-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Hidden-Faced Barbarian of the Reversed World
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“These damn explorers nowadays, they’ve got no romance.”
Smack!
The blonde, tanned woman wearing a mask slapped her firm thigh and said.
She’d hit it so hard, a red palm print appeared on her bronze-colored thigh.
“A sharp, agile sword? Good. A free-flowing, precise spear? That’s good too. Rapiers are popular as well. I even enjoy making those kinds of weapons. But…”
Gulp. Gulp.
The woman paused mid-sentence and drank straight from the bottle. With the mask still on her face. She ate and drank with a mask that had no holes.
Staring blankly at the absurd sight, I subtly checked her level, and it seemed like she could do whatever she wanted, so I just nodded.
“Ah! Still delicious. I just can’t quit this place because of this taste, you know? Uh, what was I saying again?”
‘Is she senile?’
She was the most troublesome customer I’d ever encountered.
I just intended to take her order, but this woman, whenever she got the chance, would grab me while I was serving and launch into a long lecture.
In fact, this was already the fourth time we’d had this conversation. I could already picture exactly what the woman in front of me was going to say next.
I subtly checked her level again. As expected, her level was simply overwhelming. I had no choice but to shut up and play along.
“Everyone just chases efficiency, a bunch of spineless cowards, and there’s no one who’s stubbornly dedicated to romance, just blindly charging headfirst, right?”
“Ah, yes, yes. That’s what I was going to say. You rascal... You even understand the romance of a Great Helm, and you’re smart too?”
“…”
At this point, my head was starting to spin. What a mess this was, all because I fell for a single compliment about my helmet.
“You have an eye for armaments.”
The woman suddenly cupped her hands together and brought them up to her eyes, as if pretending to look through a telescope.
With the mask on, she clearly shouldn’t have been able to see, yet she seemed to be looking straight at me.
This was a new opening line. Was this the start of a new drunk rambling pattern?
However, regardless of what the woman said, I had a hunch that I possessed a similar ability.
‘Even when I first saw this Great Helm, I felt a radiant blue light that even the weapon shop owner hadn’t perceived.’
And now.
A dazzling light, incomparable to that of the Great Helm, was emanating from the mask and cloak the woman wore.
“Everyone’s caught up in illusions. The illusion of reputation and fancy appearances. Even intermediate and advanced explorers who visit workshops or weapon shops only know things by rough estimation, and hardly anyone can clearly discern the true essence of an armament.”
“Ah, yes…”
I didn’t quite understand what she was talking about. Reputation? Appearances? Workshop?
‘Is she a blacksmith? And a rather successful one?’
At least, that’s what I could infer from our conversation so far.
“But you’re different. You found a treasure hidden in a pile of junk.”
The woman said that, pointing a finger at my face. Though, more accurately, it was the helmet I was wearing.
“Well, I admit the craftsmanship is a little, just a little, crude. It was my first piece, after all. But still! Not selling for over ten years is just too much, isn’t it?!”
Gulp. Gulp.
The woman chugged the 82-proof dwarf-exclusive liquor like water, and spoke as if feeling wronged.
She must have felt her esophagus burning, yet the woman continued speaking as if nothing was wrong.
“Hmph, even after I really succeeded, I sometimes go back to the weapon shop where I first delivered it, and every time I see that helmet just gathering dust, not even on display, my heart just breaks... But the saddest thing is that no one recognized the helmet’s true value all this time...”
The woman spoke as if lamenting her fate.
“But in that situation, if I were to say ‘I made this’ myself, it’d be a bit… awkward, wouldn’t it? It’d seem like I was begging them to buy it, like I was throwing away my pride. Don’t you think? Huh?”
“Yeah… that’s kind of lame.”
“Right?! You think so too, don’t you?!”
As I continued to listen to the woman’s words, questions began to pile up inside me. Still, if I tried to piece together her story as best as I could…
‘She’s already successful, but she’s upset because her first work, made in the past, hasn’t sold yet?’
And that work is the Great Helm I’m currently wearing?
Was it like a renowned artist wanting their early work, from their obscure days, to be recognized? Is that the kind of psychology at play?
“Right. Now that it’s found its owner, I have no regrets, damn it! It finally sold…!”
Gulp. Gulp.
Kyah!
The woman emptied the bottle in an instant and staggered to her feet.
She seemed so happy that her first work, the helmet, had finally sold, I could feel her beaming with delight even through the atmosphere.
“What’s the total?”
“That’ll be 36 silver coins.”
To spend 36 silver coins on a single meal, I thought, what incredible wealth. It was almost equivalent to two months of my wages.
Given that she’d consecutively emptied seven bottles of already expensive dwarf-made liquor, it made sense.
As I was thinking that, the woman pulled something even more incredible from her pocket.
A golden coin, radiating a brilliant yellow light.
A gold coin.
“Shoot. No small change.”
The woman said that and flicked the gold coin.
A single gold coin, flicked with her calloused thumb, landed neatly in my palm.
“Consider it a treat. Keep the change as a tip. Don’t hand it all over to that Diana gal.”
“Thank you!”
I bowed deeply, expressing my sincere gratitude. The slight annoyance and boredom I’d felt while dealing with the woman completely vanished.
What was a little drunk rambling compared to this?
Damn. If she gave me this much, I’d confidently listen to her ranting and raving beside me 24/7, 365 days a year, with a smile.
The woman, who had been waving her hand and staggering towards the exit of the inn, suddenly stopped dead, grabbing the door.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“It’s Balkan.”
“Balkan… Right. But what’s your name?”
“…”
‘Is she really senile?’
“…It’s Balkan.”
“Right. Balkan. You… come find my workshop in about two months. Explorers who can discern weapons are rare, so I’ll make you something.”
Hiccup.
The woman said that, then waved her hand and walked away.
“Wait…”
So who are you, exactly…?
***
“So Zirnier Basil was here?”
“Is that person’s name Zirnier Basil?”
While cleaning the shop and chatting with Diana after closing hours, I brought up the story of the masked woman, and Diana suddenly pressed her hand to her forehead.
Zirnier Basil. Now that I thought about it, I remembered.
The splendid and diverse armaments in the luxury weapon shop, and even the huge, magnificent double-bladed axe that stirred a man’s heart.
Most of the armaments displayed there were attributed to a name: Zirnier Basil.
“She told you to visit her house sometime?”
“Not her house, her workshop.”
“With a generous tip?”
“Yes. I accepted it, but it was such a large sum…”
Diana closed her eyes and waved her hand.
“No. You received it, so it’s yours. I trust you’ll use it wisely. Invest it in your future.”
There are plenty of awful bosses who pocket their employees’ tips, but Diana was far from being like them.
Suddenly, I had a large sum of money in my hands.
The blonde, tanned woman had given me the money, saying she’d give me something good if I came to her.
64 silver coins. My current total assets: around 70 silver coins.
‘I’ll have to reinvest all of it, won’t I?’
There was no money to spend on luxuries or leisure.
Money earned from part-time work? That too, goes into Labyrinth expeditions.
Money earned from Labyrinth expeditions? That too, goes into Labyrinth expeditions. Only then would my future become brighter.
“So, was this your first time meeting Zirnier Basil?”
“Yes. I’ve seen her around the tavern often, but this was our first conversation.”
“I see… I misunderstood then.”
– Did anyone, like, rush at you half-naked with weird hair? Are you hurt anywhere?
Now that I thought about it, when I changed my helmet, I remembered Diana’s unusually worried expression.
The Zirnier Basil I saw this time wasn’t half-naked, but she did seem a bit strange… like an eccentric person. Was it because she was drunk?
‘Wait. So Diana knew this helmet was an armament made by Zirnier Basil, even back then?’
Even I, who could identify glowing armaments, hadn’t realized until now that the Great Helm was an armament made by Zirnier Basil.
But if she could recognize it with just a glance, didn’t that mean Diana and Zirnier Basil had maintained a relationship for quite some time?
Come to think of it, they had occasionally shown signs of familiarity before.
‘Come to think of it, why is Diana working at an inn here?’
A Level 70 inn owner. Honestly, that’s a bit scary. And it couldn’t just be a hobby; Diana was genuinely dedicated to her inn work.
Suddenly, I became curious about Diana’s past, but I quickly dismissed the thought.
– Everyone has their own circumstances.
Diana hadn’t pried into my past. So I couldn’t very well start prying into hers, claiming curiosity.
“I’ll just finish tidying up.”
“Alright. Thank you, as always.”
“The pleasure’s all mine.”
And so, another day ended safely.
***
The Explorer’s District. Weapon Shop Lane.
On my way to acquire equipment, I subtly sought out the luxury weapon shop displaying Zirnier Basil’s armaments.
“Ah. How radiant...! Look at the detail on this radiant spearhead!”
“This spear, made by that blacksmith from the deep levels…”
The levels of those examining the armaments were all unusually high.
No low-level explorers were visible. The minimum cutoff seemed to be intermediate explorer level.
‘Two months from now…’
Seeing such magnificent weapons, it was impossible not to feel excited.
Still, I took a deep breath and tried to calm my mind.
Even if I had a good weapon, if I couldn’t wield it properly, it would be as good as useless.
At least for now, it was time to focus on my own stats rather than weapons.
I turned my eyes and went down to the weapon shop district. Not a desolate weapon shop, but one with several beginner explorers.
I searched through everything, but I couldn’t find any armaments radiating a blue light like Zirnier Basil’s helmet.
In the end, among the displayed armaments, I purchased the best quality breastplate for 40 silver coins.
“To get a full set of half-plate armor, you’d need at least 88 silver coins.”
“Owner. How much more do you want to fleece me for? Can’t you even make this much of an investment in a promising future explorer?”
“Haha. Nonsense. If you want to haggle, try taking off your pants first.”
The reason I only got the breastplate was simply because it was too expensive.
Still, I decided to be grateful that I could at least protect my torso.
My axe was slowly dulling to the point of being unusable, so I bought a new one that would cut well, and also acquired greaves for long-distance travel.
After acquiring low-grade potions, antidotes, daily necessities, and food, another 25 silver coins or so had vanished.
It took less than a day to deplete my entire fortune from 70 silver coins down to 5.
Earning money was damn hard, but spending it was truly instantaneous.
Still, I didn’t regret it. It was a necessary investment.
I believed that these choices would one day save my life.
Time flowed quickly.
And so, today arrived.
The Labyrinth entrance portal would open again.
-------------------- Wanna support me personally, or suggest a series i should pick? you can do all of this and more at my ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/vinez --------------------