The Mythical Helmet

I wonder how Gantetsu's doing. I hope his furnace is finished now...

Isn't that...?

D-Don't push! The helmets aren't going anywhere! Please form an orderly queue!

What's with the queue?! No way! Is everyone after Gantetsu's work?

Business must be thriving. His furnace is complete and his work is really valued.

But for old men and women to be queuing up at a blacksmith's... Isn't that a bit odd? Whatever. Let's ask about his helmet once the queue's died down.

Looks like business is booming!

Oh, you two! Thanks for your help before. I was able to build a furnace with those bricks and now no one calls my pieces blunt.

What can I do for you today?

We'd like one of your helmets. Could you give us one?

A helmet? Umm...

Not for free, of course. We'll pay you.

No chance. I'd be nothing without you two. I don't need payment.

But my helmet's my most popular item and I just sold my last one to some lady.

I've already got so many orders. I don't know if I can make a new one right now.

You've got a lot of orders, have you? Well, for a man of your ability, that shouldn't be a problem.

But isn't it odd? Why are women and the elderly buying helmets before soldiers and hunters? And to buy them all...

I find it mighty strange, too. Most of my orders for katana and armor are from men. But it's pretty much all women ordering my helmets.

Now that you mention it, that is weird. That woman who just bought a helmet, she didn't look like she'd need to use one.

Then why don't we go talk to her? I want to know what's going on and you never know, we might be able to make a deal with her for that helmet.

You're right... That does seem like our best shot.

Hey, Gantetsu. The lady who bought your last helmet, do you know where she lives?

I believe she lives in the capital. She heard about my reputation and came all this way just to get one.

The capital... So, Unigan.

Let's go to Unigan and ask her.

Excuse me, ma'am. Did you buy a helmet in Rinde recently?

A helmet? What would I be doing with such a thing? I'm not a soldier.

We must've got the wrong person.

No, I'm sure it was her I saw at the end of Gantetsu's queue...

Ah! I did visit Mr. Gantetsu. But I didn't buy a helmet.

I bought a pot.

A-A pot? As in, something you cook with?

Right. Gantetsu's pots are causing such a stir among us food lovers. They're thin and light but they're durable and quick to heat up without ever getting scratched. But they're for professionals, as the base is tapered, making them unstable.

A durable yet unstably-shaped pot? Could it be...

Yeah... I think the pot she's talking about is actually a helmet.

If you turn a plain iron helmet upside down, it might just, just look like a pot...

So these helmets didn't last because people thought they're pots and they threw them out. Katana and armor are works of art, so they get inherited, but no one's gonna leave their offspring a pot...

It's certainly possible...

Is something wrong?

Ma'am, is there any chance you'd be happy to give that hel-, I mean, pot, to us?

Please! We really need that pot!

I never want to turn down a young person so bluntly, but if I grant your request, I'll be missing out on a pot.

You're right. It's just... I don't know what we'll do without it.

Well... If you brought me a replacement pot, I'd happily trade.

Really? Even though you went all the way to Rinde to get it?

I tried using it, but I think it's too professional for me. I'd be most grateful for one a little more stable and easy to use.

Okay, then we'll look for a normal, easy to use pot for you.

Any ideas where we'll find one?

A pot is essential in cooking. You can't make soups and stews without one. All houses have to have one. I'm sure there's a pot at my place that's no longer used. If we borrowed that...

Let's head back to Baruoki.

Hey, Grandpa. You must have an unused pot somewhere, right? We'd like to take one.

An unused pot? I don't know if I do or if I don't...

Ah! When I bought a new pot I left it in the cupboard! Give me a minute, I'll have a look.

Here's the pot.

Oh... I mean, it is a pot, but...

It's black all over. It's so black that it's shining. What is this, soot?

And it's kind of sticky...

I tried to make plum mushroom jam before but I took my eye off it and it burned. I didn't feel like cleaning it up so I just left it.

So it's dirt piled on dirt left behind from burnt sugar and fruit? We can't give her the pot in this condition. The pot itself isn't broken, so maybe if we cleaned it...

At times like this, you could easily sort it if you had that thing.

That thing?

Scales of the Scarfin King on Serena Coast. The scales are extra hard, so it makes a great abrasive. It can handle the most stubborn of dirt.

The scales of the Serena Coast Scarfin. We should go get some right away.

If it was that easy, I'd do it myself. What you need is the scales of the Scarfin King. But the king only very rarely appears. Which is why you've got to lay out its favorite food.

I see... So in order to lure out the king, we've got to provide its favorite food.

So what is a Scarfin's favorite food?

They're quite the gourmands. They only eat shrimp and crab. And the king won't even pay attention to short portions.

There's a giant crab on Last Island. Could we use that?

The king crab! Now that's a substantial meal. The king's got to take interest in that.

That sounds like an excellent plan. I'm just glad this old man's knowledge came in useful.

Yeah, I think this'll turn out well thanks to you. Thank you!

First, let's go to Last Island and get the king crab.

The king crab must be around here somewhere...

Aldo! Over there!

Let's defeat it before it gets away!

Huh?!

Great! We should be able to lure out the king with this.

Let's go to Serena Coast and find the Scarfin King.

There's no one about so it shouldn't be a problem luring out the Scarfin King.

We want its hard scales, so we've got to avoid damaging it...

And we need to defeat it as soon as we find it.

Then let's lay out the king crab leg and wait over there.

Got it!

So this is the Scarfin King? It sure is much bigger than normal.

We can't be careless! It's coming!

So this is the rumored scale. It's as tough as it is light. It could cut your hand if you're not careful.

Let's go clean the pot right away.

That's amazing... A gentle rub of this scale and all the dirt falls away. I could get used to this.

It looks brand new! We shouldn't have a problem trading it with the woman now.

Let's go swap this pot for the helmet.

What do you think? The pot originally came from my house, but...

This is perfect! In the end, it's the most ordinary pots that work the best!

Well then...

As promised, here's Gantetsu's pot.

Thank you!

Hmm?

What is it?

This pot looks a little dirty...

Ah, that's because I've been doing some cooking in it. Sorry it's a little scorched.

You actually cooked in it?! I guess that's what happens when you buy it as a pot...

But all scorched like this, it's sure to affect its auction value.

Say, do you still have any Scarfin scales left?

Scales...?

You're right! If we clean the helmet with them...

How about that?! It looks as good as new.

Now no one would ever think this helmet had been cooked in.

Haha... Well, we've got the phantom helmet now. Let's go back to the auction house. Time to report to Jeeno!

So this is the rumored scale. But it's so tattered, there's no way it'll clean the pot.

Yeah, looks like we took too much time trying to defeat it... Let's try luring out the king Scarfin again. This time we'll get some strong scales.