The Villainous Aristocrat's Efforts Led to a Genuine Harem - Episode 28

Episode 28

“…This is your room, you know?”

For now, I had Vilias go to the bath. While Inaesia and I began cleaning.

…Don’t just leave food waste lying around like that.

“If you do that, bugs will appear… Seriously…”

Vilias cleaned with an irritated look. I used spatial magic to gather the trash and teleport it to the dump.

…This might be the most useless way to use spatial magic in the world.

As we were doing that, Vilias came staggering back.

Seeing her completely exhausted like she had just finished a marathon, Inaesia let out a sigh.

“Why are you so tired-looking?”

“…I hate baths, they drain my stamina.”

“…What exactly are you using your stamina on? Geez. Anyway, we’ve at least made this place livable. I wasn’t sure whether we should throw away the stuff I grouped over there. So check it later.”

“People could live here before too.”

“Hah?”

Vilias flinched at Inaesia’s intimidation. She then glanced at me.

“…I want to hear about the mithril.”

“I told you, right? There’s a dungeon nearby where a monster called a Mithril Golem appears. That’s why I’d like to ask a blacksmith here to craft a weapon using mithril…”

“…Who told you there’s a blacksmith who can work mithril?”

Unlike the game, she’s asking annoying questions.

“…It was just a coincidence. Is it you?”

“…No, my master can… but I still can’t…”

“Even if you can’t process mithril… can you make a weapon that can defeat a Mithril Golem?”

“That’s—”

Vilias dropped her gaze as if troubled.

…Up to this point, things are progressing just like in the main game.

The reason the main game’s protagonist visits Vilias is to have a weapon made by the blacksmith Forna.

But Forna is already old and frail. So the task falls to her apprentice, Vilias.

The timing of the visit is different from the game. But it’s going smoothly so far.

…The reason I went out of my way to meet Vilias is because she’s the most skilled blacksmith in the main game.

To avoid my ruinous future, I figured I’d need weapons like the ones she makes.

“…I can’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“…Because I have no talent.”

Vilias said that and looked down.

…She has no confidence.

Despite her lifestyle or the attitude she showed us at first, she had zero confidence when it came to blacksmithing alone.

“Did someone tell you that?”

“…Not exactly. But my master was always angry at me…”

“Isn’t that just because they were your master? It’s rare for a teacher to praise their apprentice.”

“…I’m still not satisfied with my own skills. That’s why I won’t make weapons for anyone.”

She said something similar in the main game too.

…At this point, the main game’s protagonist would leave, trigger a bunch of events, then come back to request again.

But I have no intention of dragging this out.

“Isn’t blacksmithing something where, as you keep making weapons with your skills, your skills naturally improve?”

That’s how it is in the game. But Vilias looked a bit offended and shook her head.

“No. Blacksmithing isn’t that simple.”

“Is that so?”

“…In fact, I… can’t level up my skill anymore.”

Her skill level is indeed capped.

Through events in the main game, that restriction is lifted. And Vilias is able to level up again.

…The reason her level-up stopped is because she began to doubt her own talent. In the game, the protagonist also gets defeated by demons partway through and goes through a similar setback.

“…Just making things mindlessly isn’t enough. To improve as a blacksmith, that alone isn’t enough… I think.”

In terms of the game system, the fastest way to train a blacksmith is to mass-produce anything and everything. But because Vilias was never praised by her master, that’s become a mental shackle for her.

…Praise, huh. But even if I wanted to praise her, unless she makes a weapon for me, I can’t.

“That may be true… but don’t you think you can’t really judge the performance of your weapons unless someone actually uses them?”

“…No. Until I’m satisfied, I won’t make anything for anyone.”

Stubborn girl.

She was a hassle in the main game too. But she’s even worse now.

Then I might have to trigger an event like in the game.

If I can clear her subquest, I should be able to manage.

“Then what do I need to do to get you to make something?”

“…If I become satisfied with my own skills.”

“When will that day come?”

…Are you planning to not trigger that event until the main game starts?

There *are* other blacksmiths. But it’d be a waste to ignore the best one right in front of me.

This is already a matter of gamer pride. Since I’ve already made contact, I don’t want to settle for less.

When I said that, Vilias lowered her gaze again. Inaesia seemed unable to bear watching. She spoke up.

“H-hey… Isn’t it pointless to push her too hard?”

Inaesia said that to me. Normally, someone like Ryō would know when to back off.

“…You might be right. But it’s because I know how skilled she is that I don’t want her to be troubled over something like this.”

“………………Wait a second. Do you… know me?”

Vilias glanced at me. She rarely showed expression. But now her eyes were searching mine.

Of course I know her as a game character. But I added a bit of personal backstory to that.

I picked up a sword that was lying nearby. Vilias flinched and fidgeted a little.

“T-that sword is—”

“This was made by you, right? A Rolling Sword. It’s a good blade. The difficulty to craft a Rolling Sword is quite high. Just seeing this is enough to tell that your skill is the real deal.”

I lightly held it and swung it. The moment I gripped the sword, I could feel my stats being boosted.

Most likely, it has some kind of buff effect attached.

As I admired the blade, Vilias looked down with an embarrassed expression.

“…What’s wrong?”

“…W-weapons are… made with my soul poured into them. So basically… they’re the same as a part of me.”

“…What do you mean?”

“…It feels like… being seen naked… It’s embarrassing…”

“………”

What kind of feeling is that?