Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 3 Chapter 5   Costume decision

“What were you reading earlier?”

“Oh, it was a fashion magazine.”

“Do you read it?”

Although it feels quite impolite for Abe to ask, well, I don’t usually read that kind of thing anyway. This magazine is just an exception.

“Well, when I say ‘fashion,’ it’s not like everyday clothes. It’s more about adventurer gear and formal attire.”

“I understand the gear, but by ‘formal attire,’ do you mean dresses?”

“Yeah, something like that. and I think you guys will eventually have to attend parties and events. Those who have decent skills and achievements are often invited to high-ranking officials’ parties. Well, the ones I was looking at were just regular gear though.”

During parties, we generally remove our weapons, but there’s no guarantee of no attacks during that time. So we make high-defense clothing using materials from dungeons.

Also, it’s not just about defense but also about having decorative elements that could serve as a substitute for a staff when using magic. The specifics are a bit gray, but the implicit understanding is that it shouldn’t have a distinct ‘weapon’ shape.

Speaking of which, I happen to have one formal attire myself. It’s not because of my achievements but because I used to be a member of Yasu’s team. He’s a rich kid, and I’ve attended his birthday party before.

I don’t think I’m cut out for parties anyway, but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared in advance, especially if you guys don’t have any dresses.

While we were talking about this, it just crossed my mind. If they already have one, that’s fine, but I assume they probably don’t, so it’s better to be prepared ahead of time.

“Oh? Um, sure.”

“Keep at least one dress. As I mentioned earlier, ‘Heroes’ can get invited to events. It’s dangerous if you don’t have anything to wear on such occasions. Not just in terms of reputation but also physically.”

Even if you’re recognized as a ‘Hero,’ being called a young girl who doesn’t even have a single dress could be a possibility.

Now, you could say, ‘So what?’ But there are people out there who will underestimate you based on just that alone and start picking fights.

While being underestimated may sometimes be better than being cautious, it depends on the situation.

There are times when being underestimated is disadvantageous and it’s better to be cautious.

So, to avoid being made a fool of, it’s better to have a dress prepared.

As a student, you can participate in ceremonies wearing uniforms, but in just two more years, you won’t be able to wear them anymore. Either way, it’s advisable to be prepared.

You might have understood the part about being subjected to ‘reputation’ and being underestimated, but it seems that Miyano and the others don’t understand the meaning of ‘physically.’

“Physically?”

“It means there’s a risk of assassination.”

“──────!!”

That’s why high-defense attire becomes necessary. After all, it’s not like there won’t be situations where someone tries to stab you as they pass by.

“…B-But where can we get such dresses?”

“Well, let me think… Normally, you would go to specialty stores or consult with professionals… Do you want one? I can make a recommendation if you do.”

Well, Miyano and the others are just ordinary students, so it’s natural that they don’t know where to order dresses.

Well, I can’t really say I know a lot either… Actually, to be honest, I don’t know any at all. Because in my case, I had Yasu prepare it for me.

So, well, if they want, I can ask him to arrange one for them this time too.

“Well, if it’s necessary, you should at least consider it once, don’t you think?”

“Well… If Igami-san says it’s necessary, then I suppose we should consider it.”

I don’t really want to be relied on that much, but that’s what I thought as I made a phone call to Yasu.

“Oh, Yasu? It’s been a while… Huh? Shut up. I have something to discuss, okay? Well, the thing is, Miyano and the others want dresses… Huh? Are you kidding me? We don’t need wedding dresses.”

What is he talking about? Who would want a wedding dress, you idiot? I didn’t call to make a wedding announcement!

“Besides, it’s not like I’m going to give them as a gift. They want them for their own party. They’ll probably need them at some point. Also, it seems like they want to wear them for a booth at the cultural festival. So, can you make them at your place?”

Actually, it’s not decided whether they’ll wear them at the cultural festival or not, but it’s okay to rush them and have them prepared, just in case.

“As for payment… Oh, really? I see. Okay, got it. I’ll leave it to you then. Bye.”

After saying that, I hung up the phone and turned my gaze towards Miyano and the others.

“I’ve contacted Yasu. They said they can design the dresses based on your photos and let you know once they’re ready. If you have any complaints, let me know at that time, and they can change the design.”

His parents’ company deals with adventurer equipment and tools, so they have professional designers and such.

They should have Miyano and the others’ basic information, and I sent them a group photo of our team before, so they can use that as a reference to decide on the design.

We can discuss the details once the groundwork is laid. They wouldn’t know what to do anyway, so it’s better to wait until then.

“Well, um, the conversation is moving too fast, and I’m not sure what’s going on…”

“It’s simple. I’ve made arrangements to prepare the dresses. I decided on my own, but whether you wear them at the cultural festival or not, it’s better to have them. If we leave it to the professionals, the design won’t be a problem.”

That being said, I feel like I’ve pushed the conversation forward without consulting them enough. I only called to bridge the gap at first, but Yasu agreed so easily that the conversation progressed smoothly.

It’s good that things are moving quickly, and Yasu is someone we can trust, so it was necessary to bridge the gap. But I can’t help but feel that I went too far on my own.

Well, if they don’t like the design during the design stage, they can always stop before actually making it. Even if there are design fees, I can cover them. That should be fine.

“Thank you.”

“However, there is a problem… Dresses are expensive. If you gather the materials yourself, you can reduce the cost to some extent.”

For now, I’ve only asked for the design, but actually making the dresses will require money.

There are design fees, but that’s not the main issue. The biggest expense is for materials and manufacturing. That’s where the cost adds up.

So if there are necessary materials that they can gather themselves, it can be done relatively cheaply.

“How much does it cost?”

“I don’t know the current market price, but when I did it, it was around 10 million yen.”

“Wha—!?”

“Is it really that expensive!?”

Miyano and the others widen their eyes in surprise, and even Kitahara raises her voice, which is unusual for her.

Unfortunately, yes, it does cost that much.

“if it’s a regular dress, it shouldn’t cost that much. You can buy a cheap one for tens of thousands, and even the expensive ones should be sufficient with a few hundred thousand. It’s been a long time, but when I asked my mother, she said a wedding dress was just around a million yen.”

If a wedding dress is a million, then a regular dress should be affordable with several hundred thousand. It’s an amount these guys can afford.

“But your dresses have a special role as magical items that also serve as defense in case of emergency. So it’s not strange for it to cost this much. In fact, it’s on the cheaper side.”

There’s no real upper limit for heavily fortified equipment.

These guys are Awakened, but they don’t need such powerful equipment.

“Besides, don’t you guys have quite a bit of money? Rewards from previous adventures and the reward from defeating the previous S-Class. When you add it all up, it should be around five to six million, right?”

You may not be able to dive into the dungeon every day as students, but once you graduate, it’s an amount that can be repaid in less than a year.

When I was in a team with Hiro and the others, it was even lower… Maybe around a million per month at best. And that would decrease to around 500,000 after setting up the equipment.

In contrast, Miyano and the others are First Class and S-Class. If they work hard, they can earn ten million per month.

Well, whether it’s expensive or cheap depends on considering it as the price for life.

“Well, it seems the payment will be made in installments. Yasu will cover it in advance.”

“But is it really okay to trouble him like that?”

“Well, he’s not in financial trouble. Besides, he managed to establish a connection with the Hero, so it’s not a bad thing for him either. You feel indebted to him, and until you repay what you borrowed, you won’t leave his company, right?”

I tried to establish a connection between these guys and Yasu’s company, and it should be a good thing for them too.

There are only ten “Heroes” in Japan and a mere hundred in the world. They can have a connection with one of them.

Even if there’s some financial damage, they won’t give up that connection.

“Even if you guys don’t pay, just by being a company that handles the dresses and equipment used by the Hero party, they can make up for it. Think of it as advertising expenses.”

If it’s a company that deals with the equipment used by the “Heroes” and their party, that alone can be quite a good advertisement.

From Yasu’s tone, it seemed like he had already taken that into account, so I don’t think you need to worry too much.

…Oh, wait. I didn’t ask these guys if it’s okay to use their names.

It’s not good to use them without permission, so it would be better to ask for permission… But Yasu is probably considering that too, so I can talk to him about it later.

“Well, that should be enough for that topic. Let’s get back to the discussion about costumes.”

“But speaking of getting back, isn’t it decided that we’ll participate with dresses?”

“Hmm? Do we not need to consult others?”

“Well, since you’ve prepared them, we can’t just not wear them, right?”

“But I haven’t actually prepared them yet… Are you guys okay with that?”

I’m not sure if I can call the dresses cosplay, and if you guys have something else you want to wear, that’s fine too…

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Anything.”

The responses were clear.

Abe’s “anything” sounds somewhat indifferent, but in this case, it doesn’t mean she’s indifferent. It means she’s open to anything and seems to be enjoying it regardless of what it is.

“I didn’t know what to wear even if it’s called cosplay.”

“And besides, I’ve always had a bit of admiration for dresses.”

“If you guys are fine with it, then it’s good.”

So, dresses are something that girls aspire to, huh?

Well, if it’s decided, then anything is fine.

“Now, the issue is about the content of the cultural festival. Is the performance I mentioned earlier okay?”

When I asked Miyano and the others, all four of them nodded clearly.

“Alright, then it’s better to gather as much as possible and go for the collection early.”

Since we have a small number of people, it’s better to start preparing a bit early rather than panicking at the last minute.

That’s why I chose materials that can be stored for a while.

“So, does that mean we can start from tomorrow?”

“Yeah… No, maybe we should start after the next day off? There are things we need to prepare.”

If it were just a regular exploration, we could casually prepare, enter the dungeon, fight, and retrieve whatever we can. But if the primary objective is to collect materials from the start, we’ll need additional tools.

The guild or the gate management office would probably lend us what we need, but it’s always better to have our own if we can.

“I’ll inform you about the order of dungeons to explore later, but make sure you thoroughly research where each material is located and what kind of dungeon it is, so that you can adapt regardless of when and where we go.”

That being said, we decided to dive into the dungeons during our break this week to collect ingredients for the cultural festival.