by Aneko Yusagi
“Stop being so modest. I’m confident in your skills.”
“Ha! I’ll do my best not to let you down.”
“Anyway, I’ve got a lot in the works, so spread the word among your associates for me. The location is . . .”
I told the old guy where my territory was and explained how the village would be my base of operations. I figured there would be plenty of people wanting to get in on a new project. If I only chose the ones I could trust from that group, I could expand my operations and that would lead to more profits. My territory was relatively close to the castle town, too.
“Got it. Well, we were all worried about you, kid, and it’s a good opportunity, so there very well may be some takers.”
“I have a debt to pay, so I plan to treat them well. And that’s especially true in your case, so think it over.”
“Got it.”
After a bit of lighthearted conversation, the old guy gave me a long look.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“You can tell?”
“You always show up with a million things at once, kid.”
“I guess so.”
I didn’t really want to show him, but I took off my cloak. With one look, the old guy understood.
“What in the world is that?”
The old guy was staring at my Barbaroi Armor with his head cocked to the side. I took the armor off and put it on the counter.
“I chased the culprit that caused the Spirit Tortoise to go on a rampage to another world. When I got there my Barbarian Armor had ceased to function, so I had a local blacksmith modify and reforge the armor. The result was this Barbaroi Armor, but now that I’m back it has stopped functioning, too.”
The old guy stared at the Barbaroi Armor long and hard. He started poking at different parts of the armor as if to see how it responded.
“There’s no problem with the core, but I can’t say one way or the other about the rest without doing some testing.”
“Can you fix it?”
“It’s possible. Give me some time.”
“Sure. I’m counting on you.”
“This shop is here just for you, right kid? By the way, they’re practically handing out materials from that beast now. If things work out, we might be able to make something out of them.”
There were more Spirit Tortoise materials than anyone could use, after all. I guess if I just thought of it as a thank you from Ost . . . No, I still felt a little bad.
“I’ll go ahead and throw a few things together for you as long as you can pay me later.”
“Would you?”
“If it’s a request from you, kid—the one and only—sure. Besides, working with strange, new materials never gets old. This armor is really something. That blacksmith must have been quite the artisan, no doubt.”
“Oh?”
Such generosity despite my dubious financial circumstances . . . The old guy had a big heart that made me genuinely want to repay his kindness. To be honest, I really did want to recruit him to be my territory blacksmith. I wouldn’t push the issue right now, though, but once I finished developing the territory I’d try approaching him about it again.
“We should probably make the armor our top priority for now. Once that’s finished, I guess we can’t go wrong with making a shield, right kid?”
“Agreed. If nothing else, I can just make a copy of the shield.”
“You understood exactly where I was going with that. Alright then, leave the armor and get out of here.”
“I’m counting on you.”
“Righto!”
The old guy removed the core stone from the armor and handed it to me.
“You hold on to the core stone for now, kid.”
“You sure?”
“I’ll make it so that we can embed the stone afterward. You can pay me when it comes time for that.”
“Thanks.”
“What will you wear in the meantime, kid?”
“I’ll just use some old armor from the castle stores, so you do whatever needs to be done.”
“Righto! What next? There’s more, right?”
I nodded in response to the old guy’s question.
“Next up is . . .”
I laid the Angel Breastplate on the counter along with the miko outfit that Raphtalia had been wearing. I wondered if I should show him the Filo Pajamas, too, but I decided to leave those for later.
“What’s this? A breastplate and . . . a miko outfit?”
“That’s some of the gear we were using in the other world. It stopped functioning just like the armor. Is there anything you can do?”
It was pretty exceptional equipment if only we could make use of it, and considering how well the outfit looked on Raphtalia, I had to ask even if it was unreasonable.
“This one was originally made out of the Filo kigurumi. The Filo Pajamas that Filo has been wearing were, too, but those are functioning fine, so we don’t need to worry about them.”
“You bring me all of the tough ones! Who was wearing a miko outfit, anyway? The little miss?”
I nodded and then whispered to the old man so that Raphtalia couldn’t hear.
“The outfit looks super good on her, so I want to have her wear it in this world, too. Is there any way you could make it seem like she has no other choice for equipment?”
“So that’s your plan?”
Apparently Raphtalia had heard me. I should have asked the old guy when she wasn’t around. Fail!
“Oh, kid. Did you really like the way the miko outfit looked on the little miss that much?”
“Pretty much. I could tell you all about it if you’re interested, but we might be here until midnight.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Regular clothes might have worked great as armor in the world you went to, kid, but they have their limits here. Actually, this is the kind of thing a seamstress or tailor would handle.”
Ah . . . That would be the lady who made Filo’s clothes—the one who looked like she would write doujinshi or something. I bet she was chipper as ever.
“I’ll hold on to it for now, but don’t get your hopes up.”
“Understood. Just do whatever you can.”
“Mr. Naofumi, haven’t you been treating me a bit like a dress-up doll lately?”
“Call it a father’s adoration for his daughter.”
“Mr. Naofumi, what is that supposed to . . .”
I beat around the bush a bit to avoid answering Raphtalia’s questions. I was sure the old man wouldn’t let me down.
“That should do it for now. I’ll be back once I manage to make a bit of money, so see what you can do until then.”
“Righto! Studying this equipment of yours should keep me busy for a while, kid.”
“I’ll be expecting something good.”
We wrapped things up and left the weapon shop.
Chapter Four: E Float Shield
“Now then . . .”
I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk to the queen about my plans going forward. I was already planning on getting some old equipment from her anyway. We returned to the castle and asked where she was. She had just finished a meeting and was still in the room, wrapping up some paperwork. That’s where we found her, behind a desk with mountains of paperwork piled up on top.
“Queen.”
“Mr. Iwatani. What is it?”
“It’s alright if I take some equipment out of the storeroom, right?”
“Yes, that’s fine. Just be aware that much of it is damaged from the recent battle.”
“I know. I just figured I could use it at my territory if you don’t need it.”
Now we just needed to go and see what was there.
“Alright. Raphtalia. Filo. Rishia.”
“Yes?”
“Start loading up some things onto a carriage. We’ll be using it at the territory, so look for lighter equipment, preferably. Filo, I’ll be counting on you to make regul
ar trips to transport the stuff by carriage.”
“Okaaay!”
Raphtalia and the others nodded and headed for the storeroom, leaving me behind. Filo was still in a weakened state due to the effects of the curse, so I wasn’t actually sure if she could carry anything too heavy. That made me think that maybe I should raise another filolial.
“Ah, yes. I was actually just about to summon for you, Mr. Iwatani. I’ve had the Spirit Tortoise materials rounded up at the training grounds in front of the storeroom, so please take what you need.”
“Understood.”
I left the queen and headed to the grounds in front of the castle storeroom. When I got there, I started going through the mountain of Spirit Tortoise materials that literally did cover the entire training grounds.
“Oh, come on!”
Eyeballs and brains came tumbling out of the pile, startling me. I mean, this had basically been a friend of mine, so . . . it just felt wrong. And then, all of a sudden . . .
“Wh . . . what?!”
A pale light emanated from the Spirit Tortoise materials before they were absorbed into my shield, seemingly of their own accord.
Spirit Tortoise Carapace Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Skin Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Flesh Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Bone Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Blood Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Body Fluid Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Immune Cell Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Muscle Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Cardiac Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Myocardium Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Blood Vessel Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Eye Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Pupil Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Sacred Tree Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Familiar (Bat Type) Shield conditions met!
Spirit Tortoise Familiar (Yeti Type) Shield conditions met!
Etc. . . .
Merging with Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield!
Forcibly unlocked!
An absurd number of shields scrolled by—probably enough to complete the Spirit Tortoise series. They all had high defense ratings. Wait a second . . . The Spirit Tortoise shields had all unlocked on their own . . . That Spirit Tortoise Heart shield was really something. An image of the Spirit Tortoise appeared as a backdrop to the Spirit Tortoise series listing on the status screen floating in my field of vision.
Now to check their stats . . . Oh? I noticed a shield that had been unlocked had a usable skill.
Spirit Tortoise Carapace Shield 0/40 C
equip effects: gravity field, C soul recovery, magic defense up (large)
mastery level: 0
E Float Shield, huh? Was that related to the Air Strike Shield? What kind of skill was it? I tried changing to the new shield and called out the skill.
“E Float Shield!”
The letters “ON” showed up in my field of vision and a shield appeared in mid-air. So it was something like Air Strike Shield, after all? Thinking so, I walked toward the shield, but it moved away the same distance that I had walked.
Huh? Was it a shield that appeared with me as its axis? Distance-wise, the skill seemed to place somewhere between Air Strike Shield and Shooting Star Shield. I was timing how long the skill lasted while I analyzed it, and it still hadn’t disappeared. It lasted a long time.
Hmm . . . As I stood there, deep in thought, the E Float Shield started to spin around right in front of my face. What was going on? And why was it in my face? Get away!
The instant the thought crossed my mind, the shield moved away. So it was a magical shield that moved wherever I wanted it to? Now that would be convenient. It would be even more convenient than Chain Shield. That one had a restraining aspect that differentiated it from this skill, but still . . .
The effect’s range was around one meter. Considering it could be turned on and off, it would classify as a semi-passive skill. As for my SP . . . It was dropping a small amount every thirty seconds. Not bad fuel efficiency at all. As long as I didn’t use any other skills, it wouldn’t even outpace my natural SP regeneration. I guess I should have expected as much from a shield that came from Spirit Tortoise materials.
“Change Shield!”
I used Change Shield and the E Float Shield changed its form to match. Oh! This was a convenient skill, for sure. Only being able to produce one would be the limiting factor.
As for the other shields . . . They were all good, numbers-wise, but most of them just increased stats or resistances. Being linked to the Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield seemed to have upgraded all of their stats. On the other hand, the stats of the Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield itself had dropped a bit, as if to say it had served its purpose and was finished. Then again, I couldn’t complain after all it had done for us.
“Mr. Naofumi.”
Raphtalia and the others came running over to where I was taking a break after I finished experimenting with the shield.
“You get everything ready?”
“Yes. All that’s left is to stop by the slave trader’s place.”
“Alright then. Let’s head out.”
“Okaaay!”
Filo joyfully pulled the cart while in her filolial form. I could tell she was struggling just a tiny bit. Her reduced stats probably did make the carriage feel heavy, after all.
“Oh? Finished already?”
The queen wandered over as if she had just been out for a walk.
“For now, yeah. Can you have what’s left delivered to my territory? I’ll use the meat to feed us for the time being.”
Food expenses would skyrocket for a while once the slaves started leveling up. It wasn’t like I had no other ideas for securing provisions, but I had a lot of things to take care of and I wanted to start with getting the territory set up.
“I’ll have some of the soldiers sent over to help out, then. Feel free to use them as you see fit.”
“Will do. Thanks. We’re going out for a bit to take care of some other things.”
“Let me know if you need anything. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
“Understood. We’ll start with gathering building materials and implementing security measures to take care of thieves. We’ll be heading over tonight, so have things ready on your end by then.”
Having rumors circulate about a hero loading up a bunch of slaves into a carriage and taking them away somewhere would be bad, so it made sense to leave during the night. I originally thought Filo might have trouble seeing in the dark, but her vision worked just fine at night, so there would be no problem with making our move then.
“Understood.”
I nodded to the queen upon hearing her response and we headed out of the castle and toward the slave trader’s tent.
The slave curse preparations had been completed and the slaves were trembling with apprehension. I figured now was a good time to be stern with my orders. Raphtalia had started out cowardly in the beginning, and Filo had been selfishly obstinate. I was getting a whole bunch of new slaves all at once, so I planned on making good use of my past experiences.
“From now on, you’re all my slaves. But don’t worry. I won’t do anything terrible to you—as long as you do what you’re told. That said . . .”
I couldn’t make it sound like I was too lenient or they would take advantage of me.
“I can’t stand laziness. If you’re not a hard worker, I’ll sell you off without a second thought. Don’t you forget that!”
The slave trader gave an order to his assistant, who then rang something that looked like a gong just as I finished my little spiel. No one asked for that! Look, now the slaves were cowering in fear. No, wait . . . That was probably
my fault.
“Ahhh!”
Nice! There’s the trepidation I was looking for!
“Oh, jeez. There you go again, causing misunderstandings . . .”
“Fehhh . . .”
“Also, I plan to continue peddling, so I’ll need some monsters that can be used for transport.”
“I’d be happy to give you some filolials! Yes sir!”
“No, not just filolials. I’ll take one of those, but I want some different kinds of monsters, too.”
“You don’t like filolials?”
“I want monsters that are easier to handle so that the slaves can use them, too. Also, something that can work the land.”
Aside from the usual horses and filolials, I had seen plenty of monsters that resembled cows and caterpillars pulling carts around the town. Besides, if I raised a bunch of filolials, I might very well end up with a whole crowd of Filos. I could hear the chorus of Filos all shouting . . .
“Maaasteerrr! We’re hungry!”
Just the thought of it sent shivers down my spine. Oh god, spare me!
Supposing I were going to raise more filolials, it’d have to be one at a time. I had to be especially careful when dealing with filolials. It might have made sense from a fighting power perspective, but we were still just laying the foundations. With that monstrous appetite, raising more than one filolial at a time would be difficult. Even if we did have the Spirit Tortoise meat, it’s not like we could just hang around the castle town all day feeding it to them.
I had to start with what I could handle and build up from there or things would get out of control and I’d end up buried in debt. It was a future all too easy to imagine.
“I see. In that case, leave it to me.”
“Will do.”
“Would you prefer eggs? Or would you rather purchase adult monsters? The eggs would be cheaper, by the way.”
“Eggs should be fine for now.”
“Understood. Yes sir.”
The slave trader walked off toward the tent where he conducted the monster side of his business. I opened up the slave curse settings. Oh? Looking carefully, I noticed you could set work-related rules, too. I’d have to think about what work I’d have them doing later. Looking out of the tent, I could see the sun beginning to set.