a few days after a garden party at the lord's house Fortunately, since that day Ray had not been particularly tempted by aristocratic events, and had been preparing to leave for the labyrinthine city.

"No more cheap spears, Pamidor?"

　At Ray's question, the seemingly villainous skinhead man gasps and opens his mouth.

"Well, I'm glad to be a guest, but there's no reason why you want cheap spears." This is a blacksmith's shop. If you want something like that, go first to an arms shop, not to a blacksmith's shop like mine."
"Arms dealer,"

　Rey breathes a little bit at Pamidor's words.
　Most of the guillem arms dealers used to be affiliated with the Azot Trading Company. Or you could say it's under your control.
　And there is the fact that Ray, who had a dispute with the president of the Azot Trading Company at the time, was instructed not to sell his weapons and did not sell his weapons to Ray.
　The problem had already been solved, but after the problem was solved, the information spread all over the city, and there was a strong push from people who loved Seto anyway.
　After all, Seto was already famous as a friendly Gryphon even in guillem. The actions of those who knew that he had acted unreasonably against Seto's master were quick, and the arms dealer was temporarily to feel very ashamed in the guillem.
　The unrest has already been completely extinguished by the Gala pigeons, who have succeeded the Azot trade -- more precisely by taking over. However, it was still difficult for Ray to visit Gillum's arms stores because they still treated swelling.
　One of the reasons Ray has been away from arms dealers is that the weapons made by the blacksmith Pamidor are as good as he knows.
　Pamidor smiles as he watches Ray breathe out in spite of himself.
　Being a villain, it seems to me that bandits and pirates are the only ones who found their prey with a fierce smiles.

"Well, I welcome you and Ray coming,"
"...not me, but Seto?"

　I look out of the shop at Pamidor's words.
　There a boy about ten years old was having fun stroking his set.
　The boy's name is Kumito. He looks nothing like Pamidor, but he is the only son of Pamidor.

"I don't think it's Pamidor's child any number of times,"
"Get out of my way. ... Well, to be honest, I'm glad you don't look like me." for it's this face."

　Pamidor says so with a wry smile.
　He probably understands that he has a powerful face.

"Why don't you at least give up your skinhead? In your case, it's giving you even more power. You're just a blacksmith, let alone intimidate some intelligent monsters and bandits as adventurers."
"Oh, well,"

　Pamidor nods to Ray's words.
　This man was originally a fairly famous blacksmith in the royal capital. But he came to Gillum, hoping to help adventurers and inhabitants in the frontier rather than to use decorative weapons against aristocrats in the royal capital.
　Even though there were some guests now, they were feared and avoided by their bad looks when they came to Gilmoo.
　Even so, he steadily accumulated his work regardless of his appearance, and eventually won the trust of those around him with his ability.
　Ray had also openly defied orders not to sell him weapons during the Azot riots.
　However, I couldn't actively cooperate with you, thinking of my family.
　This has led Ray to trust Pamidor, in a way becoming Ray's favorite blacksmith.
　Such a Pamidor opens his mouth, shrugging his shoulders at Ray's words.

"When I first started practicing as a blacksmith, my hair caught fire because of a small mistake. I got quite badly burned. Fortunately, the blacksmith I studied had a close relationship with a skilled recovery wizard, so there were few signs of burns left. I haven't grown my hair since then. It's like a habit now."

　a small shrug of pamidol

"Wouldn't you use any weapon other than a spear? If you had an arm like yours, you could use a sword or an axe?"
"You may say so," Basically, my weapon is death-size, and as for spears, I only use them as throwing for long-range attacks."
"Your scythe is certainly a substandard one, but it's still a long-handled weapon, isn't it? What if it's in your pocket?"

　Pamidor, who asks anxiously about his face, pulls a misril knife out of the sheath of his left hip and lightly puts the tip out of the dragon lobe.

"This is the way to do it. ... because, as you can see, this knife is made of misrils. and my magic is much more powerful than their weapons."
"... oh, well, I don't know,"Oh, look, take this with you."

　A knife longer than a knife or a dagger and shorter than a long sword was thrown with the words. It was a kind of weapon called a dagger.
　With a clumsy sheath in his hand, he asks Pamidor.

"What about this?"
"You're ranked B, aren't you? It's a celebration of passing the rank-up exam." And you said you were going to the labyrinthine city now. I heard that there are many special monsters in the dungeon. There may be a lot of difficulties in stripping the material if you only use the knife you always use. Take it with you."
"...is that all right?"
"I told you it was a celebration, didn't I?" Don't ruin my face, and take it quietly."

　Pamidor tells Ray, looking away.
　He was probably embarrassed, but from the sidelines he seemed to be looking away from the bandits as if they didn't care about the life or death of an uninterested opponent.
　However, Ray, who has been dating Pamidor for quite a long time, is informed of his true intentions and pulls the dagger out of the sheath.
　The blade was about 30 cm long, and the thick blade reflected the light, showing sharpness.
　There is no decoration like carving on the sheath, handle, or blade, and it is a practical knife used for actual fighting and peeling off materials.
　It's not like magic items, but if you think of it as an ordinary weapon, it's still a few silver coins. No, given Pamidor's skill as a blacksmith, the value may even reach gold.

"I'll be glad to receive it,"
"Well, maybe you've definitely reached the rank of B. However, it seems that labyrinthine cities are often different from ordinary adventurers. Be careful about your movements, aren't you? Well, if it's purely combat power, you or Seto would have no problem at all, but since it's said to be a labyrinth city, the dungeon is quite large. Monsters must be quite powerful, too."

(Even if you're taunted with a bad face)

　Ray muttered in spite of himself, but he never said anything and said thank you.

"I'll take your advice with thanks," Well, even if you say you're going to the labyrinthine city in January... No, around February? At least, I'll be back by winter, so please look forward to the souvenirs."
"Souvenir? The fish I got last time was delicious."

　The word "souvenir" reminds Pamidor of dried fish he received as an emotic souvenir from Ray.
　The smell was fishy, but I thought it was unusual for a dish to be cooked so fast.If I can eat that souvenir again, it's not bad. Pamidor thought so, but it was about an hour after Ray left the shop that he realized he was heading for a labyrinthine city and not a port city.





"It's unusual to come here," Yes, it's a little late, but congratulations on passing the rank-up exam."

　In the guildmaster's office, Ray was receiving a glamorous smile from Marina.
　Marina's outfit today is a white party dress.
　Generally speaking, white gives an impression of neatness, but it was strange to Ray that marina looked as if she were emphasizing her charms when she wore it.

"Well, somehow," To be honest, I didn't think I could be ranked B even though it was limited."
"Hmmm, I heard you had a lot of trouble about Ray's success or failure. In fact, I have no complaints about his fighting power, but he seems to have had a lot of negative aspects in terms of course.
"... I suppose,"

　Ray, who understands he's out of touch with decency, nods briefly.

"So, what's wrong with you today? Did you show your face in the report because you're up there?" Of course, that's what I'd welcome. If you don't mind, will you spend the night with me to celebrate?"

　Marina glances at Ray with her seductive gesture.
　Even though she was sitting at her desk sorting out her papers... well, perhaps because of her working position, Marina, who invited Ray, had her plentiful body and revealing dress, stimulated Ray's male as much as a prostitute of the highest order.
　Ray was breathless for a moment by Marina's appearance, but when Elena's image passes in her mind and she comes back to herself, she shakes her head wide and breaks off the temptation from Marina.

"But I'll just tell you that I'm going to the labyrinthine city in a few days."
"Oh, you're not obligated to report where you're going to go to the guildmaster, are you?"
"You may not be obliged to report it to the guildmaster, but it is not the benefactor you are looking after."
"...yes,"

　Marina nods silently to Ray's casual muttered words.

"Thank you for telling me. And when are you going to come back?"

　He spun words as if he were misleading, but he didn't pretend to be old enough for Ray to realize.

"I don't know when, but I'll be back by winter."

　Marina nods softly to Ray, who gives the same answer as Pamidor did.

"Yes, I see," Take care, then."
"Oh, look forward to the souvenirs."
"I don't want to eat dried fish anymore?"

　Waving lightly to Marina telling her so, Ray leaves the office.
　Seeing off her back, Marina gently reaches for her cheek.
　Ray's dark elf's dark skin was so brown that he didn't notice, but his cheeks turned pale red.

"...I'm a fool now,"

　The murmuring expression wasn't the seductive expression Ray had in his face.





　Lei, who left Marina's office and told Lenora and Kenny that she would be away for a while, was sent out of the guild, with anxious glances from the two men promising to be back by winter.
　Kenny had said he would travel with Ray to the labyrinthine city as a guild official's duty, though Lenora's document attack was soon forced into silence on the back of his head.
　He had already decided it was familiar to Ray and had left the guild without doing anything in particular.
　Behind Ray, Kenny was as immortal as a zombie and said he was going to see him off.

"Grull".

　Realizing what Seto is asking as he walks by Ray, Ray is walking beside him.

"Well, I said hello to most of the places I had to say hello to. -- though it was a little hectic in the full house."

　A wry smile comes to the thought that because it was full of customers, it ended with just a quick call to Hasta at the time of payment.

"The rest... this way,"

　Ray muttering as he looked at the twilight Wheat-tei in front of his eyes.
　It is an inn that has been a regular lodging place for more than a year. It's not like I'll never come back, but I still feel something regrettable.
　It's one of the finest hotels in the guillem, and the price is reasonable. But it's not something Ray could never afford, and most importantly, it's an inn worth the price.
　Rooms are spacious, beds are always neat and the food is delicious. "There were many magic items in the inn, so I could spend a comfortable time."
　Ray breaks up with Seto in front of the inn thinking like that and goes inside.

"Welcome home, Mr. Ray," ...as I heard yesterday, I'll check out tomorrow, won'

　Rey nods softly to Lana's words at the counter.

"Oh, I'll be away for a while from tomorrow. I don't know exactly how long I'll be away, but it may take until winter if it's too long. "As expected, it is not good to keep the room for that period, so I would like to check out tomorrow as planned."
"Yes, I see. Thank you for staying at the Wheat House at dusk for more than a year."

　Lana bowing in her stout body and shaking her head with a smile.

"When I come back from the labyrinthine city, I'll rent a room again." It's easy to spend time in this inn."
"Thank you very much. As for the change you received, I will settle it at checkout tomorrow. "To-day, I would like to make the meal a little more luxurious to express my gratitude for your use."
"That's a blessing,"

　Ray goes back to the room with a smile.
　The food served for dinner that day was certainly gorgeous, filling Ray's belly with happiness.