Level Eater

Chapter 35: blacksmith

When they left the guild, the sun was already directly overhead. Feeling hungry, they decided to get a meal somewhere.

Ai, here, take this.

What?

Tatsuro converted half of the 5 million Sis that he had just deposited and gave it to Ai.

Oh, youve become a rich man at once!

In a few days, itll be several times that.

If I can go home now, and if I can get back and forth to this place, wouldnt it be better to live here?

Ai said this as she looked at the amount of money in the system. Tatsuro nodded thoughtfully, Thats true. In this world, if you regularly pour out the golden crystal, you can live a life of luxury until you die. Besides, there is also a convenient magic that can give form to an image. If you ask him if he has the energy to work hard and work as a normal person in that world, to be honest, it would be a bit difficult.

But at this point, its like a dog without a tail.

Well, I guess youll have to think about it after were able to go home first.

The two of them put their current idea on the shelf. But the future option was firmly etched in their minds. It was a bit dangerous, but it was an exciting world to live in.

Then, as they wandered around the town, they smelled something really delicious that tickled their nostrils.

They swallowed their saliva and almost unconsciously turned their feet in that direction.

Then, one street over, they came to a square. And the source of the smell.

Is this the stall?

Whatever, just give me something to eat.

Tatsuro grabbed the hungry wolfs hand to keep him from jumping out of the way, and walked into the nearest stall with the word meat written on it, out of the many large boxes on wheels that lined the square, which were very different in shape from Japanese stalls.

Meat, please!

Whoa, young lady, youre going out on a limb here.

The bearded, middle-aged owner and a few customers rolled their eyes at the novelty of his order for meat.

The owner, a middle-aged man with a beard, and several customers rolled their eyes.

Sorry to startle you, may I order?

Oh? yes, what do you want?

Uhm, Ill take the owners recommendation for two.

Okay.

After watching the owner start to cook, they sat down in the small seating area.

Not long after that, a plate of food was placed in front of them.

It was a mixture of meat, vegetables and black sauce sandwiched between two flatbreads, something like a burger or a sandwich.

As soon as they smelled the delicious smell, they said Itadakimasu and ate it in one gulp.

Thank you for the food.

Youre eating so well, it makes me happy too.

It was delicious!

Oh?I see? No, thank you though.

The owner of the restaurant was pleased to hear Ais genuine smile, which showed no signs of deceit, and he lowered his eyes as if he were being praised by his daughter.

How much are they?

570 cis per piece.

Thats cheap!

Right!

The shopkeepers face was becoming more and more disheveled, and the customers around him were looking at him with a wry smile. When they were about to leave the store, the owner said, Come again! Id love to, they replied and went out.

This is exactly the kind of place youd expect to find meat. It was like a meat store.

Yeah, lets come back for more.

Yeah, we should come back, but

Yeah

The two of them looked around in silence at the smells coming from places other than this restaurant, thinking that the next one might be further down the road.

With their stomachs full, Tatsuro and Ai walked around the town, looking at the map, to have the blacksmith Leela had introduced them to process their furs.

According to the map, they were close to the Adventurers Guild, so they went back the way they had come.

When they came back to the T-junction in front of the gate, they didnt go towards the Adventurers Guild, but went straight ahead and turned right at the second corner.

It was gray or rather, dirty despite the white buildings around it, and it was a two-story building, not very large, with a rusty sign that said Blacksmith.

Its kind of rundown.

I dont think its rundown, its just poorly maintained. It says blacksmith, so I guess this is the right place, but is it okay?

But since Leela took the trouble to tell me, Ill just go in.

Yeah.

When he fearfully opened the door, there was an old man with shaggy black hair and stubble on the workbench, snoring in his sleep.

Shall we go home?

Yeah, thats a good idea.

As they turned on their heels and put their hands on the door, they heard a rattling sound and turned around to see the old man just waking up, sneezing.

He was just waking up. Hurry up and get out!

Here

Fue Wait a minute, youre a customer.

You got it wrong.

No, no, no. You wouldnt be in here if you didnt have business.

They both thought that they shouldnt have said here themselves, but it was clear that they had come here for a reason, so they decided to deal with them.

Well, weve come to ask you to do some work on our furs.

Oh, furs. Give me a minute so I can take a look.

Tatsuro was basically respectful to his elders, but for some reason he couldnt bring himself to be so with this old man. For example, Ai did not even try to stop looking at him like he was stinking.

But the old man didnt care about that, he immediately switched to work mode and started inspecting the golden crystal and blue crystal Deflstal fur that Tatsuro took out of the item box.

This fur .. Why do you guys have all this stuff?

This is a letter of introduction for the guild.

In order to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, Tatsuro handed the letter of introduction that Leela had given him to the old man. As soon as the old man received it, he immediately released his suspicions.

Lelas introduction, then were good. Do you want me to tan it?

Yeah, and can you make it into armor or something?

Ah? I cant

You cant?

I wonder why Leela-san introduced us to this place.

Tatsuro nodded that Ais question was plausible, but the old man who was told in front of them grinned with his chest, saying that even that was nothing.

You know, theres only one reason Leela introduced me to you.

Whats that one thing?

Its obvious. Because Im the best blacksmith in town!

The two of them looked at the old man with a scandalous look on their faces as he pointed at himself with his thumb and smirked.

If thats the case, then theres only one blacksmith in town, isnt there?

Hahaha, of course not-

Guu, how did you know

Are you for real! See!

When he tried to make fun of the kid, the old man suddenly got to the point and his face twisted in frustration.

From the look on his face, Tatsuro began to think that Ai was right and that this was the only blacksmith shop in town, but he concluded that it would be impossible for a single old man to run the blacksmithing business for this entire town.

No, but one man cant run it all by himself.

Well, yeah, but theres the merchants guild.

If there is a merchant guild, does it mean there is no need for a blacksmith?

Oi oi, Youre a very naive girl.

What the hell!

So the old man scratched his head with his right hand and began to explain in a troublesome manner.

You see, in this day and age, ordinary blacksmiths make what they want at places set up by the merchant guilds. This way, the blacksmith can get paid regularly. And the customers could get mass-produced or processed goods made there at a lower price than they could get from individuals. What do you think would happen then?

Uhm, what would happen?

Ai, who had always asked Tatsuro about anything she didnt understand, turned the question around as usual.

The blacksmith becomes an employee of the Merchants Guild and does not have his own store ?

Yes. It seems that they will raise your wages as your skills improve, and your life will be secure. Nowadays, you cant make a living as a blacksmith unless youre a master craftsman.

When the old man spoke in such a sincere manner, Ai expressed her doubts without an ounce of reservation.

Huh? So how come an old man who isnt a master craftsman is able to run a store?

Bufuu. Oi oi, little girl! You know I might be a master craftsman? See, the way I hold this tool, I look like an expert, dont I?

As if to say, Im a man who can do it, he grabbed the tools around him and tried to mend them, but Ai saw through him, gave him a pitying look, and stroked the fur that Tatsuro had just taken out.

If he had been a master craftsman, these furs could have been used as armor.

Guu, I cant say anything back.

You could at least talk back to me a little.

Here was a picture that was hard to describe: an old man sticking his hand on the floor in front of a girl who was proud of her victory, and a boy staring at the old man with half-lidded eyes.

Chapter 36