Lunchtime was fast approaching.
"All right, then I'll take care of lunch," Gloria Allstatt said, inviting Jin and the others to join her. She extended the invitation to Duston as well, but he declined, explaining that he had a bento his wife had prepared.
"When I was small, I often used to visit Duston’s workshop just to watch him forge blades."
It seemed the seeds of the unfortunate beauty had already sprouted even back then.
They stopped by her house to drop off the sword before heading toward the central street. The large sundial showed that it was around 11:45 AM. Foot traffic had increased significantly compared to the morning.
"I have a regular eatery I frequent," Gloria explained as she led the way. "Here it is."
The shop was located a short distance back along the central street, heading toward the city gate where Jin and the others had first entered. The sign read "Crystal Pavilion." The storefront was modest, but the atmosphere inside was pleasant. Since it was slightly before noon, there weren't many customers yet.
"Welcome, Lady Allstatt."
A waitress greeted her with a friendly manner, confirming she was a regular.
"Hello, Feo. I’ve brought guests today. Four servings of the recommendation, please."
"Certainly."
The waitress named Feo bowed and headed to the kitchen to place the order.
"The lunch here has a good reputation. Off-duty soldiers and ritters frequent the place," Gloria explained. "There was fighting near Tetrada to the far west until recently, but it seems that has ended. A courier arrived yesterday. It appears the Kingdom of Egerea was at war with the Celuroa Kingdom, but that has also concluded. That information was brought by pigeon the day before yesterday."
"Is it all right to tell us such things?"
"Oh, I don't mind. You must be worried about the state of the country as well, right? Consider it part of my thanks for the short sword you made."
"Thank you very much."
Jin already knew this—in fact, he was the primary reason for it—but since she was sharing the news out of kindness, he offered his thanks.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
The food was brought out surprisingly quickly.
"As you can see, they’ve refined the flavors and reduced cooking times by limiting the number of dishes on the menu," Gloria explained.
In short, it was a daily special. The fact that this concept existed in this world was worth commending. And just as she said, the taste was quite good. There was freshly baked bread, vegetable soup, dried fish stew, and roasted venison, finished off with an apulul. It wasn't haute cuisine, but it was a familiar, approachable menu that both commoners and lower nobles could enjoy.
Incidentally, what caught Jin's attention was the bread. It wasn't pure white, but it wasn't whole grain either. To be blunt, it looked exactly like what they ate in Kaina Village.
"This bread..."
As he began to speak, Gloria explained with a look that said she already knew what he was thinking.
"Ah, it’s delicious, isn't it? It has been appearing more frequently lately. It’s made with flour sold by a rapidly growing firm called the Raglann Company."
Just as I thought, Jin noted. It was a pleasant feeling to realize he was helping the world in such a way. He thought Hanna might say something, but she seemed completely absorbed in the dried fish stew.
"You're quite well-informed."
When Jin remarked that she was surprisingly knowledgeable about current affairs for a ritter, Gloria replied, "Well, the owner's wife here is a childhood friend of mine."
Hearing that, Jin understood.
After-meal tea was served.
"Now then, regarding the payment for the sword," Gloria spoke up before drinking her tea. "How much should I pay? I’d like to say that price is no object, but there is a limit to what I can actually afford..."
Jin replied to the troubled Gloria. "I didn't spend anything on materials, so please, pay whatever you feel the sword is worth, Gloria-san."
To be honest, Jin didn't know the market price for swords either.
However, Gloria muttered that such a request was the most difficult to answer and fell into deep thought. Eventually, she seemed to make up her mind. She looked up and took a smaller leather pouch out of the bag attached to her waist, placing it in front of Jin.
"It’s everything I have on me."
"Eh?"
Slightly flustered, Jin checked the contents of the leather bag. It contained 7 gold coins and 15 silver coins. That was 71,500 Toll—roughly 715,000 yen.
"This is too much," Jin said, but Gloria insisted that she wouldn't regret paying even 100,000 Toll for that sword, and that haggling the price down would be an insult to his craft.
Jin was a bit troubled, but he thought of a good persuasive line.
"A craftsman feels that if someone recognizes the value of what they've made and will cherish it, they wouldn't mind letting them use it for free. Therefore, I will take only this much."
Saying so, he pulled out two gold coins and returned the rest to Gloria.
"Please take good care of it—or rather, make good use of it."
Facing Jin, Gloria lowered her head and replied, "I certainly shall."
Just as they began to drink their tea, which had cooled slightly, the street outside grew noisy.
"Hmm? What's happening?"
Before Gloria could finish her sentence, the sound of something shattering was followed by people's screams. Realizing this was no ordinary matter, Gloria dashed outside. She was a ritter, after all. Incidentally, it seemed she left the bill on her tab.
Jin and the others followed her out. And there...
"...Golems?"
"I recognize those. They're old-model golems from Unifilar."
The old-model golems that served as the prototypes for Gon and Gen—three of them—were rampaging through the central street.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Gloria demanded of a nearby soldier.
"A-Ah, Lady Allstatt! W-We don't quite understand it ourselves, but when the clock struck twelve, those three emerged from inside horse carriages and began to run wild."
Indeed, further down the street, three half-broken horse carriages lay overturned.
"Can't they be stopped?!"
"Y-Yes. Our swords are no match for them. We have requested the magi-ritter corps, but they haven't arrived yet..."
"This is no time for that!"
Gloria turned back toward the three golems. They had begun destroying the shops along the street, and people were fleeing in all directions. Many people were rushing out from the destroyed shops, and upon seeing the golems, some turned back in terror.
In the midst of the chaos, a small child who seemed to have been separated from their parents tripped in front of a golem.
"Watch out!"
The golem showed no hesitation and looked as if it was about to trample the child.
"Reiko! Save that child!"
"Yes."
At Jin's command, Reiko moved in an instant.
Jin's instruction was to "save" the child. To save the child, the best thing would be to pick them up and flee, but the timing was too tight. If Reiko picked up the child at her full speed and retreated, the child's frail body likely wouldn't be able to withstand the acceleration. Having judged this in a split second, Reiko chose to become the child's shield instead.
She dropped to her hands and knees, covering the child to protect them. The golem's foot came crashing down right there.
The people present didn't even have time to wonder about Reiko's instantaneous movement before they saw the golem's foot descend upon the girl who had crouched to protect the small child. Several women covered their eyes, unable to bear the sight of the girl and the child about to be crushed.
However, Reiko's body was not something so flimsy that it could be crushed by the likes of a golem.
"Oh?!"
Gloria, who had not looked away, widened her eyes. Reiko didn't budge an inch as she caught the golem's foot with her back.
"『Wind Blow』!"
Right then, the wind magic Elsa cast exploded. Because the golem was hit while its leg was raised, it was easily knocked over.
Taking that opportunity, Reiko picked up the fallen child and slowly stood up. She then ran back to Jin and the others.
"Father, the child is safe."
Jin patted Reiko's head and praised her as she returned holding the sobbing child.
"Well done, Reiko. Your judgment was perfect."
"Reiko-oneechan, you're amazing!"
Being praised by Hanna as well, Reiko’s face brightened. Since the child had a scraped knee, Elsa used healing magic.
"『Behandeln』."
The bleeding stopped, and the child finally stopped crying.
"There, you'll be okay now. Does it still hurt anywhere?"
"...Nn-nn."
Thank goodness, Elsa thought as she turned her attention back to the golems.
"『Dig』."
Using the earth attribute magic Dig, Jin dropped a golem into a pit to immobilize it. If Reiko were to go on a rampage, it would be over in an instant, but to avoid standing out for the wrong reasons, Reiko moved to protect the people around them.
"『Stand Still』."
Jin then deactivated the immobilized golem. In truth, the Secret Mobile Unit (SP), who had vanished using Stealth, were also secretly providing support. Jin himself was acting while maintaining a barrier.
The second golem was stopped, leaving only one. At that moment...
"『Flame Lance』!"
Fire magic exploded, and the remaining golem was blown away.
"Reiko! I don't care anymore, destroy all three!"
"Yes!"
Jin gave the command, no longer caring about keeping a low profile, and Reiko accepted with delight.
"How dare you try to step on me!"
The golem that had stepped on Reiko was the first to become scrap. With a single strike at ten percent power, the old-model golem's chest was crushed, and the mana stone material that formed the golem's core—which Jin had once dismissed as "just stones"—was shattered to pieces, ensuring it would never move again.
Next, Reiko leaped toward the second one that was closer. That golem noticed Reiko and swung its fist, so Reiko met it with her own.
The collision between the giant fist and the slender one ended in a total victory for the slender fist. The golem's arm was blown off from the shoulder, and Reiko's follow-up strike took its head off as well. That impact was more than enough to stop the golem. The mana stone material making up its body shattered, and it ceased moving.
And then the third one.
The golem that had been rampaging on the opposite side of the street was knocked over by a flying kick to the back from Reiko, who had closed the distance in an instant. Landing on its back, Reiko swung down a finishing blow.
Her fist, which easily pierced through the armor, also destroyed the golem's mana tank. The golem went still.
The total time elapsed: about twenty seconds.