Chapter 311: Big Burning Build

After seeing off the Celes-something-or-other as it headed out to sea, thanks to a fishing boat captain who flew an incredibly solid flag with lines like "We're gonna make a killing out here!", I returned to Rabituza for the time being. Then, bringing Emul along, I visited the mansion where our client, Saint-chan, was staying.

Sunraku: "Feels like my female-body-conversion rate is pretty high whenever I'm dealing with humans."

I mean, Josette just said, "Shall we switch you to female form then?" in a totally natural flow, so I figured that's just how it is… but I can't shake the feeling there's some personal interest mixed in there.

Emul: "Sunrako-ko-san's head wobbles just a tiny bit, wa."

Sunraku: "That's probably a skeletal structure issue… Emul, muffler mode."

Emul: "Hai na!"

Now then, I've taken up the back-alley job of Avenger, but I have to wonder whether this thing I got from the chief will actually pass as an ID.

Eristella: "…Yes, if you bear that emblem, boarding should be possible."

Sunraku: "Hell yeah."

Josette: "Pioneer, you stand before the Saint. Mind your tongue."

Eristella: "I don't mind, Josette."

Josette: "Ha!"

As always, zero-compromise roleplay—not a trace of the frank attitude from before the audience. Well, knowing it's just a strict attitude from a hardcore roleplayer, I don't really mind. While looking away from Josette, whose lips twitched upward after being chided by Saint-chan, I examined the identification item the chief gave me: the Shubir Emblem.

Sunraku: "So my image is permanently fixed as a bird, huh…"

Well, I mean, I spend most of my time wearing the Staring Bird Mask, and whenever I've been in human settlements, I've basically had a bird head, so I guess it can't be helped… but man, I'm not okay with this.

Eristella: "We cannot openly acknowledge them, but the existence of Avengers is tolerated by the Kingdom."

Sunraku: "A necessary evil, you mean?"

Eristella: "Yes."

As I continued the roleplay while receiving a look from Josette that practically screamed "Details, please!", I once again addressed Saint-chan.

Sunraku: "About this quest—the protection and escort of His Majesty the King… any changes to the plan?"

Eristella: "The process of escorting His Majesty under our protection remains unchanged… however, there is a slight alteration to the schedule."

Sunraku: "Meaning…?"

Eristella: "Information has come in that during this royal inspection… the First Princess will be accompanying him. The First Prince and First Princess are… well… on extremely bad terms, so most likely…"

So they're planning to off both at once, huh. I really wish they'd spare me the extra trouble at this stage…

Eristella: "We will mobilize additional personnel on our end as well, but in the event of an emergency, could we ask you to protect Her Highness the First Princess in addition to His Majesty the King?"

Sunraku: "…Understood. By the way, Saint-sama, there is one thing I would like to request."

Josette's eyebrow twitched. You were debating whether to bring out the female knight roleplay just now, weren't you? Sorry, but that'd drag things out, so I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that.

Eristella: "Let us hear it."

Sunraku: "I'll be direct… I would like permission to bring along a friend of mine from that country."

As for whether this confirmation is actually necessary—honestly, the importance isn't that high. Josette and the others are players, so they probably wouldn't immediately move to exterminate Emul just from seeing him.

What matters is gauging their reaction when I bring up a Rabituza-related topic.

Eristella: "…I see. Though you seem to have already brought them… I had no intention of refusing from the start. Josette, notify everyone aboard the ship: 'Do not attack any Vorpal Bunny you may encounter.'"

Josette: "Understood. Ryū × 4 Techi, can I ask you to handle that?"

Ryū × 4 Techi: "Roger that!"

Following Josette's roleplay, the member of the Saint’s Divine Guard clan who attended her as a subordinate exited the room. Just before passing by, they gave me a wink, so I waved back with a hand hidden behind me.

Eristella: "Then let us be off. As members of the Three Gods Faith, we are to board the ZEEZEE."

So, that's why I'm now in Rabituza. The New Land Research Vessel? Yeah, I boarded it. The bed in my private cabin was a save point, so I saved once, then did an Emul-warp. Seriously, you are one damn convenient rabbit.

Sunraku: "I'd heard the first wave was using the ship that beached itself as a save point, so I wondered if that might be the case, but all hail the Teleport Gate."

Emul: "Boo… I wanted to enjoy the ship voyage a little more, wa."

Relax, Emul. It's apparently several days of sailing, so you'll get rocked by the boat until you're sick of it soon enough. Well, as long as Emul's here… or rather, any player who's got one of the Vash-children with them can fast-travel whenever they feel like it.

Sunraku: "Alright then! We've got time to kill until we reach the New Land anyway, so let's knock out all sorts of stuff!"

Rei-shi apparently snagged boarding rights at the last minute, but unfortunately, the ship she ended up on was the BELHEMOLTH, and Rei-shi seemed genuinely, deeply regretful, muttering, "So frustrating…!"

What surprised me was that Akitsu Akane and the Rust-Mold duo had casually gotten on a New Land-bound ship. Those guys—I honestly have no idea what they're usually up to, but apparently, by taking merchant-type NPC quests, you can board the New Land Research Vessels.

Also, as expected—or rather, of course—there were a fair number of stowaway players. No, actually, there were. When found, they apparently get thrown into the brig at the bottom of the ship, but I guess the thinking is that if you can reach the New Land, a little karma penalty is worth ignoring.

Come to think of it, I got my boarding rights through Saint-chan too, so there must be backdoors prepared besides the official volunteer lottery… but conversely, the fact that stowing away still exists as an option despite that many workarounds just shows how huge this game's population is.

Sunraku: "So, anyway, I'm gonna go switch my gender back real quick."

Emul: "Hai na, hai na."

Sunraku: "Heeey! Came to hang out!"

Sunraku: "Oh, Mr. Golden Scorpion! Sorry to bother you—gurgh."

Sunraku: "Alright, I'm back. Here, a souvenir."

Emul: "Yay, it's a Lapisteria Stellar Crystal, wa!"

Alright, let's go to Bilac's place.

Within the Palace of Rabituza, there are two workshops. One is Vash's workshop, and the other is Bilac's workshop.

Unlike Vash's workshop, which—to put it harshly—lacks flair, or—to put it kindly—is simple and sturdy, Bilac's workshop has been undergoing increasingly radical modifications, mainly thanks to me.

Bilac: "Ooh, ya came. Take a look, this here's the new model furnace, all finished up."

Sunraku: "Whoa… huh? Hasn't it been less than two weeks?"

Bilac: "Nn."

Where she pointed, I saw Arameese collapsed in utter exhaustion… ah. (Realization.)

Bilac: "Well, part of it's 'cause I had that idiot help out… but I've also gotten used to handlin' iron since Vash keeps dumpin' work on me left and right."

Sunraku: "Is there some hidden stat with a separate growth value from crafting…? A furnace renovation seems more like architecture-job territory than smithing, though…"

Well, whatever. No point in constantly doubting a lucky break that fell into my lap.

Since the era setting is basically medieval, the furnaces smiths use are shaped like pizza ovens. Though in Bilac's workshop, there's near-future equipment that looks like an operating table in the corner, but we'll ignore that for now. What deserves attention is the renovated furnace. Its appearance is kind of like an over-reinforced oil drum, but what sets it apart from a normal furnace is the lack of a fuel slot.

Bilac: "The kindlin' fire Vash brought in is… well, put simply, it's a fire that 'don't go out and keeps multiplyin'.'"

In short, it seems to be a case of "if left alone, the fire might destroy the furnace from the inside, so we super-reinforced it." Since I'm not that interested in crafting jobs, this is all completely someone else's problem to me, but having used an absurd amount of rare ore, it looks like there's no shortage of reinforcement for Areadbhair.

Bilac: "I'm gonna show ya my full power!"

Even compared to me, Sunraku—a human of above-average size—the Decaying-Glow Areadbhair boasts the size of a greatsword. But when Bilac holds it, it just looks like she's hauling construction materials.

But without any sign of needing an assist from anyone else, Bilac shoves Areadbhair into the furnace with her sheer brawn, then grips a red gemstone with glowing patterns and raises it high.

Bilac: "Now burn like hell, ya bastard!!"

Emul: "She threw it, wa!"

Sunraku: "Nice form, could go pro."

The moment Bilac hurled the gemstone into the furnace, the supposedly reinforced new model furnace erupted with a tremendous roar and a blinding flash from within. As a bonus, Emul, who stared directly at the white-hot light, went into agony.

Emul: "Fubyaaaaaaa! My eyeeeees, wa!"

Sunraku: "Hey, Bilac, you okay?!"

Bilac: "This much ain't nothin', lukewarm, lukewarm!"

Sunraku: "No, no, no, no!"

It's radiating enough heat and light that if I stuck my hand in there, I'd be well-done charcoal in one second, hey. Matter of fact, doesn't black fur gather heat like crazy?

Q. Wasn't the furnace being completed so fast a little too convenient? A. Arameese and the Rabituza carpenters worked really hard—actually, if we missed this timing, the next chance to squeeze it in could be way down the line, so please forgive me, anything (ry.

From here on out, if you see the gender-swapped protagonist back in male form, please assume, "Ah, this guy went to hang out at his friend's place."