'Melty, who were you talking to?'

'A pretty, pretty girl.'

'You keep talking like that ...... and one day you'll get stabbed, I promise.

'I'd rather be stabbed by you, wouldn't you?

'I can't stab you with my power.'

'Ha, you're right.'

'I'm going to punch you, really.

　Melty smiles back at Lin, who makes a clenched fist.
　As they walked slowly through the imperial capital, Melty and Lin were exchanging jokes in their own way.

'It's been a while since I've seen a girl who gives me the creeps. So I put a little spit on it.'

'I feel sorry for the girl. ...... So, what have you been up to?'

'I was just talking to her. I didn't have to touch her, she was too shaken up to not be awake.'

　Lin felt a deep sense of pity for the girl who had been spotted by Melty, and thought about the word awakening.
　The way Melty talks about wavering, it's not necessarily a 'good thing'.
　Awakening is not necessarily a word used for growth or progress. There are some areas of the world that should not be awakened.

'As a demon, she has a predisposition to manifest that skill. She had the trigger, too. It's a power that you can't say is right for you to reach, so if you don't wake up, that's probably a good thing.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.
　It is because he knows that he did not understand Melty's intentions in not stopping it.

'You can't say no. It's a good idea to stay awake,......, but it's also just a power. It can be used for good or evil depending on the user.

　I'm not sure what to make of that.

'From the looks of it, he will almost certainly awaken in the near future. In fact, it would be strange if he hadn't already awakened.

'Even Melty couldn't stop her?

'No. I can't control people's minds either.

　Melty is aware that no matter how much power or knowledge you have, there are still many things you can't change.
　In particular, the human heart is difficult to change. Sometimes it is power that brings us to our knees, and other times it is another factor that draws us to our strong hearts.

　From Melty's point of view, the demon girl is not the type to give in to power, nor is she attracted to anything.
　Her heart was like that of a little child who keeps her eyes fixed on a single light so that she will not be lost even if she is alone.

'Well, if he gets swallowed by the power, I can stop him. It seems you have a master and someone to support you, so I'm sure you'll get over it on your own.



'Hmm. ...... That's a pretty high rating for a melty.'

'Yeah, I guess so. Am I making you jealous?'

'Not at all. I just thought it was unusual.'

　In the event that you're looking for the best way to get the most out of your business, you'll want to look at the following.
　In Melty's eyes, there are two separate hearts. Both of them are real, and I don't know what will happen to them when they wake up.

'People are really interesting.

　Let's see how this ends first.
　Like the vampires once did.
　Because Melty's nature is to be an observer, no matter how far he goes.


☆


'Let's get 200,000 for the skin alone.'

'Huh!

　This isn't Pheas's clothing store ...... or anything like that.
　We were in the workshop where Kittenmaru-san was based.

　Kittenmaru-san, who was watching the feed as usual as he went about his production, saw that I had obtained the materials for Mysteria Rabi and rushed over to contact me.
　I had completely forgotten that his workshop was in Fierce. He couldn't afford to lose the chance to get a rare material that fell right under his nose.

'It's 100,000 Iris more expensive than other stores, why?

　Kittenmaru's offer was, quite frankly, a far cry from what he had expected.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　So even though Tooka-chan looked at him suspiciously, Kittenmaru-san didn't panic and told him the reason.

'Actually, I needed this material to complete a certain quest.

'A quest?

'Not only is this the fourth city, it's also the Imperial Capital. Of course, there are nobles in this city.''


　Kittenmaru said.
　The production quest he's on right now is to make a top-quality product for a nobleman in the imperial capital.
　The nobleman is the one who allows Kittenmaru to use his workshop, and in return, he is asked to make a superior delivery.
　It doesn't matter if it's weapons, armor, clothes, or accessories. In the event that you are able to create a piece of equipment that satisfies the nobleman, the workshop will be the property of Kittenmaru. ......
　In order to accomplish this, he was looking for materials for Mysteria Rabi.

'I'm sure they're relatively plentiful around the city, but the supply and demand aren't exactly in sync due to their difficulty in hunting. If you're looking for a way to make money, there are plenty of tougher monsters to choose from, and to be honest, the experience value isn't great. If you can hunt them, you can make a lot of money, but it's not very efficient.

　It's true that it's not an opponent that can be defeated single-handedly, considering the fact that it can run away, and it would be more efficient to hunt the Black Rabbits that are flying around.
　By the way, Black Rabbits are level 33 monsters, and there are a lot of them around Pheasus.

'So that's where I come in, huh?

'Yes. I didn't think I'd be hunting four of them, though.



　It's a painful expense," said Kittenmaru, but he seemed happy.
　Kittenmaru said that the skin alone cost 200,000 yen, but of course, Mysteria Rabi has more uses than just its skin.
　Once I took a closer look, I noticed that the Mysteria Rabi has a jewel on its forehead and its eyes are made of a crystal-like material.
　These two types were dropped as just beautiful materials, and in the NPC store, they were much more expensive than the other two in terms of selling price.

'For the time being, two jewels are going to cost 150,000 apiece in advance. I'm going to sell the finished product at auction, so I'll pay you extra depending on the selling price. That is, of course, if we can make a profit.

'Wow ...... Kittenmaru, you're rich ......'.

'I'm a member of the Dragon Fang. I'm a member of the Dragon Fang, and although I have to give priority to making their equipment, I'm also a good customer who can earn enough Iris to devote to my research and hobbies. We production workers are the ones who need to have something to look forward to.

'Oh, you're taking money, aren't you?

'Of course I am.

　The clan Dragonfang. It's been a while since I've heard that name, but I'm pretty sure it's less than a week old.
　I've heard it's a pretty big clan, but at least I only know Kittenmaru.

　Clan. A clan. It's a group of like-minded players, but it's not uncommon to find them in online games with different names.
　I guess you could call it a mutual-help group larger than a party. It's not so easy to explain in words.

　By the way, I wonder if Rin-chan has ever started a clan.
　With Lin's charisma, she should be able to rule a large clan or two.

　But it's already Fierce.
　Just one or two more towns to go, and we'll finally be able to reach Rin.
　I couldn't deny that my heart was dancing at the thought of being able to play a game with her for the first time since the first day.

''Speaking of which, shall we repair the red wolf armor since we're here?　Even though it's not lost, it's probably worn out from fighting a lot of strong enemies.''

'Ah, ......, you could say that.'

　I'm not sure what to do with it, but I'm sure it'll be fine.
　If you check the menu, you'll see that you've used up a lot of durability.

'You want to repair the armor?　If you can do it, I'd like to ask you too.

'No problem. It won't take long, so why don't you take a look?

　Kittenmaru nodded happily to Toka-chan, who took advantage of the opportunity.
　Since he took the trouble to invite me, I decided to observe the production.

'Oh, then by all means.

'I've never seen the production of armor before, so I'd like to see it too.

　After this, Tooka and I took a little production lesson from Kittenmaru, and when the sky was getting dark, we both logged out.