Turns out that Aina just really broke the damn thing.

Not really broken thought. It’s just that because I used it before, the scale recorded some residual magical energy from me and carried it over to her result.

That said, despite knowing that it’s just a slight malfunction when Aina tried it again, Eleanora hangs her head in defeat.

“Eight?! Are you kidding me?! I, who’s a chanter, can only reach up to five! This girl who is a blacksmith who looks like she lacks the slightest thinking power, reached up to eight?!”

“Why are you so mean to me?!”

“Eh…umm…no…I’m definitely not bitter about this, okay!? But just think of this, I, who dedicated my whole life to magic, beaten in my own game by a girl who is clueless about magic!”

“That’s tragic.”

“I know right!”

For some reason, Eleanora and Aina reached a conclusion and got along in the end. A camaraderie was born between them despite this is just their first meeting.

As I was watching the two, another one from their party approaches me. It’s a girl wearing leather armor and carries a bow behind her back. Her pointy ears already tell what race she came from. She has a bright brown hair and emerald eyes and her build is specifically for what her class is.

“Excuse me. May I have a moment too?”

“What could it be?”

“My name is Neffi and I am a ranger. As what my class describes me, I use bow and arrow to support my comrades from the back.”

“Yeah, that seems so obvious, logically speaking.”

“Ah…well, that’s a bit blunt…but can you please stop using such sarcastic tone?”

“I guess you’re the type who doesn’t like getting talked down by someone smaller. Or I guess someone who has the closes figure to yours.”

“……”

She looks like in her early twenties, pretty cute, and most of all, one cannot deny that she has a refined movement. However, even for an elf, she has…lesser volume in that part.

Some of the male adventurers got the message from my words and started murmuring among each other. Some made pitiful remarks, some are perverted one.

It only shows that people have a wide range of taste, such as I, Higanbana.

Upon deciphering the meaning behind my words, she casts a gloomy face.

“I have an excellent archery skill. Whenever I nock the arrow on the bow, whenever I fire that said arrow, I always, without fail, hit my mark. The reason behind it is because of my chest. There’s less resistance…no…there’s almost no resistance…”

“Yeah, small or large, there’s no difference between those two. I’m sure both are delicious.”

“…Lecher.”

“Proud to be one.”

Is there any room to deny it?

I say none.

Upon proudly admitting it, Neffi’s face pales.

“You…do you swing that way?!”

“I’m in love with someone so I am occupied. But you know, I can still make room.”

“No thanks. I’m normal.”

“Anyway, what is it that you wanted to ask? You dragged this conversation for quite a while.”

“What I want to know if there are arrows of the same quality readily available. Also, some daggers would be nice too. Skinning the corpse of the magical beasts chips a lot of daggers so I’m looking for something sturdy. Also, it is my emergency self-defense.”

“I believe that there are arrows, however, since Aina just wanted to showcase weapons used in major battles, for now, we don’t have any. As for daggers, there must be some piled up there.”

“I see, then, there’s another concern that I’d like to bring up. It is about the quality of the weapons. Although Derria said earlier that they are good, I still have my doubts. After all, these are going to be our lifeline in the battle and one mistake could warrant not only our lives but also our whole party.”

“Okay, I understand your concern. It’s about the reliability of the weapons, correct?”

Neffi nods slowly with an anxious countenance.

I can understand why she is worried. Asagao and I are reckless fighters as we know that we have powers out of the norms, however, normal people like the party of Reminiscence, are prone to the dangers brought to their daily lives.

A struggle we couldn’t understand.

I picked up one sword from the pile of wares that Aina brought. Upon seeing what I’m doing, Aina watches me curiously.

“Aina, could you bring those slabs of stones in front of me?”

“Hmm? Where?”

“There are two outside of the Guild.”

“Right away!~”

Aina runs off.

I can’t believe it myself but there is a useless slab of stones outside this Guild.

“Beast Queen…those slabs of stone you are referring are where we carve the names of the fallen adventurers…”

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“Hmm? Is that so? Well, they can be proud to be part of this because this will ensure the safety of a lot of adventurers.”

“But…okay…”

The receptionist gave up as Aina actually carries those stones and set them down next to each other in front of me.

I lay down the sword across each of the slabs.

“Aina, can I borrow your hammer?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I received Aina’s hammer and raises it overhead.

It’s quite heavy but I was able to manage. Everyone inside the guild watches me because they are curious about what I will do.

This is but another blind faith to Aina.

With that resolve, I swing down the hammer.

CLANK

The sword repelled the hammer and made a screeching metallic sound that resounded throughout the guild.

Normally, a sword would snap in two because of how it is placed and how a heavy hammer hits it in its body, however, Aina’s sword withstood it.

“Do you believe in it now?”

“Wow…with this, we can rest assure that we won’t die from a subpar weapon.”

Derria gasps and said as she stares at the sword.

Lu, who is a swordmeister, quickly rummages through Aina’s wares again to choose a sword to her liking as she gained the knowledge of just how absurd Aina’s weapons are.

Eleanora started weeping in one corner. I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t have anything to do with the situation right now.

Neffi scrambles through the wares, trying to find a dagger.

And then, the last of their party approached me.

“May I?”

“Of course.”

She was a human too with a bright blond hair and noble scarlet irises. Her gestures alone gave away that she is a daughter of a noble.

“Your Highness, my name is Trystha and my class is Rune Knight. I use an array of magic as I swing down my sword to cut down my foes, however, since I use a lot of magic, my sword easily chips away. Do these weapons can also accommodate heavy magical stress?”

“That’s a rather specific question…”

I look at Aina and she tilted her head.

“Hmm…magical stress on the weapons?”

“Yeah, this is also a crucial factor for me.”

“Usually, that’s dependent on the materials used for the creation of the weapon. I don’t know if it can alleviate the magical stress but I made weapons with good conductivity with magic. Rather than accumulating stress, the sword, or rather, the weapon itself will withstand the magic but it won’t keep any residuals. It will disperse anything related to magic to keep itself well maintained.”

“Yeah, I heard that such a method was lost among the dwarves but, if you can make such complex structure possible, this is a new breakthrough!”

“No, like I said, I already made it…”

“…No way.”

I see…

So these swords are really reliable even if they are not comparable to Master Mrothgir’s collection of weapons. In the first place, Master Mrothgir’s weapons are all hero class.

Consider that Aina’s weapons really resilient to magic, one would immediately rely on it. If that’s the case, let me try one thing.

I raise that hammer again in my hand and aimed for the sword that I hit earlier.

Then…I activated Astlan’s Ira and enhance my strength and the hammer and swing it.

SHATTER

That’s given.

If it’s hit by anything that is not magic and with a much greater force, this is bound to happen.

I observe everyone around me and I noticed that all of them have a ghastly countenance as they stare at me.

As I was to open my mouth again, the door of the guild opens in a bam and there, a familiar woman wearing purple garments appears.

“Ah…Miss Violetta…”

“Astlan’s Ira is not a toy for you to flaunt, Higanbana.”

Her eyes are not joking!!

This is bad! Why is she here?!

I got too carried away and now I’m going to get scolded?!

“Um…Nice to see you, Miss Violetta.”

“I want to have a private talk with you. Giving out your location the instant I warped here is a blessing in disguise.”

“Okay…”

This is bad.

I immediately broke out in cold sweat.

Among the people that Asagao knows, she is one of the people I respect. She is also Master Mrothgir’s wife and her magical power is way stronger even than mother. That is the power of an Arcana Magician.

She floated towards the receptionist and handed her a card.

“Make a room for us, it’s urgent.”

“Um…you are…Y-yes! Right away!”

In an instant, the receptionist ran towards the second floor and came back with a flustered face. She then leads both of us in an empty room with a ready accommodation such as tea and snacks.

“I’m sorry for preparing something haphazardly but please make yourself at home.”

“Yes, please tell everyone to not intrude on us. This will only be brief.”

“Yes!”

The receptionist left as it is as she closes the door.

I haven’t told Aina what’s next and I got caught up in my own confusion.

I stare at Miss Violetta and saw her lifting up the teacup leisurely. She let the aroma of the tea wafts before sipping with a composed countenance.

I just sat in front of her with my heart throbbing so much. I close my legs and put both of my hands on my knees while I wait for anything that she will say but I don’t want to be that boorish and a boring conversation partner…

I’ll somehow create a good mood.

“Miss Violetta, how’s the baby?”

“Oh, thanks for asking. I’m getting abundant of rest and my appetite has increased lately. It’s a sign that the baby is craving for nutrients and I am correctly providing it.”

“I’m glad.”

“We have invited Nil and Hydrangea in our castle. Asagao’s will is to keep the peace between Ashfon and Nil. For now, we are still observing them and keeping utmost caution around them.”

“Yeah, isn’t that the best way to break a news to someone?”

Although I said that in a fairly joking manner, I felt my anger shot up in multiple levels. The blood rushes into my head that I am already gritting my teeth.

I’ll never ever forget what he did to me, to Alstroemeria, and to Asagao.

“…Calm down.”

“This completely ruins my mood…”

“I too, have a rage boiling inside of me because he killed Mrothgir but Asagao wanted Nil to be with him. Rather, she wanted to keep Nil to herself. That’s what I’m sensing from her.”

“Why would Asagao do that?”

“She said something like in the end, she will kill Nil herself and that’s an inevitable fate for them.”

“Tsk, if Asagao said so, then I’ll try to hold back.”

I can’t calm down.

I can’t.

Knowing that Asagao is with that monster, there’s no telling what will happen to her. I trust Asagao but I don’t trust what that bastard is thinking.

I want to kill, I really want to kill, gut him alive, and fry his intestine.

“Calm down, that’s how Astlan’s Ira swallows you.”

“Ughh…”

“Higanbana, other than that, I have something else that I would like to discuss.”

I tried clearing my head of the rage, the wrath brought by the influence of Astlan’s Ira. I know how dreadful this power is, yet, I was toying with it earlier.

I tried stabilizing my breathing to let in some air. After a while, I was able to manage it.

Just how bad did this power get?

“Please, tell me what you wanted to discuss.”

“Yeah, it’s about the war between the elves and the dwarves.”

“What about it?”

“…Hey, you are not told about it? Every kingdom is aware of it.”

“Of…what?”

“The Elves and Dwarves…their war has resumed.”

“No…one told me about it!”

What is this?

Even mother didn’t even mention anything. Are they purposely leaving me in the dark?

“Considering your condition, they must have really planned not to tell you anything. Ah…I have done something irreversible, huh?”

“Please tell me the details.”

“Well, yeah, that’s why I’m here. You are the only one I can ask.”

“Could this be…related to the Order of Arcana?”

“I won’t ask you that much, no. I don’t want you to risk your life again. First, let me tell you the summary of it…”

According to Miss Violetta…

It has been days ago when the war started again and the first one to make a move are the dwarves. She’s been going back and forth to each kingdom to spread the words.

Sadly, King Ashfon Astlan Lionheart cannot act right now to support any of the kingdoms. Their hands are full with the case of Nil and they are also doing earnestly to contribute to the center continent.

The Dragon Kingdom is also out of the question as they are still rebuilding themselves and they still lack the emperor.

The fairies, specifically their representative, Miss Senya, already sent people to investigate but they cannot directly interfere.

The Demon Lord Gria Hellbeing has his hand full too because of the problem in their own domain such as bouncing back from years of famine and poverty.

The Beast Kingdom are left on our own devices, however, I cannot decide anything by myself.

The smart move would be watching from afar as we still haven’t made any official pact with either kingdom. Jumping on one now would put us in a delicate position.

Personally, I’d jump straight to the elves because I have my sisters there.

But of course, that would also pose a problem. Thinking with a clear head, we are definitely giving favor to the elves.

“Now I made a summary.”

“Yeah, this is quite vexing.”

“That’s why I want you to go, Higanbana.”

“But as of now, I will be in a tight place.”

“You are…aware of the existence of the Etherians, right?”

Ethers…

“Yes…”

“The dwarves…are using inventions made by the Ethers and they plan to use it on the elves.”

“Isn’t that bad?”

“Yes, that’s why I am desperate for any help as all of us are tied.”

“Like I said, I can’t. I am the Beast Queen and…”

“I’m not asking you to side with any of the kingdoms. I just want you to investigate about it and if possible, destroy the inventions made by the Etherians.”

“I would love to because I want to keep Casablanca and Hibiscus safe too but…that’s too of a tall order.”

“Yes, I know. But think of it like this, what if no one recognizes you?”

“…Pardon?”

“Take a look at this. This is one of Mrothgir’s magic items.”

Miss Violetta set down a ring in front of me.

“What is…this…?”

“This will let you move around without anyone realizing you are the beast queen.”

“…Interesting.”

I grin…

I grin widely as I imagine how this item will do that.

“Also, since this is a little bit risky, I’ll let you bring some people. For one, hiring adventurers would be ideal.”

“Ahaha…hahahaha….HAHAHHA! What best timing you have, Miss Violetta! Certainly, I have people I already have my eyes upon.”

“I see, I am glad I came for you. As for what I wanted to achieve…my plan is…”

Now then, it seems I will be having fun for a while now.