by Aneko Yusagi
“I wouldn’t put it past this old perv to have qualified you just to get rid of you.” I directed my comment with as much venom as possible at the prostrate Motoyasu II.
“That’s a distinct possibility.” Ah, it sounded like the old guy had considered the same thing. But still. You only had to look at the quality of his weapons to know he had some serious skills.
“I qualified him because I’d taught him all I could! After that it’s all up to him, and I’m certainly not responsible for that!” the old perv spat.
“I guess that’s a good point too,” I admitted. It’s actually fairly similar to Hengen Muso Style. Ah, of course. I needed to let the old guy know the information I had just picked up.
“That reminds me. Old guy, can you see the flow of life force? Anything like that?”
“Like . . . what?” he pondered. I proceeded to explain how adding magic and SP—life force—to my cooking had improved its quality. That seemed like the only explanation for what had happened, anyway.
“Imbuing something with an unseen power? I understand that, yeah,” he mulled.
“Okay.”
“Although I don’t think it’s quite as clear-cut as what you’re talking about, kid. There’s meaning in concentrating on something though. Right?” That definitely suggested the old guy was already using it without even knowing it himself. “You also have to listen to the voice of the materials. Pressing is good, but pulling is also important.” Hmmm. So imbuing with magic and life force was important, but inducing that was also a requirement.
“What about you? Know anything about this?” I barked, turning a scornful eye onto Motoyasu II.
“Hah! That’s the level you’re working with? Very well. Just don’t collapse in surprise when you see what I’m capable of—hot girl!” Ah, he’d noticed S’yne. I took my eyes off him for a second and when I looked back at where Motoyasu II had been on the ground, he was gone!
Somehow he was already out of the ropes and was now giving S’yne the full, slimy chat-up routine. He’d been bound on the floor a moment ago! What was he, some kind of escape artist?
“I remember you. The cutie who ordered those scissors the other day,” he soothed. The age gap made my head spin! What was he thinking?
“Yeah, they are quite—” For her part, S’yne tried to respond by showing him the scissors, but the sound cut out.
“You’ve got such a unique voice. I could listen to it forever,” he went on.
“What’s this with guy? Is he senile?” The Keel doll quickly got to the heart of the matter. S’yne seemed to be asking pretty much the same question.
“You do good work. Maybe you look—”
“She is saying that, because you do good work, maybe you would look most appealing when actually doing some of it?” the doll quipped.
“Hah! If she’s begging to see me hammer something, very well.” Motoyasu II wobbled over to the forge. “Little lady! Just you watch this!” With that, he started to hammer the weapon that the old guy had been working on.
Hmmm. Looking closely, yes, I felt a flow of life force . . . and a larger one than when the old guy had been working.
“Shield boy was talking about, what, life force or some junk? That’s the power you expend when concentrating, right? Hah, anyone can do that. Sending it intentionally into things, that’s child’s play,” he bragged.
“R-right . . .” As the hammer rose and fell, each and every movement sparkled, and I realized that being able to see life force opened the door to seeing how skilled an individual was at any given task.
This old goat was a perverted moron at any other time, sure, but he was a genius when he got to work. The weapon was visibly starting to shine. I was right, then! This technique could also be used when making items!
“You said SP, right? That hero power? Just think for a moment if that’s the same thing as life force,” he jabbered. Yeah, good point. Life force water was created by extracting the ingredients from magic water and soul-healing water. If life force was a different element from magic or SP, then it made sense that whatever was drawing out the quality was also a different element.
“This is the wall that separates amateurs from professionals, beyond the imbuing of magic. Still, I have some idea of what you mean by life force. This, right?” Motoyasu II extended a wobbly hand and gathered life force to it. “I can’t see it, but I feel it. You can’t make any quality items without imbuing them with this. You also use this to listen to the voice of materials. Simply relying on the quality of your materials makes you a second-rate artisan!” Then the pick-up artist looked at the old guy. “I only have to listen to the sound of your hammer to know you’ve got some work to do there. I’m going to have to do some hammering of my own. Beat you into shape!”
“Bring it on!” The old guy also concentrated on watching his master work. Hopefully this was going to enhance his skills.
“Listen to the voice of the materials and bend them to your will. It’s the same as when doing something by force. Have you forgotten all my lessons?”
“No, not at all. But I do see what you’re doing.” It sounded like he was following what was going on, at least. “I can’t wait to get back to my shop in Melromarc and try out a load of things. I’ve got all these recipes in my head now!”
“That sounds great. Can’t wait to see them,” he responded.
“There, all done!” With a hiss, Motoyasu II plunged the heated weapon into a water bucket and then lifted it high. It was a katana. When I saw the old guy working on it, I’d thought it was a Western-style sword.
“Why’s it a katana now, Master? I was just making a sword!”
“Ah? Erhard, look at the materials. It’s saying it wants to be a katana, not just a sword!” Wow. That answer really made him sound like a moron. Taking the katana, the old guy looked confused about whether to look angry or captivated. “Right! That’s it for work today! Let’s go get wasted!” the old guy spouted.
“You’ve got plenty more to do,” I scolded. What about the cursed sword?
“So you say. If I’m going to teach Erhard, he needs to be able to look at the materials and instill in them what he wants to make. I can’t work with him if he can’t do that.”
“Gah.” Ah, the old guy looked upset.
“If you want to proceed deeper, first you need to reach that point,” he went on.
Maybe I could offer some aid here. Instilling what you wanted the materials to become was like an instinct for sensing what those materials were suited to being. So this “instilling” was like working them with a knife or tools.
It annoyed me that I had some idea of what he was talking about.
“I’m sorry. Excuse me,” a voice suddenly interjected. I turned toward the voice—
“Hot girl! Ah, sweet lady, whatever can I do for you?” Motoyasu II revved up his spiel again, unwanted advances and all, and turned it on the woman who had appeared—it was the same one that had asked me the way earlier that night.
“Can you please tell me how to get to Main Road? Oh!” She tilted her head, probably recognizing me from before.
“You asked me the way, didn’t you? Then took a few steps and completely changed direction,” I questioned her.
“Is that so? The stars were so pretty I just got lost in them completely.”
“Hold on! You’re not trying to bring another beautiful young woman under your control?” the old perv interjected.
“Enough!” That was always the way with Motoyasu II. I just wanted a break from the guy, seriously. Maybe I could order S’yne to tie him up?
“Kid, I’ve got to make a few practice swords, so will you please watch my master?” Even as he said that, the old guy made a drinking motion with his hands. “You can handle that, right, kid?”
Okay. So he wanted me to drink him under the table? The old guy must have at least heard the rumors about me. Maybe I could just set Sadeena on him? Ah, no, I’d heard she already drowned him in booze a few
days ago.
“Sure thing. I’ll bring him back later. And on that note—” I turned to look at the woman with seemingly no sense of direction. “Main Road, right? I’m going to have to move to keep an eye on this guy, so I’ll take you myself. Come on.”
“Thank you so much.” The easily confused woman gave a deep and respectful bow.
“No need for that. You too, perv. Move it.”
“That’s what you’re calling me now? You’re joking!”
“Shut it. Okay, Motoyasu II!”
“Who the hell is Motoyasu I?”
“I said shut it. Once you’ve helped improve the old guy’s skills, we’re finished with you.”
“What!”
“Should I—” the woman began.
“No need to worry about anything, sweet lady,” the perv reassured her. Such comments were exactly why I wanted to call him Motoyasu II. Or just perv. That seemed simpler.
“We’ll get going then. S’yne, are you coming too?” I sighed. She gave a wordless nod. Time was getting on, and I didn’t want Raphtalia and the others to worry. “So let’s move.” That was how we left the forge and headed toward Main Road.
“My lady. You have such beautiful skin. This moonlight only adds a further sheen to your porcelain beauty,” the perv continued. Motoyasu II wasn’t giving up on the easily lost woman yet.
“Oh . . .”
He was persistent, I’d give him that. Then S’yne prodded me on the shoulder.
“What’s up?” I turned back to see our wandering new companion heading off into a side street, and Motoyasu II was heading after her—and attempting not to be noticed by me either.
“What is this, an abduction?” I said.
“Nothing of the sort. She was weaving off onto a different path, so I thought I’d better escort her,” he grumbled.
“Huh? Ah, I’m sorry. I smelt something delicious and just kind of zoned out,” she explained. It looked like she hadn’t had any idea of what was happening. Seriously?
“That’s not the way. Just stay quiet and keep with me,” I snapped. Was she going to get lost at every single crossroad?
“Of course,” she replied. After taking a few more steps, S’yne poked me on the shoulder again.
I turned again, and she was about to head back the way we came.
“Just keep with me! Right at the road ahead, understand?” I ordered. This woman was really starting to bug me. Was she even listening to what I was saying? I took another look, and she was turning left!
“I said right!”
“Eh? But that bug turned the other way.”
“Stop following bugs!” I’d heard that people with zero sense of direction had a tendency to subconsciously focus on moving things and then take the wrong path when those things moved. Or they were drawing a random map in their heads and ended up taking the wrong street. In any case, it would be a nuisance if she wandered off somewhere strange, and I didn’t want her falling prey to Motoyasu II, so I grabbed her hand and led her along.
“Oh my. How forward of you!” she exclaimed.
“Enough of that.” The conversation reminded me of someone else, and I really didn’t like it. This wasn’t Sadeena’s sister, was it? Just as I thought that, we came out onto Main Road.
“This is Main Road, your destination,” I stated. I wasn’t sure if she had no sense of direction or was just a complete moron, but I was never going to get anywhere with both of these weirdos trailing around behind me.
The woman looked at the people on Main Road.
“I heard there was a parade for the Heavenly Emperor,” she inquired.
“That finished ages ago.” So that was it. She’d been looking for Main Road to see Raphtalia and the others?
“Oh my.”
“So what are you going to do now?”
“Hmmm.”
“How about coming for a drink with us?” Motoyasu II went ahead and invited her to join us.
“A drink? Would that be okay?”
“It certainly would. My treat.” Motoyasu II chirped up with a look on his face like one of those cartoon wolves. For her part, the woman definitely seemed interested in getting a drink. So how was this going to turn out?
In any case, Motoyasu II was going to be under the table eventually, so I just had to part ways with her when the timing seemed right.
“S’yne, I take it you’re not the type to drink,” I ventured. She nodded at my statement. She didn’t have any interest in drink, just as I presumed. “So just keep on filling his cup. Let’s knock him out quick and get home.”
“She seems to understand,” the Keel doll offered.
“So come on! I’ll take you to my favorite little spot,” he offered. With that, Motoyasu II headed into a tavern with both the easily lost woman and S’yne. Maybe he was trying to shake me, but that wasn’t going to happen.
I entered the establishment too, sat down, and looked at the menu.
Gah, I couldn’t read it. It wasn’t the Melromarc common tongue. I guess I’d just order at random. That said, I didn’t want the entire bill landing on my lap either.
“You can pay your own way?” I asked Motoyasu II, just to make sure.
“Hah! I can handle this! You’ve got money too, right? These two women are drinking on me, but I’m not treating you to anything,” With that, Motoyasu II went ahead and ordered both drinks and food for everyone, including me.
“Okay then, I’ll have this, this, and this.” Our wandering companion placed quite a hefty order herself. Did she like drinking too, then? Really, just how was this going to end?
“S’yne doesn’t drink alcohol,” I said.
“Juice it is then. Do you want something to eat?” he asked. S’yne didn’t respond verbally, just nodded. From her expression, though, it was clear she really did want to say something.
“Here’s your order,” the waiter announced. The drinks arrived—along with a water barrel and rucolu fruit.
“Heh! I think this suits you best,” quipped Motoyasu II, placing the bunch of rucolu fruit in front of me. So what was this? A roundabout way to tell me to get lost?
What a dick. Like, I hated this guy.
Still, I’d met his type before, even back when I was in Japan. At offline meetups for Internet games, for example, there were always those annoying creeps who found a girl they fancied and bullishly separated them from the rest of the guys. They always destroyed the atmosphere, so the best way was to humor them a little, then drink them under the table. Even better, they were also exactly the kind of guys who liked to boast about being able to hold their drink.
They were pestilent carnivores, just trolls looking to hook up online rather than play. I always remembered their antics, anyway, and kept an eye on anyone who looked likely to cause trouble at such gatherings. Nothing was as annoying as the junk pertaining to human relationships. Another good method was to change the groups around and place them where they couldn’t do any harm.
“We drink! To our meeting!” Motoyasu II announced, putting his tankard to his lips. I seized my moment to squish one of the rucolu fruit placed in front of me and add some drops to the next drink he had lined up. It was pretty potent stuff, so I adjusted it carefully. I didn’t want to kill him.
“Cheers!” the confused woman said and lifted her own drink and started to down it. In fact, she was chugging it in one gulp. That wasn’t particularly safe. “Phew. I’ll take another.”
“Yeehah! You sure can put them away! This is going to be fun!” he roared. Laugh it up, perv. Let’s see how long that lasts. I just had to play along so he didn’t get wind of my plan.
S’yne took her juice and started drinking too.
“So tell me, young lady. What brings you here? Where’s your address? I’ll see you home later, if you like,” Motoyasu II inquired. He really went for the throat!
“Well, I wanted to see the Heavenly Emperor. I live in a village along the coast, to the north.”
“So you have lo
dgings here? Where are you staying?”
“Ah, well—”
“Maybe lay off on the interrogation?” I growled. He really was a letch. That said, though, he didn’t seem to have much game when it came to actually picking the ladies up. The original Motoyasu seemed better at that side of things. There was also the difference in appearance and age to be considered too.
“You can keep quiet—hey, what’re you playing at?” Motoyasu II jabbed, pointing at me in shock.
“Huh?” I had picked a rucolu fruit from the bunch and was stuffing my cheeks with it. “You ordered them. They taste great, these fruits.” They really did. If someone put them on the table, I was going to eat them. They were also used to brew incredibly powerful alcohol, with a really bad reputation in certain quarters.
They also had magic and SP recovery properties. It almost seemed a waste to use magic water or soul-healing water in their place. Perhaps I should be healing using these? They gave a pretty good healing ratio too. Might be worth stocking up.
The only issue was the cost.
“Hey. Don’t go showing me things like that. Ugh, that’s sick,” Motoyasu II shuddered and put his hands to his mouth and turned away.
Hah! You had them brought to the table!
Other patrons around us had also noticed and were looking pale. Our waiter was shuddering with disgust.
“Oh, wow!” Our new, directionless friend said, eyes sparkling, “You can really handle your drink. I’m jealous.”
“I’ve never been drunk. I also know another woman who reacted exactly like you just did,” I mentioned. My suspicions flared up again.
“Amazing! Amazing! I have to try and keep up,” she said. With that, she started to drink again. Heartily, it could be said. She was really getting into the swing of things! I’d thought maybe she had a connection with Sadeena, but her seemingly permanently drunk persona seemed quite different from that of my companion, so maybe I was just imagining things.
“Come on, stop talking to that weirdo and talk to me. You’re from a coastal village in the north, correct? There are lots of beautiful women up there,” he commented.
