Chapter 30

The next day, a Monday, which is generally considered a weekday in the world.

I didn't expect many people to gather on a Monday morning, so I logged into WLO without any particular streaming.

Touka is at school today too.

She left with a refreshing smile, accompanied by the bodyguards who came to pick her up early in the morning.

I didn't remember, but it seemed she did, and she even said, "You're really alive, huh?"

Rin could have denied the rumors of my disappearance a bit more, couldn't she?

When I said that, she replied with a sigh, "It was necessary."

Well, in this era where everyone has a mobile device, the responsibility lies with me for leaving without telling anyone, so I can't blame Rin.

I wonder if I'll be asked, "Are you alive?" every time I meet my middle school friends from now on.

I don't have many acquaintances other than Rin and Touka, but I do occasionally meet Rin's family.

Let's get back to the topic.

The purpose of my return to Dyalis was to find the young girl, Haruru, from the street market, whom I had forgotten about during my stream.

While it's more likely that she won't be there, I wanted to check when I had the time, and most of all, I wanted to take another look at the market stalls.

Walking leisurely, I arrived at the street market, which seemed to be bustling with new vendors even on a weekday, and there were quite a few players around.

What caught my eye was a stall selling something called "Potion Juice."

It's supposed to taste like regular juice—though I haven't actually tried it yet—and the stall owner claims to have made potion-like drinks.

"Miss, you have an unusual outfit."

While looking at the names of the flavors—strawberry, melon, blue Hawaii, and so on, which are commonly seen at festivals—the stall owner called out to me.

He looked like a handsome guy with red hair and silver highlights, but the voice that came out was definitely a woman's.

"There aren't many players who can make kimonos yet... May I ask your name if you don't mind?"

"I'm Skuna. The equipment maker is Koneko-maru."

As a streamer, and since Koneko-maru was also featured in my stream, there was no reason to hide information that could be easily found out, so I told her the truth.

She nodded in understanding.

"Oh, so it was made by the cat. ...Oops, I should have introduced myself first. My name is Dion, and as you can tell, I'm a woman inside."

From her reaction, it seemed she was also an acquaintance of Koneko-maru. She really has a wide network.

And she's a so-called nekama or neneba. In VR, as well as in online games in general, some people pretend to be a different gender... but that might be a rude way to put it.

It's more like they want to play as a different gender because it's a game, after all.

While it might be a bit harder to move in VR, it's not a big deal once you get used to it.

The real issue, I think, is that "only the voice doesn't change." At least, you can't pretend to be a different gender if you can't act with your voice.

However, in the early days of VR, this was a unique characteristic, and some people even did idol-like activities.

Like a male with a tough, fox-eared lolita appearance.

Well, nekama and neneba have been a common culture for a long time, and they're not particularly rare these days.

"So, are you going to buy any? To be honest, don't expect much effect. This is a byproduct of an experiment to see how to make juice-like drinks. I only brought the 'Street Vendor's Shaved Ice Series' today..."

"How about selling it with ice? It might be profitable."

"No, it's too thin when mixed with ice. It doesn't get any thicker when boiled either."

"You've been experimenting, huh?"

After some deliberation, I decided to buy two bottles of the Blue Hawaii flavor. They cost 2000 Iris each, which is quite expensive.

The taste... it's like diluted Blue Hawaii with a hint of mint.

While sipping it, we chatted, and I suddenly remembered my original purpose and asked Dion.

"By the way, Dion, have you seen a young girl around here? Her name is Haruru, and she's usually here."

"Oh, that's the one behind you right now."

Following Dion's gaze, I turned around to find the young girl from before standing behind me.

"Kyaa!"

"Hehe, nice to see you again, Skuna."

"Hey, Haruru, how are you?"

"I just reached my peak... waiting for someone to come."

"Such a sweet couple. Why don't you buy one while you're at it?"

"Can I have one of the shaved ice, please..."

"Sure, anytime."

It seems they know each other, and they were having a casual conversation.

This young girl is as stealthy as a ninja. Or maybe she's more like a yōkai.

"Well, is there something you need from me?"

"Ah, yeah. That's right."

"What a coincidence... In that case, I'll take you to my workshop..."

With a delighted smile, Haruru turned and walked down the alley.

I nodded to Dion, who was already serving other customers, and followed her.

Surprisingly, the potion juice is quite popular.

☆

A few minutes after entering the alley from the main street of Dyalis North, I was led to a back alley that runs behind a residential area. From the back door of a yellow house, I was invited into her workshop.

Inside, a surprisingly spacious area spread out.

It seemed to be a two-story building, and the visible first floor appeared to be designed solely for blacksmithing.

The front door had carvings but no handle, meaning this house can only be entered from the back alley.

"Nice to meet you again, I'm Haruru... I apologize for using the back door yesterday..."

"It's fine, the weight I received was quite useful."

"I watched your stream... I'm delighted to see you use it so well..."

With a giggle, Haruru led me upstairs.

"The mace I gave you isn't one of my best works... but you handled it well... Maces, as throwing weapons, are fundamentally too misshapen."

"That's true."

"Throwing knives, shurikens, batons, iron balls, stones, and so on... there are many excellent throwing weapons... However, maces have one advantage over other throwing weapons... their weight."

While listening to her explanation, I was overwhelmed by the array of weapons on the second floor.

They were not neatly arranged. Swords and other weapons were haphazardly thrown into barrels, throwing weapons were packed into boxes, and large swords and staves were hung on the walls.

It gave the impression that anything and everything was placed without any order.

"From what I can tell... I think you can handle any weapon... However, the limitation of this game is that you can't have many skills... So, I'll show you impact and throwing weapons."

Surprisingly, Haruru seemed to have incredible strength, as she brought a barrel containing dozens of weapons to me.

"By the way, Skuna, do you have the 'One-Handed Mace' skill?"

"Uh, yeah, but I hardly use it."

"I see... Ah, this one is interesting..."

She handed me a stick about five feet long, a type of weapon known as a two-handed staff.

However, it seemed a bit small. I think a proper one would be about a foot longer.

The core was red, and the ends were slightly rounded, resembling a ruyi staff from a manga.

"This is a composite weapon I developed, the 'Breakable Ruyi Staff'... Try twisting it in the middle..."

"Like this?"

When I twisted the staff about 120 degrees, it made a click and separated into two one-handed maces.

"I thought it was a good idea, but unfortunately... impact weapons lose their skill effect when held in both hands..."

"Ah, I see..."

"Hehe, weapon development isn't something that can be done overnight..."

Haruru shrugged but still looked happy.

She must enjoy the trial and error process.

"Getting back to the topic... Since you're not using the one-handed mace skill... how about this?"

She handed me a heavy black two-handed staff.

The previous one was wooden, but this one seemed to be made of metal.

It was about five feet long, and the ends had very different structures. One end had decorations to increase impact power, while the other was flat, as if it had been cut off.

"Try twisting it like before..."

"Hmm... Whoa!"

When I twisted the handle, it made a clunk, and a blade emerged from the flat end.

The staff was slender, so the blade was also thin and short, but it seemed capable of thrusting and simple slashing.

"This is a new development, a combined impact and slashing weapon, the 'Kugelschreiber'..."

"Ku... what?"

"Kugelschreiber, it means 'ballpoint pen' in German... Don't you think the blade that comes out when you twist the core is similar?"

"I get it, but the name is unnecessarily cool..."

Her naming sense is questionable, but this could be quite convenient.

I tried swinging it lightly from a distance, and the five-foot length was surprisingly easy to handle for my height.

"There are fields like the marshes of Lares where most monsters are resistant to impact... Being able to thrust and slash as well as strike is a significant advantage... The downside is... the durability of the blade... It tends to be fragile..."

Haruru frowned, seemingly genuinely troubled.

However, the diameter of the staff is less than four centimeters, so it's understandable that it would be prone to breaking.

"Given how thin it is, it's inevitable that it will break easily, right?"

"That's true... But solving that problem is my job... Anyway, I'll give this to you at a discount... Can I ask you to test it?"

Her offer wasn't bad for me, but the phrase "at a discount" caught my attention.

"How much?"

"Right now, I can give you a throwing weapon for 10,000 Iris..."

"Pushing the line between a discount and not, huh!"

After some haggling, I agreed to buy the combined impact and slashing weapon, the 'Kugelschreiber,' for 9,900 Iris, with the condition that I wouldn't charge for repairs.

She probably isn't short of money, given her impressive workshop.

Maybe monetary transactions are the cleanest way to go.

With that thought, I left the alley, waving goodbye to Haruru.