CH 32

Here’s another chapter today, enjoy~

The day after the attack, after finishing our breakfast with the food I had left in my inventory, Sylphy and I visited the wall again. Elven spirit archers and refugees equipped with crossbows were having breakfast, looking sleepy.

Danan also seemed to have been on alert all night, but he showed no signs of fatigue. Is he a physical ghost?

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Oh, good morning. How did it go last night after all that?”

“None of them showed up. We sent out scouts as soon as the sun came up, so I’m sure we’ll be hearing from them soon.”

“I see. Danan was in command all night, wasn’t he? You should get some rest.”

“Yes, I will take a rest when the time comes.”

While Danan and Sylphy were having this conversation, I was accessing the blacksmithing facility that had been set up here since last night. Yeah, it’s done.

“Sylphy.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“It’s ready, the special one.”

I took out the Mithril Scimitar in its leather sheath from my inventory and handed it to Sylphy. It has jewels on the hilt and the sides of the sword mounting and elaborate carvings, giving it the appearance of a precious sword.

Sylphy took the Mithril Scimitar from me and looked surprised at its lightness. Yes, for some reason, this Mithril Scimitar is very light. It’s as light as a feather.

“Kosuke, is this really…?”

“Well, well, just try to pull it out.”

Nodding to my words, Sylphy pulled out the Mithril Scimitar from its sheath. The beautiful curve of the sword shone pale in the morning sun. The blade is also thin and sharply honed. It was a sword that looked as if it had been made from the light of the moon.

“How splendid… Your Highness, could that be?”

“…It’s mithril. Kosuke, does this sword have an inscription?”

“No, it doesn’t have one. I made it with the image of pale moonlight in mind, you know. In my world, moonlight sometimes looks like that. If I were to put it on, moonlight, moonlight… Well, the blue moon isn’t quite right, pale… yes, how about the pale moon?”

“Pale moon, pale moon… yes, that’s good. From now on, this sword is Pale Moon.”

Sylphy raises the Mithril Scimitar, Pale Moon. Then the refugees who were watching applauded and cheered. Oops, the reaction was unexpected, and I was surprised. Isn’t that a great response?

“Mithril sword is one of the royal family heirlooms. It’s enough to add an anecdote that it was brought by a marebito from another world. It’s not surprising that people expect it to be a symbol of the revival of the Merinard Kingdom.”

“Whoa!”

I was surprised to find that Isla was next to me. In his hand was a large piece of paper that looked like a drawing… Oh, yes. I’ve got it. Yes, and mithril ore as well. Yes, yes.

“Kosuke, bring out Gizma’s body. I want to do a test cut.”

“Aye aye. ma’am.”

I took out one of Gizma’s corpses that I hadn’t dismantled yet because Sylphy told me to do so when I received the product from Isla. This is the one that was killed in close combat yesterday, without any bolts being shot into it. It’s the one that Ms. Zamir killed because it has a hole in its face.

“Haaa!”

When Sylphy swung the Pale Moon, the Gizma was successfully cut through the shell. Eh? Seriously? It’s like cutting butter with a hot knife, but isn’t it more than that? This one.

Sylphy swung the Pale Moon in succession and tore Gizma apart in the blink of an eye. In less than a minute, Gizma was torn to pieces. No, that sword is too sharp, isn’t it?

“What a wonderful sword. I’ll have to be careful not to cut my own legs or arms.”

“Your Highness, I, Leonard, am always ready to help you train.”

“Your Highness, this Zamir is also at your service.”

“Umu, I shall have to ask you for it.”

I guess I’ll have to make a wooden sword for practice this time, huh?

In the end, we spent the whole day on alert for another Gizma attack. In other words, I was to spend the day mass-producing crossbow bolts and maintaining operational crossbows.

After being dismantled by Sylphy, Gizma was thoroughly washed and simmered with its shells in several large pots and served for lunch. The soup made from the boiled shells was delicious. I wonder if the broth comes from the shells…? Normally, the shells are processed and made into various tools, so stewing the shells and making soup stock like this is a kind of luxury food for nobles and royalty.

Incidentally, Sir Leonard was in charge of making Gizma’s stewed shell soup. He really is an old man who is loyal to his desires. He’s a character you can’t hate.

And so.

Even though I spent my time mass-producing crossbow bolts and maintaining the crossbows, I basically just made crafting reservations and zoned out. That’s how bored I am. So, I checked my achievements, skills, and levels.

The first thing I noticed was that I was now at level 12. Oh, it’s gone up even more. Also, before I knew it, my strength and stamina were not only displayed on the gauge but also in numerical values. It looks like my current strength and stamina are both 120 each. My skill points have also increased to 6.

is a new achievement.

・First Time Mixing――: Mix an item for the first time. ※Unlock Skills.

・First Creation――: Create an item for the first time. ※Unlock Skills.

There are more firsts in this list. Mixing is easy to understand, but what’s this creation about? Oh, item creation?

・First Mixing Table――: Craft your first mixing table. ※It unlocks the numerical values for strength and stamina.

I see? So now my stats are numeric. Is there anything else?

・Novice Hunter――: Kill a total of ten monsters. ※Increase your strength and stamina by 10 points.

This is the reason for the 120 strength and stamina. What’re next, 100 monsters?

・Novice Weaponsmith――: Create a total of 100 weapons. ※The quality of the weapon increases by 5% when it is created.

It’s hard to tell what a 5% increase in quality is… It’s not something you can tell by looking at it. A master might be able to tell. Anyway, I found out that if I continue to make weapons, achievements will be completed, and the quality will gradually increase.

・Fantasy Blacksmith――: Create items using fantasy metals. ※The crafting time of items made with fantasy metals will be reduced by 10%.

Oh, this is because I made a mithril weapon, which is significant, even if it is only 10%.

・Women’s Tears――: Gain the favor of 5 or more members of the opposite sex. It can’t be helped if you get stabbed ※ Attack power against the opposite sex is increased by 5%.

It can’t be helped , my ass. I would get killed. I mean, I don’t remember any of this, do I? Eh? Who is it?

The only women I know, besides Sylphy, are Isla, the One-Eyed tribe, Melty the Sheep-type beast-man, Jagira the Cat-type beast-man, Pirna the Harpy, Gerda the Bear-type beast-man, Ms. Zamir the Lizard Woman, and Shumer the Red Oni-type girl. Oh, and those three guys who were being hunted down by Gizma. Zada the Lizard Woman, Lianes the Lamia, and Nakuru the Chestnut Squirrel Beastman… Hmm, that’s a lot! And maybe the others who I had treated for their injuries? And it doesn’t mean the elven elders, too, does it?

I-I don’t know… No, let’s not think about it. Sylphy is the only one for me; that’s fine. 

・Survivor――: Survives the Night of the Red Moon for the first time. ※Unlock skill level up.

Finally, I found something like this. What does that “Skill Level Up” mean? Does that mean I can further increase the effectiveness of the skills I’ve acquired? I’d love to try this out.

, the skills.

・Skilled Worker――: Reduced crafting time by 20%.

・Disassembler――: Increased the number of materials obtained when disassembling crafted items by 10%.

・Repairer――: Reduced item repair time by 20% and reduced the number of materials required by 20%.

・Mass Producer――: Reduced the number of materials required to create 10 or more of the same item by 10%.

Logger――: Increased plant material intake by 20%.

Miner――: Increased mineral material intake by 20%.

Dismantler――: Increased living organism material intake by 20%.

・Creator――: Reduced the difficulty of item creation.

The effects of the creator are vague, but I think I should take this one. I think it will be useful when making weapons and devices with complex mechanisms.

Strong Cardio-pulmonary function――: Increased stamina recovery speed by 20%.

Agility――: Increased movement speed by 10%.

・Strong Arm――: Increased melee attack power by 20%.

Excellent Archer――: Increased attack power from ranged weapons by 20%.

・Iron Skin――: Reduced damage taken by 20%.

・Survivor――: Increased health by 10%, increased health recovery speed by 20%.

・Medic――: Increased the effectiveness of healing items by 20%.

・Reptile’s Stomach――: Reduced hunger by 20%.

・Camel’s Hump――: Reduced dryness by 20%.

The new addition is Medic, huh? The effect of recovery items is increased, hey. Isn’t it useless if I prepare a lot of recovery items? I think it’s a useful skill if you’re low on supplies, though.

Now, what should I spend my six skill points on? First of all, the Creator. This was an instant decision. Then, when I think about the future, I feel like I should get the Mass Producer too.

If I’m going to help Sylphy in the future, I will definitely be making many different things. So that’s why I have to take this too.

I also found out that it takes a lot of time to make mithril weapons, so I’d better get the Skilled Worker too. Dismantler and Repairer are troubling… So I’ll put them on hold.

It’s not a loss to increase my own survival rate as well. It’s directly related to life, after all. So, I think I’ll take Iron Skin and Survivor, but let’s try to level up my skills first. What’s the best skill to upgrade? Well, I guess Miner. I think I’ll be using mineral resources as much as I can in the future.

Miner II――: Increased mineral material intake by 40%.

I spent two skill points to raise the level of Miner. Yeah, I’m glad I tried that first. If I had taken Iron Skin and Survivor first, I would have only had one skill point left, which would have been pathetic. I think I’ll take Iron Skin first. The 20% damage reduction is huge.

Skilled Worker――: Reduced crafting time by 20%.

Mass Producer――: Reduced the number of materials required to create 10 or more of the same item by 10%.

Logger――: Increased plant material intake by 20%.

Miner II――: Increased mineral material intake by 40%.

Dismantler――: Increased living organism material intake by 20%.

Creator――: Reduced the difficulty of item creation.

Strong Cardio-pulmonary Function――: Increased stamina recovery speed by 20%.

Agility――: Increased movement speed by 10%.

Excellent Archer――: Increased attack power from ranged weapons by 20%.

Iron Skin――: Reduced damage taken by 20%.

This is how my skill set looked like. Yeah, I think it’s pretty solid. If I were supposed to act alone, I’d have a different skill set, but I don’t really need to be in direct combat. I think that’s it. It’s good to be in the position of a producer who can defend himself.

I also have one concern.

“The question is whether the attack was just an accident or not.”

The attack occurred on the night of the seventh day. Yeah, it was just like the setting of a zombie survival game. In that game, every seven days, the red moon would rise, and a large number of zombies would attack. If that rule applied, then there might be another massive attack after seven days or the fourteenth night. I hope it’s just a coincidence… I hope so.

If there will be a mass attack by unknown beings every seven days, I need to fortify the defenses against it. Should I talk to Sylphy about it? However, as for Gizma, it was based on proper evidence and signs… I think I’m overthinking this. For the time being, let’s talk to Sylphy about it tonight.

“Fumu, an attack every seven days, huh?”

“I knew I imagined things, but… I can’t deny it given the unreasonable nature of my abilities.”

After dinner, while drinking honey wine, I consulted with Sylphy about the red moon every seven days. Sylphy seems to like the Pale Moon so much that she carries it around with her. She drank the honey wine while polishing the blade and applying a thin layer of oil in order to maintain it.

“I don’t think an attack of that scale is likely to happen, but we might want to be on the alert for the next week. Putting aside the Gizma, the current walls are too low to deal with humans. There are many monsters other than Gizma that can easily jump over such a wall, and if we consider the future, strengthening the wall will not be a waste.”

“Then?”

“Yes, I will advise Danan and the elders to strengthen the wall. Kosuke will do the main work, but we can also rely on the Merinard Kingdom citizens and the elves for the procurement of materials.”

“I see, thank you.”

“It’s nothing to be thankful for. It’s only natural for me to take action to resolve Kosuke’s concerns, and that in itself is in everyone’s best interest.”

After finishing her care of Pale Moon, Sylphy sheathed her sword and smiled softly. Mmm, precious. Lately, she often shows me her natural smile like this. It makes me feel proud to think that my existence has brought out this kind of smile.

“So, are we going to start building the wall tomorrow?”

“Yes, I guess so. I’d like to get the kingdom’s citizens to collect clay and go mining.”

“Mining again, huh? Kosuke likes to dig holes.”

“We can never have enough ore, after all.”

We need a lot of iron just to make all the crossbows into improved crossbows. There’s still a lot more room for wood, though. I got a lot of material from Gizma, and as for the tough strings, there is no problem either.

“So let’s get some rest for tomorrow.”

“Hmm, yeah. I’m going to get the staff that Isla asked for before I go to bed…”

When I was about to get up from the couch, Sylphy suddenly pulled me by the hand and took my lips. It’s sweet; the sweetness and scent of honey wine and even the smell of Sylphy combined to make my brain feel debauched.

“Kosuke, I don’t like the fact that you’re talking about another woman’s name when you’re alone with me.”

“Ueehh? Ah, yeah, I’m sorry.”

I didn’t mean to do that at all, but Sylphy seems to be in a bad mood. No, she’s just pretending to be that way. Her eyes are smiling.

“Do I need to discipline a slave who can’t think of his Master first? Kosuke?”

“Eeehh, yes. Is that right?”

“Then I will discipline you.”

After saying that, Sylphy took me in a princess carry and started heading for the bedroom. Eh, hey, that’s too strong. Isn’t the position reversed now? Sylphy? Sylphy-san? Eh, hey, ah, aaaah!