Chapter Two: Training for an Obstinate Man
We returned to the castle and proceeded to exchange information in more detail, filling in Trash and our other allies about everything that happened in Kizuna’s world. Trash, Lyno, L’Arc, Therese, and I were speaking. Raphtalia and the others were there too, but they were only listening. I had sent everyone else back to the village to rest. Sadeena and Shildina had gone right away. As we had already exchanged an outline of information, it didn’t take that long to explain the rest of it.
Trash made a thoughtful noise as he absorbed the information Lyno provided, the details of the enemy’s internal structure. As for Armor, who Itsuki brought here, he had spilled his guts all over again and had then been taken away. They had used a dragon hourglass to reset his level first, giving him no chance of escape. Once they had extracted everything they could, they were going to execute him. The guys from Zeltoble had been talking about using a bull of Phalaris to do the job, but that was their business.
Meanwhile, L’Arc had explained the battle in his world to Trash in more detail.
“The activities of these ones called ‘resurrected’ that I have already heard Hero Iwatani speak of . . . the true nature of our enemy, the one who assumes the name of God . . . I still don’t have a full understanding of the situation, but it seems most troubling indeed,” Trash said.
“Indeed. You got any ideas in that big brain of yours?” I asked him.
“We already thought of them as the vanguards of the waves, so now we simply know who they actually are . . . but hearing a little more about their internal structure may open up some new avenues,” Trash pondered.
“I was thinking the same thing,” I replied. We got all the information from Lyno too.
“The issue being . . . it is still going to be difficult for us to pivot to the attack. Defense isn’t everything . . . but looking at the weapon power-up method information we have now obtained, we are going to need to increase our strength considerably. If we can’t do that, it won’t matter what kind of plan we come up with—we won’t be able to execute it,” Trash analyzed.
“Sounds like we’re on the same page there too,” I agreed with him.
“I’m glad. So whether something happens here or not, you and your allies should work on enhancing yourselves, Hero Iwatani. We too will seek to enhance the techniques of those who could benefit from further training,” Trash said. That was more important than forming a more specific plan of action, then. Sound reasoning. I had nothing to offer otherwise. Trash having reached pretty much the same conclusion had told me my thinking had been correct.
“We should send the accessories that Lyno and I obtained for analysis as quickly as possible,” I suggested.
“I have already placed requests with research groups in each country for the purpose, including our own. That said . . .” Trash was signaling me with his eyes, asking me to pass this on to someone with a deeper understanding of such technology.
“He isn’t involved yet?” I asked.
“I think any talk of accessories would probably appeal to him, but I decided we were more likely to capture his attention if it came from you,” Trash explained.
Zeltoble, a nation of merchants and mercenaries. A nation where enough money was said to be able to resolve pretty much anything. I had connections to the one in charge there. The one Trash was suggesting I meet with. The one he wanted help from was like my master in the making of accessories, whom I personally called the “accessory dealer.” Simply making accessories using the methods he taught me was enough to increase their quality. It was some kind of secret method that differed from normal accessory-making, and the results had been well received by those around me.
I sometimes wondered if the accessory dealer had really taught me something so difficult or special. All it felt like to me was that he’d taught me a way to imbue magic. In any case, that had put me on the path to making all sorts of accessories and provided me with a working knowledge of how they operated. I had the abilities of my shield too.
Getting the accessory dealer to analyze the pieces we originally carried back from Kizuna’s world had allowed him to make an accessory for use in this world that permitted teleportation to the site of a wave when one occurred. He had also looked at the accessories housing a Scroll of Return and the one with the translation function, but he was yet to make as much progress with those.
Then there was the accessory re-creating the drop function for monsters that had been absorbed by the holy and seven star vassal weapons. Analysis of that had proceeded quite promisingly. But ultimately he needed more samples, so I had made sure to bring back plenty this time. We also had the materials provided by Lyno this time. Now we could only pray that the analysis would proceed and methods to mass-produce or counter the accessories would be found. In any case, it was true that we should probably arrange a meeting. He was a dealer—a businessman—first and foremost. There was nothing to say that he wouldn’t make a meal out of even someone he knew and liked for the sake of some cash, if they exposed such an opportunity. Trust might be the most important thing in business, but there were also times when—if the other party was becoming nothing but a burden—you simply had to cut them loose. There was meaning in creating a situation in which he couldn’t betray us, and I had to be careful to maintain it.
“Hey, kiddo. Thinking of going already?” L’Arc said, almost leaning forward eagerly as he asked and interrupted my thoughts. The accessory dealer had nothing to do with him, surely. That said . . .
“We’ve pretty much completed the report to Trash, so the choices are to return to the village or go set things up with the dealer,” I admitted.
“And which are you picking, kiddo?” L’Arc asked.
“Good question,” I pondered. “I don’t see much ‘rest’ in my future even if I go back to the village.” Things were likely to be a bit crazy there—just like always. They might not throw a full-blown party for us, but there was a lot of energy in the village and they would be happy to see our return. Of course, this had all been a bit sudden, so there would probably be some people missing. Sending Sadeena and some of the others back ahead of us had partly been to let everyone know what was going on. I should probably give them a little more time to prepare. “I guess I’ll clear up these annoyances first.”
“Okay!” L’Arc enthused. I tilted my head, still not sure what his angle was. Everyone else present seemed to feel the same way about his reaction, and there was a strange atmosphere in the air.
“Very well, Hero Iwatani. I will return to making investigations for our future plans, further training, and my public duties,” Trash concluded.
“Okay,” I replied. The meeting with Trash ended there and everyone started going their separate ways.
“I will take my leave too,” said Lyno. She was heading to report to her unit about her dealings with Bitch. It might not have been decisive, but there were plenty of people who would be happy to hear about Bitch being killed.
“Okay. I need to meet up with your people and have a chat sometime. I think we’ll have a lot in common,” I said with a grin.
“I will make the introductions soon. They will surely be bolstered to hear of your exploits, Shield Hero. Until then.” Lyno gave a bow and left.
“I’ll invite Ren and Itsuki along too,” I said to myself. They were sure to enjoy chatting with some like-minded folks. I was looking forward to it already.
“I would rather you didn’t spend too long with those people,” Raphtalia said. I understood where she was coming from. A bit of a chat couldn’t hurt though. Getting the victims of Bitch together would firm up our desire to see her punished and share the feeling of being allies all working toward the same goal.
We used a portal over to Zeltoble and with materials in hand went looking for the accessory dealer. His main store was located here and had a branch located in the town next to my village. The retail of merchandise originating with me should be making him quite a tidy profit. He had seemed pretty happy with the arrangement prior to our departure, but I didn’t know what the situation was now.
“This is a bustling town!” L’Arc exclaimed, eyes darting about all over the place as he commented to me. This country felt like it would suit him; L’Arc the playboy, the easygoing jock. When I first met him I’d thought he was either a merc or an adventurer, and this country was the mecca for folk of that ilk, so it wasn’t surprising that he seemed to fit in.
“Bustling indeed. Zeltoble is the nation of merchants and mercenaries,” I told him. A place that suited Sadeena’s personality too. It was also a great place to hide, with few people prying into the affairs of others. I had entered Keel and some of the others into the coliseum here and caused quite the ruckus as a result. So those parts of the country were more cautious around me now. Motoyasu had benefited from that experience when we held those filolial races during the festival Melty held in the neighboring town to try and cheer me up.
“I’ve got business to discuss, so you and Therese can go find a tavern and have some fun,” I told L’Arc. He had come to introduce himself to Trash, and that had already been taken care of. I would have been happy for him to go home completely now. He had only tagged along to let his crown slip a little—a little further—and have some fun. I knew that much.
“No, no, I’m going with you, kiddo,” he answered. I hadn’t expected that, and it made me wonder again what he was up to. He was definitely sticking close to me.
“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with,” I replied. We headed toward the department store run by the accessory dealer. If he wasn’t here, we could ask one of the staff where to find him. However, that proved unnecessary.
“Oh my. If it isn’t the mighty Shield Hero,” a familiar voice called out. Just like when I first met him, there he was, sitting behind the counter.
“I wondered this before,” I asked him snidely. “If you’re the boss here, why are you working retail?”
“You don’t understand?” he responded innocently.
“No, I get it,” I told him. “If you don’t place yourself on the front lines, dealing with customers face to face, when you have a little time to do so, then it will blunt your edge. You could even let big business chances slip past you. You need to be there, boots on the ground, to catch these things.”
“Very nicely put, oh mighty Shield Hero. I can see your edge isn’t blunt,” he said, eyes twinkling in that way I really didn’t like. I wasn’t sure where this “mighty Shield Hero” junk was coming from, but I wished he would quit that too. He had some kind of evil presence inside him, like the opposite of life force—some strange power, unique to merchants, that even the old lady and others sensitive to life force couldn’t detect.
“And? What brings you here?” the accessory dealer asked.
“I’ve come to see you, of course,” I replied.
“I see. About those accessories you asked me to analyze? Unfortunately, I can’t do anything more without more materials. Any chance you can provide a little more capital? A little more support?” he asked.
“What do you mean ‘a little more’?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Paying you anything would be a complete waste. If someone from my side is paying you, that stops now.”
“Oh my . . . I’ve said too much.” He chuckled. Seriously, this guy. I wondered if he had been receiving payments since the previous queen was in power. If that was the case, then I really needed to start seeing some results.
Trash was great in a scrap, but there was a chance he couldn’t keep up with the business side of things. If he spent the time to come and deal with this himself, he would probably get a handle on it quite quickly, but there was no need for the king to be doing that.
Maybe knowing that was why he was leaving all of this to me.
“You never fail to impress, mighty Shield Hero. It’s been a while since we last met but you are on your game like always,” the accessory dealer said.
“Hah. Enough buttering me up. Take a look at these.” I showed him the materials that Lyno had recovered and some samples of the accessories we had obtained. Just taking a cursory glance over the materials was enough to change something in the accessory dealer’s eyes.
“Oh my. I don’t understand the language these are written in . . . but I can already tell I’m very interested in what they say,” the accessory dealer said.
“These materials all come from another world. They detail technology belonging to our enemies. I’m planning on having our own researchers take a look at them, but what do you say? Going to ask for more money now?” I teased him.
“Please, that was just my little joke. Of course, I very much want to be involved in whatever this is. Oh, indeed,” he said with a chuckle.
“We will need some research capital from you, of course,” I said, seeking some funds from him. It sounded like he had already received payments from us, while really he should be the one paying for the privilege. After all, this could end up making a lot of money for him.
“What if I were to say I’d rather not pay anything?” he asked.
“You’re a businessman. You know the answer,” I told him. I didn’t need his cooperation, not specifically. I’d just go and find another wealthy merchant. Once we had obtained the technology, however, this guy would surely get involved again. No matter how large Melromarc had become, and how much Trash and Melty were willing to pay in research costs, money was not infinite. We also might not want the resulting technology to just spread uncontrolled across the world. That was where having a merchant on the hook could really help out—so long as he was on our hook, and not us on his.
“Very well then!” the accessory dealer exclaimed with a laugh. “You may present whatever figure to me you desire. The rights to produce the resulting accessories will be mine, however.”
“You don’t get to decide that. We have made some progress though. Go see Trash in Melromarc next. You can sort out the details of the contract with him.” I gave the accessory dealer the necessary documents, prepared in advance, for him to see Trash. This should make Trash’s life easier.
I had heard that, perhaps from technology that had leaked out into the world after the defeat of Takt, an airfield had been created close to Zeltoble, and the accessory dealer had obtained the deeds to that place too. He was also involved with slavery, to some degree—quite a dangerous fellow, when all was said and done.
“Sorry for interrupting while you are getting so involved, Mr. Naofumi, but maybe you should restrain yourself a little . . .” Raphtalia said with concern in her eyes. I took a look around and saw the people in the vicinity were looking on with some worry. It could just be the presence of the famous Shield Hero among them . . . or maybe they were worried about whatever new mischief the accessory dealer and I were cooking up.
“One more thing . . .” the accessory dealer said, pointing behind L’Arc at Therese. He had noticed the Four Holy Beasts Guardian Seal: Starfire and the Demon Dragon’s Four Heavenly King’s Bell accessories that she was wearing. Being artifacts from another realm, I almost expected the text for them to be corrupted, but everything seemed to be functioning.
“Mighty Shield Hero, this one I take no exception with,” he said, pointing at Starfire, “but I think you let yourself slide a little with this one,” he continued, pointing at the bell with an uncomfortable expression on his face.
“It’s a prototype I made just to check out the quality of the materials. Cut me some slack, okay?” I told him.
“That’s hardly any excuse,” he chided me. I shook my head and beckoned Therese over, then silently handed the bell to the accessory dealer. He started to inspect it with a magnifying glass at once.
“Yes, this work here is very rough . . . I’m amazed you are willing to let it out in public like this,” he muttered.
“I bet you think just anyone could make it, right?” I said, knowing what was coming next.
“You said it, not me,” he replied. With a few swift movements he broke the piece apart, transporting the bell into its components in the blink of an eye. Then he applied a file to some of the parts before fitting them back together with far greater precision. “You are certainly using some pretty tricky materials, but you should have at least achieved this much.”
Demon Dragon’s Four Heavenly King’s Bell (Demon Dragon’s Four Heavenly Kings blessing, four elemental magic power-up (large), power of darkness and soul, bond of loyalty)
Quality: highest quality
The additional “bond of loyalty” had been added. I wondered what kind of effect it might have.
“If you imbue too much, it will affect not only the quality but also the balance of the entire piece. The wearer will need a powerful desire to defeat the darkness to make this work,” the accessory dealer said.
“I could alter things around, but over there, higher quality means better weapons,” I explained.
“I see. It’s a fun little piece, I’ll give you that.” The accessory dealer touched each of the places that had moments ago been a separate part. “It seems close to that mystery material with the corrupted text, but the magic contained in this is being forcibly changed into something else,” he pondered.
“I’m impressed by your eye, as always,” I told him. “This was indeed created with materials from a powerful monster originating in another world. It would likely be difficult to draw out its true power here in this one.” I’d now provided him with a reasonable volume of information. A merchant of his standing wasn’t going to expect much more for free.
“Okay. How about we call it a day there, Shield Hero? If you can put together a report for me on the unknown materials you encountered in this other world, I will be happy to pay additional money,” he offered.
“I’m happy to give it a try, but I’ll be interested to see what you can make based on just that limited information,” I told him. The dealer just gave a chuckle. We were about to wrap things up when L’Arc suddenly got involved in the conversation.
“You’re the one who taught kiddo how to make accessories, correct?” he asked. Maybe this was the reason he seemed so keen to tag along. “I’m L’Arc Berg. Everyone calls me L’Arc, so feel free to do the same.”
“Okay, ah, sure thing.” The accessory dealer looked away from the incoming L’Arc and over at me. He wasn’t sure what to make of this sudden interruption either. We were all looking at L’Arc with suspicion in our eyes, but he just carried on like normal. At least, that was probably his intention, but there were hints of what looked like panic on his face as he sought a handshake from the accessory dealer.
“You are an ally of the mighty Shield Hero, I take it? What do you want from me—from my store?” the accessory dealer asked.
“This place you’ve got here is so sparkly! Don’t you agree, Therese? Amazing!” He sounded really cheesy—like some kind of pickup artist.
“I know. All of those stones are sparkling so brilliantly. Proof that he is skilled at his job,” Therese agreed as she looked around. “I can also tell . . . these pieces are just for display. They aren’t even your best work, are they?”
“Smart lady,” the accessory dealer said, instantly more taken with Therese than L’Arc.
“I appreciate you trying to put your best foot forward. I personally prefer the work of the Master Craftsman here,” she said, pointing at me. I pondered for a moment on the differences between our work. I sought practical capabilities while the accessory dealer sought sales. That could lead to some differences. I myself had once sold all sorts of uniquely shaped accessories to nobles in order to make money, of course. That all came down to personal taste, in the end, so everyone would probably feel differently. For my work, I was influenced by anime and games and so liked to put some fun little gimmicks in there—the kind of stuff you might find in a cheap souvenir store. Accessories featuring butterflies in their designs or accessories designed based on Filo’s wings had all sold pretty well. But I’d have to really commit to it to hone my senses for that kind of thing. It wasn’t exactly my main profession.
Aside from all of these factors, the pieces on the accessory dealer’s shelves were greatly influenced by designs that were popular out in the world. He tried to retail popular designs.
“Are you looking for something for your discerning female companion, then?” the accessory dealer asked with his best salesman smile in place. It appeared plain on his face that he wasn’t happy dealing with the likes of L’Arc—but when I thought about it, I realized he had that look on his face most of the time. He’d even worn it when I first met him.
“Nope, that’s not it,” L’Arc replied. The accessory dealer had clearly been expecting a positive response and had been reaching beneath the counter to bring out the good stuff. Now he paused and tilted his head. I did too.
“L’Arc, just what are you here for?” I asked him. He had barged into the discussion between the accessory dealer and me, but then he started talking to Therese. When asked if he wanted to buy something, he said that he didn’t. Just what did he want, then?
“I might ask the same thing. If you are a companion of the Shield Hero, you may speak plainly. I have limited time,” the accessory dealer said. He was one of the top merchants in Zeltoble, so I’d been told, and one who hated wasting time with pointless conversations. “Time is money” was his philosophy, and he apparently stuck to it pretty strictly with almost anyone other than me.
“I was hoping to chat a little more before we reached this point, but here goes.” L’Arc took a deep breath and placed both hands together to beg the accessory dealer. “Can you please teach me your secrets of accessory making?” I made a surprised noise. I’d already done that, far above and beyond the call of duty, while we were in the other world. Yet here he was, asking the accessory dealer! Did he have some kind of issue with my skills?
The dealer looked L’Arc up and down, then looked away, making it pretty clear he wasn’t interested.
“I’m sorry. I have nothing to teach you. You’re not suited to the work of a craftsman,” he reported. Just that glance had been enough to tell L’Arc sucked with his hands. In all fairness, anyone could make the same assessment with a similar glance. In his own world, he was the king of an entire nation, leading negotiations with other kings. But that suited him, like some feudal-period warlord. Having a guy who looked like he might proclaim unification of the world suddenly talk about becoming king of accessory making was totally out of left field. If it was already his hobby, maybe it would add some flavor to his character in an unexpected way, but that wasn’t what this was either.
“Please! I’m begging you!” L’Arc said, standing firm in the face of rejection. He bowed his head low, uncaring of the fuss he was causing out here in public.
“I think walking up with a pile of cash and picking something out for your discerning female friend there is more your speed,” the accessory dealer said again, his eyes cold, as he finished bringing out his pieces from beneath the counter and showing them to Therese. He kept on calling her “discerning,” didn’t he?
“Wow . . . these are amazing. They maximize appeal with the minimum possible polishing. You certainly have the skills to call yourself the master of the Master Craftsman . . . but you didn’t actually make these either, did you?” Therese said.
“I knew you were discerning,” the accessory dealer said. He seemed taken with her eye, but also perhaps a little annoyed by how good it was. This kind of customer had to be a pain for a salesman, I could see that. Perhaps finally realizing that he couldn’t get anything past Therese, the accessory dealer reached into his clothing and produced what I presumed was a secret piece, some kind of ultimate work.
“I see,” Therese said, finally satisfied. “You are indeed more skilled than the Master Craftsman. However . . .” She returned the necklace to the accessory dealer. “As I already said, this isn’t quite to my taste. I’m sure many others will feel differently. You should get a pretty penny for it.” The accessory dealer seemed to understand what Therese was trying to say and nodded. Therese continued, “There is another way to increase the appeal of the stones and appeal to the person who will wear it. That is a fact too.”
“I understand that,” the accessory dealer replied. “But what do you mean by it? This is suited to me, is it not?”
“Oh, most definitely,” Therese replied. “I’m not saying it is a waste. There are some people who can only allure with such heightened emotions.” She had clearly seen through to the very merchant soul of the accessory dealer—that making these accessories was, for him, just a way to make money. Therese had understood the true reason he made accessories. But pointing that out to him wasn’t going to make him change his ways, of that I could be certain.
“If you want a piece that will really please her,” the accessory dealer said to L’Arc, suggesting that it was time to give up, “you should ask the mighty Shield Hero to make something special for her. Do you understand?”
“I can’t do that!” L’Arc wasn’t backing down, bowing deep to the dealer again. “I need to achieve the same level of skill as kiddo, if not better!” So a playboy-type was begging to become his student and wouldn’t back down no matter what he was told. He appeared too casual, so flighty that even if the accessory dealer agreed, L’Arc was likely to run off in less than three days, sick of the whole thing. That had to be what the dealer was feeling. “This is the whole reason I came over here!”
“What? L’Arc, this is why you came?” Raphtalia had been listening silently up until that point, but his proclamation was so dumb it even made her speak up. Not that I cared to finally discover it, but this was the reason he had been acting so strangely. I almost found myself wishing he had been planning something else—anything else, other than this. It seemed impossible. It was awful now that I was faced with it. His whole reason for crossing between worlds was to become the student of the accessory dealer!
I thought back on it now. Before we left, I had dropped in on L’Arc in his private chambers, and there had been a lot of ore lying around. I’d also heard talk of him visiting Romina’s workshop a lot, and he had been keen to listen to any tips I might have for him.
Even with all of this, his technique hadn’t improved at all.
“I don’t want to just hear about you from kiddo and the others. I’m here to learn from you, directly at your feet!” With this further declaration, L’Arc took out a rough-looking Orichal Starfire Bracelet. It was poor quality, a bad copy of the one I had made—and yet it had to be the very best that L’Arc could make at the moment.
“Please, teach me how to make accessories! Teach me the same things you taught kiddo. Just make it easier to understand! I’m not good with my hands, I know, so I need some serious help!” L’Arc pleaded. The rest of us were starting to feel quite sorry for the guy. I wondered what it was that was driving him so hard.
There was a fatal flaw in his logic, however. Seeing as my teachings weren’t helping him, he believed that he just needed to be taught by the one who taught me. He was hoping the techniques that one needed to learn and hone for oneself could simply be picked up from someone else. Talk about a schoolboy error. I’d known otaku friends with the same problem—thinking that getting into a vocational school was all they needed to work in the industry and learned nothing as a result. Wherever you went to school, you wouldn’t get anywhere without the will to learn. In some cases, the inflated ego and air of faux professionalism provided by attending such a school only made things worse out in the real world.
“I’m sorry, but I have nothing to teach you,” the accessory dealer maintained, still holding his ground. Emotions didn’t come into the equation for a merchant—but this was a stark contrast from when he beat his teachings into me, without me even asking.
“If you want to learn so badly, ask the mighty Shield Hero again . . . or you can pay me an introductory fee and I’ll introduce you to one of my students. They can meet your needs, give you the full experience,” the accessory dealer suggested smoothly, the conversation always managing to come back around to money. His use of “experience” also suggested he still considered L’Arc nothing more than a tourist.
“No! It has to be you!” L’Arc replied. Although I very much wanted him to, he wasn’t giving up. The issue was we were dealing with a merchant, not a craftsman. His only intention was to use his accessory skills to make money, nothing else. His salesman’s smile finally slipping, the accessory dealer dropped the affable front. He took out out a smoking pipe like it was the most annoying thing in the world to be forced to do and starting to smoke it.
“Look . . . I didn’t want to have to do this, not in front of the mighty Shield Hero,” he said. He looked like the whole thing was a massive pain but also like he was resigned to the fact that he was going to have to spell things out. “To be perfectly honest . . . L’Arc, was it? I don’t want to teach you. Why, you ask? Because I sense nothing of the merchant’s soul from you. That is completely different, I might add, from having a talent for simply selling things.” It was true. Going this far was the only way to get through to L’Arc. He was the king of an entire nation and pretty good at talking people around to his way of thinking. If he did start selling a product, he could quickly gather talented people to him who would surely choose him as company president. He had the charisma for that. Simply having L’Arc in the lead would gather people to him, people who would follow his orders and make their sales a success. In that sense, then, he probably did have a talent for selling things—but that wasn’t the “merchant soul” that the dealer was looking for.
The accessory dealer liked hardcore merchants, dyed-in-the-wool hagglers who would count and crimp over every last coin. The type that wanted more money, no matter how much they got, and would do whatever it took—legal or illegal—to make it. The kind of merchant soul that didn’t care about capture and was unafraid of crime; that was the altar at which the accessory dealer worshipped. Even if it led him to his eventual demise, he surely wouldn’t regret it. When I considered it all together like that, he really was a piece of work. He had this look in his eye when he finally revealed himself, glinting suspiciously in the darkness. From this perspective, I much preferred… Okay, “preferred” was not the right word, but I could still put up much more easily with Motoyasu II, the crusty old pervert who had trained the weapon shop guy, even if he only made weapons so he could fuel his drinking and womanizing. That also made him so much easier to handle, though—you just had to tempt him with some women.
“You need to just give up on learning for yourself,” the dealer continued, “and have someone else with some talent make the accessories for you. I’m not running some kind of touchy-feely workshop experience here,” he finished, really putting the boot in. This was for the best though. We needed L’Arc fighting for the future of the worlds, not mucking about making trinkets here. That could be his hobby, something to relax with, that was all.
“No! I’m not giving up! I’ll never give up!” L’Arc said, looking up with a strange aura flicking around him. I was starting to get suspicious. Had L’Arc gone and got himself cursed? I wouldn’t be happy about that. Maybe thinking about Therese too much, he had gone and got himself cursed with jealousy, meaning we would have to fight him! No, I wouldn’t like that at all. “You know more about this stuff than kiddo, right? You can tell me anything that I don’t understand, right? I can’t take subtlety. I need it straight!” It looked like L’Arc might jump onto the accessory dealer any moment and try to take a bite out of him. The dealer was shrinking back a little, starting to get overwhelmed.
I could even see where L’Arc was coming from. You couldn’t learn to make accessories just by copying. Even working from an example that I had made wasn’t enough. I even liked how hard he was trying to overcome his shortcomings and make something that Therese would like. But on the flipside of that . . . I couldn’t really understand why he was so fixated on accessories.
“L’Arc, can you just give up on this please?” Therese pleaded. “I haven’t started to dislike you, and I’m not thinking about moving on from you either. It’s all okay.”
“I don’t need your empty praise!” L’Arc said. “I want to be a man you can truly be proud of, Therese! I can’t compromise on that!” I could understand her feelings wavering at a playboy like him now coming on so strong. From his perspective, he didn’t want her just hanging around because the guy she might prefer already had attachments. Although I wasn’t exactly giving her any impression of fidelity, I wasn’t sure how I would feel if Raphtalia intimated that there was someone she preferred, but she was sticking with me out of habit.
“I want to learn these skills!” he declared. But the truth—that he didn’t want to lose his woman—was plain for all to see.
“L’Arc suddenly has a look in his eyes a lot like you, Mr. Naofumi!” Raphtalia said with bewilderment on her face. I did a double take, wondering if that was really what I looked like all the time.
“Okay then . . . very well. I guess I can accept you as my student,” the dealer finally said. I wasn’t the only one who gave an exclamation of surprise. Cowed by L’Arc’s persistence, the dealer had finally caved and agreed to the situation.
“That’s great!” L’Arc struck a victory pose, face beaming, his shout as loud as I had ever heard him go—which was saying something. He was probably hearing some rousing music playing in his head right now. Then I realized he was actually crying. I wondered if he could really be that happy. He certainly went all in.
That said, I had to give him credit for crossing to another world just to become the student of the accessory dealer—even if I would have preferred he spend the time leveling up in preparation for the coming battles.
“Hey,” I said to the accessory dealer.
As people around all applauded the conclusion to our little performance, I prodded the accessory dealer, who had his hand theatrically raised to his forehead. “Why did you agree to this?”
“I regret it already, I assure you,” he replied. “But I was simply unable to turn him down. There was a light in his eyes, a burning light that said he could achieve it, he would achieve it, no matter what.” L’Arc’s eyes, that had made even the miserly accessory dealer change his tune . . . They had apparently looked a lot like mine. Maybe that was what had broken down his stubborn heart, then.
“Something feels wrong about all this,” Raphtalia commented.
“You can say that again,” I agreed heartily.
“If you’re going to do this, I want you to see it through to the end,” Therese said, also seemingly at a loss with how to respond to L’Arc. “There’s no helping you sometimes, now is there? I really wish you would learn to compromise a little.”
“Looks like we’re doing this,” I said with a sigh. “You can work out the fee for his lessons during your contract negotiations,” I told the dealer.
“I am partly to blame here, so I will keep it as cheap as I can,” the dealer replied. With that, the opening of negotiations between the dealer and me came to a close. The lesson I learned from it all was never to bring someone like L’Arc along to such a meeting ever again.
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