CH 62

=============================================================

The commercial district is filled with the sound of blacksmiths hammering iron.

They are not making new weapons, but busy repairing them. Weapons need to be cleaned and sharpened after each battle, after all. The slightest difference in sharpness can change the outcome of the battle between a victory and a defeat, or more importantly, the life or death of the person equipped with the said weapon. It was no wonder that the blacksmiths on the dungeon island were always busy with work.

The sparks that fly with each strike of the blacksmith’s hammer are beautiful, and I never get tired of watching them. I’ve been standing near one of the blacksmiths for awhile, watching one of the claymores being repaired. There was a loud sizzling sound as the heated sword was dipped in the water, creating a torrent of steam which quickly spread throughout the wall-less hut.

The large blacksmith, once finished with her work, then turned to face me. “Yo, mister, I won’t be able to concentrate if ye keep watchin’ me workin, alright?”

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t mean to, but it seems I’ve somehow got in the way of her work.

The blacksmith was a woman in her late twenties, with a solidly build body. Her long hair was pulled back, and her sleeveless arms are rugged like masses of muscle.

“Ya need anythin’?”

She may look stern and scary when working, but when she smiled, she was actually quite charming.

“Not really. I was just admiring the sparks; they look so beautiful.”

The blacksmith then put down the hammer she was holding with a troubled look. “Oi oi, ye shouldn’t be sayin’ that openly, y’know. Wait, don’t tell me yer actually…”

“Eh, what?”

I’m not sure what she wanted to say, since she left her words hanging while only looking intently at me.

“Seems like ye really dunno whatcha talkin’ about…”

“I’ve been living most of my life… on an island… so I don’t have a lot of the common sense here. I’m sorry if I just said something weird.”

It’s true though, I grew up on an island. Island of Japan, that is.

“Is dat so. Aight, listen closely mister. It said that a man who likes seein’ fire… is a really lewd and horny.” [1]

Really!?

“Dat’s why, men usually don’t say they like fire or furnace. Sayin’ something like dat to a woman, mean they totally have the hots for them, and askin’ to go somewhere quiet together.”

“Uwaah… I really didn’t know about it.”

“Yeah, dat’s why, I thought ye were invitin’ me to go somewhere together…”

Wow, what a terrible superstition and prejudice, but the part about me being lewd is not entirely wrong…

Well, the hard working lady in front of me quite is appealing though, I wouldn’t mind to have a one night stand with her… I’m interested in her well-toned body too; I mean she’s got fantastic abs. But then again, having to do it with someone you barely knew is too reckless.

“Ahaha. I’m truly sorry, but I really didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yep, dat’s what I thought too!” The blacksmith laughed heartily, and our conversation was over.

I had come into contact with many people in this world, and have read many books too, so I thought that I had understood more about this world, even if just a little. And yet, there’s still many things that I don’t know.

Every day was a series of culture shocks.

I parted ways with the blacksmith lady and headed for the store I wanted to visit. I had originally come to this commercial district in order to buy flour, before I got side-tracked.

I could have made the flour by using creation magic, but I don’t have the time right now because I am working on a batch of ten streetlights to install on the road leading to the inn. The main reason is for a security measure, but it can be considered as service to the customers who come to the store at night.

Shirou’s Inn is a bit way off from the commercial district. Since customers come all the way through the dark streets at night, I thought I would give them a little extra light to help them get around.

“Welcome, Okami-san! What can I get for you today?”

The lady at the store, who had become a familiar face to me, greeted me with a smile. Including the male prostitutes, there are only six men on the island, so everyone remembers my face immediately.

“Two bags of flour, please.”

Flour is being used a lot for my cooking. Usually, when sautéing meat or fish, I sprinkle it on the surface after salting it. That way, the flour locks in the umami. You might think that you only need to sprinkle it on the surface of the fillets, so you might think that a small amount will be enough, but if you use it every day it goes faster than you think.

I also use it to make tempura and other meals that involves coating the ingredients with flour, so a kilogram of flour would be gone in no time. Also recently, Sierra has been asking a lot for crepes and pancakes.

“There seems to be a lot of cases of thievery lately, so please be careful. Apparently, not only money was taken, but food was also becoming a target for stealing.”

Seems like there are cases of adventurers who can’t earn enough money and have to resort to stealing in order to eat nowadays.

Come to think of it, back then I often saw adventurers stealing mangos and coconuts from the trees, too. Must be because they were running out of money to eat. Nowadays, I never saw any fruits hanging on a tree anymore since they’ve been thoroughly taken.  

“I have a bodyguard and golems, so it’s okay.”

Actually, just the other day, an adventurer just tried to steal from our field. She got caught by Wonder, though. When asked why she did it, she said that she was so hungry that she couldn’t bear it any longer, so she resorted to stealing.

I had no choice but to feed her a full meal and then have her clean the toilet and bath as compensation. I could not make myself turn a starving person over to the guild as a criminal, since I think being starved is quite a painful thing to experience.

After I finished buying the flour, I then looked at several other stores, and bought some new clothes before finally decided to go home.

Today I’m walking, as means of light exercise, and brought Wonder and Harry as escorts. The road used to be empty before, but now I frequently pass many people whenever I use the road. Plenty of them are giving me a naughty look, which is troubling.

Well, the population has risen to around 700 people, but there are only six men on this island, so I guess it can’t be helped. I know how it feels to be hungry for the opposite sex. What’s worse, there’s no phones or internet, so you can’t watch porn; there’s no way to channel your urge.

“Okami-san!”

There was an adventurer running towards us, waving her hands. She’s the adventurer that I was talking about before.

“Oh hey, if it isn’t Miina.”

Her name is Miina, she’s the girl who had tried to steal vegetables from our farm the other day.

“How is it going, are you properly earning enough now?”

“Yes! Thanks to you, I’m doing well these days. Maybe I will be able to eat at your restaurant as a proper customer next time.” She was making a big smile with her still innocent face. She might have a boyish feature, but Miina is a cute girl after all.

“Are you going to dive into the dungeon again today?”

It’s not even noon yet. Most of the adventurers should still be inside the dungeon.

“We’ve got a big haul this morning, and it turned out to be quite a bounty, so our party decided to split for the time being.”

Miina didn’t belong to a specific team; she usually just searches for people that are teaming up on the spot every day; the type of adventurers that just goes with the flow. Originally, she had come to Monte Chris Island in a group of three, but her companions never made it out of the dungeon.

“And also, I want to give this to you. It’s for giving me a meal at that time.” While fidgeting a bit, she handed me a metal ring. It was engraved with a design of several dove-like birds. “I picked it up in the dungeon. It was really covered in rust, but I really gave it my best to scrub it so it should be a little cleaner now!” [2]

As she rubbed the tip of her nose, she looks like those mischievous but kind boy. [3]

“Since you’ve helped me with cleaning the place, I think that’s enough for paying back the meal.”

“But that’s not… I’m sorry, consider this as a present from me, then.”

I know she doesn’t have a lot of money, and yet she’s still trying to repay her debt. That’s so sweet.

“Thank you.” She’s so adorable that I can’t help but gave her a kiss in the cheek.

“Wawawa! Shirou-san!”

Viva Isekai! If it were back on earth, I’m sure someone must’ve reported me to the police, but here, they would happily receive my kiss. It’s so weird. [4]

“But you know, if you try to sell this to the guild, wouldn’t you get some money instead?”

“Yes, but the most I could get from it is probably around 200 Lehmens. So, I think it’s better to give it to you as a present, Okami-san.”

“Hmmm, I wonder if you could only get that much from it.”

Yeah, at a glance, it is just a thick ring like a lump of iron with nothing suspicious about it. The color has faded away here and there; it appears to be of low ornamental value. There was a small symbol written on the inside of the ring, though, and a magic stone with size smaller than a pea was inlaid in it.

And so I tried to invoke [Repair] on it.

＃＃＃＃

Repair target: Invisible Ring

Description: A ring that let the wearer disappear for 3 minutes (can only be used 3 times. Charge: 3/3)

MP consumption: 5

Repair time: 4 seconds

＃＃＃＃

This is not a normal ring, but a magic item!

And the magic effect doesn’t seem like it needs repair for now. Even if I use [Repair] on it, it seems it will turn it clean and shiny like it was supposed to be originally, but such thing is not needed right now.

“Miina, what you have here is a Magic Ring.”

“Eh!? Are you serious!?”

And so I told Miina how the ring works.

“Uwaah… I never though this is a Magic Ring. That aside, Okami-san, you even know how to do appraisal? That’s really amazing!”

“It’s not like that. It’s just that… I know a bit about magical object.”

And so I put the Ring of Invisibility back in Miina’s hand.

“Miina, you should hold on to this. You might get a lot of money by selling this, but I think it’s better if you just keep it on you. Just in case.”

“But… To receive back what you’ve given to other people, that’s a disgrace to a woman’s pride…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. How about this. In exchange for you to receive this ring back, promise me that you’ll help me when I’m in trouble? I’ll be happy if you do.”

“Mmmm… understoood! When Okami-san needs help, Miina will be sure to give her best! Oh and let me carry your basket for now!”

Miina then happily carries the heavy basket filled with flour and clothes.

In the distance, I could hear the sound of thunder brewing. It sounded like a squall was coming.

==========================================================================

1 She’s not wrong though. Shirou is lewd.

2 Awww… isn’t that just adorable.

3 Not sure what Miina’s hair is, but probably look like a female version of this:

4 Yeah pretty sure some one would call FBI if you tried to kiss a girl many years younger than you