Chapter 32: Internet and Oracles
Narrator POV
Yamanaka Kirari, Utada Iyo, Arashi Yurisa, and Hino Nomi.
Four of the 14 girls of class 2-B.
The class that was summoned by the Artesia Empire.
The four of them had no talent for fighting so they were not able to leave the castle, unlike their other classmates who became adventurers.
They wanted to provide food for themselves rather than depending on the empire to provide them with food and shelter.
The empire was fine for the heroes to just rely on them without doing anything.
The four of them felt that they would lose their “pride” if they accept to just receive this from the Empire for free.
In the end, they decided to leave the empire castle and look for a job.
Thankfully the imperial magician, Orga Les Versi understood their feeling and helped them find a job so they could provide for their own needs.
Orga Les Versi talked with the guild master of the Imperial Capital’s Adventurer’s Guild to let them have works suited for them.
That is how these four found their place.
At the moment the four of them used the money given by the empire to buy a small house where the four of them live together.
They work separately at the adventurer’s guild or in the Scale Atelier.
Yamanaka Kirari who has the job class “Cook” works as a helper in the Adventurer’s guild pub.
Utada Iyo who has the job class “Artist” works in the accessory workshop as an apprentice Designer.
The same goes for Hino Nomi who has the job class “Alchemist”, she works at the potion shop and works as an apprentice Alchemist.
And Lastly, Arashi Yurisa has the job class “Crafter” and she works as an apprentice Artisan.
1 day ago.
Adventurers are starting to return from their journey in participating in the battle in Altus city.
Shaina was curious about Reno and her company since they were caught in that battle.
Shaina went to the guild to ask about the Scale Atelier Caravan’s return.
“Ah, if it’s the caravan I heard that they are on the way back here. If nothing goes wrong, they would be arriving here tomorrow at noon”. <Receptionist>
“I see. Thanks.” <Shaina>
"No problem, Shaina-sama." <Receptionist>
As the receptionist said, the caravan was on its way back to the Imperial capital.
She let out a sigh of relief after hearing that nothing bad happened with the merchants that joined the caravan.
She was concerned with Reno and the others but she was also worried about her goods which were in their care.
Shaina thought.
[Thank goodness. It would be a serious loss on my part if my goods were lost.] <Shaina>
Shaina entrusted Reno and her company to sell the weapons and armor she made.
It would cause her to lose a lot of profit if something happened to Reno and her company.
As she was about to leave the guild, she noticed four girls looking at a rectangular item.
They looked very excited as they were tinkering with that rectangular item.
Shaina walked near them and looked at the thing that the three were looking at.
Shaina sneakily looked over the thing it causing her eyes to open wide.
The rectangular Item was emitting a glow and was showing pictures of some sort.
“Why! We can access the internet but why can’t we send messages?” <Kirari>
Yurisa, Iyo, Nomi, and Kirari’s attention was focused on the phone in Kirari’s hands.
“We could Access the WIFI but all we can do is download. If anything, we can’t use it to know what’s happening in our world. Hmnn, can you access Pacedook or Twitie?” <Yurisa>
Kirari tried to open some applications on her phone.
To no one’s surprise, it did not work.
“Aaaa, it’s not working huh? This suck.” <Nomi>
“Seems so. Seriously?!” <Yurisa>
-sigh-
The four looked disappointed after knowing this fact.
“Well. At least we could access the internet, right? We can still use it for “searching” right? It would be a great help with my job.” <Iyo>
“Ah, you mean designing?” <Nomi>
“Yeah. I would love to see some references so I could do a better job.” <Iyo>
“Oh, right you were working as an artisan after all. Designs are much needed in your line of work. I guess I can use this with my job too, Seriously.” <Yurisa>
Iyo’s eyes brighten, she has been having a hard time at her job.
With the use of the internet, she would be able to do something about it.
“Hee~ you’re doing something interesting there.” <Shiana>
“Shaina-san” <Iyo and Yurisa>
Iyo and Yurisa said as they turned around and saw the face of the person standing behind them.
“Iyo-chi, Yuri-chi do you know her?” <Kirari>
“Yeah, my mentor seems to ask for her help from time to time.” <Iyo>
“Same here, my mentor also asked for her help a lot, Seriously!” <Yurisa>
The two bowed their heads toward Shaina.
“Stop, stop. I am just helping them out.” <Shaina>
Since the girls were about to bow to her.
Shaina stopped them by waving her hands.
Shaina took a glance at Kirari and Nomi.
“I think it’s the first time I saw the two of you. I am Shaina, I run the Weapon and Armor shop in the Scale Atelier.” <Shaina>
“I’m Yamanaka Kirari I work here as a helper and as an assistant cook. Nice to meet you Shaina-san.” <Kirari>
“I am Hino Nomi! Nice to meet you miss Shaina! I work as an apprentice alchemist at the potion shop!” <Nomi>
“Nice to meet you, Kirari-chan, Nomi-chan.” <Shaina>
Shaina replied with a nod and then started asking.
“By the way, I am curious about that thing.” <Shaina>
Shaina points at the smartphone in Kirari’s Hands.
“This…” <Kirari>
Kirari wanted to hide the smartphone away but it was too late.
Shaina leaned forward to look at the phone closer.
“What a curious piece of equipment. What is it? What can it do?” <Shaina>
Shaina's eyes were full of curiosity.
“Ah, Uhmm…” <Kirari>
Kirari was having a hard time explaining.
She did not know if it was alright for her to know what this item was.
After all, this was an item that can only be found in their world.
A piece of technology that should not exist in this world.
Shaina noticed that Kirari and her friends were looking hesitant to answer.
Shaina knew that Iyo and Yurisa were one of the 28 heroes summoned by the Empire.
She deduced that the other two were the same.
She thought that they must be hesitating because they are one of those heroes.
So, to encourage them to speak, Shaina said something.
She lowered her voice and whispered to the four girls.
“If you’re hesitating because you are from another world then be at ease. There will be no problem telling things to me. I don’t mean to brag but I am the exclusive blacksmith of one of your classmates.” <Shaina>
“One of us?” <Kirari>
Kirari asked out of curiosity
Shaina nodded before replying to Kirari.
“Do you know Mizusawa Kazue?” <Shaina>
“Kazue… Kazue-chi?!!” <Kirari>
Kirari’s eyes widen as she hears the name of a certain girl.
Shaina nods once again confirming the fact that these girls knew about her.
“I am her personal blacksmith. Also, I know about the fact that you four are from another world.” <Shaina>
Shaina pounded a fist on her chest with a smug on her face.
“Eh! Seriously?! How?!” <Yurisa>
“Kukuku~ don’t underestimate me! I am a genius after all. There’s no way I would not know something as little as that.” <Shaina>
Shaina retorted with a triumphant expression.
Kirari, Iyo, Nomi, and Yurisa looked at each other to ask for confirmation.
Iyo and Yurisa nod as if to say approval.
Kirari and Nomi returned a nod as they agree.
They explained to Shaina what the thing that they call a “Smartphone” was.
********************************
KAZUE POV
"I see, so that's what happened?" <Kazue>
"Yep! So, I borrowed this smartphone from Kirari-chan." <Shaina>
“Borrowed??” <Kazue>
“Yeah, but I would appreciate it if you don’t ask how I managed to borrow it.” <Shaina>
Shaina averted her eyes away from me.
[Knowing her, she must have done something bad or something stupid.]
“And?” <Kazue>
“And? Ah right! Because of this I managed to look for a lot of inspiration and ended up making new armor just for you! Hue hue hue, Appearance-wise I am quite proud of what I did.” <Shaina>
[Inspiration?]
“Oho~ I would love to see that…” <Kazue>
When I looked at Shaina closely there are dark circles under her eyes.
[She must have stayed up all night to work on my gear?]
“I knew you would say that. Wait here for a bit. I barely managed to finish it all last night. It’s still inside my workshop.” <Shaina>
“Ok~” <Kazue>
“Nice! OK wait for me” <Shaina>
Shaina turned around and entered the door behind the counter.
There were loud noises of something falling over and the sound of things getting tossed around.
It took about 5 minutes for the sound to settle down and soon after Shaina got out of her workshop.
Carrying several items with her Shaina placed them all on top of the counter.
"HERE!” <Shaina>
This time with a smug smile and a proud look on her face.
[Hee~ she looks confident… Let’s see]
“I based the design on that uniform. I also took several references from the thing that you call “Inturnext” for the design and concepts for the clothes.” <Shaina>
“You mean "the Internet"?” <Kazue>
“Ah yeah, yeah, that what it is, “Interntext” …” <Shaina>
“Internet” <Kazue>
“Whatever, ANYWAYS! Your world has many interesting designs of armor and weapons! It’s been very educational.” <Shaina>
The first piece I took an interest in was the black coat she prepared.
The design looks very similar to the coat we use in our world.
“I used mithril thread to weave the clothes so its sturdiness is on par with most quality metal armor I make. I also engraved “Auto Repair” to all of the equipment I prepared.” <Shaina>
“Auto Repair?! Do you mean that it repairs by itself?” <Kazue>
“Right!” <Shaina>
“WOW, that’s amazing.” <Kazue>
To be honest I am seriously impressed.
Since my equipment is damaged beyond repair, I would love to have equipment that would repair itself on its own.
I was impressed by what Shaina did.
“Normally it would cost you millions just for this enhancement. You may not know it but we use skill scrolls for this sort of effect on the equipment. “Auto Repair” scrolls are hard to obtain but since I am working with a HERO, I decided to use my precious materials!” <Shaina>
“Millions… Haha~ Thanks.” <Kazue>
“I call this set of equipment the “Prototype Otherworldly Set” <Shaina>
Shaina gave me a paper that looks like a catalog of some sort.
There the effects and the stats of each of the equipment are written.
I read the detail written in the catalog she gave me.
-----------------------------------------
Prototype Otherworldly SET
Item Name: Prototype: Otherworldly Coat
Def. Rate: B+
Enhancement:
Heat Regulation
Elemental Resistance <15%>
Auto Repair
Item Name: Prototype: Otherworldly Shirt
Def. Rate: B
Enhancement:
Magic Resist <12%>
VIT+ 10
Auto Repair
Item Name: Prototype: Otherworldly Skirt
Def. Rate: B
Enhancement:
STR + 10
Light Magic: Anti-Panty Flash
Auto Repair
Item Name: Prototype: Otherworldly Shoes
Def. Rate: B
Enhancement:
AGI+ 5
Weight Reduction <10%>
(Burst) +1
Auto Repair
Item Name: Prototype: Otherworldly Leggings
Def. Rate: B
Enhancement:
2% Increase to Speed type Skill
AGI+ 5
Auto Repair
Item Name: Prototype: Otherworldly Gloves
Def. Rate: B
Enhancement:
DEX+ 5
STR+ 5
(Weapon Mastery) +1
Auto Repair
Prototype: Otherworldly Underwear
Def. Rate: D
Enhancement:
HP Regen 1%/Hour
Auto Clean
Auto Repair
TOTAL PRICE: 100,000,000 DAL
-----------------------------------------
I read all of the detail of the gear Shaina made for me.
I wanted to ask about the skirt effect “Anti Panty Flash”.
From the looks of it, I was impressed, she even made me new underwear, how thoughtful of hers.
To be honest I need new ones.
Seriously...
While I was reading the catalog she prepared, Shaina was also explaining how wonderful the clothes were.
[Looking at her, she is passionate about her work huh?]
It seems that she has used her smartphone to search on the internet for designs.
I furrowed my eyes.
[wait a minute…]
“Internet?” <Kazue>
I muttered.
“INTERNET?!” <Kazue>
I screamed.
I just realized something amazing.
It did not register to me right away.
[How can Shaina use the internet?]
I snatched the phone out of Shaina’s hands.
“Hey! What are you---!” <Shaina>
“Let me borrow this for a bit!” <Kazue>
Certainly, the WIFI was on.
I opened the settings and looked at the network to which the phone was connected.
It was connected to “A4H1G-123GA”
It was not password protected.
“how come there’s a WIFI connection here” <Kazue>
I looked at Shaina.
“?? Is something wrong?” <Shaina>
Shaina asked me, she was as clueless as I was.
She was looking at the phone and then back to my face repeatedly.
I returned my gaze to the phone and tried to use social media platforms.
Oddly enough no matter how much I tried the site would not load.
When I tried using Boogle, I managed to access the internet without a problem.
But when I tried to search for news in our world, I was unable to do so.
[It is indeed connected to the internet, but I can’t find any information about the current events in our world.]
I could not decern the logic as to why this was happening,
“What’s the problem Kazue?” <Shaina>
“No… it’s nothing” <Kazue>
I tried several more times but the result was still the same.
It seems that I could not access sites that show events from our original world.
It was as if the sites are being blocked and would not allow access to certain information.
It was as if it was being filtered by some mysterious power.
[I guess, things won’t be that easy huh?]
Kazue returned the smartphone to Shaina.
“Otherworlders sure is amazing.” <Shaina>
“Hmnn? Why do you think so?” <Kazue>
“You can effortlessly manipulate such complicated items without having any trouble. It took me hours to just familiarize myself with it. Even now I am still having trouble using it.” <Shaina>
“Well, I guess given more time you would be able to use it freely” <Kazue>
“I suppose so, I am a genius after all.” <Shaina>
“Ahaha~ you? A genius? Pftt. Lies.” <Kazue>
I tried to tease Shaina.
I know for a fact that despite her acting stupid at times, she is an exemptional merchant.
“What? You don’t believ---” <Shaina>
I stopped Shaina in the middle of her reply.
“Leaving that aside. Shaina, where’s my Hayate, Isamu, and Kaoru” <Kazue>
She glared at me before replying.
-hmpf-
She scoffed before answering me back.
"They’re at my place. I think they miss you.” <Shaina>
Shaina was sulking but still gave me a reply.
[I rarely see her like this, but I do find her cute when she does that]
“I’ve been in your care a lot. The armor, my pets, and even other trivial things. Thanks, Shaina.” <Kazue>
“Ahahaha~ what’s with that respectful attitude! It’s not like you. Stop it.” <Shaina>
Shaina shyly replied, her cheeks blushing.
I also know for a fact that she loves to get praised.
She tries to hide it but it was too obvious that she loves it.
“I just wanted to say it to you at least once.” <Kazue>
"Ahaha..." <Shaina>
Shaina’s awkwardly laughed at the words I said.
[Cute]
“Stop, just stop. I’m not good at this kind of stuff. I appreciate your thanks though.” <Shaina>
Our conversation hit dead air.
I closed my eyes to think of a topic.
[Right! This]
“Hey, Shai. Can I ask you something?” <Kazue>
“Hmnn? Sure, what is it?” <Shaina>
“I know it’s out of nowhere but still, listen.” <Kazue>
“Kay~ what is it?” <Shaina>
“Does God exist?” <Kazue>
Shaina lifted an eyebrow out of surprise.
I could tell that she did not expect this topic at all.
“Hmnn? You ask a weird question out of nowhere. God… huh, I’ve never seen one myself but throughout history, there had been recordings of “Gods” appearing in this world. Maybe the best proof that Gods exist are the Heroes who were reincarnated in this world. Those reincarnated often say that they met God. There is also the existence of “Oracles” who receive direct orders from Gods.” <Shaina>
“Oracle?!” <Kazue>
The word “Oracle” caught my attention.
I immediately asked Shaina what an oracle was.
“Shaina! What’s an Oracle?” <Kazue>
“Oracle? Let’s see… As far as I know, they are people chosen by the gods to be their representatives in this world. People of this world see them as “Holy Beings” since they are handpicked by the gods themselves. They even make religions to praise God using the Oracle as their symbol.” <Shaina>
[Eh? Holy being? Then… what? ME? Chosen by God? Is this what I think it is?]
To me who hates garnering attention that is just the opposite of what I want.
Just having four guys treating me like a boss already made me uncomfortable.
An image of myself being the center of a religious group made me feel sick.
I closed my eyes to see the images in my mind.
To remove it from my imagination I imagine opening the envelope icon in the background.
“Is there a problem Kazue? You became silent all of a sudden.” <Shaina>
“No, it’s nothing.” <Kazue>
“Hmnn~” <Shaina>
Shaina was looking at me with a sharp gaze.
I rarely see this kind of look on Shaina’s face.
As far as I can remember she only does this when she wanted something from a customer.
[Sh*t, this is bad she might have noticed something.]
I knew that Shaina was unexpectedly perceptive when it comes to this kind of stuff.
“Kazue…” <Shaina>
I could see an ominous aura behind her smile.
“What?” <Kazue>
Shaina’s face became serious all of a sudden.
I’ve known Shaina as a carefree person in general; when she shows me this side of her It put me off my usual self.
I’ve only seen her do this to her customers before but now that I am the target of such gaze, I could feel that she could see through my thoughts.
[Shaina! You’re scary!]
“I was wondering why you suddenly ask about things about “god” and all. You even became interested in Oracles… Are you perhaps---” <Shaina>
I tried to interrupt Shaina who was about to discover that I am an Oracle.
“Oh~ Come on Shaina! What’s with that serious look all of a sudden.” <Kazue>
"HMMNNNNNN." <Shaina>
Shaina grins while looking directly in the eyes.
“No, nothing… I was just wondering if my friend became an oracle.” <Shaina>
"!!!" <Kazue>
Shaina said in a carefree tone.
“Hahaha~ come on Shaina! There’s no way that’s true…” <Kazue>
Shaina only took a glance at my face with a carefree look on her face.
I knew at once that she had figured me out.
She made a confident grin while looking at me with those sharp eyes.
“Hmnn~ Is that so?” <Shaina>
She confidently leaned over from behind the counter
“No, I.” <Kazue>
“I see, I hit the mark huh…” <Shaina>
“I…” <Kazue>
I could not come up with a reason to deny it.
“Kazue, even if I look like this, I am good at seeing through people. After all, this perk is a “must” for a merchant. Not to brag but I never saw anyone better than me at doing this.” <Shaina>
-sigh-
I give up.
"You got me good.” <Kazue>
I raised my hand from resignation.
Shaina gave me an honest smile.
“I knew it! So, Kazue became an oracle huh… Well, it’s not surprising since gods usually choose “otherworlders” to be their oracles.” <Shaina>
“Oh, is that so?” <Kazue>
“To be honest I don’t know much about oracles either, since there are just a few of them throughout history. To be exact aside from you there is only one other oracle who is still alive right now. What was her name again… Ether-something? She’s the saint that the people of the country of Riles treasure so much. From what I've heard, she's famous over there. As I said earlier, the oracle is a symbol of religion so people in Riles know a lot about the oracle. I can’t remember much detail about oracles though. If you want to know more about them, I think you should find it out yourself.” <Shaina>
“Hee~ so there is another like me huh… I want to meet them.” <Kazue>
“Sure~… Kazue, I’m not trying to stop you but Riles is REALLY far.” <Shaina>
"To be honest, I have been thinking of leaving the Imperial Capital for a while now. I think this is a good opportunity to do so.” <Kazue>
“Hee~ is that so? Why not? Before I settled here in the capital, I traveled all over the place a lot. I remember selling my weapons and armor as I traveled all around the world... It's really fun, "traveling".” <Shaina>
All of a sudden, Shaina became nostalgic.
I can see that she was reminiscing about her past.
“Really?! I think this is the first time I heard about that. So, you traveled around the world before?” <Kazue>
“Oh, come to think of it I never really had an opportunity to tell you that. Yeah, I traveled all around the world. In the end, I ended up settling here in the Imperial Capital. hahaha~ Come to think of it, I do miss traveling.” <Shaina>
"Hee~ So it's fun, huh..." <Kazue>
Shaina nods at me with a bright smile.
It was the brightest smile I've seen from Shaina in all the times I've been with her.
[She really must have a fun time traveling.]
“If you want to go to riles then you have to know more about that place.” <Shaina>
Shaina took a map under her counter.
She started explaining to me about the country “Riles”.
She even gave me pointers on how to go there.
Shaina ended up lecturing me about the world and countries other than the Artesia Empire.