Chapter 23: The Star and Aquamarine (3)

“…….”

At my words, the owner stared up at me blankly for a while.

“…Ha.”

Until he scoffed as if I was being arrogant.

“Do you know who I am? I’m Meister Ferguson! The only Meister in Stout! How dare a greenhorn try to test me?”

“For a shop run by such a person, it seems quite deserted.”

“That’s because this town is full of nothing but riffraff! It's full of bastards who can’t even recognize a truly good item, and even if you give them one, they can’t even bring out its full potential!”

“Then why are you running a shop in a place like this?”

“That’s…!”

Ferguson tried to retort but ended up just staring blankly, unable to continue.

He looked like I had hit the nail right on the head.

I actually knew the reason.

It was because of the setting that ‘this is his hometown’, and that setting was added because even a beginner area needed an NPC to sell and craft Artifacts.

But it must have been a bit embarrassing for a Meister full of pride to explain himself that he was just swatting flies in a place like this simply because it was his hometown.

“…I don’t know where you bought it, but you seem to have some money. But I’m not a person who is moved by money.”

In the end, he chose to subtly brush it off instead of explaining.

“No matter how much money you offer, I will only display my skills for a true master who can recognize the true value of my items.”

I let out a chuckle at his predictable response.

“I don’t know who it is that fails to recognize true value.”

“What?”

I walked over to Rine, who was looking around the stall as if browsing.

“Shopkeeper.”

Then, placing a hand on Rine’s shoulder, I declared with confidence.

“Before you stands a mage who has lived for over a thousand years.”

“…!”

“…?”

At that moment, Rine quietly looked up at me.

There was still no major change in her expression, but she looked a little puzzled.

‘Me?’

Her gaze seemed to say.

In a sense, it wasn't actually wrong.

And

“S-Such a…”

What mattered was whether that man believed it.

--

[Persuasion]

Success

--

“C-Certainly, looking at her like this, I think I can… feel a strong magical power…?”

He didn't seem to have completely let go of his suspicion, but this was enough.

Afterwards, Ferguson, who seemed lost in thought as he looked back and forth between Rine and the magic stone in front of him.

“…Alright, then prove it.”

After some thought, gave me a quest.

“There’s a dungeon called the 「Tomb of the Drunkard」, the most dangerous in this region…”

--

Sub Quest

「Pool Full of Liquor」

--

“Already cleared it.”

“…What?”

“I got this magic stone from there in the first place. After catching the drunkard.”

“……Pardon?”

Ferguson’s tone, clearly flustered at a glance, became quite polite.

“P-Proof…”

“Is this enough proof?”

I immediately took out the 「Drunkard's Horncup」 and showed it to him.

“…!?”

At that moment.

--

Quest Complete

--

The notification window for the quest that was completed the moment it began popped up.

--

New items have been added to the shop ‘Meister Ferguson’s Magic Tool Shop’

--

With this, I was now able to fully utilize the only Artifact shop in Stout.

‘See that?’

I didn't say the words out loud, but she seemed to have noticed immediately when she saw me turn my head towards her confidently.

Sure enough, Ibi let out a smirk and shook her head.

“How long will it take?”

“For something of this size… it will probably be finished by tomorrow.”

“Payment?”

“You can pay after you’ve checked the finished product.”

“What if I suddenly don’t like it and say I can’t pay?”

“Haha, I am confident that will never happen.”

“You’re full of confidence in your skills.”

“Of course. It won’t be inferior in any way to the items made by those Meisters in Tiaria.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Leave it to me.”

I had a rough idea, but Ferguson's attitude, which had become so polite, was a complete turnaround from the beginning, making me wonder if this was really the same person.

“By the way, I apologize once again for my rudeness, failing to recognize skilled people like you.”

Seeing it in person, the difference was much more striking.

“It's such a quiet town that it's been too long since I've seen skilled adventurers… It seems my eyes have gone blind.”

What I entrusted to him was, as originally intended, the crafting of a magic enchantment using the magic stone, a so-called Artifact.

In this process, the grade of the Artifact depended on the quality of the magic stone used.

And most of the Artifacts usually available on the market were made from what was left after processing magic stones, frankly, from the scraps.

Therefore, no matter how skilled the craftsman, they could only produce items of ‘Fine’ grade at best.

But in this case, since we were using a whole raw stone, we could expect a much higher grade of item.

A ‘Rare’ grade was guaranteed at the very least.

“As an apology, I will craft a masterpiece for you.”

Of course, Ferguson would make a ‘Unique’ grade Artifact.

There were many other Artifacts in this shop that proved Ferguson's skill.

Rine and Ibi had been busy looking at them for a while.

“Oh. This is quite…”

And among them, what caught Ibi's eye seemed to be that dagger.

--

「Salt Dagger」 (Rare)

Effect - Gain a +1d4 bonus to Attack Rolls and Damage Rolls against targets in a ‘Bleeding’ state.

--

Ibi looked it over for a bit, and then she was practically performing tricks with it, spinning it on her hand.

“Hey, beardy. Do you know how to make weapons too?”

“Beardy…? No, I don't make the weapons themselves. That item was made from a dagger sold by an ordinary blacksmith in this town.”

“For something like that, it looks like it was made by a pretty skilled craftsman.”

“That’s the power of an Enchant.”

Ferguson continued his answer proudly.

“When the power of a magic stone and the skill of a craftsman like me combine, even an old weapon can become like new, no, a masterpiece that surpasses it.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, the better the original, the better the Artifact I can make… but it’s hard to find such high-quality items here….”

“I like it.”

As if she had made up her mind, Ibi stopped spinning it and snatched the handle.

“Does this dagger have a name?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if it has a name.”

“Ah, that is… S-Salt…”

“What?”

“「Salt Dagger」, it is…”

“Salt? Why salt, of all things? Does it taste salty?”

“Well… in the sense of rubbing salt in a wound… haha.”

“What kind of crappy naming sense is this?”

Ibi frowned, looking dumbfounded, and then started playing with the dagger again.

“Alright, from today, your name is Bokdol.”

“…….”

Yours isn't much better, though.

I probably shouldn't say that, right?

Meanwhile, Rine's gaze was also completely captivated by a certain wooden staff.

“Do you like that one?”

As I approached her and asked, she flinched slightly as if she had just noticed my presence and looked up at me.

Then she quietly nodded.

In this world, magic can be used with bare hands.

In fact, Rine had been doing so until now.

However, the reason most people still borrow the power of staves or wands is that, obviously, they provide significant help.

According to the lore, they act as a focal point to concentrate magical power, increasing the speed and precision of spellcasting.

In game terms, it meant it increased the accuracy rate.

--

「Staff of the Ancient Tree of Wisdom」 (Unique)

Effect - Intelligence stat +2 when equipped.

--

On top of that, if it was an Artifact enchanted with a special effect like this, there was even more reason to use it.

Adding 2 to a main stat in the early to mid-game, where each stat point is felt more keenly, was a very straightforward effect without any special conditions, meaning it could be used reliably for a long time.

It was what's commonly known as a ‘workhorse’ item.

“As expected of a great mage, your eye for things is also excellent.”

Just then, Ferguson approached us with his hands politely clasped.

“I can proudly say that it is the finest item we currently sell in our shop.”

It was a well-founded pride.

In fact, the 「Staff of the Ancient Tree of Wisdom」 was the highest-grade item for mages available not just in this shop, but in the entire region, and as I said earlier, it was such a ‘workhorse’ item that it was a must-get here.

It was such a workhorse that it could be used almost until the ending.

Even if not as a weapon, it could be taken out whenever an Intelligence check was needed.

So, with just this, I wouldn't have to worry about Rine's ‘weapon’ for a while.

“It was an item I had decided to give only to someone who recognized its true value, but…”

The moment Rine held the staff as Ferguson suggested.

“…!”

Whoosh!

I felt the surrounding magical power stir for a moment.

Ferguson, who was watching this, said with a faint smile on his lips for the first time.

“It seems it has finally found its rightful owner.”

It seemed that due to my class characteristics, I wasn't very sensitive to things like the circulation of magical power, but even so, seeing Rine holding the staff now, I could instantly understand why Ferguson said it had ‘found its owner’.

In a word, it suited her.

As if it had been hers from the very beginning.

In a way, it was a nostalgic sight.

She now looked exactly as she had in the early stages of the game.

“Just a moment.”

So now was the time to complete that look.

I took out the necklace I had prepared before coming to Rine and put it around her neck myself.

--

「Pendant of Lesser Circle Circulation」 (Rare)

Effect - Increases the wearer’s maximum number of Circles by +1

--

“Hmm, it suits you.”

Rine placed the gem near her chest on her palm and looked down at it for a moment, then slowly caressed her neck.

“…Thank you.”

“You two done being all lovey-dovey?”

Suddenly, I heard a tsk and turned my head to see Ibi staring at us with her arms crossed and a somewhat displeased expression.

“Do your kissing and cuddling later in a room by yourselves. If you’re done, let’s hurry up and go get a drink.”

“We weren't doing anything like that.”

“I’m sure you weren’t.”

“What, are you jealous? Should I buy you a ring?”

“Ah, just go kill yourself.”

Ibi, who seemed genuinely disgusted by my joke, tried to leave on her own as if she couldn't listen anymore.

“Just how much do you want to drink?”

Letting out an unintentional chuckle, I immediately handed Ferguson a pouch with the payment, and Rine and I followed after Ibi.

***

“But there's one more place we need to stop by.”

“Agh. What, now what.”

I pointed to the sack over my head.

“You told me to do something about this. And, how am I supposed to drink with this on?”

“Why can’t you? If it’s really hard, I’ll feed you myself. Sack and all. You just lie still.”

“Is that waterboarding?”

It was then.

“Ah, shit. What the hell are they doing here.”

Ibi, who had been chattering away just fine, suddenly looked somewhere and quickly turned her head down, whispering softly.

“Hey, hey. Don’t look over there. Act like we haven’t done anything.”

“…But we haven’t done anything?”

…Don’t tell me you did something?

Already?

“Your appearance alone makes you look like you’ve done something, you bastard.”

“Ah.”

That's true.

However, Ibi’s efforts (?) ultimately went in vain.

“Stop, for a moment, please.”

“Ah, shit.”

The armored guards Ibi had just seen──in other words, the knights of the Church of Stareon──finally stopped us.

“Hey, what’s this, guys?”

It was because they weren't just passing by coincidentally, but had been looking for us from the start.

“I haven’t stolen anything yet, what’s the deal?”

“……Yet?”

One of the guards, flustered by Ibi’s reaction, looked at the guard next to him, but he seemed just as flustered.

“No, it's just an expression. So, what’s your business really? Are you trying to question some innocent citizens?”

Ibi waved one hand dismissively and joked, but in her other hand hidden behind her back, she was already holding the salt… no, ‘Bokdol’.

“…The order.”

Rine also immediately gripped her staff with both hands and took a cautious stance, but.

“Both of you, it’s fine.”

I stopped them.

“It’s not like that. ──Right?”

Because I too had been waiting for this moment, for this situation where they would find us and block our path.

“Pardon? Ah, yes. This is not an inspection. I’m sorry, I seem to have caused a misunderstanding.”

“…Then what is it?”

Since I had pulled the trigger by meeting ‘Aqua’ at the grand temple.

“She simply wishes to have a word with you.”

It was now time to meet that person.

“Who?”

The Acting Knight Commander of Stout, ‘Marin’.