by Tôwa
“Sir, it is incredibly rare for my master to show herself. I understand why you might have your suspicions, but I ask that you put your trust in her. I promise you will get more than your money’s worth if you do.” Steiner clapped a fist to their chest like a knight would. It looked a bit like a salute.
“No, I don’t actually think you’re suspicious,” I said. “I just sort of wondered whether it was okay for you to tell me your secrets… Are you sure you can trust me, considering we just met?”
“I wouldn’t quite call them secrets. To put it plainly, I quite like you. You have no problems letting yourself be seen walking around the city with a demi-human, and the two of you quite obviously care for each other. You don’t seem to understand how rare it is to see something like that,” explained Ceres.
“It’s never really bothered me that Theresia’s a demi-human. I’m not just satisfied with how she is right now; I want to help her return to her original form.”
“…That is quite incredible. Master, this person…,” said Steiner.
“Hmph. That is not an easy road you walk, but should your intentions be true, then I will be happy to assist where I can. What work would you like us to do for you?”
I showed Ceres and Steiner the ores, magic stones, and rune I had with me.
“Yes, two elmina iron, a poison crystal, two gaze stones, a confusion stone… And this rune—it’s a magia rune,” observed Ceres.
“Magia… What does that do if you apply it to a weapon?” I asked.
“You will be able to change your weapon’s attack from a physical attack to a magical one. It is useful against monsters who, for example, respond with horrific counterattacks when hit with a physical attack, but you can also increase its capabilities by combining it with other runes. Though, you would need a weapon with at least two rune slots for that,” explained Ceres.
You could draw out the runes’ true power when enhancing weapons if you combined multiple runes. Anyway, for now, I’d just have her put the magia rune on my slingshot. Igarashi’s armor and weapon each had one rune slot, so I’d like to eventually fill those up, too.
“I have this ebony slingshot—could you place the rune in this?”
“Yes, if you wish. I can also add up to three magic stones, so shall I go ahead and do that as well? The abnormal status effects will work regardless of whether you’re using physical or magical attacks.”
“Yes please. What can the elmina iron be used for?”
“Reinforcing armor. It could be used for strengthening weapons also, but elmina iron’s greatest strengths are in its durability and light weight.”
“I see… But I didn’t bring my companions’ armor with me. What should I do?”
“You can really only ask the Carriers to bring it here for you. If you are the party leader, you can display your allies’ equipment on your license. You select which you’d like to be modified, and we will handle the rest.”
“Thank you. Is there anything from this list that you think would benefit most from the reinforcement?”
“Let’s see… These two will see the greatest increase in defensive power if you reinforce their armor.”
Igarashi’s armor and Theresia’s armor were already fairly strong, so they wouldn’t see much of an increase, but Misaki and Suzuna would see a significant improvement if we modified theirs. They were going to add a chest guard to Suzuna’s upper body armor, which would make it easier for her to shoot her bow, and I asked them to modify Misaki’s while they were at it. Both would become +1 armor, their defense would increase, and they would become lightweight.
“We will work on your weapon until the armor is delivered,” said Steiner.
“Yes, first, I will place the rune in the rune slot. When you wish it to be removed, don’t try to force it out yourself. Leave it to the experts. Those strong enough to get their hands on something like this don’t usually stay long in this district,” noted Ceres.
“I’d like to bring my equipment here as much as possible. One of my companions is a Merchant, which I believe will allow us to place orders remotely,” I said.
“Happy to hear it. Well then, feel free to call us when you find yourself with another valuable rune. It’ll be safer that way,” said Ceres with a smile, but her face turned serious as she took my weapon and started to place the rune in it.
“Words of power, become one with this object… Enchant Rune!”
♦Current Status♦
> CERES activated ENCHANT RUNE Success
> EBONY SLINGSHOT transformed into BLACK MAGICAL SLINGSHOT
“Whoa… That’s completely different from when magic stones are added…,” I said.
“Looks like it went well… It’s said that weapons change their very nature when runes are added. It is a different process from adding magic stones at the most basic level,” explained Ceres.
“Next, I will embed the magic stones into the handle. Quite useful to be able to use three status effect attacks,” said Steiner, activating a skill called Insert Magic Stone and embedding the stones into the slingshot with a dexterity I wouldn’t have expected from looking at them. The process added pluses to it, so it became a Black Magical Slingshot +3. It looked like it was significantly more powerful than before, but the actual damage it did hadn’t really increased that much.
With this, though, everyone would be able to attack with status ailments if I used Attack Support 2. I wanted to test out exactly what effect it would have during our next seek. The purple stone was poison, the pink was confusion, and the black was gaze, otherwise known as a Stun effect.
“You should transfer over the rune when you find a more powerful weapon. Magia runes are not that uncommon, but there’s usually only about one found every three months in Districts Eight and Seven. Even if you tried to compress magic stones to make one, it’d take a decent amount of time and luck to do it,” said Ceres.
“Thank you for the information. We still have one more gaze stone… Theresia, which would you prefer: to defend against Stun or to inflict Stun?”
“……”
Theresia held up her short sword to say she would like to add the Stun effect to her weapon.
“I’m happy for you, Theresia. It’d be a shame for you to come all this way with your master and not receive any presents,” observed Steiner.
“Ngh…”
Theresia seemed surprised and shook her head vigorously. She was being really hesitant in accepting a present. I did understand why she might, but her reaction was a bit over the top.
“……!”
“Y-yeah, I get it. You’re saying that strengthening your equipment isn’t really a present, right?” I vocalized.
“……”
I had been trying to support her, but she just seemed upset. Guess she really did want a present and just panicked because she felt bad about accepting.
“Don’t be ridiculous! A present is a present, no matter what form it comes in. You should graciously accept,” urged Ceres.
“……”
Theresia had turned red again, but when she got the modified short sword back, she traced over the magic stone in the hilt with her finger. The action almost seemed loving, but maybe that was just projection on my part.
“I think she’s saying she’ll treasure it. Arihito, I do think I like the two of you. Watching you express yourselves to each other shows me that the world isn’t just full of hopeless things,” said Ceres.
“It’s been a long time since Master has taken a liking to a human. She always lets me deal with the customers, but now she is so talkative…,” added Steiner.
“I talk more when I’m in a good mood. Well then, we will have the rest of the equipment delivered to your residence when it has been finished. Where would that be—? Ah, of course, the highest-ranking lodging in the district,” said Ceres admiringly as I wrote down the Lady Ollerus Mansion’s address. She really did look so innocent that I just wanted to ask…but it could come off as rude, so
I’d need to be careful how I worded my question.
“Um, Ceres…,” I started.
“I’ll be a hundred and fifteen years old this year, though I stopped aging at fifteen. Or was it before that…? The longer I live, the fuzzier my memories get,” she said.
“A hundred… So does that mean you’re basically immortal?”
“Time flows for every race. Simply by living, the fusion between a being’s soul and its body weakens over time until the soul separates and is reborn in a new body. The cycle merely takes longer with my race than others.”
When I was reincarnated, it had seemed like my body and appearance hadn’t changed, but I had felt much more full of life, like I had actually been reborn. Perhaps that was because my soul had moved to a new body. The Labyrinth Country had proved that souls really do exist, which meant it wasn’t over when you died; you still got more chances.
“I have heard that the highest-ranking Seekers in the Labyrinth Country can even choose their reincarnation. I’ve also heard there’s a limit of a thousand years of cumulative life, though. Which means it’s not only my species that is long-lived. Any race can do it, if they are prepared to fight for it,” said Ceres.
“That’s amazing… Ceres, can you live for hundreds of years?” I asked.
“Hmm, I wonder. It would mean looking like this at one hundred and fifty, then dying of old age while still being young. I’d like to have a family before that, though… Mm?” Theresia stood in front of me with her two arms spread wide to each side— Was she protecting me? In any case, I didn’t think that’s what Ceres was getting at.
“Ha-ha… Don’t worry; no matter how much I said I like him, I wouldn’t think of that after just one day. Besides, I doubt Arihito could think of me as a woman with this girlish body.”
“Uh, um… I’m not really sure how to respond to that…,” I said.
“See, he sees me as just a child… But it’s surprisingly fun to tease young men like this.” She covered her mouth with her sleeve as she laughed, which was somehow both childish and flirtatious… Something that came with her kind of longevity, I guess.
The doorbell rang just then, and Steiner went to answer it. Somehow, the equipment had already arrived for modification. It had both Suzuna’s and Misaki’s upper body armor.
“…It’s all women’s armor. Arihito, there’s nothing wrong with recruiting allies who suit your preferences, but you need to show self-restraint so that you don’t injure your hips. A Seeker needs their hips!” cried Ceres.
“Look, even I thought it was weird my entire party is female, but it wasn’t an intentional choice… Right, Theresia?”
“……”
“That face says you’re annoyed by how much of a womanizer your master is, yes?” Ceres asked Theresia. “If it makes you so frustrated, you should just lock your master down by getting it on with him. Men turn to putty if you do that, or so I’ve heard.”
“Ngh…”
I had no idea what Ceres was talking about, but Theresia suddenly turned bright red and walked out of the shop, stopping outside the door to stare back at me.
“This is one area in which Master has some issues, but I hope you’ll be open-minded enough to work with us again. I’ll provide a discount for any troubles caused,” said Steiner with a tap on their chest plate. I didn’t think my relationship with Theresia had been seriously damaged, but it was true that Theresia was acting incredibly awkward.
Part III: The Swordswoman’s Tears
I thanked Ceres and Steiner once the modifications were done and headed back to the Lady Ollerus Mansion with Theresia. Just then, I overheard a conversation taking place:
“…Hey, you hear that Polaris is taking the promotion exam now?”
“Word has it that not many people are gonna pass ’cause there’ll be a Named Monster in the Shrieking Wood. Think they’ll be okay?”
“They’re at the top of District Eight. No way they can just skip the test. Wonder if we’ll make it to the top someday…”
Georg, the leader of Polaris, had known they’d fallen from first place in the ranking because it showed on his license, but it sounded like the other Seekers didn’t know we had stolen the top spot.
“Has it seriously been ten years since I got reincarnated? Man, time flies. Maybe it’s time I give up on climbing the ranks and instead try to find a nice girl to settle down with.”
“We gotta work at it some more first. Income and quality of life’s so much better in the higher districts. Even the top of District Eight’s like a totally different world from what we’ve got.”
I’d jumped from lodging to lodging in a short span of time, so I could sympathize. Though, I’d been lucky to get a nice enough place to sleep right from the beginning. Anyway, more important than that, one thing I noticed was that a Named Monster had appeared in the labyrinth that Polaris was taking their test in. Without any specific information about what kind of monster this was, I had no details to go on. I wondered if the Seekers that came up against it were killed or if they had to just run away.
Juggernaut was a similar case of an absurdly strong specimen that seemed to have gone through a sudden mutation of some sort. But Polaris had been the top-ranked party in District Eight, and they had confidence in their abilities. It’d hurt their pride if we suddenly barged in.
“……”
“Oh, sorry… I was just worried about something,” I said, realizing I’d stopped walking, and Theresia was looking at me in concern.
There were a lot of times when someone lost their life to a monster, and that was it: There was no saving them. People who ended up as a demi-human in the Mercenary Office lost their ability to live their life as they saw fit. You couldn’t really say that everything was fine as long as they were alive. I couldn’t help feeling angry and powerless when I imagined the first time Theresia died, even though I didn’t really know what happened.
It was arrogant to think I could save all Seekers, and I wasn’t going to allow myself to think that way. But at the very least, I wanted to save the ones I knew. I couldn’t really see what good it’d do for me to be safe and succeed in life if I couldn’t even accomplish that much.
Georg from Polaris was a good guy. I couldn’t help myself from wanting to see the people I met in the Labyrinth Country survive.
“…Okay, sorry, Theresia. I’d wanted to prepare for the test tomorrow and then rest, but plans have changed. We’ll go home and then go to the labyrinth, and we’ll just take the people who seem up to it. I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re obligated to come along.”
“……”
Theresia nodded. Then she thought for a moment before taking my hand and squeezing it. Her hand looked like she was wearing fingerless, scaly gloves, but it wasn’t a piece of equipment—it was a part of her body since she was a lizardman. Between the scales, though, was her pale skin, which had a human warmth.
“…Oh, and another thing. When we get back, we’ll ask Madoka if she can get you some throwing weapons. Otherwise, you won’t be able to use your new skill, right?”
“……”
“Um… Are you okay with your hand like that? You’re not embarrassed?”
“…!”
I must have seemed worried, because I think she was squeezing my hand to reassure me, but she hadn’t let go, which was starting to get embarrasing.
She yanked her hand away, then turned her back to me, pressing her hands to her lizard mask. I could tell she was blushing even from behind. She shyly turned back to face me, and I tried my hardest to flash her a reassuring smile. Her face grew visibly less red, even if only just barely.
…I think she might’ve just been the type who blushed easily. I got that sense from the beginning that she was pretty sincere.
I really had no idea what kind of person the human Theresia had been. If she hadn’t changed just because she wasn’t able to talk, then her personality probably wouldn’t have changed when she became a demi-human
. Not that it mattered whether she stayed the same Theresia or there was a big change when she turned back into a human. I’d be fine with either.
“……”
“Hey, looks like you’ve calmed down a bit. All right, let’s go.”
Theresia nodded. She walked alongside me, her steps making no sound. There weren’t many people who seemed surprised to see us walking together, maybe because they’d all seen the two of us so many times before.
We returned home and told Madoka we wanted some throwing knives. She suggested a small dirk, explaining that small knives would probably be the best option. Apparently, weapons for the robber-type jobs were in high demand, so it would be difficult to get a large number of them, but we were able to buy six knives for ten silver. I wanted to buy an even number, since they were for her to use with Double Throw.
Video games never really seemed to be concerned with the weight of throwing knives, but similar to bullets, the weight of metal knives was not insignificant. We also bought a belt with a holder for the knives. Theresia quickly tried it on to see how it felt. Misaki’s and Suzuna’s modified armor had also arrived, so the two of them put it on with Madoka’s help.
Millais must have seen us arrive, because she brought some tea up. Elitia and Theresia were taking a rest. Igarashi was still sleeping, but she would probably wake up soon. Melissa had apparently taken a liking to Cion, because she’d come over from the Dissection Center and was playing with her in the garden. She always seemed a bit eccentric considering how obsessed she was with dissecting monsters, but I’d never met an animal lover who was a bad person. Maybe I was just biased.
“Soon, it’ll be more efficient for us to seek in District Seven than here in District Eight. I think we’re moving up at just the right time,” said Elitia.