Chapter 32.1
Sponsored Jumbo Chapter
Let’s all eat some delicious food!
In the morning, he gathered water from the well and refilled the bucket next to Rhea.
Then he checked the condition of the dirt, even though Rhea’s leaves continued to smack him around, and then he opened the window so the room wouldn’t get too warm.
“Is there anything else that you need?”
He asked, just in case. But Rhea was just facing the sun as it rose from the horizon, and did not move.
If she wasn’t saying anything, it probably meant that she was alright.
And so he was unlikely to fall into another tragic situation, where he came home and found her on the brink of death.
“Alright, see you later.”
Haruki said as he left the house.
As he checked his equipment in front of the dungeon, he suddenly thought of something.
When had he last said ‘See you later,’ to someone while leaving the house?
Those words had not left his lips in a long time.
Of course, it wasn’t a particularly meaningful phrase.
But he was still reminded about how nice it felt.
After that, Karen joined him, and they headed for the 5th floor.
Once they had hunted down over 300 silver wolves, Haruki visited Akane’s store with an air of triumph.
However…
“…”
Akane seemed to be in a bad mood today.
She was usually smiling, but today, her eyebrows were furrowed.
Had she eaten something bad?
Even when he asked her to appraise the materials, he didn’t feel like provoking her like he always did.
It did not feel like the right time for it.
…How boring.
“Right. Do you do any maintenance work for weapons?”
“Huh? You can’t do it yourself?”
“Well, I’m a beginner.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
If they were made of materials from the surface, they would wear away quickly.
However, Haruki’s weapons were made from dungeon materials. So they were quite durable.
That being said, they weren’t indestructible.
Aside from the magic sword, the other weapons would lose their edge after repeated use, and the defense ability of his armor would decrease.
Adventurers who had been working for a year or two would know how to do it themselves, or leave it to a party member who was especially skilled at it.
However, Haruki was a newcomer.
He had not learned how to maintain his weapons.
“I’ll order some equipment so you can do it yourself next time.”
“So, you can do it?”
“Of course, I can do it. I happen to work at a store that sells weapons and armor.”
“…That’s right. Sometimes I forget, and think that you just deal in materials.”
“Not at all.”
As she didn’t keep the products in her store, it was easy to forget. But she actually sold weapons and armor.
So it was not surprising that she had such skills.
“Is there anything that you need to have repaired immediately?”
“I don’t think so, but would you mind taking a look, just in case?”
As Akane inspected his equipment, Haruki wondered to himself.
Hmm.
Something was definitely strange.
Akane was too normal today.
She was working as an ordinary clerk.
It was wrong.
It was too strange!
Was this a harbinger of a catastrophe!?
It should not be so strange for a clerk to do their job properly.
However, this was Akane.
She wasn’t Akane if both her head and attitude were lacking in weight.
Usually, if he suggested she only sold materials, her reaction would have been,
‘I mainly sell weapons! But I can appraise materials as a bonus. Doesn’t that make me perfect!? And yet I’m still dealing with customers! You should have more respect for me!’
Or something like that.
Basically, she always reacted with three times the force of whatever you hit her with.
But today, it was just,
‘Not at all.’
It was so wrong.
“From what I can see, your equipment seems fine. …I mean, while they may be entry models, they wouldn’t break in just a few weeks. That wouldn’t be good, in terms of quality assurance. But the blade of your Silver Wolf dagger is getting a little dull. I’ll order a whetstone for you first.”
“Uh, right…”
She was so serious.
Akane was serious!
She was so serious that he felt a chill go down his spine.
Maybe something really would happen. Maybe a lightning bolt would fall from the sky and strike him?
Haruki seemed to be pleading to her with his eyes, but Akane did not respond.
Yes, Haruki was looking at her, and she didn’t even seem to notice.
…This was very, very bad.
He gave some of the Silver Wolf meat to his neighbor, Mister Kitora (10 minutes away on foot).
Mister Kitora had fought in the defensive battle during the stampede. His muscles bulged from beneath his tank top as he happily accepted the meat.
“Thank you for bringing me such delicious meat. I’ll be able to harvest my fields soon, so you can look forward to that.”
“No problem at all.”
Perhaps killing the monsters in the battle had helped raise his physical abilities.
Because the fields were much larger than they were last year.
There was lettuce, radish, and turnips that were just waiting to be harvested.
He could also see bell peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and corn. They spread out their still-young leaves and basked in the sunlight.