391 - Hero Party 1


    TL/Editor: raei


    Status: 5/Week Mon-fri


    Illustrations: Posted in discord.


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    What if there was no craftsman who could handle special enhancement stones?


    What if there was an additional quest to use special enhancement stones, what if there was a problem with Old Didi the stone dwarf, what if, what if, what if...


    Contrary to the viewers'' excited chatter cluttering Han Se-ah''s mind, Old Didi was openly hammering away in the largest building on the main street.


    "Hm? If it isn''t the squishies. Want to enhance your equipment?"


    "Yes. I''d like to use this to enhance my sword."


    The stone dwarf called Didi picked up the special enhancement stone that Katie had been cherishing with plier-like tweezers. He examined it from various angles, then hastily unsheathed a sword from his waist and gently caressed the blade.


    Perhaps because his fingers were made of stone, a peculiar sound like sharpening a knife with a whetstone could be heard. Despite scraping metal with stone, it wasn''t a spine-chilling noise, but rather a calming one. Stone dwarf finger ASMR might actually get a decent number of views.


    "Well, well, you squishies have a good eye for quality. Come back in about three hours."


    "Okay!"


    Katie readily entrusted her sword without question, as if that calm demeanor alone had filled her with confidence. It was surprising that enhancing equipment only took three hours.


    When directly enhancing with regular enhancement stones, it took less than a minute for the mana to be absorbed with a whoosh and it was over. I wasn''t sure if three hours should be considered long or short. Anyway, this enhancement felt similar to the tutorial for special enhancement, so Katie''s sword probably wouldn''t shatter into pieces.


    For some reason, I felt like I heard humming about slipping hands from a corner of the market street, but it must have been my imagination.


    "Three hours, huh? That''s just enough time to shop for food and camping supplies and come back."


    "Since our group has grown and exploration will likely take longer, we should reduce the jerky and buy more grain powder and dried beans."


    "Ugh, not too many beans."


    "Katie, no matter what, you can''t be picky in the tower."


    Did kids who hate beans exist in both the East and West?


    Katie shuddered at the thought of baked beans, a dish much easier and quicker to make than stew or soup. Well, it was hard to eat tasty when it was just dried beans with a bit of sauce simmered in.


    Honestly, even I, with my mutt''s appetite that gobbled up anything Irene cooked without complaint, was a bit reluctant when it came to baked beans. It was a bit much to just scoop up beans stewed in sauce like rice, without any actual rice or side dishes.


    Katie disliked it, and I''d eat it without complaint thanks to my experience roughing it in the tower, but I didn''t particularly like it.


    And our player Han Se-ah also openly showed her aversion. Well, with gamer-friendly options like chimek, bulgogi, and all sorts of world cuisines readily available, eating nothing but boiled beans was a bit perverted, wasn''t it?


    "Hmm... Then how about buying some biscuits instead of beans?"


    "Increasing the amount of biscuits instead of bread might work. I prefer dipping biscuits in soup over baked beans too."


    "I see..."


    Grace also chimed in, seemingly willing to give up bread as a side dish rather than eat beans as a staple. As we walked through the market discussing such trivial yet important matters of beans versus bread, a sudden shout rang out.


    Though they outnumbered us, we were the stronger side here. Han Se-ah''s streamer instincts seemed to work in situations like this too - she immediately noticed this and stepped forward to confidently ask questions, making the other side shrink back instead.


    As expected, even if she seemed lacking in some areas, she delivered when it counted. Thinking that, I also stepped forward and folded my arms behind Han Se-ah. Given their armored appearance, they looked like knights from some domain, so they might recognize my face.


    "I-Isn''t that Sir Roland? The, the owner of the holy sword..."


    "Just what has the young master been up to..."


    They certainly seemed to recognize the face of the holy sword''s owner, if not the hero''s. The people who recognized my face shrank back even more and started whispering amongst themselves.


    But wait, what?


    Young master?


    ---


    Raei Translations


    ---


    5★ ''Lucky One'' Lukius was, to be precise, 5★ ''Lucky One'' Lukius Cornelius.


    ''What is our party, some kind of family for runaways?''


    So he wasn''t lying about being from the Empire. When Han Se-ah asked about his somewhat romantic name, the answer came back that he was from a count''s family in the eastern part of the Empire.


    The Cornelius County in the eastern Empire. A prestigious family that had boasted wealth for generations, owning vast and fertile lands. Not just a family with money, but wealthy national contributors in charge of military supplies sent to the northern part of the Empire.


    Lukius was born as the third son in a strict household that took duty and devotion as their family motto to the point of making it their family precept, and wanted for freedom... This really was a fucking runaway family, wasn''t it?


    "He may say that, but I believe he left for the sake of his older brothers."


    "Older brothers?"


    "Despite appearances, the young master is someone who really cares for his family."


    The knights - that is, the knights of the Cornelius County - who guided us to their quarters at the mention of "hero", heaved a deep sigh as Lukius scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression. At least with his ★-boosted handsome middle-aged face, he didn''t look pathetic even with such a sheepish expression.


    The knight''s subsequent explanation was quite predictable. The knight, who had served the Cornelius family since childhood, slowly unfolded a cliche? story, saying he remembered Lukius from when he was young.


    The eldest son, kind but incompetent. The second son, on the contrary, capable but with a nasty personality. And the third son, average in both personality and ability, but strangely "lucky" since childhood. Because of this, the family''s retainers were divided into factions over who to serve as the next count.


    Serving the legitimate eldest son didn''t seem like it would help the family business. But promoting the capable second son to count when the eldest wasn''t incompetent enough to ruin the family was also problematic. Then how about young master Lukius, who strangely revitalized every business he touched during his successor training...?


    The factions were split like this, he said.


    Seeing the retainers split not just into two, but three factions and start to falter, Lukius followed his ''Lucky One'' instincts and ran away from the family, eventually reaching the high ranks and fatefully joining the hero''s party.


    After carefully listening to all this explanation, Han Se-ah put down her empty teacup on the table and muttered softly.


    "Isn''t this a runaway family rather than a hero''s party?"


    We were on the same wavelength.


    Fuck.