< 072. Friendship is more important than money! >
The next day, a guest showed up outside Zephrine.
“Your Highness, Prince Wolfram von Lohengrin?”
“But who is it?”
“It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Cotton of the Tristar family.”
A man who introduced himself as Cotton handed me a bundle of documents.
The documents were filled with lists of ore names and prices.
Starting with stone, there were all kinds of ores, including igneous rock, lightning rock, etc. There were even already refined metals.
The price was…cheaper than I thought. About twice what I bought in the game?
Considering that ore is a fairly difficult item to mine in this world, this price is truly a steal.
When I was kicked out, the sword game I brought was sold for ten times the price, so doubling the purchase price is a huge favor.
Well, I thought I should have learned armor making or weapon making, but I eventually shrugged. Unlike handy work, blacksmithing requires striking metal with a hammer. It would be too much for Wolfram’s physical strength and stamina.
Originally, I would have waited a bit longer to buy the ore, but now I have an immediate need for it.
“Hmm. I’ll write up the order request right now. It’ll be a hassle to go back and forth to Zephrine multiple times.”
Zeprin, a student running a store, can order ‘outside’ goods only under special contracts.
However, even so, customs is strict and inspections are strict, so going back and forth once is quite a hassle.
So, it’s easier to order in bulk at once, and I decided to order the metal I need right now.
Let’s see. A metal that is light and has fast magical conductivity, and a metal that is strong. ···And let’s see.
“Like this, I would like to place an order.”
“Yes, I have confirmed it. I will bring the items.”
Cotton said so, nodded, and stepped aside.
Okay, so this time we need to find someone who can do metalworking and…blacksmithing.
“Actually, that’s not difficult, since they’re walking around quite openly.”
***
The next day, three chicks came.
“Ah! Senior! Give me a donut! A donut!”
“Hello, Mr. Wolfram. Do you have any donuts?”
The yellow and green chicks started looking for donuts as soon as they arrived, but only the pink chick greeted them properly with a faint smile.
“Hello, senior.”
“Hmm. You came back just as promised.”
“···Yes! Because it’s a promise!”
Mille-feuille smiled as she said that. I handed the donuts to the two remaining chicks and started talking to Mille-feuille.
“I see. It was a promise.”
“Yes, senior. Haha. It’s a promise between the two of us.”
Mille-feuille, who is looking up at me with a faint smile, slightly bending her back, carrying her luggage behind her back.
I nodded my head as I looked at the pink chick. That’s how my siblings felt when they were in the orphanage.
Except for Eve, they all look like siblings and are cute, but why is the real sibling so disgusting and vicious? I stared at the chick, feeling the mystery of its lineage.
“Okay. Then I’ll keep my promise. It’s about how to deal with Gale Strike.”
“yes!”
“Before that, Mille-feuille von Sablé. I want to make one promise.”
“Yes! I’ll make any promise! Tell me anything! I think I can keep a promise for the rest of my life!”
“······.”
No, do you know what kind of promise I’m going to make?
Well, it’s not that big of a promise anyway.
“Don’t betray me.”
“···yes?”
“That’s it. Can you keep it?”
At my words, Mille-feuille turned into a chick with her eyes wide open, but soon nodded with a perfectly good expression.
“I will never betray you for the rest of my life.”
“Okay then.”
“Uh, uh… Do you believe me?”
“Then is it a lie?”
“Oh, no!”
“Okay then.”
What a hassle, I just wanted to hear a definitive answer.
“Then I will explain the countermeasures from now on. Let’s see. Gale Strike is a child of the Strike family, and as the name suggests, the family is good at attacks using large swords. It is slow, but each blow is powerful.”
“Yes, yes···.”
“The basic tactics are the same. Use half-berserk and end it in a short battle.”
“I see. Same tactics as last time···.”
“The reason is simple. Your status is below the average for a first-year student, so in order to beat the second-place student who is equivalent to the top student in your class, you absolutely must raise your status.”
“Yes, that’s right. ···Because I am lacking.”
“That’s right. It’s not enough.”
“······yes.”
Mille-feuille nodded with shaking eyes.
“So, you have to decide on your career path a step ahead of others. That is, the direction of your life.”
“Career path? This, this is the bar, the direction of life?”
Why are you suddenly blushing?
The pink chick turned into a red chick, and I continued talking without really caring.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Yes. What department will you choose when you become a sophomore? What weapon will you use to earn this Zephrin diploma?”
“Ah, aha. That’s what you meant. ············Hmm. I think it would be the Knight School. I don’t have any talent for magic.”
“Okay. What skills or weapons will you focus on until the 4th year?”
“······ah.”
“A low status means you have to make quick choices and focus.”
If you don’t have talent, you have to be selective and focus.
“That, that’s right. Actually, I’ve thought about it.”
“Is that so?”
It’s unexpected.
You thought so deeply about your own path?
“Yes. Since my basic stats are low, I thought magic would be difficult. My stats are also low… so I thought it would be ambiguous no matter what I did, so I really thought about it a lot.”
“Please continue speaking.”
“That’s why I’m going to take the orthodox approach. I’m going to balance my offense and defense with a combination of a one-handed sword and a shield. I’m worried that if I rely on shallow moves at times like this, I’ll fall apart…”
“······under.”
“Uh, ah, is that not possible?”
It won’t work.
Of all the answers I expected, this was the most perfect.
“Excellent. Mille-feuille von sablé.”
“···yes yes?”
“You can almost feel that Zephrin’s status system is flawed. ‘Intelligence’ is not included in the status. That’s a smart choice.”
Zephrin’s, or to be precise, D/Z SAGA’s status is only five: strength, talent, stamina, magic, and will. There is no ‘intelligence’ status anywhere. However, it is a status that clearly exists.
And in my opinion… this chick is quite intelligent.
Don’t think about shallow numbers, realize your shortcomings, and take the right approach. It’s hard to say it’s the best, but it’s a choice that goes well with the chick’s straight heart.
“Okay. Then let’s add just one more thing to that.”
“But, just one?”
“With your status, you’ll probably collapse from exhaustion while holding the shield, and you might even drop your sword. You understand?”
“Yes, yes···.”
“So, let’s decide on just one combat method that can be used in such a desperate situation.”
“Ah, aha… Yes! I will trust you and follow you, senior!”
“Okay. Then let’s start training now.”
“Uh, uh uh… Are you teaching me directly, senior?”
“hmm?”
“I see… Just the two of us, training. Hehe… Hehe… Just the two of us.”
“Unfortunately, that is not the case.”
“······yes?”
It’s about time. I heard the wheels of the wolf’s rail ringing outside the convenience store, the carriage door opened, and with a clank clank… she appeared.
“Wolfram, I’m here!”
“Hmm. You’re here.”
“Yes! It’s Wolfram’s request, so of course I have to come!”
“···Uh, uh, Senior Ayla?”
“It’s been a while, Ppyak! You’re still cute!”
Ayla smiled brightly and came up to me… and placed her hand on Mille-feuille’s shoulder.
“So, now I just have to teach Peep?”
“Um. Please take care of it.”
“···Uh, huh? Is the one teaching me···Senior Ayla?”
“Of course! Wolfram asked me to train Ppyak!”
“Well. So, you two should do well together.”
“Yes, yes···. I see. Not Senior Wolfram, but Senior Ayla.”
Mille-feuille once again assumed the expression of a freedom fighter who had lost his country.
Didn’t Ailana Nephthy teach you that last fight with Celtus?
Is training that hard?
“Okay, let’s go.”
“···yes.”
Saying that, Ayla kidnapped the chick and disappeared.
I could hear the voices of the two remaining chicks who had finished eating their donuts and were just staring blankly in this direction.
“Yogurt! Mille-feuille has been kidnapped?!”
“I, I saw that too. Isn’t that the third-year senior, Ayla Tristar?”
“Hey, Mille-feuille… What should we do? Should we save them?”
“Are you sure? I… don’t have the confidence to get the mille-feuille.”
“Was it because they gave us such delicious donuts in the first place that they wanted to fatten us up and eat us···?”
“Did Vanilla gain weight?”
“About 2 kilos… What about you?”
“······No comment.”
“Oh, that’s fatal!”
It’s really noisy.
“There are two chicks. … No. Yellow chicks. Yes. You. Dwarves. Come this way.”
“Um, yogurt will cost more than me, sir!”
“Here, Vanilla. Senior Wolfram is calling you. Senior Wolfram. Can I offer Vanilla as a sacrifice and go back?”
“No. You stay and listen. This has to do with that pink chick.”
At those words, the two colorful chicks, who had been half-jokingly worrying about the kidnapped pink just a moment ago, came over with pretended serious expressions.
“Is this for mille-feuille?”
“Yes. To be exact, a yellow chick. … Vanilla.”
“Yes, yes!”
Vanilla, frozen and tense.
If you raise them, they will go up to Tier 3, but that is limited to battles, and especially in Vanilla, depending on the characteristics, you can aim for Tier 2 mid-level.
That characteristic is ‘blacksmith’
vanilla.
To be exact, ‘Vanilla, the third daughter of the elders of the Fire Clan.’
This child is one of the very early companions. He is considered to have the greatest talent as a blacksmith.
Of course, he is inferior to those with nicknames like Hand of God or White Smith, but he is still worth raising until the later stages.
“You have blacksmith skills, right?”
“Hmm? You mean the blacksmith? Yes. Well, I’m a dwarf after all. Before I entered school, I used to pound hammers and stuff.”
“Then, can you make just one piece of equipment for Mille-Feuille? I’ll pay for the ore.”
“······For mille-feuille?”
“Okay. I’ll make the blueprint.”
“Understood! I am a dwarf who knows how to do everything for my friends!”
The yellow chick smiled brightly and nodded.
“Then since it’s for a friend, I won’t be receiving any production costs, right?”
“···uh?”
***
Vanilla, who received the ore and blueprints from Wolfram von Lohengrin, immediately rented a workshop and settled down there.
“Wow. You thought of all this. I told you, you’re a really fun senior.”
Vanilla tied her hair into a tight ponytail, put on some rough clothing, and grabbed her blacksmith’s hammer.
Soon the hammer began to heat up.
This is the dwarf race. It is also a characteristic of the fire race.
Normally, a human blacksmith would need a blast furnace or a bellows, but she can heat a hammer with her own power and use it to strike and transform metal.
This alone would be an incredible talent for a blacksmith, and would have secured him a place within the clan, but rather than living like that among the dwarven elders of his hometown, he headed towards Zephrin with the goals of ‘youth!’, ‘friendship!’, and ‘actual fun!’
And Vanilla, who hadn’t picked up a hammer in a while, picked it up for the first time in a long while for her friend.
“It’s a fun weapon. Hmm… It might be fun to make!”
If she had been told to only make swords or armor, she would have balked, but this even seemed fun.
And, more than anything, what Wolfram said touched her heart.
‘Senior. This equipment might be more valuable than you think. Can you just hand me these blueprints?’
‘It’s nothing.’
‘I might just patent this?’
‘Mille-feuille said she wouldn’t betray me. What about you?
‘···I have no intention of betraying you either.’
‘Then that’s fine. Let’s make it for our friends.’
‘···Yes.’
He’s more fun than you think, he’s good at making delicious food, and he’s a good person.
Vanilla knew that Mille-Feuille had a crush on him, but she only thought of Wolfram von Lohengrin as a handsome senior who made delicious donuts. She revised her evaluation upwards after seeing Wolfram’s attitude.
“I hope Mille-feuille and Senior get along well.”
Hehehe. Vanilla laughed and lifted the hammer.
Knock, knock, knock. When the regular hammering sound was heard and three knocks were done, Vanilla looked at the blueprint again and tilted her head for a moment as if she suddenly remembered something.
“···Now that I think about it,”
The item in the blueprint is a gauntlet.
“Didn’t you say that Mille-feuille would use this?”
That too, if it can hit a person’s head,
It was a gauntlet so thick that it could make the Mille-Feuille say ‘Kwaang!’
