Chapter 60: DateDay 70
Amazing that just affirming that I wouldn’t dump my mistresses if get married would elicit such an extreme response. These women are seriously spoiling me. Everything I say is greeted with the most generous interpretation. What would someone less dedicated to me think of this? What would a potential wife think of my lechery?
In this world, she might say, ‘No husband of mine would only have three extra women. Go get at least four more before I die of embarrassment.’ Shamefully, I might actually accept that.
Alternatively, what if she takes one look at my bed and says, ‘Yeah, have fun with your sve girls. Never speak to me again, creep.’ It’s easier to understand that point of view, but it’s inconvenient.
Well, whatever happens, I’ll still have the girls since they’ll unconditionally take my side. In fact, I’d like them to show me that right now. Oops, forgot to switch my jobs back.
Alina wakes to ask, “David, since when is Roxanne allowed to call you Master?”
“She really wanted to, so I finally gave in. Does this mean you want to as well?”
“No, I like calling you David. It would just be nice if you told me when you change the rules like that.”
“Good point.”
“So, David, care to make it up to me? All three of us, actually.”
“Yes, I deserve this.”
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“Good morning, guys, sorry we’re te. Even with the unexpectedly long lunch yesterday, we made it through more than half of the 34th floor. We shouldn’t have any particur difficulty in finishing it today.”
After breakfast, we went back to Curatar’s Labyrinth as pnned. We made good progress and didn’t run into any other parties.
I took us to Vale for lunch. It’d been quite a while since we’d been here and now I can do a little business. I brought along a big pile of leather hats, gloves and mittens Sherry made that don’t have skill slots. Sort of rude to flood the market with unenchantable goods, but we sold them cheap and it’s better than just wasting them.
I also bought a simple wall calendar at the general store. Sherry patiently showed me today’s date — the end of the seventh week of spring. Actually, ‘Spring’ would be more appropriate since seasons repce months. Besides the date, I also found that the current imperial year is AE 342. [1] Apparently, regional calendars have the same yout but can have a different year. The dwarves of her region use 853.
Anyway, we returned to the byrinth and managed to reach the waiting room well before evening.
“OK, we should meet two bosses in here. They probably have swords and maybe they’ll actually know how to use them or have some rush skill. Let’s go with Marcus, Theo and Roxanne on the left and the rest of us on the right. Oh, good, it’s our turn now.”
The bosses of the Kobold’s bosses are called Kobold Jaeger, like Jaegermeister, I guess. [2] Regardless of the name, they materialized, got stunned after a few hits and were promptly defeated. This was absolutely perfect for ending early. No leftover gear, of course, since few parties who managed to get past the dragons would fall to kobolds, even if it’s third-generation. 3rd-gen.
Home again and I was quickly rushed of by the pit-crew, which now included Roxanne. I was wiped down, shaved, clipped and dressed. Alina and Roxanne pushed for me to use my formal outfit, but Sherry and I knew that casual clothes would be a better fit for a casual dinner. Of course, I really only knew that casual clothing would be less embarrassing. My preparations included weapons and armor in storage with Durandal just a reset away. They wanted to send the guys for protection. After a moment of consideration, I decided against it. Having bodyguards sounds like I’d need to wear the fancy clothes.
Sherry suggested that she should do a fusion now, rather than wait till I came home. Maybe I was supposed to assure her that I’d be home early enough. I’m alright with giving the wrong answer sometimes since I can’t really get into that much trouble. I handed her an Ant crystal to make poison-resistant mittens for Marcus.
Vowing that I’d return tonight, I warped to one of my favorite alleys in central Curatar and walked towards the restaurant. I made a quick but completely unnecessary security sweep of the area before finding a spot to wait without being obvious. Soon, I saw Mirable approach with two bodyguards of her own. Good to see that she isn’t reckless. I waited until her guards faded into the background before I approached. OK, time to start.
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“Hello, Mirable. I’m gd you could come.”
“Huh? David? Wait. You’re a human?”
“Um, yeah, as far as I know. Aren’t you?”
“Yes, but you spoke Elvish.”
“Not very well. Besides, what makes me look less like an elf today?”
“Your ears. They were covered before. Anyway, I assumed you were an elf from the beginning.”
“So, you only like elves, huh?”
“No, that’s not it. I’m not ready for this. Ugh, I don’t know what to do.”
“OK, how about this? You stay for dinner and I’ll be as polite as an elf.”
“This absolutely cannot be a date.”
“That’s a bit discouraging, though it is what we already agreed to. I’ll just make sure to suppress my natural charm.”
“David, you’re much too good at this.”
“Nah, I just liked being compared to an elf.”
“Well, maybe an elderly elf, after many years of manual bor.”
“See, Mirable, we’re already getting along like old friends.”
“Hey, watch who you’re calling old.”
We sat down, ordered a simple dinner and discussed trivial matters for a good half hour. Besides the city and weather, we talked about how we met and the cuteness of that elven child. Eventually, I couldn’t suppress my curiosity.
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“So, Mirable, what happened to make you dislike humans?”
“I’m sorry, David. I can’t talk about it.”
“It’s OK, I don’t actually need to know.”
“What do you mean?”
“We all have our our secrets. It’s for you to decide what and when to share.”
“That’s the problem, David. I simply can’t do that.”
“Alright, then don’t. Let’s just be friends with no romantic expectation.”
“David, that’s just silly. Could you honestly be satisfied with that?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. Hopefully, I’d grow to dislike you before it bothered me.”
“That is by far the strangest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Here’s my proposal. We meet occasionally as friends. I won’t pressure you, but if you end up falling madly in love with me, I’ll be under no obligation to return your feelings.”
“OK, that was even stranger. Seriously, why would you even suggest this?”
“I like you, Mirable, but it’s not too te to settle for friendship.”
“Can you really control your feelings so easily?”
“I’m much less attracted to women who aren’t attracted to me.”
“That certainly sounds convenient. Did you somehow know that this would happen?”
“Definitely not. I would’ve worn the hat until you couldn’t live without me.”
“That’s terrible.”
“In all honesty, Mirable, the odds are against us. Despite that, I want to try. Let’s meet for lu-, at noon in a few days. You can do that much. Say yes.”
“David, you’re making my head spin, but somehow, I trust you. How about four days from today, center of town?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you there. Would you like to be escorted to a safe location?”
“Thanks for the offer. I have people waiting for me.”
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“I’m home.”
Everyone came in and anxiously awaited my report. OK, the guys were sitting here already but at least they didn’t leave.
Alina asked, “How did it go?”
“Not great.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I don’t know. Probably some trauma or maybe she’s just shy.”
“Worse than you, David?”
“I’m not actually shy under normal circumstances. Well, whatever. Mirable only accepted the date because she thought I was an elf.”
“Oh, right, the ear thing. Some girls are into that. Did you try speaking Elvish? That should be enough to get her started.”
“No, it’s not that, I hope. She’s afraid of getting into a retionship.”
“Really? Then just dump her. Why waste time on a girl like that?”
“Well, she’s nice and awkwardly honest. I think we could be friends.”
“Oh, David, you didn’t say anything like that, did you?”
“Sure I did.”
“I’m sorry, David.”
“No, she liked the idea.”
“Sure, David, that’s possible. How about a bath so we can comfort you?”
It seems that the guys had ducked out earlier, as usual.
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Day 71
Three of the reasons I’m not desperate for Mirable’s attention are with me now. That may seem a bit shallow, but it goes beyond physical comfort. Of course, the physical part is quite apparent at the moment. Where has all the guilt gone? As long as it doesn’t return, I don’t care. So far, I can still find the motivation to spend most of my day in the byrinth so I don’t seem to have slipped that far into hedonism, or maybe that just shows how much I enjoy the byrinths.
Speaking of wonderful, I see that my Mage job is at level 49. I sure hope new jobs open at level 50. I can’t wait to try one. Gosr will absolutely freak when he finds out. Actually, I’d better make sure he doesn’t since he’d ask which guild temple I used. Maybe advanced jobs are registered somewhere. Well, there’s no reason to take Mage away — assuming it doesn’t automatically convert to Wizard. [3]
The girls drag me downstairs for breakfast.
“Good morning, everybody. Next up will be palm trees, right Sherry?”
“Yes, David, the Palm Baum doesn’t resist magic but isn’t as sensitive as a Kobold Kampfer.”
“We’ll have some leftover dragons, but nice to be done with the birds. I also pn to go to the merchant guild over lunch.”
After gncing at Alina, Sherry asks, “Could I go with you?”
“Sure, I guess it’s alright for the broker to see you. We could walk around a bit after that, assuming I manage to stay out of trouble.”
Soon, we warped to Curatar’s 35th floor. This is still easier than the 33rd floor where dragons dominated. So far, the 4th tier seems pretty reasonable. Doesn’t really matter which type of magic I use, but Breeze Storms maintain visibility. With the map, we actually complete about a third of the floor by lunchtime.
The rest of the party will walk around town while Sherry and I go to the merchant guild. Of course, I put my precious Sacred Robe and weapon away before going inside. I spot Luke almost right away. Gd to see that st time was just an exception. I’d hate to have to start making appointments.
“Hello, Mr. Moreau. Good to see you again.”
“Luke, this is my colleague, Sherry.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Madam.”
Sherry made a low grunt. I guess she doesn’t like being seen as old.
“So, Luke, find anything interesting?”
“Yes indeed, Sir. As expected, I managed to win several low bids. All of your older orders came in as well, though no new slime crystals were auctioned.”
Luke excitedly rattled off his list of crystals along with the prices. I’m happy he got me so many though I don’t share his enthusiasm over saving a few hundred Nars. Between old and new, he collected two Ant, one Bat, two Butterfly, two Caterpilr, one Golem, two Lizard, one Mermaid, one Ox, and five Kobold crystals.
“Most of these are certainly familiar from prior purchases. Golem crystals rarely reach an open auction.”
“This is a very good collection. I’ll take them all, of course, and I’ll leave commissions for another 10 crystals. Feel free to venture further outside the usual set if you see something good.”
I paid him 74k and left with the crystals.
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“David, that was nerve-wracking. How could you keep all those numbers in your head to make sure that crafty Merchant didn’t cheat you?”
“I’ve worked with this broker before and he’s never made a mistake. Besides, I’m good with numbers.”
“What do you mean?”
“Merchants have a Calcution skill to figure totals and discounts. I know techniques to do that without the skill.”
“Could you show me?”
“Sure. You might actually like it.”
It took a while for Sherry to catch on to the basics. It’s not that Sherry was bad at math, it’s just that she’d never been exposed to more than the bare minimum of addition, subtraction and simple multiples like double or half. Maybe her unbanced education is a result of being self-taught, but even the guild staff don’t appear any better. Maybe carpenters or farmers might have some practical math skills, but other professions probably rely on Merchants when they need something calcuted.
As expected, she grasped the idea of general multiplication once I showed her how it applied to positional notation, e.g., 256 = 2 x 100 + 5 x 10 + 6. I just barely resisted the temptation to expin the significance of that number. [4] We ended with the common technique for multi-digit calcution and applied it to Item Box capacity. Long division should wait for decimals. On our way back, I dropped a few hints about the use of geometry and trigonometry to estimate distances, though I’m unsure she believed me.
We cheerfully rejoined the party and continued with the 35th floor till te afternoon. We were easily two-thirds done at this point. At Sherry’s insistence, I wrote out several practice problems for her to solve while dinner was being prepared. As far as the others were concerned, we had switched to a new nguage.
Sherry used our new Ox and Kobold crystals to prepare Dragon-leather Boots of Speed for Roxanne, just like Alina’s. Sherry was also preparing to try crafting with iron. I’m waiting for better metals and eventually mithril.
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[1] The age of the empire isn’t given in the LN or WN. My answer is based on stories regarding the first emperor and the degree of administration.[2] Maybe ?K?mpfer? and ?J?ger? come from the anime Gundam 0080, or they’re just German names chosen to match the German type of Kobold.[3] The manga only reached the equivalent of early vol 6 of the LN before David was isekai’d. The LN’s MC reached his first level 50 much ter (v11 c1).[4] 256 = 28, the number of bits in a standard byte.
