Published: August 25, 2025
Today, five chapters are posted simultaneously.
This is the fifth chapter.
The next morning
Camping isn’t something I find painful, but still, my own home is comforting. After a good night's rest, from today onward, I’ll proceed with the preparations to fully equip myself for the exploration of the great tree sea as planned.
Apparently, there are bases scattered throughout the great tree sea that adventurers have set up to gather materials. Still, that doesn't mean I can slack off on preparations. First, for this journey—or rather, because of the match with Mr. Seaver—I need to get my damaged armor repaired, so I visit Digger Armory.
“Excuse me—”
There was no one inside the shop, so I called out toward the back. Soon, Mr. Darson, the shop owner, lumbered out.
“Oh, you made it back safely, huh?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“How’s the prototype holding up? Any problems?”
“No issues with its performance. Today, I came to request repairs on my armor.”
“Repairs? You messed up somehow?”
Hearing “repairs,” Mr. Darson immediately said something like that.
“I had a test of skill with someone I met along the way.”
“Oh, so you fought with a skilled person?”
“Yes. This journey made me realize I still have a lot to learn.”
“You’re still not like a kid, huh? Well, show me the armor.”
I took the broken armor out from the Item Box, and Mr. Darson looked at it with interest and muttered.
“Hmm... That was a pretty skilled opponent. Their weapon was probably a spear or something similar. And they used magic too. Likely wind magic.”
“You can tell that much?”
“When you’ve been in this business long enough, you can judge from the damage to some extent. Still, you got hit pretty badly... Not many can pierce hard lizard skin that cleanly. Your stomach area’s also been sliced open neatly. Was your opponent someone famous?”
“I think so. His name is Sieber Gardak—”
Before I could add that he’s the former knight commander, Mr. Darson raised his eyes sharply from the armor.
“The former knight commander?! Why are you getting into it with such a big shot?”
“Well, it just so happened our travel destination was the same, and it came about naturally.”
“Huh... Well, if it’s the knight commander, I get it. By the way, I heard the former duke and the knight commander came to your shop yesterday. Is that true?”
“It's true. I met them by chance while out and was given a ride on a dragon. They headed to the Duke's household yesterday but did indeed come to this town and my shop.”
Since it was convenient, I explained what had happened on this journey.
“Sigh... What a strange coincidence. You’re really doing the adventurer thing properly. Once cursed, there’s no helping it. We all did reckless things back in the day, so I won’t be too harsh, but be careful.”
“I was lucky this time, I think. Once I’m settled, I plan to use this opportunity to improve my countercurse magic skills.”
“Yeah, if you can, that’s best. And if anything comes up, just let me know. I can’t help with countercurse magic, but I haven’t sensed anything unusual so far. I can at least listen.”
“Thank you. I’d like to ask you to continue acting as a liaison with the craftsmen developing equipment. They’re often out of town, and with the nature of the curse, it’s helpful.”
“Leave that to me.”
“Thanks. By the way, I think the knight commander and the court mage I mentioned will be coming here soon. When they do, please discuss with them and provide prototypes. As for the costs—”
“Wait a minute.”
Mr. Darson looked shocked, his eyes slightly bloodshot as he stared at me.
“Did you just say Sir Gardak is coming here? To my shop?”
“Well, as I said earlier, we’re traveling together, and during that time I mentioned the equipment a bit. I thought it’d help with trial use and could promote the products if commercialized, so I introduced it, but if that’s a problem—”
“It’s not a problem! Not at all!”