Chapter 24: Equipment Acquisition

「Gahahaha! Sorry for leaving you alone, miss!」

「Un.」

『I’m enough in terms of weaponry. I’d like you to make me a sheath instead, is that fine?』

「Ou! I’ll make the best sheath you’ve ever seen!」

『We can’t pay you too much, though…… We want other equipment as well, after all.』

「Is that so~? How much is your budget?」

『Leaving some for lodging and medicine, about 150,000 Gorudo.』

We’ll be buying cheap protective gear, but Gallus is a renowned Magic Blacksmith. 150,000 might be a bit low.

「Really. Alright, because I like you guys, I’ll sell you one set of equipment and a sheath for that much.」

『Is that really alright? I’m saved.』

「This much is fine! Then, what kind of armor would you like? I may be a Blacksmith, but I can also work with leather. I don’t mind whatever you choose.」

『Hmm. Well, what do you think?』

「Lighter is good.」

「Leather then. My recommendation is to use steel to strengthen the areas that cover your vitals.」

「I see.」

「What about headgear?」

「Better with none. Bad visibility.」

「Then, perhaps an earring for Beastmen? There’re types that don’t need a piercing, if you’d like.」

「Nn.」

「Just a moment, then.」

Old man Gallus takes multiple pieces of equipment out from a storehouse of some sort. There’re various kinds.

「Try out whichever one catches your eye.」

Name ：Remodeled Breastplate of the Flame Bull

DEF ：88 Durability ：330/330

Effect ：Fire Resistance ↑ Low

Name ：Remodeled Gauntlet of the Paralysis Clawed Cat

DEF ：39 Durability ：160/160

Effect ：Impact Resistance ↑ Low, Paralysis Resistance ↑ Low

Name ：Boots of the Poison Wyrm[1]

DEF ：52 Durability ：200/200

Effect ：Poison Resistance ↑ Low

Name ：Mithril Earring of the Cat Tribe

DEF：10 Durability：100/100

Effect ：Magic Resistance ↑ Low

As a set, the DEF adds up to 189.

It’s weaker than the Guild Master’s equipment, but compared to most Adventurers around town it’s a bit strong. It’s better equipment than I had expected to receive.

The main color of the equipment is black, which suits Fran better than I had anticipated. In addition, two pieces of clothing without any defensive properties were also tailored for her.

『Is it alright giving us such strong equipment?』

「It’s fine. Strong Adventurers should be equipped with strong equipment. Above all, this equipment is inferior compared to yourself, so it’s quite vexing. Well, anyways, I won’t go into the red or anything, so don’t worry about it.」

『Well, Fran?』

「Thank you.」

「Come again in the future. It’s not every day I get an opportunity to analyze an Intelligent Weapon, after all.」

『Isn’t that reason a bit strange?』

「Don’t mind it. It’s for Appraisal and Discernment.」

『Well, if that’s how it is…』

「Bringing in materials is also welcome, you know? If you bring them in, I’ll lower the price of the equipment made out of it.」

At his words I remembered the strong Demonic Beasts’ materials I had stored. Since I won’t be selling them to the Guild, wouldn’t passing them to old man Gallus for the sake of better equipment be as inconspicous as it gets?

「Materials.」

『That’s right. I’d like you to make some protective gear out of them to dispose of them without attracting attention, old man.』

「Hou. Putting it like that, their quality must be quite substantial.」

『They’re not from small-fry Demonic Beasts. They’re from beings with threat levels of D and C.』

It wouldn’t be strange for an entire Country to take action for Demonic Beasts of Threat Level C. If one such creature appears near a town, the armed forces appearing soon after would be expected.

Even for Adventurers, they’re dangerous to the degree that you’d need at least 3 parties — more than 15 people — of Silver ranks.

『Are there any vacant rooms we can use?』

「Yeah, there’s an empty room over there. Did you bring them with you?」

「We did.」

「You have an item bag, then? But where……」

No item bags can be seen from the figure of Fran. She only has clothes, sandals, and me equipped currently.

『It’s an ability of mine.』

「I see. Interesting… For a Sword to have an item box ability…… I had no idea…」

While the old man murmurs and mumbles to himself, I was moved to the vacant room. It was likely a warehouse of some sort originally. It has a dirt floor, a high ceiling, and a sizeable area. I have no complaints.

『Then, I’ll take them out.』

I take out the fur, fangs, and claws of the Tyrant Saber. Next are the poisonous fangs and scales of the Doppel Snake, and followng that is the shell and skin of the Blast Tortoise. With just that, the room was filled with materials.

For the materials of the large Slime Lord, I left them stored and simply conveyed their existence verbally. The whole room would be covered with its slimy liquid if I took it out, after all.

「What the……?! D-Did you kill these? Despite them being materials of high-level C and D ranks?」

『Well…』

「Alone?」

『To be precise, it was just me. I had used Telekinesis to soar around at that time.』

「Hahahahahaha! How fierce! You must have quite the variety in abilities.」

『If one’s basic abilities are low, versatility is key.』

「If it’s this, then… Equipment of considerable quality can be made. It’ll be gear at a level that would be out of reach to a bronze rank.」

That should be expected, it’s material of only strong Demonic Beasts after all.

「However, these are all leather materials. I can’t handle it all alone. I’ll have to cooperate with someone. After that, that guy’ll —」

『Um, old man?』

「Oops, excuse me. Because there’s such interesting work after a long time, I’ve grown a tad excited. I wonder how many times you’ll surprise me before you’re satisfied!」

While saying so, a big smile floats on his face.

「Then, will you?」

「Of course!」

『However, it’ll be a custom-made set provided by a skilled artisan. How much would be sufficient old man?』

「That’s right…… Even with materials provided, the price usually wouldn’t dip below 2,000,000 Gorudo.」

『Seriously? That’s absolutely impossible.』

「This material… Is it fine if I take it all?」

『Aah, yeah that’s fine.』

「Then, the negotiations’ll be simple. There’re far too many materials for the equipment of the young lady alone, so I’ll buy the surplus materials. For the price, how about we settle with a complete offset of the crafting cost?」

『That’d be a great help.』

「Alright, deal.」

「How long?」

「It’ll take one month.」

『It’ll take longer than expected,』

「What are you saying? That time is already pushing it! Well, that’s just because of the material, of course. It’s an odd job, for sure, but thankfully there’re enough raw materials to work with, so it’ll work out one way or another.」

『It can’t be helped. What do you think, Fran?』

「Nn. Looking forward.」

「Ou! Leave it to me!」

Old man Gallus then proceeds to prepare several iron barrels to load the body of the Slime Lord into. The slime seems to have multiple uses.

「I’ve looked already, but… Are there no Magic Stones in these?」

「None.」

「Really. That’s too bad.」

『Can Magic Stones be used in equipment as well?』

「Ou. During creation, I can mix them in. For example, using the fang of this Doppel Snake assures a Poison Resistance effect for armor; for weapons, toxic effects would be expected. However, those effects could increase with the addition of the Doppel Snake’s Magic Stone. Using other stones would also apply an effect, but the materials have a natural affinity with the Magic Stone of the same kind.」

To think that Magic Stones had such a use… Unfortunately, their Magic Stones have already been absorbed by me. Perhaps I should leave Magic Stones that have Skills I have already in the future. They can be absorbed from storage at any time if they turn out useless.

『I’ll be careful in the future.』

「Ou, that’s good then.」

『Then I suppose we’ll take our leave for today.』

「Bye bye.」

『I’m sorry for troubling you in various ways.』

「Hahaha! Just look forward to the finished products! Make sure to come back for the sheath in 3 days, too.」

『Understood.』

Because we had processed the materials, strong armors could be ordered. Really, it was quite a good encounter.

『You look good, Fran. You match the look of a fledgling Adventurer to a tee.』

「Thank you.」

『Next is…… Do you need underwear?』

「 ? Not really.」

『I-Is that so?』

Because she said so, it’s alright, right?

No, that won’t do. Certainly the hurdle is high when it comes to lingerie and undergarments, but if I back away now, I’ll end up running away forever! If I do so, Fran will lose quality as a lady!

Here and now, I must take the offensive!

『That’s no good. We’re going to buy some underwear!』

[1] “Wyrm” should actually be “Sub/Inferior Flying Dragon”, but “Boots of the Poison Sub-Dragon” sounds kinda… Well… Weird. Especially because the Wyvern way back when was a sub-dragon of sorts, making the identity of the boots’ materials quite vague compared to other gear. If you have a better recommendation, lay it on me. 劣飛竜.