Arifureta Zero: Volume 1 Page 2

  Once he finished looking, he glanced back at Ping.

  “This was supposed to be your job, Ping... Why is Oscar the one who made it?”

  “Th-This is a misunderstanding, Chief. He was spending all his time making junk, so I thought if he was free he could help me a little. I’m still the one who made it.” Ping prostrated himself before Karg.

  However, Karg didn’t even bother listening to his reply and turned back to Oscar. Oscar was wearing the same awkward smile as always, and didn’t say anything.

  Karg sighed and addressed Ping.

  “I see. I suppose that means I can expect this level of quality from your next work as well?”

  “Huh? What?”

  Karg smirked and showed Ping the object in his hand.

  “This armor clasp’s exceptionally well done. It’s pliable in all the right places, so it absorbs impacts well. Also, it’s been crafted in such a way that a Synergist could easily repair it if it broke in battle.”

  “I-I see...”

  The other craftsmen all turned toward Oscar in surprise. Their expressions were difficult to read.

  It was only Ping who failed to grasp the implication behind Karg’s words. He couldn’t understand why everyone was looking at Oscar.

  Seeing his confusion, Karg put it more plainly.

  “Rather than trying to show off your own skill, you crafted this clasp to perfectly suit the needs of its wielder. It may look plain, but it’s clearly a first-rate clasp. So I’m asking you, Ping, can I expect this kind of high-quality work from you in the future? Well?”

  “......” Cold sweat poured down Ping’s back. Karg was asking for more than he could possibly deliver. He didn’t possess the skills to expertly craft things like that clasp.

  “I-I’m honored by your praise, Chief. However, even I’m surprised by how well this turned out. To be honest, uh, I can’t say with confidence that I can do it again. Besides, putting so much effort into every one of my projects would slow me down too much...”

  “I see. In that case, do your own jobs. Work hard until you’re good enough that you can make these kinds of quality goods regularly, instead of wasting your time chatting away.”

  Karg’s glare was so intense that even a dragon would have withered beneath it.

  “Hiii!? Y-Yes sir! I’m sorry, sir!” Ping accepted the box Oscar gave him and nearly tripped over himself in his haste to escape. Torpa and Raul hurriedly followed after him. The other craftsmen lost interest in the commotion and returned to their work.

  “Umm... Chief? Thanks for helpin—”

  “Come to my office.” Karg turned on his heel and stalked off. He indicated with nod of his head that he wanted Oscar to follow him.

  Sighing, Oscar chased after Karg. His awkward smile still hadn’t left his face.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Oscar?” The moment they got into Karg’s office, he started yelling at Oscar.

  Karg flopped onto the ancient sofa in his room. The springs creaked under his massive bulk.

  “I’m not sure what exactly you mean, sir...”

  “We’re the only ones in here, so spare me the niceties. And wipe that moronic smile off your face. It disgusts me.”

  “That’s pretty mean, old man.” Oscar dropped his nice guy act, but he didn’t stop smiling. He’d gotten so used to using it to get out of unpleasant situations that he had a hard time dropping the expression.

  “I remember you saying before that you’d only cause trouble if you stayed at the workshop. I also distinctly remember telling you to stay anyway. I didn’t work so hard to keep you here so you could spend your time doing that viscount’s idiot son’s work for him.”

  “I know. Still, I can finish something like that in between breaks. If that’s all it takes to keep Waress-san quiet, then I don’t mind being his gofer.”

  “Fool. Guys like him won’t ever be satisfied. If you give in to them once, they’ll just keep coming back for more. If he’s causing you that much of a problem, then I can have him expelled.”

  Ping, Torpa, and Raul had all gotten into the Orcus Workshop because of the connections Ping’s family had. Though all three of them were Synergists, they weren’t at all qualified to be a part of the esteemed Orcus Workshop. Karg had initially let them join only because he didn’t want to deal with insulting a bunch of petty nobles, but—

  “I’ll say it as many times as I have to. Oscar, you’re going to be the next generation’s Orcus, so—”

  “Gramps.” Oscar’s voice was quiet but firm.

  Karg sighed, realizing Oscar still hadn’t changed his mind. Inheriting the name of Orcus meant becoming the leader of the Orcus Workshop.

  It was tradition that the current Orcus would pass down his or her title once they found someone who surpassed them in ability.

  The fact that Karg wanted Oscar to be the next Orcus meant he accepted Oscar was a more skilled Synergist than him.

  “You’re already a better craftsman than me. Hell, you left me in the dust years ago. Your skills are on a completely different level.”

  “......” Oscar wasn’t sure how to reply to that. After all, everything Karg had said was true.

  “When I first met you at the Moorin orphanage, I knew you were special. The toys you made for the other kids were far better than some of the best work my workshop’s put out... To be honest, I couldn’t believe it at first.”

  Oscar had been dumped in front of the Moorin Orphanage when he was a baby. Though there had been no large-scale wars in the past few decades, small border skirmishes happened on almost a daily basis. The political instability within the human kingdoms exacerbated the problem further. The constant fighting had left the land full of orphans, and many new orphanages had popped up to care for them.

  It had reached the point where the country wasn’t able to fund them all anymore. Karg had already become the head of the Orcus Workshop when the orphanages started appearing. He’d been a friend of Moorin, so when he’d heard her orphanage was struggling, he decided to help fund it.

  The day he’d met Oscar had been like any other. He’d gone to drop off some money at the orphanage and see how Moorin and her kids were doing.

  When he’d looked around the orphanage, he’d noticed there were a lot more toys than there had been before.

  He’d asked Moorin if she’d gotten another sponsor, and got an answer that he wasn’t expecting.

  Oscar, who’d just turned ten at the time, had been the one to make all those toys.

  Karg had assumed Moorin had found a rich sponsor, so he was shocked to learn that the toys had actually been transmuted by a young boy. The toys were of such masterwork quality that he had been certain she must have bought them.

  The building blocks fit together seamlessly. The dolls were so accurately crafted that Karg almost mistook them for real children. The toy swords were perfectly balanced. Even the fake dishes he’d made for the girls to play house with were good enough to cook with.

  All of those works of art were created by a ten-year-old boy. Karg couldn’t believe it. He brought Oscar over and asked him to do a live demonstration. When Oscar had crafted one of those toys right in front of him, Karg had had no choice but to accept reality. At ten years old, he had already been as skilled as the country’s finest Synergists.

  When Karg had asked where Oscar had learned his Synergist skills from, this was what he had said:

  “When I saw you fix that pot the last time you came, I thought I might be able to do it too, so I just tried.”

  Karg had remembered that incident. He had indeed come by a month prior to fix a broken pot. And thinking back on it, Oscar had been watching with keen interest.

  Karg froze. He felt a sudden chill, as if someone had just slipped an ice cube down his back.

  After watching him transmute just once, he’d mastered it himself? And in just one month? He’d reached the level of a master craftsman through trial and error? If that was true, then how mu
ch better could he get given proper instruction? Karg was both excited and terrified at the prospect.

  He decided then and there... that he would make Oscar into the next Orcus.

  After tutoring him personally for three years, Karg admitted him into the Orcus Workshop.

  “It’s been a long time since you first joined the workshop. By all rights, you should have inherited the name of Orcus years ago. But you know, Oscar, I don’t want to force you. I stopped you last time when you said you wanted to quit doing Synergist work, but if you still think this isn’t for you, you’re welcome to leave. Believe it or not, I don’t want to make you suffer.”

  “I’m... really grateful to you, Gramps. I know the other craftsmen don’t like me, but there’s nothing I can do about that. I’ve already accepted it. Working here isn’t that bad, really.”

  “But still...”

  Karg grimaced, but Oscar kept going.

  “I like being a Synergist. I get to help everyone in the city with my work, and I can send money back to the orphanage, too... What more could I ask for?”

  “Why, Oscar? Why do you hide how talented you really are? If they knew, they’d agree that even the title of Orcus doesn’t do your abilities justice. Is it that you don’t like making weapons? Or what, you don’t think you’re fit to be a leader? It’s probably both, actually. Still, you know, Oscar, don’t underestimate me. I can tell there’s another reason you don’t want to take the title. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

  “......” Oscar just smiled his usual smile. The smile that said “I’m not going to argue, so just say what you want.”

  “I know this might be a bit presumptuous of me, but... I think of you as my own son. I just want you to come into your own and show people what you truly are. But I guess that’s not what you want, is it?”

  Oscar had known Karg for a long time, so he understood Karg’s feelings.

  Oscar would never admit it to him, but he’d started calling Karg “Gramps” instead of “Karg-san” because he thought of Karg as his real father too.

  Honestly, Oscar was happy that Karg had such high expectations for him.

  It pained him that he couldn’t tell Karg the real reason why he hid his talents.

  But even so—

  “Gramps... You said my skills were on a completely different level, but that’s not true.”

  “There’s no need to act humble with me. I know how good you really—”

  “They’re not on a different level... They’re completely abnormal.”

  “......” Karg fell silent. Oscar’s choice of words had given Karg an inkling of the real reason why Oscar hid his abilities.

  He’d never seen Oscar look like this before. He had a dark expression on his face and was looking off into the distance. It was as if he was gazing into the future that awaited him were he to reveal his skills.

  Karg knew too, it wouldn’t be as wonderful as he’d described. He didn’t know what he should say, but he knew he had to do something. But before he could, Oscar continued.

  “Anyway, I enjoy the work I’m doing now. Don’t pretend like you don’t know. All of the tools and furniture I’ve made have been well-received by the townspeople. In a way, I’m still helping increase the Orcus Workshop’s fame.” Oscar spoke cheerfully, trying to dispel the gloom that had settled into the room.

  Karg realized this was as far as he’d get with today’s conversation and nodded with a sigh.

  “Haaah... You’re right. Neither the Limster Workshop nor the Vagone Workshop even bother making things for the average citizen. Even though it’s their hard work that lets us focus solely on our craft. They’re the ones who provide us with the ore we use and the food we eat.” The workshops Karg had named were the other two big workshops in Velnika. Both of them only took orders from nobles, royalty, and rich merchants.

  As that was what they’d chosen to specialize in, no one could blame them too much. Still, that didn’t mean the townspeople liked it. In fact, most of them were quite angry with the other workshops. While everyone else helped each other out, they only looked to make a profit.

  On the other hand, the Orcus Workshop had no restrictions on who could place an order. As a matter of principle they were forced to prioritize the nobles’ requests, but if there were craftsmen free, they were put on orders from regular citizens. Furthermore, the current Orcus had begun donating the workshop’s excess funds to various orphanages.

  Most importantly, though, the workshop now had a craftsman whose sole task was to handle the citizens’ requests. Because of that, the Orcus Workshop was well-respected among the peasants.

  That craftsman was, of course, Oscar. He was known for being fast, skilled, and able to adapt to the needs of any request. Thanks to that, the townspeople often helped out the workshop during crunch times. They’d bring the craftsmen food, sell them raw materials at discounted rates, give them priority for wholesale deals on supplies they were low on, and even bring them spare uniforms and blankets.

  Though Oscar’s work didn’t stand out, he was doing a lot to help the workshop. In fact, it was precisely because it didn’t stand out that so few people appreciated it.

  “Gramps, I still need to deliver my orders.”

  “Alright, alright. My lecture’s over. Go deliver your stuff... Actually, wait. There is one thing.”

  “Huh?”

  Karg stopped Oscar, suddenly remembering something.

  “You’ve heard the reports of people going missing from the less prosperous parts of town in the past few months, right?”

  “Yeah, I have.”

  “Try and keep an eye on the kids at the orphanage. Most of the people who’ve gone missing were very young. They were all from the slums, so people are saying they likely went off and tried to strike it rich somewhere, only to end up dead in a ditch.”

  Karg had a feeling it was much worse than that. His serious warning reflected his foreboding.

  “You can take the rest of the day off. Go see how everyone is at the orphanage.”

  “That’s what I was planning on doing anyway. I’ll be careful. Alright, see you later, Gramps.” Oscar bowed to Karg and left the room. He felt bad for always making Karg worry about him.

  “If you have to keep up that fake smile all the time here, you should just go off and do something you actually like. Dumb kid...” Karg muttered those words to himself, quietly enough that they couldn’t be heard on the other side of the door.

  Once he finished delivering the day’s orders, Oscar headed back to the orphanage. It was located on the outskirts of the capital, so it was a long walk from the workshop.

  Oscar was already an independent adult, and he had his own place closer to the center of the capital. For him, a trip to the orphanage took quite a bit of time. However, he still considered the orphanage his home. Oscar was just as worried as Karg about the recent disappearances, and he’d been coming back to the orphanage more often these past few months.

  The outskirts of the capital wasn’t a very safe place to begin with. Many of the buildings were dilapidated and abandoned. In a word, his orphanage was in the slums.

  The orphanage housed a lot of children, so it was bigger than all the surrounding houses. Still, it wasn’t in much better shape than any of them. A run-down wooden house like this wouldn’t even be allowed to exist in the capital’s center.

  Fortunately, it was much sturdier than it looked. By the time Oscar arrived it was already evening. The setting sun cast deep shadows among the alleyways.

  He stood in front of the building for a few minutes, then circled around to the back.

  “Looks like the alarm’s working.” Oscar placed his hand on the ground as he said that. After a few seconds he took it off. He walked around to every corner of the building and did the same thing. Finally, he closed his eyes and placed his hand against the building itself.

  “The strengthening’s... holding up pretty well. The barrier and mana accumulator are working
just fine, too.” Oscar breathed a sigh of relief.

  Though his actions seemed random, whatever he had discovered appeared to relieve him.

  Pleased that his security measures were working, he walked back up to the entrance and knocked on the door.

  Moorin had told him the orphanage would always be his home and that he didn’t need to be so formal, but since he’d moved out, he felt it was still better to knock.

  “Hmm...?” Normally, one of the kids would have answered the door, but nobody came.

  Maybe I knocked too lightly? Oscar tried again.

  Still no response. He couldn’t even hear the sound of the kids playing.

  “Ah!?” Oscar had a very bad feeling about the situation. Something must have happened. To him, the orphanage and the people in it were more important than anything else.

  “Mom! Guys!”

  Some small, rational part of his mind told him he needed to calm down and assess the situation. However, his body moved on its own. Every second mattered.

  He wrenched open the front door and rushed into the living room.

  “Dylan! Corrin! Ruth! Katy! Mom! Anyone!” He yelled the kids’ names as he barreled toward the dining room. It was around their usual time for dinner.

  His heart lurched when he heard no reply and he practically ripped the dining room door off its hinges. Inside, he found—

  “Welcome back, dear~ Would you like dinner, a bath, or... me, Miledi-tan?” A girl he didn’t recognize. She was wearing a frilly apron and looked to be around maybe fourteen or fifteen years old.

  Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and it almost seemed to defy gravity as it swished back and forth. She had slender legs that were covered by knee-length socks. She had one leg bent back at a cute angle and was standing on one foot. Underneath the apron she wore a sleeveless shirt, and in one hand she carried a cooking ladle. She made a peace sign with her free hand and winked at Oscar.

  He could have sworn a star flew off from that wink.