Ugh, why do I have to hear this girl drone on, I just want to go hang out with Thera.
I know, but if I have to hear one more of these assholes then I might kill somebody. They do know I’m technically engaged, right?
If that happens then I’ll just beg for dear mother Pelenia’s help. I’m sure if I promise to marry Thera on the spot she’ll happily agree, and Thera would probably accept to keep me alive, right?
I’m sure she’d forgive me eventually, and since she doesn’t plan on getting married anyway then there’s no real harm in being in a small sham one.
“As I was saying, the frozen mountains of our land are truly a sight to behold, if you were to ever be interested in arranging a visit my people would be more than happy to entertain you in your stay. Why, I’d be happy to show you around myself,” said the Jötunn noblewoman, an extreme beauty by his standards from a race afflicted with a passive ice magic that would freeze the environment around them.
She seemed to be around his age and was wearing a seductive smile that he easily ignored. He’d been caught off guard the first time he’d had to deal with this today, but by the time she’d arrived he’d already made braces for well over fifty other people, he’d grow numb to the obvious attempts at seduction.
It’s like they don’t know I’m reading their minds while I do this.
“Maybe sometime in the future,” He told her, clear to them both he was brushing off her offer. “Anyway, your brace is done so you're free to go.”
He tried to let go of her hand but she kept a gentle grip on his, knowing she had one last shot before she needed to leave. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but you’re a human, aren’t you?” She asked him, knowing full well the answer from her country's investigations, just as many of the others that came before her knew as well.
“I am.”
“I thought so,” She beamed. “The summoned hero of our country is one as well you see, a nice girl named Sarah. I’m sure she’d love it if you came to visit. It must be so lonely to not be able to see your own kind after all.”
Holy fucking shit, is she actually trying to hook me up with my old classmate just to get me?
What was even the point of me choosing to remain anonymous when filing my patent? At least the ones before her had acted a little more subtle.
I’d have well over a dozen people to report if I was going to. I’ll just put up with it a little longer. As long as nobody starts arriving at my home to bother me I can deal with it while in Anailia.
“I believe I’ll pass,” He told her with his brightest smile. “After all, your country didn’t seem to have much interest in me when I arrived, and I still don’t have any awakened skills to give myself value, I’m sure entertaining me for a visit would be nothing but a waste of time for your government when there are so many important things to prepare for, right?”
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He wasn’t even trying to make his rejection subtle as the smile slipped from the woman's lips and she took the hint, getting up to leave.
Once she was gone he was able to let out a sigh of relief and took off fourteen rings that were on one of his hands, placing them in an envelope with her name on it and putting it into his spacial bag before putting more blank ones on.
What can I say, I’m curious about skill distribution and who has what. Plus, maybe Pelenia would be interested. After all, even allied nations look into each other, right?
If Myriad had a head to shake he would but Ben was already up, opening the door to invite the next person in. It was another beautiful woman, this time with a passive fire magic as the air around her shimmered from the heat as Ben groaned internally.
Just how easily seduced do they think I am?
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Holy crap finally. He thought to himself after hours of brace making. That was getting exhausting.
That actually sounds like a nightmare. He thought to his god, not wanting to deal with the sort of stress an arrangement like that was bound to bring with it. That isn’t even mentioning the fact that Pelenia might have me put to death.
It wasn’t like there had only been young attractive women coming to him to have braces made, but they were the majority, with the few men and races outside of his strike zone focusing more on subtle offers of wealth and power.
Still, he was free of that at least and on to something far more exciting as he welcomed the next group of people in, about a dozen high-ranked warriors from the nation's army.
They came in, dressed as if they were prepared for battle already with armor on and weapons in hand, but as they filled the small workspace they each gave him a small polite nod.
“I am, Galara, as ordered by her majesty, queen Pelenia we are here to have our equipment and items upgraded,” Said the incubus who appeared to be in charge by way of introduction.
“Good to meet you all, I’m the craftsman Ben. I’m planning on making you all new weapons from scratch if you’d tell me what sort you each prefer, though if you’re attached to the one you currently use I can see about applying different enchantments to it to try and improve it if I can. As well, while I don’t plan on making armors at the moment I’ll enchant the ones you have and modify them to house a small white mana crystal to power them so we’ll start with that while you each tell me about whatever sort of weapons you’d prefer. Oh, and if you’re comfortable with it, show me your cards so I can avoid building my enchantments in a way that would inhibit your skills growth. If you’re not, it's fine, but then I’ll have to explain every little choice I’m making and you’ll need to tell me if there’s any areas that could cause conflict.”
The leader gave the others a look and as one they pulled out their cards for him to inspect. All in all, there were a few minor things to look out for, but it was all skills he could easily cover by using alternatives, and with that he reached into his bag, pulling out what had taken up the most space, boxes and boxes of skill rings. In the days leading up to their quest he’d been hard at work, making copies of all the ones that he had in the shop to bring with him, not wanting to take the originals for fear that they could end up lost or damaged as he did.
Fully prepared he got to work, first punching holes into each piece of armor to put a small mana crystal in before applying the same enchantments that were on his coat, though at a much higher level now that he could use each skill to the fifth level.
As he was working his way through that he listened to each of their requirements for a weapon and mentally planned just how he would go about making them, suggesting ideas and getting their personal input on each as he tried to give whatever recommendations he thought were most suitable, wanting to be sure there’d be no difference in opinion for the people who’d actually be using the tools he’d be producing.
Once the enchantments for the armors were complete and he got everything he thought he needed from them to make the best weapons he could he let them be on their way, promising to have them ready in a few days as he got to work picking what materials to use of the many that had been prepared for him. It seemed that the queen had spared no expense, getting him some rare and valuable monster parts he normally wouldn’t get to play with, and he was eager to put them to work when he heard the door of the workshop open and turned to see who it was, fearing he was about to be bothered by any of the more persistent individuals he’d prepared braces for when he felt his jaw hit the floor.