That's cherry!　You're back!
Where have you been?

　Sylvia ran with a quick glance to the entrance of the store and took Sakura's hand and shook it with a happy smile.

　At first, the other customers looked at her as to what was going on, but soon some of them remembered Sakura and a buzz quickly spread.

　An Eastern female swordsman who had defeated a dragon.
　Her existence was known to many of the adventurers in Green Hollow Town.

　Even the adventurers who came after the incident would have heard at least a rumor.

　Someone to admire. Those who aspire. Some are opposed to it.

　Because of our professional relationship as adventurers, they look at me with more emotion than I do.

　However, Sakura, the person in charge, doesn't pay any attention to such reactions and speaks to me in the same manner as before.

''I'm sorry to be so quick, but I would like to talk to you about your new sword, would you have time to talk to me?''
Sure. It's almost lunchtime, so why don't we grab a bite to eat and talk.

　My shop - the White Wolf Store - is supposed to close for an hour or so around noon.

　The reason is, well, simple: I, the manager and the only clerk, need time to eat lunch.

　Normally, I'd go to the dining room of the Spring Wakabatei, but today I'll be sitting around the table with Sylvia and Sakura at the store and home.

　I paid for the ingredients and Sylvia prepared the food for me.

Yes, it's ready. I'm sorry for letting Sakura help you too.
I didn't help you get ready for the opening, so I figured it was only fair.

　Sylvia laid out the food with familiar motions and the three of them arrived at the table together.

　The first person to strike up a conversation after the meal had begun was Sakura herself, who had asked for this time to be set aside.

'Luke-dono. I apologize for not being able to be present for the opening of the restaurant. I meant to hurry as much as possible, but I didn't expect you to complete it in such a short period of time. ......
''That's because Luke-san is amazing. I fixed the building and the products in a matter of seconds with my [restoration] skills.

　Sylvia is actively telling Sakura about what she's been up to and letting her hear it while eating.

　Honestly, I don't even need to tell her anything myself.

'And yet, I was surprised to find the store much more magnificent than I had imagined. There seemed to be a lot of visitors, and I'm sure this will soon achieve sales worth the opening funds.
''Actually, you know, ...... that sword that slayed the dragon sold for a whopping ten large gold coins!
A lot of gold?

　Sakura rolled her eyes in surprise and leaned forward at the dining room table.

'And ten of them!　That's an amount I could live without working for the rest of my life!
No, that's a bit of a temper tantrum, isn't it?

　One small gold coin is enough to feed a family for a month with no problems, so ten large gold coins is enough for a hundred months - roughly eight years.

　It's a huge amount of money, but it's certainly not enough to last a lifetime.
　I wonder what kind of life Sakura had in mind for her.

The tengues of Miyama will be around for hundreds of years ...... and I've gotten off track. What kind of person would be buying this?
Teng?　Well, they were a couple of guys who didn't look like ...... adventurers. I think they were nobles or knights. They left just before Sakura arrived, did we pass each other?

　Sakura shook her head, though it wasn't surprising that they had run into each other in terms of timing.

'No, I didn't notice that at all. I guess I was so excited to finally get Luke-dono to make me a sword, that I didn't see much of my surroundings.
You can't get anything out of that.
I'm just telling you the truth.

　The two men give me a respectful look.

　To be honest, it's hard for me to get used to this.
　In my fifteen years as an adventurer, I've rarely had any admiration directed at me, so I don't have a tolerance for this kind of reaction.

　So I'll change the topic to something I can talk about comfortably for now.

''When shall we build the new sword? If you need the metal you're talking about, I need you to come with me to collect it: .......
Thank you. But I would like you to use another piece of metal that I have prepared for you.
Another one?
'Yes. Oh, but first, let's finish our lunch!

　Sakura is enjoying Sylvia's food with a loose face.

　Earlier, she said she was looking forward to my sword, but I think she was really looking forward to this one.

　But well, Sylvia's food is indeed delicious.

　I heard that there are several people in charge of cooking at the Spring Wakaba-Tei, but among them, I feel that the days when Sylvia is in charge are the best.

''I would still like to eat it every day. Don't you think so, Lord Luke?''
'Hmm, yeah. And the food situation was terrible before I came here: ......
You're welcome to join us, Mr. Luke.

　Suddenly Sylvia said something like that, and Sakura and I both rolled our eyes.

''This is the Spring Wakaba-Tei's business trip dinner service. Normally we don't do this, but Luke-san is special. I'll keep it cheap, okay?
Yeah, it's such a ...... shrewd thing to do.
It's your grandmother's way of telling you.

　To be honest, it was a terribly mind-blowing sales pitch.
　It's a good thing there's plenty of room in my pocket, so I'll just ask for it when I'm busy.

　-- In the meantime, the meal was over and the conversation finally moved to the main topic.

　Sakura placed a cloth packet on the dining room table that had been cleaned up and untied the knot.

'This is the material I would like you to use, Luke-dono.

　It was a raw ore that glowed red.

　It's something I've never seen before. At first glance, it seems to be a gemstone.
　However, it seems that it is definitely a metal.

"In my hometown, it's called 'scarlet scarlet gold' (hibiyrokane).
I've never heard of the baboon cane ......
''Actually, one of the purposes of my journey is to find someone who can process scarlet gold into a sword.
'......?　Can't you do that in your home town?

　When he asked the natural question, Sakura nodded persistently.

''Even in the East, the means of processing has long since been lost, and it is not possible to create new armor and tools using scarlet-colored gold. I came here hoping that it would be an alchemist from the West or maybe even a Western alchemist, but even they couldn't fulfill it. ......
...... So, he left them with someone else for a while and put his training first.
'Yes. Since my primary purpose was to train as a warrior.

　That's how you accidentally met me, and when you found out that the skill allowed you to [synthesize] an unknown metal with a sword, you thought that you could do the same thing with the baboon kane.

　It certainly makes sense as a hypothesis.

　Just like the mysterious metal that made up the walls of the labyrinth, it might be possible to make the Hihiyrokane be [synthesized] with a sword.

But you don't trust me with that.　It's a precious metal.
''It's not as valuable as Lord Luke's talent. I hope you will wield your skills to the fullest.
You got me. ......

　I just can't shake the fear of failure.

　Despite Sakura's trust in me, I don't trust myself that much.

　To put it more strictly, there's a trust in a negative direction, that it's unthinkable that a man called me could do such a thing.

　It's an after-effect of the fact that until recently, I had nothing to take advantage of other than 【Restoration】.

　Even though the number of things I could do like 【Analysis】, 【Decomposition】 and 【Synthesis】 increased, my self-evaluation could not keep up with it.

　However, that doesn't mean I can't just leave it at that.
　If your self-esteem is low, it's a flaw that needs to be remedied.

...... Okay, let's do it anyway.
Thank you!
Don't complain if you don't get it right?

　After jokingly saying that, I took the Sakura sword and the hibikiro-kane ore to the workbench next to the living room.