倉庫に収穫したアイテムをしまっていると、ギルドホームに来客があるという知らせが入っていた。
ユーミルは気付いていないようなのでフレンドリストから位置を確認すると、どうやらフィリアちゃんらしかった。
アルベルトはログアウト中のようだが、もしかして一人で来たのか?
我らがギルドホームはフレンドの入場が原則自由となっているので、既に中に入っているようだった。
短文メールで倉庫で作業中の旨を伝え、談話室で待っていてもらうように促しておく。
そのままユーミルとアイテム整理を続けていると、フィリアちゃんが入口からひょっこりと顔を出す。
もしかして、待ちきれなかったのか?
「こんばんは、フィリアちゃん」
「ぬおっ、フィリア! いつの間に!?」
「......こんばんは」
ぺこりとお辞儀をした後、彼女は静かに倉庫に入って来る。
暫くは無言で俺達がインベントリから倉庫のボックスへ物を移動させるのを見ていたのだが......。
「それ、薬草?」
「うむ。我々の畑で作った第一号だぞ! あ、そうだハインド。フィリアにお裾分けしてもいいか?」
「もちろん。そのまんま使うと初級ポーション以下だが、在って困るもんじゃないしな」
薬草は素材としてだけでなく、低位の回復薬としても使用可能だ。
ユーミルが収納したばかりの薬草の束を倉庫の共有ボックスからわさっと取り出し、フィリアちゃんの手に乗せた。
「......ありがとう。でも私、調合はしたことない」
「そんなものは教えるてくれるだろうさ! このハインドがな!」
「良いではないか! 今日は他にすることもないのだろう?」
確かに、セレーネさんが不在だから鍛冶も進めようがないし。
リィズが居ないから回復薬の開発も進めようがないし、トビが居ないから何をやるにも手が足りない。
「まあ、フィリアちゃんが嫌でなければ教えるけ――」
「是非お願いしたい」
「食い気味!? やる気だな、フィリア!」
その後はフィリアちゃんを待たせてアイテム整理が終了。
幾つかのアデニウムを鉢に植え替えると、談話室や廊下へ置いていく。
フィリアちゃんもじっと花を見て「綺麗」と呟いていたので気に入ったらしかった。
花が置いてあると場が華やぐよな......。
元々が貴族屋敷という設定なだけあって、壁の装飾などが豪華なため赤い花が浮かずにマッチしている。
そして俺達はお待ちかねの調合室を訪れた。
すり鉢、すりこぎ、ビーカー、完成品を詰める瓶、それと薬草を並べて準備完了。
「んじゃ、折角だからユーミルもやってみるといい」
「やってみる!」
「フィリアちゃんも、いいかな?」
俺が問い掛けると、すりこぎを握ってフィリアちゃんがコクコクと頷く。
基本的にHPポーションの精製に関しては薬草・滋養草・+αの構成となっている。
実はこの滋養草の用途が、TBというゲーム内においては実に広い。
「......この、黄色い......?」
「そう。その黄色い蓮の葉みたいなのが滋養草。蓮の葉に似てるけど、水生じゃなく地面からニョキニョキ生えてくる」
「現実には存在しない植物だな?」
「そりゃそうだ。なにせ年中生えてるし、どこにでも生えるし」
薬草と違ってワーハの暑さでも問題なく収穫出来たし、合成を煩雑にしない為に素材として一本化している万能素材である。
こいつはHPポーション以外にもMPポーション、状態異常系にも必ず使用することになっている。
「で、まずはノーマルな無印ポーションな。これはすり潰した薬草・滋養草に水を加えるだけでOK」
「ごりごりごり......うおっ、青臭い!」
薬草をすり潰した直後は、葉の青い匂いが部屋中に広がっていく。
しかし続けて滋養草をすり潰していくと、不思議なことが起きる。
「お......匂いが消えたか?」
「消えただけじゃない......甘い匂いがする?」
「そうなんだよ。しかも単品だと――」
「にがっ! 甘くない!」
説明途中にも関わらず、滋養草を直接齧ったユーミルが顔をしかめる。
無言でそれを見るフィリアちゃんにも若干呆れの色が浮かぶ。
「......最後まで聞けよ。滋養草は単品だと苦いんだけど、薬草と合わせると甘くなるんだよ。逆に解毒草だと苦みが増すのは、ユーミルは良く知っているだろう?」
その結果、HPポーションは飲んでも美味しいということになる。
前にも触れた通り飲む必要は無いのだが。
「で、充分にすり潰したらすり鉢に直接水を入れちゃって大丈夫だぞ」
したりする必要はないのか?」
「そこはほら、ゲームだから。簡略化」
「そうか。では、ジャバーッと」
水を入れると、不思議なことにペースト状の草が消えていき綺麗な青い液体が残る。
後はこぼさないように漏斗を使って瓶に詰めたら完成だ。
「はい、完成おめでとう。知ってると思うけどHPポーションは青、MPポーションは緑だから間違えないようにな」
「おおー......思ったよりも簡単だな?」
「うん。でも、自分で作ると少し嬉しい。特別」
ああ、分かる分かる。
ポーションなんて店売りで大量に買える類のものだが、自分で作ったものは違って見えるんだよな。
二人は完成した瓶の液体を
「......この前、取引掲示板で買った中級ポーションは普通のポーションのちょっと上の量しか回復しなかった」
「そりゃハズレを掴まされたね。NPCの店売りなら効果は一定だからそっちから買うか、信用できる生産者を選んで買うのが正解だわな。作れるなら自分で作るのが一番安上がりで確実だけどね」
俺の話にフィリアちゃんは熱心に聞き入っている。
基本の調合レシピを一通り教えると、深々とお辞儀をして俺達に「ありがとう」と礼を言ってきた。
素材を栽培する予定はないので、今後は取引掲示板で素材を買って調合するとのこと。
それでも完成品を買うよりはずっと安上がりだ。
「ハインド......実は私、相談がある」
ポーション作りが一段落した後、フィリアちゃんがこう切り出してきた。
俺とユーミルは何事かと揃って首を傾げる。
「それって、今日は一緒に居ないお父さんと何か関係がある?」
そう問いかけると、一つ頷いてフィリアちゃんが詳しく話し始める。
どんな深刻な相談が来るのかと身構えていたところ――
「私も偶には父さんを労わってやろうかな......」
「......どうして撫でるの? 二人とも......」
とても和む内容だった。ユーミルと一緒に両側からフィリアちゃんの頭を撫でくり回す。
というのも相手がアルベルトならではの悩みというか、それに対する少女らしい悩みというか。
「つまり同級生のお父さんの肩を揉んであげたとか――」
「湿布を張ってあげたら喜んだ、という話が羨ましかったのだな。あんなにマッチョで普段からジム通いしている父親相手では、仕方ないな」
「うん......お父さん、体のどこかが痛いって言ったことない......」
仕事帰りの父親を労わってやりたくても、鋼のボディ過ぎて癒す余地なしと。
でも、こんなに可愛くて健気な娘が居るだけで癒されてるんじゃないかな? あのオッサン。
「で、ゲームで回復薬として湿布を作れば貼る機会があるんじゃないかってことだね?」
「そんな感じ......どう......?」
そんな願いを受けて俺は一度倉庫に行き、材料を持つと調合室に再び戻って来る。
持ってきたのは回復系の薬草の他には布、鉛丹、豚の脂にはっか油、唐辛子など。
「取り敢えず試作だ。物は試しだよ」
途中までは回復薬を作る工程と一緒だ。
ペースト状になった薬草・滋養草の状態で止め、一つは鉛丹と豚脂、唐辛子エキスを。
もう一つは鉛丹、豚脂とはっか油を混ぜてどちらも布の片面にべったり塗って完成させる。
冷感と温感の二種類を作った形だ。
「で、生産登録すると......おっ!」
「どうなった!? どうなったのだ!?」
二人が俺の両側からメニュー画面を覗き込んでくる。
せまっ......見えるようにウィンドウを動かすと、二人が目を輝かせた。
「おお! ちゃんと回復アイテムとして登録されているな! 成功だ!」
「ハインド、早速使ってみる......?」
疑問形でありながら断れないオーラを発散するフィリアちゃんが、湿布を手に俺に迫る。
いや、この神官服って肌がほとんど露出してないんだけど。
じゃあ、腕にでもと思って俺が袖をまくろうとすると......
「脱いで」
という無情な一言が発せられた。
俺が唖然としていると、あっという間に服を脱がされ上半身が露出。
初期装備の肌着まで脱がされてしまった。
これって、脱げたんだ......考えてみれば半裸の恰好で決めてる男性プレイヤーも居るんだし、そりゃそうか。
思考は現実逃避を伴ってどこか脱線気味である。
「ハインド、思ったよりも筋肉がある......」
「そ、そうだな! 確かにそうだな、うん! よくやったぞフィリア!」
そして俺が混乱している内にペタペタと、肩と腰に順番に湿布が貼られていく。
ユーミルは直視こそしないものの、横目でこちらをしっかりと捉え――って、見てないで止めろよ!
恥ずかしさですぐさまログアウトしたい衝動に駆られる。
しかしそんな俺達を気にした様子もなくスリスリ、スリスリと小さな手が丁寧に、一生懸命に布を押してくるのが分かる。
ああ、なんか癒されるな......家事の疲れが取れるようだ......。
半裸の恥ずかしさを忘れ、思わずリラックスしてしまう。
時折、この状況を見たら鬼の形相になるであろう理世の顔が脳裏にチラつくが。
そういえば釘を刺されたばかりだった。
抵抗する暇が無かったんだよ......許してくれ。
「残念......」
二人の言葉に表示される回復量を見ると、確かにHPの一割にも満たない回復量だ。
それが二度、三度と一定間隔で続き......。
ん!? これは、まさか――。
「もしや継続回復アイテムじゃないか、これ?」
俺の言葉に、二人が驚いた様子でこちらを向いた。
We left the items we harvested inside the storage and an announcement that we had visitors in the guild home appeared.
Yumir didn't seem to have noticed so I checked my friend list, it seems like it was Philia-chan.
Albert seems to be logged out, could it be that she had come alone?
Our guild home is set so that friends are free to enter, so she was already inside.
I sent her a short email telling her that we were working and that she could go ahead and wait in the lounge.
When me and Yumir kept sorting the items, Philia-chan showed her face through the entrance.
Could it be that she couldn't wait?
[Good evening, Philia-chan.] (Hind)
[Nuoh, Philia! When did you get there!?] (Yumir)
[...Good evening.] (Philia)
After giving a bow, she calmly entered the storage.
Then she just stayed silent as we placed the items from our inventories into the boxes...
[Are those, medicinal herbs?] (Philia)
[Umu. They are the first batch from our field! Oh right, Hind. Can we share some with Philia?] (Yumir)
[Of course. If you use them as is, they would only have the effect of a beginner potion, but it's not like it hurts having them.] (Hind)
It's not like medicinal herbs can only be used as ingredients, it's also possible to use them as low grade restorative items.
Yumir took a bunch of medicinal herbs from the box and placed them on Philia-chan's hand.
[...Thank you. However, I haven't done any compounding.] (Philia)
[We'll teach you that! Hind will, that is!] (Yumir)
[Isn't that fine? We don't have anything else to do today right?] (Yumir)
I mean, it's true that since Selene-san is not here, we won't make progress on our blacksmithing.
Riizu is not here so we can't make progress in making healing items and Since Tobi is not here either, we don't have enough people to do anything.
[Well, if Philia-chan is not against it, I'll teac-] (Hind)
[Please do.] (Philia)
[She didn't even let him finish talking!? You sure are eager, Philia!] (Yumir)
After that, we made Philia-chan wait until we had sorted out the items.
We planted several Adeniums in pots and placed them down in the hallways and the lounge.
Philia-chan looked at the plants and murmured [So beautiful] , it seems like she has taken a liking to them.
The places we placed flowers on, looked a bit more lively...
Since this was supposed to be a residence for nobles, the rooms had splendid ornaments and the flowers matched them well.
Then, we arrived at our long awaited compounding room.
Mortar, pestle, beaker, bottle for when we finish the product and the medicinal herbs we were going to use. I finished preparing these things.
[Well, while we are at it, Yumir can also give it a try.] (Hind)
[I'll give it a try!] (Yumir)
[Philia-chan too, are you ready?] (Hind)
When she heard my question, Philia-chan, who was holding the pestle, started nodding.
Fundamentally, to refine a HP potion, you need: medicinal herbs, nourishing plants and some other things.
In reality, these nourishing plants have many uses in TB.
[...These yellow ones are...] (Philia)
[Yeah. These nourishing plants that look like leaves of a yellow Indian Lotus. They look like the leaves of an Indian Lotus, but instead of growing in water, they grow on the ground.] (Hind)
[They are plants that don't exist in real life?] (Philia)
[Obviously. They sprout all year round and anywhere after all.] (Hind)
Unlike the medicinal herbs, they can endure the heat of Waaha and we harvested them without any issue, they are an all purpose ingredient that can be used in compounding without much trouble.
Apart from HP potions, they are a must when it comes to MP potions and status ailment ones.
[So, we'll start with a normal potion. You just mash the medicinal herbs and nourishing plants together and add water on top.] (Hind)
[*grinding grinding*..Uoh, it smells like grass!] (Yumir)
Right after they grinded the medicinal herbs, their smell started to permeate the room.
However, after they grinded the nourishing plants, something weird happened.
[Oh...the smell disappeared?] (Yumir)
[It not only disappeared...there's a sweet smell?] (Philia)
[That's right. Furthermore, if they are sepa-] (Hind)
[So bitter! It's not sweet!] (Yumir)
Disregarding my explanation, Yumir took a bite of the nourishing plants and had a wry expression on her face.
Silently, Philia-chan saw that and she looked a bit exasperated.
[...Hear me out until the end. Nourishing plants are bitter by themselves but they turn sweet if you mix them with medicinal herbs. If you mix detoxification ones they increase in bitterness, you should know about that right, Yumir?] (Hind)
As a result, if you drink a HP potion, they taste good.
Though I have already said before that there's no need to directly drink them.
[So, after you grind them sufficiently, it's fine if you just add water directly.] (Hind)
[There's no need to filter them?] (Yumir)
[In that regard, it's a game. It's simplified.] (Hind)
[I see. In that case, here we go.] (Yumir)
Once you add water, in an unusual way, the paste made from herbs disappears and only a blue liquid remains.
All that was left to do was to use a funnel to pour the liquid into the bottle.
[There, congratulations on finishing one. As you already know, HP potions are blue, MP potions are green, make sure to not mistake one for the other.] (Hind)
[Ooh...it's easier than I thought?] (Yumir)
[Yes. But, it makes me a bit happy that I made one myself. It feels special.] (Philia)
Yup, I get what she means.
The potions sold in stores are the mass produced types, so you can see that the ones you make yourself are different.
The two of them observed the liquid inside the bottles.
[...A while ago, we bought some intermediate potions from the trading BBS and their healing effects were only a bit higher than normal potions.] (Philia)
[That's because you bought failures then. You have to choose if you want to buy them from NPCs since those have a fixed effect, or buy them from a crafter you deem trustworthy. Though, the best option would be to craft them yourself since that's the safest.] (Hind)
Philia-chan eagerly listened to my explanation.
Once I taught them the basic recipes, Philia-chan bowed down and thanked us.
Since they have no intention to cultivate themselves, they plan to buy the ingredients from the trading BBS next time.
Even then, it's cheaper than buying the finished products directly.
[Hind...the truth is, I have something I want to ask you.] (Philia)
Once we reached a stopping point, Philia-chan said that.
Yumir and I tilted our heads wondering what it was about.
[Does it have anything to do with why you are not with your dad today?] (Hind)
When I asked her that, Philia-chan nodded once and started to explain in detail.
We readied ourselves wondering what sort of serious talk she wanted to ha-
[Maybe I should do something to show my appreciation to my dad too...] (Yumir)
[...Why are you both...patting me?] (Philia)
It was something really light. Me and Yumir proceeded to pat Philia-chan's head.
You could say that it was an issue because who we were dealing with was Albert. You could also say that it was a problem this little girl would likely have because she was dealing with him.
[So you heard from your classmates that they had rubbed their parent's shoulders-] (Hind)
[Or that they put a wet compress on them and they were happy, and then you got jealous. I think it can't be helped when you have a dad that's so macho and usually goes to the gym.] (Yumir)
[Yup...dad, he has never said that he's hurting somewhere...] (Philia)
Even if she wanted to show her appreciation to her dad, who was always going to work, there was nothing to heal with that iron body of his.
However, wouldn't just having this adorable and admirable daughter be enough to heal that old man?
[So, you think that there's a chance inside the game if you make a wet compress as a healing item?] (Hind)
[Something like that...? What do you think...?] (Philia)
After hearing her request, I went to the storage and returned to the compounding room with ingredients.
What I brought with me was: healing type medicine herbs, cloth, lead tetroxide, oil from pig's fat and cayenne.
[For the time being, let's experiment. In other words, testing.] (Hind)
Until a certain point, the process was the same as when making healing items.
Stopping when the medicinal herbs and the nourishing plants turned into a paste, we then made an extract from the lead tetroxide, pig fat and cayenne.
Another thing we needed was to mix lead tetroxide with the oil extracted from pig fat and mix them. Then we took both the extract and the mixture and pasted each one on one side of the cloth.
With this, the cloth had one warm side and another cool side.
[Then, we register the product...ohh!] (Hind)
[How did it go!? What did it become!?] (Yumir)
Both of them peeked at my menu window from each side.
It's so cramped...I moved the window so they could see it and both of their eyes started sparkling.
[Ooh!! It actually registered as a healing item! It's a success!] (Yumir)
[Hind, are we going to try it right now...?] (Philia)
While showing her doubt and releasing an aura that wouldn't let you say no to her, Philia-chan approached me with a wet compress.
Though, these Shinto Priest's robes don't really have much exposed skin.
In that case, guess I should pull up my sleeves at lea-
[Take it off.] (Philia)
Then, she let out those coldhearted words.
I stood there dumbfounded and the upper half of my body got exposed in the blink of an eye.
Even the underclothes you started out with got removed.
These actually came off...now that I think about it, there are players out there that run around half naked so I guess it makes sense.
I tried to run away from reality while having those thoughts.
[Hind, you have more muscle than I thought...] (Philia)
[T-That's true! That seems to be the case, yup! Good job Philia!] (Yumir)
While I was confused she touched me all over and plasted the wet compresses on my shoulders and waist in succession.
Yumir was unable to look at me directly but she took some side glances...wait, don't stand there looking and stop her!
I was so embarrassed that I wanted to just immediately log out.
However, the girl that had taken a liking to us was moving her hands carefully and I could feel how earnestly she was sticking those compresses.
Yeah, I can feel myself being healed...as if the fatigue from doing household chores is disappearing...
Forgetting how embarrassed I was from being half naked, I unconsciously started to relax.
At times, the face of Rise, who would be furious if she were to see this current situation, flickered in my mind.
When I thought about that, it felt as if I was being pierced by nails.
I couldn't resist...forgive me.
[It's a shame...] (Philia)
Hearing them, I took a look at the amount of healing that was displayed, it's true that the amount wasn't even ten percent of my full HP.
Then a second time, and it continued to a third time at a fixed interval...
Hmm!? Don't tell me, this is-
[Isn't this a continuous healing item?] (Hind)
When I said that, both of them looked at me with surprised faces.
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