Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 2 (3 page)

Back on North Main, all sorts of people mingle together as they go about their business. But most people in Central Park are carrying big swords and long spears—they’re adventurers. The truly scary thing is that even though there are enough adventurers here to make my eyes spin, Central Park doesn’t feel full at all.

“Eina, what is going on? Do I look like an adventurer who could buy anything from
Hephaistos Familia
?!”

“Not knowing is part of the fun! You’ll see when we get there.”

“I’ve been sweating bullets since we met up this morning! I can’t take much more of this!”

She looks right at my strained face and crying eyes but is utterly unmoved by them. She won’t even slow down.

“Here we go! Man up and stop complaining!”

My face turns red and my mind is blank as Eina grabs my hand and pulls me into the tower.

Her thin hands are soft and warm—the complete opposite of mine. Hands get rough when you work in the field every day. My head swims; I can’t grab onto any of my thoughts.

As we weave through the crowd, I can’t help but feel like all the male adventurers about to go into the Dungeon are looking at me like they want to murder me…

I take a deep breath and look up at the tower to calm down.

“Ms. E-Eina, m-m-my hand…Please let go. I’m begging you…!”

“Since we’re about to pay one of the top forging
Familias
a visit, it would be a good idea to know a little about the smiths themselves, right? Bell, do you know about ‘Advanced Abilities’?”

I guess she’s going to ignore my bumbling request. I’m a man, but I can’t even get her to listen. I feel like I’m dying here.

I do my best to shrink behind her, shaking.

“No…I don’t.”

“A blessed person receives an Advanced Ability by choice when their level goes up. They’re usually more specialized than basic abilities.”

Eina simplifies it by explaining that an Advanced Ability is like a reward for your level going up…a “rank up” present of sorts.

“The kinds of Advanced Abilities available for someone to choose are predetermined, but one option is called ‘Forge.’”

Burst Ability and Forge. I’ve never heard these words before.

According to Eina, Forge is necessary to become a smith in today’s world. Also, apparently more than half of
Hephaistos Familia’
s smiths have it.

To put it another way, more than half of them are level two or above. That’s a very strong group.

“Smiths have been around since ancient times, of course. Most of their works are antiques now, but there are some that can still be used. But blessed smiths with the Forge ability can add special properties to the items they create.”

“Special properties…?”

“An ability unique to that individual weapon. You know how adventurers can get skills on top of their statuses? Smiths with the Forge ability can give skills to weapons. For example, blessed smiths can make a sword that will never break or will always be sharp. If they were just shaping metal, they couldn’t do that, right?”

Very true, I nod in agreement.

“There are also weapons that produce something very similar to magic—like shooting flames when swung, things like that.”

“Huh?!”

“I thought this was common knowledge…Anyway, weapons that can produce magic-like effects are referred to as ‘magic blades.’ Only a few smiths can make them.”

I swallow audibly. What this all means is that if I can get my hands on one of these magic swords, I would have the power to take on experienced swordsmen.

“A quick warning—‘magic blades’ have a limit. Once they have used up all their energy, they break. And they’re not as powerful as spell-based magic from a magic user.”

Eina adds that they’re both disposable and extremely expensive, a smirk on her face.

I guess that means that most adventurers don’t use magic swords. I’m sure that it’s not due to lack of popularity. But taking a weapon
that will break into the Dungeon, where anything can happen, wouldn’t make me feel safe. Yeah, I bet that’s why most people resist the urge to get one.

Well, that and the price tag.

“Um, Eina. Are there Advanced Abilities other than Forge?” As an adventurer, I have to ask. I’ll be going down that path someday. I will rank up!

“Well, many adventurers gain abilities called Heavy Guard or Magic Control. Other than that, there is also an ability called Enigma.”

“Enigma…?”

“Yes, now how do I explain this…It allows someone to perform a special trick—a miracle, if you will. A ‘Divine Art’ might be a good way to put it. Do you know about the Philosopher’s Stone, Bell?”

No, of course I don’t. I shake my head side to side.

“This happened a long, long time ago, but a member of a
Familia
with the Enigma ability succeeded in making an item called the Philosopher’s Stone. The stone grants the user eternal life.”

“…I don’t know why, but my jaw won’t close.”

“Hee-hee, I know, right? But there is more to this story…You see, the maker took the Philosopher’s Stone to the god of the
Familia
…The god took the stone in his hand and smashed it to pieces on the floor in front of him…the source of eternal life.”

“…………”

“According to the story, the god looked at the maker’s shell of a face after that and laughed so hard he pulled a muscle in his stomach.”

This is the cruelest myth I have ever heard.

When I say myth, I’m talking about a story about the gods that has a completely appalling ending.

I’m so lucky to have met Hestia first…

“The Philosopher’s Stone was created by accident, and all attempts to recreate it failed. No one after the maker mastered the Enigma skill, so his Philosopher’s Stone became a legendary item.”

“Mastered…? So these abilities need experience to grow, like a status?”

“Not quite. The abilities do have an S to I grade, but raising the
level doesn’t require experience like a status. It takes much more to raise the grade, and is very difficult. It’s nothing like raising a basic Ability.”

That sounds really hard…but I don’t actually say what I’m thinking.

I’m still a ways away from experiencing this myself, but I can imagine.

We arrive at the front gate of Babel Tower during our conversation. “Gate” might not be the best word because the ground floor of the tower has many arches all the way around the circumference, to allow any number of adventurers to enter from any direction at any time. Passing through the nearest arch, a pale blue and white lobby opens up in front of us.

The entrance to the Dungeon is right below our feet.

“From here…?”

“We go up. The shops in Babel start at the fourth floor.”

The first floor of the tower is, as I said, a massive lobby. The community center is on the second. We climb up to the third, Eina pulling me by my hand to the middle of another lobby. I catch a glimpse of the Exchange out of the corner of my eye. But I can’t see any stairs.

There are several wide, circular pedestals on the floor of the lobby. Eina leads me up onto one of them. A clear tube of something clear rises up around us. I swear it looks like glass…

Eina reaches for some kind of control panel. The instant she touches it, the pedestal leaves the floor and begins floating in midair.

It goes up and up…no, it’s growing upward!

“?!”

“A-ha-ha, I was the same way the first time.”

It seems the pedestal and the glass are parts of a floor-transport device…Most likely this is another magic-stone device.

That means that there must be a large number of magic stones beneath the pedestal, and their energy is being converted into lift. Eina takes a look at my surprised face and explains that the magic stones needed to be changed out after a certain amount of time. This thing doesn’t just work forever, it turns out.

In no time at all we reach the fourth floor of Babel.

“The shop I have in mind is a few more floors up, but as long as
we’re here, let’s take a look around. You want to see the top-of-the-line equipment too, right, Bell?”

The entire floor is filled with weapon and armor shops. I’ll admit I get excited looking at all the sharp, shiny things. I nod to Eina as we step off the pedestal.

There is only one sign on the whole floor: Ἥφαιστος. Don’t tell me…all the shops here are part of
Hephaistos Familia
…?”

“I see you noticed the logo. Actually, all the shops from the fourth floor up to the eighth floor are owned by
Hephaistos Familia.
”

…The entire floor…Just how powerful is
Hephaistos Familia
?!

By the way, they also have a shop close to my home with the goddess on Northwest Main.

The short sword in the window…is worth 8 million vals. That’s enough to buy several houses.

Stepping up to the display window of the closest shop, a crimson sword enshrined there catches my eye. I go up to take a look at the price…

…Thirty million vals?!

All the blood leaves my face. I lift my hand to my forehead, trying to steady myself. I can tell that next to me, Eina is giggling to herself.

I have a Hephaistos-made knife on me right now; it was a gift from my goddess. She told me it was the only one in the world…How much did it cost?!

“Welcome to our store! Can I help you find anything today?”

The store clerk must have seen me staring and drooling at the sight of the crimson sword. She comes up to greet us in a bright, cheerful voice.

The girl is short, but she looks extremely professional, with a very well-rehearsed smile glued onto her glowing face. Twin black ponytails bouncing around her head make her look very cute indeed.

She wears a deep red apron-style uniform, which is being pushed up by breasts much too big for her body type, jiggling with her every movement…

“…Um…Goddess? What are you doing?”

“……”

Her smile instantly freezes.

So this is why. I
thought
she’d been more tired than usual recently. She’s been working here…!

“Why are you here?! You don’t need two part-time jobs! Didn’t I just say that we can start saving money because I’m going deeper into the dungeon?!”

“Listen closely, Bell. You are going to forget that you saw me here and quietly leave right now…! It’s too soon for you to be here!”

“It’s too soon for you, too! Aren’t you getting thirty vals an hour at your other job?!”

“Don’t make fun of my career in potato snacks!”

“Forget about that! Come on, let’s go home. You’re a goddess! You can’t be seen like this, it’s embarrassing! Are you trying to become a laughingstock?”

“Let go of me, Bell! Let go now!! Even gods have to throw away their pride when times get tough!”

“And when are times ever tough for gods?! Just please, listen to what I’m saying!”

I grab her right arm with both of my hands, turn, and try my best to pull her out of there.

Why in the world is my goddess being so stubborn…?!

I can feel Eina’s wide-eyed gaze on my back, but now is no time to worry about that.

“Hey! New girl! Stop playing around! Back to work!!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Huh?”

Boing!
The goddess twists out of my grip and bounds away.

I watch her twin ponytails dance behind her for a moment before she disappears into the back of the shop.

“Goddess…”

“W-well, just as interesting a goddess as ever, I see?” Eina doesn’t know how to respond to my pitiful voice, and she forces a smile.

I feel a bit dejected, but I then remember I’m not alone today. I force myself to look up.

…I’ll forget this trouble with my goddess, for now.

“Sorry you had to see that…”

“It’s all right. Shall we go upstairs?”

I nod lightly a few times as the still-awkwardly-smiling Eina leads me back to the pedestal.

We board the “elevator” (as the magical lift turns out to be called) and arrive on an upper floor soon after.

“This is us.”

“We’re here…”

Eina pushes open the glass to reveal another level inundated with shops just like the fourth floor.

Swords, spears, axes, war hammers, blades, bows and arrows, shields, armor, and many other pieces of equipment are on display at all the shops on this wide floor. The only difference is that there are more customers—more adventurers—here.

That thought makes me flinch for a moment.

“You’re thinking that you don’t have a place shopping at
Hephaistos Familia
’s shops, aren’t you, Bell?”

I’m not in the best mood, and I shoot her a look saying
it’s a little late for that now
. But then I nod and agree with her.

Eina looks down on me like queen over a servant, grinning.

“Actually, that’s not completely true. But, seeing is believing! Follow me.”

Eina guides me into the nearest shop—a spear shop by the looks of it.

Leading me to the very back wall of the shop, she stops in front of a spear rack. All of the combat-ready spears stand on end, blades facing the ceiling.

Just as I start thinking
Here we go again
, my eyes catch the price tag: 12,000 vals.

“H-huh…?”

I might be able to afford this…

“Hee-hee, surprised, aren’t you?”

“W-well, yes, but why?”

This price is unbelievable. Shocking, even. Eina sounded like she was awfully pleased when she asked if I was surprised, too.

I’m still staring at the spears, though.

“What sets
Hephaistos Familia
apart from other smiths is that they have even their most inexperienced members make items and sell them in their shops.”

“Is that…okay? I mean, compared to the masters…”

“Of course, those weapons are not sold next to ones made by master smiths. But the new smiths get valuable business experience and they can sell their work directly to adventurers. It’s a real plus for the younger smiths to get feedback—both the good and the really harsh. It all helps motivate them to make better and better weapons.”

I’m a bit surprised, but then again it makes perfect sense. Rather than being restricted to experimenting or practicing, getting comments and criticism from people in the real world would be a lot more motivating.

“It’s good for the stores, too. They can sell these weapons to very low-level adventurers and get more customers.”

So they can bring in newbies along with the all-stars. Once the newbies get stronger, they can afford better weapons from the same shop. Eina says it’s like a pyramid.

The shops draw in as many of the new adventurers as they can to build as many relationships as possible. When the adventurers level up, they become regulars of that shop and buy high-level weapons.

That’s what’s special about Orario. The large population of adventurers brings out all kinds of benefits and possibilities.

“The most important thing here is that new adventurers and new smiths form bonds early in their careers. Doesn’t matter if it’s weak or strong.”

What do you mean by that?
I ask with my eyes.

“New smiths are discovered by new adventurers through the items the smith makes. If an adventurer remembers the smith’s name, they might have a client. Very talented—but unpolished—smiths can be hidden in the rough of the business, just waiting for an adventurer with an eye for quality to find them. They might not become close friends, but adventurers who have used their items in combat, felt their armor on their skin, will give the most valuable feedback.”

…Makes sense when she puts it like that.

At the very least, I feel that way about my dagger and light-armor provisions from the Guild.

“Smiths can bring out special properties in the items they make if they are forging them for someone in particular, especially if there is a strong bond between the smith and the adventurer…Or at least they claim.”

Eina lightly sticks out her tongue. I freeze in place.

Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have imagined Eina doing something so…childish.

“Kind of got sidetracked a little bit there, but what I’m saying is that there are items made by
Hephaistos Familia
that are in your price range. How much do you have on you right now, Bell?”

“Um, should be right about ten thousand vals.”

“I wonder if we’ll be able to find you a full set of new armor. Like I said before, there are diamonds in the rough made by raw ore smiths. We just need to dig them up! Let’s go!!”

Eina seems more excited than I am. It’s all I can do to force a smile now that I’ve come to my senses a bit.

She leads me to a shop that has a sign outside equipped with armor and a shield. Eina suggests, with a peppy smile on her face, that we split up to cover more ground. So I set foot inside without her.

The view from my first step inside the establishment is that it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

Just look at these! Were they really all made by lower-level smiths? Everything looks amazing!

Looking into the forest of armor is the highlight of the day so far.

Pure white mannequin chests wear many different shapes and kinds of armor. It doesn’t matter that the head and arms are missing, the chest looks very dignified. A few full-bodied mannequins are equipped with the works. I can clearly see myself wearing those armored plates in battle.

Shield and battle helmets on shelves line the walls. Some look impenetrable, some are simply gorgeous—there’s something for everyone.

Male and female customers fill the shop, all looking for a piece of armor that suits them. It looks like you can try on the armor, too.

I think…I’m starting to get a little excited…! What do I do now?…Huh?

As I take in the sights and sounds, my eyes are drawn to a spot at the back of the shop.

It’s the most ordinary-looking corner of the store. There’s a box filled with equipment pieces just sitting there.

Are they…armor pieces?

The rest of the store’s stock is equipped on the mannequins, so are these junk boxes? They’re just lying here like a pile of trash. Wait, there is another box next to it, and a few more after that. I guess these must be the items that the
Familia
deemed not worth putting on display.

I’m sure they wouldn’t sell them if they were faulty, but maybe there are some imperfections or something like that.

“Ah, yep, they’re for sale…”

There is a price tag on the bottom of each box: 5,700 vals, 6,800 vals, 3,900 vals…All the prices are written in red ink by different people, but all of them are quite cheap.

The full set of armor that I saw toward the front of the store is 15,000 vals, and my current light armor from the Guild is 5,000…Yep, I’ve probably got the right idea. These are in my price range.

Then again, Eina would say that this is something that’s going to save my life, so I shouldn’t be stingy.

“…?”

I suddenly stop in front of a box in the middle of the row.

This armor—its spirit is calling to me from within the line of boxes.

Silver. Rather than having a reddish tint or darker black hues, this one shines like pure white metal.

No flashy colors or fancy decorations, it looks like it just finished cooling from the forge. It’s tugging at my heartstrings.

I bend down to get a closer look; it’s light armor.

There are knee guards and a small breastplate designed to fit snugly against the chest. Under those pieces I find wrist and elbow
guards, along with a plate that covers the lower back. It’s built to protect the bare minimum of the body to allow for maximum mobility. Kind of a patchwork armor.

Lifting up the breastplate, I discover it’s very light—much lighter than my provision armor from the Guild. Just hitting it a few times doesn’t tell me much, but I think it’s sturdier than my Guild armor, too. At least it feels like it.

It’s just my size…This is almost scary.

I think I’m in love.

It might be because this is the first one I’ve picked up.

But suddenly all I can see is myself wearing this armor.

I hold the breastplate up to the light for a closer look. Flipping it around, there it is: the maker’s signature is on the inside. “Welf Krozzo.”

Looks like this wasn’t worthy of the “Ἥφαιστος” name.

Welf Krozzo…

I’ll remember that.

My brain snatches the name from the armor like a hawk snatches a fish out of water. It’s a smith’s name I’ll be looking for from here on out.

Eina told me about the bond between adventurers and smiths. So this is what it feels like.

I’m already set on this light armor. I want to buy it, right now.

Let’s just look and see how much it is…Gasp! 9,900 vals!

That’s almost all of my money…

“Hey-y, Bell! I found something really good! A protector and leather armor! They’re a little expensive, but it would be a good idea to get at least one of…Oh? Did you find something?”

Eina has returned. She bends down over me, an unimpressed look on her face.

Maybe she doesn’t like it because it’s being sold in a box, as though that’s somehow proof of its poor quality.

“…Are you getting that?”

“Yes. I’m buying this.”

“Haaa…You really have a thing for light armor, don’t you? Just when I found some good things for you, too…”

“I’m sorry.”

Eina sees my shoulders shrink, as I didn’t have anything else I could say. She forces a smile and waves it off. “Don’t worry about it. You are the one who’s going to wear it. I do want you to think about your safety a bit more…but if you’ve decided to buy this, that’s good enough for me.”

“…Thank you.”

I stand back up again and pick up the box.

After making my way to the counter and paying for it, I only have 100 vals left…

Today has gotten very expensive.

“Huh…?”

Eina’s gone. I turn around with my new armor in a box strapped to my back, looking for her.

Just when I start to wonder where she could’ve gone, I find her. She’d been standing right behind me, a sparkling smile on her face. Maybe she’d just come out of the shop?

“Bell, here.”

“…What?”

She leisurely hands me a long, narrow vambrace.

It fits just over the wrist and extends up the arm to the elbow. I can tell from the outer shell it’s designed to be used like a shield. The armor is the same color as Eina’s eyes, emerald green.

“I-is this…?”

“It’s a present from me, so please use it, okay?”

“Whaa? N-no, I can’t accept this! I’m giving it back!”

“Whaaat? Are you saying you can’t accept a girl’s present?”

“N-no, it’s not that…I just feel so pathetic!” With sweat pouring down my face, I just blurt out how I really feel. No matter how much older she is than me, getting a present from a girl like this…It feels like I’ve done something wrong.

Eina flashes a big smile as my shoulders start melting again.

“I want you to have it. Not for me, for you.”

“Wha…?”

“The truth is, adventurers never really know when they’ll die.
Even ones who are really strong just disappear as if by the whim of a god. I’ve known many who didn’t come back.”

“……”

“…I’d like you not to be one of them, Bell. O-ho, I guess this present is for me, after all.”

Eina laughs a bit to herself but never takes her eyes off me.

Those tranquil eyes.

“Is that bad?” she asks.

I look at the floor.

My reddening face is hidden by my hair.

I don’t have what it takes to refuse her gift after that.

“…And Bell, you said that you loved me.”

My face is beet-red now. My neck jerks my head up and I meet her eyes with my own.

Looks like she’s blushing quite a bit, too.

“That was, well…I was just so happy that you were encouraging me…!”

“I was happy too, that you said you loved me. I realize you didn’t mean it ‘that’ way.”

Both of us are blushing up a storm.

“It’s not just because of that, but I want to give you strength. You’ve been working so hard, and I want to help you. Will you accept it, please?”

Sniff. My nose is starting to run.

I wipe it with my sleeve, nodding.

“Thank you…very much……”

“You’re welcome.”

I can feel gentle warmth flowing from the emerald protector on my arm.

“It’s gotten pretty late…”

The sky is turning red. Late evening has arrived.

I walked Eina back to her dwelling after we finished shopping, and am now close to my own.

I jog down West Main and find my usual side street that leads to the old church.

To think I would get that nervous being around Eina…This isn’t good.

I can just see Aiz Wallenstein looking at me with disappointment and yelling all kinds of things at me. This is all in my head, of course.