今の戦闘が余力のない内容だったことと、20階で切りが良いこともあって今回の探索はここまでということになった。
まだ上階への階段は続いていたが、これ以上進むのが難しいということは誰の目にも明らかだった。
ボスが出たってことは、難易度もここで一区切りだろうと予想される。
故に撤退もやむなしである。
そして俺達の前に出現した宝箱は五つ。
人数と一致するので一人一つということで良いのだろうか?
「お疲れさまでした。では、早速宝箱を開け――」
「ハインド、お腹空いた......」
「あ、ええと......う、うん?」
宝箱の手をかけた直後、フィリアちゃんに思い切り気勢を削がれた。
満腹度は余り減っていないのだけど......気分の問題か?
インベントリを漁ると一個だけ残っていたプリンが出てきた。
「はい、どうぞ」
木のスプーンを添えて渡すと、少女は礼を言って直ぐに食べ始める。
いつも悠然としているアルベルトの顔にも、さすがに気まずそうな表情が浮かんだ。
「度々すまん、ハインド......だが、娘は随分とお前を気に入ったようだ。他人にこれほど我儘を言うなんて珍しい」
「気に入られたのは俺じゃなくて、料理の方な気がしますが......」
「......そんなことない。私を最初に蘇生してくれたの、嬉しかった」
食べながら無表情で俺の言葉を否定してくる。
フィリアちゃんの後ろでは、眉を吊り上げたリィズをセレーネさんが羽交い絞めにして抑え付けている。
別に俺は、みんなに対する好感度順で蘇生したわけではないんだけど......。
それを伝えても、フィリアちゃんはやはり首を横に振る。
「それでもやっぱり、プレイヤーとして認められたってことだから。貴方に認められるのは嬉しい」
それっきり、話し疲れたといった様子でフィリアちゃんは口を
あ、間違い。プリンを食べる時だけ口を開ける。
アルベルトも娘の言葉にうんうんと頷いて見せ、実質的なべた褒めに俺は大いに動揺した。
......えーっと......あ、そうだ! 宝箱だ、宝箱!
状況を進展させてこの微妙に生温い空気を押し流してしまおう、うん。それがいい。
「......じゃ、じゃあ今度こそ宝箱の中を確認しましょうか? さすがにこいつは罠付きってことは無いでしょうし」
満を持して一斉に箱を開けると、中身は全て同じもので。
それは手に取ると温かな熱を放つ、透き通った拳大の赤い石。
名を『ルブルムストーン』というらしく、分類は属性石・その他......その他?
ラクダの背に揺られながら、宝石を陽にかざして眺めてみる。
属性石として使う場合は、武器を作製する際に武器の柄だったり杖なら先端に付けたりするわけだが......。
「こいつが火属性の石なのは間違いないとして、その他の用途って何でしょうね?」
「触った時に使用しますか? っていうポップアップが出るけど......ここじゃ怖くて使えないね」
「急に火を吹いたりしたら困りますし、ホームに帰ってからにしましょう。それは良いとして――」
リィズは俺の方をキツイ表情で睨みつける。
正確には一緒にラクダに相乗りしているフィリアちゃんを、であるが。
「どうしてあなたは父親と一緒に乗らないのですか!? 行きはそうしていたでしょう!」
「お父さん、重いからラクダが可哀想。行きの最後の方はバテバテだった」
鎧と大剣を含めると恐らく150kgはあるからな......ポリシーなのか、絶対に装備を解除しないし。
フィリアちゃんは軽いだろうけど、それでも無装備で30~40kgはあると思われる。
なので理由としてはこちらに移ってきたのはそれほどおかしくない。
ちなみにフィリアちゃんの分のラクダが無い理由は一人で乗せるのは危ないから、だそうだ。
馬に乗せる際も普段から親子で相乗りらしい。
その割に戦闘のような野蛮な行為には積極的に参加させる辺り、アルベルトの判断基準は結構謎である。過保護なのかそうでもないのか......。
当のアルベルトはフィリアちゃんがこちらに来て寂しそうにしているわけだが。
この行動は親離れとかそういうのではないと思うのだけれど。
嫌なら鎧と剣を外して、是非とも自分の方に乗せてやってほしい。
「だったら私かセッちゃんと相乗りすれば良いじゃないですか! ハインドさんよりも軽いのですから!」
「リィズは怒りっぽいから嫌。セレーネは私が近づくと怯える」
「リィズ。ワーハまでの短時間なんだし、そう目くじらを立てることもないじゃないか」
妙に懐かれてしまったが、シエスタちゃんみたいに悪戯をしてこないし静かなものだ。
実質ちょっと重い人形かぬいぐるみを抱いているようなもので、こちらとしてはそれほど抵抗がない。
親戚の小さな子を構ってやっているような、子守りをしているのに近い感覚。
ここのところ女の子との相乗りが頻繁で、若干感覚が麻痺している面もあるが。
「もういいですっ! ログアウトしたら部屋に行きますから、覚悟して下さいね兄さん!!」
何を覚悟すれば良いのだろう......?
俺とフィリアちゃんは視線を交わすと、同時に首を傾げた。
ギルドホームに戻ると、早速川の傍に行って金属製の皿の上に『ルブルムストーン』を載せて使用。
どの程度のアイテムなのか気になるということで、遅い時間だが全員ログアウトせずにまだ残っている。
「あちっ!」
指先を反射的に引っ込める。
火を吹きこそしなかったが、どうやら空気が歪むほどの熱が発生しているようだ。
「だ、大丈夫ハインド君!?」
「使用直後はそうでも無かったんですけど、これ凄い火力ですよ。現にほら......」
鉄製の皿が真っ赤になり、煙を上げながら溶け出していく。
どろりと皿だったものが地面に広がり、そのまま周囲をゆっくりと溶かしながら宝石が沈む。
「って、不味いですよハインドさん!? どうやって止めるんですかこれ!」
「み、水! 取り敢えず水!」
「任せろ! お前達は下がれ!」
川から用意しておいた桶で水を汲み上げ、アルベルトが石に向かって水を掛ける。
大量の蒸気が発生し、収まったところで恐る恐る近づくと......。
『ルブルムストーン』が発熱を止めてその場に転がっていた。
あ、扱いづれぇぇ......。
使っても無くならないタイプのアイテムらしいが、温度が上がるまで少し時間が掛かる都合上、投げたりして攻撃に使うのは無理そうだ。
一連の状況を見たアルベルトがこう締めくくる。
「アイテムとしては難ありのようだな。しかし、武器に組み込めばかなり高ランクの火属性攻撃が可能になりそうではある」
「あ、どうしましょうか? 私達に預けて下さるなら、お二人の大剣と大斧に組み込んでみますが」
セレーネさんの提案にアルベルトは腕を組んで考え込んだ。
それからフィリアちゃんと二言程度の言葉を交わすと、こう返答してくる。
「ならばフィリアの斧は属性武器にしてくれ。俺達の場合、魔法属性の攻撃が不足する機会は多いからな。俺の方は無属性で頼みたいから、余った俺の石はお前達にやる」
「良いのですか? これ、恐らく現時点では結構な貴重品だと思いますけど」
「構わない。扱いが難しそうだが、お前達には何やら考えがあるのだろう?」
アルベルトは俺達三人に向かってこう言った。
まあ、顔を見れば分かるか......こんなアイテムなら、自ずと使い道は限られてくる。
試しに三人で考えを言い合うと、見事にそれが一致した。
「炉の燃料だな」
「炉の燃料......かなぁ。上手く行けば作れる合金の種類がグッと増えるよ」
「炉の燃料ですね。他に思い付きません」
というのがその答えだった。
耐火煉瓦の中で使って駄目なら、全て属性石として使う他ないが。
We had become tired after this last fight, so we decided that stopping at floor twenty was a good idea.
There were stairs leading to further floors, but in everyone's eyes it was reflected that continuing would prove to be difficult.
If a boss came out here, it was expected that it would become harder from now on.
Therefore, no one was against retreating here.
Furthermore, there were five treasure chests in front of us.
It's the same number as the number of people here, so would it be OK for each one of us to pick one?
[Good work everyone. Well then, shall we open these treasur-] (Hind)
[Hind, I'm hungry...] (Philia)
[Ah, eh...uh, hmm?] (Hind)
Immediately after I placed a hand on a treasure chest, Philia-chan's vigor plummeted.
Our hunger gauges haven't decreased that much though...is it a matter of her mood?
I rummaged through my inventory and took out the last remaining pudding.
[Here you go.] (Hind)
When I handed it to her along with a wooden spoon, the little girl thanked me and immediately started eating.
Even Albert, who was always calm, started to show an embarrassed expression on his face.
[Sorry that this is happening so often, Hind...however, it seems like my daughter has taken a liking to you. It's rare for her to show this amount of selfishness to other people.] (Albert)
[I get the feeling that she has taken a liking to the food rather than me though...] (Hind)
[...That's not true, I was happy that you revived me first.] (Philia)
Eating while wearing a blank expression, she denied my words.
Behind Philia-chan, Selene-san was trying to keep Riizu, who was raising her eyebrows, in check by wrapping her arms around her from behind.
It's not like...I revive people to gain likability points though...
When I told her that, as you'd expect, Philia-chan tilted her head.
[I guess it's like that. You are recognizing me as a player. To be recognized by someone like you, makes me happy.] (Philia)
With that, as if she had gotten tired of speaking, Philia-chan shut her mouth.
Oh, that's wrong. She only opened her mouth to eat the pudding.
Albert nodded at her daughter's words in agreement, to be honest, I was a bit shaken by the fact that they held me in that high regard.
...Wait...ah, that's right! The treasure, the treasure chests!
Let's get rid of this delicate and tepid atmosphere by moving things forward, yeah. That will be fine.
[...I-In that case, shall we check the contents of these treasure chests? I doubt these ones will have any traps placed on them after all.] (Hind)
Once we simultaneously opened the chests, the contents inside all of them were the same.
They felt warm when we picked them up, they were fist sized clear red stones.
It seems like they are called {Rubrum Stones} , they are classified as elemental stones and others...others?
While shaking on the back of the camel, I inspected the gems.
When it comes to elemental stones usage, you could place them in the grip of a weapon, and in the case of a staff, you could place them on one end of it...
[Leaving aside the fact that this stone is clearly of the fire element, I wonder what the other usage for it is?] (Hind)
[When we touched them a pop-up saying "Do you want to use it?" appeared but...it would be scary to use them here.] (Selene)
[It would be troublesome if they started blowing fire, let's do it once we get back home. Leaving that aside-] (Hind)
Riizu was glaring at me.
Though it's true that I was currently riding a camel with Philia-chan.
[Why are you not riding one with your father!? When we came here you did that, right!?] (Hind)
[I feel bad for the camel because dad is heavy. It looked exhausted by the time we were reaching our destination.] (Philia)
He should weigh around 150kg if you add the armor and the greatsword after all...I wonder if it's his policy? He refuses to unequip his gear.
Philia-chan is light, but even if she removed all her gear, she should weigh between 30~40kg.
If we count that as the reason, I guess it's not that odd that she moved over here.
By the way, the reason Philia-chan doesn't have her own camel is because "It's scary to ride one alone", or so she says.
Even when they ride a horse, it seems like they usually ride one together too.
When it comes to fights, he positively seeks them out and acts as some sort of barbarian. I actually don't get Albert's standards and the way he acts. Isn't he just too overprotective...?
Albert looked over here in sadness as if he was saying "Philia-chan, come over here".
I don't think I can consider this action of hers as one of being independent of one's parents though.
If you hate it that much, take off your armor and put away that sword, I would honestly prefer it if she rode a camel with you.
[In that case, wouldn't it be fine if you rode one with me or Secchan!? We are lighter than Hind-san!] (Riizu)
[Riizu seems like the type of person that's quick to anger so no. Selene becomes frightened if I get close to her] (Philia)
[Riizu. We'll arrive in Waaha shortly, so it's not something you should be that bothered by?] (Hind)
She has grown strangely attached to me, but she's not one to pull pranks like Siesta-chan and remains silent.
In reality, it was as if I was holding a slightly heavier doll, so it was not as if I was against it.
It was as if I was looking after a relative's child, a feeling akin to babysitting.
I've rode along with quite a few girls by now, so my feelings have gone numb in a sense.
[Whatever! I'll go to your room once we log out, you better prepare yourself, nii-san!] (Riizu)
What should I be prepared for...?
I exchanged glances with Philia-chan and we both tilted our heads.
Once we returned to the guild home, we moved close to a source of water and placed the {Rubrum Stone} on top of a metal plate and used it.
We were curious about what kind of item it was, so even if it was quite late, everyone remained without logging out.
[So hot!] (Hind)
I retracted my finger in reflex.
It didn't blow fire, but it released heat high enough that it warped the air around it.
[A-Are you OK, Hind-kun?] (Selene)
[It didn't really happen immediately after using it, but that's some terrifying heat. Actually, look...] (Albert)
The iron plate started to turn bright red and smoke came out of it.
The liquid that was once a plate started to spread on the ground, like that, the surroundings started to melt and the gem proceeded to start sinking.
[-Wait, this is bad, Hind-san! How are we going to stop this!] (Riizu)
[W-Water! For now use water!] (Hind)
[Leave it to me! Everyone, step back!] (Albert)
Using the buckets we had prepared beforehand, Albert drew water from the canal and threw it on top of the stone.
A large amount of vapor was produced and when it seemed as if it had settled down we cautiously came closer...
The {Rubrum Stone}  had stopped emitting heat and was laying there.
T-These are so hard to use...
It seems like they are the type of items that don't get consumed on use, but on top of taking a bit of time to increase its temperature, it seems like it'll be impossible to throw them and use them as a way to attack.
Watching these chains of events, Albert finished it with this.
[As an item, it is hard to use. However, there's the fact that it's possible that you'd be able to deal high rank fire element attacks if you attached them to a weapon.] (Albert)
[W-What do you want to do? If you leave it to us, we could use them for your greatsword and axe.] (Selene)
After Selene-san suggested that, Albert crossed his arms and started to think.
And after exchanging some words with Philia-chan, he said this.
[In that case, make Philia's axe an elemental weapon. In our case, there are a lot of times where we lack attacks with magical properties after all. Since I want to request mine to be non elemental, you can keep the remaining stone.] (Albert)
[Are you sure? This item, I believe it's extremely valuable given the current state of the game.] (Selene)
[I don't mind. They might be difficult to work with, but you guys have something in mind, right?] (Albert)
Albert said that as he looked at us.
Well, I guess he guessed that by looking at our faces...if it's this item, the number of uses it has is limited.
As a test, we all said out loud what we were thinking, and it turns out that we were thinking the same thing, namely...
[Fuel for the furnace.] (Hind)
[Fuel for the furnace...maybe? If everything goes well, the amount of alloys I can make will increase.] (Selene)
[Fuel for the furnace, right? I can't think of anything else.] (Riizu)
The answer we arrived at was this one.
If it turned out that it was impossible to use within the firebrick, it would have no other use like the rest of the elemental stones. (TLN: As in, no other use but to add elemental properties to gear)
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