Chapter 3

The next day, after eating breakfast, I headed to a certain place.

This place was an ordinary-looking house on a back street in the "commercial district."

There was no sign, and only those who knew about it could find this secret shop.

"It's rare to see such a young person come here~"

When I opened the door and entered, a person wearing a robe stood in front of me, speaking in the voice of an old woman.

This place is just like in the game... When I saw it on the game screen, I thought it was a horror scene and screamed, but this time I managed to endure...

"Ho, you're the second person to break through my 'appear in front of you as soon as you enter and scare you' strategy. You have quite a strong heart~"

The person with a voice like an old woman's laughed and said this while staring at me intently.

Because of my height, I could see the face hidden by the robe, so even though they were trying to look like an old woman, I could recognize their true form.

"...From here, I can clearly see your face, so you might as well stop pretending to be a 'mysterious old woman' in this shop."

"Wh-What?!"

My words made the person in front of me jump.

"W-What are you talking about? I look like an old woman, don't I?"

"That's just your age, right? From here, I can clearly see your long hidden ears."

As if to press the point, I said this, and the person in front of me started to tremble.

Then, they suddenly took off the robe, revealing a very beautiful elf woman.

"W-Well, I'm still young by elf standards! I'm not an old woman!"

"...Then why were you dressed as an old woman?"

"W-Well... I thought an old woman would fit better in a suspicious shop on a back street without a sign..."

"Then you should have used a concealment spell. If someone short like me came, it would be obvious, right?"

"People who come here are usually adults; I've never seen a child like you before..."

The elf woman started to cry softly, and I felt a bit guilty.

This shop is one of the places you can use in the mid-game of the game.

It's a general store that sells everything from daily necessities to magical items, weapons, and armor.

Since this shop can be accessed from the early game after completing the game once, I thought I might be able to enter, so I visited today.

"Ugh, so what's your name? You'll probably be coming here often, right? I'm Cynthia."

"My name is Jin. Nice to meet you."

We introduced ourselves and shook hands.

"So, Jin, why did you come here? It looks like you don't have any equipment. Did you come to buy weapons and armor?"

"Pretty much. But I don't have much money, so I'll need something cheap."

"Cheap items, huh? Our shop actually deals with quite expensive items?"

"I plan to earn more money. I just left home yesterday and am still preparing. I can afford up to two gold coins."

When I said this, Cynthia replied, "I understand," and went to the back of the shop to look for equipment.

A few minutes later, she returned and took out several pieces of equipment from a different dimension and placed them on the counter.

"All of this will be one gold coin."

In front of Cynthia were a set of armor, a one-handed sword, and a dagger.

"...Did you say budget?"

"Yes, I thought I'd give you a discount since you might become a regular customer. I have a good eye for people, you know."

"If you're okay with it, I don't have much money, so I have no reason to refuse..."

In reality, I didn't want to spend money right now.

I came here thinking I could buy either a sword or a tunic, but this service was too good to pass up.

I decided to try on the armor first to see if it fit.

The material was leather, and when I appraised it, I found out it was made from the hide of a "Lizardman."

Since Lizardmen are classified as dragons, equipment made from their hide is highly durable and well-ventilated, making it comfortable to wear in hot places.

"It's a bit big, but it should fit me well soon. Cynthia, I'll gratefully buy this set of armor and the sword."

"Yes, I'm glad the inventory in my warehouse is finally selling."

We both smiled, and I handed the gold coins to Cynthia.

"Do you want to look at other items? Since I like you, Jin, I'll give you a discount now."

"Is that okay? You're giving so much service to someone you just met..."

"It's fine. This is my shop, and my intuition tells me it's a good investment to help Jin."

Looking at Cynthia, who was saying something incomprehensible, I remembered something.

In the game, Cynthia's shop sometimes offered discounts.

Usually, it was after defeating a powerful enemy or accomplishing something...

Well, there's no point in thinking too deeply about it.

This place is similar to the game, but it's not the game world, as I've already experienced.

If it were like the game, I wouldn't have been able to leave that house in the first place.

"Since you say so, Cynthia, I'll take you up on your offer."

With that, I decided to look around the shop.

[Author's Note]

If you found the story interesting and are curious about the next part, please leave a rating and bookmark.

It will be a great encouragement for the author and help with the motivation to continue writing.