by Yuu Tanaka
“Where are we going?”
“I know a really good restaurant. Just you wait!”
“Hm. Looking forward to it.”
“Please do. Not that it holds a candle to your master’s cooking, of course! Where is he anyway? He didn’t get hurt last night, did he?”
“No, he’s fine now.”
I regenerated pretty fast. But Fran’s implication freaked Colbert out. He grabbed her shoulders and started screaming. She would’ve countered him if he wasn’t a friend.
“Wh-what?! Are you sure he’s okay? Does he need potions?! I’ll get him the finest life potion money can buy!”
“Hm…”
Fran was speechless. Steelclaw Colbert was somewhat of a fanboy.
“Colbert, what are you doing to her?” Judith cut in at just the right time.
“F-Fran’s master was hurt! We are in danger of losing one of the hands of the gods! It’s up to me to nurse him back to—”
“Yes, all right. Just don’t cause a scene. Please.”
“Wow, what a creep.”
“So much for the dignity of a B-Rank.”
The three girls’ comments finally knocked some sense back into him.
“Wha—! When did you get here?”
“For a while now, thank you.”
“Creep.”
“You seem happy, though. What happened?”
“Ah. Well, you see—”
Lydia’s question made Colbert go off the rails again. The four of us ended up dragging him to the place he reserved.
Thirty minutes later.
“Munch, munch, munch.”
“What do you think? Good, isn’t it?”
“Hmm!”
Fran moved her chopsticks tirelessly. That usually meant she liked the food. She was already on her tenth plate.
“Did you hear? They’re sending new alchemists from the capital to reestablish the guild here.”
“But they got booted out of the crystal fast lane. They won’t be able to buy up all the crystal they want anymore.”
So the alchemists weren’t completely dissolved. Bulbola was a trade hub and a convenient place for the alchemists to conduct research. Still, the government decided to put restrictions on them to prevent an incident like last night from happening again.
“I hear the Count’s second and third sons died in the riots.”
“Oh, those idiots.”
“I hear the monsters tore them up.”
Consensus was already beginning to form. I heard that the government was going to announce that Brook and Weint had died from a disease. If I knew Phillip, he wouldn’t appreciate this bending of the truth.
“So many rumors, and it hasn’t even been a day.”
“I hear it’s a prelude to the resurrection of the Evil One.”
“I heard that it was Raydossian spies who did it.”
“My sources tell me that demons showed up to beat the monster and save the townsfolk.”
“Yes, very imaginative. What would demons be doing in this city?”
“You know how rumors are.”
Fran was too engrossed in her meal to hear the three girls comparing notes. They knew it, too. The girls let out a resigned sigh and got back to their meal.
And so began the great eating contest.
“This place is famous for being as good as it is cheap.”
“The meat is so wonderful.”
“I could do this all day.”
“You guys need to calm down!”
“Food tastes better when you’re not paying for it.”
Teasing and laughter went about the table. Fran was smiling too, though I was the only one who could see it. I remembered something I wanted to give Colbert. Might as well give him my token of appreciation before I forgot.
“Colbert, this is from Teacher.”
“A note?”
Colbert opened the small piece of folded paper and immediately froze.
“Wha… By the gods! I-I-Is it really all right for me to take this? Am I dreaming?” he stuttered frantically.
“What is it, Colbert?”
“Again, gross.”
“A treasure map, perhaps?”
“Do you think Fran’s master would give me such a worthless object, Lydia?! Thank you so much, Fran! I’ll treasure it all my life…”
I was glad that he liked it. The note contained the recipe of our curry bread. Colbert had the Cooking skill, so I figured he could put it to good use. We enjoyed the rest of our dinner and the girls tried to calm Colbert down before he passed out. When it was over, we headed back to our lease. Fran hummed to herself the entire way home. The party left her in a good mood.
“Woof…”
On the other hand, Jet was practically dragging his feet.
Oh, cheer up, Jet. There’s always next time.
“Ruff…”
Jet was not allowed in the restaurant and was unable to sample its delectable cuisine. He was starting to hate the words “No pets allowed.”
Come on, boy. Have some Ultra-hot, it’ll cheer you up!
“Woof…”
We arrived at the old restaurant ten minutes later. It was much lonelier now that the cooking tools were put away. At least I could absorb the crystal we bought from the LTA.
Time for me to get a meal in.
“Should we start with these?”
Fran took out the five most expensive crystal and arranged them in a line.
“Here you go.”
Thanks.
I pierced the crystal one by one.
Ooooh!
An immediate sense of satisfaction filled me. It was so intense I couldn’t stifle a moan. The crystal was refreshing with a deep aftertaste and buttery texture. They were as delectable as their rank indicated. I was full after looking at my crystal counter and skills, too.
The five crystal amounted to fifteen thousand points in total. I even unlocked the rare skills Frost Magic, Steel Magic, and Moonlight Magic. It felt like getting a bonus for working extra hours at my job.
It was a different kind of satisfaction from dealing a fatal blow to Linford. This one felt more primal, more akin to eating a good meal. Like having my batteries fully charged.
Compared to that, killing Linford was like the righteous rush you felt after punching someone you knew was in the wrong. How I managed to feel these emotions, I didn’t know. My blade was filled with mysteries.
“These are next.”
All right.
Fran prepared the next batch of crystal. They were tiny compared to the last five, but what they lacked in size they more than made up in quantity.
“Here you go, Teacher.”
Ooh, that’s the stuff!
I asked Fran to fill the bathtub with crystal. The magical gems sparkled, inviting me to bathe in them.
Woo hoo!
Unable to resist, I dove right in.
Why? Because it was a tub full of crystal. Trillionaires back on Earth used to bathe in heaps of cash, didn’t they? Some even bathed in pudding. As an Intelligent Weapon, I just chose to cover myself with crystal.
“Having fun?”
So much fun, like you can’t imagine!
What started as a quick way to absorb large amounts of crystal soon became the most fun I’d had since coming to this world. I understood the thrill of trillionaires bathing in cash. I was a snob and proud of it!
AHAHAHA!
At my slightest movement, I absorbed crystal and all the satisfaction that came with it. I was in Intelligent Weapon heaven.
Ten minutes later.
“Teacher…”
“Ruff…”
I’m so sorry.
By the time I came to my senses I had lost my dignity as Fran’s guardian. The looks Fran and Jet gave me were enough to pierce my hardened blade.
L-Look, if there’s anything you guys want, you can just tell me, all right?
“I wanna eat curry for every meal for a week, starting tomorrow.”
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“Woof.”
Again with the curry? But now was not the time to refuse.
S-sure! Of course!
“Hm.”
“Woof.”
I needed to lift the mood somehow. To get back my dignity as the primary weapon of our party!
I-I got seven hundred crystal points out of that.
“Not bad.”
“Woof.”
But they kept staring at me coldly.
H-hey! How about we go see Charlotte before we set out for Ulmutt?
“Sure.”
Let’s get going then!
“Hm.”
“Arf!”
Just when I thought I successfully threw them off the scent, Fran and Jet looked down on me demandingly.
“Don’t forget about the week’s worth of curry.”
“Woof, woof.”
All right…
Epilogue
Morning came. We stood at the gates of Bulbola.
“It really is goodbye this time…” Satya sobbed, hugging Fran.
The princess had come to see her friend off on her journey. At first glance, it looked like Fran was just standing there. But I knew the truth. She gripped the edge of her shirt tightly. She didn’t want to say goodbye, either.
“Why not just come with us, Fran?” Soph, the former urchin, asked.
He looked lonely, but Fran only answered with a shake of her head.
“I already know where I’m going.”
“Then change your destination! We can serve the prince together.”
“I have to do this alone.”
“But we’re already friends…”
“Yeah…”
Little Tenyl and the girl Altie followed suit. Fult did his best to console them, although he looked sad as well.
“Come now. Fran has important things she must take care of,” Fult said, holding back tears.
Even now, he was still the looker. Not that good looks were enough to win Fran over.
“Fult’s right. Besides, it’s not like this is our final goodbye.”
“We would love it if Fran could join us back in Phyllius. We considered filing another bodyguard request for her.”
“We were even willing to pay a handsome fee for it.”
“Does that mean—!”
“No. We are not about to abuse our royal office,” Prince Fult stressed, shaking his head. “We wouldn’t be friends anymore if I did that.”
“We would like to remain as equals with Fran. As friends.”
The three kids quieted down after that. I guessed that they agreed with what the twins said.
Fran remained expressionless, but I knew that she was happy on the inside. Her ears twitched ever so slightly.
“I’ll be seeing you.”
“Indeed we shall.”
“Promise me you’ll visit Phyllius when you get the chance.”
“Yeah, I promise.”
With one last embrace, Fran hopped on Jet’s back.
“Goodbye, Fran!”
“We’ll see you soon!”
“Take care of yourself!”
As the kids waved farewell, Fran smiled.
“Bye, you guys… Let’s go, Jet.”
“Woof.”
Jet heeded his master and bounded away.
“Goodbye, Fran, Jet! Godspeed!”
“Take care of her, Teacher!”
That Fult… He really didn’t need to butter me up.
Fran didn’t turn around to face them. She couldn’t. If she did, she knew she’d run back.
You held it in to the very end.
“Uaah…”
I stroked her back and wiped the tears that rolled down her face. Fran let them flow freely. That was all right. She would feel better after letting it all out.
I turned my attention to the skies.
Clear blue as far as the eye could see.
Perfect weather to set out on an adventure.
Fran was close enough to the people she had left behind to shed tears. That might be the best thing to come out of our stop in Bulbola.
We promised we would see them again. Let’s see to it that we do.
“Yeah!”
I patted Fran’s head as I thought of our next step.
Ulmutt was a five day trip from here.
When we got there, we would level up in its two dungeons. After that, the Ulmutt Fighting Tournament. We’d settle for nothing less than total victory.
I wonder what Ulmutt’s like.
“Dungeons… I’m looking forward to it,” said Fran. She was feeling better already. “I’m going to be a lot stronger by the time I meet them again.”
You know it.
“So strong that I could take on a Linford on my own.”
I can see it happening.
We needed a lot of work, but she might as well shoot for the moons.
“Time for some dungeon crawling!”
That’s the spirit. Step on it, Jet! No breaks until we get to Ulmutt!
“Woof, woof!”
“We’re gonna win that fighting contest!”
Thank you for reading!
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