LIGHTNOVELONLINE Volume 1, 10: The Armor and The Cliff
Volume 1, Chapter 10: The Armor and The Cliff
I entered the armor shop. I felt a lighter atmosphere than Dveragh-san’s store. It made it easier to come inside. Well, Dveragh-san did not sell his goods to ordinary people because of his policy. Moreover, the location of his store was hidden as well. No wonder I felt him unwelcoming at first.
「Excuse me. 」
「Ah, a customer. Are you a new adventurer? 」
A young female clerk in plain work clothes greeted me. She looked like 16 or 17 years old. She was probably an apprentice or a hired clerk.
With my new ability to search for enemies strengthened by the Information Manipulation Analysis, I realized there were no other people inside or behind the store. I wondered if the owner was out.
Her hair was semi-long and had a greenish color. Her eyes were blue. As for her breasts…It was better for me to keep silent for her honor…Ah!? I felt sick about myself, and I hurriedly replied.
「Yes. I went to Dveragh-san’s store moments ago and he recommended me this place because I want to buy armor.」
The female clerk heard attentively to what I said, but when I spoke Dveragh-san’s name, and his own recommendation, she looked at me with suspicious eyes.
「Eh, Dveragh-san recommended this place even though you’re a new adventurer? …Well, do you have something to prove your statement?」
「Ah, I have a sword that I got from Dveragh-san’s store. This is a one-handed sword.」
After saying that, I took the sheath with the sword from the item box and showed it to her.
「You got it? You didn’t buy it? Moreover, you have an item box even though you’re a swordsman? But the sheath and bundle have Dveragh-san’s traits. Ah, can I have a look?」
「Yes, I don’t mind it. 」
I handed over the sheath with the sword. She noticed Dveragh-san’s characteristics on the sheath and bundle. However, this sword was different from Dveragh-san’s usual swords because Dveragh-san only began making hardened swords recently. If she doubted me, then I’d have no choice but to visit Dveragh-san again and ask for his help. The female clerk looked at the sword with suspicious eyes…
「Hmm, the sword is a little different from the swords I’ve seen from Dveragh-san, but the shape reminds me of Dveragh-san’s craftsmanship. It is a good sword with a stable center of gravity. Can I try it out for a bit? I don’t think that Dveragh-san’s swords are easily worn out. 」
What a guarded girl! No, that was not the problem. It should be okay if it was just a trial cut. But, was this sword okay? She wouldn’t trust me if this sword broke apart after one trial cut.
「Yes, I don’t mind it. 」
「Okay. Wait a minute. 」
The female clerk brought something that resembled a fur and cut it with the sword. Was it okay for a young clerk to do such a thing so easily? Hmm? Clerk? There was no one other than this female clerk in this store. She had the ability to cut things from the store without permission, and she had the skill to distinguish whether it was Dveragh-san’s sword or not. Was this person, perhaps, not an apprentice or hired clerk, but the owner of this shop!? Even though she was so young!?
「Ohh, it cuts really well! This is the first time I’ve seen a sword that cuts so deeply! I can’t say 100% that it belongs to Dveragh-san’s shop, but if you have a sword of such quality, then it is a waste if you don’t have a good armor. Alright, I will make you good armor. What kind of armor would you like? I recommend the Gargon leather armor.」
She finally acknowledged me. But was this type of business okay for such a young woman? Dveragh-san was a skilled artisan and had the looks of someone who run a weaponry business, so I imagined a person like him!
Well, if Dveragh-san suggested this person, then she must be quite talented as well.
「What kind of materials do you have? 」
「I have the Gargon leather I mentioned earlier. If I make an armor according to your physique, it will cost you 15,000 Tael. It is fairly thick, but it is lighter than metal armor and easy to move. This type of leather is my favorite. I also have Green Wolf leather, but it is vulnerable to fire, so it will be difficult to deal with monsters that use fire. It has a weak defense and it is unadvisable to use it for a long time. The advantage is that it is cheap. This leather is also easy to process and you can buy it 1/10 the price of Gargon leather. I have it available at my store as armor for beginners.」
Was it the Gargon leather armor that Dveragh-san recommended based on the price?
「What do you mean by vulnerability? 」
I heard something scary with her explanation of the Green Wolf leather. I kind of knew what it was deep inside my chest, but I wanted to confirm it anyway.
「The flame spreads throughout the armor and the person who wears it transforms into a fiery doll. The flames will burn the armor in a short time, but if the person survives this predicament, the armor will be lost. And the monster that caused this incident would surely attack and kill the person who wore the Green Wolf leather. I’ve never heard of an adventurer wearing Green Wolf leather equipment and returning alive after being caught on fire. In the first place, adventurers who have the ability to survive with their own capabilities do not wear Green Wolf leather equipment.」
It was just an equipment for beginners. Even though it was cheap, I did not want to become a fiery doll.
「Whoa, I want to avoid that outcome at all costs. I heard enough. In other words, I have no choice but to choose the Gargon leather. Am I right?」
「I have more materials as you can see when you look up. But how much did you bring with you?」
「I have around 20,000 Tael. 」
「Then I guess it is the Gargon leather after all. Usually, leather equipment is expensive and there are many materials. However, I do not have a great variety in my shop. Despite this, I am confident about my skills and I sell what I have with good affordable prices that even beginners can buy.」
This shop owner was extremely proud of herself even though she had no breasts. Well, I didn’t care much about that. It was irrelevant now. So it was the Gargon leather, huh.
「Then I would like the Gargon leather. 」
「Okay. Let me measure you. Stretch your arms a little. 」
「Ah, yes. 」
With that said, the female shop owner measured my shoulder-to-elbow length and my waist. I turned my hand from behind for her to measure my waist, and my hand hit her chest accidently…Nothing. It was flat like a cliff. Moreover, these measurements made me tickle a little.
「Don’t move. 」
For some reason, I felt the pressure and I stood upright. I knew that I shouldn’t move. I felt that something scary hid behind her normal tone.
「It’s over. Given your physique, it will be 16,000 Tael. Is that okay with you?」
I felt scared of her tone. I felt she was angry. But 1000 Tael was still a fair amount of money after all. I mustn’t lose to pressure!
「Eh, but you told me a different price a moment ago.」
「Is that okay with you? 」
The pressure increased. After all, she did seem to care about me touching her chest accidently…I truly felt this pressure to the maximum. But I won’t give in!
「You increased 1000 Tael. 」
「Is that okay with you? 」
「Yes! It is okay! 」
I gave her two gold coins. I couldn’t overcome the pressure. She received them and returned four silver coins. I kept them in the item box.
「Well then, I will be ready tomorrow evening, so come after the evening bell rings. 」
「Ah! Okay, perfect! Then I will excuse myself! 」
I felt immense fear and I left the shop immediately. I shouldn’t have useless thoughts about women’s breasts. Really, no good.
I went to the Guild to see if there was something interesting there. In fact, I wanted to escape from the sight of the armor shop as soon as possible.
「Ah, Kaede-san. Hello. I need to talk to you. Are you free?」
Sally-san approached me, which was unusual. Her chest was relatively plump.
「Is something wrong? 」
I wondered what she wanted to talked about. Perhaps, gathering medicinal herbs had become a problem, or maybe the prices of medicinal herbs collapsed and the market became chaotic. I wondered if I couldn’t bring them in anymore.
「It’s about Rank up. 」
「Ehh. The medicinal herbs, I see. So I can’t…Hmm? Rank up? 」
Apparently, I misunderstood. Was the shortage of medicinal herbs more serious to me than I expected?
「Yes. Rank up. You contributed with the Zunana Grass request and the Green Wolves’ capture. Therefore, the Guild judged your abilities and decided that these accomplishments were sufficient for rank promotion. However, it is necessary to complete at least one chore request in order for you to increase your rank officially. If you want to rank up, please think about it.」
Was it really necessary to complete a chore request to rank up? The Guild was an adventurer’s organization after all. They had rules and a system to abide.
「I understand. I will think about it and see what chore requests you have.」
After saying that, I went to see the G-rank quest board. There were several “cleaning garbage” and “carrying luggage” chore requests. However, I found one interesting among them.
—
RANK: G
Request content: Iron Ore Transportation
Reward: 2 Tael per 1Kg
Quantity: Just carry an amount whatever it may be
Remarks: The iron ore has to be transported from the mine tunnel to the smelter. The mine tunnel is located in the grassland, 5 km from this town.
—
Just carry a random amount? Per 1kg? This request could test the limits of my item box. Either way, I didn’t know what other requests I could take besides this one (irony).
「I will accept this request. 」
I picked it up from the quest board (the sheet one at the top of the quest board), and gave it to Sally-san.
「You brought another strange request… Well, this one is a chore request, so there is no problem. But it is a waste to use the item box for this. 」
「What? Why is this a strange request? 」
「This request is as unpopular as collecting Zunana grass. The accommodation fee is usually 600 Tael, and to pay for it, an adventurer will have to carry 50 kg at a time, which means that he or she would have to do 6 round trips. Adventurers don’t want to waste energy and time to earn difficult money. That’s why most of them take requests that not only allows them to pay the accommodation fee, but also gives them more time to do whatever they want.」
It was a request that was not worth the price like Zunana grass…? But, I felt like doing it since I had an item box.
「It should be okay because I have an item box. I still don’t know the limits of my item box, so I’d like to try this and test it.」
「I don’t know the details surrounding the capacity of the item box, but it seems that the amount of magic is related with the capacity itself. It seems that people with more MP have more frames or slots in the item box when they first open it. There is also a story that says the capacity per frame increases as the level goes up. The magical nature of the item box itself is quite rare, and the information is not publicly available, so there may be something else.」
Did the number of frames equal the MP when I first opened it up? So the capacity of the item box was the number of my initial MP. I shall understand this better by accepting this request.
「Is that so? Thank you for this valuable information. I shall go now.」
What? I didn’t intend to work today, but I ended up receiving a request. Well, it was still noon and I didn’t have anything else to do in the afternoon other than shopping, so there should be no problem.