“Are all of these enchanted?”
“That is correct. For example, this Silver Mirror Shield is enchanted to reflect offensive spells, while this Gauntlet of Demi-God Strength has a muscle enhancing enchantment placed directly on it.” ...Well, I could certainly feel magic coming from them. Now, when did I become able to perceive that? Probably God’s meddling. Shouldn’t overthink it.
“Sir, what exactly are you looking for?”
“Ah, something non-metal... Basically, armor that’s light, yet durable.”
“In that case... might I suggest this leather jacket? It’s enchanted to resist blades, flame and lightning.” Hmm... That sounded nice, but the design was just... The word lame didn’t begin to cover how gaudy it was. Also, the draconic embroidery on the back was just embarrassing.
Suddenly, I noticed a white coat hanging at the corner of the shop. It was a long coat with fur trimming on the sleeves and collar.
“What about that one?” I said as I pointed toward the coat I noticed.
“It is enchanted with blade, heat, cold, and strike resistances. Also, it has a notably high resistance to offensive magic, but there’s a bit of a problem with it...”
“What’s that?”
“The resistance to magic only works for the magic affinities the wearer has. Not only that, but it makes them take double damage to affinities they don’t have.”
...So, someone with Fire affinity would be highly resistant to fire, but if he didn’t have Wind affinity, the lightning resistance would not only be ineffective, but also make him take double damage... A true double-edged sword. It’d work wonders if the wearer fought monsters of the same element, but when they went beyond that, the risks were far too great...
Well, not like it matters to me! After all, I have an affinity for all the elements! Score!
“Can I try it on?”
“Go ahead.”
I took the coat, examined the texture, and put it on. The size was just right. I tried moving a bit, and it didn’t seem to impair my mobility, nor did it feel off in any way. I liked it.
“How much for this one?”
“We will make it cheap and sell it to you for eight gold coins.”
Each one was about as big as a five hundred yen coin, and had engravings of something resembling a lion. And that was after making it cheap? Damn hard on the wallet, if you ask me... Might have been fair, though, considering the effects. My sense of the value of money was really getting warped...
“Alright, I’ll take it. Here’s the payment.”
“One platinum coin, understood. Please wait here a moment.” She returned to the counter and came back with a money tray holding two gold coins. I took them, placed them in my wallet, and walked toward the exit.
“Thank you very much for your patronage. We eagerly await your next visit!” She bowed her head and saw me off as I left Berkut.
And so, I finally got some good armor. Cost me an arm and a leg, though...
◇ ◇ ◇
After buying the coat, I had a meal at a nearby restaurant and went back to visit the magic shop, Luca, that I left Arma at. However, neither she nor her sister were there anymore.
After looking around for a while, I bought a book on Null magic. When it came to the six elements, people normally bought books of the appropriate affinity, learned the spells, practiced, and made them theirs. However, Null magic was unique to individuals. Wasn’t there something peculiar about such a book being sold?
It even had a dictionary listing all of the mysterious spells to ever be recorded in this world. And, of course, an overwhelmingly large part of it was non-elemental. It was a real treasure for someone like me.
Rather cheap, too. But that was only obvious. After all, it wasn’t really meant for teaching magic. Wouldn’t have been surprised if it was written with leisure in mind.
Afterward, I bought a souvenir for Micah — an assorted box of cookies — and returned to where I was supposed to meet the others. It was getting dark.
“Ah, he’s finally here. You’re too slow!” Elze said, clearly chiding me.
“Huh? You’re all early. It’s not even the time we agreed on yet.” The three were waiting for me at the inn, next to our cart, clearly hauling a bigger load than before. Just how much did they buy?
“Oh? What’s with the coat, Touya?” Elze spoke with an impish tone and began examining my purchase.
“Ah, this coat’s enchanted. It lowers the effects of all offensive magic... and gives resistance to blade, heat, cold and strike attacks.”
“Resistance to all offensive magic? Wow... How much did it cost?”
“Eight gold coins.”
“Eight?! You’ve been ripped o— Wait, actually, considering the effect, that might be fair...” Apparently Elze’s monetary senses weren’t the best, either.
With all of us finally gathered, we got on the cart and took off. Yae took the reins and, since we were a bit overloaded, I decided to sit next to her.
We could use a [Gate] to instantly return to Reflet, but I didn’t want us to stand out too much. Therefore, we decided to use it after we left the Royal Capital.
When leaving, we didn’t even have to show our medals as we crossed the checkpoint again. Casually riding the carriage, I waited until the Capital looked really distant before I told Yae to stop.
“What is it we’re going to do here, Touya-dono?” Clueless about [Gate], Yae asked me with a puzzled expression on her face.
“Should I aim for one of the roads near the town instead of the town itself?”
“Yeah, that makes more sense.” Upon hearing Elze’s confirmation, I imagined the place where I wanted to appear and concentrated my magic.
“[Gate].” A giant door of light appeared before us. I reshaped it so the cart could fit through.
“W-What is this, what is it?!”
“Right, move along, move along.” Ignoring Yae’s perplexed look, I rushed her to move the cart through the [Gate]. Once we passed through the portal, we were met with the view of a large evening sun hidden behind the mountains west of Reflet.
“This magic is so useful... I can’t stress it enough!” Linze proclaimed.
“It reduces a five day journey to a single moment, after all.”
“A shame you can’t go to places you haven’t visited before, though...”
“Will someone finally tell me what’s going on here, will they?!” As Yae was losing herself in utter confusion, we were overwhelmed by the relief of finally making it back home. It was already dark, so we decided to leave reporting to Zanac for tomorrow.
We stopped before the Silver Moon and walked in to inform Micah of our return. As obvious as it might seem, the place hadn’t changed a bit. After all, five or six days wasn’t long in the least. However, there was one change that truly stood out.
“Welcome! Ya stayin’?” The person greeting us from behind the counter was a tough-looking man with a red beard.
Huh? Who’s this?
“...Uhh, we were staying here... and we just returned from a job...”
“Ahh, so ya were here before, eh? Sorry, first time seein’ ya an’ all.”
“Umm, where’s Micah?”
“Huh? You’re back already? You sure work fast.” An apron-clad Micah came walking out of the kitchen.
“Micah... who is this guy?”
“Oh right, you haven’t met him yet, have you? This is my dad. Right as you left, he got back from a long-distance restocking.”
“Name’s Dolan. Nice to meet ya.”
“I... see.” He extended his hand, and I reflexively reciprocated.
Well, he and Micah did share the hair color. And it looked like they might share a lot of character traits as well... Like the lack of care for the little details, for one. But honestly, I was just glad that she didn’t inherit his face. Apparently, Dolan was out buying spices in the southern lands. It was hard to get salt, pepper and other seasonings locally, so he often went and bought
lots — enough for all the shops here.
“Ah, Mr. Dolan, could you prepare a room for this girl here?”
“Yes’m.”
I gently pushed Yae in front of the counter. As she went through the registration process, we began taking our stuff up to our rooms. Elze left to return the cart.
“Oh, Micah. I got you a souvenir.”
“Wow, thank you! How was the capital?”
“It was huge. Had a ton of people, too.” I gave her the cookies and jokingly gave her question a straightforward answer.
We left the place pretty quickly, after all. Didn’t even spend a day there. I always had the option of going there again with [Gate], so I considered making a more proper visit next time.
Micah celebrated our safe return with a filling dinner. We all ate a lot of what she gave us, but none of us could hold a candle to Yae, who ate several times as much as any one of us. Her metabolism was truly something extraordinary. Even Micah and Dolan were at a complete loss for words.
In the end, Yae was the only one to have food expenses added on to her lodging fee. Only fair, if you ask me.
Chapter III: The Crystal Creature
The next day, we headed over to Zanac’s store to finish up the request we accepted from him. Initially, he was surprised by our quick return, but he quickly accepted it once I explained the [Gate] spell to him. Teleporters were certainly rare, but not unheard of, after all.
“This is a letter with the viscount’s response.” I handed the letter over to Zanac. He inspected the seal and confirmed it was genuine before opening the letter up and briefly skimming through it.
“Indeed it is. Thank you for a job well done.”
“Oh right, Mr. Zanac. You should take this. Since we only used half of the traveling fees, I figured we should return the rest,” I said, as I handed him the bag with the remaining travel money in it.
“You’re an honest lad, aren’t you? Had you not mentioned your use of that [Gate] spell in returning, you could easily have kept that money for yourself.”
“I figure having you trust me is worth more than some quick cash. As a merchant, I’m sure you understand.”
“...Very true indeed. A merchant is only worth as much as the faith people have in him. Not many people would’ve been willing to trade with someone with a reputation for being a cheat. Making light of that fact can never lead to good things.” As he spoke, Zanac took the money back.
After that, he handed me a card from the guild with a number printed on it, to serve as proof that we’d completed the request. All we had to do was hand that card in to the guild office to claim our reward.
We gave Zanac our thanks, then left the store. From there, we walked straight to the guild office.
As we entered the guild, we were greeted by the all-too-familiar sight of request boards and people staring from all sides. We made our way over to the receptionist’s desk. Yae was fidgeting nervously all the while, since it was her first time there and all.
I handed over the card I’d received from Zanac, and just like that, our quest was complete.
“Please present your Guild Cards.” Alongside a heavy sound of three thumps, the receptionist pressed the magical stamp down on our cards.
“And here is your reward of seven silver coins. As always, thanks for your hard work.” I took our reward money, then called Yae over to the desk.
“While we’re here, this girl wants to register with the guild.”
“A new registration, then? Very well.” While Yae received the explanation about her guild registration, the rest of us split the reward. We each took two silver coins and decided to spend the rest on food for all of us later on.
“Still, feels a bit weird, y’know? A reward of two silver suddenly seems like a lot less money than it actually is...” Elze muttered.
“I know exactly what you mean. Suddenly having platinum coins thrown at you does wonders for destroying your perception of value...” Linze replied.
I couldn’t help but smile at Elze’s bemused reaction. This was all quite silly, honestly. The money we’d received from the duke was ultimately a bonus, and nothing more. I had to make sure to be fiscally responsible, and not to rely on it too much in my day-to-day life.
“I got registered, I did!” Yae waved her card around happily as she made her way over to us.
Her card was the Beginner’s Black, unlike the rest of ours. Seemed like she felt slightly left out when she noticed that fact. Still, we were by no means a very high level yet. I was sure the gap would be closed in no time as we kept doing more quests together.
Since Yae was so eager to get started straight away, we all made our way over to one of the request boards.
When people with different colored Guild Cards teamed up to accept a request, their overall level would be judged by the color of card that was most prevalent on their team. Since three of us had Purple cards and only one of us had a Black card, we could accept Purple requests even with Yae at her current level.
I read through the posted requests along with everyone else.
“Northern ruins... Hunt, Mega... Slimes? Hey, this one’s still up. How about we...”
“No way!” “Please stop.” “I do not think so.”
Responding in perfect sync again, are we? I see how it is. And you’ve even brought a new recruit over to your side this time. Seems like Yae’s not good with sticky, slimy things either... Damn shame...
In the end, we went with a hunting request for some magical beast species called Tiger Bears. With a name like that, I wondered which parts of them were tiger and which parts bear... Their habitat was within walking distance if we used a [Gate] too. So, off we went.
Well, I found out pretty quickly that Tiger Bears were large bears with tiger-striped fur. Also, they had fangs like sabre-toothed tigers!
I was startled when they ambushed us up in the rocky mountains, but Yae ended up taking out almost all of them by herself.
We snapped off their fangs to take back to the guild as proof that we’d taken care of them, and I used ‘[Gate]’ once more to take us back to the guild. We handed the fangs in and the quest was complete. All of this took no longer than two hours, netting us a reward to the tune of twelve silver. Honestly, it was beginning to get a bit silly how quickly we were clearing those quests.
Understandably, we were questioned as to whether we really defeated these monsters at the location specified in the request. I carefully informed the receptionist that I could use teleportation magic, and she accepted my explanation. Apparently there were several other adventurers with various kinds of teleportation magic, although each with their own restrictions. In the case of my [Gate] spell, it could only take me to places I had already been to at least once before.
Yae went on about us taking on another request since we still had plenty of time left, but I wasn’t really up for more fighting at that point. I managed to pacify her by suggesting we all go get something to eat instead. And so, we stopped off at the cafe, Parent, to celebrate having cleared Zanac’s request, as well as Yae registering with the guild, as well as her first successful hunting quest.
We all ordered small snacks and drinks, plus one vanilla ice cream for each of us. Yae was shocked by her first contact with the substance, but she was wolfing it right down like everyone else before very long.
Right as we were about to leave, Aer asked if I’d like to come up with another new item for the menu. Hmm... what’d be good this time? Guess I’ll look up some ideas when we get back to the inn.
◇ ◇ ◇
It had been two weeks since we’d gotten back from the capital. It was raining outside. It had been raining for three days, in fact. Apparently this world had a rainy season as well, but this wasn’t it. Just a particularly long spell of rain.
We had put off doing guild quests until the rain stopped. Instead, I immersed myself in my magic studies. Basically, I was picking up usable new spells from that book I’d bought in the capit
al.
It was a five hundred page book. I’d read through about a third of the whole thing, but I’d only managed to find four worthwhile spells. There were about fifty spells per page, so twenty five thousand in all... Out of those twenty five thousand, only four usable ones so far from the approximately eight thousand three hundred I’d reviewed.
The spells I had acquired were:
[Enchant] — A spell for infusing magical properties into items.
[Paralyze] — A spell for paralyzing an opponent to prevent them from moving.
[Modeling] — A spell for changing the shapes of minerals, wood, or the like.
[Search] — A spell for locating nearby objects.
Only those four.
Out of them, [Modeling] and [Search] proved to be the most useful. Still, none of them were quite perfect.
[Modeling] was a skill for transferring one’s mental image over to re-mold a solid object, but it took quite a bit of time if you weren’t used to it. Plus, losing focus halfway through making something usually produced weird-looking results.
I tried making a shogi set for practice, but the board itself was one row too long and the pieces were too big to fit in the squares.
It was difficult unless you had a clear image in mind while performing the spell. Was much easier to create something while staring at what the finished product should look like, so I managed to get a shogi set made pretty well by searching for an image of one on my smartphone.
[Search] was one that I learned while thinking it would come in handy when trying to locate lost items, but it turned out that the spell itself could also perform incredibly vague searches.
I had thought there wasn’t any vanilla in this world, so as a test I used [Search] at the marketplace and ended up finding it instantly.
What I found wasn’t the vanilla that I was used to, but a strange fruit resembling a cherry tomato that was apparently called a Koko. Nevertheless, it both tasted and smelled like vanilla, so it turned out to be very usable as a substitute.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 1 Page 10
