Chapter 217 - The 1% Man
"Can we use the extension for questions?"
"Okay. We can continue fishing another time."
The tackle from before seemed fine, and I had a spare rod, but since I knew I could catch fish, there was no need to force it now. The questions were flowing rapidly in the comments, but the most common one was…
"About Excavation Magic, perhaps?"
"Maybe. Was that the first time it appeared in a video?"
[Rising] "That was seriously amazing!"
[Kzeroone] "Mion-chan, tell Bell-taso about it haha"
[Nightny] "Tell us what kind of magic it is~ (^人^)"
etc. etc…
Bell-bucho's stone wall character is really established. Anyway, how I acquired it… I'll tell it vaguely.
"Simply put, there was an Applied Earth Magic Grimoire in a book on the first floor of the Mountain Cabin. I read it, acquired the Applied Earth Magic skill, and as I leveled it up, I then became able to acquire the Civil Engineering Skill."
[Mushinko] "Civil Engineering Skill!?"
[Molto] "So the legendary Civil Engineering Skill was a magic type!"
[Manbo] "Applied Magicology!"
[Karuserun] "What other Civil Engineering spells are there?"
etc. etc…
Even more in-depth questions were flowing in rapidly. I was starting to get the hang of reading them.
"Civil Engineering spells are
"Excavation Magic is useful for making fields, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah. Tilling fields is easy."
"Shall we make Wednesday's stream about the fields?"
"Maybe? Well, I want the next one to be a relaxed live stream…"
[Karlone] "Relaxed?"
[Kenes] "It was supposed to be relaxed fishing today too~"
[Bluesha] "Looking forward to field-making~♪(≧∀≦)"
[Katin] "I feel like something else will go wrong again…"
etc. etc…
I should only be growing normal things in the fields, right? That church is still a mystery, but it's not like there's any element of 'going wrong' there.
"Next question: 'What do you think about the World Quest?' How about that?"
"Hmm… seems tough?"
[Yonro] "So detached haha"
[Shakeena] "The devs practically called you out for non-participation (^_^;"
[Sacre] "Honestly, there's nothing we can do anyway."
[Emdeik] "Any ideas on how to negotiate with the Dragonkin?"
[Gridsan] "Need advice for the current World Quest haha"
etc. etc…
"Even if you ask for advice…"
They're already acquaintances, so 'negotiation methods' or whatever is a bit late now. If I could just meet them, I could send them Torotoro Dried Papu Fruit as a bribe? Or…
"How about investigating what kind of place the Necropolis is? Seems like there might be traps there…"
In that process, if they notice the story of the Ancient Magic Facility's rampage. At least, I want them to know that before moving to the next chapter…
"Kyu~!"
"Wafu!"
"Yeah, thanks for the meal."
The Selkie looked satisfied after completely finishing the Ratiola Carpaccio. The comments had also shifted from Q&A to a relaxed mood, so it felt like a good time for a final question…
"Hm?"
Suddenly, it grew dark only around us. No, it was just the sunlight being blocked, a shadow falling. I looked up, thinking it was going to rain again…
"Huh? Seriously…"
[Draichisan] "Huh? A dragon!?"
[Shumei] "The dragon is here!"
[Uppii] "A Silver Dragon!?"
[Ramraida] "What!?"
[Daytron] "
etc. etc…
Ah, it's Argenta-san, isn't it? What's he here for? And at this timing…
`
"Shou-kun, the live stream…"
"Ah, yeah. I'll continue, but sorry if it cuts off at the time limit."
At my words, the comments section erupted. If the stream ended here, Mion would get so much flak, there's no telling what they'd say…
"Lord Shou!"
Argenta-san's voice echoed from above. Lupi and Sweee seemed fine, but the Selkie was scared, hiding behind me and clutching my coat.
"It's okay."
As I patted the Selkie's kigurumi hood, Argenta-san landed at the base of the pier… He could transform into a human.
Tall, silver-haired… a handsome butler? He looked about Mashiro-nee's age, but his real age was much older, of course. He rushed towards us, but I wondered if a butler shouldn't walk a bit more elegantly.
"I apologize for the sudden intrusion."
"No, it's fine. Um, is something wrong?"
"While I was away on another matter, the Princess… desired sweets…"
Argenta-san looked away after saying that much. Ah, she ate everything. And so, he was sent on an errand to get more? Well, I got the Spatial Magic Grimoire, so it's a good time to give him this.
"I'll send a larger quantity later, so please take this for today."
I took out a small bottle of Camlus Compote from my inventory. I removed the Saloon Lizard leather lid to show him the contents.
"This is…"
"~~~!!"
Sweee reached out from my hood, "No, don't!", and pulled my earlobe.
"Ow ow ow! I'll make more for you, Sweee!"
"Lady Sweee, my apologies…"
Argenta-san bowed deeply to Sweee. She puffed out her cheeks, crossed her arms, and turned away with a pout, but I guess that meant she forgave him.
I saw the comments section was going wild… Well, that's expected.
"Is the 'other matter' about the city with all the undead?"
"You've already heard about it. Indeed, we are quite preoccupied with that."
"How about asking for human help?"
"The Princess decreed that those who do not know what transpired in that land shall not enter. Our internal investigation hasn't progressed much, so we, too, oppose allowing untrustworthy individuals inside."
"Ah, indeed…"
That's right. If something terrible were there, and it was activated without knowing…
"But isn't it difficult to earn the Dragonkin's trust?"
"No, no, Lord Shou, we can rely on you. You are favored by Lady Lupi, Lady Sweee, and even the Selkie."
He smiled, but I had no such intention at all…
"Shou-kun, it's almost time."
Ah, damn. Time flies when you're talking.
"Oh, sorry. You're waiting for me to leave quickly, right?"
"That's right! Then, I shall take my leave. My thanks will surely come later!"
Argenta-san, clutching the compote bottle, leaped into the sky, returning to his silver dragon form. And then, he flew off rapidly to the east…
"Everyone, I'm sorry. Time's almost up, so that's all for today!"
"Sorry!"
"See you next time~"
"See you~"
"Wafu~"
"Kyu~"