kscans

Chapter 15 - Beautiful Sword and Tastes.

Now, let's talk about what happened at the guild that morning.

In the morning, Bardos was looking for a job to warm up before hunting with Shinsuke. Just then, the Receptionist approached him.

"Bardos-san, I need you and Shinsuke-san to decide on a party name soon."

The Receptionist asked.

Shinsuke and Bardos hadn't decided on a party name yet. To be precise, they hadn't even thought about it. They thought of themselves as a combo and figured they didn't really need a party name. They had no idea it was required. To this, Bardos replied, "Huh? We need a party name even for a combo?"

To this, the Receptionist said, "Yes, you do. Since there are two or more of you, you are a proper party. So please decide on a party name quickly."

Bardos made a pained expression. "Aahh, I hadn't even thought about it. Shinsuke will be here around noon, so we'll think about it then."

The Receptionist looked slightly exasperated. "Alright. Please do it as soon as possible."

She said pointedly and returned to her post.

Bardos, with a weary look on his face, resumed his job search. Just then, all eyes in the guild focused on the entrance. The adventurers started talking.

"Look, 'Beautiful Sword' is back."

"I heard they were on a long-term job. It must have been something big."

"Man, they're as beautiful as ever."

'Beautiful Sword'—the adventurer party that reigned supreme in this city. They had been away for a long time, but now, having completed their job, they had returned to the guild.

Leading them was their leader. Her red hair was tied in a ponytail that reached the base of her neck. She wore a longsword at her waist and a full set of silver-white plate armor that covered her from her feet to her neck. Her chest plate was adorned with an emblem that looked like an iris. Her features were slender, more like a female athlete than an actress. She stood about 170 centimeters tall and possessed the dignity and grace of a seasoned warrior. Her name was Tina.

The second was a shield knight. She had long, golden hair that reached her chest, and she carried a large shield and a spear. She too wore full plate armor from head to toe, this one the color of autumn leaves, with the same iris emblem on her chest. Her features were also athletic, but her gaze was sharper than the leader's. She stood about 180 centimeters tall. Her name was Leona.

The third was a scout. She had short blue hair and carried five daggers. Her blue-themed upper body attire was like a short-sleeved wetsuit rather than traditional shinobi garb, with blue gauntlets and greaves. Her lower half was clad in blue cloth pants, and she wore a blue muffler around her neck with an iris emblem on the tail. Her clothes were entirely blue and unadorned. Her face was youthful, almost childlike. She was 140 centimeters tall. Her name was Rumily.

The fourth was a magician. She had green hair in twintails and carried a staff as tall as herself. She wore a green mantle, a green pointed hat, and a Western-style green noble's outfit that was almost masculine, with an embroidered iris emblem on her left breast. Her face was as youthful as the scout's, and rather androgynous, but she was female. She was 140 centimeters tall. Her name was Milfy.

All the members of this party were women, and their skills were guaranteed.

Tina and Rumily each possessed a skill. As for magic, Tina used water magic, Leona used earth magic, Rumily used wind magic, and Milfy could use magic of all five elements. They were an ideal party, bound by exceptional coordination and a strong bond of trust.

However, the party name 'Beautiful Sword' was a name Tina had chosen so as not to forget a vow she had made to herself.

It was something her skill had wished for, but in a way, it was also different. But that's a story for another time.

In any case, with the return of such a famous A-rank adventurer party, a commotion was inevitable.

Seeing them, Bardos muttered, "So 'Beautiful Sword' is back. I'd love to fight them, but they won't give me the time of day. Haaah, how boring."

Bardos had challenged them to a match before, but all four had refused. The reason they gave was that it was their creed not to fight anyone other than monsters and villains. Even so, Bardos had apparently been persistent, but they had continued to ignore him, so he had given up.

Around noon, Shinsuke, having finished his business on Earth, arrived in the other world. He entered the guild and looked for Bardos, finding him easily.

"Yo! Shinsuke, I've been waiting for you. Come on, let's go hunting."

He seemed to be in a real hurry.

Well, that's just how he is, I thought, and was about to leave.

But the Receptionist came rushing over. "Excuse me, Bardos-san! I told you this morning to decide on a party name. Are you just going to forget about it and leave?"

She seemed quite angry.

Bardos looked at the Receptionist with a 'shoot, I forgot' expression, then turned back to me. "...Right. Shinsuke, we have to decide on a party name. She said it doesn't matter that there are only two of us."

Bardos was completely uninterested.

Well, the same could be said for me. I wasn't interested in a party name, since I had decided to work solo. But if it was necessary now that we were a team, I had no choice but to think of one. I didn't try to come up with anything elaborate and just said the first thing that came to mind.

"How about 'Intense Thought'? I was thinking along the lines of acting with intense passion."

To this party name, Bardos said, "Sounds good to me. It feels like it suits the two of us perfectly. Let's go with that."

Bardos agreed.

At first, he had looked uninterested, but as soon as he heard the name, his face lit up with a bit of excitement.

Hearing this, the Receptionist said, "Then I'll register you as 'Intense Thought.' Also, Shinsuke-san, just for your information, the four women over there are the members of 'Beautiful Sword.' For more details, please ask Bardos-san. I'm quite busy, so if you'll excuse me."

With that, she quickly returned to her desk.

I asked Bardos, "'Beautiful Sword'?"

"Aahh, they're an all-female party, and they're supposed to be pretty strong. I think their leader, Tina, has a rare Constant Skill."

A Constant Skill? This was the first I'd heard of it, so I asked.

"Ah, there are two types of skills: activation and constant. Activation is, obviously, something you can use at will. Constant is something that's always in use, regardless of your will. I think constant skills are rare, and I heard they don't consume any magic power."

Just hearing about it, a constant skill sounded incredible.

The merit was that you could use a skill without any magic. However, if you couldn't control it at will, there was also the demerit of causing unnecessary trouble. I looked over at 'Beautiful Sword.'

In a word, I thought they were beautiful.

But what I thought was...

"...What's wrong, are you staring? You fallen for one of them?"

Bardos said with a smug look on his face.

"...Yeah, I've fallen for that beautiful armor."

"I see, for the beautiful armor... huh? Beautiful armor? What about their faces?"

I replied to Bardos's stunned face, "Their faces? They seem pretty normal to me. More importantly, look at that armor. Look at the silver-white and autumn-leaf colors the two of them are wearing. It's full-body armor with no exposed skin, and while it may seem unadorned, the single flower carved on the chest gives it a sense of beauty and strength, despite its simplicity. It's as if they're proclaiming that this flower is their pride and their bond. The proof is that all the members have the same flower emblem. It's magnificent."

Hearing my assessment, Bardos said, "You have some strange interests. Is armor really that great? It just gets in the way when you wear it."

I got worked up at his words. "What are you talking about!? Armor is something that not only protects your body but also embodies your pride. A warrior is a warrior because of their armor, and without warriors, armor has no reason to exist. Bardos, you only say that because with your physique and personality, you can't move freely, and there's no armor that suits you. Alright, I'll make you armor that fits. First, come to my house. I need to take your measurements. Let's go right now."

I said, standing up and pulling Bardos by the arm.

He seemed so taken aback by my sudden outburst that he followed behind me in a daze.

As we walked, I thought, I messed up. I hadn't let him come to my house because of the magic circle, and now I'd gone and invited him myself. I thought about it internally.

But Bardos had been so indifferent to armor that I had gotten carried away. Oh well, I just had to make sure he didn't go into the shed with the magic circle. I could just lead him straight to the smithy. We arrived at my house, and I led him to the smithy.

Seeing my house, Bardos said, "Huh, so this is your house. Not bad. You live here all by yourself?"

To this question, I replied, "My master used to live here, and I inherited it from him. Besides, I like living here. I can hunt and do blacksmithing freely in this forest."

With that, we arrived at the smithy.

I immediately took Bardos's measurements. I measured his upper and lower body, and the width of his body. Then I had him show me how he normally moves his body, and I came to a conclusion.

To be blunt, full-body armor was impossible. He was a power type who moved his body in all directions, so I decided on partial armor. Bardos was currently only wearing pauldrons, a breastplate, gauntlets, and greaves. The rest was just chainmail. In that case, I should add...

"Alright, I'll add pieces for your abdomen and thighs, and your biceps as well."

To these words, Bardos said, "Hm? I get the abdomen and thighs, but why the biceps? Aren't the pauldrons and gauntlets enough?"

It was a reasonable question.

To that, I replied, "...You're right. However, the biceps are a difficult area to defend. It's easy to block an attack with a gauntlet, but if you're targeted in the biceps, you can't block it in time. If you don't properly armor this area, you'll be at a disadvantage in a fight against a nimble opponent. Those types always aim for weak points."

I have a computer in my house on Earth, connected to the internet, so I've been doing research by playing online games. Assassin players always go for a one-hit kill on their opponent's weak spots.

Bardos said, "Huh, is that so? Well then, get it over with quickly. Can I sleep inside the house?"

I nodded at his words, and Bardos went inside the house. I immediately began forging. I created iron with 'Matter Conversion' and started a fire.

By evening, it was complete.

Since I made it in conjunction with my ability, it took a short amount of time. To put it simply, I shaped and thickened it with a hammer, and used my ability for the fine details and coloring. That's how I worked. Hm? Why not just make the whole thing with my ability, you ask? You thought that would be faster?

Because that wouldn't be blacksmithing. Putting iron in the fire and striking it with a hammer—there's meaning in that act. That's a man's romance. Who am I even talking to? Anyway, it was done, so I went to call Bardos.

Yawning, Bardos came out. "Hm? Is it done? That was surprisingly fast."

I answered him, slightly hedging, "It's only partial armor, and I didn't add any decorations. I thought about adding some kind of design, but I didn't want to add something clumsy and upset you. Besides, I figured you wouldn't want something like that anyway."

Bardos made a face that said, 'Of course.' Even though we'd only known each other for a short time, I felt like I understood him somehow. I immediately had Bardos put on the armor. I had made the abdominal part like an iron belly wrap, with a gap just between the breastplate and the belly wrap.

I told him to try moving. Up, down, left, right. Yep, the iron plates didn't rub against each other, and he seemed to have no trouble swinging his axe. I had him put on the bicep guards too. They didn't rub either, no problem. The leg guards were also fine. Wearing this, Bardos said, "Not bad. It doesn't hurt when I move, and it's not tight. And it doesn't chafe. It's a perfect finish. To be honest, I didn't expect it to be this good."

He seemed quite impressed, which was a relief.

There's nothing more pleasing than when someone likes what you've made.

I wondered if he was just flattering me, but Bardos was the type to act on his emotions. I didn't think he would be that subtle.

Bardos, who had been inside the house, said, "...By the way, I saw some armor I've never seen before in your house. Does that belong to your master?"

To this question, I replied, "No, that's what you might call my first creation. It's not suitable for a hunter's work, so I'm just keeping it there."

Bardos, dissatisfied with this answer, said, "What are you talking about? It's a waste not to wear something you went to the trouble of making. After all that passionate talk about armor, you don't even wear it yourself? Is someone like that even qualified to talk about armor? Saying you don't wear it because you're a hunter is no excuse."

His words hit me like a ton of bricks.

He was right. I hadn't worn it because I thought being light was better for a hunter, but in this world, there are powerful monsters, and I'm not the type to trick my enemies with small traps or nimble movements. My current style is to push through with brute force.

I made a decision. "You're right. Alright, I'll wear my armor to the guild tomorrow too. But the helmet is too flashy, so I'll wear the one next to it with the upturned crescent moon."

To this, Bardos also said, 'That one is definitely too flashy,' and laughed.

It was already late, so I decided to let Bardos stay the night. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth to send him home like this. For food, I had preserved dried meat, miso balls, medicinal herbs, and dried rice. As for the dried rice, I explained that there was something similar to wheat in this world, and I had processed it through trial and error. For now, I made a miso soup-style porridge, grilled the dried meat, and served it. After we finished eating, Bardos laid a cloth on the floor and slept there. I slept in a simple bed.

In the guild, the Guild Master was looking at a report. "It's about time for the monsters to make their move," he muttered.