Manowa

Chapter 98 – Obtaining the Order

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「Ufufuu」

Kazane was in a good mood as she packed her luggage for the journey.

「You seem somewhat happier than usual.」

Yumika had already finished preparing, and she spoke to her best friend.

「Well, although we have a request this time feels like a normal trip.
I'm looking forward to it.」

She sang pantsuーpantsuー to herself while she vigorously crammed in her underwear.

(What kind of song is that)

Her best friend was singing a strange song as usual.

「Kazane, Yumika.
Jinrai-sama has also arrived.」

Kazane and Yumika replied「ok」to Tiara's words from outside the door.

「Well then, I will go ahead, but don't forget anything, ok?」

「It's fine.
I will be finished packing soon and will come down as well.」

Kazane said, and Yumika left the room saying「we'll be waiting.」

(We probably won't come back here for a while)

Although there were ups and downs, she basically considered this inn their base.
But it was likely that even after this trip they would not move back here.

That hole to return to their original world was in the rank A dungeon『Gorudo Golden Ruins』in Gordios City, so that place was scheduled to be the center of their future activities.
It seemed Master was also going over there, so they genuinely didn't need to ever come back to this city.

Yumika thanked the inn owner and the reception desk for everything so far and left the inn.

◎ Winlard City, In Front of Ricard Inn

「Yo, Yumika.」

When Yumika went outside not only were Jinrai and her other companions there, but Gyao, Jiro, Mello, Garra, and Anna were also standing there.

「Good morning.
Did you come to see us off?」

「Ah, well.
We were also planning to leave this place right now.」

Garra answered Yumika's question.
Garra's group and Gyao's group previously talked together and decided to combine parties.
It seemed Gyao was not abandoned by Mello.

「If you're planning to leave that means you're going somewhere, right?」

「Ah, we finally have enough people, so we thought we would go to Gordias City and enter the Gorudo Golden Ruins dungeon.
This guy also says he wants to go to another place where nobody knows him.」 [TL: The author keeps switching between Gordias and Gordios, and he does the same thing with Shubain and Shuvain.
It's driving me slightly insane.
Maybe he's trying to imply some kind of accent?]

Garra pointed to Jiro.
Jiro hung his head apologetically.

「Recently everyone's eyes are scary.
I don't know why there are expectations, but it feels like various things that I'm not aware of are influencing them.」 

Jiro said, but Gyao pushed his head and said「you're just imagining things.」But his name was known to the royalty of Minshiana and Tsuvara.
It was not his imagination.
[TL: Consequence from the ladies' conversation in Chapter 69 if you don't remember.
Quick refresher, the Tsuvara part is completely Tiara's fault.]

「Well, if you're going there I guess we will see you again later.」

Tiara said with a meek smile. 

「Yes, it seems that way.
The next meeting with Tiara-chan and the rest will be in Gordios City.」

To Anna's words Tiara also nodded「yes.」

「…..Ba, Bamboo Shoot-sama.」

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「Louise onee-san?」

Louise's gaze was nailed to Jiro-kun as she hid behind Jinrai.
To be accurate, she was focused on Jiro-kun's lower abdomen.
Her expression was like a girl in love.
It seemed she already remembered that night.

Once Gao noticed the gaze he asked Jiro.

「Oi, Louise-san seems to be looking at you, what did you do?」

「It's nothing, the other day I was invited to drink some alcohol, and …..
we were together until the morning.」

After Jiro's remark Gyao shouted「Whatttt!???」

「But she immediately left as soon as we finished, and we haven't faced each other since then.
Since a long time ago every woman I've slept with left silently immediately after we've finished.」

Jiro said with a sigh.

「You're just incredibly unskilled, aren't you?」

「I've also thought the same.
That's what it looks like.」

Jiro sighed more deeply.

「But I cannot forgive sleeping with Louise-san.
How long have I waited for that?」

「How long have I waited?」

Gyao spoke while angrily putting Jiro in a headlock, and when Mello's voice reached him from behind he stiffened.

「Ah, it's nothing.
There's nothing like that.」

Mello glared at Gyao as he spoke, then turned to face Jiro.

「Well, don't worry about it so much Jiro.
Perhaps those girls simply didn't suit you.
They were merely unworthy.」

「Mello-san, thank you.」

Jiro smiled pitifully at those comforting words.
Well, Mello had accidentally seen his Excalibur during their travels, so she knew.
That was no mere Excalibur, but was a blunt weapon like Mjolnir.

(Louise-san, your heart still hasn't broken from the challenge)

Mello noticed the fire in Louise's eyes.
If she were a strong person she could surely understand the difference in strength.
However, she was still willing to cross swords and continue to challenge.

(If that thing were inside me…)

Mello muttered in her own mind, and she gulped as she looked at Jiro-kun's lower abdomen.
It was a crisis of party dissolution.
There was a high possibility that the counter would be automatically activated if Gyao's cheating was discovered.
Would that be a strange story? Not in the least.

After a while Kazane came out of the inn and greeted Gyao and the rest.
As usual, Gyao and Kazane seemed to be on good terms, and Mello and Tiara watched with worried faces.
Then Garra's party went to search for a carriage, and Kazane and the others got on the existing Hippomaru-kun and the newly improved High Hippo-kun and left the city.

◎ White Highway – Noon

「Well then, we have our route, but before that starts we'll go through the Royal Capital Shubain.」

Kazane reconfirmed with everyone on the Hippo-kun.

「After that we'll pass through Kantaran Village, Shijiri City, and the Urguska dungeon market before the route starts at Wombard City.」

Yumika followed up after Kazane, and Kazane nodded.

「Yes.
For now I'm planning to stop in each place for only one night the entire way through, but if something seems interesting we'll improvise.」

Everyone nodded, though some people were thinking that it would be better if interesting seeming things didn't occur too many times.

「Well, no particular date or time was specified.」

Jinrai said.
Seeming interesting ……
If there was a monster subjugation he could try out his new spears, so Jinrai thought that would be a good thing.

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「We will board the Dragon Boat at Wombard City, but are there any restrictions or the like?」

「No, you'll just have to pay money for the horse to board.
It's a regular service.
There are three Dragon Boats that travel the route; it takes one day, and they take turns showing up.
The boarding is at different times spanning the morning, day, and night.」

「They're on autopilot, right? They're operating well.」

The ships have been operating for more than 1000 years.
Kazane thought they were doing well not to have fallen.

「Indeed.
Even if the Dragon Boat breaks no one can go inside to fix it.
In the first place no one even knows how to fix it.」

From Jinrai's remark Kazane thought (ah, with the Infinite Key wouldn't I be able to go inside?).
Perhaps there was treasure.

「Hey Jinrai-san, I was wondering.
What would happen if someone went inside a Dragon Boat and found treasure there?」

「……Hmm.」

Jinrai pondered after Kazane's sudden question.

「Because they move across borders it wouldn't be the property of any country.
I suppose it would be custody of the merchant guild.
But that is administrative control and not really ownership.
There is a Dragon Boat Administration Bureau in Wombard.
That would be the best place to ask.」

「Is that so.
Thanks, Jinrai-san.」

「But since you're asking, is it possible?」

Kazane nodded at Jinrai's question.

「Well, I won't know until I try.」

There was the possibility that even the Infinite Key could not unlock it.

Furthermore, although she didn't have to supply Magic Power to Hippomaru-kun, High Hippo-kun's high mobility specifications consumed 1.5 times more Magic Power.
Although Kazane's stand-alone Hippo-kun reduced the overall cost, the plan was to completely resolve the problem.

Both were running in Galloping Horse Mode instead of Fast Horse Mode to reduce the burden on the riders at the cost of going slightly slower, but they still arrived at the Royal Capital Shubain by evening.
It was a distance that would require a two day journey with an overnight stop if traveling by carriage, but such was Galloping Horse Mode.

Then Kazane parted with her companions in front of the hotel.
She had requested some items from a magic tool specialist shop before they had left the Royal Capital, so she headed for the Majiria Magic Tool Workshop.

◎ Royal Capital Shubain, Majiria Magic Tool Workshop – Evening

「I say, it's Kazane-sama.
Thank you for coming.」

Kazane was by the entrance of the Majiria Magic Tool Workshop and was about to dismount Hippomaru-kun when a strangely dressed pretty middle-aged man rushed out of the shop and came to greet her.

「Agato-san, it's been a while.」

Kazane greeted the man called Agato.

「It has been a long time.
I'm glad you came.」

This man was the head of the Majiria Magic Tool Workshop.
Kazane was negotiating the usage rights of Muscle Clay with this man before she left the Royal Capital and did the Immortal Monkey extermination.

「So that's a stand-alone Golem horse? It's extremely grim.」

Agato was surprised when he saw Hippomaru-kun, which Kazane was currently riding.

At any rate Hippomaru-kun looked like a large horse fully covered in armor.
The Black Rock Dragon's fangs were used as huge horns on its forehead, and the helmet forms of the mass production model Tatsuyoshi-kun could be seen on the right and left along with Tatsuyoshi-kun Dragoon's dragon horn tonfas.
By the way, the entire thing was made jet black to match with the horns of the Black Rock Dragon.
It was terrifyingly and roughly designed, with the inspiration coming from a certain future Supreme Ruler of the Century's End.
It was the future, and yet it was the end of the century.
Terrifying.
And the figure of the small meek-looking child on top was incredibly jarring.
[TL: Google Raoh.
I guess it's talking about his spiky helmet?] 

And if Agato hadn't already been told he probably wouldn't have understood that there was no horse inside, but special clay moving by a Golem technique instead.
Thanks to the supply of magical power from the Childstone on the neck it was a completely stand-alone type that did not require any Magic Power from the operator.
It could be said that it was the same kind of thing as the Gargoyles in ancient ruins.

As a person who dealt with magic tools it was, in some sense, his kind of thing.

「It's an enviable thing.」

Agato was looking at Hippomaru-kun with a face that seemed as jealous as his words.

「Well, as long as you have the materials it is possible to make one.
I can make it listen to other people's orders.」

Agato's eyes opened wide.

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「Is, is that true?」

Kazane wasn't expecting he would bite and thought (I said something unnecessary), but slightly reluctantly nodded.

「Eh, yeah.
But I've never actually made one for someone else, with the cost in mind buying an ordinary horse would be much better, and it would still technically be my Golem.」

「Even so, I will save any amount of money to buy this!」

Agato declared.

「I do not mind exchanging the requested Childstones and Healing Grimoire for that instead of money.」

Moreover, a concrete negotiation came out.
He did not feel like missing this opportunity.
That should be expected from a shrewd businessman.
Although the reason for purchasing was 100 percent hobby.

And since it would save Kazane money and barely required effort she didn't mind.

「That's fine, but since I'm starting a journey after this I won't be able to immediately activate it.」

「I'll be waiting, and if you can tell me the location I will deliver it using the Flying Dragon service so you can activate it.」

Agato said「come on, come on」while bringing his face closer, and she said「yeah, I get it,」and drew away slightly.
And after Kazane spoke Agato stared at Hippomaru-kun like he was trying to bore a hole through it.

「For now, may I go inside?」

It was the entrance of a shop in a prime location in the commercial district of the Royal Capital.
He and Kazane were very conspicuous.

◎ Royal Capital Shubain, Majiria Magic Tool Workshop

「I was rude.
As soon as I thought I could have that my heart started pounding out of my chest.」

「But that Hippomaru-kun is mine.
If you give Master the Muscle Clay and other materials along with this I think he will make it.」

Kazane wrote a letter of introduction, signed it, and gave it to Agato.
Agato received it reverently, and like it was a cherished item put it in his breast pocket.

(He's making a truly delighted face)

At the moment the Golem technology of this world was monopolized by one country, and while Kazane understood her Golem technique was rare she didn't really understand.
She only vaguely understood that the control ability granted by the window was rare and not the true rarity of the Golem technique itself.

However, with them being independent and able to listen to other people's orders there would be considerable demand.
Indeed, it was also possible to build a giant tactical grade Golem using Heart Orbs owned by a country.
Tatsuyoshi-kun had that powerful stone throwing ability.
An independent mobile turret would be a formidable weapon.

However, the possibility of a Big Tatsuyoshi-kun was only a vague image in Kazane's head at this point, and there was no one else in the world who could give birth to it.

「By the way, how are things with the magic clay? Is it going well?」

Kazane had already given Agato permission to use Muscle Clay at their last meeting.

「That's right.
I can make it move a little by putting in Magic Power, but I still can't control it.」

Well, Kazane was expecting that, but another report was given.

「But the other function as a Magic Power Accumulator is going well.
I prepared a prototype, so try it out and tell me what you think.」

That said, Agato placed a metal bottle like a water bottle on the table; the opening was closed by a Corestone.

(It looks like a battery)

Kazane thought when she examined the prototype.
And the name Magic Accumulator was harmless and inoffensive. 

This was an item that was not in the game, but simply put it had the same effect as Kazane's Crimson Saint Coffin.
The accumulated amount of Magic Power was plus 50, the same amount as Tiara's Purifying Coffin.
And above all the cost made mass production possible.

「And I am very sorry about this, but Muscle Clay has various restrictions imposed on it and is to be treated as a state secret by order of the Royal Palace.」

「That is a splendidly serious matter.」

Agato nodded after Kazane's remark.

「Ownership of Muscle Clay finished products is allowed, but the manufacturing method is to never leave the premises.」

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「Well, that can't be helped.」

In this world the only ways to improve Magic Power was to recover it by using the rare Mana Potions, which could no longer be manufactured, or to increase the amount with Purifying Coffins.
But this item overturned that.
Kazane thinking that it could only be used for Golems was naive.
It was a big deal, so Kazane readily resigned herself and thought that it couldn't be helped.

「For that reason it seems that Kazane-sama will be paid for the intellectual property license agreement from the country.」

「Hmm, they didn't talk about buying it?」

It seemed her income had increased.
Why can't it automatically be dropped into my account…Kazane thought.
There was no such thing.

「It's only hearsay, but it seems they want the appearance of getting permission from Kazane-sama.」

Kazane thought that Yuuko-nee was using her influence to make things that way, but Agato's words seemed to have a different implication.

「It's likely they want to collar you.
Kazane-sama knows the manufacturing method.
This country might want to build a relationship to prevent it from leaking to other countries.」

「I see, that's troublesome.」

Kazane sighed.
It seemed that unexpected ties of obligation were being made.

(I'll have to consult with Yuuko-nee later)

There was also the matter with the prince, the White Sword, and the hot spring.
She wanted to avoid a situation where she could no longer leave the country.

「Well, I will use and accept this thankfully.
I did it before with Master, but I should sometimes send reports, right?」

「Yes, please do so.
And here are the promised items.」

Agato placed a Grimoire and two Childstones on the table.

「The Healing Principle Fourth Chapter and two 20th layer class Childstones.」

「The charge you mentioned earlier is good, right?」

Agato grinned broadly and nodded in response to Kazane.
It was a face that couldn't wait for his Hippomaru-kun to be completed.

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Magic Swordswoman

Title: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Carapace Bull Trousers, Dragon Ogre Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Magic Accumulator

Level : 29

Health: 101

Magic Power: 170+350

Strength: 49+10

Agility: 40

Endurance: 29

Wisdom : 55

Dexterity : 33

Spell : 『Fly』 『Torch』 『Fire』 『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』

Skill : 『Warrior's Memory』 『Night Vision』 『Crushing Blow』 『Dog’s Sense of Smell』 『Golem Maker: Lv2』 『Rush』 『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』 『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』 『Air Jump: Lv2』 『Killing Leg: Lv2』 『Fear Voice』 『Invisible』 『Tiger Eye』 『Wall Walking』 『Intuition』 『Cheat Death』 『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield』『Information Link』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization』『Regenerate』

Kazane:「I just remembered, but Healer Ray is a ranged spell from Chapter 3, and High Heal is simply a more powerful recovery spell.」

Yumika:「High heel sounds like something that would be painful to be stepped on by.」