Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 149
“Ah! Same, this is bad! We need to book our inn!”
“Ah…! That should’ve been our priority! We’ve got to hurry.”
After leaving the weapon shop, we realized we’d completely forgotten about today’s lodging.
…With the famous blacksmithing tournament being held, and more and more tourists flooding in for it… I had a really bad feeling about this.
So, I headed for the inn Tontine, the one Melt had stayed at last time.
…And no, I’m not going comment on the name again! First it was Concon, and now this… what’s with this town’s naming sense!?
“I’m terribly sorry… even our place is fully booked. Honestly, our service isn’t great, our food isn’t tasty, and we’re not even that cheap, but still…”
“Same, Same, that’s a lie. This inn is really popular. The meals are delicious and come in big portions, and aside from serving them at weird times, it’s a wonderful inn.”
“Well well, you’re the only one who says that. Let’s see… you’re Meteor-chan, right?”
“It’s Melt—!”
Yep, Tontine indeed.
Despite being a pretty large inn, it was still completely full. Guess we’d have to try our luck elsewhere…
“I understand. We’ll look for another place. Sorry to trouble you.”
“Sorry, dear. See you again, Meteor-chan.”
“I said it’s Melt—!”
Meteor-chan… are they implying she falls from the sky or something?
“I’m sorry, we’re full right now.”
“Look, we’re full… but, want to stay in my private room?”
“Sorry, this inn is reservation-only.”
“Like there’d be any open rooms at this time of year! Quit fooling around!”
“Hm? You want a rest? If it’s overnight, one silver coin. But the walls are thin, so keep it down, yeah?”
“Ah—sorry, wrong place.”
What is with this town’s inns!? They’re all so quirky!!
We’d gone around to quite a few already, and every single one was full.
Apparently, not just tourists but also wandering craftsmen and smiths from other towns had all gathered here for the season. So finding a room was already difficult to begin with.
That’s why, for ordinary visitors, it was standard to just camp out at the encampment behind town. Or otherwise, avoid coming here at all until after the judging period at the end of the month.
“What do we do? That last inn technically had space… but it’s no good?”
“No, it’s no good. That wasn’t really an inn.”
In other words, a love hotel. A “bring-your-partner” type of place.
…Melt and I aren’t in that kind of relationship. At least not right now.
Besides… if we really do end up as more than just companions someday… I want to be in my true self for that.
“So it’s a fake inn. I bet if you stay there, they steal your things while you sleep and sell you into slavery. I read about scary inns like that in a book once.”
“That’s not exactly it… but either way, let’s just ignore that place.”
Creepy! But yeah, I feel like there are similar urban legends back on Earth too…
“Hmm… what should we do? A tent, maybe? I don’t mind camping. It’s a bit cold, but if we huddle together we’ll stay warm. My tail’s nice and fluffy, you know.”
“That does sound tempting… but no, there’s another way, Melt.”
Right! I remembered…!
I’ve got that!
“What, what? What do you have?”
“For now… since the campgrounds will be crowded, let’s find a quieter place instead.”
The area around Izbel was dotted with mines, so there weren’t many trees.
And with it being winter, plus the land still withered and weakened outside Lindblum’s territory, there wasn’t much greenery left anyway.
So the landscape was mostly barren wilderness with the occasional sparse grove.
We picked the largest grove we could find and went inside.
“Are we camping here? It’s a bit far from town, but is this okay?”
“Melt, you know… that thing. The ‘vroom-vroom.’ I’m bringing it out.”
“Oh! I see! You mean I should dig a big hole with magic, right?”
“Exactly. Then I’ll summon the bus inside the hole, and we’ll cover it with branches and stuff to hide it.”
“Got it! Like filling in a pitfall trap lightly, right?”
Yeah, like that… wait, so Melt has made pitfall traps before?
Knowing her magic, she could probably whip one up in no time. She could even weave roots together to seal the top.
“Let’s see… width about this much? And length… maybe this long! To give us some room, I’ll make it a bit larger overall. Depth… about three of me stacked up?”
“Yeah, about three Melts tall, I’d say.”
Just picturing it was adorable—three little Melts stacked on top of each other.
Would they drop from the sky like Tetris blocks? Or rather… this is the real Meteor-chan.
While I was busy with dumb thoughts, Melt steadily carved out a huge pit in the ground.
“Phew… big holes are kind of tiring! But it’s done, the pit for Vroom-vroom!”
“It’s a bus, Melt. It’s called a bus. Anyway, here we go…”
I opened the housing menu and summoned the microbus at the bottom of the pit Melt had made.
In an instant, it dropped in neatly without a sound, fitting perfectly—just as I’d hoped.
After that, I had Melt make a safe slope leading down to the bottom of the pit, then she sealed the hole off with tree roots, covering the slope at the same time.
“Done. It’s a secret base now.”
“Whoa! But won’t it be pitch black inside?”
“Mm, it’ll be fine.”
I pushed aside the tree roots, went down the slope, and reached the bottom of the pit.
There, I opened the housing menu and embedded lighting fixtures into the walls.
…Just like in the game days. They lit up properly even though they weren’t connected to anything.
And so, what should have been a dark pit steadily filled with light.
“Wow… amazing… it’s like magic! You even had a magic tool like this?”
“Yeah, I only recently gained access to them. I can summon all kinds of furniture too, so let’s use this place as our inn tonight.”
“Yay! I’m so excited…! To think such a cozy space could exist underground! I’ll dig out a place for the toilet and bath later, okay?”
“Ah, please do.”
Actually, there are bathtub and toilet parts available, but since I don’t quite know how to use them yet, I’ll leave it for another time.
With that, our lodging problem was solved. We left this base as it was and returned to the city.
“So, what now? It’s still too early for dinner—want to look around town a bit more?”
“Hmm… oh, I know! This town’s mining is still thriving, but they don’t get as much as they used to. That’s why they import metals and ores from outside. But there’s a museum here that displays ores from the days when the mines were more productive. They also showcase weapons made back then, and beautiful stones too. Want to go see?”
Oh… a mineral museum, huh? That sounds worth checking out.
I’ve always liked natural stones. More than cut gems, I find raw stones to have a special kind of charm.
…Brings back memories. I once got a small mineral specimen as a souvenir and kept it on my desk.
“Sounds fun, let’s go. I like stones.”
“Really! In the forest where I lived, we didn’t have any special stones or anything, so this is new to me. Imagine—inside ordinary rocks, you find shiny things or iron materials! I’d love to try digging for them myself one day.”
“Yeah, maybe this town has gathering quests for the mines too.”
“Oh, that’s true! Then tomorrow I’ll go check!”
As expected, the mineral museum wasn’t much of a tourist spot.
Well, even back on Earth, museums like this weren’t exactly popular attractions. They were more like hidden gems, the kind of place only those who were interested would visit.
In front of the mineral specimen section, Melt stared intently at the display, mumbling to herself.
“—This one’s real… no, wait… can’t buy it, huh… ah, fake… only this one…”
“Melt?”
“! Huh? What is it?”
“You seemed pretty serious. Did something catch your eye?”
Apparently, this section was for rare ore samples.
Looking closely, I realized they weren’t ores mined here but reference replicas for display purposes.
“Yeah, I was thinking I’d like to have one. But these are fakes, huh.”
“Looks like it. And even if they weren’t, museums don’t sell their exhibits. Well… unless you offered some outrageous amount of money.”
Outrageous amounts of money… yeah, I do have that.
“I see… but I really want it… ‘Dragon Silver’…”
What Melt had been looking at was a bluish-silver chunk with beautiful patterns that gleamed like fine craftsmanship, even though it was just a replica.
It really was beautiful.
“Melt, what kind of material is that?”
“This one’s technically not just a mineral—it’s a biological material. Special dragons with strong magic power eat ores, and the minerals, their mana, and even part of their blood crystallize inside their bodies, growing in their hearts. Of course, it’s used for powerful weapons, but in alchemy it’s also an incredibly, incredibly precious ingredient.”
What…!? So it’s made inside a living creature!?
Like a dragon version of a pearl, huh?
Hmm… wait a sec. Could this be the same as that “Quartz Dragon’s Heart Silver” listed as a prize for the smithing tournament?
“Let’s see… ah, there’s a flyer. Melt, look at this. This material listed as the tournament’s grand prize—isn’t that the same thing you were talking about?”
I pointed to a flyer posted on the museum wall.
Judging by her explanation, I figured this “Heart Silver” must be the same thing.
“Ah! That’s it, that’s the one! Wow… Dragon Silver from a Quartz Dragon… amazing… Do you think we could buy it off the winner?”
“Melt? That’s unusual… you don’t usually want things this badly.”
“Yeah… Seim… just this once, can I be selfish? Could you… ask if we can buy that Heart Silver…?”
Melt asked in such a fragile, quiet voice.
And this was probably her way of saying—she wanted me to buy it for her.
A material rare enough to be used as a tournament prize—there’s no way Melt could afford it herself…
“You really need it, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. I can’t tell you the reason yet… but there’s a medicine I want to make.”
“A medicine… Got it. I’ll do what I can to get that Dragon Silver for you.”
Medicine? I don’t know what exactly it’s for, but if it’s a medicine, then… it must be for some illness, prevention, or an important situation she’s already anticipating.
And if my family needs medicine… of course I’ll help.
“Melt. There’s a better way than buying it. …I’ll enter the tournament.”
“Eh!?”
“I’ll make the weapon I was planning to give you as a present. If I win the tournament with that sword, then we’ll get both the weapon and the material. Right?”
Yeah… that works. That way, I can give her a weapon worthy of being called a present.
And we’ll secure the material too. The only problem is… whether or not I can win.
“Can you really win the tournament…?”
“…Inside me, there’s a blacksmith. In that form… I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
Alright… let’s do this. Back in the game, I crafted every single piece of equipment myself, unlocked every skill level, every recipe. Now I’ll see what happens when I forge at full power in this real world…!