The Clumsy Maiden
Satou here. The saying jack of all trades, master of none makes the talent sound like a bad thing, but I think having a variety of skills is something to be proud of. Although in games, specializing in one thing is usually preferable.
“Welcome back, young master.”
“Thanks.”
When I finally got back to the mansion that evening, I gave my overcoat to one of the maids and headed for the living room.
“Are the other girls and our guest already back?”
“Our guest is in the bath with Pochi—I mean, Madam Pochi and Madam Tama—right now.”
After I asked the maid about Karina’s status, I sank onto the couch.
We had parted ways after we met up with Pina, and I went around to greet all the important guests at the venue and drank a good deal of the ale General Erthal had supplied with the guildmaster. Though we didn’t meet up much, I was confident that Karina and company had enjoyed the festival, too.
“Ahhh, how very refreshing.”
“Wait a sec, Lady Karina. We didn’t tie your sash yet!”
“Lady Karina, please don’t move until your hair driiies.”
Karina and her maids entered the room from the main bath area, where they’d been washing away the exhaustion from their trip.
Normally, we wore bathrobes after the bath, too, but I wasn’t expecting them to come into the living room dressed that way.
Miss Karina was wearing a knee-length robe, so she was covered below the waist, but her chest was a good deal more exposed.
The depth of that cleavage threatened to suck me in.
Aah, the devil is whispering in my ear. This must be how Adam felt when Eve tempted him with the apple…
“Guilty. ? Darkness Yami.”
The glorious vision was cut off by Mia’s Spirit Magic from behind the other girls.
But I would never, ever forget what I’d just seen.
“What was that? Magic?”
“Lewd.”
“Yeah, no fair trying to seduce master with those overpowered weapons of yours.”
“Lady Karina, I’m terribly sorry, but…you look a bit too stimulating in that outfit, so please put this dress on instead.”
Mia and Arisa complained to the confused Karina, while Lulu politely offered her new clothes.
As all this was happening behind the curtain of darkness Mia’s Spirit Magic had created, I couldn’t see any of it. Of course, I could watch if I used my Clairvoyance spell, but I didn’t want to resort to peeping.
“Young master, the guesthouse is read—”
Miss Miteruna entered the room but froze when she saw that half of it was cut off by darkness.
“Wh-what is this? An attack? H-help—”
“Don’t worry. It’s just Mia’s magic.”
Miteruna panicked and almost called for help, but I hastily reassured her.
“Anyway, thank you for preparing the guesthouse. Sorry it was such short notice.”
I appreciated her getting the guesthouse ready for Karina and her escorts.
“Not at all. I was simply doing my job.” In spite of her modesty, Miteruna looked proud of her work. “Young master, will you be needing the carriage this evening?”
“No, I’m not going back out today. I’d appreciate if you put the horses back in the stable.”
“Right away.”
We’d been invited to celebrations almost every day since returning from the labyrinth, but today I’d turned them all down so that we could welcome Karina and company.
I’d already partied with the viceroy’s wife, General Erthal, and the guildmaster.
Mr. Dozon’s explorer party congratulated us at the guildmaster’s party, as well as Zarigon and the Hellfire Fangs, who we’d rescued in the labyrinth. Mr. Jelil, the leader of the Red Dragon’s Roar party, did the same at the viceroy’s wife’s banquet.
At the banquet, Mr. Jelil also returned the Flame Sword I’d lent him to defeat the Middle Stratum’s floormaster.
He was pretty insistent about wanting to buy it off me, but I’d be in all kinds of trouble if someone was to take it apart and analyze it, which was why I refused. I’d be happy to trade it for a Chant orb, but I didn’t think such a thing even existed.
“…Release.”
After a while, Mia rescinded her spell, and Miss Karina returned to the doorway with her chest thoroughly covered.
She and her attendants hadn’t brought any spare outfits besides their traveling clothes and the dress Karina had been wearing earlier. I didn’t want them to have to put the same dirty clothes back on after a bath, so I had given Karina some of Nana’s spare clothes to change into.
I won’t say where, but it seemed a little tight on her. I could almost hear the fabric screaming.
Her cheeks were somewhat pink and flushed. I didn’t know if it was because of the bath or the bathrobe situation from a moment ago, but it gave off an unintentionally sexy air.
“I’ll reach out to the tailor tomorrow afternoon and order you some new clothes. Please bear with those for the time being.”
“New clothes? How luxurious!”
Despite being a feudal lord’s daughter, Karina had a sense of money that seemed to be rooted in her long experience with being poor.
“The viceroy’s wife has invited us to dinner and a tea party. It wouldn’t be proper to attend in your traveling clothes, would it?”
I guess we were being watched when we’d reunited at the festival—when I got back to the mansion, the invitation was already waiting. As always, the viceroy’s wife was quick to pick up on information and equally quick to act.
“No, I shan’t be attending. Please decline for me.”
That wouldn’t do. I pressed the topic further and got her to agree in exchange for preparing equipment and weapons for her to challenge the labyrinth.
And there was another thing, too.
“I’ll be departing for the royal capital in ten days or so, since I have to attend the kingdom meeting next month.”
Generally, a lesser noble from another territory like myself wouldn’t need to attend, but I was obliged to go in order to be awarded for defeating a floormaster and such.
“Baron Muno and Viscount Nina have contacted me to instruct that I bring you along.”
I’d received this letter from Miss Karina’s lady-in-waiting Pina when we met up.
“I shall not!”
“It’s already been decided.”
“Absolutely not.”
Karina stomped childishly.
“Karina, don’t be selfiiish?”
“You gotta do your duties or they’ll get mad at you, sir!”
Tama and Pochi joined in to convince Karina. Did they consider her a younger sister to them?
“But it isn’t fair! I wish to be an explorer with Tama and Pochi.”
As Karina shook her head rapidly, her ample chest bounced until a single button popped off the shirt, exposing a glimpse of what she was wearing underneath.
Instead of the Shiga Kingdom’s standard chest wraps, she was wearing a modern-style brassiere, which Arisa had popularized in the Muno Barony.
Taking care to avoid looking in that direction, I attempted to persuade Karina.
“Couldn’t we simply return to Labyrinth City once the kingdom meeting is over?”
“But what if they tell me to go straight back to the Barony?”
That seemed fine to me, but I could understand that she wouldn’t want to head back home after finally reaching her destination.
“Well, if it comes to that, I’ll support you.”
“It’s a promise!”
I certainly would, although I couldn’t guarantee that she’d be permitted to come back.
“Sir Knight, will it really be possible to finish a dress for Lady Karina by the day after tomorrow?”
Pina made a good point. Personally, I’d be able to do it overnight, so I had miscalculated a bit.
“Then I guess we should choose some clothing to rent tomorrow.”
There was still time until sundown, but I doubted they would want to go back out after taking a bath.
“I’ll make arrangements, then. Shall I secure a tailor to do the modifications as well?”
“Yes, thank you, Miss Miteruna.”
In Miss Karina’s case, the chest would definitely need to be taken out.
“Huh, you used an airship to get from the old capital to the royal capital?”
There was still time before dinner, so I was asking Miss Karina and company about their journey.
“Yes, Uncle Tolma supplied it for us.”
Tolma was the younger brother of Viscount Siemmen, who owned a scroll workshop, and a relative of Miss Karina and the rest of Baron Muno’s family.
He was also a friend of mine, who had helped me establish many connections in the old capital. Come to think of it, he and Karina’s brother, Orion, once dragged me around for a night of mischief on the town.
“The rest of the journey was the tough part.”
“So much walking, and only dried foods to eat…”
Erina and the newbie maid guard grumbled.
“Walking? You didn’t take a stagecoach?”
If I remembered correctly, there was a regular stagecoach route that traveled between the royal capital and Labyrinth City.
“Lady Karina didn’t wanna.”
“Wh-whenever I ride one of those, men always stare at me.”
Karina pouted and looked away.
Well, I could understand the other passengers’ temptation, as well as Karina’s discomfort. They probably didn’t charter a private carriage because of Miss Karina’s frugal instincts. I guess they traveled light to make their journey on foot a little easier.
“But wasn’t it dangerous to make the trip on foot?”
“Nah, not really. There were barely any monsters.”
“Yes, and no robbers, either.”
“It seems we timed it right as the knights from the royal capital were patrolling the road.”
Pina chimed in with Erina and the newbie.
It sounded like they had been pretty lucky.
Just then, we heard loud, pattering footsteps.
“Karina! Look at me, sir!”
“Tama toooo.”
Pochi and Tama had come running back with large rings in hand, and they started spinning them on their waists: Hula-Hoops.
I’d had Arisa make them for exercise when we were on standby before returning from the labyrinth.
I’d been wondering where the pair had gone, but apparently, they went to retrieve the Hula-Hoops from their rooms.
“My, how incredible! You’re both so terribly cute.”
Karina clapped her hands happily, and Pochi and Tama gleefully sped up their spinning.
“Your darling Arisa won’t be shown up!”
“Mm.”
“I shall participate as well, I declare.”
Somehow, this sparked competition from Arisa, Mia, and Nana, who retrieved their hoops and started spinning as well.
Arisa’s skills made sense, since she had experience from her previous life, but Mia was surprisingly good at it, too. It was a little stressful watching out of fear that her pigtails might get tangled up in the process, though.
Nana seemed to have a lack of natural rhythm like me, and she soon dropped hers. Though her expression didn’t change, she seemed frustrated.
“I-I’d like to try it, too.”
“Suuure…”
“It’s easy, sir! I’m sure you’ll master it in no time, sir!”
When Miss Karina timidly expressed her desire to join in, Tama and Pochi nodded eagerly while still spinning their hoops.
“You can borrow my hoop, I declare.”
Nana offered her Hula-Hoop to Miss Karina. The other girls’ would probably be too small for her.
“How do you do it?”
“On your hiiips.”
“Then you just move your hips around, sir!”
Tama and Pochi stopped and slowly demonstrated how to get started.
“Erm, like this?”
Miss Karina tried to spin hers, but it fell to the floor almost immediately.
“Nooo.”
“Hit it right here, sir.”
Without dropping their hoops, Tama and Pochi tried to demonstrate the secret to Hula-Hooping. It was adorable to watch them swing their hips around.
“I see, so like this!”
Karina imitated Pochi and swung her hips, managing to spin her own hoop, albeit unsteadily.
Thanks to her impressive figure, her movement was very dynamic.
“Niiice.”
“That’s the ticket, sir!”
The hoop dropped to the floor after a few rotations, but Karina seemed to have gotten a knack for it.
“I did it! Pochi, Tama, I made it spin!”
“I knew you could do it, sir!”
“Très bieeen.”
It certainly was très bien.
The way her upper half bounced rhythmically in time with her hips was—
“Guilty!”
“Honestly! If you’re going to look at something, look at your beloved Arisa!”
Mia and Arisa obstructed my view as if they’d read my thoughts.
I didn’t get it. I was sure my “Poker Face” skill was making me look as innocent as an old man watching his grandchild at play…
“Woo, Sir Knight’s cookin’! I’ve been dreamin’ about this. Take a look, newbie! It’s a mountain of fried food!”
Miss Karina’s battle maid Erina seemed to be the most excited about the banquet food we’d brought in.
“Erina, we’re here to accompany Miss Karina. Be sure not to eat more than your fair share, hmm?”
“You got it!”
Today we were having a banquet to welcome Miss Karina and celebrate the completion of the parade, and Miss Karina’s attendants were participating, too. Although it was really more like a living room party than a fancy seated banquet.
I sent some of the banquet food to the private orphanage and the explorers’ school, too.
The kids especially loved the Kintaro candy I included, which I’d made in the labyrinth to kill time. I didn’t want to scare the kids by including the legendary Kintaro’s face in the cylindrical candy, so I made shapes like chicks and rabbits instead.
“Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
As we all started to dig in, Pochi stared between the food and me with drool sliding down her chin and the question Can I have some? in her eyes.
“You’re not having any?” I asked.
Pochi’s eyes widened, and her tail started wagging.
“Can I, sir?”
“No.”
“You can’t.”
Arisa and Liza mercilessly shot down Pochi’s hopeful question.
I was about to ask why, until I finally remembered that I’d told Pochi she couldn’t have meat for three days.
“Just for tonight—”
“I said no!”
I was going to give her permission, but Arisa stopped me.
“Honestly,” she grumbled. “You’re like a father who’s too soft on his kids.”
Then you’re like an overly strict mother, Arisa.
I shook my head to dispel the ridiculous image.
Pochi would have to settle for a tofu hamburg steak tonight—or so I thought, but just as I finished making it, Arisa rejected this, too. “If you give her a substitute, it won’t really be a punishment, will it?”
“Boo-hoooo, sir.”
Pochi drooped her head, tears in her eyes.
“Pochi, come here.”
“…Yes, sir.”
I couldn’t give her any meat, but I figured I could at least let her sit on my lap, which was always hotly contested territory.
I thought the scent of meat might be torturous for her, so I tried using the Wind Magic spell Air Control and the Everyday Magic spell Deodorant to prevent the smells from reaching her, but then she just got even sadder. “I can’t even smell Mr. Meat anymore, sir…”
If it was this bad for the first meal, the next few days were going to be rough.
“Doziiiing?”
“…You sleepy, Karina, sir?”
Miss Karina seemed to be exhausted from her long journey; soon after she ate her fill, she began to nod off.
Even her escort maids seemed to be getting sleepy.
“Oh dear…”
I couldn’t have them falling asleep here, so I went over to pick up Miss Karina and carry her to her room bridal-style.
“Waaah!”
The newbie watched this with a blushing, excited expression.
Next to her, Pina was grinning, too, but Erina’s expression was harder to read.
At first I thought she was jealous, but considering her appetite, she was probably just reluctant to see the banquet end.
“Just a minuuute!”
As I was starting to lift Miss Karina by the back and knees, Arisa stopped me with an old-fashioned pose.
“Nana, lift.”
“Yes, master.”
On Mia’s orders, Nana smoothly lifted up Karina princess-style in my place.
Karina’s magic boobs formed a complicated line against Nana’s respectable bust.
It was quite a sight to witness, but I was a little jealous, too.
“Master, is Lady Karina sleeping in the guest room?”
“No, I thought that might not look good, so I had Miss Miteruna prepare the guesthouse for them.”
“Good thinking. Okay, Nana, you heard him.”
“Yes, Arisa.”
Nana carried Karina away to the guesthouse.
The newbie hurried after Nana; as Erina frantically stuffed her cheeks with fried chicken, Lulu offered her a basket to take along instead.
“Sir Knight, if you marry Lady Karina, you could carry her to your heart’s content.”
Pina whispered to me mischievously, then sped off after Nana with a giggle.
I was surprised by her unusual behavior, until I looked at her now-vacant seat and saw an empty mead bottle. I guess she was drunk.
“Mr. Meat, oh, Mr. Meat, wherefore art thou Mr. Meat, sir?”
As we relaxed after dinner, Pochi waxed poetic as she gazed at an image of meat in a picture book.
I guess going without meat for the night was a serious shock to her.
Incidentally, some of the others like Tama and Liza had tried to voluntarily go without meat in solidarity, but I’d rejected that because I didn’t believe in collective punishment.
“Pochi, for breakfast tomorrow—”
“Oh my gosh, sir! Can I have meat tomorrow, sir?!”
Pochi jumped in hopefully, but it was probably best to get her to regret her actions a little more, so I couldn’t be that easy on her.
“—you still can’t have meat, but I’ll make your favorite curry.”
“Boo-hoooo, sir.”
Her excitement short-lived, Pochi slumped down dramatically on the cushion. I guess even her beloved curry wasn’t enough to cheer her up.
Next to her, Tama tried to slip Pochi some jerky, but I confiscated it with my Magic Hand.
“Nooo?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Thank you anyway, Tama, sir. But I gotta accept my punishment, sir.”
I decided to ignore the melodramatic line, since it was probably due to Arisa’s influence.
After that, I waited for everyone to fall asleep, then headed to the Ivy Manor—a mansion built by the elf sage Trazayuya long ago, complete with a research laboratory. While not quite on the same level as the equipment in the elf village, it contained a great deal of tools and magic devices.
My goal here was to experiment with whether I could make a lesser imitation of an Intelligent Item like Raka for Tama, Pochi, and the others.
I spent the night working on the problem and decided to try using the intelligence circuits in the golems made by elves as a reference.
I’ll try and come up with some circuits during the day so I can put them together tomorrow night.
“Sir Pendragon! You’re late!”
“We’ve been waiting for you, Sir Satou!”
The next morning—although the sun had already risen by the time I left the Ivy Manor—I took Miss Karina and the others along to visit the explorers’ school after breakfast. When we arrived, a bunch of noble kids; the viceroy’s third son, Gerits; and Princess Meetia of the Nolork Kingdom were already there waiting.
I hadn’t expected them all to show up exactly on time. They must’ve been even more excited for the classes than I realized.
“A-and who’s this lovely lady?”
One of the kids, whose name I’d forgotten, stared at Miss Karina behind me.
Standing on either side of her, Tama and Pochi looked strangely proud. I guess they were happy to hear praise for Miss Karina.
“This is Lady Karina Muno, the daughter of my lord, Baron Muno.”
I introduced her to the noble kids, then gave her their names in turn.
At first, I was planning on having Karina train with the beastfolk girls in the labyrinth, but instead I decided to bring her here so she could make more friends.
They were all a bit younger than she was, but I was hopeful that the sociable Princess Meetia and the brave Miss Mary-Ann might make fast friends with her.
“She’s so pretty.”
“Wow…”
The boys seemed to be hypnotized by Karina’s good looks and incredibly large chest. That was probably normal for boys their age, but considering the look Mary-Ann kept shooting at Gerits, they probably should have been more careful.
I didn’t think he heard my thoughts or anything, but Gerits noticed Mary-Ann’s expression and quickly straightened himself out.
“Thou art incredible, Lady Karina. Never before have I met anyone better endowed than my own mother.”
Princess Meetia bluntly commented on Karina’s bust size.
Taken aback by her frank compliment, Miss Karina blushed and squeezed her arms around her chest as if to cover up, which of course had the opposite effect.
I was tempted to type a REC command.
“Take your seats, please!” I said to cover up my stupid thoughts. As I did so, the teachers Mr. Kajiro and Miss Ayaume entered.
“Sir Knight, I did not know you were here,” Mr. Kajiro greeted me.
“Sorry to have you do this on such short notice.”
“It is my pleasure to be of service to you, Sir Knight. We had already finished preparing anyway, so it is really no trouble.”
“Are you all right with one more student, then?”
I introduced Miss Karina and asked permission for her to join.
“Yes, of course.”
Kajiro was happy to accommodate my request. He had Miss Karina take a seat, too, then turned to address the students.
“I am Kajiro, your teacher. And this is my assistant, Ayaume. The course will last half a month. As long as you do not drop out, you should all be as strong as knights by the time we are through.”
Kajiro introduced himself and explained the goal.
Almost all the kids, especially Princess Meetia and Miss Mary-Ann, stared at him with their eyes sparkling.
“However, do not expect special treatment during class because of your social standing. I will not address you as superiors as long as I am your teacher. If this is an issue for anyone, please quit the course at once. I shall introduce anyone who desires special treatment to a different teacher tomorrow.”
Most of the kids nodded as if to say bring it on.
Once Mr. Kajiro wrapped up his introduction, I decided to excuse myself. Kajiro and Ayaume could take care of the rest.
“Are you leaving, Satou?”
As soon as I turned away, Karina called out to me frantically.
“Yes, I have business to take care of today.”
I had promised to show Zena around Labyrinth City.
“But…how could you?”
“Karinaaa?”
“It’s bad to be selfish, sir.”
“But I…”
Tama and Pochi scolded the disappointed-looking Karina.
“Now, don’t run off to play after your class is over, all right? We’re going to the clothing rental shop this afternoon, remember.”
“I—I know that.”
Karina looked away and pouted.
Maybe it was my imagination, but she somehow seemed even more childish than when I last saw her in the royal capital.
Maybe she was acting more like Tama and Pochi because she was so excited to see them again?
“I still have time before I meet up with Zena…”
Looking at the clock in my menu screen, I decided to transform into Kuro and go check on the Echigoya Company in the royal capital.
Three rounds of Return brought me to their headquarters, which was in an uproar.
“Manager! The Seventh Order of Holy Knights contacted us again about their Magic Sword order.”
“I told them we couldn’t do it right now! Write a polite refusal with the usual form, could you?”
The blond noble Eluterina, now the manager of the Echigoya Company, was doing battle with a mountain of paperwork on her desk. As a girl came running in from the hallway with a message, she shouted back at her in a harried voice.
“Manager, the Tenth Order—”
“Again, we can’t do it right now!”
“No, this one’s an additional request to their first aid kit order.”
“Well, all right, then. How many more do they need?”
“A hundred kits.”
“A hundred? Tifaleeza, do we have the stock?”
“We have thirty-one spare kits in stock. There are enough bandages and antidotes for more, but we don’t have enough vials for the antidotes or fever medication. If we’re to accept, we would have to hire some part-timers to make the fever medication into powder and pack it into paper.”
There was a flash of silver hair amid the stacks of paper. Tifaleeza must be sitting in there somewhere.
“All right! Liz, you hire some part-timers—five should do the trick. Rory, go stock up on fever medication from the doctors’ guild, please. Their vials are too expensive, so go to the wholesale dealer and—Lord Kuro!”
“““Welcome back, Lord Kuro!”””
As soon as they spotted me, the near-murderous tension evaporated, and everyone greeted me with a smile.
I was impressed by their ability to shift into business mode so quickly, and their smiles were so bright that they didn’t seem forced at all.
“Looks like things are going well here. Don’t mind me; just keep up the good work.”
With that, I waited for the manager to finish giving orders before asking for a status update.
“Well, we closed the deal on land for the airship construction site. It should be ours by the end of the month. And we’re feeling out whether we might be able to buy a workshop that went under due to lack of funds. Here are the notes and contract for that.”
I took a quick glance at the notes on the workshop’s previous owner and other details.
It was very well researched. There didn’t seem to be any problems with the sale, so I checked over the contract and approved it on the spot.
At this rate, I could probably let the manager take care of things without me checking it first from now on.
“We’ve been inundated with requests for Magic Swords, Spears, and so on, but we’ve only been taking orders for five per month at two months in advance, per your instructions. There haven’t been any of the airship-related inquiries you were worried about.”
“I see,” I replied shortly with a nod.
“Sales of the vegetable oil and simple fire tools we’ve been producing at our Labyrinth City location have been slowly increasing. The armor and equipment made from monster parts are very popular with commoners, and I think it’s safe to assume they’ll continue to be in demand. And we just now sold out of the first aid kits you suggested the other day, so we already need to restock.”
Miss Manager was so eager as she gave her report that I could easily picture a tail wagging behind her.
Since we had been forced to stay shut up in the labyrinth for a while after defeating the floormaster recently, I had started disguising myself as Kuro to go to the Celivera location of the Echigoya Company to help train the salespeople.
Between my training-related skills and the natural talents of the employees, many of them gained production skills pretty quickly.
However, since their skill levels were low for now, they could make only very simple magic tools like plain fire-starters and beginner crafts like wooden boxes and metal fittings.
But practice makes perfect in both games and reality, so I hoped they would create more and increase their levels.
All that being said…
“Are you taking enough breaks and days off?”
Miss Manager and the other Echigoya staff had bags under their eyes, and my AR display showed that their stamina gauges were all on the verge of running out.
“Don’t worry, Lord Kuro! We don’t need any breaks if we take the nutrition supplement potions you gave us!”
No, that’s definitely cause for concern.
If they were working nonstop, they could very well die of exhaustion someday.
“Unacceptable. Don’t be foolish.”
“Lord Kuro?”
The manager smiled at me with the manic all-nighter energy I had often seen during death marches at my job. I bopped her on the head lightly and did my best to scold her gently while still keeping up Kuro’s signature brusque tone.
“Always take regular breaks, no matter how busy you are. It’s far better to work steadily and healthily over time than to bet it all on a short period. The occasional overtime or all-nighter is fine in emergencies, but make sure it doesn’t become a habit.”
“““Yes, Lord Kuro!”””
Unlike my current body, theirs wouldn’t hold up unscathed if they went without sleep for days on end.
Just as I thought, it’d be best to bring at least the management staff of the Echigoya Company into the labyrinth and raise them to level 30 or so.
The elf teachers had advised against power leveling, but that was only because one wouldn’t absorb skills and battle techniques effectively.
If the goal was just to raise their stamina, it should be fine, right?
I decided to prepare an area for light power leveling for Miss Manager and company.
“Lord Kuro?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Whoops, I’d spaced out mid-conversation.
“Make sure you eat on your breaks, too. Here, I got these from a noble in Labyrinth City as thanks for some errands.”
“What a sweet smell. Are they pastries?”
“I’m told they’re called soufflé cakes. They’d go well with blue-green tea, I think.”
These were actually my handmade cakes and showed Satou as the creator’s name.
Once I watched the Echigoya workers gather around the sweets, I checked my map marker view and noticed that Zena’s status had changed from Sleeping to None , so I decided to head back.
“I’ll leave more magic potions and such in the basement storage. If there’s anything else you need—”
“Lord Kuro, here’s a list, if you please.”
With a bright smile, Tifaleeza handed me a list of supplies they needed.
“Very good work, Tifaleeza. Please keep supporting Miss Manager.”
“Yes, Lord Kuro.”
Tifaleeza’s silver hair bobbed as she nodded, looking pleased with herself.
She was usually very cool and collected, so I was happy to see that she’d gotten comfortable enough to show this side of herself.
As if in competition with Tifaleeza, Miss Manager stared at me intently.
Oh, right.
“Miss Manager, do you know of any noblewomen in high society who wear fashionable dresses?”
I thought it might help with finding a dress for Miss Karina.
“Fashionable? Do you mean the sort who has a strong sense of the latest trends or the sort who sets the trends?”
“The former.”
Karina seemed to like relatively conservative dresses. I didn’t think she would want to be on the cutting edge of fashion.
Miss Manager gave me the names of a few noblewomen, and I did a quick map search.
Several of the girls whose names she’d mentioned were having a tea party together, so I used my Space Magic spell Clairvoyance to take a peek and my original Picture Recorder spell to take a screenshot of their outfits from the neck down.
I didn’t record their faces in order to respect their privacy, not that it made much of a difference.
“Do you have enough golems for protection?”
“Yes, the adamantite golems and stone golems have prevented any more attempted burglaries and break-ins, and they keep the Magic Sword deliveries safe.”
The normal-size stone golems could reach only level 30 at most, so I used the Create Earth Servant spell to make four adamantite golems and dispatched them as well.
I went out of my way to use adamantite because that raised their level once they were turned into golems.
Both varieties were consecrated golems, made with anti-demon holy circuits.
“The stone foxes are especially popular!”
This comment came from a short-statured noble girl who was riding on one.
“Louna, I told you not to ride the stone foxes inside!”
“Awww, but this one likes it…”
If they were riding around on the stone foxes indoors, they must have really been fond of them.
“Louna!”
“Fiiine.”
The young lady reluctantly dismounted from the stone fox.
Grumbling to herself, Miss Manager turned back toward me.
“If anything, I believe the stone horses are more popular. We’ve even received requests from some nobles to sell them.”
“Awww, but the stone foxes are cuterrr.”
The cores that powered the golems were often used in elf technology, and they weren’t well suited for sale as magic power supplies, so I didn’t want to sell them.
“I have no plans to sell any golems. Please decline, even if the kingdom government asks.”
“Understood, Lord Kuro.”
Maybe I should try making a long-lasting orichalcum golem with a Holytree Stone furnace next, I thought absently as I nodded to Miss Manager. Once I put some fresh stock in the basement storage, I went back to Labyrinth City.
“I guess I still have a little time?”
I checked my map and saw that Zena hadn’t yet left her lodgings.
Not wanting to arrive too early and be left with nothing to do, I went for a leisurely walk toward the west guild instead.
As I passed the schoolyard of the explorers’ school, I saw that the noble kids were exercising in pairs.
“…Hmm?”
For some reason, Miss Karina was sitting alone in the corner.
No, wait—I hadn’t seen them through the grass at first, but Pochi and Tama were with her, too.
“Everyone makes mistakes, sir. Don’t let it get you down, sir.”
“Karina, don’t give uuup!”
“But…”
It sounded like she’d had a few mishaps, and Pochi and Tama were comforting her.
Curious, I went into the explorers’ school and asked Mr. Kajiro about it.
“Well, I wouldn’t call it a complete failure, but…”
As Mr. Kajiro hesitantly explained, he’d started out with a lesson to test each of their abilities, but Karina had accidentally destroyed part of the school building with a wooden sword.
Before that, she also broke another student’s shield with a wooden sword during form practice and nearly hit someone directly.
“M-my hand just slipped a little, that’s all…”
“I am sorry, Lord Satou. I should have deactivated Lady Karina’s ‘Body Strengthening.’”
As Karina made excuses, the Intelligent Item Raka spoke up for her.
“The building can be repaired, but if she was to hit a noble child with that strength, they might be seriously injured, so I asked her to observe instead.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Mr. Kajiro probably didn’t want any injuries on the very first day of class.
“It wouldn’t be such an issue if they had the instincts to deal with sudden situations or once they acquire enough resistance to handle a little impact, but…”
Strengthened by Raka, Miss Karina’s punches could knock out even a lesser demon that had killed armor-clad knights with its fists. A careless mistake on her part would be far too dangerous for children with single-digit levels.
Miss Karina herself was only around level 9, but since she was accustomed to having Raka’s support, her physical stats—especially her strength—were on the low side. Without Raka’s strengthening, even swinging the practice swords was difficult for her.
“I’ve been expelled on my first day, it would seem.”
“Cheer uuup?”
“No sulking, sir.”
Tama and Pochi comforted Karina as she plodded along. I was bringing her to the explorers’ guild, since she wanted to get her badge.
Karina was holding a fake sword in a sheath, the same small size as Tama’s and Pochi’s.
“Lizaaa?”
“Liza’s fighting in the field, sir!”
There was a crowd in the soup kitchen plaza, where Liza was doing battle against a foreign martial artist of some kind. Apparently, the space by the labyrinth barracks previously reserved for such duels was no longer available.
“Her opponent appears quite strong.”
Karina’s observation was right, but Liza was a higher level, and her strategies were far more advanced after so many mock battles with the elf teachers and Tama and Pochi.
Unlike her opponent, who was just hopping left and right, Liza was avoiding her opponent’s attacks with the most minimal movements.
“You can do iiit.”
“Now, sir!”
For just a moment, Liza glanced toward us. She must have heard Tama and Pochi cheering her on.
“Uh-oh!”
“Look out, sir!”
Her opponent tried to strike while she was distracted, but she twisted to the side and dodged his attack without even looking, then used the momentum of her turn to knock him down with her tail.
Then, before he could stand up again, Liza thrust the tip of her Magic Cricket Spear at his face, stopping just short of his nose.
“I give up, dammit!”
“The winner is Liza of the Black Spear!”
As soon as the opponent surrendered, the referee loudly declared Liza’s victory. Torn-up tickets fluttered around the area. It seemed like there were bets on the match.
“Well done, Liza.”
“Hey, brat! Stay outta the way.”
I went over to congratulate Liza, but a large monkeyfolk man shouted at me angrily.
“I, the great Kimon the Indestructible, am the Black Spear’s next opponent!”
“Hey! Wait your turn!”
“I didn’t see you in the preliminary matches! If you wanna fight her, you gotta earn your spot!”
More complaints followed from a tigerfolk man and a red-faced human. Behind them were six or seven other men and women, all apparently waiting to challenge Liza as well.
“I won’t tolerate any rudeness to my master.”
Liza stepped in between her challengers and me.
“Master?”
“Wait, don’t tell me this kid is Pendragon!”
“The guy who Liza was bragging is even stronger than she is?”
Liza was bragging about me?
Glancing at her, I noticed her cheeks were a little red.
“I’ve still got a bit of time. Want me to take on some of them?”
I felt bad letting Liza get stuck fighting all these people.
“No, it’s all right, master. There’s no need for you to bother yourself…”
However, Liza looked like she still wanted to say something.
“Go on—what is it?”
“I was hoping you might spar with me instead.”
“Sure. But since we’re in town, let’s not exchange real blows today, all right?”
Normally, she would be wearing her gold armor, so the occasional light hit wasn’t a big deal.
“Wait, d-did he just say ‘today’?”
“So normally they really hit each other…?”
“No wonder she’s been getting strong so fast.”
The people in the peanut gallery turned pale, obviously misunderstanding something.
“Liza of the Black Spear versus the mysterious young Sir Pendragon! Place your bets here!”
The bookmaker’s voice sounded familiar—I looked and realized it was Skopi, the boss of the local underworld.
Liza explained that they had a deal in which she received 60 percent of the bet earnings.
“Ready, set, fight!”
The showdown between Liza and me began with a shout that reminded me of a fighting game.
Unlike in her previous match, Liza was using battle skills like “Body Strengthening” and “Reflex Acceleration.”
She sped toward me—she was using “Blink” for real.
Six gale-like attacks closed in on my face and body.
I wasn’t going to quite be able to dodge her spear targeting my belly button, so I twisted to one side and knocked the spear’s handle with my palm to divert the attack.
If I’d countered with my fairy sword, I might’ve been able to win the match, but instead I just watched her speed past me.
“You’ve gotten really strong, Liza.”
I gave a murmur of praise without thinking. Liza didn’t answer, silently catching her breath.
“She didn’t move like that when we fought her, did she?”
“So she was holding back against us…”
“Wait, forget that for a sec. Did you see how he was moving?”
“No, I couldn’t follow most of it.”
“He evaded all those attacks from the Black Spear without hardly even moving.”
The crowd chattered noisily.
Given that I didn’t even use “Spellblade,” “Body Strengthening,” or any special moves, I thought they were overreacting.
BWOOM. I heard a small noise.
Liza’s spear was glowing with red light, which began to emit from her body as well. She must be running “Spellblade” throughout her whole body.
“Liza’s gonna make a move!” someone shouted in the crowd.
As if on cue, Liza shot forward like a bullet.
She moved as fast as lightning, leaving a red trail in her wake.
Obviously, this strike was meant to be a one-hit KO.
Along the way, she sped up like an arrow, moving faster than I expected.
I brought my fairy sword down, but her Magic Spear slipped past it.
An explosive noise echoed through the field, and a sharp blade stopped at a throat.
“You really have gotten so strong.”
“…Yes, master.”
As silence fell over the crowd, our whispered exchange vanished into the air.
“The winner is Pendragon!”
The referee’s voice echoed through the plaza.
“Huh? What just happened?”
“Dunno. He swung down his arm, and the Black Spear got past it, but next thing I knew, her spear had been knocked aside, and his sword was stopped at her throat.”
The challengers weren’t able to follow all the precise moves of the fight.
“Did you see everything, Tama and Pochi?”
“Of cooourse?”
“Master used the hilt of his sword to knock Liza’s spear aside like SMACK; then he struck like SHOOM, sir.”
“SMACK-SHOOM.”
Tama and Pochi gave a slow-motion reenactment as they explained.
The rest of the crowd watched as well and finally seemed to understand what had happened.
“That’s crazy. He blocked a thrust that fast with the hilt of his sword…”
“No, that’s not the wild part. He was swinging his sword down right before then, y’know?”
“How’d he contort himself from that stance into the other one so fast?”
Contort? That’s rude.
“Guess this explains why Liza of the Black Spear is always saying things like My master is far stronger than the likes of me, huh?”
“Wait, was that supposed to be a crappy impression of Lady Liza?! You’ve got some guts to do that right in front of her fan club!”
This was one noisy crowd.
Wait, Liza had a fan club now? What was this, a light novel?
“You’ve proven once again how far I have to go, master. Fortunately, I have plenty of practice partners, so I will continue to train.”
“Just don’t push yourself too hard,” I responded to Liza’s intense expression, and we left the plaza behind.
“Aah, what a delicious fargance, sir.”
“Fargaaance…”
Tama and Pochi closed their eyes, happily sniffing the scent of roasting meat from the food stalls and carts. They were probably trying to say fragrance.
This was likely torturous for Pochi, who wasn’t allowed to have meat right now, so I quickly led the way past the stalls.
“That’s why I’m saying we need to form a rescue party!”
“You say that, but there’s a fee for rescuing anyone who doesn’t have a gold badge.”
“Then we’ll pay it after!”
As we entered the explorers’ guild, we heard an argument going on at the counter.
Although that was business as usual here.
“Ooh, it’s Usasa and Rabibiiii?”
“And Gaugaru, sir!”
Tama and Pochi spotted some friends of theirs, the first scholarship students at the explorers’ school, and ran over.
I walked up to the teacher who was standing behind them.
“Miss Jena, isn’t the final graduation test today?”
“Oh, Sir Knight. Well, we were running the test in the labyrinth when we found a near-dead noble kid…”
Apparently, that was the identity of the young boy who was causing a fuss at the counter.
“Miss Iruna, you said we’d get money for rescuing a noble, but he’s not paying up at all,” one of the students complained.
“I said ‘in many cases,’ remember?”
According to Iruna, noble kids who couldn’t inherit their family wealth often came to Labyrinth City, but in cases when they didn’t have military experience, it wasn’t unusual for them to attempt exploration beyond their means and get injured or killed.
“Although it’s not just nobles who get themselves killed when they’re starting out,” Iruna added.
When one had rescued a noble, most of them would pay the amount they promised, but in the cases of those who’d come to the labyrinth because they were short on money, they might go back on their word.
It’s just as they say: The poor can’t afford manners.
“I swear I’ll pay you after!”
The noble boy kept shouting the same thing over and over.
Come to think of it, he looked somewhat familiar. Searching my memories, I realized it was Bowman, the boy who’d been facing off with Gerits and company the day of the parade.
It looked like his injuries had been treated, but the clothes I could see under his beaten-up armor were soaked with blood.
“So where are his guardians?”
“He was alone when we found him.”
His guards had all been level 20 and up. What had attacked them that they couldn’t handle…?
I opened my map and looked at the area where the graduation test had been taking place, but there didn’t seem to be any particularly strong monsters there.
“It was a giant beast! It had arms like swords and scythes, and it ripped through Laris’s shield and Dokken’s steel armor like paper! The explorers’ guild is just gonna let a dangerous monster like that run free?!”
The boy waved his bloody arm around wildly.
“This is the first we’ve heard about it. Besides, the most we generally do in a situation like this is warn others that such a creature has been sighted.”
“Then at least send a rescue party…”
“As I stated before, hiring a rescue party requires payment. And be advised that the price varies depending on the range of the rescue and the amount of time required.”
The receptionist replied to the boy in a terse, businesslike voice.
It did seem a little cruel, but seeing as though it cost a lot of money for a risky search and rescue mission, I couldn’t blame them for requiring payment in advance.
Since he wasn’t able to do so, it probably meant that he didn’t have any relatives in Labyrinth City.
“Grrr…”
I felt a bit of compassion for the loyal kid, who refused to give up on his comrades anyway, so I searched the map for the names he’d mentioned.
Unfortunately, Laris and Dokken had both passed away.
I used my Space Magic spell Clairvoyance to investigate the area where their bodies lay and saw that there were several other bodies lying nearby as well.
If memory served, it was the same number of people the boy had had with him when we first saw him.
Just as he said, many of them appeared to have been cut down by a blade like a broadsword or a scythe.
For just a moment, I thought they might’ve been killed by plunderers or other explorers, but most of the wounds looked like they came from a higher angle than a human’s, so it must have been the work of a monster with sharp limbs.
Looking at the map, I didn’t see any enemies above level 20 in the area; the creature that had killed the boy’s party must have vanished into a spawnhole somewhere.
“May I interject?”
“Who are you supposed to be?!”
The boy spun in the direction of my voice. I explained that I was with the people who had rescued him, then turned to address the receptionist.
“I’ll pay the request fee. Please search in the vicinity from where Miss Iruna and the others rescued him to the labyrinth village. The length of time will be four days. It’s likely that the others were injured, so I would advise bringing extra stretchers or carrying packs.”
At the very least, we could try to recover the bodies before they were eaten by monsters.
Out of the boy’s earshot, I whispered to the clerk that I would still pay even if they weren’t recovered alive.
“Th-thank you…”
“It’s Pendragon.”
I realized I hadn’t introduced myself yet, so I quickly gave my name.
“…Sir Pendragon. I swear to pay you back someday.”
I parted ways with the boy, who wept as he thanked me, and went to a service window to get Miss Karina registered.
“This makes me an explorer, too, does it not?”
Miss Karina hugged the wooden badge to her chest.
I somehow managed to restrain myself from following it with my eyes.
“Of cooourse?”
“There’s a long path ahead of you to reach the top, sir!”
“Yes, I’m certain I shall!”
As I smiled at the exchange between Karina and the kids, I noticed the point on my radar that indicated Zena was approaching.
Judging by her speed, she seemed to be running with magical assistance.
I checked my menu’s clock to see if it was past our meeting time already, but there was still an hour or so to go.
Thinking that something might have happened, I called Karina and the others to come along and headed in Zena’s direction.
“Zena!”
As soon as we stepped outside, I saw Zena standing near the front of the guild, looking around frantically, so I called to her loudly.
She was still wearing her military uniform, even though we were supposed to walk around town today.
“Satou!”
Zena came running up to me, looking unusually panicked.
She jumped into my arms, clung to my chest, and exclaimed, “Satou, you won’t believe it!”
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