19 - a shop in the back of an alley

"Tor-chan, dinner?"

Thor, in the afterglow of his deep drinking, was awakened by the feeling of something hitting his face.

He must have overslept again.

He opened his eyes and saw a child with blond curly hair and purple eyes.

He was lying on his stomach on the bed, touching Thor's face.

Thor reached out and grabbed the child's cheek and stretched it lightly.

"Good morning."

"Good morning?"

"Morning greetings."

Thor sits up, stretches, and puts his feet into his leather shoes while sitting up in bed.

He had apparently slept with Moo, the child he had found last night.

Suddenly remembering something important, Thor hurriedly looked around the bed.

Unfortunately, the two black and striped ones were not there.

Instead, he found a leather jacket that he had left undressed.

"Tor, I'm hungry!"

"You're always running low. I'll be back in a minute."

As I tie my shoelaces, Moe leans over my rounded back.

Thor brushes him off roughly, a little startled by the child's high body temperature.

He stands up, puts on his clothes, puts on his waist belt, lowers his sword, and puts on his backpack.

Thor finishes his series of actions in a fluid motion, and then finishes cleaning the leather he has neglected to use .

Thor, having finished getting ready, reaches out his right hand to Moo, who is lying on the bed.

The barefooted child's purple eyes widened slightly before he jumped to his feet and clung to him.

"Well, let's wash your face and have some breakfast," he said.

"Food?"

"Make sure you say hello to your landlady and Sora."

Good morning to you, too. I'll take care of it!

After finishing breakfast, the three of them headed for the back alley facing the main street to the north.

The sign above the old wooden door was blurred and illegible.

The sign above the old wooden door is blurred and illegible, so no one knows the name of the store, which is simply called "The Armor Shop at the End of the Alley.

And that's all that really counts.

Pushing open the creaky door, the distinctive smell of processed leather fills the dimly lit store.

The walls were lined with drawers with handles.

Several animal skins can be seen hanging from the ceiling.

On a large desk in the center of the room, a mallet, a ruler, and a strange-shaped knife were lying randomly.

There was no sample armor on the table.

If you enter the store without knowing what you are looking for, you will be at a loss.

This armor shop at the end of the alley is a made-to-order store.

"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?"

The owner of the store, wearing a black leather apron, greeted us in a manner that was not quite customer service oriented.

The old man's name was Lamou. He is a well-dressed, bearded old man.

I have known Thor for a reasonably long time.

"I just wanted to ask you to order something. Are you busy?　"Hey, buddy."

"Can't you see that?　They're all so easily neglected. And yet, they're always so carefree about bringing in cracks and holes."

Pointing to a pile of leather armor waiting to be repaired in a corner of his desk, the owner gave an exaggerated shrug.

"You're the best at that, you know. Yes, I see you're still using it as beautifully as ever."

Remembering this morning's deception, Thor scratched the bottom of his chin in silence.

Ramo, in a slightly better mood, asks him what he wants to do.

"So, I'll make sure I heard you correctly," Ramo replied. You came to ask me for an order?

"I suddenly needed a new pair of shoes."

"Hmmm, doesn't seem to be a problem."

Ramow glanced at Thor's unblemished leather boots and continued speaking, looking puzzled.

"And one more thing...do you know these guys?"

He pointed at Sola, who was peering intently at the table from a distance that seemed to be perfectly aligned with the side of the room.

And the other one. He looks at the child who opens a drawer without permission and rummages through it with a puzzled look on his face.

"Tor-chan, it smells so sweet in here!

There's beeswax in there. Hey, hey, hey, don't stick your face in there!　That's not safe, kid."

"Mister, what kind of tool is this?　Oh, this one has a funny shape, too."

"You're a little close, girl. You can't be this close when you meet someone for the first time.

"Come on, you two, say hello. This is the owner's father. He may look scary, but he's a top-notch chef.

Hi, I'm his wife, Sora.

"Issatsu. Good morning!

"When did you get married?　And he even has a kid. ......"

Mo rushes over to him, clapping his sandals and clinging vigorously to Thor's waist.

He had borrowed a pair of Yuril's second-hand sandals, but they were the wrong size.　

The child, who had been pulled on the cheek by Thor as punishment for opening the drawer without permission, bursts out laughing happily.

"No, I'm just taking care of a friend's daughter. I picked her up yesterday.

"I see, you ordered this kid's shoes. You're having a lot of fun, aren't you? Come here, boy. I'll take your footprints.

You got it?　

The tanned leather of a horned mole is placed on a wooden pedestal, and the mole is made to step on it and mark it with charcoal.

"It's going to get big soon, and I'm going to give you a little extra. I'll just use shorts, right?"

Boots have leather or wooden soles, but short boots are often just tanned leather sewn together in a bag shape.

They do not last very long, but the advantage is that they are inexpensive and finished quickly.

"What's this?　Tor-chan."

They're to keep your feet clean. Right, soft, please. Like a cat's sole."

"What's that? Well, let's strain it lightly.

There are two types of leather used for leather armor. The first type is hard leather, which is made by boiling the skin directly in the slime's bodily fluids and coating it with beeswax.

This type of leather is very hard and absorbs shock well, but it does not last very long and cracks easily if not cared for.

The other is tanned leather.

This is flexible and comfortable to wear, but only a little tougher than ordinary clothes.

Thor's favorite upper and lower garments of molehide were made of tanned leather, and the thickness of the tanned leather was further reduced to make it thinner.

They tear at the mere grazing of a monster's attack, but they are excellent in that they do not impede movement.

We worked hard to avoid attacks, and consulted with Ramow many times before creating this product.

"And you know that cape you were complaining about the other day that your order was cancelled? It's made of river horsehide, I think.

Ah, the one where the order got washed away because the owner got swept away by a river. You guys have a lot of business like this, I tell you."

"If you still have some left, could you re-tailor it for this guy?"

"Well, it's a loss, and I'd appreciate it. If you don't have to lengthen it, I can do it in about 30 minutes. The shoes will take two days.

Well, I'll take care of it, then.

"Oh, okay, you mean you're going to take this boy outside?

Thor nodded, and the owner suddenly stood up.

He then pointed his thumb toward the door with a jerk.

"What's that?　Is that an eye sore, To-chan?"

"That means let's go outside, Moo-chan."

"What are you thinking?　You've been single too long and finally lost your mind. You're making me work for a kid who's going to die soon. You know I hate that kind of work."

Thor scratched his chin a little when the owner made a somewhat off-topic remark.

He is a very skilled and fast worker, but he is also more particular about leather than others.

Or perhaps it is because he is so strong that he is a master.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, sir. But don't worry, I intend to use it for a long time.

"That's not like him. I can understand why you're excited about having a friend, but what good is a little kid like him out here?"

He's a little guy, but he's a good kid.

The child looks up in wonder as Thor pats him on the head.

The shopkeeper, who had been watching them with a frown, growled low and shook his head.

"I've known you for a long time, and I know you don't give a shit about looking good, but ......"

Thor does not believe that words alone can persuade.

He chose this restaurant not only because of its skill, but also because the owner is a man of strong opinions who does not like to waste time talking.

"Don't say a word about what I'm going to show you, young man.

"Hey, don't touch me without permission.

Ramo chokes on his words as he tries to yell at Thor, who suddenly reaches for his leather armor awaiting repair.

The tear that he had said had been torn by the red crab shears had vanished without a trace.　

"............ what?"

The skilled leatherworker looked at the boar-skin armor he had taken from Thor in a panic with a sullen expression on his face.

Perhaps he was not satisfied with the armor, he put a magic stone in the light board hanging from the ceiling to brighten his hand and looked at it again.

After a few minutes of pondering, Ramow finally lifts his hands and shakes his head.

"Is that an Issatsu too?　Sora-nee-chan."

"That's just a sign of trouble, Moo-chan."

"I have no idea. If they'd done something to it, I'd be able to tell the difference, but there's not a mark on it. It's like it was never there in the first place. ...... What the hell did you do?"

"It's my skill set. I'm finally getting this good."

The owner's complexion changed quickly.

Holding his breath, he stared at Thor.

Soon, his face was filled with joy.

"Really?　At last?　Hey, hey, hey, hey, we did it!"

Ramow came running up and slapped Thor on the back with a loud slap.

Moe followed suit and slapped him with a bang.

Then Thor stretched out his cheeks.

"No, no, this is no time to be happy. If they take the repair work, we'll lose half of what we're making.

At my age, I have no intention of becoming your apprentice. I want to continue as an adventurer ...... with these guys. This skill works on humans too, so you won't die easily. What do you think, are you ready to take the job?"

If it had come from someone he had not known, Ramow would have shaken his head.

He would have snickered at the trick.

But Thor, in front of him, was a man who had used Ramow's leather armor over and over again.

His words are quick to blur, but the leather he's used is no lie.

"All right. I'll make you a very fine piece of work, kid.　

"Thank you, sir. Now, I'd like you to take a look at this.

The order is successful, and Thor enters into the transaction that he had originally intended.

Thor pointed to a piece of hard river horsehide armor that had been restored before he knew it.

There should have been a tooth mark from a bite by a rock lizard, but it is gone.

"What do you mean ....... Yeah, well, what happened to the repaired leather?　I understand that the tear marks stick together, but what's the logic behind even sealing the holes?"

"That's the power of my . The lost parts are filled in on their own."

"............ is what I'm talking about!"

"Oh, if I could just get my hands on some dragon skin armor..."

"No, how about the leather of the white weasel, which is still easy to find?　They are also quite rare.

"Actually, there is a limit to the amount that can be , dear."

Thor's previous research on horned moles, while cutting off their horns, showed that only about 30% of the horns could be supplemented by .

If the number exceeds this limit, the mole would be recognized as an entity that has lost a part of its body.

In addition, when a part of the material was cut out, it could not be restored at all.

This may be due to the fact that the brain limits the range of as the material in such a state.

"I see. Then it means that you can't get a large amount of the material unless it's a fairly large piece of armor. Well, I have contacts, so I should be able to do something. All right, I'll be looking forward to working with you then!

The old man sniffed happily and held out one hand.

Thor squeezed his hand back.

For some reason, Sola put her hand on top of his.

Mu imitated him.

The sound of laughter echoed from the back of the alley, so loud that several passersby stopped in their tracks.