And before I knew it, a week had passed. That was fast.
Inside Verent's smithy.
Pakira, Juishi, and I were chatting.
Dagaa was watching the place with Mineha.
I sat in the chair they'd prepared for me and nibbled on the tea and snacks they'd set out.
The snacks surprised me a little. They looked like small brown square confections, but they tasted like tamago borō.
Hydrangea probably had plenty of sweets too. I'd eaten a few before. But with my memories from my past life, honestly... hmm. Sweets made with sugar were too sweet, and ones without were too bland. Most of the sweets fell into those simple flavors.
Since they had butter, they had cream too. Cake and jelly existed. But no chocolate. No pudding. No vanilla. No ice cream.
They had candy and senbei. The candy was syrup candy and candy drops. Then there were the confections I was eating now, and cookies. There were also things like anko. A few fruit-based sweets too. If I dug around, there'd probably be all sorts of other things, but I didn't really know.
I was a kid, and I could make some sweets, but... I don't know. I think I just wasn't that into them to begin with.
Ah, but if I had to pick, candy was probably the one thing I liked. Right now, I liked the candy drops the Witch made from time to time. Amber-colored, with a faint sweetness, a hint of mint fragrance, and a touch of tartness. It had a somehow nostalgic taste.
"Ah, that's right. I have a report for you two."
"What is it?"
"Um, a report? What about?"
"Mm. Thanks to you, I was able to purchase the base without any trouble. Once the base application goes through, we'll be able to use it as an official base. Let me thank you again."
"It's nothing. By the way, what's a base application?"
"Mm. It's a system where, by registering a base for your party, you receive various benefits from both the administration and the Guild. Discounts at shops, renting or even purchasing a party house for your base at a reduced price."
"Um, um, for the purchase discount, I think it would've been better to buy after the application."
I thought so too. Pakira nodded slightly.
"There's no need to worry. After the application, the discount is applied and a portion of what you paid is refunded."
"That's a good deal."
Retroactive approval was possible too. What a great system.
"Um, um, woof. Then it's all right. That's a relief."
A base application, huh. So that kind of system existed too.
As we chatted like that, Verent showed up.
"Hey there. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Huh, the Witch wasn't there.
Verent set a white box on the table with the teacups and snacks.
"The adjustments took some time, but here. It's done."
"Verent. Where's the Witch?"
"Ah, she's sleeping in the nap room. She hadn't slept for about four days while doing the final adjustments."
"...The Witch. For my sake..."
Something warm welled up in my chest.
Verent said, looking embarrassed.
"Hey. Go wake her up later, as her disciple."
"Ah, I'll have to pass on that. Last time I went to wake her up, I was captured and nearly killed."
I politely declined. Pakira murmured.
"'Nearly killed' is putting it mildly."
"Um, um, um, Wof. What happened that made you almost die?"
"I was suddenly grabbed and hugged by the Witch, who'd just woken up in a daze. I thought I was going to suffocate against her chest. That's when I realized: the Witch's breasts can kill a man."
I'll keep quiet about the fact that she'd been completely naked.
"H-hey. That sounds enviable... or maybe not."
Verent was at a loss for words. I could tell he was conflicted. I understood completely. It almost killed me, but it also felt like paradise.
Then Pakira narrowed her eyes with a deadpan look.
"How pointless."
"Um, um, woof. I've had the same experience! When I went to wake Ennea up, I ended up in a similar situation and nearly died. I understand!"
"You too, huh."
"Um, woof. Yes! And Ennea was completely naked at the time!"
So naked Ennea was stacked on par with the Witch. Who knew the situation was that similar.
"Hmph. How pointless."
"Um, so, Verent. It's finished, right?"
Pakira was giving off a strangely sour mood, so I forcibly changed the subject.
"Yep. I brought it. That white box right there."
That one. With my heart pounding, I slowly opened the box.
Inside were two faded leather gauntlets. The backs of the hands and upper arms were thick, but... they looked like leather no matter how you looked at them.
Gauntlets came in fabric as well as metal, so it wasn't unusual. But the fragments of the Great Demon Blade weren't leather. They were horn, so not metal exactly, but not leather either. Moreover, the color had the look of something left forgotten in a warehouse for years. It even looked like someone had hastily brushed off the dust before bringing it. Ask a hundred people and all a hundred would say it didn't look new. I was sure of it.
"Th-this is it?"
"Yep. At first glance it looks like worn-out leather, right? But don't worry. We used all the best materials — fragments of the Great Demon Blade, demon silver, demon gold, everything. The latest and greatest. Try putting them on."
"O-okay."
Confused, I picked up the right-hand one first. It was light, and at the same time I was stunned. This wasn't leather. It was metal. It was soft like fabric, yet firmly rigid. Metal. What was this bizarre sensation? It was far more metallic than it looked.
"Surprised, huh? To put them on, you need to undo the clasp on the underside near the wrist. See that small plate? Give it a light press."
"Like this? Wha— wh-wh-whaaaat!?"
With a cascade of clinking metal, the underside unfurled open like something being unwound. It opened all the way to the fingertips — the attention to detail was remarkable. What was this? It felt high-tech. There were hero suits like this, right?
"What kind of gauntlets are these?"
"Um, um, woof. I've never seen anything like them!"
"Hey, kid. Stick your hand in."
"...O-okay."
When I slid my right hand in, my arm was drawn in like a magnet, and with a series of clicks, it closed around it. Ah, just like those hero suits. To get something like this in this world — in an instant, lightning crackled through my head.
I instantly felt my Relic, the Still One, adapt to these gauntlets. Words floated to the surface of my mind.
[Still One: Allows action for a fixed duration while maintaining a calm state of mind. Also enables hearing voices of the heart. Duration: 3 minutes. Cooldown: 3 minutes. Additionally, while in the [Still One] state and wearing the [Gauntlets of Still Sanctity], activates Silent Move — guarantees one successful execution of a swift, precise, high-difficulty action.]
Silent Move? A Relic ability? Guaranteed one successful swift, precise, high-difficulty action... even just once was incredible. That was overpowered. The Witch was supposed to have a similar Relic, if I remembered right. That one-time use must be during Still One mode. So once the cooldown expired and I entered Still One again, I could use it? That had to be it. Either way, it was incredibly useful, both in combat and otherwise.
And the Gauntlets of Still Sanctity — the fact that they'd already been named. Hm? Wait. So these gauntlets were an OOPArt!? An OOPArt that had adapted to my Relic!? Wait, OOPArts could be created? They were supposed to only be found in dungeons and ruins.
"Wof? What's wrong?"
"Don't tell me they don't fit?"
"Woof, Wof?"
"Ah, no, they fit perfectly. They cling to my arms like they belong there."
I could barely feel their weight. There was no discomfort at all. My finger joints and wrists moved as freely as before I'd put them on. I equipped the other one too. With both equipped — ah. They fit. They truly fit. I marveled at how the sensation was almost unchanged from before wearing them. These gauntlets were truly mine. Even if they were an OOPArt.
"Indeed. I've never seen gauntlets like these before... but why this color scheme?"
"Um, um, it's strange — they look brand new yet give off a used feeling."
"Hey, kid. Listen up. You're the Witch's disciple, so you don't want to stand out, right?"
"Y-yes."
"Besides, if you wear something flashy, you'll attract the wrong kind of attention. After all, these gauntlets are something no novice delver, or even a veteran, could get their hands on. That's why they made them look like old junk. It was the Witch's idea."
"Um, um, that makes sense."
"Hm. Quite right. It's perfectly logical."
"For my sake..."
"Yep. The one who designed the gauntlets, provided the materials herself, inspected every component, and refined each part — all the Witch. The one who prototypes dozens upon dozens of times to get them to this level — also the Witch. We just did what she told us. Hey, listen. I've known the Witch for a long time, but this is a first. I've never seen her pour that much passion into something — sweating, working her heart out, building something for someone else's sake. Turns out even she'll go all out for her disciple. Well, I was impressed."
"The Witch... Master..."
I felt like I was going to cry.
"Um, um, Wof..."
"She's a fox I can't stand... but she's a fine master, Wof."
"Yes."
I wanted to repay this kindness someday. But could I ever manage that? Someday, as her disciple, I would repay my master, the Witch.
While I was thinking that, Juishi spoke up.
"Um, um, um, I just realized. There's no knife."
"Huh? Oh, you're right."
I'd been so absorbed by the gauntlets that I'd completely forgotten. There was no knife anywhere.
"Oh right. Damn it, I forgot. Kikka's going to chew me out. I'll go get it."
Verent hurried off to the back.
"Good grief. That man always forgets something."
Now that I thought about it, he really did. Juishi was staring intently at the gauntlets.
"Juishi? Is something wrong with the Gauntlets of Still Sanctity?"
"What's that? You named them?"
"Yeah, more or less."
"Um, woof. As expected of Wof. It's a wonderful name. Gauntlets of Still Sanctity. Beautiful! I couldn't help but stare."
"Hm. Gauntlets that the Witch poured her full effort into crafting. It wouldn't be surprising even if they turned out to be an OOPArt."
"Huh?"
"Well, I suppose that's not really possible, though."
"Yeah, you're right..."
But these were totally an OOPArt. Juishi tilted her head.
"Woof? Um, um, OOPArts can't be made?"
"They're things you find in dungeons and ruins. I've never heard of one being manufactured — at least, not personally. Only repairs."
"..."
I thought to myself. Without a Relic that could adapt to it, you'd never know an OOPArt was one. Maybe among the countless weapons and armor crafted throughout history, there had been OOPArts all along. Just like these Gauntlets of Still Sanctity — they might have existed, hidden in plain sight.
"Hey. Sorry, sorry about that, kid. Here's your new knife."
What he handed me was truly a new knife. The distinctive upward-curving shape of the original was completely gone from the sheath's profile.
"...Can I draw it?"
"Sure. Take a look."
I drew it. I'd known the moment he handed it to me. The awkward upward-curving blade had been replaced by a short, straight single-edged blade. A black semicircular guard and a pure-white handle. At the pommel, there was a metal ring. And its greatest feature was that the short blade was double-edged. The thin blade had been doubled over. They must have used the material from the original upward-curving section.
"It's a fine knife. A double-edged blade is pretty rare."
"Yep. Kikka made it. Ah, Kikka's my daughter. She makes blades all the time. So? Pretty good, right?"
"Yes. It's not too heavy, easy to handle."
"A double-edged blade is quite rare."
"Um, um, um, the edge looks really sharp."
"I guarantee the sharpness. We tested the cut plenty of times."
"Thank you."
I sheathed the new knife. Verent smiled.
"Hey. Kikka's napping right now, but I'll pass along your thanks."
"Yes, please do."
"Kid. Take good care of both the gauntlets and the knife. If anything happens to either of them, let me know. Come to me. Got it?"
"Y-yes. Understood."
The Gauntlets of Still Sanctity. A new knife. I was so happy. This was honestly the happiest I'd ever been. Oh right — I'd need to tell Axe about this later.
And so, with my gauntlets and knife complete, I left the smithy. After parting ways with Pakira and Juishi, I headed home.
Oh right. Meat. Mineha had asked me to pick some up, hadn't she? That carnivorous fairial. Always eating nothing but meat. Eat some vegetables too, would ya. That probably wasn't the reason she stayed small, though.
So, meat. I'd pick up the usual mixed cuts from the usual butcher, and... yeah. I'd buy a chunk of the slightly pricier stuff. It wasn't an anniversary or anything, but I felt like celebrating today.
All right, once that was settled—
"Somebody, please!"
"Hm?"
"The baby carriage!!"
I looked and saw a baby carriage barreling down the steep slope at considerable speed. The woman who was presumably the mother had fallen and was injured. Someone else must have been the one who screamed. At the bottom of the slope was a main road with a carriage lane. The baby carriage was about to slam into it at full speed.
Everyone could only watch and cry out. But that was understandable. The baby carriage was moving too fast for anyone to react. There were no delvers nearby who could do anything.
I tried to move on instinct, but the distance... even running, I couldn't close it fast enough.
"Ah, the baby carriage!?"
"Somebody!"
A large black carriage happened to be passing in front of the baby carriage. At this rate they'd collide. Was there some way — there was.
I activated the Still One and immediately let it adapt to the Gauntlets of Still Sanctity. This was what I'd use.
"Silent Move."
Guaranteed one successful execution of a swift, precise, high-difficulty action. There was only one action: stop the baby carriage before it hit the carriage.
The instant I decided, the world before my eyes flickered with static and shook. And the next instant, I materialized behind the baby carriage.
"What!?"
Startled, I grabbed the baby carriage with all my strength and stopped it. I managed to halt it just barely, inches from impact.
"..."
I peered inside the baby carriage. The elven baby was sound asleep.
"Incredible."
I couldn't help but break into a smile.