73 – 14 – Error of Reunion – 3

The byproducts of Hati, the Moon-Eating Wolf and Divine Beast of Darkness that Gi-jun had brought out, were consumed without exception to strengthen Gi-jun’s party.

First, with the leather (U+), they had planned to prepare inner armor for Gi-jun, a leather jacket and pants for Gin, and protective clothing to be worn under Lora’s priest robes…

“Ahem, I-I think I’m fine with the clothes.”

“Lora?”

To his surprise, Lora herself was refusing it.

For some reason, she was extremely embarrassed, but she insisted with an unyielding attitude.

“It will be enough if you just make me gloves and boots. Ah… and.”

“And?”

“Maybe a corset…?”

All the men who heard those words wore expressions that showed they could not understand.

However, as if she had thought of something, Unika whispered with Lora for a moment before asking the Meister to call a female leather artisan.

“I believe it would be fine to make a corset, gloves, and boots for Miss Lora.”

“If Lora wants it, that is fine, but…”

Of course, he had heard that soldiers going to the battlefield also wore corsets to protect their waist and abdomen, but even so, it was a very bewildering and sudden order.

If the waist was tightened too much with a corset, it could go beyond being bad for health and make it difficult to fight, and furthermore, was Lora’s waist not already slender?

While Gi-jun was worrying about how to express such thoughts without being rude to her, the artisan arrived and plunged into a full-scale consultation with Lora.

Glittertoss, who had been watching the scene with narrowed eyes, turned to Gi-jun and asked.

“To make a corset, metal needs to go into the frame, but is there any metal that matches this great leather?”

“Hmm… Ah, I wonder if this will work?”

Gi-jun pulled out a rib bone (L) from among the ribs he had harvested from Hati and presented it.

When he poured out the creature’s teeth (U+) as a bonus, no one said they needed any other metal anymore.

“Then, with this leather, I can make inner armor for the Hero, and a jacket and pants for the wolf-eared kid… and maybe a pair of gloves with the scraps. I will cut the silver moon stone into three pieces to coat the weapons… and use moon-welcoming stone for all the finishing materials…”

Glittertoss, who was busy conceiving the work details, suddenly clicked his tongue.

“Of course the leather is good, but if you had only picked out and brought the bones from it, we would have had a full set of plate armor.”

“I didn’t think that far when I was butchering it. Still, in the end, it is just bone; can it really replace metal?”

“Does someone who plans to make a shield out of a Dullahan’s head say such a thing?”

At Glittertoss’s words, Gi-jun found himself nodding in agreement.

“Then next time, I will make sure to bring only the bones. Make a splendid set of full plate armor with them.”

“You sound as if you have already picked out the next Divine Beast you are going to catch.”

“…”

“Hey, look here.”

Gi-jun shut his mouth tightly and exercised his right to remain silent.

Glittertoss could not bring himself to force open the mouth of his new VVIP member, but he hummed, confident that he would be able to work with Divine Beast materials next time as well.

However, for Gi-jun, even after pouring out so many of the Divine Beast’s byproducts, the final material still remained, and it was none other than the Moon-Devouring Wolf’s Claw (L) which had formed into a single massive lump from the eight claws he had pulled out in real-time during the hunt.

“Could we add this to make my shield?”

“…Splendid. Truly splendid.”

Although the materials shining with a U+ rank were also excellent, looking at this material, which contained the most intense energy next to the Divine Beast’s heart that Gin had already eaten, Glittertoss truly realized that he was standing before the materials of a Divine Beast.

“A Dullahan’s head, a Monoceros’s horn, and a Moon-Devouring Wolf’s claw. And Silver Moon Stone as the finishing material… I must complete it. Even if it is impossible to make, I will make it happen no matter what.”

“Do you need more materials or catalysts?”

“We can make do with Moon-Welcoming Stone. There is no need for anything more than this. Just melting these contradictory materials together is already overwhelming.”

“That’s why it will be an even more worthwhile attempt,” Glittertoss said with a grin, clashing his two fists together.

“But since it will be a massive undertaking that takes several months, let’s finish the other things first. Starting with that ridiculously large pistol.”

Glittertoss first extracted the pure ‘Silver Moon’ and divided it into three parts.

He disassembled Vladimir and perfectly repaired the tiny components.

He admired the cross emblem filled with divine silver.

He newly plated the rest of the gun with Silver Moon, excluding that part.

He called an enchanter and a priest to adjust the weapon so that no problems would occur with the various enhancement enchants and blessings originally bestowed upon Vladimir.

“U+ rank, huh… I couldn’t grow the rank. Well, it was already such an amazing gun to begin with. What about the bullets? Do you use magic bullets?”

“I was taught the Magic Bullet skill, but basically I plan to manufacture and use bullets. I will make them myself. I learned it from my father.”

“Splendid. Ah, hand over that shotgun too. I will newly reinforce it with Moon-Welcoming Stone.”

Having perfectly tuned the Magic Shotgun (U) and Crossbow (R) following Vladimir (U+), Glittertoss smacked his lips as he looked at the massive battleaxe slung on the kid’s back.

“I need to work on that one too. Hand it over.”

“Ah, this is my mother’s keepsake, so I would like to keep using it as it is…”

“The blade is fine, but the shaft won’t last long. So, I will only replace the shaft for you.”

The portion of the rib bone Gi-jun had presented earlier that went into the corset was only a tiny fraction.

Glittertoss trimmed the rest to serve as the shaft, fixed the axe blade, and while he was at it, added Hati’s teeth (U+) to reinforce the blade and added magical treatments.

In the end, the axe, which had originally been of Rare rank, became Unique rank, so Gin was satisfied as well.

“Is it the lady’s turn next?”

“Here… it is.”

“Yes, that sword. It looks like a masterpiece at a glance… Oh.”

The name of the sword that Carmilla had wielded—which was now Lora’s weapon—was Buwol, namely the Decayed Moon.

It was indeed a name that reflected Carmilla’s bad taste, but the name was not the only terrible thing about it.

“The murderous intent is enormous…?”

“I can suppress it with my own strength.”

“No, let me grind the blade anew first.”

Glittertoss carefully coated the blade of Buwol with Silver Moon, then diligently ground the edge of the sword on the spot.

He refined the wildly splattering murderous intent, somehow stuffing it into the small and slender blade and delicately refining it.

Once the work, which even looked somewhat reverent, was finished, Lora, who would wield Buwol in the future, consecrated the weapon herself as a priest of Ishtar.

“Oh, the rank rose slightly. It rose to become U+ rank.”

“Thank you…!”

“I feel a formidable karma in this sword. That pistol, too. If you accumulate more karma together with your master, it might eventually reach the legendary rank.”

At the words casually spoken by Glittertoss, who had finished adjusting the weapons with all his heart, Gin and Lora both hardened their expressions at the same time.

It appeared that each of them had their own thoughts.

‘Whether it is affection or hatred, if the emotion held toward a weapon is deep, the weapon is bound to be stimulated.’

Glittertoss nodded in satisfaction at the two of them, then turned to Gi-jun and spoke.

“VVIP, I will deliver the armor as soon as it is finished. As I said earlier, the shield is still a long way off, so keep using the one I gave you.”

“Okay, Glittertoss. I leave it to you.”

Disposing of all the loot obtained from the ruins and even commissioning the manufacture of weapons and armor made him feel refreshed, as if he had cleared away old laundry.

On the way out of the workshop, Unika called out and stopped Gi-jun, who was humming and resolving to make Hati braised ribs for dinner tonight.

“Jun-nim, you must stop by the Mercenary Guild.”

“Ah—right. Lora, Gin. Do you want to go back first?”

“Understood!”

“I will be training hard…! So much that you will be surprised when you return!”

Although Lora and Gin seemed to have grown significantly on the outside with their changed races, amplified stats, and completely renewed weapons, looking at their inner foundation made him shake his head.

For their rapid growth, Gi-jun established a perfect plan by referencing the training he had previously done with Biche, and Lora and Gin, who revered him to the extreme, would follow it without a word of complaint no matter how difficult it was.

Looking at the backs of the two as they returned to the villa, resolving to devote themselves to training, Lucy muttered in a faint voice.

―So this is how the hellish training is passed down.

‘Shh.’

When he arrived at the guild with Unika, the general manager, whose face had now become quite familiar, welcomed them, and the master of the Turis Mercenary Guild was also seated in the room they were guided to.

He was a middle-aged man who gave off an unexpectedly ordinary vibe, but if he had truly been ordinary, he could not have become the guild master.

As they sat down after greeting each other, the guild master spoke first.

“Though it was not my intention, along with apologizing for ending up deceiving the Lord of Turis… I want to say thank you for protecting Lora.”

“Are you perhaps Lora’s…?”

“No, I am not.”

At Gi-jun’s dumbfounded expression, the master hurriedly shook his head.

“Lora was a child who was doted on by everyone in the guild. She is also the younger sister of In, who is highly trusted by the guild… and despite her young age, the holy power she possesses is so immense that she was a talent with a promising future.”

“Lora will probably find it difficult to work as a priest in the Mercenary Guild in the future. I am sorry.”

“I never expected a talent like Lora to stay in this cramped guild forever. Please take good care of her in the future as well.”

After exchanging some minor conversations, he got down to the main point.

“At any rate, through this incident, we have secured clear evidence that a vampire attack on the Gratia Kingdom is imminent. Along with the Lord, we are already recruiting those within the Gratia Kingdom who will join forces and move with us.”

“I am glad the matter is being handled quickly.”

“I heard from the Lord that you plan to directly infiltrate the vampire kingdom.”

When Gi-jun looked at Unika, Unika gave him a reassuring nod.

Gi-jun also nodded and revealed the truth to him.

“That’s right. I’ve gained the ability to track them.”

Gi-jun had previously figured out how to enter their kingdom in the sub-space from the ruins where the vampires resided.

And since Lora was now able to track Carmilla’s location, it meant they could infiltrate the enemies’ kingdom and launch a precise strike on the leadership.

“We must form a suicide squad. Even if we cannot move on a large scale, we can pick about four elite parties…”

“This will be the most difficult quest in the history of the Gratia Mercenary Guild’s establishment.”

The general manager, who chuckled and chipped in from the side, turned to Gi-jun and said.

“I will fill the vacancies quickly. Well, considering your name has spread throughout Gratia, talented people will roll in on their own anyway.”

“Throughout Gratia? I haven’t done anything to warrant that yet.”

“What are you talking about? You didn’t know yet?”

When Gi-jun replied with a tilted head, the general manager spoke with wide eyes.

“The rumor that you hunted a Divine Beast has already spread far and wide, centered around the Summoned.”

“…But we just came out of the blacksmith workshop, though?”

“There is the Letaphone, you know.”

Although Gi-jun was half-doubting the general manager’s laughing words,

the rumor about the Flame Human Jun, who had hunted the Divine Beast, was already spreading beyond Gratia and throughout all of Leta by this time.

* * *

On the second floor of the Mercenary Guild in Ars, a small city in the east of the Gratia Kingdom, inside the sub-master’s office.

Checking the neatly organized report and the evidence attached to it—the loot obtained from the vampire—Sub-Master Bella let out a low exclamation of admiration.

“You organized it very thoroughly. To think that even an employee of our guild was included. This is certainly not something we can just overlook.”

“I knew you would say so, Sub-Master.”

The brain of Ye-min’s party, the magician Ji-hye, replied with a faint smile.

At those words, Bella could not help but let out a hollow laugh.

“You knew I would take this seriously… Is that why you held out until you got a chance to report directly to me, skipping the other officials? For a young human, you are quite bold.”

“It is because Lady Bella of the Ars Mercenary Guild is famous for being fair and valuing discipline.”

Ji-hye laid on the flattery without even wetting her lips.

In reality, she had only had Eun-shin do undercover work in the guild to choose the person most likely to listen to them!

“Hmph, you must have heard that I am picky and strict.”

“Yes, that is why I thought I could trust you. After all, in this guild… there is a tendency to look down on us humans.”

Originally, Ye-min, not Ji-hye, was supposed to be in this position.

With her high Charm stat, Ye-min was the perfect fit to win the favor of NPCs and even generate quests out of thin air.

However, thinking that Ye-min’s charm might act negatively on Bella’s personality, Ji-hye had stepped forward in the end, and fortunately, it seemed to have worked out reasonably well.

“Do you think it is fine to say that so confidently to me, the sub-master of this guild?”

“I thought it would be best to speak my mind honestly to Bella-nim. I apologize if I was rude.”

“No—it is fine. Since it is not a wrong statement. There is no need to make excuses and tire ourselves when we both know the situation clearly.”

Bella was similar to a human in all other aspects, but uniquely, both of her ears were pointed.

Since she was very young, beautiful, and possessed sleek blonde hair, she looked just like a fairy that had popped out of a storybook—but there was a reason she was called the most feared existence in this guild.

She pierced through lies keenly and quickly grasped the nature of one’s existence.

Those who had even the slightest guilty conscience were bound to avoid her.

“To be honest, I already knew about this because I heard it from an acquaintance. That is also why I could believe your words more easily.”

“You already heard and knew about it… Do you mean the appearance of vampires?”

“In Turis, west of Gratia.”

Answering briefly, Bella touched her forehead, pretending to have a throbbing headache.

“However, to think that they had already stretched their evil claws to Ars, which is close to the royal capital. If it comes to this, I might have to meet with the Lord of Turis seriously once…”

“Ahem, is there perhaps anything our party can do to help? Since we encountered a vampire directly here, we can testify for you, and we are also quite confident in combat for humans—”

“No need for that.”

Lightly stomping on Ji-hye’s sly attempt to subtly expand the quest, Bella thrust her face close to the disappointed Ji-hye and spoke.

“More importantly, why don’t you come work for me? I like the way you work.”

“Yes?!”

To think that a scouting offer would come to her, of all people, instead of Ye-min.

When Ji-hye, startled, backed away and babbled about already having a party and being very satisfied with how her party treated her, Bella smacked her lips in disappointment.

“Then how about this? Just work as my attendant until this matter is resolved. It seems I will have to do a lot of running around in person. I think I’ll also have to go to Turis…”

“Mmm, then my party members…”

“For now, I will definitely tell the guild members to treat your party members better. If this matter grows larger, I can also allow your party members to receive good ‘quests’ and join the operation.”

However, if Ji-hye rejected Bella’s proposal, all such opportunities would fly away.

At the virtually unrefusable offer, Ji-hye had no choice but to nod even as she wore a crying face.

Inwardly, she was also pleased that someone as great as Bella wanted her help.

‘Goodbye for now, Uncle Su…’

Since this was also all for the growth of their party, Uncle Su would understand too, right?

They might not see each other for a few months, so he would feel a little sad, wouldn’t he?

…It wasn’t just me who was serious, right?

“Ah, by the way, Bella-nim. Did you say the west?”

“The small western city of Turis. Its size is similar to Ars, but it is a much more interesting city. Miss Ji-hye will like it too.”

“Actually, there is someone our party is looking for, and there is a high probability that person is in the west of the Gratia Kingdom.”

“Oh, then that works out even better. I will give you some free time, so why don’t you try asking around over there?”

“Yes, I will do that.”

Yes, Min-i would understand this too.

Maybe she would make a fuss, saying she would go in her place.

Ji-hye chuckled as she thought so.

After that.

She had to put in an immense amount of effort to stop Ye-min, who was naturally making a fuss about going together, on the grounds that they could not just abandon the guild’s improved treatment and leave.

And besides, there was no way Bella would pay for the teleport gate usage fees, which were famous for being expensive, for the rest of Ye-min’s party as well.