The next day was Monday, which is generally considered a weekday.
　Since I didn't think that people would gather on a Monday morning, I logged in to WLO without delivering any particular message.

　Toka-chan also went to school this morning.
　She left with a fresh smile on her face, accompanied by her bodyguards who came to pick her up early in the morning.
　I didn't remember her, but she seemed to remember me and said to me, 'You're really alive, aren't you?
　You could have denied my disappearance a little more, couldn't you?　

　When I said so, she replied with a sigh, 'It was necessary.
　Well, I can't blame Rin-chan for leaving me without telling anyone in this age when everyone has a mobile device.
　From now on, every time I meet someone from junior high school, I'll be asked, 'You're alive? I wonder if I'll be asked that question every time I meet someone from junior high school.
　I don't know anyone other than Rin-chan and Toka-chan. I do see Rin's family on rare occasions.


　I'll leave it at that.
　I landed in Dualis again, and my goal was to find Haruru, the little girl from the "open-air street" that I had forgotten about when I delivered the message.
　Of course, it was more likely that she wouldn't be there, but I wanted to check her out when I had time, and more importantly, I wanted to take another look around the street.

　After a leisurely walk, I arrived at the street where there seemed to be a good number of players even on a weekday, probably because of the excitement of newcomers.
　Among them, the one that caught my attention was a store selling a product called "Potion Juice".
　It's supposed to taste like a normal drink - I haven't had it yet, actually - but the owner of this stall made a juice-like potion... The owner of this street vendor has created a juice-like potion...

'Hey, girl, you've got some unusual equipment.

　Strawberry, melon, and blue Hawaii...... were chasing after such names that are often seen at festivals, the owner of the street vendor approached me.
　He looks handsome, with red hair and silver mesh. But the voice I heard was definitely that of a woman.

'There shouldn't be that many players who can make kimonos yet, but ...... can I ask your name if you don't mind?'

'It's Sukuna . The equipment maker is a guy named Kittenmaru.

　I'm the distributor, and Kittenmaru-san, who was on my feed, has no reason to hide information that could easily be found out by research, so I tell him honestly.
　And he?　He nodded as if he was satisfied.

'Oh, so the cat made it. ...... I should have told you my name before asking you. My name is Dion, and as you can tell, I'm a woman.

　From his response, it seems that he knows Kittenmaru too. That guy has a big face.
　And he's a nekama, or nenabe. Not only in VR, but also in online games, it is rude to say ...... to disguise your gender.
　In other words, people who play games with the intention of using a character of a different gender.
　I've heard that it's a bit difficult to move around in VR, but ...... it's nothing to worry about once you get used to it.
　If anything, I think the problem is that 'only the vocal cords remain the same'. At least, if you can't act with your voice, you can't disguise your gender.

　However, in the early days of VR, it was considered as one of the characteristics, and there were people who were idol-like.
　For example, there was a man with fox ears and a loli girl.
　Well, nekamanabe has been a common culture for a long time, and it is not particularly rare nowadays.



'So, do you want to buy any of them?　Don't expect much of an effect, to be honest. It's a by-product of an experiment to see how to make a juice-like drink. I've only brought the "Shaved Ice from the Stall" series today. ......'

'I think you can make money if you sell it with ice.

'No, it's too thin to pour over ice. It doesn't get any thicker when you boil it down.'

'I see you've been trying.

　After much deliberation, I decided to buy two bottles of Blue Hawaii flavored potion juice. The price was two thousand Iris. That's pretty expensive.
　It tasted like ...... diluted blue Hawaii with a little mint flavor mixed in.
　As we were enjoying it, we were chatting with each other, and then I decided to ask Dion about it to fulfill my original purpose.

'Speaking of which, Dion-san, have you seen a little girl around here?　She's a player named Haruru, and she always seems to be here.

'Yeah, that's the one behind you right now.

　I followed Dion's gaze as he quickly pointed behind me, and before I knew it, the little girl from that time was standing behind me.

'Heee!

''Ufufu, it's been a while since yesterday, ...... Sukuna-san.''

'Oh Haruru, how are you doing?

'It's at its peak right now. ...... The waitress is coming. ......'

'I'm jealous that you're both in love. Why don't you buy me a bottle while you're at it?

'I'll have a bottle of sleet, please...'

'Thank you.

　It seems that the two of them know each other, and I can hear their casual conversation.
　It's been like that since yesterday, but there's no sign of this little girl, like she's a ninja. Or maybe she's some kind of Zashiki Warashi.

'Well, ......, you're sure you want me, right?

'Oh, yes. That's right.'

'Not for nothing. ...... In that case, I'll show you to the workshop. ......'

　In the event that you're not sure what to do, you can always ask for help.
　After barking lightly at Dion-san, who was already dealing with another customer, I followed her.
　I guess that potion juice is selling surprisingly well.


☆☆


　It took me a few minutes to enter an alley from the main street north of Dualis.
　I was brought to an alleyway that ran behind a residential area, and I was invited to her workshop through the back door of a yellow house in the middle of the residential area.

　Inside, I found an unexpectedly spacious space.
　It seemed to be a two-story building, and the visible first floor seemed to have been built only for blacksmithing.
　Looking at the front door, there was a carving like a door, but there was no handle attached.


　In other words, this house can only be entered from the back alley, which looks like a back door.

'I'm Haruru again,......, and I'm sorry for using a trick yesterday,.......'

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that the copper you gave me was quite useful.

'I watched the broadcast. ...... If you can use it so well, ...... I'll be very happy. ......'

　With a chuckle, Haruru leads me upstairs.

'That weight isn't the best thing I've made,...... although Sukuna-san was able to handle it,...... as a throwing item, the shape of the weight is too distorted to begin with.

'I suppose that's true.

'Throwing knives, shurikens, stick shurikens, iron balls, pebbles, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. ...... There are many excellent throwing weapons, ...... but there is one thing that the weight is superior to other throwing weapons. But there is one thing that the weight of the bronze is superior to other throwing weapons: it's weight. ......'

　When I went to the second floor while listening to Haruru's explanation, I was overwhelmed by the weapons lined up in a row.
　It's hard to say that they are lined up in an orderly fashion. I don't know how many of them were produced, but there were swords thrown into barrels, throwing weapons packed in boxes, large swords and staffs hanging on the wall.
　In any case, I had the impression that everything was placed in an uncontrolled manner.

In my opinion,......, Sukuna can handle any kind of weapon,......, but not having a lot of skills is the best part of this game. ......I'll focus on striking weapons and throwing tools. ......'

　I'm not sure what to make of this, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

'At the time, Sukuna-san has the "one-handed mace" skill,.......'

'Yeah, yeah. I hardly ever use it, though.'

'I see. ...... Ah, this is something interesting. ......'

　What she took out was a stick about five feet long. It was a weapon called a two-handed club.
　However, it seemed a little small for that. I think it would be more legitimate if it were about a foot longer.
　The core is red, and the ends are slightly rounded, like a ruyi-bou (a stick) seen in some manga.

'This is a compound weapon I developed, the 《breakable ruyi-bou》. ...... Please twist the middle. ......'

'Like this?'

　When I twisted the ruyi-bang-like weapon in my hand about 120 degrees, it clicked and separated from the center.
　The two-handed cudgel was quickly transformed into two one-handed maces.

'I thought I'd made a good one, but unfortunately ...... you can't activate skills when you hold a striking weapon in both hands. ......'

'Yes......'

'Hmmm, weapon development doesn't happen overnight either......'

　Haruru shrugs her shoulders in dismay, but her expression remains happy.
　Trial and error is fun. She must be that type of person.

'Back to the topic at hand,......, the current situation is that Sukuna-san is not using the one-handed mace skill,......, then how about this... ...'

　What was handed to me was a heavy black two-handed club.
　The previous one was a wooden weight, but this one is probably made of metal.
　The length is about five feet, as before.
　The structure of the two ends is quite different, one is decorated to increase the power of the blow, and the other is flat as if cut off in the opposite direction.

'Please try to twist it in the same way as before. ......'

'Hmm ...... wow'.

　When I twisted the handle, the flat side opened up with a cracking sound and the blade came out.


　The club itself is slender, so the blade itself is also thin and short, but it seems to be able to perform stabbing and simple slashes.

'It's the newly developed slashing and striking integrated dark weapon 《Kugelschreiber》......'

'Koo...... what?

'Kugelschreiber, it means ballpoint pen in German. ...... Don't you think it looks like that when you twist the lead and the blade goes in and out? ......'

'I know, but it's a cool name to waste. ......'

　I don't know if it has a good naming sense or not. But this may be quite useful.
　When I asked him to move away from me for a moment and wielded it lightly, I found that the length of five feet was much easier to handle than I had imagined for someone of my height.


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　I'm not sure if you're really worried about this, but I am.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.
　I don't think it can be helped that it breaks easily.

'Isn't it inevitable that it will break easily if it is so thin?

'That's true, but ...... it's my job to solve that problem. ...... Anyway, I'll give you this one at a discount. ...... Can I have a trial run? ......'

　The offer was not a bad one for me, but the phrase 'at a discount' bothered me a lot.

'How much, by the way?

'Right now, I'll give you 10,000 Iris with a throwing weapon. ......'

'You're attacking the fine line between cheap and cheap!

　As a result of bargaining, I ended up purchasing the slashing and striking integrated dark weapon 《Kugelschreiber》 for 9,900 Iris on the condition that I would not be charged for repairs.

　Since he has such a splendid workshop, he's probably not in need of money, though.
　Thinking that a monetary transaction might be the best way to avoid any regrets, I left the alley after Haruru saw me off.