Chapter 234: Schuler Class
'Fortunately, he didn't follow me.'
Just in case Philip tried to chase after me, I deliberately used Shark's ability and hurried away at full speed.
Nobles generally disliked owing favors to others.
More than anyone else, they understood that even the smallest act of kindness would inevitably have to be repaid someday.
If they failed to repay it, it would ultimately be seen as proof of both their own incompetence and their family's incompetence, as well as the humiliation of becoming subordinate to the other party.
That was how the current nobility thought.
Philip was no different.
He even refused the support of his wealthy fiancée every single time.
So I already knew that even if I returned the necklace, he would refuse to accept it.
'That's why I had to go through all this trouble.'
After forcing the necklace into his hands and running away, it seemed Philip couldn't bring himself to chase after me.
The reason I returned the necklace wasn't simply because it was his mother's keepsake.
It was an investment in the future.
'If you refuse the necklace, which is the reward for this Hidden Quest, Philip becomes much stronger.'
If I wanted Philip's character to awaken later on, he absolutely needed his mother's keepsake.
As long as he kept the necklace, Philip would enter the Finders Department and become Ren's reliable junior and companion.
I used Philip quite often in the game as well.
Since he had the potential to become one of Ren's capable allies, I decided it was better to leave that possibility open.
'Of course, that wasn't the only reason.'
...The decisive reason was—
'Because I got something even better than the gun.'
I judged that the 'peculiar ability' I obtained through Dukbi was more suitable for stopping the Cleaner than a 'gun capable of piercing magic.'
In a way, it was thanks to Philip that I was able to bring Dukbi back to the farm.
You could say it was a reward of sorts.
'Of course, that doesn't mean I've completely given up on the gun.'
...
I opened the door to the Mechanical Engineering Club.
The table was covered with various components and gun grips, making it obvious they were still in the middle of manufacturing the firearm.
When my eyes met those of the club members, Esdal and Titania, who had been assembling parts, they took off their goggles.
"Patron's Representative! We've been waiting for you. Did you bring the Arcanium?"
Their eyes looked like children waiting for the final piece of a puzzle.
They were filled with anticipation.
Unfortunately, I couldn't live up to those expectations.
"No. I couldn't get it."
"Ehh..."
Esdal and Titania looked flustered.
"Yesterday you confidently said you'd get it within a day, so we naturally thought you'd bring it..."
"Even monkeys fall from trees. No matter how capable I am, I can't obtain everything."
"...Weren't you able to obtain everything?"
Titania blinked.
For some reason, she seemed to have seriously believed that.
"...What? Do you think I'm some kind of god who can instantly create whatever I want?"
"Well... you're the person who came up with the idea of firing Krovanium as bullets."
"..."
After hearing that, I had nothing to say.
There probably wasn't another spendthrift besides me who burned thousands of gold with a single pistol shot...
"So... are you canceling your order, Patron's Representative?"
"Hmm."
I shook my head at Esdal's question.
"No. You can take your time making it. Even if I don't need it right now, I might need it later."
"Ah, I see. Understood."
Esdal opened a notebook and began writing something down.
"Then... may we purchase the Arcanium ourselves? Thanks to your sponsorship, our budget is quite generous. It's an expensive component, but we only need a very small amount, so it won't cost that much."
Since I had sponsored them with ten thousand gold, it seemed they intended to use that budget to purchase the Arcanium.
Right.
They weren't simply pocketing the ten thousand gold I'd given them.
Their goal was to use my sponsorship funds to create something for me while building up their achievements.
Just as she said, using Arcanium as a gun component would only cost a few hundred gold.
"Alright. I'll leave it to you. And..."
I placed a silver-colored ore on the table.
It was more than twice the size of a fist.
"What is this?"
"The material for the bullets. About two hundred grams."
"Bullets?"
Esdal and Titania looked at the silver ore before looking at each other.
"Don't tell me..."
Their eyes widened in shock.
"T-This is Krovanium...!"
The two of them stared at the ore in astonishment.
Their shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
Considering it was one of the most expensive substances in the world, their reaction was understandable.
"So you really meant it when you said you'd make bullets out of Krovanium..."
"What? Did you think I was lying?"
"N-No, but..."
As engineering students, they clearly knew better than anyone how difficult this material was to obtain.
"This is the first time we've ever seen such a large piece of Krovanium. How much would something like this even cost...?"
"Who knows? I never really thought about it. Maybe around fifty thousand."
The Krovanium I had brought was actually an exceptionally high-purity specimen.
Its true value was several times...
Perhaps even more than ten times...
Higher than that.
Still, I had no interest in showing off just to surprise them, so I casually quoted the market price of ordinary Krovanium.
"G-Gasp... F-Fifty thousand gold..."
"I-If even the slightest scratch appears... would we have to compensate you several hundred gold...?"
"If the weight decreases... it won't just be several hundred gold..."
They were so frightened that they'd already backed away from the Krovanium.
Even touching it seemed terrifying to them.
'They're more intimidated than I expected.'
Since I was Villed, whose reputation was at rock bottom, they were probably worried I'd use it against them later.
So I needed to ease their concerns.
"Don't be afraid. I already know the weight will decrease a little when the impurities are removed."
Besides, I was certain these two would never do something petty like stealing the materials I entrusted to them.
That's how they were in the game as well.
Whenever the protagonist, Ren, brought them the finest materials, they faithfully used every bit of them.
They were dependable allies who could always create the best equipment.
"So don't worry. Even if the weight decreases by a few grams while making the bullets, I'll never ask you to compensate me. Just handle it naturally, the same way you handle any other parts."
"N-Naturally..."
After taking a deep breath, Titania carefully picked up the Krovanium.
"It's frightening, but this will probably be the first and last time we'll ever get to work with such an incredible material. We'll definitely create something worthy of our Patron's Representative's expectations!"
Fortunately, their passion as engineers outweighed their fear.
...Though she was still trembling as she held the ore with both hands.
"Good. I'm looking forward to it."
"Yes! We'll have both the firearm and the bullets completed within a month!"
After returning to the Upgraded Livestock Shed...
I quickly tidied up the area around it before sitting down on a chair inside the storage room to rest.
I opened the farm system.
Bark! Bark!
Ppoeeeng!
Kyuu!
'Looks like everyone's having fun.'
After only one day, Dukbi was already playing together with the Spirit Creatures.
Friendly Shark was carrying everyone around from place to place.
...And.
"Nom."
Before I knew it, Lapin had wandered into the storage room and was sitting atop a pile of hay while eating bread.
"It's soft."
As a reward for helping me clear yesterday's dungeon, I had given Lapin a large amount of cake and bread.
She was probably eating one of those now.
Lapin chewed her bread before turning to look at me.
"...Villed. Yesterday was fun."
She spoke as though yesterday's events were still vividly fresh in her mind.
"Yeah. I feel the same."
Being able to properly gauge our abilities had been a huge gain.
But what surprised me even more was how well Lapin and I worked together.
"Yeah. And... I was really happy that I could protect Villed. I was happy that I could help too."
Perhaps it was because of the angle of her face.
A faint smile seemed to appear at the corners of her lips.
"I want to go with Villed again."
"...Sure. If the opportunity comes, I'll call you again."
I smiled back at her before falling into thought.
'...As expected. Improving Lapin's stamina was the right choice.'
The two of us had undoubtedly grown much stronger during this winter break.
'We're probably still not as strong as monsters like Cairin or Heidel, though.'
To begin with, they were regarded as the greatest talents in Yggdrasil's history, people who had already surpassed the level of ordinary cadets.
It was the same in the game.
The protagonist and his companions were all extraordinary beings.
There was no need to compare ourselves to them.
At the very least, Lapin and I were now more than capable of keeping up with the Finders Department curriculum.
'And if I continue growing stronger...'
After seeing Dukbi's ability yesterday...
I became completely certain.
'If I become even stronger than the protagonist... then I'll definitely be able to stop the Calamity.'
Yes.
That was what I truly wanted.
Rather than leaving it to someone else, I'd always preferred solving things with my own hands.
There was no need to rush.
If I simply continued living peacefully at the Upgraded Livestock Shed while meeting various Spirit Creatures...
I'd naturally continue growing stronger.
'Oh, right. There's also this.'
I opened my Subspace and took out a piece of black obsidian.
Small XX Fragment
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The description in the status window was obscured by static.
'In the game, this item was called the Small Fragment of Calamity.'
For some reason, part of the word 'Calamity' was hidden.
'Why? Well, it doesn't really matter since I already know the item's name.'
Assuming it was merely a system bug, I didn't think much of it.
Since Lapin was already beside me, I raised a card into the air.
Ppoeng-?
I summoned Dukbi from the card and had it speak with Lapin.
I could vaguely sense the emotions and intentions of Spirit Creatures...
But I still couldn't hold detailed conversations with them.
Spirit Creatures, however, could communicate with one another perfectly.
So I borrowed Lapin's help.
Ppoeng. Ppoeng.
"...Mm. Mm."
Lapin and Dukbi exchanged words several times.
Then Lapin turned toward me and interpreted Dukbi's words.
"It says it can't remember."
According to Dukbi, it had lost almost all of its previous memories.
The only thing it remembered...
Was that someone had placed the 'Fragment of Calamity' on top of its head.
'Someone deliberately exposed Dukbi to the Fragment?'
That certainly seemed to be what caused Dukbi to lose its sanity and become a monster.
'This was definitely the work of someone connected to the Calamity.'
The system had failed to recognize 'Dukbi tainted by the Calamity' as a Spirit Creature.
Which meant...
'Not just me. Even the natural enemies capable of identifying Spirit Creatures probably couldn't recognize it either. Thanks to coming into contact with the Fragment of Calamity, Dukbi managed to conceal itself and survive.'
I took a letter out of my pocket and read it.
...Right.
The natural enemies of Spirit Creatures.
「Student Villed! The Schuler class you've been waiting for begins this evening! Don't be late, and be sure to attend! - From your teacher, Hilda.」
That meant...
A Witch.