Chapter 121 : Chapter 121
Chapter 121: Encounter with the Unknown (1)
Although I had unexpectedly obtained a legendary-grade artifact called the 「Witch's Eye」, as I mentioned before, more time was needed before I could seriously start commissioning legendary-grade artifacts from Nero.
To be precise, she needed to set up a new workshop.
However, even with sufficient investment funds, a workshop couldn't just be whipped up overnight, what with finding a suitable location, new tools, and all.
So, the move would probably be finished around the time we returned from Krom.
However, ‘enchanting’ was perfectly possible even in that shabby warehouse.
Therefore, I first visited the Ria Merchant Company to purchase a large amount of 「Intermediate Magic Stones」, and then went to see Nero again.
Don Paulo, whom we had been holding captive, was temporarily left in the hands of Logan and the Kapers.
He was asleep anyway, and as long as he was under their watch, there was no need to worry about him escaping. …Yes, no need to worry about escaping.
In any case, thanks to that, all six of us were able to move together for the first time in a while.
“W-Welco── Hieeek…!?”
And because of that, unlike last time when it was just me and Rine, Nero's communication skills unfortunately hit rock bottom again upon realizing she had to deal with six people at once.
“T-Today, wh-wh-what brings you── Kwek!”
Literally, while collapsing to the floor.
She had somehow mustered the courage to come and greet us, but then… she ended up tripping over her own feet.
“A-Are you alright?!”
“Ugh, ughh…!”
As soon as Miki saw this, he rushed over to help Nero up.
The scene felt somewhat like déjà vu.
“D-Don't tell me, you were, unhappy with the last item, and came to protest…?!”
“Pardon?”
“I-If that's not it, then you must have, after discussing it among your companions, come to the conclusion that investing such a large sum in someone like me, just doesn't make, m-make sense…!?”
What is she talking about all of a sudden?
“Even when I think about it, it was too good to be true…! Th-Thank you, f-for letting me have a happy dream, even for a short while…!”
“Why did the story turn out that way?”
Why is she so pessimistic?
Could it be that Nero has a trait that lowers her self-esteem and makes her depressed the more people are around her?
It feels like the complete opposite of my 「Attention Seeker」 trait.
“Hey, why is she broken again?”
“Heek…!”
Nero, upon seeing Ibi—or more accurately, her naturally thuggish—eyes looking at her in disbelief, gasped again and shrank back.
“I-I-I'm sorry…!”
“What? For what?”
“F-For daring to look…! H-Here, this is all I have right now, but… p-p-please, spare my life…!”
“……?”
Ibi tilted her head with a look of complete incomprehension as she watched Nero empty her own pockets and then bow, offering the coins with trembling hands as if she were being mugged.
“Why are you shaking her down now?”
“I-I'm not, she's offering it on her own…!?”
Then, hearing my words, she explained(?) with a somewhat wronged expression, as if to say she had done no such thing.
“We just came to get some enchanting done today.”
After teasing Ibi and chuckling, I then turned back to Nero and said.
“E-Enchanting…?”
“Ah, we've already prepared the materials, so you don't have to worry.”
“Th-Then, the investment… y-you're not taking it back…?”
“Why would we take it back?”
If anything, I wish she would hurry up and spend it already.
To prove that my words were true, I deliberately made the sack full of magic stones jingle and placed it on the counter.
“Ah…! Y-Yes! Pl-Please, tell me anything!”
Seeing this, Nero finally regained her confidence(?) and began to take our orders.
First, I presented my instrument.
“Please enhance this lute.”
I had been carrying an enhanced high-grade lute from Stout, but I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to switch to a new instrument soon.
So I had received this lute along with the magic stones from the Ria Merchant Company.
「Moonlight Lute」.
It had various settings attached, like the strings being made from a metal blessed by the moon goddess Tia, but to put it simply, it was just a high-performance instrument.
One of the few in this world, of the unique grade.
So when I first visited the Ria Merchant Company── that is, when I went to connect Nero with them, I had asked them to get it for me as well, and thanks to that, I was able to receive it today.
“I-Is there a specific direction you want?”
“There's a rumor among bards about an instrument that can make you wiser just by carrying it. Is that possible?”
I was being a bit roundabout, but in the end, I was asking for an Intelligence stat boost.
“Pfft!”
As soon as she heard my request, Ibi, who was next to me, burst out laughing.
“You get smarter just by carrying an instrument? I don't know about anything else, but I can tell that's something only a complete idiot would say, hey.”
Well, I also agreed with Ibi to some extent.
It sounded like a baseless rumor spread by dumb kids.
“If you're going to do that, why don't you just carry a book around? No, just read a book──”
“U-Um, it's… possible….”
“──Huh?”
If you just look at the fact that it is actually possible.
“T-To be precise, just by… w-wearing it, your head becomes clearer than usual, helping with brain rotation… I could, create such an effect…”
“…Are you serious?”
It sounded like a very pyramid-scheme-like effect that no one would believe, what with negative ions and germanium this and that… but this is a world where such things are actually possible.
My main stat, ‘Charisma’, was already overflowing, and in the first place, I had long since reached a point where I couldn't raise it even if I wanted to.
So Intelligence was my next choice.
Not only would it be helpful when using the few Intelligence-based spells I could now use after becoming a ‘Trickster’, but more importantly, it was the most frequently used stat after Charisma in non-combat situations.
With higher Intelligence, wouldn't I be able to reduce the ‘unfair odds’ of forgetting the knowledge of this world that I already knew, due to the dice's mischief?
In fact, that reason was bigger than the magic.
For that reason.
--
「Enhanced Moonlight Lute」 (Unique+)
Effect - The buff effect of all 「Bard's Song」 that raises stats increases by +2.
Intelligence stat +2 when equipped
--
As a result of the enchanting, an instrument that really did make you wiser just by carrying it was completed.
Like this, enchanting with an 「Intermediate Magic Stone」 could produce a maximum ‘stat +2’ effect.
Therefore, for Lily, I enchanted the necklace with the Sistina symbol that she usually wears with a ‘Mentality’ +2 effect, which is the main stat for a cleric.
As soon as she put the enchanted necklace she had received back on.
“…!”
Lily, as if she immediately felt the difference, gasped for a moment, and then gently closed her eyes and clutched the ornament of the necklace.
“The presence of Lady Sistina… feels closer than usual…!”
She looked somewhat overcome with emotion.
Similarly, for Miki, I enchanted the ring engraved with his family's crest, which he had started wearing since he returned from the mansion, with a ‘Strength +1, Mentality +1’ effect.
For Toric, I enchanted the bracelet he always wears, as it was his wife's keepsake, with a ‘Strength +2’ effect.
“Wow…! I-I really feel much more energetic than usual!”
Immediately, Miki showed his usual addictive reaction, like an excited puppy that couldn't hide its excitement.
“…Hmm.”
Toric, who was fiddling with the magically enhanced bracelet, seemed to be reminded of old times as he stared at it for a moment, and then he gave a light nod.
“I feel like I'm slowly regaining my old strength. Thank you.”
Thus, even though it wasn't an artifact, for the companions who already had accessories they usually wore, there was no need to worry about where to enchant.
On the other hand, Ibi, for whom I was planning a ‘Dexterity +2’ enchant, was the only one who didn't usually wear anything.
So.
“Ibi, come here for a second.”
“What's with the 'come here, go there'?”
Though she grumbled as usual, she still came over, and to her.
“What.”
“You said you wanted to match, didn't you?”
I gently took her hand and slipped a ring I had bought separately onto her little finger.
Of course, it wasn't because of our conversation yesterday, but because she moves around so vigorously, I thought a piece of jewelry that wouldn't easily come off, like a necklace or a bracelet, would be necessary.
“Don't be jealous anymore, okay?”
Of course, that didn't mean I was going to pass up an opportunity to tease her.
“──?!”
Sure enough, Ibi snatched her hand away from me and swung it at my cheek.
I had already anticipated the blow, so I pulled my head back a beat earlier and dodged it with ease.
“I meant I was going to match your head!!”
“Keok.”
However, as soon as I dodged, she seemed determined to hit me one way or another, and I couldn't dodge the fist that came flying at my stomach.
“A-A dual attack, is cheating…”
“Just die!”
But even as she said that, she didn't take off the ring that was already on her finger.
She even added that she needed something to enchant anyway, so she wouldn't throw it away.
And finally, for Rine, I was planning to add ‘Intelligence +2’ to the earrings we had bought a while ago.
“I refuse.”
“…Huh?”
To do that, she had to take off the earrings for a moment, but.
“I do not wish to take them off.”
She said she hated the thought of even that short moment, and stubbornly refused, covering her ear with one hand as if not to let anyone touch it.
I did manage to [Persuade] her somehow and get the enchant done, but if my Charisma wasn't 30 and I didn't have three dice, it was a difficulty that I would never have passed.
***
By the time each person had finished enchanting their respective accessories and we came out of Nero's atelier (and warehouse), the sun was already setting.
So if we all went back to our lodgings like this and had dinner, another day would pass.
“──Hmm?”
That is, if a pigeon hadn't flown to us.
“A carrier pigeon.”
Toric, who immediately recognized the pigeon's identity, whistled, whew, and called the pigeon.
“What? How do you know?”
“It's a Kapers' pigeon.”
He then untied the note that was tied to one of the pigeon's legs, which had landed on his arm.
“A-A secret signal from the Kapers…!”
Miki, who had witnessed the secret act of the secret society he had always admired, looked on with eyes almost filled with emotion, as if his wish had come true, but Toric unfolded the note nonchalantly, as if it were nothing special.
And.
“──!”
He showed the specific reaction of someone who had seen something very special.
That is, he was horrified.
“Wh-What? What's wrong, old man?”
“…It's an emergency signal.”
The note that Toric then held out for us to see, had only one word written on it.
“……‘Salmon’?”
There are many theories about where the name of the Kapers came from, but in fact—though everyone denies it, saying how could the name of such a renowned organization of justice be that—it was named after that caper.
The spice.
And anyone who has eaten it knows that capers go very well with salmon.
The two are inseparable, like best friends.
So this signal, ‘salmon’, was a long-standing tradition among the Kapers── a playful joke from the founders who had named the Kapers after the spice.
That their ‘partner’, in other words, their ‘enemy’, had appeared.
In other words.
“It means they've been attacked.”