The crepe that Kerberostern had been eating while wandering around.
Tuna, meat, and vegetables — all savory, no sweets. What a letdown.
"Oh wow — Mineha!"
"Long time no see, Plancy!"
The two high-fived and started giggling. So they knew each other.
*munch munch* "Mineha and I have teamed up a few times." *munch munch*
"She was a huge help."
Coran and Nabel said.
Coran. Talk after you finish eating.
"Is that so?"
"By the way, Wof. Find anything good?"
"Nah, not really."
"We came up completely empty... It's tough, isn't it?"
"You really need someone with Appraisal. There's so much stuff, you can't tell what's good."
"Right?"
I see.
"Nabel's Relic doesn't help with this kind of thing either."
"Coran!"
"My bad, my bad."
"…So, what you're after, Coran, is a spear, right?"
"Ah, yeah. Something that syncs with my [Wind] Relic, and that a Relic can actually hold."
"Nabel, you wanted a sword, correct?"
"If there's a sword that could go toe-to-too with this Wolfen sword, then…"
Hmm, hmm.
"And Plancy?"
"A robe, I think. Preferably something tied to [Fire] and [Water], if possible?"
One way or another, they'd helped me out, cooperated with me, and taught me things.
They weren't bad people. And I owed them more than a few favors.
Right then.
"If you're open to it, could you let me help?"
"You'd go looking for them?"
"Well, I don't mind."
"That'd take a load off."
"What about you, Mineha?"
"Hmm. Well, I don't see why not."
Now then. First things first.
There's something I want to try.
"Coran, could you tell me about the spear you're currently using?"
"This one? It's an OOPArt — nothing all that impressive. It can bump the power of my [Wind] Relic just a little. It's called Shippūmaru."
I looked, and there was a green light.
"Your order is a spear that can hold a Wind-attribute Relic, correct?"
"Yeah. I'd love it if something that convenient existed."
"With how vast this place is, there probably is one."
"That doesn't mean I can just grab every spear one by one."
"True. There are over several thousand."
"Ha ha, fair point…"
I activated my Relic, the Ring of Fortune.
Actually, I'd had a thought back when I was searching for Mineha's spear.
I wondered if I could narrow things down with specific details, like a web search.
You could filter by selection and grade. If that worked, maybe I could get even more specific.
If it couldn't go that far, that was fine too.
I'd try it with the mindset that it'd be a bonus if it worked.
"Spear," "Relic related to Wind," and "yellow or blue light."
How about that?
Oh, there were results. And not only that — three yellow lights and one blue light.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
"This way."
"Wait, Wof."
"Looks like we found one. Let's go."
"What's going on here?"
I headed toward the nearest yellow light.
A tent stall lined with lower-floor weapons.
In the back, one spear among a jumble of weapons stuffed into a tube was giving off a yellow glow.
"How about this one?"
I handed the spear to Koran.
He caught it carelessly, then looked surprised.
"A Relic got into this one...?"
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah — Slash Blow. ...That's incredible."
"Going with this one? There are others too."
"I'll take this one."
There were others, but if he was happy with it, that was fine by me.
The basket read "MEGA DEAL — 600 oro." Cheap.
The shopkeeper said it was cheap because there was a catch. Well, that's how it goes down here.
Koran looked thoroughly pleased.
The spear was called "Blow Fang." It had a green grip and a blade shaped like a fang.
"Hey, hey, Wof."
"I know, Planchy. If you give me the details, I think I can find something that fits."
"Okay, I want a robe. Something related to Fire and Water Relics."
"Got it."
I searched.
'Robe'… 'Relic related to fire and water'… 'yellow or blue light'.
There it was. Yellow was zero. Two blue lights, though.
The nearby blue light was on a mid-level floor. But the other one was farther out… at the outer edge… that place, huh.
The sketchy shop in that pile of junk that felt like a fake Chinese knockoff district.
Still, if I could get it for 1,000 oro, that was a pretty solid deal.
When I suggested it, Mineha made a face.
The three of us headed toward the suspicious shop owner who gave off strong knockoff-Chinese vibes, and snagged the robe from a junk heap.
It had been kept inside a sturdy box.
"Flame Lance and Water Double…!!"
Planchy threw on the robe and got all excited.
It was a strange garment — red on the front, blue on the back.
Like a hooded parker with a small crystal embedded in both the front and back.
The name was "Entangled Fire and Water Parker." It was literally a parker.
"That's awesome. And it was only 1,000 oro?"
"Hehe, thanks. Wof!"
"Is it a Relic, by chance?"
"Yeah, probably. Next up is Nabel."
Last up is the "sword."
So, first off, the sword Nabel is holding — whoa, it's glowing blue.
"Um, Nabel. What kind of OOPArt is that sword?"
"It's the 'Sword of Ulfen,' passed down through my family for generations. It comes with a dedicated Relic."
"Would it be all right if I asked what the Relic does? If not, that's totally fine."
"—It's called 'Ulfen Rush,' and it lets you perform four sword rushes in a row."
"Oh, that incredible sword technique I saw before!"
I'd seen it during the fight against the rumor-eating monster.
So that was a Relic.
"I see... Thank you."
"Also, this sword is made of demon steel. I've heard it has demon silver and demon copper mixed in as well."
"That's useful information."
Search.
"Sword" "alloy of demon steel, demon silver, and demon copper" "rivals the Sword of Ulfen" "blue glow."
Come on, work. Hm? Hm? Wait... There's an image appearing in my head... I can see a sword.
It looks similar to the one Nabel is holding. The search worked... Holy cow.
Also, this place — I feel like I've seen it before... Hey. Hey, hey. No way. You've gotta be kidding me.
"It's the Witch's Shop!!"
"Wha—!?" You scared me.
"W-Witch's Shop?"
"What? What's wrong?"
"I found it—let's go!"
"Wof, wait—!"
"Huh? I said I found it."
I take off running. Honestly, I'm exhausted, but I run. I run.
From the back entrance of Ponpoko-tei on the middle level to the teleportation room. I can hear voices behind me, but I don't care.
I arrive at the mobile palace in the upper level's VIP area.
Without stopping, I glance at the courtyard as I cross the hallway and head to the second floor.
I knock on the door of the Witch's Shop.
"Come iiiiin~desu."
"Uh, it's me."
The door clicks open. There are no customers inside.
"Welcome back, Deputy Manager."
"Deputy Manager!?"
Nabel and the others look stunned.
That's all well and good, but—right. There it is. That sword.
Sitting in a corner of the shop, propped against the wall.
A sword whose placement makes it hard to tell whether it's actually for sale or not.
"Nabel. That sword!"
"Huh? That sword... ah, ahh! No way—!?"
Nabel looked startled and hurried over to the sword.
The sword was long, and its design was remarkably similar to the one Nabel carried.
The difference was that Nabel's "Sword of Ulfen" was double-edged, while this one was single-edged.
The blade was somewhat jagged-looking, and it had no guard — the whole thing was a single integrated piece.
"Huh, it looks a lot like your sword."
"It's the 'Blade of Ulfen.' On par with the 'Sword of Ulfen'... A clan treasure that had been lost for ages... The head of the Ulfen clan had it several decades ago."
"I see."
That clan head. He died in the Haizen Great Forest, didn't he.
Nabel looked at me with a serious expression. I could already tell what was coming.
"So, um, Wof... would you be willing to sell it to me?"
"Of course."
"No matter how expensive it is, I'll take out a loan and pay for it!"
"I'll chip in too."
"I-I will too!"
"Uh, well..."
What do I do.
It came from the Junkyard, so I can't exactly say it was free — the mood made that impossible.
"Then how about 100,000 oro?"
"Mineha?"
"100,000... That much I can pay."
"Good for you, Nabel. I'll chip in too."
"I'll put some in as well."
The Cerberus Turn enthusiastically pooled their money together.
"Is it really okay to decide this without telling the Witch?"
"It's fine, really."
"Is that so?"
"There's no way we could explain where it came from."
"That's true."
I sold the sword to Nabel for 100,000 oro.
Apparently Nabel had gotten significantly stronger with it. Good.
"Thank you, Wof."
"Thank you, Wof."
"Thank you, Wof."
The Cerberus Turn thanked me in unison.
I felt a little embarrassed.
The three left the shop, thoroughly satisfied.
"What happened to the Witch?"
"Shop owner. She hasn't come back yet, desu."
"I wonder what she's up to."
Mineha grew to her full size and sat down in one of the empty chairs.
I was tired too, so I sat down in a chair.
Anna Kreuzen brought us some tea.
We sat around drinking tea and relaxing.
"Customer. How is it, desu?"
"Not at all, desu."
"It's because it doesn't feel like they're trying to sell anything. The shop owner isn't even here."
"...Yeah, you're right."
Just as we were talking, the door opened.
"Oh dear, oh dear — I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
The witch.
"Welcome back, desu. Shop owner."
"Where have you been, shop owner?"
"What... is that?"
The witch was holding a rope. At the other end was a black coffin.
No way she dragged that thing all the way here.
"Well now, well now. A coffin, isn't it."
"Anyone can see that. Don't tell me that's merchandise too?"
"Well now, yes indeed."
I was wondering what kind of merchandise it could possibly be, when the door opened again.
"Welcome, desu."
"......!"
"Well now, welcome indeed."
"Welcome."
"Welcome!"
"......Nice to meet you."
The one who walked in was a woman with a hood pulled low over her face. She had purple eyes.
That's Edda, the witch said cheerfully.
"Please, go ahead. Take your time looking around."
"Yes. There are all sorts of rare things here."
The woman smiled.