Chapter 297: The Half-Naked Long-Legged Older Brother (Bird-Head)
Decaying-Glow Areadbhair A hero's weapon now bearing the flame of resurgence. Though still far from its original power and difficult to use as a weapon, the true flame dwelling in the blade illuminates two paths for the great spear's blade.
Wordless, but striking a full-body victory pose. The female form has worn off and I'm back to being a guy, but whatever. Honestly, avatar gender is secondary right now. Emul is giving me a half-lidded look like what the hell is this guy doing, but I couldn't care less. My romantic experience in Love Clock — running like hell from the shadow of a pizza — has finally transcended the barriers of language and AI.
Sunraku: "Right now, I'm not even scared of Fuckaria..."
Nah, actually, I'm still scared shitless. I mean, that bitch wipes out the characters you spent the whole last chapter raising affection with, enemies and all. And any character who starts getting close to the protagonist gets targeted first. She apologizes through tears, but the second the event scene ends, she hits you with, "Isn't it stupid to keep moping around?!" Like, what kind of life do you have to live to come up with lines like that? Is she insane?
Sunraku: "Alright, Emul. Let's go smack that dazed idiot rabbit awake."
Emul: "Hai na!"
And so, we marched into her workshop all fired up. But what we saw there was the utterly transformed figure of Bilac...
Bilac: "Uhehehehe..."
Emul: "B-Bilac onee-chan...?"
Bilac: "Byaa."
Sunraku: "Th-this chick... she's pounding carrots with a hammer..."
Wait, is she making paste or something? The way she just kept hammering carrots on that anvil with a vacant look on her face — I seriously worried she'd had a mental breakdown.
Sunraku: "Is it safe to talk to her? She's not gonna attack us with some muscle-memory auto-defense instinct, right?"
Emul: "I'd like you to stop treating my onee-chan like a golem, wa..."
I mean, seriously, she's completely turned into an AI running a bare-bones program. Part of me wants to just leave her and see how long she keeps at it... Oh, she ate the carrot paste. Got it, nutrition intake is perfect, and—
Sunraku: "Guess what this is~"
Bilac: "Nn...? What's this, you little—"
GONK! (The sound of a hammer slamming into Bilac's hand)
Bilac: "GYAAAAAAHHH!?!?!"
Sunraku: "Nmpf—"
Emul: "Nhyu—"
Honestly, someone should praise Emul and me for not bursting out laughing right there. I look down at Bilac writhing in agony, making a noise that's really hard to describe. I clench the Areadbhair I'd pulled out to show off and hold back the laughter. I know, okay! If I laugh here, she's gonna smash my shins or knees with that hammer...!
Sunraku: "You oka— pfft hehehe..."
.........
Sunraku: "...Wait, let's talk about this, Bilac. A full swing is not okay. A full swing is NOT okay."
Bilac: "Why you— prepare to die!"
Sunraku: "Guh!?"
Took 70% of my HP.
Bilac: "Wachi was entrusted with this by Pops. I'm definitely gonna bring this sword back to life...!"
She takes the Areadbhair, lit by that mysterious butterfly. As the ruined blade shows a glimpse of crimson just like I do when I use Shakkotsu Breaker, Bilac declares this with just as much fire.
Sunraku: "What else do you need?"
Bilac: "Hmm... We got the 'fire.' But a 'furnace'... Yeah, we need a furnace."
Furnace? I glance over at the furnace in Bilac's workshop. There's some obviously futuristic equipment next to it, but I'll ignore that. It might be the parent of Gilta Brille and Dis Pater, Nether King’s Mirror Shield, so should I be worshipping it instead?
Bilac: "Wachi's a Master Craftsman too, even if just a fledgling. The moment I saw this sword, I understood... This sword is fire."
Sunraku: "Fire element?"
Bilac: "Well, that ain't wrong... but it's different. This sword is 'flame itself.'"
Grandiose metaphors are a fantasy privilege... Anyway, Bilac doesn't seem to be hiding anything. So this Areadbhair isn't just a simple fire-element weapon.
Bilac: "This sword... well, it was originally a spear. But it's built around a core of 'flame' into a 'sword.' So to get that power back... this ol' furnace just ain't enough."
Sunraku: "I see... So, what do you need?"
Hm-hmm, okay. So quality ore by the dozen? Interesting...
A brief intermission.
Run, hide, dig, then die.
And resume.
Sunraku: "Here, this enough?"
Bilac: "Hey, Emul. The materials wachi asked for... was it really somethin' you just 'pop out and grab'...?"
Emul: "Onee-chan, 'Golden scales do not waver against the waves of time,' wa."
I asked what that meant, and it's apparently a saying: "Only a fool worries about Siegwurm's scales weathering, when they haven't weathered for eons." These proverbs that don't exist in reality always catch my interest— Wait, hold on. Is that supposed to mean, "The stuff you do is so insane that worrying about it is pointless"? Huh?
Sunraku: "Emul, later we're having a Duxram, Blade of Aspiration trial session."
Emul: "Wha— you're gonna hurl me, wa?! You're gonna hurl me, wa!?"
Sunraku: "Not a parabola. A straight line."
Emul: "A straight line!?"
It's convenient, so I overwork it. Duxram gets to work hard for me today, as always. Since its durability doesn't drop as long as you don't miss a crit, it might honestly be more useful than my Whalelore Moonblade... Well, it has no offensive abilities, so from an attacker's perspective, it's probably the most docile weapon I own.
Bilac: "...Well, whatever. The furnace upgrade's gonna take time. Give it about two weeks."
Sunraku: "Got it. Oh, and separate from that, I need these and these upgraded too..."
Might as well kick off the Emul Enhancement Plan as an apology while I'm at it. Let's go, Emul! Money is no object!
That's right, I'm a man who spares no expense. In real life, I'm definitely a penny-pinching model citizen, but in-game me blows hundreds of millions without a second thought.
After deciding to head to Firstia on another day, I visited a certain trading company in Fifticia. I'd used a connection from someone in my clan to get in touch, but once I flashed a bit of my "wealth," even a half-naked bird-head gets the VIP treatment.
Staff: "Why, Sunraku-sama. At this late hour..."
Sunraku: "Pioneers tend to be nocturnal, you see... Is that person here...?"
Staff: "If I tell him Sunraku-sama has called for him, he should be here right away."
Sunraku: "Good. Then call him over. May I wait here?"
Staff: "But of course. Sunraku-sama is a valued customer of Golden Scales."
A little while later, in one of the company's rooms — supposedly "on par with the royal castle's guest chambers" — I'm feeding a carrot to my muffler... when there's a knock at the door.
Staff: "Sunraku-sama, I have brought him."
Sunraku: "Let him in."
Emul: "Sunraku-san, your appearance and your words are so mismatched it's hilarious, wa... Pugyuu!"
Mufflers don't talk, right? Hmm? Let's keep quiet, yeah?
The door opens and in walks a young NPC in thoroughly tired, soot-stained clothes. He's muscular, but with a round impression he can't shake. He nervously scans the guest room, but when his eyes land on me, he frantically tries to bow... and does a double-take.
Norman: "Huh... why are you naked..."
Sunraku: "Don't worry about it. It's a bit of a long story... You're Norman, correct?"
Norman: "Y-yes... Um, I heard from the Golden Scales... that you'd be providing financing..."
THUD! The fine desk in the guest chamber shakes. The young man, Norman, opens his eyes wide at what I've pulled from my inventory. Not hearing my words, the round-faced young man shuffles forward with a zombie-like gait toward the beautiful and massive gem on the desk. This is the item this young man has been seeking, even willing to pour massive loans into it. It's a gem that currently cannot be obtained on this continent without conquering Crystal Nest Cliff — a place synonymous with hell.
Sunraku: "A Lapisteria Stellar Crystal... This is what you're after, isn't it?"
Norman: "A-ah... this big... is this real...? No way, a first-magnitude star...!? But, you'd have to be royalty... huh...?"
Sunraku: "Shall we continue?"
Norman: "Y-yehh!"
Pencilgon-style negotiation: in a deal, you're supposed to either hide your cards completely, or flash them more than necessary. By presenting the biggest piece of intel first, you seize control of the situation and force concessions from the other party. I feel like some mysterious rich long-legged dude oozing powerful vibes. A while ago, I was here negotiating to somehow use the "Scales of Compensation" by dropping Pencilgon's name, and I happened to overhear something... I definitely want a piece of that action.
Sunraku: "Norman-kun. I am extremely interested in what you're... yes, what you're building. I'd love to hear all the details...!"
I'm a man who spares no expense. I can go up to five billion! Fwahahaha!!
Lycagon's Contusion (Intimidation +50) Overwhelming Financial Power (Intimidation +20) Trading Company VIP Treatment (Intimidation +10) Overwhelming Half-Nakedness (Intimidation +80) Bird-Head With a Weirdly Intense Gaze (Intimidation +40)
Sunraku: "Let's be friends...! (Intimidation 200%)"