Niku's Name and Making the Ring

In the end, due to the Hero Wataru's report, it seems [Cave of Desires] came to be viewed as something like a derived dungeon of [Flame Cavern].

Before heading to Wakoku, he said he'd return to the Imperial Capital first to do some jobs to pay off his debt.

On the way back, he made a promise to stop by here again, and at that time he'd travel to Wakoku together with Gozoh and Roppu.

"I'm swearing off alcohol until I pay back my debt!"

He said that, but whether he could actually keep that promise… it was quite worrying.

Then again, if his repayments fall behind, Haku-san will just cover for him, so it's no problem on our end.

"Ahh, the hero's gone, so we can relax again."

"Kehma, you were pretty relaxed even when the hero was here…"

I averted my eyes from Rokuko's remark and remembered. Right, I need to give Niku a new name.

The timing was perfect. I had just brought her to my room to use as a hug pillow.

"Niku. About your name."

"I-I want to keep it as it is. I-I'll become a fine Niku, so…"

When I mentioned "name," Niku trembled like a puppy whose precious blanket was about to be taken away.

"… Right, I'll think about that in maybe five years or so. Anyway, about your new name."

"Hey, what does 'Niku' mean anyway? I never got the chance to ask."

Ah, I was about to explain it to Rokuko, but found myself at a loss for words.

… I can't exactly say it means "sex toy." That would definitely be hard to explain to someone who knows nothing about it.

So I decided to pretend I didn't hear her.

"Your new name is Niku Kuroinu. Your public name will be Kuro. Got it?"

When I said that, Niku seemed surprised that I had kept "Niku" as part of her name, blinking her eyes.

In the end, I went with Kuroinu since she's a black dog. I'd like to think it sounds similar enough to something like "Kreuz." It's definitely not cutting corners. Definitely not.

… When deciding on the name, I asked Ichika about it, and apparently beastkin place extreme importance on their names, even more than their own lives. Once they accept something as their name, they'll keep it in their hearts no matter what anyone says. She told me countless examples. They were at the frequency of grade-schoolers saying "I'll bet my life on it," except these actually involved life-or-death situations. My only reaction was "this is bad."

In other words: "Changing it is pointless. I don't know what would happen if you tried to suppress it. In fact, it's already too late. It's long since been a ticking time bomb." So instead, I decided to extend the time until detonation by deliberately keeping it.

And if her name already accurately describes what she is, that should satisfy her instincts somewhat, hence "Kuroinu." … Yes. It's definitely not cutting corners. This is a serious matter. Serious!

… At least I hope it doesn't explode until Niku becomes an adult. I'd rather not have to resort to the slave collar's choking function if I can help it.

"So, let's go re-register your name at the guild tomorrow… It seems it'll cost some money, but that shouldn't be a problem. We have gold coins. Got it?"

"Y-yes!"

Niku answered while happily wagging her tail back and forth.

"Hey, so what does 'Niku' mean?"

"… Ask Ichika."

For now, I decided to dump the explanation to Rokuko onto Ichika.

Changing Niku's guild registration name cost thirty silver coins, but we were able to complete the change procedure at the branch office without any issues.

It was cheaper than I expected.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

While I was sleeping, Rokuko had been deepening her relationship with Redra, which got me thinking.

If I sleep too much, I'll become useless and things will get uncomfortable for me.

Well, I could just not worry about it and keep sleeping, but that would basically make me a mascot, wouldn't it? I don't want to end up in the mascot role. I don't want to be a grumpy-looking mascot sandwiched between futons like a dorayaki filling.

So even though I wasn't enthusiastic about it, I reluctantly decided to do some work.

Specifically, restocking the magic sword Golem Blades. After all, I'm the only one who can make these.

"Oh iron, become a magic sword. [Create Golem]."

I made a Golem Blade with a rather casual chant. Even something like this drastically reduces magic power consumption compared to chantless casting… Not that I'd run out of magic power going chantless either. At first, I used to get tired just from using the life magic [Purify], but I guess I've grown since then.

For now, I'll make replacements for the magic swords the hero took and restock the [Treasure Chests].

[Treasure Chests] are boxes that automatically replenish items after a set amount of time. They cost 100 DP each.

If you prepare a list, they'll automatically replenish from it while consuming DP, and you can also stock them with pre-prepared items.

Haku-san said they're popular among Dungeon Masters who find restocking tedious.

I'd like to power up the magic swords. Well, golems in general really, but I can't think of a good way. Even our current strongest, the Iron Golem, got sliced apart like nothing by the hero and proved useless.

The hero who came this time was relatively friendly, so it turned out okay, but if a hero who's seriously trying to destroy the Dungeon Core ever comes, we'd be helpless.

The straightforward approach would be to upgrade the materials, I thought, looking through the materials available for DP exchange.

… Oh, right. I also promised Rokuko a ring. Let me make it before I forget.

If I'm just making a ring, I'd have change left over even with the amount needed for a coin. It should be cheap.

So, the first thing I exchanged for was [Orichalcum (1mm diameter wire, 10cm: 10,000 DP)].

Not cheap at all! But I can't help it, I wanted to see the real thing!

Orichalcum had a color between gold and silver, with a faint rainbow luster. It was exactly what you'd expect from a fantasy metal.

Despite being just 10 centimeters of wire, it was incredibly expensive, and on top of that, I couldn't bend it even using all my strength. Even with pliers it wouldn't budge, and it showed no sign of snapping or cracking either. What is this stuff? Is it really metal?

I managed to process it with [Create Golem], but… it consumed a considerable amount of time and magic power just to shape 10 centimeters of wire into a ring. It's been a while since I've felt tired from magic. Even with a proper chant, it took a massive chunk of my magic power. Once I saturated it with my magic, it was actually easier to shape than iron, but how do people normally make swords out of this stuff?

I looked at the orichalcum ring again… The DP spent making this was equivalent to melting down ten gold coins. What luxury. At this point, it's a ten-million-yen ring, you know? Maybe I should have just made it out of gold.

Next, I exchanged for [Synthetic Ruby (Unprocessed Boule: 30 DP)]. Compared to the orichalcum, this was practically free. And what came out was a crystal as big as a finger… What even is a boule, anyway?

I'd considered patching together natural gemstone scraps, but the synthetic ruby was cheaper with better color. Moreover, since it's synthetic, it has fewer inclusions, making it in some ways a purer ruby than a natural one.

Jewelers would probably call it heresy, but since I'm going to reshape it with [Create Golem] anyway, it doesn't matter whether it's natural or synthetic… Oh, this is really easy to work with. My magic power just sticks right to it.

So I used the ruby to encase the orichalcum ring… I have a lot of ruby left over. Maybe I'll make a hair ornament?

In any case, a ruby ring with orichalcum embedded inside was complete. The orichalcum shimmered within the beautiful, transparent red. The design was simple, but it would suit Rokuko.

Now I just need to make a box and put it in… Giving this to her is going to be a bit embarrassing.

With the ring done, let me think about powering up the dungeon again.

After actually touching orichalcum, I thought: if I could make a full-body orichalcum golem, it would definitely be the strongest.

Only if I ignore the DP cost, though. A tiny bit of wire was 10,000 DP, so the amount needed for a single golem would be absurd. And then there's the question of how much magic power it would require.

… How do people normally process this stuff, anyway?