4 - Noble Son, Pick a Fight

Airi Kakitsubata was 17 years old, and attending a clothing design trade school. She wanted to be an apparel designer when she grew up.

“What did you say?” Iris asked in displeasure. All the joy she had felt at seeing the accessories she made sell had now passed.

Had he just said, “I like your face”? Was this some kind of new pick-up line? With the decline of crossplaying brought about by VRMMOs, you naturally saw a lot more of that. The appearance you crafted for yourself in a VRMMO had become vastly more important than avatar settings had been in any online community prior.

A handsome man with the kind of blond hair and blue eyes you never saw in the real world was whispering those sweet words in her ear. Even someone as guarded as Iris would find herself swayed by that. You didn’t see as many women hitting on men, but there were cross-players out there. Iris had heard of quite a few young men who had ended up traumatized by come-ons from someone who had turned out to be the wrong gender entirely. Ah, but enough digressions.

What mattered was that the Dragonet standing in front of her now was an extremely handsome man. It was only natural for Iris to mistake it for a pick-up line.

“I was asking if you’d like to make armor for me,” he said.

“Before that.”

“Ah, that I like your face? If that bothered you, I apologize. It’s true that objectively speaking, mine is more attractive...”

What was he talking about?

“Do you always choose who you want to make armor based on what they look like?” Iris demanded.

“In the real world? No. In this world? Yes. You made your face yourself, didn’t you?”

She was stunned. He was absolutely right.

When she had originally made her character, she hadn’t felt any special inspiration from the countless avatar parts provided. She’d stewed over it for hours and hours, trying out different combinations, but each time something had bothered her about it. After stewing over it for a long time, she had bought some virtual cash from a convenience store in the middle of the night, downloaded some 3D modeling software, and gone right for the character maker.

It wasn’t completely her own design, but she had modified the parts she didn’t like, and fine-tuned a few details in ways that other players wouldn’t be able to. It had resulted in a unique character face that no one else in the world could imitate. Iris was very proud of it, but this was the first time anyone had ever pointed it out.

The man selected several items from his menu window and brought them out. They were the original accessories that Iris had designed.

“Those are...” she began.

“You designed these personally too, didn’t you? Of course, I was a bit worried due to the sloppy renderings on the polygons, but...”

“Th-That’s just... because I was tired after coming home from school! My face is perfect, right?” What was she saying?

“Yes, seeing your face, I feel much more at ease. I want armor designed from square one. I haven’t found anyone here in Glasgobara making such things.”

So this was the man who had bought all of her accessories? While part of her was honestly happy about that, her feelings were still ambivalent. She was happy to see her originality appreciated, but he didn’t seem to care much for the designs themselves. Caught between the two, though, the happy side won out, if only slightly.

The offer from this man — Ichiro Tsuwabuki — was extremely appealing. The proposal of creating an original armor design was slowly revitalizing her waning interest in the game. But...

“My ‘Create Armor’ skill level isn’t very high,” she admitted.

There were quite a number of crafting class Skills. At first, the only ones available were Refining, Ironmaking, and Craft. But once a player’s Ironworking level reached a certain point, they could acquire Create Armor and Create Weapon, as well. She herself had a dream of creating armor someday, so she had bought the Skill itself. Unfortunately, she hadn’t managed to level it up very high just yet. She didn’t know what level armor the man was going to want, but if he was elite enough to be ordering custom-made items, any request by him would probably be too high for her to handle.

If she’d known this was going to happen, she would have gone out of her way to do more grinding.

Regret squirmed inside of her. Even if she started now, she probably wouldn’t make it in time.

And yet, the man’s response was this: “Regardless, you are the only person I can count on.”

He continued, “I don’t know much about the production process of armor, so I don’t know if it’s possible. But I don’t mind paying any of the real money required to create the original design.”

“Well... I don’t think you can do that unless we create a Crafting guild...” She was starting to feel like the conversation was moving on without her.

“Then let’s make a guild,” he said.

“Y-You can’t be serious...”

“Nonsense. I’m always serious. Well, I can’t deny that the things I say often make others believe me mad...”

If the requester was going to offer to pay real money for her armor crafting, Iris wasn’t going to deny him. In fact, if the reverse had happened, if he’d said, “I’ll pay you in galt, but you provide the real funds,” she would have socked him one.

The problem was that Iris’s Create Armor level was extremely low, and the man didn’t seem to understand what that meant. When you tried to create armor and failed, you didn’t just waste the components.

When Iris made her accessories, at least, she first had to put the components on top of a magic circle, then select the design from a pop-up window. Then in her case, she had to drag and drop the .obj file of the 3D model she had made to convert the accessory into a totally original design.

This was the point when the real money fee for optimizing the 3D model came in. In other words, every time she failed to make the armor, that fee would also go to waste. She had to admit it was an extremely unkind setup, but then, creating items wasn’t the main point of the game, and it did force you to click through a warning message of “If you fail to make the armor, you won’t get your money back” three times in a row. Iris didn’t bother to question it at this point.

Applying the design cost money because that was the source of the greatest burden on the server’s data bus. Succeed or fail, the burden was the same. But of course, Iris didn’t know that.

Anyway, that was how one applied an original design. She had never tried an original armor design before, but the process was likely the same.

If Ichiro was going to take on the burden of cost, then he had to know that he would have to keep paying every time Iris failed at the creation. While he appeared to be a whale, he was surely underestimating how many times that might happen. If he could at least give her an upper limit...

“Do you have an upper limit?” she asked.

“Ah, my bank has asked me not to reveal my credit limit,” he said. “But it’s not any amount you have to worry about.”

“I didn’t mean your credit limit! Are you trying to go bankrupt?!” she exclaimed.

“Ha ha ha, nonsense. My, what an amusing joke. If I ever went bankrupt, it would mean the world economy was in ruins.” He really did appear to be mad.

“Oh, darn it... Don’t blame me if it costs a ton, then,” she said.

“Nonsense. I don’t mind spending money for a quality product.”

Iris opened up the menu window and called up the art tools from the Config window. The game’s basic software allowed you to draw simple designs in pencil or chalk, but the add-on allowed for more precise lines, as well as the ability to convert designs to .pdfs and send them to a PC or a smartphone. It was compatible with 3D modeling software, and it was extremely convenient for converting a design to 3D, but on the whole, it was more popular with Achievers and Explorers than Crafters.

“So, what kind of design do you want?” she asked him.

“Let me see. Something to match the brooch,” the man said, pulling out the blue butterfly brooch that Iris had made. The polys really were rough, and it was fairly embarrassing to look at.

“Th-That... was for a woman, actually...” she stammered.

“Oh? It seemed unisex to me. Depending on the rest of the outfit, it could look quite fetching on a man, don’t you think?”

It was true that the main reason she had meant it for a woman was because women’s equipment in the game tended to be more for fashion than for combat. Most men’s equipment was made with an eye towards looking cool in battle, with the most stylish being heavy medieval fantasy armor and superhero-style designs. The butterfly brooch wouldn’t look good on any of them, which meant this man wanted something closer to modern-day apparel.

It was tickling her creative urges. She sat down next to her booth with pencil in hand, and used the drawing software to detail her ideas on the canvas. She cast a glance at the man, and saw that he had opened the same drawing software. Now that she thought about it, his face was also composed of parts she’d never seen before in the game... She doubted he was in the same business as her exactly, but perhaps he was in a fine arts field, at least.

“Oh, I decided to buy this program after seeing yours,” he offered.

Did money simply mean nothing to him?

With practiced movements, the man drew what looked like a design sheet, and swiped it to Iris’s window. “That’s what I wear around in real life. Of course, I’ll give you free rein with the design, but this is the sort of clothing I like.”

The image he’d sent her was on the line between casual and formal, fashionable without losing its high-class appeal. If that’s what he wore every day, was he some kind of rich heir?

“Oh, sorry,” the man said, suddenly looking up. “I have an appointment. I have to log out for now.”

“Ah, I see,” she said. “Will you log in again when you’re done?”

“I don’t know. I’d like to, if I have time, but I have a great deal to take care of lately.”

“W-Well... could I friend you, then?” Why had she stammered when she’d said that? This might have been her first male friend in the game.

“Certainly,” he said offhandedly, then pressed the friend request confirmation button.

It had been a long time since Iris had spoken to the friends she had started playing the game with. They had supported her decision to live in Glasgobara as a crafter. But by now, they were probably off somewhere making progress through the game. She began to feel a bit sentimental as she wondered where they were.

“By the way, what should I call you?” she asked.

“Whatever you like. Tsuwabuki, Ichiro, or young heir, if you wish. Well, I don’t especially like being called the last one...”

“Young heir, then,” she said. It seemed exactly the right thing to call him, given his snobbish air. Besides, Iris was a fan of that famous Japanese major leaguer, so she didn’t want to call him Ichiro.

The young heir didn’t look especially unhappy, but simply shrugged his shoulders and logged out. When he was gone, Iris turned back to her drawing tool.

She was going to design his armor.

After a few minutes alone with her own thoughts, that reality finally began to hit her.

Her dream was to be an apparel designer; if possible, with a focus on fashion. She knew it would be a rough road ahead, and part of her wondered if she couldn’t afford to be taking time out by playing this game.

But...

What she was allowing herself to do now was surely not in vain. Even if it was just in a fictional realm made of 1s and 0s, she was taking her first steps as an apparel designer right now.

Out of everything around her, that feeling was the one thing that wasn’t an illusion caused by electrical signals to her brain.

◆　◆　◆

“That reminds me,” Iris said, stopping in the middle of her story. “What was it you had to do back then?”

“Nothing of particular note,” Ichiro said. “The president of Tsunobeni asked me for some investment advice, that’s all.”

“Is that a joke?” she demanded.

“Nonsense. If I wanted to joke, I would say something outrageous.”

Was he claiming that his boasting wasn’t outrageous? Iris felt exhausted, but judging by the unconcerned expressions of Kirschwasser and Felicia, who knew him in real life, apparently this was standard fare.

Iris wasn’t very familiar with Tsunobeni, Inc. itself, but she knew that the president’s daughter, Megumi Fuyo, had founded her own fashion brand, and that she was one of the fashion designers Airi Kakitsubata respected the most. But now was not the time to bring that up.

“But Iris, were you selling accessories the entire time before you met Itchy?” Felicia asked.

“Yeah,” Iris responded. “I really wanted to design armor too, but Craft was the only skill I had really focused on grinding, and the only items you can make with that are accessories and such.”

She hadn’t had much knowledge of the game at the start, so she had worked on increasing the wrong skill. Accessories were a lot less useful than weapons and armor, so no one was going to start buying them just because they had slightly original designs.

That was the reason she had become so disheartened after retreating from the real world into the game, and still found herself unable to sell anything. That was why she had been so grateful for the young heir, who had appeared just then with appreciation for what she was doing. Even if he was a thoughtless, arrogant pig...

“...It’s a point that’s been raising the ire of users somewhat,” Edward suddenly interrupted the conversation, and all eyes turned towards him. “There’s a service fee for converting original graphics into items. But the system isn’t set up for the requester to be able to pay that fee for the maker. RMT is prohibited in NaroFan, so the maker pays everything, and ends up on the losing side.”

“Mr. Kirsch, what is RMT?” Felicia asked.

“Real money trade,” Sir Kirschwasser, a walking encyclopedia of online game slang, answered immediately. “A system where you can sell in-game currency and items for real money.”

“Well, there were quite a few players who adapted original designs onto armor and put them out in their booths, like Iris did,” Kirsch added to Edward’s statement. “At the start, anyway. But while they did sell, they were mostly bought by players who were never heard from again. Which meant the makers were spending 800 yen of real money to make something that a nobody player just walked off with. And in most cases, they probably didn’t recover its durability, and just let it break. So eventually, the designers realized that making original armor designs was a fool’s game.”

“Ah, I think I understand,” said Iris. “I never sold anything, so I never even thought of that...”

In that sense, maybe she had been right to make accessories, which didn’t have durability and thus rarely broke. Of course, since nobody had bought them, the point was moot...

“So, was the finished design all that great?” Felicia asked.

“Perhaps not from an objective point of view, but I quite liked it,” Ichiro said.

It sounded like it was meant as a compliment, so Iris opted not to object.

Ichiro’s fixation on the word “objectively” seemed to come from his refusal to be swayed by the viewpoints of the masses. At least, that was what Kirschwasser had told her.

Sometimes his own opinions lined up with the objective perspective, and sometimes they didn’t. The point was that Ichiro didn’t lie when it came to things like this. If he said he liked it, then he did.

“Hmm...” Felicia studied the clothing Ichiro was wearing.

Iris was proud of it, but she still felt embarrassed seeing it scrutinized like this.

At last, Felicia murmured under her breath, “Lucky...”

Just that one word. It took a great deal of effort for Iris not to smile.

Ah, but that was just a sign that she was too frivolous. Taking it as proof that she needed further resolve, Iris steeled her nerve once more. She had to get to the point where, when she received a compliment, she could just run a hand through her hair and say, “But of course!”

It was foolish of her to act cocky just because the young heir liked them. In that respect, having Felicia’s approval represented a big step forward.

As for how she had felt when the young heir had praised her...

Iris wanted to drive it out of her mind, but the memories came back in a rush.

◆　◆　◆

Airi Kakitsubata giggled madly to herself. She was 17 years old, and attending a clothing design trade school.

She wanted to be an apparel designer when she grew up. But why was she looking so pale?

The school that she attended brought together prospective fashion designers, so naturally, the standards of style there were generally high. Airi was no exception to this rule. The talent that had drawn her peers to declare her a fashion leader in middle school hadn’t changed at all since she’d become a second-year at her home economics specialty school. Of course, there were girls in her class more flashy than her, but in addition to her better-than-average fashion sense, she was quite attractive herself. What’s more, her self-confidence in this respect only served to make her even more so.

But for some reason, today, she had lost some of her luster. Her skin was looking rough, there were bags under her eyes, and her hair was styled sloppily. On top of that, the smug little smile on her face led her to look a bit like a possessed demon, and she had a tendency to mouth off in ways that caused the adults around her to flinch.

Of course, she was only 17. Her desire to be acknowledged by someone was exceptionally strong, and being at a trade school where she could shoot for her dream just made her more so. Even if it was just in a fictional world, the young heir had given her a place to shine.

He had selected one of the accessories she had made, told her to make a design that went well with it, then logged out. They had only spoken for about 30 minutes. Not long at all. Afterwards, Airi, a.k.a. Iris, had thought hard about his personal taste.

Despite all her big talk, everything she had done so far — from giving fashion advice to friends, to looking into brands, to daydreaming designs — had been for women’s fashion. She had surprisingly little knowledge about men’s fashion. Therefore, even though it was late at night, she called her homeroom teacher to ask a few questions.

Her teacher had certainly been surprised, but had seemed to be able to tell from the way Airi pressed the point that she was passionate about the subject, and so the teacher had answered her questions exhaustively.

Alfred Dunhill, Giorgio Armani, Prada... Well, Airi couldn’t deny that the teacher’s own tastes were mixed in there somewhat, but it was still a useful reference.

One night later...

Inside the fictional world and unaware of the color entering the sky outside her window, Airi sent her finalized design to the one male player on her friends list, then proceeded to sleep like a log for the few hours remaining before school began.

That she could enjoy the game not through battle or dungeon exploration, but through her biggest strength in the real world... that was the thing that made her happiest.

That morning, she found an email in her inbox.

“I’m glad I asked you.”

She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

She had overslept so badly that she was nearly late to school, which meant her appearance was a mess. But she was so satisfied with her work that she didn’t care. She kept looking at her inbox and grinning at those five words. Even when she was with her close friends, she spent most of her time gazing off into the distance.

The time it took Airi to get from school to her house was 30 minutes by train, 20 by bus, then 10 by bike. An hour in total.

Normally, after school was over, she’d spend some time chatting with her friends, and only get home at 6:00 PM. She would enter the empty house (her parents would be at work), take a quick shower, and prepare a light meal. By the time she logged in, it would be 7:00 PM. She got sweatier in the summer, so her showers had been on the long side lately, but the one she took today was fast enough to scare a crow.

She had also made do with fast food on the way home, so by the time she was ready to log on, it was only 6:30. She put on the Miraive Gear X — a gesture familiar to her by now — then lay down on her bed. She watched with impatience, this time, as the standard Pony Entertainment, Inc. title logo beamed slowly into view in her consciousness.

Hurry, hurry, take me to that world!

As Narrow Fantasy Online finally booted up, Airi Kakitsubata transformed into the Alchemist, Iris.

When she opened her eyes, she was in her usual compact little workshop. She wondered whether, if she went outside, she would find the Dragonet man standing there smiling at her impudently once again. But naturally, perhaps, he wasn’t there this time. She felt just a little bit disappointed.

Iris took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She knew that taking deep breaths did not mechanically offer a relaxing effect on the body in this world, but it still helped her to regain her calm.

The Seller Avatar was programmed to answer basic questions about her, so the young heir would know that she usually logged in around 7:30 every night. He’d surely come by then. She found the name Ichiro Tsuwabuki on her friends list, and sent him a message to let him know she’d be waiting in front of her store.

But what should she do until he came?

She thought about making potions like usual, but was there something else she should give priority to? Oh, yes. She had to level up her Create Armor skill.

Iris knew, secondhand, that there were two ways to make armor: with a recipe, and without. If you wanted to make something you knew would work out the way you wanted it, you chose the former. But it was also possible to just throw together components and an existing armor with the Alchemist-only Art “Alchemical Circle” to make something more or less workable.

Having the sub-class Blacksmith, Iris could also use Iron Forge, but there was no real difference between the two Arts, aside from whether they pulled from the intelligence or strength stat. Her Arts level for Alchemical Circle was higher, as well, so there was simply no reason not to use it instead.

Iris checked her money on the status screen, then began marching around the booths in the back alleys. She bought up practically free, seemingly useless component items, and random bits of old armor with barely any durability left, and returned to her own residence.

She didn’t know how much higher she would be able to get her Skill level today, but she had to get it as high as she could. Iris activated her magic circle from her inventory, and threw the Medieval Chainmail, the Fieldgorn Horn, and the Vulture Wing she had bought into it.

She could choose the finished design for the parts, but to save time, she just chose the default one. Then, she closed her eyes and focused her mind. The use of spellcaster Arts didn’t require much in the way of special equipment or actions. A powerful imagination was the most important thing.

Her workshop darkened as a visual took shape, one of particles of light floating up from a circle. A crest made from light took shape above the circle, as well, shining even brighter. She could feel it. In her mind, she struck a forceful pose.

Clunk.

Doodly-doodly-doo.

A cheap BGM sounded out, followed by a galling “You failed to make it.” message window. What sat above the magic circle now was just some kind of unidentifiable scrap. She picked it up, and saw a popup window this time that said, “Add Failure to inventory?”

“Ugh, that didn’t go well...” she murmured.

But she wouldn’t give up. It was okay to fail. It was true that successes would increase her level faster, but rather than taking time to figure out combinations that were easy to succeed at, it was faster for now to just keep failing and failing. Iris put the items and armor on top of the magic circle again, and imagined...

Clunk. Doodly-doodly-doo.

Clunk. Doodly-doodly-doo.

Clunk. Doodly-doodly-doo.

Clunk. Dat-data-dat-daaa!

Clunk. Doodly-doodly-doo.

In the end, out of dozens and dozens of trial and error combinations, only one of them succeeded. She threw the remaining Failures in the trash and looked at the one completed armor.

By coincidence, it seemed she had managed to succeed at a special combination, which offered a unique graphic different from the leather armor it had once been.

Leaf Armor. Defense Bonus +2. Skill Slots +1. Durability 5/5.

Oh, come on! How exactly is this armor?! she thought indignantly. As far as she could see, it was just a single leaf! There was no fashion beast brave enough to try this on.

Iris didn’t realize this, but the Leaf Armor was actually considered one of the new armor-maker’s best options, and it had increased her Skill points significantly. She was very lucky to have succeeded on the first try, but thanks to that, her Create Armor Skill had increased by two levels.

The others were all failures in the end, but it was still quite fun. The hard work of creation was a different sort of enjoyment from that of thinking up designs. She was just following the rules built into the system to find the right answer, but successes still provided some of the ecstasy of solving a difficult riddle through trial and error. This was the primary way crafting classes enjoyed themselves in the game.

But she couldn’t afford to be distracted by that. The young heir wanted her to make something for him. That was the one thing she mustn’t lose sight of.

Just then, she heard an electronic “ding,” and a window opened to inform her that she’d received a new message.

It was from Tsuwabuki Ichiro. The young heir!

Not bothering to read the message, she flew out of the workshop. It was exactly 7:00 PM.

The Dragonet stood there with the same cool smile he’d had yesterday. “Oh, hello.”

“Thanks for coming. Um, is this a friend of yours?” she asked.

Standing next to the young heir was a middle-aged Knight clad in heavy full plate mail. He had slicked-back silver hair, masculine features, and the wrinkles on his face told of a long history of battle. Of course, “long history” was just a turn of phrase. The game hadn’t even been around for a full year yet.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” the Knight said. “I am Kirschwasser, a Knight. I have served House Tsuwabuki loyally for generations...”

“Ah, Sir,” the young heir interrupted. “Please, none of that roleplay right now. It’s nonsense.”

The young heir’s interruption of the introduction caused the man named Kirschwasser to slump over slightly. “I see. Well, I see to the Tsuwabuki family in real life, as well. My master wanted to form a guild, and he needed another person.”

He “saw to him”? Was this man a servant, then? Iris wondered. She knew that the young heir had money, so maybe having a butler wouldn’t be completely surprising.

“That’s right. As I mentioned in my message, I saw your design sheet,” Ichiro said. “I’m impressed that you could come up with that in one night.”

“Heh heh heh!” Iris sniffed proudly as the young heir brought up that subject. He had even said, “I’m glad I asked you.” She felt like that was certainly something worth being proud of.

“Not to be arrogant, but it was pretty good, huh?” she asked.

“Yes, quite good. I can see the influence from Dunhill and Armani and Prada, but for something made by a girl like you overnight, it’s quite good.”

She could hear her self-confidence harden and crack. And then the next thing he said...

“From an objective point of view, I probably could have made a better design myself.”

At the young heir’s side, Kirschwasser was cradling his face in his hands.

Naturally, Iris turned scarlet and blew her top. The Miraive Gear’s brainwave scanner traced Airi Kakitsubata’s emotional state, and displayed the Alchemist Airi with a manga-style overreaction.

Praise me to the sky, you idiot! She felt so ashamed she wanted to tear the Dragonet to pieces where he stood.

“Then... then maybe you should have designed it!” she exclaimed.

“Nonsense. I have no interest in things considered ‘objectively good.’ I decide what I believe is good.” But the man remained buoyant. “You worked all night to put together an original design for me. That effort is important. No matter what the rest of the world might say, I believe that this is good. I’m glad I asked you. That was no lie. I personally like this design, even if no one else does.”

Why couldn’t he just compliment her in a way that would make her happy? Kirschwasser looked mortified, as well. He likely wanted to offer suggestions on parts that the young heir could trim from his statement. It was really just pathetic.

Iris spoke again, trembling. “Next time, I’ll create a design that’ll make not just you, but the world gasp in shock...”

“Yes, I do hope you will.” It was a bit eerie, hearing the young heir say those words, so Iris decided to leave it rather than pursue it.

The bizarre war of words had left her strangely tired, even though she seemed to be the only one who saw it as an argument, or felt at all drained by it.

The young heir’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. Like an Evil Toad hit with “Acid Ray.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Iris asked. “Make a guild?”

“Yes, let’s go make one,” Ichiro said. “There’s a branch of the Adventurers’ Guild in Glasgobara, after all.”

“I believe all we have to do is bring a party of three to talk to the receptionist NPC,” Kirschwasser agreed.

The Dragonet Magi-Fencer, the Human Knight, and the Elf Alchemist walked together down the alley. It was a curious combination for a party. Most people would raise an eyebrow at the suggestion that they were going to create a crafting guild. Fortunately, the receptionist NPC asked only the pre-programmed questions, which saved them a lot of trouble.

The Adventurers’ Guild in Glasgobara sat at the end of the town’s main street, with the Akihabara Forging Guild in a seat of honor to its left. Aside from the inns, the guild was the only place on main street that didn’t have ironworking smoke pouring out of it.

“By the way, will you be the guild leader, young heir?” Iris asked.

“Hmm, I suppose so,” Ichiro considered. “Though if you especially want to do it, I’ll concede leadership to you.”

“No, that’s okay,” Iris said.

They bantered lightly back and forth at the reception desk while talking to the NPC.

“What do you think we should name the guild?” Kirschwasser asked.

“Does it matter?” Iris replied. “We’re going to break it up right after, right?”

“Actually, I already know what our guild name will be,” Ichiro Tsuwabuki said, in a tone that — unusually, for him — suggested a double meaning to his words.

Once he finished selecting their starting members and guild classification, the NPC formed the guild, and then asked for its name. A touch window appeared, and the young heir tapped a few key panels in it.

Iris Brand.

“Iris Brand?” Iris, whose character name was being used without permission, repeated in a dumbfounded tone. Surprisingly — well actually, not at all surprisingly — the young heir did not bat an eye at her objection.

“That’s right,” he said. “You’re the one creating my armor, so shouldn’t the name be something along those lines?”

“What’s your real game?” Iris demanded.

“Nonsense. I don’t wish to say it right now.”

“Then at least put more effort into the lie!” she shouted.

Next, the NPC asked about what should happen to the guild’s funds if it ever broke up for some reason, and if they would like to put money into the guild’s account immediately. The young heir answered both without hesitation. It was as if he had planned it all out from the start.

What are your Guild Skills?

“What shall I choose?” he wondered. It was the only time he asked for input.

A crafting guild would naturally choose “Ironworks” or “Laboratory,” to increase item production efficiency as much as possible, but it wouldn’t take that long for Iris to complete one set of armor, and she would be the only one receiving the benefit in the meantime.

To create armor would also require the collection of ingredients, so there were also choices for “Searcher,” which would let members re-roll their drop items once, and “Explorer,” which let them encounter mobs that had a lower spawn rate. Increasing their guild’s favorability rating would also allow them to acquire more Guild Skills down the line, but that point was moot for them.

In the end, they decided that the two guild skills they could acquire would be “Ironworks” and “Searcher.” Now all that remained was to choose their guild house. It wasn’t necessary to have one, but if they wanted one, Iris thought it would be best to choose her room in the back alley.

To construct a house on main street will cost one million galt, the NPC said.

“That should do it,” Ichiro said. There was a cha-ching sound, and the young heir’s cash on hand reduced by 1 million.

“Why?!” Iris shouted. “You won’t have enough to pay me! Even if we’re in the same guild, creating armor is still a business!”

“I still have nine million left,” he said. “Will that not be enough?”

“Not at all! Not nearly enough!”

This was how the conversation went every time. Iris one-sidedly attacked him, Ichiro remained unfazed, and as a result, Iris was left running recklessly on a treadmill. A sad sight. Iris was sick of it, but she had a feeling this wasn’t the last time they were going to have this dance.

They finished the process and placed their guild house, causing part of the map of Glasgobara to be redrawn.

Kirschwasser gazed at the new map, murmuring. “This is right across from the Forging Guild’s house...”

If only Iris had then seen those words as the foreboding sign they were.

◆　◆　◆

“Itchy, even in the game, you’re bourgeoisie!” Felicia exclaimed.

“I just had nothing else to spend it on,” Ichiro responded coolly. “I’m sure there are top players in the game with ten million or more.”

Iris was starting to enjoy having Felicia around to say everything she wanted to say to the young heir for her. She wondered if Kirschwasser, who was with Ichiro as his servant all the time, felt the same way.

Felicia had looked troubled as she’d listened to Iris’s talk about how the guild house was created. If the tactless way the young heir had talked about her back at Iris Brand was true, then maybe she really had wanted to form a guild with him.

“So you created the guild to have your equipment made?” Felicia asked.

“Well, that was the original intent,” Ichiro said.

“Hrmmm...” Felicia scowled. She was likely fighting with the urge to say, “Why don’t you close it now, then?” But apparently not even she could be that selfish.

“I know how you feel, Lady Felicia.” Sir Kirschwasser sipped his tea with a placid expression. “I felt the same way. When I asked about the circumstances behind his desire to create a guild, the answer shocked me beyond the capacity for words.”

“If you were beyond the capacity for words, you wouldn’t be able to talk,” Ichiro said.

“As you can see, this is the kind of person Master Ichiro is.”

As his real-life servant, Kirschwasser was likely used to this sort of thing. Even so, anyone would be struck dumb by the news that he’d requested armor from a girl he’d just met, who had a low Create Armor level; and moreover, that he had formed a guild to shoulder the unknown, likely-to-balloon cost burden for it.

“I had been hoping to form my own guild with Master Ichiro... but well, this is fun in its own way.” Sir Kirschwasser, ever the considerate adult, cast a wink her way as he spoke. “And it means we have Iris with us.”

He really was considerate. He really was completely unlike the young heir in that regard.

“Hmmm...” Felicia screwed up her face, working hard to process all this.

As the conversation threatened to come to a standstill, Ichiro quickly cut to the chase. “And that was more or less the way we founded the guild. Afterwards, all we had to do was get Iris to work creating my armor. I wanted to be meticulous with the components, so we had a great deal of discussion as to what armor should be used as the base.”

“Components?” Felicia asked.

“For instance, the underlying data for the jacket I’m wearing is that of the Radiant Armor, and to make Radiant Armor, you need a Radiant Morpho Wing. The jacket itself has a butterfly wing motif, so I wanted components that evoked that image. Hence, the use of Radiant Armor as the base.”

Incidentally, some of the pieces of Ichiro’s armor used pay-to-download blueprints to make, and every time Iris failed, Ichiro had had to buy new blueprints with real money. But Iris opted not to mention that. Even without that, she didn’t want to think about how much real money the young heir had been forced to spend because of her.

She didn’t want to, but...

...if the success rate was 1%, and each graphics change cost 800 yen, then to create the entire suit of equipment had likely cost somewhere between 400,000 and 600,000 yen.

Narrow Fantasy Online was an MMORPG. Iris didn’t know much about games, but she knew that in this genre of game, the object was to make oneself stronger to defeat more powerful enemies. She also knew that there were people known as “whales” who threw vast quantities of money down the drain to accomplish this.

She had heard incredible stories of whales to whom 400,000 or 600,000 yen was mere pocket change. But even then, the money would be going to more efficient ways of making their characters more powerful. To spend that much money simply for the sake of “appearance” — which had nothing to do with the game’s authoritative barometer of “strength” — was simply absurd. And on top of all that, he was even paying for the blueprints.

Although she was grateful for the young heir’s proposal, this was all beyond Iris’s understanding.

No, it wasn’t beyond her understanding. She had a feeling that she did have a hint as to why he was doing this. She thought back to a journey she had taken to the deepest part of the volcanoes with the young heir, searching for ingredients for the belt...

◆　◆　◆

A shadow large enough to block out the sky lurked between the ravines of burbling lava. Its skin was stained black from extended heat exposure, and unlike many of its species, it did not merely “contain” metal. It was pure Magi-Metal itself. This fearsome life form, with its unyielding armor and formidable magic resistance, was believed to exist only in legends.

It was a Magi-Metal Dragon.

The form of a man stepped impudently up to it.

The dragon snorted hellfire from its nose. “Descendant mine... Why troddest thou upon this forbidden soil?”

“Actually, I want one of your scales to make my new belt,” Ichiro said.

No one, since the quest’s original release, had ever come before this dragon admitting to such a self-serving reason. The beast was unimaginably huge, its entire body rendered in meticulous graphic detail. Its two eyes, like drops of blood, were so lifelike that it was easy to forget it was just a game. It invoked such a primordial terror that even the terminology and walkthrough wikis warned it could send players into a panic at the sight of it.

But the only thing on Ichiro’s mind was...

“Did you hear that, Iris? It looks like its conversational patterns change when dealing with Dragonet players!”

“I see! Great attention to detail, huh!” Iris shouted back. She was hiding behind a huge boulder, about 50 meters away from Ichiro.

How had she gotten herself into this mess? What was she doing here? The sight of the enormous dragon had caused her knees to buckle. On a whim, she had asked to go with the heir to collect materials. How could she have been such a fool?

Volcanic Dragon Volgund had been an earlier Grand Quest boss. The Magi-Metal Dragons were its kin. Dragons only spawned in this region if you accepted a quest from a nearby village to bring a “Dragon Gem” dropped by dragon-type mobs to the village elder. But even if you took that quest, there was no particular need to go hunting for the most ferocious of all dragons, the Magi-Metal, to complete it.

Yet it was Iris who had boldly written “Magi-Metal Dragon Scale Belt” on the final draft of the young heir’s clothing design. Of course, she was regretting that now.

“Impudent mortal... Meet thy end, wreathed in flame!” The dragon’s proclamation triggered the start of battle, which it kicked off with a stream of scorching fire from its mouth. Ichiro didn’t even flinch as the “Infernic Breath” flowed over him.

Iris held her breath.

A gallant-yet-tense melody began to play a few seconds later. But as the rousing BGM kicked in, Ichiro merely opened the menu window and began checking his own stats.

His Dragon Scales and Fire Soul, raised to such high levels as they were, greatly reduced the fire-based damage that he took, so he had lost surprisingly little in the way of HP. Unbelievably, Ichiro seemed to be using this battle to fiddle with his stats. She wanted to yell at him, but couldn’t; crying out in the middle of battle stood a chance of drawing the monster’s aggro.

Naturally, the game’s battle system was not turn-based. The enormous dragon stood up and followed through with a rending attack against Ichiro with its claws. Each one was as long as he was tall, with a wicked curve to it like a reaper’s scythe. Yet the merciless sickles failed to make contact.

The young heir leaped, his body moving lithely through the air.

He then let out a faint noise of effort as he unleashed a whirlpool that bound the Magi-Metal Dragon’s body. It was the water-attribute attack spell “Spiral Flood.” The great waves of damage stole the heat away from the lava and shaved away at the great rocks, causing a wave of steam to billow out through the room.

He couldn’t keep the dragon bound for long — only two seconds, in real time — but that was more than enough time for Ichiro to land and ready himself. He drew his Mage Saber and took a stance.

What other “Hero” would ever challenge such a dragon with starter equipment?

The Magi-Metal Dragon was merely a program, and would not cry out no matter how close it was to death. Pattern changes at certain health levels would have had to be added by the devs out of consideration for players who couldn’t read boss HP. Still, the damage he dealt with that one hit had clearly been significant. Iris sweated bullets as she watched the scene.

Ichiro took his Mage Saber in a reverse grip stance.

In Narrow Fantasy Online, there was a hidden modifier known as “Stance.” The pose you struck just before activating certain Arts could change the speed of its execution, or the damage that it dealt. Sometimes it could even add additional effects. Many stances had already been discovered through voluntary investigation, and added to the walkthrough wiki.

This stance Ichiro assumed was a Magi-Fencer stance that he had discovered for himself. It gave a considerable modifier to his class-exclusive Art “Strash,” and it could be canceled after activation with many other arts and weapons.

The Dragonet man watched the raging, fire-breathing dragon as if it were a thing a world away from him, and did not budge one inch. The dragon built up heat in its mouth and unleashed another Infernic Breath.

The young heir took the second blast head-on. Iris wondered why he didn’t dodge. But she immediately knew what the answer would be if she asked.

Nonsense. Even it’s only with 1 HP left, all that matters is whether you win.

The instant the breath cut off, Ichiro sprang off the ground. He had the support Art “Dash Thrust” that increased his explosive speed, and it pushed his body to the limit. If the Magi-Metal Dragon had had a will of its own, would its eyes have registered shock at this? Or would it have been so blinded by rage that it couldn’t see anything?

The reverse-gripped Mage Saber flashed.

Strash! Sparks flew off the hide of the Magi-Metal Dragon, tougher than any metal in the world. But that blow was not enough to pierce it completely. Instead, Ichiro focused on his left hand, and grabbed the scar he’d left with his bare fingers. In an instant, he manifested his Dragon Claws, which then sliced the rest of the way through the armor.

He used his claws to gouge deeper into its throat, then invoked “Cast Break” followed by “Hydro Press”; waves of physical and magical damage that only a Magi-Fencer could deal out. The dragon had zero defense in the spot where its armor was compromised. Ichiro continued pouring fatal damage into that spot, using attacks it was weakest against by combining the effects of “Weak Point Knowledge,” “Fervent Slashes,” “Water Soul,” and “Point Blank Magic” together.

Then, to add insult to injury, he kicked it in the jaw as he flipped away from it through the air, and landed. It was the result of the neural scanner tracing Ichiro’s intentions faithfully, combined with his sky-high agility stat. Even his manner of sheathing his Magi-Saber was elegant.

“I-Impossible...” the dragon groaned. “I... I, who have lived life eternal... to be vanquished by one so trivial...”

“Nonsense,” Ichiro said. “Enough of that. I could hardly be provoked by being called trivial by a program...”

The Magi-Fencer spoke without even bothering to turn around, as the massive creature collapsed behind him. It was followed by a tremor and a cloud of dust. The detail put into the visual was indicative of the passion the designer put into this quest, but the emotion it inspired was immediately quashed by the cheery fanfare that played and the accompanying message window.

“Hey, Iris. I won,” Ichiro said casually.

“I... I can see that...”

Since Ichiro and Iris were acting as a party, they shared some of the results. Iris first read the message window.

Level up. That was good.

Money acquired. That was good, too.

She scrolled through the window and read the drop item list.

“Acquired Magi-Metal Dragon Scale.

Acquired Magi-Metal Dragon Scale.

Acquired Magi-Metal Dragon Scale.

Acquired Dragon Gem.

Magimeta.”

She closed the window. She needed three scales to make the belt, right?

Then she had as many as she needed. He had HP and fatigue to spare, so he could probably fight another one if he had to. Unfortunately, they would’ve had to wait some time after the quest had been finished to try again.

They descended to the foot of the volcano, gave the Dragon Gem to the NPC elder of the small village, and that was that.

With this, she could make the belt. Technically, the belt was just a design, with the underlying data being that of a Magi-Metal Earring, but when you chose the design for an accessory, you could also change where it displayed. There was nothing unusual about changing an earring into a belt. Of course, like most accessories, it provided little in the way of stat modifiers. For all the difficulty of acquiring the components, all it gave you was a few extra skill slots.

It was then that a thought occurred to her.

The young heir was looking for unique, original armor. Naturally, that was why he was so obsessed with the design. But the underlying data would be no different from the utterly unremarkable Magi-Metal Fold armor, with the design being the only thing that had changed.

Could that really be called his own original armor, then? Shouldn’t she be paying a little more attention to stats, too, to make him genuinely good armor?

Iris decided to ask him directly.

“Nonsense.” It was the predictable answer, given in the predictable way. But what followed was slightly different from usual. “...at least, it would be easy to dismiss it as such. But I do not wish for my designer to be unsatisfied with my answer, so allow me to expand upon it.”

As they walked their way down from the Volgund Volcanoes, Ichiro continued, holding up his index finger as he spoke.

“It is true that function is important. Even real-world clothing designers concern themselves with ‘functionality.’ And I know that because this is a game, the function of an armor is considered all the more crucial. But functionality is not everything. There is also ‘design.’”

Iris idly tilted her head. She felt like she’d heard those words somewhere before.

“Let us consider the design to be one part of an armor’s abilities,” Ichiro continued. “You could say, then, that the ‘ability’ I am seeking is the design itself. That is the reason why I spoke to you. Even if its other abilities are not unique, as long as the design is, then it is a brand-new armor for my purposes.”

His words crushed Iris’s rising doubts immediately. At the same time, she remembered where she had heard the words before. Her favorite fashion designer had said something very much like that.

She had told a story about a time when she was feeling uncertain about the direction of her designs, and a male friend of hers had given her similar advice. It had provided her with the same clarity it was providing Iris right now.

“Design is a part of functionality.” Having it put to her that plainly, she had said in the interview, it was as if the blinders had suddenly come off.

“Do you accept that?” Ichiro asked.

“I accept that,” Iris answered.

“Ah, good.” Ichiro nodded in satisfaction.

◆　◆　◆

The flashback ended.

It seemed, in the end, that young heir’s words then hadn’t been improvised to make her feel better; he had really meant them. His own satisfaction was the most important thing, and anything else was secondary. Which meant that Ichiro Tsuwabuki pouring real money into his equipment’s design was no different from the standard whale seeking out greater ability and efficiency.

To the young heir, they were one and the same, and anyone who said differently was trafficking in “nonsense,” perhaps.

Even so...

Iris cast a glance back at Edward.

Even so, not every player appreciated that sort of freewheeling playstyle. At the very least, Edward clearly didn’t. Even knowing it was only a game, he had put so much effort into one goal, because he truly believed in it. The young heir, appearing out of the blue and shaking that value system, must have been a hard pill for him to swallow.

That had been the cause of the... well, it wasn’t so serious as to call it a tragedy, but whatever it was, it had stemmed from that.

“Iris, are you thinking about something?” Felicia peered into her face and asked.

Iris couldn’t hide her wince. “Oh, did it show?”

“Yeah, kinda.” Felicia seemed like the honest type. She was also mouthy in the same way Iris was, but Iris could probably learn a thing or two from Felicia’s forthrightness.

At some point, a peaceful mood had settled over the group in the lobby, likely the result of the tea that Kirschwasser had poured. The ability to turn grass-type items into special drinks came from the “Tea Ceremony” Skill.

To take a momentary digression, tea created with this Skill give a temporary boost to stats. But the effect didn’t last long, so Tea Ceremony fell largely into the domain of “flavor Skills.” In the sense that they pursued Skills with little practical benefit very earnestly, Kirschwasser and Iris were very similar, but Iris envied the fact that the Tea Ceremony Skill was so well-suited to Kirschwasser’s character.

Kirschwasser really went all out at times like these; he had even begun preparing sweets to go with the tea. Ichiro whispered the word “workaholic,” but the Knight in question appeared quite happy to serve.

“Okay, so...” Felicia murmured, munching on one of the sweets that came after their tea, “...if I’m following the story right... Itchy, you formed a guild with Iris after visiting Bossman and Ed here, and giving them the cold shoulder?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And then you set up the guild right across from Bossman’s?”

“Yes, I did.” Ichiro’s expression remained unfazed.

Felicia stared at him, jaw slack. “Itchy, you’re... such a free spirit...”

“Hmm, I suppose I am.” It wasn’t a compliment, but the young heir seemed pleased anyway.

“He certainly is a free spirit,” Iris said. “Right, Edward?”

“You want me to answer that?” The Machina sitting next to them let out a low wheeze as he looked over at her. He must have been feeling flustered. Of course, he had very few expressions, so it was hard to say for sure.

“Most people would assume you were picking a fight, wouldn’t they?” Felicia’s question was on point. She had hit the nail on the head, one might say.

In truth, of the many problems that Ichiro had caused through the founding of Iris Brand, that was the one that could most be considered to be “starting something.” Of course, he had had no intention to mock or make light of anyone. He had merely decided that it was Iris and not Bossman or Edward that could make his ideal armor. And he had put the guild house there merely because it had seemed like the best place for it at the time.

Ichiro Tsuwabuki was not a hard-headed fool who couldn’t understand other people’s basic feelings. It was the fact that he understood them and still did what he wanted anyway that caused trouble. Even when he was a child, the usual method of dissuasion — “Little X doesn’t like that, so please stop” — had never worked on him.

To explain the founding of Iris Brand in full, there was no avoiding telling the next series of events. Even so...

“This is awkward...” Iris murmured. She cast a sidelong glance at Edward, then resumed her story.

◆　◆　◆

Carrying the Magi-Metal Dragon Scales needed to create the belt, Iris and Ichiro returned to Glasgobara.

It was the time of day when, even in the metropolis of Glasgobara, you didn’t see many players coming and going down the broad main street. Most of the open stalls were being run by Seller Avatars, as well. It simply wasn’t as bustling as it usually was.

“That felt pretty easy, didn’t it?” Iris asked.

“I suppose,” Ichiro responded smoothly. “You have a high Craft level, so you’ll likely succeed in creating the accessories the first time. Having only the minimal components required shouldn’t be an issue.”

“The real problem is the armor,” Iris said. “The jacket and the slacks and stuff... I don’t know how many of those components we’re going to need to amass...”

The jacket and slacks would both use ingredients from a mob known as Radiant Morpho. It was a giant butterfly monster that lived deep in the Lancastio Spiritwood Sea, one that had an extremely low spawn rate. They had to find it and beat it, and each time, it would drop two or three of the item they needed. They’d need to save up ten to create the Radiant Armor that would serve as the basis for the Radiant Morpho Wing Jacket.

And that was assuming she would succeed on the first time. Iris’s Create Armor level was low, and the Radiant Armor had a low success rate from the start. She didn’t even want to think about how many butterfly wings she was going to end up converting into worthless garbage.

“Well, I have a few ideas of my own regarding how to collect the wings, so just make the belt and the necktie for now,” Ichiro said. “In the meantime, you should take whatever time you can to increase your Create Armor level.”

“Of course I will, but... I have a bad feeling about this...” Iris murmured.

As they walked down main street, talking, their conversation was suddenly interrupted.

“Hey, buddy.”

A voice was addressing them from behind.

They turned to see a Dwarf with a red mustache waving to them. Ichiro held up a hand and returned the greeting.

“Hey, Bossman.”

Iris recognized him, too. He was the leader of the game’s largest crafting guild, the Akihabara Forging Guild. As usual, the avatar name “I’m With Stupid →” shone brilliantly above his head.

They were both crafting class players, but the difference in terms of their ability and their reputations was as wide as the distance between Earth and the moon. Of course, they specialized in different things, so it wasn’t as if she idolized him or anything. Still, he was enough of a celebrity that she was surprised to be addressed by him. Iris’s eyes darted around as she wondered how these two men knew each other.

“Buddy, it isn’t right, what you did,” the Dwarf said with a frown. Despite the words, though, there was no trace of malice about him.

“To what do you refer?” Ichiro asked.

“You’re the one who built that guild right across from us, right?”

“Yes.”

The guild house of the Akihabara Forging Guild was also known as the Glasgobara UDX Workshop. It had a flea market area for weapons and armor out front and in the lobby, and the equipment they offered was of significantly better quality than what NPCs sold. They also took orders, though those, of course, came with additional cost. It had also been the largest guild house in the city, serving as the face of the city to everyone who came.

It had been, that is.

Overnight, a guild house of the same size had been built catercorner from it: the cutting-edge crafting guild “Iris Brand.” It had only three members, and the guild leader was Ichiro Tsuwabuki.

It would be easy to interpret that as a casting of the gauntlet.

“I just logged in and saw this. Gave me the shock of a lifetime,” Bossman said.

In this world, if you had enough galt, you could build a castle overnight. Not a week after a town was unlocked with its Grand Quest, buildings began sprouting up like mushrooms; overnight construction to astound even Sunomata Castle. Iris had never seen it happen firsthand, but she had certainly been rattled by the way the Iris Brand guild house had just appeared there out of thin air.

“Buddy, you’re not planning to take us down, are you?” Bossman asked.

Iris cringed reflexively at the glint in the Dwarf’s eye. Bossman’s assumption was a natural one, but Ichiro just shrugged in response.

“Nonsense. If Iris Brand were enough to take you down, that would indicate very poor business skills on your part. No need to worry; from an objective point of view, the brand name power that the Akihabara Forging Guild has built up over time won’t be undermined that easily.”

“Oh, really? I’m relieved to hear that!” Bossman let out a bellowing laugh and pounded Ichiro on the back.

His strength stat had been worked out through constant use of Iron Forge, yet Ichiro did not so much as flinch under the blows. Of course, players in towns were fundamentally incapable of taking attack actions (for which this would qualify) against each other, so Bossman could hit him forever and not deal any real damage.

Pounding Ichiro’s back for a while seemed to satisfy the Dwarf, who then turned his eyes to Iris. She was about to hide behind the young heir, but then she realized what she was doing and stopped herself. Her pride reminded her that she would rather die than hide behind him.

“So, m’dear, you’re his new Blacksmith, are you?” Bossman asked.

“She’s an Alchemist, actually,” Ichiro said. “Though she does have some Blacksmith skill...”

“In terms of my class, yeah... But, um, I’m not really worthy of being called a blacksmith...” Iris struggled with a lack of self-confidence, unable to look Bossman in the eye.

Bossman fixed his eyes on her. As a Dwarf, he was shorter than Iris, but his stout frame, scraggly beard, and glinting eyes exuded quite a lot of pressure.

Having a Dwarf like that glare at her, Iris found herself wanting to run away, and fast. Of course, she couldn’t do that with the young heir behind her. She couldn’t bear to embarrass herself in front of him.

“M’dear, what’s your Create Armor Skill level?” Bossman asked.

But when faced with a question like that, she couldn’t help but flush as she answered: “Um, it’s... 12.”

Yes, 12. And that was the result of fervent grinding. It had originally been 3.

“Oh, 12, is it?” Bossman grinned.

Yes, that was right. A player like Bossman probably had a Create Armor level close to the Skill’s max limit. Iris’s level would surely sound like trash to someone like him.

Certain that he was making fun of her, Iris turned a deeper crimson.

But the next words he spoke were thus:

“That’s just fine.”

“Huh?” Iris looked up in surprise.

“It takes guts to try to compete with us at such a low level,” Bossman said. “I like it. I admire people with that kind of backbone.”

“Um, but I wasn’t trying to compete...”

“Whatever you meant to do, m’dear, you’re fighting for our customers, which makes you a rival. You’ve already taken one big customer from us. Well, have faith in yourself. This man’s an odd duck, but I’m sure he had his reasons for choosing you.”

Iris could sense the young heir shrug behind her. She felt relieved.

No, this was no time to feel relieved. She had been designated a rival by one of the game’s three great guilds. Her legs were trembling a little.

The game wasn’t supposed to have anything to do with her real-life aspirations to become an apparel designer. It wasn’t as if, say, Megumi Fuyo, the fashion designer that Airi Kakitsubata idolized, was viewing her as a rival.

Even so, she felt acknowledged. The satisfaction of it shook her soul. She had to see this through, no matter what.

Of course, all that she could do was create armor and accessories in accordance with what the game system allowed. There were absolute numerical limits on what she could do that could not be transcended through effort and passion.

Still, she had to see it through.

As Iris steeled her nerve, the young heir said to her, “You seem more pleased by that than you were with my compliments.”

“Your tastes are so bizarre, the compliments mean nothing.”

“I see. So that’s how you see things.” Ichiro rubbed his chin and nodded, as if processing this new knowledge.

She hadn’t technically lost an argument, yet Iris felt a twinge in her chest as though she had.

“Well, that’s all I had to say,” Bossman said. “Goodbye, and good luck to you.”

With that, Bossman began walking away, casting a longer shadow than one would expect from his diminutive frame.

“Isn’t it ridiculous that he would think we were trying to take him down?” Ichiro said with a carefree smile as he watched the Dwarf walk away. “He’s the type that wouldn’t die if you killed him.”

“You’re looking pretty happy, young heir,” Iris said.

“I suppose I am.” It was nice to see him looking so pleased. The happiness of a client (what a nice ring that had!) was a designer’s greatest wish.

At the same time, Iris knew how twisted his emotions tended to be. So while it was nice to see, it also unsettled her slightly.

“This game has been so full of fun things,” Ichiro said. “I’m so satisfied.”

“Hmm, I see...” While she would quarrel with the “full of” part, she couldn’t deny that the experience had been fulfilling.

“And despite what he said, Bossman seems like a good man,” she went on.

“No, he’s not a good man.” The young heir said this outrageous statement with the same bright smile. “He just has the confidence to be generous. He’s certain that he can’t possibly lose, so he can accept any opponent he finds, no matter how powerful. That’s the attitude you see in a person with towering self-confidence and the ability to match it.”

“Young heir, was that a roundabout way of complimenting yourself?” Iris asked.

“You could tell?”

“I could tell.”

Rather than denying it, the young heir happily confirmed it, then continued. “Well, Bossman and I have nothing to prove to each other, so I’d be happy to co-exist peacefully like this, but...”

“But?”

“But I don’t think everyone will think the way that he does.”

Iris tilted her head. The young heir had a tendency to say things that were either so straightforward or so cryptic that she had no idea what he meant.

“Do you have someone in mind?” she asked.

“I believe I do,” Ichiro said. “I expect a few players will think I was picking a fight with Bossman, and will find my behavior intolerable.”

“So you knew that, and you still did it...” Iris muttered.

It was only natural for Iris to think the young heir was too free-spirited. She had benefited from that, but there were probably players whose pride would be hurt by it.

Iris wasn’t the kind of person to laugh off the idea of someone investing their pride in the game. After all, it was her own pride being acknowledged in the game that had invigorated her to this degree.

But... wait a minute.

Iris raised her eyes abruptly. “Excuse me, young heir.”

“Yes?”

“I wasn’t able to ask, because of how the conversation ended up going, but...”

“Oh, you want to know how you stole Bossman’s big customer?” Ichiro finished smoothly. Before she could snap back at him, he continued, “The first place I went, when I was looking for a guild to make my armor, was the Forging Guild. They couldn’t give me what I wanted, so I said I’d go elsewhere, and then I found you. So from their point of view, it appears that I picked you over them.”

“That’s what I thought!” Iris snapped, unwittingly raising her voice to a scream. “That’s what I thought! So that’s it! And then, despite all that history, you built that big stupid guild house up there, right across the street from them!”

“Yes, and?”

“It’s perverse!”

“Nonsense.” The young heir shrugged, as usual.

Iris wondered if this wouldn’t just make the problem worse. The Forging Guild couldn’t possibly have found this amusing. Bossman had been magnanimous, but that didn’t mean other players might not still come after them.

He’d been brought there by Bossman, shown the workshop, and acted utterly insolent (Iris hadn’t been there, but she was certain he had). Then after all that, he’d decided that they weren’t what he was looking for, and left. What were the members of the game’s largest crafting guild to do but be offended?

Then, two days later, the same man had founded his own workshop diagonally across the street.

Wars had been fought over lesser insults. What could they have taken from it but “You can’t make the armor I want, so I guess I’ll have to make my own”?

No, that was surely how they interpreted it. Anyone seeing it from the outside would assume malicious intent.

“I’ve gotten a little afraid,” Iris muttered.

“Have you?” Ichiro asked.

“Let’s get back to the guild house right now.”

“Yes, let’s do so,” he agreed readily.

She certainly was afraid. But of course, she couldn’t stand the idea of clinging to him, so she kept her distance as she continued on, walking with exaggerated strides.

When they got back to the guild house, they found Kirschwasser had already made it back with the Blue Bird of Paradise Wing. All she needed to finish the accessories, now, was a Jewel Quartz from the Wrath Wyrmhollows. But it was already getting late, and while Iris wasn’t tired yet, the young heir refused to work late into the night. So, they dispersed for the day.

The next day came. As usual, Iris logged in a bit early. She checked the guild menu and saw that the young heir and Kirschwasser had already logged in, but she didn’t see them in the guild house, which meant that they were probably off gathering components.

Iris placed the recipe and the Magi-Metal Dragon scales on top of her magic circle. She closed her eyes and focused her mind, causing particles of light to begin to rise up from the edges of the symbol.

The name of the Art was “Alchemical Circle.” She had raised her intelligence stat through grinding, and combined with her high levels of Craft, it all but ensured the combination would be a success.

She had designed the belt and the wristwatch based on the components of the recipes that would be used to make them. Recreating the luster of metal and the reptilian scales had been quite an ordeal, but she felt satisfied with the 3D graphics she’d ended up with.

Iris herself would be paying the real-life funds for these two accessories.

She didn’t know how much money the young heir really had, but it wasn’t that she felt sorry for forcing him to pay for everything. It was just that Iris had supreme confidence in her ability to craft accessories. The reason the young heir had chosen to shoulder the real-money burden for the graphics changes was a psychological one; it allowed her to work without needing to fear failure. (Of course, it wasn’t only that, but to Iris, that was the important part.) Thus, her pride wouldn’t allow him to pay for her in the field in which she had greatest confidence.

A cheerful fanfare rang out, and the light enveloping the circle suddenly extinguished. The usual process, the usual sight.

Usually, this would have been the part where she would feel a pang of depression, wondering if this latest accessory would ever sell. But this time, that wasn’t the case.

“There we go...”

She held up the belt, striking a little victory pose. She looked forward to when the young heir returned.

Though it was a belt, it was permanently affixed into a ring shape. That was only natural; the .obj file she had created wasn’t designed to move. Though if it weren’t such an inflexible block of data, it might have been useful as a sub-weapon — a whip made out of dragon scales.

Since the item had no equip requirements, she added it into her inventory, then selected “Equip” from her menu window to test it out. Watching it flash into existence over her Alchemist Robe reminded her of the tokusatsu hero shows she had watched with her little brother when they were children.

This was one reason she loved making accessories. According to the system, it was a Magi-Metal Earring. But when applying the new graphics to it, she could assign it to a different part of the body. This allowed for great flexibility when customizing your avatar.

“Yeah, that should do the trick,” she said.

She twisted her upper body as if doing warm-up exercises. She hadn’t programmed any movement data into the belt, yet it moved naturally with her body. This was where the lion’s share of the graphics optimization process went: Each customization required the transmission of a considerable quantity of data, and about half of the money spent went to those transmission fees. Of course, Iris didn’t know that.

Next, the wristwatch.

From her inventory, she selected Orichalcum, Mythril, and Jewel Quartz, and set them out on the circle along with “Recipe: Gorgeous Bracelet.” This would be a bracelet becoming a wristwatch, so unlike the belt, it would be more or less the same before and after. The young heir himself would texture the watch function onto it, so for her part, it was no different from making a bracelet.

Just as she was placing the items onto the magic circle, she realized that she had a visitor.

It seemed like such a large guild on the outside, she hadn’t thought anyone would come visiting so soon... yet, a message popped up to tell her that someone was inside the guild house. Butterflies began flapping in Iris’s stomach. After what had happened yesterday...

Iris left her “workshop,” descended the staircase, passed through the cavernous front hall and opened the front door.

“Ah, excuse me,” she said. “We don’t have anything for sale yet...”

Looming in the door was a tall mechanical man dressed in full plate armor, with two swords on his belt. He had the dangerous air of the true adventurer about him, yet the civilian’s hammer on his belt indicated he was actually a Blacksmith.

The imposing air about him had been enough to cut her off mid-speech. The Machina race didn’t have many emotes, but just the way he towered there — cutting off her path to escape, casting a long shadow into the room — filled her with terror.

“U-Um... er...”

“Are you the only one in the house right now?” the man asked as he gave a piercing look up and down Iris’s body.

In the real world, trade school student Airi Kakitsubata was a courageous woman. If a pervert touched her butt on the train to school, she wasn’t afraid to yell out and hand him over to station security. But this man’s gaze, though intrusive, did not fill her with the same visceral revulsion.

It wasn’t that the NaroFan system and brainwave scanner wasn’t picking up on his true intention, and it likely wasn’t the Machina’s lack of unique emotes, either. It was because the emotion in his eyes as he looked her up and down was something else.

“Are you an Alchemist?” he asked. “What are your subclasses?”

“B-Blacksmith and Mage... Um, what do you want? Who are you?” Airi Kakitsubata had an inkling of what that emotion was.

The school Airi was attending was full of girls who aspired to the world of fashion. They were all very confident, each believing that their own clothing designs were more polished than anyone else’s. Airi was no exception.

Her confidence was backed by her experiences in middle school, where she had earned envious looks from her friends as the girl in their class most likely to become a star fashion designer.

But Airi had learned, much earlier than most do, how empty this youthful confidence was. She did have talent, certainly; or perhaps she simply, unconsciously, put in more effort than most. Either way, the result was the same.

The school she now attended was full of people who had superior design sense to hers, and the adults mercilessly pointed out the immaturity of even their excellent designs. Airi found it intolerable, and she couldn’t deny that part of the reason she had begun playing the VRMMO in the first place was to escape that reality.

Airi looked up to those more-talented girls from a dark, hopeless abyss. And when she looked at them, the look in her eyes was not the same as the envious glances that her peers in middle school cast her way.

Jealousy and hatred, misplaced scorn... and a bottomless feeling of disappointment at the sheer unfairness that she was not the one in their place. Such was the emotion in this man’s eyes.

Then again, maybe she was just misinterpreting. She didn’t want to think that a fictional world could drive a human being to feel such things. But what was this feeling of repugnance and frustration that sprang up inside her when she looked at this man?

She knew.

Iris thought back to the conversation she had had with the young heir the day before. It was just what she had feared. The man standing in front of her was a Blacksmith whose pride had been wounded. To ask him what he was doing here would take great courage.

“Don’t worry about me. Can you make armor?” the man said in an inflectionless voice augmented with a mechanical effect.

Her heart pounded in her chest. “N-No...”

“I think you can. I heard that there were three people in this guild, and the other two are a Magi-Fencer and a Knight. If you’re going to make a crafting guild, one of your members must be able to make equip items.”

Technically, the system did not require that, but it was still common sense. There were a few crafting guilds that were mainly established to sell off potions and other consumables, but such a guild wouldn’t have built a guild house this large.

That stupid young heir! This guild was supposed to be disposable! she fumed.

The man opened his inventory and took out a number of items. They were all armor recipes.

She picked one up, and found it had a dizzying level of difficulty. She could try to make it dozens of times and still not stand any chance of success.

“I have all the components ready. Of course, if you succeed, I’ll pay you,” he said.

The Machina man didn’t know Iris’s Create Armor level. It was impossible to see someone else’s stats unless you were friended, or they gave you permission to inspect them.

She thought about just asking if he wanted to see her stat screen, as that would be better than embarrassing herself with the recipe. But the man’s forbidding aura and glare kept her silent.

Contradictory emotions swirled inside her heart, never quite settling on anger. Hesitantly, she took the recipe and components from him, then led him to her second floor workshop with heavy steps. With the dark way he had been looking at her since he’d come in, she couldn’t just yell and drive him out like she normally would.

The recipe he had given her would only be sold by NPCs if the buyer had a high Create Armor level. Iris had heard of it, but this was her first time seeing it in person. It was the type you couldn’t buy secondhand, either. She might not ever see it again.

Of course, its rarity corresponded to the high stats of the armor it produced, and it had a comparable level of difficulty, as well. In both regards, it was far beyond the level of the dropped recipes the young heir had been bringing to her.

Ah, I knew it... Iris thought.

He was definitely a member of the Akihabara Forging Guild. Things were getting really dicey. He had come all the way to Iris Brand, which didn’t have a single thing for sale, accepting the challenge he was convinced the young heir had issued.

The man followed her into the room without a single word spoken. He watched intently as Iris cleared away the components currently in the magic circle, and replaced them with what he had given her. Normally she’d be very fussy about the placement, but she couldn’t even think about that now.

Silently, she closed her eyes and raised her hands to the symbol, then focused her mind, and activated Alchemical Circle.

Light began to well up around the edges of the circle, wreathing the components within. A familiar sound effect filled the room, as if the visual itself were being converted to sound. It was followed by another familiar noise, signaling the process’s completion. Before she could even wonder how it turned out, the negative BGM that always inflamed her irritation made it eminently clear.

It was a failure.

I knew it, she thought, followed by a sudden numbness that filled her body. What must he think of her right now? But before she could even look at him, he proffered another recipe and set of components.

“Next.” His tone was completely businesslike.

The recipe was significantly lower in difficulty than the previous one, the kind you could easily buy in a store. The components were also easy to acquire, and available in Vispiagna Meadows.

I can do this, she thought as she cleared away the failure and placed the new items on the magic circle. She activated Alchemical Circle and initiated the fusion.

It, too, failed.

Her face was on fire. What was I thinking?

Just because the difficulty was a few levels lower didn’t mean she could easily make the armor in question. The game’s emotion tracer detected her awkwardness, turning her face bright red. She focused her eyes on the floor. She didn’t have the courage to look at the man. It was too easy to imagine him laughing at her.

But the reaction he revealed was not one of mockery.

“...round.” She could only make out the last syllable of the phrase he had murmured. Looking up, timidly, she saw the usually stoic Machina’s face contorted with some unrestrainable emotion.

“...Stop joking around!”

It was anger. The violent emotions he had kept pent up finally found their release, gushing out of him in a torrent. But their expression was far from rational.

He strode past the cringing Iris towards the center of the room, to stomp hard on the failed combination in the circle.

The words “stop joking around” were merely a mindless expression of his frustration. He would have been happier if it had been a joke. But he must have known that that wasn’t the reason that Iris had failed. She simply didn’t have the ability, right now, to create the armor on the recipe he gave her.

To this man, that was the far greater crime.

“Um, Mr. Edward, p-p-please calm down...” she stuttered.

At last, Iris was sure of the man’s true identity. He was the Akihabara Forging Guild’s second-in-command, the Machina Blacksmith, Edward. He was called the Fighting Blacksmith because he could play on a high level both in fighting and crafting. The fact that he could do this was a sign of the extreme care he had put into planning his character build. Without question, he was one of the game’s top players.

That playstyle was a symptom of a slight VRMMO addiction — or more likely, that he was a full-fledged gaming junkie — but that would just contribute even more to his pride in his status in the game.

Edward whirled back around. The Machina’s inhuman appearance, combined with his overwhelming anger, was a sight that caused Iris’s knees to buckle.

Edward was trembling, one hand clenched into a fist. A jumble of feelings and urges raged inside of him, and he was clearly straining to keep them in check.

“Are you people mocking me?! Are you mocking my boss? Building this huge damned guild house and staffing it with one useless Alchemist? Stop joking around!”

“Useless” was a pretty harsh term, though Iris couldn’t actually argue with him.

Still, no matter how angry Edward got, they were in the middle of a city. His fists, his sword, his hammer... none of them could hurt Iris. No pain would be transmitted through her nerves.

But that was just as far as the system went. The malice and hatred he directed towards her, unlike anything she had ever been subjected to before, were like daggers through Airi Kakitsubata’s heart. That only got worse when she realized it was the natural extension of the same jealousy she had directed towards those students above her in class.

She wondered if she would feel better if she just let him hit her. But just as she was thinking that...

“Forgive the trite expression, but I’m not a fan of this sort of behavior.” At some point, the young Dragonet man had appeared at the room’s entrance with the usual odiously cool look on his face. He wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t look especially angry, either. His posture was, as usual, indifferent.

“Young heir...” Iris murmured, dumbfounded.

The silver-haired Knight also peeked in from behind him. “I am here, as well.”

“Sir, could you please stand in front of Iris?” the young heir asked casually. “I don’t think Ed will mind, as his hatred would be better directed towards me, anyway.”

“Yes, sir.” The middle-aged Knight, Sir Kirschwasser, moved to kneel in front of Iris, armor clinking. “Were you hurt, Iris?”

“Rationally, there’s no way I could be hurt, because of the system... but thanks, anyway,” she said. “You really saved me.”

“Not at all.”

As the young heir predicted, Edward immediately switched the target of his anger from Iris to Ichiro.

Of course, since he had no reason to be angry with me, Iris thought, belatedly feeling some indignation of her own.

“Now...” With a brazen attitude, the young heir raised his index finger. “...you’re angry with me, because you think I spurned your boss to ask Iris to make my armor instead, correct? And I see some failures on the floor, which means you came here to test Iris’s abilities. If you had found them acceptable, you’d planned to back off. You made up your mind to settle things. I admire that.”

“Y-You... You’re...!” The man probably wanted to ask who the hell Ichiro thought he was. It was likely that all three people present except for Ichiro felt the same way.

“But it turned out that Iris’s Skill level was quite low,” Ichiro continued. “The fact that she did not meet your standards made you emotional, and you had just reached your breaking point when I returned. However, I am serious when I say that I want Iris to make my armor.”

“You slapped us in the face!” the man shouted.

“Nonsense,” Ichiro said. “I would never exert such effort without cause. It’s more as if you ran into my hand.”

Well, Ichiro could certainly use a slap himself, with that personality.

“From an objective point of view, I can understand the logic behind why you’re angry with me,” the young heir said. “But then, let me ask you this: What is it you want me to do?”

Edward froze, trembling. He appeared to be struggling to restrain his anger and remain logical.

Iris didn’t know what kind of person the Machina Edward’s player was, but she was starting to worry about his blood pressure. She wondered if he was receiving alert messages about changes in his health condition.

Iris could think that way now that she felt safe herself, which was a bit self-serving of her.

“I want to make you apologize to my boss! I’m sure even you are capable of asking for forgiveness!” the man burst out.

“I am physically capable of it, but I don’t wish to do it,” Ichiro said.

“Then I’ll force you to do it! Remove the battle prohibition in your guild house! You’re the leader, so I know you can!”

“Oh, not today. We can do it another time, can’t we?” Ichiro said in the tones of a man watching the weather to decide whether to put his laundry out to dry.

Iris began to feel anxious as she watched the conversation go further and further down its dangerous path.

Edward wanted Ichiro to apologize to his boss. As a gamer, he likely had great respect for that Dwarf, so it was only natural that he interpreted the young heir’s actions as a show of disrespect towards him. It was a misunderstanding — Ichiro had been looking for something else from the beginning — but Edward didn’t understand that.

Iris couldn’t find it in herself to laugh at his narrow-mindedness, either. They were two of a kind, and she empathized with his anger all too easily. Even if he could be made to understand, she doubted it would quell his rage. His pretense of wanting Ichiro to apologize for the disrespect to his master was gradually being displaced by another, deeper feeling.

Edward had probably spent his entire time in the game believing that Bossman was the only crafting player better than him. Ichiro had shaken that worldview. In exchange, Edward wanted to smack him down, hard.

“After all, I believe I’ll have all my armor finished within three days’ time.”

“Huh?!” Iris croaked, forced from her calm analysis of Edward’s mental state. “Wait a minute, you can’t just decide—”

“If you wish to cast down your gauntlet, I’ll gladly pick it up then,” Ichiro continued.

“You’ve already picked up quite a few things, Master Ichiro...” Under Kirschwasser’s narrowed eyes, even Ichiro was forced to cringe a little bit.

“Yes, such as the ire of others...” he admitted.

“So you do realize it,” Kirschwasser sighed.

“So, what do you think?” Ichiro turned back to Edward, who fell silent in response.

No matter what else, there were strict local rules in guild houses, which meant that they couldn’t fight or duel there without the permission of the leader. It would be much the same outside.

If Edward really wanted to, he could jump Ichiro from behind once he got out into the field, but that wouldn’t be very satisfying.

“All right... You can show me this ‘armor’ you’re making then,” Edward said. His voice, with its usual mechanical overlay, trembled, the result of the emotional tracer faithfully reflecting all the tension in his voice.

Edward still had the wrong idea about what kind of armor Ichiro wanted. When he saw the final product, perhaps he would accept that and stand down, or perhaps he would go through with the fight. Realistically speaking, it would probably be the latter.

“Allow me to walk you out,” Sir Kirschwasser offered.

“No, thank you,” the man said coldly.

“Don’t be that way...”

Accompanied by Kirschwasser, Edward left the building.

Immediately, Iris’s anger exploded. “Are you stupid?!”

“Is this my thanks for saving you?” Ichiro asked.

“Yeah, I’m very grateful. But that’s irrelevant to the question of whether or not you’re stupid!”

“True enough. But I am not stupid. If I were stupid, it would make everyone in the world—”

“Cut that out! It’s nonsense!” Iris banged on the wall in frustration. “I’m asking if you’re serious about fighting Edward!”

“I am,” Ichiro confirmed, without a second thought. “Iris, don’t tell me you think he’s going to beat me.”

“It’s the opposite, actually...” Iris let out a big sigh. “Listen... I’ve heard that Edward is really strong. He’s probably the best fighter out of all the crafting class players. But he still can’t beat a combat specialist with a mountain of microtransactions behind him! Which means you’re just going to take him on and beat the hell out of him! It’s immoral!”

“I believe he lost the moral high ground when he decided to barge into someone else’s guild house and begin screaming at a girl,” Ichiro began, glancing at the failures piled in the corner of the room. “And while it is true that I need not compromise my morals in the face of the low moral standing of another... still, I choose my own morality. If he knows he can’t beat me, he doesn’t have to fight me. If he decides to fight me anyway, knowing that, then it must be because he feels this is something he cannot yield on.”

“So you’re just gonna beat the hell out of him, then?” Iris demanded.

“I am. The fact that he cannot yield is irrelevant to whether or not I will lose a challenge I accepted.”

“Iris, Master Ichiro is always this way,” Kirschwasser said as he returned to the room.

He had said he was Ichiro’s servant in the real world, hadn’t he? Which meant he must see this sort of thing an awful lot. She felt sorry for him.

“Anyway, you should keep your voice down,” Sir Kirschwasser continued. “The system does not treat a building’s exterior and interior as discrete maps. You appear to have dealt a significant blow to Lord Edward’s pride.”

“Ah...” Iris clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Edward had already heard everything she said, including her belief that he couldn’t possibly beat the young heir.

“Sir, did he say anything else?” Ichiro asked.

“That he was going to ‘crush the armor the girl made into powder.’”

“How bold of him,” Ichiro commented. “Then, Iris, you must make me splendid armor that will not be crushed into powder. I only have the components for the shirt and the jacket, but we have one hour before you log out. Feel free to fail up to fifty times on either.”

Burning with embarrassment, Iris really wanted to throw her own fist into the young heir’s smiling face.

◆　◆　◆

Felicia’s smile had stiffened. Edward had averted his eyes awkwardly, while the young heir’s expression was as calm as ever. Unbelievably, he was actually sipping the tea Kirschwasser had brewed as he gazed out the window.

“Um, Itchy, are you really incapable of reading the mood?” Felicia asked.

“Nonsense. I...”

“He can read the mood; it’s just that, after doing so, he still does whatever he wants,” Iris shot back. “See? He’s about to say ‘I can read the mood, but what I do with it is up to me to decide.’”

“...Iris said it all, so I shall not repeat her,” Ichiro said calmly.

Cutting him off at the pass was the only way for Iris to get through these interactions with any satisfaction.

“I’m impressed that you knew that,” Kirschwasser said, sounding impressed.

But she didn’t want to know that. She didn’t want to know this man at all. And yet, in the few days they’d known each other, she had come to know him in nauseating detail.

“By the way, that armor of yours, Itchy... it’s butterfly wings, right?” Felicia asked.

“The Radiant Morpho, yes.”

“Did you really hunt that many of them?”

“Hmm...” Ichiro turned his eyes to the ceiling. He seemed to want to correct Felicia’s words, but was thinking up the shortest way possible to do so.

“He didn’t exactly hunt them.” The gentle response came instead from Kirschwasser. “Master Ichiro was reticent about killing the butterflies, so he used ‘Steal’ to get the necessary components.”

“Isn’t ‘Steal’ a Thief Art?” Felicia tilted her head.

She was a Thief character herself, so this was common knowledge to her. As the name suggested, Steal was an Art that let you steal item drops from monsters. It was limited to Thieves — or Scouts or Shinobi that fulfilled the right conditions — so not many people had it.

Ichiro’s classes were Magi-Fencer/Fighter, Kirschwasser’s were Knight/Fighter/Acolyte, and Iris’s were Alchemist/Blacksmith/Mage, so none of them should have been able to use Steal.

Should have, that is...

“The Art Jewel,” Edward muttered.

“What’s that?” Felicia asked.

“NaroFan is nearing its one-year anniversary, so the developers have begun offering up some interesting pay-to-download kits. The ‘Experience Another Class Item Pack’ was one of them. Players can get up to three of them for free.”

Felicia’s eyes widened at Kirschwasser’s explanation. “Um, what the heck? I didn’t hear anything about that.”

“It was offered only during the week when you couldn’t log in due to your tests,” Ichiro explained. “I believe the kit currently on offer is ‘Skill Booster.’”

“And starting next week, it’s ‘Barrier Feather,’” Kirschwasser continued. “I expect that to make quite a stir, as well.”

The contents of the anniversary player service kits would change every week. The first three were free. The fourth came with a cost, and players who had just gotten started could have up to five free. It really was utterly reckless of the devs.

Items like the Art Jewel and the Skill Booster were way too useful, which had earned severe complaints from the community. The price, 500 yen per pack, which was not too expensive but not extremely cheap, either, further spurred the criticism.

“It’s like saying you’d better buy as many as possible during that one week. It’s not fair.” Felicia’s pout summarized the outcry precisely.

“So, I bought up a great number of Thief Art Jewels, and used those to steal the Radiant Morpho’s drop items,” Ichiro said.

“I thought so!” Ichiro’s outrageous statement caused Felicia to pound a fist on the table. “How many did you use?!”

“How many?” Ichiro asked. “Iris, how many wings did we go through, again?”

“You think I remember?” Iris said, partly in exhaustion.

Felicia was livid. “It’s people like you, throwing all that money at them, that make the devs act so crazy! Edward, say something!”

“Oh, sorry,” Edward said. “I actually spend quite a bit, too...”

“You too? You too?!”

“What do you expect?” Edward asked. “Thistle is a small business, and they have high server and maintenance costs for the massive amounts of data they need to store and process. Offering up donations is part of our duty, as fans. I don’t know how old you are, Felicia, but that’s how online games have always worked.”

“Let us debate the merits of microtransactions another time,” the man who had started the argument said with a cool expression.

“U-Um. Right. The story was just getting good!” Felicia said, managing to switch gears smoothly. “Um, so, what happened with the duel?”

“I won,” Ichiro said, as if it went without saying. Another one of his more odious traits.