I Was Reincarnated As An Instructor In An R18 Game... - Chapter 85

I walk into the blacksmith shop with Felica.

You might expect a wave of heat to hit you, but instead your eyes are drawn to the rows of weapons.

This place is both a smithy and a weapon shop, with the forge located in the back.

As a result, the shop is bustling and noisy with adventurers.

I head to the back of the counter where a gruff-looking, bearded man in his fifties stands.

His name is Bodok. He is the owner of the smithy.

Felica let go of my arm as we entered and followed behind me, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the weapons.

The weapons are sorted by type and displayed upright, making it easy to browse.

Bodok notices me approaching, furrows his brow, and starts stroking his beard with one hand.

I give a small smile at Bodok’s reaction and speak once I reach the counter.

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

“…I’m listening.”

“I want you to make this for me.”

I take several sheets of paper out of my magic bag and place them on the counter so Bodok can see.

Upon seeing them, Bodok’s already grim face deepens as he takes the papers in hand and begins reading.

While that happens, Felica behind me takes a nearby weapon in hand and examines it with a focused look.

I assume she’s thinking about applications and give a small smile before shifting my gaze back to Bodok.

After looking through the papers for a while, Bodok sighs, sets them down on the counter, and speaks in a tired voice.

“You really want a blacksmith like me to handle this?”

“I came to ask you because you know iron, can shape it freely, and always take on new challenges.”

“…Every damn time, you always come spouting cheesy lines like that.”

“I’m only telling the truth though…”

Hearing my words, Bodok scratches his head roughly with one hand.

Seeing that, I tilt my head slightly and give a troubled smile.

There are many blacksmiths in the royal capital, but Bodok is known for taking on new challenges.

His work goes beyond just weapons, including structures, fortifications, and tools.

Due to that other blacksmiths tend to avoid him, but his skill is top-tier.

With a dwarf as his master, he handles weapon creation in the game.

In the game, you can ask other blacksmiths to craft too, but their quality falls short.

For example, if other smiths can only make swords with 1 to 5 attack, Bodok can make ones with 2 to 6.

A single point might seem small, but belittle it and you might die.

In a game, you can just continue, but in reality, you only have one life.

If it means coming back alive, I’ll cling even to a single-point boost.

Another trait of Bodok’s is that, unlike other blacksmiths who only make weapons and armor, he also makes tools.

Using game knowledge, that includes things like storage chests and scabbards.

Bodok lets out a big sigh, waves the papers with one hand, and speaks as if exhausted.

“I need seven days for this, okay?”

“That’s fast…”

“Come on… if I couldn’t make something from a blueprint like this, I’d be a failure as a blacksmith.”

What I gave him was a rough sketch. Nowhere near professional, but I gave it a shot.

I’m not good at explaining things with words, so this way is easier for me.

I always tell Bodok, “It’s just something an amateur made, use it as a reference,” and every time he gives a big sigh.

After handing over several gold coins and talking with Bodok a bit, I step away from the counter.

Glancing back to look for Felica, I find her staring seriously at the shelf of longswords with her arms crossed.

I walk up from behind and call out, and Felica, noticing me, gives an embarrassed smile and speaks.

“Looking at them like this, weapons really do come in varous kinds, don’t they?”

“Yeah… that’s why adventurers try out different weapons to find what suits them.”

“Trying out various weapons…”

I glance sideways at her thoughtful face, as if struck by my words, and shift my gaze to the longsword in front of me.

No matter how many times I look, it’s flawless and without warping. Other shops sometimes have distortions, but Bodok’s weapons are different.

Speaking of warping, our unit commander during the war was really fussy about it.

He was so strict about warping and damage, he even added special training time to teach us how to spot it.

According to my unit commander, once you can recognize this, you can destroy an enemy’s weapon in battle.

Let me be clear, the only reason he could break them was because he had monstrous strength. Normally, weapons can’t be broken that easily.

Still, being able to spot damaged weapons helped me escape death more than once, so I took it seriously.

Actually, it wasn’t just me. All the soldiers in our unit probably thought so too.

–

I was walking along 10th Street, holding Felica’s hand in my right hand.

Felica, walking as if being pulled along, gives a troubled smile. I glance slightly behind us and let out a small sigh.

Perhaps inspired by something at the blacksmith, Felica attempted to return to the academy, but I stopped her.

Even though she’d slept, she looked so tired like her batteries had run out, so I could not allow Felica to head to the academy like that.

That’s why I’m holding Felica’s hand now and walking her back to her estate.

Another reason is I felt like she’d sneak off to the academy the moment I looked away.

“Reid, holding hands on this street is… kind of embarrassing.”

“…Hmm.”

Felica, matching my pace on my right side, speaks with a slightly blushing, embarrassed face.

It was not out of mischief, but I smiled at Felica’s words and wrapped my right arm around her waist to pull her close.

I pull her closer so that one of her watermelon-sized br3asts is touching me, reveling in the soft feeling.

Felica seemed surprised, her cheeks turning even redder, her eyes wandering as she said.

“I told you it was embarrassing, didn’t I?”

“Rejected. I can’t trust you right now, Felica. I’m worried… please bear with me, okay?”

“Ug~~~hhh, that’s unfair! Reid, you are really unfair like that!”

Felica lightly taps me with her free right hand. Finding her adorable, I lean in and press a brief kiss to her lips.

Taken aback by the unexpected kiss, Felica freezes, her face reddening as she lowers her eyes.

Felica’s residence was located on the royal castle side, just before Lucienne’s home.

It might be bigger than the former Erika residence. The gatekeeper soldiers look suspiciously back and forth between Felica and me.

So I approached and explained the situation, but the gatekeeper told us to wait without lowering his guard.

It was no wonder the gatekeepers were suspicious, after all, Felica had blushed and quietly looked down since the kiss.

One guard out of the two hurried to the house and quickly came back accompanied by a maid.

To a maid roughly the same age as Felica, I introduced myself lightly and explained what was going on. When I tried to leave her in their care, I was held back.

“Please come inside.”

“No, I…”

“This way, please.”

My words were ignored with a smirk, and I was almost forcefully led into the mansion.

Felica, who had her waist held, lightly grabbed my clothes with her right hand, and seeing that, I gave a wry smile.

…She’s deliberately keeping silent, isn’t she?

I saw Felica’s mouth curl into a slight smirk as she looked down, and I smiled softly while exhaling quietly.

Thinking it was just payback for embarrassing her, I figured it was no big deal and followed the maid with Felica behind her.

Inside Felica’s mansion was elegant but not so flashy it hurt the eyes.

However, I wished someone would do something about the stares and expressions of the maids lined up on both sides to greet Felica.

Felica leaned close and quietly told me that she had already told the maids about me and that they knew.

Even though they are maids, they are as strong as knights and skilled in espionage.

…In other words, they had researched me beforehand and knew my face… which explains their expressions.

We went up to the second floor and were led into a study-like room. The maid bowed and left after preparing tea.

After the maid left the room, Felica looked up, smiled, and took my hand.

She pulled my hand and guided me to two sofas facing each other in the center of the room, then encouraged me to sit down.

After I took a seat on the sofa, Felica sat beside me on the left and rested her shoulder on mine.

“Fufu, were you surprised?”

“I was surprised… but if I knew I was going to visit, I would have brought a gift.”

“Think of it as payback… after all, you kissed me on such a busy street.”

Looking up with flushed cheeks, Felica caught my gaze; I wrapped my left arm around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her.

So I decided to return the favor, going beyond just touching her lips and sliding my tongue into Felica’s mouth.

“Mm? Nuuuh, mmm, hmm, smooch… geez.”

“It’s Felica’s fault for saying something so cute.”

I stopped the kiss and pulled my face away; she blushed shyly and lightly tapped my chest.

While smiling at Felica’s reaction, the maid came in with tea and snacks.

During some small talk with the maid, Felica suggested we have dinner together.

Smiling, I nodded and accepted her proposal.

Chapter length 3714 characters.