Chapter 203: I Accidentally Attacked a Royal Prosecutor, What Do I Do? Waiting Online, Kinda Urgent
Axel Suburban Mansion.
This was the base of the adventurer party that had been in the limelight recently. Because not long ago, they had successfully subjugated the powerful monster, the Manticore, and their fame had resounded throughout the entire beginner town.
And at this moment in the mansion's main hall, several people were sitting at a table. Some had their eyes closed, resting. Some were extremely nervous. And some were off in another world.
This was all because on the table in front of them, there was a piece of equipment—gloves.
This pair of gloves was unremarkable and didn't match the clothes Kazuma had made for Kobayashi. Not only that, but they also felt a bit heavy after being put on, like thick, padded gloves.
The mohawk-headed man who had sewn the gloves for him had his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes closed, not caring at all whether Kobayashi liked what he had made or not.
Kazuma, on the other hand, was looking at him nervously, afraid that he wouldn't like them.
As for Megumin, the chuunibyou loli, who wasn't interested in anything besides Explosion magic, was completely spaced out.
"S-so, what do you think, Kobayashi-senpai?" Kazuma's throat bobbed, and his tongue was tied. He was as nervous as a little boy going to the succubus shop for the first time.
Kobayashi found it amusing. "You're not the one who sewed these gloves, are you? Why are you so nervous?"
"Because he's the tailor I introduced! If you're not satisfied, senpai, my allowance...! Ahem, no... what I mean is, wouldn't it be a waste of the expensive materials from the Manticore we worked so hard to subjugate?!"
This guy, Kazuma... at first, he had refused any allowance, insisting on earning it himself. But later, because he was given too much, he had chosen to just "lie flat."
So he was very afraid that he would get angry and dock his not-insignificant allowance.
"Didn't subjugating the Manticore just require a single hand? And at that time, you were just on the sidelines cheering and watching, you idiot Kazuma. How dare you say 'we'?" Megumin pouted, sneering at him for shamelessly taking the credit.
Kazuma's face turned red, and he argued, "What are you talking about?! Weren't you the same, Megumin? You didn't do anything!"
"Don't lump me in with you! A mere Manticore... I could have easily blown it to smithereens with my Explosion!"
"And then the Manticore would have been blown to bits, and we wouldn't have been able to get any materials. What's the use of subjugating it then?"
The two of them argued endlessly about the size of their contribution in the Manticore subjugation.
But in his eyes, both of them were just moochers.
By the way, so was he.
"You two, stop this pointless argument. You'll be a laughingstock for others." As the party's leader, he naturally couldn't let them argue endlessly in front of an outsider. He cleared his throat and said to the composed mohawk-headed man, "I'm sorry. Please excuse our behavior."
And then—
He put on the gloves and flexed them a little.
They were indeed a little heavy, and the feeling of holding a sword would be slightly different. But he wasn't a pure swordsman. Equipment suitability was what mattered.
He then gave them a simple test, nodded with satisfaction, and praised them from the bottom of his heart, "Great! This pair of gloves is really good!"
Hearing this, Kazuma let out a sigh of relief.
He remembered. Kobayashi-senpai was famous for having a strange hobby for equipment. It didn't matter if it didn't fit his aesthetic, or how bizarre it was. As long as it was useful, it was completely fine.
"This pair of gloves has exceeded my expectations."
He wasn't finished. He continued in a very professional tone, "I'm guessing it's made of two kinds of materials. The right hand is slightly hard and very tough. It should be the thickest part of the Manticore's chest. As for the left hand... it feels softer, and a little greasy. Most importantly, it has an unnatural, sweet aura. It should be spider silk, and from a powerful magic beast on par with the Manticore. Am I right?"
"You really know your stuff, little bro."
The mohawk-headed man also opened his eyes slightly, a smile returning to his face. He seemed to be very pleased with his praise.
It felt great to have the equipment one made be praised by the user, and it felt even better to be praised by a user who knew their stuff.
Clearly, he was very excited.
"By the way, you put power into your right hand, right?"
"Mmm, my right hand is my dominant hand."
"Then there's no problem!"
As if a switch had been flipped, he said to him with a smug expression, "I'm the best tailor in Axel! If it weren't for the fact that I owed Kazuma a favor, I wouldn't have made a move. At that time, in the succubus shop, if I hadn't had enough money and was detained... ahem, let's not talk about that. As for the gloves, since I chose to help, I had to do my best. So I used the spider silk I've been treasuring for a long time."
"It really is spider silk? If I may be so bold as to ask, what kind of spider monster's silk is it?"
"What kind... is not important. I can only say that the Mobile Fortress Destroyer was built with reference to it."
"Hiss—" x3
He and the others sucked in a breath of cold air.
If the mohawk-headed man wasn't exaggerating, then the spider he was talking about was definitely a very terrifying magic beast.
Because they had fought the Destroyer, and had a deep impression of its powerful mobility and strength.
...Wait, that's not right!
Did the Destroyer ever use spider silk or anything? Weren't all the things that shot out of its body lasers?
He had a suspicious look on his face.
And the mohawk-headed man said, without any embarrassment, "That spider monster's body is very hard, and its mobility is ridiculously agile. It's a very troublesome monster!"
Got it.
He didn't mention spider silk, so that means it's not strong.
"Compared to the Manticore's fur, it's really not as tough. But the most important thing about a spider is its venom. It's a neurotoxin that can even kill a dragon. You'd better not underestimate it!"
Needless to say, he must be exaggerating. Just listen and forget.
He pouted. If it could really kill a dragon, how could it be made into gloves? You shouldn't even be able to touch it.
He couldn't help but look at the gloves on his hands again. Apart from not matching his gorgeous clothes, all in all, they were acceptable? On the other hand, the fact that he would wear gloves that didn't match his clothes... could that also be a side proof of the gloves' extraordinariness?
"This pair of gloves starts from the fingertips. The threads that shoot out from the fingertips can extend for thousands of meters! But even so, unfortunately, it is still a consumable item," he sighed, as if he were dissatisfied with the gloves he had made. But he had a feeling he was just humblebragging.
"It's already very good. I'm very satisfied."
"Really?"
"Really."
To satisfy the man's vanity, he also gave him some perfunctory comfort.
From the beginning, he hadn't had any expectations for the gloves. He just wanted a transitional weapon.
No matter what they did, it was just an ordinary weapon. How could it be as amazing as a divine weapon made by Hephaestus, the god of the forge from Danmachi?
It was just that he hadn't expected the gloves they had tinkered with to be quite useful.
As for why he hadn't let Aqua make the gloves, please refer to that super-exaggerated Goddess's Haori that couldn't be torn, cut, or ripped, and even had a magic-nullification effect.
He admitted that if the threads were made from that haori, they would be very strong, and nothing could break them.
But in a battle, this was relative.
What if the opponent's body was very durable, like Darkness's? At that time, he would tie the thread to the opponent and shout, "Haha! I've caught you!" And the other party would also shout, "Haha! It's me who's caught you!" And then, because he couldn't cut the thread, he wouldn't be able to break free and would be pulled in closer...
That scene was too beautiful; he didn't dare to imagine it.
Most importantly, with Aqua's attribute of always dragging him down at the most unexpected places, he really didn't dare to hand over the weapon he would use for battle to her to make.
For example, the necklace, the mecha, the haori...
For some reason, his eyes suddenly became moist.
At this moment, the mohawk-headed man tugged at his overalls, stood up, and said to him, "Since you're satisfied with the gloves, and there's no need to change the size, then I'll be leaving."
"Oh, oh! By the way, the processing fee..."
"No need!"
"...What?"
"Just consider it as a senior supporting a junior. You... you must defeat the Demon King!"
The man had his back to him, his right hand extended, giving a thumbs up. It was a very cool pose, but paired with his mohawk and overalls, something just felt... off.
He's spouting those profound-sounding, showy-off words again.
By the way, I've never said my goal is to defeat the Demon King! Don't just casually put the heavy responsibility of defeating the Demon King on my shoulders, okay?!
And then he left, just like that.
He waved his hand, not taking a single Eris.
He watched his back, and after a moment of silence, he slowly said to Kazuma, "Just how much money did you lend him to get him out of that tight spot?"
"..."
Kazuma was speechless.
It seemed he had really wanted to hide the fact that he had gone to the succubus shop, but hadn't had enough money and had almost been unable to leave. Now it was all exposed.
The ultimate social death... Overalls!
"By the way, I'm also going out," he said. "I've got new equipment. I have to try it out. I'll probably be back late tonight. You don't have to wait for me for dinner."
"Oh, oh!"
Kazuma nodded.
Then, he saw the longsword at his waist and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Kobayashi-senpai, aren't you planning to use threads? Why are you still carrying a sword?"
"Ah, this... actually, this is to confuse the enemy."
He lifted the longsword at his waist, a sinister smile on his lips.
"Confuse the enemy?"
"Think about it, Kazuma-kun. The longsword at my waist will make others think I'm a swordsman. But if I suddenly throw out threads to attack, the enemy will naturally be caught off guard."
"Ooooh! That's so insidious, senpai!"
"Likewise. I learned it from you."
"Hehehe—" x2
The two of them laughed sleazily again, which made the loli, who only liked to face things head-on with Explosion magic, back away in disgust.
It had to be admitted, Ottar was strong.
The LV7 ultimate weapon... even if he used all his means, he couldn't defeat him. At most, he could just cause some trouble.
But, if! I'm just saying, if!
If I first fight with a sword, and then secretly use threads to set up a trap and lure the enemy in, and while I'm holding him off, I chant an Explosion spell for a devastating blow... then how would you respond?
A swordsman who doesn't want to be an Archwizard is not a good assassin!
With the fantasy of being able to have a showdown with Ottar, he ran towards the plains outside the city.
First, he had to learn the finger movements.
Lubbock's operation method was very strong. Relying on the characteristics of [Cross Tail], he could barely fight Leone to a draw in a favorable terrain.
Of course, that was on the premise that she didn't open her hidden trump card and forcefully trade injuries.
He took out his adventurer card and searched for Lubbock's skills.
This was the good thing about being a beginner-class Adventurer. You could learn the skills of all classes, and as long as you saw it once, it would be permanently saved on your card.
It was just that an Adventurer's skill points were very scarce. Even if they could be saved, they wouldn't necessarily be learned. Not to mention, they could only unleash 80% of the power.
But it was no problem.
Lubbock's [Thread Manipulation] only required one skill point, and its power wouldn't be greatly reduced.
For example.
If [Explosion]'s full damage was 100 points, he could only deal 80. And an archer's [Snipe] was 10 points, and he could deal 8. The difference between the two immediately became smaller, didn't it?
This was also the reason why the Adventurer class learned thief skills. Besides the fact that it cost fewer skill points, the power was not much different, and it was more comprehensive!
Ahem, back to the topic.
Actually, he had [Perfector]. With his precision increased a hundredfold, he didn't need to learn [Thread Manipulation]. But in order to be able to quickly understand and master the techniques, and since it only cost one skill point, he still learned it.
Of course, learning it didn't mean he could reach Lubbock's level.
It was just like the [Steal] skill. In everyone's hands, the power it displayed was different. Some people could only steal coin pouches, while others could steal a goddess's panties. So he still had to practice a lot.
As for the practice target, for the time being, it would be a stationary tree.
With a wave of his left hand, five threads shot out from his fingertips. They drew a dazzling arc in the air, and in the blink of an eye, the tree trunk was tied up tightly.
"Mmm, not bad."
What came into view was, of all things, a kinbaku (bondage) tie!
He had wanted to try this for a long time. Now that he finally had the chance, he grinned.
With a light flick of his left hand, the five threads snapped. Both the extensibility and the stickiness were not bad.
Well then—
Let's try this!
He fiercely flicked his right hand, and another five threads shot out. This time, the arcs they drew in the air were even denser and more chaotic. On top of that, because they were especially thin, under the sun, if they weren't reflecting light, they were impossible to see clearly.
Swish!
A barely audible sound, like a taut piano wire. And after a light pull from him, it was retracted.
"This way, I can move unobstructed in the dungeons of Danmachi," he nodded with satisfaction.
And the tree in front of him, at some point, had been cut in two at the waist!
Just as he was preparing to return, a fierce gale suddenly came from behind him. A vague sense of crisis welled up in his heart.
Without even thinking, he flicked his left hand!
Swish!
In less than a second, the person who had come from behind him was tied up.
And in the same kinbaku style.
"Mmmph~~~"
A familiar, charming moan reached his ears. His body instantly stiffened.
He had heard this sound many times.
That's right!
In the mansion's bathroom, he had heard it many times!
He slowly turned his head. Behind him, a female knight in pure white armor was kneeling before him.
It was Darkness!
"Mmph, s-so good! I can't believe that in the short time I was gone, you actually developed this kind of hobby!"
But, before he could explain, another strong wind came from behind. Without even thinking, he subconsciously flicked his right hand again, tying up the attacker.
As for the technique, it was the same as with Darkness.
He hadn't expected that, before he could even condemn or complain to the attacker, the other party's voice, full of justice and power, would be the first to pass judgment. "You villain! Not only did you attack Lady Dustiness, but you're also attacking a royal prosecutor?! And in such a lewd manner! I, Sena, will definitely take you back to the interrogation room for investigation!"
"...Eh?"
He was dumbfounded on the spot.
(End of Chapter)