Chapter 453: Right, he is a merchant  

Oracle of the Goddess.

I barely have gotten any of that.

When I came here…as if kidnapped…the only thing we did was exchange some words.

Hibiki-senpai apparently hears about it rarely.

But a shocking truth was revealed here.

Tomoki has been contacted by the Goddess pretty often.

Tomoki himself said it happens every now and then, but compared to the amount of times with me and Senpai, it is a world of difference.

“Hm? The oracle of the Goddess? There aren’t many requests where she asks for anything big. I would say around once every 3 months.” (Tomoki)

No, that’s a lot.

The drinking got longer than I expected, and I did my best to ask Tomoki about the Goddess’s oracles and the connection.

“But I would say that, aside from that, we have completely unimportant talk once a month? Speaking of which, I have not heard much about you and Hibiki from the Goddess. You guys would only come up at the times when we decide on what to do.” (Tomoki)

That’s not an oracle anymore but mail or chatting.

That’s how it feels.

So he was the closest Hero to God, huh.

I have my doubts, but…what’s the reason she likes Tomoki more than Senpai?

No matter how you think about it, it is Senpai all the way.

“In the beginning, it was about the latest fashion trend in the time I was in Japan, asking about the synthetic fiber, the feel of the texture, how it feels on the skin; well, she may be a Goddess, but she must have had interest in fashion. After that, she would ask about whether there’s any useful material that could be used here as well, and talked about how we should make down jackets first because the Empire is a cold country. She is someone that really likes to talk about clothes and the latest fad.” (Tomoki)

…

That’s why your world is turning into this much of a mess.

Only developing the sense of beauty and things related to hyumans to an abnormal extent.

Even though a God is present, it is far from being peaceful.

“I unfortunately don’t have much of a connection with her, but…she is quite the frank Goddess, huh. My impression of her has changed a great deal. It is surprising that she is unexpectedly caring.” (Makoto)

It simply changed from the absolute worst impression to a fast slide downwards though.

I unconsciously stirred the wine that doesn’t even intoxicate me.

“You could call the Goddess a busybody too though. The Goddess is apparently tied up to the rules of Gods which is rough for her, and I am made to listen to her complaints… It is a pain.” (Tomoki)

“…Hey, Tomoki, can I ask this?” (Makoto)

“?”

“You say Goddess Goddess, but…have you not been told her name?” (Makoto)

In the end, she didn’t tell me her name.

Senpai didn’t know either.

If even Tomoki hasn’t heard it even though he is this close to her, is there a reason why she hides it?

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t. But the Goddess is only her, so is there any point in a name?” (Tomoki)

“Eh?” (Makoto)

…

Eh?

“It is not like she is like us mortals who are a dime in a dozen, right? She is a God and she is the only Goddess in this world. The church also calls her Goddess, and it is apparently disrespectful to say her name, so it isn’t made clear. The Goddess is the only eternal existence, so there’s no need to distinguish her with a name or…” (Tomoki)

“Or what?” (Makoto)

Let’s hear what he has to say for now.

They are in a close relationship where they listen to their complaints, so there’s no need to know their name?

Is that the thought process of a normie? Or the type where they make nicknames on the spot and go all yay?

It is a world that I had no involvement or interest in, so I don’t understand it at all.

“Maybe it is a sparkly name that she herself wants to throw away so she doesn’t want to say it? There’s a lot of weird names among Gods, right? Like the Amateran, ChupaCabra, and the Abhos.” (Tomoki)

The first one is probably a Shinto God that is worshipped in Japan.

By Ameteran, is he referring to Amaterasu-sama? He gets it wrong in a way as if it would be a mobile suit.

The other one is an UMA.

The last one may be a God, but it is in a special category that shows in the Lovecraft-san’s mythos.

Moreover, he somehow managed to get the obscure ones…was it by coincidence?

“Sparkly name, huh. I didn’t think of that.” (Makoto)

“Really? There were a number of those in my class, and you could find people like that in the school pretty normally, you know. People like Adam, Mario, Romeo, Pudin, or Lemon.” (Tomoki)

…No, there was none of that.

There was no one who had names like that in my class.

Could it be that Tomoki came from a far earlier era than mine?

No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t say ‘sparkly names’.

If it were normal, he wouldn’t call them like that.

“I-Is that how it is?” (Makoto)

“That’s how it is. I would say it is something like…Goddess Hamohanyamuni or whatever.” (Tomoki)

“?!”

“What?” (Tomoki)

“N-no, I kinda felt really embarrassed hearing that name for some reason…” (Makoto)

I have heard that Hamohanyamuni somewhere.

From what I know, it is not an acquaintance. Yeah…

“I see, so even you have a weakness of sorts, huh. You and Hibiki as well; your strengths are placed heavily in one-on-one. In the eyes of someone like me who places my weight on large scales, that style of yours -despite being inefficient- it looks invincible, and that in a way makes me jealous.” (Tomoki)

“Then just prepare equipment suitable for one-on-one.” (Makoto)

“?!”

Why are you making a surprised expression?

Isn’t that a really normal response?

“You changed your type depending on your equipment; you could call it the composition of your strength? Putting it negatively, you rely on your equipment; putting it positively, you are all-purpose depending on your equipment. In online games, one form of being the strongest is to pay money to become strong, right? In your case, thanks to the blessing of the Goddess and the overwhelming national power of Gritonia, this can be possible, right?” (Makoto)

No matter what you think about it, Tomoki has an unbelievable affinity with magic tools.

It might be the effect of the Goddess’s blessing or divine protection.

In other words, in this world where there’s Item Boxes…you can carry a variety of equipment, and adapt depending on the situation of the battle.

Also, because he is originally from Japan, his physical strength is quite high from the very beginning.

From what I know, the battle style of Tomoki is to do a rapid-fire of high firepower attacks in the air from a flying dragon to overwhelm his enemies. It is a standard tactic, but Tomoki judged that that was the optimal choice.

If you take the lead, it would be hard to cause friendly fire in the air.

That’s why there’s no way Tomoki wouldn’t think of getting the best equipment centered on one-on-one battles.

He just has to take powerful magic tools and artifacts with those effects.

Fortunately for Tomoki, he probably can bring out the power of anything.

There’s no way he is even Charming inanimate objects. That would be a bit scary.

“Oi, have you taken a peek in the treasury of the Empire?” (Tomoki)

“I haven’t. The only memory I have of the Empire is the tour I had in the white desert.” (Makoto)

The granny incident was a sad happening that was brought on by an unfortunate misunderstanding and thoughtless ill intend…

“Oh man, even if I am a Hero and I can’t hide being exposed to the public eye, having so much of myself known by a guy that I am not even that close to is a bit…” (Tomoki)

“That’s the fate of Heroes. Just give it up.” (Makoto)

“…Yeah yeah. And so, I will be staying in this city for a few days. I promise on my name as a Hero and on the name of the Goddess that I will not use my Charm once if you help me search for the stone. How’s that?” (Tomoki)

Tomoki looks at me as if testing me out.

The answer was settled a long time ago.

Even if the Goddess instructed it and it was to utilize his time effectively while waiting for Senpai to arrive, he went as far as leaving the battlefield to obtain it.

I am interested in it.

Also, despite appearances, I am the representative of a company in the wasteland and this town.

A customer is looking for an item.

There’s only one thing to do.

“Of course, a teacher protects their students from the hands of evil. Even if they are unsung and told they are creepy…” (Makoto)

“…If you are going to be looked down upon, you should have just stayed as only a merchant. With your taming and that abnormal power of yours, even that dangerous zone that is the wasteland would be a walk in the park for you.” (Tomoki)

“And so, I need a compass of sorts. You said it is a gem. Are there any conditions, or on the contrary, are there any conditions that don’t fall in line at all when it comes to it?” (Makoto)

I am trying to act cool here, but it is true that it would be troubling if he were to just tell me it is a gem.

The magic power, the size, the color, and if it is embedded in an ornament, what’s the appearance of said ornament.

Even if it is a small thing, I want something to go by.

“I apparently will be able to tell if I touch it, but…ah!” (Tomoki)

That’s a relief.

Looks like Tomoki has gotten an idea of it.

…Honestly speaking, there’s a lot of stone types around.

It isn’t impossible to gather them all haphazardly, but it would be impossible to do so in a few days.

“Please tell me.” (Makoto)

“It is a stone that doesn’t have magic power.” (Tomoki)

“T-That’s all?” (Makoto)

“Aah, no…now that I think about it, she did say that what’s important is the wavelength.” (Tomoki)

“Wavelength.” (Makoto)

Wavelength? What does that mean?

…That you are menta—let’s not.

“It is not like there’s something made solely for me somewhere in the world, but more like a…Power Stone?” (Tomoki)

“A power stone, huh.” (Makoto)

“I wasn’t interested even if I was told about it being like a power stone, and I didn’t get it at all. Did that serve as a hint? If it were in the precious items of the Academy or in the exhibited items of the museums, it would have been easy.” (Tomoki)

I see.

Don’t underestimate me who was sandwiched in between my older sister and little sister.

Power stone, huh. I get it to a certain degree.

And wavelength.

I think it refers to affinity.

It is not something exclusive to heroes.

In other words…there’s a stone that conforms to Tomoki, or something that can fit Tomoki.

Rather than seeing the quality, I would say it is more important to gather quantity here.

Then, I should gather stones that are found in the wasteland, things that could be found even in Japan, and stones that can only be found in this world.

Ones that don’t have magic power and have a decent amount of quality, right?

The size…

“No delineation for the size?” (Makoto)

“It would be troubling if it isn’t something in a size that I can wear.” (Tomoki)

“To make it into equipment, huh. But the important thing is the stone itself though.” (Makoto)

“Yeah. At worst, if you can at least find the stone, we can prepare the stuff like the pedestal, the head, the chain and stuff like that on our side.” (Tomoki)

“Got it. Then, see you in 3 days.” (Makoto)

“Nice. I like that confidence. I see, you really are a merchant.” (Tomoki)

Hearing my words and looking at my face, Tomoki raised the corners of his mouth and grinned.

Did I make a confident expression?

Even if that’s the case, it is natural to do so.

I am the representative of the Kuzunoha Company; the merchant, Raidou.

“…Ah.” (Makoto)

“?”

“No, it is nothing. Then, in 3 days. Right, come to the Kuzunoha Company’s store at noon.” (Makoto)

…

I thought for a moment that it has been quite a while since I have had normal merchant work.

It really has been a while since I have interacted personally with a customer for a business deal.

I was a bit grateful towards Tomoki for that.