Translator: pinky onee-sama Editor: anirhapsodist
Rare MaterialI stayed inside the living room for a few moments after Igarashi-san woke up. The bedroom basically turned into her dressing room.
"Atobe-kun, you slept over there but is everything okay?"
"N… Oh, It's okay. It was heaven compared to sleeping on an office chair."
I was thrilled to have her converse with me in the middle of her getting dressed. I need to get used to this already — we're going to be living together. After spending the night with the section chief, we'll be working together… but because the tenseness of the situation didn't seem to die down… I felt a little restless.
"I… I'm sorry, Atobe-kun, for having inconvenienced you last night.. I said some strange things."
"No, No, don't mind it. I'm pretty sure anyone would get nervous if someone decides to sleep with them so suddenly."
Does 'Aid Recovery' work even during bedtime? If so, can my skills auto-activate when others need it? For now, it's not anything serious, but I'll take some precautions.
I'd rather prefer that Igarashi-san won't jump to my bedside in the middle of the night, even if Reliability increases as a result. That's like putting her under some kind of spell.
Igarashi-san came out of the bedroom after putting on a change of clothes. She looked slightly nervous. I got so used to her usual wardrobe, but somehow this get-up gives her a fresh image as she starts to blend with this fantasy world.
"Ah… It suits you. I'm impressed to see how naturally it fits."
"It's not like I'm wearing it because you asked me to or anything… but if it suits me, then I'll go with this. But I feel like a town girl instead of a seeker; like an ordinary townsfolk."
"I think it will be easy to put on some type of armor over it. I also plan to buy some kind of breastplate. Can I afford one though?"
"U… Uhm, … there are only three copper coins left? The budget for armor would be…."
"It's okay. Just leave it to me for the meantime. Aren't we a party? Unlike a company's project team, our revenue can be equally distributed."
She came from a strict family, so to her, lending and borrowing money is unthinkable. Considering the fact that she's this type of person is more than enough reason of an assurance for me.
"A loan is still a loan. I won't indulge myself too much from now on. I would also like to be a self-sufficient seeker with Atobe-kun as my companion. It's not good to be 'piggybacking'."
"Okay, that's good. Moreover, you shouldn't be too reliant on your leader, should you?"
"T… Then… you can go ahead and scold me for 'squandering'. I'd feel better, actually."
I'd rather be strict on her because she inclines to get all worked up with a little indulgence. But even if she tells me to, I still find no reason to scold her.
"No need for a scolding. A change of clothes is not a waste of money after all."
"Atobe-kun, have you never been told that you act like an older brother?"
Come to think of it, I was way younger than my seniors back in the company and I was sometimes treated like an older brother. I have only come to realize that just now.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
After getting some breakfast, I first dropped by the seeker's guild to inform Louisa of our business for the day. We then proceeded to the mercenary guild.
"Good morning, Leilsan!"
"Fu fu, you're early. It's nice to see a seeker who keeps to his words."
Just like yesterday, she donned her full-body leather armor. She may look intimidating because of that eyepatch, but she's friendly. This justifies that we can't judge a book based on its cover alone.
"I'll be working with Atobe-kun from this day onwards. My name is Kyouka, please take good care of me."
"Uhm, as I have thought, you were that newcomer I saw yesterday. I was worried 'cause you went to the labyrinth by yourself. I am pleased that you have found a companion."
"Y… Yes, I'll try my best not to drag him down."
Igarashi-san's greetings was cleverly terse; like a corporate person that would initiate an exchange of business cards if she would have had it. Leila on the other hand, sounded commendatory as well.
"It seems that Kyouka is not a vanguard, Theresa is not either. What will you do? Will you choose another lizardfolk as your vanguard?"
"No, please let me have Theresa since I would like to explore some places. We had excellent teamwork yesterday, too."
"Okay, let me get her."
I'll be using another copper ticket for this one. I bought an additional seven pieces from Louisa a while ago, so I have already reached my purchase limit for the month.
I inquired her about the shortest way of procuring more copper tickets, and it seems that the purchasing restriction should be lifted once I reach a certain number of seeker's contribution.
When the collective contribution reaches a thousand, the seeker is promoted to '★Two-Stars★'. The purchase restriction will be automatically lifted by reaching this and it will enable me to acquire unlimited copper tickets. Thirty gold coins are needed to purchase one-hundred copper tickets.
In other words, the requirements for Theresa's tenure are: one, earn the needed contribution, and two, prepare the gold needed. So instead of putting yesterday's earnings into keep, it would be better to strengthen the party, streamline the method to increase contributions, and prepare for the inflow of earnings.
"This Lizardfolk's appearance is similar to that of a movie CG. I like the way she looks."
"Her strength is amazing. She's excellent and we can trust her. It's nice to have you again today, Theresa"
Theresa repeatedly nodded, but her reaction was the same as that of yesterday. — Demi-humans also remember the person whom they met once.
"Theresa seems to have been yearning for you. I think she finds it convenient, so I hope that you could dive together for as long as you would want."
"Yes, I think it will take us longer compared to yesterday."
"Atobe-kun, what should we do for lunch? If we're planning to have our lunch in the labyrinth, then we should have something prepared."
"Food is sold in the stalls in front of the labyrinth. If we don't have the skills to cook outdoors, then we should purchase some."
"Thank you for telling me, Leilsan."
"No worries. In that case, be careful out there."
We parted from Leila then headed for the Demon Dismantler's Shop. Today, Theresa silently followed us from behind. Her short sword has received maintenance and her buckler that was partially damaged by the demon was noticeably repaired.
"Leilsan was a former seeker, wasn't she? She looks really strong."
"I haven't heard about it, but that should probably be the case. Lots of seekers often become partisans after they retire."
"Ah, but you can always go out to explore. I wonder if we'd ever reach that point too."
"Let's try to reach where it could lead us. We need not bet our lives. If we minimize risk but still rise up in ranks, then we should be able to lead a comfortable life."
"Yes, that's right."
Some seekers wanted to retire as soon as possible, but Igarashi-san's morale was still unaffected, even from yesterday's incident.
(Theresa lost her life in the labyrinth and ascended as a demi-human. It's too cruel to think that she still continues to dive as a slave-mercenary.")
Someday, I'll return Theresa from her subversion, retire from battle, and live a peaceful life. For that reason, we cannot afford to be stalled on the rankings.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Upon arrival at the Demon Dismantler's Shop, we found a blonde male, tanning demon's leather.
"Oh, excuse me… I would like some demon to be dismantled?"
"Welcome! Welcome to Lye Carton's Dismantling Atelier. I'm the shopkeeper, Lye. My daughter Melissa, is tearing down some large-sized demons over there."
The girl named Melissa wore an apron over a piece of work-wear and uses a large kitchen knife to dismantle a demon. Her eyes look keen as her craftsmanship.
"You've got quite a lot of materials hung in there."
"Yes, they're fur and some assorted things that I have dismantled. They're waiting to be dispatched. We deal with materials here, in this specific site of the shop, making sure that they won't rot within seven days; else the residents within the vicinity will start to complain."
So this site has similar application like that of my leather knapsack? Labyrinth country is more of a medieval city. However, there is magic and sometimes, this could make you feel like there is an abundance of advanced technology.
Igarashi-san was overwhelmed by the strange atmosphere of the place, but she gradually settled down while she inspected the piece of fur that was hung. There were also things like mink fur. If you can process those materials, you'll be sure to obtain some good garments. There was also this box stuffed with watadama's fur.
"Dear Customers, how should I call you?"
"My name is Arihito… and this is Kyouksan."
"Oh, what do we have here? That's very romantic of you partying together with your better half. When I was younger, my wife and I would dive into the labyrinth until we were smeared in the demon's entrails and blood. What a sumptuous feast, it was! Oops… the daughter might hear me."
"N… You're wrong, firstly, she's not my wife…"
"Y… You don't have to particularly deny it. I know you're just being polite. It's more embarrassing if you react too much."
Igarashi-san gives me her mature opinion… If it was to spread that she is my wife, it would be harder to explain.
And so, we had Lye Carton. They dismantle demons on a daily basis. They were proficiently grotesque and straightforward, so I felt strange and taken aback. I just laughed it off then flashed a wry smile. Maybe we'd get along, if only my skills were at par with their craft.
"…Dismantling, done!"
"Thanks, Melissa. Do this customer's materials next. After that ends, you can take a rest."
"Got it."
Unlike Lye Carton, this girl had the hue of hair close to silver. I think she's around her mid-teens? She returned bloodied but her appearance remained conspicuous — coupled by the lack of facial expressions, looking like a bisque doll.
"Sorry, I'm a child of few words, but even so, it does not hinder my craft of dismantling. You don't have to worry about it."
"You're still young but you've got the skill to do that, huh?"
I was worried about her circumstances but I just wanted to finish my business. I took the leather knapsack that housed the bodies of watadama and the Redface. Igarashi-san's bag also contained a watadama.
Lye inspects the Redface and fixes the position of his glasses. Melissa on the other hand, who was watching from the door, slightly opened her eyes.
"'Named' demons contain rare materials. My father can do the dismantling. You can bring the material to the arms dealer later."
"I'd like to purchase it myself, but I leave that to your discretion. First of all, I'll take the watadama for two silver coins. We can dismantle and give you the Redface's materials. We could buy it at eight gold coins and in case that you decide to only dismantle it that would be ten copper coins."
"'Named' materials can be cashed at a high price-if the guild sets a prize, the reward would be great. If you happen to encounter them while exploring, take necessary measures to defeat that strong enemy."
"Atobe-kun, what are you going to do?"
"I see…"
Shall we have the Redface materials processed? Or cashed? If possible, I would like to strengthen the party's fighting capabilities as much as I can so that we can defeat a formidable enemy… I'll choose the former.
"What kind of things can you make from the Redface's materials?"
"Redface uses a skill called 'Blaze Drive', it draws out flames from within its body upon reaching critical heath, then flies indiscriminately. If its material is processed, you will be able to harness the power of those flames without restraint."
(So you use such a dangerous skill when you're on critical health…? Thanks to +10 Support Damage, it'd be defeated before reaching that point.)
"If you take the hair of the Redface and the 'Burning Stone' inside its body, then incorporate it into a weapon, you will be able to use 'Blaze' type skills in lieu of consuming magic power."
"I see… you can switch between non-attributes and flame attributes?"
"You guessed it. If you're lucky enough, you can create one more weapon from the redface. If you could request the dismantling and processing service of the materials as a set, we will refund the surplus materials or charge it to the dismantling/processing fee. We will pay in cash if there would be more surplus than that."
"How about if you make armor from the surplus materials?"
"Binding the hair to a shield will raise the resistance to fire. When it comes to accessories such as scarves, you can obtain a small increase in defense. However, we will exhaust all the materials leaving you only with the meat."
Thanks to a watadama which was substantially larger, we were lucky to be able request more equipment.
I asked to process Theresa's buckler to get some flameproof specs, create a scarf for Igarashi-san and get my slingshot remodeled.
"Have you decided on what to do, Atobe-kun?"
"Yes… Igarashi-san, would you like to wear a scarf?"
"I wear them, sometimes… Will you make it, perhaps?"
"I'd rather prefer a wider range of armor, but we will also visit the arms dealer. I want the persons in the vanguard to have some fire resistance."
I don't know if we'll be able to meet a demon using flames on our explorations for today, but it would not hurt to equip some resistances. I would like to be prepared and resist any type of attack.
"Well then, we'll be placing the request here in Lye Cartons Dismantling Atelier. I hope that you can finish the job since we are limited on time."
While Lye Carton prepares the paperwork, Melissa goes into the back with the redface — a rare material… with eyes more vivid than they were previously.
Next is the arms dealer. It will be in a stall in front of the Labyrinth. Let's go and visit the merchant Madoka.