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Volume 13 Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 63: Limit

『Sherry』
Current Levels & Equipment:
MasterSmith Lv.45

Equipment:
Steel Spear of Authority
Chainmail
Hardened Leather Helmet
Hardened Leather Gloves
Hardened Leather Boots
Sacrificial Misanga

Having thoroughly enjoyed the stockings, I had a thought occur in my mind: it would be a crime of disrespect to not tell the Emperor about such fine things. That’s how good the stockings felt to me. They were the best; great, absolutely amazing and left me thoroughly impressed.

If he found out about them later, he’d probably complain about why I didn’t tell him about them sooner. Worst-case scenario, we might all get purged by him in retaliation, like the members of the revolution betrayed by their fellow comrades and sent to the Siberian gulag for their transgressions.

Perhaps the Emperor is already aware that I’m related to the old hag’s clan, and is waiting for my move? He knows what’s going on, and the Siberian gulag is already waiting for me, and he’ll send me there as soon as he’ll be able if I don’t give him the info about the stockings!

This is scary! I should probably give the spare stockings that I had ordered to the Emperor to appease his anger after all. Secretly, of course. If I gave them to him in an overly-opened fashion, I might be charged with leaking secrets, and it’d went more or less like that:

「Stalin, you fool! What’s this about?! 」

「You’re under arrest! 」

「I see. What are the charges? Is it Lèse Majesté? Is it high treason? 」

「Leaking secrets. 」

That’s the kind of Emperor he is, after all. If the emperor didn’t know about the stockings, the old lady who had been hiding them might be charged with Lèse Majesté for real, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Whatever the Emperor orders me to do, I’ll do it. I’ll accept his will and make the old hag pay. I wouldn’t mind if the Duke or Hartz was implicated as well.

「Sorry, but I’m going out for a bit. 」

After enjoying myself, I headed out. Even if I wanted to give the stockings to the Emperor, I didn’t have a direct connection to him, so I had no choice but to go through the Imperial Liberation Society’s lodge.

「Oh, if it isn’t Lord Michio. Welcome. 」 said Sebastian as he greeted me at the Imperial Liberation Society’s lodge. He had his head bowed 90 degrees, and was as polite as ever.

「There was a guy named Gaius who joined at the same time as me, right? 」

Well, he’s the Emperor, but for the time being, I decided that it would be best for me to act as if I didn’t know that. I think it’ll probably let me achieve the best possible result with what I wanted to do. You might think that I was trying to read the mood correctly, but really, it was all about me pretending to be ignorant.

「Yes, that was indeed the name of the individual who joined the Society with you. 」

「I got hold of something rather rare. It was fate that we joined together, so I thought I should give it to Gaius as a present. If he ever comes here, could you give it to him on my behalf? 」

I wasn’t sure if I should give it to him or not, but in the end I decided that now that I’ve said A, I need to say it properly. That, and I concluded that it was impossible for me to possibly go against him by keeping the knowledge of the stockings to myself.

I weighed the pros and cons of choosing either the old hag or the Emperor, and in the end I decided to take the Emperor’s side. I guess you could say that I wanted to be seen as his loyal retainer. That way, if he eventually decided to punish the old hag for keeping information away from him, I should be in the clear, while the Duke of Hartz might end up getting punished as well.

「You want me to give this to Lord Gaius? 」

Sebastian called him Lord Gaius, just like he calls me Lord Michio. I wonder if that’s okay, considering the difference in status between the both of us.

「That’s right. 」

「We’ll check to see if it’s a dangerous item before offering it to him, if that’s okay with you. 」

Well, you can’t give something dangerous to the Emperor, so of course they’d check it.

「That’s fine, but I don’t want too many people to know what I gave him. 」

Me getting these stockings could be considered a crime of leaking secrets, after all, so after making sure that they are properly packaged, I handed them over. The emperor would also be the one who would be in trouble if they were found out.

「Thank you for your cooperation. If Lord Gaius ever comes to the lodge, I will hand it over to him. 」

Even if he can’t come here normally, he can probably come and go through the door on the side. Well, that’s probably how it is on paper, so the stockings should reach the Emperor soon.

If the Emperor knows about the great item of Rutina’s clan, I’ll be safe. If he doesn’t know, he’ll just be grateful to me for letting him know about it. It doesn’t matter either way.

I guess there was no other way to do it after all. I’ve already given it to him, so it doesn’t matter. All I have to do now is check the store and then head home.

「Thank you. I’ll just have a look around the store before I go home. Has any new equipment arrived? 」

「Yes. We have some new items in stock. 」

「Then let me see them. 」

「Understood. Please come this way. 」

I occasionally visit the store in the Imperial Liberation Society’s lodge to check to see if there’s anything for sale, because I’d hate it if something good was sold without my knowledge.

I’m not short on money. I’m not short on money. It’s a phrase I’d like to use at least once in my life, so I’ll say it again. I’m not short on money.

Not now, at least.

「 Of course. 」

I accompanied Sebastian to the store and found an Orichalcum sword on display. It wasn’t there before.

So this is what’s in stock. However, according to the Identify Skill, there are no free skill slots on it, so I won’t be buying it. Even if there were free Skill Slots on it, I’m not sure if I’d buy it this time, since purchases at this store require not only money but also points. To buy good weapons or weapons with skills, you have to sell similar items to earn points.

Even though I’m not short of money right now, I don’t have any points, so I can’t buy whatever I want. I guess the world isn’t all about money after all. What I’m thinking of using to save up points is a Sacrificial Misanga. I’ve been buying Caterpillar Skill Crystals as well, and Sherry and I have a 100% chance of succeeding in fusing it. I could also try to win the Sacrificial Misanga itself at auction, but I haven’t gone that far yet, since It’s not good to overdo things either.

That’s why my funds are limited at the moment. Even if I were to buy a weapon from this shop, I’d need to think carefully before purchasing. I can’t just buy whatever I get my hands on.

The Orichalcum Sword is a two-handed sword, so it would be equipped by either me or Vesta. I’m mainly into magic and I have Durandal, so Vesta would probably use it, but I don’t think I need it right away. I don’t know how strong the Orichalcum Sword is, but strengthening Vesta’s weapon shouldn’t immediately strengthen the Party as a whole.

Powerful weapons can instantly make the Party stronger. It would be different if this sword was strong enough to be used in place of Durandal, but to do that, I need to at least have MP Absorption and other Skills on it. Without them, it wouldn’t have much of an immediate effect.

It is true you can’t get the equipment you want whenever you want to, so if you have the opportunity, you should get it. However, this sword doesn’t have any free Skill Slots, so let’s not this time anyway.

Alternatively, I’d like to gradually strengthen the armor for the vanguard. Although since it’s armor, I can only strengthen them one piece at a time. Still, it would increase the overall stability and survivability of the wearer. If I’m talking about armor, I’d especially like to upgrade Miria’s armor. If Miria could move freely without worrying about the enemy, the number of my strategies would expand.