Chapter 23 – Beardy old man (according to Ririi)

If asked for their impression of Miss Esmeralda, all graduates from the magic school will say she was kind of a dangerous person.

She’d blast away classrooms during practical magic lessons, blow into dust monsters that people were prohibited from hunting without permission during on-site practical lessons, and most importantly, apparently her appearance hasn’t changed in thirty years.

She’s a sort of compact looking old woman, but apparently that’s how she’s been all this time. At the very least, it’s true that she looks the same now as she did when I graduated.

She obviously looks human, but could she actually be an elf? Then again, even elves should look different after thirty years.

All of this leaves me feeling wary of that person she knows that makes staves.

As they say, birds of a feather flock together, so if Miss Esmeralda’s introducing this person, I can’t say I’m expecting someone normal. And the fact that this is a person that can work on a crystal dragon’s horn doesn’t help things either.

I want Ririi to only live in the beautiful parts of this world, so suffice to say, I want to go there by myself. But…

“Ririh doesn’t wanna stay! Take Ririh too!”

I fail to talk Ririi down as she stands in front of me in the entrance with her arms open, so I reluctantly take her along to see this person that makes staves. The atelier is on the outskirts of the capital, but in a different direction from Miss Esmeralda’s place.

It takes us a while to get there, even though we’re going by a magic bus that goes around the city.

“Is there really an atelier in this place…?”

To be blunt, the area around this map she gave me is just a bunch of ruins. Half collapsed buildings lined up here and there, and rubble and lumber piled on the cracked roads.

For a second, it kind of feels like I’m back in Zenith, but this is the capital. I didn’t know there were slums like this here too.

“Daddy… Ririh’s a bit scared…”

“Do you want me to hold you?”

“Yes…”

We keep walking while ignoring the eyes around us, and eventually reach the place indicated on the map.

“Here…”

This building has retained its shape a bit more than the things around it that were once houses, so it stands out.

But there’s no sign or anyone out here attracting customers or anything, so it’s impossible to tell from the outside that this run-down shack is an atelier.

“Excuse us…”

I open the door, fearing that it’s exactly what it looks like from the outside, and I’m surprised to see a proper atelier… Is nowhere to be seen. It’s just a dusty room with a table and a bed.

…Atelier? Miss Esmeralda didn’t play a prank on me, did she?

“…Whoryu…?”

I hear a hoarse voice coming from the floor. There’s actually a dirty old man on the floor. The best description I can offer is that he looks like he’s wide like he got fat from drinking. Why’s he on the floor if he has a bed right there? He probably just fell asleep where he was because he was so drunk. There’s an empty bottle next to him.

“Miss Esmeralda sent me here. Are you the master staff maker?”

The old man sluggishly gets up, and the light shining from a crack in the wall reflects off his head that’s free of hair all the way to the top.

“Esmeralda…? That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. Yeah, I’m the number one staff maker in this place… But why’d ya come here with a kid?”

Those eyes above that shaggy beard feel sharp. I can’t say they feel like they belong to someone with good character, but they’re sharp like a blade. I’m thinking this guy’s more than just a drunk old man.

“I want you to make a staff for my daughter. I have the horn of a crystal dragon, but no one to work on it.”

I take the horn that’s about as big as a smallish piece of wood from my magic bag, and show it to the old man. He looks at the faintly shining horn without much interest.

“…Ya got that right, your average worker’s not gonna handle that. It makes sense that she sent you here.”

“Then…”

I’m cut off by a dirty sounding voice.

“Nope. I’m not doing that anymore. You best bring me the best booze around if you really want me to work on that no matter what.”