Chapter 412: What I Want to Know is Not the Result, but the Process

"Um, that looked like it was rough..."

"Ah, no, well, I kinda started having fun halfway through and just rolled with it..."

"MUU, IF HE HAD JUST TOLD US HE WAS THE FRIEND OF LORD PSYGER-0 FROM THE START, IT WOULD NOT HAVE COME TO THIS..."

Giving off the aura of someone who left the house for a trip but suddenly realized they forgot to turn off the gas and hurriedly rushed back, a grasshopper Bugman—Garugagafunononogasu... too long, I'll remove the repeating characters and call him Garufunosu-shi—looked at me and let out a sigh.

"FOR MY JOURNEY TO STUMBLE THIS MUCH FROM THE VERY BEGINNING..."

Apparently, right as he was about to set off on a journey to broaden his horizons, he discovered Rei-shi and... Imron?-shi. He was forced to make a U-turn, and just as he was about to set off again, I showed up. Well, honestly, I do feel a little bit guilty, yeah.

That fierce battle against the bee-woman—who gave off the first impression of a strong character but had sheer murderous intent overflowing from every single one of her tactics—was actually quite a meaty opponent when viewed purely from a PvP perspective, but... no, actually, I don't want to fight her again for a while. She had the vibe of someone who gets even more annoying as time passes. To put it simply, a boss type whose stats increase as her HP decreases.

"SHOWING OFF A DISPLAY OF FIGHTING EVENLY WITH KOKORUKOKOKOREKO TO MAKE THEM ACKNOWLEDGE YOU... COULD IT BE YOU WERE AIMING FOR THAT?"

"Eh?"

While I was lost in thought, he somehow arrived at an arbitrary misunderstanding. No, it's not like I had some grand scheme in mind when I roleplayed the villain. In the first place, me coming here was basically equivalent to pulling into a highway rest stop to borrow the bathroom...

"FUH... QUITE SHARP, AREN'T YOU."

I wasn't actually affirming him; I simply praised Garufunosu-shi's intelligence. Even if he took that in a completely different way, I'm not at fault—that's Pencilgon-style negotiation for you.

"HOH, AS EXPECTED OF ONE WHO COULD BE CALLED THE FRIEND OF LORD PSYGER-0."

"...I feel like I'm getting excessively hyped up, but what exactly did you do?"

"N-No, um... I was just clearing quests, and before I knew it..."

Ah, so there's probably a parameter like Vorpal Soul at play here? Judging from what Rei-shi told me and the information I gathered from the Communication (Fistfight) just now, maybe bravery is the trigger? Unlike Vorpal Soul, it feels like recklessness and foolhardiness actually act as positive modifiers here.

"Hmm... Oh right, actually, there's something I wanted to consult Rei-shi about."

"A consultation... is it?"

"Yeah... I was wondering if Diale could give me a quick lift back to Rabituza."

"With Diale-san...? But Sunraku-san, you're..."

"Ah, yeah, there are some circumstances. I don't want to overwrite my current save point, so I can't just use respawn to go back to the frontline base."

"Ah... I see. If it's Diale-san, um, she's in the forge of this village along with Imron-san."

"Imron... uh, wait, is that the guy Pencilgon was scheming about?"

"Um... well, yes. Ah, but..."

...? She's being strangely evasive.

"Sunraku-san... you see, Imron-san is a blacksmith, so... um, they are very, very curious about things like Champion's Weapons and the like."

"...Hoh?"

I see, meeting them sounds like a hassle, but... do I sense a business opportunity here?

"WAAAH! IT'S SOMETHING WEIRD!"

"Hullooo, I'm the weird thiiiing."

Unleashing my signature 'Upper-Body-Locked Shuffling Walk,' the Bugman kids—who had quite the striking appearance—scattered while screaming 'Waah, kyaah.' They look kind of like swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, though... Do they turn into pupae?

It doesn't seem like I've been completely accepted by the Bugmen myself, but it looks like being recognized as a companion of Rei-shi—who had somehow assumed the position of Post-Tottori (meaning the role of being pampered by a specific race)—and having fought evenly against the bee-woman are working in a positive direction for me.
Now then, having acquired information about the forge from the cicada elder who dared to call me a calamity or whatever... his name was too long so I forgot it, I think it was an elder named something like Minminbunshakajiji... Anyway, I swagger into the forge while ostentatiously equipping the 【Gilta Brille】.

"...Mmm, it's slightly easier to use than the one Bi-nee-san made... No, but this one has better durability..."

"Fufun. Durability is important too, but burst firepower is what really matters. As long as it doesn't break entirely, I (The Blacksmith) will just repair it anyway, so if you can increase your firepower at the cost of durability within the margin of error, you should actively be chipping away at it instead."

"No, but listen here Imron. I'm taking close-quarters combat into consideration too, so if you assume I'm just going to be physically beating things with it, getting its durability whittled down hurts, you know?"

"Don't be silly. I'm not denying the romance of living and dying with a single weapon, but it's ridiculous for a mage who relies on volume of attacks to strictly limit themselves to a single staff. Whether you use them situationally or keep them as spares, having variety is never a loss."

"Hmm, you have a point..."

So that's Imron, huh... Now then...

"Hey there, sorry to interrupt while you're busy, but could I borrow that rabbit for a second?"

"Haa? Wha—"

Imron turned around... I don't know if they had no intention of roleplaying, but in stark contrast to their hulking, middle-aged-man avatar, the player turned around using a female voice, and the moment their eyes landed on my arms, all expression completely vanished from their face.

".........Wha, wha—"

"Y-You're Sunraku!? D-Don't tell me Emul is h-here too!? Kuuuuh, don't tell me my secret training has been exposed...?"

"No, Emul isn't here. That's exactly why I came to see you, though."

Kukuku, a super-futuristic weapon just appeared right in front of the eyes of someone who was just arguing about how the wood is what matters for a magic staff. Their gaze is completely glued to it. What matters is taking the initiative...! Strong equipment intimidates those around it just by existing; I'm asserting dominance through pure resources.
In fact, whenever I had to negotiate something up until now, this method has been the optimal solution, which is exactly why I thought it would work this time too.

But, perhaps I had... underestimated the sheer obsession of a production class player who has been repeatedly denied access to new systems.

"Oh? You curious about thi—"

Zudan!!

"Hiee."

A-A wall slam!? Eh, should I change my gender?

"...The specs."

"Come again?"

"Tell me, the specs."

Not the acquisition method? Fine by me, though...

"This fist fires bullet-sized crystals, and through the vibrations, creates a massive crystal pillar. And then this fist charges magic power via moonlight... Ah, generating the crystal pillar also requires this magic charge as a prerequisite."

As for the Exceed Charge... well whatever, I'll keep quiet about that for now. Besides, it seems Imron-shi is perfectly satisfied with just the information I've provided so far.

"Fist weapons come as a pair, so fundamentally they have the same abilities... A special pattern? No? Tsk! Is it because they're made from different materials? No, but even in that case, for them to be completely different on each side like this is just..."

.........Yeah.
I sense an incredibly Troublesome (Annoying) aura if I stay here any longer, so I hold my breath and quietly begin to slip away.
C'mere Diale, c'mere...

"Ah! Wait right there!!"

"Geh."

"I'm not asking you to hand it over or anything, so you don't have to be so on guard... zo. Rather, what I want to know is the process used to make it... zo."

This person is just casually throwing multiple questions and demands at me... Well whatever, from what I've heard, they're supposedly the highest-tier blacksmith as far as players go. Building a connection here wouldn't hurt. Their roleplay is super sloppy, though.

"Well whatever... so, what do you want to know first?"

"Everything."

Please stop saying things that sound exactly like Library's fake magical girl...

---

If you looked at it purely from the outside, it was just a scene of a rugged blacksmith having a conversation with a half-naked person she had feelings for.

However, despite their short acquaintance, Psyger-0 knew. She knew that Imron's real-life persona was a somewhat exhausted office lady, and that she possessed a personality that made her very easy for men to talk to───!

"...S-Should I join in? No, but..."

"MU! IS THAT NOT MY RIVAL, PSYGER-0, OVER THERE!!"

"Rugadododo Le Dodododo-san... please be quiet."

"MU, OOH... UNDERSTOOD."

---

Author's Afterword
Rugad-san is a rhinoceros beetle Bugman, and as you can probably tell from his name, he is one of the Seven-Character Class Bug's Prides.
He looks like he'd wrap himself in electricity and change forms, but he's actually a pure STR-type, and since his skills are specialized in raising his own STR, Heroine-chan was acknowledged for her strength by utilizing the same tactics she uses against Massive Dynamite.

I haven't even done the character introductions yet, but there's so much I want to write... But maybe checking Inventoria after this might be a little fun?