Chapter 468: Shedding Skin
Chapter 468: Shedding Skin
…Rachel seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood again today.
At this point, how should I put it… her entire demeanor seemed to scream, ‘I’m ready to accept your confession anytime, so hurry up and make your move! Hurry!’
Rachel, was your affection for me really that high?
Once I noticed it, it was so blatant. How had I been so oblivious all this time?
Thinking back, the shopping we did before going out to eat was a complete date.
To not even realize that… it was chilling to think about how little I considered anyone outside of my girls a potential romantic partner.
No. Even now, I don’t think of anyone but my girls that way.
In that sense, I could only give a vague response to Rachel’s cheerful attitude.
“Ha, haha. Well, I, uh, suppose so?”
“…So it’s not true. Ah, haha. I guess that’s to be expected, right? I know. I know it’s not possible.”
Ah, she saw right through me. For a fleeting moment, a flicker of loneliness crossed Rachel’s face before she forced a smile and spoke.
A pang of guilt—no, a heavy weight of it—tightened in my chest, but as I was now, I had neither the means nor the right to console her.
“Actually, we hit a snag in our progress, so we came back early. It looks like we need to sort out our equipment.”
“What? But Guwon, you… ah, don’t tell me…!”
“Yeah. Something like that… I’ll give the report later, though. Since we were the first to find it, I figured I’d enjoy a little privilege.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
“Oh? You agreed so easily. Is that really okay with the Guild?”
Rachel’s consent was so simple it felt almost anticlimactic, and I asked the question reflexively.
After all, it would be in the Guild’s best interest for us to disclose the location of the ice cave quickly, creating more opportunities for other adventurers to grow stronger.
Of course, the Guild didn’t have the authority to force us to disclose it, but I had at least expected some persuasion.
If not that, then…
“Yes. From the Guild’s perspective, it would be better if you disclosed it sooner, of course.”
If not that, then I expected a reaction like the one she’d had before.
Something along the lines of, ‘Normally, I’d have to persuade you… but fufu, since it’s you, Guwon, I’ll let it slide this one time. You owe me one, okay?’
But contrary to my expectations, Rachel didn’t even hint at such a mood and simply agreed.
…This reaction. Did she realize I have no romantic interest in her?
I suppose so. I was being pretty obvious about it, and she’s not an unperceptive person.
No. Maybe she didn't just figure it out now.
That first greeting earlier—thinking back, it was far too blatant.
Perhaps Rachel was also testing the waters one last time with that attitude.
Come to think of it, she did say “So it’s not true” as soon as I gave my vague answer.
If that’s the case…
Even though I had brought this upon myself, the thought that she had figured it out made me feel a sense of loneliness.
What am I even doing?
“Well, I’ll be going for today. I’ll settle the Magic Stones later, all at once.”
“Alright. Take care.”
In the end, our parting words were slightly awkward, and they remained so until I left.
It hadn’t even been that long since I’d made up with her after she was angry… though her reaction wasn’t as cold as it was back then.
No. In the long run, this might be even worse.
There was a chance this awkwardness could last forever.
Man, this isn’t easy.
If she didn’t like me, I wouldn’t be feeling this way.
The situation was so bleak that I couldn’t even muster the foolish thought that this was the curse of a popular man. With a bitter taste in my mouth, I left the Guild behind me.
When you’re feeling like this, sometimes the best thing to do is to immerse yourself in the task at hand.
After leaving the Guild, I headed straight for Hanna’s blacksmith shop.
My purpose, of course, was to prepare countermeasures for the ice cave.
“I’m here for service.”
“Yes, welco—Whoa! S-Saint-nim?!”
The moment I stepped inside, my identity was blown.
That idiot Yohan. Who does he think I’m wearing this robe for?
“Hey! I give you an inch and you take a mile!”
“N-No! It’s not like that!”
“What do you mean, it’s not like that! It’s not like I’m a rare sight here! You just shouted ‘Saint’ on purpose, didn’t you?!”
“Th-That’s not it! It’s okay now!”
“What?! What’s o—ah, don’t tell me.”
I hurriedly looked around.
Sure enough, upon hearing the word ‘Saint’, everyone had turned their attention toward me and was murmuring, but no one was trying to approach me.
No, most of the customers here are adventurers.
In fact, besides me, all the customers present were women.
Maybe that’s why they weren’t rushing me… but if that were the case, it was strange for them to be showing this much interest.
When I cautiously lowered my hood, the eyes of the people looking at me began to sparkle.
I mean, it’s not a bad feeling, but…
A sense of unknown dread washed over me, and I quickly turned my gaze to Yohan.
“I just got back from the dungeon, so I’m a bit out of the loop. Can you explain? No, before that, hide me somewhere.”
“Ah, y-yes! This way!”
Yohan led me toward the workshop area.
“…So. What happened?”
“The temple recently started a new video education program. It’s become incredibly popular and is spreading like wildfire among the people…”
“In other words, it was effective.”
“Yes! I haven’t seen it myself, but everyone who has won’t stop singing your praises, Saint-nim!”
“Heh heh. Of course, they would. Of course! …Huh? Then what were all those stares about?”
“Well… rumors are spreading not just among the men, but among the women as well…”
“Rumors? What kind of rumors?”
“W-Well… a rumor that you’re unbelievably, monstrously, incredibly huge, Saint-nim.”
As he said this, Yohan’s gaze drifted downward.
To be precise, toward my crotch.
“…No, no, no, no. How would they know?! The guy in the video wasn’t me!”
Why the hell do you think I shaved everything!
It’s starting to grow back now, and it’s all prickly!
“Whaaat?! That wasn’t you, Saint-nim?!”
“Of course not! It says so at the very beginning of the video! It’s a demonstration by an adventurer who received the Saint’s advice!”
“Oh. I haven’t seen it myself, so I didn’t know that part… B-But everyone was saying that a size like that would be impossible for anyone but you, Saint-nim…”
“What did you say?!”
“There was a small minority who claimed the man in the video wasn’t you, on the grounds that the woman he was with had a different body type from the women in your party.”
“They’re right! So why was their argument ignored?!”
“Because they were dismissed as a pathetic bunch, jealous of the great Saint-nim.”
…Are you serious? I mean, the respect is… yeah. It’s not bad.
But it’s gone in a completely wrong direction.
“So you’re telling me those women outside were eyeing my ‘great weapon’ with lust in their eyes? Even though the guy in the video wasn’t me.”
“Yes. W-Well, probably… I think so?”
So that’s why I felt an inexplicable terror from those sparkling eyes.
Is this what AV actresses in my old world felt like?
No, this world is far more open sexually, so the feeling is probably a bit different.
Is it closer to being a pop star, the ideal man that female adventurers dream of?
Could it be that Rachel’s strange attitude toward me was also… no. That’s probably just wishful thinking.
Well, I’m sure she’d heard the news, at least.
In any case, this means I can’t show my face for a whole different reason now.
Then what was the point of making the video… wait. If I walk around with my face covered, won’t that just be an admission that the man in the video was me?
Fine, I’ll just be brazen about it. I’ll put on a thick skin and insist. The man in the video wasn’t me.
If I do that, surely the stares directed at me will eventually lessen.
…They will, right?
“…Whatever, fine. Anyway, I came here for something else today. Go get Hanna.”
I eventually gave up on thinking about it any further and decided to just get my original errand done.
“I see. So it’s structured like that…”
“Yeah. What do you think? Can you make it?”
My request to Hanna was simple.
I had commissioned her to make crampons, a piece of mountaineering equipment from my original world.
I had considered just embedding sharp spikes into the soles of our boots, but that would be a problem when we left the ice cave and had to walk on normal ground.
So, the solution I came up with was crampons.
“Of course, but even if the structure is simple, it’s going to be quite expensive. They need to be sturdy enough not to break during intense combat on the 3rd Floor, right? That means they have to be at least as durable as the armor worn by adventurers who frequent the 3rd Floor…”
“No. If possible, make them even sturdier, based on the standards for armor used on the 4th Floor.”
“What? I heard the 4th Floor is completely covered in water. Do you need this kind of equipment there?”
“That’s, well, let’s just call it a trade secret.”
“I see. Spoken like the Saint who makes new discoveries on every adventure. Alright. In that case, I won’t ask any more useless questions.”
“Thanks. So, how long will it take to make twelve of them, two for each party member?”
“Let’s see. As long as I use good materials, the structure itself is simple… The day after tomorrow, no. They’ll be done by tomorrow night.”
“Great. I’ll come pick them up then. I’m counting on you.”
“You got it.”
Hanna, whose skills had been steadily improving since I helped her, readily accepted the commission to make the crampons.
What I liked even more was that it wouldn’t take her very long to make them.
Since we’d only been in the dungeon for a few days this time, I wanted our next trip to be sooner rather than later.
I was also eager to conquer the ice cave quickly.
Anyway, it was annoying when I was helping her, but now that I had, Hanna had become a reliable ally.
It really goes to show that you should live your life building up good karma.
Leaving the blacksmith’s shop with a satisfied heart, I was immediately met with countless stares.
This was… even more intense than when the men on the street were begging me for help.
To be honest, it was incredibly overwhelming.
Actually, even before the rumors about me helping Yohan and Hanna spread, I had already been getting a lot of stares.
As my Charm stat increased, it was no exaggeration to say I had become handsome enough to be called a man of peerless beauty.
Thanks to that, I thought I had grown accustomed to people’s gazes, but now, stares that were burdensome even for me flew in from all directions.
The only silver lining, I suppose, was that no one was approaching me like before.
No, they weren’t just not approaching; I could even sense them actively avoiding me.
I felt an aura, especially from the men, that they didn’t want to come anywhere near me.
The women, however, seemed to be a different story, their eyes shining as they watched me.
I see. I was starting to get the picture.
The women were looking at me with the eyes of a hawk stalking its prey, while the men, though filled with respect and awe, were avoiding me because they didn’t want to be compared.
The video’s only been out for a short while, and the effect is already insane.
If the rumors spread even further, will women start throwing themselves at me, begging to sleep with me just once?
No. The man in the video wasn’t me.
I decided to stick to my plan from earlier: put on a thick skin and act confident.
“…I’m exhausted.”
Well, by the time I got back to the mansion, I was completely worn out.
Seriously, every single person I passed stared at me.
Even during my self-conscious adolescent years, I never imagined this many people’s eyes could be focused on me.
“Isn’t it a good thing that the filthy men aren’t clinging to you?”
“I’m home. And where did you learn to talk like that?”
No, more importantly, are you a mind reader?
Stop reading my mind whenever you please.
How can you read a person’s thoughts so accurately from a single sigh of exhaustion?
Is it some kind of passive skill for super butlers?
“Welcome back.”
No, answer my question. And you should greet me before I greet you.
You came all the way to the main gate to meet me, so why is your greeting an afterthought?
I swear, Vanessa’s attitude toward me is getting sassier by the day.
Well, I guess it also means we’ve gotten closer.