My 【Repair】Skill Became an Almighty Cheat Skill, So I Thought I’d Open Up a Weapon Shop

(TL: The title is based on the phrase 虎の威を借る狐, which means “a fox that borrows the authority of a tiger”, used to describe people who act arrogantly through borrowed authority.

Sorry that this chapter was uploaded later than usual.)

Once we finished the testimony, Felix and I left the room to let Noire rest, as she was mentally exhausted.

We asked Sakura to watch Noire for a little longer, just in case anything were to happen.

In any case, we got so much information from that testimony alone. It was difficult to put everything together in my head.

「By the way, Felix-san, I never knew that the hero’s party was only asked to『scout』the dungeon. Did you know about it though?」

As we walked down the hall on the second floor of the guild house, I asked Felix some questions regarding the testimony.

「Yes, we were aware.」

「When I first met with the hero’s party, I asked the hero what the quest was, and he told me it was『subjugation』. Why didn’t you correct me?」

「That was only because we wanted to confirm what sort of information you were told, Luke-dono.」

He answered with such a nonchalant expression that I couldn’t say anything further.

It’s true that at the time, Felix didn’t deny or confirm what I had told him.

He was probably concerned about the discrepancy in the information given.

「Also, there’s one more thing. It’s not related to Noire’s testimony, but…」

I walked ahead and got in front of Felix. We stopped walking and looked at each other.

「Why did you have me undo the seal? I could’ve taken my revenge on her. At worst, I could’ve been the real killer and I was the one who placed the curse seal on her.」

For some reason, Felix gave me a soft smile, as if he was saying,「What, that’s what you wanted to ask?」

「If you really intended to hurt her, you would’ve done so when you found her. You wouldn’t have【repaired】her broken leg.」

「…It was possible that I would change my mind at the last minute.」

「Even so, there’s no meaning if you did it in front of me. You wouldn’t be able to escape from the serious crime of obstructing public business. Also, depending on the situation, a certain cabinet minister might say something like 『You put a seal on her to prevent her from talking』. He would force you down with sheer strength.」

「Although I find it hard to imagine that you didn’t consider it yourself already,」 Felix said with a smile.

To begin with, my goal was to escape from the crime that was being pressured on me.

If I became a criminal, then the false accusations wouldn’t be false anymore. It was a joke in poor taste.

「This may sound presumptuous of me, but if you were going to use violence of any sort, I figured that my sword would reach you before you could do anything.」

「You are quite correct about that.」

「Of course, my biggest reason was because I believed you deserve my trust.」

「I’d prefer it if you said that to start with.」

We continued our somewhat frivolous conversation, when we saw Mareeda running up the stairs in a hurry.

「Ah! You’re here, Luke-san! Something terrible has happened! Come quickly!」

Felix and I exchanged glances.

Terrible things keep happening today. Just what more can happen?

「Okay, first floor right? Felix-san, I’ll leave you with the letter.」

I left and followed Mareeda back to the first floor of the guild house.

I could see what the problem was.

The main hall of the guild house was crowded beyond belief.

The people swarmed the counter, yelling at Malcom about something.

I couldn’t hear what they were complaining about, since nobody was cooperating with each other, and instead they were desperately trying to explain their own circumstances.

Also, the adventurers were not the only ones here. Many residents of Greenhollow were here too.

The residents from various businesses within Greenhollow were also desperately trying to say something. Their voices were rising in frustration.

「Hey, hey… What happened here?」

「Ah, Luke-san! Thank goodness you’re here! Please do something about this!」

「Before I can do anything, I still need to understand this situation!」

After watching Malcom talk to me, the mob directed their complaints towards me instead.

However, I couldn’t hear what everybody was saying clearly. Rather than words, it felt like a huge wave of air vibrations.

「Hey, you’re all too noisy!! You, talk first! Everyone else, be quiet!」

I had to stop them all from talking, so I designated one person to start talking.

I couldn’t get everyone to be quiet, but at least two-thirds of them did, so I could finally hear what the adventurer that I designated was trying to say.

「Weapon shop owner, this is no simple matter! Dragons are coming out from that mountain, aren’t they?! If you can’t guarantee our safety, there’s no way we can stay in this town anymore!」

「That’s right, that’s right!」 Other people agreed as well.

For most of the E-ranked adventurers, they wouldn’t even be able to win against a wyvern.

The second incident was on a whole other level, since the first dragon that appeared was taken down almost immediately after its appearance.

Now that mobs of monsters are appearing in the dungeon, the adventurers would obviously have to change the place they earn money at.

Once I finished listening to what the adventurers had to say, I asked the residents next.

「If the adventurers leave, we won’t be able to make a living anymore! Not to mention, ever since the dungeon was made official, the amount of tourists that come here for the hot springs decreased! The adventurer’s guild has to do something about this!」

That was quite the problem as well.

The main sectors of Greenhollow, except logging and hunting, depended on tourists to survive.

Not only did a dungeon being officially recognized decrease the amount of hot spring tourists, with the dragons making the E-ranked want to leave, there was no doubt that those sectors would suffer the most.

「H-hey… Is there really nothing we can do…?」

Mareeda whispered into my ear.

「At this rate, our bar and Silvia’s family’s inn will go down too…」

「……」

As expected, I didn’t want Spring Leaf Pavilion to suffer as well.

I walked over to a spot that the mob could hear me from, and raised my voice.

「Please do not worry! Due to the situation, the royal kingdom and the adventurer’s guild will dispatch support here. We guarantee that the dungeon will be safe!」

I wasn’t exactly lying here.

Felix will be delivering the information directly to the kingdom, and part of the policy of the adventurer’s guild is to send support.

Part of the mob seemed to have calmed down, but there were still many who weren’t convinced.

「But won’t we still be in danger until support comes? Will it take a week? In that case, it’s better if we evacuated to another town until then.」

「Are you serious?! If we lose all these customers, our current food supply will go to waste! We’ll suffer a huge loss then!」

Despite my efforts to calm the situation, the chaos restarted.

Although their safety was guaranteed right now, the time between now and when the support came was the problem.

Since the Silver Wings purchased the mithril sword from me, I had a large amount of money at my disposal, so I’d be fine even if no customers came to my shop for several months.

However, the other shops obviously could not do the same. Depending on the situation, even a few days of no business could destroy them.

「It’s okay. The vice captain of the Silver Wing Chivalric Order will set up a strong protective barrier.」

「But the opponents are dragons. Can a human’s skill seal them away for that many days?」

「It’s better to escape now…」

「That’s right… Our lives are in danger…」

I attempted to convince them, but it didn’t work.

Most of the adventurers thought,『We should move to another town until support arrives.』However, that was the worst possible outcome for the residents.

In this case, we should give the adventurers a reason to stay that makes it worth sacrificing their safety.

「…Ugh, this is the only thing I didn’t want to do…」

To begin with, the reason why the dragons appeared twice was most likely because of me.

I didn’t want to cause any more trouble to Greenhollow, so I have to do this.

Yes, even if I have to borrow the authority of a tiger to do it.

「Listen up!!」

I raised my voice towards the adventurers.

「Everyone, I think you know this already, but I’ve worked as an adventurer for fifteen years. I may have never ranked up, but I know many adventurers who have. I’m thinking of calling them over to help out this town.」

Dustin, the dual spear wielder. Travis, the black swordsman. Roy, the plain of beasts. Theodore Beaufort, the dragon slayer…

As I named off the high ranking adventurers I met during those fifteen years, the adventurers were getting shocked more and more.

Some of them were on friendly terms with me, while others looked down on me.

Some started off around the same time as me, but there are those who left me behind early on.

Still, if they heard about the living dragons and a demon king ruling over an underground space, they’d be interested for sure.

「Those guys would probably hire some local low-ranked adventurers for support. In other words, you guys. I’m sure there’s no better opportunity to work, learn, and get familiar with a high ranking adventurer.」

The adventurers changed their attitude.

A job together with high rankers. That’s something low-ranking adventurers wouldn’t want to miss out on.

Not only could they gain experience that’s normally hard to get, if the high-rankers like them, they might even get an invite into the party. Getting recommended for a rank up wouldn’t be a dream.

「However, they usually only hire 『those who are brave enough』. They aren’t expecting much in terms of ability, so they’d much rather have people who won’t run away in an emergency, right?」

The adventurers looked at each other in silence.

Now that they were presented with an option that benefits them, they were conflicted.

Those who weren’t being swayed haven’t really become a full-fledged adventurer.

If they want to earn money, there are many other options they could choose from.

「By the way, Malcom-san. Remember how we talked about putting out a request under the guild’s name for adventurers to watch over the fifth floor?」

「Eh? Ah, yes, I think so…?」

「Yes, we did. All the other guild houses do it too. There are those who actively seek out jobs like these, and so it’s common sense that you can meet those high ranking adventurers easily at the guild house then…」

As soon as I said that, the adventurers lunged at Malcom.

I was being a little sly there, but at least I managed to keep a majority of the adventurers in Greenhollow.

I casually separated myself from the mob and sat down on a chair. Mareeda brought me a cup of water with a bright smile.

「Thank you! Now things should be fine! Also, you have a lot of amazing friends!」

「I didn’t really want to do this, actually.」

「Eh? Why?」

「Why, obviously…」

I gulped down the water, and said the following cynically:

「…I’m asking my acquaintances who have all become successful in their job. They remind me just how incredibly pathetic I am.」