To Deprive a Deprived Person

Gonbugur sipped the tea that was newly poured into his empty cup. This was already his third cup. Gonbugur stroked the back of his neck as if he were rubbing it, thinking that he was really talking excitedly today.

"Hmm. I've spoken pompously to King Nameless before. When I saw the armor made by Woods-dono's hands, I thought, huh? The material is crying....... That's how I feel. But I've only made a few pieces of first-class armor. Isn't that funny? It's because I dream of making special-grade weapons. HuooHuoo......it's not a dream! If only Woods-dono and Mauno-dono were willing to help me!! Nou? Nouu! Don't you think so?"

Gonbugur gave Woods and the others sitting beside him a sidelong glance.

"I've already told you that's not good enough"

I'm sure you're aware of that, but I don't think we're quite up to the task of processing the scales of an ancient dragon. I think it would be a good idea to grind them into a powder, and then smear them on leather, so that the armor would be made of scales instead of leather"

"I think it's a good idea. If you can do that, you might as well make armor out of scales instead of using them as a luxurious material. It's a good idea to sprinkle scale powder on leather when making light equipment for Nina and Marifa"

"Ummm, I see"

Woods and Mauno were enthusiastic about discussing how to process the materials of an ancient dragon from the story of special-grade armor, leaving Gonbugur enthusiastically talking about their dreams.

(Ah!? Th, those guys......I'm talking about that right now, but they don't hear it)

Gonbugur doesn't like to be treated with too much respect or special treatment, but when he doesn't get any attention at all, he gets upset about it. Gonbugur was an old man with a very troublesome personality.

"Aah! It's the King and Namari!!"

In response to the children's voices, Woods and the others turned their gaze and saw Yuu and Namari walking towards them. The children around Kin tried to run up to Yuu, but Yuu controlled them with his hand and gestured for them not to come. The children let out an adorable 「Buh-buh」 and booed.

"Ou, Namari. Namari, you're a great guard"

Namari responded cheerfully to Mauno's words, 「Yes!」, she sat down on a bench like Woods and the others, reached into her item pouch and pulled out a book, which she began to read. While she was guarding Yuu, she didn't neglect her studies. There is no room for error in Namari now.

"What's wrong? If it's the ancient dragon sword, it's not ready yet"

It's probably Woods' joke. His face was smiling like a mischievous kid. The fact that it wasn't made, not that it couldn't be made, was a good indication of Woods' character. Like Gonbugur, Woods hates to lose.

"I know. Old man"

Aside from Woods and the others, who have question marks on their heads, Yuu takes out a swinging sword and shield from the item pouch.

"This is it!"

"Muu......"

"Uoooo!?"

The three of them had different reactions, but it was surprising that they had something in common. Woods and others could understand at a glance that the armor in front of them was an unusual sword and shield, without having to appraise it.

"It's a labyrinth armor"

Woods mutters when he sees the sword and shield with the skill 『Appraisal』. This is because the sword had six skills and the shield had seven skills. If it is a rank 7 magic ball, it is possible to give seven magics equivalent to the first rank, but each skill given to this armor was powerful. From that, Woods muttered that it was from the labyrinth.

"Anyway, it's a ridiculous sword and a shield. King, where did you get it?"

"I killed an attacker and took them"

"Hmm? Didn't you get them in the labyrinth? If so, it's such a skilled swordsman. He must have been quite skilled!"

Mauno, who was unfamiliar with worldly affairs, happily looked at, touched and admired the sword and shield――the holy sword Durandal and Aegis shield. However, Woods and Gonbugur are different. They realized that the owner of the armor was the pride of the Holy Kingdom of Jardalk, one of the 『Three Swords』 Galahad and 『Iron Wall』 Barash. They were slightly taken aback by Yuu's words that he had killed and robbed them without a second thought.

"King Nameless, are you sure you want us to have this armor?"

"Yes, I hope you can make effective use of it at the blacksmith's workshop"

Gonbugur joined Mauno in examining the armor.

"Yuu, are you sure you want to do this? You'd be better off using that shield yourself"

Aegis's shield was higher in rank than Yuu's black dragon scale shield and the skills granted were also stronger. That's why Woods asked if he didn't want to change the shield.

"It's not my favorite design"

"Whoa!"

Gonbugur blurted out at Yuu's words. Mauno, who was standing right next to him, was surprised by what was going on. He remembered and laughed when Gonbugur first met Yuu.

"I don't know what you don't like, but wait a minute"

Woods said and walked into the forge with Gin.

"Hmm. It's time for King Nameless. Is this holy sword Durandal the only sword? I'm sure you've got the rest of the 『Three Swords』, right? What about the spirit sword Liama Core and the magic sword Aroundlight?"

What? You have a magic sword too? King, what about the magic sword?

"No. Other guys beat me to it"

The two of them were blatantly disappointed by his words. They wanted to get it as Yuu. However, there is nothing they can do because Yuu was overtaken by Claudia and Lara.

"Then, King Nameless. I have a hammer and an anvil that I want"

"Ou. Oh, well, I have them too! I heard from a merchant the other day that the latest adamantite hammer was found in Hameln!"

"The hammer and the anvil will rot. You've got plenty of hammers and anvils"

"No, it's not. The grip is like this? The grip is carved to fit comfortably in the hand. The anvil is also elaborately crafted with adamantite mixed with orichalcum. The skills it possesses are――

"King, can you listen to me?"

Ignoring Gonbugur and Mauno, who are trying to get Yuu to buy new tools, Yuu sits down on a bench and teaches Namari how to read, who is struggling with the letters she can't read.

"Old man, you're late"

It had already been twenty minutes since Woods had entered the blacksmithing workshop. As Yuu waited, taking care of Namari, Woods finally showed up.

"Oh, I kept you waiting"

Woods came running up to them with a heavy heart. The box under his arm was finely decorated and heavily magically treated.

"What's this?"

"Open it"

Woods held out the box to Yuu and urged him to open it. When he opened the lid, he found a hat and goggles inside. When Yuu sees it in 『Evil Eye of the Spirit World』, the hat is displayed as 『Flying Cap Type 8』. The material of the flying cap was mainly the leather of the ancient dragon, but it was also a gem made from various other materials and the best of blacksmithing techniques.

"Hee. So you were able to process the skin of the ancient dragon into leather?"

"Ou"

Woods grinned and slapped his right arm with his left hand. Gonbugur and Mauno, who were watching it, muttered grudges, 「After stealing my skill」 and 「It's also the secret skill of the fallen demon tribe」, but Woods does not deal with it one by one.

"Old man, why is it type 8?"

"I couldn't make a product that I was happy with and that's what I finally got. It's just leather for now, but I'll have you up to speed on the scales and horns of the ancient dragon soon, so just wait and see!"

"That's great"

Yuu smiles happily somewhere.

"Even so, can an old man finally join the ranks of master craftsmen to be able to make first-class equipment?"

"Yuu, it's too early to be surprised. You think I'm the kind of blacksmith who would be satisfied with that level of skill? Special grade. I'll definitely make a special grade armor for you!"

"Hmm. You doubted the existence of special grade armor until just now"

"That's right"

Ignoring Gonbugur and Mauno's Tsukkomi, Woods laughs loudly with 「Gahahaa」.

"The color of the flying cap is dyed to resemble the one you're using now. The design is the same. If you have any complaints, just let me know and I'll get right on it"

"Nothing in particular?"

While saying that, Yuu checked the details. Woods watches on with a wry smile.

"Also, the flying cap is a masterpiece without any omissions, but the goggles are more important. The lens fitted in the goggles is the crystalline lens that covers the eyes of the ancient dragon――is it okay to be fine? The goggles can be used even when you are not fighting. It's a good idea to wear those goggles on a daily basis if possible"

"Old man, it would be weird if I wore goggles everyday"

"If possible! Okay?"

Woods approaches Yuu and tells him to compel him. And while looking into Yuu's red eyes――

"Yuu. Do you have anything to say to me?"

Thinking that Joseph had asked him something similar before, Yuu replied, 「No」. Woods looked somewhat disappointed and sad when he answered, but he quickly returned to his usual dour expression and muttered, 「I see」. He didn't try to ask anything more.

"Yuu, about that ring"

"This?"

Two rings were worn on Yuu's right hand. The index finger is the Mirage ring and the middle finger is the set-equipped ring that was in the legacy of Balue Voli Nox, the former Finance Minister of Udon Kingdom――the Pech ring, the ring of Miyuki Susuki. This ring activates the set effect as a pair, but Yuu also got another ring and put it in the item pouch.

"Even if I recommend it, the ornament was only equipped with a Mirage ring? What kind of a change of heart is that?"

"It's only recently that I've been able to equip it"

Woods knew there must be something wrong, but he wouldn't step in on his own.

"If so, wear the ornaments made by the deprived people. They are trying hard to make ornaments that will satisfy you. It's not because you don't like the ornaments made by the deprived people that you don't wear them, right?"

"All right"

"So, what is it that you came here for?"

"I wanted to ask Kin and Gin something"

Kin responded to the question, despite the fact that he was in a remote location with the children. With the children's cries of 「Tell me more!」 at his back, Kin ran noiselessly across the ground to Yuu and knelt down. His movements were refined, even graceful. The golden armor and fluttering cloak that were fused to his skeleton also tickled his childish heart. Gin, who was guarding Woods, knelt down to follow Kin's example.

"Th, That's cool!"

Namari, who was reading a book, hurriedly put the book away in her item pouch and knelt down alongside Gin.

"I've always told you not to do that. Look, Namari is imitating. There's something I want to ask you guys today"

Kin and Gin looked at each other and nodded. Kin began to draw on the ground with a twig in his hand and Gin with his stick.

"Stop. I know what you looked like before you died. In the first place, what is the use of that poorly drawn picture as a reference?"

They were shocked when Yuu told them that they were bad artists. A twig falls from Kin's hand and a cane from Gin's hand.

"What I want to hear is about this"

Yuu then showed two sheets of paper to Kin and Gin. The headline on the paper read 「Request」 in large letters and underneath it were many small letters.

"What is this most important non-negotiable item, the big fig? "What's a big fig? Why is this trivial thing the most important thing!

Yuu was scolding them, but Woods and the others were laughing at how silly it was.

"See, there's something you should be more particular about. You want to be about two meters tall. Or maybe you want to have muscles like a gorilla"

Kin and Gin looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders as if to say, 「You don't get it, do you?」.

"What about beards and arm hair?"

Yuu has no beard or even hair on his arms or shins at his age, so maybe he has some kind of strange longing for body hair. But Kin and Gin just couldn't keep up with him, so Kin stood up and walked toward the waiting children, while Gin went to Woods' side.

"I'm not done talking. Understood! So how about four arms? Four arms, four swords! Do you hear me?"

Yuu's voice was mercilessly overheard and the laughter of Woods and the others echoed around him.