Riv.
A member of the Rank III delver party, Torquetam.
Peach-white hair cropped into a short bob, gleaming.
Sleepy-looking red eyes. A delicate, lovely face to match.
Skin pale as snow.
A black jacket draped over a sleek white bodysuit.
That sleek white bodysuit was, honestly, sexy.
If she hadn't been wearing pants, it would've been dangerous. Probably some kind of leotard situation.
The ring-shaped thing at her hip was her weapon.
Not a chakram — a fully transforming blade.
Called the Pleiades Blade. Cool.
"H-hi there."
"Hey... long time... no see."
"Yeah, it has been."
Though I was pretty sure it had only been a little over a week.
"Welcome back, Riv."
"Arifa... you were... here today."
"Sorry, sorry. I was off on a bit of a trip."
"Looks like she went to the Thieves' Market."
"Were those... spoils of war..."
She indicated the three wooden boxes sitting on the counter with a glance.
"Apparently they're all knives."
"...All-you-can-choose..."
"Oh, as expected of Riv, you get it!"
"...All-you-can-stuff..."
"I don't think that's right."
An all-you-can-stuff deal on knives sounds way too dangerous. Attractive, though.
"I bought the knives in bulk."
"Bulk?"
"Some thief groups bundle up their stolen goods. I bought the whole lots as-is."
"And that turned into these three wooden boxes..."
"It's fine. I checked what's inside. Not in detail, though."
What exactly does "it's fine" mean?
"W-well. I'll buy two, for now."
"Sure thing."
Arifa opened the three wooden boxes.
They were crammed tight with knives.
Most were standing upright, showing off a variety of handles and guards.
That's when it hit me.
"Oh, that's right. Can you sell this?"
From my pouch, I pulled out the lump of iron. A kunai.
"What's this, then?"
"It's called a kunai."
"Oh? A kunai, huh."
Arifa took it.
"Do you know about the Nameless?"
"The Nameless? I think I've heard they're a criminal organization."
"Mm... Riv... knows... fake ninja... group..."
"Right, right. They were fakes."
Leave it to Riv to get it.
"Ninja?"
"A ninja — well, they're basically like dark-clad murderers for hire."
"Oh, so those actually exist?"
"Mm... Riv... has fought them before..."
"Huh, really?"
"...They were persistent... stalkers..."
She passed judgment on them as stalkers, but I kind of got it.
Arifa was holding the kunai, staring intently at it.
Was she using the Relic Appraisal she carried too?
"How is it?"
"It's good stuff. I'll buy it for twelve hundred oro."
"Hmm... cheap."
Riv immediately chimed in with a complaint.
"No, no, anywhere else would offer even less. After all, its backstory is shady and its use is narrow. It looks like a knife, but it's not really a knife. And it's not particularly sharp either — judging by its appearance, it's meant for throwing. In other words, disposable. From my assessment, it's the type of thing you'd call a concealed weapon. As a weapon, four hundred oro at most."
"That little?"
"And there might be shops that won't buy it at all."
"Hmm... then... why... twelve hundred..."
"This is an antique shop. I factored in its value as a curio, not its practicality."
"I see..."
"Twelve hundred oro, then. Let's see — how about I trade this kunai for a knife? Why don't you pick whichever you'd prefer?"
Arifa flashed a mischievous grin as she made that offer.
"Is that really okay? Then I'll definitely take the knife, please."
For me, there was only one choice.
"And I'll price the other knives at twelve hundred as well."
"Is that all right? Depending on which knife I pick, some are worth more than that."
"Hmm... that's possible..."
"It's fine. They're stolen goods after all, even if I didn't steal them myself. Besides, appraising each knife you pick and haggling over the price — that's petty and boring. Not my style."
I thought to myself that she probably wasn't making much profit on this, but kept my mouth shut.
"...That's exactly why I don't make any money."
"If profit were my concern, I wouldn't be running an antique shop."
"Hmm... That's fair, I suppose."
"Here, Wof. Pick three."
"R-Right."
First up, the first one. Now, which should I go with?
I look down at the box on the left. All sorts of handles and guards are visible.
"This one."
Something catches my eye.
It's a white knife with a spiraled, rounded pommel.
A black line running through the middle of the handle catches my attention, and I grip it gently.
"Can I look at this one too?"
"Sure."
I take it out of the box.
The sheath is bronze. So I assumed the blade would be as well, and drew it — but that wasn't the case.
"Hmm... What a peculiar knife."
"Some kind of weird knife, huh."
We both say as much, and I thought so too.
The blade is iron, curved in two arcs.
It gives the impression of having been sharply carved into semicircles.
The tip is sharply pointed.
The weight seems about average.
Also, I could tell when I gripped it that the handle was made of stone.
It was a bit slippery.
"All right. I'll go with this one."
"Are you sure? Such a weird knife."
"Hmm... weird."
"Ahaha..."
The two of them were thoroughly unimpressed.
Huh? There was something carved near the handle.
An inscription. Ryuuro? Someone's name, maybe.
First up would be this Ryuuro knife.
"Then I'll pick the second one."
I shifted my gaze to the middle wooden box.
There wasn't a rule that I had to pick one from each box, but there were three boxes and I needed to choose three knives.
In that case, picking one from each should be more fun.
The middle box was packed just as full of knives.
"Huh, this one doesn't have a sheath."
"Oh, you're right."
"Hmm... bare..."
I picked up that knife more or less on a whim.
Soot-stained red single blade with a wavy design. The handle was round and wooden.
Somehow, it had an overall rough, unrefined feel.
And there was no sheath. For a blade, that was fatal.
But, fine.
"I'll go with this one."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah... it doesn't have a sheath."
"That much, I can do something about."
"A sheath... I think something like that might work..."
Arifa rummaged through a small-item shelf behind the counter.
"Found it," she said, and placed it on the counter.
A plain leather sheath. Just the sheath.
Arifa picked up the knife and slid it into the sheath— and it fit perfectly.
"Hm... a perfect fit... kankan."
"Arifa. What's that?"
"It was in a sheath that came with something I bought a while back. It went in just like I thought. Consider it a freebie."
She handed it over.
"Oh, thanks."
The sheath had an inscription engraved on it.
Dahlia. So this knife was Dahlia.
This makes the second knife.
Just as I was about to pick the last one—
"Wof… for the last one… I want… Riv to pick…"
"Riv?"
"Yeah… I'll… pay for it."
"No, go ahead. Just picking one out is fine."
I was startled by the sudden request, but what was that all about?
Riv gave a small bow, then looked at the wooden box on the right.
"This… one."
What she grabbed was a black… oval-shaped object with a hole through the pommel.
It had no guard and fit the sheath so perfectly it looked like they had been formed as a single piece.
I'd been wondering if I could even hold this handle, but it was strangely easy to grip, as if it clung to my hand.
"…………"
"…Pull it… out."
I drew it as told, and the blade was oval too, pitch black… and thin.
Incredibly… impossibly thin, double-edged. Wait, was this even a blade to begin with?
Staring at it, I felt like I was looking at a reflection rather than something actually there.
And yet, this knife.
"Somehow, it feels like a mysterious knife."
"…Chemnotar…"
"This knife. Do you know about it?"
"Mm... something similar... I've seen... before."
The knife Riv chose. I'd noticed him pick it up and examine it.
The quality — no, the craftsmanship — was clearly different from the others.
Could this be an S or F type knife?
"What'll it be, Wof?"
"...my recommendation..."
"I'll go with this one."
"Sure thing."
I chose the knife Riv picked out.
It was eerie, but if it was an S or F type, I could trust it.
And so, I acquired three new knives.
Ryuro's knife.
Dalia.
Chemnotar.
I stowed them in my knife belt.
I could feel the weight of all three.
Oh, right.
"Riv, there's something I wanted to ask."
"Mm... what is it... bust-waist-hip measurements...?"
"No, that's not it. Have you ever heard of energy drinks?"
I asked her straight out.
Riv tilted her head, then said:
"Hmm... Riv is... carbonation-only... anything else... is unacceptable..."
Oh, so she's a carbonation fanatic.