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

A Clumsy Smile

After Dustin left, Travis exhaled deeply.

“Phew, …that gave me chills. I was afraid you guys were going to start killing each other.”

“My bad, I’m not so smug as to think that I could fight him and survive.”

“You seemed about ready to go toe to toe with him, though?”

“But I never said that I was going to kill him…”

I couldn’t possibly throw my life away for nothing?

I mean, when everyone heard that I got killed for such a petty reason, how would they react?

Just by imagining that, I lost all interest.

If that were to happen, Garnet would be the most pitiable one. For her escort target to die in such a way, there’d be no recovering from that…

I can’t die even if I wanted to. Sorry about that.

However, if Dustin hadn’t retracted his words and provoked me instead, there was no saying what was going to happen next.

Regardless, I had to admit that the preparedness of the Demon Lord’s army was quite astonishing.

“I agree, that was such a complex trap. It seems that they’ve prepared for the worst-case scenario.”

After the human race had won the battle over the encampment, the Demon King’s army tried to obstruct them by executing two operations.

The first was to blow up the mine, while the second was by massacring the dwarves. Afterwards, there was also the sabotage by the mud golem that Dustin mentioned earlier.

If the preparations were made after their defeat, both operations wouldn’t be ready in time. As such, the preparations were probably done before or during the battle.

“Hey, Luke. While I disagree with Dustin’s rant, I see his point. You might want to raise your preparedness.”

“I know. Still, he could have spared me the rant.”

After we finished talking about everything we had to say, we left the lounge.

I went to the dining room area to meet everyone, while Travis went to the entrance to leave.

Immediately after that, Travis’ scream echoed at the entrance.

“Uowaaaah—!!!”

“W, what happened—!?”

I rushed to the entrance, but nothing happened.

The figure that stood at the completely quiet entrance didn’t belong to Travis, but a familiar Eastern girl.

“Oya? If it isn’t Luke. What a coincidence.”

“Sakura, did you hear a loud screaming at the entrance? It should’ve belonged to a certain huge man…”

“If so, the cause was me. When we passed by each other, we bumped by mistake. But for some reason, the man screamed…”

Apparently, the cause was very trivial.

By worrying about it for even a moment, I felt ashamed.

“Don’t worry about it. He’s just not good with women…”

“I see. What a predicament!”

“Still, you look strangely …disheveled today. Did you handle difficult requests?”

I observed Sakura’s appearance from head to toe.

There were scorch marks on the edges of her clothes and light armor.

Her bangs clung to her forehead due to sweat, showing that she was exercising strenuously until just a while ago.

“Oh, no, I was training just moments before. I was keenly aware of my lack of ability in the previous battle. In the first place, as a warrior, my main purpose is to train.”

“I see. Well, don’t overexert yourself and get sick.”

Sakura gave me a subtle blow before walking past me.

Her hair fluttered softly in the wind. There was a faint scent of sweat, and at the same time, of burnt meat.

…What kind of training did she undergo?

“…Sakura, if either your equipment or body is damaged, just say the word. I’ll [Repair] it anytime.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After seeing off Sakura with a smile, I went to the dining room of the Spring Leaf Pavilion.

I had made everyone wait. Despite that, I couldn’t see Garnet anywhere. Only Erica and Noire were sitting at the same table.

…What an unusual combination.

However, it had happened before. The only difference was that the pair consisted of Noire and Sakura. Then, the very next day, the idea of a new product called a miniature scroll was born.

Wondering what kind of topic they were talking about, I went closer to take a look.

“…Oh, if it isn’t the store manager. Have you finished your business?”

Being the first to notice me, Erica greeted me from her seat.

“I have. By the way, what are you doing?”

“I was taught how to handle rare herbs.”

Erica cheerfully showed me a note full of difficult jargon.

…I’m sorry, but with my amount of knowledge, I can’t comprehend a single thing.

“Noire, are you teaching Erica? Even though Erica is a professional pharmacist?”

“Yes, but due to the difference in career, both our experience and knowledge are different.”

Noire awkwardly looked down. Perhaps, she was embarrassed to be praised head-on.

As it was, she started to mutter about her skill.

“…The concoction of medicinal and poisonous herbs… are also within the expertise of a black wizard… Of course, the pharmacist is more of an expert… But in regard to harming others, I’m more knowledgeable…”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Noire. Did you know? She’s also familiar with medicinal plants. It’s been a great learning experience.”

“Well, that’s… my sister is a white wizard, so… we taught each other… and as you can see…”

Noire voice grew quieter.

She might not be accustomed to being given pure respect and praise. As a result, the embarrassment and shame were almost unbearable.

I could relate to her to a painful extent.

I had gotten similar looks from Sylvia and Sakura, too. I felt pretty mortified.

That’s right, about Noire’s sister…

I felt a pang of guilt in the back of my chest.

I think I have to tell Noire about the possibility that Blanc has joined the Demon King’s army.

…But, it’s kind of awkward to tell them here.

Despite being confused by the respect from Erica, Noire was certainly happy.

If I were to inform her of Blanc’s predicament, her clumsy smile would surely vanish.

I decided that I wouldn’t tell them. At the very least, not right now. If I were to tell her anything, then it should either be before tomorrow’s work, or after. When I convinced myself of that, Garnet emerged from the back of the inn.

“Oh, have you returned? Seems like the business’ over.”

“Indeed. For the time being, let’s go home. I’ll explain everything later.”

On the other hand, I had to confide everything in Garnet, the escort dispatched by the knights.

On the contrary, I was grateful for that.

It was truly difficult to find someone with whom I could talk about such delicate matters without hesitation.