If we were to fight barehanded, I would be no match for him. But there was no need for a fair fight at all. Being naturally kind-hearted, I asked him, "Can I help you with something?" Inside the alchemy workshop, I was creating hydrochloric acid in a thin glass vial. If I poured it over his head, the vial would shatter easily, and he would be drenched in acid.
"As I said earlier, pay me a tuition fee, and I'll teach you the basics of being an adventurer," I continued.
"How much is the tuition?" he asked, clearly interested.
"I'll make it cheap—5 silver coins per hour. One gold coin for two hours," I replied.
Given my finances, it was indeed a low price, but I couldn't believe that this hulking man could possibly teach anyone. So, I decided to decline.
"If you can only teach something worth a gold coin in two hours, then I think I'll pass."
"What!?" he exclaimed, taken aback.
"If I'm going to spend my time with someone who seems to have little skill, I should really be the one receiving payment," I said gently.
He seemed to understand, his face flushed with anger as he reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist. I had hydrochloric acid ready in my item box, but I felt a bit sorry for the old man. Instead, I pulled out my rod and pointed it directly at his forehead.
"I may be a novice adventurer, but you might be the real rookie here."
With that, I gave the old man a poke between the eyebrows with the tip of my staff. He stumbled back a step just from that. When I gestured to him to go that way with my chin, he hurriedly retreated deeper into the hall. Level 3 in swordsmanship should be on par with a sword saint, and considering my Level 3 in staff techniques can match that, I wasn't too worried about falling behind. There was no need to recklessly pick fights, but I wouldn't hesitate to fend off any sparks that came my way. There's a saying: "Think you can win, and you'll lose," but in reality, if you doubt your victory and think you'll lose, you surely will.
"Rockwell, your staff techniques are pretty strong," Lily said.
"I suppose it's okay to say either way, but it's actually staff techniques, not just stick fighting."
"Oh, I see."
"Even if my staff techniques are strong, they can't compare to your magic."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
After leaving the Adventurers' Guild and walking left down the street, I quickly spotted the Bory Armory store they told me about. Across the street was the Kireinu Weapon Shop. The Bory Armory had a sign featuring a heavily armored soldier, while Kireinu displayed one with swords and spears.
Entering the Bory Armory under the armor-clad soldier sign, I found mannequins lined up, all dressed in armor. It seemed mostly leather armor, but there were some pieces that looked like chainmail. As expected, there wasn't any full plate armor on display.
If you're heading to war, such equipment might be beneficial, but full armor, likely very expensive and heavy, probably isn't suitable for adventurers. As for me, I'd stick to leather armor.
Since there weren't many customers in the store, we could take our time browsing. I touched a few pieces and lifted them slightly, but as amateurs, we could only gauge their weight to a certain extent.
The staff was busy attending to other customers, so I couldn't exactly ask them for advice.
"Hey, Lily, what do you think? Is there anything you like?"
"The armor I used at the temple was similar to this one," she said, placing her hand on the reddish-brown leather armor worn by the mannequin in front of us.
"Shall we just go with that? It feels easier," I suggested.
"Is that a good way to choose?"
"The size can be adjusted easily."
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching us, I carefully removed the leather armor from the mannequin's display and placed it in the duplication box, creating a copy in the alchemy workshop.
I quickly returned the original armor to the mannequin, but clumsily dropped it on the floor. The clatter drew a bit of attention, but only momentarily.
"Rockwell, did you just make a copy?"
"That's how it is," I replied to Lily as I picked up the fallen armor and dressed the mannequin.
This armor is plenty good for me. Once I get back to the mansion, I'll make a copy of it. The items in the shop didn't have any price tags, so the true nature of Bolee's Armor Store remains a mystery. Given my somewhat stingy nature, there's no way I could accurately assess that.
"I managed to get the armor sorted out. By the way, Lily, what about weapons? Shouldn't we prepare something?"
"Yes, I was trained to use a mace at the temple, so I would prefer to have one if possible."
"I saw there were weapons for sale here, but I heard the better ones are in the shop across the way. Should we head over there to buy a mace?"
"Sure."
"I might get a knife too. By the way, the spider you defeated, do you think it would sell?"
"Who knows? I'm not sure where we could sell it."
"Usually, items like that are bought at the Adventurer's Guild in light novels, but I can't think of a practical use for a spider, so it's probably unsellable."
"Maybe."
Since Lily seemed even less knowledgeable about these matters than I was, I decided to take charge. "Let's head to the weapon shop first."
We left the armor store and entered the Kireinu Weapon Shop across the street.
"Welcome!"
In this store, the staff greeted us properly.
"I'll use a mace that suits this girl, but I'd like to see a knife too."
"First, let's look at the mace. This way, please."
We followed the store clerk deeper into the shop. Along the way, we passed numerous weapons propped against the walls or displayed in cases.
"How about this one?"
The clerk took a mace out from a display case.
Lily received the mace, lifting it up and down a few times.
"It feels a bit heavy."
"In that case, how about this mace? It's a bit more expensive, but it's lighter while delivering similar power to the previous one."
To me, the mace's effectiveness seemed dependent on its weight, but in a world with magic, there might be some special properties.
Lily took the next mace and similarly lifted it a few times.
"This one feels about the same weight as the one I used before, and it's the right length. I'll take it."
"How much for that?"
"It'll be this much."
Having heard that Japanese swords could be quite pricey and knowing there were seemingly endless options above a certain range, the price didn't seem too high.
I paid the amount without trying to haggle.
Meis handed Lily the mace and said, "Alright, I'll take a knife." At the next location, the clerk asked, "What kind of knife are you looking for?" I replied, "Self-defense." To be honest, I just wanted a sharp blade without any specific purpose in mind.
"If it's for self-defense, you might be better off with a dagger rather than a regular knife. How about this one?" The clerk retrieved a thick dagger from the display case and handed it to me.
"This is a swordbreaker."
So, this is a swordbreaker. I had heard that you could use the back of the blade to catch an opponent's sword and twist it to break it. Of course, someone like me, an inexperienced novice, wouldn't be able to wield it effectively, but it certainly looked impressive. I decided to buy the swordbreaker.
"I'll take this," I said. After paying the price, I now owned the swordbreaker, which came with a leather sheath. Although I probably wouldn't use it much in the future, it felt like a manly fantasy.
In the case of the swordbreaker, the edge wasn't particularly important, and given that Lily's mace had no blade, I still had no clue about its sharpness. Technically, we hadn't made any purchases at the armor shop, but after we finished shopping, we left the store and transferred straight to the living room of the mansion.
It seemed dinner preparations were underway in the mansion, as voices drifted in from the kitchen.
"Lily, let's get started with fitting the armor. Change into the outfit you bought at Work○n and come down to the living room. I'll change too."
I returned to my room, swapped into my Work○n suit, and made my way to the living room. About five minutes after I arrived, Lily walked in as well. We exchanged glances, and though there was much to say, we both handled it with the grace of adults.
"Lily, first, try this on," I said, handing her the leather armor I retrieved from my item box.
She began by wrapping shin guards around her legs, fastening them at several points with buckles on the back. Next, she placed thigh guards and secured those as well. As she donned the chest piece, she fastened its buckles on the sides, making it manageable for her to put on alone. Finally, she tightened a thick belt around her waist, which had leather loops and smaller buckles for hanging a sword sheath and other weapons.
"How does it fit?" I asked.
"It might be a bit too big," she replied.
"Got it. I'll make some adjustments, so go ahead and take it off."
I considered helping her with the buckle, but its placement was a bit awkward, so I decided against it.
I placed the armor Lily had removed into the material box of my item inventory and then crafted a smaller set of armor for her in the alchemy workshop. When I handed it to her, I opted to create a set of armor two sizes larger than the first one for myself and decided to try it on.
Lily quickly put on her second set of armor, displaying impressive speed, while I fumbled a bit since it was my first time wearing armor. Despite my struggles, I eventually managed to get dressed.
"How does it look, Lily?" I asked.
"It fits perfectly!" she replied.
"Great, this one works for me too. I'll just take it off and put it away for now."
"Okay."
I stored my armor in the item box as soon as I took it off, while Lily carried her discarded armor to her room. Looking back, I realized I could have stored the armor while wearing it, but I felt it was better to keep that ability under wraps, so it turned out to be a lucky choice not to do so.
As the sun began to set, we wrapped up our dungeon activities for the day. After dinner, I was relaxing in the living room with the kids, listening to CDs when Lily and Lisa emerged from the bathroom. Thanks to Lily's drying magic, both of them already had dry hair.
After serving ice cream for dessert, I realized I had forgotten to bring out the cake.
"Lisa, could you please prepare tea for everyone?"
"Sure!"
"Even though we already had ice cream, this is our second dessert."
"Yay!" the kids cheered.
"Go grab dessert plates and small forks."
The children dashed to the kitchen after Lisa.
"Mr. Rockwell, what's this second dessert?" one of them asked.
"I bought a cake but hadn't found the chance to serve it yet, so I nearly forgot." I showed Lily the brochure I got from the bakery.
"Wow! That looks delicious! I think I'll go for the Mont Blanc."
"I'll choose the strawberry shortcake," another chimed in.
As the kids quickly returned with their utensils, I instructed them, "Look at the brochure Lily has and pick which cake you want. Once the tea arrives, we'll serve the cake."