Vol 2 Chapter 9 (1/2)

Translated by mranon

Edited by OnionRings27

2nd Volume, 9th Chapter 【The Ball that doesn’t Fall off the Palm】

「――Thanks as always, Nii-chan.」

Said the shop clerk, who dealt in the mounts, while caressing Rook.

First thing upon returning to Merville Town, was handing the borrowed Rook over.

Today, two people had ridden it already, so there was no need to bring the demon attack up.

「We received a favor from this fellow. Please serve it something delicious.」

Saying so, I handed the shop clerk some extra money.

「Hee~ Nii-chan really likes this fellow. So, what do you think? I talked to you about this before, too. If you buy…」

「Yeah, but I don’t have enough money.」

I had about 100,000 Dalas in hand. It was still not sufficient to cover the cost of purchase.

「Well then, I’ll be borrowing it tomorrow, too.」

I had no complaint over Rook’s ability in the capacity of a mount; however, for the first time, I uttered a few words of displeasure as I caressed its neck before parting.

「――Today, on the way back, you could have rocked a bit more…」

「…Kwuu」

Whether it understood the meaning or not, Rook lightly purred as it stared at me. I headed out of the shop as if running away from that limpid gaze.

It didn’t do anything wrong, though.

――By the way, there was still some time till dusk since we returned ahead of schedule.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t afford to savor the lingering sensation on my back forever. There were a few things to be done.

「Alright, Rook has been handed over. Let’s go to the Guild next.」

I called out to Lim who was waiting outside.

On the way back, I requested Lim to remain silent about the encounter with the demon.

She consented to it, which I was glad about. However, there was a problem. My armor was tattered. Alba’s spear had damaged it at several spots. Lastly, the unification of Wind Magic and arrow――《Arrow of the Storm (Mistral Arrow) (※Named it at his own convenience) 》 which I received at my flank, had bored a hole into one side of it and out the other.

The piercing wound had been fully healed via magic. The small wounds had already been smoothed out completely via Vitality Enhancement. However, it wasn’t the case with the armor.

If Arnold-san were to see my condition, I would immediately be exposed.

Therefore, I planned on buying a new set of armor.

I liked this soft leather armor a lot. It was easier to move in. At the same time, it held reasonable defensive power. Next, I intended to look for a similar armor at Jig-san’s shop or have it repaired.

Of course, it required money.

Lim felt herself responsible to cover for the cost of the armor; however, I politely declined.

I was far off from buying Rook, but it didn’t mean that I was troubled for money.

Besides… Even if Lim had not jumped at the opponent, the battle would have been unavoidable…

As for the reward, I was more than satisfied with Lim’s smile, a ‘thank you’ and the lingering sensation on my back.

With that, I could even withstand two 《Arrows of the Storm (Mistral Arrows)》. No, three.

Well then, I must reflect on the spiritualism alone in the night.

Let’s return to the story.

Together with Lim, whom I had requested to at least accompany me shopping, I headed to the Guild.

The reason being, I wanted to find out the value of the White Magic Crystal which I received from Alba.

《White Magic Crystal》――A jewel that can store magic inside.

Via Scholar’s Knowledge, I somewhat knew what it was used for. However, I didn’t know its price. Because there was a Materials Trade Counter at the Guild, it may be outside Sheena-san’s domain. Still, she should be able to answer us.

「――You… found something valuable again…」

While looking at the oval jewel, Sheena-san murmured.

The feminine elegance in her earnest eyes, with which she stared at the jewel, was different from her usual ‘business smile’… Is it ‘that’?

Are women weak against jewellery regardless of which world it is…?

I, who would get enchanted by the beauty of the dazzling l.u.s.tre of a metal, had no right to criticize her.

――I saw an ill.u.s.tration called the 《Legendary Metal》 in the library. The yearning I felt was probably the same.

After tepidly watching Sheena-san for a while――

「――! …Excuse my rudeness. The accurate value of the White Magic Crystal, which Seiji-san is carrying, is difficult to be evaluated. However, the White Magic Crystal of such a size is transacted in white gold coins, surely. Please wait a minute… The jewellery shop is in the vicinity of the Commercial District centre――」

While catching Sheena-san, who was taking out and showing the map, with the corner of my eye; I was mes.h.i.+ng the meaning of her words just now.

Transacted in white gold coins――means its value would not be below 100,000 Dalas.