This world is not a technologically advanced one, so there is no washing machines or
vacuum cleaners, which makes the housework a pretty burdensome and timeconsuming series of activities, so right now making breakfast, which is comparatively
easy when paired up with cleaning and doing laundry is the best kind of dream job for
me because I still get to be useful around the house without overexerting myself too
much. And now that everything was done and ready, I brought my yaki macaroni to
the table for all of us to enjoy.
When I got to the living room, Roxanne and Sherry were already there, and I could see
that the scent of the spicy fish sauce that I used for this dish was already causing their
mouths to water.
"Did I make you wait long?"
"No, we just got here after finishing our chores for the time being."
Apparently I caught them in the middle of something, because Sherry was siting on a
chair while Roxanne was holding her hair from behind.
And what is that which she is holding in her hand? Is that... the brush that she bought
during her day off? In any case, the sight of the two of them just sitting there, getting
along with one another was quite a relaxing one... but I could not shake off the
feeling that something was missing from this harmonious picture.
"Thank you very much for combing my hair for me, Miss Roxanne. I really appreciate
it."
"Do not mention it, Sherry. Doing this is a pleasure, because your hair are so rich and
glossy and feel really nice to the touch."
When Roxanne was done with combing Sherry's hair, she put away her brush and sat
down at the breakfast table while sitting right across from me so that we could see
each other face-to-face.
"Well then, are you girls ready to eat?"
" "Yes, time to dig in!" "
We then dug in into the food that I have distributed equally on our plates so that no
one would feel like he got too much or not enough. That fried yaki macaroni of mine
did not taste bad, but at the same time I could clearly feel that there was something
missing from this dish, something that I had trouble pinpointing exactly. Maybe it is
because of the short pasta that I used instead of the regular long pasta? No, I feel like
the problem is not with pasta, but something else entirely… And they are probably
seasonings, like blue seaweed or red ginger, which I had no way of obtaining at the
current moment, because none of the Quratar's shop offered it or anything that could
have been used as a possible replacement.
As a result, the dish that I have prepared tasted like only something that was halfready to me, affecting my experience of eating this thing in a negative way, but since
blue seaweed and red ginger are very specific products even in my old world, then I
guess there is no point brooding over it for to long and simply accept that this is just
how things are and that they simply cannot be helped sometimes, and there is just
nothing that I could have done to change that state of being.
However, the most important thing to me right now is the fact that both Sherry and
Roxanne are stuffing their faces with it while looking incredibly satisfied and puffing
out their cheeks because of all the pasta and sauce that they were trying to shove into
their mouths all at once, which was the best possible review of my dish that I could
have gotten.
.
Granted, this is definitely nothing that could rival the best pasta-based dishes in the
world by any chance, but as long as it turned out edible and the people whom I am
serving it to are satisfied by it, then I guess there is no reason at all for me to not to
feel satisfied as well. This just goes to show that as long as you keep in mind for whom
you are cooking and why you want to cook it for them in the best way possible, then
these feelings of yours are sure to reach the recipients of the dish that is going to be
so good that they will not even be complaining or paying attention to the missing
ingredients (notto mention that in order to complain about the things that are missing
and the taste of the dish they just eaten, it means that they would have to be aware of
what the original Japanese yakisoba tasted like).
When we finished eating breakfast, Sherry and Roxanne sat down at the chair in front
of the mirror and resumed the long and arduous process of combing their hair for one
another, and even though they were sitting in front of the large mirror on the wall,
neither of them was looking at it too much, focusing instead on the hair of the other
person that they were combing in order not to hurt them by accident. Personally, I do
not look into the mirror all that much, but I thought that it will be looking nice when
mounted on the wall and that the girls are going to make a much better use of this
than I ever would. If it was not for them, I would have probably not bought that mirror
at all, thinking that it would be nothing more but a waste of money.
It has already been around a month since I have arrived in this world. Or perhaps I
should say that only a month has passed, even though it feels like a much, much longer
period.
Recently, my hair has grown a little longer than I intended to grow them out, to the
point where it is seriously starting to annoy the living hell out of me. It is probably not
going to be all that long before I will go and ask Roxanne cut them all a bit shorter for
me, and when that happens, my gut feeling is telling me that I should better have a
mirror on me when such a day comes so that I could avoid a possible hair-cutting
disaster that might occur when Roxanne or Sherry get a little bit too enthusiastic
about doing this for me. And so, I asked both Sherry and Roxanne while I continued to
chew down on my portion of yaki macaroni:
"Do you think that having such a mirror installed here at home was a handy idea after
all?"
"It is a good thing to have it around in case we ever needed to cut our hair when they
get too long, but other than that, I would not really say that it is something absolutely
necessary or vital for our day-to-day lives."
"What Miss Roxanne said, plus the fact that it does not look all that good."
Sherry made a point that I definitely could not argue with, because while I called the
thing that is on the wall "mirror" it is actually a far cry from the mirrors that I am
familiar with from my old world. In this world, the thing that are called "mirrors" are
nothing more than polished surfaces of thick metal, so as you can probably imagine, it
is not something that grants very good visibility when you gaze into it. I ended up
buying it on impulse when I saw it one time in the general store, but now, after some
time has passed since then, I think I might actually be suffering from buyer's remorse,
because now I see that its quality does not match up its relatively high price.
"Yeah, I definitely have to agree that the quality of this mirror is not very good. Is there
something we can do to make it look better, even if only for a little bit?"
"No, there is not much that we can do about it, or at least not here, because anywhere
where you would try to look, the mirrors are going to essentially look exactly the same.
But if you want a mirror of better quality, then why not try one of the mirrors that are
being sold in Palmasque?"
"Palmasque?"
"It is a city located between The Empire and Kassim. When I talked with Miss Roxanne
about a lot of things, she told me that her birthplace is located some distance away
from Kassim."
Yeah, I remember that there was this one time when I had a conversation with
Roxanne about this particular subject. Now, since it was some time ago I do not
remember exactly what she said, but it must have been something similar to what
Sherry said just now. And since she is from a place near Kassim, then it would stand
to reason that she would know about Palmasque, that is apparently situated between
The Empire and Kassim.
"So, master? A question, if I may. From what Miss Roxanne told me, you said that you
are from a place located even further to the east than Kassim, right? But if that is the
case, then how come that you do not know about Palmasque?"
Oh crap, I did say something like that, did I not?! Now quickly, find some good words
to defuse the situation!
"Y-Yeah, I did live in a place farther to the east than Kassim, but even then, I for the
most of my life I was living in a very remote region where very little information was
reaching, and I was being brought up with very limited knowledge of the outside
world, thanks to which I did not even know about Kassim until recently."
There, is that going to be enough to deceive them? I sure hope it is going to be enough.
I really have to stop saying such random things all the time, because if I keep on adding
more lies to the pile, then eventually the mountain of them is going to grow up so big
that one of these days I am just going to run myself into a corner out of which I will
not be able to weasel my way out.
"Is that so? Well then, I guess some explanations are in order, right? Palmasque is a
city famous for its glassworks and a huge variety of products they are able to create
because of it. The mirrors that they are making by using glass all look very good, and
they are said to reflect the exact image of whatever is being placed in front of them
without distorting it in any way. It is one of their most valued luxury items, and the
one that is often exchanged as gifts among nobles and particularly rich people."
So it would seem that there are mirrors made from glass in this world after all, as well
as some pretty advanced techniques of manufacturing items. Looks like I
underestimated the technological capabilities of this world, which just goes to show:
you cannot judge a book, or in this case, a world, by its cover. I wonder if I could find
one of these Palmasque-made mirrors if I went looking for them in the Imperial City?
"Since they are such a luxury item, then they are probably bound to be really
expensive. Nevertheless, I think it might be worth it to try and look for one of them
one of these days."
"Normally that would have been the case, since the prices of glass mirrors have to be
appropriately raised since Palmasque is located quite far away from the Empire, but if
you were to go and buy such a mirror directly in Palmasque, then the prices would
surely not be all that high, and it would certainly not be as expensive as having it
imported here."
"Master, with your abilities, would it not be possible for you to travel to Palmasque
and back in an instant?"
Roxanne pointed that out to me. Certainly, if I could just go there by using "Warp", I
could buy it directly from one of the shops that would be offering it there, and if I
would buy a glass mirror in such a way, then it would definitely be way cheaper than
having it imported from such a far-away place, because I am pretty sure that the
payment just for that would have been enough to knock me and my wallet off my feet.
.
"That is some good thinking, Miss Roxanne, but unfortunately it is not that simple. You
see, Palmasque is located so far away from the Empire that it is actually impossible to
go there directly from within the Empire's borders, and that is exactly why the prices
of not only glass mirrors, but also everything that is being made there are so
expensive."
"I see. That certainly makes sense."
Roxanne nodded her head when Sherry pointed that fact out to her. And honestly, I
was expecting something along those lines as well. If Adventurers could go pretty
much anywhere without any kind of restrictions by using their "Field Walker" Skill,
then the price of any local specialties or imported goods would not be so high because
of the relative ease of obtaining them. Large objects aside, things such as hand mirrors
or even medium sized stand mirrors can be carried with you while using "Field
Walker" without any issues, so if you could continuously travel between Palmasque
and the Empire in order to buy their products at a cheaper price only to then sell it in
the Empire for a small fortune under the guise of having to "set the price so high in
order to cover the costs of the transport" than that would have been an almost cheatlevel way to making a quick profit and easy money.
But since Sherry said that Palmasque is located quite far away from the empire, it
probably means that the distance is so great that Adventurers cannot go there by using
their "Field Walker",then it probably means that not even my "Warp" would be enough
to get me there, and I do not even want to think about how much of my MP such a
journey would sap away, or would I even have enough of it to make such a journey,
because the last thing that I would have wanted for myself would be to end up thrown
into some God-forsaken shithole or in the middle of the ocean or whatever simply
because I had ran out of MP halfway across the process of warping.
"Master, would it really be impossible for you to go directly to Palmasque? You are so
amazing and can do so many amazing things that is should be easy for you, right?"
Roxanne, it makes me immensely happy to see that you are thinking of me as someone
amazing who can do pretty much everything, but I am nowhere near as amazing as
she thinks I am, because all of that can be attributed not to me personally, but to the
Bonus Skills in my possession that allowed me to have all of these OP Bonus Spells and
Bonus Weapon like Durandal. However, this particular situation that I am in right now
can be said to be the result of the lie that I made about hailing from a country in the
far east, way farther beyond Kassim, so by that logic, I should be able to warp directly
to Kassim because I must have been there as a part of my journey from my "homeland"
to the empire, so if I would now go and said that I actually cannot do that, that is
definitely going to make me look sus as hell in Roxanne and Sherry's eyes... man, I
know that I have just said that, but I really need to stop making such random shit up.
If I did not tell Roxanne that I hail from a country in the far east (which ironically is
not a lie, aside from the fact that this country in the far east is in another world), I
would not have ended up in such a sticky mess of my own making.
"I-I guess? I never really tried it before, so I have no idea if it is going to work or not."
"Miss Roxanne, I know that master is definitely an amazing person, but there is just
no way for him to be able to cover such a great distance like the one from the Empire
to Palmasque is a single use of "Field Walker", and frankly, while that would definitely
be convenient for us, it is not entirely necessary, because we can always cover that
distance in a few smaller trips."
Sherry advises to cover the distance in parts. Yes, it is exactly like she says. There is no
need for us to go to Palmasque in one go, doing it with a few stops in between is a
perfectly viable strategy. And also, even though I told Roxanne that I came to the
Empire from way beyond Kassim, I sure as hell am happy that I did not specify exactly
how did I managed to do that, because now I will not have to make any additional
excuses that might as well turn into landmines that I could have stepped on and
spectacularly blow myself up. Right now, in order to back Sherry's words up I can say
that I did not come to the Empire is a single day, but had to make a lengthy journey,
and if it just so happens that this Kassim land is connected to the rest of the empire by
land, then it might be possible to reach it while travelling on foot, in which case it
would not even matter if it took me days, weeks, months or even years to do so.
"Well, if anything, I guess that this is an option that is certainly worth giving it a try."
I then asked Sherry to tell me what are the cities located located between the Imperial
City and Palmasque that we would have to travel through in order to get there.
"The nearest city located a little farther away to the east from the Imperial City is a
city called Dohona. Do you know about it, master?"
"No, I do not."
"After Dohona there is Dobur, then the next one after Dobur is Saboja, after which is
Aiena, and then..."
Sherry continued to list a number of town and cities one after another in rapid
succession. Of course, I had completely no idea what any of these cities were and
where exactly were they located, because I have never been outside of the Empire ever
since I got transported here to this world.
But then again, it will definitely sound strange for someone who supposedly came
from beyond Kassim, to not know any of these towns, and if Sherry or Roxanne catch
wind of that contradiction, then my reputation with them and their trust in me is
definitely going to be placed in jeopardy, and that would be all sorts of bad for me,
which is why I need to come up with some kind of excuse as to why I do not know any
of those cities, but what is going to sound conveniently enough without immediately
ratting me out?
Hmm... well then, since I will probably not come up with anything more believable
on such a short notice, then I will just have to say that I came here from Kassim directly,
without stopping at any of these other towns.
"Unfortunately, I do not know any of these cities, so..."
"Oh, is that so? Well, it was to be expected. After all, the route to Palmasque that I have
listed is not the only one, so it would not be at all surprising if you have arrived in the
Empire while taking a different route."
Yeah, that is right, another route! Of course I have taken another route to get from
beyond Kassim to the Empire! Uh-huh, totally, I am not making any of this up!
Now that I think about it, it is exactly as Sherry says: there is no place in the world that
has only a singular route leading up to it, so there are bound to be other routes by
which you can go from Kassim and Beyond to the Empire, and all that I have to say to
diverge all suspicions at not knowing any major cities that are in between these two
from myself is saying that I took one of those alternative routes to get here!
"That's right. I took me quite a long while as a result, but that is exactly what I did."
"All right. So, when it comes to travelling to Palmasque, I would generally not
recommend going straight to Palmasque's Adventurers Guild. It would be much better
for us if we went there by first going through the Adventurers Guilds of all the cities
that I listed."
"Okay, since this is what Sherry is recommending, then I have no reason to go against
your recommendation if you think that this is what is going to be the best course of
action for us. Is that not right, Roxanne?"
.
"Yes master, absolutely."
And just like that, it has been decided that we are going to go to Palmasque not by
making one big trip with my "Warp", but by doing a number of smaller ones instead,
and honestly, such a plan of action is really to my liking, because while it might not
eliminate the possibility of me running out of MP in the middle of warping, at the very
least we'll get further.
After we finished eating our yaki macaroni breakfast, I had Sherry create another set
of Misangas as part of her Master Smith training.
The number of Misangas that she can make in one sitting is also progressively
increasing, to the point where now she can make a few of them without running low
on MP. And as for the results of today's training:
Misanga, Accessory
Skill: Empty
Together with the one that she has created just now, we now have a total of three
Misangas with an Empty Skill Slot. I wonder if this is going to be enough for Shery's
Misanga-making training for the time being? In any case, with that third Misanga with
Empty Skill Slot, we can now make three Sacrificial Misangas, one for each of us. When
that happens, we are going to have a safety measure that is going to save us from death
one time, but if it does happen and the used Misanga breaks as a result, then we would
have to go and create yet another one to compensate for the one that has been lost,
and in order to do that we would have to get our hands on another Green Caterpillar
Skill Crystal, which might take us some time, but if it means that our safety while
exploring the Labyrinths would be secured, then I think it is going to be well worth it.
"Tell me, Sherry: when a Master Smith gets proficient enough in creating Misangas,
what is the next piece if equipment that they are supposed to be creating after that?"
"Once a Master Smith has trained themselves in creating Misangas, the next step of
their training is leaning how to create a Dagger, after which they proceed with it in the
exact same manner as with the Misanga creation training."
"A Dagger? I see. So instead of making another accessory, this time it is going to be a
weapon."
So, the next thing that Sherry will be training to create is going to be a Dagger, huh? It
is certainly nice that she is going to be moving on to creating weapons, but at the same
time a part of me cannot help it but to feel just a little bit disappointed that the thing
she will be creating is not going to be a sword. And I was soo looking forward to her
making me one! I know that this cannot be helped, but in my private opinion, a Master
Smith, or perhaps it would be better to say blacksmith, cannot call themselves a true
blacksmith if they do not start making swords, and the same logic of mine applies to
the process of creating Misangas. While she was making all of them, Sherry was more
like a handicraft maker that a genuine Master Smith. But hey, since she is going to be
moving on from Misangas to Daggers, then that has to mean that she is going to be
moving on to eventually start creating swords, right?
However, here I am thinking of what Sherry is going to be making in the future, but I
did not even ask her is she is feeling comfortable enough with the Misangas that she
created to move on to making Daggers.
"So Sherry, are you ready to graduate from making Misangas and move on to creating
Daggers?"
"Uhm... I am not so sure about that. Normally, Misanga-making training requires a
minimum of six months to up to a year of continuous morning-evening practice, but
depending on the individual and their talent and the level of their skills, this process
can be extended up to two years."
"Yeah, I hear you louds and clear… But did you not say that such procedures only apply
to those Master Smiths who are unable to create more than one Misanga in the
morning and more than one Misanga in the evening during the period of their regular
training?"
"Y-Yes, that is right. I believe that is what I told master about it when we were last
talking about the matters related to the smithing training."
"But right now, you can make more than one Misanga in the morning and more than
one Misanga in the evening, so does that not mean that you should finally be able to
move on to creating the next pieces of equipment on your Master Smithing agenda?"
"Y-Yes, I guess I should do that."
Looks like Sherry is still not ready to completely let go of her worries and of the stigma
that being unable to become a Master Smith along with all the other kids from her
village has left upon her, as well as that whole matter of sticking to the Dwarven
training regimen. That, and she probably still thinks that her Level as a Master Smith
is locked at Lv.1, and that mental block is causing her to think that it might still be too
early for her to start Creating Daggers. I know that I may not be the best person to be
saying this, but she has to let go of that way of thinking and finally fully embrace her
talents.
And that is where I need to step in, all clad in white. As her master, I know better than
anyone else that her Level as a Master Smith has grown exponentially ever since she
first obtained it and it keeps getting higher and higher with every passing day, so at
the current point in time, she should be able to easily create not only a Dagger, but
probably every piece of equipment that she would want. So the thing that I say to her
now is…
"It is alright, Sherry. I know you can do it. And even if you cannot, that is not going to
be any reason to beat yourself up over it, you hear me? If at first you do not succeed,
then all you have to do is to keep on trying until you eventually do."
"I know, master. I realize that all to well. However, when moving onto creating Daggers
from creating Misangas, the stakes are getting much higher than they were before.
With Misangas, you do not really need to be worrying about wasting resources,
because even in the case of failure, the only thing that you would be losing are two
pieces of cheap strings. However, one of the materials needed in the process of
creating a Dagger is Needlewood's branch, but if the process of fusion ends up being
a failure, then the branches used in the process will be lost as well, same as with any
other fusion materials."
I see. So her current set of worries is about the costs of her potential failure. Personally,
I think that as long as the lost item is only going to be a branch, which is a pretty
common drop from the Needlewoods that they tend to be leaving behind them when
they die all the time, so even if some of their branches were to be indeed lost in the
unlikely event of Sherry failing a fusion, the losses on our side would have been
minimal, since Needlewoods' branches are actually so cheap that you have sell them
in really large batches to the Adventurer's Guild if you even want to think about
making a profit out of it, so I would not even mind to sacrifice some of them for the
purpose of "Item Fusion", just as long as it would mean that Sherry would continue to
grow as a Master Smith.
"Is there anything else that is going to happen when the fusion ends up failing, or is
that that the only thing?"
"No, there's nothing else. The repercussion of losing all of the materials that have been
involved in the fusion process is the only penalty."
"Okay. So that means that if the Dagger fusion fails, we are only going to lose materials
like branches and the like that we might as well replenish easily by killing more
monsters that give us those materials, right? In that case, I see no problems with it,
even if you fail. Whatever ends up happening, I am sure that it will be fine."
"I -Is that so? I, I understand."
"Yes, that is the spirit. So, what exactly are you going to need in order to fuse a Dagger?"
.
"In order to make a Dagger, I am going to need two Kobold Knives that drop from
Kobolds when they are killed, one branch and one piece of hide."
That many items just so that she could fuse a simple Dagger out of them? Seems a little
bit too complicated if you ask me. I wonder if we are going to be all right? No, I cannot
think like that right from the get-go. I need to be positive and adopt the mindset that
everything is definitely going to be all right. Yeah, it will be fine. Everything is going to
be okay, just like it was with all the other fusions that Sherry performed up until this
point. That being said, there is just one thing that keeps on bugging me, and that thing
is...
"Compared to Misanga that required only two pieces of string to make, this seems like
a sudden difficulty spike, do you not think so?"
"It might look like that to those who are not Master Smiths, but I assure you that Item
Fusions using multiple materials are not as difficult as they might seem. In fact, Dagger
is the easiest item that requires multiple materials in order to be fused, and the better
and more powerful the weapon, armor or an accessory that you want to make, the
more materials they are going to require. I heard that in order to create the items of
the highest possible quality, you are going to need over a dozen materials, and not all
of them are things that can be easily obtained."
Well, that is certainly good to hear. So what Sherry is trying to say is essentially: be
glad that a Dagger needs only three different materials that can all be obtained from
the monsters that can be found in the lower levels of the Labyrinths.
"I see. Two Kobold Knives, a branch and a piece of hide, right?"
I repeated the list of required materials out loud in order to be sure that I am not going
to forget it in an instant.
To me, Kobold Knife always seemed to be a finished, perfectly functional weapon that
could be used on its own, but it can actually be used as a base material for the fusion
of Daggers, huh? In that case, maybe fusion in this world actually works kinda like
evolving the base weapon one step further? And if so, then would I be able to tell which
weapons can be evolved in such a way? No, ordinary people would probably be unable
to do something like that, since this is something related to the process of "Item
Fusion", which is reserved strictly for Master Smiths. Also, Kobold Knives are made of
metal that is being used in the production of copper coins in this world when they get
melted down, so that is probably why the branches are also needed in the fusion
process: to simulate the act of setting the fire that is going to melt the Kobold Knives
into metal with branches. If you asked me, that is a kind of roundabout way of going
about it, but hey, I am not a Master Smith, so I do not understand all of the nuances
that come along with fusing items.
Anyway, that is probably why branches are needed, but what about that one piece of
hide that is also necessary?
"I think I understand why we need Kobold Knives and branches, but what is hide going
to be used for?"
"Hide is going to be a material that is going to be used in order to make a sheathe for
the finished Dagger."
"Oh, really? Well, talk about being convenient!"
When an equipment is made, its sheath is made together with it, which is actually a
pretty good detail that the developers of this game paid attention to, because it would
definitely be bothersome if you were forced to first make the weapon that you wanted
only to then have to make its sheathe separately, so the decision to include the
materials for a scabbard in the list of materials needed to make the weapon itself is
like killing two birds with one stone.
It was a decision that might have been easily overlooked due to how minor of an
influence it has on the game as a whole, but I am definitely glad that someone actually
went through all the trouble of implementing into the "Item Fusion" system after all.
For the afternoon bit of our exploration, we went to the third floor of Vale's Labyrinth
in order to fight against some Kobolds so that we could get our hands on some Kobold
Knives, which are going to be needed for fusing Daggers out of them.
However, while we were easily stomping and cutting and burning through the Kobolds
that were now so far beneath our level of ability that we could probably fight against
them with our eyes closed, we have encountered a very particular problem: so far,
none of the monsters that we have defeated dropped a single Kobold Knife, which was
annoying the first few times, but after a while of situation not improving at all, it was
beginning to get straight up frustrating. I mean come on, Kobolds are supposed to be
the weakest of the monsters that can be encountered in the Labyrinths that also drop
their items left and right when they are killed, so how come that we have not seen
even a single Kobold Knife drop out of them?!
Forget Kobold Knives, none of them even dropped a single piece of Kobold Salt, which
is supposed to be the most common of common Drop Items from the Labyrinthinhabiting monsters. What is wrong with this drop rate RNG bullshit today?!
Right now, I have hunted about ten Kobolds, and eight of them did not drop anything,
which was beginning to make me feel severely annoyed, but then the last two of them
finally dropped something! A whole two Kobold Knives! Finally! It was about time for
me to get some of them, or else I would have been royally pissed off! But since the
drop rate of these Kobold Knives has been so pathetic this time around, then maybe I
should consider finding myself an alternative source of obtaining these items, like…
like maybe buying them from the Adventurer's Guild?
No, an ordinary Dagger is not such an essential item that I would want to have it on
me no matter what. I only want Sherry to make it because this is the next item on the
list of the Master Smith's training regimen, so maybe a better thing to do would be to
have Sherry make the Dagger once just to see what the result is going to be, and then
move on to another item on the list assuming that there even is some kind of list and
this is not just a figurative one that has been passed down orally from generation to
generation based on somebody's fancy.
I have no idea what level you need to have as a Master Smith in order to create a
Dagger, but I am quite sure that Sherry should be more than capable of doing that right
now, considering that she increased her Master Smith Level considerably ever since
she started fusing all those items every morning and every evening. Also, while we are
on the subject of shit-talking Dwarves and the rules for Master Smith's that they have
created,
I have no idea why senior Master Smiths have set such a strange and seemingly
random order of items that the Master Smiths in training have to create, and figuring
it out just by guessing seems to be a fool's errand, so all that I have left are pure
speculations. Maybe it has something to do with the amount of MP that the freshlymade Master Smith's possess, or perhaps it is a training program optimized to allow
them to gain as much EXP as Master Smiths as possible?
If I were to choose, then I would definitely choose the former option because it sound
more rational and logical. After all, making a Misanga costs less MP than the creation
of a Dagger, which I bet cannot be created with the amount of MP that Master Smiths
possess at Lv.1, and it definitely costs less than the creation of a sword with a Skill
fused into it, which we have witnessed firsthand when Sherry created a Copper Sword
of Obstruction for me. Of course, there is a possibility that gaining EXP points
amassing fusion experience also have some part to play here.
.
Because for all that I know there might be a rule that states that you will not be able
to create the next item on the list unless you create many Daggers first. Maybe that is
why some of the Dwarves who become Master Smiths have to make Misangas for
almost two years instead of a year?
Well, whatever the reason is, we need to follow it and make sure that we are going to
do so as best as we can.
"Okay, I think we can start now."
"Yes! I promise to do everything in my power to meet master's expectations!"
Before dinner, I handed the two Kobold Knives, a branch and a piece of hide to Sherry,
telling her that she can start the fusion whenever she would be ready. Without further
ado, Sherry activated the "Item Fusion" Skill and immediately after her hands started
glowing with a bright light, and with each passing second the light grew brighter and
brighter, until it became almost blinding, in a way that I almost could not see the
surroundings around me or discern if Sherry was standing still or doing something
else, but I think that I could barely see that she was picking up the materials from the
table where they were placed one after the other.
I do not know why it is taking so long this time, but one thing was abundantly clear to
me: the difficulty of creating a Dagger is definitely way bigger than the difficulty of
creating a Misanga. But then the light has finally subsided after the long moment, and
what was revealed to my eyes was the following thing:
Dagger, one-handed weapon
Skill: None
The fusion of a Dagger was done, and no materials were left. There was only the newlycreated dagger, complete with its leather sheathe.
"Ohhhh, well would you look at that, Sherry. Another successful fusion!"
"Yes! I did it! I did it, master!"
Sherry seemed to be overjoyed at the fact that she was able to successfully create a
Dagger, and it did not look like there was anything wrong with her either. But since we
can never be too careful with that, I might as well ask her about it to confirm her
condition.
"Are you feeling okay, Sherry? You did not run out of MP just now, did you?"
"No, master, I feel completely fine. Actually, I feel like I could easily create one more
Dagger if I wanted to."
"It is okay Sherry, there is no need for you to overdo it, especially since the fusion of
that Dagger must have been more taxing than the creation of a Misanga if even
someone like me who knows next to nothing about fusing items could have noticed
that it was taking longer than usual."
"That is right. It definitely took more time than to create a Misanga, however even
though I was told that making a Dagger requires a lot more effort than making
something as simple as a Misanga and that the first time when I will manage to create
one is going to feel especially tiring for me, I do not feel tired at all. In fact, it is exactly
like I said just now: I think I could definitely make more Daggers, and it still would not
be enough to make me feel spent and have difficulties standing from the supposed
exhaustion, which I am not feeling at all right now. This makes me think that maybe
everything that I knew up until now was a complete lie."
"A lie? How so?"
That line that left Sherry's mouth just now was an incredibly curious one, so I inquired
about it further.
"I was always being told that the creation of a Dagger is going to be more tiring to me
then the creation of a Misanga, and that in order to even think about creating a Dagger
in the first place I would have to create Misangas in the mornings and in the evenings
for a very long time, but now I can see that this is completely not true, because I do
not feel tired at all, and I did not have to spent an excruciatingly long amount of time
creating Misangas in order become ready to create a Dagger. Right now, all of this is
leading me to believe that the ones who were teaching me about the ways to become
a Master Smith and what I would be doing once I finally become one have lied to me,
and I cannot comprehend why would they ever do that to me when I never said or did
anything at all for them to give them a reason for giving me false information, so why
did they do something like that to me when I clearly did not deserve it?"
Sherry's distrust towards the people who taught her about the way of the Master
Smith seems to be increasing at an alarming rate. I only hope that this distrust of hers
is not going to be turned into something genuinely dangerous, because at this point in
time she looks like she would be ready to throw any and all caution to the winds if it
meant the ability to have an opportunity to meet those who were teaching her about
Master Smithing and give them a piece of her brutally honest mind. But I am the only
person who knows that all of these accusations of hers are completely baseless and
untrue.
The ease of her ability to create the Dagger even though she was convinced that
without training she will not be able to do it comes from a combined number of
external factors, like her MP being much higher than that of other Master Smiths of
the same age as her because her Level as a Master Smith has already exceeded theirs
due to all the farming in the Labyrinths that we did and my EXP accelerating Bonus
Skills, as well as the shared effects of my Hero Job, so it is no surprise that she is feeling
different from all the other Master Smiths that she knew thus far in her life.
"I think it may vary from person to person, so in my opinion those scholars of yours
who were telling you all these facts about Master Smiths were not wrong per se,
because they were simply stating the general facts, not the ones suited for each
individual, but that is just my personal opinion on the matter. If it is easier for you to
digest in such a way, then just think about it as a testament to how extraordinarily
amazing Master Smith you really are, Sherry."
"Thank you very much, master. It might be just as you say. But whatever the case may
be, it does not change the fact that I succeeded in creating a Dagger, which are said to
be difficult to make, which in turn makes mass production of them quite problematic,
but exactly because of that the prices when you want to sell them should be quite high.
And judging from what I heard when the other Master Smiths were making Daggers,
the process of their creation is really supposed to be quite tiring, so if a number of
Master Smiths were saying exactly the same thing, than I think it has to be true, but
then it makes it all the stranger that I do not feel tired at all. That is quite a mystery
indeed."
"The selling price of Daggers is quite high you say? Then if at all possible, could you
try making more of them from now on so that we could try to sell them for a profit?"
I change the subject into something much safer in order to distract Sherry from
thinking about it too much. She is an intellectual type of person after all, so I do not
want her to overthink certain things that might compromise me and my abilities if she
ever decided to keep investigating the issues that are on her mind right now. The less
time she has to dwell on these matters, the better.
"Yes. I will do my best in trying to make them if that is what master wishes of me."
"Great, I will be counting on you with this matter then. So, what comes next on the
Master Smith's to-do list after a Dagger?"
"Next in order should be the equipment made out of hide, or to be more precise,
leather."
"The equipment made out of leather? So, armor and accessories then and other things
like that?"
"Yes. Leather Mittens, Leather Helmets, Leather Boots and any equipment that
requires at least one piece of animal hide in order to make it."
.
I see. So does that mean that the difficulty level is not going to increase if these items
require only one piece of leather in order to make them?
"Well, we should have plenty of leather and animal hides on us, so would you like to
give creating one of those a try?"
"Yes, definitely! Since neither of the leather items requires a branch in order to make
them, then it should be fine for me to fuse them, because even if the fusion ends up
failing, it will not be any kind of loss at all!"
Sherry answered me with a really energetic voice, most likely because she was fired
up to have a stab at something that would have no cost of eventual failure at all.
The next morning, I decided to go to Vale's Adventurers' Guild while Roxanne was doing
the laundry, and Sherry was preparing breakfast. My target? To make preparations for
our eventual journey to Palmasque.
Quratar, the city in which we are renting our current home, is the farthest city located
away from Palmasque, since it is to the west of the Imperial City, and Imperial City is
located to the west of Vale, so it is going to be perfectly rational for us to start our
journey from Vale, the farthest city to the east that I have currently been to. And since
Vale is more to the east than Quratar and Imperial City, it was well into the morning
hours here.
Before I left, I had Sherry write me a list with the names of all the towns and cities that
are a part of the route from Imperial City to Palmasque, and now, with that list firmly
I my hand, I was comparing it with the myriad of papers that have been posted on the
wall of the Adventurers' Guild.
There are many Adventurers who are stationed here for the sole purpose of making
money from teleporting people to other locations, and just like that one time when I
was taken to the Imperial City for the first time, the charge for such a service is two
silver coins per person. That is why I have decided to come here alone without
Roxanne and Sherry, even though unlike me, they are the ones who can read the letters
of this world's written language much more fluently. If I make this trip alone, it is only
going to cost me two silver coins, and if I took the two of them along with me, the price
would be bumped to six silver coins, so if there is a chance for me to save those coins,
no matter how miniscule the amount would be, then you can bet your ass that I am
going to take that chance!
Aside from going to a desired location myself, the alternative is to post a commission
with the name of the place to which you want to be teleported to, but the price for
such a specific request would be much higher than the one you would have to pay
while talking to the teleporting people in the Guild directly, not to mention that if I
ended up posting a commission that I want to go to Palmasque, which is located pretty
far from Vale, I might have ended up attracting all sorts of unnecessary attention to
myself, and I think we all know how much I would hate that to happen, right?
I have no reason to be hasty with this, so I might as well take a slower, but much safer
way of going about it.
When I was searching through the ads on the Guild wall, I found an ad that had the
same letters as one of the cities that Sherry put on my list. Let me see now… I think it
is the ad mentioning Dohona, if I read this correctly. Yeah, I definitely remember it
from yesterday's conversation with Sherry, so this might be a good place to start.
"Is the person who is taking people to Dohona here?"
I asked a woman who was standing at the counter of Vale's Adventurers' Guild, and
she pointed me to the person that I was looking for, a female Adventurer standing near
one of the Guild's walls, and showed her the paper with the ad from which I read the
name of Dohona. She gave me a short nod, and after I paid the price of two silver coins
to her, she activated her "Field Walker" on the wall behind her and took me through it
to Dohona's Adventurers' Guild.
Now, this is my first time being in Dohona's Adventurers' Guild so I was initially pretty
confused as to where I should go, but upon locating the large wooden board that
looked almost exactly the same as the one in Vale's Adventurers' Guild, I determined
that the best course of action would be to walk up to it and look for another poster
with letters similar to the ones on Sherry's list of cities. Of course, there was always a
possibility that this is not really Dohona's Adventurers' Guild but some other, strange
place, but I quickly threw that thought out of my head, because I thought to myself
that there is absolutely no way that people who would try to kidnap others by
teleporting them to some strange places would be sitting in the Adventurers' Guild,
right?
In any case, according to Sherry's list, the next name that I should be looking for is for
the city of Doburo, but no matter how hard I looked for it I just could not find it
anywhere.
And there is no other poster that matches with the cities mentioned on Sherry's memo
either!
"Excuse me. I want to go to Doburo, but there seems to be no ad for such a journey
being possible from here."
I asked the middle aged man who was standing behind the counter for information.
"I am afraid you will not be able to go to Doburo from here because it is too far from
here."
"Too far away?"
"To be more precise, It is too far away for the cost of two silver coins. I have been to
Doburo before, so I can take if you want, but I would have to charge you eight silver
coins for such a trip."
So apparently, the posters on the wall mention only those towns and cities that are not
too far away from the city in which the Adventurers' Guild is located. Also, I wonder if
that price can be negotiated, because eight silver coins for one teleportation is like
four times the price of a regular teleportation!
"Eight silver coins, huh? And where could you take me for the price of two silver
coins?"
"Not to Doburo, that is for sure. For that price, the closest city I could take you to is
Shuboir. But even if you go there, I cannot guarantee that you will be able to go to
Doburo from there."
That seems reasonable… Is what I would say if I did not know that I was being taken
advantage of! Is this way of business, which borders heavily on extortion, considered
normal in this world?
"Then can you take me to Doburo from Shuboir for four silver coins?"
I guess it is time to haggle then.
"Let me see… how about six silver coins?"
You cannot go directly to a place that is too far off, because the MP consumption is
your main constraint here. I do not know what happens if you run out of MP in the
middle of teleportation, but once you run out of, then your only choice is to wait for it
to recover or use MP Recovery Pill. Is that why this guy wants to charge me extra for
such a trip?
"I will take you there for five silver coins then. I cannot go any lower than that."
As time went on, the guy was steadily reducing the price.
There is a possibility that I will not be able to go Doburo from Shuboir. Do I have no
other choice but to spend those five silver coins then? Maybe, but that being said, does
this guy even know if it is possible to go from Shuboir to Doburo or not? If he knows
that and agreed to reduce the price, then I guess that means that such a trip is
definitely possible, because if it was outright impossible, then I am sure that he would
have outright told me so.
He also might not know if that is possible or not but cut the price to six silver coins in
order to lure not only me, but also other customers into a clever trap where he would
still have to get paid that six silver coins, because you have to pay upfront for the
teleportation services.
.
And that is why him agreeing to lower the price to five silver coins might be his
attempt at bluffing because it might not be possible to go there after all. No matter if
it is Adventurer's "Field Walker" or my "Warp", their limitation always stays the same:
a limitation that states that you can only use those Skills in order to travel to the places
that you have been to before, and there is a possibility that I might have to visit Shuboir
in the future or that I will have some kind of business to take care of there, so with that
in mind, going there now might not be such a bad idea after all. Even if it will be
impossible to go to Doburo from Shuboir directly, at the very least I will gain myself
two new points to which I would be able to fast travel with my "Warp" to: Shuboir and
yet another city or town. Thinking about it like that, the price he asks for taking me
there can actually be considered to be a cheap one.
Ahh, screw it!
"Alright, two silver coins for a trip to Shuboir!"
"Pleasure doing business with you."
The old man then laughed bitterly. He was probably doing that to defuse the somewhat
tense atmosphere, but it would be another matter entirely if a handsome young man
laughed like that. When it is done by a middle-aged old fart like him, it just looks plain
weird and creepy.
I handed the two silver coins over to him and he took me to Shuboir. And while I was
there, I went to the notice board right away to see if it had Doburo on the list of
proposed teleportation locations, and sure enough, it was there! In that case, the trip
from Shuboir to Doburo should definitely be possible! So you can actually go from
Dohona to Doburo for four silver coins total! Then again, maybe five silver coins is
actually a market price for such a trip because such a long trip takes time? And besides,
like I already said, I do not regret coming here to Shuboir, because I might be doing
business here in the future, so having a warp point so that I could come here by myself
without any middleman in between is definitely a good thing.
In any case, eight silver coins for such a trip is definitely too much, and that old man
definitely wanted to scam me, so it is a good thing that I did not agree to his
proposition!
Next, I went to Doburo from Shuboirs' Adventurer's Guild, and then returned home to
Quratar from Doburo's Adventurers' Guild.
I wasted too much time on these useless negotiations, and as a result I definitely made
Roxanne and Sherry wait for me with breakfast. So, what I learned from this trip of
mine is that you cannot go from Dohona to Doburo for two silver coins per person, but
I also learned that it is possible for me to go from Doburo back to Quratar in one go,
which was definitely a useful information that will allow me to save time on any future
trips that I will be making there.
When I arrived back home from Doburo, I noticed that my MP had decreased quite a
bit though, which means that just like with "Field Walker", "Warp's" MP consumption
also seems to be dependent on the distance that you have travelled with it. The reason
why this distance did not affect me as much as it affects other Adventurers is because
I have multiple Jobs on me, including a Mage, so I have a lot more MP than other
Adventurers as a result. Unfortunately, I cannot verify whether "Field Walker" is more
efficient than "Warp" in terms of MP consumption, because I do not have "Field
Walker" because I am not an Adventurer. When you are stationed at an Adventurers'
Guild, you will often get customers in quick succession, which means that you will not
be able to afford to have any spare time to recover MP, so you will definitely need to
consume Mana Recovery Pill, which is not free, which is why I think that it might
actually be a directive given to the Guild workers and Adventurers who offer the
teleportation trips to people by the higher ups that they are not supposed to offer trips
over distances that are going to be too long because of the natural constraint that is
the total MP pool of someone who only has one Job available to them, and that might
be the reason why the distance that you can cover with two silver coins is so short.
The next morning, I decided to continue my experiment with travelling across various
distances with my "Warp", so I travelled even further than yesterday and then I
checked if it will be possible for me to return to Quratar without having to do any
forced stops in between. As it turned out, it was definitely possible, but when I opened
my Character Status screen to see exactly how much MP I had spent for this trip, I
noticed that the amount that got deduced from my total MP pool was even greater
than what I have spent yesterday for a trip from Doburo to Quratar, which was pretty
concerning, because I do not even know if I was able to cover half of the total distance
that I will have to travel.
Is going directly to Palmasque really not going to be possible? If what I am seeing on
my screen is true, and there is no reason for me to doubt what I am seeing right now,
which is admittedly concerning, but until I manage to either confirm or deny that, I do
not think that I need to get seriously worried just yet.
When I returned back home, I asked Sherry to create a pair of Leather Boots using a
piece of hide that I have given her.
Combining the Leather Boots with the items that she created during the yesterday's
bit of her training, she has now successfully created Leather Boots, Leather Mittens
and Leather Helmet, which was definitely great for me and my entire Party, but
unfortunately, this situation did have a downside to it. I feel that with each successful
fusion, Sherry's trust in the words of the Dwarven Scholars who taught her that the
process of creating items as a Master Smith is a long and difficult one continued to
decrease even further, but honestly, I do not know if this is only my impression or a
factual state of things anymore.
"All right Sherry, after creating all of the Leather items, what is the next item that
Master Smiths in training are supposed to create?"
"A Club or a Hammer."
"A Club or a Hammer, huh? Okay."
So now her goal is going to be the creation of the weapons from the same category as
the one that she is using whenever we are exploring the Labyrinths. Who would have
thought that she is going to be so proficient at being a Master Smith that she will
progress to making actual weapons in such a short time? Maybe it was because of her
drive and dedication to prove all those who mocked her for not being able to become
a Master Smith together with the rest of her peers wrong, but it feels like Sherry has
caught up to them now, or quite possibly even gone beyond them.
All right, so she will be making Clubs or Hammers now. I wonder if Master Smiths need
some kind of separate Skill in order to create weapons? And while we are at it, I also
wonder what are the materials required in order to make the fusion are going to be,
because I cannot even imagine creating a massive Club out of a tiny, weak-ass
Needlewood Branch.
"What are we going to need in order for you to make a Club?"
"In order to make a Club, we are going to need a Board, a Drop Item that is left behind
by a Rub Shrub."
A Board, huh? And... a Rub Shrub? Never heard that name before.
"A Board?"
"Yes, a Board."
"And where exactly can we find the enemy that can drop it? This… Rub Shrub, you
called it?"
"We can find Rub Shrubs on the higher floors of the Labyrinths."
I see. In other words, this is a kind of a trap set for Master Smiths, or rather, a natural
risk that comes with being a Master Smith. If a Master Smith is to make better
equipment, they need to go to higher floors of the Labyrinths where the stronger
monsters dwell, and get their Drop Items. That is quite cleverly thought out, actually.
.
Good equipment should use good materials indeed. There is only so much you can do
with cheap materials from the lower floors, and good materials are dropped by
stronger monsters.
The items which monsters drop are originally parts of their own bodies. In other
words, if you want Orichalcum, which is a type of steel, you have to defeat a monster
that had this Orichalcum as part of its body (most likely armor), and such a monster
definitely cannot be weak.
If you do not hunt strong monsters, you will not get strong materials. It is perfectly
rational.
"Can we not just buy it?"
"Umm… generally speaking, you are supposed to make and sell Leather equipment
until you are able to hunt Rub Shrubs for their materials."
"Is that so?"
"If you buy materials, your profit will decrease, so unless you specifically request me
to make it, I will not be doing it. There are many items beside the Club that can be
made with just leather, so I can try making those instead. It will also serve to expand
the scope of my training."
Just like making a Dagger consumes more MP than making a Misanga, equipment
which are further up the order list are going to require more MP in order to make
them, even if they are made of just plain old leather.
If you make only the simple items, you will make much less money than if you made
more complicated, but more expensive things. Because people who can make
advanced items are fewer, they are entitled to making more money because of how
they are putting their practical skills to use but there is no need for us to overdo it,
since we are not that strapped for money.
"I understand. You keep making Leather Mittens, Helmets and Boots for the time
being."
"Understood. Also, now that we can hunt monsters on the ninth floors, we should try
the Labyrinth where Minos appear on the ninth floor."
Is there really such a convenient Labyrinth? But it is true that if we do that, then that
way, we can keep hunting monsters and get used to battling tougher opponents, and
Sherry will be able to collect materials at the same time, so it would be like killing two
birds with one stone.
"Hmm. I do not think we have to go out of our way too much with this one, because
Leather is a normal drop from Minos, so there will be no trouble with collecting it
anyway."
Not to mention that the monster on the ninth floor of Vale's labyrinth is Slow Rabbit,
the skin of which sells for twice as much as Mino's, so it would be better for us from
the financial standpoint.
Although I am reluctant about fighting Rapid Rabbit again, it does not mean we should
just run away from it. That, and it is definitely not good to fight only weak monsters,
because that would feel like bullying to me.
"Understood."
"Anyway, is there no labyrinth where the monster that drop Boards appear on the
ninth floor?"
"Uhm… the least floor where Rub Shrubs appear is the twelfth floor. Although the
order is different for each Labyrinth, monsters that appear from the first floor to
eleventh floor are the same for every Labyrinth. It is the same for floors twelve to
twenty two and so on."
So it is like that. It is my first time hearing this. Kobolds, Slow Rabbits, Minos… they
seem to be the monsters that appear from the first to eleventh floor in every labyrinth.
This has indeed been the case for Quratar's and Vale's Labyrinths. And Rub Shrub
seems to appear from twelfth floor to twenty second floor.
"Then would you like me to find a Labyrinth where Rub Shrub appears on the twelfth
floor? At this point, this is pretty much all that we can do."
For the time being, Sherry is only going to be able to make Leather equipment, but I
cannot have her make in large quantities, because if we tried to sell it then we would
end up breaking the market and its prices, so she should just stick to making it at her
own leisure.
We finished the afternoon round of exploration rather quickly.
It is the eleventh day of Sherry living with us in our house, and today should also be
the day when her maid clothing should have been finished.
"We finished quite early today. Are we going to take a bath?"
When we returned home, Roxanne asked me with her eyes filled with expectation.
She is really hoping for it, huh? But it is perfectly understandable, since she seems to
have taken a liking to baths.
Unfortunately for her, however, it is not time for bath now.
"No, it is not the time for bath. It is time to go to the Slave Merchant's place."
"Slave Merchant? Do you intend to increase the numbers of our Party again?"
The light of expectation quickly faded from Roxanne's eyes, and she looked at me
pretty coldly, but that last bit might be just my own imagination.
"Not this time, unfortunately. I do not have enough money to afford another slave, but
I do intend to get more Party members in the future. It is a natural course of action to
increase our battle strength, just like it was with the two of you."
"Yes. Of course.
"Understood."
It is better to inform them about it ahead of time, but I should still only tell them that
which is absolutely necessary. The purpose of increasing party members is to increase
battle strength, of course. There is no ulterior motives behind it. At all.
Well, maybe just a little bit.
"My objective is to increase our battle strength, but I will not buy someone who will
not be getting along with Roxanne and Sherry, you can be sure of that."
"Yes."
Having a male slave is out of question because of the risk he would pose to these two.
Not to mention that I could not have sex with him. Ideally, I would like someone young
again to improve our strength even more, but also someone who would motivate me
to give it my all the entire time. Morale is an important factor in determining battle
strength, after all. The most important one, even.
A young, beautiful woman would have been nice. But my motivation for getting such
a slave is slightly different from what I have been saying to Roxanne and Sherry all this
time.
The purpose of adding new party members is to increase battle strength. It is a natural
course of action to increase battle strength. We should follow it to enhance our battle
strength. It cannot be helped as long as it helps us increase our battle strength. Yes. It
is the rational thing to do.
"The reason for my visit this time is different. I have to go pick Sherry's clothes, as well
as her will. Are you sure you do not want yours to be changed still Roxanne?"
"Yes, I am sure."
Roxanne nods with confidence. Roxanne is supposed to die if I die. There seems to be
a system in this world where slaves are killed when their masters die so that they do
not try to do anything harmful to their masters. It can be changed by a will, but I when
I talked about that subject with Roxanne, she got really angry at me and said that she
does not want that. Well, if Roxanne says it is fine, then it is probably fine.
"Sherry, do you want your will to be changed? The way it is now, it states that in the
event of my death, you are going to be released from your duty as my slave."
"Eh? I can decide what to do with my will, even though I have come under your care
only recently? And whatever I end up choosing, you are going to be fine with it?"
"Yeah, exactly. Whatever you end up choosing, I promise you that I will have no qualms
about it and that I will not try to question your decision."
"Thank you very much, master."
There is always a possibility that I might suddenly die outside of a Labyrinth or battle,
from an illness, for example, and if such a thing happens, I see no reason or merits in
needlessly dragging the two of them into death together with me just because they
have become my slaves. If nothing else, I want the two of them to decide their own fate
with their own hands, and that includes allowing them to choose the moment of their
deaths.
.
To have Sherry released from her contract as my slave after my death is a perfectly
rational thing to do... no, even more than that. It is the morally correct thing to do.
And besides, the system of a slave's will is nothing but a preventive measure for the
masters who are afraid of their slaves trying to kill them the moment they let their
guards down around them, but the only people who need to be afraid of that are those
who abuse and mistreat their slaves and refuse to abide by the contract that they made
with the Slave Merchant that they bought the slaves from that states that as a master
of a slave, you are required to give them food, clothing, shelter and appropriate living
conditions.
It is also a precaution against the slaves committing murder on their master while in
the Labyrinths so that they could get away with the items that they obtained instead
of giving them back to their master, but in Sherry's case, I do not have to worry about
any of those things happening, because I have made sure to treat her right ever since
day one and she was also on her best behavior and did not do a single thing that might
have caused me to think that she might be plotting something against me, so I have
my full trust placed in her.
"That being said, master… are you really, truly certain that you can place your trust in
me in regards to the matter of a will? Are you not the least bit afraid that I might use
its arrangement against you?"
"Use it against me? And what exactly would you try to do? I know that we do not know
each other for that long, but I like to think that I possess a good general understanding
of what kind of person Sherry is, and according to my understanding you are not
someone who would try to stab me to death while I was sound asleep in my bed just
so that you could free yourself from the servitude faster. And do correct me if I am
wrong about this, but such a thing would not have been the most smart thing for a
slave to do, right?"
"Yes, you are absolutely correct with that assumption, master. Whenever a person that
owned slaves is found dead in his or her house, the slaves that they have owned are
the first people to be suspected of killing their master, and they are also the first to be
interrogated on that assumption. Therefore, masters who have agreed to alter the will
of the slave in such a way that the slave is to be set free in the event of their master's
death, the place better suited for any murder attempts are the Labyrinths, because
without any eyewitnesses to testify against the slave, it is entirely possible that they
might kill their master themselves and then tell that he or she was killed by monsters
that ambushed them in case if anyone ever conducted any investigation, and they
would have to take their word for it due to a lack of any kind of evidence that would
point otherwise."
"Wow, talk about scary. Should I be paying an extra amount of attention to my
surroundings when we will be going to the Labyrinths from now on?"
I said with a laugh, because I knew that the possibility of Sherry trying to kill me in
the Labyrinth was lower than zero. And besides, if she ever wanted to kill me there,
the only occasion she would have for it would be right when we are warping to inside
of them and emerge in their safe rooms, because all the other times she is together
with Roxanne in the vanguard, while I am staying behind in the safety of the rear guard
from which I support them both with my spell, so if there would be anyone out of the
three of us who would need to have their eyes all around their head, it would have to
be Roxanne and Sherry.
"No master, there is no need for you to be worried about that, because I would never
do something like that. How could I, when you are the master under whose guidance
I was finally able to become a Master Smith when I myself have lost all hope of that
ever coming to happen? I have a debt of gratitude that I will never be able to pay in
full with you, and if I ever chosen to pay you back by stabbing you in the back and
killing you, then that would make me the worst kind of scum possible, even worse
than Bandits and lawless criminals."
Sherry said that with a tinge of coldness in her voice, which indicated to me that she
was taking this matter extremely seriously. That being said though, if you were to
really think about it in a logical and rational manner, then it is pretty obvious that the
Labyrinths are the best kind of place for committing not only mastercide, but also
every last crime that involves murder with it, because in the Labyrinths, the potential
perpetrator is never going to have to worry themselves about the things such as
disposing of the evidence or hiding the body, because the Labyrinths are going to do
all of that for them. After all, it has already been stated a number of times, but
Labyrinths are living creatures.
They feed on the bodies of dead Adventurers, using them to keep on growing and
turning their equipment into treasure chests, so if a slave stated that his master was
killed by a monster in there, then I am willing to bet there would not even be an
investigation conducted to check if it was true or not.
Yeah, Labyrinths are definitely the best place for murder. However, while there, I Have
Roxanne with me, and she is unfalteringly loyal to me, so if Sherry were to ever try
something, she would not be able to act recklessly.
"I trust you, Sherry."
"And I will work hard to repay master's trust. If I may ask, what is in Miss Roxanne's
will? Will she also be released in case of your death?"
"No."
"In case of master's death, I will not be released."
Roxanne declares that herself, and it is better for her to talk about it than if I were to
do it. If I were the one to say it, it would seem like I am just forcing her to say it.
"You will not be released? Why?"
"To protect master is my only purpose. I will protect him no matter what happens,
even if I have to give my own life for him. That is why there is no need for me to be
released. If master dies, I would mean that I have failed in my duty, so it is only natural
to follow him in death. I would not want to live in a world without master in it."
I'm in awe after listening to her reason, but also grateful to her for telling us.
"Uhm…"
"That's what Roxanne feels, but you do not have to imitate her if you do not want to,
Sherry. I may also die to illness at some point, I am perfectly aware of that. And if that
happens, there is no point in you dying along with me because of that."
The atmosphere became somewhat uncomfortable, and I feel like a kamikaze soldier
who is about to crash his plane into the enemy's ship in order to sink it. It was
awkward to tell her about her release just like that, so I had no choice but to explain it
that way. Sherry does not have to follow me in death, but ultimately this choice will be
hers to make.
"Do you not have anyone to inherit your slaves?"
"No, I do not."
"Is that so? Then I would like you to have me released."
Oohh, amazing. She spoke her mind openly. As expected of Sherry. She is always so
rational.
Soon after that I went to the Slave Merchant's shop in Vale to pick up Sherry's maid
uniform. I was also introduced to a new slave while I was there. She is an eighteen
years old young woman from the Wolfkin race. She is quite cute, but her hair is a little
rough, and her skin complexion looked a little unhealthy, but there probably would
not be any problems with her after she was polished for a little bit.
If this were a school, I would compare her to a student that stands out the most in the
entire class. If I was still in Japan, she would be at a level where I would definitely take
notice of her.
However, right now things have changed. Now that I have Roxanne and Sherry, I am
not as interested in other slaves as I was used to be. You could say that I graduated and
calmed down, or maybe that I have gotten used to a higher level of life in relative
luxury?
Roxanne and Sherry are waiting for me when I return home, so I do not need to be
greedy or impatient. A full Party consists of six people, so I should choose every
member carefully. I can have more than five members in my harem, but that number
cannot be increasing infinitely, because I have to keep up the guise of adding more
members only to increase out battle strength.
"What do you think? She cannot speak Brahim yet, but I will be more than happy to
sell her to you after she gets educated enough here."
"I will pass this time, though she is not half bad, I will give you that."
"Of course."
Finishing the discussion, I turned down Alan's offer. I don't have enough money to buy
another slave now anyway, so there is no helping it, so I changed the topic quickly.
"Can I have a change in Sherry's will be made?"
"Of course. What kind of will?"
"For her to be released if I die."
"The change in the will costs 300 Nars, is that okay with you?"
I will make that adjustment for her. Since I only asked for one thing this time, the thirty
percent discount did not work, so I coughed up three silver coins.
"Yeah, please do it."
"Then, your left hand please."
"Sure."
It seems that the Intelligence Card is used to leave a will and make changes to it. The
Slave Merchant pulled out my Intelligence Card and did something to it. Checking it
after he was finished, the following changes have been made:
Kaga Michio
Age: 17 years old Sex: Male, Freeman
Job: Explorer
Owned Slaves: Roxanne, Sherry (release upon death).
The will seems to be displayed on the Intelligence Card itself, most likely to make it
difficult to scam your slaves by saying that you would release them upon your death
only for that to turn out to be a lie. Well, it should be fine just as long as I do not show
my Intelligence Card to anyone.
"I will give you this as well."
After he finished with my Intelligence Card, the Alan gave me something else. A
papyrus. A folded one with a wax seal at the center of it.
"What is this?"
"A letter of introduction to the Slave Merchant in the Imperial City. They currently do
not have any Master Smith slaves, but paying them a visit at least once might not be a
bad idea."
I do not need a Master Smith slave anymore, and there are no other slaves that I would
want right now, so I will go there only after I amass enough money.
I then returned home with the case filled with maid clothes and then passed it on to
Sherry while saying:
"These are the clothes for you, Sherry. Put them away in the closet for the time being."
"May I at least try them on before?"
"If you want, then go right ahead."
I nodded, and Sherry glanced at me before going to the corner of the room and began
to undress herself. What, you are going to be changing right here? Well, I guess our
relationship is at such a point where it is no longer needed for her to be embarrassed
about such things. After all, I already saw her naked quite a few times, so it is nothing
new to me. Well, to be blunt, I have not gotten a chance to watch that many people
change, so being able to look at it is nice in its own right, and Sherry's bashfulness
about it is a nice addition too... damn, I think I might get addicted to this!
"Uhm, can I wear my uniform as well?"
While I was enjoying the sight, Roxanne asked me that as well. When I approved it, she
promptly left the room.
"Master, while you were out, we received a message from Mr. Luke. He said he made a
successful bid on a Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal."
Sherry spoke to me while she changed her clothes.
"Ah, the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal, you say?"
"Yes, with that, I will be able to make a Sacrificial Misanga."
So the time has finally come? Well, I did say that I will be fine even if the price will be
a little high, so it is natural that he has obtained it so soon.
"That is all we need for a Sacrificial Misanga?"
"Yes, since a Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal cannot be fused with a weapon, or with a
Kobold Skill Crystal."
"So it can only be used to make Sacrificial Misangas, huh?"
"Yes. The winning bid was forty three hundred Nars. The previous time it went for
thirty nine hundred Nars, so the difference is not that big."
Sherry explains as she puts on the maid clothes.
She opens the buttons from the bottom. The buttons on the maid outfit go up the back.
"That is good. I would have to complain if the price was too high."
I moved around behind Sherry to help out with doing them.
"Thank you for the help, master. Anyway, that is pretty sly of him, raising the price like
that to the limit, but not enough to cause you to complain."
Well, unless Luke did that, it would not be profitable for him to sell that Skill Crystal
to me. But even so, Sherry's opinion on him and all the middleman is still unchanged,
huh?
Roxanne comes back with her maid uniform and placed it on the table before she
started undressing herself here as well. Why is she doing that here too?
Since there are no bras in this world, Roxanne's boobs got completely exposed the
moment she started undressing.
*Jiggle!*
They jiggle and bounce like a wave, probably because of the momentum. They are soft
and elastic, like a pair of white fruits. S-Such a powerful move! But unfortunately, now
they are covered again by her maid uniform.
"… Miss Roxanne is big after all."
"R-Roxanne, do you need help with the buttons as well?"
"Yes, and thank you, Master."
Roxanne turned her back to me. Maybe I should comment on Sherry as well?
"Sherry, you look good in it as well. Your small stature is really cute."
"Thank you, master."
Sherry is as beautiful like a doll in maid outfit, while the charm of Roxanne's maid
clothes is of a more sensual womanly variety, but I love them both!
The maid uniforms are truly the best, because they never fail to emphasize the
feminine charms of whoever is wearing them!
"Master."
After I did all of the buttons, Roxanne turned around.
"Yes, what is it?"
"What do you think about my clothes?"
"That you look lovely in them."
"Thank you very much. Ah, uhm…"
She then looked away a from me awkwardly.
"Can you carry me like this?"
I do not even need to respond. I lift Roxanne in my arms immediately. Her body is light,
and has a soft and warm feeling to it. And as for where I am going to carry her, well,
the answer to that should be pretty obvious.
"Wait here for a moment, Sherry. I will carry you as well."
Our destination is the bedroom.