We have a target in sight.

　The current state of affairs outside is still dark because the sun has not risen, and apart from the craftsmen who start work early in the morning and the guards who are on patrol, no one is walking outside.
　It was my master's workshop that I broke into. By the way, it may seem like I was trespassing, but I've gotten permission from my master's apprentice. Last night, I remembered that I had something to do with the guild (selling goblins), so I went for a walk, and on the way there I bumped into one of master's apprentices at a tavern, which is how I came up with this plan. By the way, I bribed my apprentices with enough money to buy a few drinks (just like a dwarf). The amount of money that the master sold was a single silver coin.

''Uu~ I slept well...........................What the hell!

　When the master finally woke up, he realized that he was tied to the pillar and shouted out.

　
'You don't find that a nuisance in the morning? Oh ... the drunkard.
That's why your wife is running away from you, you idiot ... big idiot.

　The last one was the funniest in terms of content, although it was the most honest one. Incidentally, it was the masked blacksmith (apprentice) A, B, and C, the apprentice representative, who shouted abuse at the master.
　They knew I was going to capture the master, so they came at the right time.

'No, don't be silly, untie me. And don't you be ashamed of yourselves for looking like that? Especially Temma.

　The disciples are dressed in their normal clothes and paper bags on their heads, but I'm dressed as a pawn in the King's Capital (but the mask is for a murderer who shows up on Fridays), so I didn't want them to be so calm and terse. I don't like to dress like this either...maybe.

'For now, enough of the goofiness.......master, do you have anything to say to me about Raiden?

What are you talking about? I don't know about that.

　To the master who was cutting the shira, I held Raiden out in front of me and motioned for him to open his mouth.

'You think I don't know this?'

　After getting this far, the master finally confessed to me that he had set up this gimmick in secret. Apparently, the master tried to see if Raiden could do a Breath-like attack, but he decided that it was impossible to generate high-powered magic like Breath, even with the strength, so he finally connected it to Slarin' space. The magic circles and projections written on his throat were apparently remnants of that time.

'And by the way, Temma. As a matter of fact, Raiden's head is still a work in progress.

　I wondered what he was going to say, but the master was going to put a bicorn horn on Raiden's head. He said he thought it would be more like a bicorn.

''Moreover, the horn is supposed to strengthen Raiden's lightning attribute...''

　They don't know for sure, but they say that if the bicorn's consciousness is strong, then using bicorn material to get closer to the shape is a plus, but not a minus. So I decided to do as my master said and give him a bicorn horn to put on his head. In any case, the bicorn's horn had no use at the moment, so if there was any chance of increasing Raiden's performance, it would be better to use it for that.

'Only, one of them is broken off at the base, so it'll be shorter than the real thing.　

　They said it would be completed late, tomorrow evening, so I decided to leave Raiden with him and go shopping.
　The first thing we wanted was sugar and salt. As for the spices, I heard that many of them are the specialties of the southern autonomous region, I thought it would be good to buy locally, and will buy only the minimum necessary.
　As a result of wandering around the city until the evening of that day, we were able to buy more than twice as much sugar and salt as we had planned, and we were also able to buy spices as planned. There were many unplanned purchases, but most of them were fruits and vegetables, so they should not have been wasted.
　When we returned to the carriage, Maria and the others were relaxing. However, I didn't see Tida, so I asked Chris, who was also relaxing, and he told me that she was being shown around town by Amy. I heard that Tida was flirting with the idea that it was a date, but in reality, in order to prevent Tida from noticing, she was surrounding the area with guards other than Chris-san.　
　I heard that the three of us other than myself were almost done with our preparations today, so we were going to spend the next few days slowly until the scheduled departure date.

'Temma, since we're free, let's go shopping.

　The next day, after breakfast, Amr invited me to go shopping. There was just something I wanted, so I instantly OK'd it, and for some reason, Amur had a surprised look on his face.

'Temma........delirious!

Well you don't have to go with me, do you?

'Lie! Temma is not delirious! So let's go?

　So, we decided to go shopping. In case you were wondering, I tried to invite everyone else, but they all refused with a smile.
　For those reasons, we went out shopping alone, and Amour was in a sickeningly good mood. Every now and then I would hear him say, "Date, date," but he didn't seem to notice.

'First things first. Give me a minute.　

　I got to the store I wanted, so I said no to Amr and then went into the store, but Amr didn't wait outside to follow me. And.

I can't do this...

　I said, and quickly took refuge outside the store. By the way, the store I'm looking for is an apothecary. Therefore, the shop is filled with the smell of herbs and medicines. If you are not used to the smell, you will feel bad if you are not good at it. It would be even more so if it was a beastman with a better sense of smell than a person.

''Let's see........this, this and this, and what about the herbs that can be used as wounding medicine? .... only the dry ones. You can have this and this. And while we're at it, the stomach pills and antipyretic herbs that are also dried... well, okay.

　I bought a lot of different herbs and medicines like this.
　I've learned how to make medicines from my mom in general, so I basically make the ones I use myself, but that's not much of a learning curve, so sometimes I find a medicine that seems to work well, I buy it to see how it works.
　This store didn't have a lot of good items, but I picked one that looked good, as other stores may not be of better quality than this one.
　When we finished shopping and went outside, Amur was in front of a food stall that was out a short distance away from the store, chewing on some meat on a spit.

''Hmm ... Temma, it stinks.''

　When Amur noticed me, he came up to me and suddenly smelled it and said so. I'm used to the smell of medicinal herbs myself, so I didn't mind, but from Amur's point of view, it smells pretty bad.

''Well then, Day ... continue shopping.''　

　Amur finished his spit-roast in a hurry and walked alongside me. But.........

Sorry. I'm gonna come by here too.

　There was an apothecary a few hundred meters away, so I went in to shop for herbs again. This time they had some good pill-type pills on hand, so I bought a few doses.

''It stinks...''

　After this, I continued to visit various apothecary shops and purchased various herbs and medicines. All of the herbs I purchased were of a type I didn't have, and although they were all in small quantities of each, it was quite a lot of herbs when you put them all together. Moreover, the peculiar smell of the herbs (which felt like a stronger version of the smell of a ship) transferred to my body, and Amur, who had been looking forward to shopping, was quite unhappy. Most of all, when I say shopping, it seems that Amur just wanted to walk outside and only stopped at the stalls. Since I got the medicinal herbs, I thought I should go with Amur, but he was in a bad mood and said he was going back to the carriage. It seems that he doesn't want to walk with me, who has a smell he doesn't like.
　Everyone who remained in the carriage was doubly surprised by the fact that he had returned to the carriage in such a state, which meant that everyone else in the carriage was doubly surprised (the grumpy Amur and my smell).

'Studying the medicine man is good, but Temma needs to learn how to treat women first.

　Maria said something like that, but I dared not pretend to hear it. In this kind of talk, a man can't argue with a woman because he thinks that there is no such thing as a man's right to argue with a woman. In the first place, there's no way I, with such a low level of experience, could win against Maria-sama (a married man). Therefore, it's the right thing to do to avoid stepping into the ring of advantage for your opponent.............................Some people might say that I "ran away".
　While dodging Maria-sama's verbal attack, I decided to make a potion with the herbs I had purchased in the free time I had before going to my master's workshop. As I began to work, Amour and Blanca, as if the smell of the herbs was too much for them, took refuge outside the carriage. Maria-sama and Luna also raised their eyebrows at the smell of the medicinal herbs, but their curiosity got the better of them and they remained in the carriage. However, Chris looked like he wanted to take refuge outside with Amour and the others, but he seemed to be holding back since Maria-sama was still there. Grandpa is used to the smell, so he's eating his normal sweets and having more tea.

'This will be fine,'

　As I was putting the dried herbs back in the water, Amur, with his nose plugged, came back into the carriage in a muffled voice. He looked quite painful as he seemed to have plugged his nose quite carefully, but no one said anything as he pretended it was nothing.
　The medicine I'm making now is an ointment made of bicorn oil. It's rather easy to make, and if you make it carefully, even an amateur can make something of a certain quality.
　First of all, the oil of bicorn is boiled in hot water and made into a liquid. At this time, I sterilize it by heating it in boiling water for about 30 minutes.
　Next, carefully grind the herb with clean water (this time I used the dried one, so I grinded it with the water used to put it back in) and remove the veins of the leaves with a fine tea strainer.
　Finally, I mixed the cooled oil and the herb solution with a spatula to make it evenly mixed. The ointment itself is now complete.
　The ointment is divided into small bottles that have been sterilized by boiling for easy use, taking care not to let air in.

　Apart from this, I also made a hand cream by the same method, and I gave it to the ladies to make them happy. Since I made a good amount of hand cream, I could give it to all my acquaintances in Seigen, but it would be a bit too much.
　I gave freshly made presents to Maria and the others, Chris got Jeanne's, Aura's and Aina's portions, and Maria got Isabella's and Missalia's portions as well.

I'm going to see my master now. It might be a little late, so eat your dinner without me.

　I told my grandfather and the others and left the carriage. Amur was about to follow, but I didn't know what time I was going to be home, so I told him not to follow me. And it's not a good idea to go out with a man and woman and get home late.

'Are you ready, master?'

　I asked him about it as soon as I entered the workshop, and he told me that the work of attaching the horns had gone well.

I asked him if he could help me with a few things.

　Since the masters are being punished with a few days of suspension, I figured they would be too busy to do customer service, so I decided to ask them to help me. As an excuse, they offered to help me free of charge as an apology for putting a strange trick on Raiden.
　As expected, the masters agreed before they heard the details. They had no more time to kill in Leiden, so they had no choice but to drink the rest of the day away.

'What I need help with is the magic iron I used for Tanikaze, and I need help making knives and shortswords, as well as pots and pans.

　I wondered if it would be a good idea to ask the masters, who mainly made weapons and armor, to make pots and pans for me, but they nodded easily and began to check the furnace and tools. Later, I talked to the masters, and they told me that when they were apprentices, they also made pots and pans to sell while they were training.

''There's nearly a ton of magical iron in total, I'll give you half of it as a thank you for your free help, and I'll use the other half to make it.......Can I ask the master for the knife and short sword? I need everyone else to get the pots and pans and stuff. I have a few things I want to make.

That's all well and good, but Temma has made a mistake. The iron used in Tanikaze is not magical iron, but magical steel. It is probably a change in the magical iron.

　If you listen to the details, it seems that demon steel is what is created when strong magic power is poured into the demon iron, and as a material, it is one level higher, and although its hardness is a little inferior to mithril, in a sense, it is said to be rarer than mithril. Well, as far as rarity is concerned, if you have enough money to buy magic steel, many people choose the light and strong mithril over magic steel, and the price is about 20% cheaper than mithril, so the magic steel, which is less than half the price of mithril, is said to be cheaper in terms of price. Moreover, the weight is also said to be a little lighter than the magic iron. It's because of that kind of half-heartedness that you don't often see them in the market.

Well, as a material, it's just too good to be used for pots and pans, though!

　When the master had finished explaining the process, we each began to work.
　He was in charge of a total of 50 knives, of which 10 were machetes (bush knives), 10 were survival knives, and 30 were throwing knives. He made ten machetes (bush knives), ten survival knives and thirty throwing knives. Each knife is made of steel from blade to handle, and the throwing knife is a kunai-like knife about 15cm long. We made ten short swords and asked the master to design them.
　The apprentices were responsible for ten one-handed pots, ten two-handed pots and ten frying pans. The one-handed pot is smaller and the two-handed pot is larger. The frying pans are five large and five small. I heard that the apprentices often make pots and pans as part of their training, so they can do it all in two days, so I asked the master to help me with it afterwards.
　So I decided to ask the master to help me make a new weapon and new cooking utensils. The new weapons are shurikens (just sharpened square boards on four sides), each one carved with a magic circle of summoning magic, so that when you throw it, it will come back to you, inspired by something I read in a book about the Marquis of Samos. And the new cookware is, quite simply, a takoyaki (octopus dumpling) maker. I'm also planning to make one big enough to make a large-size takoyaki. I'm also planning to make a teppan for okonomiyaki, too.
　I decided to start with the griddle........but it's not particularly difficult to do. I just poured the magic steel, which I softened until it became sloppy, into the mold, and then just waited for it to cool naturally. This method was used to make three steel plates of different sizes. One of them was to be used for octopus dexterity, so I found a hammer with a rounded tip in my master's tool and used it to make a circle. It was enough for fifty slightly larger holes, so it should be enough for home use.
　And then I made two sets of large baking machines, which can make five pieces per side. Each one is about 10 cm in diameter and about 3 cm deep on one side, so I thought I could make a satisfying meal.
　However, right after I made the Oobayaki, I realized that I had made a big miscalculation. That was.........

Before you know it, it will be dawn...

　They were so enthusiastic that they had forgotten how much time had passed. That seemed to be the same for the masters, and all of them were ahead of where they had planned to be.

''Well let's just go to bed for now.

"'Oh.........

　Being conscious of the time made us feel sleepy, so we decided to sleep in a corner of the workshop.
　The next day, we woke up in the early afternoon, stuffed our stomachs with a meal we had prepared beforehand (bought at a food cart), and resumed our work

Temma, what do I do with it?

Big brother! I'm burned!

Luna! I told you to be careful! I'm sorry, Mr. Temma. Can I have my medicine, please?

Sir, there's a lot of fire in here!

　For some reason, it was like a hands-on class. The reason for this is because Grandpa had brought Amur and the others with him.

It's going to be great.

　Grandpa, the leader of the group, was sipping his tea in a carefree manner. Next to him, Chris and Blanca, who must be the second and third in command, were also drinking tea. Maria said that she was off to a meeting with the representatives of Seigen.
　The reason everyone came here is because I didn't return yesterday, and when Grandpa wanted to come check on me, Amur took advantage of the opportunity, Blanca was worried about Amur not going out of control, so she went with him, Luna and Aimee, who were curious about what I was making, joined in, and since Aimee said she was going, Tida came with her. Apparently it was. Chris was initially going to be Mary's escort. But when Tida and Luna said they were going to join me, Maria asked him to be their escort. It seems that the hole that Chris-san left out will be covered by the rest of the guards. Incidentally, the master, who was thought to be reluctant to let the children (amateurs) use his workshop, unusually didn't say anything. Probably because there is royalty in the mix and they intend to have me take the blame if something goes wrong.
　I asked the four of them to help me with the shuriken I would be using (because even if they failed, this would cause the least amount of damage), while I finished the iron plate one. When I say finishing, all I did was polish the surface nicely and bend the edges a bit, so I could do it without any problems while watching the four of them.

　The four men were satisfied (or bored) with the blacksmithing and the master finished the throwing knife at a high rate of speed and completed it in a few hours. As expected of his main occupation, he worked much faster and more accurately than me and my students. The apprentices had finished their own portion of the work that night, so the master's work picked up speed even faster. The fact that the grandfathers took everyone home (forcing one of them to leave) before it got dark must have been one of the factors that increased the speed of the work.

''Hahaha.......how does it feel!

　As soon as the sun came up, the master made up the last of his shortsword. All that's left is his machete and survival knife, but he's boasting that if he has the help of his disciples, he'll be able to finish it all in one day. Well, with the disciples shaking their heads behind the master, it would be impossible to do it in a day, but....

So I'm going to bed. We'll talk about it when you wake up.

　As I said this, the masters began to sleep in the corner of the workshop, snoring as they did yesterday. While watching them, I decided to return to the carriage. Today, I gave up my spot to my students on the way to the carriage and took a short nap so I had enough time to get back to the carriage.
　When I got back to the carriage, Grandpa was already awake, so after telling him about the work, I decided to take a quick bath and sleep in bed. As I was sleeping in bed, Slarin and the others came under the covers, and it was a little hot and stuffy, but I couldn't give them much of a d*mn these days, so I decided to put up with it... well, when Amur tried to come in, I kicked him out of the house with a stone.

　We spent a few days like that, and today was the day we were scheduled to leave. We had finished all the preparations by yesterday, and we had come to the south gate of Seigen early in the morning.
　In addition to Aimee and her family, the members of the Sword of Dawn and the Tamer's Guild, there was also Maria and the rest of the "royal party (plus guards)" who for some reason extended their stay until today. The plan was for them to leave Seigen before us, but Tida insisted that they wanted to see me off, so they extended their stay. He claimed that he wanted to see me off, but it was obvious to everyone that he had some other purpose in mind, and that this was his main purpose.

'Well then, I'd better get going. Aimee, good luck with your studies. The next time we meet will probably be in the royal capital. If you have any problems, just ask the people of Kukri village or Aura's sister, Aina, for help and there will be no problems. Don't hesitate.

Yes, I understand, sir!　

　I've given Amy the letter to Uncle Mark and the others beforehand, and I've also sent a letter to King's Landing. I've sent letters to Jeanne and Aura as well, but it's safer to have Aina to rely on than those two.
　Hearing my words, Aimee nodded vigorously. At her waist was the shortsword I had given her, which was lowered. The shortsword had the Ootori family crest engraved on it, and if anyone in the know saw it, they would immediately recognize it as my connection. At the very least, the adventurers and guild officials, plus the knights, would immediately recognize it. I'm sure that some of the adventurers will be fools who try to use Amy, but I'd like to think that there's no one who would commit a crime after finding out that me and the royal family are involved......... Well, I've given him a guard golem (plus a weapon) for that purpose, and I've given Aimee a certain method so that she can use her grandfather's mansion as a place of refuge.

Let me take care of Amy. More importantly, there are a lot of quirky people in the southern boroughs, so be careful of the temma.　

　Maria-sama is giving such advice while looking at Amour beside me and Blanca behind her. The two of them, who felt like they were being named, turned their faces away without any particular objection.

''We will be careful enough. Now, to deliver this letter to Viscount Lobo, C-rank adventurer Temma, I will leave.''

'I beg you. I just don't think there's any, but in case you don't, put your life before your own, even if it means destroying the letter. That's an order.　　

'Ha! Roger that........................so I'll be off.

　After greeting everyone with such a little play as Maria, we climbed into the carriage tied to Raiden and headed for the Southern Autonomous Region.

''Sensei~, come on!''
Good night, Temma. Take care of yourself.
Hang in there, bro.
Good to see you, Temma.
Go for it!
"You better watch your ass!

　And so on and so forth, they shouted at us to get us out. I leaned out the window and kept waving to them, but after enough time they were all shrinking like peas in a row and I couldn't see them anymore.

We're not in a hurry, so let's take it slow. I'll leave it to you to guide us, Blanca.

'Oh, I'll take care of it. I'll show you some interesting places on the way to the Southern Autonomous Region.　

　I decided to ask Blanca, who knew the most about the Southern Autonomous Region, to give me directions. Blanca was sitting at the coach's driver's seat, and she answered with a smile that would make a child cry if he saw her. Because of the directions, Blanca will be the longest driver, but even so, she says the burden will be much less if you consider walking. Besides, he said that by traveling in Leiden, they might arrive a little earlier than they had originally planned, so they have time to make some side trips, and he picked up some places that Branca recommended.
　By the way, it is said to take one and a half to two months to get to Seigen from the southern autonomous region. Furthermore, depending on the weather and accidents, it can take up to three months to get from the southern autonomous region to Seigen. I heard that Blanca and her friends traveled by carriage, by foot, and sometimes by boat.
　That's why the two of them were extremely surprised to hear that it would be about a third of the time if they traveled by Leiden. I didn't tell them that if I was the only one, if I moved as fast as I could, I would get there much faster. I was afraid of what would happen to their faces if I surprised them any more.

'Well, if we move around for a month, as long as it doesn't happen too often, we should be fine. Both of you, take care of things in the meantime.

"Oh!

I'll be there, Temma, to remind you that I'm here.

　And so my second trip had begun. Unlike the trip of three years ago, I was a little nervous about being in the company of others, but I was confident that it would be a fun one.