Chapter - 017 No One Can Be Happy

After reaching the city, Hachiman gave Asuna a brief report of his return.

As Hachiman started to walk towards the portal to the first floor,

The image of a player who seemed to be requesting weapon strengthening appeared on the screen.

(Is that the craftsman I've heard about? I guess I'll just take a look around.)

Hachiman sat down on a bench so as not to attract attention and decided to watch what was going on.

(Why does he look so distressed?

Hmm, did I just make an unnatural movement? Also, the weapon I requested is... something strange.)

I didn't know what that strange feeling was.

And in the next moment, the weapon broke into pieces with a clear metallic sound.

(Huh? What? I've never heard of weapons being destroyed through reinforcement. I'll check with Argo to be sure.)

Hachiman sent a detailed message to Argo,

For the time being, I decided to just go back to the inn and take a rest.

Hachiman lay in bed, thinking about what had just happened.

(I've seen Liz strengthen her weapons many times, but this was different.

But I don't know what it is. What's going on?

While I was thinking like this, I suddenly noticed that I had received two messages.

One was from Asuna, saying that they would go tomorrow to get materials to strengthen Hachiman's weapon.

The other one is from Argo, and I've been getting a lot of requests for information related to that recently, so

Taking into account the information from Hachiman, they said they would also look into the matter in more detail.

Hachiman was tired that day, so he just replied to Asuna and went to sleep.

The next day, Hachiman and Asuna were staying behind to learn Hachiman's martial arts skills.

I quickly finished collecting materials to strengthen Hachiman's weapons and returned to town.

Apparently while Hachiman was on a quest,

It seems Lisbeth's smithing skill has reached a high enough level to request weapon strengthening.

"Can Asuna's weapon be strengthened anytime soon?"

"Well, now I need some materials that have a low chance of dropping from bee-type monsters.

Liz's weapon doesn't really match up well with bees.

So Liz suggested that when Hachiman comes back, we should go together."

"I see. Then let's finish it all tomorrow."

"Yes, please."

As the two were talking, they saw a tall figure approaching from up ahead.

"Oh, it's been a while, you two."

"Egil!"

"It's been a while, Egil."

It was Egil, the man he'd become acquainted with during the boss battle.

Egil told us about the latest developments regarding the strategy.

Kibaou created the Aincrad Liberation Army with the intention of eventually creating a guild.

A player named Lind took over from Diavel and formed a rival group.

Reconnaissance for the field boss will be carried out today.

"Compared to the first floor where we had to start everything from scratch, the speed at which we conquered it has definitely increased."

"Yeah. Are you guys joining us?"

"Well, at that stage it might seem like I'm being pushy,

I'll pass on the field boss battle. I'll participate in the floor boss battle though."

"I'm okay with that too."

"I see. To be honest, I don't really get along with those guys either.

I will participate in the reconnaissance, but I will not be taking part in the field boss battle."

After that, we talked about the church and exchanged various information.

Promising to meet again at a later date, Egil departed.

It was already getting quite dark, so the two of them decided to split up and go home, but

Just then Argo arrived.

"Argo this time?"

"Hey you two. I have something to tell you, is that okay?"

"I don't mind."

"Yeah, okay."

"It was about the blacksmith yesterday, Ha-bou."

"A blacksmith?"

"I looked into it, and it seems fishy."

Hachiman gave a brief explanation of what had happened yesterday to Asuna, who didn't understand the situation.

"Liz never said anything about being lost due to an enhancement failure, is that possible?"

"According to my research, there is only one case where the item is definitely lost."

"What time is it?"

"It's when you try to further enhance a weapon that has no attempts left to be enhanced and fail."

"If it's successful, won't it be lost?"

"Yeah, it won't be strengthened, but it won't be lost either."

"I see, there are cases like that. So, what about this case?"

"That's impossible. As far as I've investigated, there have been no reported cases of this happening.

In reality, nothing like that has happened to anyone other than that craftsman."

Argo added:

"But he's the only skilled craftsman out there who can take on requests from others, so

Even if I fail, I guess I just accept that that's just how it goes."

Hachiman thought for a moment, but he still didn't have enough information.

"Is there any other information relating to him?"

"That craftsman, his name is Nezha.

I'm a part of the team called Legend of the Braves."

"Legendary heroes?"

"Oh, and it seems that the team has been doing well lately."

"Argo-san, that can't be..."

"Yeah. It's possible that they are somehow modifying the weapons and selling them to make money."

"Is that so..."

"That's terrible! That's fraud!"

Asuna was quite angry.

If you imagine your precious weapon being stolen in such a way,

He must have felt angry, thinking that something like that was absolutely unforgivable.

"Now, wait a moment, Asuna. I'm not taking his side, but

The first time I saw him, he looked really distressed."

"Does that mean they're doing it under duress?"

"Or maybe you feel like you owe something,

Is it possible that deep down you don't want to do something like this?"

"Still, that's not something that should be allowed."

"Yeah. Any ideas, Argo?"

"I want to see it for myself, and I want Ha-bo to get a closer look, so

I'd like to try something new, but will you help me?」

"Okay. What do I do?"

"I want you to go and ask Haru-bou to strengthen this for me."

Saying this, Argo took out a single-handed straight sword.

"This is a weapon that I strengthened with materials I had on hand for testing purposes."

"I don't mind you going, but how do you prove fraud?"

"Even if I ask for reinforcement, unless I equip a different weapon afterwards,

I still own it, right?

So, once it's done, I'll move it to another location and try to materialize it.

If it fails, it means the weapon can be destroyed. If it succeeds, it's definitely fraud."

"Well then, when we're done, let's move to the inn I use. It's the biggest one."

Asuna suggested, and once the steps were decided, the three of them decided to put their plan into action.

"Hey, there's something I'd like to ask you, is it okay if I do it now?"

"Yes. Are you shopping or doing maintenance?"

"I'd like to request reinforcement. Please bring your own materials."

"...Yes, let me take a look at your weapons."

Seeing his face, Hachiman vaguely wondered if he didn't want to do it after all.

Come to think of it, at first, this guy only asked if I was there for shopping or maintenance.

"What about the property?"

"Speed please."

And as expected, the weapon broke into pieces.

Hachiman was preparing to act shocked and sad after the performance,

Even though it's not my weapon, when it happens right in front of me,

I knew it would be very painful even without acting.

"Well then, let's try drawing our weapons."

Suddenly, what was supposed to be lost appeared.

"This is confirmed."

"Yeah. Thanks, Ha-bo."

"Hachiman, did you find out anything else?"

"That's right... I think he was secretly operating some kind of menu with his left hand."

"Operation... does it feel like this?"

Argo navigated the menus as quickly as he could and switched weapons.

"No, it was a lot faster than that. It was like I just pressed a button or two."

"I don't think that's the case, but... it might be a quick change."

"Quick change?"

"Yeah, last time, Asuna, when your skill proficiency increased, you chose to reduce recovery time, right?

In that category there is an option called quick change that lets you change weapons in one go.

But a blacksmith can do a quick change? Is that even possible?"

"Apparently, he didn't aim to be a blacksmith from the beginning."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Thanks for coming today, you two. I'll look into that a bit more."

"Okay. Anyway, let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

"Because Ha-bou's face has been exposed this time, I'm thinking of asking Ki-bou next."

"That's right. If there's anything else you need, just let me know."

Argo thanked them both and left.

The two people left behind were enveloped in an indescribable atmosphere.

"Why would you do something like that, Hachiman?"

"Yeah, I'm sure there's some reason for that, though.

At first he asked me if I was shopping or doing maintenance.

Maybe he didn't want to use the word "strengthened."

So when I asked him to strengthen it, he had a really sad look on his face...

And after the request was over, I also... It wasn't supposed to be my weapon,

When I failed, it was a really tough moment."

"I guess that means nobody can be happy."

"Yeah. I guess I'll just have to trust that Argo and Kirito can do something about it."

"Yeah, those two are amazing!"

Maybe that brightened his mood a little?

After discussing plans for the next day, Hachiman returned to his lodgings.