The Celebration and the Beginning of the Wind (3)
“I should register at the Adventurer’s Guild☆!”
As soon as I mentioned the celebration banquet we’d heard about at the Mage Guild, Larilura clapped her hands together and said that. Franc tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh? Why?”
“Because explaining my identity that way is the fastest! My residence permit and background are complicated, so wouldn’t it be better to just say I’m an adventurer from the Audumla Guild~?”
“If you hate the hassle of introducing yourself, that works too.”
I set down the box containing the golem core and turned to Franc.
“Larilura is from Romania, but she entered the country as part of a circus troupe and is staying here as a civilian. Then she somehow ended up joining the golem subjugation force, so explaining that every time someone asks would get long-winded.”
“If she’s attending the banquet as Senior’s companion, having the position of ‘adventurer party member’ would make introductions much easier♡?”
“Ah, I see. The lord might ask, ‘And who is this young lady~?’ right?”
Franc seemed to understand now. ‘It’s a party to honor adventurers who distinguished themselves in battle, so the position needs to be clear.’ Just imagine how messy it would be if a foreign recipient showed up at a national merit award ceremony. It was far simpler to say, “I got her an adventurer’s license and brought her as part of my team~.”
I watched Larilura take off her hat and run her fingers through her hair, then asked,
“By the way, Larilura. Are you planning to keep doing adventurer work?”
“Hmm~? Honestly, exploring ruins or unknown secret realms gets my heart racing☆? But grinding my way up from the bottom honestly doesn’t offer me much merit~.”
Well, that made sense. Unlike me, she wasn’t aiming for social advancement. Larilura wiggled her fingers as she continued.
“I joined the last golem subjugation out of pure interest~ but I haven’t decided what I’ll do with my life yet~.”
“Didn’t you earn quite a bit of money from that job? You could probably take it easy for a year or two.”
“True. Between the value of this golem core and the rewards from the banquet, you won’t have to worry about working for a while.”
“Ah, but I don’t really need the reward the lord is giving? I didn’t contribute that much in the last fight anyway.”
When I nodded in agreement with Franc, Larilura waved her hands in protest. Then she put on her cutest voice and said,
“Still, if you could spare just a liiittle~ bit of that big earth golem’s core, I’d be so happy~. It would be perfect for reinforcing Ringring No. 3♡”
I exchanged glances with Franc. My girlfriend gave a clear “it’s fine” signal with her eyes. I pointed at the box containing the core.
“I was planning to split this into thirds anyway. We agreed on equal distribution of rewards from the start, didn’t we?”
Before leaving Heisvent, we had decided to divide the spoils of this job three ways. There was no changing that now. Suddenly changing the terms just because the pie got bigger was something only a bastard would do.
‘I’ll use my share of the core as materials for enchantment magic.’
It was high-quality. I could extend the duration of the Kenaz rune I’d engraved on Franc’s mask. It would be useful for future enchantment work too. Selling it would be a waste.
“Hooray! You two are so kind♡! Such good people~☆!”
“Hehe. That happy?”
Franc asked the overjoyed Larilura, who was pumping her fists in the air. Larilura made a V-sign with her index and middle fingers.
“Of course! These days, the trend is putting cores into marionettes! Installing an auxiliary power source lets you boost output according to the puppeteer’s mana. It’s amazing!”
“Looks complicated. Can you make it by yourself?”
“Not at all☆! I’ll go consult a specialist!”
I wondered if there were any marionette specialists in Sargadis. While I was thinking that, Larilura opened the box.
─Clink.
She carefully picked out a small piece of the core and tucked it away.
“I’ll head out right now to register at the Audumla Guild and ask if there are any golem craftsmen around, okay?”
“Ah. In that case, go with Franc. The sun’s still high, so if you stop by here on the way back it’ll be perfect timing.”
I pulled out the letter of introduction from the Tailor’s Guild. Franc’s ears perked up the moment her name was mentioned.
“What’s that?”
“We need to match the dress code for the banquet. This is an introduction letter from the Tailor’s Guild, so the two of you can go pick out outfits for the party.”
“What?! What is it, what is it?! Did you say clothes?!”
Calm down, you circus girl who only owns one set of clown clothes. Larilura, who had spun around and come running back, and Franc both leaned in as I held out the letter.
“The place called the Couturier Guild is sponsoring party attire for attending adventurers. They’re lending ready-made clothes, but they’ll adjust the sizes too. Go pick something out together.”
“What about Nord? Let’s all go together.”
I knew she’d ask that. I brushed the stray hair from Franc’s cheek and said,
“No, I’d feel embarrassed intruding while you two are choosing clothes. You know how it is—party dresses start with the underwear. They won’t sponsor underwear, so you can try things on and have fun.”
Even in this world, dresses came with corsets and the like. For outfits that exposed the back or chest, you had to buy matching underwear.
‘The Tailor’s Guild sponsorship is probably a way to sell high-end underwear and build connections with high-ranking adventurers.’
I leaned in and whispered into Franc’s ear.
“Pick out something pretty. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Ah……♥”
Franc understood exactly what I meant and nodded. ‘Hehehe. Tonight is going to be great.’ Most high-end women’s underwear in this world was erotic lingerie. If it was sized for Franc’s chest, there was a 99.9% chance it would be sexy as hell. Just imagining it made my dick twitch!
“Dress~ Dress~♡! New clothes~! How long has it been since I wore a dress!”
─Twirl twirl!
It was a relief to see Larilura getting excited while holding the letter too. I gave Franc’s back a gentle push as a sign for them to have fun.
“It’s only fair that I take a turn watching the house sometimes. Go enjoy yourselves. Once Ringring No. 3 dries, I’ll put it in the warehouse.”
“Ahaha♡! Thank you, Senior! Please tie it up with the tarp so no parts fall out and put it in the warehouse~☆!”
“I’ll be back before dinner, Nord!”
“Yeah. Be careful.”
After seeing Franc and Larilura off, I sat down on a rock beside the well. Then I pulled a scroll from my pocket.
─Rustle.
It was a magic tome detailing how to use the spell Friar’s Lantern. The fact that it was only two scrolls long told me how easy it was to learn. I crossed my legs and devoured the text.
“Insert mana into the spell structure… release the body’s mana outward… The reason Light Orb magic takes a spherical shape is to extend activation time…”
─Mumble mumble.
It only took me ten minutes to grasp the principles of the magic. I poured mana into the spell formula on my palm and chanted,
“Friar’s Lantern.”
─Fwaaaaaah!
My mana transformed into beautiful blue light. Just as I’d heard, it was quite lovely. The floating lights moved according to my will, just like the mist from Summon Cloud. I could even adjust the color.
─Shwaaaaaah.
─Fwaaaaaah!
I practiced by mixing it with other spells and combining them, then finally dismissed Friar’s Lantern. Since I already knew how to handle mana and had learned four or five spells, it was simple for me. I neatly rolled up the tome, tucked it away, and stood up from the rock.
‘Should I hit the gym for the first time in a while?’
Adventurer work had been so busy lately that I hadn’t been able to focus on training. Exercise was good for you. I’d held back while working to manage my stamina and condition, but now was the perfect time to hammer my upper body. With that thought, I found the same rock I’d used last time and lifted it.
─Rumble rumble!
“……What the?”
The rock felt much lighter than before. It wasn’t weightless, but it felt like I was holding a 10kg dumbbell.
“Huuuup. This won’t work.”
I clicked my tongue and put the rock back. It was nice to feel my growth, but now I had no way to lift weights! A 10kg dumbbell could still be used for exercise, but a rock like this made proper training difficult. The awkward grip was the problem. And more importantly, I didn’t know any exercises for light weights. Professor Brammaton was a hardcore advocate of heavy-weight practical muscle training combined with cardio. As for 21st-century workout methods? I’d never been interested, so I knew nothing about them.
‘Maybe I should train without using mana?’
That was an option, but it wasn’t efficient. Just as muscle fibers only grow when pushed to their limit, mana had to be used for the body to adapt. Training strength without mana would be foolish. It was better than nothing, but I’d rather do something else.
─Rustle rustle.
I picked up a branch from the ground and brushed off the dirt. It must have been pruned and left behind; the thickness and weight were just right. I grabbed it and shook a tree still covered in autumn leaves.
─Rattle!
The weakly clinging leaves became the last ones to fall, showering down in front of me.
“Bi Cheon Sam Geom Ryu.”
I gripped the branch like a sword and whispered,
“──Gwi Du Ryong Seom·Gae (Ghost Head Dragon Flash·Revised)!”
─Papapang!
Without activating Beast Regression, I struck the falling leaves. One, two, three, four! I hit them all perfectly up to that point, but on the fifth I finally missed. A little stung in my pride, I drew up my mana more forcefully.
“Swooooooooosh──!!”
Six, seven, eight—miss! Miss! Total miss!
“These damn things dodge so well.”
I clicked my tongue and tapped the ground with the branch. In manga or movies, they’d pierce multiple leaves with a single thrust, but fiction was fiction. Accurately hitting falling leaves was surprisingly difficult. Simply increasing speed didn’t guarantee hits. Like oil floating on water, the leaves rode the wind and dodged more nimbly the faster my attacks became. Thanks to the body coordination training I’d learned from Larilura, I could hit a few properly. But the more leaves there were, the more I missed.
‘Continuous attacks aren’t as easy as they sound.’
If I could attack quickly and accurately, it would give me a huge advantage in outnumbered fights.
‘Whatever. Training is the only answer.’
I recalled what that Ulster redhead Semmus had once said and resumed smashing leaves.
─Bang! Bang! Bang!
About an hour passed as I devoted myself to training while giving the tree a serious case of baldness. The tree I’d been shaking now looked barren, with no more leaves left to drop. I felt a little sorry. Or maybe not.
‘Well, it’ll grow back next year anyway.’
In that case, maybe this wasn’t baldness but hair removal? In other words, what I’d done was as kind as a Blue Club owner shaving the head of a 20-something college student about to enlist! “As expected, I really am a good-natured macho man.”
Just as I was about to move on to turn another tree into a baldy, my senses caught someone’s presence.
─Step. Step.
Another visitor? It was a well, so it made sense they’d come for water. I waited quietly, but when the person appeared, my eyes widened in shock at their unexpected identity.
“Nefertiti-nim?”
The Mythril-class adventurer with bandages wrapped around her arm. The master of continuous attacks who had made me practice leaf-smashing was standing right in front of me. Nefertiti spoke in her usual emotionless tone.
“Hello.”
“Ah, yes. Hello. Um, did you come to see me today?”
─Nod.
It was a tiny nod, somewhere between a twitch and a full nod. What the hell. If you came to see me, just say so.
“Did I interrupt?”
After waiting about ten seconds, Nefertiti asked. She must have heard me swinging the branch.
“Hehe. Not at all. You weren’t watching, were you? My skills are too pathetic to show to someone like you, Nefertiti-nim.”
“Didn’t watch. Peeking at someone else’s training is rude.”
That was a relief. As I relaxed, Nefertiti said,
“This. Repayment.”
“Huh?”
Nefertiti held out something wrapped in cloth. She offered it so naturally, like she was simply returning something she’d borrowed, that I took it without thinking.
─Heavy.
It was heavier than it looked. But for something heavy, it was also light. Confusing? It meant the metal was incredibly light. It might even be lighter than aluminum. I pulled myself together and asked,
“Repayment? What is it?”
I didn’t ask what it was repaying. I was the type who accepted gifts, and I had contributed quite a bit during the black mage extermination. So Nefertiti’s answer was short and direct.
“Mithril.”
“……I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Did I hear wrong? Mith, what? Slime? When I doubted my own ears, Nefertiti seemed to think it was a pronunciation issue. She opened her mouth wide and spoke again.
“All the mithril I have left.”