Then I decided to devote some time to the weapon shop and the progress of the manufacturing orders.

　The weapon shop work is still done by hiring adventurers to fill in the missing manpower.

　As expected, I thought it was time for a regular shopkeeper, but the reply from the Adventurer's Guild arrived at just the right time.

　According to them - they can introduce one person who is looking for a job.

　It seems that the arrival in Green Hollow will be a little bit later, and we can decide after meeting with him whether or not to actually hire him.

　Perhaps it's someone like me who has taken a leave of absence from adventuring, or maybe he's quit altogether and was looking for another job.

　Either way, I'm really grateful for this mediation.

　Two or three additional people would have to be hired to get the job around, so one more person wouldn't instantly solve the problem, but it would still be an important step.

　If it's an introduction to the Adventurer's Guild, there won't be any crazy people coming over.

　That kind of trust was also a great weapon that the Adventurer's Guild had built up over the years.










　Of the three production requests they had received at the same time, the Golden Fang Knights were the first to come to receive the finished product.

　The person in charge and his subordinates had been waiting in front of the shop since before it opened, and they took back the wooden box containing the finished product as soon as it opened.

''We have indeed received the twenty-five prototype swords made of mithril alloy. I understand that the half of the reward is to be transferred to the safe deposit box managed by the Knights, correct?
'Yes. It's a lot of money I'm not comfortable keeping on hand.

　The content of the request from the Golden Fang Knights was to create a sword for verification for the systematic adoption of mithril equipment.

　To put it simply, it was a testbed to find out what percentage of mithril would be needed to make the sword have a good balance between performance and cost.

　There were a total of twenty-five swords in five patterns with mithril ratios ranging from 10% to 50%, each with five spares.

　The plan seems to be to run these on a trial basis and adopt the highest rated ratio as the system.

　Of course, the reward was so high that it was eye-popping.

　Even a sword with a few percent of mithril content sold in a store would have a selling price of a small gold coin.

　It was an amount of reward that wasn't very much, but I didn't want to keep it on hand, so I decided to use one of the Knights' sideline financial service businesses to have it deposited in a safe deposit box.

　...... Of course, these prices are not a rip-off.

　In the name of preventing the price of mithril from plummeting, the royal palace is restricting the sale of mithril at a discount.

''Even so, the adoption of Mithril equipment as a system is a bold move. Are you going to adopt it for the entire Golden Fang Knights?''
No, only for the Hollow Bottom Fortress garrison. It's a special equipment only for the Demon King's Army. If there are other beings like the modified Brave Falcon, I wouldn't be able to trust them with normal equipment.

　The person in charge's reply was serious.

　The brave Falcon, who had once disappeared in The Demon King's Castle Realm, had fallen into the hands of the Demon King Gandalf and was remade into a synthetic beast with a dragon, attacking the Golden Fang Knights, who were supposed to be his allies.

　Whether the brave man himself betrayed them of his own volition, or if he was even remodeled into a spirit, we don't know, nor does it matter.

　The fact that the strong knights couldn't stand up to a bunch of strong knights is the problem, and it's a challenge to be overcome.

　I barely fought off the Falcon that time, but that was only a lucky break after a lot of strange planning.

　If I had to fight again, I would definitely be killed instantly.

''As soon as the verification is completed, I'll be able to request for this production. See you then.''










　The next person who came to pick up the finished product was Travis from Black Kenzan.

　As it was in the middle of business hours, the store was in a bit of a panic.

　For a large number of low-ranked adventurers, A-ranked adventurer Travis was by far the superior being.
　It's not uncommon for some of them to admire him.

　If such a guy appeared out of the blue, this was bound to happen.

'Hey, Luke. Did you finish that guy you asked for?
I do, though. ...... It would have been nice if you'd come at a more relaxed time.
Sorry about that. It was hard to find the time to do it myself.

　Well, when you're an adventurer like Travis, it's natural to be busy.

　Moreover, since he's currently tasked with the huge task of exploring the Demon King's Castle Realm, it's not surprising that he's even busier than I am.

You'll find the mithril-coated gauntlet as requested. You'll find out for yourself how to use it.
Ummm. ...... It's really stunning. The weight is no problem. I'm looking forward to seeing it in action.
Let me know right away if you have any complaints. I'll even take care of the fine tuning as an after-sales service.










　It was Sakura who came last.

　She came to the store shortly before closing time, when most of the customers were gone and had taken a break.

　It's been a good few days since I accepted the request, but the time has come for me to hand this over.

I've been waiting for you. Here's the sword you asked for.
Ha, yes ......!

　Sakura gripped the scabbard and hilt while suppressing her deviation, exposing the sword blade slightly.

　The sword blade was scarlet in color with a metallic glow.

　Despite the hue that reminded me of fire, it was as cold as cold water if you touched it, to the point where you might think it was a block of ice.

　This is probably due to the heat-absorbing nature of the hibikiro-kane.

　Even when synthesized with steel, it absorbs all of the dragon breath, so pure hibiscus must be able to steal your body heat just by touching it.

　A fiery red color. The blade that absorbs heat and is covered in flames. The cold blade of the ice is just as cold as the ice.
　Elements that seem to be contradictory coexist together as a matter of course.

　It's not surprising that the people of the East felt mystified by this, and thought of using it for a great project like descending the gods.

'Oh ...... really scarlet gold ...... thank you, Lord Luke ......!

　Sakura looks completely impressed and has a joyful expression on her face.

'Just to be sure, I'm not guaranteeing its performance as a sword. We don't even know if the Hihiro-kane is suitable for a weapon.
''Yes, of course I know. It's important that it is a total scarlet-golden construction. What no swordsmith could accomplish with such ease .......
It's hard to say it's easy, though, considering the time it takes to be able to do it.

　Fifteen years of relying solely on the 【Restoration】 skill for a long time.
　The extreme conditions I wandered in the difficult dungeon 'The Thousand Year Corridor of the Abyss'.

　As a result of those things, my 【Restoration】 skill evolved and I was able to secretly process baboon kane.

　Even if the actual work time was short, there was an enormous amount of effort and hardship hidden behind it.

''By the way, you've remade the sword you've been using all along into a total baboon kane, what are you going to use to fight with now?
''I intend to follow the lead of an acquaintance to procure a new sword, but until then, I'll supplement it with a sword from the West.
I knew you didn't have a spare. It's a good thing I had it made.

　I pulled another pair of swords and a wakizashi from behind the counter.

　Sakura pulled them out of their scabbards with a surprised look on her face and rolled her eyes.

　A light red blade, similar to the sword Sakura had been using, made of hijikiro-kane alloy.

''Ko, this is ......!
''I [synthesized] the original steel used for the sword, the spare babylonian ore I was entrusted with, and a bit of mithril. Since the original sword was made for ceremonial use, I figured it would be inconvenient not to have a weapon for combat.
'Lord Luke: ...... everything, really ......'
I'm getting paid plenty in advance, so I should at least do this.

　While soothing Sakura, who was now crying with joy, I gave instructions to the adventurer who had been working all day for me to do the closing work.

　Totally, I'm glad Garnett isn't here.

　I don't know how I would have been teased if I hadn't left him in charge of cleaning up around the store.

"...... Um, manager. Our customer is .......

　The adventurer who was supposed to have gone to close the front door came back with a puzzled look on his face for some reason.

'I'm sorry, but it's closing time and I need you to leave.
He's not like a customer at the store, he's like someone who has an errand to run for the manager.

　I see, it was a visitor in that sense.

　After telling Sakura to wait for me in the dining room, I head to the store's entrance.

　Is it about the stocking? Or was it a call from the Guild House?

　Anyway, I was about to speak to the person standing in the doorway - I couldn't help but lose my words.

'...... Noir!'

　The only returning member of the brave Falcon's party.
　Noir, the black wizard, stood prone.