Chapter 95

November 7th.

Three days ago, I was injured in a battle with a ghoul.

At the time, I hit my head hard, so I took the next day as a complete rest day. Fortunately, there were no particular aftereffects afterward, and it seemed to be just a concussion.

The 6th of yesterday was the day of Professor Laspade's lecture, and I went to the academy.

Originally, today was supposed to be the day to enter the forest, but I decided to go to the armor shop near the adventurer guild in the new town.

Until now, I had been wearing a leather jacket and leather pants to avoid injuries from sharp branches and rocks, but this injury made me realize that it was insufficient.

Since Beatrice frequents a certain shop, we are heading there with the four of us.

Adventurers generally wear leather armor. This is because metal armor, which makes noise, increases the likelihood of being spotted and ambushed by monsters. Both Beatrice and Ridian wear hard leather armor.

Spear wielder Beatrice is more heavily equipped than bow wielder Ridian and wears chainmail under her leather armor. When I saw it, it seemed quite heavy, but her movements did not betray this. When I mentioned this to her, she laughed and said, "It's a different way of training," but Ridian retorted with a wry smile, "It's just a difference in physique."

The armor shop is located in an area lined with weapon-related stores. I had been to this area occasionally before, as I came to a dwarf weapon smith named Zelgius for the maintenance of my sword, which was forged by the dwarf blacksmith Beltram from Lasmor village.

I first met Zelgius around the end of August, but we quickly got along thanks to the introduction by the blacksmith Gieselheer from Periclitur. Of course, the scotch I brought as a gift certainly helped.

The sign outside the armor shop read, "Ryfus Lavigne's Shop."

When I opened the door, the smell of unprocessed leather and a subtle, slightly pungent odor of glue wafted through the air.

Inside, there were many parts of leather armor, and the hard leather shone with a luster like amber or carnelian.

When Beatrice called out, "Is Ryfus here?" a young woman came out from the back. She appeared to be an elf and was quite beautiful, but her age was hard to determine. However, from her gentle demeanor, I assumed she was much older.

Beatrice asked, "Is that you, Lashelle? Is Ryfus not here?" The woman, called Lashelle, smiled and replied,

"He's busy right now. He should be able to come out in about twenty minutes. What brings you here today? It seems you have a new customer."

"This is a companion I'm adventuring with. Ridian, Zack, and Sharon. We're here to get Zack's armor fitted."

Lashelle stood in front of me, looked me over from head to toe, and said,

"Hmm, this one uses magic too... Beatrice, what's the budget?"

Without me saying anything, she seemed to realize I use magic. Ridian can apparently see the flow of elemental power, so perhaps Lashelle can too.

Regarding the budget, I still have about 20,000C (20 million yen) in cash. However, I hadn't decided on a budget for a specific reason.

One reason is that I don't know the market price for leather armor.

I had heard some prices from Beatrice and Ridian, but armor is almost custom-made, and the price varies greatly depending on the size. If the size is in high demand, the price can be lowered by using common parts, but custom-made armor like Beatrice's is quite expensive. My body size is similar to that of a small female beastkin, such as a cat person, but it is not the same as the more common male human size. I have no idea how this will affect the price.

Another reason is that I am still growing and don't know how long I can use the armor. There is an adjustment fee for armor, but I don't know how much range it covers. It wouldn't be cost-effective to replace it too frequently, so if it's expensive and needs to be replaced soon, I intended to buy the cheapest one.

I greeted Lashelle with a smile, "Nice to meet you, I'm Zack," and said,

"I can't decide on a budget until I see the items. I'm thinking of a maximum of 5,000C (5 million yen)."

"5,000C, huh. Should I ask Beatrice about your combat style and preferences? Or should I ask the elf lady over there?"

She seemed to have identified Ridian as a veteran adventurer at first glance. I thought, "She's certainly good at dealing with adventurers," but then I reconsidered, "Maybe she's been doing this for a long time because she's an elf."

Beatrice asked Ridian for confirmation, "Can I ask you, Ridian?" Ridian nodded, "Sure," and Lashelle turned back to me.

"I see. It's quite impressive that Beatrice trusts you so much. The last person she brought here followed her advice on everything."

Beatrice protested, "That's not true. I just gave advice," but Lashelle ignored her and continued, "So, can you tell me about your combat style?"

I smiled wryly, thinking of someone.

(She reminds me a bit of Professor Laspade. She's kind of laid-back...)

I struggled to describe my combat style, but she asked specific questions like, "What do you do when fighting a wolf?" and "How about humanoid monsters?" I answered her questions one by one.

After about twenty minutes, she seemed satisfied and stopped asking questions. "I got the general idea. I'll let Ryfus know," she said and returned to the workshop.

I asked Beatrice, "Can he really tell from that?" but she laughed and said,

"At first, it seems like a lot, but both Lashelle and Ryfus are top-notch craftsmen, so you can trust them."

"Top-notch means expensive, right? I said 5,000C, but I don't intend to spend that much."

The standard leather armor in Doctus costs about 1,000C (1 million yen) for a full set, from helmet to greaves. Newcomers can't afford that, so there are cheaper second-hand items, such as nearly discarded ones, for about 200C (200,000 yen) for a full set. I don't intend to go that low in quality, but I'm thinking about 3,000C (3 million yen) if it lasts a year.

In the past month of monster hunting, my share alone has easily exceeded 500C (500,000 yen). Of course, we don't divide it equally among the four of us; I give more to Beatrice and Ridian. My necessary expenses are mainly for sword maintenance, and Sharon doesn't need much. So, I give more to them, but most of it goes into savings.

I guess I'm a bit frugal. I don't want to spend too much on something I can only use for a short time. Normally, with my current income, spending more than 5,000C (5 million yen) would be worth it, but I feel it's wasteful. If I had a child, I would probably think the same way about children's clothes.

Ignoring my concerns, Beatrice said, "It's something you entrust your life to, so don't be stingy. If you don't have enough, I'll pay for it."

"I'm still growing. It's a waste to spend money on something I can't use for long. Besides, armor is like insurance. I don't intend to change my style of moving around and dodging."

A young man's voice came from the back.

"We'll buy it back when you need to replace it. If your style is as you say, I think we can give you a good price."

As he spoke, a handsome elf in a large apron came out of the workshop. He seemed to be the owner, Ryfus.

He had a gentle and friendly demeanor, more suited to a jeweler dealing with the wealthy than an armor shop owner catering to rough adventurers.

"You're the customer this time. What material do you want? The exoskeleton of insect-type monsters, reptilian-type, or regular animal leather? This town has a lot of materials, so I think we can make most things."

I don't know the characteristics and prices of the materials. When I said this, he started explaining like a machine gun.

"Right. Since it's your first time, it's natural that you don't know. Okay, let me explain. First, insect-type materials are the hardest. They're tougher than some metal. The downside is the high price. They're hard to process, so you can only make things that fit the shape of the material. This inevitably leads to waste..."

He continued explaining for about ten minutes. It seemed I had caught a very talkative person.

To summarize, insect-type materials are hard but difficult to process, making them expensive. Reptilian-type materials are water-resistant and less prone to degradation, but to achieve hardness, you need materials from higher-level monsters, which increases the price. There's a wide range of materials, from lizardman skin to high-end dragon materials. Currently, there are no materials worth recommending.

Animal materials range from familiar cow and horse leather to monster materials like four-handed bears, with prices varying widely. They are processed to be hard, but their performance drops quickly if they are submerged in water for a long time or not maintained properly. Most cheap leather armor is made from cow or horse leather.

I understood the materials more than I needed to, so I wanted to confirm the types of armor I needed, but I thought it would take too long to ask Ryfus, so I decided to ask Ridian and Beatrice for their opinions. They both agreed that it would be best to get a full set first, so I relayed this to Ryfus.

"A full set from helmet to greaves. Please use regular materials."

The reason I chose regular animal leather is simple. It's not too expensive, and since we only go into the forest on sunny days, it should be less prone to degradation. By getting used to regular leather armor, I can learn how to maintain it and it will be useful when I go solo.

Most importantly, it won't make me stand out too much.

I already stand out enough. In the old town, I'm the top student at the academy and Professor Laspade's favorite. In the new town, the fact that Beatrice, who never formed a party before, is now adventuring with me is a topic of conversation. Additionally, Ridian, a stunning beauty, is always by my side, making me quite noticeable.

"That would be between 500C and 2,000C. How much do you want to spend?"

I decided to splurge and went for the 2,000C option.

"Got it. It's just a matter of taking measurements and assembling the parts, so it should be ready in three days. What color do you want? If you choose from what we have, it won't take long, but if you want a custom color, it will take about ten days."

I don't have a particular preference for color, and most of the ones available are amber-colored, so I said, "I'll take what you have" without much thought.

I was taken to the workshop and measured. I also answered detailed questions about the range of motion for my arms, the back of my knees, and my ankles, and was finally released.

During this time, Ridian and the others were apparently looking at Sharon's armor. The armor for a mage includes things like cloaks and robes. As expected of a city with a mage guild, there was a good selection.

To my surprise, some cloaks and robes had magic added to them, and the better ones had defense comparable to light leather armor.

I decided to buy one for Sharon's safety. However, when she saw the price, her face turned pale.

Even the cheaper ones cost 2,000C (2 million yen), and the more expensive ones went up to 100,000C (100 million yen). A regular leather cloak costs no more than 200C (200,000 yen), so it's no wonder Sharon was shocked.

While I couldn't afford the 100 million yen option, the 2 million yen one was within reach.

"Let's get this one. It says it has wood element magic added to improve its anti-slash properties."

Sharon refused, saying, "I can't afford such an expensive item," in a voice that was almost crying, but I insisted, "I'll give it to you as a gift," and bought it.

Beatrice, watching this, said, "You're so stingy with your own things," with a sigh.

"Of course. I'm a guy, so it's fine, but Sharon is a girl. What if she gets hurt?"

Hearing this, Ridian teased, "Then, I want a gift too."

I ignored her, "Ridian is already wearing leather armor, so it's fine," but she pouted, "So, you don't care if I get hurt."

I left the playful Ridian and started choosing a cloak for Sharon.

I asked Lashelle, who had returned in place of Ryfus,

"Are these the only colors available? Can the size be adjusted? Are there other options at the same price with different effects...?"

Beatrice sighed, "You're more serious when choosing for others than for yourself."

In the end, I bought a dark moss green cloak for 2,500C, which wouldn't stand out in the forest. The length could be easily adjusted by folding, making it a good investment for long-term use.

Sharon, with tears in her eyes, whispered, "Only I get such an expensive item..." I forcibly handed it to her and whispered in her ear, "Next time we go back to the village, I'll buy gifts for Mel and Dan too." She immediately smiled and said,