Ch.161The Hunt of Women (4)

“Sharpshooter!”

“Searcher!”

“Slayer!”

Blink.

….

What is that about?

No one actually said anything, yet words are being spoken automatically. Can women actually use telepathy?

“Heeheeheehee… Finally, a promotion!”

“After 30 years, at last…!”

The elf sisters had spent enough time as adventurers for a person to grow up and have adult children, and this promotion could rightfully be considered a reward for all that time.

Of course, there’s no causal or correlational relationship, but emotionally speaking, that’s how it felt.

“Master! I’ve reached Metal rank now!”

“Yes. Very, very well done.”

“Heeheeheee…”

I gently stroked Raisha’s chin.

Though she had reached Metal rank, that didn’t mean her rank was the same as mine.

Since we were at the guild anyway, I also applied for a rank promotion, and without any questions or evaluations, I was notified of my promotion to Gold rank.

Considering that Gold rank represents the utmost respect and courtesy for someone who possesses the most formidable power a mortal can attain—power capable of defeating even a million people—I could now be counted among the world-recognized strong ones.

Of course, if you included the Gem ranks, I would once again become the largest amoeba in the hierarchy, but at least I had the nice qualifier of “mortal” attached to me.

“Metal rank at such a young age. This old man who became a Sage after turning forty can’t even compare.”

“Stop exaggerating, Simon. Aren’t you the pillar of this party? Just preventing me from going berserk is more than enough to deserve the title of Sage.”

“So you’re aware that you go berserk?”

“Well, for me, both the left and right pedals are accelerators.”

“Sounds like you need to be scrapped.”

“Hahahahaha!”

The back-and-forth banter was now joined by a chorus of laughter.

Today was a joyous day when we had secured the minimum means to counter the impending doom of fate, so I decided to lightly ignore their laughter.

“Let’s start heading toward Maximus Gorge now. If we stay here any longer, my legs might take root.”

“Talking about taking root when you haven’t even stayed for a month… The World Tree spirits would tear your cheeks apart if they heard that.”

“You must be quite bored, huh?”

“Well, yeah. The World Tree is, how should I put it… our elven identity. With all sorts of mechanical devices and magic used to grow it, the spirits are practically out of business.”

“Huh…”

Why is this actually true?

Sometimes it seemed like my casual remarks would hit the nail on the head.

Surely this couldn’t also be a blessing from the Sun?

[No, it is not.]

Ah. I see.

If it wasn’t the Sun’s blessing, then this must be an innate talent I was born with.

To discover now that I have a talent other than killing people—I’m not sure if I should consider this early or late.

“Simon, go check if there’s a merchant caravan heading to Maximus Gorge.”

“Will do. And you?”

“I’ll…”

I sighed briefly, then took out all the remaining money from my spatial storage.

“I need to get equipment for these girls…”

*

“This bow is made with a carbon nanotube frame and premium composite fiber string. It’s incomparable to what those mediocre local craftsmen make! This is the finest product we can offer!”

“Good. I’ll take two of those.”

“And these daggers have a system that can self-heat up to 10,000 degrees Celsius, creating a plasma effect… They’re designed with nanomite alloy to prevent self-decomposition, allowing them to function for over 100 years. Perfect for starting campfires. Additionally, the blades have micro force fields engraved on them, providing cutting power similar to monomolecular cutters.”

“That sounds good too. Four of those.”

“This halberd here is made with graphene core overlaid with titanium alloy, making it incredibly light and easy to handle despite its impact force. Simultaneously, the handle contains a device that generates a force field by injecting aura, allowing you to sweep away enemies with just a small amount of aura.”

“Ooh… not bad. One of those too.”

“These twin axes were crafted by a famous artisan from the Heart City who devoted a month of painstaking effort. They have your fingerprints and palm lines engraved, delivering an electric shock to anyone other than the owner who picks them up. They also have self-guiding and return functions, making them usable as boomerangs. Made from depleted uranium, they undergo self-sharpening, eliminating the need to sharpen the blades.”

“Those are good too.”

“What good are weapons alone? Surprise attacks are inevitable in adventures! This product here is a biological armor made specifically for the High Elf physique, using silk from silkworms raised with various drugs, layered 12 times for excellent insulation. Between the layers are ultra-thin shape memory alloys, giving it self-repair capabilities.”

“Nice. Two sets of those.”

“And for vanguard positions who often stand at the front, sturdy armor is essential. This product has leather armor underneath iron plates, allowing the leather to absorb impacts on the iron. I assure you this isn’t cheap synthetic leather—it ranges from manticore hide at minimum to drake leather at best. With excellent elasticity, insulation, and design, wearing just this will instantly capture the attention of all adventurers!”

“Seems suitable for our beauty. One set of that too. How much is it all?”

“Let’s see! Two bows, four daggers, one halberd, two axes, three sets of armor… That comes to 130 gold coins!”

“Paying in full.”

I said that while handing over a pouch filled with gold coins.

The employee, with a face so excited that he might have hit the ceiling if I hadn’t been there, carefully took the pouch, and soon other employees gathered to count the money inside.

“Can the armors be tailored to fit these women?”

“Of course! We’ll do that for free! Miss Kim?”

“Yes! Coming! Ladies, would you please come this way?”

When I mentioned alterations, the employee called for an expert known as ‘Miss Kim,’ and the three women, addressed with the civilized term ‘ladies,’ followed the tailor somewhere as if entranced.

When I turned my attention back to the employees, they finished counting the money and handed me back the pouch with the remaining change, which I checked.

13 gold coins…

All those gold coins, gone in a single shopping spree.

As I made a peculiar expression, the employee approached me, rubbing his hands together.

“Um… I understand you care deeply for the ladies, but it wouldn’t be bad to purchase some equipment for yourself, Sir Knight…”

“Hah…”

In response to his subtle encouragement, I pulled out Eradicator and Annihilator.

“Hieeeek…”

“These are Orichalcum Bastard Swords bestowed by the Sun. If you can present something more precious than these, I might consider it.”

“F-forgive my rudeness!”

Orichalcum is expensive.

If converted to value, one Orichalcum sword would easily exceed 10,000 gold coins.

Though it’s steadily supplied, most Orichalcum doesn’t circulate in the market but goes into the core materials of impressive things like airships. If we assume the total Orichalcum produced is the size of a large rice cake, the amount that reaches the market would be just the size of a single sliced rice cake.

No wonder the employee fell on his backside in surprise, seeing me carrying two swords made of such a precious material.

Ah! How the Sun cherishes me so!

“By the way, when will the alterations be finished?”

“It will take some time. Since they’re made of special materials, we need to use special machines for the alterations…”

“Then I’ll wait outside. When my companions come out, tell them I’m outside.”

“Understood, sir.”

*

About two hours passed.

Just as Simon and I were starting to get bored sitting idly, the shop door opened, and finally, the three women emerged with majestic appearances.

“My goodness. Look at that fine appearance. Selling just the lint from those clothes could feed someone for a year.”

Simon was probably joking, but to me, the one who had paid for it all, it didn’t sound like a joke at all.

I stood up and looked at the three women who were now perfectly matched in their new equipment, and immediately Raisha quickly nestled into my arms.

The design of the clothes didn’t matter since they would be taken off anyway, and I carried Raisha, who was sticking to me like glue, as I approached the elf sisters and said:

“For the next ten adventures, your share of the money is gone.”

“…Understood.”

“With such high-quality equipment provided, we can’t really complain.”

Nodding at the affirmation from these rare conscientious pointy-ears, I took out the caravan escort request that Simon had inquired about and showed it to the women.