Chapter 64

"Melty, who were you talking to?"

"A cute, cute girl."

"Stop saying things like that... You'll get stabbed one day, for sure."

"I would be honored to be stabbed by a noble lady?"

"My strength wouldn't even pierce you."

"Hah, you're right about that."

"I'll punch you for real."

As Lynn made a fist, Melty returned a cheerful smile.

While strolling through the imperial capital, Melty and Lynn exchanged their own kind of banter.

"For the first time in a while, I met a girl who gave me a thrill. So I left a little bit of my saliva on her."

"I feel sorry for that girl... So, what did you do?"

"I just had a little chat. She was wavering so much that it was strange she hadn't awakened yet."

Lynn sympathized with the girl who had caught Melty's attention and pondered the word "awakening."

From the way Melty spoke, it didn't seem to be a good thing.

Awakening isn't always a word used for growth or progress. There are areas in the world that should not be awakened.

"As a demon, she has the potential to manifest 'that skill.' She also had the trigger. This is a power that can't be said to be right just because one reaches it, so it might be better if she doesn't awaken."

"Being a demon and having 'that skill'... Isn't that bad enough by itself!?"

Hearing Melty's words, Lynn couldn't help but speak more forcefully.

Lynn knew the true nature of 'that skill,' which even Melty avoided mentioning.

That's why she couldn't understand why Melty didn't stop it.

"It's not necessarily bad. It's true that not awakening would be better, but it's just another 'power.' It can be used for good or evil depending on the user."

Lynn's criticism was met with a cool response from Melty.

"From the looks of it, she will almost certainly awaken soon. It's strange that she hasn't already."

"Couldn't you stop her, Melty?"

"Well, I can't control people's hearts."

No matter how much power or knowledge one has, there are things that can't be changed. Melty was aware of this.

Especially when it comes to people's hearts. Sometimes they can be subdued by force, but other times, a strong heart that refuses to yield can be drawn to something else.

To Melty, the demon girl was not the type to yield to power, nor was she drawn to anything.

Her heart was like that of a child who, even alone, could look at a single light without wavering.

"Well, if she is overwhelmed by the power, I'll stop her. She seems to have a mentor and people who will support her, so she might overcome it on her own."

"Hmm... That's quite a high evaluation from you, Melty."

"Is that so? Are you jealous?"

"Not at all. I just thought it was unusual."

Melty, looking disappointed at Lynn's lack of jealousy, shrugged and then looked at the girl through her "Heavenly Eye."

In Melty's eyes, the girl's heart was split into two. Because both were genuine, it was unclear what would happen when she awakened.

"People are really interesting."

First, I'll see how this ends.

Just like when the vampires were wiped out.

Melty's essence is, in the end, an observer.

☆

"I'll offer 200,000 for the skin alone."

"Huh!?"

This wasn't Fieas's clothing store.

We were in the workshop where Konekomaru had his base.

Konekomaru, who was usually streaming while producing, had apparently contacted us as soon as he saw that I had obtained the materials from the Mysteria Rabbit.

I had completely forgotten, but his workshop is in Fieas. He couldn't pass up the chance to get rare materials that had fallen right in front of him.

"Your price is 100,000 Ily higher than other shops. Why is that?"

The amount Konekomaru offered was clearly out of the ordinary.

Touka and I had gone around to various NPC shops to compare prices.

That's why Touka, who was already suspicious, looked at Konekomaru with a doubtful gaze, but he calmly explained the reason.

"Actually, I need this material to complete a quest."

"A quest?"

"This is not only the fourth city but also the imperial capital. Of course, there are nobles here."

According to Konekomaru, the production quest he is currently working on involves creating a tribute item for a noble in the imperial capital.

The noble who allowed Konekomaru to use the workshop is the one who requested the tribute.

Whether it's a weapon, armor, clothing, or accessory, he needs to create something that will satisfy the noble. Completing this will make the workshop officially Konekomaru's.

To achieve this, he was looking for Mysteria Rabbit materials.

"While they are relatively common around this city, the difficulty of hunting them means the supply and demand are completely out of sync. There are plenty of more reliable monsters for making money, and the experience points are honestly not great. While hunting them can bring in a good income, the efficiency is not ideal."

Indeed, considering their speed, they are not easy to take down casually, and hunting the Black Rabbits flying around might be more efficient.

Incidentally, Black Rabbits are level 33 monsters that are very numerous around Fieas.

"So, that's where I come in."

"Exactly. I didn't expect you to have hunted four of them."

While saying it was a painful expense, Konekomaru looked happy.

He mentioned 200,000 for the skin, but of course, the Mysteria Rabbit has more uses than just the skin.

When I observed it closely, I noticed that the Mysteria Rabbit has a gem-like object on its forehead and eyes made of crystal-like material.

These two materials drop as beautiful items and are much more valuable individually at NPC shops.

"I'll give you 150,000 each for the two gems as a down payment. I plan to sell the finished product at auction, so I'll give you additional rewards based on the selling price. Of course, only if there's a profit."

"Wow... Konekomaru, you're rich..."

"I'm a member of the Dragon Fang clan. While I have to prioritize their equipment, I have enough Ily to indulge in research and hobbies. We producers need capital, after all."

"Ah, you charge for your services."

"Of course."

The clan, Dragon Fang. It's been a while since I heard that name, but it's definitely been within a week.

I've heard it's a large clan, but I only know Konekomaru.

Clan. Clan, huh. A group of players with the same goal, but they exist in most online games, so they're not rare.

A larger mutual aid group than a party, perhaps. It might be hard to explain in words.

Come to think of it, I wonder if Rin has started a clan.

With Rin's charisma, she could probably manage a large clan or two.

But we're already in Fieas.

With one or two more cities, I'll finally reach Rin.

Thinking about playing together again on the first day, my heart couldn't help but dance.

"By the way, since we're here, how about repairing the Red Wolf Armor? Even without losing it, it must have taken a beating from fighting strong enemies."

"Oh... You're right."

I immediately fought with Rau, was worn down by Apocalypse, had a fierce battle in the Demon Forest, and was also worn down by Kohaku. Checking the menu, I saw that the durability was indeed significantly depleted.

"Repairing armor? If you can, I'd like to ask for it too."

"Sure. It won't take much time, and since you're here, why don't you watch?"

Konekomaru nodded happily at Touka's request to tag along.

Since I was invited, I decided to observe the production process.

"Sure, I'd like to see that."

"I've never seen armor production, so I'd like to watch too."

After that, Touka and I attended a small production class with Konekomaru and logged out together when the sky grew dark.

Meeting Shokutoku, fighting Kohaku, defeating the gorilla, reuniting with Touka, defeating the gorilla again, heading for Fieas, defeating the boss gorilla, defeating the rabbit, meeting the vampire, and selling the rabbit materials...

It was a long... day.