I told Yunyun that people who take friendship money aren't real friends, advised her to use the money to buy what she needs or save it for the future if she doesn't need anything, and said let's rest tomorrow before sending her off.
The next morning, I got up early and prepared.
Today is an important day. It's the day Kazuma learns the thief skills [Enemy Detection],, and from Chris, and it's also Cabbage Harvest Day.[Lurk][Steal]
The [Enemy Detection],, and that Kazuma learns have endless uses.[Lurk][Steal]
[Enemy Detection] is exactly what the skill name says—a skill that detects enemies within a certain range and lets you grasp the number and current location of enemies in real time.
is a skill that hides yourself and allies touching you from enemies, concealing not just presence but also scent quite well.[Lurk]
is Kazuma's main skill, a skill that randomly snatches an opponent's item. With Kazuma's insane luck, he can almost always snatch exactly what he wants.[Steal]
These great skills are only 1 point each. I absolutely have to learn them. And I plan to learn the thief skills [Skill Bind], [Treasure Detection], and as well.[Lockpicking]
[Skill Bind] is a real cheat skill. It seals a target's skill. Against powerful opponents, it only blocks skills briefly, but in real combat, that brief moment decides victory or defeat. It might even become my main skill.
I'm planning to learn [Treasure Detection] and in case I go to another world. For example, I think they'll be useful for finding Dragon Balls or opening hidden rooms.[Lockpicking]
And 'Cabbage Harvest Day' is one of the unique settings of the KonoSuba world. Like bananas being caught in rivers or saury growing in fields, there are weird settings.
Cabbages also fly around in swarms like locusts and attack people with body slams. They're stronger than you'd think, so they're hard to catch unless you're an adventurer, and they taste good, so they're expensive.
But not all cabbages are expensive. Sometimes lettuce is mixed in the swarm. It looks similar to cabbage, so it's hard to tell apart, and it's not worth much, so even if you harvest it, you don't make much money. It's basically a dud.
Even considering that, it's like a sweet rain event for poor adventurers to make big money easily. That swarm of cabbages is coming to Axel Town today.
I went to the dining hall to eat breakfast and saw receptionist Luna eating alone.
"Luna! Good morning. Having breakfast?"
"Oh! Tae-jin, good morning. I usually eat at home, but I had too much work yesterday and did overtime, so I got up late today."
"Is it because of us arriving late?"
"No. Actually, a missing adventurer was found dead, so I was handling that and it ran late."
KonoSuba is a comedy fantasy, so I'd forgotten. This world is definitely at war, and dangerous monsters roam around.
Hearing that, I realize again that this is a world where I could die if I'm careless.
"Was it someone you knew?"
"Yes, an adventurer who sometimes came to take quests and flirt with me."
"It must be upsetting that someone you knew suffered that."
"Working at the guild, that happens sometimes. At first I couldn't even eat, but now I'm a bit used to it."
"That's a sad kind of getting used to it."
Luna stopped eating and looked at me as she spoke.
"That's why I actively try to stop adventurers from taking reckless quests, to reduce those incidents, but it's not easy."
"Ahaha, you mean me?"
"Yes! You!"
"Ahem, can't help it. My dream is to be a hero. Sorry in advance for the trouble I'll cause you, Luna."
"Sigh... Still, don't take quests that are too reckless."
I ordered food too and ate with Luna, chatting about this and that.
"Oh no! Look at the time. I should get going. Talking with you, Tae-jin, I didn't even notice the time passing. See you at the guild later."
Luna ran off to the guild in a hurry. I finished my meal, got up, and moved to the blacksmith shop.
Kazuma comes out around lunchtime, so I have time, and I want to order light armor that's easy to move in with the money I earned from the quest.
Having worked at the blacksmith shop, the blacksmiths were quite glad to see me.
"Tae-jin! Long time no see. Your rumor reached here. You already took down a One-Hit Bear? Amazing!"
"I'm embarrassed. I had help from a capable party member."
"Yeah, what brings you here?"
"Well, I made some money and want to order light armor."
"That sword you're carrying your weapon? Hmm... then we need to make it light and easy to move in. How much funding do you have?"
He definitely had skill. He could tell what kind of armor was needed just by looking at the client's weapon.
"I can spend up to 4 million eris."
He cleared the desk roughly and showed me a few blueprints.
"How about this design? I think it'd suit you. If we make it with light metal, you'll be able to move nimbly enough."
I looked at the blueprint and nodded. It was armor where leather and plate naturally blended well.
"Yes, I like it. Please make it like this."
"Got it. Then we need to take measurements, so come here."
I got measured and said please take good care of it.
"It'll take a few days, so go handle another quest or something in the meantime."
I left the blacksmith shop and went to the guild. Kazuma was staring at his adventurer card like he was worrying about something, and Megumin was eating next to him.
"Hey~! Kazuma, Megumin"
"Ah! Tae-jin"
"What's got you staring through your card like that?"
"Well, I hit level 4 and got skill points, so I'm wondering what skill to learn."
"How many points do you have?"
"3 points."
This is where you can see how pathetic Kazuma's potential is.
Aqua got enough points to take all her skills the moment she got the Arch Priest class.
Even I started with 100 points, and get 10 points when I level up.
Well, he solves it with tricks later, but starting with 0 points and getting 1 point per level... I should be nice to Kazuma.
"Hmm... I looked into it, and usable attack skills are almost all over 10 points. But that doesn't mean low-point skills are bad. It depends on how you use them. The question here is whether to take low-point skills first and gradually learn stronger skills, or hold out, save points, and take a powerful skill at once."
"So it's a difference in growth policy?"
"Right."
Just then, Megumin, who was eating, said.
"Just go for Explosion Magic, then?"
"Kazuma only has 3 points. Explosion Magic is 50 points."
"Uwa... that magic is 50 points?"
"Yeah, it differs a bit depending on magic comprehension, but I heard the average is 50 points. It's the strongest magic, after all."
Megumin struck a smug pose.
"Fufufu~ Now do you understand my greatness? So let's walk the path of explosion together."
"Why do you know so much, Tae-jin?"
"I... started gathering information from the moment I came here. Read books, asked people."
*I hate quick-witted people like this*—I can see why he hears that.
Just then, Darkness and Chris approached. Chris had short sky-blue hair and a vertical scar on her cheek that practically screamed 'I'm a thief.' And true to the original, Chris was... too lacking. I should definitely gift her a Pongyuhwan if I get one.
"Found you! You said yesterday you'd think about it and went back, but today I absolutely have to talk..."
Kazuma answered without hesitation.
"I refuse."
"Kuuuung~~~ instant answer...!?"
Darkness turned red and squirmed.
"Isn't that a bit too harsh, Darkness?"
"Hey, you!"
"Haha, you can't do that, Darkness. Being so aggressive."
"Um, you are?"
"I'm Chris! As you can see, a thief. And I'm like, friends with Darkness?"
My guess is, Darkness is a devout Eris follower, and other parties won't take her, so Chris probably pities her and travels with her.
"You want a useful skill, right? How about thief skills? They cost few points and are useful in many ways."
"Hee~"
"Right now I'll teach you for a glass of Shuwa-Shuwa."
"Cheap!"
"Not cheap! Tae-jin, you're better than Kazuma. That alone isn't enough."
I was going to take it easy, but Chris wouldn't let it go.
"Then what do you want?"
"Help me when I ask!"
This girl, she wants me to help when she's looking for her divine item...
Chris was doing the work of finding and stealing divine items that had a bad influence on the world.
Divine items are cheat items that reincarnators receive from goddesses and bring to this world, and there are many cases where they remain in the world and are misused after the reincarnators die or get robbed.
"No! I don't know what kind of request or how you'll do it, so that's hard."
"Then are you giving up on thief skills?"
"Instead, I'll get you a Pongyuhwan."
"Pongyuhwan? What's that?"
"Let me tell you the legend of the Pongyuhwan. Listen well, ahem!"
I cleared my throat.
"Long, long ago, there existed a mysterious treasure called the Pongyuhwan. It caused endless wars among those who sought to possess it.
Once, the peaceful Mis Kingdom went to war with neighboring countries to obtain the Pongyuhwan. The kingdom's army was powerful, but they couldn't escape the curse of the Pongyuhwan. As the war dragged on, the kingdom became increasingly devastated, and the people suffered from hunger and pain.
In the end, the Mis Kingdom obtained the Pongyuhwan, but the price was far too great. The kingdom was ruined by war, and the king went mad from the curse of the Pongyuhwan. Neighboring countries attacked the weakened kingdom, and eventually the Mis Kingdom was destroyed.
The Pongyuhwan lost its owner again and disappeared into legend. However, the legend still spread among people, and those who sought the Pongyuhwan constantly appeared. They all met the same fate—those who sought the Pongyuhwan would ultimately face ruin."
Gulp
Everyone swallowed.
"That's a lie! I've never seen or heard of such a country, such a divine item!"
Chris said she couldn't believe it.
"Fufu, really? The Pongyuhwan caused so many people to die that God, feeling pity, flung the Pongyuhwan to another dimension. I wonder where that dimension is?"
"No way!?"
"Yes! That no way!"
Kazuma asked curiously.
"But what kind of treasure is it that a kingdom gets destroyed?"
"It makes your breasts one cup bigger."
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh~~~~~~~~~~~!!!???"
"For just making breasts a little bigger?"
Chris and Megumin said with serious faces.
"Now I understand why the kingdom was destroyed!"
Ding~!
[[(E) Con Artist] ability acquired.]
Makes lies believable.
"Ahem..."