VRMMO no Shien Shokunin ～Top Player no Shikakenin～

Chapter 124: Announcement of the results part 5: Gear・Weapon

Hi there, long time no see.

Sorry about the lack of updates, let’s just say that stuff…happened. No worries, nothing too serious.

Anyway, back with another chapter and hopefully we can get back on track for real this time but no promises there. It was kinda unfortunate that I sort of stopped right before the end of the arc.

Enjoy the chapter.

『The fact that he managed to find our country’s treasured Eishika Cloth is already worth praising…however, this sewing is indeed splendid.

With a mix of Camel Cloth and Wool, the dyed threads are carefully sewn. If this dress was made to perfectly fit my own figure, my evaluation of it would have been higher. Unfortunate.』(Queen)

Regarding the Eishika Dress I’ve made this time, I’ve prepared some countermeasures to the fact that since it’s an arranged item, it has the weakness that its size won’t adapt to the wearer.

The waist part is tied by a belt, in case the person doesn’t like it, it’s also possible to remove it and replace it with a ribbon.

Regarding its classification, it’s a simple A-Line long dress.

In order to be able to easily fix its height…well, it’s kind of a shame that it wasn’t made to fit the Queen.

In terms of performance, the Eishika Dress itself contains traces of magic, it’s defensive gear fit for a mage.

「Guah, that was so close! It was really close, Hind!」(Yumir)

「If we’ve come this far, make it 1st place! Why is it in 2nd place!?」(Tobi)

「Well, isn’t it fine? It’s fitting for me…」(Hind)

I wonder why they were dissatisfied, these two were screaming as if they were more disappointed than me.

Anyway, I was aware that my finishing touches were a bit lacking…personally, this is better than what I had expected, so I’m satisfied with the result.

While making a dress that fit the tastes of the queen, since she liked the color red, I played around with the size so that it would be able to sell in the auction.

Without doing it halfheartedly, I didn’t cut corners in any of those two requirements and it seems like it paid off.

Though that wasn’t enough to have taken 1st place.

「Anyway, congratulations, senpai. All th-」(Siesta)

「Ah, yeah. Thanks.」(Hind)

Siesta-chan was the first one to congratulate me and then, the rest started to do so one after another.

After that, 1st place was announced, it was a golden dress made by a professional designer.

The part of the skirt had a complicated pattern like that of a mesh, even though the golden color was supposed to be hard to use, it was a masterpiece that released a magical aura without feeling vulgar.

Suppose that I had made a dress that perfectly fit the Queen, wouldn’t I still have lost to this product?

I completely lost in terms of skill. As expected of a professional, they are really strong.

It was finally time to announce the winners of the last category.

It was the Gear・Weapon category that Selene-san was participating in.

The person herself was currently crossing her fingers and had her eyes closed as if she was praying, so, all of us naturally stayed quiet while watching over her.

In contrast, the space a bit of a distance from the throne of the Queen was showing that this was finally the climax of the event.

Among the weapons and gear within the top 100, there were a lot of golden ones but…

Among those, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from a single staff that wasn’t flashy at all.

「…」(Hind)

「What’s wrong, Hind-san?」(Riizu)

「Ah, nothing. I was wondering…」(Hind)

…It was a staff that if it was going to be sold later on in the auction, it made me think that I would like to buy it.

I shut my mouth and refrained from telling Riizu that.

That sort of statement would be like an insult to Selene-san, who went through the trouble of looking after my staves.

「It’s nothing. I was just thinking that everyone is trying too hard to get on the Queen’s good side. Not that I’m one to talk though.」(Hind)

「You are right. However, I think that those products will have a hard time selling in the auction.」(Riizu)

「Aside from if it was a product that won the event, I think it will be hard for the other golden items that place below that…」(Hind)

Golden and shiny pieces of gear, speaking quite frankly, are only for those with particularly unique tastes.

I’m not saying that no one will buy them, however, I don’t believe that demand is that high.

On top of that, you are not able to melt the gear in this game after all…

『Let’s start then! 10th place in the last division, Gear・Weapons…』(Queen)

Along with those words, the Queen took out a weapon.

We were slowly going through the ranks and unlike us, Selene-san didn’t show any signs of getting impatient.

She just stood still in her praying posture.

Everyone understands.

Selene-san was only aiming for 1st place…in fact, you could say she had no intention of having her name called until we reached that spot.

『In 4th place…』

“Don’t say her name yet”, while sending prayers with the opposite meaning of what we’ve done until now, we looked towards the screen.

In 4th place, there was a Marduck made, Thunder and Flame Gauntlets.

The left one was of fire element and the right one of light element, furthermore, it was possible to mix the elements, a weapon for martial artists.

The higher ranks in weapons and gear category was filled with famous blacksmiths.

『In 3rd place…』

3rd place, Brandon made, Golden Warhammer.

With a mixture of performance and fitting the Queen’s tastes, it was a weapon that showed flexibility in the way of thinking of the crafter compared to those master blacksmith’s that took pride in their own work.

Judging from its weight, this is probably made for a Heavy Warrior.

『The product in 2nd place is…』

2nd place, Masamune made, Unsigned Katana.

I didn’t see a single speck of waste in the crafting of this blade, it wasn’t an elemental weapon like those in 3rd and 4th place, a single glance would make you think that it was just a plain katana.

However, the Queen cut the iron plate that Miles was holding without any effort.

Should we take it as if that sharpness goes beyond what could be expressed with words?

The player called Masamune is the one that Tobi buys gear from through the trading BBS, in terms of making Japanese style equipment, there was no one that could compare to him.

『And the excellent product in 1st place is…this one!』

The staff that the Queen held in her hands.

I unconsciously raised my voice once I saw it.

It was the staff I couldn’t take my eyes off back when they showed all the items at the same time.

And Selene-san wasn’t moving at all…it was hard to infer if this was her product or not considering that reaction of hers.

『If I were to be honest, the one that made this weapon had about the same skill level as the ones from 2nd to 4th place! I can say with certainty that it was splendidly made!』(Queen)

The Queen then started spinning the staff around, and the projection showed the staff from different angles so that the players could see it clearly.

Hearing that it was of the same level as the other master blacksmiths, Selene-san’s shoulders trembled.

The patterns and decorations in the staff were carefully carved and conservative, I could feel that it was similar to a certain person’s personality.

The anxiety of not believing in oneself and the expectations of the person were mixed in there, it was a feeling I couldn’t shake off.

『At the tip of this staff is…』(Queen)

Hearing the Queen’s words, we looked towards the pointed end of the staff and what awaited us there was not the usual gem.

Staff type weapons have a gem encrusted at the tip of one end in order to assist with the users’ magic.

Which means that this staff is incomplete.

Taking Selene-san into consideration, no one was saying anything, but it was obvious that everyone was wondering about that.

Most likely, the same goes for all the other players watching this.

『I took this empty space as a statement telling me that “A Noblis Carbuncle should be placed here”. To be so bold and daring as to send in an incomplete product…I really liked that! The name of the crafter that made this staff that took 1st place is…』(Queen)

While swallowing our saliva, our gazes were concentrated on the screen.

After a long long time, the Queen took a breath and her glossy lips slowly opened.

『The name is Selene! The name of the staff is Supporter Staff!』(Queen)

At that moment, the lounge room erupted with cries of joy.

While sending words of praise towards Selene-san, everyone stood up from their seats in unison.

「Uwoooooooooooo!! Secchan! Secchaaaaaan!!」(Yumir)

「You did it! You did it Selene-donoooo!!」(Tobi)

「「Congratulations, Selene-senpai!」」(Lyco and Sai)

「Congratulations.」(Siesta)

「Well done, Secchan. As expected of you.」(Riizu)

「You did it, Selene-san! Selene-san…?」(Hind)

Selene-san was frozen in place watching the screen.

She didn’t react even if you waved your hand in front of her eyes, that didn’t change even if you tried shaking her shoulders.

D-Don’t tell me…

「S-She fainted…」(Hind)

「Secchan, get a grip! Return to your senses!」(Yumir)

Projected in front of Selene-san’s eyes, who had fainted from being too happy, was the Queen inserting a 『Noblis Carbuncle』, which was the prize for getting 1st place, on top of the staff and then using the staff to release light magic towards the screen.

Following that, the results for all divisions appeared on the screen marking the end of the item contest event.