Chapter 62: Heartfelt Bracelet ① – Torquetum
After giving the bracelet, a little while later, I received a suggestion from the witch.
“Um… you want to strengthen the Gauntlet, right?”
“Yes, yes. I think it has a bit of a fragile spot.”
Fragile… hearing that made me nod in agreement, but is it really fragile?
Narcissus-san. Alweld. Both are first-class explorers.
Surely it’s more a matter of the opponent being too strong.
But if it can be strengthened, I want to ask for it.
“Understood. Please take care of it.”
I entrusted the witch with the Gauntlet.
I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.
Shiro-san was asleep, and Chive-san and Munieka-san were out.
So I postponed handing it over and left the witch’s house.
“Wait, wait, Wof boy. You’ve forgotten something.”
“Forgotten something?”
The witch smiled, leaned down slightly, and lightly pressed her lips to my forehead—a kiss.
“!?!”
“Hehe, looks like you received it properly.”
“Y-Yes…”
I was flushed all the way to my ears.
The rematch with Alweld.
There was a sense of closure, a satisfaction in victory.
More than that, I felt stronger than I did during training.
But the cost had been high.
All the knives except Dagaa were destroyed. Completely destroyed.
If I remember correctly, the Goddess of Knives had 20 knives for an audience… so the remaining ones… how many?
Anyway, I was running out.
I had a little over 200,000 oro. But once I equipped myself, it would probably all be gone.
Ah, right—I was told to go to the Explorer’s Guild.
On the way, I passed in front of the dungeon entrance.
The gatekeepers were keeping a sharp watch, and explorers were going in one after another.
Finally, the dungeon was open.
Many explorers had been waiting. Gauro-san wasn’t at the gate today. Maybe it was his day off.
I arrived at the Explorer’s Guild.
The three-story building was as imposing as ever.
Upon entering, I felt lost. I didn’t know where to go.
Then, I found the ‘Consultation Desk’ reception.
“Excuse me.”
“Welcome. Were you sent here?”
A cheerful receptionist, a young woman with fluffy golden hair and ram-like horns, asked with a smile.
Probably a sheep-people.
“I’m the one who served as Knight Attendant in the ‘Great of Rounds.’”
“Knight Attendant, huh? Your name?”
“Wof.”
“Do you have an explorer tag?”
“Yes, here it is.”
I took it out of my pouch and handed it over. It had been a while since I’d seen it.
“We’ll take care of this. Please wait a moment.”
“Okay.”
I sat in a chair behind the desk and waited.
A slow, calm atmosphere flowed around me.
It had been a long time since I felt this way.
“Thank you for waiting, Wof-sama. Wof-sama, a fifth-class explorer.”
“Yes!”
Called, I approached the desk.
“Your identity has been verified. Here’s your tag back.”
The tag was returned to me.
“And here is your reward for serving as Knight Attendant. Please accept it.”
A small cloth bag was placed before me. Ah, that’s right—I get a reward.
“Thank you.”
I was relieved. I accepted it, thinking it might help a little.
“806,400 oro. Please check.”
“806… thousand!?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I was surprised by such a large sum.
20,000 per day? Inside were eight large and luxurious gold coins, six silver coins, and four bronze coins.
The large, luxurious gold coins were royal currency. Each worth 100,000 oro.
“I’ve confirmed it… now that I think about it, I think I deposited money before.”
A bank account is automatically created when making a tag.
I must have deposited some then. Hmm… I don’t clearly remember.
“Yes. We have a system for deposits. For account inquiries, please see the deposit desk.”
“Understood.”
Bowing my head, I went to the deposit desk and placed 400,000 into my account.
After exchanging some coins, I left the guild.
“Funds ready! First up—knives.”
Knives, huh. Hmm… knives… hmm.
What to do. Up until now, I prioritized durability so they wouldn’t break.
But it’s starting to feel a little pointless.
Still, I need knives. They’re my only weapons.
Yet, after having so many break in succession… well, I can’t help but think they’ll just break anyway.
“Wof, isn’t it?”
“Wof-san, right?”
“Hmm… young man.”
While I was pondering, I heard voices simultaneously.
Turning around, it was Pakira-san, Liv-san, and Lupinas-san.
The up-and-coming third-class explorers, famously known as the beautiful girl party ‘Torquetum.’
And all three were unusually armed.
“Hello, Pakira-san, Liv-san, Lupinas-san.”
“Hello.”
“Hmm… hi…”
“Greetings. So, Wof, what are you doing?”
Pakira-san flicked her long and short white tails and perked her cat ears.
A beautiful cat-beast girl with pale green hair and white streaks.
Wearing a black robe, one eye hidden by her hair; the visible blue cat-eye watched me.
“I’m actually unsure about equipment. What about you three?”
“We just finished a request.”
“Hmm… completed today as well… yes!”
Liv-san, expressionless, made a V-sign with her fingers.
A short, peach-white-haired girl, red-eyed, giving off a sleepy look.
Wearing a black jacket with red lines and a mechanical bodysuit underneath.
Tattered jeans completed her outfit.
On her waist was a Pleiades Blade—an SF weapon.
“And I was looking for materials for Luminous’ new equipment.”
“Oh, that was… a crystal, right?”
“Blue-green crystal, yes.”
The one who answered so cheerfully had long golden hair down to her waist and pointed ears.
A beautiful woman clad in distinctive white full-body armor, carrying a large round shield on her back.
“Is that all, then?”
“…Still… no results… sigh.”
“Shall we ask the witch?”
I feel like we said that before.
Pakira-san and Lupinas-san gave slight, wry smiles.
“Well, you see…”
“We already asked, you know.”
“Hmm… we met in the bath, so…”
“And then?”
“She said she remembered and would look into it for us.”
“There’s still no answer, though.”
“I see…”
So she remembered hearing something.
I had assumed it would be in the Earth Dungeon.
“And you’re troubled about your equipment.”
“I don’t know what kind of knife would be good. Actually, all my knives were destroyed.”
“…Young man… even that knife…?”
“That one… only the tip.”
The ‘Agaro Knife—Modified’ had only its tip shaved into an arc.
Everything else remained intact.
“Hmm… only the tip…?”
“Yes.”
“……Then it might be repairable.”
“Really?”
“Hmm… first, bring the actual knife here.”
“Understood.”
“Hmm. Knives, huh? At this point, wouldn’t a sword do?”
“I… can’t use swords because of the cursed relic.”
“What?”
“Oh my.”
“…Wow.”
I don’t even have a clue how to break the curse.
Wait—Narcissus-san might know something?
I’ll ask her when I give her the gift to show my gratitude.
“All right. Then, let’s go to the shop together.”
“Is that okay?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Hmm… I’m free anyway.”
“Free?”
“Liv, don’t say that. Some problems can’t be solved alone, but when everyone works together, they can be. Also, I’ve been thinking of carrying a knife myself for self-defense.”
“Indeed. That’s a good idea—to have one on hand.”
“…The Pleiades Blade… also has a sub-weapon… a knife…”
She does.
It’s helpful for me that they’ll think it over with me.
“Thank you very much.”
“Well then, hmm. We’ll take you to our familiar weapons and armor shop.”
“Not Arifa-san’s place?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Hmm… familiar… regulars.”
“That’s more of an antique shop, not really specialized. Though you can find hidden treasures there.”
Ah, so this is the shop ‘Torquetum’ frequents.
On the side of Hydrangea opposite from Arifa-san’s shop in the central noble district.
That area is called the industrial district.
Various artisans’ workshops and factories line the streets, including a street of blacksmiths.
Because chimneys constantly release smoke, it’s also called Soot Street.
Cobblestone slopes and stairs lead to brick buildings.
All of them are blacksmith shops.
“Blacksmith Street?”
“Down from there.”
Descending from Blacksmith Street, there’s more of the same.
At the end, a red-brick shop stands out. A sign reads: ‘Kikka’s Weapons Workshop.’
This must be the place.
Pakira-san and the others went in; I followed. The bronze cowbell above the door jingled.
“Ahoy.”
From behind the counter came a muscular dwarf.
His wild white beard and a large burn scar over his left eye stood out.
“Velent-san?”
“Ah, hey. What’s this? The witch’s apprentice boy, isn’t it?”
Velent-san.
A blacksmith who created my ‘Quiet Saint Gauntlet’ together with the witch.
He’s also skilled at repairing OOPArts.
“Why are you here, Velent-san?”
“Because it’s my daughter’s shop.”
“Daughter?”
“Perfect timing. We couldn’t meet before. Hey! Hey, Kikka! Kikka!”
From the back emerged a woman with messy black hair and yellow streaks.