Chapter 19: I only pay for those snacks.
After playing around with the chains for a while, throwing their dangling part back and forth, Leon grasped a rough idea of how these chains should be used and left the smithy, bidding farewell to Bou. The blacksmith master didn't know what had happened in his smithy and that Leon had unknowingly stepped on a different path than The Human Emperor.
If The Oracle saw him, she would surely brightly comment on his achievement and process. Compared to that man, Leon took some responsibility into his hands, didn't leverage the absolute command to gain strength and use monsters' hearts, and even put chains on himself.
Slavery was a business Leon hadn't seen yet, but he had heard about it in some kingdoms and black guilds. In the former, slavery was legal, and the latter had their hidden main guild houses there, still daringly operating worldwide.
Leon didn't think of those concepts, though.
He didn't feel any responsibility to deal with slavery and wasn't in a mindset to think about grand goals.
"Hi, it's me again." Leon stopped before a night booth he was pretty familiar with. He greeted the old lady, bought a night snack and drink like usual after his work from her, then prepared to promptly return to the inn.
However, the old lady's husband came out from the booth and stopped Leon. "Young boy! Are you really an otherworlder?"
"I am." Leon didn't bother hiding his origins in this village, but he surely would be less open about it in other cities and lands. That was because it became hard for Leon to become friends with others. Yes, they respected him and gladly exchanged a few words, but if Leon wanted to become a permanent resident here, he wouldn't be able to.
It was because no one could think of him as an equal.
Leon suffered the same problem on Earth, but he'd forgotten about it and now understood how important Louise for him was — both needed each other more than they thought they did.
"Are you strong?" the old man straightforwardly went to the topic, which Leon approved.
"I don't know." Leon's answer disappointed the old dude. "I'd say I can protect myself and Louise, ensure we can find a home wherever we go and survive."
The handsome man and the fox girl were the recent hottest talks for many villagers. Word had already spread that Leon was the otherworlder, possibly from one of the drunk farmers, and Leon's partner naturally gathered attention with her adorable face and race.
Leon's name wasn't famous because Louise only called him 'Master', so he was the wealthy boy or just the young boy in the villager's eyes.
"Would you like to help us out? Our hunters failed, and the mayor couldn't request help from the nobility. You see, young man, we fishermen have been dealing with a severe problem known as the blue crocodiles!" the old man explained his occupation, how fewer and fewer fish they have been fishing because their system had been assailed by the monsters, and how hopeless they were.
The fishermen were about to become jobless!
"Blue crocodiles…" Leon genuinely didn't like the idea of dealing with water-type monsters while having the fire skill and partner.
He didn't feel obliged to risk his life against those monsters, too. Even if he was Monster Collector, he wasn't meant to collect every monster, was he? However, Leon would like to have more monster cards and test a few development paths, mainly to see whether he could breed or fuse monsters into different types.
Having those new chains for four-legged monsters and a desire for monster development, Leon asked for more information and finished the talk. "Don't get your hopes up, though. I must see the river and those monsters first."
"Sigh, young boy, you could be nicer to me… You know exactly what I am going through, and you have been buying my wife's snacks for a week now! Couldn't you give me some hope?" the old man sighed, imagining a different response from Leon.
Not being a hero or obliged to save everyone's businesses in the village, Leon smiled and patted the old man's shoulder. "And I only pay for those snacks."
The old man drooped his head.
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Because of his quest to create the chains and the talk with the old man, Leon returned to the inn relatively late. He saw only a scant of people and the familiar receptionist woman.
Leon exchanged smiles with her, shaking his head gently, then ran upstairs. When he was gone, the woman's face sank as she sadly whistled to herself, disappointed that Leon refused all her hints for some fun. He was so handsome she wouldn't mind cuddling with him for free.
Leon didn't care or even think about it.
Expecting to see Louise in bed, sleeping, Leon got surprised as Louise had been waiting for him. She was in her pajamas and in bed with a food book.
"Welcome back, Master!" Louise closed her book, put it in her inventory, then went as far as to point the bathroom to her master before patting his spot in their bed. "I'll wait for you to hear about your quest!"
She was in a good mood because she had completed her quest two days ago, leveling up and becoming closer to the chef. Louise also wielded a kitchen knife and often mimicked him, turning her eyes sharper and knitting her eyebrows like him, which always made people grin and laugh, only to get a glare from the chef.
Leon had heard many times about that, so he understood Louise's mood. She conquered her fears, enjoyed the process of learning something new, and infected others with her mood. No one would think of her as a slave of the Human Emperor.
He was also grateful to her as Louise often taught him in their morning spars. Not only did Louise show him many moves to properly use his body muscles to attack through arms and legs, but she also explained in depth about mana and fire concepts, helping Leon with his blacksmith class.
Recalling how he'd failed his second kick on their first day, Leon knew that his great accomplishments in blacksmithing were related to chains and collars and his monster class. He wasn't sure how he'd do in other crafting classes, but he wouldn't be surprised if he failed at them or became mediocre at most.
It'd be fun nonetheless, wouldn't it be? And if he was mediocre at something, Leon would request help from someone else like most people did.
"I'll be quick." Leon chuckled and ran to the bathroom.
pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m For that night, Leon just talked about the chains and how the master blacksmith couldn't read their information. He didn't have the heart to mention the legendary crimson chains and what he planned to use them for.
That night, Louise made things harder for Leon.
But as the morning dawned on them, Leon turned serious and spoke to Louise, "There are two important things we have to discuss. One is stressful, and another is very stressful. Which one first?"
Louise grew tense, looking like herself from day one, but only for a few seconds. "Very stressful!"
She was ready to develop more with Leon by her side.
Trusting him, Louise took the most challenging topic to talk about.
And so, Leon took out the legendary chains, their appearance frightening the fox girl.
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