Chapter 28: Man of Steel (1)

Early in the morning, I went to the bank with Rine.

I was actually planning on going alone, but I couldn't bring myself to ignore Rine's gaze as she sat quietly and watched me from the moment I woke up until I was ready to leave.

So, out of courtesy, I asked if she wanted to come along, and Rine nodded her head immediately without hesitation.

Of course, I didn't even bother asking Ibi.

I did go to her room to check on her, and she was in the exact state I had expected.

It seemed she was paying the price for staying behind and continuing to drink alone last night when Rine and I left the drinking party first.

Well, I wouldn't have brought her even if she were sober, anyway.

“Ah, you’ve come to invest. In that case, we can recommend some good prospects…”

“I would like to invest in ‘Nero’s Atelier’ in Tiaria.”

“…Pardon?”

“Tiaria. Nero’s Atelier.”

The employee, who showed a slight hint of surprise at my firm stance, soon said he understood and began to search through a booklet next to him.

“Um… I’m sorry, but it seems that business is not registered in our bank’s list.”

“I know.”

“Pardon?”

“So please register it.”

“Uh……”

The employee looked at me with an even more bewildered face than before, then soon turned his head towards Rine, who was sitting next to me.

But as expected, he didn't get any answers from her emotionless expression, and his confusion only deepened.

“10,000 gold.”

Thud.

Therefore, while he was still staggering and hadn't regained his senses, I placed the bag on the desk to deliver the finishing blow.

“It should be about that much.”

With a confident smile.

* * *

“…Ugh.”

Ibi quickly covered her mouth and began to retch, bending over.

“Ugh, this damn hangover….”

She managed to avoid vomiting in the middle of the street, but her complexion was so sickly that it wouldn't have been strange if she started retching again at any moment.

“Just how much more did you drink?”

“I don't know. Only lightweights count their drinks. …Uuup.”

“You know it’s pretty funny when you say that with a face that looks like you're about to puke?”

“My head hurts, so shut up….”

“Should I pat your back?”

“I’ll feel more like puking, so just don’t, seriously…….”

Seeing her act tough one moment and then immediately bend over, resting her hands on her knees, a small chuckle escaped me.

“…What are you laughing at? Are you picking a fight?”

“Here.”

I held out a small bottle I had in my hand to Ibi.

“…What’s this?”

“Purified water. A local specialty. It’s good for hangovers.”

As befitting the city of liquor, hangover remedies were also well-developed.

Of course, the sooner you sober up, the sooner you can drink again.

I believe the setting was that its performance was so good that, like the liquor, it was a bestseller sought after throughout the continent.

“Wh-… what’s the catch?”

“What catch. There’s no catch. I just bought it on the way because you looked like you were having a hard time.”

Despite my words, Ibi still looked up at me with suspicious eyes.

“So? You're not going to take it?”

“…You’re not completely clueless, are you.”

But in the end, she turned her head away with a huff and snatched the bottle at the same time, then immediately popped the cap and downed it in one go.

“Hah….”

“You can just say it normally.”

“…Huh? Say what?”

“Thank you.”

At my words, Ibi, huh, let out a disbelieving scoff, and then.

“Yeah, thanks! To the inventors and sellers of purified water!”

She snorted as if to say, ‘are you satisfied now?’

“Ah, I feel like I can live now.”

“Shall we go then?”

“Hey, at least call a carriage. I don’t feel like walking yet.”

“What’s the point of calling a carriage to go to the great temple, it's a waste of money. It’s a short walk. Let's walk a bit to sober up.”

“Waste of money? Ha, what is this bastard talking about? Did you forget how much we made yesterday?”

Ibi waved her hand dismissively, as if taking my words as a joke.

“Right, you guys went out this morning to sell that stuff, right? Hurry up and show me how much of a haul you brought back…… huh?”

But the smile that had graced her lips began to fade, and soon she tilted her head.

“Why are both of you empty-handed? Didn't you sell it? Where’s the money, the money?”

“I invested it.”

“……Huh?”

“I put it all up as collateral and invested it.”

“Wha─”

“I guarantee, by the time we arrive in Tiaria, it will have grown by at least three times.”

“Wh-wha-what.”

“Ah, no need to thank me.”

“H-H-How much… how much was it…?”

“10,000 gold.”

“10,000──”

Ibi's jaw dropped upon hearing the investment amount.

Yes, she must be moved.

It’s rewarding to surprise her.

“In short, it means it will become 30,000 gold.”

To prove that these words were not a bluff, I confidently fluttered the investment certificate.

“Here, look.”

“In-In-Inin…”

“Inin? I know, it's delicious, right?”

“You crazy son of a bitch──!!”

“Whoa.”

At the sudden shout, I almost dropped the fluttering certificate.

“Th-This crazy bastard…! 10,000, 10,000 gold…!”

Ah, it seems this one is also of the kind that cannot understand great heroes.

“And you just let him do it?! What did you do, not stop him!?”

“Why should I have stopped him?”

At Ibi's scolding, Rine tilted her expressionless face and replied.

“Master… Sir Yubin’s judgment is always right.”

“That is…… Hah. Right, my mistake for asking a fangirl.”

At that, Ibi pressed her furrowed brow.

For some reason, she looked even more pained than when she was suffering from a hangover earlier.

“I should have f*cking known something was wrong when you said you’d bring back three times the price….”

“I brought it back, didn’t I?”

“Where the hell is it!?”

“Investing is something that… takes time to get back.”

I said I’d bring it back tripled, but I never said when I’d bring it back, did I?

I didn't lie, I didn't lie.

“It’s just not visible right now, but it’s practically the same as bringing back 30,000 gold, you know?”

Still don’t get the situation?

The money multiplies, I tell you??

“You mean you blew 10,000 gold overnight, you crazy son of a bitch….”

“Don’t worry, Ibi.”

To reassure Ibi, I placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a thumbs-up with the other.

“‘Nero’s Atelier’, is guaranteed to blow up.”

“I’m the one who’s gonna blow up, you f*cking bastard! Aaaaargh──!!”

Ibi swatted my hand away with a force that could have bitten it off, and instead of withdrawing my hand, I wagged my finger and tutted, tsk tsk.

“It's not widely known yet, but Nero is a very promising mage in Tiaria.”

“What is that again── Hey, I’ve lived in Tiaria for over 20 years, and I’ve never heard that name before.”

“Of course. That person is probably not much older than you and me. He just graduated from magic school and came to Tiaria.”

“This crazy weirdo…”

“But Nero is undoubtedly the makings of a new great mage. It’s just that no one has recognized his potential yet.”

And he was about to conduct research that would go down in history, but was suffering from a lack of funds with no capital or investors.

If that research ended successfully, the entire continent would praise Nero's name and seek him out to gain the teachings of the newly emerged genius mage.

This wasn't just me speaking my hopes.

It was all inevitable.

“──‘Nero’s Atelier’, is going to the moon!”

“So where the hell is this confidence coming from!?”

Besides, it wasn't just a matter of being able to multiply the money.

By investing in Nero in advance, the research would proceed faster, and Nero's assistance, which could only be obtained upon success, would be unlocked sooner.

Things like giving legendary artifacts, giving buffs with incredibly outstanding performance, or allowing exploration of areas that were originally blocked.

So, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the difficulty of the game changed depending on how quickly you unlocked Nero's assistance.

In other words, it was a necessary investment not just to multiply funds, but also to protect this world.

──Well, explaining it in detail would probably be impossible.

“And anyway, it’s hard to carry around that much money right now. Physically, I mean. We can’t just pull a cart around.”

So I made up another plausible reason.

“More importantly, aside from being difficult, it would attract a lot of attention, right? It’s like advertising for someone to please steal it.”

“Th-That’s…”

At that, Ibi, who had paused for a moment, seemed to lose some of her steam. It seemed she thought it was a valid point.

“So, isn’t it much better to secure just the necessary funds for now, and then take out the large sum when we need to spend it later?”

“Certainly, that might be so, but…”

Good, did it work?

“…? Then you should have f*cking just deposited it in the bank!?”

Tch, she noticed.

“…I did deposit it, didn’t I?”

“That’s depositing?! That’s mortgaging, you dumb…… huh?”

“Hm?”

“…Mortgage?”

Suddenly, Ibi made an expression as if something she had forgotten due to the alcohol was faintly coming back to her, and then.

“Hup.”

She covered her mouth as she gasped.

“……F-F*cked.”

…No way.

“…Did you run up a tab?”

“Sh*t.”

“You did, didn't you.”

“I earned 10,000 gold yesterday, so can't I run up a tab!? I said I’d pay it back today!”

“How much was the tab?”

“…….”

Ibi, fidgeting, eventually spread out a slightly trembling hand.

“Oh…”

One thing was for sure, there was no way she could pay it back with the money we had left.

What and how much did she drink?

“Well… we’re leaving Stout today anyway.”

At least we won't get caught and hounded for it. …Probably?

“And when we come back, Aqua will give us the reward money, so let’s settle it with that.”

“F*ck…….”

* * *

When I returned to the inn with Rine after taking care of business at the bank, what greeted us was not Ibi, who was still sprawled out asleep in bed, but a hooded priest.

He quietly handed over a letter and then left immediately.

The sender was, of course, Aqua.

The content was a request to come to the great temple as he had finished deciphering the stone slab.

So I went to see Aqua, and.

“I have found it.”

This was his first word.

“The stone slab you found truly had a clue about the trident written on it.”

And the place that stone slab pointed to was, “The temple. The old temple outside the city that I mentioned last time.”

The ruins of the old temple, of which only pillars remain now.

“To be precise, it should be called a hidden basement in that temple.”

The dungeon, 「Forgotten Stareon Temple」.

“It is said that the key that leads to Lord Stareon’s trident is kept there.”

That was where we would be heading.

After that, we left the great temple and went directly to the Knighthood Headquarters to meet Marin.

And as promised, we revealed our next destination.

“The ruins of the old temple… a hidden basement there.”

Marin's reaction was quite calm.

He just crossed his arms nonchalantly, as if he already knew, or at least had thought it would be so.

“Thank you for sharing.”

“I promised.”

“Then I must keep my promise as well.”

Follow me.

With that one phrase, Marin started walking and led us to a place, the armory inside the Knighthood Headquarters.

No.

To be precise, “As a reward for yesterday, I will present you with one of the treasures kept by our Knight Division.”

It was the ‘treasury’ hidden behind one of the armory's walls.

However, befitting the treasures of a knight division, they were all artifacts that would naturally come to mind when thinking of a ‘Paladin’.

In other words, they were all items for paladins.

Greatswords, armor, shields.

At a glance, they were all items we would have no use for.

It wasn't just a matter of class.

Especially considering my or Rine's Strength stats, it was questionable whether we could even lift or wear them, let alone use them.

“Choose what you want.”

Therefore, my choice was──

“──Then I will take this.”

“Hmm. The 「Shield of Water's Protection」. A good choice.”

A shield.

“It is said to have saved the lives of the former commanders several times. It is a good shield imbued with the blessing of Lord Stareon.”

Of course, that shield, as a dedicated item for the tank class Paladin, looked very sturdy.

Meaning it looked incredibly heavy.

Sure enough, Ibi was shooting me a suspicious look.

“…Who’s going to carry this heavy-looking thing?”

“Well, definitely not me.”

“This crazy bastard…”

“Not you either.”

And not Rine either.

“What?”

Among the three of us, no one could properly use this large shield.

So why did I choose this shield despite that?

Of course, it's because there's someone who can use it.

Isn't this party still lacking a dedicated tank?

It was time to find a tank, a new companion.