「各地の鍛冶専門プレイヤーに大剣の作製を依頼したのだが、どうにもしっくりこなくてな」
そう言ってアルベルトはインベントリから次々と大剣を床に並べていく。
人のギルドホームでやりたい放題だな......これも多分ロールプレイなんだろうけど。
ぶっきらぼうな感じがして傭兵らしさは良く出ているが。
そのアルベルトが置いた剣はどれもただならぬ質感を放っていて、一見して逸品揃いなのが遠目にも分かってしまうほどだ。
「おお、この大剣は極上+2だぞ! ハインドも見ろ!」
「こっちは+3でござるよ! これを使わないなんて勿体ない!」
許可も得ずに早速、ユーミルとトビがベタベタと大剣を触って情報を閲覧している。
さすがだよお前ら......。
アルベルトに訊くと「構わない、むしろ見てくれ」と言うので、それを聞いてから俺も大剣の一つに触れてみる。
......やはり、このアレンジサイズで極上に達しているだけあってかなりの攻撃力だ。
攻撃力の数値的には前に俺達からアルベルトが買ったグレートソードよりも上なのだけど、これで彼は一体何が不満なのだろうか?
「お前達から買ったグレートソードを模して重心の位置を動かして貰ったりもしたが、どうやらそういう問題では無いらしい」
じゃあ感覚的な話なのか? それもゲームで? ううむ......。
だが使っている本人、それも単体では事実上最強のプレイヤーが言うのだから恐らく正しいのだろう。
そしてそこで、リィズに付き添われておずおずとセレーネさんが並ぶ大剣の前へと屈み込んだ。
どうやら人見知りとしての怖さより、鍛冶師としての好奇心が勝った形らしい。
「これ、まさか......ブランドンさんの作品ですか!?」
一本目の大剣を見たセレーネさんが瞠目した。
怯えを完全に忘れ、巨躯のアルベルトに向かって詰め寄っていく。
「ああ。ブランドンは俺達の本拠があるベリ連邦に居るから、最も世話になったんだが......残念ながら満足いく一振りは作製してもらえなかった」
「こっちはヴァレスさんに、マードックさん! 有名な鍛冶プレイヤーの大剣ばかりじゃないですか!」
「ヴァレスはルスト王国、マードックはマール共和国だな。どちらも傭兵仕事のついでに店に立ち寄った」
事もなげにアルベルトは言ってみせるが、セレーネさんが挙げたプレイヤーの中には俺でも知っている面々が含まれており......。
というのも、そのプレイヤー達は取引掲示板で攻撃力順に武器のカテゴリでソートすると、出品者として上の方にずらっと並ぶのだ。嫌でも目立つ。
「こんな有名な鍛冶師達の剣よりも、私達の剣の方が良いと......?」
「そうだ、お前達の剣が欲しい。第一、セレーネ嬢はこれらを作製した鍛冶師連中と同格だったと記憶しているが。謙遜することはないだろう」
......ん? 私「達」? お前「達」?
二人の言葉に引っ掛かりを感じる。
「それって、もしかして俺も含まれています? ご指名はセレーネさんだけですよね?」
「当然だろう? この大剣はお前達の共作なのだから」
「あの、ハインド君。アルベルトさんの言う微妙な感覚っていうのを再現するには、やっぱり前回に近い環境で作製しないことには......」
「いや、俺の鍛冶師としての腕は――」
凡庸なんですが、とそう言おうとしたのだが。
鍛冶師としての腕の問題ではないということを、彼はここまで散々強調してきた。
更にセレーネさんは引き受けたそうにこちらを見ている......やっぱり嬉しいんだな、鍛冶師として指名されている今の状況が。
彼女の方から何かをしたいという意志を見せてくるのは稀なので、俺としてはそれを尊重したいところ。
「......どうするかはセレーネさんにお任せします。受けるなら、ちゃんと俺もお手伝いしますよ」
「ありがとう、ハインド君。......ではアルベルトさん。大剣と大斧の製作、お引き受けします」
「恩に着る!」
マイペースにお茶を飲む娘の横で、アルベルトが深々と頭を下げた。
依頼を承諾した後は話し合って細かな条件を決めていく。
順序が違うとは思うが、そこまで目くじらを立てる必要性は無いので気にしない。ゲームだもの。
トビは終わっていない課題があったのを思い出したということで、青い顔をして急遽ログアウト。
俺が知らないということは補習関連のものだろう......忘れるなよ。
そしてユーミル・リィズの二人は退屈そうなフィリアちゃんを連れて、近場にモンスター狩りへと出掛けて行ってくれた。
客室には俺とセレーネさん、アルベルトの三人が残っている。
「可能なら、今後もお前達がこのゲームを続ける限り武器の製作を依頼したいのだが」
「それは長期契約がしたいってことですか? でも、途中で俺達の作ったものが気に入らなくなる可能性もあるし、もっと凄腕の鍛冶職人が後から現れる可能性もありますからオススメしませんよ」
「私も一振り毎にしっかりと評価を頂きたいと思っています。駄目なら駄目と言って頂くためにも、そういう縛りは無い方が」
俺達の言葉にアルベルトは考え込む。
長期契約の提案に現実では公務員だという彼の安定志向が若干透けて見え、俺は少し共感を覚える。
一定期間毎に更新されるネットゲームにおいては、装備は消耗品でしかない。
それの供給を確たるものにしておきたいというのは、非常に良く分かる話で。
「話を詰める前に、まずはフレンドコードを交換しましょう。連絡が取り易くなりますから」
「......そうしよう」
間を置く意味も含めて、俺とセレーネさんはアルベルトとのフレンド登録を行った。
最初に会った時は、これだけ関わりの深いプレイヤーになるとは思っていなかったな。
プレイスタイルに違いがあり過ぎて、会うのはあれっきりになるのではないかと。
「俺達としては先程セレーネさんが言ったように、一回毎に仕事を請け負う形が理想です。武器が合わなくなったら、他の鍛冶師に乗り換えて下さっても気にしませんし」
「毎回ご満足頂けるかは分かりませんからね......それだけ武器にこだわっていらっしゃるのは、ここまでのお話で理解しましたので。傭兵というプレイスタイルな以上、妥協は許されないのでしょうから」
「お前達のその物作りへの姿勢だけで、俺としては長期契約をしても良いと思えるが......いや、いい。了解した。だが契約金は全額前払い、想定以上の物が出来れば追加料金も出す。これに関しては譲る気は無い」
それで出来上がった武器が気に入らなかったとしても文句はない、と言って彼は腕を組んだ。
俺達にとって一切不利のない好条件に、セレーネさんと頷き合う。
アルベルトの今回提示した金は必要以上に多く、更にはベリ連邦算出のレアメタルのインゴットまで持参している。
「では、この条件でお引き受けします」
「ありがとう。俺とフィリアは帝国・ワーハ間の移住希望者の護衛任務をしつつ、三日ほどサーラに滞在予定だ。その間に作製を頼めるだろうか? 無理なら期間を延ばしても良いが――」
「問題ありません。TBの鍛冶はどんなに時間が掛かっても、一振りで一時間以内には作製可能ですから」
セレーネさんはアルベルトが示した納期に対して二つ返事で了承した。
しかしアルベルト親子、三日間は近くに居るのか......。
「アルベルトさん、実は俺からも一つ提案が」
不思議そうな顔でこちらを見る二人の前で、俺はとある場所の探索を一緒にしないかとアルベルトに提案してみた。
彼はそれに「面白い......共に行こう」と凶暴そのものな顔で笑って承諾した。
あの、そのつもりは無いのかもしれないけど、セレーネさんが怯えてますぜ兄貴......。
[You see, I requested blacksmiths from various places to craft me a greatsword, however, none of them seemed to feel right to me.] (Albert)
Having said that, Albert proceeded to line up one greatsword after another on top of the table.
He sure is doing whatever he wants in other people's guild home...though this should be mostly part of his roleplay.
That brusque personality of his does really make a point that he's a mercenary.
The swords Albert had placed there, gave the feeling that they were out of the ordinary, you could tell with a single glance from this far away that they were excellent weapons.
[Ooh, this greatsword is a "first rate +2"! Hind, look at this!] (Yumir)
[This one is +3! To not use these, what a waste!] (Tobi)
Without even bothering to ask for permission, Yumir and Tobi immediately started touching the greatswords to get information from them.
As expected from these two...
Once I asked Albert, he replied with [I don't mind, in fact, I'd like you to check them] , so having heard that, I went to inspect one of the greatswords.
..Just as I thought, being first rate on top of being arranged to this size...they have quite the attack power.
If we were talking about the value of its attack power, it's higher than the greatsword we sold Albert back then so...what exactly is he dissatisfied with?
[I even went as far as to use the greatsword you sold me to adjust the center of balance, but it doesn't seem like that was the issue.] (Albert)
So...is it something like his intuition making him say that? Even if we are inside a game? Hmm....
However, the person that is using them is the one considered to be the strongest player so there's merit to his words.
And over there, it was Selene-san accompanied by Riizu timidly inspecting the swords that were lined up.
It seems like rather than her fear of strangers, it was her curiosity as a master blacksmith that won over.
[This one, don't tell me...is this the work of Brandon-san!?] (Selene)
Selene-san looked at the first sword with amazement.
Having completely forgotten about her fear, she approached the gigantic Albert and talked to him.
[Yeah. Brandon also resides in the Beli Confederation so he was the first one we made a request to, unfortunately, he was only able to make a single sword for us.] (Albert)
[This one is made by Vales-san and this other one by Madock-san! Aren't all these greatswords made by famous crafters!?] (Selene)
[Vales is from the Rust Kingdom and Madock is from the Mahl Republic. I dropped by their stores while doing mercenary work.] (Albert)
Albert said it as if it was nothing but...the players Selene-san mentioned were people even I knew about...
The reason for that is because those players were all lined up at the top when you sorted the weapon category by attack power in the trading BBS. They really stand out.
[You mean that our sword is better than the ones made by these famous master blacksmiths...?] (Selene)
[That's right, I want a sword made by you. First off, I believe that Miss Selene would also be counted among those master blacksmiths. There's no need to be so modest.] (Albert)
...Hm? [Our] ? [You] ?
I get the feeling there's something wrong with the way they worded things.
[That means...you are counting me too? The one that named the weapon was Selene-san though?] (Hind)
[Isn't that a given? This greatsword is a joint work between you both after all.] (Albert)
[Hind-kun. In order for it to have the same weird feeling Albert mentioned again, as I thought, we might have to craft it in a similar situation as before...] (Selene)
[Eh, I don't think I'm good enough of a master blacksmith...] (Hind)
"I believe I'm quite mediocre", is what I told them.
"It's not a problem that has to do with your skill as a master blacksmith", he thoroughly emphasized that point.
Furthermore, Selene-san looked at me as if she wanted to take this request...as you'd expect she would be really happy, being requested this as a master blacksmith.
For her to decide to do something on her own was quite unusual, so I should respect her wishes here.
[...I'll leave the decision to Selene-san. If she decides to take the request, I'll do my best to help her out.] (Hind)
[Thank you, Hind-kun. ...Albert-san, the request to craft a greatsword and an axe, I'll take it!] (Selene)
[I owe you one!] (Albert)
With his daughter drinking tea at her own pace by his side, Albert bowed his head.
After taking the request, we talked about the finer details of the deal.
I believe the order we did things was wrong, but since there was no need to do things meticulously it was fine. This was a game after all.
Once Tobi remembered that he still had homework he hadn't finished, he turned pale and logged out in a hurry.
Since I didn't know about it, it probably had to do with supplementary lessons...don't forget those.
And then, Yumir and Riizu were bored so they took Philia-chan with them and went to hunt some monsters in a nearby area.
In the guest room, only the three of us remained.
[If it would be possible, I would like for both of you to keep making my weapons as long as you keep playing this game.] (Albert)
[You mean you want to make a long term contract? However, there's the possibility of you not liking our weapons at some point, also, there's the possibility that an even more impressive blacksmith will appear in the future, so it's nothing something I would recommend.] (Hind)
[I also want to hear a proper evaluation of each sword I make. In order for you to be able to tell me that the weapon is not good when you are not satisfied with them, there's a need for us not to be bound by a contract.] (Selene)
Hearing what we had to say, Albert started to think.
Wanting a long term contract was something that a government worker, who would prefer stability like him would ask for and I could empathise with him.
This being an online game that receives updates after a set time, there's only things like gear and consumable items to take into account.
Wanting to acquire a supplier for those things, is something that I can understand.
[Before we go into details, let's exchange friend codes first. It'll make it easier to communicate.] (Hind)
[...Let's do that.] (Albert)
This was also to establish a relationship, me and Selene-san exchanged friend requests with Albert.
The first time we met, I never thought that he would be a player we established such a deep connection with.
Since our playstyles were so different, I thought that would be the only time we would meet.
[For us, like Selene-san said before, it would be ideal to undertake requests on a one by one basis. In the case that you don't like the weapon, we don't mind if you go to another blacksmith.] (Hind)
[We'll never know if you'll always be satisfied with them after all...you are quite particular about the weapons you use and that is something I have noticed after talking to you so far. Since you are role playing as a mercenary, this is an important point for you after all.] (Selene)
[Just by you taking that stance towards crafting, it already makes me think that it would be fine to enter a long term contract but...no, it's fine. Understood. However, I'll pay it in full in advance, if what you craft turns out to be better than I imagined, I'll give you additional pay. This is something I won't back down from.] (Albert)
In case the weapon that's made is not to his liking, he won't complain either, after saying that, he crossed his arms.
It was a favourable contract with no demerits for us, me and Selene-san nodded to each other.
The gold Albert showed us was way more than necessary, on top of that, he had also brought the ingots made from rare metals from the Beli Confederation.
[In that case, we'll accept those conditions.] (Hind)
[Thank you. Me and Philia are in the Royal Capital of Waaha because of a request to guard some people that wanted to immigrate to it, we plan to be in Sala for around three days. Can I ask you to have the gear prepared within that time frame? If it's not possible, I don't mind if you exten-] (Albert)
[That won't be a problem. No matter how long blacksmithing takes in TB, it's possible to craft a single sword within one hour.] (Selene)
Albert expressed the time frame he would want the weapon to be done in and Selene-san immediately gave him a reply.
However, the Albert parent and child duo are going to be here for close to three days, huh...
[Albert-san, actually, I have an idea.] (Hind)
Both of them looked at me with curiosity and I suggested them coming with us to investigate a certain place.
He replied with [Interesting...let's go together] , his face right now looked ferocious and he laughed in agreement.
Eh, I know he didn't mean to do it like that but, aniki...Selene-san is getting scared...
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