New Encounter #1

 

“Was that Mr. Wagner?”

“⋯No, sir.”

Wagner blinked his sad calf-like eyes.

“I⋯ am 23 years old.”

“ah.”

There was silence for a moment.

Flora and I swallowed our words with a heavy heart.

Sometimes there are moments like that.

If you offer weak words of comfort, the mood will become even more gloomy.

No, I think I would believe it even if you said she was 33 years old, or 43 years old…

“Wagner, can I speak comfortably then?”

Nod.

When I treated him kindly, his face looked much happier.

Still, that’s a relief.

Wagner has helped me before, and he’s a decent guy.

He’s big and sturdy, so you can trust him.

We exchanged formal greetings, and a new human (if that’s what he claims) warrior, Wagner, joined the party.

“Are you wearing your pants properly?”

“Yeah. It’s comfortable.”

Wagner gave a short answer, then closed his mouth again and stared silently at the plate of peanuts on the table.

Flora occasionally glanced at Wagner, looking slightly nervous.

Well, this is probably the first time you’ve seen such a big human.

The atmosphere is still awkward between us.

Well, time will tell.

“Did you get new shoes? They look nice.”

“okay?”

When I compliment him, he smiles faintly on his face, which resembles a Moai statue.

Wagner stretched his legs out across the table and showed me a giant shoe the size of an aircraft carrier.

“I especially like the color.”

Wagner said with a proud expression.

I’m glad you like it, but that’s not what I was talking about, design.

Wagner’s shoes had magic runes engraved on them.

I looked closely at the shoes that were as big as my head.

“Wagner, have you ever felt these shoes?”

“Feelings⋯?”

A face that says I don’t know.

That’s understandable. There are no professional appraisers in the pioneering area.

Flora, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, turned to me with shining eyes.

“Ms. Estelle, if it’s about emotions, just now-“

“huh.”

After returning from the underground sewer, Flora and I learned new magic from the “Standards of Magic” one by one.

Flora is “magic fog”.

And the magic I learned is “emotion.”

“That’s perfect. We were just about to get our gear appraised. I’ll do those shoes for you, too.”

Hehe.

Wagner nodded vigorously, his face a bright smile.

I first felt for Flora’s Imperial Silk Gloves.

“Use emotional magic.”

The magical power emanating from my hand transforms into a tiny magnifying glass that moves around on the glove.

After a while⋯

“You have successfully appraised the Imperial Silk Gloves. Your proficiency in Appraisal Magic has increased.”

“I discovered the “Magic Stone Collection” rune embedded in the Imperial Silk Gloves.”

“Collecting Magic Stones

“When you or your companions kill monsters, the probability of obtaining a magic stone increases.”

A green light began to emanate faintly from the magic rune engraved on the inside of Flora’s glove.

Not a bad rune.

A rune that I don’t necessarily want to use, but it’s really useful if my colleagues have it.

“Wow—the gloves are so shiny. They’re so pretty.”

“I know.”

Flora didn’t seem to care about the magic rune’s performance, and was satisfied with just the fact that the color of her gloves had improved.

It’s not like I’m wearing glow-in-the-dark sandals or anything.

Anyway, next it’s time to appraise my gloves.

“Use emotional magic.”

“I discovered the ‘Remnant’ rune embedded in the Imperial Silk Gloves.”

“Congratulations! You’ve discovered the “Thousand-Yi” rune, which radiates immense power!

“afterimage

—The user’s evasion power increases.

“clairvoyance

—See through objects within a certain range. The range and power of vision vary depending on the amount of magic used.

I swallowed my breath.

Celestial Vision. Among the thousands of runes in “Nine Stars,” this rune is considered the most useful.

It’s great for basic use as a way to detect enemies from across walls, but depending on how you use it, it’s a useful rune that can be used in all sorts of places, not just in combat.

So much so that he was even given the nickname ‘3rd Captain of the Auxiliary Runes’.

What the hell. This is already out?

‘I have to go with this kid until the end.’

If this is the case, even if you change your gloves later, you should still take your clairvoyance with you.

Transferring magic runes to other equipment costs quite a bit of money, but it’s well worth it.

“How is it, Estelle?”

Flora looked at me expectantly and asked.

What should I do? Can I be honest?

Sometimes, even if the opponent is from the same party, they often do not reveal all of their power.

Even if we are colleagues now, we never know when we might meet again as enemies.

There is a saying that seeing something is like learning something new.

There’s no guarantee that you won’t get greedy and rush in when you see the precious equipment.

But⋯

Flora felt she could trust him.

The same goes for Wagner.

Since he was the one who helped me without expecting anything in return, there is no room for doubt about the character of both of them.

“Wow. I checked and it’s the Clairvoyance Rune.”

“and-“

“congratulations.”

Flora clapped. Wagner noticed and followed suit.

“But Mr. Wagner, do you know what the Clairvoyance Rune is?”

“⋯Well.”

“Is it good? Miss Estelle, please show me. How do you use this rune?”

What the heck are these guys?

You congratulated me without even knowing what it was?

He is not only naive but also ignorant of the ways of the world.

I shrugged my shoulders and focused my magic into my gloves.

It’s better to show something than to say a hundred words.

“I use clairvoyance.”

The magical power that had been flowing out like an ebb tide was then sucked into the glove.

“oh-“

My vision expands to my surroundings.

If the range that can be seen with the eyes was usually limited to the front view, now it encompasses the entire 360 degrees, up, down, side, and back, just like a chameleon.

A strange sensation, as if one were leaving one’s body and looking down on space from the air.

Moreover, it does not stop at simply broadening the field of vision.

Through the wall, I could see the chef swinging a frying pan inside the kitchen.

Beyond the partition, an adventurer was seen unzipping a toilet.

“What do you think, Estelle? What do you see clearly?”

“⋯A guest will be arriving soon. He is old, has a dark brown beard⋯ and is missing his left arm.”

At my words, Flora and Wagner turned their gaze towards the entrance.

After a while.

“Come in-”

“Kuuuu, the weather is really shitty today – Boss, let’s have a cold beer first!”

An adventurer, his left sleeve fluttering in the wind, opened the door and came in.

“wow.”

“⋯!”

Flora and Wagner looked at each other.

It’s still too early to be surprised.

I frowned and made a face.

The field of vision that had been encompassing the entire bar narrows again.

However, this time, as the field of vision has narrowed, the vision is concentrated in one place.

I saw Wagner.

Thick leather armor.

Looking inside, I saw pectoralis major muscles that looked like they were going to burst and thick chest hair⋯

Oh shit.

“Whew!”

Flora and Wagner, who didn’t know what was going on, tilted their heads as they felt nauseous.

I made a mistake.

I saw something I never wanted to see.

We must cleanse our polluted eyes.

This time I saw Flora.

Skin that looks chewy like freshly pounded rice cake and is clean and pure white.

The underwear is white both top and bottom.

It’s white… nice.

hmm.

I have a feeling that I’m doing something I shouldn’t be doing.

“Are you okay? Your face is red.”

Wagner patted my shoulder and looked at me with concern.

I have released my clairvoyance at this point.

If you want to see more than just underwear, you can see a lot more than that⋯

After just a few seconds of use, not only did my magic power almost run out, but I also felt unmotivated.

Honestly, this is a human rights violation.

I should refrain from doing this unless it is absolutely necessary.

I whispered in Flora’s ear.

“Senior, are you wearing white underwear right now?”

“Oh, wow—how did you know? That’s amazing—”

“That’s the kind of ability it is. You can see it if you use clairvoyance.”

Flora’s eyes widened at my words.

That’s all for the ability description.

Finally, I appraised Wagner’s shoes…

“Dance Wind

“You will become a master of ballroom dancing.”

Why is it that trash comes out among the intermediate runes?

Wagner, you must be having some really bad luck.

When I told him the results hesitantly, Wagner surprisingly seemed satisfied.

“That’s cool.”

I too must learn to have a positive attitude.

Wagner really liked the shoes, he took small steps while sitting on the chair.

Thump thump thump—

Is it just my imagination?

It’s a simple step of just tapping the floor with your feet, but perhaps because of the effect of the Dance Wind rune, you feel an extraordinary sense of rhythm.

“By the way, why isn’t the other one coming?”

It’s already way past the appointed time.

Elf fighter Mitchell.

Where is this guy and what is he doing?

“Mr. Wagner, did you happen to see any elves on your way here?”

Crackle crackle.

Wagner shook his head and went back to his own rhythm.

Knock knock—

“What should I do? Could something have happened?”

Flora furrowed her eyebrows in concern.

“Then there’s nothing we can do.”

“yes?”

“We don’t have the luxury of worrying about your personal circumstances. If that doesn’t work out, the three of us will have to do it.”

No matter what happens, you must keep your promises. This is the basic tenet of an adventurer.

It’s a cold-hearted story, but if an adventurer can’t even do the simple task of arriving at the bar on time for an appointment, there’s no need to accept them as a party member.

We’re not here to get together and play childish games.

Unfortunately, it seems Mitchell is not destined to be with us.

⋯While I was thinking like that.

“Oh, you little scammers!”

Kwadang—

The table next to us rose into the air.

Bottles of alcohol, cards, and gold coins pouring out in all directions.

The bar was instantly engulfed in commotion.

“Didn’t you learn that if you get caught messing around, you’ll lose your hand?”

A woman with red hair tied back like a horse’s tail raised her voice in a fierce voice.

“You crazy bitch. Who scammed you?”

“That’s not purely a lie.”

The men who had been gambling spat and each took up a weapon.

Blades and eyes shining ominously.

Plus, it’s a one-to-many situation.

It would be enough to make any person feel terrified, but the woman seemed as excited as a fish in water.

“Okay, everyone come in.”

What the hell is this?

I thought it would be better to avoid the situation, so I stood up, but suddenly a woman’s face caught my eye.

A fierce beauty with the look of a female leopard.

Fiery red hair.

And, long, pointed ears.

“I’ll beat you until you lose.”

The red-haired elf clenched his fists and chuckled.