Cat and Dog ②
Juicy-san wasn’t in her maid outfit, but rather the clothes she wore when we met at the Junkyard.
An elegant black jacket. A white, frilly apron dress, but with a red skirt.
The apron dress had a prominent red ribbon tie.
It really did look like the kind of uniform an idol would wear on stage.
And it suited her so well, too. Though, she was wearing black leather fingerless gloves on both hands.
Her dog—no, wolf—ears were perked up straight, and her tail was wagging furiously.
She gazed at me with those same sparkling eyes as always.
Her whole body seemed to scream ‘I’m happy, I’m happy!’
Ahh, she really is like a dog.
“I came here to have a gauntlet made.”
“Woof. Oh, oh, a gauntlet? That’s perfect for Lord Wof!”
“I-Is that so?”
“Um, woof! It’s very, very perfect!”
Her tail was wagging with such force it stirred the air. Was she really that happy?
“Lord Wof?”
A suddenly cold voice reached me.
Turning around, I saw Ms. Pachira looking at me with eyes as cold as ice.
Scary.
“Eh, ah, um, she… Juicy-san wouldn’t listen when I told her…”
“Um, um, Lord Wof is Lord Wof!”
“Hoh. Lord Wof, is it? And who might you be?”
S-Scary. Her uniquely cat-like diamond-shaped pupils fixed sharply on Juicy-san.
“Um, um, woof. I am Juicy=Tasan.”
“Tasan, you say…”
“Um, um, um, Lord Wof. Do you know this cat… Ms. Pachira?”
“Eh, y-yes. We’re acquainted.”
“Wof. What is your relationship with this dog, Juicy?”
“Eh, ah, yes. We’re acquainted.”
“Hoh.”
“Wafu.”
Scary. What’s with these two? It’s scary… There’s some kind of invisible friction between them.
Why are they sparking off each other when they’ve only just met? Is it because they’re a cat and a dog? That’s ridiculous.
“Aye. What’re you lot doing?”
Help arrived. It was a Dwarf. Which meant he was male.
He had a bushy, pure white beard, and a large burn scar over his left eye.
Even through his tattered work clothes, his brawny physique was obvious. Blacksmithing truly is hard labor.
The Dwarf looked at Ms. Pachira.
“Aye. Pachira, you came.”
“Verent. I heard the repairs were finished.”
Verent-san. Verent of Verent’s Blacksmith. He’s the owner.
“Aye. Fixing that thing was a real pain. Wait here. I’ll go get it. And you there, ah, Tasan’s… Yours is ready too. And you, lad. What about you?”
Verent-san glanced sharply at me.
“I was introduced by Arifa-san.”
I handed him the letter of introduction. Verent-san read it and snorted.
“Aye. Alright, lad. So what d’you want made?”
“A gauntlet.”
“Aye. Materials?”
“This.”
I took the fragment of the Great Magic Sword from my pouch.
Verent-san looked at it, and his expression changed.
“Aye. Alright. I’ll make you a gauntlet out of this.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Aye. We require payment upfront here.”
“How much is it?”
“One million Oro.”
“A mill… !?”
I was speechless.
One million!?
“Verent. You know. A million is surely too expensive.”
“Um, um, um, does it really cost one million?”
Ms. Pachira and Juicy-san also protested.
Verent-san sighed.
“Honestly, lad. Where’d you get your hands on Mazan material like a Great Magic Sword?”
“An acquaintance gave it to me. They told me to have a gauntlet made with it.”
“Aye. You make it sound so simple. Listen up, lad. And you too, Pachira and Tasan’s girl. To use Mazan material, you need other materials that are just as rare to match it and withstand it. That’s why it gets expensive.”
“Is that how it works?”
It’s like with cooking; if you use high-end ingredients, the taste suffers unless you use other ingredients of suitable quality.
Verent-san said.
“Sorry. This is a business.”
“I understand.”
Looks like I have no choice but to give up on this.
Then, Ms. Pachira spoke.
“—Hmph. So, one million is sufficient, is it?”
“Ms. Pachira?”
Ms. Pachira placed a small silk pouch from her own pouch onto the blacksmith’s counter.
Wait, what is she…? From the bag, she took out ten coins and lined them up.
They were gleaming golden, octagonal coins. Pure gold?
In the center… is that… a diamond embedded in it?
What is this? Is it currency? I’ve never seen anything like it.
Verent-san spoke in a trembling voice.
“Royal Coins.”
“Eh?”
“Um, um, those are definitely Royal Coins!”
Juicy-san said as well.
S-So these are the highest denomination coins.
If I remember correctly, one Royal Coin is worth 100,000 Oro. 100,000 yen. Ten of them.
That’s one million. You’ve got to be kidding me.
“This should be enough, yes?”
“Aye… You. It’s enough, but…”
Verent-san looked bewildered. I had no idea what was going on either.
A-Anyway, this is bad.
“W-Wait a minute, please!”
“What is it, Wof?”
“It’s not ‘what is it,’ Ms. Pachira! No matter what, one million is just too much!”
No matter how you look at it, even from Ms. Pachira, I can’t accept one million.
Just as I was about to voice that thought.
“Um! Um, um, please wait! I can pay too, for Lord Wof’s sake!”
Saying that, Juicy-san also placed ten Royal Coins on the counter.
As expected of a Marquis’s daughter. She just casually dropped 1 million Oro. Wait, that’s not the point!
“Oi, oi, oi. What’s going on here?!”
Verent-san held his head. I held mine too.
“Juicy. Do not interfere. I shall pay.”
“Woof, um, I will pay. It’s only natural for Lord Wof’s sake!”
Ms. Pachira and Juicy-san glared at each other, their ears and tails standing on end.
“Myaaaaaaaa!”
“Grrrrrrrrrrr!”
Cat and dog!?
Seriously, why are these two competing so fiercely?
No, more importantly, one million… As a man, I should firmly refuse here.
“Both of you. This is really…”
“Wof!”
“Lord Wof!”
“Eh, what?”
The two girls turned simultaneously and rushed towards me.
“You’ll use my one million Oro, won’t you?”
“Wai-”
“Um, um, woof. It’s my one million Oro, right! Yes, it is!”
“W-Wait a second, I—!”
Close! They’re both too close! Two beautiful girls are too close!!
“Nya?”
It’s not “Nya?”!