Riot Grasper

Cecil-san smiled at me, and it didnt seem like she had any bad intentions.

The attack from the wounded tiger was indeed a bit dangerous. It could be said that she saved me.

But

Cecil, youre too late!

You ran ahead because of the roar. I came with the other people from the Trading Company.

As for the man with his hands raised ostentatiously and spitting sarcasm at Cecil-san, I cant say I feel very helped.

If I had swung my sword down like I had planned, the fight would have been over. I cant help but think that he deliberately interfered.

Come on, come on. Why dont you get on with recovering your precious materials?

The people from the Trading Company, who showed up slightly later, were carrying large backpacks.

They intend to recover everything that can be used as material from the monsters in the volcano, and will strip the Agni Tiger to the bone.

Hey wait.

Wait. Cyrus something is off, what arent you telling me?

What are you talking about? He was in danger, so I saved him. And then, when he was in a daze, you finished the monster off. Thats all.

Cecil-san, taking notice of my obvious grumpiness, asked Cyrus a question, but his reply was so ridiculous that I almost laughed in anger.

No, all I can think of is that I was interrupted right before I was about to kill it.

Brat! Dont be so overconfident in your strength.

Huh? Youve got to be kidding me. You stupid old man. Your idea of helping is to shoot people with arrows? Then I definitely dont want your help.

We didnt need your help, considering how good you are.

Normally, I feel like its my role to admonish the twins for their wild words, but for once, I agree with what theyre saying.

Anyway, we went through a lot of trouble to find the Agni Tiger. Im not convinced that we should just hand over the material to you.

What if its

At Cyrus question, I involuntarily tightened my grip on my sword hilt.

By force, Im going to make it right.

Even though I was in a hot lava tube, my heart felt as if it was getting colder.

Lets calm down. Even though it looks like this, Cyrus and I are good enough to be trusted by the Trading Company. If what you just said is true, I dont blame you for being angry, but we should stop fighting.

Are you skilled? Im sure you are.

With his vision obscured, and even though he was taken by surprise, he managed to take down a powerful monster with a single blow to its vital organs.

Im sure youre right, but Ill ask you the opposite.

Im sorry to Cecil-san, who was probably helping me out of the goodness of her heart, but I guess I was pretty mad.

Do you two think you can beat me by any chance?

Im not sure why Im saying this

Youre gonna get hurt, young man, if you keep talking nonsense.

Beside Cyrus, who was swearing, Cecil-san was staying silent.

Words that are too provocative may be enough to destroy a good relationship.

Cecil-san approached the skewered Tiger, pulled out her spear and set it up.

Youre going to do it

Oh. I dont want you to get the wrong idea. I know its true that you discovered it first, and Im hoping. this will convince you.

Boom! And the spear swung down severing one of the Agni Tigers large fangs.

You said you were going to use it for blacksmithing? I think this will be more than enough.

When I touched the faintly red fangs that were offered to me, I felt my cold heart warm up a little.

If there are still parts you want, you can take them. I dont want you to take it all, though.

.. To tell you the truth, Id rather have you give me all of your money, but I guess securing what I need to use for smithing is enough.

Id love to fight with Cyrus, but then Cecil-san wouldnt be able to keep quiet due to her position.

Alright, Ive decided to deal with things peacefully.

Hey, Cecil. What the hell are you talking about?

Shut up, Cyrus. Im the one who actually killed it. If you have a problem with that, you should have killed it yourself before I arrived.

Cyrus wrinkled his brow and spat into the flowing lava.

The foul stuff evaporated in an instant with a sizzling sound.

Its a good thing Im not the only one.

..Anyway, we dont want to cause any trouble on our end. Weve been hired to protect them, and its not good for our credibility to start a fight.

Im not completely convinced But I think we should take Cecil-sans suggestion here.

Right now, I want to get out of this lava tube as soon as possible. Its hot and Im tired. I dont want to stay in a crappy place like this for too long.

I stowed the fangs Id received in my tool bag, decided to take bit of the tough, heat-resistant hide that had been covered in flames, and quickly headed out.

When Im in this kind of mood, I cant help but be soothed by witnessing the moment a new weapon is born in Zigs workshop.

.. But thats strange. We searched this area a while back and didnt find a single sign of the Agni Tiger. Hey, tell us more about how you found it.

The group from the Karnak Trading Company will continue to hunt for a little more.

The most important goal is the Agni Tigers, but they are also collecting various other materials.

Theres some kind of trick to it, isnt there?

Im absolutely amaze at this person. I wonder if they seriously think well respond to this request for clarification.

I could tell you, but I dont think I should?

Oh, no?

Its a tough monster. Well. if you need help, Id love to run over and cover you, but unfortunately I dont have my crossbow with me, so Im going home for the day.

Fuck you

Cyrus expression twisted without concealment at my sarcastic words.

I wont deny that theres a trick to it. If they think Im hiding something, let them think it.

If you try to mess with me in the future, Ill hunt you down at-

See you later Have a safe trip.

Having succeeded in lowering my anger slightly, we made our way back to the surface from the hot lava tube.

The next day. 2nd Week of August, Day of Light.

Well, its a good thing I brought back the fangs in one piece.

We were quite exhausted yesterday and arrived at the city of Merveille after dark.

After a restful night at the inn, I visited Zigs workshop early in the morning and handed him the tusk, but I couldnt help but to tell him about the events of yesterday.

How did you manage to get your hangs on this? Youre very good.

The dwarfs eyes arched as he gazed at the fangs sullenly, and his mouth relaxed behind his beard.

It looks like Ill be able to hit him with a new sword, as promised.

Yes! May I observe again?

I dont mind. By the way. wheres the other one?

Behind me stands Rei, who has been in a bad moon since morning. She left Ren at the inn, who was complaining that he was tired, but she had come with me, even though she was also complaining.

Its such a nuisance this morning.

.. No, I was rather glad to have them both relaxing at the inn.

Because its better to have someone else manning the store, right?

Haha. Thats true. Well I guess Ill leave you to it, then.

Oh yeah. I forgot Zig asked them to do that.

And so, we left Rei behind and headed towards Zigs workshop.

This furnace is made of a Flame Golems heat-resistant rock, so it wont break under a little heat. However, the temperature in the room will rise considerably. If you get tired, dont hesitate to take a break.

After saying that, Zig threw the crushed grains of the Agni Tigers fangs into the furnace.

The furnace instantly turned scorching hot, the heat could be felt even from a distance.

Hot

In contrast to me, who leaked such words, Zig-san did not seem bothered, and when the time was right, he plunged the phosphorus dragon crystal into the furnace.

This size, by the way. If its just one sword, I think well have enough material. Do you have any other orders?

Oh.. well. Im not sure if this is too late, but how much is the price of having a sword struck? The most I can immediately prepare is a little voer a hundred thousand drachmas.

Once again, when the sword was in the process of being completed, I realized that I had forgotten to negotiate the price.

Ill have to collect the missing money somehow.

Dont worry. I wont charge you for it. Ive been given a rare material to work with, and youve also prepared the Agni Tigers fangs yourself. Dont worry about it.

Oh, really! Well, then, lets see, something like this and. Oh yeah! And this kind of..

Oh. Youve got no restraint at all. Well, thats just like you, isnt it? Im sure you have enough ingredients. Ill leave it to you.

After smiling and placing the crystal from the furnace on the anvil, Zig raised his hammer wideand struck down.

Akaaangsound rang out, and the crystal slightly transformed as it was struck repeatedly.

.. Looks like were good to go this time.

The rhythmic sound of the hammer swinging was so pleasant to the ear that I could almost fall asleep

Its hot.

Its so hot.

Its really hot.

Yes, its nice to be allowed to observe blacksmithing. But this is more than I imagined. Im sweating from all over my body.

I was tempted to use water magic to cool off, but I could easily imagine a scene where

As time went on, I took off my armor and the inner shirt I was wearing inside, leaving me half-0naked, and when the phosphorus dragon crystal managed to take shape as a sword, I reached my limit.

I hesitated to call out to Zig, who was concentrating, and slowly made my way to the store space.

I think Ill take a break and help guard the store for a while.

.. That. Its cooler over here. Why?

Is it over already? Maybe theyre trying to keep the heat from the workshop from getting over here. Its an old building, but its pretty..? What the hell are you wearing?

What?

Oops.

Current equipmentone pair of underwear.

Hes just a pervert. I cant say anything to Ren about this.

No, no! Its just that the workshop was so hot that I had no choice but to go to..

The act of a shamed girl throwing something at a half-naked guy might be, well, natural. But that doesnt mean you can throw a throwing knife! Our defenses are close to zero right now!

He caught the flying knives one by one with both hands, and managed to dodge the last one by turning his body away from it.

Youre still too naive! Thats not enough to stop your prey from breathing!

Dont look so serious when youre half naked! Just get your clothes on!

Her cheeks flushed red, and she refused to make eye contact with me and raised her voice. She can be surprisingly pure-hearted sometimes.

Im definitely the one whos embarrassed, but when the other person reacts this way, Im strangely calm.

I have opened the door to a new world.

One more thing I was wondering, isnt. usually the opposite of for this kind of thing?

wind

Finally, my burning body cooled down.

No, I didnt get cold because of the cold stare of the woman next to me.

Arent you going to the workshop now?

I dont know its kind of hard to get in once youre out, or maybe I just dont want to disturb you.

Well. its been a long time, so it should be ready by now, right?

Just as Rei was saying this, I heard a voice calling me from the back workshop.

Hey. Come here for a minute!

My pleasure!

I moved my body in response to the voice and pushed the door open with great force.

.. you, calm down a bit.

Zig-san looked at me half-heartedly and laughed.

But, well, Im in a good mood when I hit a good one. I dont know how you feel.

The dwarfs tone is cheerful as he says this.

On the table a beautiful white and silver blade with phosphorescence.

While the overall color scheme of my beloved sword Noir is black, this sword is white.

Its not just a simple white, but it has a depth to it that seems to have been mixed with the luster of many different metals, and it almost sucks you in when you stare at it. The shape is very similar to Noir because I asked Zig-san to make it like that, and he did an excellent job.

Hey. Youre putting your face too close. Thats dangerous.

I was warned just as the flesh on my cheek was being cut.

Here. Can I hold it?

Of course. Its for you after all.

..The weight is just right. It is not likely to fatigue quickly.

The sensation of trying out and wielding the two swords in my possession is also favorable.

The rest is

After a while of frolicking like a child with a new Toy, Zig, who had been sitting in a chair resting and working with his hands, finally stood up.

Well, if theres anything else that you want me to adjust, just let me know. And

Newly placed on the table was a dagger or rather, a knife, as it should be called.

In addition to that, the skin of the Agni Tiger was tanned and then attached with rivets of phosphorus dragon crystal grains a special thimble leather glove.

I got by with the skins you gave me and some leftover ingredients.

Oh, thank you!

Oh man. Im super happy.

Ive always wanted a small blade, like a fruit knife. When hunting monsters or animals, it is surprisingly difficult to skin the fur or carve the meat with a sword.

I have no complaints about the sharpness of my beloved sword, Noir, but the it was a bit inconvenient in terms of being a small, handy blade. The worlds strongest fruit knife should be able to dismantle even a demon with skin as hard as iron with ease.

As for the special gloves, I cant wait to try them out in a real fight to see how well they actually work.

Well. Im tired today, as expected. Ive been working all day, so. Im closing up a little early to get some rest.

Ah I had so much stuff made, I have to pay for it.

I was about to take out the coins from my bag when a hammer struck something right under my nose. Is he angry because I tried to force him to accept pay when he said he didnt want any?

Im tired and my arms are heavy. Put this on the shelf over there. When youre doing, go get some water. Ive got some tools to maintain.

Yeah, thats.

Im telling you to help me clean up. Thats. enough.

.. With pleasure!

After helping clean up the workshop, me and Rei returned to Feeder Pops.

And you know what, I cant even describe how cool Zig-san is anymore.

Okay, okay. I understand that you respect him, so let me see your sword.

We were talking excitedly around the dinner table at the inn, and Ren asked me to show off my new sword.

He slid the blade out of its scabbard discreetly, as he couldnt wield it in the dining hall.

A neat mans face was reflected in the faintly glowing silvery white blade.

Wow! Its so beautiful. I heard that dragon fangs make for amazing materials!

So it seems.

Hmm. Maybe it belongs to a wise dragon that fought the demons a long time ago or something.

Zig-san said that he cant deny it.

Seriously! I love it! I want one too!

You cant have it.

He returned the sword to its sheath and shakes his head.

Ugh.. By the way, Se-chan. Have you given that sword a name or anything yet?

No way Ren. you too?

Hes a young man, but he has the grin of mischievous boy.

I never thought Id find a comrade in such a place.

Haha men are really just kids forever. Isnt that stupid? Its just a sword, it doesnt matter what you call it.

Reis cheeks are slightly flushed as she drinks the fruit wine with a dazed expression. Shes a little drunk.

Aside from that, the Breath of the Ancient Wise Dragon is a scorching flame that is said to have burned away even the demon race.

So I already have a name for my new sword.

-Flame Emperors Silver Fang

I cant wait to test out its sharpness, its beautifully silver and white.

Hmm? You know today is the day of light.

So, tomorrow is the original day.

Hmm. I think we can try to go to the Paudal Wetlands tomorrow, as it is close from here.

Its not enough that our prey is a slime, but lets make that our last stop on the way to the Suven Empire.

By the way, Se-chan.

Hmm? What is it?

I put my ear close to Ren, as he spoke to me in a whisper.

Rei nee-chan is kind of grumpy, is something wrong?

What? Is she in a bad mood?

She seems to be a bit drunk, but I dont think shes grumpy.

.. She seems to be normal otherwise. But if Ren feels that way, then so be it.

What if its that? Is it because she was guarding the store for so long and all she got from Zig was a thank you note?

.. Sorry to hear that.

Zig said something about buying something from me, but it seems that even the most skilled blacksmiths dont understand the subtleties of womens emotions.

It cant be helped.

Lets show the broken-hearted woman a beautiful view to refresh her.

Hey. Im thinking of going to a place called the Paudal Wetlands tomorrow, you want to come along?

What? You want me to help you collect materials again? Whats in it for me?

If you think about it, Ive been taking a lot of detours.

No.. that, the scenery is very beautiful.

Hmm

While the twins are enjoying the scenery, Ill be doing a lot of slime hunting.

Im sure the two of you wont have any problems leaving me alone.

Going to

What.?

Thats why! I said Im coming!

With a thump, Rei placed the empty goblet on the table and plopped down.

I guess she was still drunk.

What about Ren? Hes coming right?

What? No, I think Ill just think about.

Okay, can I leave it to you to take care of your drunk sister? Im getting a little sleepy myself.

Yes, yes. Goodbye.

Well, please.

He nodded and was about to go up the stairs when

Stomachache.. Cold.. Illness.. Equipment Maintenance.. Hmm.. Which one should I choose?

Ren seemed to be muttering something, but it was too far away for my ears to hear much.

What did you say?

Huh? Nothing.