"Yo, it's been a while huh… Don't think I forgot that you guys owe me something! To think you would all rather die than give Felis the rewards she rightfully earned… I thought you 'heroes' would have more honor than that~" Ivan spoke cheerfully to the group of students that had yet to move from their spot. Their eyes fogged as they finally processed the words he had spoken.
"Y-You're that guy from the magic shop!" Aside from his demeanor, the cloaked figures next to him were something they vividly remembered. Especially when they gave the class a run for their money during Felis and Kouki's battle.
" 'That guy,' hmph. I thought I was painfully clear as to what my name was but so be it. Hold your thanks, I'm just repaying a debt to someone that had given me some important info. Maaa~ and in the end I'm walking out of here with a valuable informant so I'd call this a win-win for both our parties. Now if you excuse me, adventure awaits~!"
The man donned in black steel turned around with the demon lady hung over his shoulder, his cape obscuring most of their figures as he walked deeper into the dungeon rather than back to the entrance.
"Wait! I would like you to aid us in returning to the surface….. You see my team and I are devoid of most of our mana after that encounter with the lady. There are also other matters I would like to talk to you regarding her detainment… If you guide us then I can immediately hand over your payment the moment we reach the surface!"
Ivan turned to meet the bruised hero, even after being healed by their party's healer his condition was still not up to par. But what did that matter to Ivan? As far as he was concerned he had already saved their lives… At least that's what he thought before hearing the part about payment. While Felis was skilled it'd do some good to her progression if she knew what to hone and what to ignore. That was the value Ivan held to the status plates. Even with the method to create artifacts he was unable to reproduce something that made the plates, something that existed under the Church's supervision.
He didn't bother answering the 'hero,' instead turning away to face Hajime. His eyes glimmered a bit looking at the device he held in his hands. A traditional lever-action Winchester is the first thing he thought. Apart from it being completely made of metals found in the dungeon, it was a perfect recreation of the thing. Ivan walked up to Hajime, not saying a word as he left his palms into the air.
Hajime only smiled wryly in response, placing the rifle in his hands without a moment's hesitation. Iva marveled at its design, while simple he was sure it was an effective weapon down here against the unsuspecting monsters. The only problem was power, as even with the magical adjustments Hajime had done by a blacksmith it was no greater than intermediate magic. Even loading it was a pain that may as well have been equated with casting. There was also the matter of powering the weapon, as the magic circles stuck several parts to the construction made it painfully clear that starting it up was not an instant process.
Sure it was an ineffective and impractical weapon when compared to magic, but if someone with average stats could wield it like Hajime then Ivan was sure it was ready for public use. Effectively making a soldier out of any citizen that wielded it. A couple of magic bullets may have been pathetic, but what about thousands? What about hundreds of thousands?
This was a concern Ivan had immediately thought of the moment his hands rested on the weapon. Who's to say the church hadn't begun mass production already. "Hajime Nagumo, may I speak with you for just a moment…?" Hajime's expression hardened as he nodded in agreement, stepping far enough away so that the class wouldn't hear.
"W-Wait, I'm not done talking to you! You still haven't agreed to my order—!" Kouki's cries were cut off when a cold glare made him shudder in fear. He turned to meet the petite figure that had been displaying her golden hair off this entire time. In response to what he believed to be a woman's stare, he flashed his signature hero-like smile.
"...Ew–" However his confidence was torn to shreds the moment a disgusted voice emanated from the mask. That's when a familiar slender hand rested on his shoulder, it had been his childhood friend Shizuku that had quelled anymore of his attempts to charm the girl in front of him.
"Kouki, leave it to rest. We have no right to demand anything of these people. In fact, we owe them for saving our lives. So just stop trying to order them around and start thinking of a plan to get us back to the surface. C'mon, let's go talk to Captain Meld." Under the leadership of his best friend, Kouki walked over to Captain Meld who had regained a bit of the vigor that was gone from his face. He let himself be supported by the shoulders of two students as he stood to talk to his savior.
Felis' eyes blinked unresponsively as she listened to the sincere thanks of Captain Meld, not knowing what to do in this situation she turned back to meet Tio who had been chaperoning her activities since they first got here.
"Nee~ Tio-sensei! What do I do in this situation? This old man is acting pretty funny, is he trying to make me laugh? If so, should I laugh? I mean if I don't laugh it would be pretty disrespectful huh… But if I do laugh and he sees that I was faking it he might find it even more disrespectful! Argh, where is Father when you need him!?"
Though these thoughts were something she should have whispered personally to Tio, yet she spoke them aloud with the man in question right in front of her. An action that made him grin warmly as he saw that these saviors of his were not all too different from the children that he had been mentoring for these past few months. Even if the girl he was thanking looked like a beastman with her tail and ears, he still bowed his head to show his gratefulness.
"Fufufufu~ I believe a simple 'you're welcome' shall suffice. I'm sure the master will praise you for your hard work today! Ah, he may even praise me as well… What shall I do, what shall I do? Just thinking of his admonishing eyes as he listens to my request, fufufufu…"
Ignoring the squirming of her teacher that she was already used to, Felis turned back to face Captain Meld and the others that had fearfully taken a step away from Tio.
"Hmph! Then it must be as my sensei says, remember the day that I, Felis Kor— Oops, I almost let that slip there! Ehehehe, Father would've surely punished me for that… Ahem, I am Felis of the Hohenheim Foundation! Heed thine words and revel knowing that I accept thee words of gratitude!"
Her exaggerated voice and pose left the class in a daze. If Ivan was here he would've questioned when exactly his business became a foundation but unfortunately, he was busy with other duties. The good thing for him was that Yue subbed out the perverted dragon as she had finally decided to join the group while Ivan was occupied.
"...What is a foundation?" Yue muttered.
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"So the church nor kingdom haven't shown too much interest in the devices you're making? Are you certain? We could have a war approaching sooner than we think if that were the case…"
Ivan laid his concern to Hajime. As he understood it the church and kingdom would likely launch a full assault with the demons should they adopt this modern technology. The demons had turned the tide with monster taming, now it might be humanity's turn to fight back. Well, again, considering that the summoning of the heroes was supposed to be their bite back.
"They've only shown minor interests. However even with my explanations and diagrams even the Kingdom's greatest synergists and blacksmiths are incapable of recreating it. Deciding it would be impossible for me to mass produce them alone they dropped the matter, at least that's what it seemed like when they compared the weapon to that of any intermediate spells."
"...I see… Then they are greater fools than I believed. Hmph, with this settled I believe we are now equal? Oh yeah, Claire sends her regards. I'll be leading you all back to the surface using the normal method, if I brought you all deeper, who knows what ways you'd get yourselves killed."
Hajime smiled hearing that Claire had been okay. However, it was that relieved smile that turned to teasing as he described the nature of Ivan's words.
"What do you mean we're settled? C'mon Ivan ain't we friends, you don't have to say stuff like that~ I got your back and you got mine! Simplest is best after all!" Even with Hajime's kind words Ivan didn't feel relieved at all. Instead, his annoyance only grew looking at the cartoonishly smug smile.
"Sorry kid, you're on your own. I'd love to give you some overpowered stuff but unless you want to fully become a puppet of the Holy Church I highly advise against it. They'll just take all the gear I give you anyways. Though do not fear, I will remember your words. The next time we face some world ending enemies I'll be sure to bring you with us~"
Hajime's face darkened at the prospect of having to fight side by side with enemies equal or greater than the power Ivan and his party had now. His little gun had barely scraped the skin of some of the monsters he fought today, anything more and he felt as though his bullets might just bounce off.
"I-Ivan we're friends right…? Hey… don't look away!"
"Fufufufu~"
"What's with that laugh!? Is that a yes or no?!"
Their bout had become so loud that the others from afar had caught their words. Wondering when their relationship had become so close they started asking Ivan's party where they had met. The more they thought about the weirder it got, in their mind Hajime never left his room, tinkering with metals and devices. Now he's friends with the owner of one of the most successful businesses on the planet. The only documented instance of them meeting should have been at the shop, and yet they talked chummily to each other as if they had been friends for months.
In response Yue and the others remained silent, even Felis who had covered her mouth to not reveal any secrets had a hard time dealing with the awkward silence that ensued.
CLAP!
The group's attention had turned to where Ivan was, who had suddenly appeared right next to them even though Hajime was still walking back. They all tensed up at the cruel guy that had admonished them again and again, their witness of his display enhancing the negative feelings they had for him. However, Captain Meld did not care for that as he dropped himself from the student's shoulders and protracted himself on the ground.
"Thank you for saving us…! If it had not been for all of you we would have met our end here, I would have died, unfulfilling my promise to keep these children safe. Hmph, that kind of regret would have been carried on even after death. Which is why I Meld Loggins of the Heiligh Kingdom gives you my thanks from the bottom of my heart!"
His head pressed against the stone floor as he screamed out his sincere gratitude. Ivan smiled wryly seeing this, dropping a hand closer to the man before holding it open.
"It's fine, you've done more for these children than anyone would have expected. I'm sure they feel the same way as well. Which is why I ask that you lift your head, a man of your stature shouldn't bow to a shop owner like me~"
The curtains closed on that scene, Meld reached out for the hand that lifted him out of the ground. Firmly grasping it as he met Ivan's eyes… or at least where he thought his eyes were…
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Feeling good today. Managed to write this one in the morning, something I should have done with yesterday's chapter. Apart from that here is the aftermath, a simple reunion and short interaction between the groups. Hope you enjoyed. Apart from that please excuse me as I get breakfast, after that I gotta script a video so there's that too. Make sure to sub to my channel if you're feeling generous~!
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