The Figliad marketplace was located in the town center. A vast area with numerous concrete roads intertwined, with occasional carriages passing through the crowd of buyers gathered to purchase their necessities. At the side of the roads, shop stalls made of wood, fabrics, and stones were erected by average shop owners and wealthy merchants, selling a variety of items such as food, flowers, clothing, jewelry, adventurers' gear, and many others. The sounds of shop owners yelling to attract passers-by reverberated throughout the area.
All types of customers passing by were greeted with smiles and such esteem while being guided through their stores, whether they were wearing cheap, simple tunics or intricate, expensive clothing.
To alleviate the pain caused by the stinging sun's heat, members of the citizens' upper classes erected colorful parasols, making the already colorful place even more colorful.
Gideon's gaze was drawn to the surroundings, staring at each stall to see what products they were selling with such zeal in his eyes.
"And just ahead of that direction is where our shop is; if you love flowers, we have them in our shop," Halini said with a smile as she guided Gideon through the crowded marketplace; next to her was Ordy, who was just listening.
Gideon gave a nod. "Ah, I see; so your parents are buying from wealthy merchants who own sections of Flower Utopia and selling them in their shop?"
Halini shook her head casually. "No, it belongs to my father."
Gideon cocked his chin. "Hmm, do your parents own the shop or that massive flower plantation?"
"It's just the shop. My father owns only a quarter of the Flower Utopia because he is more focused on other shops and flower plantations in larger towns throughout the kingdom of Meirhan. My father, however, is not present at this time because he is busy managing everything in the capital," Halini explained, shrugging. "I'm here by myself because I adore this place."
Halini Kitindar was the third daughter of Briznar Kitindar, one of Meirhan's wealthiest merchants.
Gideon's jaw dropped as he stared at Halini because of her casual way of revealing information about herself. His gaze was drawn to Ordy, who had just raised his thumb and smiled at him.
Gideon shook his head and returned his gaze to Halini. "Why did you and Mian decide to be adventurers?"
Halini smiled brightly as she raised both of her hands. "Because adventuring is enjoyable! Exploring dangerous places and fighting monsters that could kill me is exciting, especially when done with my friends! And I'd never grow tired of it!"
"That's our little Halini! A true adventurer at heart!" exclaimed Ordy as he approached the white shop with stone walls.
"Yay!" exclaimed Halini as she followed Ordy inside the shop.
Gideon, on the other hand, stood in front of the store, his eyes narrowed. "Rich kids in this place have unique hobbies; it's fun to put your own life on a daily basis, huh?"
His gaze darted around the front of the store. A white square-shaped infrastructure with a brown triangular roof. Despite the loud crowd, the sound of metal being bashed inside could be heard outside, as could the orange light glowing from the screened windows at the building's corner.
Gideon looked at the wooden sign hanging on top of the door as he walked toward the door where Halini and Ordy entered. It said, Master Smasher— Blacksmith.
The next thing he heard as he walked in was the people inside laughing. As Gideon entered, his gaze was drawn to the location of the forge he had seen from outside, which was in the corner of the room, far enough away to allow customers to walk around freely. Weapons such as swords, spears, bows, and even staffs hung on the walls. There were also wooden racks in the far corner of the room where customers could see leather and iron armor sets. The shop's regular customers were adventurers and travelers.
Ordy and Halini were conversing with the muscular, middle-aged, bald man whose head glistened from sweat after bashing a metal into the shape of a sword. He was dressed in a thick black leather apron, and his dark brown eyes darted to Gideon as he entered the shop.
"This young man's name is Gideon, and he is the newest member of our party! He's a fantastic traveler, and he's come to get some new gear for our adventures!" Ordy declared, waving his hand toward Gideon. "And this magnificent blacksmith in front of us is Rothwell Smashin, the best blacksmith in the entire kingdom of Meirhan," he said, motioning to Rothwell. "And the lovely lady in the counter is Shony Smashin! The most skilled leather armorer in the entire kingdom!"
Shony, who was sitting at the counter in the far corner of the room, simply laughed. A woman in her forties wearing a brown dress. Her long, slightly curly hair swayed as she lifted her head to look at Ordy with his almond brown eyes. Her expression was gentle, which became more pronounced as she smiled at Ordy. "Don't say it that way, Ordy, or he'll believe you."
"But what I'm saying is true!" Ordy declared, raising his hands.
The laughter of both Ordy and Shony was heard next.
Rothwell, on the other hand, nodded to Gideon, who responded by nodding back.
"Feel free to walk around and look at our products; if anything catches your eye, please let me know," Rothwell said in a baritone voice. He rubbed his gleaming head with his hand, which was holding a white towel.
Ordy's gaze shifted to Gideon. "Although the quality of the items here is excellent, they are less expensive than the other shops nearby, so don't be concerned about the price."
"Alternatively, you can commission Rothwell and Shony to make your customized gears just like the gears we have," Halini added. "They can make anything you can think of in terms of weapon and armor designs."
Gideon simply nodded. "Thank you. I'd look around for premade gears for now because I don't think I could afford customized gears right now," he said as he walked toward the section where the weapons were hung. "Perhaps a sword would be very useful..." He scratched his chin. "Even though I'm terrible at using it."
Gideon's gaze was drawn to the gleaming iron swords hung on the wall, and he stared at them one after the other as he walked around slowly.