Though he agreed with Elle's point about people manufacturing things to complain about, Cairn didn't want to dismiss Asim's concerns, asking, "Is there something you wanted to do?" with crossed arms.
"You said you were eager to test your skills," replied Asim. "If we contact the local Bishop, we should be able to assist in the investigation of one or more of the Dungeons."
"That's no good," said Elle. "Even if you 'could' get permission, it would upset those who have already been assigned the task of investigating. It would be one thing if you attached yourself to a larger group, but no one in their right mind would entrust a bunch of kids from outside the city with investigating and ensuring its livelihood."
"She's right," expressed Cairn, recalling how Captain Luciano and his men reacted to his and Kaia's 'meddling.' Even then, they needed the Bishop's Writ and the incident regarding the mismanagement of supplies to justify their entry into the city's least important Dungeon. The local Bishop might also lend them their Holy Writ, but then he'd have some explaining to do...
Shaking his head, Cairn added, "I understand your desire to help, but we lack the power and, in this situation, the status necessary to intervene. It would be one thing if you were a Bishop or we had a reputation as skilled Freelancers, but in the eyes of most, we're just children who have no idea what we're doing."
"I understand..." replied Asim, his head hanging and shoulders drooping slightly as he thought things would be different once he came of age and became an Acolyte. He was keen to prove himself capable, but after this, and the incident that transpired back in Salem, he was starting to think he might be a bit of a hot-head...
"Hey, don't let things like this get to you," said Elle, patting Asim's arm as there was no way she could reach his shoulder. "Few things are better at determining value than a Dwarf's eyes. You have great potential, so keep your head raised and your eyes forward. Once we become a B or A-Rank Freelancer, you'll have plenty of opportunities to help with things like this. Right now, you're putting the cart before the Cabra."
Regaining his smile, Asim became notably more optimistic as he replied, "I shall take your words to heart, Forgemaster Elle..."
"Just Elle is fine," replied the diminutive blonde, punctuating her words by smacking the much larger Lionel on his rear end, compelling him to stand completely upright...
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When Asim eventually departed, following a polite refusal to join him and the others for dinner, a suppressed sigh escaped Cairn's throat, allowing him to breathe a little easier. He had been worried that Elle would allude to his status as the Champion, but she managed to avoid saying or doing anything that would rouse too much suspicion.
"Are you always such a worrywart?" asked Elle, sporting a teasing smile as she observed Cairn with crossed arms and an amused glimmer in her eyes.
Shaking his head, Cairn asserted, "I just don't want my interpersonal relationships to be defined by my status as the Champion. I also want to avoid becoming too deeply intertwined with the Church, so I'd appreciate it if you kept my secret to yourself..."
"Sure," replied Elle. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she said, "Now, take off your clothes and hand over your sword. Seeing quality goods in such a piss-poor state makes me want to smack you with my hammer. Don't you know that your equipment is basically an extension of your life? You need to take better care of it."
With Elle approaching him rather aggressively, Cairn held up his left hand, saying, "You need to calm down. I don't mind letting you take a look at my equipment, so stop staring at me like I'm a piece of meat..."
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry it up," said Elle, plopping on the floor and pulling out what looked like a sewing kit from one of her many pockets. Her outfit appeared ordinary at a glance, but her bodysuit, in particular, was a piece of Level 60 Epic-ranked gear manufactured by someone named Veda. The materials were fairly ordinary, but the stats made even Cairn's Shadowsilk Set seem like trash...
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All-Purpose Boiler Suit Mk 47
Rank: Epic Onepiece
Weight: 1.35kgs
Durability: 19,740/20,000
Level: 60
P.Def: 150+270
M.Def: 230+414
Enchantment(s): [Resizing], [Thermal Regulation], [Shock Resistant]
Description: A mass-produced marvel designed and manufactured by Veda of the Thousand Hands. Presented to young Dwarves before they leave on their Journey of Self-Discovery.
Ingredients: [Mole Hide], [Olival], [Brown Thread]
Restriction(s): Dwarves only.
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"Where you looking?" asked Elle, meeting Cairn's gaze with a mischievous grin. She knew he was using Insight to inspect her bodysuit, but since his eyes had become unfocused while 'gazing' at her chest, she couldn't help teasing him a bit.
Furrowing his brows, Cairn retorted, "What's there to look at...?" before rolling his eyes and looking away. Then, as he had already equipped a set of casual clothes, he removed his neatly folded Shadowsilk Set from his Inventory, setting it on the bed instead of handing it directly to the impish Dwarf.
"Wow, you're super petty," remarked Elle, bouncing to her feet with little effort, her gaze fixed on the Shadowsilk Set. Cairn ignored her comment and went to check on the condition of the bathroom, but before he could do so, Elle called out to him, saying, "If you're going to take a bath, let me grab my tailor's tape. I'll need to take 'all' your measurements if I'm going to forge custom equipment for you. After that, you can wash my back and see for yourself what I have to exhibit."
"I'd rather not..." replied Cairn, his voice flat and his expression morphing into his usual deadpan.
"Eh, don't be so distant," said Elle, spinning a spool of white tape atop her finger as she added, "I just sold off my workshop and handed over half a million Graadis to become your personal Blacksmith. I'll also be forging your equipment free of charge, so don't make my job harder than it needs to be."
Shaking his head, Cairn decided not to argue and entered the bath. He had expected something like this to happen when he agreed to let Elle join his Party, so he wasn't particularly surprised. It has also been a little over a month since he transmigrated to Plainaire, so he was no longer as adverse to sharing a bath with others. Rather, as short as she was, Cairn felt more comfortable bathing with the shameless Elle than suffering the inquisitive stares of Ariella and Chelsea. He could have done without her constant teasing and touching, but he felt it was worth it after seeing the upgrades she made to his [Shadowsilk Longboots] at the expense of her Experience...
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Name: [Shadowsilk Longboots]
Rank: Unique Footwear
Weight: 2kgs
Durability: 4062/4600
Level: 21/80(16,126/16,990)
P.Def: 50+42
M.Def: 25+21
Enchantment(s): [Resizing], [Stealth Boost], [Weight Reduction], [Lesser Fire Resistance]
Set Effect: 3-Pieces: Doubles the efficacy of Stealth-related Abilities, 4-Pieces: Makes the wearer's footsteps silent, 5-Pieces: Allows the wearer to activate the [Invisibility] Skill once per day, lasting 300s.
Description: An exceptionally durable pair of boots made from weaving several layers of [Shadowsilk] and the wings of a [Black Wyvern].
Ingredients: [Shadowsilk], [Rainbow Thread], [Black Wyvern Webbing]
Restriction(s): Due to the materials used in its production, it can only be repaired by someone with [Tailoring] Level 60 or higher.
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"So, how is it? Fits like a glove, right~?" asked Elle, looking particularly smug as she sat on the floor near Cairn's feet with the upper half of her bodysuit wrapped around her waist, exposing leather undergarments that covered her arms to her fingertips but left her breasts and perky, peach-colored nipples exposed.
"They're definitely more comfortable," admitted Cairn, summarily taking the wind out of Elle's sails by adding, "It's unfortunate that your Tailoring isn't high enough to repair them."
Clicking her tongue, Elle crossed her arms, pressing together her breasts as she countered, "Does it matter? Their Durability has increased by 84%, and their overall resilience has improved. You're welcome."
"Fair enough," replied Cairn. "And thanks. Once we reach the Capital, I'll find a way to help you recoup the Experience you've lost."
Waving her hand dismissively, Elle asserted, "You don't have to worry about that. So long as you provide me materials and let me work on the items you acquire from the Goddes, my Experience, as you call it, won't be an issue. I just need to forge and craft things, and it'll shoot up faster than a Felidae's pecker during mating season."
"..." x2
Undaunted by Cairn's and Kaia's silent, judgmental stares, Elle stretched her hands and arms over her head, issuing a high-pitched, nasally groan. Afterward, she bounced to her feet, staring at Cairn seated on the bed as she asked, "So, what now? We sharing the bed, or what?"
"I have my own..." replied Cairn, rising from the bed and pulling his futon from his Inventory. The moment he did so, Elle immediately jumped onto it, landing on her back and bouncing off the memory foam material as she exclaimed, "Dibs~!" in a playfully mischievous tone.
Seeing the pint-sized Dwarfette wriggle out of her bodysuit, revealing beige/brown leather shorts strung together with crisscrossing white cord at the front, Cairn's deadpan returned. Elle noticed his gaze, but instead of appearing apologetic, she rolled onto her stomach, proudly displaying her perky ass as she kicked her legs and teased, "You're welcome to join me."
"Are you, like, super repressed or something?" asked Cairn, catching Elle a little off guard. Once she recovered, less than a second later, she sat up and placed the heels of her feet together, leaning forward slightly as she unabashedly asserted, "It's because I'm trying to care about you."
Feeling genuinely confused, Cairn raised his brows and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Man, you really know nothing about our world..." remarked Elle, shifting her gaze to Kaia and asking, "Mind explaining things, Ms. Rabbit? It might come off as a little cold if I do it."
Nodding in affirmation, Kaia replied, "I'll do my best..." before turning to meet Cairn's gaze, explaining, "Dwarves, much like Elves, only die when they are killed. Their perception of time is drastically different from other species. As such, they find it difficult to form meaningful connections with others, even their own kind."
Piggybacking off Kaia's words, Elle added, "When I first left Thania, I did my best to befriend as many unique and interesting people as possible. However, before I noticed it, most of them had become old men, women, or corpses. Now, unless I do a deep dive into my journal and Travelogue, I can't even recall their names, only the equipment I forged for them."
Seeing the frown on Cairn's face, Elle spread her hands and shrugged casually, saying, "I really don't need your pity. Rather, since you're human, I should be the one pitying you. Even if you lived to be the oldest human in history, you would eventually die and become little more than a distant memory by the conclusion of my thousand-year exploration of the outside world. It sucks, but that's just the way it is."
"So, you're acting like this so you don't get distracted and spontaneously forget we're in the same Party...?" asked Cairn.
"That's an overly simple way of putting it, but you're not wrong," replied Elle. "The best thing you can do is be 'interesting,' but since you're super weak and don't seem to have things figured out, I need to be proactive. Make sense?"
"Kind of...?" replied Cairn. Though, as he couldn't easily imagine himself in Elle's situation, a conflicted frown marred his face. He knew 'immortality' was a curse in many fictional settings, but it was such an alien concept in his previous world that he didn't have a reference for what it would be like to live such a lonesome existence...
"There you go pitying me again..." noted Elle, exhaling a helpless sigh. She couldn't remember the names or faces of her former companions, but one of the things that stuck with her was that each one of them felt sympathy or regret for not being able to remain by her side. Even when their bodies crumpled and their minds failed them, they behaved like she was the one suffering the most...
Leaving Cairn feeling taken aback, Elle abruptly spread her arms and said, "Come here." with a notably 'apathetic' look. When he didn't immediately comply, she bounced to her feet, approaching him without hesitation before doing something he could have never anticipated, crawling into his shirt and sitting snugly against him as she stated, "If you're really worried, then become someone neither I nor anyone else will forget, even after a thousand years have passed..."
Though he was tempted to ask what crawling into his shirt had to do with her statement, Cairn found himself at a complete loss, unable to speak or act. It didn't help that he had Kaia observing him with a faint smile, almost like she was trying to encourage him...
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(A/N: I'm just as confused as you are, Cairn...)