Chapter 419 - Strike First, Then Go With the Flow
Monday
"Sounds like yesterday was pretty wild, huh?"
"Well, not so much for me, but…"
My gaze drifted to Mion, who was showing Iincho what happened yesterday on her tablet.
When I say "what happened," I don't mean the entire archive. It was a short video she'd hastily put together after Azure-san brought the Boss Cat back.
Why the rush?
"This situation needs to be communicated quickly," Bell-buchou had advised.
The Cait Sith and Ramune Island incident was causing a stir, and the fact that I protected the Cait Sith at the Dragonkin's request should be disclosed quickly.
"Indeed. If we inform everyone beforehand that something like this happened, we can prevent unnecessary speculation and baseless rumors," Seth added.
Especially ensuring everyone knows the Boss Cat, the Commander, returned home, will help quell the debate about whether the Cait Sith should return to Ramune Island or not, Seth thought.
"But making a video now that includes everything about the Cait Sith…"
"Three short videos. It would be best to narrow it down to the main points. If there are any lacking explanations, Shou-oniisama and Mion-dono's fans will interpret them favorably, you see."
Following that advice, Mion briskly created and uploaded three short videos. By the time she finished, the date had already changed…
The first video covered tending to the Cait Sith in the mountain cabin.
The second showed the recovered Cait Sith happily eating with the Selkies.
The third concluded with Azure-san arriving and flying away with the Boss Cat.
The last part, where Azure-san flew off in his Azure Dragon form, was good because it answered the question, How did the Cait Sith even get here?
"Right. So the sick Cait Sith stayed on the island."
"Mm."
Iincho seemed relieved after watching the short videos.
None of us—Mion, Bell-buchou, Seth, or of course, Nat and Iincho—knew what happened on the mainland after the Boss Cat returned.
"This blue dragon… he's an old acquaintance, isn't he?"
"Yeah, Azure-san, the Azure Dragon, we've known each other for a while."
"Oh? When did you meet him?"
"He transported the Goddess Statue to the Necropolis for me. And he also came to investigate the ancient ruins on the island. Well, I kept it a secret because talking about it too much would cause a lot of trouble."
"Gotcha. I'll keep quiet too, then. But I wonder if he'd visit our ancient ruins sometime?"
Nat was referring to the ancient ruins deep within the Former Gnome Village, southwest of his kingdom.
During the Necropolis's conquest, he got a ring that opened the magic doors that had been sealed, so he must be making good progress, right?
"Those ancient ruins of yours, the Inner Ancient Dungeon, right? How's the exploration going?"
"Yesterday, I found something interesting. Though you already know about it."
Nat said with a smile, revealing that he'd found a Transfer Elevator.
And since they were there, he decided to activate it, and it apparently led to the other side of a previously locked door on the first floor.
In other words,
"A shortcut?"
"Exactly. It means we can get straight to the sixth floor, so exploration beyond that will be much faster."
The Inner Ancient Dungeon was an instance, but if at least one person in the party had been through it, it would remain open.
"I see. Did you find anything else?"
"For now, we found Crystal Ore. But processing it is a pain."
"Crystal Ore…"
I couldn't quite picture it, I thought, when Nat showed me a screenshot on his tablet.
It looks like crystals growing like bamboo shoots…
"If you snap this off, does it grow back?"
"Yeah, but it takes nearly a month to return to its original size."
It really is like bamboo shoots, I thought, when Iincho said,
"If it's crystal, then maybe the [Stonemasonry skill]. With the [Crafting skill], you might be able to make something good."
Nat understood that, too, and apparently, it was common to use [Stonemasonry skill] and [Crafting skill] to make pendants or similar items.
"Is that not good enough?"
"It's not that it's not good, but just having crystal isn't enough."
Combined with Mithril, it becomes a pendant that grants [Holy Magic +1], making it popular as beginner's equipment, but it's apparently very difficult to make.
"May I consult with [Silver Manor] about other uses?"
"Oh, please do. Our guild members are mostly biased towards Carpentry, and if we have to buy ingots for everything, it's a hassle."
I see. The Dwarf Dungeon, which [Silver Manor] focuses on, yields Mithril Ore, so using it as a gem for pendants makes sense.
*
"Wow, the view counts are incredible…"
It seems short videos are replayed many times.
Perhaps because short videos are easy to watch repeatedly, all of them had astonishing view counts.
Even before, videos of cooking and Lupi's sleeping face were very popular. Archived live streams, especially the singing parts, were also replayed frequently and were quite popular.
"Hello~"
"Did we keep you waiting?"
While Mion and I were checking comments, Yata-sensei and Bell-buchou entered.
"Are these the short videos uploaded late last night?"
"Yes. Oh, I'm sorry. We should have consulted with you, shouldn't we?"
"No, no~ If Bell-san checked it, there's no problem~"
"I did, I did," Bell-buchou affirmed, turning her gaze to me.
Yata-sensei apparently had no problem with us uploading videos on our own, but given Mion's official inauguration as the Goddess, she simply wanted someone to check them if possible.
That's right. I'll be more careful.
"Yeah. I was a bit too flustered yesterday…"
"It's okay. I checked everything, including that."
Mion praised her, and Bell-buchou seemed rather pleased.
It truly shows her competence that she was thinking about that even in such a chaotic situation.
"So, what are your plans for the next stream? Judging by the reactions to the three short videos, people will naturally ask about the Cait Sith, but I think they'll also ask about the Azure Dragon."
"Hmm, we've had a lot of streams at the mansion, so I was thinking of just having a normal meal at the port."
I think that's a great idea!
"Yes, that's fine~ 'The island is just for relaxing~' is probably a good approach~"
Yata-sensei also agreed, so a stream at the port was settled.
"As for Azure-san, is it okay to just say he's a dragon who sometimes visits the island in Argenta-san's stead?"
"Isn't that actually the case?"
"Actually, he's interested in ancient ruins, or rather, magic tools and [Elemental Magic]. I'd love to introduce him to Bell-buchou…"
Hearing that, Bell-buchou slumped over the clubroom desk.
Of course. He's someone she'd definitely want to meet as 'Majo Bell'.
"Alright, alright~ Let's leave our reliable buchou aside for a moment~ Why don't you go play for a bit~ The cats are still there, aren't they~?"
Ah…
I logged out yesterday at the old tavern in the port, but I wondered if the Cait Sith who remained on the island were okay? I started to worry if they might be feeling unwell again.
"Okay, I'll go check on them."
"Y-yes. Have a good trip…"
"Yeah, I'm off."
It really makes me happy to be sent off with her real voice.
As for Bell-buchou… well, let's leave her be…