Some people enjoy RPGs by torturing bosses as psychotic spoon murderers wearing only ratty leather pants and wielding broken straight swords. They might obsess over characters with suspiciously bizarre skeletons, neon skin tones, or baldness...
But Han Se-ah wasn't doing that kind of extreme challenge - she was speedrunning. In speedrunning you used any glitch that wasn't hacking or cheating, so there was no reason to stick with trash gear.
Seeing my party members' lips twitch between awkward smiles and excited grins at getting new equipment made me feel proud of actually acting like a senior adventurer for once.
This wasn't just about spending money as their senior. Buying equipment wasn't like going to a department store to buy mannequin displays, or telling an NPC merchant "I'll take everything."
"Whoa, Roland? The hero has come here!"
"Actually, it's the hero's companion. Old man Silbang hasn't retired yet?"
"That old man's still going strong as ever."
I bought Grace's gloves and arm guards from a leather craftsman contracted to the Archers' Guild. The guy who'd saved me when I found swamp alligators like a ghost but nearly drowned not checking the marsh had made it big at the guild.
Her quiver worked fine with the alchemical arrowheads and Magic Tower enchantments, and she said her leather boots were already well-fitted and durable, so no need to change those.
"C-could you pass along a message...?"
"Just wanted to ask one thing... though I knew you were that kind of person."
"T-talking casually to a noble lady you just met, only someone like you could do that!"
For Irene who needed her nun's habit for religious reasons, I prepared a bracelet enchanted with protective magic instead of equipment. Got it cheap from a mage I met during a quest to capture orc hunters on the plains.
They seemed to be a shut-in type who couldn't talk to Charlotte's group despite knowing me, and had run out of research topics. Thanks to that, we got an item that could buy time for Irene to use her holy power when her reflexes weren't enough.
"Tell them to use it well. It's surprisingly useful - if you know how to use it right, it can even deflect wyvern breath."
"...Senior, did you stick your head in a wyvern's mouth again?"
"Heh, to think I'd be called senior by the holy sword's owner. Now I just need the rumors to call me Wyvern Slayer."
"Try the northern Empire. Seems like there are lots of wyverns there."
"Really? But isn't it cold there?"
Katie was attached to the sword she brought from her family and had already used a special enhancement stone on it. Plus with armor pieces from her character quest and family magic armor in preparation, getting new armor would be tricky.
So I got her a mini targe shield from a retired adventurer. It was an arm-mounted small shield, so tiny it seemed more like an arm guard. Being a magic tool meant for deflecting ranged attacks with mana barriers rather than direct blocking, the small size was probably convenient.
And lastly there was Han Se-ah.
"I'll pick my own equipment!"
Meanwhile Han Se-ah walked beside me chattering to viewers, sent off with sincere smiles from Grace, Irene and Katie.
The topic was naturally dating. Maybe because viewers teased so much, she seemed determined to milk the equipment shopping into date content. Well, this kind of topic was good for attracting viewers and would edit well for the site.
While intense monster-slaying videos were stimulating, pretty girls and handsome guys flirting was stimulating in a different way.
"By the way Hanna, shouldn't we go to the Magic Tower for equipment? Have something in mind?"
Seeing chat say Teacher was being quiet, I prodded Han Se-ah. Her destination wasn't toward the Magic Tower, making her map-checking movements quite suspicious.
"Ah, I'm not planning to change my staff or robes. Since we'll probably be fighting the boss monster, I want to buy alchemy supplies with the remaining gold."
Her answer matching my thoughts made my head hurt a bit.
-lol don't you know in medieval times people went bomb shopping for dates? lololol
-I'm John Doe from the city and all us young folks date at alchemist workshops
-Thought she was faking but this bitch is just excited about streaming lololol
-Viewers' firm belief that while alchemist workshops have various magic tools, she'll only buy bomb-related items
-Should we call that belief or prejudice
"My my, why are there so many people who only learned about romance from books thinking dates must involve drinking coffee at cafes and quietly holding hands in dark theaters? Isn't it a date when a man named Roland contentedly follows where a woman wants to go and spends quality time together?"
Chat got busy at the word "alchemy" - seems viewers were expecting or dreading standard romantic dates.
But Han Se-ah maintained her shamelessness through the viewers' bombardment. This wasn't her first time forcing broadcast content like this, and the many gathered viewers weren't really looking for a romance show, so they quickly understood and moved on.
Of course some viewers caused trouble - with nearly a million live viewers, even a small percentage meant thousands - but they were ultimately overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
[Han Se-ah's stream title has changed!]
[Han Se-ah_Heart-fluttering date with Teacher Roland♥]
[Roland's Huge Greatsword donated 10,000 won]
Going bomb shopping while talking about heart-fluttering - is this arrhythmia?
And so I headed to the alchemists' street with Han Se-ah.
Along with that viewer's stinging donation.