The Blacksmithing Town of Corky (4)

In addition to getting our weapons maintained, I had him make a mithril knife for Niku and a mithril holy symbol. I also got a mithril kitchen knife that had been on display in the shop for Ichika. Everything was free.

As for the staff I wanted just to look cool, he said I'd need to go to a magic tool shop for that, so I put it on hold. Well, I didn't really need it anyway. He gave me a mithril ingot as a material instead. A gleaming silver metal plate, a bit on the thick side, small enough to hold in one hand.

By the way, he had crossbows as well, but the golem crossbow Rokuko was currently using outperformed them. After all, it was a self-winding magic crossbow. The bow portion was a composite material I'd put a lot of trial and error into as well.

"Maaaan, thanks to Goshujin-sama's generosity, I scored this amazin' kitchen knife. Deheheh."

"He said he'd give it to you, so take it."

Mithril was apparently a pretty high-end material. Well, Flame Dragon scales were definitely rare materials too, so he probably came out way ahead on the trade. I didn't know exactly how much they were worth, though.

I'd need to turn the mithril knife and mithril kitchen knife into Golem Blades later. Maybe tinker with their internal structures a bit too… though I wasn't sure if there was room for me to fiddle with. If not, they'd be weak to impact, but I'd go with the base version that made the most of the raw material's qualities.

When I asked about making a Beddhism holy symbol, he said, "We're joining Beddhism too, so let me make my own. In fact, let us help spread the faith." So I gave him permission. Good Night.

"… Come to think of it, isn't this the first time you've actually spread Beddhism on this trip?"

"Yeah, I wasn't really planning to. And there's not much I can do for places far from our home base anyway."

"That's true."

In a world where religions placed so much importance on tangible benefits, not being able to offer anything directly was a serious flaw. Beddhism probably wouldn't spread much in places far from Golen Village.

… Maybe I should start doing mail-order futons?

After finishing our tour of the smithy, we decided to just wander around with nothing particular to do.

Still though, there were a lot of smithies besides Kantra's family's.

"With this many smithies around, wouldn't they run out of customers?"

"Well, there're orders comin' in from other places too. Plus weapons and armor are consumables. As long as there're soldiers and adventurers, demand ain't gonna dry up."

Is that how it is.

As we walked, there were naturally shops other than blacksmiths. Taverns stood out the most, but there were also accessory shops and even alchemy workshops.

"Hey Kehma, isn't that an alchemy workshop? Let's check it out!"

"Hmm? Wonder if they sell interesting magic tools… wait, this looks like the kind of shop a witch would run."

Dragged along by Rokuko, I walked into the dubious-looking shop.

Black cloths were draped over everything, like a fortuneteller's den… one with a distinctly dark magic vibe.

The merchandise was placed haphazardly on tables. No, not placed, abandoned.

… The storefront was open, so they were open for business, right? They could at least put things in boxes, and maybe stand the fallen bottles back up. Price tags would also be nice.

"Welcome. Feel free to look around."

A petite shopkeeper in black robes said… Rokuko, wasn't this more of a black magic shop than an alchemy one?

"Hey, what's this?"

"Ah, that's a love potion… Reasonably effective. One gold coin."

"Hmm. Well, I don't need it. Right, Kehma?"

Ah, yeah. Right.

"What about this one?"

"That's… a magic tool. What does it do, hmm… I think I just made that one on a whim… anyway, fifty silver coins."

Who would pay that much for something with an unknown effect? That was five hundred thousand yen in Japanese money!

Alchemy goods really were expensive… hm? Was that a pillow?

"Shopkeep, is this a pillow?"

"Ah, yeah. That's a pillow. Two silver coins."

"… Does it have some special effect?"

"Do you know Beddhism? It's a religion that supposedly seeks peace and tranquility. That pillow was blessed by their founder at the main shrine. Apparently it helps you sleep better."

Hmmm?

"Sorry, could you run that by me again?"

"It's a pillow blessed by Beddhism's founder that helps you sleep better."

The founder… that would be me. There was no one else.

But I didn't remember ever blessing a pillow… Maybe some merchant brought one to a service or something?

"It's really something, you know. I tried using it myself and it cured my insomnia."

"Huh, it really works?"

"It really does! There are even aristocrats who swear by it. And right now it's just two silver coins."

Looking at it, it just seemed like an ordinary cotton pillow, but if it actually worked, two silver coins for a pillow was barely acceptable. Maybe I could let it slide?

"I'll even throw in some Beddhist holy water as a bonus."

"What? Beddhist… holy water?"

"Just put two or three drops on the blessed pillow before you sleep, and you'll sleep soundly until morning. If you're drinking it, just mix one drop into a cup of water."

Saying that, the shopkeeper pulled out a highly transparent blue-violet liquid in a potion bottle. Oh, so this was Beddhist holy water…

"Hey, Rokuko. Do we sell holy water? This looks kind of like sleeping medicine."

"We do sell it, but it's not this color. Ours is a relaxing herbal water."

"Ichika, what do you think I should do here from a Beddhism perspective?"

"From a Beddhism perspective? … Then Goshujin-sama should just do whatever ya want, yeah? It's yer religion after all."

After our hushed discussion, we decided I'd handle it however I saw fit. Speaking of which, when did we start selling holy water? Well, whatever.

Alright, let's have a word with this shopkeeper. I'd hear him out first.

I placed the lie-detection magic tool on the counter and loaded it with a fresh magic stone.

"Excuse me, shopkeep. I have some questions. Where did you get that Beddhist pillow and holy water?"

"I got both from a merchant, so I don't know the details."

It glowed red. That was a lie.

"Hm? What's this, a lamp magic tool? Want to sell it?"

"You don't know? This is a lie-detection magic tool. Well, it's not surprising you don't. You need permission from the authorities to own one. I have permission, though."

Right, time to reload the magic stone. Having to replace it every time it detects a lie was terrible cost performance.

"… Um, so, customer. What's going on? Do you have a complaint about our products?"

"I do. Because I'm the founder of Beddhism."

"Eeeh!? Someone as young as you!? Ahahaha, nice joke… wait, for real?"

Seeing that the magic tool wasn't glowing, the shopkeeper gulped. Since it had glowed red at his own lie earlier, my statement not triggering it meant I was telling the truth.

"No matter how tolerant Beddhism is, I can't just sit back while some mystery substance gets sold under Beddhism's name…"

"N-No, but, the person who brought these told me that. I didn't know any better."

Oh, no light. So someone did bring these in. And that someone wasn't a merchant. I see.

"Look, shopkeep. I don't actually mind endorsing this holy water and pillow. Provided they're genuinely effective and have no bad side effects."

"R-Really?"

"I'll even re-bless the pillows if you want."

"O-Ooh…!"

"So, tell me about who brought these. What kind of person? When did you get them?"

"Y-Yes! Um, it was a traveling alchemist. I got them about three days ago. They said they're staying here in Corky right now. I think they're still around since they said they'd bring more."

The shopkeeper readily spilled everything. The magic tool didn't light up once during his explanation.

"What does this alchemist look like?"

"Yes! Um, she was a woman with black hair just like yours, Founder-sama! And her eyes were red!"

A black-haired, red-eyed woman. I knew someone who matched that description, and my mouth couldn't help but twitch.