Vol 3 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Vol. 3 Chapter 1 Part 1

Then, lets start getting ready now.

s.h.i.+n decided to head toward the Falnido Beast Alliance where his old friend Girard awaited, and they began making the preparations respectively. However, because Tsuki no Hokora could wholly be carried with him, most of the preparations were unnecessary.

The elf, Tiera, returned to her room to choose the clothes that were appropriate for going out. The Element Tail, Yuzuha, stood by on top of s.h.i.+ns head in the young fox mode. The High Elf, Schnee, looked back at s.h.i.+n and said;

I have to go complete the request. Could you buy some food and supplies, just in case?

Okay. Since Im going to go to the adventurers guild after I lightly temper a sword, Ill buy them on the way.

Youre going to the guild?

Yeah. I guess well go do our separate actions for a while; Schnee, youre still on the Skull Faces matter, right? Therefore, Ill take a request toward the Falnido area, and improve my rank while Im at it. Its regrettable, but I cant stay a rank G forever.

To enter the guild and stay at the lowest rank forever, was not a good thing in the eyes of society either. Because he knew that staying as a rank G for a long time was a rare case, even for a person who didnt have remarkable abilities, he thought to at least to make it to F rank.

Since the Skull Faces subjugation was not a request, s.h.i.+n currently had zero request achievements.

I understand. What about the meeting place?

Ill decide it after seeing the status of the request. We can always use the message card to talk to each other.

If so, lets form a party. We can use the voice chat in that case. Its easier than using message cards.

EH, Seriously!?

According to Schnee, only partners in the same party could use the voice chat. Now the speaking and writing via the mind was called Mind Chat.

However, only we, the old generation, are able to use it immediately. People like Tiera, a new generation; someone who was born after the Dusk of the Majesty, I heard they are unable to use it if they dont trust each other. Even so, I dont know how true that is.

What happens if the old and new generations are mixed in a party?

Only the old generation is able to use it.

Because she didnt know on what kind of principle it worked, she appeared to be unclear on the exact conditions. In the case of the new generation, they seemed to suddenly be able to use it one day. Certainly, the Mind Chat was not usable when the party was disbanded, but if the party united again, the person who experienced that communication would be able to use it right away.

So that means, only Schnee and I can use it immediately, huh?

Yuzuha is also able to talk to s.h.i.+n~

A sweet voice came down from on top of his head.

In the case of Yuzuha, I think it is because of Yuzuhas individual talents and s.h.i.+ns tamer ability. I also think its better if you dont announce that too much. Please remember the party that we are talking about and the guilds party are two different things.

Different?

What do you mean?

s.h.i.+n and Yuzuha had a question mark floating above them.

A party is only recognized by the guild after it has registered with the guild. However, the party formation system for the old generation, like s.h.i.+n and me, was performed through the menu display so the general public is not aware of it. In other words, we can create a double party.

To begin with, the menu screen seemed to be limited to the people who are still alive since the Dusk of the Majesty. For the new generation, they couldnt read the precise explanation notes of the skills and arts and somehow only understood how to use it, not how it worked.

If there is no guild card for the new generation, they only roughly know my stats, excluding my level, huh? But eventually, only a party that was formed in the guild is recognized by the guild, dont you agree? Is there an advantage of forming a party the way the old generation did?

Its being able to use the Mind Chat. In this world, when there are many partners who can do long-distance communication, only that alone is useful. Since there are almost no human beings that have the message card, I guess. Also in any country, the person who has the Mind Chat is given preferential treatment. Even if that person is not an adventurer for an old generation. Because there is no need to go to battle, if that person joined a party and it was dispatched to various locations, as they are able to quickly receive information.

I see, so a person who is able to use the Mind Chat is hired just because of the skill, huh?

The communication method in this world was letter delivery by a messenger or a wagon. The speed of the information transmitted was extremely slow compare with Mind Chat.

From Schnees story, only a small handful of adventurers from the whole new generation were able to use Mind Chat. Now, since the old generation has decreased in number, its worth has become immeasurable.

Kuu~? Is it really that amazing?

Yuzuha asked while shaking its tails.

Yeah, its amazing. As an example, I can convey my thoughts to my partner who is in a remote place immediately. If Im hurt and cant move, I can call for help, and I can pa.s.s along important information right away.

Kuu! Yuzuha will help if s.h.i.+n is in trouble!

Please take care of me at that time. Yuzuha too, can call me if you are in trouble.

Okay!

Yuzuha, who didnt understand the advantage of fast communication, somehow understood that it was amazing from s.h.i.+ns words. It was not possible to say if it completely understood though, as it was still a child.

Now, the old and new generation that are able to use Mind Chat have to form a party with the guild. So the Mind Chat is not usable with a commoner who has not registered to the guild. If you have time, it would be nice to help Tiera register as an adventurer.

Thats a good idea. Then, do you want me to bring her to the guild with me?

That would be really helpful. She should be able to move better than an amateur since I have trained her in basic fighting techniques for the last 50 years.

Eh, you trained her?

The other day, Wilhelm, who had fought together with s.h.i.+n in the Wraith Plains, said that he had received training from Schnee as well. And he was beaten up one-sidedly.

Yes, is there something wrong with that?

It seemed like Schnee didnt know why s.h.i.+n was surprised, as she looked slightly puzzled. That spontaneous action made s.h.i.+n felt embarra.s.sed, but he somehow kept his composure.

Was it safe?

Yes, though I dont understand what you mean by that.

The figure of Schnee doing Spartan training just popped into s.h.i.+ns head. For some reason, that image seemed to be pretty harsh.

I dont know what s.h.i.+n imagined, but it was only basic training that was done. Because Im able to go outside of the barrier, I only teach her when I have time. Although her level is low, she should have superior movements compared to a newly fledged adventurer.

Schnee, who seemed to have read what s.h.i.+n had imagined, said that with a slightly displeased tone.

Iya, thats well, sorry. Because I heard that training with you seemed to be a little harsh.

s.h.i.+n apologized upfront at this time. It was an inviolable rule, that his mother in the real world told him. Incidentally, in his fathers words, the situation would become worse if he did not apologize.

Somehow he recalled these kind of things from the talk with Schnee.

Then, in exchange, you will listen to my simple request.

Ah yesI understand.

Schnee said it with a smile. The smiling face that could make the whole nation captive was a little frightening to s.h.i.+n now.

He felt a little worried about whatever he was going to be made to do.

Before long, Schnee went out for shopping, and s.h.i.+n then took Yuzuha along with him to the blacksmiths workshop. He wanted to lightly temper a sword before going to the guild.

Now then, lets do this.

He took out an unprocessed iron ingot from his Item Box. It wasnt bad one but it wasnt a good quality one either, it was just a normal ingot.

A longsword was also a common thing to make. Of course, it would be forged. Although metal casting is easy and fast, he couldnt sell it like that.

Does this become a sword?

Yes, but dont approach me too much when Im forging, because its dangerous.

After telling Yuzuha to keep its distance, s.h.i.+n began making the longsword. His body moved without trouble since coming into this world, probably because he had done this for more than 5 years.

The iron was heated and beat with a hammer. The sound of metal being struck, Clang, Clang, resounded in the forge, and Yuzuhas tails synchronized with a small flutter.

When hitting the ingot in the game, it didnt matter where it was struck as the result was still the same. But now that it was reality, that wouldnt work. Nevertheless, s.h.i.+n somehow understood where he should hit. It might be the benefit of the skill. While thinking whether a real craft man might have such a sense, he set the metal and hit it with the hammer again.

Amazing~!

Yuzuha raised a cheer, as it saw the ingot changing form almost instantly. It was at a speed that would leave an ordinary blacksmith stunned. One would wonder whether it was alright to be that fast, but obviously it was not alright. Only inferior goods would be produced by striking it quickly.

It was theBlacksmith skill which s.h.i.+n possessed that allowed this. With the creators intended design known, it was a cheat skill that increased the production speed to an efficiency that was impossible to reproduce in the real world.

Certainly, it didnt mean that any weapon could be created with the blacksmith skill. A Magic skill was needed for magic bestowal, and the skills Mixing and Tempered Metal were necessary for raw materials as well.

When the person tried to master a production job, it was inevitable that the person had to learn how another production worked.

The first one.

He looked at the completed sword he had made for practice. Though there was only a blade, no one would think it was only made from an ordinary ingot.

The light that entered from the entrance of the blacksmiths workshop was reflected by the sword blade, and a dim white light on the blade showed its sharpness. Even if an amateur handled it, the item seemed to raised the probability of success in battle.

I was fired up a little too much.

Though it was made just as an experiment, it obviously became goods that would cause uproar when put up on the storefront. It was not possible to simply say that this was a common longsword. When the item was bestowed with magic, it would be cla.s.sified as Rare or Unique grade.

A sword that was bestowed with magic was known as a Cursed Sword, or sometimes a Holy Sword in this society. Because there were few people in this world that had a weapon that was higher than Legend grade, weapons such as a Rare grade were often found up to Unique grade. However, for weapons that were above the Legend grade, they had a higher ability than a Cursed Sword without any magic bestowal.

A failure?

No, its not a failure, but this cant be sold. There are no weapon shops in the kingdom that put up magically bestowed weapons.

It didnt mean that there were no magically bestowed weapons on sale, but it was rare. Moreover, because it was s.h.i.+n who tempered it, the weapons performance was different from the other cursed swords around there. If someone bought a Cursed Sword with an average ability from the weapon shop and put two longswords together, that would be the limit that Cursed Sword could break. However, one of s.h.i.+ns tempered Cursed Swords would be able cut 4 additional longswords. If he put in some serious effort, even one of his low-grade Cursed Sword could break it. The weapons that s.h.i.+n made and could rally with the Legend grade ones were not just for show.

Nonetheless, it backfired this time. There were differences between the blacksmiths in this world and the blacksmiths in the game era, especially when it came to weapon design.

For some reason, I have a feeling. The next one should be good.

He was probably doing it unconsciously. So, while being aware of the boosting performance from the blacksmith skill, he made another longsword. The second longsword had a bit of a high performance, and the third one was somehow a normal one. Because those ready-made goods were aggravating, he continued to ma.s.s-produce swords with a similar ability to the second one.

He repeated this for about one hour, and decided to stop after he had made several of them. Meanwhile Yuzuha, instead of moving around and making noises, was watching s.h.i.+n and the completed longswords for a long time. It appeared to be so interested that it lost track of the time, probably because of the concentration that was peculiar to a child.

I guess Tiera should be ready soon.

They left the blacksmiths forge and headed back towards the living room. It was partly because he presumed that the presence that came out of the room was Tiera, that he finished up.

Ah, s.h.i.+n. Im sorry to have kept you waiting for so long.

No, its nothing. I just tempered with swords here and there.

I didnt think I would take up so much time myself. After such a long time, I dont know what I should wear.

Tieras point was understandable. For the first time after about 100 years, she would have to go to a place where there were a lot of people. It couldnt be helped that she was hesitating over what clothes to wear.

Because she was told that she had to register with the adventurers guild, Tiera wore clothes similar to what a hunter would wear, emphasizing easiness of movement. What Tiera chose was close to what Els had equipped before. Especially the combination of long boots and leggings.

On top, she wore a light green colored jacket with black colors on the inner side. Because its design was made to fit the body, Tieras body shape could be seen clearly. This might be the standard for elves.

She appeared to be unarmed, but it was concealed in the form of a card. A lot of elves had a battle style that combined magic with daggers and bows.

Well, shall we go?

Yeah, lets hurry up a little.

Kuu

Yuzuha, who was in fox mode, was put on s.h.i.+ns head, and they walked out of the store. It was a fine day. Warm sunlight s.h.i.+ned over the two people and the animal.

Ha~, it is nice on the outside after all.

Yes, it is fine weather and !?

It came into s.h.i.+ns view as he casually answered Tiera and he turned to face her, an astounding sight was displayed.

It was a pair of spheres.

It was the most magnificent pair of globes he had ever seen before.

(Amazing)

To put it in simple words, while basking in the sunlight, Tiera was also stretching her body. However, when she raised her arms and bent her back in a nice way, her chest naturally stuck out as a result. Only the owner of that body could know, from the current posture, the size of what was being emphasized. s.h.i.+ns eyes were glued to it.

Phew, shall we go?

Uhm, yeah.

She didnt seem to realize that her chest was being stared at, and s.h.i.+n tried to look calm. I didnt see anything, at least not on purpose was what he tried to say with his body behaviour.

While walking next to such s.h.i.+n, Tiera coughed in a whisper.

And, what are your thoughts on my chest?

Iya, they are seriously perfeHA!?

It was said that a mans glancing look was similar to staring for a women. s.h.i.+n didnt know whether it was true or not, but at least he knew he was found out by Tiera.

s.h.i.+n will be in charge of the shopping fee. And, really, you did look too much earlier.

That was my bad. Haa, that was an expensive view

Its only natural because you so rudely stared at a maidens b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

s.h.i.+n couldnt help but smile wryly at Tieras smiling face. Did she aim for it? Or was it done spontaneously? Only Tiera knew the truth.

Kuu?

While Yuzuha tilted its head, it watched the exchange between the two people.

They left Tsuki no Hokora and arrived at the gate of the Bayreuth kingdom after a short while. Was it a slow hour? There was not a lot of pedestrian traffic.

When they pa.s.sed through the gate and entered inside, Tiera looked around while surveying the surroundings.

Uwaa, there is a great number of people. Are there always so many?

No, its not crowded right now. There are twice as many people as this in the mornings and evenings.

There are? I cant imagine what its like when its crowded.

Tieras eyes sparkled like those of a child who went to an amus.e.m.e.nt park for the first time.

So the things that the people, who came into the store, said is true.

She seemed to have heard various stories from adventurers who came to buy goods. Since she couldnt go out from the store, she couldnt do anything but imagine. It seemed that when she actually experienced it by herself, she realized that what they had said was not a lie.

You sure are in high spirits, arent you?

I-Im notthat excited

She was probably aware of it herself. Though she denied it, the words coming out from her mouth were a little weak.

Lets register you first, and then do the shopping later. You can decide to do whatever you want in the remaining time.

T-Thats sounds good. Then, lets go to the guild right away.

Was she drawn to the word sightseeing? Tiera walked rapidly while grabbing s.h.i.+ns hand.

Didnt she just say The crowds are scary? Now she was charging through the main street by force.

Wait! Its good to hurry, but do you know where the guild is?

Ah!

It seemed like she didnt know. She suddenly stopped, and threw glances at the surroundings.

Come on, over here.

Okay.

Because it was truly pointed out for the second time, Tiera also finally listened.

They walked down the street as s.h.i.+n held Tieras hand to lead her.

From Tieras point of view, while in the crowd, she would lose sight of s.h.i.+n if she took her eyes off of him for a second.

They walked along the street while being careful not to b.u.mp into any pedestrians. As they approached an intersection with a particularly lot of people, she unintentionally saw a man and a woman walking together in front of them, and Tiera now noticed what kind of situation she was in.

(Hands holding remaining connected)

Probably because she was carried away, due to this being her first time in the outside world in 100 years, but she didnt notice that she was walking hand in hand with the opposite s.e.x until now.

Because of the size difference, Tieras hand was wrapped in s.h.i.+ns hand.

It was different from hers, his hand was a bit bigger and more rugged. When she saw her hand in a certain way, she had a feeling that her face was somehow blus.h.i.+ng.

(So this is a man, right?)

Since she tended the store, she had obviously talked to men. However, she had never touched any of them. Tiera moved her legs while finding herself not really understanding her own feelings.

Hey, thats the Adventurers guild.

I heard it was big, and it really is!

The largest building in the area came into view when they pa.s.sed through the crowd. That was their destination, the adventurers guild.

While it was inevitable that adventurers would make up most of the pedestrians now, s.h.i.+n was aware that an awful lot of gazes were directed toward them.

Somehow, arent we being watched?

Yeah, probably.

The pa.s.sing adventurers were mostly men, and s.h.i.+n didnt know the reason for why their glances were mixed with hostility. He verified if there was something wrong with his state and noticed.

Ah, were holding hands.

Even under normal circ.u.mstances, Tiera was a beautiful woman. Naturally, a man who walked hand in hand with such a woman was exposed to jealous looks.

Sorry, I thought it was likely that we would get separated since there are a lot of people.

He separated his hand from Tieras in a hurry.

Ah

That time, when he let go, he had a feeling that he faintly heard a sound that seemed to be disappointment coming from Tieras mouth. He decided to think that it was just his excessive self-consciousness and forgot about it.

All right, lets get you registered quickly then.

T-Thats right. Lets do it.

They entered the guild with Tiera looking a little fl.u.s.tered. Was it because the time was in the middle between morning and noon? There were not many people in the guild either.

The figures of Celica and Els were seen at the receptionist desk, and when s.h.i.+n and Tiera were half-way there, the two people who noticed them showed dissimilar reactions.

Celica had a little of a sullen expression, but Els momentarily had a very surprised look on her face, which quickly erupted into one of joy.

Tiera!

Els jumped over the counter at the same time as she called out her name, ran straight to Tiera, and hugged her tightly.

Wa, E-Els!?

Though Tiera was surprised at the sudden embrace, she relaxed when she realized that the person was Els.

Wait Els, its a bit tight.

Oh, Im sorry. Though Ive heard the news, I couldnt contain myself when I saw you in person.

While having tears in the corner of her eyes, Els started to gently hold Tiera. The abrupt situation caused the adventurers who were there to stare in wonder.

I really wanted to go see you immediately, but Ive been very busy with the guild for a while now. It wasnt possible to leave.

Because youre not my mother, you really worry too much.

What are you saying. If youre the daughter of Eilen, then its as if youre my daughter too.

Els embraced Tiera like a true mother.

Away from the two people, Celica talked to s.h.i.+n.

s.h.i.+n-sama. What kind of acquaintance is that person?

Due to a little twist of fate, we will be traveling together. So she will register as an adventurer for the occasion.

I heard you were walking hand in hand like lovers though?

Thats absurd! How did you hear that!?

s.h.i.+n was surprised at the speed of which the information travelled. Perhaps, there was a guy who could use Mind Chat standing guard! Certainly a cautious lookout, but really, this was only a trivial matter. The adventurer, who knew s.h.i.+ns name and face, accidentally saw the two people, and Celica, who were receiving requests at that time, grumbled when she heard about it.

Because she is a beautiful woman, right? Not because you are a man, right?

Um, youre not using some scathing words, are you?

No no, not at all.

I guess theres nothing, was what s.h.i.+n wanted to say.

While they continued on with the exchange, they noticed that they had attracted some attention as well.

Why is it that other people seem to be distancing themselves?

Ara, I think they dont want to break the deeply emotional reunion, huh? Besides, it was Els who suddenly jumped out.

Uhh

Now, now, both of you. I want you to register Tiera for the time being.

Thereupon, Celica and Els returned to their professional expressions, and bowed slightly.

Ah, my apologies. I was acting shameful.

Just now was because I also wanted to meet the person in question.

She was probably very glad. Els eyes were still a little red. Apparently, she seemed to have been a good friend of Tieras mother.

Um, what should I do?

I will take care of the registration. It was my turn to take care of new registrations anyway.

Els said that and lead Tiera to the second floor. Just like s.h.i.+n did before, Tiera filled out the doc.u.ments and listened to the explanation.

Now then, I should go and look at the list of requests.

Oh, s.h.i.+n-sama. Im sorry, but may I have a bit of your time, please?

Me? Well, I dont really mind.

s.h.i.+n, who was going to go to see about requests in the Falnido area, was called out by Celica. She seemed to have to talk to s.h.i.+n individually about something or another.

Because he was asked to hand over his guild card, s.h.i.+n took out the guild card from Item Box and handed it over to Celica. Celica then proceed to engrave the guild card, and placed it on top of the tray-like thing..

What are

While s.h.i.+n thought about asking what she was doing, the transparent guild card was dyed yellow.

There we go, the improved rank ends with this. From now on, s.h.i.+n-sama is rank E.

Yes?

s.h.i.+n absentmindedly replied, due to the sudden rank up. At this point, s.h.i.+n actually had a zero request accomplishment rate at the present time. If just by an evaluation of the guild; let alone rank improvement, he would be defeated even by a newcomer who had the same rank G.

Nevertheless, to suddenly become a rank E, it was too much to be expected. He didnt think about rising to E and skipping F altogether.

That reminded him of the explanation he had received from Celica before, the talk about the cla.s.sification of the card by rank.

SS was gold, S was silver, A was black, B was white, C was red, D was blue, E was yellow, F was green, and the lowest rank G was semi-transparent.

Errr, there arent any accomplished requests yet, so why did I rank up?

Certainly s.h.i.+n-samas official request achievement rate is zero percent. However, there are the results of the subjugation of a high rank Skull Face and the suppression of the Skull Faces outbreak in a large quant.i.ty. Because s.h.i.+n-samas report was proved to be authentic by an investigation handled by us, the guild, the promotion of s.h.i.+n-sama was decided as a partial reward. It is rank E, but if one more request is accomplished, it will rank up to D.

I see, but why do it to an unfinished state?

If you rank up too fast, it would not look good in the other adventurers eyes. I think rank A is enough for an individual like you, but when I think of the strife it would cause, it only became a rank improvement like this. Of course, the bonus is paid, too. I need to return the previously borrowed jewel before that though, please wait here for a while.

Celica gave the guild card back to s.h.i.+n, and entered the inner room of the receptionist desk for a moment. She came back in less than 5 minutes. There was a bag and a dull s.h.i.+ning jewel grasped in her hand.

This is the jewel that was borrowed, and here is 250 J gold coins of reward inside this bag.

For convenience sake, it seemed like she brought them in gold coins. Though white gold exists, it was not used in everyday life. One piece of white gold could make one live and enjoy life for more than ten years. The gold coins in front of him were considered a large sum of money from an adventurers viewpoint, and s.h.i.+n suddenly voiced his thoughts.

Im just wondering, but is it possible for you to make the guild card as quickly as possible in exchange for the reward?

The guild card? Let me see. I think it can be done by today at noon if its rushed.

Then that please. Though I will be going afar for a little while, I want to leave as soon as possible.

I understand. Then, the reward will be 200 gold coins. Is that alright with you?

I dont care about that, but is it fine to accept a reward of this magnitude?

Though only 50 gold coins were deducted, s.h.i.+n had heard that the guild cards were made with the guilds original special technique, so he felt that there might only be a few of them.

I will have the experts do their best for a little while, and the additional charge is satisfactory enough from the received amount of money. There will be too much when all of the bonus is returned.

I see, by the way, how much is the subjugation reward for the Skull Faces?

5 silver coins per p.a.w.n cla.s.s. For the Jack cla.s.s, it is 5 gold coins. Actually you can earn a lot more because the Jack cla.s.s armor and swords are valuable if sold.

Celica added and smiled wryly, the degree of danger of a Jack cla.s.s is in a whole other league. In fact, once or twice a year some adventurers go off to fight with a p.a.w.n cla.s.s, in a spur of the moment feeling, in spite of the warning from the guilds staff, and then get killed by a Jack cla.s.s that is avenging the p.a.w.n cla.s.s.

When thinking about the amount of money that Celica spoke of, s.h.i.+ns reward was naturally almost 500 gold coins, but because a formal request was not issued, the reward became this amount of money along with the rank improvement. To begin with, that was not the combat capability that a rookie should have shown on his own, so without Barlux, the guild master, and Els and her acquaintances, the skill successors, it was certain that the reward would not have been so easily paid like this.