kscans

Chapter 186 - Gravity Stone

The next day, Ney returned with the third blueprint, just as she had declared.

It was early in the morning, but she was probably itching to report it. Hayato had received a message from Ney the moment he logged in.

Ney showed Hayato the blueprint as she recounted her tale of heroism.

The ghost of the king who had been collecting the blueprints was a boss monster holding the blueprint. "I will not give you the blueprint!" he had shouted as he attacked them, but since he only used dark-attribute magic attacks, they weren't very effective against Ney's group, who had prepared countermeasures. It took some time, but they won without any real danger.

"Ney and the members of Kokuryu were strong. Even though they had equipment to counter it, their movements were something else."

"Sonia was amazing too. She would suddenly be behind the enemy, and her weapon skills from there were very effective."

Everyone was praising each other in the base's dining hall. Hayato hadn't seen the battle, but he could imagine it to some extent. The members' high spirits were probably because they had gathered all the blueprints.

Hayato's spirits were also high, and he immediately looked at the airship blueprints to check what was needed.

(The creation of the airship naturally requires the Woodworking skill, and the material is wood. I'll use World Tree lumber for that, so that's fine. It requires a considerable amount, so I'll use almost all of it, but that's not a problem. The problem is...)

There was another item needed to build the airship, aside from just wood and cloth for the sails like a large ship.

It was a "Gravity Stone," which could manipulate the gravity of an object when infused with magic. The item's description was also written as a material for the airship, but there was one problem.

(I don't know this item, so where do I get it?)

Hayato had been thinking of building the airship today, but he didn't have that item on hand. What's more, he didn't even know how to get it.

Just in case, he searched the items for sale in the shop, but no such item was being sold.

"I want to ask something. Does anyone know of an item called a Gravity Stone? I need it to build the airship."

Ney and the others, who had been in high spirits, tilted their heads. No one knew of the item. It wasn't written in the king's manuscript that Sonia had either.

"Since it's called a stone, couldn't you mine it somewhere?"

"Ney's point is valid, but I don't know where to mine it. I've been to various places to dig for Adamantite ore, but I've never seen such an item, right?"

"What, so even though we have all the blueprints, we can't build the airship if we don't have that item?"

At Sonia's words, everyone's spirits visibly dropped. Still, they were so close to being able to build it. This was no time to be dejected, so Hayato tried to rally them.

"As soon as we find that Gravity Stone, we can build it right away, so let's split up and look for it. We're so close."

"That's one way to look at it. In that case, I'll ask the members of the Treasure Hunter Guild to look for it."

"I'll ask my acquaintances too. Someone might know about it. I'll send you a voice chat if I find out anything, so wait for me."

Sonia, Ney, and the others said this and left the base.

Only Hayato was left in the base's dining hall.

(If I asked Diite-chan, I'd know in an instant, but I can't do that. And the Bandit clan probably knows, but if I ask them, I'd have to provide information in return, so that's out. What should I do? Oh, right, it might be for sale at the auction.)

He thought this, but then stopped. He was constantly being told not to go outside without an escort.

Since it was early in the morning, Esha hadn't logged in yet, and Relic hadn't come to the base either. He reconsidered, thinking he would go after one of them arrived.

As he was preparing to drink some coffee, Noat came down from the second floor.

Her bed-head blond hair was a little unfortunate, but such a defenseless appearance was also charming. Although she was a different age, she was small like Ren, so it couldn't be helped that one's protective instincts were stirred. Though she was more like a small animal.

Noat, in her pajamas, walked slowly, swaying her body like a zombie, and sat at the dining hall table. She immediately slumped onto the table. Then, with her head on the table, she turned to the side. Her sleepy, half-lidded eyes looked at Hayato.

"Is food ready yet?"

"Good morning before that."

"Good morning. Is food ready yet?"

"Well, yes. I'm receiving payment for lodging and food, so it's fine, but can't you do something about that? Also, you're drooling, so wipe it properly."

"This is a merit... demerit from a deal with God, so it can't be helped."

"Did you say merit?"

Noat was a type of fighter who supported allies and hindered enemies by singing. In game terms, she would be called a buffer or debuffer.

Since she was in the same clan as Esha, she was to receive a reward from Diite as a high-achieving clan, but it came with a demerit.

Noat had expanded the effective range of her songs, but the demerit was that she would become sleepy when she wasn't singing.

From what he heard, it wasn't that much of a hindrance. It was about the level of after lunch on a nice day. Hayato thought she could probably endure the sleepiness by inflicting damage on her own palm.

However, although she called it a demerit, it wasn't a problematic situation, and in fact, she welcomed it and was actively enjoying the demerit. She was a person whose hobby was sleeping to begin with.

"Being able to enjoy a state of slumber while snuggled up in my futon at any time might be called a merit. But I get hungry. Is food ready yet? I'm happy that everything here is five stars."

When told that, Hayato was weak. He prepared a simple meal of bread, salad, milk, and melon from the garden for dessert.

When they were all lined up on the table, Noat said, "Thank you for the meal," and then opened her small mouth and began to eat with small bites.

(I've never seen one in real life, but she's like a squirrel or a hamster.)

In the real world, animals like dogs and cats were not in the colonies. They were only in a special colony for animals called Colony "Zoo." The admission fee was high, so Hayato had never been, but he had seen animals in online videos.

Watching the short Noat earnestly eating her meal, he felt something similar.

"...This is mine. I'm not giving you any."

"I'm not going to take it, so don't worry. Oh, right, if you know, could you tell me? Do you know of an item called a Gravity Stone? I'm looking for it right now."

He had asked it as a way to change the subject. He hadn't actually expected her to know.

He thought she would immediately say she didn't know, but Noat, with a piece of bread in her mouth, shook her whole body from side to side.

(What's that? Is that her thinking pose? Instead of tilting her head, she's shaking her whole body?)

Noat, who had been moving like a metronome, stopped abruptly, chewed and swallowed the bread in her mouth, and then drank some milk.

"I heard about it in the Demon Country... maybe, maybe not?"

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah. I think I might have heard that there's an item like that in the Demon Lord's Castle's treasury. I don't remember when or from whom I heard it, and I was half-asleep, so it's a bit vague, but I'm confident."

He wondered why she was confident about that, but if that was the case, there was no particular problem. If it was in the Demon Lord's Castle's treasury, there was someone who knew the inside. He thanked Noat and contacted that person.

A disgruntled voice came from the voice chat.

"Why must I hear Hayato's voice first thing in the morning? I have not even had breakfast yet. Good day."

"Good... Oh, a greeting. Good morning. Sorry to bother you so early. But there's something I need to confirm with you urgently, Rosalie-san."

"Hah, what is it?"

"Is there a Gravity Stone in the Demon Lord's Castle's treasury?"

"Gravity Stone...? I am not in charge of the treasury, so I will ask the person in charge. I will cut the chat once. I will contact you from my end in about five minutes, so please wait a moment."

"Thanks. Sorry about this, so early in the morning. I'll make you some of your favorite sweets later."

"...It feels like I am being conditioned with food, and I do not like it. Well, very well."

The voice chat from Rosalie was cut, and Hayato decided to wait for her call.

As Hayato was waiting for the call while drinking coffee, for some reason, Noat was staring intently at him.

"What's wrong?"

"There is no reward for providing information. Give me some sweets as well."

"A just reward... I guess? Well, fine. What would you like?"

"I'm in the mood for donuts today. Chocolate, strawberry, and cinnamon in a loop. Oh, but put strawberry on heavy rotation. Like meat, meat, veggie, meat, veggie."

"How many are you planning to eat?"

Hayato said this, but he started making donuts while waiting for Rosalie's call.