I arrived at the entrance of the Fairy Tooth inn. From outside I can faintly hear the sound of music, primarily flutes and bagpipes. Is there a party inside?
Well, I should find out for myself.
I opened the inn's door and the music became louder than earlier. From inside, everyone was as always drinking and eating. There was one enthusiastic bald adventurer that seem to come here often and likes to drink alot but he looks like a nice guy so I approached him.
「Hey, what's with the racket?」
「Ah? Music is good to the ears, isn't it? It also helps the barmaids do their job better.」
Hoh? Yeah I do agree to that, I also tend to do a better job at something while following a song's rhythm. I smiled to the bald adventurer.
「Yeah, it is.」
This music, this place, these people. This really is another world that I've always wanted to be part of. I can't be more thankful than being sent here even if it would only last for a while.
「Your drinks are all on me!」
I was so happy I ended up treating everyone. From afar, I could see Hain helping out with handing over the food and drinks. I guess this is what she's been up to while I was gone.
「Woah, really? Thanks man!」
「Awesome!」
「OOOHH!」
The people present at the inn showered me with gratitude and I ended up being lifted and passed among the crowds of merchants and adventurers. From how high up I was, I caught sight of the adventurers that I saved earlier and it seems like they also saw me since they waved at my direction.
「Yo! We're here sir Fern!」
The chef came out of the kitchen and asked for help on carrying the barrels of alchohol that I paid for. He had a huge smile on his face as much as everyone else right now was lively.
「Alright lads! Give me a hand on lifting these 10 barrels of wine and beer!」
「I'll help!」
「Me too!」
「I'll help too!」
The bald adventurer I was talking to earlier helped with carrying the barrels and brought two at once. This made the procedure faster. As much to my surprise, many came to help, even some weak-looking merchants. Although they were the ones that were carried instead by the adventurers along with the barrels they were holding.
「Hey guys, put me down please! I want to drink too!」
As I was starting to get embarrassed, I asked to be released. The people put me down and they resumed the celebration among themselves while gulping down goblets of beer or wine or simply gobbling up the delicious food this inn had to offer.
I seated myself at the corner of the room and ate some kind of pudding. It tasted sweet like jelly and jams, though I wasn't really into it. So I drank some beer instead with kikoudo kebabs. Chickens in this world were called kikodou, and even though I call them that, they're all colored red and had troublesome skills like slowing down the enemy.
The members of the Iron Trout party came to me, though it took them time to come due to the huge crowd blocking the way.
「Sir Fern!」
The first one to have greeted me was the leader, Clint the swordsman adventurer. All four of them were worn out from pushing their way through, it seems Tuna their healer was still sleeping.
「Hows Tuna?」
They looked a bit muddled and stared at me bewildered. Did something happen to her?
「H-How did you know her name?」
Oh, that. Well I actually found out through looking at her status but that's something they shouldn't know, so.
「I heard one of you say her name while you were running away from the Armorizard.」
「Oh! So that's why.」
Well that was easy. They seated themselves opposite of me and I looked around. It looks like Hain left her maid tasks and came to join in.
「Welcome back, Arch. Did you get your weapon?」
「Yep!」
Before I went outside, I told Hain to call me by my alias, Arch Fern. I opened my"Dimensional Storage"and from it's vortex came out a 2 meter spear which I gripped tightly with my right hand.
「That's good, now you won't have to fight barehanded again.」
She joyfully smiled at me and came to notice the four adventurers while I was sucking the spear back to my storage. They greeted her first.
「It's a pleasure to meet you. We're the Iron Trout party, Sir Fern became our benefactor just earlier.」
「Yeah, we might be a novice party but we'll soon repay this debt.」
They're really honest adventurers. I already came to like them. This only means I need to protect them and help them reach their goal– ugh... What's with these thoughts, I keep wanting to help people whenever I get a chance. I wasn't like this before.
『Answer, due to master's new body and upgraded soul, a Hero's body and soul. His thinking was unknowingly affected to match that of a hero's.』
So that's why... I don't mind but it should refrain helping people a bit too much. This may kill more people than it had helped if I keep doing this.
「Nice to meet you too, I'm Hain. A sister in the orphanage of Raske, but I'm currently on the way to Touma with Fern to register as adventurers.」
I just listened to their conversation silently and since I wasn't in the mood to talk, I tried to stir no attention.
「Oh! We're going to Touma too! We just came here to do a gathering quest for a noble and we're already finished.」
「You should come with us tomorrow morning, it will be safer if Sir Fern is with us.」
Troy the archer and Pine the fighter asked Hain if we can join them to tomorrow's departure. Certainly it would be faster that way and we wouldn't get bored easily. I have no reason to reject them. However...
「You should come with them Hain.」
「But Yu– I mean Arch, what about you?」
「I'll catch up using Heldris. I have something important to do here tomorrow. Don't worry I'll be catching up tomorrow around noon.」
Tomorrow, I plan to go to the blacksmith's shop and ask the dwarf to teach me his blacksmithing skills. Hain made a worried face but I rubbed her head with my left hand to assure her I'm not lying.
「Please take care of her until I catch up with you, Iron Trout party. You can count us as even by that time.」
The members smiled to me brightly and determined to pay the debt of saving their lives. They agreed at the end. I guess doing good things can also reward you, I don't regret being a hero at all.
I stood up and went to the bartender to pay for the barrels of wine. It costed me atleast 15 silver coins.
At this moment I realized.
I'm broke! 15 silver coins was all I had!
I panicked and had a hopeless expression but got an idea right away.
「Hey, Michael-san.」
The inn-keeper's name was Michael. Though I'm about to leave this city I shouldn't be so rude to call him "Inn-Keeper".
「Hm? What is it Sir Fern?」
「Do you want to buy five more Rafflecia Boar meat? I'll give you a 27% discount. Consider it a goodbye since I'm leaving tomorrow.」
If I tell him that I need money right now, I feel like he'll tease me by not buying so it's best I just say it's a goodbye sort of thing along with a good discount.
「Hoh? is that so. Alright I'll buy em.」
Yosh! Now my money is secured again!
Michael first left to get his money ready and bought 390 kilograms of Rafflecia Boar meat with 219,000 Sigils or 10 silver coins and 95 copper coins.
I got back 10 silvers from the 15 that I spent to treat everyone.
–––
The next day at 6am,
Hain and the Iron Trout party mounted a carriage and later left the Town of Murasaka. The inn keeper and some of Hain's former co-workers seen her off.
I waved them goodbye as well and went straight to the blacksmiths shop. When I came in, the stout dwarf was hammering a burning red steel rod on top of his black-iron anvil.
He didn't turn around to look but he already knew it was me.
「What you came in here for, lad? I thought ye'd be heading to Touma by now.」
I walked a bit more closer.
「About that...」
I opened the"Dimensional Storage"skill and dropped 20 bone scales of the Armorizard. From the clattering sounds itself, it looks like the dwarf already knew what it was and stopped hammering to turn around. The moment he caught sight of the valuable blacksmithing materials, he was awestruck.
「Th-These are...」
「They're the bone scales of a B Rank Armorizard.」
「What are ya planning to have shown me these, lad?」
There it is, the question I've been waiting for since I've met him.
「You can have all these, in exchange... I want to learn the basics of blacksmithing.」
Around an hour after he told me to first wait after he's done with his work, he closed the shop then beckoned me over.
「If it means to get me a hold of these materials, I'm willing to teach ya the basics of blacksmithing. First, ya gonna need to start off with an iron ore.」
He led me to a few large wooden carts filled to the brim with different kinds of ores. It was mostly iron, but there were some mixed up like silver, cobalt, copper and gold
「Look and observe, pick the highest quality iron you can– what?」
Before he finished talking, I made do with what he already said and picked the highest quality iron ore Alvis showed me.
「What's next, ojii-san?」
「A-Ah, put that ore on the anvil for now and heat up the forge. Make it atleast 1400°c.」
「On it.」
I approached the forge and picked out some coal to place inside it. Then I lit it up with"Inferno Edge"at 1,000 degrees. The flames spread and all the coal were eventually blazing within the forge. Following the next step, I held the iron ore with black-iron tongs and heated up the ore. The ojii-san blacksmith said I don't need to worry about the tong being melted since it was resistant to fire.
「Ya need to heat it up well lad. Now put em on the anvil and use the hammer.」
I picked up a hammer with my right hand while my left one was occupied holding the tongs which was holding the fiery hot iron ore.
I placed the blazing ore on top the anvil and started flattening it.
「Not too flat, not too flat. Shape it, shape it boy! 」
I did my best to shape and balance the now blade-like metal. Although I said so, it only almost looked like a blade.
「Ye can do it!」
I did my best and used enough strength that rivaled the master blacksmith's to shape the blade like clay.
–––
3 exhausting hours had passed. I was sweating madly due to the heat...
But I finally did it.
『Skill Acquisition Complete,"Blacksmithing E"has been added to the skill list.』
E Ranked right from the start. As expected of my Hero title. I looked at the master blacksmith standing beside me. He was grinning from ear to ear while holding the iron dagger that I made.
「This be my first time teaching a person how to smith, lad. Ye did it. Passing grades fer ya.」
So it was his first time teaching a person, huh? It's a good thing I passed and got what I want.
「On second thought, please have 10 more bone scales.」
「What?! You had more?!」
I left the blacksmithing shop around 2pm. The blacksmith gave me his farewells and so did the other shops I visited that heard I was leaving.
「Come back again, sir Fern!」
「Have some kikoudo kebabs before you go. On the house!」
After leaving the north-eastern district, I went to the south-western to tell the butchery I was leaving. They eagerly seen me off. Then I paid my last visit to the Fairy Tooth inn to have their farewell.
Thus I left the town of Murasaka riding Heldris to catch up with Hain and the others. Hopefully they'll be okay even though I'm late.