Mr. Nobu’s Otherworld Chronicles

Today I"m preparing various pre-made materials at the 『Shut-in Lamia』 as I plan to break through dungeon"s 5F soon. I made Sefi-san to take her work as a shopkeeper seriously. She looked like she was sulking a bit though...
Right at then.

"h.e.l.lo there, Sefirot-kun. Sorry for intruding in."

Hm? That voice sounded familiar somehow. The voice of an invited guest.
I peek at the storefront from the back, and saw a man nearing old age leading his henchmen. He looks like an elderly gentleman outwardly, but I know I cannot judge a book by its cover in this case just by looking at the sharp glint in his eyes. This guy is Jamito. The manager of the most prosperous alchemy store in this city.

"Oh my, Jamito-san. What brings you here today?"

"Huhu, oh it"s nothing much, I"m just here to inspect how a store that"s among the most popular in Alchemy Guild is doing."

"Oh no, you"re giving us too much credit~. We"re the same always."

"No no, aren"t your new products getting pretty popular. They"re highly regarded among the adventurers who use them."

"My, we"re honored to receive such praise from this city"s best alchemy shop"s manager."

Then suddenly, Jamito"s eyes turned sharper than ever. Here comes the real thing.

"As a matter of fact, I"d like to discuss that with you, would you like to ma.s.s produce those for my store? If we work together, monopolizing the entire market in the dukedom won"t merely be a dream."

Look, here it is. But really, this guy doesn"t even bother to hide his ambition. And yet, he"s raring to use Sefi-san. It"s pretty obvious he"s going to

dump her once he"s done with her.

"I"m truly sorry, but my answer has not changed~. The only one who can ma.s.s produce those is our only partner. I cannot do it."

"That"s unfortunate. Then I guess I"ll go and appeal to that partner of yours. I"ll be expecting positive answers. It"s that adventurer boy who"s been coming here a lot isn"t it? Someone of that age should be easy to tempt with either money, liquor, or women."

Sefi-san must have glared at Jamito-san after hearing that. Yet Jamito didn"t flinch at all. Not even a trace of it.
Well, since it doesn"t seem like he"s going to bow out here, I should make my entrance.

"Sefi-san, it"s pretty noisy here, is there something wrong?"

"n.o.bu-chan..."

"Hou, so you"re the rumored developer. Nice to meet you, my name"s Jamito. I manage the alchemy store 『Giant of Gryphios』 in this city."

"Oh, I"ve heard, quite a lot, things about you. The name"s n.o.busada. I am but a humble adventurer."

"Fumu, no need to beat around the bush then. How about it, interested in working at our store? I"ll prepare anything you want, be it women, money or anything."

"I decline. I don"t think you can provide the things I want."

"Haahaahaa, prompt answer huh. I see that you"re quite infatuated with Sefirot-kun... Well, I"d advise you to change your mind quick. And I recommend you do so while we"re still acting in modesty."

He came here in haste to either recruit or remove us because we launched new products huh. I decreased the effectiveness to avoid all this, but I guess this guy didn"t get the memo. Now that they"re threatening us, I"ve

I"ve got no choice but to prepare some measures to defend ourselves.

"I"m the only one who can make that, so there"s a limit to how many you can produce, it"s not possible to manufacture. I"d prefer if you give it up."

In actuality, it is possible in times. But there"s no way I"m telling this guy.

"I have no idea what kind of method you"re using, but that doesn"t mean it"s impossible. I hate the words "give up", you see. I will be excusing myself today. Let us meet again somewhere."

Jamito left after saying that.
I don"t want to see you again though. He had six people guarding him. Averaging at level 23 huh. Looks like I need immediate improvements on my level and techniques. I need to obtain either power or techniques to easily neutralize those guys at least. I"m extremely lacking experience in group battle after all.
Looking at Sefi-san, she"s biting her lips like she"s enduring something.

"Sefi-san. Forgive me for getting you involved in all this weird stuff because of my creations."

"Uun, I couldn"t do anything myself. I"m sorry n.o.bu-chan.... But the fort.i.tude you showed against that guy made me fall for you all over again."

Please don"t say such embarra.s.sing stuff head-on. You"re making me blush.
That aside, I should hasten the pace and go to dungeon today. I"ve made quite a lot already anyway, it should manage.

"Sefi-san. I"m going to move my schedule and go to the dungeon today."

"n.o.bu-chan..."

"I"ve split pre-made materials in each rucksacks, make sure to use them okay. Oh and I"d like to buy a magic pouch. I think I"m gonna bring a lot of foodstuff with me. Those

me. Those guys should shift their attention away from here if I show myself going into the dungeon."

"You can use this magic pouch. Don"t worry about the money, just come back safely okay, n.o.bu-chan."

"I"ll take up on your kind offer. I"m going with Tama-chan, so everything will be alright. You too Sefi-san, please immediately run to Adventurer Guild if anything happens. I"ll tell Master about this through Eleanor-san. Well then, I"m off."

I left the store while being sent off by Sefi-san who gave the pouch.
Let"s head to Boss-san"s store first. Think it"s about time he"s done with the Iron Ant Queen"s armor?

"Boss-san, you inside? How"s the progress with the armor?"

"Ou, n.o.busada. It"s all done. Take a look! I put my all into "em!"

Boss-san who greatly resembled a certain famous bearded plumber put the finished equipment on the table while showing off his white teeth. Looking at his face, seems like he"s got to make something he"s fully satisfied with.

Iron Ant Queen Set (Breastplate, Gauntlet, Legging, Headband)
Quality: High - Enclosed Mana: 11/11
Material: Iron Ant Queen"s Sh.e.l.l - Iront Ant Queen"s Feeler
『Set of Iron Ant Queen Armor』 made by Maurio. The gauntlets are both armor and a weapon. Better mana conductivity than Iron Ant Series and improved physical and magical defend. Yet the weight hasn"t changed, thus it"s a pure performance increase.
Gift: 【Acid-proof】

They"re more jet black than the dark blue Iron Ant set was. I mean, my inner clothing is black too, so I"m covered in complete black now, haa haanow, haa haa haa... Let"s get other color when I"m buying clothes next time.

I tried wearing them, and hardly felt a change in weight. However, when I tried to activate Mana Clad, I felt that it was multiple time more momentous than before. I got something good indeed.
Moreover, it has a Gift. I rarely ever saw acid-spewing enemies, but it"s better than nothing. Wonder if Boss-san has blessing of some sort too? Seems like my current Discerning Magic Eye can"t see that deep yet.

"Thanks so much, Boss-san. I"m going to the dungeon now, so these will really help."

"Mu, why so sudden. Something happened?"

I"m hesitant to get Boss-san involved, but I should at least tell him about the circ.u.mstances. Coming to that conclusion, I explained what happened earlier.

"Hoo I see. I"ve met that guys before at the market, he"s one stubborn fool. Watch your back."

"Yes, I"ll be sure to."

"As for that lady, I"ll take care of it. Just focus on coming back home safely."

"Boss-san... I will definitely come back and report to you about these equipment. See ya!"

Keep it a secret that I was actually tearing up to Boss-san"s chivalry, okay. Wonder why, feels like I"ve been blessed with nice people ever since I got here.

Afterward, I explained the situations to Eleanor-san at the adventurer guild and made arrangements so that Sefi-san could seek refuge with Master if worst comes to the worst. I also told her that by going to the dungeon, I would act as a diversion to them.
She was worried about me, really sorry for that. I gotta get even stronger to break through this situation.