Next Up... Sheep

Azu slept for a full day after that.

When she woke, not a single wound remained.

I'd smoothed things over with the Adventurer's Guild, so the quest was canceled without penalty.

At least nobody believed Azu had been responsible for the terrain-altering magic.

The sword Azu brought back was at the smithy of someone I knew. I'd ordered a scabbard and asked for an appraisal while they were at it.

Sending her out to hunt monsters or tackle labyrinths without gear was obviously too dangerous.

For armor, I could use stock from the shop.

I took Azu to the storeroom and tried a few pieces on her. We went with the one that fit best.

"I'll take good care of it."

The bill went on my tab, of course. Couldn't have the ledger not adding up.

It was the most expensive breastplate in stock, but it had been gathering dust for ages. This was for the best.

"Is it heavy?"

"No, it's way lighter than the last one."

It was steel, so objectively heavier than her previous set.

But Azu genuinely didn't seem to feel the weight. Her movements were light and easy.

As a test, I had her grip my hand and slowly squeeze.

It was fine at first, but I steadily lost ground.

I made her stop before she crushed me completely. Azu just smiled, beaming.

I'd heard that adventurers grew stronger, but to change this much with virtually no visible difference? It had to be because she'd killed something powerful.

Now, what to do next.

The sword wouldn't be ready for another two or three days…

I handed Azu a pickaxe.

It doubled as a weapon and a mining tool.

I had her take a few practice swings. Not exactly graceful, but she could handle it.

Ideally I'd have her dig for burning stone again, but that area had been designated a restricted zone for the time being. Understandable, given what happened.

I could send her to a low-level labyrinth for experience.

Somewhere safe, a beginner-friendly dungeon with high survival rates.

I sent her in, and she cleared it in a day trip.

Everything except the boss went down to brute-force pickaxe flailing, apparently.

The boss was a large Bull Monster. It knocked the pickaxe away with its horns, which got a bit dicey.

"I stabbed it in the eye with my butchering knife and shoved it in deep, and that did it!" Azu reported with a beaming smile.

A little scary. Her motivation was overflowing, though.

"It's kind of fun. I'm useful to you, Master, and I've never accomplished anything on my own before."

I patted her head. That seemed to make her happiest.

The loot was low-tier stuff, poor quality across the board.

The best find was a nugget of gold from the boss, about the size of a pebble.

Worth around twenty silver coins.

To celebrate her safe return, I made her an extra-large plate of pasta. She demolished it.

Eat up and grow strong.

Three days passed.

I got word the scabbard was done and brought Azu to the smithy.

Not the shopfront. The workshop.

Inside were an anvil and a forge glowing red-hot with burning stone.

A wall of heated air hit us the moment we stepped in.

It was the same year-round in here.

Azu's face flushed red almost immediately. Good metabolism.

The master smith had just finished a piece. His apprentices bustled about with preparations.

This smithy was top-notch. I'd heard they even filled orders for the lord's soldiers.

"Ah, the Tool Shop."

Because he'd been friends with my father, I still got called that instead of my name.

Apparently he still didn't consider me a full-fledged adult.

"You brought me a fine sword. Haven't enjoyed my work that much in a while."

He retrieved the sheathed sword from where it leaned against the wall.

"I know you only asked for a scabbard, but I went ahead and reforged it during the appraisal. Weapons pulled off monsters always have some wear. Remember that."

I had Azu receive the sword and paid the bill.

Seeing me hand over gold coins made Azu's eyes go wide.

The master smith snorted at her expression.

"Odd business you've gotten into, Tool Shop. I won't lecture you, but if you've taken her in, take proper responsibility. And if another good sword comes your way, bring it here."

"I know, I know. Azu, draw it and have a look."

"Yes."

Azu drew the blade from its scabbard.

She looked far more natural doing it than when she'd started.

It was still a bit heavy for her, but she held it in proper form.

At least she'd learned how to hold a sword in the guild's training.

"You're a lucky girl. That's no ordinary sword. It's a treasure sword."

A treasure sword. A blade imbued with some form of power.

Not quite on the level of magic swords or holy swords, but the kind of weapon adventurers fell over themselves to obtain.

They were rare enough that buying one meant attending major auctions.

"The Sealed Sword Grungaus. Forged from the horn of a feared magical beast that was hunted down, combined with white silver. It was thought to be lost for ages, but here it turns up."

It had come from inside the centipede's head, apparently. I didn't really understand the mechanism.

The smith said that powerful, quality weapons made good vessels for monsters.

I still didn't get it. That was just how things worked, apparently.

"The effect's straightforward. When you cut something, it adds the wielder's magic power on top. That's it."

I looked at Azu.

Magic power… She didn't exactly look like she had any. Cute, though.

Azu finally noticed me staring and started fidgeting.

Calm down.

"Master… I don't really have magic or anything like that."

"I know. I had a scabbard made, so hold onto it for now. As you get stronger, your magic power should grow too… supposedly."

"Okay… I'll take good care of Grun-chan too."

Right, girls did that. Gave names to their belongings.

Well, as long as she cherished it.

Azu's preparation was complete. Time to put her to work.

I still needed her to earn back the scabbard fee.

I looked down at the quest form in my hand.

A mass Water Sheep extermination.

An emergency mobilization call.

I had no intention of putting Azu in a regular party, but a large-scale mobilization was different.

At worst, she could leave everything to the others. No income, but no harm done.

The wool and mutton would be valuable heading into the cold season.

If she could bag a decent number, the shop would be doing well.