Chapter 22: Mercenaries at Work
"Good afternoon, what are ya drinking?" The girl asked. She had a sun hat on and was dressed in white. Quite the odd choice of clothing for a bartender, but Naofumi didn't care.
"What did she say?" Ake asked.
"She asked for drinks. Order what you want; just don't get crazy."
"Naofumi's paying? Okay, Sakura's gonna have a dragon killer wine, seventeen-ow!" Sakura whined after being hit.
"Thanks, Raph. Just a dragon killer bottle and water for the rest."
"You got it, boss." The bartender nodded. After she left, Naofumi took out a paper and began to read through it.
"So. Who are we looking for again?" Raphtalia asked.
"Supposedly, one of the best mercenaries in Silvelt. A panda demi-human by the name of… Larsazusa? I most likely fucked up that pronunciation, so I'm calling her Panda for now."
"Please don't." Raphtalia sighed.
"Your drink, sir." The bartender came back quickly, placing the glasses on the table and the wine bottle on the table. A wine Sakura quickly snatched and began drinking.
"Why do we need mercenaries anyway? We're getting, like, an army, right?" Sakura slouched as she continued drinking.
"We need the knights to protect the potential villagers. And the knights aren't really that reliable when it comes to dealing with higher-level monsters... No offense, Ake."
"None taken. We prioritize group combat and ritual magic over everything, so we lose out on individual killing potential." Ake took off his hood, still rocking his wool and horns Raphtalia provided as a disguise. He was still embarrassed about them, but at least he got horns so he could pass as a ram.
"Anyway, we need some frontline power. Ren said we need to be about level 55 for the wave, so you all need about 15 levels to be at the minimum… and about 50 for you, Ake." Naofumi declared, making Ake hang his head low in shame.
"So these are the options we have? There are so many." Keel marveled in astonishment.
"We still need to be cautious about who we recruit. One wrong move and we'll either be scammed or robbed."
"Which is exactly why I'm here." Appearing from a puddle of darkness. Keel jumped as Zalton rose from the seat next to him.
"You followed us?" Naofumi grumbled.
"Indeed, I did. Apologies for that, but master orders." Zalton apologizes.
"Whatever. You're ordering your own drinks."
"No worries. Lord Genmu shall be fronting the cost."
Zalton produced a pretty big bag of gold coins from a dark portal. "We took donations earlier today."
Whoa. So this is the perk of being a hero. Ake thought as he marveled at the cash amount.
Naofumi, however, didn't show any signs of shock. But Ake did see a small smirk form.
"Fine then. You can accompany us for now, but I want you gone by the end of the day."
Still as straightforward. Zalton sighed.
"Understood. Now Siltvelt has plenty of mercenaries. Trustworthy and powerful. I'm sure they'll be able to live up to your standards, my lord." Zalton tipped his hat.
"I'll be the judge of that. Name them off?"
"Excellent. First off, we have Kelt. Archer extraordinaire. Zalton pointed towards a bluebird beast-man with a bow on his back.
"Not happening. Next."
"Naofumi? You barely glanced at him." Raphtalia chided.
"I've dealt with enough birds for a lifetime. Moving on."
"Rude." Sakura pouted as they looked at the next group.
"Next up then is Rhodan. A veteran of the war against Melromarc and master of the hammer."
The next demihuman they looked at was in their theianthrope form. They were a rhino with a scar across his left eye and hundreds of tally marks on his black cape.
"Yeah, I have a feeling he'll try to murder me the second he finds out I'm a human." Ake chuckled, a bead of sweat dripping down from his face.
"HUMAN!? DID I HEAR HUMAN!?" The rhino yelled.
"Shut up, man! There's no human here!" Another patron yelled.
"You wanna go Shell'don!"
"Bring it, Boulder!" The rhino pulled out his Warhammer and leapt towards the turtle across the bar, knocking over some tables in the process.
"Oi! What did I say about damaging the bar? The bartender yelled, leaping over the counter herself to stop the fight.
"And that would be Isu. Our resident bar owner and brawler."
"Yeah, that's a no."
"Fair enough." Zalton crossed Boulder off the list and continued to go down the list of warriors. Some caught the hero's interest, only to lose it immediately due to one thing or another. Naofumi was about to deem the trip a failure. But a new group of mercs walked through the door before he got up.
"Hold on. Is that her?" Naofumi watched the new group as they sat down. It was a panda demi-human in their therianthrope form. She wore silver armor with a chin wrap across. She wielded no weapon, but Naofumi felt plenty of magical power coming from them.
"Ahh yes, that's Larsazusa. Along with her background as a mercenary. She's an avid combatant in the Zeltoble arena, winning many fights. Rumor has it, she's also one of the friends of the legendary Nadia."
"I see." Naofumi smiled.
"What's got you so excited?" Keel asked.
"It's just refreshing to see a panda. Back in my world, they were under environmental protection because they were idiots."
"Come again!?" A raspy voice interrupted. Larsa approached the table with her crew. A cat and yak-type demi-humans, all of them geared up in the shiniest armor in the bar. The panda had an intimidating look on her face as she gazed over the table. Ake nervously smiled as she focused on him much longer than the rest. But she only shrugged it off and continued, her eyes landing on Naofumi last.
"I was just reminiscing about pandas. What's it to you?"
"You better watch what you say about someone species human. Or would you like to find out if all pandas are really what you claim?" Larsa threatened.
"You tell 'em, sis!" The cat demi-human cheered.
"Oh, boo hoo, you indirectly got called an idiot. Sakura expected better from a gladiator."
"Sakura." Raphtalia groaned.
"Are you already drunk?" Naofumi questioned.
"I don't know." hic "All Sakura knows is that there's some ass to kick." Sakura stammered.
"Oh, you wanna go fowl!"
"Sakura do not," Raphtalia warned. But Sakura was already standing on her seat and tossed her sword to the side.
"Bring it, honey eater!" Sakura leaped across the table and tackled the panda to the floor.
"I'M NOT THAT TYPE OF BEAR!"
Before the fight could spiral out of control, the yak in her party quickly chanted a spell that encased the two into a sizeable cage of earth.
"Running on thin ice, Heishan!" Isu yelled out, holding both Rhodon and Shell-don in the air.
"It'll hold, I promise!"
"It's better!" Isu walked away, and Heishan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Apologies, she's quite the hothead. Though do be careful; humans aren't the most respected here." The yak explained.
"I'm well aware, but I got my protection." Naofumi flashed a medallion he got from Zalton. It is the crest of the Genmu.
"Ahh, the seal of the Genmu, you must be important." The yak hit the cat over the forehead and nodded.
"Apologies, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Take." The cat introduced.
"Heishan." The yak nodded.
"Rock Valley."
"So you're using an alias?" Take and Heishan sat down, with Take pouring himself a cup of Sakura's wine, much to Heishan's displeasure.
"I can't expose my actual identity for now. It'll be a hassle if everyone knows."
"Well, if you want our services, I must warn you. We don't do criminal activities." Heishan looked around before leaning over to Naofumi. "By that. I mean, we charge extra. No killing or theft, though, but if you need someone roughed up a bit." The goat winked as he leaned back over to his seat. He poured himself a drink, this being from his own personal bottle, as opposed to Take, who had pretty much finished Sakura's drink by now.
"I'm not a criminal, but we do require your services."
"That depends. What kind?"
"Well—" Naofumi started, but he was interrupted by Zalton.
"The commission my lord is seeking is related to grinding for and fighting in the wave. If you aren't up to the task, your lives may be at risk, and my lord will have to pick up the slack. So I ask for a demonstration to see what we're working with."
"What he said," Naofumi added.
Heishan leaned back in his seat, thinking hard about the offer.
"The wave, huh? I guess that makes some sort of sense, though it depends. What do you think, Take?"
"Eh." The cat picked himself up, coming out of his drunken stupor. "Oh. Uh, I don't care; just pay us or something." Take's head fell back onto the table as he began to snore. Heishan dragged his palm across his face with a groan and began rubbing his head.
"Fine, eight gold up front, eight more after the demo," Heishan demanded
"Too expensive. five gold." Naofumi argued back.
"We're going into the waves and other unknown dangers for your grinding. Eight gold."
"Five gold, and we'll put in a good word for you with the Genmu."
"...Shit, that's good," Heishan swore under his breath. Thinking long and hard about the offer, the yak relented and accepted the terms of Naofumi's deal.
With a nod from his head, Zalton produced the bag of coins, along with a written letter of recommendation with the Genmu's seal stamped at the bottom.
The yak was seen grinning at the letter before returning to his composed self.
"Ahem. Thank you for your patronage." Heishan bowed.
"Here's the location and time of our meeting. Don't be late."
Naofumi handed over another paper, which Heishan took and quickly scanned over all the details. While he was doing so, the wall of earth came down, with Larsa and Sakura sharing a drink in a drunken stupor.
Where'd they even get that? Do her wings exhibit some kind of hammerspace or something? Naofumi thought as Heishan grabbed his two drunken companions.
"Understood. We'll meet up with you tomorrow at the designated time."
"See ya, bird brain~" Larsa sang.
"Bye honey, eaterrrr~" Sakura smiled before taking another swig of her bottle.
"Okay, that's enough for you," Naofumi grumbled as he took the bottle.
"Nooo~," Sakura whined.
"Same goes for you two."
"Come on, Heishannn~."
"No." Larsa and Take groaned. Heishan didn't give in to their pleas and effortlessly dragged both of them outside.
"Well, that was pretty quick," Raphtalia commented.
"It's better that way. He was a hard negotiator. Ake, you wanna sit this one out?" Naofumi asked. But Ake shook his head.
"No. I'm feeling a lot better. So I need to use this time to regain my lost levels if I ever want to help out."
"Alright then. But don't come to me if you hurt yourself."
"Don't worry. You can count on me."
/~/
"It's already past three. You're late." Naofumi grumbled.
"Larsa's crew walked over to Naofumi's. Though they just arrived, they couldn't help but notice the knot on Take's head.
"Apologies. One idiot refused to wake up until it was already too late." Larsa grumbled.
"May I remind you that you only woke up minutes before the designated time?" Heishan sighed.
"Why am I the only one that got hit?" Take cried.
"Let's just get this over with." Naofumi said with a huff."
"Agreed. So Rock Valley was it?"
"Indeed. You can call me Iwatani for now. For everyone else, that's Raphtalia, Ake, Keel, and Sakura. Ignore the beaver; he's irrelevant."
"I'm a platypus, my lord." Zalton corrected with a sulk.
"I see. Well, you met Take and Heishan already, so let me introduce myself. I am Larsazusa. I'm a mercenary, but in my off time, I'm a gladiator in the Zeltoble arena. Trust me, you're in good hands." Larsa puffed up her chest as her two party members praised her in the background.
"Now, how are we going to do this?
"What do you mean?" Keel asked.
"I believe she's talking about how our parties will be split up, seeing that there are nine of us here. You see, if there are more than six members in a single party, instead of everyone getting the same amount of exp for killing a monster, it'll instead divide itself evenly, leading to fewer gains the more members are added. That's why most parties tend to only have six people for grinding." Ake explained.
"Not bad, kid. You a merc yourself?"
"Uhh, no, Larsa, ma'am. Just an everyday ram." Ake stammered nervously.
"Surrrre." Larsa said while giving Ake a suspicious glare. Even though she didn't press any forward, he still hid behind Sakura just to be safe. "I don't like it here," Ake muttered.
"So we just need to split ourselves into groups of three, simple as that."
"Keel, you go with Zalton and Take. I trust you'll be fine with him."
"Understood, my lord." Zalton tipped his hat, while Take got angry.
"Oh, come on, I get the dudes. So unco-ow!"
"That's exactly why you're not going with anyone else!" Heishan exclaimed.
"Alright, alright, geez. So mean." Take whimpered as he went off with the two.
"Ake, Sakura. You're with Heishan. Don't give him a hard time, specifically you, Sakura."
"No promises." Sakura chuckled as she ran off.
"Hey, wait up!" Ake called out, following behind her.
His illusion won't last if he gets out of range. I hope that won't cause any trouble. Raphtalia thought as Heishan ran after the two.
"Guess that leaves us. Are you sure you're up for the task? Larsa asked, cracking her knuckles. "Griffon territory ain't fun and games after all."
"We'll manage. Can I say the same about you, though?"
"I'll have you know, I can beat Elmelo's ass!"
"Who?"
"... never mind. Let's get a move on." Larsa sighed as she pointed over to a nearby area.
/~/
"I call upon the power of earth; come to me and take form. Earth Vein, lend me your po-"
Before Keel could finish chanting, a griffon crashed into him, breaking his concentration.
"Damn it already!" Recovering from the attack, he got back up and dove under the final slash from the griffon's claws.
He then delivered an uppercut to its neck, then he drove his right foot into the ground, hitting it again, this time with a roundhouse kick to the side.
"I call upon the power of earth; come to me and take form. Earth Vein, lend me your power! [Flame Seal]" Lighting a match, the fire grew in strength and leapt off, burning the griffon to a crisp. This was one of the items Wyndia gave him for his training. Since dragon vein could only take from sources, being able to make or draw upon one was important.
Lighting another match, Keel did a quiet chant and sent another flame griffon. It cried out in pain as it burned, before finally falling limp to the ground.
Level Up!
23, 25
"Not even close." Keel huffed proudly. Keel looked around for more monsters, but all he saw were Zalton and Take, still standing there like nothing happened.
"Oi, are you done staring already!? We're supposed to be killing stuff!" Keel exclaimed.
"Apologies. It's just that your style is pretty unique; I've never seen it before." Zalton apologized.
"Yeah. Brutal and precise. Fast and deadly. Almost monster-like in a way, but more suited towards a humanoid." Take pointed out, finally making an intelligent comment for the first time since they made one.
And that magic. Where have I seen it before?" Zalton pondered as Take and Keel kept talking.
"I got it from a weird bird-child monster thing. Though it's only an imitation. The only thing she taught me was how to throw a proper punch."
"I see." Take looked at Keel's arm as his hair stood on end. Without even looking, he took out a chain and tossed it behind him.
Giving it a yank, the blade slashed clean through the griffon's wings, causing it to lose balance and fall out of the air. Skidding across the ground, Take planted his foot on heads as his chain landed safely in his hands.
"Whoa." Keel marveled.
"Ignore that for now." More importantly, aren't you going to transform? I can sense you have the affinity for it; it should definitely be something you should be able to do."
"Transform?" Keel asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Must be from Melromarc then. Of course, they can't. Take thought as he looked over at Zalton.
"You're in your therianthrope form right now, correct? Think you could show the kid how it's done?"
"As a shadow, I prefer not to reveal my true form while on duty."
"Well, he is a subordinate for your Lord, correct? So wouldn't it be better if you did?"
"That's... not how that works. Then again, if it's to help the sh-." Zalton caught himself and coughed. "Lord Iwatani, I can understand the logic." Swiping his hand across his body, every visible limb was covered by a shadowy veil.
"This should be decent enough coverage. Now pay close attention." Zalton requested as he took off his hat.
A puff of smoke appeared, and in its place stood Zalton's true form. Though his body was heavily obscured, the two noticed that he lost the majority of the monster features on his body, as only the tail remained. The hair on his head also went from short to pretty long, reaching down to his shoulders with its flowy waves.
Sadly, as quickly as the form came, it left, with another puff of smoke appearing, shifting Zalton from demi-human back to his Therianthrope form.
"And that's about it for my demonstration."
"Ahh. I get it now, just like Sakura." In just a matter of seconds, Keel himself was enveloped in a puff of smoke. The second it dissipated, the differences were already notable. First, the dog, who was already short in stature, got even smaller, being no taller than a Lemo. Other than that, Keel was now a puppy, pretty much the spitting image of a husky. And although he ran about, asking if he was cool. The two couldn't help but mention he looked more cute than cool. A comment that devastated Keel's ego.
"If you're done sulking. Shall we test out your new form?"
"Right. Let's do it!"
/~/
"I always thought people who wielded great weapons were massive brutes. But you're swinging quite well for a beanpole." Heishan chuckled.
He was forced to use a weapon from one of Naofumi's monster drops. The Colossus Claymore. A weapon from the wave monsters, specifically the colossus who used a variety of comically large weaponsThankfully, this one was sized down, allowing him to utilize it properly.
And thankfully. This was the weapon he was most proficient in. Melromarc knights under the rank of vice-captain were forced to use either longswords or spears for melee weapons. Those above that rank, like Heishan, could choose whatever. And Heishan wielded a claymore, something that inspired the boy to practice with it.
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Ake sidestepped charging at his and used his blade to knock it off balance.
Unlike Keel, the progress his group made was pretty staggering. In just an hour, he was already back up to level 23 as Sakura and Heishan ran through every griffon nest they came across. Sakura, especially, was extra aggressive. Ake did hear Filolial hated both dragons and Griffons equally. But with the way she brutalized these griffons as opposed to the dragons when they were crossing the border, he could tell she hated the griffons more, or at least was exercising less restraint for whatever reason.
"It's just a lighthearted joke. Calm down."
"Are bean poles an actual thing?" Sakura asked.
"Sakura, we're not talking about actual beans." Ake sighed.
"Still though, your swordplay is great for a beginner."
"Oh, I'm not a beginner. Just had my level reset." Ake caught himself, covering his mouth. This, however, was enough time for a griffon to pounce on him.
"Melromarc, I know; we all do." Heishan walked over, effortlessly slicing off the griffon's head, and stopped his blade mere inches from Ake's armor.
"What gave me away?"
"We've been speaking the tongue this entire time. Not to mention, you lost your fluff. You seriously didn't notice?"
"...shit, you're right." Ake facepalmed. Between Zalton, Sakura, and the other lords of these lands. He forgot that people don't usually speak in the Melromarc tongue in Siltvelt.
"Then yes. Melromarc reset my level."
"Lol. What did you do?"
"Went against the church. Would not recommend."
"Oh yeah. That's suuuuper bad." Heishan chuckled.
"Anyway. Your swordwork is great, but you're sticking too much to the basics. Have you ever tried branching to other styles?" Heishan asked.
"Not really. I've been improving here and there, but I haven't gotten that far. I would have, but…" Ake sulked, remembering back to his Heath. He was his greatest teacher, and he died before he could teach him everything.
Despite this, however, he held back his tears and continued. "Anyway, yeah. My original master didn't finish my training."
"I see. So you haven't started training?"
"Training? Training what?" Ake got up and stabbed at another griffon. He didn't kill it, but he did pin it to the ground, allowing Sakura and Heishan to come in and stab it from both sides.
"Just pondering some things…" Heishan sighed.
"Well, now I'm even more intrigued!?" Ake exclaimed.
"If you insist. It's… Uhh… Hmm, it's a bit of a high-concept thing, hard to explain. It's called lifeforce, and think of it as awakening your internal energy and using it to do stuff. Like reinforcing your attacks or being able to project it outwards to hit something from a distance."
"There are things like that? I never heard of it before. What about you, Sakura?" Ake asked.
Looking over to Sakura, she had three Griffons wrapped up. Two in her arms, and one under her foot.
"Not at all." In a brutal display of power. Sakura smashed the two heads of the griffons together before slashing their heads into the wall.
"Let me ask."
"Ask who?"
"Shut up, using telepathy," Sakura stated bluntly.
In her hands, both Griffon bled out as her cowlick spun around like a radar dish.
"Hmm. Yeah, pretty much the explanation that the yak guy gave. Though awakening it might take a bit. Then again, we kind of have a special case, so who knows?" Sakura shrugged.
"Special case?"
"Long story. So, how did you unlock it?" Ake asked.
"Lots of meditation and patience. I've heard heroes found a way to cheat it before. But those are all rumors. I just recently learned how to reinforce myself at the moment."
"Well, that helps a lot," Ake muttered with a grumble. "Let's focus on levels for now. We can practice later."
"Understood. I order thee, decipher the laws of nature!"
/~/
"[Zweite False Strike!]" Dashing forward with a golden aura, Raphtalia slashed her sword at the griffon. The griffon also slashed back, managing to avoid her blade and hit her leg. But instead of blood, the image disappeared as Raphtalia appeared above it, stabbing it into the ground.
"[Erst Shield!]" Naofumi called out.
The green shield appeared in front of Raphtalia, blocking the path of the two birds who attempted to pounce on her. Raphtalia then came out, slashing through the two birds.
"Don't think you can outperform me. As the source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and pierce these foolish birds! [Zweite Bambo Strike!]"
Driving her fist into the ground, bamboo rose into the air, skewering the incoming griffon. A few were able to dodge the attack and continued to dive down, but Larsa held her ground. Just as it was about to slash at her, Larsa leapt into the air and punched the griffon back into the earth.
First time I've seen Bambo Magic. What other variants are there?
"Master, we got more incoming!" Raphtalia warned.
"Seems they're returning from their hunting trip. We need to withdraw, or else we'll get caught by the Griffin king."
"We gotta get to the edge, though. And they're blocking everyone."
"So we clear a path. Simple as that." Larsa grinned.
"Then let's do it!"
The three of them leapt forward, clearing a path toward the exit. Larsa was on her own, clearing them out in droves while getting some assistance from Naofumi from time to time. He and Raphtalia, however, were running through them all. Their teamwork was still impeccable, with no attack getting close to Raphtalia. The three of them continued this battle until the batch on the nest was defeated and the path to escape was made clear.
Naofumi ran towards the edge of the nest and used his rope shield ability to send down a bundle. Larsa was the first to go, sliding down with her feet skidding off the mountain. Naofumi had no issue holding her; in fact, he could hold a lot more weight if he desired since his attack stat was so high. That's one of the things that annoyed him the most. If he had a high strength stat with the attack to abuse it. Most of his issues now would have turned pretty trivial.
"Hya!" Sakura slashed at the nearest griffon, but her sword snapped immediately upon contact. Quickly moving her arms to defend herself. The griffon slashed her across the arm, pushing her into Naofumi's arms.
"Raphtalia!"
"I'm alright. We need to go."
"Right."
Hooking the rope into the ground, Naofumi leapt off, sliding down similarly to Larsa. Though midway down, his rope was cut by the griffons, sending them into a free fall. Raphtalia panicked a bit but blushed as Naofumi pulled her closer to his body.
"Brace yourself!" Naofumi yelled as he turned his back to the ground. Raphtalia did the same and covered the back of her head as they crashed.
"You two alright?"
"I'm fine. Raphtalia."
"I'm good. [All Fast Hide!]"
Casting a quick spell, Raphtalia turned them all invisible as the griffons soared over them. Sneaking into the forest and away from the birds, they returned back to the designated meeting point.
"[Fast Heal.]" The wounds on Raphtalia's arm cleared up as Naofumi finished his chant.
"Thanks, master."
"What happened up there?" Larsa asked.
"My sword suddenly snapped. I'm not even sure how; I made sure to keep it properly cleaned and sharpened this time."
"That's one reason why. It could just be you've outgrown it. Happens a lot when there are a lot of levels and you're not upgrading your weapon. When was the last time you got it refined?"
"I think I was level 16 at the time... now I'm 47."
"Well, there you go." Larsa nodded. "I suggest upgrading y'all's equipment before you do any more hunting."
"I'll keep it noted for now."
"Now where's everyone else?" Naofumi asked.
Right on cue, the bush beside them began to rustle as Keel popped out, bouncing off Naofumi with a clanking sound playing out.
"Ow."
"A therianthrope? Is this that little dog from earlier?" Larsa asked as she held up Keel by the ear.
"Indeed, she is big, sis. She has the potential." Tayke sighed.
"She learned it already, before you? How embarrassing."
"Shut up!" Take yelled.
"Raphtalia, tell them. I look cool, right?" Keel pleaded.
"Eh. Sorry, Keel, you look more cute than cool."
"Ugh." Keel hung his head low, dejected.
"We were quite successful on our end. Master Keel has gained over 10 levels. He is now level 35, Zalton reported.
"Six for me and Raphtalia. I guess Ren was correct about this place being pretty good. For a couple of hours at least."
"Hey y'all, we're back with din- Oh, is that you, Keel? You look cute."
"Ugh." For the third time today, Keel's pride took a hit, and this one successfully broke through its defenses and affected her ego.
"I want to disappear," Keel whined as he sulked to himself.
"Sakura, Ake. How did you two do?" Raphtalia asked.
"Pretty good. I got around twenty-three levels."
"Twenty-three!?" Keel exclaimed.
"I know. Sakura was thirsty. I don't know what the griffons did to make her that mad." Heishan shuddered.
"Exist, that's what." Sakura scoffed.
"It's ingrained in her DNA. Don't worry about it."
"That raises more questions than answers."
"Oh, shut it, Heishan. Not everything needs an answer." Larsa said, lightly hitting Heishan on the head.
"Apart from Sakura's murderous tendencies, we had a pretty good talk. I finally understood what I was lacking. So I'm going to study up and see if I can figure it out."
"That sounds good. Sakura, is your weapon good?"
"Sorta." Sakura looked around twice before leaning over to Naofumi. "Fitoria didn't do a good job at tempering it," Sakura whispered. When she did, however, her agape began spinning rapidly. "Shit, she heard Sakura. Give her a moment." Sakura walked off as she began to argue with seemingly herself.
"Anyway. We need to get our gear fixed."
"I got a place," Larsa said.
"So do I." Zalton chipped in.
"Thinking of the same thing?"
"Sanctuaries forge?"
"Ran by Neila?"
"Exactly." Larsa went in for a fist bump, but Zalton had already gone in for a handshake. The two stammered about before finally agreeing on a head nod.
"We've got things to do. So we'll leave things here. But you can hold yourselves in a fight, so don't be afraid to seek us out for more hunting. Free of charge."
"What an honor. Big sister only gives that out to a few people."
"I'll keep it under consideration."
Larsa went in for another fist bump, this time actually getting one from the shield hero.
"You're a weird bunch. Just nice to see the shield hero knows we're the best."
So she does know.
"Our secret, of course." Larsa held a finger over her mouth and began to walk off, she and her crew waving goodbye.
"What a weird panda."
"Naofumi!"
/~/
With them splitting paths with Larsa's crew. Naofumi wasted no time and left for the Sanctuaries Forge. Supposedly, the Genmu had used it to supply his town guards, time and time again. Not to mention the raving reviews from Larsa on how it was top quality.
Of course, Naofumi had his doubts, but with his options limited, he went there anyway. Though it was only a few seconds before he stepped inside that he regretted the decision immediately.
Inside were two demi-humans going at it. One of them was a cat, and the one behind the counter was a bird. She had blond hair with red tips in twin tails and large black wings that almost looked blade-like.
Midway through their argument, the bird demi-human just grabbed the cat with a tendril of darkness and tossed him out the shop's window.
"Brittle, bitchmade wanker." Neila groaned as the window repaired itself.
"Alright, next!" The bird exclaimed, this time in a cheery voice.
"Something's off about her," Raphtalia warned.
"Yeah, I noticed." Naofumi stepped forward to the counter. He was expecting some comment, but the bird only looked him up and down.
"Hmm. A human?"
"Is there an issue with that bird?" Naofumi threatened.
"I'm a Peryton, thank you." Neila pouted.
Raphtalia and Sakura stood behind Naofumi, ready to attack in case a fight broke out, but all the tension in the room left as a loud belly laugh came from the peryton. "Sorry. Jay could never." The girl continued to laugh before clearing her throat. "Been a bit since someone tried to be rude."
"Tired to?" Naofumi questioned, offended at her comment.
"Don't worry about it."
Neila reached out her hand, a gesture Naofumi mimicked.
"Neila."
"Iwatani."
"Huh. I feel like I should know that name from somewhere... Eh, who cares? Not like I'm going to remember anyway." Neila shook Naofumi's hand and then looked around the room.
"I see. Three pairs of armor, weapon maintenance, correct?" Neila asked, back into her cheery voice.
"Right. Preferably in a few days. The Genmu will be sponsoring this trip."
"Ahh, envoys of the Lord. No wonder you weren't enslaved yet." The girl chuckled. "Alright then, let me see what I'm working with."
Neila flew over the counter, her detail more evident. She snatched the weapon from Raphtalia's sheet, cringing but also inspecting the damages. She went over to Ake and Sakura and did the same, pointing out various chips and scratches that went unnoticed. However, with Sakura, she had less and was praised for keeping it well-maintained.
After taking the weapons, she rushed over to Keel for whatever reason, and she spent a long time looking him all over as well."Is the bitch getting something too?"
"Hey!" Keel yelled out, offended.
"Not in a derogatory way." Neila groaned.
"What does that even mean?" Keel grumbled.
"No. Keel doesn't use a weapon, nor has any armor."
"I can work with that. Gauntlets or a does he have us should do."
"I'm fine with that. Just don't go overboard with the cost."
"Fair enough, budget?"
"Depends; how much does it cost?" Zalton answered.
"Not one to get ripped off, eh, boo?" Neila whined in a joking manner. "Creating a new set of armor, along with the repairs and new weapon. That'll be about fifteen gold."
"Only one set of armor?"
"It's for the human." Neila declared.
"How." Ake hung his head, his disguise failing once again.
"The dog already has magic clothes. And they're just as good as armor. And if she uses her therianthrope form, that's just a more natural defense. Unless he's like the party tank, which I'm assuming she's not." Neila grumbled. "Magic armor is just an unnecessary purchase. The same goes for the bird."
"I already knew how to boost the clothes' defenses anyway," Sakura added.
"Then it's unneeded. You fine with that, Keel?"
"I can work with it."
"I see. You got any materials you want to refine these with?"
"Probably. I got some extra stuff from the hourglass." From a portal, Zalton took out a bag full of monster parts from their previous adventures in Melromarc.
Neila took a look at this bag and began to inspect each and every piece. Though she only kept two pieces and shook her head.
"I don't know how you got wave boss materials, but I can work with it. I also wanted to use this feather, but it seems it's somehow rejecting Sakura's blade. How does that even work?"
"Oh, that's just Fitoria. Seems she refuses to be paired with a dragon, even in spirit."
"The the hell is a Fitoria?" Neila asked.
"Don't worry about it." Sakura smiled.
"Alright then, I'll just dive into my own stock, free of charge. This will be my entertainment for a few days." The peryton grinned. "So yeah, fifteen gold."
"Alright then. Zalton."
Nodding his head, Zalton produced a bag of coins and placed it on the counter. When Neila counted it, she found the exact amount she offered inside. Though she was a bit weirded out that he had this reason in just a matter of seconds, she pushed those thoughts to the side as she opened the door to the forge.
"Alright then, I'll handle this immediately. My hyper-fixated ass should have this shit done in about... two days. Two and a half if I'm bored."
"I don't care how fast it's done, just that it's done correctly. Can you promise me that?"
"Your gear is in safe hands. Just be sure to drop your armor off sometime before closing." Closing the door, the party immediately heard Neila get to work. Fire burst from under the door before being snuffed out by a bucket of water connected to a pulley.
"Well, that was an interesting person."
"She certainly has one of the best personalities of all time," Zalton grumbled. "Her methods are, however, one of the best in Siltvelt."
"Let's just hope she could live up to those standards. It's your money on the line after all." Naofumi turned towards the door, dropping his armor off at the counter.
"It's been a long day. Let's get out of here already."
"Where are we sleeping anyway? The castle isn't exactly the safest place at the moment." Ake asked.
"Not to mention the amount of women that'll appear out of nowhere if we stay at Werner's places." Raphtalia shuddered.
"No worries. The Genmu has secured renovations far away from the prying eyes of the city."
"And what about his prying eyes?"
"My crew built it personally under Genmu's orders to preserve your privacy. Only I and a few other servants know of its location. And while in Siltvelt, I'm under orders to only follow you. So as long as you desire. Your peace shall not be disturbed."
"If you say so. Let's get a move on then. I need some sleep."
"As you wish, my lord."
/~/
Meanwhile, in Ryute
"I'm telling you, Moto, those birds are dangerous! They need to be put down!" Malty yelled.
She was still healing from the recent beating she received from the Filolial in the barn and was doing her best to get rid of them. Though she failed every time. Unfortunately for Malty, Motoyasu was a huge idiot who couldn't see anything the angels did as wrong. The longer this goes on, the more she can feel her grasp on Motoyasu slip further and further as he begins to focus on the filolial than her.
"That can't be. Look, they've turned into angels now! They probably just need some time to get used to you." Motoyasu reassured.
"Never in a million years. She tried to poison me!" Freon yelled out.
"Now, Freon, that can't be the case. It was just normal food; I tested it myself." Motoyasu sighed. Unfortunately for Freon, Motoyasu is a huge idiot who can't see anything Malty does as wrong. His trust in his companions is too great, leading to these types of situations where he has to play the middle ground to keep the peace. He didn't want to get stabbed again after all.
"Though the filolial have no issue in waiting out Motoyasu's foolishness. Malty's patience was growing thinner and thinner. First with the reduced taxation and now with these birds who are preventing her from manipulating him any further.
"At this point, he's a lost cause. There's nothing she can do, so other options must be discovered. Until then, all she could do was smile and wave."
/~/
Mache Kun: ... surprise /
Yeah, I have no excuse for this. Guess I just needed a break so I can come back swinging. Before the next chapter, however, I'm going to do a subtle rewrite. No changes in events or anything; I just want to write out the scenes better and fix some stuff.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it. We'd be back on our scheduled path in a bit.