kscans

Chapter 87 - The Indigo Ruffian

The scene changes to a section of the 'Safe Area' in the main field.

After settling the matter of the [Ruby Rabbit Demon Horn], Kagura-san led me to a certain building.

To describe the building succinctly—it was a “giant brick tofu.” Its design, as if to say “to hell with aesthetics,” was… in a way, refreshingly straightforward, and I honestly didn't dislike it.

“This is?”

“Yeah—welcome to the Safe Area branch of our [Mirage Workshop].”

Yes, this tofu—or rather, this charmingly functionalist building—was none other than the base of her artisan clan, [Mirage Workshop].

Its scale, towering over the surrounding buildings, made its title as one of the two great artisan guilds of the western faction, Vestol, quite believable. It was bigger than the city hall back home.

“Is it okay for an outsider like me to come in here?”

“Others might be different, but we also function as a workshop. People come in with requests all the time, so it’s no problem.”

I see. Then I won’t hesitate.

I followed her lead through the large gates and into the home base. I could see some of it from the outside, but the entrance hall was quite bustling.

“So, you were contacting someone, right?”

“Yeah. They said they’re already waiting in their atelier, so let's get going.”

She once said she had connections far and wide, and it seemed to be true. As we walked, greetings of “Kagura-san,” “Kagura-san,” flew at her from what I assumed were fellow clan members, and the kimono-clad artisan waved back, walking through the corridors with an air of complete confidence.

…Hey, is this woman actually a big deal? I thought the clan master was someone else, and she did say there were several people above her—

“Here we are.”

“Oh.”

Before I could dwell on the newfound question, we seemed to have arrived.

Kagura-san stopped in front of a door and knocked casually. A very energetic voice immediately replied from inside, “Yep, yep, come on in!”

“She’s loud and high-energy, but she’s not a bad person.”

“Okay…”

With that slightly unsettling preamble, Kagura-san opened the door without hesitation and walked in. I followed her into the room—

“Welcomeeeeeee!!”

In that instant, my vision was completely filled with purple.

Purple—no, clothes, stomach—

“Gubeh!”

A head-on body press, a fraction of a second after meeting.

The immense impact, which would have surely broken my nose and fatally damaged my cervical vertebrae in reality, slammed my avatar helplessly to the floor.

It was a shock that could have easily dealt numerical damage, but this body had just reached Lv. 100, a vessel beyond human limits—or perhaps the system had deemed it a “gag move,” I can’t deny that possibility… luckily, my HP bar didn’t budge, and only a debuff icon for incapacitation blinked on my status bar for a few seconds.

—Hey, that’s not “only.” What the hell.

“What do you think you’re—!”

“Hey, hey, hey, Kagura-san! Is this the one!? Is this the kid!? Is this the rumored rookie (pervert) kid, huh, huh, huh!?”

Just as my defensive instincts kicked in and my temper flared, the ruffian trampled all over my mood, chattering away with a hyperactive energy that went far beyond just “high-tension.”

Kagura-san, who must have dodged the initial tackle that left me behind, was frozen in a jumped-back posture with a textbook “good grief” expression on her face.

I shot her an accusatory glare over the ruffian who was still on top of me and showed no sign of getting off, and she brought her hands together as if to say, “Sorry.”

…Wait, that’s not a gesture of apology, is it? You didn’t just use me as a scapegoat, did you?

“And get off me already! What kind of way is that to treat someone you just met!?”

“Wow! So full of energy, how wonderful!”

I’ve graduated from my low-STR (weak) self thanks to my status change. When I tried to forcibly lift the body on top of me, the rather small frame bounced up and leaped away.

And so, as I finally got up and recovered, standing before me was a slender female avatar, about the same height as Sora.

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry! A dream appointment just fell into my lap out of nowhere, so my tension just shot through the roof!”

Just as it had filled my vision at first, her stylish attire was coordinated in shades of purple.

Short, slightly spiky indigo hair. Eyes of the same color, reminiscent of a cat, brimming with curiosity.

She had the well-proportioned features standard for Arcadia player avatars, a cute woman of a different type from Sora or Kagura-san.

However, her actions were not cute at all. A woman who greets you for the first time with a head-on body press is, without a doubt, a dangerous individual to be categorized immediately.

“I’m really sorry, so don’t glare at me like that!—Well, nice to meet you, I’m Nia! Pleased to meetcha!”

Ignoring the cold stare I was giving her, she—the player who called herself Nia—remained high-energy throughout, flashing a huge, cheerful grin.

◇◆◇◆◇

“I see, I see.”

Sometime after we arrived at her room—her personal atelier—Nia listened to Kagura-san's summary of “everything up to now,” and then, with her arms crossed in a way that didn’t quite suit her, she nodded with a knowing look.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped. If you find something like this, anyone would try to get a head start. Yup, yup.”

“Did you just call me ‘something like this’?”

“Hey, Kagura-san, this kid’s being mean to me.”

“It’s your fault. He’s at least more sensible than you are in his daily conduct.”

Compared to this high-tension monster, most people would be judged as sensible. It's not something I should be saying myself, but for me to be this rude to someone I barely know is pretty significant.

“I’m sorrrry. I just couldn’t keep my excitement in, forgive me!”

Ugh, so annoying, stop clinging to me! Your cutesy act won’t work on me!!

Shoving away the body-press woman who kept trying to close the distance, I, wanting to get on with the conversation, turned my gaze to Kagura-san, who was leisurely sipping her tea.

“So? Now that my side of the story is over, could you explain about this?”

“Did you just call me ‘this,’ you brute!”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry!!”

“You two actually get along pretty well.”

Could you please stop saying that so thoughtfully?

“Oh well—let me introduce her again. This is Nia. She’s like a junior to me, but now she’s one of the top one or two artisans in our [Mirage Workshop].”

“Ehh…”

Did my intentionally rude stare of “This thing?” get through to her? The so-called master artisan puffed out her cheeks theatrically and pretended to sulk, saying, “How rude.”

“So, I should entrust that thing to this…?”

“It’s Nia-chan!”

“To Nia-chan, you say?”

“You two really do get along, don’t you?”

I’m sorry to disappoint Kagura-san, who’s laughing cheerfully, but I must firmly deny it.

This person, who immediately latches onto my words with “That thing? What thing? Hey, hey, hey,” is definitely the type I’m not good with.

“She’s not usually like this. When it comes to work, she gets a bit more serious. Just show it to her already.”

“Sigh…”

It was true that continuing this pointless exchange was a waste of time. Prompted by Kagura-san, I took “that thing” out of my inventory and placed it on the table.

“—!”

In that instant, the chatterbox artisan’s mouth snapped shut as if by magic.

The [Crimson Rabbit Brooch], reflected in her indigo eyes, was illuminated by the light, emitting a silent, brilliant glow.

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Finally, a new character. What's with adding a main character after sixty chapters?