Intellectual Faction

Part

1

『Roxanne』

『Current Character Levels & Equipment』:

Jobs:

Beast Warrior Lv. 21

Equipment:

Scimitar

Leather Helmet

Leather Armor

Leather Gloves

Sandals

「All right, everyone ready? Roxanne?」

「Yes, master!」

「Sherry?」

「Y-Yes!」

「Good, let is go back home then.」

I did not want to stay in the Adventurer's Guild's building for too long to

avoid attracting unnecessary attention to my newly-formed three-man Party,

so I decided that it would be best for us to go back home right away without

any needless dilly-dallying. While acting as natural as possible, I murmured

the "incantation" for the "Fieldwalker" spell and created Warp's black portal

on the wall and walked through it, emerging in the living room of our house

in Quratar on the other side. Then after a few seconds, the one who emerged

first was Sherry, who was looking even more confused than before, and the

last one was Roxanne, who must have gently pushed her forward from the

back. Well, given her situation as the new slave who does not know what she

should expect from us, I guess it is perfectly natural for her to react in such a

way. I know that letting her experience the Warp sensation empirically

instead of explaining it all in details to her first because that would take too

much time, but even so, maybe we should give her at least some kind of

warning beforehand?

「Eh? Eeh? EEEEhhhh?!!!」

Yup, looking at her and seeing how she is just looking around while being all

bewildered, letting her know that we were going to use a Skill to teleport

would have been a good idea, but for now I will refrain from dumping the

explanations on her all at once, and offer them to her one at a time whenever

it will be necessary.

「This is our home in the town of Quratar, which we are currently renting. For

the time being, let us just sit down so that we can talk about what we should

do next, okay?」

「Y-Yes, of course!」

「I think the first order of business would be to go and buy any daily

necessities that Sherry might need, and maybe do some minor shopping for

other things if we will have any time left after that.」

Roxanne and I were sitting at the table in the dining room, while Sherry

continued to stand while keeping herself behind and slightly off to Roxanne's

side.

「Yes, I do not think that shopping for things for Sherry is going to take all

that long, so we can definitely do that once we are done.」

I cannot say that the presence of another person made things uncomfortable. .

. but it will definitely require some getting used to. Up until now, there were

only the two of us here, so the chair in front of me at the other side of the

table always belonged to Roxanne so that we could sit face to face whenever

we were having a meal. Both of us sit in the middle of the table, which is

wide enough for six people to be sitting there at one time, three people on

each side. I have made sure to choose such a table specifically because one

Party can have up to six Party Members, and since I plan on having that

many slaves one day, I thought that it was going to be a good long-term

investment.

「Well, it better not take long, because I still want to take a bath afterwards, so

I will be depending on you to help me fill it again.」

This will also be a good occasion to see if our bath is going to be enough for

more than two people, because if it turns out that it will not be enough, then

we will have to order a new one to be made as soon as possible.

「Yes, of course. I am looking forward to it as well.」

I am glad that she ended up liking baths as much as I do, because now, even

if the entire day ends up being draining and tiresome, we are at least going to

have something to look forward to in the evenings.

Roxanne showed me a big smile and laughed. Dear God, her doggy ears are

shaking in such a cute way whenever she is laughing. The only downside to it

is that even if I wanted to pet her cute ears right now, I would not be able to

do it because the table's surface effectively separates us from one another,

making it impossible for me to reach to the other side without pancaking

myself on the table itself.

「Uhm. . . . . . . . . master?」

「Yes? What is it, Sherry?」

「I know it might be rude of me to ask about such a thing, but. . . . . . could it

be that you are capable of using multiple Jobs? Because if so, then that would

be all sorts of amazing (TL Note: Sherry, not you too!) since I only heard of

such abilities in myths and legends.」

Sherry asked me with a troubled look on her face. Oh my, how perceptive of

her. Who would have thought that she will be able to deduce that much with

only a small hint that I have unintentionally given her? She might be even

smarter than she looks like. If she was able to figure that much out, than it is

no surprise that she inquired about me having multiple Jobs, since Field

Walker, a Spell that allows the user to travel whenever they want to in the

world as long as they have been there before and have enough mana to do so,

is a Spell that can be used only when you unlocked Adventurer as a Job, and I

am not at that point in my dungeon-crawling career in this world just yet. Not

to mention that in my Intelligence Card it is stated that my Job is an Explorer,

so she must have add two plus two and concluded that since I am supposed to

be an Explorer but am also capable of using "Field Walker", then I have to be

able to use multiple Jobs. Also, myths and legends, huh? This might be a

topic worth investigating, but let us put that aside for now.

「Regretably, I do not have the Job of an Adventurer yet. What I used just

now was a Movement Magic called Warp.」

「Movement Magic. . . . . . . . . Warp?」

「Yes, Movement Magic, Warp.」

Sherry parroted what I just said as if she could not believe it, so I repeated it

for her.

「Is it really just Movement Magic? Not Space-Time Magic?」

「Space-Time Magic? No, I am pretty sure that Warp is just Movement

Magic.」

I do not know where Sherry got the idea with the Space-Time Magic from,

but in my Bonus Skills Menu, Warp was definitely classified as Movement

Magic. If it was truly a Space-Time Magic, then I think it would make it

possible to operate and travel within all four dimensions of existence in

accordance with the law of Lawrence's Transformation (TL Note: In

physics, the Lorentz transformation or Lorentz-Fitzgerald

transformation describes how, according to the theory of spacial

relativity, different measurements of space and time by two observers

can be converted into the measurements observed in either frame of

reference. It is named after the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz. It

reflects the fact that observers moving at different velocities may

measure different distances, elapsed times, and even different orderings

of events.), but is Warp really capable of something like that? And if so,

would it not mean that its classification as simply Movement Magic is wrong,

and it really should be placed under Space-Time Magic category?

「Uhm, I can see that master looks confused, so allow to explain what I

wanted to say in more detail. That fact is not all that well-known, but when

you use Field Walker, not only space, but also time changes while you are

using it. That is why Field Walker is classified as Space-Time Magic.」

「Are you talking about the time difference?」

「I do not know what a time difference is, but sometimes it is that when the

origin point of Field Walker has been established in the morning and the one

using it arrived at their destination in the evening, or in the dead of the night,

meaning that Field Walker is a type of magic that not only moves its user

through space, but also advances the time when used. Hence, Space-Time

Magic.」

So, she was talking about the time difference after all.

Part

2

If you go to the same place every time, the time will shift by the same

amount, so it seems to be understandable, but it does not seem like this

restriction applies to Warp at all, same as how it can be used even in the

houses that are made out of Shield Cement, which blocks the usage of Field

Walker for some reason.

「I see. Well, for the time being, do not just stand there, come and sit at the

bale with us.」

「Sit down with you? You mean, like. . . Uhm, Miss Roxanne? Should I sit

on the floor?」

Initially Sherry wanted to direct that question at me, but halfway through she

changed her mind and asked Roxanne about that in a whisper that I could still

hear perfectly due to how close to each other we were sitting.

「No, Sherry, you do not have to do that. It is okay for you to sit on a chair at

the table with us, just like master said.」

「On a chair? But. . . . . . . but I am a slave, so I do not think that this would be

appropriate. . . 」

「It is okay. Whenever we are having meals, master likes it best when we all

sit at the table and eat together.」

「Ehhh?! So I am allowed to eat the same things that master eats?」

「Yes, because that is master's wish.」

Again, even though you are whispering, you girls do realize that I can hear

you, right?

「Uhm. . . well then. . . pardon me.」

Sherry bowed her head down to us, and then she took a chair that was next to

Roxanne, pulled it back and sat on it, albeit still somewhat reluctantly. Well, I

cannot say that I blame her, but the important thing is that she is finally

willing to properly sit with us instead of insisting on sitting on the floor as if

she was some kind of a lesser being. Okay then, now that Sherry is sitting at

the table with us, I think we can resume the talk that we were having. What

was it again. . . ? Oh yeah, about the time difference!

「So Sherry, are you familiar with the theory that the earth. . . . . . that this

planet is round?」

I guess I will ask her about that for the time being. If I am going to explain to

her how exactly does time difference works, that is as good of a place to start

as any.

The 「Earth is Round Theory」has been known in my old world for quite some

time. It is the reason why the positions of the stars visible from the North and

the South Poles do not overlap with each other, why there are changing

lengths of the day, lunar eclipses and changing shapes of the moon

throughout the month, and most importantly, it is the reason why we had

local solar time and time zones on Earth. Since Sherry knew the difference

between Movement Magic and Space-Time Magic, then she is obviously

smart, or an intellectual type, to put it in other words. And if that is the case,

then the best thing to do here would be to show her that I am also a smart

person. Therefore, if I explain to her what the Spherical Earth Theory is all

about, then I am sure that she would end up respecting me a little bit more.

Having her as my second slave after buying her at a really good price already

feels like quite a win, but earning some more points with her after boasting

some of my own smarts is going to feel even better for my self-confidence.

Then I will have the respect of not one, but two beautiful girls! And as an

added bonus, it will also help to ease Sherry up into our lifestyle and the

dynamic that is going on between me, the master and my slaves.

Of course, as much as I would like to say otherwise, this theory has not been

created by me, but rather through the effort of the past Earth's scientists. So if

nothing else, I feel like I should thank my predecessors for coming up with it

so that I can use it now to win myself the trust of an absolutely cute girl.

「I know about the story of the great scholar of old who came up with it, but

the person who told me that story must have taken me for a fool, because

things he was telling me were so blatantly stupid that I have decided to

dismiss everything he has told me as mere idiot's drivel.」

「Oh yeah? Well now you got me interested. What things did that person told

you made you think that he was making a fool out of you?」

「Many things, but perhaps the most outrageous one was that since the world

we live in is round, then all the people who live on the other side of it are

falling out of it and into the sky because there is nothing that can make them

continuously stick to the earth's surface.」

That. . . that is. . . . that is honestly so stupid that I cannot say that I blame

her for not believing a word that guy – whoever he was – said. Then again,

that is about what you could expect from the people who do not know about

the existence of the force of gravity. I guess humans in my old world were at

that stage at one point as well, and some of them probably still are, what with

all the flat earthers and the like going around spreading their wise words of

wisdom on the internet.

「Alright, if you say that you had such mind-numbing experiences, then I

guess it would be best to just drop this subject entirely in order to not add to

your confusion anymore. The bottom line is, I have a Movement Magic

called Warp that allows me and my Party members to travel between faraway places without losing any time, and if possible, I would like you to keep

that knowledge to yourself and refrain from talking about it or mentioning it

people other than Roxanne and I, okay?」

「U-Understood, master!」

Yeah, leaving the talk about time differences and round earth is the best

possible thing to do here. Since she already had someone try to fill her head

with all sorts of dumb information and conspiracy theories and she

remembers that and resents the guy who said it to her, then I do not even

want to think how her opinion of me would have plummeted to the ground

and below if I tried to talk to her about gravity and Higgs boson, she would

have probablu just started asking questions like: 「Higgs boson? What is that?

Is it tasty?」 (TL Note: The Higgs boson is a hypothetical elementary

particle predicted by the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. It

belongs to a class of particles known as bosons, characterized by an

integer value of their spin quantum number. The Higgs field is a

quantum field with a non-zero value that fills all of space, and explains

why fundamental particles such as quarks and electrons have mass. The

Higgs boson is an excitation of the Higgs field above its ground state.)

and that would do nothing but needlessly complicate the matters between us,

making Sherry either look down on me for being the same kind of idiot how

tried to fill her head with nonsense ore resent me for trying to sound like a

smartass boasting about his knowledge. Even if what I would be telling her is

true and I know it, I only know it because I come from a world where such

knowledge is not a big deal, but for the inhabitants of this world, I imagine it

would be pretty hard to accept something that defies all the logic and

common sense that you knew throughout your entire life at face value. If you

need any proof for that, just look how long it took us to recognize that it is

actually the earth that is rotating around the sun instead of it being the other

way around and stop persecuting everyone who advocated that theory as a

heretic to be burned on the stake. So yeah, moving on to some other, safer

subject, on the double!

「You mentioned that you have heard about the people being able to use

multiple Jobs in myths and legends. Can you tell me more about that?」

「I can, but there is not really all that much to talk about, since according to

myths and legends the ones capable of using multiple Jobs at once are mainly

gods.」

Part

3

「Well, in that case, it is fine for you to think of me as something like that.」

「Eh?!! Really? But are Gods and other legendary and mythological creatures

only fictional?!」

Oh, so Sherry does not believe in myths and legends and dismisses them as

mere fiction? Right, so maybe it would be best to change the subject again to

avoid any heated worldview debates? Yeah, let us do that.

「Roxanne, in regards to Sherry's equipment, is there anything else we should

buy for her aside from clothing, basic equipment and a backpack?」

「Hmm, maybe an additional wooden washing tub so that each of could have

their own?」

「Hm? Oh, right! Good idea. Then we will buy another wooden tub as well.」

Despite sounding surprised at first, Roxanne and I did all in our power to

forcibly cut this problematic conversation then and there. As expected of her,

she is always ready to follow me along with my ideas, no matter how out of

left field they might be. And here I was thinking that it was too late for a

saving throw and that I would have to engage Sherry in a general touchy

discussion about whether or not Gods are real and are religions nothing more

but scams run by the worst kind of con artists the earth has ever seen.

「Would that be all Sherry might need right from the get go?」

「Let me think . . . I think it would be a good choice to buy her her own Black

Magic Crystal so that she could start collecting magical energy into it. As for

the clothes she is wearing, they are the ones provided by the Slave Shop so

they should be good to last her at least for tomorrow, but I think we should go

and buy her a new set of underwear.」

「Okay, then we should make the clothing store one of our first destinations

once we will finish catching our breaths here.」

「Yes!」

I think I know just the place where we might go to get Sherry some clothes:

the Clothing Store that is selling all of those western-looking clothes where I

bought clothing for Roxanne when we first came to Quratar, the one that is so

close to the Quratar's Labyrinth.

「Oh, uhm. . . I do appreciate the gesture, but that will not be necessary, since

neither my clothes nor underwear are ragged or dirty yet, so there is no need

to buy me new ones just yet.」

「Nah, that will not be trouble at all. We would have to do it at some point

anyway, so we might as well get it over with as soon as possible.」

Or rather, it is more about me wanting to see what kind of underwear is she

going to pick for herself and how is it going to look on her than anything else.

「Oh, and by the way, do you have any weapon of choice, Sherry? Something

you feel the most comfortable with using? Because we will have to take that

into consideration when we will be picking equipment for you.」

「I do, actually. Since I am going to be fighting in the front lines in the

Labyrinth then I would like to have a mallet or a hammer. I am also quite

good with handling a spear, but due to its length it is not ideal for the

vanguard fighters since you cannot swing it properly without accidentally

hitting your allies in the process. With a hammer or mallet, that drawback can

be swiftly eliminated.」

「I guess, but would you really be able to wield such weapons properly? I

mean, mallets, hammers, warhammers, greathammers and the like are all

heavy as hell, right?」

「Do not worry, master. I might not look it, but I am actually pretty strong, so

wielding such a heavy, two-handed weapon would not be a problem for me at

all.」

Yeah, she is definitely right in that regard. Since the handle of the spear is

pretty long, it might not be a best weapon to be swinging around in the

narrow hallways of the Labyrinths. Unless…

「Since you said that you are skilled with a spear, then allow me to ask: how

did you usually fought with it? Were you poking the monsters from behind

your allies with it?」

「That is right. When you are using a spear from behind the safe distance

given to you by your vanguard fighting comrades, you might not have as

much momentum or the impact on the battlefield like they do, but the length

of the spear helps you remain in control at all times and even save your allies

if the ever find themselves in a pinch from a surprise attack to their flank.

Some might say that this is not a greatest of the roles to fill, but I think such a

supportive role can be pretty powerful in its own right.」

Certainly, when she puts it like that, attacking with a spear does not seem like

a bad idea. However, just like Sherry said, such a strategy can only be pulled

off when you have people who will be taking the damage and attacking the

monsters in the vanguard position, and currently we do not have enough

people for that. I got Sherry precisely because I did not want to fight on the

front lines all the time so that I could focus on using my magic more, so

going back to the vanguard just so that Sherry could utilize her spear-poking

strategy would be more than a little pointless now. Also, just so that I could

clearly know where we are standing with this:

「When it comes to hammers, have you ever fought any monsters with it

before?」

「No, I have yet to use hammers in actual combat against real monsters, so it

would be my first time doing so.」

So, she is a novice when it comes to hammers, huh? I doubt it is going to be a

real detriment, but in that case, it might be a good idea to have her fight some

low-level monsters so that she could get into the swing (TL Note: Get it?

Swing, because you swing the hammer. . . all right, I am going to shut up

now) of things before moving on to the higher floor where she could truly go

to the poundtown with them?

「In that case, would you like to try fighting the monsters in the Labyrinth

with a hammer to get some practice?」

「Y-Yes, I would very much like to try doing that!」

「And what do you think, Roxanne? Would that be alright with you as well?」

「Yes, I do not see any problems with it. In fact, I would like you to try

fighting with the hammer in the vanguard together with me as well. It took us

some time to arrive at it, but master and I have developed our own trusty

method of fighting monsters where I focus their attention on myself I the

front lines with the combination of dodging and blocking their attacks while

master supports me with his offensive spells from the back, and that is how

our Party has been operating for a good while now. Once the three of us go to

the Labyrinth together you shall see it with your own eyes, but just let me tell

you that master's magic abilities are truly powerful and amazing, so if you

could help make it possible for him to use them as much as possible, that

would really be appreciated.」

Roxanne seems to have the same opinion as me, which made me happy. This

means that we have double the persuasion power to convince Sherry to use a

hammer for our first bout to the Labyrinth. But apparently, that was not what

Sherry was the most interested in when Roxanne finished talking.

「Eh? What? So master can also use Attack Magic?」

「Yes, he most certainly can.」

「But. . . but how? How can such a thing be possible?」

Sherry looked at me, then at Roxanne, then back at me and at Roxanne once

more. I was expecting her to be surprised when she eventually learned that I

am capable of using Attack Magic, but her surprise and confusion were

actually much bigger than I anticipated.

「You can really use it?」

Part

4

「Yeah, I can use it. Oh, actually, I am capable of using several different types

of magic.」

「Well, uh. . . 」

「This is something that would like other people not to know about, so once

again, I want you to keep this information to yourself, okay?」

When I forbade her from teling about this to anyone, Sherry's face looked

like she was extremely disappointed, but she did not oppose that rule,

probably because she knew that this was the best possible way to not get too

much unwanted attention to our names.

「Yes master, I understand….. s-so, it really has to be because of you being

able to use multiple Jobs, right?」

「That is right. 」

「. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 」

「. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 」

「. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .」

The moment of awkward silence just kept going without any of us saying a

word. Could it be that. . . that Sherry is waiting for me to give her an actual,

logical explanation of why am I capable of using multiple Jobs?

「Let just say that I am simply somehow able to do it and leave it at that,

okay?」

「Yes, let us just say that master is simply somehow able to do it and leave it

at that.」

「Oh, ah. . . okay?」

Now that I bought Sherry, my second slave, we will finally be able to

challenge the Labyrinth's eighth floors. But as for if there will ever come the

day where I will talk to Sherry and Roxanne about my powers and why they

need to stay a secret, I guess that remains to be seen.

「Now then, going back to the topic of weapons for a bit, we will go through

with the following plan: I will go shopping for weapons and equipment for

you and buy you a hammer so that you could test it out on the weaker

monsters in the Labyrinth and get you accustomed to fighting with it, okay?」

I am putting it like that to her, but there is actually another reason why I

would like her to try using a hammer in combat. Defeating a monster with a

sword was a condition for aquiring the Swordmaster Job, and defeating a

monster with bare hands was a condition needed for the acquisition of the

Monk Job, so maybe, just maybe defeating a monster with a hammer is one

of the conditions required for the Dwarves to obtain the Master Smith Job?

After all, blacksmiths work with hammers all the time, so maybe that really is

the case here?

「Okay, I see no problems with giving it a try.」

「Well, it is settled then.Oh and by the way, Sherry.」

There is this other thing that I wanted to ask her about.

「Yes?」

Sherry inquired with a slight cock of her head.

I wonder why she said that she would be fine with using a mallet and a

hammer when she said she has never defeated a monster with those weapons.

Does that mean that she killed other things with them? Things like. . . no,

stop it, Michio. I am sure that it was just her using a figure of speech without

any deeper or hidden meanings to it. It is cool, it is fine. Everything is fine.

「You said that you are good with spears and that you would not mind

fighting with a hammer, so that got me wondering: is there any specific

reason for such a choice of your weaponry? Do all Dwarves fight mainly with

spears and hammers, or is that purely the matter of your personal

preference?」

「It is mainly my own preference, but actually, many of the Dwarves use them

as their preferred weapons of choice as well. While we Dwaves are not as tall

as other races, we are generally physically stronger than Humans or Elves, so

many of us tend to gravitate towards heavier weaponry in order to make the

best possible use of that racial perk of ours. For the record, I have also used

other kinds of weapons besides spears and hammers, but those two I found to

be the most compatible with me.」

The fact that she also knows how to handle other kinds of weapons is really

reassuring, although if I want to have her reach Master Smith Job as soon as

possible, we will not need her using other kinds of weapons. Mallets and

hammers are literally all we need Sherry to use right now.

「Have you ever used a hammer before, Roxanne?」

I asked Roxanne out of curiosity as well, because throughout the time we

have spent together, I have never seen her using anything other than the

Wooden Shield and Scimitar I provided her with, and she never talked about

using other kinds of weapons.

「I did not, because it is too heavy and clunky to use and it would only

diminish my speed and the ability to dodge.」

Ahh, that is right. Every kind of weapon has the pros and cons of using it, and

in case of hammers, it is how big and slow to use they are. Roxanne is all

about her godly evasive abilities, so if she were to use such a heavy weapon,

then her evasion, which is one of her strongest points, would have been

severely crippled. So I guess she really can perform her godly dodges only

with a one-handed weapon like a short or longsword, but then again, the

weapon that she is currently using, a Scimitar is not exactly a light weapon,

and she can dodge with it just fine.

「Can you tell me what is the difference between a hammer and a mallet? I

mean, I know that hammers are big and especially heavy, but what about

mallets specifically? Do you have to hold them with both hands?」

「You do not necessarily have to do it with both hands. Mallets are designed

in such a way that you can hold them with either one or two hands and I have

seen people holding it in one hand along with a shield for protection, but

personally I prefer holding it with two hands since it allows for more

powerful blows.」

So Sherry does not need a shield because she prefers the more offensive

approach, huh? Good to know and duly noted.

「Unfortunately, we do not have any extra equipment to spare at the moment

and your purchase took a bite out of a big portion of our funds, so you will

have to content yourself with cheaper ones for he time being, before we will

be able to buy you something better. Is that okay with you?」

「Yes, of course it is okay, master. If that is what you have decided, then I

have no reasons to be questioning your decisions.」

「Great, thank you for trusting me with this one. By the way, do you now

about Empty Skill Slots and the equipment that may or may not have it?」

「Empty Skill Slots. . . . . . . .? Ah, you mean Skill Slots in general? Well of

course I know about them.」

「Really? That is so good to hear!」

Could it be? Have I finally found someone who can explain to me what the

deal with them is, exactly?!

「Right. . . . . . . .So, you also know about them, master?」

「Well, yeah. The main reason why I wanted to buy myself a Dwarven slave

was so that we could have our very own Master Smith, because during our

last trip to the Labyrinth we managed to obtain a Skill Crystal and we were

looking for someone who could imbue our equipment with it.」

「I see, that makes sense. If you did not know about them, then you would

not have asked for a Dwarf with Master Smith Job specifically. . . 」

「Precisely. So, how did you learn about them, if I may ask? Is it something

that all Dwarves know, or is it the kind of knowledge that you had to obtain

on your own?」

Part

5

「Not exactly, but long ago there used to be people who advocated the

following theory: They claimed that every piece of equipment in the world

may contain something they called「Skill Slots」and that every attempt at

fusing the Skill Crystal into a piece of equipment that does not have Skill

Slots that the Skill Crystal could be fitted into would always result in a failure

with one hundred percent of probability, or at least that is what their theory

claims.」

「Were the ones who came up with this theory Dwarven scholars, or was it

someone else who came up with it and they expanded on it further?」

「Since Dwarves are the only race capable of becoming Master Smiths, it was

a subject researched purely by the dwarven scholars of old. They were the

ones who came up with the theory and tried to prove it, without the help from

anyone from the outside of the circle of the Dwarven race.」

「Same as the one who tried to tell you all of those foolish things in regards to

the「Earth is round」theory? 」

「Ah, no, thankfully it was a different type of scholars from that shady one

with the 「Earth is round and people on the other side of it will fall off it into

the sky」 drivel. They were the ones who devoted their whole lives to proving

that what they were claiming was correct, but because the results of their

research were less than conclusive, nowadays there are not that many

common Dwarves who accept that theory, which makes the fact that you

have heard about it that much more amazing.」

These Dwarven scholars of old must have been pretty brainy guys to have

figured that much out without even being able to see if the Skill Slots are

there or not. Sadly, without any hard boiled evidence, even though their idea

that if there is an Empty Skill Slot in the piece of equipment then you could

fuse the Skill Crystal in there was the correct one, then of course no one

would ever believe them. After all, taking people's words at face value is not

the best thing to do, no matter the world you are in.

「Is that theory no good now?」

「Instead of saying tha it is no good, it would be more fitting to say that it is

simply impossible to prove, since no one can see the actual Skill Slots.」

Well, I guess that much is a given if you do not possess the Indentify Skill

like I do.

「Impossible to prove? Is there really no way to check it at all?」

Roxanne asked.

In theory, verification of that theory should be easy.If Skill Crystals can be

fused to the same equipment many times, then all you would have to do

would be to try fusing the Skill Crystal with a given piece of equipment over

and over and over again. If the equipment does have an Empty Skill Slot in it,

they should have seen some successful attempts after a number of fails,

whereas if the equipment does not have an Empty Skill Slots in it, then the

fusion would always fail, no matter how many times they would have tried.

But because Skill Crystals are very rare items to begin with and the

probability of failure is always high even if the Empty Skill Slots are really

there, I can definitely see why they started claiming that the verification of

that theory is impossible.

「However, if I had to say so myself, then I would have to say that nowadays

there are more people who do not believe in this theory at all than those who

believe in it.」

「People who deny it are in the vast majority? Why is that? Is that theory that

universally hated?」

「If the fusion fails, the Skill Crystal will be lost and the equipment that you

tried to infuse with it will be disassembled into its base components, but

whether it will be all of the materials or just some of them is up to a complete

coin toss. If you are lucky enough to have all the materials left after the failed

fusion, you can simply try to remake the equipment that you lost, there is still

a matter that nags most of the people: is the remade equipment going to be as

good or the same quality as the one they initially wanted to infuse, or is it

going to be worse? We have no way of definitely confirming or denying that,

since, as I already said, no one is capable of seeing if the Skill Slots are

actually there or not, and that in turn makes it impossible to determine

whether or not the re-made equipment is identical to how it was before, or is

it perhaps somewhat different? And of course, while there is nothing stopping

us from attempting to fuse another Skill Crystal with the re-made equipment,

those who believe in the Skill Slot theory argue that it is not in fact the same

kind of equipment as it was before.」

So the equipment is going to be destroyed if its fusion fails?If that is true,

then that would really make the verification process even more impossible

than I initially thought. Without Identify to check if the Skill Crystal got

properly embedded in the piece of equipment, pretty much everyone would

not be able to tell the difference between a weapon or armor that has the

Empty Skill Slot and the ones that do not, because they would all look the

same to them appearance-wise even if you managed to put the disassembled

equipment back together. Also. . .

「So does that mean that there is always a chance that not every material can

remain after the disassembling process?」

「Yes. It is not something that occurs every time, but there is always a chance

of that happening, even when performed by a Master Smith with the best

Skills and tools available.」

「I see. . . What do you think about the Skill Slot theory itself, Sherry?」

「For me personally, the Skill Slot Theory seems to be a little too far-fetched.

Instead of putting the blame for the failure of the fusion of the Skill Crystal

with the equipment on the one performing the fusion it pins the fault on a

number of factors that are not defined or grounded in reality, which enables

people to shirk the criticism and pass the blame for all the failures as they see

fit, all for the sake of not claiming the responsibility for the failure

themselves.」

So Sherry is disagreeing with the Skill Slot Theory then, I presume? Noy

surprising, since she looks like someone who would not believe just about

anything that people would try to tell her without seeing concrete proof first.

So unless someone gives her the clear-cut evidence that the Skill Slot Theory

is real and that they really do exist, she is still going to dismiss it as

something unproven. To be thinking even about such small details. . . As I

thought, Sherry really is quite smart.

「I see. I am very glad to hear that you are aware of it.」

「Thank you master, and I am sorry if it sounds like I am mouthing off. It is

just that I was always interested in all the things that surrounded me, so I

always talked to the people around me asking for an explanation on how this

and that works.」

Sherry bowed her head apologetically.

「There is no need for you to feel sorry. I do not think that the thirst for

knowledge is a bad thing at all.」

Yeah, I think the exact opposite, actually. Since I am not all that good when it

comes to intellectual stuff and Roxanne can be pretty. . . airheaded at times,

having someone who is genuinely smart in our ranks is truly a blessing. Since

it looks like Sherry knows a lot about a great number of things, she will

definitely be useful to me, even if only for the purpose of explaining the

things that I do not understand about this world to me. Also, even though

Sherry is skeptical about the Skill Slot Theory, it seems like it is actually true,

as it is evident by me using the Identify Skill to check if the items I am

buying or finding in the Labyrinths come up with the Empty Skill Slots.

「I know, but. . . it is just that before I became a slave, my mom would

always get angry whenever I did not know something, but on the contrary the

people around me were always saying that trying to learn too much for your

own good will do nothing but bring doom upon yourself and those around

you.」

, Part

6

「Ah, yeah. I see how it is.」

Looks like in this world and its society it is actually dangerous to know too

much or what goes beyond your social position, which admittedly kinda

sucks, but it is not like there is anything that I can personally do about it, you

know? And it probably holds even more true when it comes to slaves.

「Master also likes to experiment with a lot of things, so I think it is all right.」

「Is that. . . so?」

「It sure is!」

Uhm, Roxanne my dear, if you have any complaints about how I choose to

do things, they why do you not tell me about it directly? Even though she was

smiling and patting Sherry on the back the entire time, I could not help it but

to think that there was something a little bit malicious behind that smile of

hers.

「W-Well, we all have our fair share of secrets that we want to keep others

from finding out, but I think that uncovering them little by little is the best

approach here. Everything in moderation, you know?」

「Yes, of course!」

「You are absolutely right, master!」

「Also, it is important to be careful with what you want to talk about to other

people, since we all have our things that we will tryt keep quiet about no

matter what, and we react differently to people who are overly chatty about

their own secrets and problems, so just be mindful when discussing what you

have learned with others. Oftentimes it might mean nothing to you, but it

might be a huge deal to the person you will be speaking to at the moment.

「Okay, I understand. I will be sure to take that under advisement.」

It is not that I am against talking about myself or the many secrets that I have,

but if the girls started digging too deep into them then things would definitely

get problematic, especially since I possess some abilities that seem to be truly

unique in this world, like the ability to use many kinds of Attack Magic, or

the omission of the chants required for the casting of said spells, or the fact

that I can change my own Jobs as well as the Jobs of them members of my

Party. How am I going to explain all of those things to Roxanne, Sherry and

any of the slaves that I might buy for myself in the future? I have not thought

about it right now, so I am going to do the next best thing that could be done

about this at this point: leave it for later and deal with that problem in the

future when it will happen.

「By the way Sherry. Is your Item Box completely empty?」

「Yes, it is completely empty right now.」

「Okay.」

After confirming that Sherry had no items that she currently held in her in her

own Item Box, I opened up the menus and chose Party Job Settings. If my

guess is correct and one of the conditions needed for the acquisition of the

Master Smith Job is having Explorer at Lv.10 or lower it would be bad if

Sherry ended up leveling it up any higher by accident, so it would be best if I

switched her current Job into something else, like. . .

「Villager Lv.3 huh? That is a bit low.」

「Eh?」

「Huh?!」

「Hmm?」

Did. . . Did I just said something weird?

「. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .」

「. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .」

Both Sherry and Roxanne are looking at me with their faces so grim and

worried that I must have definitely upset them in some way. Perhaps I said

that last bit about Sherry's Villager Lv.2 Job being low out loud? That would

have explained those troubled looks of theirs. Although I know their Jobs and

their levels because they are the members of my Party where I am the leader,

they do not know that. However, if Sherry was the only one to react in such a

way, I would have understood that, since I made that rude comment about her

specifically, but for Roxanne to act in such a troubled manner as well? That is

something that I do not understand, but something must be going on with her,

because ever since this morning when we were discussing the matter of the

will she was acting a bit strange, unlike her usual, obedient self, and also that

she was acting a bit cold towards me ever since I bought Sherry. Quick, I

have to change the subject to something more neutral, and fast!

「Uhm, so Sherry, have you heard anything of a Hero Job?」

「Ah, y-yes, I heard something about it, Supposedly it is the Job that belonged

to the first emperor of the empire, or at least that is what the legends are

saying.」

「So it is something that exists only in legends, huh?」

「Yes, but because there is no such thing as a Hero's Guild, then that Job does

not actually exist and it is only something that was made up to justify why the

first emperor was as strong as he was.」

So the Job of a Hero is as rare as I thought.

「So what would have happened if the people learned that this Job actually

does exist? How they would have reacted to it?」

「Since it is a Job that was only held by one person before, the first emperor

of this country, then if there ever was a person who claimed to have obtained

it as well, they would have probably be charged with the accusations of

plotting a rebellion against the current emperor and his government and

swiftly executed to avoid raising any kind of unrest within the populace.」

Eh? Say what? A Hero, someone who is one of the most respected people in

practically every RPG because of his power, achievements and his destiny of

defeating the Demon Lord or whatever kind of evil is currently plaguing the

world would be treated as the absolute worst kind of criminal and get killed

simply for possessing a Job? What the fuck is wrong with that line of

reasoning. . . no wait. Actually, now that I think about it, such a thing could

really do happen. Yeah, given the information that Sherry provided me with

just now, it is definitely something that could transpire. If the rumors say that

the only person ever known to hold the Job of a Hero was this country's first

emperor, then the authorities would probably think that anyone claiming to

have that Job as well would be a fraud or someone looking to throw the

empire into chaos by, let us say, claiming to be a long-lost descendant of the

first emperor with the claims to the empire's throne. . . . . . .. so if someone

ever found out that I possess the Job of a Hero. . . . ugh, I do not even want

to think about what would happen to me then.

「Okay, now that we got all those things sorted out, I think it is high time for

me to finally go and do some shopping, would you not agree?」

「Y-Yes! I almost forgot that this was what you were supposed to be doing!

Forgive me for my forgetfulness, master!」

「Nah, it is fine. To tell you the truth, I almost forgot about it as well on only

remembered it now. Now that we have all those things explained to one

another, then I can go right now.」

「「Understood!」」

I do not know what else I could have said in order to get myself out of

plunging head-first into another sticky subject, so I figured that a good old

run-away strategy would be the most effective here. Roxanne probably

understood what my intentions were, because she simply have me a

thoughtful look and an affirmative nod.

「Once I get back from the shopping, I will take care of preparing the bath, so

I want Roxanne and Sherry to handle the preparations for dinner, okay?」

I said while preparing to cast Warp on the wall.

「Can you cook, Sherry?」

Part

7

「Yes, I can. While I cannot do anything too spectacular, I do know my way

around the kitchen to some extent.」

「I will be counting on you as well then. Can I ask you and Roxanne to make

one dish each?」

「Of course!」

「All right.」

With the confirmation that Sherry can also be helpful around the kitchen, I

nodded at Roxanne and she happily nodded back at me, and then she patted

Sherry on the back. It's great that she is so approving of her so far, because if

she already accepted her as a member of our Party and as her fellow kitchen

aid, then maybe she will also be open about letting her in on. . . our various

other activities.

「Uhm, Miss Roxanne if I may ask. . . what was that talk about a bath just

now? Did master meant "that" kind of bath when he said that he was going to

prepare a "bath"?」

Now what that might be about? What does she mean by "that kind of bath"? I

mean, I know that there were many different kinds of baths back in my old

world, like saunas, hot springs, cold springs, milk baths and public baths, but

are they here in this world as well?

「I do not know what you mean by "that kind of bath", Sherry, but I can

definitely tell you that I am going to prepare an ordinary bath.」

「I,I understand!」

「All right then. Roxanne, Sherry, I will be taking my leave and be on my

way.」

I said, finishing my preparations of the Warp portal on the wall of the living

room. Now that I will be running away to do some shopping, maybe my

absence will help keep Sherry's mind off of asking all sorts of problematic

questions that I would have trouble answering.

「I heard that only the members of the royalty and aristocracy can afford to

take baths. Is master secretly someone important like that?」

I heard Sherry asking Roxanne such a question when I was with one leg

through the Warp portal already.

「I do not know about royalty or aristocracy, but what I do know is that

master is an amazing person.」

Oh, stop it Roxanne, you are going to make me blush! Besides, I am not all

that great of a person. I am simply an enthusiast of taking baths with beautiful

girls. That is all.

「Have a safe trip, master.」

「Yeah, I will. I am heading off then.」

Roxanne and Sherry bowed their heads to me, and then returned to their talk

about baths. I knew that Roxanne ended up liking them as much as I do after

all the times we played with each other during our soaks, but who would have

thought that Sherry would have such a burning passion for baths herself?

Maybe convincing her to join our soap play is actually going to be easier than

I have initially thought it would be?

I warped to the Adventurer's Guild and then made my way to my first stop:

Armor Shop. The first thing that I wanted to take care of was a small upgrade

of my own set of equipment. Up until now I was using a set of Leather

Armor, Leather Boots, Leather Gloves and Leather helmet that was made

form a simple, unprocessed leather. The things that I bought right now were a

step above that, but only for my footwear and headwear, so now I had a set

made out of Processed Leather Helmet, Leather, Armor, Leather Gloves and

Processed Leather Boots. Of course, before picking any of them up I made

absolutely sure that all of them came equipped with their own Empty Skill

Slots. A while ago when I was discussing the matters of equipment with

Roxanne she insisted that as a master and the leader of the Party I should

have the best equipment possible on me, but I feel like only taking a better

boots and helmet for now should be more than enough to take care of my

defensive needs.

Now as, for the armor that Sherry is going to be using. . .

Just like when I bought Roxanne, Sherry did not have any shoes on her feet

when she was passed on to me. She was barefoot. It would seem that this is

one of the customs of how slaves are treated in this world. If Sherry's

purchase was not such a last minute decision, then I would have prepared a

pair of shoes or sandals beforehand so that I could give them to her as a kind

of a welcoming gift. Now that I think about it, if I wanted to buy things for

Sherry, then maybe I should have taken Roxanne with me as well so that we

could turn it into a surprise gift for her? But then again, leaving her in our

house all alone would have been a really dickish move, but if I took her with

us to do shopping, then I am sure that it would have taken ages and then some

to buy all of the things that we would want to buy because of Roxanne's habit

to analyze and overthink every purchase that she is involved with. So yeah, I

am here by myself, so I will simply have to do my very best to pick up

something that is going to be both practical and affordable, so I guess I am

going to be buying something made from leather or processed leather, just

like I did for myself. For her hands, I think a pair of Leather Mittens should

be more than enough, and as for the shoes. . . will Leather Sandals do the

trick? Hmm, actually, maybe it would be more practical to give her my old

Leather Boots instead of selling them or throwing them out? Yeah, let us do

that. And while I am at it, I will also buy some new footwear for Roxanne as

well.

(Man, shopping really does go by in a flash when I do it by myself, huh?)

That was the thought that was going through my head as I made my way to

the counter in the shop to pay for all the items that I have bought just now.

After that was done, I simply went back home without making any more

additional detours.

「Hey, I am back, sorry for the wait!」

「「Welcome home, Master!」」

「I finished shopping and brought some new equipment with me. Roxanne,

these Processed Leather Boots are for you, and Sherry, you will be getting

my old Leather Boots.」

「Thank you very much, master.」

I then took off the Leather Boots I was currently wearing and handed them

off to Sherry while changing into the Processed Leather Shoes that I bought.

「You have my thanks as well, master. But. . . is it really okay for me to be

wearing this kind of armored footwear?」

「Yes, because for as long as you will be coming to the Labyrinths with us,

wearing such a protective gear is pretty much a necessity.」

「Yes! I will do my very best not to let you down, Miss Roxanne, master!」

Okay, that means that all of us are now properly equipped with new pieces of

gear: I have a new Processed Leather Helmet and Processed Leather Boots,

Roxanne has new Processed Leather Boots as well and Sherry is going to

wear my old Leather Shoes and Leather Mittens. That way, everything we

were wearing up until now is going to be of use without the need for us to

throw it away or sell it for just a few measely coins that would not even come

close to making the selling process worth it.

「Now, are you fine with wearing a Leather Jacket of the same kind that

Roxanne is wearing, or would you prefer a Leather Armor instead?」

I took out the Leather Jacket that was placed in my Item Box and presented it

to Sherry. Leather Jackets are more expensive than Leather Armor, but on the

flipside Leather Armor should provide better protection, so if I were the one

to make the selection, I would definitely make Sherry wear Leather Armor,

but ultimately it will be her decision to make.

「C-Certainly, since my chest is so small, I could wear the Leather Armor

without anything getting in the way of it.」

Sherry turned her head down, and her face became very cloudy. Oh crap, oh

fuck! No, Sherry, I did not mean it in such a way! Not sexual harassment!

What I was aiming for here was definitely not sexual harassment! In case of

women such as Roxanne, Leather Armor tends to fit too tightly, emphasizing

her big boobs as a result.

Part

8

That is why saying that Leather Armor might be ideal for her was like saying

that she has no boobs at all right to her face. But you know, it is not like

Sherry's chest is nonexistent. I mean, when compared to Roxanne's huge

knockers, of course they would be inferior, but they are not "mosquito bites"

small, you know what I mean? The clothes she is currently wearing might be

concealing them to some extent, but they are big enough for me to see that

they are clearly there. To be honest, I am looking forward to seeing how they

are going to look like once they will become "unpacked" from all the

clothing when we will be taking a bath and playing around in bed, because id

my estimations are right, then she should still be pretty sizeable, probably

enough for them to fit perfectly into the palm of my hand.

「Please, do not be mad at me, Sherry. I did not want to belittle you or make

fun of your body with what I said.」

「It is fine, really. I know they are not that small, but I just cannot help it to be

a little self-conscious about them anyway.」

「It is perfectly okay, so do not worry about it, Sherry! Besides, when you boil

it all down, breasts are nothing more but a decoration that does not do

anything to help you fight against the monsters in the Labyrinths anyway!」

Roxanne said that to comfort Sherry, but with her boobs pretty much

dangling in front of her and hitting her in the face, I think she might have

achieved an effect opposite to what she was aiming for. Roxanne, no matter

what you might say, it will not change the fact that your boobs are a very

attractive decoration. My god, why is it always that erotic girls with

bombshell bodies do not seem to realize hoe erotic they really are? Not

knowing how to respond to what Roxanne just said, I just handed the Leather

Jacket To Sherry, who was giving me and Roxanne an increasingly cringy

look. And honestly, I cannot blame her for that. For better or worse, Roxanne

seems to be more than a little airheaded when it comes to sensible subjects,

so she might have ended up teasing (or even roasting, depending on how you

choose to look at it) Sherry for being small-chested without even noticing

that herself, which is going to make any encouragement she might have

wanted to give Sherry counterproductive, because she is simply going to

think that she is patronizing her.

Now that Sherry has finished putting on her new equipment, I decided to

make a quick additional run to the Weapon's Shop so that she could buy a

weapon for herself. As soon as we entered it she stopped sulking and dragged

me into the corner where the hammers and mallets were being sold.

「So this is where they are holding every blunt weapon they have available for

purchase, huh?」

Hammers, morning stars, maces, clubs and the like were all gathered in this

one place right next to one another. they all varied in sizes form small,

medium and large to what I could only describe as extra and ultra large, and

my guess is that each and every one of those weapons would weight at least a

ton.

「They have a pretty wide selection of these, I have to give them that.」

「Yes, that they do indeed. And it looks like this right here is the cheapest

club they have available right now.」

Sherry showed me the club that she was talking about

[Two-Handed Blunt Weapon: Club]

Wow, this thing is a club? To be honest, it looks more like a log of wood or a

tree trunk with a handle attached to it rather than anything else. Something

like that obviously could not be used for any kind of blacksmithing purposes,

but I guess it would flatten just about anything that would have the

misfortune of being hit by it without any issues. For the timebeing, let me

look for the one that comes with an Empty Skill Slot. . . ah, there it is!

「Sherry, the ones over here look like they are especially sturdy, so choose

one of these.」

「Oh, you are right, they do look like they are slightly more durable than the

others! Thank you for the suggestion.」

「Do not mention it.」

「As expected of master! Your eye when it comes to choosing equipment is as

sharp as always!」

Roxanne praised me as well.

「They all look pretty reliable, but I think I am going to go with. . . this one

right here!」

Sherry exclaimed, happily grabbing one of the clubs that as about as tall as

she was with ease and raising it high into the air to inspect it.

「Yup, this looks like a pretty solid pick, and it is great that you chose that

you are familiar with.」

「Thank you very much.」

Now then, if I want my Thirty Percent Discount to kick in, then I guess I

should start looking for something that I could buy either for Roxanne or

myself. We already have a Club, so maybe I could buy an upgrade to my

Wand or Roxanne's Scimitar? Or maybe I should buy a spear for Sherry so

that she could have a backup weapon in case that something happened to the

club? And who knows, maybe I will be able to benefit off of it as well if there

is a Job that requires slaying a number of monsters with a spear in order to

become unlocked? Like A Lancer, or perhaps a Phalanx? Okay, for the time

being, let me see what they have here in terms of spears. Identify!

[Copper Spear, Empty Skill Slot]

This here Copper Spear looks like it could be a pretty solid weapon for those

who have just begun their adventure with spearmanship, but on the downside,

it only has one Empty Skill Slot available. Even though it is called a Copper

Spear, the weapon itself is not entirely made out of copper, because it has a

firm wooden handle. The thing that is made out of copper is probably the

very tip of the spear.

While I was taking all the other spears in my hand to get a feel for them,

Sherry approached me with the Club she has chosen in tow.

「So you have decided to go with this Club after all?」

「Yes, this one please.」

I received the Club form Sherry and handed it out to the shopkeeper along

with the Copper Spear. The amount I had to pay for both those items was

eight hundred and fourty Nars, and the more expensive one of the two turned

out to be the Copper Spear. Who would have thought?

「All right, that should take care of all the shopping I had planned for today.

Now then, here you go, Sherry, your purchase.」

I said while handing Sherry the Club that she has chosen.

「A-are you really sure it is all right for me to hold onto it?」

It surprised me how surprised she was.

「Yeah, sure, I do not mind.」

「Yay!」

W-Why are her eyes shining like that? Is she that happy that I bought

something for her, or perhaps because I bough exactly the thing that she

wanted?

「Roxanne? Was. . . was giving this Club to her a bad choice, perhaps?」

「No, I believe that was not a wrong thing to do. I mean, normally, slaves are

not allowed to be carrying any kind of weaponry on them unless they are not

in the Labyrinth.」

「Oh, so that is an actual rule?」

「Maybe not a rule, but rather a custom that has been established since ancient

times. It is because of it that I always return my Scimitar to you whenever we

are leaving the Labyrinth, remember?」

「Hmm. . . oh yeah, that really does happen each and every time, now that

you mention it.」

I had a conversation like that with Roxanne in hushed whispers. I never really

paid too much attention to it before because I got so used to seeing the

Scimitar I have her on her hips at all times, but every morning before we set

out and go into the Labyrinths I am giving Roxanne the Scimitar from my

Item Box, and whenever we are done with exploring for the day, she always

hands it back to me and I put it back to the Item Box. It just became such a

routine to me after a while that I have literally stopped paying any kind of

attention to it.