CH 15

…

“Lassie.”

“Thanks.”

Once again, I come to my favorite (when I was playing the game) blacksmith in Castle Town. The shop’s owner, Ji-san, still quiet and unsympathetic, greets me with a grumpy smile.

“Thanks for the other day. Thank you for the necklace.”

“Hun., it’s just a whim.”

He turns away with a shrug. But it’s okay. This old man is just a tsundere.

“So, what do you want today?”

“Oh, yes. I’m just selling some materials.”

“Well, which one?”

I put the gargoyle’s material, which was wrapped in a cloth, on the counter of the shop.

“That’s a huge amount, isn’t it? What’s wrong with this?”

“Well, it’s the ones I killed the other day.”

“You? This many gargoyles?”

He looks at me like he can’t believe it. Well, of course that’s natural. Just last week or so, when I came to this shop, I revealed that my level was 5. It’s no wonder that he thinks there’s no way such a punk could defeat a gargoyle, not just one, but a bunch of them..

“Don’t tell me you’re the one called Gustav?”

“Eh, yes. It’s true that I am Gustav, but…”

“…… Hun. I see, in the street.”

“Yes?”

“Wait a minute.”

The old man retreated to the back of the shop after saying that, and then he brought out a shining platinum helmet, helmet and armor, and put them down in front of me with a clatter.

“Put it up.”

“…… heh?”

“Platinum helm, platinum armour. You don’t have to pay for it.”

“No, no, no, no! Why? What do you mean?”

The old blacksmith is suddenly in a dere dere state? I mean, has there ever been a situation like this in a game? When I was confused, Jii-san snorted in disgust.

‘Don’t get me wrong, miserable. And don’t get me wrong. This is a direct request from His Majesty.”

“His Majesty? You mean, the … king?

“Who else could it be? I got a letter from His Majesty asking me to get some high-end equipment for this Gustav guy. So I was just about to deliver it to you.”

“Mmm, is that so?”

“Yes, that’s right. Go ahead, put it on and show me.”

I took off my current gear and put on the new one, as recommended by the old man. It’s light. It’s as if I don’t feel the weight of the equipment, yet my body feels well protected. Is this the highest quality equipment?

“Humph, looks like it’s the right size.”

“Yes, it fits perfectly.”

“I don’t know what happened, but it’s not every day that His Majesty makes a request to me in person like this. Apparently, you’re expected to do a lot. You must work hard and reward His Majesty.”

“Yes.”

Are they expecting a lot from me? It’s surprising after the last exchange in the throne room, where I felt like I’d done it at the end of the day. No, maybe it’s just a formal gift for my appointment as Guard Captain. Let’s not get distracted.

“And the gargoyle materials, as far as I can see there’s about 14 or 15 gargoyles, each gargoyle costs about 700-900G, but well, it’s a service, I’ll buy them off you for 15,000G.”

“What, are you sure? Aren’t you being too generous?”

“No, don’t say I’m too generous! And while you’re at it, take this one with you.”

The old man crouched down and put it in front of me, apparently locked behind the counter.

“This is [Poseidon Lance], the finest artifact in this shop. It has water magic and all attacks and skills have a water attribute value added to them. The lances you’ve been using so far are not good enough for that equipment.”

“Eh! By the way, how much does this one cost ?”

“Of course, it’s free.”

“What? What’s wrong? No way, it’s really a tsundere period?”

“You bastard, You’ve been fooling since while!”

The old man shouted at me like he was really pissed off. No, no, no, but I know. I know that this rare spear is a very expensive one that you can buy for 25,000G in the second half of the story.

By the way, as a guard, my monthly salary is about 5,000G.

In other words, a spear that costs five times my monthly income? You can’t just hand over something like that, normally.

“Hmph, this is like an investment.”

“What, an investment..?”

“Yes, it is. I’m investing you in the hope, You, who His Majesty has recognised, will surely hunt many rare monsters in the future. that’s all. Come and sell the materials you get at that time to me. I’ll buy it for you at a higher price than others.”

“Ah, I see. In other words, you want to get a lot of rare materials through me.”

“That’s part of the business.”

The old man smiled wryly. I see, well, I’ll take it if you’re willing to give it to me not only as a pure favor but also as an investment in me.

“Well then, thank you very much.”

I accepted the spear, as it seemed I wouldn’t have to worry about my arse.

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Equipment.

[Poseidon Lance] [NEW]

→[Water attribute+]

[Platinum Helm] [NEW].

→Speed+.

[Platinum Armor] [NEW].

→Speed+.

Money in possession [UPDATE].

17,000G

→Selling gargoyle materials +15,000G

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Well, then I left the blacksmith shop and walked around the castle town in my shiny platinum-platinum armor suit.

–Whispering, bustling.

People’s eyes are on me. Wow, I’m getting really restless. How should I put it, this is the feeling I get when I’m walking around town in my new clothes. For no reason at all, I’m worried about the way people look at me, and I’m like, “What, am I wearing this the wrong way or something? Is there something wrong with the way other people look at me?” What a negative thing to be. It’s a common experience, isn’t it .? Oh, is it just me?

Well, it’s alright. It’s just that the color of the armor is a bit unusual, but every guard wears armor, so it’s not weird at all. It’s fine. I told myself that, and hurried on my way back to the royal castle.

I really wanted to stop by the shops in the castle town and do a bit of shopping and eating, though. I don’t have the guts to do that in the middle of all this attention! What a pity I was so distracted.

Boom! A small shadow hit me from behind and ran past me quickly.

“Whoa? What was that..?”

I hurriedly thought to check the shadow, but however, it seemed to have already disappeared into the crowd.

“Ha ha ha, you’ve been hit, guardsman.”

“Huh?”

“Here, here.”

The man at the stall makes a gesture of tapping around the waist. Waist? What, do I have some rubbish on my waist ……?

“…… wha?”

The bag that had been strapped to my waist – the bag containing gold and silver coins – had suddenly disappeared.

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Money in possession [UPDATE].

0G

→The bag was missing.

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No way, pickpocket? A chill ran down my spine.