Chapter 80 – Investigation Preparations (1/2)

Thanks a ton. It's a relief to get another strong adventurer on the team.”

I merely nodded.

”Its already been two days since we found out that people of Parietina Village were gone, so the expedition will be heading out tomorrow morning. Take today to get ready and meet up with the team at the western gates.”

”Alright.”

To be honest, I didn't really need much in terms of preparations, but it would be nice to stock up a bit more on some things.

(Or rather, this is basically a hostage rescue isn't it? Maybe I can get some stuff for that.)

With some final greetings, I left the guild building and started taking a walk through the city.

Now that I knew what I did, I couldn't help but wonder if the atmosphere was so dark here because people knew what had happened to that village, or if this really was the norm here. Thinking about it rationally, there's no way that the guild would let something that huge out before at least doing an investigation to confirm the situation.

(Then again, leaks happen to even the best kept secrets.)

In the end, finding out which it was took time and effort, both of which I didn't really feel like expending at this moment on something so inconsequential. I'd do my part to save those that can be saved, but otherwise this place didn't hold any significance to me beyond what useful information I could gather on vampires, if any existed.

The moment that I found out that the vampire expert might not exist was when I had started to lose any hope of finding anything of use here. At this point it would just be nice if I get anything at all. It would at least confirm or deny the preconceptions I had regarding the vampire reputation in this world.

But I wouldn't call this trip lacking in worth. At the very least, there were the villagers that needed help.

(I hope that they're still unharmed though.)

Since it's been a few days since they were taken already, it was possible that whatever fate the bandits had for them had already happened, but if they still could be saved, my conscience wouldn't let me not at least try.

But when it came to preparations, I couldn't really think of much I needed. My own body was my weapon, along with my spells.

(Then again, I'll be fighting with other people this time around.)

Concealing a bit of my abilities would definitely be a good idea.

With that in mind, I had a look around.

Thankfully the area directly around the adventurers' guild was surrounded by shops geared towards adventurers. Inns, food stalls, general stores, and of course, weapon stores.

That last type was the one that I stopped in front of. The store was a bit small on the front, but the smell of smoke and iron was strong even from the entrance. The fact that it was on the main street despite its limited initial impression spoke well of the store itself, though I wasn't some sort of expert on the subject so I had real no idea.

Pulling open the door, I went inside.

Immediately I was greeted with a slightly dark interior. The two windows flanking the door were covered up with all sorts of weapons, the walls on one side was covered in more weapons, and the other in armour, and there was a row of equipment stands along the middle of the store covered in even more gear. The far end wall also had shelves covered in all sorts of equipment as well. Due to the sheer number of weapons and armour, all gleaming as if they were just polished, there was hardly any space to move around.

Not really interested in any armour, I shuffled over to the weapons wall.

While the fanciest swords, axes, and bows were most prominently on display, it seemed like most of the weapons around were actually clubs, maces, and spears. Not many of them were fancy either, but the price tags on them were far lower than on the fancier weapons.

Though that probably had a lot to do with the massively increased amount of cheaper materials that was used in their construction. Swords were over 90% metal and my limited knowledge stated that bows needed good wood to be made, and aside from the string and grip that was all there was to a bow. And the price tags also confirmed my theory, as even amongst the fancy decorated weapons, the axes were the cheapest. The undecorated ones were roughly in the same range as a spear though.

Well, even if I thought about the price, I had no idea what was actually expensive and what was actually cheap. I've barely touched any real weapons in this life and the most I ever had in my previous life was a pocket knife. Knowing the quality of any of these weapons was beyond me.

As for my companions...

Claret was the most knowledgeable in general, but she didn't seem to have any interest in equipment unless if they had something to do with either me or the previous Scarlet. Even if she knew a bit about weapons, I doubted her standards would conform at all to what was on display.

The lesser spirits were even less help. They were just flitting around curiously checking everything out like it was their first time seeing it all. I couldn't tell if they simply had no idea what was displayed in this store or just had the memories of goldfish in regards to these sorts of things. It wasn't like I was able to understand what they were saying, if they were saying anything at all at the moment.

And lastly, Alicia...she hadn't even had the ability to see weapons before a little while ago, and the very thought of asking a child less than ten was absurd.

(At least these decorated weapons are pretty...)

Though there was no way I'd buy any of them. Most likely they were just there to attract the attention of people who don't actually use any weapons. I certainly wasn't fashion conscious enough to deliberately pick something like that for myself. And since I was buying a weapon as a decoy, picking something that flashy would probably just scream out 'I don't actually use this thing!'

I did have quite a few weapon skills, though my practical experience in them was mostly in bashing things as hard as I could when I had the opportunity in the lower floors of the dungeon back home. My claws were just that much better and more convenient back in the dungeon on the uncommon instances that magic wasn't viable against.

Unable to decide on what sort of weapon I would use, I moved along through the narrow aisle casually browsing though the selection until I ended up at the front counters. The counter was just a sturdy, simply made wooden counter. Behind it more weapons were on display, but none of them really piqued my interest.

Then again, I wasn't really that into weapons in the first place, so that wasn't really a surprise. A nice nail file was probably better for me from a practical standpoint than any weapon that was on display in this store.

But going to some different store was a hassle when the results would likely be the same.

As I moved to turn back to the aisle and try a second go, the sight of something behind the counter piqued my curiosity.

”Nah?!”

It took me a second to realize that it was a person crouched behind the counter. But that wasn't what made me yell out in shock, but his expression. That dark, singularly focused look of obsession as he polished something in his hands with a well worn rag.

But whatever spell he was under, the sound of my voice seemed to have broken it and he looked up.

”Ah, sorry. I didn't realize there was a customer.”

The figure rose to his feet and bowed his head a little.

Looking at him properly, while he towered over and forced me to look up, he probably was only average height or so. His features were also pretty average, aside from the dark circles under his eyes and that slightly dangerous gleam his eyes were emitting earlier. His face was a little gaunt as well, but not to the point that it could be considered a significant feature. His figure was pretty lean, but I could see how touch his muscles were in the forearms he exposed from rolling up his sleeves to his elbows.

Over the grey shirt he was wearing a heavy looking brown leather apron, and equally heavy looking gloves covered his hands. His head was topped with a simple grey bandana covering his short cut black hair.

”Is there anything I can help with? Maybe a bow...or rather a crossbow? Hmm...maybe a wand is better? Unfortunately I don't have equipment for mages in my store.”

I wasn't sure if the fact that he quickly decided that a bow wasn't for me when he glanced at my chest for a moment spoke well of him or not, but at least his eyes didn't linger despite how obvious the look was.

”Ah, umm...I was looking for...umm...”

I still had no idea what I wanted.

(Maybe it's best to just go orthodox and get a sword or something?)

”Are you not sure? Are you a new adventurer or something? In that case if you don't have any preferences, it would be best to coordinate with your party to fill any gaps. If there isn't any specific need then a spear is the most universally useful weapon to pick.”

”Ah, umm...”

That was true, but a spear would be a pain to carry around. I could just throw it into my magic bag, but taking it out all the time would be a hassle, and I was liable to just forget it existed, ruining the entire point of getting a weapon.

”!”

As I contemplated, I noticed the thing that the store owner was polishing. It was small, yet gleamed brightly thanks to the man's efforts. It was comprised of four hoops with little spikes jutting out of them connected together with an extending arm then a gently curving crossbar.

”Ah, did this catch your eye? You've got some strange tastes, though I can't blame you. I'm a fan of these myself.”

What I was looking at was a spiked brass knuckle. I hadn't expected to see something like this in this world at all. While my interest in it ended entirely at that point, as I've never even seen the real thing in person, the thought of something which felt like it didn't belong in this world instead piqued my interest way beyond anything else in this store.

”How about you try it out? This bar goes in the palm of your hand and you loop your fingers through these rings.”

Showing how its done, the store owner then passed the brass knuckles to me.

But I quickly found a problem.

While they fit him fine, I couldn't get my fingers even up to the second joint with the crossbar in my palm. Even if I disregarded the crossbar and forced the rings as far as they could go, the narrow nature of my hands meant that I was forced to try to spread my fingers further than they could go without dislocating something.

Simply put, they were way too big. Or rather, my hands were way too small to use something that this average looking man could equip without trouble.

”Hmm, I thought that might be a problem. While I don't have any spiked knuckles your size, I do have something similar that I can adjust to fit you. Wanna try it?”

Being recommended something sounded nice, as it saved me the effort of picking something on my own, so I nodded.