Published at 19th of December 2019 8:29 am

Chapter 63: Communication

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

　After dinner. In order to keep my promise, I went to the back door of the kitchen behind the servant’s mansion.

“Hey, is Sovra here?”

“Ahh?　Who the fuck asks when were so busy…… See, Se-Se-Se, Second-sama! ? “

　One of the cooks who noticed me shouted in surprise, he was so shocked I felt his eyes might pop out. Following that, the kitchen was in a turmoil. The guy who spoke to me then showed me a wonderful jumping dogeza. I felt bad for him so I asked him to stand up, but then he started to cry. I’m really bad at dealing with this type.

“Ahh, thank you. Sorry for the trouble.”

　A few moments later, the head chef Sovra, with his characteristic unkempt beard, came rushing out from the back.

“I’m sorry for coming when you’re busy. Should I come some other time? “

“No, no, no!　I’ll come, let’s go! “

　Sovra took out a cigarette pack from his breast pocket in a hurry while saying those words. 『Caramelia』……?　That’s a brand I’ve never heard of.

“To tell you the truth, it’s been a while since I last smoked.”

　We talked while heading towards the smoking area. I can’t just tell him “This will be the first cigarette I’ll have after coming to this world” after all.

　In Japanese society, there seemed to have been the word “Tobaccomunication” in the past, but I think that was just an excuse you could use to make it easier to talk to a person you just met. Well, to be honest, I never really went out to mingle in the society even at this age, so I’m not sure about that kind of culture.

“Is that so? These are really good, you know? “

　Listening to my words, Sovra tapped on his cigarette box as if to brag. I’m not sure what he means by really good, but that’s something I won’t say.

“Hee. Well, I’ve already made up my mind.”

“Hahaha, understood. That’s what I’m talking about.”

　That’s kind of wrong, but I couldn’t think of any other thing to say. The tobacco in Mobius was only a 「Dress-up Item」. And obviously, since it was virtual, you didn’t have to worry about the tar or the nicotine. It was literally just a fashion item for people who thought “Cigarettes are something cool”.

　And for me, the brand I had was 『Hatsuse』. These, I had a maid go buy from a shop in the capital a while ago. Why did I choose Hatsuse?　Well, I just went for the name since it was kind of cool. (TLN: Hatsuse was the name of a Japanese battleship)

“Well then.”

“Ohh, you got Hatsuse? Those are strong.”

　Reaching a place where an ashtray was set, I took one of the Hatsuse from my pocket and placed it in my mouth. I heard that the stronger ones are great. I answered with a smile instead of responding, then the smell of tobacco suddenly drifted in the air. Huh? Something feels odd……　Well, it doesn’t matter, let’s light it.

“――Ng-eehho!　Ng-eehho!　Ng-eehho! ? “

　Buhhaa!　What the heck! !

“Hahaha, I guess it really has been a long time, right? “

　Sovra said so while laughing and smoking his cigarette.

　……Hey, wait a moment. Is this thing a real cigarette?　I’ve never smoked a real cigarette before so I can’t say for sure, but I can certainly tell this feels completely different from the “Tobacco” from Mobius that I knew of. It hurts my throat, it’s smokey and smelly. What the heck. Ehh……Have cigarettes become real?

“……Ahh, somehow, I don’t think I can. Seems like the blend has changed.”

“Oh my, is that so?”

　After coming up with a credible excuse, I put out the Hatsuse in the ashtray. It surely has changed, this Mobius. It’s a bit sad.

“Huh……?　Isn’t your cigarette a bit different?　It doesn’t smell that much, right? “

“Ahh, you mean this?　It’s a new brand that has been popular in the Capital lately.”

“Caramelia? “

“Yeah, it feels really great to smoke it. The taste and flavor are quite different from normal cigarettes. It also makes me feel great and motivated.”

“Is that so? To each their own, I guess. I hope you’ll let me eat something really delicious someday.”

“That is, hahaha, more praise than I deserve.”

“I’d love to eat some delicious pork cutlet. So, can I ask you to do something simple with that in mind? However, Yukari will surely be nagging you. Then, while studying high-class cuisine, please do your best to make some great simple dishes without her noticing.”

“……I see, so in other words, you’re telling me to die, right?　Haha, then let’s die happily! “

“Hahaha, you can take it easy.”

　Afterward, we talked about several things for about five minutes, then the talk ended. I think he was able to speak honestly. It was clearly better than when we spoke during the day and he was visibly more nervous.

　Hmm. You can’t make light of Tobaccomunication.

——

——

“Uhmm, for today’s schedule, we’ll check my master’s progress in the morning. Then, go greet the second Prince in the afternoon. Okay? “

“OK.”

　Next morning. Before breakfast, Windfield informed me about today’s schedule.

　Windfield was quite happy to get the position of secretary in just one day, but Yukari, who had been my secretary up until now, just begrudgingly looked at her in silence. She looks quite scary so I’d love if she could do something about it. You’re the master, right?

“We’ve talked properly about it.”

　I wish she could stop with the esper thing since it’s bad for my heart…… And if you properly talked, why is she still like that? Just look at her. She looks like a resentful demon.

“……Huh?　What happened to Silvia and Eko? “

　I noticed that by chance. No matter how much time passed, those two haven’t shown themselves at the table.

“I gave those two a mission-noda.”

“Noda? ……wait, a mission? “

“I want them to get in touch with a certain organization-tekina.”

“Tekina? ……wait, what organization? “

“Hmm. Well, Second-san, you don’t really need to know. Or rather, it might be better if you don’t know.”

“What’s with that? Now I’m really curious.”

　An organization?　Like some guild?　Still, why?

“It has begun. The Game (War).”

　Windfield looked me straight in the eyes, smiling while saying so.

　……A game, huh? This guy, it must be exactly as she says. But for us (the pieces), the meaning is surely different.

“You’ll be using me. So, I won’t forgive you unless you win.”

“Obviously! “

　She happily nodded in response. That was the biggest smile I’ve seen from her all this time.

“Master. This is the result after four months.”

“Let’s see.”

　After breakfast. Yukari showed me items that have been given various effects. That’s right, during these past four months, Yukari has been practicing Bestowal.

　【Blacksmith】‘s main skills are 《Manufacture》 and 《Disassembly》, and after having 《Bestowal Magic》 at a high level, it can now be properly utilized. And this is about bestowal.

“This one too…… it’s amazing.”

“…………”

　I couldn’t help but to raise my voice in admiration. Yukari lowered her head in silence and remained expressionless, however, her elven ears were raised in happiness. I’m sure she’s proud of her own achievements.

　Well, that’s only natural. Bestowal is an area that really requires patience, when compared to other skills, to the point where I want to avoid it at all costs.

　Let me explain in more detail. Bestowal is basically a repetition of 「Bestowal→Disassembly→Manufacture→Bestowal」 over and over again. 《Bestowal Magic》 is a skill that randomly bestows a certain effect on a specific item. In other words, until the desired effect is bestowed, all you keep getting are failures. Of course, you can even fail to bestow an effect. But that’s not all. If the bestowal fails, or if you don’t get the desired effect, you need to 《Disassembly》 the equipment, returning it to its raw materials, then use 《Manufacture》 once again and then apply 《Bestowal Magic》. If it fails, you just repeat the Disassembly, Manufacture, Bestowal cycle once again…… continuing until you’re done.

　And obviously, the materials obtained from 《Disassembly》 are just a fraction. Therefore, it’s necessary to buy more materials for 《Manufacture》, and the more it fails, the more you need to spend on materials.

　This time, she was instructed to only use the materials Silvia and Eko brought from the Limptfert Dungeon as a test, so the material cost was zero. However, in return, the Bestowed equipment that was created was only of intermediate class. In other words, low risk, low return. But once you start working with A-Class materials, you become aware of the severity of it.

　Well, the bottom line is, I wasn’t really expecting much from this in the end. However…… I think I can say “as expected of the Blacksmith Master-growth type”, she managed to surpass my expectations.

　There were three items that Yukari was proud of after these 4 months.

　The first one was a foot equipment called 『Anaguma Shellrock Shoes』. These are shoes belonging to the Shellrock series made from the material of the Rock Turtle boss in the Limptfert Dungeon. The “Anaguma” name at the start represents the effect given by bestowal. The effect is a simple, yet powerful “VIT of the wearer increased to 150%”. That’s the highest in the Bestowal defense class.

　Next was the 『Anaguma Shellrock Armor』. This was also an Anaguma bestowal. Armor of the Anaguma class is certainly quite suited for a shield user. In other words, the perfect equipment for Eko.

　And finally, the 『Kakugawari Shell Earrings』. The effect of Kakugawari being “An increase of 5% to the wearer’s critical rate” might seem a little bland at first glance. However, to be honest, the Kakugawari was the Bestowal that most players wanted.

　In addition to the 6 equipment slots: weapon, head, torso, legs, hands, and feet; accessories could be worn in four additional slots, arms, fingers, ears, and neck. A total of 10 slots, and if you’re able to acquire equipment with Kakugawari bestowed on all of them, the result will be “50% increased critical rate”. That’s right, and if you add your own status to it, you might be able to achieve a critical rate of 100%. So, in a way, the Kakugawari Bestowal is sort of a player’s romance.

“Yukari.”

“Yes.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Thank you very much.”

　There’s no other way to put it other than that. In four months, she produced three hits. I’d love for her to keep giving it her all.

　I asked her to give the two Anaguma pieces to Eko and the Kakugawari earrings to Silvia. Yukari nodded happily, visibly in a great mood.

“That’s right, I also need to give you some reward, Yukari.”

　Incidentally, I noticed it. There might be problems if I give stuff to Silvia and Eko, but nothing to Yukari.

“No. You already gave me this bitc–ahem, this summoned spirit.”

　……Why do I get the feeling that problems are already occurring? I better take action soon.

“Then, that’s the reward for the Bestowal. But I also need to give you some reward for always taking care of me. Is there something you want? “

“Something I want? ……Is anything okay? “

“Yeah, anything, just say it.”

　The moment I said “anything” Yukari’s eyes shined brightly. I feel like I just said something I shouldn’t have, but it’s already too late.

　And then, a shocking statement came.

“……Then, tonight…… in my room ……uhmm, I’ll be waiting.”

　Ehh……Does that mean…………?

“……So that’s what you want? “

　I spoke out involuntarily. Yukari then nodded shyly while looking down, her ears reddened.

　She hid her face behind her long beautiful purple hair, so her expression wasn’t visible, but her mouth, which could barely be seen was embarrassedly happy. From the flow of events, I could perfectly understand she said that while fully prepared.

　I see. So, there’s that.

　I made a woman go this far and actually say it. If I don’t answer to her here, I can’t call myself a man.

“I’ll go no matter what.”

　I simply said that and left.

　It was also a good time to leave since it’s almost lunchtime. We’ll be seeing each other soon.

　……But in the end, I couldn’t even savor the lunch.

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