3 - Noble Son, Tell

“By the way...” Felicia spoke up. Ichiro had suggested they go somewhere else to tell the story, so the four of them had left the Iris Brand guild house together. “...Is Iris the one who designed your equipment, Itchy?”

“That’s right.” Ichiro smiled and spread his arms to show off his clothing.

Iris looked away self-consciously.

It was the typical embarrassment of the inexperienced creator who wasn’t yet accustomed to having her designs shown off. Felicia, though, was incapable of understanding that. All she saw was the rapture in Ichiro’s expression, and it confirmed her suspicions. She had tried to ask Ichiro about his equipment a little while ago, during their trip to the Necrolands during the Grand Quest. He had just brushed her question away with a cryptic smile.

The Ichiro Tsuwabuki that Asuha knew almost never smiled in such a satisfied way. Beneath his usual unflappable visage was always a sense that he was bored to tears. Asuha knew that.

There hadn’t been a trace of that the other day, either, when Ichiro had crossed swords with King Kirihito. That should be a reason for her to be a bit jealous of Sera Kiryu, too, but setting that aside...

Setting that aside, the existence of a strange woman who could make Ichiro smile with such satisfaction was dangerous in her mind. Her second cousin sensor was starting to ping. Everything about Iris set off warning bells. Even though Iris herself had protested that their relationship wasn’t like that, she was still dangerous.

“Of course, I like the suit’s design. But I think my favorite part is the brooch,” Ichiro said, indicating the butterfly on his lapel.

It must have been Iris’s design as well, but the graphic was a little sloppy compared to the others. It didn’t look all that great to Felicia, but she knew that she was somewhat biased herself, so she didn’t say that out loud.

“Young heir, could you please stop talking about that brooch?” Iris murmured, causing Ichiro and Felicia to both turn back to her.

“Why?” Ichiro asked.

“You know why!” Iris looked up at him, shouting. “It’s embarrassing! It’s like a big neon sign saying ‘novice designer at work’! Not that I think of the rest of your equipment as perfect, of course!”

“Nonsense,” Ichiro said. “Regardless of how you may feel, I greatly enjoy this brooch. It’s far from a masterpiece, certainly. The graphical rendering is sloppy, the aesthetic sense is poor...”

“So you realize it!” Iris shouted.

So, Felicia thought, it’s not actually that great...

“Iris, are you a designer in real life?” Felicia asked.

“The story you’re about to hear should cover that, I believe,” Sir Kirschwasser said, standing at the head of the party. “Now, right this way.”

Felicia looked up, surprised. They’d only walked twenty steps. “That was fast.”

It was the house of the Akihabara Forging Guild, diagonally across from the Iris Brand building. One of the three great guilds of NaroFan. As a fellow crafting guild, they were likely in competition with Iris Brand. Was this really where he was going to tell the story?