That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 61
“Are you the client this time?”
“Huh? Who are you? I don’t remember agreeing to babysit children.”
As I approached the person who seemed to be the client, I was instantly irritated. Damn, why does everyone judge by appearances?!
“This gentleman here is the magic tool craftsman, Edson-dono. We’ve come to discuss the matter requested by Lord Rote. Could there be some mistake?”
“Huh? …Ehehehe, well well, to be hit on by such a pretty maid, I must still have it in me. Heheh.”
“Hey, is this guy misunderstanding something?”
“It appears so.”
“Ahem, however, my apologies, beautiful maid. I have a prior engagement.”
This guy… He’s not listening to us at all.
“The engagement you’re referring to is with us…”
“What?! To be alone with such a beautiful maid, is this fate?!”
“No, Mei just clearly said ‘no,’ didn’t she?”
Confused, he looked down at me with a skeptical expression.
“Um, and who is this child?”
“She is my master.”
“What?! Th-this, no, a child as, your, your master! How enviable!”
“No, are you misunderstanding something?”
I don’t even want to think about what he’s misunderstanding.
“By the way, this request will be led by my master.”
“What?!”
He looked down at me again and let out an obvious sigh.
“Maid, your beauty is undeniable, but this job is impossible for such a small child. There must be some mistake. This isn’t something that can be handled by a child.”
“Hmm, a mistake, is it? I heard we were to help with cutting down a Katsugi tree.”
“That’s not what I meant. Listen, I requested the felling of a Katsugi tree, right?”
“It seems there’s no problem then. It’s pointless to waste more time here. Shall we leave now?”
“Eh? But, well…”
“Thank you for your request to the Magic Guild. May I have your name?”
“Eh? Hehe, you got me there. My name is Kikkori. And yours?”
“Mei.”
“What a wonderful name! It must be fate, Mei!”
No, that’s stretching it. Anyway, if we don’t get moving, we’ll get nowhere, so I had Mei cleverly manage this man as we headed toward the Oosugi Forest.
“But, I have to say, I did come, but this is reckless. You see, this forest is swarming with insect-type demons. They’re troublesome, and when you ask adventurers, they take advantage of you and hike up the prices.”
Kikkori grumbled about his grievances with the Adventurer’s Guild as we stood before the forest.
“After all, I was told it would be cheaper this way. But as beautiful as Miss Mei is, I don’t think she should be going into such dangerous places.”
“No need to worry. Mei is strong. She can easily protect herself.”
“Hey! Don’t be foolish! Just because she’s a child, don’t think she doesn’t understand danger! Whatever you say, master or not, if you put Miss Mei in danger, I won’t stay silent!”
“Mei.”
“Yes.”
――DOGOOOOOOOON!
“………”
To demonstrate her power, Mei lightly slammed her fist down, causing a roaring sound and a huge depression in the ground.
Kikkori’s eyes nearly popped out in astonishment. Well, they almost did pop out.
At any rate, this should have made things clear. By the way, the depressed ground was properly filled in and restored afterwards.
“I apologize sincerely. But, you know, I do like a strong and beautiful maid like Mei. Ah, well, ‘like’ is not quite the right term, but not incorrect either.”
Despite witnessing Mei’s strength, this man remained unfazed. Apparently, he’s 40 this year and still single. Ha, but that’s nothing; I’ve been single even longer than he has. It’s starting to feel a bit empty.
“Nevertheless, I never imagined I’d be escorted by such a beautiful maid like Mei instead of an adventurer. Truly, this must be luck, Mei!”
“I should make it clear that Mei isn’t here as a bodyguard. I’m the one solving the issue.”
“Enough of that.”
“What now, seriously. Well, fine, you’ll understand once we proceed together.”
Kikkori looked skeptical, but as we entered the forest, we aimed for the Katsugi tree.
Suddenly, an unpleasant noise came from the sky.
“There it is! The Evil Mosquito!”
Kikkori shouted as a giant mosquito approached. Its proboscis was long like a spear. That’s the creature that stabs its prey with that proboscis and drains their bodily fluids.
And it also sprays some weird fluid from its proboscis, trying to infect its prey. A truly vile creature.
“But it’s just one! Let’s hide and wait it out!”
“No need to panic. We’ll keep moving.”
“Huh? What are you saying? It’s coming from the sky! You can’t deal with aerial opponents from the ground without magic!”
“Just watch.”
As expected, the Evil Mosquito deemed us its prey and started to descend.
“Oh boy, it’s coming!”
“That’s why I said it’s okay. Just stand firm.”
While Kikkori frantically pointed at the creature, clutching my vest…
Really, he’s quite the coward. And as the Evil Mosquito approached—smoke billowed out from my vest, engulfing the approaching creature in smoke.
“Whoa, is this smoke?”
“Yes. And watch, the creature is fleeing.”
“Eh? Oh! True! What’s happening?!”
“Hehehe.”
I let out a meaningful laugh before continuing.
“Please pay attention to this.”
“Eh? Of course!”
Mei drew attention to my vest. The secret lies within this vest.
“This is a demon-repellent vest, branded by Edson.”
“A demon-repellent vest?!”
“Yes, indeed. This vest is equipped with a combination of chemicals that all demons despise, emitting smoke to drive approaching creatures away. It’s harmless to humans.”
“What?! No way!”
Kikkori raised his toes in astonishment. He had a great reaction.
“And this smoke, not only does it mix and emit automatically like now, but it also has a wide dispersal mode. If used, it will drive away any demon within a 500-meter radius, preventing them from approaching again.”
“No, no, no! That’s unbelievable. There can’t be such a versatile magical tool.”
Hmm, interesting, it’s not just one type of demon we’ve tested it on. So we continued walking and soon enough, Yaruki Beetles, giant earthworms, voracious locusts, and even non-insect creatures like Lance Rabbits and Bluff Bears were all fleeing from us.
“Amazing! With this, one can safely walk through this forest!”
“Yes, that’s the crucial part!”
As Kikkori became excited, I followed up.
“There’s a misconception that all demons must be defeated, which is why people rely on adventurers, but if you can avoid them, you should. This demon-repellent vest is perfect for that!”
“What?! Really?”
“Moreover, this vest uses a simple cartridge replacement system. It lasts on average three months and is easy to replace.”
“Such a small thing, amazing…”
Heh, he’s completely taken by the vest. While better materials could make the cartridges unnecessary, this method is the best considering the local materials and keeping costs down.
“So, what do you think of this vest?”
“Indeed, it’s a fine magical tool. But… it must be expensive, right?”
“True, considering the materials, I’d like to charge ten gold coins for the vest itself and one gold coin per cartridge.”
“Gah! That’s too expensive. It’s good, but too pricey!”
“Then, just for now, I can make it cheaper under certain conditions.”
“Cheaper? How much?”
“Normally, the vest would be ten gold coins, but—”
“But… (gulp)”
“—five gold coins!”
“What?! No way!”
“And if you buy now, I’ll include three replacement cartridges for free.”
“What a steal!”
The extra push from Mei’s offer seemed to seal the deal, though Kikkori decided to purchase it. However, it’s not something that could be sold immediately.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to purchase. However, I’m afraid I can’t sell it to you just yet.”
“Eh! Why not!”
“It’s not approved for sale yet, actually.”
I then went on to explain the branding to Kikkori—