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“Is this Marquina?”

“Yes! I stumbled upon it while wandering around, and honestly, it’s way more fun than the Empire that has nothing to see!”

Before receiving the request, I had wondered what bothersome tasks awaited me, but I never expected to end up in Marquina like this. I needed to meet a Dwarf for weapons anyway.

‘What a score.’

“What do you think? The effect of my Teleportation Stone!”

Everyone seemed to be in awe of Amy’s words. Then Amy huffed, put her hands on her hips, and raised her chin. She looked like she was trying to puff up her chest, but being so short, it came off more as looking up.

“The performance is great, but why have I never seen a Teleportation Stone before?”

“Of course! The Teleportation Stone is something I made myself; no one else in the world can create it!”

Well… I guess that’s why you can’t find it anywhere else. Hearing that this young girl made something like that really drives home the reputation of being an S-Rank Adventurer.

“Do you have any plans to sell a few?”

“I don’t have enough to sell! The materials are hard to gather, and finding someone to fill it with magical power is tough too. Plus, determining the coordinates is incredibly difficult as well.”

“How did you find the coordinates for the Empire and Marquina?”

“Through trial and error! The first time I made one, I accidentally dropped it into the ocean!”

What a waste. I thought it might make traveling easier, but it seems like it’s not going to be that simple after all.

“Then shall we try moving?”

“Stop!”

I halted Amy, who was about to move somewhere again. She turned around, tilting her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Before going, we need to know what to do.”

“Isn’t it written on my Request Form?”

“Well.”

“Oh, um… did I forget?”

I thought it was just her hasty nature, but now I see she’s just a bit scatterbrained.

“Hehe… Sorry, I must have forgotten!”

“So, what do I need to help with?”

“The request is for you to help gather the materials for the Transformation Potion I’m going to make!”

“You’re an S-Rank too! Can’t you gather those materials by yourself?”

“I’m S-Rank not because of my combat strength, but because of my smart brain!”

Amy tapped her finger against her head.

“Then how have you been gathering materials until now?”

“By myself! I’ve almost died several times!”

Is she really like me — someone who has nothing to lose? Otherwise, how could she say something like that so cheerfully?

“But wasn’t the reward the Transformation Potion?”

“That’s right!”

So, you’re asking me to help gather materials for the potion you’re making, and then you’ll give me that potion as payment while asking me to be a test subject?

She presents a clever side beneath her clumsy appearance. I only hope Yui takes after her a little.

Well, I don’t even know what a Transformation Potion is, but what I really needed was a letter of recommendation.

“Then let’s add one more reward.”

“Huh? I don’t have any money to give!”

That’s… too bad. I would have loved to extort some money from her.

“Not money, just write me a letter of recommendation.”

“A letter of recommendation?”

“Yeah. A recommendation letter stating that I am an S-Rank Adventurer. Your signature will do.”

“How do I write it?”

“Uh, I don’t know either?”

Since Gideon and Lucia’s formats were different, there shouldn’t be a set format, right?

“Just write it however you want.”

“Can I draw a rabbit on it?”

“Do as you please.”

“Got it! If you help me make the Transformation Potion, I’ll write up as much as you need!”

Once this is done, there’ll be four S-Ranks. That means the Four Heavenly Kings will be born! In that case, Amy would be the weakest among our Four Heavenly Kings.

“Alright, now where do we go?”

“First, let’s look around a bit!”

“Aren’t we here to gather materials?”

“It’s boring to go somewhere far like this and just do work without having a look around, right?”

As expected, being young and a client, she knows a thing or two. When it comes to playing, I never hold back either.

“I’ll guide you, so just trust me and follow along!”

With that, Amy confidently walked ahead. Following her, the three of us added our impressions.

“How do I put this? She’s really lively.”

“Right? I thought she’d be more serious.”

“Isn’t she cute for being so small?”

Yui, you should look in the mirror.

As we slowly followed behind, Amy stopped in front of a building. Above the building was a sign with a drawing in the shape of a round glass orb, a picture I had never seen before.

“This is where the uncle who studies bombs is!”

“Bombs? Is that what that picture is?”

“Yeah!”

Following Amy, who seemed familiar with the place, we went inside, where there were glass orbs lying around and a small counter designed for Dwarves.

“Uncle! I’m back!”

As Amy said this, the door behind the counter opened, revealing a stocky Dwarf with a hooked nose.

Everyone knew that Dwarves were small, but with Amy standing at around 150 cm, she made him look even smaller.

“Amy? Didn’t you say you were going to the Empire for work today?”

“I’m back already!”

“Haha. Did you use that Teleportation Stone or whatever?”

“Of course! Oh, if you ask me, the method to create it is a trade secret!”

Then the Dwarf suddenly caught my eye and looked at me curiously.

“But who are the people behind you?”

“Oh! I forgot! These are the Adventurers who agreed to help me this time!”

“Are you still making that potion?”

“Yes! It’s theoretically perfect now!”

“You can transform into an imagined appearance disregarding the human skeleton… Honestly, if you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

So, the Transformation Potion has that kind of effect? If it can really be made, it could be beneficial in many ways. But since it didn’t appear in the original work, did it fail? Or was it intended to come out later?

“More importantly, I’d like to show you the bombs I’ve made. Is that okay?”

“Sure, just pick up any bomb lying around.”

“Okay~”

Amy picked up a glass orb that was nearby the counter.

“Hey, you guys, come this way!”

Amy led us to a small door behind the counter. It was made for Dwarves, so we couldn’t pass through, so we went out the larger one beside it.

Upon doing so, we found ourselves in a completely enclosed area filled with iron on all sides, with sand in front and rocks set up like targets on the ground.

“Did you see? Dwarves have less magical power, so they can’t use magic well. That’s why they developed in this direction instead.”

Whiff, the bomb she threw flew slowly. Then it hit the rock, breaking the orb—

-KABOOM!

An explosion occurred that was so powerful it was hard to believe it came from such a small glass orb. However, it wasn’t just a regular explosion; it felt like a massive lightning bolt struck down.

The rock that was hit by the bomb shattered into pieces, and the aftermath of the explosion still had electric currents flowing around.

“Did you see? The metals inside the glass orb condense the magical power so that it doesn’t disperse…”

Amy rambled on, excited by herself. However, I had no idea what she was saying. What I was curious about was not the principle, but how to use it.

“So how do you use that?”

“Ah, this is the thing. You gather magical power inside this orb and at the end trigger the magic you want. Right now, this is a bomb filled with lightning magic.”

“Can it also contain blood magic?”

“Hmm… Probably not. This isn’t made for monsters, but for people.”

So, blood magic, which cannot be used by humans, can’t be contained.

It’s unfortunate that vampires are classified as monsters, but with this, hunting should become much easier in the future.

*

After buying several empty Magical Power Bombs and putting them in my Inventory, we left the building.

“Oh, right. Amy, do you know of a good Blacksmith around here?”

“Huh? There are Blacksmiths everywhere here!”

“Not just any Blacksmith. The one who is the best.”

“Hmm… I don’t really know much about weapons since I don’t make them, but there’s a Blacksmith uncle I’m personally friendly with, so I can take you to him.”

The place Amy guided us to was a small building made of rough iron, but it didn’t have any sign.

“This is a Blacksmith? There’s no sign?”

“Oh, well, he doesn’t sell weapons. He only makes them for people he likes.”

Is it like a hidden gem? From the explanation, it certainly gives off a masterful vibe.

As Amy opened the door, a rush of intense heat washed over us. At the same time, we heard clanging noises from inside.

“Ugh… It’s hot…”

Even Riche, who deals with fire, said it was hot. What about the others?

“I feel like I’m melting…”

Yui had already been melting for a long time. By the way, Luna distanced herself as soon as she felt the heat.

Inside, we could see someone hammering away in front of an anvil, and there were no torches to light the place; only the glow from the furnace illuminated the interior.

“Uncle!!”

Amy called out, but the Dwarf ignored her.

“Uncle──!!!”

The second time, maybe she managed to reach him as he removed his goggles and looked over.

“What is it?”

“Hello! Uncle! I brought someone who needs a Blacksmith!”

Then the Dwarf scanned my body from top to bottom.

“Materials.”

“He’s asking to see the materials for the weapon!”

Amy translated. It felt odd, but as long as we could communicate, it was okay. I took out the materials from the Volcano Dragon and the World Tree’s branches from my Inventory.

“……!”

The Dwarf’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of the materials. This kind of material must be rare even for a Dwarf. Just as I was about to say something…

“Leave.”

“He wants you to leave the materials and go out!”

I was kicked out. Then a note popped out from under the door.

[Three days.]

“What’s that?”

“No idea? But he’s someone recognized by other Dwarves around here, so he’ll probably do fine.”

What a unique person.

“I think I’m the most normal one here. Right?”

“……”

 

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