Chapter 87

Today's Lesson.

"Putting off troublesome tasks will only make them more troublesome."

"Hahaha! Oh, to be acquainted with such beautiful young ladies, Mr. Reit, you're not one to be underestimated, are you?"

In high spirits, Gabal raised his glass for another toast. On either side of him were the skinhead and the mohawk, both smiling.

"Oh, you're such a smooth talker."

"Hehe, but it doesn't feel bad, does it?"

Panta, looking cheerful, raised her glass. She was the only woman in the party we helped a few days ago, a water mage with a ponytail. Next to her, munching on nuts, was the girl, Maddy... a tamer we had just met recently.

For some reason, we were sharing a table and drinking together. On our right were Gabal and his friends, and on our left were Panta and Maddy. In a corner of the dining hall, I was at a loss as to how we ended up here.

We had chosen a decent inn and a restaurant known for its delicious food, which we had heard about at the guild. I don't particularly like noisy, alcohol-filled places, but I thought it would be okay once in a while. That's all I was thinking.

"Oh, it's you, Reit-kun and the others."

Hearing my name, I turned to see Panta. She wasn't wearing her robe today and was dressed in a much more feminine outfit. And next to her, the moment our eyes met, we both froze. Why was Maddy here?

"What's this? Do you know each other?"

Panta tilted her head.

"No, we met yesterday..."

Muttering, Maddy trailed off, and Panta laughed. "Ah, that was you, Reit-kun."

"Really, you did a great job. This girl gets so focused on her familiar that she doesn't notice anything else."

"...You're close, then."

"Well, there are few women among adventurers. When you're active in the same town, it's natural. We're not really close, just drinking buddies. Right?"

Panta, who had already had quite a bit to drink, said something quite surprising. But Maddy didn't seem to mind, just nodding in agreement. Even if they're not close, they can still drink together.

"Oh, by the way, Mou wasn't outside."

If he had been, he definitely wouldn't have let us in.

"He's waiting outside the city. He doesn't like it when I drink."

"It's because he gets clingy, right?"

"I don't get clingy."

"He gets even more clingy than usual."

"It's better than you being clingy to men."

"What did you say?"

Why are we drinking together, really?

Before we knew it, we were sitting together. Koushin was on high alert, and Rada was turning pale from the atmosphere. I wanted to make up an excuse and leave as soon as possible. I couldn't even taste the food.

"Oh, you're here."

Just as I was about to make my move, more people joined us. Gabal and the two post-apocalyptic guys. "Do you know each other? Can we join you?" and before we knew it, they were sitting with us. Immediately after,

"Will you marry me!"

In a few minutes, the post-apocalyptic duo proposed to Panta and Maddy. The skinhead proposed to Maddy, and the mohawk to Panta.

"Sorry."

And they were rejected. The duo, as if it were a regular occurrence, held their heads in their hands. "As expected~" What's with these guys?

"It's a family rule. When you find a good woman, you propose right away."

What kind of family rule is that? That's ridiculous.

"Thanks to that, my dad has seven wives."

Seriously? What a harem.

"They just keep increasing without me knowing. Babies and wives."

The post-apocalyptic duo laughed, looking at each other.

"By the way, does your whole family dress like that?"

When I asked, they shook their heads.

"Just us. We wear our creations as advertisements. Is it weird?"

"Creations?"

"Ah, right. I haven't introduced you yet. They are the sons of a friend, and they came to seek your wisdom, Reit-san."

Gabal clapped his hands. What kind of wisdom?

"I'm Norland, the third son," said the skinhead.

"I'm Toizas, the fourth son," said the mohawk.

"We are engravers."

Are you idols or something?

"Engravers?"

When I tilted my head, Norland said, "Like this!" and showed me the necklace he was wearing. It was a pendant on a thick leather cord. I couldn't tell what the pattern was at first glance, but I could see it was intricately carved.

"We make decorative metalwork for furniture and carriages, and other ornaments. We use a chisel to carve metal. As you can see, we're quite skilled."

Gabal explained. Despite their appearance, they seemed to be good at detailed work.

"But this is a bit..."

Maddy took Norland's wrist and frowned. The bracelet was also engraved, but she didn't seem to like it.

"What's wrong with it!"

Norland's eyes widened, and he leaned forward.

"No, it's not that it's bad... just don't shout so loud."

Maddy let go, startled. Toizas quickly bowed his head and hit his forehead on the table.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to. I just have a loud voice. Please don't cry!"

"I'm not crying!"

Maddy was a bit taken aback.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. We just want to improve our work."

Gabal covered for them. It turned out they weren't angry, they just wanted to know how to improve. They were the type who suffer because of their appearance.

"Hmm? So when you visited my house, you..."

I tilted my head, and Gabal nodded, looking troubled.

"Actually, it all started with the carpenter. Thanks to Reit-san, they're doing really well now."

The carpenter... what was it again?

"That's Jenga," Koushin whispered. Oh, that's it. What do you mean, "doing well"?

"Their metalwork, based on Reit-san's ideas, is selling well too."

What? I didn't hear about that.

"We thought we could join in on the excitement if we could get some of your wisdom. But the way they put it..."

In other words, "The carpenters are making a lot of money. Can you share some of your wisdom with us?" It's confusing!

"At least, if you're scaring people, maybe you should change your appearance."

The brothers were shocked.

"B-but this is our identity."

"Exactly. Otherwise, we'll be underestimated."

"Huh?"

When I asked, they explained that when they first started their business, they were young and had trouble getting jobs or were underpaid. To avoid being underestimated, they worked hard and started wearing their creations, which led to their post-apocalyptic look.

"Well, as long as the quality is good, you'll get customers... but..."

Don't first-time customers turn away?

"At least, you won't get female customers."

Panta's words were echoed by Maddy.

"It takes courage to enter the shop alone."

"Wh-what kind of clothes should we wear?"

Hey, guys, what about your identity? Why don't you ask them? Can we go home now?