Chapter 54

After consulting with Golbard, Zangin returned to the store to find Yobi, who had put on a neatly dressed outfit. Earlier, Yobi had bought a simple linen shirt and trousers at a second-hand shop. However, now the sleeves of the shirt were cut off at the shoulders and patched, and the sides from the armpits to the hem were cut vertically, with strings sewn at the hem and tied. This allowed the membrane to be exposed, preventing it from hindering movement. Indeed, the membrane seemed to have enough room and would not interfere with movement, but Yobi's chest appeared tight, and a glimpse of white skin was visible from the open sides. The trousers were a size that barely clung to the skin, and Yobi's buttocks were clearly outlined. Despite this, Yobi stood confidently without any sign of embarrassment.

"Men, really. Well, at least it's a proper outfit. Oh, by the way, I altered all the clothes. You're surprisingly meticulous. I even bought buttons. Did you plan to sew them on yourself?"

An old lady appeared from behind Yobi.

"Well, yeah. I was going to let Yobi do it if Yobi was better at it, but I'm glad you did. How much do I owe you?"

The stitching, reinforcement of the cut edges, and the button placement were not just comparable to store-bought items but even better. Zangin was smacked on the buttocks.

"You don't need to pay for that. It's a dwarf woman's hobby. More importantly, a slave is your mirror, so treat them well."

Zangin could only nod and smile wryly.

"Hey, miss, can you do me a favor?"

This time, Golbard addressed Yobi. Yobi looked at Zangin, who only nodded without saying anything, and Yobi took what Golbard offered.

"Whatever you used before, I don't know, but try swinging it. Can you use it?"

Golbard handed Yobi a mace with spikes, a morning star. The spiked iron ball was about the size of both hands pressed together and was quite heavy. Yobi gripped the morning star with both hands and swung it. Despite the heavy weight, Yobi's movements were steady, a testament to the high base strength of beastmen, but the actions were still somewhat awkward.

"Is it enchanted?"

"I haven't. I used to use a shield and a one-handed sword, but this feels more natural."

Golbard nodded approvingly.

"This is a belt, wear it around your waist. You can attach the morning star here."

The belt fit Yobi perfectly. Seeing this, Zangin wondered if the dwarves' measuring skills were even more impressive than their forging abilities.

"Next, put these on."

Golbard placed iron boots that covered the legs from the knees down, part of a full plate armor. The iron boots had four rings, two on the outside of the knee and ankle, and leather belts on the front and back of the knee. Yobi, following Golbard's instructions, managed to put on the iron boots without the trousers getting caught or hindering the process. Yobi finally realized why Zangin had made her wear such tight trousers. Though initially thinking it was Zangin's preference, Yobi smiled wryly, realizing it was not the case.

"…How is it? Is it too tight or hard to walk in?"

"No, it's surprisingly light, and it's not tight at all."

Yobi's legs were completely covered by the iron boots. The leather belts on the iron boots connected to the leather belt around the waist, giving the impression that the iron boots were suspended by a garter belt.

"Of course. I made it lighter because it was noisy. The durability is a bit lower, but it won't break just from a kick or two. …Hey, monk, the rest will take a bit longer. This one only needed a few adjustments, but the others need to be made from scratch. And I need the materials you bring. Can you really bring them?"

"I'll bring them soon. How much will it cost?"

"…Including the order, it's 100,000 pammits."

The old lady interjected before Golbard could speak.

"…You…"

Golbard glared at the old lady, but she retorted, "If I leave it to you, we'll go bankrupt."

Golbard was speechless.

"Is that price okay? It's more expensive in the north, right?"

Calculating in rods, it was 10,000 rods, about one million yen. It was not a cheap purchase, but considering the price, it was quite reasonable. The morning star, iron boots, and the ordered items were worth much more. After seeing Yobi fly, Zangin had imagined the weapons and discussed them with Golbard, so the time and skill involved made it a good deal.

"The quality is good, but we're not using special metals. Besides, we were sent here by the Rattana Kingdom's request from the blacksmith guild. We don't need to worry about business that much."

Golbard said this with pride, but the old lady's eyes seemed somewhat skeptical.

The blacksmith guild is located in the dwarves' country and dispatches blacksmiths equally to all countries upon request. They do not favor any country and do not belong to any. Even if the country they are dispatched to goes to war, they continue their work without withdrawing. If a dispatched blacksmith is killed in the war, the dwarves' country may never send another blacksmith to that country again. A country that had killed a blacksmith from an opposing country realized this and requested a new blacksmith, but the dwarves' country refused. This led to a war between the country and the dwarves' country, but the dwarves' country did not back down despite being outnumbered. Blacksmiths dispatched to other countries returned to their own country, and dwarves who were blacksmiths, hunters, explorers, or mercenaries also returned voluntarily, preparing for a total war. Initially, the surrounding countries thought the dwarves' country would back down, but they realized the dwarves' determination when the war spread and the dwarves' country did not yield. The surrounding countries felt a sense of crisis. If the dwarves were gone, the unique metals and materials they handled, as well as the best blacksmithing techniques in the country, would be lost. Eventually, the surrounding countries persuaded the opposing country to back down, and the war ended. However, the country was never sent another blacksmith and was destroyed by a monster attack long ago.

Zangin looked at the old lady, not Golbard. The store's finances were in her hands.

"It's fine. The iron quality in this country is good, and it's much cheaper than in the north. Besides, metal armor isn't very popular. I'm grateful to get rid of the armor we made for fun."

"Alright. I only have 5,000 rods now. Can I bring the rest later?"

"Sure, sure. Just bring the rest in rods. We get some supplies from the north."

"Thanks."

Zangin paid 5,000 rods and left Golbard's blacksmith shop.

Yobi, being polite, asked Zangin if it was okay to speak before starting.

"Master, 100,000 pammits is too much. It's the same as my price. I can't pay you back."

"Don't worry about it. Consider it a debt. If it bothers you, you can pay me back someday. I'm not losing out completely, you know."

"But—"

"Think of it as a hobby. Alright, let's go hunt the rainbow rock crab."

"…What? Are you going to hunt it?"

"It's you, of course."

"…It's impossible. What do you expect from a level 10 explorer?"

"Come on, let's go."

Zangin said this and started walking.

According to the records of the Rattana Kingdom Hunter Association, the rainbow rock crab has caused three rampages in the past century. The reason was its explosive breeding rate. A single rainbow rock crab can lay countless eggs twice a year, and the hatched eggs mature into adults within a year. Naturally, the country conducts eradication of adults, eggs, and hatched young 'Himp' nationwide, but even with the Hunter Association's constant requests and biannual large-scale eradication, they could not afford to be complacent. The adult rainbow rock crab is impervious to blades and spirit magic. The only way to destroy it is to smash its shell with a blunt weapon. However, if a blunt weapon can be used, even an 'Eight-Star' can easily defeat it. Despite its hardness, the rainbow rock crab's body rots and softens within a day of death, making it unusable. The only part that remains hard is its claws, but they are too hard to process and can only be used as a pickaxe or hammer in their original shape.

In front of Zangin, a crab-like creature that resembled a rock was walking around. It was slightly shorter than Zangin, with a round shape like a washing machine, and had a large claw about twice the size of a human face and a smaller claw smaller than a human face.

"Green... That one is blue, and that one is red. It's kind of creepy."

After walking for about an hour from the sea gate, Zangin found a rainbow rock crab, but each one had a different color. This was the origin of the rainbow rock crab's name, but seeing brightly colored creatures walking around in the emerald green sea and white sand was quite jarring.

"Then, do it like before."

But there was no response this time. Looking behind, Zangin saw Yobi with a very cold expression.

"Are you still angry?"

"…Anyone would be angry."

"But, it's more efficient now, right?"

"…I'm going."

Saying this, Yobi tied her long gray hair with a string and silently took off.

Yobi hovering high above the blue rainbow rock crab. Yobi's right leg, wearing iron boots, had a long, thin chain, and at the end of the chain was a morning star. The morning star, which was bought earlier, was attached to the rings on the knee and ankle of the iron boots, and the chain and morning star hung from the handle.

Birdmen and bat-type beastmen use their arms to flap their wings, so while they can hold weapons, they cannot swing them freely like on the ground. Therefore, birdmen typically hold curved swords in both hands and, if necessary, attach curved swords to their feet to slash and tear. However, for Yobi, a bat-type beastman, this was difficult due to her slower flight speed compared to birdmen.

To address this, Zangin devised the chain-attached morning star.

The rainbow rock crab did not notice Yobi hovering high above and was digging in the sand. Its left claw was abnormally large, and its right claw, though smaller, was sharp enough to cut off a wrist and