Chapter 34 (1/2)
Chapter 34: The smell of rusting iron from the second-hand shop
The profit earned from the flea market today was 2312 El, totalling up to 346,800 yen once the amount is converted to j.a.panese yen. Should I just start a light business in the flea market?! It wasn’t an amount of money that was measurable just by the degree of my feelings. Rather, wasn’t this the average level of monthly salary earned by a full-time working adult in the society? That was actually equivalent to my two months of income. Besides, most of the goods sold today were bought from the 100 yen shop so the total cost price was supposed to be less than 10,000 yen.
I hope it wouldn’t cause trouble for the others since everyone bought them at a really cheap price from me. I should be more careful in pricing all the items the next time. I would like to avoid being too conspicuous as much as possible——I have already tried my best in making Diana not that noticeable—–after all, the other world people are my fortune.
By the way, even though the profit received was 2312 El, it has dwindled down to 1800 El after stocking up on various things to be sold in auction.
The sum might not amount to much once converted to j.a.panese yen but, I might not have enough to purchase a decent weapon in spite of them being second-hand. As far as my research on this world goes, the amount needed to acquire an excellent weapon and armour here was the same as buying a modern day sword and a brand new warrior’s armour in j.a.pan…………….Well, the blacksmith has forged each weapon by painstakingly striking them one by one so it was justifiable. Thus I came to the conclusion that second-hand ones would be my remaining options.
……Though, even if I might have given up on getting a brand new cheap weapon, I still have an incurable materialistic side…..
I don’t care even if they are used goods. I want an excellent one! Cheap but a still decent, second hand but still of a good quality! That’s my kind of philosophy!
“Here it is.” [Rebecca]
The second hand shop that we were guided to by Rebecca-san was located along the river, quite a considerable distance away from the main street.
The scale of the shop was exactly the same as the scale of a convenience store, with the armours casually arranged all over the place in the narrow s.p.a.ce to the extent of encroaching the territory outside the shop. I wonder if I should call this a recycle shop or an old fas.h.i.+oned second hand shop.
This place did indeed give off a treasure trove vibe. This is it! This is it! I was looking for a shop like this! As expected of Rebecca-san! She’s so dependable.
“So, what’s your plan on the types of weapon? The fighting methods varies depending on the weapons you select and swords themselves are separated into different kinds too.” [Rebecca]
I see. Certainly even for swords, there are two-handed sword, one-handed sword, straight sword, sabre, katana, and rapier. Daggers are also a type of sword cla.s.sification and there will be a problem concerning the style if you require a s.h.i.+eld too. As I thought, I don’t think I want to be a two-handed sword wielder though………
But well, I don’t have much strength so I guess a one-handed sword would be the best bet. Having a s.h.i.+eld might work too.
“True, a one-handed sword and s.h.i.+eld will clearly be a more stable choice…..but, that is only if you are going against 『human opponents』. Depending on what Jirou is arming yourself for, let’s say if you were facing monsters or demon beasts or sub-humans, it would be advisable to go straight for simple offensive power.” [Rebecca]
Hmm. Demon beasts and sub-humans are cla.s.sified as ‘wild animals’ while monsters were born from demon elements….no it should be ‘appearing from’ to be more precise. Certainly I was planning to buy armours to protect myself so it would be accurate to say I would be mostly going against demon beasts. That being said, thieves and bandits might be scarier in comparison….. Come to think of it, are there something like this in the vicinity of my mansion? This is just a what if story, isn’t it? I haven’t seen demon beasts or sub-humans before too.
Then, should I make the selections by taking other areas into consideration? I wasn’t going to jump straight into dungeon in particular (though I was curious about it). In other words, basically I should just focus on weapons against other humans but………..the possibility of the human opponents having the ability to fight back will be another separate story, isn’t it?……..
….To be honest, it sounds impossible. That being the case, rather than swords, weapons like bow and arrow that would less likely receive murderous counter-attacks will be much better.
a.s.suming that I have to fight against another human, specifically if bandits or thieves were to appear……
At the least, it would be a better idea to a.s.sume that I didn’t need to fight as much as possible. To be honest I didn’t really want Diana or Marina to fight too.
In a worst-case scenario, if we were easily defeated, Diana and Marina would be taken away as loots while I would be killed on the spot. If the only things stolen were physical items, then it’s a cheap price to pay but it might be better to a.s.sume the worst.
Thus, it would be a good idea to think of a ‘serious battle’ as another measure for thieves.
(Rinkage: ‘Serious battle’ = Original word is ‘Gachibattle’)
In conclusion. There was no need to buy armours here for the sake of fighting with real people. Maybe I should select my armours on the other side.
“Then I’ll try building up a set in the case of demon encounters. Well, it’ll be subject to the bargains I find here though. When it comes to fighting against demons, would a two-handed sword be better than a one-handed sword?” [Jirou]
“True. Not to mention, it’s actually unnecessary taking into account that Jirou’s starting sword fighting at this age. It would be hard to ‘kill’ with just a one-handed sword. Simply put, if the same standard of weapon is wielded by someone with the same standard of skill, the attack will be around three or four times different. That is the difference between a one-handed and two-handed sword. Since you do not need to put on so much killing force against a human opponent, a one-handed sword is usually sufficient. However, to damage a demon using a one-handed sword requires considerable skill.” [Rebecca]
I see.
Then let’s try looking for a two-handed sword!
“So Jirou is fine with two-handed sword. What about the two other slave-chan?” [Rebecca]
“Ah, I am planning to buy something for the two of them too of course. What does Marina prefer? Has Marina used any kinds of weapons before?” [Jirou]
“The Laundry-Drying Pole style!” [Marina]
“Nn? What is that?……Sasaki Kojiro?”1 [Jirou]
“I trained by myself using the laundry pole as a spear!” [Marina]
As expected of Marina. Wasn’t she just ‘playing’ sword fighting?
Well, Marina’s vocation is a ‘knight’……..so a spear should be just right.
“I have slight experience in using bow, goshujin-sama.” [Diana]
Certainly that is a staple weapon for elves.
Personally, I had wanted to remove bow as elves’ stereotypical weapon but, I guess I should prioritize efficiency than my personal taste…..Diana has yet to decide on her vocation too so there are bound to be opportunities for her to try various things out.
The fun time in trying out all the equipment will begin now!
The rays of sunlight outside that entered the shop’s interior, provided enough illumination by itself for us to rummage through the goods inside. A man who appears to be the shopkeeper was sitting at the counter near the entrance doing bookkeeping. He raised his face and greeted us lightly upon entering before returning to his work again. He didn’t seem much like the proactive type when it comes to dealing with customers. Well, there were similar shopkeepers like this in the other world too so it was the same here.
In my opinion, in spite of the cluttered condition of the shop, I actually like shopkeepers who don’t say much. Although, after looking around, it appears to be a minuscule probability of me discovering a bargain here……..Almost everything in this place looks like garbage……But, I shouldn’t abandon hope before properly inspecting every single items here.
Besides, I currently possessed “The Mirror of Truth” as my cheat skill.
At the innermost corner of the shop, I spotted around 10 two-handed swords. There were a wide range of swords neatly hung up on the wall and there were also some that were strewn all over the ground, some labelled with prices and some without. The whole sight was a huge mess.
I shall examine one by one using “The Mirror of Truth”.
These were roughly the stats received starting from the relatively clean sword.
【Type】
Melee Weapon
【Name】
Two-Handed Sword
【Commentary】
A sword that can be equipped by those with melee combat profession
【Magic Properties】
None
【Spirit Blessings】
None
【Owner】
Lockfate Opossum
The shapes didn’t seem similar and the sizes were also subtly different. Nonetheless they were still displayed as either two-handed sword or Claymore. The performance must have been the same despite the appearance.
The name under the ‘owner’ category should be the name of the shopkeeper here.
These were the stats of a large rusted sword lying on the floor.
【Type】
Melee Weapon
【Name】
Claymore -1
【Commentary】
A sword that can be equipped by those with melee combat profession
Rusty
【Magic Properties】
None
【Spirit Blessings】
None
【Owner】
Lockfate Opossum
The description was subtle.
According to Rebecca-san, we could remove the rust by bringing it to a blacksmith so it would be possible to repair it if I were to ident.i.ty any good swords. Even if the current physical condition was bad, it wouldn’t be a problem selecting it so long as the base features are good enough.
I gave up on the two-handed sword section for the time being and decided to take a look at the selections of spear for Marina.
Among the a.s.sortment of cluttered short spears leaned against the wall, I discovered a lance that looks promising.
【Type】
Long-Handled Spear Weapon
【Name】
Ruined Purple Halberd -1
【Commentary】
The halberd can be equipped by those with melee combat profession
Additional 『Ruined Purple』 curse will be added to the attack
Rusty
【Magic Properties】
Ruined B
【Spirit Blessings】
None
【Owner】
Lockfate Opossum
It looks good or rather, it looks like a strong weapon….