied brutally to the point where one after the other no longer had the heart to challenge the diner.
While their method was ssical, and therefore expected to a certain degree, it was still miserable that the shop had taken all these measures.
¡¸We also failed to spread any rumors, so at this point, I guess we just cause a ruckus outside the shop?¡¹
¡¸The risk is high, but yes, that¡¯s probably the only option.¡¹
The chef had atst gotten to the final method, and the secretary-general chimed in with a sigh. Halting food supply would onlyst a month at most. Anything past that would mean no longer ignoring thewsuits that were probablying daily from both the shop and the farm, and without a doubt, the officials and trade guilds would make a move.
Usually this would only take a week toe into effect, but even Lorren with all its fastidiousness toward corruption had to have some. They also used that method to skillfully bribe some individuals taking the initiative to make necessary preparations for extending this time period. The limit for the extension was now a month.
Volume 5 5.4
Volume 5 Chapter 5.4
Trantor: Reflet
Up until now, hindering supply had usually decreased customers naturally in half a month, and anything more meant they just had to use bugs to fabricateints for bad rumors to sprout and keep people away from the shops, and then they just waited and bankruptcy urred. There were cases where they used underhanded methods of mixing in rotten ingredients with the prior day¡¯s stocks to cause food poisoning, but that was only once or twice.
In addition to these scandals and bad reputations that came in sets, sometimes these shops were forced into suspension by the administration, so you can see that even the people of Lorren who hated making decisions based on gossip still ended up believing some of it.
However, this time there were no hindrances in food supply, and any other harassment was blocked by the shop itself and impossible to achieve. As expected, there weren¡¯t any people who would believe rumors, and it would be difficult to finish any of this within the month.
¡¸For now, I leave this with you. Ask that man to handle it if you can.¡¹
¡¸Yes, I understand.¡¹
Choosing their words slightly carefully at the end there, the chef and the secretary decided their next move. Loosening up because only the people they knew were in the vicinity, they never even realized they were under surveince and recorded from beginning to end.
¡¸They¡¯ll probably make a move tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸So we can finally bring down these goons who¡¯ve been making a mockery of business transaction¡¡¡¹
That very night in the trade guild, Rainy brought this report to the guildmaster.
¡¸We can¡¯t round them up immediately.¡¹
¡¸I know. Not only has this country taken on all the bad characteristics of Fane¡¯s judicial system, but for thesest ten years or so, these judges have been especially fundamentalist in their fastidiousness. However¡¡¡¹
Nodding at Rainy, who had given a warning, the guildmaster spat out his words with a fierce smile as he red with his sharp, glowing eyes at empty space.
¡¸Still, we have enough evidence here to make sure they don¡¯t get off without penalty. This is a matter that is involved with the trade guild¡¯s dignity, so I¡¯ll chase them down to the ends of hell to make them pay for their crimes.¡¹
It would appear that the guildmaster had been enduring a lot, and he had the kind of bloodlust that almost made you want to sympathize with the ones who did this. Rainy gave him the next piece of information in an unconcerned manner.
¡¸The thief guild is already on the move.¡¹
¡¸Oh? If they¡¯re acting as well, then these people must have done something seriously bad.¡¹
¡¸They¡¯re making quite the blunder without permission and without registration. They¡¯ve even caused several incidents in the guild¡¯s territory.¡¹
¡¸Wow, I see.¡¹
The guildmaster had a truly cheerful expression on his face at the report about the thief guild. Generally these guilds hardly ever moved other than to let off steam, but this guild in particr was already on the move. If they knew the meaning of this information, the victim¡¯s side wouldn¡¯t have a reason not to be delighted.
This was true for any country, but whenever you conducted arge scale business in certainrge cities, you would always need to associate with that city¡¯s thieving guild to a certain extent. As a result, even in Rufeus, the thief guilds and trade guilds united under non-aggression pacts, leaving enough distance between each other to neither be ssified as being on good or bad terms.
The more people there are, the more quarrels and crimes there are. You can¡¯t resolve all of these viaw-abiding methods. Conversely, the other party might sometimes plot resolutions that give them an advantage via uwful methods. In order to protect yourself from these sorts of predicaments, it was always important to never fully sever ties with the thief guilds.
Therefore, even in Lorren, where there were numerous people who could not condone illicit activities like these, everyone tolerated the existence of thief guilds and every organization forming non-aggression pacts with said guilds. Getting full of yourself and doing something unpardonable would sometimes cause boycotting, but without this, the organizations managing and keeping hoodlums in check would be gone, and even in this country that boasted its status of knowledge, there would be more people inconvenienced than not.
And it was precisely their understanding of this that kept thief guilds from making too many moves.
¡¸I¡¯m actually impressed that we¡¯ve been safe doing all this despite not being affiliated with the thief guild.¡¹
¡¸You aren¡¯t? Wow, that takes some guts.¡¹
¡¸So apparently the thief guild had to wait a bit longer to try anything risky.¡¹
¡¸Yet another strange thing going on there¡¡¡¹
¡¸They apparently only be notable as of recent, but up till then they were simply ill-natured, regr citizens.¡¹
Hearing the reason that Rainy said, the guildmaster began to grasp the situation a bit better. It was true that it would have been quite difficult for this country to do anything in that set of circumstances. The reason the thief guilds were allowed to exist was because people in respectable upations wouldn¡¯t do anything about it.
¡¸With this incident, these people will no longer be called respectable and they can move openly.¡¹
¡¸Is that so. In that case, how about we leave the perpetrators to the thief guild and on our side we thoroughly take care of the academy¡¯s secretariat and head chef who are working injustice?¡¹
¡¸I thought it was difficult to convict someone in this country based off pure evidence.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s because the problem is how many. Thest few years, the number of discontinuations has be a bit unpardonable, so when I carried forward my own search, well, I saw lots of things, lots of them. Once this incident is over, I n to go right ahead and clean up the interior.¡¹
¡¸So this was a good opportunity for you?¡¹
¡¸Pfft, no way. Originally, I should have done something before the first establishment got forced into closing down. And even if that wasn¡¯t going to be possible, I still had to hasten finishing the interior search and eliminate those fools. Checking the flow of events of closure on the surface while neglecting the investigation has yielded this result. The casualties spreading this far and the fact that this trade guild of all ces was partially responsible for that means that I cannot justify myself in any possible way to these victims who were just doing honest business.¡¹
With a severe expression on his face, the guildmaster mentioned the several restaurants that had been victimized. While it was true that thanks to Hiroshi and friends, the internal injustice and corruption would be swept out, before it even got to this point, several restaurants had been chased into discontinuation, forced to spend their lives in bankruptcy. It was true that the guild hadn¡¯t been able to do anything due to insufficient evidence, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that these victims had nothing to do with the drama, and that these victims were practically on the verge ofmitting suicide.
While only in some regions, Rufeus¡¯s trade guilds¡¯ reputation had sharply dropped in thest few years, losing arge amount of trust. And this lost trust was fully justified, since the trade guilds not only stood idly by as the greedy businesses grew fatter, giving the honest workers a bad reputation to make them lose it all, but a portion of them had actually participated in this.
The guild should probably brace itself for ten years or so before it regained the trust of the people. The people within were the ones who stomped on the trust, so it made sense. Their bad rep was deserved and they just had to ept that and try their best to regain it.
Volume 5 5.5
Volume 5 Chapter 5.5
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Either way, first we bring the perpetrators into the bloodbath that awaits them and then conduct a thorough investigation that doesn¡¯t condone any injustice whatsoever within and without the business field. I¡¯m already in an unsteady position, but it¡¯s doubtful as to whether even the next guildmaster will fully regain that trust. Still, we have to try. I am truly sorry for pushing all the work I should have done onto you, of course¡¡¡¹
Seeing the guildmaster make this overly sincere statement, Rainy secretly remarked to herself that yes, in the end, this man was still a Lorren resident.
¡¸For now, I¡¯ll continue investigating various things. If I find any information that would be of value to you, I will send it your way.¡¹
¡¸Okay. Please. It really does hurt to know I cannot give you any special reward¡¡¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s an order from the higherups, so no problem. This is also part of the sry.¡¹
Lightly waving a hand at the guildmaster, who still seemed to be apologetic, Rainy quickly vanished from the room right after. Seeing her go off, the guildmaster muttered with a grimace.
¡¸And I also need to strengthen the intel on my end¡¡¡¹
Reflecting on the fact that their internal conditions were probably being leaked, the guildmaster began his work for the time being.
¡¸¡¡They¡¯re doing a sloppy job at tailing.¡¹
A little while after leaving the trade guild, Rainy caught onto five different people following her as she made that remark. Unlike in Darl when she had pretended to be a regr person, Rainy was currently masking her presence only partway, which should be a clear-cut hint that it¡¯s a trap, so if Rainy were in their position, unless there was a really good reason to do so or her preparations or chances of victory were slim, she could guarantee she would not be fooled by a trap like this. Not to mention, they had walked recklessly into this trap with no precautions. It was at this point when her opponents¡¯ level was made clear.
Also, their method of tailing was soughably bad that nine out of ten bystanders watching could say 100% for sure that they were tailing someone. Usually when you purposely go along with someone¡¯s lure, you make sure no one knows your location as you let only your target know they are being pursued, disying your ability to your opponent and applying pressure. The opponent would also generally pinpoint the pursuer¡¯s location and apply pressure in return, pretend to give them the slip, and go through all sorts of tactics, but Rainy¡¯s opponents showed no signs of even trying those things.
In other words, no matter how you evaluated them, these were the actions of dim-witted amateurs.
£¨I¡¯ll shake them up a bit.£©
While this was a half-baked quarry, she had gotten her fish on the line, so why not y around for a bit? In that line of thinking, Rainy took a very suspicious action and headed into the back alleyway. Once she had confirmed they had followed her in, Rainy turned on the motorbike that was now herpanion and speeded through the deserted back alleyway in one swoop.
£¨If they can keep up at this speed¡¡£©
Despite having elerated up to 60 kilos in a moment, the distance between her and the presence of these amateur pursuers neither increased nor decreased. In this world, other than a few exceptions like Overelerate and its startup time, unless you had a golem carriage you were not going to reach this kind of speed. By this point it was clear that her pursuers were not entirely humanoid.
Doing what she could to lead them in a direction where there weren¡¯t any people, Rainy searched every aspect of her adversary. If they could move at this speed, Rainy had a pretty good idea as to what precisely their identity was, but she had no confirmation so she wanted to make sure.
£¨Should be ready pretty soon.£©
Finding an alleyway where she could put up a good act of being thoroughly cornered, Rainy jumped in without hesitation. Checking her side mirror to see this group of individuals who she had just lured in, Rainy inwardly grinned.
¡¸Dark God Temr, confirmed.¡¹
Reflected in the side mirror was a group of men in a fusion between devil-type monsters and humans. They were not running on the ground, but flying with their membrane wings. That was apparently the secret to their speed. One of them was the leader who had supervised the group that had tried to meddle in Azuma Workshop¡¯s affairs.
¡¸We¡¯ll make that rat snooping around us pay with death.¡¹
At the same time as those unsophisticated, unappealing words, the men scatter shot mana bullets. Skillfully slipping through all of those bullets, Rainy rushed into the blind alley. The walls came closing in more and more.
¡¸Ha! So she has given into despair and lost her mind!¡¹
Sneering at Rainy, who had already gotten on a crash course for a wall at a speed that couldn¡¯t be stopped, the men scattered some more mana bullets. Lightly ignoring them, Rainy raised the bike¡¯s front wheels and mmed into the wall with a wheelie.
The moment that therge bike specially made by Hiroshi made contact with the wall with its front tires, it rebounded on a grand scale and seemed to be losing its bnce. Skillfully regaining bnce with the bike, Rainy turned it and then took out a magic pistol from the bike, firing out arge amount of bullets to keep the men in check.
The men were now quivering at the impossible movement Rainy had made and quantity of high powered bullets she fired out subsequently, but Rainy did not rx the speed even a bit as she stowed away the pistol to take out a knife from the sheath at her back waist specially made for her, pouring in mana and activating its special functions. Swinging the knife four times in an almost throwing motion as she passed by them, Rainy stabbed deeply through the mens¡¯ necks one by one.
¡¸Wha!?¡¹
In the blink of an eye, the men turned pale when they realized that four of their number had been killed. Not reacting to this in any particr way, Rainy put away the knife as she used the neighboring building¡¯s wall to vault the bike up in a three dimensional maneuver. If all she needed to do was take everyone down, that could be arranged in a single moment, but that wouldn¡¯t be enough to secure an information source. She had to keep at least one of them alive or it would be a waste.
¡¸Birdlime Bullet, open fire.¡¹
¡¸W-Wait!¡¹
Using the wall to elerate (and without using the flying option in the slightest), Rainy soared through the air tounch a merciless pursuit. As he frantically tried to say something to stop this, the man found a birdlime bullet between his mouth and nose.
¡¸Hardener, open fire.¡¹
¡¸Hey, we said to wait¡¡!¡¹
Ignoring the man¡¯s drivel, Rainynded the bike on the ground with the back wheels, changing direction as she pounded the hardener into birdlime bullets to solidify them.
¡¸Debuff Net, open fire.¡¹
¡¸Gah!?¡¡ÌÓ¤²¤é¤ì¤ó!¡¹
¡¸Binding Barrier, expand.¡¹
¡¸Damn it, you nned all of this didn¡¯t you!¡¹
¡¸Bamboo Mat Rope.¡¹
The men lost all capacity for mobilization when the bike¡¯s missileuncher fired special warhead after warhead. Even Barold Second Form had nearly lost all movement when faced with these projectiles, so this wasn¡¯t something that mere temr underlings could handle.
¡¸¡¡I wanted to do some splendid stunts, but these dudes arecking¡¡¡¹
Rainy expressed dissatisfaction at how quickly she had defeated the men. The bike had flight and speed capabilities and she wasn¡¯t even able to put them to proper use. Honestly, had she been off the bike this would have been settled in five seconds, but even on the bike the fight time was barely any longer because these people were just too weak.
Volume 5 5.6
Volume 5 Chapter 5.6
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸At any rate, I guess I¡¯ll just take these guys back and interrogate/torture them whenever.¡¹
¡¸Torture? Sheesh, such a barbaric way of putting it.¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m leaving the decision-making to the pros, so who knows if they¡¯ll do it or not.¡¹
Rainy responded in an unconcerned manner to the man¡¯s rather hypocriticalment as she stuffed the bamboo mat into a jute bag. If she intended to put the bike with her other belongings, in this case it would be better to preserve the contents and solidify it just in case. During the process, something appeared behind her.
¡¸Out of my way.¡¹
Rainy went a step ahead of the devil-type monster who had attempted to get in her way and got behind them, firing a hit into their vitals to take them down.
¡¸I now have a gift for Deary, so time to withdraw.¡¹
Stuffing in the remains of the devil monster alongside the man into the jute bag, Rainy murmured as she tightened the rope to the rear end of the bike. It wasn¡¯t necessarily the most marvelous harvest, but it was better than nothing.
The next morning, after several parts of the devil monster remains that Rainy had brought in were collected as organs, the remaining meat and hide were processed into food for interrogation.
¡¸Dark God Temr, huh¡¡¡¹
¡¸It would seem that several of those believers have snuck into every organization.¡¹
¡¸Well, that¡¯s rather rming¡¡¡¹
The king frowned at the information given to him by the man Rainy had captured and pulled out. With the confirmation of priests and their cleansing, they were in the middle of purging believers in the royal pce little by little. Doing it all at once would create several vexing problems, so all they could was settle down and concentrate.
But when you considered the influence they had, it was clear this was a very rming situation. Anything past this would be troubling, so the king wanted everyst straggler eliminated as quickly as possible.
¡¸So what does the situation look like?¡¹
¡¸Call it a blessing in disguise, but other than the trade guilds and a portion of the garrison, they were only in the bottom ranks that had to listen to the higher-ups.¡¹
¡¸Trade guilds, you say?¡¹
¡¸Yes. We think the series of business discontinuations around the academy are due to those people.¡¹
¡¸In other words, the members of Dark God Temr had encroached far enough to crush these businesses.¡¹
The prime minister nodded gravely at the king¡¯s question.
¡¸As to whether there were temr members from the beginning or they were brought inter on, we don¡¯t know. However, their objective is not the privatization of the organizations, but to topple the trust of the public institutions by working injustice to disturb the citizens and to expand suspicion.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s a rather patient method, but I suppose in the case of our kingdom they didn¡¯t have any other choice.¡¹
¡¸It would appear so, yes. After all, it isn¡¯t impossible, but it is fairly difficult to take over and manipte the central structure with under-the-table payoffs and irresponsible rumors like they did in Fane.¡¹
The minister agreed with the king. Layotte already found all of this bothersome, so you could imagine just how repulsed Lorren¡¯s high society and political figureheads were by this, and to an thoroughly intense degree. The inadvertent divulging of information regarding damage done by small talk and the current troubling state of affairs was already, depending on the information, enough for them to receive an all-out attack of nderwsuits, so this was very hardcore.
¡¸What about the academy¡¯s secretariat?¡¹
¡¸Apparently, he was just a fool who gave in to his desires. It would seem that he didn¡¯t have any connection to the temr until the incident.¡¹
¡¸How will he be dealt with?¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t know that part yet. We need a little more of a charge before we make any moves.¡¹
¡¸I see, so you are letting him swim around a bit longer.¡¹
¡¸Yes. I think that with things proceeding this far, he will panic and cause even more of a ruckus.¡¹
The minister said, showing a video of the men diligently throwing out scraps and the academy secretariat and cafeteria head chef. Once they had the scene of the crime pinned down, it was probably conceivable to call over the authorities and capture one after the next after arresting these individuals for being caught in the act, but unfortunately, once they had done so, the criminals had reportedly already finished their work and retreated.
From what they could tell by looking at this criminal work ying on the screen, capturing them would be difficult unless they waited in secret. They were ustomed to that much. Besides, you couldn¡¯t convict people for that much of a crime just for throwing trash everywhere.
¡¸Honestly, this would be more than enough to be charged in any normal country¡¡¡¹
¡¸Indeed, it would signify for both us and Fane, being too fastidious can be problematic.¡¹
While he did look grim, the king nodded at the prime minister. The young king just didn¡¯t seem to understand the present legal structure and how it didn¡¯t charge these people despite their tant actions. Especially thesest ten years or so, too many people got off clean who were supposed to be convicted, so even more so now.
Still, even if he didn¡¯t understand, the king did consider the harmful effect of a slipshod change, so he was currently figuring out where they needed to begin the change.
That being said, Woldeus and the surrounding countries were already swiftly bing dubious in their state of affairs as it was, so even if a portion of the parliament ignored the king¡¯s decrees (no matter how logical these orders were) and did however they pleased, there was a high probability that only the king would be charged with the responsibility and the people who ignored it would get no penalty because of the legal interpretations and other aspects that he doubtless needed to fix quickly.
And to that end, before the verdict of capital punishment dropped on him due to the ignoring of orders, the king wanted some sort of clear achievement. If things went well enough, he might be able to use this incident as a breakthrough.
¡¸At any rate, I do need to train my intel ability a bit more. It isn¡¯t as if the intelligence squad trained by the predecessor will also swear fealty to me, and more likely than not, they can¡¯t move as efficiently as the girl that His Highness Layotte sent over.¡¹
The king grumbled with a sigh as he ruminated this information squadron that had practically let Rainy intrude, didn¡¯t feel any shame even when confronted about it, and would barely do anything with information gathering, only the minimum. It was probably just because no one thought she was of any value that Rainy was able to go about as she pleased, when in actuality Lorren¡¯s internal information, other than the pieces that the king himself never put into verbal form or behavior, was all being leaked to the surrounding kingdoms.
Honestly, this was more than just a situation in which the head of the country should be ashamed of themselves, but it was also far past the time to be feeling this shame. The king now had to operate under the presupposition that this was an ipetent group of individuals who failed to act in the national interest because they, the information squadron, had refused to swear fealty to the king.
¡¸Yes. In exchange, when ites to collectingrge scale information, I can give you more superior results than she can, as she is but one individual¡¡¡¹
¡¸This might be greedy on my part, but I would like to have both the elements of conspicuous individual power and of strong organizational power, not just in intelligence but in every aspect.¡¹
¡¸It might be difficult to aplish in a day, but indeed, I shall consider all of this.¡¹
The king and prime minister felt the utmost envy toward Layotte and his personal pawn Rainy, who (unbeknownst to either of them) currently had Hiroshi¡¯s used towel in her hand that she had received inpensation for the souvenir she had brought over, exhibiting her sexual perversion to the max extent as she sniffed it and panted.
Volume 5 6.1
Volume 5 Chapter 6.1
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Thanks to that incident, the academy is in quite themotion.¡¹
Three days after Rainy took down the Dark God Temr members, in Wulls Workshop, Makoto spilled the beans about the current situation of the academy to Haruna, who was working on the ount book in the japanese room.
¡¸Ah, just as expected, huh?¡¹
¡¸Thankfully, there aren¡¯t any instances of instructors disappearing as of now, but the secretariat office looks to be in quite the uproar, yeah¡¡¹
¡¸Well, they did arrest the secretariat after all.¡¹
After doing something thisrge-scale, the school cafeteria business had ended without Hiroshi and the others lifting much of a finger. Panicking at all the information that had been leaked regarding Dark God Temr, instead ofying low, the cafeteria crew tried to make a move that ended up backfiring on them.
Rainy had in fact essentially resolved everything, but for those who didn¡¯t know the behind the scenes, it looked like self-destruction. Well, from the beginning, anyone outside the academy was ready to move at the slightest opportunity, so it wasn¡¯t like this was all thanks to Rainy.
In digression, the judiciary got hit the hardest when it was revealed they had been induced into thinking a certain way, but Layotte, Rainy, and all parties involved were in too much of amotion and that sort of information had yet to reach Haruna and the others.
¡¸Well now it seems like the school cafeteria will continue to be incapable of operating for the time being, so I guess we just act as the host until things improve over there.¡¹
¡¸Actually, even when Azuma Diner opened for business, it wasn¡¯t like the school cafeteria was really operating in the first ce, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, I guess we could say nothing¡¯s really changed, then?¡¹
Makoto made a sharp interjection, and Haruna slightly averted her gaze as she said her honest thoughts. As of now, Azuma Diner had be a thriving shop offering over a thousand meals per day. While the cuisine always caught up just barely, the seats were just never enough for everyone at once, so the diner had to temporarily make any open space into further customer seats.
¡¸Well, the nuisances are gone, and it¡¯s not bad for a location, so I think soon enough there will be other locations opening up.¡¹
¡¸That would be nice, but hey, remember Forre. Rack up too much money and you¡¯ll get res from everyone around you.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, I know. For now we¡¯re just acting as a receptacle for employment, and it¡¯s not even all that much profit, so I think it¡¯ll be fine, Makoto-san.¡¹
Haruna responded to Makoto¡¯s question as she disyed the ount book. In actuality, unlike the potions and items they had been procuring from their materials, Azuma Diner was replenishing stock at a fair, reasonable price from farms and ranches, as well as paying a little extra to their personnel (more than the market price), so it wasn¡¯t like they were making such an enormous sum of money.
¡¸But wow, Dark God Temr, huh¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, I did think they¡¯d be around, but up till now they were just halfass and clumsy, so y¡¯know¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Honestly, when I heard about that, I didn¡¯t understand why they hadn¡¯t been eliminated immediately.¡¹
¡¸For real¡And from what they said, it doesn¡¯t sound as if Barold is involved here.¡¹
¡¸If Barold was the one behind this, I sort of feel like he¡¯d take his time a bit more to make everything proceed smoothly, don¡¯t you think?¡¹
Makoto nodded at Haruna¡¯s opinion. Apparently the head chef of the cafeteria¡¯s methods had be more tant with the current one, but he still behaved the first two years after his instationpared to thisst half year. Around that time, while the amount was certainly less, the taste had not been quite as severe as it was now. While still not tasty, you could at least eat it without forcing it down, or so they said. And while it had gradually worsened, even that you could force down up until the sudden changest year when the vor sharply dropped.
The cooking got even worse around November ofst year, at about the same time that all the few remaining cheap restaurants, and small ones that couldn¡¯t even rece the school cafeteria at that, were expelled. Including the newly opened stores that they hindered, the five stores had all copsed in a row during those three months.
As a result, the guildmaster from the trade guild hadpletely grasped the actions of the cafeteria ever since the previous head chef and his suspicious nature, but unfortunately, by that point it was already toote and he failed in punishing them. Not only was the location strange, but the scale small, so hardly any of the parties rted to the academy taking on the effects of bankruptcy was also because the guildmaster had not managed to get much support.
Had Barold been directly involved here, he probably wouldn¡¯t have done something as risky as knocking down five establishments one after the other. He would have most certainly taken his time to drive out all the surrounding shops, including even the high ss ones, and then once that was over he would have loudly exposed what he did and redit the academy for taking the initiative on crushing the other shops for the favorable treatment of the school. Either that, or he would have used this as a foothold to slowly eat into the other districts and the pce in order to corrupt the country in ten or a hundred years. At least the Barold they faced in Fane waspetent enough to do something like that. While he was still a small fry, Haruna and the others did evaluate him to a certain extent.
Either way, there was no mistaking how hasty and sloppy this method was.
¡¸In which case, I wonder what¡¯s going on with Barold?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know, but I think he¡¯s probably not in Rufeus. Otherwise, I doubt he would let something as sloppy as this ur.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re probably right. The real issue is why he isn¡¯t here¡¡¡¹
¡¸I can¡¯t even guess what¡¯s going on with his side of things, but if I recall, November or somewhere around there was right after we defeated Barold in Fane, so it might be rted to that.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s possible.¡¹
Makoto agreed with Haruna¡¯s opinion, which in actuality was not too far off. While the impetus was indeed with the Barold in Fane that Hiroshi and the others had defeated, that was more of a pretext, and in actuality was because the dark lords had sensed their n was pretty much on its way to copse, moving to a different region in light of this revtion. Barold himself who had been implementing the n was at a loss with the new head chef with all his greed and stupidity, so he also meekly followed the revtion and hurriedly moved to the neighboring country.
In the end, his ipetent allies had dragged him down. Then again, not only did he abandon the project halfway through, but he was also the one who had invited in these ipetent allies, so in all honesty, who really was the ipetent one here?
¡¸Come to think of it, we didn¡¯t see Barold in Forre either, did we?¡¹
¡¸Come to think of it, you¡¯re right. I wonder why?¡¹
¡¸I dunno, but I do get the feeling that people like Barold would find it difficult to get by in such a country.¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, Barold does seem like the kind of person to not get along well at parties after all¡¡¹
Forre¡¯s mentality of ¡°We don¡¯t have time to probe anyone¡¯s intentions!¡± and its system of resolving every dispute with parties was no doubt something truly difficult for Barold to get into. Having to deal with lots of drunken interactions, maudlin drinkers, merry drinkers, drinkers who forced you to drink more, and despite dealing with all that and the rumors surrounding such things, by the next day everyone had just forgotten everything and put it all to rest, so there was no merit to secret manoeuvers.
And despite all this, when it came to people like Hiroshi and the others, no matter how drunk the dwarves were they always made sure to remember to give them favorable treatment, which made the situation even nastier. Coupled with the positive atmosphere of the banquets, one might say that country was Barold¡¯s Achilles¡¯ Heel.
Volume 5 6.2
Volume 5 Chapter 6.2
Trantor: Reflet
In actually, Barold, who had operated behind the scenes in Forre, had attracted attention from everyone when he struggled at a banquet to get thrown into prison, and ultimately, as Hiroshi and the others were ying around in Crest Cave, Forre¡¯s hero Melquod found Barold¡¯s intrusion and pulverized him with a single attack that did not allow any chance for Barold to transform. Of course, this being something that happened during Crest Cave, Hiroshi and friends weren¡¯t even aware of the fact that Barold had been messing about in Forre.
It would seem that Barold just couldn¡¯t escape his pitiable treatment in this era no matter where he went.
¡¸Well, Barold doesn¡¯t seem to be involved, so I don¡¯t care.¡¹
¡¸Agreed. Besides, even if Barold was there, until he directlyes for us we don¡¯t have much we can do.¡¹
Once again, Barold¡¯s pitiable circumstances were highlighted by how little anyone really cared to think of him. By this point, there was not even a trace of the vestige of the boss who had once cornered Fane one step before subverting the state.
¡¸So it¡¯s almost Hiroshi¡¯s birthday, right.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, good point. What should we do?¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s the thing. It¡¯s Hiroshi we¡¯re talking about, so it¡¯s never easy to figure out¡Even if we do give him a present, for the most part he¡¯s the best out of all of us at making items with good design and performance.¡¹
¡¸At least Makoto-san has the option to draw a manga that Hiroshi-kun might enjoy. In our case, even we have our limits with cooking.¡¹
¡¸Well no, at least you still have your finesse when ites to cooking. I thinkpared to His Majesty Layotte and Elle and Tatsuya, you have an advantage, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡¹
Hiroshi¡¯s birthday, which no doubt boasted the greatest difficulty amongst all birthdays. Haruna and Makoto entered a briefing session to prepare for that day, which was approaching swiftly. While one might think they just barely touched on the topic right now, it was more like they hadn¡¯t referenced it but were actually discussing it away from Hiroshi every time they met.
¡¸We might as well just not order or limit anything for a week and just let him make whatever he wants, or so I¡¯m thinking. Does that sound usible?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m sure that would be the best present, but I can never rx because I never know what he¡¯lle up with¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, seriously¡¡¡¹
Azuma Hiroshi, the one man you could never trust when it came to manufacturing. He had a track record of making countless inventions like the worldshaker or the subterranean, so this wasn¡¯t something that could simply be overlooked.
¡¸Well, we do have our limitations with materials, so I doubt he can surpass anything he¡¯s already made so far in terms of horrifess.¡¹
¡¸It isn¡¯t like I don¡¯t agree, but sometimes Japanese craftsmen get this amazing passion and inconceivable thought processes in order to ovee their limitations an an abnormal manner, so in a sense we can¡¯t let our guard down.¡¹
Makoto found herself quiet down at Haruna¡¯s statement, which hit the bullet in the center. After all, she had been thinking that very thing in the corner of her mind.
¡¸But he probably wouldn¡¯t make anything that would harm us, so I say that¡¯s one less thing to worry about¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, but even if none of it would harm us, it would be troubling if it affected the world in a drastic way¡¡¡¹
¡¸Maybe so, but I think it¡¯s a bit toote for that¡¡¹
Makoto made a sour face when Haruna pointed that out. There had been many a time up till now where she was surely able to interject a bit earlier and prevent anything from happening. Here and there were things that could no longer be taken back, such as the king-size poms, which once again served to make her hesitate to let Hiroshi do as he pleased. Currently this habit of Hiroshi¡¯s had at most humiliated all the craftsmen in this world, but who knew when he would eventually uproot the structure of society itself.
Makoto inwardly had these concerns. She had already decided to ignore Hiroshi¡¯s creation of the instant ramen factory and its mass production, mass consumption system that heavily deviated from the domestic handicraft industry. She apparently wanted to make sure she never thought about the possibility that this would turn into an unstoppable event because of them.
Then again, even if they were to say anything about this, things were already much toote now that they had epted Fane¡¯s royal family¡¯s request to hire and educate Teres and the others.
¡¸At any rate, we¡¯re not capable of procuring any actual presents, so I think it¡¯ll be difficult toe up with other ideas.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, you¡¯re right¡¡¡¹
Makoto nodded reluctantly at Haruna¡¯s conclusion. Even she tried to fault-find, there weren¡¯t any other ideas they coulde up with, so there was no point in doing so.
¡¸And, well, now we just do our best in making food, I say¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s cool, but Haruna?¡¹
¡¸What?¡¹
¡¸Is it me or are you way more fired up than you were for my birthday?¡¹
¡¸That wasn¡¯t my intention, but do you really think so?¡¹
When Makoto pointed that out, Haruna tilted her head and questioned her back. In actuality, Haruna was much more than simply ¡°fired up¡±, now feeling even a sense of duty in seeking to please Hiroshi in every area possible, but the person in question had no idea of this herself.
¡¸Well, I guess it¡¯s to be expected, given your feelings and all, y¡¯know¡¡¹
¡¸Well, it isn¡¯t like that¡¯s what drives me to do well in cooking¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, no, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s definitely impossible to treat everyone the same as the man you¡¯ve fallen for.¡¹
Makoto chided Haruna, who made a mixed, dissatisfied expression. Sure, Haruna loved Hiroshi, but there hadn¡¯t been any time when she had established a lead in cooking as a result of those emotions. She had at most matched the voring to Hiroshi¡¯s liking, but even that was because their ptes were nearly identical, and it had nothing to do with romantic feelings. She had continued with this seasoning since getting thrown over here, so fundamentally there was no room for romantic feelings to be involved here.
Then again, though she wasn¡¯t aware of this at all, as a result of living with Hiroshi for such a long time, Haruna¡¯s preferences and vor tendencies were already changing a great amount. It was no exaggeration to say that the current vor of the food they made was a culmination of Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s households. Also, other than Tatsuya, everyone in Azuma Workshop thought of Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s cooking when they pictured ¡°mom¡¯s cooking¡±.
This was just another example of how Hiroshi and Haruna were unconsciously doing activities generally meant for couples. Had it not been for Hiroshi¡¯s gynophobia andck of trust resulting from it, the two of them would have probably been intimate long ago.
But unfortunately, this was also the best example of just how difficult it was for Hiroshi to fall in love.
Volume 5 6.3
Volume 5 Chapter 6.3
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Well, anything past this is unnecessary, so let¡¯s move on.¡¹
¡¸Mm.¡¹
¡¸What¡¯s for dinner today?¡¹
¡¸Tatsuya-san says it would be nice to have a menu that goes with alcohol every so often, so I¡¯m a bit conflicted.¡¹
Hearing the term ¡°goes with alcohol¡±, Makoto¡¯s eyes lit up. Haruna grimaced a little as she saw this.
¡¸I¡¯m trying to figure out what exactly would be easy for Fum-chan and Lime-chan to eat that is also something you might find at an izakaya.¡¹
¡¸Maybe yakitori?¡¹
¡¸I already have that nned. Then I¡¯ll probably broil some vegetables, but I was also told I shouldpromise a bit more¡¡¹
¡¸What about offal stew?¡¹
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢sure I¡¯m fine with that¡¡¡¹
Haruna made a slightly worried face at Makoto¡¯s suggestion. When she noticed this, Makoto suddenly realized.
¡¸Is it because Hiroshi hates it or something?¡¹
¡¸Not just Hiroshi-kun. Mio-chan also says she doesn¡¯t do too well with entrails or offal. La-san also said that it¡¯s edible but she just can¡¯t bring herself to like such a taste, so I¡¯m really torn on this.¡¹
¡¸I see, so that¡¯s why you haven¡¯t made much offal stew. Wow, I guess we have quite a few people here who don¡¯t like entrails.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, for real.¡¹
People generally had some likes and dislikes when it came to ingredients and cuisine, and intestines were especially split with the like and dislike ratio amongst the meats. There were also many degrees of dislike, such as feeling a sense of disgust from thinking about organs, eating the food several times and still disliking the taste/texture, or eating something not properly prepared and scarred by how gross it was, or even getting food poisoning as a result. There really were many reasons for this.
Incidentally, in La¡¯s case, it wasn¡¯t just the texture, but also an unpleasant experience with nearly getting food poisoning back in the slums. Needless to say, this was of course food that had not been properly prepared. Still, the fact that La could still say she found intestines edible despite that experience probably demonstrated just how tough a woman she was.
¡¸Hiroshi did say before that he didn¡¯t like liver, so that part I can kinda understand, but Mio? I didn¡¯t really expect that, or I guess I should say it¡¯s peculiar.¡¹
¡¸No, believe it or not, Mio-chan has quite a few dishes she¡¯s not fond of. She¡¯s fine with bell peppers and carrots, but then with chili peppers you can¡¯t just cook them for her to like them.¡¹
¡¸Really¡Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean she has a child¡¯s sense of taste?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that severe? Well, Mio-chan tends not to like yams, fermented soybeans, and anything in that category where if you don¡¯t eat it no one will especially get angry.¡¹
¡¸Wow. Well, it would be one thing if we were forced into a situation where only intestines are avable, but since that¡¯s not the case, this particr kind of food is one of those things that no one really cares much about.¡¹
Haruna nodded at Makoto¡¯s conclusion. Still, this didn¡¯t exactly resolve the problem.
¡¸Mm¡«¡¢eh whatever. We can just prepare doteni (beef sinew stewed in miso and mirin) and have everyone take whatever they want.¡¹
¡¸Isn¡¯t that work though?¡¹
¡¸Not really. The preparations are more or less the same, and after I finish processing, dashi seasoning, and stewing the food, I just leave it sitting there for the most part. It¡¯ll be fine. Besides, the entrails I gave to Makoto-san and Tatsuya-san are still there, so if I pour that in, it wouldn¡¯t be hard at all to make dashi.¡¹
¡¸Well okay, if you say so.¡¹
Makoto felt humbled by how Haruna was increasing the amount of dishes suited to everyone¡¯s tastes. Haruna herself enjoyed the process, but still, she was cooking practically every single day, not to mention she was one of the busier members of the group. Despite being in such a situation, Haruna never once let up on her work, constantly thinking of everyone¡¯s preferences and conditions and ensuring the nutritional bnce was perfectly kept, so Makoto didn¡¯t even feel a sense of defeat in that regard. Still, it was a bit painful to just eat and drink without helping out.
It is often said that true femininity is disyed in situations like these, and Makoto found herself in high agreement with whoever thought that. Then again, Makoto wasn¡¯t evaluating Haruna¡¯s femininity in terms of whether she could cook or not, but rather how she paid attention to all the small details.
¡¸Oh, so you not being able to sell the entrails was because Hiroshi doesn¡¯t enjoy it?¡¹
¡¸At first it was curry bread and skewer katsu, so as I continued to fret over thebination, I essentially lost the proper timing to bring out the food at the stall.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¡¡¹
Katsu skewer was one thing, but Makoto definitely had to agree that curry bread and entrails were a questionablebination, not to mention even katsu skewer in this case would be better reced by corn dogs, and she certainly felt a bit of doubt atbining it with entrails, which were usually the go-to with liquor.
¡¸Then wouldn¡¯t it have been better to do it in Stiren?¡¹
¡¸About that¡I kinda get the feeling that would have resulted in a catastrophe¡¡¡¹
When Makoto pointed this out, Haruna responded with a somewhat faraway look in her eyes. This could not be denied.
¡¸Well, I¡¯ll do something about dinner, so just sit back and rx.¡¹
¡¸Mm, okay.¡¹
¡¸And also, there¡¯s a tart I kinda made impulsively as I was looking at the fruit in storage. I put a little too many different fruits in it and now the tart is ratherrge in volume. Also, I made too much of it, so without a good amount of fighting spirit, it would be difficult to finish eating it. So with that in mind, Makoto-san, would you mind helping out?¡¹
¡¸Of course I will!¡¹
¡¸Great. With the tart being such arge dessert to eat, I hesitated to serve it. I¡¯ll call over Elle-chan real quick and if she¡¯s able toe then it¡¯ll be snack time.¡¹
Haruna said as she called over the octogals, asking them to convey the message to Aearis. The octogals generally never demanded a fee when it came to Aearis.
¡¸Haruna-sama, is it true that there are delicious treats here!?¡¹
¡¸Haru, since when have you been making these mega mass tarts?¡¹
Ten minutes after having the octogals convey the message, Aearis and Mio entered the Japanese-style room.
¡¸I think it was when Mio-chan was instructing Geno-kun to the best of her ability in preliminary arrangements?I had a little time on my hands and it just happened impulsively.¡¹
Haruna said, taking out the fruit tart saved in the food storage in the bag next to her and showing it. With a diameter of 30 centimeters and a height of 20 centimeters for the mountain of fruit atop it, this fruit tart certainly did boast the imposing appearance of what you would call a mega mass tart. From what one could see upfront, there were twenty different varieties, and including the ovepping portions, this tart had a total of thirty different varieties of fruits or possibly even more incorporated, with a beautiful bnce in appearance and hue.
Volume 5 6.4
Volume 5 Chapter 6.4
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸And there are actually five more varieties of this, by the way. I wanted to use up all the fruits that were scarce in number and ended up making a little too much.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Haruna, how exactly did you n to eat all this?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, about that. I wasn¡¯t thinking about that in the slightest when I made it.¡¹
Everyone in the room just stared at Haruna in exasperation when she made that casual confession. Still, with such a beautiful dessert in front of them, their gazes quickly lost their intensity.
¡¸Well, anyhow, let¡¯s call over Lime-chan and the others so we can eat up the ce as much as we can.¡¹
¡¸What about Sensei and Tatsu¡¯s portions?¡¹
¡¸Do you really think we can finish it all?¡¹
Mio countered by questioning Haruna¡¯s idea of having only the girls eat everything, and now the counterattack had gracefully begun. Judging by the remaining amount, it would be impossible to finish the tarts off without each person eating close to a whole tart. Even if Mio were to eat until she became satisfied, there would still definitely be a whole tart left.
Also, Geno, who was currently in the middle of harvesting, was not counted because neither he nor they were fully acquainted with one another and this made it difficult to remember him at times like these. While a bit pitiful, it¡¯s nevertheless true that newbies asionally receive this kind of treatment.
¡¸Alright then, guess we¡¯ll start with the first one.¡¹
Haruna said, cutting the tart so that everyone got close to an equal portion of fruit. During that time, Makoto went to call over Mio and Lime, who had gone to prepare tea and small dishes for everyone. Once everyone, including Artiem who had just showed up was gathered, Haruna served the first tart to everyone proportionately.
¡¸The sweetness and sourness of the fruit matches the texture and faint taste of the tart dough, making this very fantastic.¡¹
¡¸This custard cream isn¡¯t sweet, which is why it brings out the vor of the fruit.¡¹
¡¸Oh man, this tart is serious business. I¡¯m definitely going to eat too much of this and have issues at dinner¡¡¡¹
After that whirlwind of praise had subsided, Haruna¡¯s tarts made from leftover ingredients were established as hazardous materials.
¡¸Oh yeah, Elle-chan, did we ever give you c?¡¹
That day, at dinnertime, Aearis had alreadye to exchange information and eat dinner before leaving, and Haruna remembered something as she mentioned it to her.
¡¸C? What¡¯s that?¡¹
¡¸Yeah, c is a drink from our country. It¡¯s not great for your health, but yeah.¡¹
Aearis made a puzzled face as she ate the entrails while Haruna exined.
¡¸I want c!!¡¹
¡¸Tweet!!¡¹
At the mention of the word c, Lime and Hiyohiyo immediately reacted, but
¡¸Just one ss after eating, kay?¡¹
¡¸You better eat your food first.¡¹
Haruna and La quickly cut down their requests. Generally speaking, Lime and Hiyohiyo were well behaved, but being children, they still had ack of self-control, and the current system set in ce did not permit them to consume juice or sweets without the permission of Haruna or another adult.
¡¸Well, I¡¯d feel bad for Lime-chan so I¡¯ll bring it out after dinner, okay?¡¹
¡¸Okay. I look forward to it.¡¹
Aearis nodded happily at Haruna¡¯s words. Hiroshi, who had been watching all this, said something rather unnecessary.
¡¸Yknow, I actually got a buncha new drinks.¡¹
¡¸New drinks? What kind?¡¹
¡¸Well first we got fermented milk drinks. I tried replicating calpis n skal. Then we got sports drinks. I tried makin three different types from what I recalled. Then there are nutrition drinks and warm drinks of each kind for punishment games.¡¹
¡¸Mm, but I personally think you¡¯re getting ahead of yourself without mentioning fanta first with punishment games.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s pretty easy makin¡¯ that stuff, so I didn¡¯t really git an impulse to do so.¡¹
Haruna was very right to indicate what she did, but Hiroshi responded with yet another questionable statement. This tendency to prioritize projects requiring intricate or unusual technology without thinking about the demand was, you might say, a very Japanese thing to do.
¡¸Well, at any rate, the new soft drink¡¯s after work. Or wouldja rather have kalpis high or coke high?¡¹
¡¸If what you mean by that is alcohol chased down by some other drink, those of us in the kanto region generally refer to those as c sour or kalpis sour¡¡¹
¡¸Nah c¡¯mon, either way they¡¯re usin¡¯ shochu, so chuhai kalpis or kalpis high works just fine don¡¯t it? The contents are the same ¡®n the name conforms to the actual state of the drinks¡¹
¡¸¡¡Well, I guess it¡¯s fine either way¡¡¡¹
The difference between Kanto and Kansai asionally reared its head, and on this long-awaited asion, the difference consisted of nomenture for liquor brands, which was not at all something people cared about.
¡¸Wait, weren¡¯t you only in Kansai up to middle school? How do you even know about the name for the sour brand drinks?¡¹
¡¸C¡¯mon mate, that¡¯s just cuz pops and mama ordered ¡®em whenever we went out to eat.¡¹
¡¸¡¡I see.¡¹
¡¸My folks arex in every sense of the word, but don¡¯t expect ¡®em to hold back when it¡¯s time to drink.¡¹
Neither of Hiroshi¡¯s parents ever drank alcohol when driving out. Even at noon or night, other than rare instances they generally never drank. At memorial services or whenever rtives gathered together, his parents also firmly stopped anyone from trying to force minors, people who can¡¯t drink, or people driving to drink. Hiroshi¡¯s parents were oddly strict in that regard, so of course they would never have their child drink.
Then again, even if they were strict in regards to alcohol, Hiroshi¡¯s parents only ever warned those people who kept drinking liquor despite liver disease or diabetes, not pressing much further. If someone didn¡¯t heed their advice, it could turn into a conflict, which tended to make them look like the bad guys, so his parents would make the alibi of at least trying to stop these people but left the rest of the responsibility to them.
¡¸Well, puttin¡¯ my parents aside for a moment. Ya want a chuhai?¡¹
¡¸Nah nah nah. This really isn¡¯t the best time to be bringing out booze. How about we leave that for when there aren¡¯t kids around?¡¹
¡¸Aight. Then test it outter with some snacks to match.¡¹
¡¸Alright. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡¹
And then, as they were about to end this conversation about new drinks¡
¡¸Uhh, if you¡¯re using shochu for those other drinks you mentioned earlier, I should mention that we brewed a new type of shochu back at the vige, so would you mind trying that alongside your other drinks?¡¹
Artiem threw in another piece of unnecessary information. The expressions on Tatsuya and Makoto¡¯s faces when they heard that were very urate to that of your typical drunkards.
¡¸Well if it¡¯s a new brew, it¡¯s proper etiquette to drink it raw for a taste test, right?¡¹
¡¸Agreed. Start with the rocks, then dilute it with hot water or carbonated water, and then try putting in various things like sour plums.¡¹
¡¸And if we¡¯re drinking it raw, there¡¯s no issue starting with that right away, yeah?¡¹
¡¸Indeed. There shouldn¡¯t be any problem with having liquor at dinner, if you ask me.¡¹
¡¸Alright Artiem, you heard thedy.¡¹
¡¸One bottle, please.¡¹
Skillfully shifting the flow of conversation to drinking liquor like true drunkards would, the elders of the group pestered Artiem for the new brew. While they were attempting to sound as moderate as possible, these adults were generally no good when liquor came up in conversation.
Volume 5 6.5
Volume 5 Chapter 6.5
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸¡¡Well, putting aside Tatsu and Mako for a moment, there¡¯s another subject I want to bring up.¡¹
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸Lime, how¡¯s it going at school?¡¹
Anticipating this conversation about liquor to continue on indefinitely, Mio quite forcibly changed the conversation as she picked up some stir-fried vegetables with her fingers. Aearis and Artiem also focused their attention on the workshop members, seemingly interested in Lime¡¯s school life.
¡¸I¡¯m, not exactly sure how to answer that¡¡¡¹
¡¸I imagine that it¡¯s what Haruna-san and the others have anticipated.¡¹
Suddenly the center of attention, Teres and Nora hesitated to speak before finally giving an evasive response. Lime stared at this spectacle in a puzzled manner as she ate the entrails. Hiyohiyo was nonchntly pecking at yakitori. At this point, no one even questioned whether this counted as cannibalism or not.
¡¸And what was it that you anticipated?¡¹
¡¸Well, this is a given, but there will always be those who harass children like me or Lime. Putting aside whether they are actually seeding or not.¡¹
Haruna, who was getting a good idea of the overall picture, asked for further rification, to which Fum moved away from the tendon she was eating and chimed in.
¡¸Sis, you¡¯re getting harassed?¡¹
¡¸Uhh no, I¡¯m pretty sure the main target is you, Lime¡¡¡¹
¡¸For realsies?¡¹
¡¸For real, yes.¡¹
Watching the two sisters converse, Hiroshi and the others got the gist of what was going on. Still, be as that may, they couldn¡¯t help but worry now about dense Lime was behaving.
¡¸Sis, I think there¡¯s a bit of a problem if Lime-san isn¡¯t aware of what¡¯s going on¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, I suppose even you think that, eh Artiem? Still, I dunno¡¡¡¹
¡¸Even me? You¡¯re so mean, Sis¡¡¡¹
¡¸What do you mean? You were totally oblivious to those sorts of things too.¡¹
Artiem, who had mentioned something that Hiroshi and the others had been concerned about, was verbally struck down by Teres¡¯s point nkmentary. Artiem being dense when it came to mischief or harassment was no doubt either because she didn¡¯t care at all about the sexual harassment that older people would pester her with or because she hadn¡¯t caught on to the fact that there were many eyes on her as she went around with Douga as Aearis¡¯sdy attendant.
¡¸So in actuality, what¡¯s it like?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s not possible to ssify that as harassment. If you want to actually harass people who grew up in the slums it¡¯d have to be something like burning all of our belongings.¡¹
¡¸If youpare it to my time in the ve trade, this is nothing special.¡¹
¡¸Well, I won¡¯t say it¡¯s just because you¡¯re an elf, but when ady goes on a solo journey there¡¯s bound to be a lot of things going on¡¡¡¹
When Hiroshi asked, Fum and the other two all gave rather fierce answers. It was easy to forget since they were currently living in a decent environment, but had the three of them lived in a peaceful, safe environment, none of them would be here right now. For these girls, who were already in an institute with a warm environment and wouldn¡¯t lose much even if they were kicked out, there was no way anyone could effectively harass them.
¡¸Umm, can I say something real quick?¡¹
Aearis, who had just finished eating the roasted poms, had a slightly puzzled expression on her face as she cut into the conversation. Generally she had been an outsider in regards to Lime¡¯s school life, hence why she had refrained from saying anything until now.
¡¸Wazzup?¡¹
¡¸You were just asking how Lime-san was doing at school,, so why exactly did the topic of harassmente to the forefront?¡¹
Everyone found themselves go silent at this profoundly reasonable argument. Usually, the first thing you¡¯d question with a child like Lime mixing with a grown-up environment would be whether she could keep up with the sses or not. And yet, no one was concerned about that. It wasn¡¯t strange at all for Aearis to be puzzled by that.
¡¸Well, judging from how the experiments went, I figured that Lime probably wouldn¡¯t have any issue with keeping up in ss.¡¹
¡¸Yuuup, it¡¯s just a beginner¡¯s thing anyway.¡¹
¡¸Besides, with events unfolding the way they¡¯ve been, it¡¯s not so much her studies as it is the reluctant instructors that I¡¯m concerned about.¡¹
¡¸In fact, that was always what we were concerned about, mate.¡¹
Hiroshi and Haruna mentioned a big part of what was on their minds as they answered Aearis¡¯s question.
¡¸Lime asked a bunch of questions that only someone well-versed in the background would be able to understand, and it looks like there were plenty of students who felt an incredible sense of crisis as a result.¡¹
¡¸Yep yep.¡¹
¡¸And so they do silly things because of their worthless pride.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, and then they just self-destruct.¡¹
Fum and the others got on the bandwagon one by one after Makoto mentioned this, satisfied with the taste of the new shochu. Aearis stifled a grimace when she saw the conversation returning to square one. Still, she was able to grasp the gist of the chain of events up till now, so she went on to the next point of interest.
¡¸But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s enough to have the professors join in on the harassment like that¡¡¹
¡¸Well, it depends on what¡¯s in the question.¡¹
Hearing Nora¡¯s answer, Aearis had a faraway look on her face, tremendously understanding of this situation. Lime, with all of her childlike innocence, would no doubt pierce the professor¡¯s reputation mercilessly, causing them to lose face, not to mention that Lime was asking all of these questions in earnest, as part of her studies and not to harass or anything like that. Aearis also had had plenty of experience with this.
Professors were already a very prideful breed of humans to begin with. Consequently, from the viewpoint of a professor, the fact that a young child like Lime could understand their lectures normally was something to be proud of, because it meant their lectures were just that easy to understand, and yet instead of thinking that way, the professors tended to feel that a young child like her understanding meant the lectures were low level in some way.
Of course not ever professor was this way. Because of their high pride, some professors would be indignant upon hearing that a student didn¡¯t understand their lecture, thoroughly exining till the student began to understand, while some professors felt shame at not being able to give proper answers to objections, thoroughly examining the content before moving on to the next in order to make up for this loss of honor.
Those professors were actually very grateful to have Lime as a student, and of course some of them doted on her tremendously.
¡¸So in the end, Lime stands out for better or for worse, causing her to stand at the forefront of these faction wars. I see. Of course she herself has no idea of this.¡¹
¡¸?¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢don¡¯t worry about all the small details, Lime. You¡¯re fine just the way you are, kiddo.¡¹
¡¸?¡¡I don¡¯t really get it, but I¡¯ll do my best.¡¹
¡¸Ah¡«¡¢geez¡¢you¡¯re just so cuuute, Lime!¡¹
Makoto said, and Lime tilted her head puzzledly. She did seem to grasp that she was at the center of attention here, but didn¡¯t quiteprehend the context. This sort of thing was to be expected for a child her age, though.
Volume 5 6.6
Volume 5 Chapter 6.6
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Well, she isn¡¯t Elle, so there¡¯s no way we¡¯d expect Lime to understand factional disputes, dodgy dealings, or the like at her age.¡¹
¡¸Umm, Tatsuya-sama. That almost sounds like I¡¯ve led a dirty life, the way that you are putting it¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well, regardless of what¡¯s dirty or not, when you were the same age as Lime, you understood your position and your situation, behaving your best so as to not have anyoney their eyes on you, right?¡¹
¡¸Well, yes¡¡¡¹
¡¸Elle actually had her life on the line, so she acted carefully. Lime isn¡¯t in that situation, so there¡¯s no need to feel like she has toprehend. Normally, Elle shouldn¡¯t have even had to go through something like that until now or a little bitter, but her sister was a bit of a freak case¡¡¡¹
Tatsuya had a somewhat faraway look in his eyes, and Aearis was now exuding a mncholic atmosphere. The Japanese looked at Tatsuya with reproach in their eyes. It was rare for Tatsuya to slip up like this except for when it came to provocation, but that didn¡¯t excuse what he had said.
¡¸W-Well, anyway, if something goes wrong with Lime and her rtionships, we can just pull her back from school right away, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much to worry about. How¡¯s that sound?¡¹
¡¸Lime¡¯s gonna stop going to school??¡¹
¡¸No no. Just, if something happens. Right now you¡¯re fine.¡¹
Lime looked up as she hugged Hiyohiyo, who had finished his food. She looked up at Tatsuya with a slightly worried expression as she inquired from him, but Tatsuya assured her with a smile and a pat that she would be just fine. When she heard that, Lime had a smile on her face. Yep, children truly do look nicest when they¡¯re smiling.
¡¸Kay, I¡¯m done with food, so I want c!!¡¹
¡¸Yup. I think it¡¯s bout time.¡¹
Lime, growing tired of thisplicated topic, demanded c, to which Hiroshi agreed with a wry smile. Haruna, who had been listening to this, interjected.
¡¸Hiroshi-kun. Would you say it¡¯s about time for that ca¡ðpis soda?¡¹
¡¸Yup. Lime, wanna try a new vor?¡¹
¡¸Yeah!!¡¹
Lime nodded at Hiroshi and Haruna¡¯s proposal, her eyes glittering. When he saw her response, Hiroshi poured ca¡ðpis soda, the standard of all soft drinks, into a cup for her. He also handed cup after cup to everyone watching. Fum was an exception, as she didn¡¯t take kindly to carbonated drinks, so her soda was diluted with water.
¡¸Ah, this is good too.¡¹
¡¸The acidity stands out just a bit more than with the c.¡¹
¡¸I prefer this one.¡¹
¡¸We don¡¯t have too many sweet drinks like this one, unless you count the fruity variety, so it¡¯s a very fresh taste to me. Hiroshi-sama, do you think we could mass produce and sell this?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s good, but if the vige discovers that Teres and I tasted this before them, everyone¡¯s going to flip.¡¹
Japan¡¯s major fermented milk drinks appeared to be an overall big hit. Grinning at their reactions, Hiroshi took out something else unnecessary.
¡¸Kay, how bout we have y¡¯all try one of our punishment drinks. Oh, but not you Lime.¡¹
For some reason, Aearis¡¯s eyes were glittering at the lukewarm carbonated drinks that Hiroshi took out. Maybe she liked punishment games because she wanted to be treated worse for a change.
¡¸Wait one moment, Boss Man!¡¹
¡¸Nora hasn¡¯t done anything wrong! What do you mean by punishment game!¡¹
¡¸Ah, well this isn¡¯t really for punishment. It¡¯s more like I¡¯m usin¡¯ you as a guinea pig.¡¹
¡¸That¡¯s even worse!¡¹
Hiroshi ignored the fierceints from the workshop members with a cid face as he prepared all the drinks. Aearis immediately went for the M¡ðCol and Dr.¡ðepper, drinking both of their contents before anyone could stop her.
¡¸¡¡I think these are actually fairly drinkable as long as you cool them down.¡¹
¡¸Elle, you¡¯ve got some guts¡¡¡¹
Makoto just had an exasperated expression on her face at howposed Aearis was. Lately, Aearis had a habit of eating just about anything, and it was very possible that Haruna¡¯s insane eating habits had influenced this.
¡¸Wow, this is gross¡¡¡¹
¡¸Sure, I guess it¡¯s drinkable if you cool them down¡¡¡¹
¡¸But it¡¯s definitely not something I can just drink with a straight face like Elle-sama, yeah¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well yeah, that¡¯s cuz it¡¯s a punishment game, y¡¯all.¡¹
Hiroshi gloated when he saw everyone besides Aearis react the way he had expected, although there was truly nothing for him to be proud of. While a bit exasperated at him, Haruna suddenly began thinking about how the weather had be a bit warmertely; something that was totally unrted.
¡¸Oh yeah, Hiroshi-kun.¡¹
¡¸Whazzup?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯d like you to teach me how to cast heat rash/inmation prevention enchantments.¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯m sure ya can do it with ease, but why?¡¹
¡¸Well, girls have a lot going on.¡¹
When they heard Haruna say that, the gazes of every female who had begun their dive into the 2nd dimension (excluding Aearis) focused on one person. And¡
¡¸Haru, I hope you get paitaku¡¯d¡¡¡¹
Mio muttered something rather unpleasant.
¡¸Mio-sama, what is a paitaku?¡¹
¡¸It¡¯s where you wet your boobs with ck ink and press calligraphy paper against them to replicate the image. It¡¯s a traditional craft.¡¹
¡¸Oh my!¡¹
¡¸Oi, Mio, don¡¯t tell Elle lies like that!¡¹
Tatsuya hurriedly interjected with all his might to prevent Mio from having a negative influence on Aearis. However, as if ignoring him, Mio beckoned Makoto over and began putting together an unnecessary plot.
¡¸Haru appears to have few weak points, so first let¡¯s practice with Artiem¡¡¡¹
¡¸Right. And then, while we¡¯re at it, shall we do it for Nora too, since she¡¯s been getting bigger recently?¡¹
¡¸Understood.¡¹
¡¸Hey, wait a minute, you also look like you¡¯re on your way to growing some cleavage¡¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry. Elle is still way ahead of me.¡¹
Picking up their quiet conversation, Hiroshi quivered with fear. Beginning to feel a sense of urgency, Tatsuya tried to force the conversation to an end, and that did seem to temporarily resolve things, but¡¡
¡¸Mio¡¡¡¹
¡¸What is it, Mako?¡¹
¡¸I see what you¡¯re hiding! You already have a C cup, don¡¯t you!¡¹
¡¸No, I¡¯m barely at the median for B cup. Elle is already a C cup and is growing at a faster rate.¡¹
¡¸¡¡So I¡¯m right when I say I can pluck a couple from you before Haruna?¡¹
¡¸I will not stand for this violence.¡¹
Having figured out that Mio was already progressing toward a C cup from her current B, there was henceforth a rift between Makoto and Mio.
Meanwhile, at Rufeus Academy¡¯s faculty meeting.
¡¸Headmaster, I have but one desire.¡¹
One of the professors who did not think very highly of Lime¡¯s, or rather, Azuma Workshop¡¯s intervening, brought up a certain proposal with the headmaster.
¡¸And what might that be?¡¹
¡¸The student from Azuma Workshop who entered our academy has been increasing her ims that contradict our very research we have conducted over hundreds of years.¡¹
¡¸And is that some sort of issue?¡¹
¡¸Well, unfortunately, it isn¡¯t quite possible to prove whether their exnation is factual or not. Still, it¡¯s not very adultlike to discard it just because someone is lying or mistaken.¡¹
¡¸In other words, you want the academy to exin this to the workshop master.¡¹
The professor from the opposing side shook their head at the headmaster¡¯s words. The headmaster and Professor Floot made puzzled expressions when they saw this.
¡¸There is no meaning in us exining this to them, so I propose we have him give a special lecture.¡¹
The opposing professor proposed with a somewhat nasty expression on their face. The headmaster appeared to be considering this a bit.
¡¸¡¡Fair enough. We will see if the members are avable, and if they ept, then I have no doubt this will be a plus for Rufeus Academy.¡¹
¡¸Then!?¡¹
¡¸Yes, but this is only if they ept. They¡¯re busier than they might appear, and we are already asking a big favor of them, so please proceed with the assumption that they might refuse.¡¹
¡¸Of course.¡¹
The opposing professor had a somewhat dark smile on their face. If the workshop didn¡¯t ept, they could drop their reputation by saying the workshop ran away, and if they epted, this would still be a lecture from someone who wasn¡¯t even experienced in the teaching field. That would leave plenty of opportunity to scorn them. It was easy to see what the professor was thinking.
As long as you had an argument with a base that had no contradictions, even Lorren had a certain degree of eptance. If done correctly, you could injure your opponents¡¯ influence to an extent.
The headmaster inwardly sighed at this professor¡¯s obvious thought process.
¡¸Professor Floot.¡¹
¡¸What is it?¡¹
¡¸Do you think anything will go ording to their scheme?¡¹
¡¸No, I do not.¡¹
The headmaster and Professor Floot spoke to each other in quiet voices so as to not be overheard by the professor in question. True, Azuma Workshop was ultimately a group of craftsmen. Teaching was not in their profession. However, Hiroshi and Mio were the ones who had raised Lime to the level she was in the first ce. Having such an ability to educate a young girl probably meant they could do a fair amount of lecturing.
Besides, even if they were to refuse, there was no way to harm them. Azuma Workshop was a group of craftsmen, therefore the main area their reputationy in was in their products. The quality, functionality, and performance of these products were assured by the small amount of consumers they had. Whenpared to the ratings of those who had actually used the products, anyments from Rufeus Academy were fairly trivial.
Also, no matter how you may try to disparage them, it was important to keep in mind that Azuma Workshop had made ss 3 potions, orichalcum equipment, and golem carriages with unprecedented performance, so something so ludicrous as vehemently insisting that the workshop had ¡°ran¡± away from teaching at Rufeus Academy would only garner uproriousughter. To the consumers, who cared if the theory was right or wrong as long as the results wereing in?
¡¸At any rate, all we can do is pray that they listen to the academy¡¯s request.¡¹
¡¸If they do in fact respond, then make no mistake- this academy, too, will change in a positive direction.¡¹
The headmaster and Professor Fleut continued to whisper to one another as they observed the professors continuing their fruitless faculty meeting.
Volume 5 7.1
Volume 5 Chapter 7.1
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸¡¡Didja just say lecture?¡¹
¡¸Yes.¡¹
Three days after deciding to ask Hiroshi to give a special lecture. The academy had finally calmed itself down, and the headmaster hade to see Hiroshi in the morning to directly ask this of him. He had made the appointment prior to this via Makoto.
¡¸This is a sudden and difficult request, so I fully understand if it displeases you. You have every right to refuse¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nah nah, I ain¡¯t displeased or nothin¡¯. Rx mate.¡¹
The headmaster hurriedly borated when he saw Hiroshi¡¯s momentary silence and exasperated expression. Hiroshi¡¯s exasperation changed to a wry smile when he heard this, and he stopped the headmaster from trying to politely bow.
¡¸When I was listenin¡¯ to yer story, I just thought to myself ¡°Wow, they¡¯re really tryna get rid of us now¡¡±. There ain¡¯t no problem with takin¡¯ on yer request. Plus I already thought that bunch would be on the move sooner orter.¡¹
¡¸Is¡that right.¡¹
¡¸I mean, it sounds like Lime is causin¡¯ a ruckus, so there¡¯s no way they¡¯d sit still, right?¡¹
The headmaster could only manage a nod at Hiroshi¡¯s exnation and grimace. He inwardly felt strong embarrassment at making Hiroshi tag along to do so many things for their sake.
¡¸So, well, I¡¯m cool with givin¡¯ the lecture ¡®n all, but not anythin¡¯ like today or tomorrow.¡¹
¡¸Of course. We don¡¯t want you to rush like that either.¡¹
¡¸Also, so that we¡¯re prepared, we still need ya to decide on a field ¡®n subject, otherwise we won¡¯t be able to decide on the material.¡¹
¡¸Very true. It would indeed be irresponsible of us to entrust you with all that. Still, we don¡¯t currently know which fields you can lecture in, so could you initially tell us which fields are doable?¡¹
¡¸When ites to alchemy, potion-makin¡¯, or enchantment magic, I could instruct on how to make ss 1 potions and the level to aplish that. For Magic Fundamentals or Math, Biology, meh, I guess I could prolly lecture at Intermediate level or somethin¡¯ like that. Bro could prolly lecture a lot more heavily on Magic Fundamentals.¡¹
¡¸I see¡¡¡¹
The headmaster was doing all he could to feignposure at this answer that went above and beyond expectations. And he knew that Hiroshi wasn¡¯t lying. By this point, he could just tell.
Judging by the depths of Lime¡¯sprehension and knowledge, there was no doubt that Hiroshi¡¯s ability as an instructor was more than adequate. But in that case, was there even a point to Lime enrolling at Rufeus Academy?
Unable to erase that question from his head, the headmaster couldn¡¯t help but feel inwardly overwhelmed.
¡¸Well, when I say that, it¡¯s primarily just for instruction, ¡®n even people who can pull ¡®emselves up enough to handle makin¡¯ ss 4 potions would take around five to ten years to reach that point.¡¹
¡¸Well yes, that¡¯s only to be expected.¡¹
¡¸So yeah, I¡¯ll be refusin¡¯ that level if it¡¯s what yer expectin¡¯.¡¹
¡¸No, no, we would be on the same page as you with something that impossible.¡¹
¡¸Now, instead of instruction, if all we had to do was prove that Azuma Workshop can do this ¡®n that, one lecture of 90 minutes would be enough, but there ain¡¯t exactly much point to that, eh?¡¹
¡¸Right.¡¹
Seemingly understanding what the headmaster wanted, Hiroshi narrowed down the details bit by bit as he made various suggestions. Listening to Hiroshi¡¯s suggestions, the headmaster solidified the rough outline of the lecture.
¡¸Right. Asking you to instruct us in everything would be selfish, but then again, ending it as a simple performance would water down the intended effect. Might I be so bold as to ask if you can give an advanced lecture that could help shape research from here on out?¡¹
¡¸Well, if ya let me give four ny minute lectures over the course of around 3 days or so, then I could make an intensive course. However, high ss alchemy ¡®n high ss potionmakin¡¯ generally can¡¯t be taught as standalone sses, so either way we¡¯ll need to bring out one more topic ¡®n make use of enchantment magic. The enchantment magic could potentially be its own lecture, but then the potionmakin¡¯ ¡®n alchemy would get a bit thinner with their content ¡®n I¡¯d delve into things a bit too much, so I was thinkin¡¯ that might not be such a good idea.¡¹
¡¸I see. In that case¡yes. This isn¡¯t fully decided yet, but I¡¯d like you to focus on alchemy, which appears to have a wide range of applications. Would that be alright?¡¹
¡¸Aight. I¡¯ll keep that in mind as I prepare.¡¹
The headmaster was relieved that they had been able to determine the general content of the lecture. Seeing this, Hiroshi took a memo and went into the next category.
¡¸So we got the lecture part down, but I¡¯d also like to ask that ya keep the number of people in the room down to a minimum. I especially have difficulty with women¡¡¡¹
¡¸Should I take that to mean you cannot teach women?¡¹
¡¸Nah, ya know that ain¡¯t it chief. Practically all my pupils are female. I said this simply because I don¡¯t feel I can deal with arge amount of women due to my gynophobia.¡¹
¡¸Uh, uh-huh¡¡¡¹
¡¸If yer puttin¡¯ in women, keep it at a minimum of five. I also wanna avoid anyone who hurls abusivenguage or has a difficult personality. The overall number of people, I¡¯d like ya to keep at around 20. Can ya do that for me?¡¹
¡¸All right, I shall mention it in the invitation requirements.¡¹
Greatly perplexed by this new detail that could lead to a conflict of interests, the headmaster could not simply brush this aside, as he was the one asking in the first ce. There was also nothing he could use for leverage with Hiroshi¡¯s weakness, so this wasn¡¯t the happiest scenario.
¡¸Also, about the date¡¡¡¹
¡¸Right. Considering the invitees and the type of venue, three days from now is too short notice. That being said, in light of everyone¡¯s circumstances, two or three weeks from now would also be difficult. Therefore, I¡¯m thinking of setting this for a week from now. What do you think?¡¹
¡¸Well, I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ that¡¯s aight for us too. But is it fine with y¡¯all?¡¹
¡¸There aren¡¯t too many people to invite, and given the content of your lecture, the intended audience will be limited automatically to those who have already been studying advanced alchemy and potionmaking, so I doubt it¡¯ll be much of an issue.¡¹
¡¸Kay, then that¡¯s what we go with.¡¹
The content of the lecture nned out, the headmaster breathed a deep sigh of relief. While dissatisfied with the amount of people, it should still be plenty to change the institute¡¯s way of thinking.
¡¸Anyhow, imma get started on the material, so once the attendees are decided can I hand ya the documents beforehand?¡¹
¡¸Yes, understood.¡¹
The headmaster noddedfortably at Hiroshi¡¯s question. The prep documents that would be handed out before the lecture would already have a gigantic impact on the current research field, and there would be much noise amongst the circle of instructors, but none of this would be of concern to Hiroshi.
Volume 5 7.2
Volume 5 Chapter 7.2
Trantor: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸So I gotta give a lecture one week from now.¡¹
That evening, once they had finished dinner, everyone gathered in the Japanese-style room in a circle. There was an awkward silence because of what Hiroshi had just told them.
¡¸¡¡Well, this was the right timing to cut to the n, so it¡¯s perfect, but wow¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Once again, they¡¯reing for our throats without even trying to hide it¡¡¡¹
Haruna and Tatsuya made an exmation much like Hiroshi had when he discussed this with the headmaster. Honestly, by this point, they would not be crushed by a trivial plot of that caliber, but they still had to deal with the situation delicately without humiliating the opposition too thoroughly, or else Azuma Workshop could very well be seen as the party in the wrong. That would p be troublesome.
¡¸Wait, wasn¡¯t your birthday a week from now?¡¹
¡¸Ah, yer right. I forgot.¡¹
¡¸I mean yeah, that¡¯s not exactly the priority right now, but are you ok with that?¡¹
¡¸Well, let¡¯s just say I¡¯m lookin¡¯ forward to a real nifty birthday present after I finish up here.¡¹
Haruna and Mio sighed at Hiroshi¡¯s response. They had solved Makoto¡¯s timing issue by setting a weekter as the celebration, and to that extent had been able to follow up with an advance celebration at an expensive shop and then the date of the actual party, shifted forward a bit. However, now that the preparation for the lecture was underway, the advance celebration was looking to be difficult, and there was a possibility that even if they further postponed the party, the events after the lecture would just get busier, so that was also something to be wary of.
Something like a birthday party should only really be dyed to the near weekend. Unless you were going to your frequent restaurant and getting a birthday course, you didn¡¯t generally wait two or three weeks.
¡¸At any rate, I¡¯ll be unable to do anything for a bit cuz of preparin¡¯ documents for the lecture.¡¹
¡¸Alright. Then we¡¯ll leave the party arrangements for when we better understand the situation, and until then I guess I¡¯d better get to organizing and analyzing the documents. I¡¯m leaving the divine beasts untouched, but things are already hectic with so many customers, and the forbidden section of the library seems better to go at it in a party, not by myself.¡¹
¡¸Yeah, sorry for havin¡¯ ya deal with all this¡¡¡¹
¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it man. I was supposed to investigate the library by myself originally, plus this was good timing for organizing all the documents that¡¯ve been piling up.¡¹
Tatsuya had to deal with a steady but in task, and he also had to organize many details that couldn¡¯t be reported on until that was finished, so he had barely reported anything, but his investigation was also proceeding smoothly.
¡¸But I don¡¯t have any documents directly linked with the archives, ok? Don¡¯t expect too much out of that. I¡¯m just using these documents as an estimate.¡¹
¡¸Perfectly fine.¡¹
Makoto strongly assented to Tatsuya¡¯s remark. This was a strange way of phrasing it, but searching for information rting to the Visitors from the Unknown Continent was only one part of their quest to find a way to get back home. So there was never any real need to search so thoroughly for such documents in the library.
¡¸And I¡¯ll have all my lectures end right when Hiroshi begins his. Perfect timing, eh?¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah, that¡¯s right. How¡¯ve things been going on that end?¡¹
¡¸As you might expect, before and after learning creates quite the disparity with magic swords and elemental swords and their effectivity. I didn¡¯t think it was worth the trouble initially so I ignored it, but you¡¯d be surprised how drastic the effects are from getting Magic Mastery.¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Well, waiting won¡¯t affect stamina consumption, and magic sword/elemental sword don¡¯t consume much in the first ce, so unless you¡¯re someone like me who has tond consecutive hits, there won¡¯t be much of a difference if you took the ss or not. Plus the growth with magic sword and elemental sword is slow and the initial supplementary power at novice level is low.¡¹
Harunamented on Makoto¡¯s confirmation.
Just as Haruna had pointed out, unless you were someone who specialized in closebat with magic mastery, then this skill had limited usefulness. In order to acquire it, you had to either make an intermediate level npc your apprentice, study at Rufeus like Makoto, or raise your proficiency in each category of elemental magic to max. This wasn¡¯t as hard as Making Mastery but was still quite the feat.
So hardcore closebat masters like Makoto generally didn¡¯t feel the need to acquire this skill. You needed supplemental magic in order to gather magic, and making disciples or learning at Rufeus simply took too long, plus you had to ovee the rather oppressive paper test after studying up a storm. Closebat masters who hated studying truly didn¡¯t like this.
¡¸But it seems like the effects areing out despite the experiment not even being over. Is that okay?¡¹
¡¸Well, I also find that unlike with the game, when I manufacture in a new field and be good at it, the field I tackled before also feels a lot easier.¡¹
¡¸If even you feel that way, then I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the case, Haruna.¡¹
Makoto looked convinced by Haruna¡¯s report. In fact, Haruna had realized all this when her forging skills were improving, so the results would likely be more evident after you levelled up all your crafting skills.
¡¸Seems like the boat¡¯splete, plus Haruna-san¡¯s already got that Making Mastery down perfectly.¡¹
¡¸Oh yeah?¡¹
¡¸If the boat were also made of that, it should float normally in water, so it¡¯s gotta already be way past Proficiency 50, right Mio?¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
Hiroshi and Mio gave their stamp of approval to Haruna, who made a slightly mixed expression at said stamp of approval.
¡¸What¡¯s up with you mate? Ya look dissatisfied.¡¹
¡¸Not really dissatisfied. I just felt like it was anticlimactic once I finally reached that level.¡¹
¡¸Welp, it do be that way with Mastery skills.¡¹
Hiroshi chided Haruna, but he did of course understand her discontent. Making Mastery made you work hard in order to get results that were nd. The effects were in many ways tremendous and pertinent, hence why Haruna put her everything into learning it, but this was crafting that we¡¯re talking about- raising a crafting skill that¡¯s already on the in side isn¡¯t going to feel like that much of an aplishment.
Besides, the mastery arts, beginning with basic attacks, were only skills that showed just how good your fundamentals are. While they affected a wide range, their effects only amounted to raising your level. Because of this barebones approach, although you certainly couldn¡¯t look down on it, there were many people who simply didn¡¯t put any effort into raising these skills.
In this case, Haruna was disappointed because she couldn¡¯t even check her status. She just didn¡¯t feel a sense of aplishment.
Volume 5 7.3
Volume 5 Chapter 7.3
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Anyhow, You can make whatever ya want from here on, Haruna-san. Making Mastery is a skill that grows quick, so once ya got it, everything¡¯s a walk in the park.¡¹
¡¸Mhm.¡¹
At any rate, Hiroshi¡¯s seal of approval was now out. Now Haruna could get into the manufacturing of underwear, her original objective. It was pretty unlikely that she would finish her spirit thread underwear before getting back, but at least she could make spider silk clothing, which wasfy to the touch.
¡¸So getting back on topic, or rather changing the topic, what do you mean by people messing with Lime in an aggressive sense?¡¹
¡¸They seem to mainly consist of people from upper social sses, and not even servants, but actual well-to-do families. The instructor, from biology that is, seems to be giving Lime, or rather Azuma Workshop itself the evil eye.¡¹
¡¸Ah. I did hear something about Lime overturning epted opinion with enchantment magic, so I thought that professor was the more likely candidate¡¡¡¹
¡¸Believe it or not, that professor was actually overjoyed. There were many other professors who were unsure about the established theory, but didn¡¯t know what precisely to doubt, and thus had not previously been able toe up with a proof for rejecting the established theory. In fact, that professor frequently presses Fum and Lime every time, asking if there was anything out of the ordinary.¡¹
Hiroshi made a puzzled face when he heard that. With Rufeus Academy¡¯s sheer manpower, a rudimentary mismatch like that should be easy to discover¡
¡¸If the professor felt so strongly about this, why didn¡¯t they just investigate that, mate?¡¹
¡¸Well, it sounds like they did. They thought of all the possiblebinations of catalysts and targets.¡¹
¡¸And they still didn¡¯t get it? Weird.¡¹
¡¸Apparently the pestle used in that failed enchantment was made of material not used much in Lorren, not to mention that it was only ever used for expendables and nobody ever went to the trouble of enchanting it with durability. That was an oversight on their part.¡¹
¡¸Mm, I see¡If they didn¡¯t try that then it basically means failure nearly 100% of the time. Looks like we finally know exactly what was up with that.¡¹
¡¸It appears so, yes.¡¹
Hiroshi finally grasped Makoto¡¯s exnation. True, you didn¡¯t normally cast strength enchantments on a product that was rarely used, if only for an expendable material. Of course the professors would overlook this.
This blind spot was difficult to notice, even amongst schrs, not to mention that thebination with enchantment magic was expansive, consisting of the target, the catalyst, and the enchantment. Depending on your aptitude, sometimesbinations just wouldn¡¯t go too well. It was already a hefty amount of work trying to determine whichbination was properly verified.
Even the other genres probably had plenty of problems like this one lying around.
¡¸Yeah, beginner level math is like a year of middle school, and beginner magic arts is truly the most basic of the basics, so they sad that Lime¡¯s question was actually really easy to connect with supplementary lecture exnations. Now with history, Lime isn¡¯t so knowledgeable, so other than when she asked innocent questions and got a bit under the other teacher¡¯s skin, she hasn¡¯t really asked any question that caused that much discord.¡¹
¡¸Oh really. And yet look how much opposition she has. It¡¯s strange, huh?¡¹
¡¸Totally.¡¹
¡¸Also, just thinking of the genre that Lime is specializing in, it doesn¡¯t exactly feel like she¡¯s doing much damage.¡¹
Analyzing the situation, a strange idea surfaced.
Currently Lime had only dealt fatal blows in enchantment, biology, and history ss with her questions. History was already a subject widely argued about, so there wasn¡¯t necessarily a problem with Lime asking about the forbidden section of the library. There were plenty of other detailed questions flying at the instructor, so even if they wanted to ask another teacher for help, thre was no reason for them tosh out at Lime.
The enchantment professor was, as previously mentioned, interested in getting difficult questions, so they had no reason to crack down on Azuma Workshop, and the biology professor probably couldn¡¯t create such amotion on their own.
¡¸Also, something else to note. ording to Professor Floot, there¡¯s a good chance that the majority of the professors in the opposition do not have any direct connection to Lime.¡¹
¡¸Seriously weird, right?¡¹
The reigning champion of the opposition was one of the instructors in charge of rudimentary alchemy, Professor Alsta, and one of the instructors in charge of rudimentary potionmaking, Professor Lester. Neither of them had anyone from Azuma Workshoping in to see them due to scheduling, so Haruna and Makoto couldn¡¯t understand their reasoning for controlling the opposition.
Then again, it was just Haruna and Makoto that didn¡¯t quite get it, while Tatsuya got the gist of the situation. The majority of the students took 3 or 4 sses on the same day, so among the students who took the same sses as Lime and Makoto, there were many regr people mixed in with the alchemy and potionmaking sses. But it felt like too feeble a reason toe after Lime, plus nothing would really change by telling Haruna and the others, so he didn¡¯t mention it.
Essentially, the students taking rudimentary enchantment sses would hurl questions at the professor much like how Fum and Lime would. There were also plenty of students taking the same sses but with different teachers forparison, and from their curious perspective, the members of Azuma Workshop asked the perfect questions to test the professors, who took in pupils.
As a result, those who felt that their research was tarnished were actively seeking to take down Azuma Workshop. Half of them just had some worthless pride, but the other half didn¡¯t even care about that so much as the fact that they had to just suddenly epted this inpour of information as fact from these strangers and felt a sense of danger as schrs. The troublesome part about all this is that you could somewhat sympathize with their natural human reactions to this.
¡¸Well, I dunno what tricks they¡¯ll try and pull, but it isn¡¯t like Hiroshi will suffer huge blows from their rebuttals, right?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah. In the first ce, most theories stem from rule of thumb and experimental results and ppin on something logical. Some exceptions are when you can¡¯t guarantee replication, but generally speaking, phenomena that actually exist supersede theory, so there won¡¯t be much point refuting what Hiroshi-kun says.¡¹
¡¸Wait a sec, why are ya assuming I¡¯m gonna be refuted?¡¹
Tatsuya and Haruna reassured each other that nothing out of the ordinary would happen, while Hiroshi just sat there with a bewildered expression.
¡¸Think about it a moment Hiroshi. Those kinds of schools are full of pros ready to argue up a storm, right? You¡¯re a craftsman and they¡¯re schrs, so I rmend you assume you won¡¯t win by normal means.¡¹
¡¸Exactly. Besides, rebuttals hit you without you even realize. From the sidelines it might not seem like a big deal, but the next moment people are saying your argument got refuted or something.¡¹
Hiroshi somewhat understood where Haruna and Tatsuya wereing from. Teachers are supposed to teach the correct methodology and hammer it into their students. There was no way Hiroshi could win against people who were ustomed to prying into the slightest contradictions and uncertainties.
¡¸But y¡¯know, there¡¯s something crossing my mind every time I go to sses.¡¹
Things were heating up after Hiroshi got countered, and Makoto said something on her mind to change the topic.
¡¸I¡¯m just going to school because I was the only remaining option, but considering our ages, isn¡¯t Mio the one who should be attending?¡¹
¡¸Well yeah.¡¹
Immediately, everyone turned to look at Mio. Binging on the atmosphere, Makoto continued.
¡¸Mio, how¡¯s school sound to you?¡¹
¡¸If I could I would, but I don¡¯t like Rufeus Academy.¡¹
¡¸Why not?¡¹
¡¸I still don¡¯t really want to deal with those academic schools.¡¹
Everyone burst outughing. Mio didn¡¯t want to go to top institutions like that one where you¡¯re constantly on edge, but rather one where you could enjoy youth and goof off with friends during break. Sure, there were some sses that had such a vibe, but searching would also be a drag.
And the day ended with the group discussing what makes a school a good school.
Volume 5 7.4
Volume 5 Chapter 7.4
Editor: Weasalopes
¡¸Teacher, if we follow theory, the conductor line gets weird.¡¹
The next day, Lime who had been attending enchantment sses with Fum, as per usual, was confronting Professor Emil about the results she discovered at the workshop. By this point it was customary practice, so there were quite a few students remaining.
¡¸Hm. Sorry, can I have you test that out right now?¡¹
¡¸Okidoki.¡¹
Lime did as the teacher asked. Fum¡¯s aptitude would be around intermediate by Rufeus Academy¡¯s standards, so at times like these, Lime demonstrated her skills.
¡¸See, this part is weird.¡¹
¡¸Hm, I see. You¡¯re right¡¡¡¹
Looking at the conductor line that Lime indicated, the professor groaned. Sure, there was a problem. It was slightly different from the theory.
¡¸Unfortunately, this is also a first for me. What did the workshop leader say about it?¡¹
The instructor asked not for Lime, but Fum¡¯s recollection of their teacher Hiroshi¡¯s opinion. It wasn¡¯t that he thought Lime didn¡¯t understand, but Fum was better at answering these questions. It was a simple difference in their vocabry.
¡¸He thought the difference in materials and catalysts might be amplifying. Said if we go ording to that theory, thebinations and quality could be a source of noise in the experiment.¡¹
¡¸I see. Rufeus does tend to use materials that have little difference in quality, so that probably prevented any noise from urring and the phenomenon didn¡¯t surface.¡¹
¡¸Boss Man did say he couldn¡¯t say for sure if that¡¯s true or not¡¡¡¹
¡¸Well that¡¯s what the school¡¯s job is.¡¹
The professor said firmly in response to Fum¡¯s additionalment. Thanks to her and her sister, the professor was able to find many blind spots, with more to research and therefore more fulfillment. The lectures were far more lively now that the two sisters were there. Many previous dead-ends were overturned, and the middle aged professor felt like he was reliving his golden age again.
¡¸So what else?¡¹
¡¸Um, um, you see, there¡¯s an enchantment that uses meliludot leaves as a catalyst, and the Boss Man has the same method as the textbook, but when Lime does it her own way Lime does better. Why is that, mister?¡¹
¡¸Well, what precisely do you do?¡¹
¡¸Mm, well¡¡¡¹
Answering the professor¡¯s question, Limey an auto regen enchant on the feather pen on the teacher¡¯s desk. Meliludot leaves just so happened to be the safest for using as enchantment catalysts.
¡¸You twirl this around and connect it from this position for an easy fix. Why?¡¹
¡¸Hm. It does indeed have poor efficiency, but I guess it¡¯s better to maneuver them in such a way that they¡¯re thicker.¡¹
¡¸Boss Man said following the textbooks would provide the strongest connection.¡¹
¡¸The lines stretched out too much will always mean more losses, so the workshop master¡¯s exnation is correct. However, if you really want to seed, there¡¯s nothing wrong with connecting the lines in a way that¡¯s easier¡Guess I should teach this method from now in rudimentary lectures.¡¹
The professor decided after looking at Lime¡¯s original method. Even the most basic of enchanting required a tremendously sensitive control of mana. Therefore, equal emphasis was ced on boosting effectiveness and sess.
It seemed quite effortless, but children at Fum and Lime¡¯s ages would not generally find it easy to make products. Just considering the stamina required to maintain the mana flow and control for one item, you could tell just how unusual the youngest sisters in Azuma Workshop were.
¡¸Ah, right. I heard that the workshop master will be giving special lessons, but before that, could he maybe give a lecture to me and the other magic professors? Just a light one is fine.¡¹
¡¸I think he¡¯d prefer it if you negotiated this with him via the headmaster. We¡¯re just pupils and employees¡¢ so we can¡¯t say much to oppose his decisions anyway.¡¹
¡¸I see. That is a shame.¡¹
¡¸Ah, but he did mention he wanted to hand over the proper distribution material, so if we used that as a base¡¡¡¹
The professor¡¯s facial expression shifted when he heard Fum mention this.
¡¸Is that true?¡¹
¡¸Y-Yeah. He did say he¡¯dplete it by tomorrow¡¡¡¹
¡¸I see. By the way, do you happen to know his target audience for the lecture?¡¹
¡¸Apparently the audience needs to beprised of people who can both make ss 6 items with alchemy and potions, and who are somewhat close to ss 5 in proficiency.¡¹
¡¸So the only students there would be those who are focusing on advanced alchemy or potionmaking, I presume? There would at most be 30 people there, I suppose.¡¹
Hearing the digits the professorunched out, Fum felt it to be rather small. The members of Azuma Workshop could all make ss 6 potions and boost items, as long as you ignored their sess rates- challenging ss 6 meant maybe getting one sess out of 10 attempts, and considering how the members knew where they were stumbling, it would be a matter of tie before they could achieve 100% sess.
It was approximately half a year since being hired that Fum and the others had gotten to that threshold. In addition, the total amount of time their master Hiroshi and his pupil Mio had directly instructed the girls hadn¡¯t even been four months, and just with that, they had been able to get to this point, so surely the students of Rufeus Academy specializing in schoolwork would be a higher level on average. At least that is what Fum thought.
Fum did not realize something. Generally students, and not even professors, would make tons of potions and use lots of enchantments every day. This was because they neither had the mana to put forth the effort nor all the materials necessary. In the end, Fum had no clue just how advantageous it was to manufacturerge amounts of potions and items to a secure degree on a daily basis in terms of polishing your skill set.
¡¸Hm, you look surprised. Did I say anything weird?¡¹
¡¸This is the world¡¯s most acimed institution, so I thought that advanced students could make ss 5 items with ease.¡¹
¡¸No, that¡¯s definitely an overestimation of our skills. Believe it or not, even Rufeus Academy doesn¡¯t entirely have the abundant sum of materials avable for continuous failure.¡¹
¡¸Hmmm?¡¡Well, I do get that we¡¯re a bit special.¡¹
The professor grimaced at Fum, who clearly didn¡¯t understand. Considering the number of people learning potionmaking and alchemy, there was no way they could train with the same principles as Azuma Workshop, where it was ok to fail as long as you kept making more. Azuma Workshop was only making this possible not just because every member could harvest by themselves, but also because they were few in number.
¡¸That aside, ask for more details from Boss Man or the headmaster. I only heard the outline for the special course, and we¡¯re not even involved this time anyway.¡¹
Noticing Lime was getting bored of this, Fum changed the topic. Honestly, she didn¡¯t even care about this special course, since she could just get direct lessons.
¡¸We¡¯ll all try today¡¯s experiment together ande up with more questions for next time.¡¹
¡¸Yes, I appreciate it.¡¹
The professor nodded at Fum. Technically their rtionship was that of teacher and student, but Fum and Lime were basically the same thing as coborative researchers, giving off an oddly strong vibe.
¡¸Okay, we¡¯d better get going, Lime.¡¹
¡¸Okidoki. See yater Professor.¡¹
¡¸See youter. Take care, you two.¡¹
Volume 5 Chapter 7.5
Volume 5 Chapter 7.5
Trantor: Reflet
Narrowing his eyes at Fum and Lime as they bowed and said goodbye, the professor responded with his own goodbye and thought to send the two girls off. This was generally when they would return to the workshop, but¡¡
¡¸Hiyohiyo, time to go home.¡¹
¡¸Tweet.¡¹
¡¸Eh?¡¡You want to talk to the professor?¡¹
¡¸Tweet!¡¹
Hiyohiyo, who had been minding his own business in the back this whole time, flew slowly over to the professor, which almost never happened. It seemed he had been waiting for things to be settled.
¡¸Tweet.¡¹
Landing on the teacher¡¯s desk, Hiyohiyo lightly pecked at his wings and pulled out a feather that was basically downy hair. It seemed that Hiyohiyo had pulled out one of its feathers because more feathers wereing in and there was no need to be forceful.
There was no use wondering why Hiyohiyo could fly despite having essentially downy feathers. After all, divine beasts were drastically different in their abilitiespared to their appearances, as seen with the octogals and their peculiarities.
¡¸Tweet.¡¹
Putting down the feather in front of the professor, Hiyohiyo chirped once before returning on top of Lime¡¯s head. The professor felt perplexed. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t appear toprehend Hiyohiyo¡¯s words like Fum or Lime could. What was weird to him in the first ce was why the members of Azuma Workshop could even understand every little thing such a creature said.
¡¸He says he wants to give you that feather as a present.¡¹
¡¸Hm? I recall Hiyohiyo-kun being a young divine beast, so I suppose his wings have some sort of crazy power within?¡¹
¡¸I dunno about the overall value, but what I can say is that the feather acts as a catalyst that never runs out, even for people who suck at enchanting. Although I should add that the material has a tendency to be too clear cut with what enchantments it can do and what enchantments it can¡¯t do, being that its affinity is rather extreme.¡¹
¡¸Lime always practices with this¡«¡¹
¡¸Well¡¡¡¢I daresay¡¡¡¹
The professor gaped at Fum¡¯s exnation. An item that never depleted, even for amateurs? This was a novel invention thatpletely blew away preexisting norms. Even Fum knew how crazy this catalyst was, giving Hiyohiyo a look for so casually handing one of his feathers to the professor, but the bird in question just dozing off nonchntly on Lime¡¯s head.
Enchantment catalysts, as per the name, did not vanish during the enchantment process. After all, they were merely items that connected the objects you wanted to enchant and you, the enhcanter, enhancing the process. Therefore, you could theoreticallyy permanent enchantments down without catalysts, and several figures throughout history had indeed done just that, as per the legends.
Then why did enchanting expend catalysts? There was an easy exnation for this. It was because therge amount of mana that emerged when you drew the connecting lines burst out like a charge of electricity, damaging the catalyst. It wasn¡¯t just the channel connecting the effects and line that signified your enchantment expertise, but also controlling the mana charge to minimize it as much as possible.
So when Hiroshi enchanted, the catalysts would not vanish. However, catalysts that required they be in powder or liquid form would always scatter or evaporate during the process, which always guaranteed some form of reduction. Also, for some reason, arge portion of the materials used for catalysts were powders or liquids, meaning that even with hiroshi¡¯s prowess, it was not possible to infinitely enchant with one catalyst.
¡¸This is amazing and all, but to Hiyohiyo this feather is just one that was going to fall out anyway, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to overanalyze.¡¹
¡¸Tweet.¡¹
¡¸I-Is that right. Then I gratefully ept.¡¹
Hiyohiyo concurred with a chirp to Fum and her follow-up. The professor, who had braced himself for the worst, gratefully epted this rather abrupt present.
¡¸Okay, leaving for real now.¡¹
¡¸Bye, Professor¡«¡¹
¡¸Yeah. Take care, you two, and I do mean it.¡¹
Eyes were all on Fum and Lime after this little exchange. There were many emotions mixed in with these gazes, such as reproach, greed, envy, or maybe just awe at how cute everyone was regardless of what had just urred. Fum and Lime simply ignored all this and went on their way full of energy.
The professor watched them leave with a worried expression. Right now, he felt like a grandfather looking after his grandchildren.
¡¸¡¡This is¡¡¡¢¡¡I do say¡¡¡¹
Two days after Hiroshi¡¯s special lecture was decided, Rufeus Academy¡¯s headmaster felt a strong tremor in his chest as he looked over the 20 A3 size documents Hiroshi had sent.
¡¸¡¡If this info is urate, it could uproot half of all the research we¡¯vepiled¡¡¡¹
One of the alchemy professors murmured in a dry voice as he looked over the documents. There were only 20 sheets of paper, so from Hiroshi¡¯s perspective, it was very condensed, but even in this so-called condensed information, there were enough eye-raising facts to make many of the faculty at the school want to hang themselves.
¡¸¡¡Well first, we need to examine this to see if it is urate or not.¡¹
¡¸¡¡But with our equipment and materials, it is simply impossible to examine everything with precision before the lecture.¡¹
Professor Olstar and Professor Lester, the head duo of the opposing faction, could hardly even groan out words as they red at the lecture notes that carefully detailed every bit of knowledge relevant to the theory of the lesson. It was clear from the get-go that several of the items on the list were not even achievable without the use of difficult-to-handle enhancement machines. They wouldn¡¯t be able to even tell whether the theory was mistaken or their handling of the machines turned out to be a failure. Doing this investigation would guarantee an increase in attempts, so the likelihood was high that none of this verification, or even examination, would end in a mere few days.
Much like the upper conversion of the raw materials, there was also information that Rufeus had once discarded as armchair theories, to make matters worse. Of course some of this would be possible by following what was written, but reconsidering what had once been discounted as an armchair theory would take over one or two years just to inspect and create a new research topic to help the growth of researchers.
It was too far off from the technology that Rufeus Academy had in its possession, and there was nothing that could be inspected within five days. Unfortunately, all they could do right now was follow the directions of the documents and attempt to replicate what was instructed, checking what could be checked.
¡¸¡¡Hm, how about I offer a helping hand.¡¹
¡¸A helping hand, you say?¡¹
¡¸Yes. The enchantments inscribed from the third page to the first half of the fifth page have already been inspected to some degree. It would appear that experimenting with Miss Fum and the others after the lecture led to some very useful results.¡¹
¡¸Are you serious?¡¹
¡¸I would certainly never lie in a situation like this. The relevant sections scattered after that point are currently the themes I am researching in theb. However, there are not so many people well-versed in potionmaking or alchemy in ourb, so that would be a section best not touched without concentrating a good amount of energy and time on it.¡¹
The enchantment professor in charge of Fum and Lime did indeed extend a helping hand.
¡¸Even if it is only a part of it, I am grateful that there is something that has finished inspection. However, it would appear that the information Professor Emile is currently researching is already inscribed as factual here¡¡¡¹
¡¸Nay, even if the information inscribed is proven as factual in the special lecture, I have a reason to research. After all, the members of his workshop are craftsmen when you get down to it. They do not appear to care about all the particrs in theory. Therefore, backing up the theory here at Rufeus with research is no doubt something necessary for assisting Azuma Workshop in gratitude for their contributions.¡¹
In response to Professor Emile, who had been speaking of all this in a calm manner, the other professors who had been whispering to one another all fell silent. In the end, deny it or agree with it, there was no mistake that they would have to inspect everything themselves.
The reason Professor Emile was supportive of Azuma Workshop was likely because he had already finished a good amount of inspection and had found enough to support their credibility. Also, the fact that a longstanding professor such as him found this information credible probably meant that the rest would follow, with minor exceptions.
¡¸Hm¡¡So in the end, all we can do is settle down¡¡¡¹
¡¸We will be debating over actual phenomena, so I believe it is prudent we provide a basis.¡¹
Professor Olstar grimaced at Professor Emile. Yes, he was opposing Azuma Workshop due to vested interests, but he was still a student in his own right. It was better that he ept Professor Emile¡¯s challenge and brace himself.
¡¸Indeed. Then let us expose this bunch for the frauds that they are.¡¹
¡¸I am looking forward to it.¡¹
Professor Emile grinned at Professor Olstar¡¯s impudent attitude. Hiroshi was a powerful medicine, and this medicine was now beginning to shift Rufeus Academy in new direction.
Volume 5 Chapter 8.1
Volume 5 Chapter 8.1
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸So it¡¯s today, huh?¡¹
¡¸I wonder what we¡¯ll see?¡¹
The very day of Hiroshi¡¯s special lesson, Rufeus Academy was enveloped in a restless atmosphere.
¡¸Hey, Teres-san?¡¹
The Western History ssrooms were also filled with a tense air, despite not being rted in particr to this field. Several students approached Teres uneasily.
¡¸Uhh, if you¡¯re asking about Boss Man¡¯s special lesson, we haven¡¯t reached that level of proficiency yet so he hasn¡¯t taught us any of what he intends to speak about in his lecture¡¡¡¹
¡¸Huh? Really?¡¹
The students¡¯ eyes opened wide at hearing this. Teres and the others were the first members hired to be part of Azuma Workshop, so they had expected them to be more knowledgeable in this particr area.
¡¸I mean, we haven¡¯t even been part of Azuma Workshop for a year.¡¹
¡¸Boss Man gave us a ce to stay, and that was November ofst year!¡¹
Teres and Lime came out with this new information, and the students were so shocked that they lost any words they were about say. In order to reach the proficiency that these girls had in potionmaking, one would typically expect a longer time working in the aforementioned field.
¡¸Besides, it was September ofst year that the workshop even opened up as an independent workshop.¡¹
¡¸So the workshop hasn¡¯t even been around for a year¡¡¡¹
¡¸No, it hasn¡¯t.¡¹
By this point, the students couldn¡¯t even find words. How did these people manage to infiltrate their way into the royal houses of the Three Great Western Kingdoms, and on top of that build another branch of their workshop in Rufeus? These average students simply didn¡¯t get it.
¡¸That¡has to be a joke, right¡¡?¡¹
¡¸I¡¯m with you on that one, but unfortunately, Nora and I were also involved in establishing the workshop¡¡¡¹
¡¸I think majesty, or excellence, or whatever name those people had can prove it, mhm!¡¹
The more they heard, the more the students knew how crazy this story was. While inclined to stop listening, there was still one student who couldn¡¯t contain their curiosity, timidly asking Lime a question.
¡¸Hey, Lime-chan? This ¡°majesty¡± you just mentioned¡you¡¯re not talking about His Majesty the king, right?¡¹
¡¸His majesty the king? Yup, that¡¯s the word I was looking for!¡¹
Lime responded in a cheerful voice, and the student felt a sudden sense of dizziness as they sank down into their chair. Of course Lime would never lie about something just to show off; the student knew that from being with her this long, hence why they lost theirposure.
¡¸Yes, I¡¯m afraid to say that Boss Man and the others are what we call Guests from the Unknown Continent and have only been here for about a year. So it¡¯s physically impossible for them to have had a workshop for over a year. Wulls even has record of this.¡¹
¡¸Oh, so they¡¯re from the unknown continent. It makes sense that they would have extraordinary power, then.¡¹
¡¸Although seriously, we also want to know just how these people got mixed up in all these dangerous feuds and how they keep calling trouble to their side¡¡¡¹
Teres had a faraway look in her eyes, and everyone else fell silent for a loss of words.
¡¸Well, that¡¯s how it is. There¡¯s still a lot we don¡¯t understand, and Boss Man hasn¡¯t told us anything about the lesson.¡¹
¡¸Lime did hear that you hafta make a ss six potion without failure or something.¡¹
¡¸And we barely got to ss Seven, so we¡¯re not nearly qualified.¡¹
¡¸Lime only got to ss eight. They told Lime that ss seven is a no-no.¡¹
¡¸No no no!!¡¹
Several students of the potionmaking course blurted out all at once. Being able to make ss Seven potions in under a year or being able to make ss Eight potions despite not even being six years old was seriously insane.
Besides, if you could make potions that easily, ss Seven potions would certainly not be 500 Chrones. Being priced like that in the first ce meant it was low in supply due to being difficult to produce.
¡¸Well, ahem, anyhow.¡¹
Teres perfectly understood what the students meant to say, but simply got back to the previous topic with a grimace. Derailing the conversation at this point would prevent them from continuing it.
¡¸We may be part of Azuma Workshop, but we aren¡¯t mysterious visitors like the rest of the members, so we are mere not anywhere close to the level of the students of Rufeus.¡¹
¡¸We still can¡¯t do any of the tough stuff!¡¹
The potionmaking students found themselves stricken with a form of grief when they heard Teres and Lime¡¯s follow up statements. Truth be told, they had yet to even reach ss Eight proficiency, let alone ss Seven.
¡¸¡¡I lost to a five year old. I¡I lost to a five year old at potionmaking¡¡¡¹
¡¸¡¡Don¡¯t worry about it, man. My ssmates haven¡¯t even beaten her.¡¹
¡¸¡¡But y¡¯know, even if elves are long-lived and have lots of experience, to lose so thoroughly to an elf who¡¯s only been at it for nine months just makes me want to cry¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm, oh, but wait! Lime-chan may be special, but look at her older sister Fum-chan. She¡¯s seven years old and made it as an official member of Azuma Workshop. So, maybe¡¡¡¹
One of the downtrodden potionmaking students realized something forbidden. But then, as they turned to Teres and Lime with this strand of wishful thinking in their eyes,
¡¸Sorry. Fum is the same level as me and has no trouble with ss Seven potions.¡¹
¡¸Yup, Sis always getspliments on how skilled she is for her age.¡¹
An extremely apologetic Teres and a cute, smiling Lime put a merciless end to the student¡¯s lingering hope.
¡¸¡¡Just what have we been studying until now¡¡¡¹
¡¸Is it me, or is Rufeus Academy¡¯s beginner potionmaking starting to look kind of shady¡¡?¡¹
¡¸I don¡¯t know if I can even continue like this¡¡¡¹
Teres¡¯s honest exnation seemed to have thoroughly robbed the potionmaking students of any lingering motivation. Stubbornness or pride was one thing, but to break someone¡¯s will was truly overdoing it, and everyone looked at Teres with reproach.
¡¸Uhh, well, Azuma Workshop is the kind of environment where you need to discardmon sense among other things, so you might say we only made it this far because we had no choice but to put up with it, given our situation. I just thought that perhaps regr individuals would find the environment to be a little on the harsh side¡¡¡¹
¡¸Yup, and you also have my big bro Tatsuya and my big sis Makoto who go out to hunt monsters every day whenever they have free time. And that¡¯s our food every day. And they bring back many strange ingredients. And we eat many monsters that most people don¡¯t eat.¡¹
¡¸Yes, well Lime, discardingmon sense isn¡¯t limited to just that, you know.¡¹
The more they heard about Azuma Workshop, the more the students questioned what in the world was going on, but in the end, fearing they might bring unnecessary trouble upon themselves again, none of the students would be pursuing this any further.
Volume 5 Chapter 8.2
Volume 5 Chapter 8.2
Trantor: Reflet
¡¸Oh, what even has half my life been¡¡¡¹
Professor Olstar woke up in the morning and got right back to experimenting, the result of which left him groaning in exhaustion. In front of him was a ss Five material made from advanced conversion called melhand.
In the ancientnguage, this item formally was known as melhi stone, which could asionally be found in the organs of superior-type bird monsters. The stone was first discovered in the kidneys of arge bird monster called a melhi, hence why people began calling it a melhand. This was one of the materials said to be impossible to make a substitute of withposition or conversion, sitting at the barrier to ss Five.
Professor Olstar was one of the people who had challenged this notion and failed, researching how it might be made possible to overturn this established theory, and before he knew it, repeating experiments in order to prove this theory.
In the process he had crushed many promising youth¡¯s talents, but now it was his turn to be crushed.
¡¸And of all things, what puts an end to it is not having realized such a simple fact¡¡¡¹
Synthesizing melhand was a piece of cake for a professor. What wasn¡¯t a piece of cake was that the materials were abination of lower rank materials and the type of catalyst used in the process of enchanting. The catalyst was especially important, and messing up on that part made the difficulty skyrocket.
The synthesis and conversion of materials were the basics of alchemy. However, Professor Olstar had only seeded in doing so with the same rank as the materials or lower. As a result, the professor, who had been experimenting with materials at the same rank as, or higher than something like melhand had not even attempted to synthesize a melhand with abination of ss Seven materials or catalysts.
To make matters worse, changing the catalyst with the samebination meant you could make several other types of materials. In fact, that method had more uses, and on top of that, the catalyst the professor had used this time was exceedingly minor, and it was doubtful that anyone else had ever tested such abination.
Then again, while Professor Olstar might find such a process to be easy, the people who used ss Seven materials as their main base could get only a 20% sess rate on a good day. There was also the possibility that experimenting without getting sessful results meant thebination was simply impossible, of course.
¡¸Why? Why couldn¡¯t they have shown up here 15 years earlier¡¡¡¹
Cursing his inaptitude, Professor Olstar let theints drop one by one out of his mouth. By this point he was at the age where he could be a hindrance to society, but he had researched this topic well into old age. Being able to prove that a phenomenon was reproducible meant you could actually construct a decent theory. That was simply frustrating.
Professor Lester was undoubtedly tasting the same sense of defeat. Maybe he did wrong in dragging Professor Lester along into his faction. He felt responsible.
¡¸¡¡But perhaps I am one of the more fortunate ones, only having to taste regret¡¡¡¹
A new theory in which he could get the same result ten times out of ten with his talent. Realizing he had thoroughly sumbed before aplishing this, Professor Olstar muttered along with a grimace. Not attempting to put up any more of a fight might be a sign that he was still a researcher, and that thought at least was somewhat reassuring.
When the professor thought of the faces of all the authoritarian elders still trying to put up a pitiful struggle, he couldn¡¯t help but think such cynical things. Being a student taking advanced alchemy courses meant it was not out of the realm of possibility to replicate the information in these documents to a certain degree, so iling aimlessly about in this situation would only cause these elders to lose their footing.
¡¸No point in being hesitant. Guess I¡¯ll go and ept my defeat with honor.¡¹
With preparations and other things involved, the first special lecture would start at second period, which was about to begin very soon. It was at this time that Professor Olstar had made up his mind. Initially he had intended to sneak into the back with several other professors and find fault with the ss, but by this point he just didn¡¯t feel it anymore.
A deep feeling of loss and setback had struck Professor Olstar, but now he also felt an equivalent level of exhration as he headed toward the headmasters¡¯s office to inquire about his next course of action.
¡¸Wee, and thank you foring, Aearis-sama.¡¹
¡¸Thank you for having me today.¡¹
A little earlier in the morning on the same day in Dhaljan Temple, Aearis, the princess priestess of Alfemina, and Sasha, the priestess of Dhaljan, were having a secret meeting.
¡¸So you are sure that Hiroshi-dono hasn¡¯t detected you, right¡¡¡¹
¡¸I came here via the underground transportation circle, so I believe everything is fine.¡¹
Aearis had purposefully arrived here through a convoluted travel route, simply because she wanted to surprise Hiroshi. There wasn¡¯t an opportunity to reveal this earlier, but the underground ruins and Azuma Workshop were connected via transportation circle, which was strictly controlled, but as Aearis was good friends with the People of the Earth, they gave her a free pass like it was nothing.
There was also Rufeus Workshop¡¯s key, which would be another obstacle under normal circumstances but was resolved by having the octogals bring it out via short distance teleportation. Generally speaking, as long as you left out the topic of sexual harassment and confidentiality, the creatures would listen to just about anything you asked them to do, so of course the octogals had no particr reason to refuse this request of moving a short distance and barely using any energy in the process.
And while this process was only a few minutes, Aearis had also made sure to get the queen of Darl¡¯s permission as she passed through the country. Also, while this was an borate process, there was another reason for doing this other than simply to surprise Hiroshi.
¡¸Come to think of it, Aearis-sama, this is your first time in Rufeus if memory serves me right. Were you able to quickly figure out the path to this temple?¡¹
¡¸Alfemina-sama told me everything, so that wasn¡¯t an issue.¡¹
¡¸Oh, I see¡¡¡¹
As Sasha had heard before, Aearis truly lived up to the title of squandering power for trivial purposes, and her poker face was beginning to break just a tad bit. Her first thought was ¡°Is this the kind of life you want to live, priestess of Alfemina?¡± but then she remembered that the majority of the cases where Alfemina spoke, it was a one-way flow ofmunication. In this case, maybe the one who should be nitpicked was Alfemina herself for being doting and overprotective.
¡¸So was Hiroshi-sama¡¯s ss supposed to be from 10 onward?¡¹
¡¸Yes, 10:30 to be exact. It should be the perfect amount of time for a covert inspection.¡¹
Indeed, the reason for Aearis taking an intricate route to Rufeus was to inspect Rufeus Academy.
Volume 5 Chapter 8.3
Volume 5 Chapter 8.3
Trantor: Reflet
Of course, this inspection had a purpose. Since Azuma Workshop¡¯s transportation circles allowed all three of the Great Western Kingdom¡¯s royal families to go to school in Rufeus, the rulers decided it would be good to examine the current condition of the academy. Aearis was chosen because at times like these she had the lightest workload and could move freely.
Originally, Layotte and Mark were supposed to have someone else take their ce at work so that they could study at Rufeus Academy for two years, but after hearing First Prince Avin and Magdalena¡¯s evaluation, they had put this on hold.
On a side note, the only members of the Fane royal family who had education in Rufeus Academy were Avin and Princess Magdalena. Elena, the second princess, had done some work as the tentative priestess princess which had put her enrollment on hold, and the third princess Maria and so on had already nned to switch out with Avin but put it on hold when hearing his evaluation, so with marriage, injury, and subjugation, Layotte¡¯s three older sisters were not currently in the state to be studying in another country.
Then again, half of the reason for studying abroad in their case was to find a marriage partner, so Maria most likely didn¡¯t have any further need for attending a school since she straight up got married, and Layotte¡¯s retainer Julius¡¯s marriage with Elena, a feat of strength would be the deciding factor, and her frail body made her education in Rufeus likewise unnecessary. As for Magdalena, due to a request from the queen of Darl in alliance with Wulls, she had married the crown prince in Darl who had absolutely no rtion to the partner she had selected for studying abroad, so it seemed that she, too, would not have much of a need at all to go to Rufeus.
¡¸So I get the impression from Avin that the environment was not so favorable, but how do you feel about Rufeus Academy as it is today?¡¹
¡¸Yes, His Majesty Avin came at the worst time, you might say. Compared to that, the academy has improved more than enough.¡¹
Aearis felt like there was something else being implied there. When she began to pursue this topic further, suddenly Sasha had a grin on her face.
¡¸I do not think telling you what I know will do the story much justice. After all, Rufeus Academy will be greatly changing here on out.¡¹
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s definitely Hiroshi-sama, isn¡¯t it?¡¹
¡¸Yes. It would indeed be Hiroshi-dono. I imagine that the special lecture he¡¯s giving today will be pivotal to great changes in Rufeus Academy.¡¹
Hearing Sasha¡¯s response, Aearis now understood that gist of the situation. Hiroshi, who didn¡¯t have any particr obligation to see Lauren as important, would never give the kind of lecture that gave special consideration to the factions or anything. He would most certainly be giving a lecture on what he was asked to do, and the information would be thick enough to pulverize themon sense and identity of the audience.
¡¸At the very least, I doubt they could bring any foreign students into this factional dispute even if they wanted to.¡¹
¡¸Could it be that Avin¡¡¡¹
¡¸Not just Avin-dono. I sincerely apologize to everyone who came to study at that time. Studying in a foreign country such as this is one of the major objectives of foreign students, and the academy staff got in the way of it because of their selfish actions.¡¹
¡¸¡¡Was it seriously that bad?¡¹
¡¸Well, when the previous ruler was still in office, he was so angry that he forced several of the instructors out of the school. How does that sound to you?¡¹
¡¸I mean, yeah¡¡¡¹
Things must have been pretty bad in Rufeus Academy if the normally neutral king went so far as to intervene using the power of the state. Imagining the situation from the information given, Aearis couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with Avin.
¡¸I can still forgive something like a theory faction. There was after all a period of time that isn¡¯t ounted for in the documents avable in the library, so it¡¯s normal for factions based on theory to emerge, and it¡¯s impossible not to have some form of opposition.¡¹
¡¸Is that so?¡¹
¡¸Yes. Part of education is opposing other theoretical factions with your own, arguing fiercely back and forth andparing and adjusting ideas. As I mentioned, I don¡¯t mind those sorts of healthy factional disputes, but anything political like allotment of research funds is something uneptable.¡¹
¡¸Well, it does seem to be a thing everywhere, yes.¡¹
Aearis said seriously, to which Sasha nodded in an embarrassed manner. Then again, in Aearis¡¯s case, she had not only had her honor stolen by the Katarina faction, but also had her life targeted by them. She essentially had no way out other than destroying her opponent in a political, societal, and existencial sense. Rufeus Academy¡¯s factional disputes were simply cute inparison.
That being said, it was still uneptable to let foreign students get wrapped up in these meritless factional disputes, no matter how cute. Making connections would asionally lead to such affairs, but with the instructors forcing everyone to participate, it made you question what purpose the school existed for.
Avin at least was able to find his bride-to-be, Prisia, but for Magdarena who was dragged around by the disputes the entire time, this must have been quite agonizing in many ways.
¡¸At any rate, if anyone were to get wrapped up in the factional conflicts in the current Rufeus Academy, it would likely be between schools of thought. The fact that Azuma Workshop, a group ofplete outsiders, is the centerpiece of this is fascinating, of course.¡¹
¡¸¡¡It¡¯s only been a month, so why are factions already forming?¡¹
¡¸Apparently there are quite a few professors and students who were devastated by Lime-san¡¯s charm and ability. So, Aearis-sama, if you were to attend, there might very well be the emergence of a new foreign faction.¡¹
¡¸I certainly don¡¯t have as much schrly ability or discernment as everyone in Azuma Workshop, so I doubt that will be an issue.¡¹
Aearis didn¡¯t appear to understand her own charisma well enough, and Sasha inwardly sighed. Being a holy woman, Aearis already had the atmosphere about her that naturally attracted people to her side. While she had learned not to speak her mind on political matters, Aearis still had unfathomable discernment for a girl her age, especially considering this was young even for this world¡¯s standards, and her presence was more than enough to create a new faction in both a schrly sense and a political sense.
¡¸¡¡Well, I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll be deciding to attend based on your tour of the school, and it¡¯s doubtful that you can begin attending right after you decide, so let¡¯s bring this topic to a close.¡¹
¡¸Good point. So what will we do for breakfast? I do have a present to give you, so perhaps you could try it if you wanted¡¡¡¹
¡¸Hm. A gift from Alfemina-sama¡¯s priestess princess, Aearis-sama. I see.¡¹
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