Chapter 226 - To the Craftsmen District

To the Craftsmen District

“You have your own strengths, Asagi. Your knowledge of another world is important. But there are things that were forbidden over there. You have not built up much resistance. But, you have improved a lot recently.”

Once that debate was over, we talked about what to do next. Knowledge of another world…

To be honest, I had been using quite a lot of it…but maybe not as much as I’d thought. I mean, I was just a clerk after all.

“I myself have lived longer than most people. But I was just living. It is somewhat embarrassing, but I have honestly not experienced much.”

“What? You clearly have a lot of knowledge.”

“Heh. It is because I am old. And what I know has not helped us much.”

She said self-deprecatingly. But I had been helped by her wisdom many times. I’ve said it before, but the thought of what would have happened if I were alone sent shivers down my spine.

“So, I will leave the insane strategies to you, Asagi. But if you end up hurting yourself through them, leave it to me. I will know how to treat you.”

“Uh…I’ll do that.”

Damn it. She was such a gentleman. Sometimes I felt like I relied on her too much. But there was nothing I could say if she insisted we were ‘helping each other.’ It just meant that I needed to do a little more to help her. We’re a party. A team.

We talked about this together as we lay on our bed. It was already midnight.

There was nothing to do now but sleep, but Daniela seemed to have something else on her mind….

“So, about this treatment.”

“What are you…”

“It is obvious. Both the mind and body must be taken care of.”

Daniela licked her lips as she straddled me. I get it. That kind of treatment.

“…Hehe. And something tells me your body wants some attention.”

“Aren’t you forgetting my mind?”

A part of my body reacted under her touch, and I wrapped my arms around her as she chuckled. And so I was treated very well that night.

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The next morning, I was able to wake up quite refreshed, in spite of the rather simple remedy Daniela had administered. And so I mused philosophically about just how easy I was as I got out of bed.

There was a bathing room where I washed myself and then brushed my teeth. The military had supplied us with items that we were to use freely.

I realized then that I hadn’t brought my clothes with me, and so I walked out of the bathing room and went to search in my bag. I would wear casual clothes that I could wear under my new armor… Ahhh!

“What!? Huh!?”

“…Hmm. You look very surprised.”

“Daniela. Did you just lick my butt?”

“It was pointed right at me…”

“I was getting changed, you idiot.”

Was she half asleep…? Well, she sure looked like it. Damn it. You could never let your guard down.

I wiped myself with a towel and got changed. Daniela seemed to finally wake up once the table and food came out. And so she climbed lazily out of bed. Then she went to take a bath, and so I waited for her.

We ate breakfast once Daniela came out and looked refreshed. Today, it was sandwiches with meat and vegetables. We ate our food and washed it down with water while making plans for the day.

“This is the day that my armor will finally be complete. So I’m going to go and pick it up. What about you?”

“Indeed… I will tag along then.”

She said with a gentle smile. So we’d be together today. I was happy about that and smiled before finishing the rest of my sandwich.

We left word that we were leaving the lodging facility and then traveled to the merchant district to the east. It was easy enough from the west district, which was very convenient.

There were lots of craftsmen who made clothes and armor in the east district, and they all competed over whose output was of the best quality. It was also quite noisy. Obviously, you had the sounds of banging iron and angry shouting. But it was more boasting than any actual hatred.

They all went out drinking together at night when their shops had been closed.

And so that was why the place was so lively. Another thing that was true, was that I would get caught up in something when I was only there to fetch my clothes.

“Hey-hey-hey! What’s a little pipsqueak like you doing in this neighborhood!”

“Turn around and beat it!”

“Get out of here!”

These Adventurers seemed to be in a bad mood. As for the armor…not bad. I didn’t care for how shiny and extravagant it was. Monsters would see it from a mile away. And this guy would probably cry if the metal got scratched. Perhaps he was so confident he wouldn’t be hit!? What if he was that strong…

“Get out of Lord Goz’s sight! He’s a B-Ranker!”

“Oh… Just a B-Ranker.”

I shouldn’t have worried…

“Let’s go, Daniela.”“Yes.”

As our business was finished, we passed by ‘Lord Goz’ and entered the merchant district.

But then someone grabbed my shoulder.

“Hey. That’s not where you should be going. Are you doing this on purpose?”

“You’re not allowed in there, small fry!”

While I wasn’t in pain, it was annoying. I suppose we would have to talk to them. And so I looked over my shoulder at this Lord Goz.

“Uh, why would I need permission to go in there?”

“Huh!? Because I am the greatest Adventurer here. Iron Hammer Goz!”

“Have you heard of him, Daniela?”

“No.”

“Ha! You country scum. We’ll have to beat it into you then!”

Goz’s right hand clamped down on my shoulder as his left made a fist and swung towards me. But his grip wasn’t tight enough to make me immobile. And so I easily freed myself, turned, and kicked him in the side of the head.

His lips seemed to kiss the dirt passionately as he slid across the ground. The others looked at me dumbly.

“So, do I have permission now?”

“Uhh…”

One thing I liked about having worked at a convenience store, was that I had the best customer service smile.

And I had one of the largest ones on my face as I stared them down.

“Maybe you should go and see how he’s doing. There’s a lot of blood.”

“Ah-ahhhh…!”

They looked like they had seen a ghost as they ran towards Lord Goz. They tried to pick him up and escape, but his armor was so heavy that they had to drag him. His armor would not look pretty after that.

“Hahhh. Let’s go then.”

“Asagi. You really must wear better clothes.”

“That again! I’ve had enough of that argument!”

“You have to ensure that people stop underestimating you. Or you someone will die, eventually.”

The self-proclaimed fashion leader continued her lecture as we went to accept my clothes. It was like torture. We had drawn attention at first, but the spectators lost interest when the match was settled, and they all returned to their work. Which was good for us. Craftsmen were different like that.

We continued on our way amidst the clamor of banging metal until we came out into a calmer area. This was where those who specialized in tailoring sold their goods. It wasn’t that blacksmiths and tailors didn’t get along. In fact, it was very important that they made their products compatible. But the constant clamor of the smithies made it hard to concentrate, and so they worked separately. I heard all of this from one person I befriended, so clearly it was all very true.

There were assemblies every month where they talked about recent trends, shared research and drank, along with other forms of recreation.

“Hello.”

“Ah, you’re here, Asagi!”

It was the craftswoman Amarilith, of the ‘Solitude Clothing Store’ that had explained this to me, and it was she who now greeted me and Daniela.