Chapter 11

I enter the armor shop. As expected, the atmosphere is more welcoming compared to Mr. Dovelaug's shop. Well, Mr. Dovelaug's shop, considering its location and policy, probably doesn't intend to sell to ordinary people, so this is correct.

"Excuse me!"

"Oh, a customer. Are you a new adventurer?"

A young female clerk in plain work clothes responds to me. She looks around 16 or 17 years old. She's probably an apprentice or a hired clerk.

Using my enhanced detection ability from the touch panel, I don't sense anyone else in the shop or in the back, but they might be out. Her hair is a semi-long, greenish color, and her eyes are blue. As for her chest... for her honor, I'll remain silent. ...Huh!?

I feel a killing intent and hastily respond.

"Yes. I was told to come here to buy armor, and Mr. Dovelaug said to say that he introduced me."

The clerk was glaring at me, but when I mentioned that Mr. Dovelaug introduced me, she looked confused and then gave me a suspicious look.

"Huh, a new adventurer with Mr. Dovelaug's introduction? Um... do you have anything to prove it?"

"Oh, I have a sword I received from Mr. Dovelaug. This one-handed sword."

I say this and take the sword out of my item box with its sheath.

"You received it? You didn't buy it? And you have an item box, yet you're a swordsman... But the sword's sheath and hilt look like Mr. Dovelaug's... Can I take a look?"

"Sure, no problem."

I hand her the sword with its sheath. Mr. Dovelaug probably started making swords with quenching very recently, so it might be different from his usual work. If she doesn't recognize it, I'll go back to Mr. Dovelaug and ask what to do. But he's scary and might kick me out...

"Hmm, it's a bit different from the swords I've seen from Mr. Dovelaug, but the shape and balance are definitely his. It's a good sword. Can I test it?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Alright. Just wait a moment."

She goes to the back and brings out something that looks like fur and cuts it with the sword. Is it okay for her to do that so easily?

Hmm? The clerk?

This shop probably has no one else besides the clerk, who can cut the shop's items and has the skill to determine if it's Mr. Dovelaug's sword.

Could this person be the shop's craftsman, not just a clerk or an apprentice! And at such a young age!?

"Wow, it cuts so well! I've never seen a sword cut this well! I can't definitively say it's Mr. Dovelaug's, but with a sword like this, you deserve good armor. I'll make you some good armor. What kind of armor do you want? I recommend Gargon leather."

It seems she recognizes me. But is it okay for such a young woman to do this? I imagined someone more like Mr. Dovelaug, a skilled craftsman.

Well, if Mr. Dovelaug recognizes her, she must be skilled.

"What materials do you have?"

"First, the Gargon leather I mentioned. Custom-made for your body, it costs 15,000 tel. It's quite thick but much lighter and more flexible than metal armor, and I like it. Then there's Green Wolf leather, but it's weak against fire, so it's not good against fire-using monsters. It also has weak defense and isn't recommended for long-term use. The main advantage is that it's cheap and easy to process, so it costs about one-tenth of Gargon leather. I have it in my shop for beginners, but if you want a custom-made set, the material cost would be too low to be worth it."

From the price, Mr. Dovelaug probably recommended the Gargon leather armor.

"What kind of trouble would I get into?"

I don't really want to know, but I'm curious. Knowing is better than not knowing.

"The entire armor would catch fire and turn you into a fireball. It would burn out in a short time, but by then, you'd be in bad shape. If you survived, the monster that caused it would be right next to you. I've never heard of an adventurer surviving a fire while wearing Green Wolf leather. Those who have the skill to survive wouldn't wear it anyway."

It's clearly beginner equipment. Cheap, but I don't want to be a fireball.

"Wow, I'll pass on that. So, is Gargon leather the only option?"

"There are countless materials if you look up, but how much do you have?"

"About 20,000 tel."

"Then Gargon leather it is. Wyvern leather is better but costs about 10 million for a full set, and we don't have that much in stock, so you'd need to bring the materials or give us the budget to buy them. I have confidence in my skills, but I don't have much money."

She puffs out her chest. Her chest isn't much, though.

That's irrelevant. Gargon leather it is.

"Then I'll go with Gargon leather."

"Alright, I'll take your measurements. Extend your arm."

"Ah, okay."

She measures the length from my shoulder to my elbow and my waist.

When she measures my waist from behind, her chest... doesn't touch. She's definitely flat. But it still feels ticklish.

"Don't move."

For some reason, I feel pressure and stand still. I feel like I shouldn't resist.

There's something scary hidden in her normal tone.

"Done. With your build, it will cost 16,000 tel. Is that okay?"

Her tone is scary. I feel like she's angry. But 1,000 tel is a significant amount.

I won't give in to the pressure!

"Wait, but you said 15,000..."

"Is that okay?"

The pressure intensifies. She's still upset about the chest comment...

The pressure keeps increasing. But I won't give in!

"15,000"

"Is that okay?"

"Yes! It's fine!"

I hand her two gold coins. I couldn't resist the pressure.

She takes them and gives me four silver coins in return. I put them in my item box.

"Your armor will be ready by tomorrow evening. Come after the evening bell."

"Got it! I'll come then! Thank you!"

Feeling the terror, I quickly leave. I shouldn't think about women's chests, no, never.

I enter the guild, thinking there might be something to do. It's not that I wanted to escape the armor shop quickly.

"Ah, Kaede, hello. I have something to talk about. Is now okay?"

Sally, who is relatively well-endowed, approaches me today, which is unusual.

"What is it?"

I wonder what it's about. Maybe the overharvesting of herbs or the market chaos due to the price drop.

"It's about your rank-up."

"Huh? Herbs? Wait, rank-up?"

It seems I misunderstood. The herb shortage must be more serious than I thought.

"Yes, rank-up. Based on your contributions to the guild and your skills, especially with the Zunana grass and Green Wolf, you are qualified for a rank-up. However, not taking any miscellaneous requests could cause problems in the future, so you need to complete at least one miscellaneous request to qualify for a rank-up. If you want to rank up, please consider this."

To rank up, I need to complete a miscellaneous request. Being strong isn't enough in the guild.

"Understood. I'll think about it."

I go to the G-rank request board. Among the trash collection and cargo transport requests, one catches my eye.

Rank: G

Request: Iron ore transportation

Reward: 2 tel per kg

Quantity: As much as you can carry

Note: Transport from the mine 5 km from the town to the smelter

As much as I can carry? 2 tel per kg? This request might test the limits of my item box.

Is there any other request I should take? No, there isn't.

"I'll take this request."

I take the request board (it was the top one of five stacked boards) and hand it to Sally.

"You always take strange requests... Well, it's a miscellaneous request, so it's fine. It's a waste of your item box, though."

"Is this a strange request?"

"It's one of the least popular requests, like the Zunana grass. You need to make 600 tel to cover the inn fee, and you need to make 6 trips to carry 50 kg each time. Most adventurers don't want to do it."

It's another low-reward request like the Zunana grass. But with my item box, it's a gold mine.

"I have an item box, so it's fine. I also want to test its limits."

"I don't know much about the capacity of item boxes, but it seems to be related to magic power. The more magic power you had when you first used the item box, the more slots you have. Also, when you level up, the capacity per slot increases. Since magical aptitude is rare and information isn't widely shared, there might be other factors."

So the number of slots is based on the initial MP? Or maybe initial MP. I can test the capacity with this request.

"I see. Thank you for the valuable information. I'll be going now."

Hmm? I didn't plan to work today, but I ended up taking a request.

Well, it's still noon, and I had nothing to do in the afternoon besides shopping, so it's fine.