Chapter 35: blacksmith

　When they left the guild, the sun was already directly overhead. Feeling hungry, they decided to get a meal somewhere.

　”Ai, here, take this.”

　”What?”

　Tatsuro converted half of the 5 million Sis that he had just deposited and gave it to Ai.

　”Oh, you’ve become a rich man at once!”

　”In a few days, it’ll be several times that.”

　”If I can go home now, and if I can get back and forth to this place, wouldn’t it be better to live here?”

　Ai said this as she looked at the amount of money in the system. Tatsuro nodded thoughtfully, “That’s true.” In this world, if you regularly pour out the golden crystal, you can live a life of luxury until you die. Besides, there is also a convenient magic that can give form to an image. If you ask him if he has the energy to work hard and work as a normal person in that world, to be honest, it would be a bit difficult.

　”But at this point, it’s like a dog without a tail.”

　”Well, I guess you’ll have to think about it after we’re able to go home first.”

　The two of them put their current idea on the shelf. But the future option was firmly etched in their minds. It was a bit dangerous, but it was an exciting world to live in.

　Then, as they wandered around the town, they smelled something really delicious that tickled their nostrils.

　They swallowed their saliva and almost unconsciously turned their feet in that direction.

　Then, one street over, they came to a square. And the source of the smell.

　”Is this the …… stall?”

　”Whatever, just give me something to eat.”

　Tatsuro grabbed the hungry wolf’s hand to keep him from jumping out of the way, and walked into the nearest stall with the word “meat” written on it, out of the many large boxes on wheels that lined the square, which were very different in shape from Japanese stalls.

　”Meat, please!”

　”Whoa, young lady, you’re going out on a limb here.”

　The bearded, middle-aged owner and a few customers rolled their eyes at the novelty of his order for meat.

　The owner, a middle-aged man with a beard, and several customers rolled their eyes.

　”‘Sorry to startle you, may I order?”

　”Oh?　yes, what do you want?”

　”Uhm, I’ll take the owner’s recommendation for two.

　”Okay.”

　After watching the owner start to cook, they sat down in the small seating area.

　Not long after that, a plate of food was placed in front of them.

　It was a mixture of meat, vegetables and black sauce sandwiched between two flatbreads, something like a burger or a sandwich.

　As soon as they smelled the delicious smell, they said “Itadakimasu” and ate it in one gulp.

“　”Thank you for the food.””

　”You’re eating so well, it makes me happy too.”

　”It was delicious!”

　”Oh?I see?　No, thank you though.”

The owner of the restaurant was pleased to hear Ai’s genuine smile, which showed no signs of deceit, and he lowered his eyes as if he were being praised by his daughter.

　”How much are they?”

　”570 cis per piece.”

　”That’s cheap!”

　”Right!”

　The shopkeeper’s face was becoming more and more disheveled, and the customers around him were looking at him with a wry smile. When they were about to leave the store, the owner said, “Come again! I’d love to,” they replied and went out.

　” This is exactly the kind of place you’d expect to find meat.　It was like a meat store.”

　”Yeah, let’s come back for more.”

　”Yeah, we should come back, but”

　”Yeah”

　The two of them looked around in silence at the smells coming from places other than this restaurant, thinking that the next one might be further down the road.

　With their stomachs full, Tatsuro and Ai walked around the town, looking at the map, to have the blacksmith Leela had introduced them to process their furs.

　According to the map, they were close to the Adventurer’s Guild, so they went back the way they had come.

　When they came back to the T-junction in front of the gate, they didn’t go towards the Adventurer’s Guild, but went straight ahead and turned right at the second corner.

　It was gray – or rather, dirty – despite the white buildings around it, and it was a two-story building, not very large, with a rusty sign that said “Blacksmith.

　”It’s kind of rundown.”

　”I don’t think it’s rundown, it’s just poorly maintained. …… It says blacksmith, so I guess this is the right place, but is it okay?”

　”But since Leela took the trouble to tell me, I’ll just go in.”

　” Yeah.”

　When he fearfully opened the door, there was an old man with shaggy black hair and stubble on the workbench, snoring in his sleep.

　”Shall we go home?”

　”Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

　As they turned on their heels and put their hands on the door, they heard a rattling sound and turned around to see the old man just waking up, sneezing.

　”He was just waking up. Hurry up and get out!”

　”Here…”

　”Fue…… Wait a minute, you’re a customer.

　””You got it wrong.””

　”No, no, no. You wouldn’t be in here if you didn’t have business.”

　They both thought that they shouldn’t have said ” here ” themselves, but it was clear that they had come here for a reason, so they decided to deal with them.

　”Well, we’ve come to ask you to do some work on our furs.”

　”Oh, furs. Give me a minute so I can take a look.

　Tatsuro was basically respectful to his elders, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to be so with this old man. For example, Ai did not even try to stop looking at him like he was stinking.

　But the old man didn’t care about that, he immediately switched to work mode and started inspecting the golden crystal and blue crystal Deflstal fur that Tatsuro took out of the item box.

　”——This fur .. ………… Why do you guys have all this stuff?”

　”This is a letter of introduction for the guild.”

　In order to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, Tatsuro handed the letter of introduction that Leela had given him to the old man. As soon as the old man received it, he immediately released his suspicions.

　”Lela’s introduction, then we’re good. Do you want me to tan it?”

　”Yeah, and can you make it into armor or something?”

　”Ah?　I can’t”

　”You can’t?”

　”I wonder why Leela-san introduced us to this place.”

　Tatsuro nodded that Ai’s question was plausible, but the old man who was told in front of them grinned with his chest, saying that even that was nothing.

　”‘You know, there’s only one reason Leela introduced me to you.”

　”…… What’s that one thing?”

　”It’s obvious. Because I’m the best blacksmith in town!”

　The two of them looked at the old man with a scandalous look on their faces as he pointed at himself with his thumb and smirked.

　”If that’s the case, then there’s only one blacksmith in town, isn’t there?”

　”Hahaha, of course not—-“

　”Guu, how did you know……”

　”Are you for real!” ” See!”

When he tried to make fun of the kid, the old man suddenly got to the point and his face twisted in frustration.

　From the look on his face, Tatsuro began to think that Ai was right and that this was the only blacksmith shop in town, but he concluded that it would be impossible for a single old man to run the blacksmithing business for this entire town.

　”No, but one man can’t run it all by himself.

　”Well, yeah, but there’s the merchants’ guild.”

　”If there is a merchant guild, does it mean there is no need for a blacksmith?”

　”Oi oi, You’re a very naive girl.”

　”What the hell!”

　So the old man scratched his head with his right hand and began to explain in a troublesome manner.

　”You see, in this day and age, ordinary blacksmiths make what they want at places set up by the merchant guilds. This way, the blacksmith can get paid regularly. And the customers could get mass-produced or processed goods made there at a lower price than they could get from individuals. What do you think would happen then?”

　”Uhm, what would happen?”

　Ai, who had always asked Tatsuro about anything she didn’t understand, turned the question around as usual.

　”The blacksmith becomes an employee of the Merchant’s Guild and does not have his own store ……?”

　”Yes. It seems that they will raise your wages as your skills improve, and your life will be secure. Nowadays, you can’t make a living as a blacksmith unless you’re a master craftsman.”

　When the old man spoke in such a sincere manner, Ai expressed her doubts without an ounce of reservation.

　”Huh?　So how come an old man who isn’t a master craftsman is able to run a store?”

　”Bufuu. Oi oi, little girl!　You know I might be a master craftsman?　See, the way I hold this tool, I look like an expert, don’t I?

　As if to say, “I’m a man who can do it,” he grabbed the tools around him and tried to mend them, but Ai saw through him, gave him a pitying look, and stroked the fur that Tatsuro had just taken out.

　
　”If he had been a master craftsman, these furs could have been used as armor.”

　”Guu, I can’t say anything back. ……”

　”You could at least talk back to me a little. ……”

　Here was a picture that was hard to describe: an old man sticking his hand on the floor in front of a girl who was proud of her victory, and a boy staring at the old man with half-lidded eyes.