Chapter Three: Acquaintances
We threw our cloaks back on and roamed the town a bit, observing. The damages really had been severe. The scars left by the Spirit Tortoise ran deep, and countless signs of the onslaught of its familiars still remained.
Shortly after, we arrived at the shop that we had been headed for. Oh, thank goodness . . . The shop hadn’t suffered any noticeable damage and was open for business as usual. I stepped into the old guy’s weapon shop.
“Welcome!”
“Glad to see you’re okay.”
“That voice . . . Is that you, kid?!”
I doffed my hood and greeted the old guy. He seemed to be in one piece —not a single scratch to show, thankfully.
“Why are you wearing a cloak?”
“Don’t want to stand out.”
“Ah, that’s right. You’re an overnight sensation, kid.”
That was the real problem. I was no Itsuki, but the happy greetings . . . “Shield Hero!” just gave me the creeps. I suppose I could have basked in feelings of superiority, but being well loved by the riffraff of this country wasn’t really something to be proud of. Not to mention, I had way too many things I needed to take care of now. I didn’t have time to waste on meaningless affairs.
“People tagging along in droves would only cause trouble, right?”
I replied to the old guy while giving the inside of the shop a look-over.
“Doesn’t seem to be any damage of note from what I can see.”
“Yeah, not really. I chased off any monsters that showed up here.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“I guess I had you all wrong. Here I thought you looked disappointed or something when you showed up.”
“You’re so full of it.”
The old guy had done so much for me, but we still went back and forth like this.
“This thing is all covered in dust now since you never came to pick it up, kid.”
The old guy brought a small sword over.
Pekkul Rapier
quality: good
imbued effects: agility up, magic power up, blood clean finish
Oh yeah . . . This must have been the weapon I’d requested for Rishia so long ago.
“Did you come to order something else?”
The rapier seemed just about right for Rishia. Or maybe I should have Eclair use it?
“Support from the castle isn’t going to come so readily anymore. I figured I’d have you put my orders for weapons and gear on hold for now.”
“I guess that’s to be expected. The castle town wasn’t hit that hard, but this has been a major disaster for us and the surrounding countries, too.”
“How’s business been?”
“Having just had a disaster like this, everyone wants a weapon, so they come and buy them here.”
“So business is booming?”
“You could say that. With all the sales, I’m actually a bit worried about stock.”
“That’s booming, alright.”
“Thing is . . . I’m not quite sure how I feel about a bunch of amateurs running around and buying up all of the weapons.”
That couldn’t be helped. Amateurs or not, people would want weapons if they felt like they were in danger. It was that same mindset—just like when there’s a natural disaster people start buying up water and food rations. There had been a battle, so now people wanted weapons. It didn’t seem like there had been any looting as far as I could tell, so the situation could have been worse.
“Is that all for today?”
“Well, there is something . . .”
I was trying to decide whether to have the old guy make a bunch of weapons for the slaves. I had already discussed things with the queen and I knew she could supply some used weapons, but the available resources would make anything more than that tough. I wasn’t sure if we really needed anything more than that, but the fact that they were used meant they would have plenty of issues.
With that in mind, I decided to go ahead and approach the old guy.
“I had the queen give me a territory, and I have a large-scale project in the works.”
It would be useful to have the old guy around to make weapons for the slaves, among other things. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
“And what does that have to do with me, kid?”
“You could say I came here as a headhunter, if you catch my drift.”
If the old guy set up shop at the territory, that could be a source of income. I had confidence in his skills and I was sure he’d get plenty of business.
“I’ve already got this shop, you know.”
“I know that. I’m not trying to force you to do anything. I just figured . . . maybe you could take an apprentice or two. Think about it.”
“Ah, so that’s what you meant. Sure thing, kid. That said, I don’t really think I’m good enough to be taking on apprentices or anything.”
Alright, he’d given me his word. Now I’d be able to have one of my more dexterous slaves become an apprentice of the old guy and learn his trade. Skill in a trade would mean money. Of course, I didn’t plan to bite the hand that feeds me or anything like that.
“Stop being so modest. I’m confident in your skills.”
“Ha! I’ll do my best not to let you down.”
“Anyway, I’ve got a lot in the works, so spread the word among your associates for me. The location is . . .”
I told the old guy where my territory was and explained how the village would be my base of operations. I figured there would be plenty of people wanting to get in on a new project. If I only chose the ones I could trust from that group, I could expand my operations and that would lead to more profits. My territory was relatively close to the castle town, too.
“Got it. Well, we were all worried about you, kid, and it’s a good opportunity, so there very well may be some takers.”
“I have a debt to pay, so I plan to treat them well. And that’s especially true in your case, so think it over.”
“Got it.”
After a bit of lighthearted conversation, the old guy gave me a long look.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“You can tell?”
“You always show up with a million things at once, kid.”
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