Job Cla.s.s Discourse
「About the sheath… I can"t apply the same secret method you used in bringing the weapon here, can I?」Leniwood asked.
Of course, he"d noticed. Hikaru had to ask them to close their eyes first before taking out the wakizashi. Since the Dimension Dragon Box was quite rare and he got it from Emperor Kaglai, it would be better if he kept it a secret.
「No, you can"t. I can hide the wakizashi, but I can"t tell you how. I don"t think you can find the materials to make it either.」
「I see. Okay. So this uhh, wakizashi, was it? Where"d you get it?」
「Ah, I suppose I should explain that as well. I found it in Scholarzard in Forestia. I think it"s a relic from the ruins in Zubura.」
The wakizashi was a rare weapon in this world. Hikaru a.s.sumed it was Ota Masaki who created it after coming here, but as to why, there was no information in the notes he left behind. It seemed like the man used the knowledge he got from j.a.pan in peaceful ways.
「Hmm… For a single-edge sword, it has quite an interesting craftsmanship. It"s different from a scimitar and saber too.」
「Should I leave it with you?」
「A fine weapon like this? Nah. I won"t be able to sleep at night. I"ll just take measurements.」Leniwood quickly made preparations.
「Hikaru! Do you need anything else for the robe?」Dodorono asked.
「Hmm, let"s see…」Hikaru told the dwarf about Paula"s appearance. Her bright, green hair, height, and physique.「What else… Oh, I know. There is one thing.」
「What is it?」the dwarf asked.
「A Dragon Stone.」
「Dra—」
「It"s about this big.」Hikaru gestured with his hand the size of a rugby ball.
Dodorono"s face froze.
「Ha… Hahaha… Don"t play with me. A Dragon Stone as big as that would cause an uproar. I bet you can find those in a country"s treasure house.」
「Ah, I see. They"re that valuable, huh?」
Right now, the Dragon Stone was in their apartment in Scholarzard.
「Don"t tell me you actually have a Dragon Stone?」
「If I did, is there any use for it?」
「Good question. If you really had one, and this is a big “if”, rather than armor, you should make a weapon out of it. I would recommend a staff. It can amplify one"s mana and boost the power of spells.」
Hikaru glanced at Lavia. Her Flame Gospel held much power already. Is there a point in boosting her spells further?
「All right, then. I"ll leave the robe to you.」
「You got it!」
After Leniwood finished taking measurements, he returned the wakizashi. Hikaru and Lavia then left the shop.
It was almost evening. They returned to the hotel to bring Paula with them to Pasta Magic. She insisted that Hikaru and Lavia go alone, but leaving her behind would only worry Hikaru.
Hikaru and the girls arrived at the diner to find no other customers around, perhaps because it was still too early. But it was strikingly obvious that most of the residents had left town already.
「Oh! If it isn"t Hikaru!」
As soon as he recognized Hikaru, the bear-like owner greeted them with joy.
「Thank you! The garlic you brought me was the best! Thank you! Thank you!」
「You"re welco— Hey, get off me! I"m not into men hugging me, okay?! Also, you stink! You"ve had too much garlic!」
The garlic stench oozing from the man was out-of-this-world. It was apparent that he consumed more than what Hikaru gave him.
「Man, garlic is incredible. I"ve been using them in my cooking lately. They add some kick to the food. Too much of it and it"ll overpower it. If you mess up the amount of heat, it gets burned. I just love how it"s so difficult to use!」
「It probably gets burned because you put it in after cooking it. You should mix the garlic with olive oil and chili pepper at room temperature first and then cook them together. That way the aroma seeps throughout the dish.」
「What?! You can do that?!」
「I said get off me! You stink! You would"ve found out about it sooner or later, anyway.」
「Still, having someone teach you is a good thing. Do you know anything else?」
「O-Okay, already. Let us sit first.」
They were finally shown to their seats. After serving them tea, the owner went back to the kitchen to try the technique Hikaru taught him.
Hikaru planned to teach the man everything he knew about pasta. He didn"t want to be a chef, and introducing delicious cuisine to this world would be of benefit to him as well.
「I didn"t know you were knowledgeable about cooking, Hikaru-sama.」Paula said.
「I just know some things. It"s not like I"m a good cook or anything.」
「Still that"s pretty amazing!」
Paula watched him with bright eyes. She should dial down the whole idolizing me thing.
「Oh, by the way, Paula. We"re staying in Pond for around ten more days.」
「For the sheath?」
「Yeah.」
Hikaru planned to tell her about the robe after it was done. A surprise gift, so to speak.
The owner served the first dish, spaghetti aglio e olio. As soon as the man returned to the kitchen, Drake popped his head out, drooling.
「Don"t eat at the table, okay? You can eat inside the box instead.」Hikaru told the drakon.
Lavia"s clothes would get all sticky otherwise. No one else was around so Hikaru could take out the Dimension Dragon Box.
『Uhh… That"s made out of the stomach of a dragon, right? I don"t wanna go in there…』
Yup, they"re enemies, all right. Hikaru actually shoved the orb into the box back when Drake was still trapped within. It would be better not to tell him about that.
「Okay, then. No food for you.」Hikaru said.
『What?! You said you"d feed me lots of food!』
「You also said you"d work for it. You"ve done nothing but complain so far.」
『Ugh… I guess… I can eat inside.』
Since they were in a booth, Hikaru could place the box leaning against the wall. Drake crawled inside slowly, only his head sticking out.
「Get inside if the owner comes.」
『Okay…』
「Here"s your food.」Hikaru said, putting pasta before Drake.
『Yay!』
The drakon started devouring the food immediately. His fur got all sticky from the olive oil, but strangely enough, one wipe was enough to clean him. Drake stayed pure white.
「There"s something I haven"t told you.」Hikaru said as soon as they started on their meal. 「My job cla.s.s Lesser Angel became Greater Angel.」
「Oh…」
「What?!」
Lavia stayed calm, while Paula exclaimed before she could put the food in her mouth.
「Huh? Did I hear that right? A heaven"s messenger cla.s.s? I hear Bios treats anyone who has those like a state guest. And you have one, Hikaru-sama? Though I can definitely see you as an angel considering how venerable you are.」
「Calm down, Paula. Drink some tea.」
「O-Okay.」
「Sarah told me about the heaven"s messenger cla.s.s. You seem to know about it too. Is it really that well-known?」
「I was raised in a church. But from what I heard, there"s only been Lesser Angels so far. They said that"s the limit for us creatures who dwell on earth.」
「My cla.s.s changed after I saved Drake. I think you get it by helping drakons. So basically no one would get it unless there were actual drakons in trouble. By the way, why does the church treat heaven"s messengers like honored guests?」
「How much do you know about the church"s doctrine?」Paula asked.
「Pretty much nothing. Please tell me about it.」
According to Paula, the Church worships this world"s G.o.d. Unlike back on Earth, G.o.d here was much closer to the people. His blessings could actually be observed, like in soul cards. As such, religion here was much orderly. Only a few worshipped spirits or evil G.o.ds.
One of the blessings one received by working in the church was the use of healing magic.
「I can use healing magic because I worked in the Church.」
「Even if you don"t serve in the Church, can"t you still use healing magic as long as you believed firmly in G.o.d and His miracles?」
「Yes, exactly! So you do know some things.」
「Nah, it was just a guess.」
On the Soul Board, Willpower branched out to “Holy” and then “Healing Magic”. There was no “Church” category. But it wasn"t as though the church was meaningless. They helped people better understand G.o.d and his teachings.
「What do you know about accursed magic?」Hikaru asked.
「It is said that it manifests in people who harbor deep resentment and anger towards others.」
「Hmm…」
Hikaru was reminded of the woman with Gafrasti, Aglaia van Houtens, the cousin of Zofira van Houtens, Forestia"s Prime Minister. She used a spell that put those who felt hostile towards her to sleep. It was a mystery to Hikaru how she was able to use accursed magic, but apparently one could learn to use it even without worshipping evil G.o.ds.
「What can you tell me about Support Magic? Do you learn it by serving in the Church?」
「It can only be learned through special training provided by the Church. I heard once the cla.s.s Ordinary Support Magic User G.o.d: Newbie Buffer7 appears, you can use support magic.」
「I see… Do you have the Newbie Buffer job cla.s.s then?」
「I don"t! You can only undergo the special training in the royal capital or other major cities.」
「Uh, but can"t you use support magic?」
「What?」
「What?」
「I can"t.」
「I"m pretty sure you can.」
Hikaru checked her Soul Board. She did have one point on Support Magic.
「Like I said, it requires special training—」
「Wait.」Lavia interjected.「Just trust Hikaru and try using some basic support spell.」
「But…」
「If you don"t know the incantation, I can teach you.」
Lavia learned about support spell chants from the adventure novels she read. Apparently Healers held important roles in the stories. They supported the brave warriors in fighting powerful monsters, sometimes married the hero in the end, and other times, lost to a princess.
After learning what to say, Paula closed her eyes and started muttering the words.
「O" G.o.d who art in heaven, in thy name I ask for a miracle. Give me power, and to my brethren a touch from Thy Hand. I offer thee my mana…」
「Oh…」Hikaru sensed power br.i.m.m.i.n.g from within himself. He felt almighty, as though he could lift objects way beyond his capacity.「Looks like you can.」
「Looks like it.」Lavia said.
「Whaaat?!」
「Check your guild card.」
「O-Okay…」Paula froze.「I-I-I have a three-character cla.s.s…」
「Calm down and drink some tea.」
「How can I calm down?! I have a three-character job cla.s.s! Healing Magic G.o.d: Extra Healer!」
「Y-Yeah. I kinda figured.」
「Congratulations, Paula.」
「How are you two so calm?!」
「If anything, I"m surprised you didn"t check your guild card even once after your abilities got boosted.」
「Wait, Hikaru-sama. Did you do something about my support magic too?」
「Nope. Seems like you had the gift from the start.」
「Oh…」
Paula looked weary from the shock. She didn"t have Newbie Buffer apparently.
「A three-character cla.s.s… They say only legendary adventurers have them… And yet here I am…」
The job cla.s.s most likely appeared after Hikaru made changes to her Soul Board. Lavia"s most powerful cla.s.s, Flame Magus, was a four-character one.
「I think various parties will try to recruit you if you reveal that job cla.s.s to the public, even rank A parties and higher-ups from the Church. In fact, Sophie"s already trying to persuade you.」
「I know…」Paula raised her head abruptly, her eyes fixed on Hikaru.「But I want to be of use to you. After all you"ve done for me, I"m still utterly useless.」
「…I see.」
Hikaru didn"t sense any lie from her words. That was what she truly wished for deep in her heart.
It might be okay to tell her about my secrets in the near future, Hikaru thought.