コンテストに向けて・その3
ホームの廊下を進んでいると、その途上で背後から扉が開かれる音がする。
方向から察するに、鍛冶場のドアの音だと思うのだが。
「あ、やっぱりセレーネさん。どうしました?」
振り返ると、開いたドアから顔を覗かせるセレーネさんの姿が。
ずれた眼鏡の位置を直しながら、何故か俺の周囲に視線を走らせている。
「......ハインド君、今一人?」
「見ての通りですけど」
「ちょ、ちょっといいかな? 入って入って」
クラリスさんとは時間を決めた待ち合わせをしているわけではないので、寄って行っても特に問題はない。
しかし、てっきりもうコンテスト用の武器か防具に取り掛かっていると思っていたのだが......。
鍛冶場に入ると、何故か彼女から棒状の粘土のような物を渡された。何だこれ?
「それをギュッと握ってくれるかな。杖を握る時をイメージしながら、両手で」
「杖を? あの、一体これは......?」
「み、みんなにもこれからお願いするから! 今後の武器を作る時の参考というか......と、とにかくお願い!」
ああ、そういう。
意図は理解したけれど、果たして今やる必要はあるのか?
「でも良いんですか? コンテスト用の装備の作製を始めなくても」
「え? ええっと......これは......そ、そう! あれだよ、息抜き! 今ちょっと行き詰ってて......だからみんなのデータ取りでもして、その間に頭の中を整理しようかなって!」
「そういうことなら付き合いますが」
この前の武器も俺とユーミルそれぞれに合った素晴らしい出来だったのだが、あれよりも更に踏み込んだ作り込みをするのか?
セレーネさんの向上心には頭が下がる思いだ。
妙に早口でお願いされたが、そういうことなら断るはずがないじゃないか。
ということで、杖を持つ時と同じように粘土をしっかりと握る。
それも片手の場合と両手の場合の二パターンだ。
恐らくこいつは、グリップ部分の微調整にでも使うのだろう。
「そうしたら、今度はこれを......」
次にセレーネさんが渡してきたのはいくつかの小さな重りの付いた棒だ。
これはどういう道具か知っている。
重りは可動式で、武器の重心を決める際に使う道具というかサンプルというか。
アルベルト親子はもとより、ユーミルの長剣を作る際にも使用したものだ。
俺も例外ではなく、闘技大会前に杖を製作してもらった際にもやったはずなんだけど......。
「――と、こんな感じですかね。前とあまり差はありませんが。それで、あの、セレーネさん?」
「次はこれを」
「あ、はい」
「え? そんなに色々やるんですか?」
セレーネさんは俺の情報を細かく細かく丁寧に取り、しっかりとメモしていく。
随分と精緻な作業だな、と途中まで思っていたのだが......
終始漂う、何かを誤魔化すような彼女の態度も妙に感じる。
だが同時に「訊かないでくれ」と切実に訴えられているような気もする。
そんな作業も終わりを迎え......。
「ありがとうハインド君。引き止めちゃってごめんね」
「いえ、大丈夫ですよ。みんなにも順番に来るように言っておきましょうか? データを取ってもらいに」
「あ、ううん! 自分で言うから大丈夫だよ! ......本当に言わなくていいからね!? 絶対だからね!?」
「そ、そうですか? 了解です......」
そんなに強い口調で言わなくても。やっぱり何か変だな......。
俺は様子のおかしいセレーネさんを残して鍛冶場を出ると、今度こそホームから街へと繰り出していった。
王都ワーハの街は今日も賑やかだ。
プレイヤーの数も日に日に増え、今では白色のネーム表示に混じって青のネーム表示の人間も頻繁に目にするようになった。
ただ、本格的に拠点を構えるに至っていないギルド未所属のプレイヤーも多い印象だが。
「おう、神官の兄ちゃん! 今日は良いそら豆が入ってるぜ! 新鮮大粒っ! どうだい!?」
「ああ、帰りに寄りますよ。沢山買うんで、その時はよろしく」
「早くしねえと無くなっちまうぞ! ガハハ!」
「おや、ハインドじゃないの! 白身魚買っていかない? おばちゃんオマケ付けてあげるから!」
「帰りに寄るんで取り置きしておいて下さい。おばちゃん、今日も若々しいっすねー」
「あらやだ、もー! オマケ増やして待ってるから!」
「痛っ、痛い! オマケは嬉しいけど背中痛いって!」
......目にするようになったが、俺に声を掛けてくるのは食材関係の商人NPCばかり。
頻繁に買い物をしていたためか好感度もグングン上がり、加えて闘技大会優勝の影響で値引きも容易だったりする。
プレイヤーに関してはユーミルと一緒に居ない限り、滅多に声を掛けられることはない。
逆にあいつと一緒に居ると、それはもうしつこいくらいに他プレイヤーに捕まることになる。
今回は一人なので移動が非常にスムーズだ。
「こっちに来るのは初めてだけど......ああ、確かに雰囲気変わるな。店の一軒一軒が大きいし......」
露店やら小さな店の多い庶民的な商店街の一画を抜けると、大きな看板を掲げた高級店が急に増えだす。
この近辺は美術品だったり輸入品、工芸品の店が多く道行くNPC達もどこか小奇麗で静かだ。
簡単に言うとここは、大商人達の店が立ち並ぶ高級商店街である。
「っと、マップマップ。えーと......」
目当ての場所をマーキングして進んでいくと、程なくしてそれは見つかった。
新し目の店構え、白を基調とした上品な外装、掲げられた看板には『クラリス商会』の文字が。
本当に出来てるよ......話を聞いたときは耳を疑ったものだが。
少し重い木製の扉を開いて中に入ると、美しく装飾された姿見や手鏡がまず目に入る。
それらが化粧品や華やかな服などの商品類と分けられた上で丁寧に陳列され、光を反射していた。
俺の入店に気が付いた女性従業員が足早に近付いてくる。
「いらっしゃいませ。本日はどのようなご用件でしょうか? 贈答品のご用命であれば、喜んで――」
畳みかけるようなセールストークの中で、贈答品という言葉が引っ掛かる。
しかし店内を見回せばその答えは明白だった。
なにせ男が俺しか居ない......気が付けば、何をしに来たのかという他の客の好奇の視線に晒されていた。
扱っている商品を考えると仕方ないか。
既視感があると思ったら、理世に付き合わされて女性向けの店に入った時と全く同じ居心地の悪さだ。
「あー......クラリスさんはいらっしゃいますか?」
「......はい? 失礼ですが、お名前を伺ってもよろしいでしょうか?」
俺が名前を告げると、その従業員は店内で待つように告げると慌てて店の奥へと入っていった。
どうやら取り次いではくれるようだ。一安心。
継続する居心地の悪さにげんなりしそうになるが、待つ間、鏡を眺めて時間を潰すことにする。
これらは俺が提供した銀鏡反応を用いた鏡であり、どういった形で売られているのか以前から気になっていた。来店する暇は無かったが。
細かな装飾等に感心しながら、展示された鏡を順番に見ていく。
見たところ鏡自体の精度も高いようだし、どうやら上手く生産ラインに乗せられたみたいだな......。
大小様々な鏡を夢中になって見ていると、バタバタと慌てたような足音が遠くから近付いてくる。
何事かと振り返ると同時、頬に何かが突き刺さった。
「......クラリスさん?」
肩に手を置きつつ人差し指を立てておくという、小学生のような悪戯を成功させたクラリスさんがそこに居た。
俺が名を呼ぶと、彼女は手を下ろし柔らかく笑んでからお辞儀をしてくる。
「お久しぶりです、ハインド様。クラリス商会へようこそ」
Chapter 116 - Towards The Contest, Part 3
While going through a corridor in our guild home, I heard the sound of a door opening from behind me.
Judging from the direction, I believe it should be the door to the blacksmith workshop.
[Ah, just as I thought, it's Selene-san. What happened?] (Hind)
When I turned around, I saw the figure of Selene-san peeking from the door.
While fixing the position of her glasses, for some reason, she started looking towards my surroundings.
[...Hind-kun, are you alone right now?] (Selene)
[It's just as you see, why?] (Hind)
[D-Do you have a moment? Please, enter.] (Selene)
It's not like I had decided on a time to meet with Claris-san, so it should be fine for me to stop by here and then go.
However, I thought that she had already started working on the weapon and armor that she'll display in the contest though...
Once I entered the blacksmith workshop, for some reason, she handed me a piece of clay shaped in the form of a rod. What's this?
[Can you clutch that tightly? With both hands, like you are clutching your staff.] (Selene)
[The staff? Eh, what's this...?] (Hind)
[I-I'll ask everyone else after this! It's something like a reference for when I make weapons in the future...s-so, please!] (Selene)
Ah, she means that.
I've understood that she needs it for the designs, but is there any need to do it right now?
[But is it really fine? To not start working on the gear you are going to present in the contest.] (Hind)
[Eh? Eh...this is...r-right! It's that, I'm taking a breather! I've reached a nice break point...that's why, I was thinking about getting data from everyone and sorting the ideas inside my head!] (Selene)
[If that's the case, I don't mind helping you now.] (Hind)
Last time, we made the weapons by giving her some information about me and Yumir. Does she plan to go further with that and make them?
I feel like bowing down to Selene-san's desire to improve herself.
Oddly enough, she was asking while talking really fast for some reason but if that was the case, there was no way I would have declined.
That being the case, I grasped the clay the same way I would when I used the staff.
The way I would hold it when I used one hand and also with both, these two patterns.
Most likely, this will be used when making the small details in the grip portion of the staves.
[In that case, try this one next...] (Selene)
What Selene-san handed me next were rods with various small weights attached to it.
I know what these are used for.
Weight dictates the mobility of the weapon, you could say these tools are used to decide the center of gravity of the weapon.
When it came to Albert and his daughter, we already had the information from when we made that long sword for Yumir and we used that.
I'm no exception to that, when we made the staff that was used in the tournament, I should have already done this process though...
[...So, what does it look like? I don't think there should be much difference compared to before though. So, eh, Selene-san?] (Hind)
[This one next.] (Selene)
[Ah, yes.] (Hind)
[Eh? Are we going to use all these?] (Hind)
Selene-san took my information with great attention to detail and wrote it down in a memo.
Quite the thorough work, is what I thought during the process but...isn't this a bit too much?
From beginning to end, it seemed like she was trying to hide something and I felt like her attitude was a bit weird.
But at times, it felt as if she was strongly telling me [Please, don't ask] .
We worked like that until the end...
[Thank you, Hind-kun. Sorry for taking your time.] (Selene)
[No, it's fine. Should I tell everyone to come here in turns? For you to get the data.] (Hind)
[Ah, no, no! I'll do that myself so it's fine! ...It's really fine if you don't do it, you hear me!? For sure!] (Selene)
[I-Is that so? Understood...] (Hind)
She didn't have to voice it out so strongly. As I thought, something is weird...
I left Selene-san, who was acting really weird, and this time, I really left the home and headed towards town.
The town of Royal Capital Waaha was bustling today as well.
The number of players kept increasing each day, right now, you could see blue names mixed in along with the white ones often.
However, I get the impression that there are many people that don't really intend to set up a guild here and also players that don't belong to any region yet.
[Hey, it's the Shinto Priest lad! I got some nice broad beans today! They are fresh! How about it!?] 
[Ah, I'll stop by on my way back. I'll be buying a lot, so I'll be counting on you then.] (Hind)
[They'll be gone if you don't hurry up! Gahaha!] 
[Oh? Isn't that Hind!? Won't you buy some fish? Auntie will throw in some extras!] 
[I'll buy them on my way back so reserve some for me, please. Auntie, you are looking youthful today too.] (Hind)
[Oh, you! I'll throw in a couple more extras, I'll be waiting!] 
[I-It hurts! I'm happy about the extras but my back hurts!] (Hind)
...I had already gotten used to it but...the ones that talked to me were all shop NPCs related to food ingredients.
My likability had just kept increasing because I kept coming to buy ingredients. On top of that, having won the tournament had made them give me a discount.
Regarding players, unless I'm not with Yumir, they rarely talk to me.
On the contrary, when I'm with her, players would just keep coming to the point that you would think they are really persistent.
Since I'm alone this time, I can just move around smoothly.
[This is the first time I've come here...yeah, the atmosphere in this area is really different. Each shop is really big after all...] (Hind)
Once you got through the part of the shopping district full of stalls, the high class stores with big signboards would suddenly increase.
In this area, you could find shops for: work of arts, imported goods, handicrafts and the like. It was also quite quiet and the NPCs walking through this street looked more tidy and proper.
In simple words, this was the high class shopping district for those that had money.
[Right, the map, the map, let's see...] (Hind)
Following the mark I had placed on the map, soon enough, it came into view.
The store appeared brand new from the outside, the outside was of a refined white color and the words {Claris' Company}  were written on a signboard.
She really did it...when I heard about it, I thought I had heard wrong.
I opened the slightly heavy wooden door and went inside and the first thing that came into view were full-length mirrors with beautiful ornaments and hand mirrors.
Apart from that, there were cosmetics and showy clothes. The products were carefully displayed and they reflected light.
Having noticed I had entered the store, a female employee quickly approached me.
[Welcome. What would you like today? If there's a particular gift you wish for, I'd glad-] 
Within the salesman speech she gave, the word "gift" stood out to me.
But after looking at the interior of the store, I understood the meaning of her words.
After all, I was the only male inside the store...by the time I noticed, I was met with inquisitive gazes from the people inside wanting to know why I had even come to the store.
Considering the products they deal with, I guess it can't be helped.
Just when I had this sense of deja vu , I remembered how bad it felt when I entered a store aimed at girls along with Rise.
[Ah...is Claris-san here?] (Hind)
[...What? Forgive me if I'm being rude, may I ask for your name?] 
When I announced my name, the employee told me to wait inside the store and she went further inside in a hurry.
Seems like she's going to act as an intermediary. It's a relief.
For some time, the awkwardness of being stared at didn't really alleviate, but I passed time by looking at the mirrors.
These are mirrors made by the silver mirror reaction I taught her. I always wondered how they would turn out, but I never had the time to check them out until now.
While admiring the level of detail of the ornaments, I observed the mirrors on display one by one.
From what I've seen, the mirrors themselves are done really well, it seems like she has managed to set a good production line...
While being absorbed into the mirrors of various sizes, I heard the sound of someone's footsteps getting closer to me while in a hurry.
Wondering what it was, I turned around and something touched my cheek.
[...Claris-san?] (Hind)
While putting one hand on my shoulder and her index finger on my cheek, Claris-san was there, as if she had successfully done a prank like that of an elementary schooler.
Once I called her name, she let go and bowed down to me with a gentle smile.
[It's been a while, Hind-sama. Welcome to the Claris' Company.] (Claris)
VRMMO no Shien Shokunin ～Top Player no Shikakenin～
ＶＲＭＭＯの支援職人　～トッププレイヤーの仕掛人～
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/vrmmo-no-shien-shokunin-%ef%bd%9etop-player-no-shikakenin%ef%bd%9e/
Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Harem Slice of Life
Adventurers Beautiful Female Lead Blacksmith Brother Complex Calm Protagonist Childhood Friends Clan Building Cooking Crafting Curious Protagonist Dense Protagonist Elemental Magic Fantasy Creatures Game Ranking System Gamers Hard-Working Protagonist Healers Level System Love Interest Falls in Love First Love Rivals Male Protagonist Misunderstandings MMORPG Ninjas Possessive Characters Priests Siblings Siblings Not Related by Blood Sword And Magic Virtual Reality Younger Love Interests Younger Sisters
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4014ds/
二階堂風都