"Oh, if it isn't little Miss Shield—been about a week, hasn't it?"
With nowhere to really go in the Castle Town except the shopping district, we headed straight for the Weapon Shop.
The old man behind the counter caught sight of Raphtalia and his jaw dropped.
"Talk about a transformation since I last saw you… You've grown into quite the looker, haven't you?"
"Huh?"
What was he even saying? The old man was spouting some incomprehensible nonsense.
"You've filled out nicely, too… Totally different from that scrawny thing that came in here last time."
"Don't make it sound like I just got fat!"
Raphtalia fidgeted and fussed with her hands as she answered.
Her attitude was obnoxious!
It reminded me of that awful woman.
"Ahahaha, haven't you grown up cute!"
"Grown up? Well, yeah, my level did go up."
About a week ago she'd been level 10; now she was 25. If that kind of growth showed in her physical features, I suppose it made sense.
"Hmm… You've turned into quite the cold fish, haven't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
I mean, anyone would think a ten-year-old girl was cute—though, well, she had been eating nothing but meat lately, so maybe she'd put on a little weight.
She always complained about being hungry, so I'd been cooking up the meat of every monster we ran into and feeding it to her.
Worried that the lack of balanced nutrition might cause swelling in her legs, I'd reluctantly mixed in medicinal herbs—doing my best, however painfully, to keep things varied.
Lately she'd stopped coughing too. The Healing Potion I'd been giving her must have done the trick.
"So what've you been up to this past week? Just fighting?"
"I had the innkeeper teach me table manners. I wanted to eat more elegantly, like Naofumi-sama."
"Sounds like things are going well."
The old man seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe I could haggle him down on some decent gear.
Flatter him more, Raphtalia.
"So what brings you here today?"
"Oh, we're here to buy equipment."
I pointed at Raphtalia as I said it. Immediately, Raphtalia gripped my shoulder hard and put on some creepy grin.
"This time, we're buying armor for Naofumi-sama."
"I know that. Why are you getting so worked up?"
"Please put your hand on your own chest and think about it honestly."
"Hmm… Well, I need to prepare for Wave, obviously…"
"I can see what your real feelings are, and I can clearly tell what she's trying to say, but…"
What the hell were these two talking about?
We'd already decided from the start that we were buying my equipment.
"So, just to confirm—gear for me, right? What's the budget?"
"180 Silver Coins, if you please."
Raphtalia blurted out the price on her own.
I was starting to get seriously irritated.
That amount wouldn't get anything better than what I already had!
"Let me think… For something well-balanced in that range, I'd say chainmail."
"Chainmail… Oh!"
Almost unconsciously, a dark, murky feeling surged up from the pit of my stomach.
What was so tragic about having to re-buy equipment that originally belonged to me in the first place?
"Well… If little Miss Shield is really that averse to it, I guess we can look at other options."
The old man, who seemed to have a vague idea of the situation, scratched his nose and nodded in understanding, shifting his gaze to a different set of armor.
"In that case—it might be a bit tight, but a suit of iron plate armor would be within range."
I followed his finger to the armor he was pointing at.
Iron-plated full plate… There it was. The kind of armor you'd see on display in castles and keeps.
I knew it. It was called full-plate mail, and in my world they said you could barely move in it, couldn't get up by yourself, and there were even cases of people sinking into swamps and dying.
"As long as you've got the stamina, you'll manage. The problem is that it hasn't had Air Wake Processing."
"Air Wake Processing?"
"It's a process that absorbs the wearer's magic to reduce the weight. The effects are excellent."
"I see."
So in this world, full-body armor without Air Wake Processing was basically a sitting target.
Well, I had said you could manage if you had the stamina.
But even I didn't have that much stamina.
"If I remove the heavy-looking parts, it'd be cheaper and lighter…"
"Little Miss. So you were already thinking along those lines."
"Obviously."
"In that case, buying an iron breastplate would be cheaper. The area it protects is smaller, though."
"Hmm… I do need the defense, but if my agility drops too much, that defeats the purpose…"
It was fine for me to act as a wall, but if I couldn't actually protect anyone, that'd be a major problem.
I wanted to avoid equipment that limited my mobility as much as possible.
Air Wake Processing—how much would it cost to have that done?
"One more thing… If you bring in the materials, I could do a custom order."
"Oh, I like that. I'm into that sort of thing."
"Of course you'd have that look on your face… Let me see."
The old man unrolled a sheepskin parchment with material names and a rough sketch of the finished product.
"I can't read it."
I couldn't read the writing in this world. The Shield translated everything for me, which was how I managed to communicate.
The old man made a face as if to say "well, this is a problem" and explained.
"Go to that workshop over there, buy cheap copper and iron, then bring me Usapill and Yamara hides, plus some Pikupiku feathers."
"We have the hides and feathers."
Raphtalia cheerfully pulled out the hides and feathers she'd stashed in her luggage bag—remnants from the blanket and futon she'd been using as bedding since they'd kept her plenty warm. Well… fine.
"The quality's a little rough, but usable."
"What can you make with these?"
"Barbarian Armor. Its performance is about even with chainmail, but it covers more area and keeps you warm in the cold."
"Oh…"
Barbarian Armor… That name didn't exactly sit right with me.
"For an add-on option, you can attach bones for a magic effect, but that can be done later—just come back once you've gathered the materials."
"That helps a lot. Guess we'll go buy the copper and iron then."
"Let's go! Let's go right now!"
Raphtalia, full of energy, grabbed my hand and tried to drag me off shopping.
"What's the rush?"
"With this, Naofumi-sama will finally look the part of a real adventurer. How can you not hurry?"
"W-well… I suppose you're right."
It was because I'd been told I looked no different from a villager, after all.
The gear was a little savage-looking, but still better than nothing.
So we headed over to the metal workshop and purchased the copper and iron.
Word must have gotten around from the old man at the Weapon Shop, because they sold it to us for surprisingly cheap.
Something about how Raphtalia was such a sweet girl, so they'd throw in a little extra, or so they said.
The guys at the metal workshop grinned as they watched Raphtalia. She herself waved back with a pleasant smile.
I felt like lecturing them about just how many lolicons existed in this world.
"Materials came together pretty quickly."
"That's thanks to little Miss working hard."
"More to the point, I'd like to point out two or three things about how many lolicons are among your acquaintances, old man."
"Loli-what? What are you talking about?"
"Did the translation not get that across? The Shield has a translation function, you know."
"No, I don't think any of my friends are into little girls…"
"They gave us a discount because Raphtalia is cute."
"Little Miss… Could it be that you really don't understand?"
"Understand what?"
"Old man, please, let's drop the subject."
Raphtalia was shaking her head furiously.
The old man seemed to catch on. He let out a resigned "geez" kind of sigh, shrugged, and turned his gaze back to me.
"I'll have it ready by tomorrow. Just wait until then."
"That's fast. I figured it would take at least two days."
"Well, sure, it'd take that long for some stranger, but you're not just anybody."
"I'll at least say thank you."
"Ha ha ha, you'll make my back itch with all that."
I was starting to regret thanking him. It felt like I was being played for a fool.
"So what's the price for the custom order?"
"Factoring in the copper and iron purchase… I'll let you have it for 130 Silver Coins. That includes the expansion option."
"The bone one? So I just bring that and it's done?"
"Yep. 130 total with that included. Can't go any lower."
"Understood. That works."
I took out 130 Silver Coins and handed them to the old man.
"Pleasure doing business."
"Oh, and by the way, old man—I'm also looking for a weapon in the 90 Silver Coin range."
"That'd be for the young lady."
"Yep."
I did still have the rusty sword I'd bought a week ago that had been polished and restored to a normal blade, but maybe I'd trade that in.
"Raphtalia."
"Yes."
Raphtalia drew the sword from her waist and set it on the counter.
"Trade-in, please. And add the sword we received to that as well."
"Hmm… Looks like you took proper care of it this time."
"Because of my Shield."
If I stuck the sword into the polishing Shield before bed, the maintenance was usually done by morning.
It never lost much of its edge, either.
"That Shield sure is convenient… I wouldn't mind having one myself."
"But then you couldn't equip a weapon."
My attack power was so abysmally low that without a weapon I was nothing but a wall.
If that was acceptable to someone, I'd gladly hand it over—if I could, that.
"That's the inconvenient part."
I glared at the laughing old man while I waited for the trade-in.
"That rusty sword looks completely different now. As expected of the legendary Shield—incredible performance."
He evaluated the formerly rusty sword with a look of genuine admiration.
"Tell you what… I could sell you a Magic Iron Sword for around that."
I was pretty sure Magic Iron was a tier above a regular iron sword.
"It's got Blood Clean Coating on it."
"Yeah, I'll throw that in for free. I can see you've been working hard."
What a good-natured guy. Now that I thought about it, even after I'd been left with nothing, this man had helped me out with all sorts of things.
"Thank you…"
I expressed my gratitude to the old man from the bottom of my heart.
"You. You've got the same look in your eyes as when we first met—that's the right look. I'm glad I got to show you something good."
The old man seemed satisfied as he handed Raphtalia the Magic Iron Sword.
"A good weapon makes you stronger. But without the skill to match, it'd be a waste of a good blade. Still, I think you two can handle it just fine. Keep at it, young lady!"
"Yes!"
Raphtalia's eyes sparkled as she took the sword and slid it into the scabbard at her waist.
"Come back tomorrow, around this same time."
"Right."
"Thank you very much!"
"Don't mention it."
And just like that, we left the Weapon Shop.
After walking out, it felt like we'd somehow passed noon, so I considered grabbing something to eat.
Everything tasted like nothing to me, but my stomach still growled.
Our remaining funds were 10 Silver Coins. A week and a bit had evaporated in an instant.
Oh well. If the performance justified the cost, it was a fine investment in the future.
Fortunately, there were plenty of ways to earn money.
"Oh right—want to grab a meal at that place we went to before?"
"Are you sure?"
"Raphtalia wanted to eat there last time, so I'll treat her again."
"Stop it! I'm not a child anymore!"
Raphtalia, who'd been in high spirits just a moment ago, puffed out her cheeks in a huff.
What was a kid trying to prove by acting like an adult after a single week?
She was at that age where she wanted to seem more grown-up.
"Fine, fine. You really want to eat there, don't you? I get it, I get it."
"Naofumi-sama, you're not listening at all!"
"It's all right. Don't try so hard to seem mature. You do want to eat there, don't you?"
"You're trying to see through me with that gentle, 'I understand, dear child' look! I don't need it!"
Honestly, what a handful.
We walked into the place that served the kids' meal—or whatever it was.
"Welcome!"
Oh? This time we were greeted by a pleasant server who led us to a table.
Maybe the new haircut had made a difference. Last time had been rough.
"I'll take the cheapest set meal, and the kid gets the children's lunch with the little flag on it."
"Naofumi-sama!"
The server checked the menu and looked back and forth between Raphtalia and me with a confused expression.
"Um, I'd also like the cheapest set meal, please."
"Y-yes, ma'am."
The server nodded at Raphtalia's order and went back to the kitchen.
"What's going on? You really don't want it?"
"I told you, I'm perfectly fine with this."
"Hmm…"
Fine. I'd just go along with Raphtalia's little whims.
Feeding your charge what she wanted to eat was part of a master's duty, after all.