After Carpen’s subjugation.
Lucia is dead.
Four days have passed.
The world still spins on just fine.
Of course, there are a few things that have changed.
First of all.
Hephaestus’s blacksmith shop is bustling.
Maybe it’s because I took down Carpen with the great sword she gave me, but it’s blowing up big time.
So… I haven’t even been able to draw my sword.
I wanted to buy this and that…
But there are just too many people…
I feel like I’m gonna suffocate if I go in!!
Of course, I tried once.
I held hands with Rubia and sauntered in, but.
Everyone ran out in a panic with terrified expressions.
Some were even screaming…
Is Rubia really that scary…?
Maybe at first, but once you get to know her, she’s not scary at all…
It must be the power they’re afraid of, right?
She’s even higher up than most nobles.
Anyway, because of this, I haven’t stepped foot near Hephaestus’s shop.
I don’t want to scare away the customers…
Next is Rubia… but.
On the first day, she just cried all day long.
Seriously, she would shoot up screaming in the middle of the night.
On the second day, she at least managed to eat.
She ate and cried.
Talked and cried.
Cried while I bathed her.
Then she’d laugh and cry.
So I told her if she laughed and cried, hair would grow on her butt, and she laughed again.
Well, I’d rather have horns than hair…
And then on the third day.
She turned back into Rubia.
No more crying, and she spoke clearly.
We shared a steak and took a walk.
Sighing as we looked at the fallen southern gate.
Cheering on the residents cleaning the eastern gate.
When a gold-ranked adventurer who was helping the residents came to greet us, I glared at him.
Other adventurers were lurking around Rubia, but I chased them all away.
I widened my eyes and imitated Carpen, going “Arrr!” and they all ran away.
Bunch of cowards.
And I.
Told myself I had to maintain absolute stability while still having my sword confiscated, spent two whole days just being cuddled by Rubia.
I genuinely felt like a cherished stuffed toy.
The only good thing was, she washed the stuffed toy well.
I felt incredibly refreshed…
Oh, and speaking of stuffed toys, I remembered.
My great sword… they said it can’t be fixed anymore…
All the smiths, including Hephaestus… gave up…
Of course, the great sword Hephaestus gave me isn’t bad…
But it feels completely different from my beloved sword.
How comforting it was to sleep hugging it…
So I spent some melancholic moments with Rubia.
… But it was nice that Rubia hugged me, which was a little… comforting.
Then sometimes.
When I felt like getting some fresh air, Rubia and I went outside and set off fireworks.
Once in the center of the village.
Once at the steakhouse.
Once in a corner of the village, in a chaotic clearing due to the recent duel.
And once at the southern entrance, where I faced Carpen.
Each time.
Rubia sniffled.
I also got a bit gloomy thinking about my cherished great sword.
It had only been three days.
I missed it so.
Come to think of it, I was supposed to have a duel.
But now I can’t anymore.
Nothing.
“Hey kid! How about we have an arm wrestling match again someday?”
“I already lost once, so… it’ll probably be the same…”
And then on the fourth day.
Heinzel stood in front of me, grinning, saying he’s heading back to the village he stayed in.
He said he was taking Lucia along.
I wondered how he’d manage without arms, but apparently, a bunch of adventurers came to pick him up from that village.
But how could nobody be holding a great sword?
Tsk, these days they lack romance. Ugh.
“Just poking where it hurts… Anyway, are you listening, kid? Eat well, sleep early, and fight moderately. And… don’t stray from the path, keep going straight.”
Heinzel, who had been nagging for ten minutes, pointed at the sword of Lucia hanging at my waist.
“Take good care of it since it’s precious. Hahaha! I’m glad I don’t have to buy you food! See you later, kid!”
Heinzel, whose laugh was a bit different and lacked energy, turned his back and walked out of the village.
His loose sleeves swayed in the wind.
I heard the sound of grinding teeth.
“Since Heinzel’s gone, should we start preparing, Noah?”
I acted like I didn’t see or hear.
And then with a small smile, I looked back at Rubia.
Rubia’s hand gripped mine.
“Yeees.”
Nodding, I clasped Rubia’s hand.
The warm sensation.
Slightly pushed away the memories of the beloved sword.
“Noah, you don’t look good… um, would you like to go get some jelly?”
Gasp…
Such beautiful words exist…
“Yeeees!!”
“Uhuh… I’ll buy you lots, but don’t eat it all at once, split it up. Got it?”
I nodded vigorously, shaking off my distractions.
Hmmm.
Jelly sounds delicious.
Maybe I should ask for only peach-flavored ones this time.
If there’s just a bunch of peach…
A bunch…?
Uh… huh? Huh?!
Jelly??
Heinzel… didn’t buy me jelly!
Y-you… tightwad!
Narrow-minded little cheapstake!
Shiny bald head!!
In the far-off future, when we meet again.
No, I will definitely meet him again and take twice as much from him.
Absolutely!
Well, that’s something for later!
Right now, with the jelly in front of me.
I smiled wide.
Recalling the smile I saw before.
I walked along with Rubia, grinning widely.
Forward.
Forward.
*
Purrung- Hiiing-!
“Hmm… I think we can manage with just this much. We can stop by Ursphere for maintenance.”
Rubia said this while attaching a bag to the horse’s side.
Oh, right.
The annoying horse that spat at me when we rode here was still alive and kicking.
I thought it would have died when the stable collapsed, but it came trotting from afar, clip-clopping along.
While chewing on a goblin’s arm…
Good to see it’s still alive.
How impressive.
“Oh, and that… fragment, you still have it, right? If you start getting headaches, weird thoughts, or feel anything strange in your body, make sure to tell me, okay?”
“Fragment…? Ah, this one. Yeees. It doesn’t seem… strange yet.”
I tightly clenched the small fragment in my hand.
It’s the fragment that came from Carpen.
The ‘Fragment of End’ held by the monsters directly created by Jong-eon, now in my possession.
Hmm… Such cool words are the world’s description.
If we’re speaking in game terms, it’s an epic gem you can obtain from a raid-level boss!
Common.
Rare.
Unique.
Epic!
That’s a whopping four tiers high!
Hard to obtain!
The one and only in the world!
When embedded in a weapon, it creates incredible effects!
Truly an immensely fantastical gem!
As I looked at the gem, my face broke into a goofy smile.
But what was the effect from Carpen again?
I’m sure it was good, but the penalty was annoying, so I rarely used it.
Was it ‘thirst’?
Eh, whatever!
I’ll find out when I use it later!
The name sounds ominous, but whatever, it’s still a helpful item!
I’m sure it’ll be beneficial!
“It’s good that there’s nothing unusual… But I didn’t expect Noah to receive it. They acted like they were going to retrieve it from the adventurers’ guild… What on earth?”
“Yea, that’s strange…”
I still find that odd.
On the third day, a high-ranking lady from the central adventurers’ guild came.
She asked for my name and origin, then handed me the extracted gem.
She said according to the adventurer’s law, it belonged to the adventurer who killed the monster.
So I mentioned it was Lucia that I caught, but she forcibly put it in my hands, insisting it belonged to the survivors who fought alongside.
Of course… it felt good.
As soon as I received it, my heart went thump-thump.
Dreaming of getting stronger made me dizzy with excitement.
But on the other hand, I felt uneasy…
“Still, since it has officially become Noah’s possession, let’s look at it positively? I bet it’d sell for a fortune. Of course, I know you wouldn’t do that. Hehe.”
Rubia smiled sweetly.
I just lightly nodded and grinned stupidly.
I wanted to embed it in my weapon and experiment right away, but they said there wasn’t anyone in this village to do it.
I wonder if there would be someone in Ursphere…
I hope so.
It’s a pretty big city, so there should be, right?
If not, I’d have to head all the way to the imperial capital… that’d take too long!
I don’t even want to go!
And I’m sure Rubia wouldn’t want to either.
Please… please let there be someone in Ursphere!
Purrung-
The horse next to me snorted and, intrigued by the gem in my hand, leaned close to my face.
“Do… you want to see it?”
Purrung- Hiiing-
The horse nodded up and down.
“Um… u-uhm, you can’t eat it, right?”
Purrung-!
“Al… Alright. Just… be careful. It’s precious…”
I carefully extended my hand and showed it from a distance.
The horse sparkled its eyes and began examining the gem closely.
But… what can you even understand by looking…?
Purrung-
As if it had seen enough, it snorted again.
You wouldn’t understand it anyway.
I folded my hands back and slipped it into my pocket.
Seeing that, Rubia said with a slight smile.
“Oh my? Looks like you two have gotten closer?”
Hiiing- Purrung- Purrung-
The horse quickly turned its head away.
What?
“Ah, it’s actually not good… I dislike it because it’s ugly. It smells…”
I turned my head away too.
Only you dislike it?
I dislike you too!
“Puhahaha… Really?”
Rubia gently stroked its head.
“Yeees. That’s how it is… I dislike it…”
Purrung- Hiiing-
Now it’s even rolling around, expressing itself.
Well then, I too.
“Ugh, ugh…!”
Tap- Tap-
Mmm… Compared to that one, the energy isn’t there but…
At least I expressed my feelings!
“Anyway… Let’s get going now.”
“… Yeah. We should… set off.”
Nodding, Rubia quietly looked around the village.
I also turned to look at the village following Rubia.
I painted the village’s image in my mind.
But…
At a moment so important.
And so moving.
That person over there, what are they doing…?
“Whaack… Huh, kyaa…! N-noah!! I’m a shaman!!”
From a distance, Hephaestus is running towards us, vigorously waving her hands.
And what’s with that big bag?
“Hephaestus?”
Rubia looked at Hephaestus with a stunned expression.
“Ugh… it’s so heavy… phew…”
Hephaestus arrived in front of us, panting and plopping down.
“Uh… so… what’s the matter?”
Rubia asked while handing her a water bottle.
“Ugh… thank you. Are you passing by the Karahan Mountain Range? Gulp- Gulp-”
“That’s right, right?”
After hearing Rubia’s answer, Hephaestus put down the water bottle and jumped up, shouting boisterously.
“I want to go with you too-!!!”
“No. It’s dangerous. You might die.”
And Rubia really cut her off.
“I will do all the repairs for free during the trip!”
Hephaestus wouldn’t take no for an answer and presented the cards she had prepared.
“There aren’t any monsters in the Halbion Plains right now, you know?”
But of course, Rubia.
She never cracks!
“Ugh… Well, in that case…”
Heinzel’s expression twisted for a moment.
Then he pulled out his ultimate technique that we couldn’t refuse.
“I know how to handle fragments… So please take me with you.”
My mouth dropped open in shock.
Hephaestus’s blacksmith shop is too busy.
And people ran away when they saw Rubia…
I hadn’t even asked, but Hephaestus knows how to handle it!
But… even if she can, it would still be too dangerous for her, just as Rubia said…?
It’d be tougher to protect her while fighting.
So definitely a no-
“I’ll even do the embedding work for free!”
“…Deal!”
“Noah…?”
I firmly ignored Rubia’s sharp gaze.
It’s free!
I reached out my hand to Heinzel.
Heinzel grinned and clasped my hand.
Good business deal, Hephaestus!
