[The ‘Tin Knight’ cheers, asking if this was a hidden battle event disguised as a junk-tier shop!]
Unlike Dorothea and Adelaide, Franka couldn’t directly hear the Tin Knight’s crazy words.
But humans had an instinctive ability to sense danger, seeing the Tin Knight with his suspiciously bright blue eyes, Franka let out a scream, “Eek! W-wait! Why? I did everything you said! Paid the compensation, took all the blame for your crimes! And now you’re saying you’re going to kill me!? You vicious witch!”
“I won’t deny being vicious or a witch, but I don’t want to hear that from you.”
Dorothea was dumbfounded, thinking how this woman who had attempted assassination at their first meeting had the nerve to say such things. seaʀᴄh thё NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
After subduing the Tin Knight by hitting the back of his head with her staff, she looked around the shop and said, “…You, are you out of money? Did I extort too much?”
At that gaze and tone that seemed subtly pitying, Franka’s face instantly turned red, “Do you think I’m stuck here trying to make money!? The money I handed over to you is just a drop in the bucket compared to my wealth!”
“Then why are you doing this here?”
“You know exactly who’s to blame for this…!”
Having made a Blood Oath, she couldn’t take hostile actions against Dorothea’s party unless they attacked first. The moment she violated the oath, Franka Aglaia would become Franka Croakia.
Above all, even without the oath, it was questionable whether she had any chance of winning.
Not a single one of the golden-winged monkeys that Franka so adored remained around her.
“Ha, forget it. What’s the use of saying anything?” Franka sighed softly as if complaining, raising her chin arrogantly.
It was hard to call it a good customer service attitude even as a white lie, but it strangely suited her.
“So, if you’re not here to clean up, what’s your business?”
It was an obvious attempt to change the subject, but Dorothea didn’t bother to probe further.
They weren’t close enough to babble about private personal matters.
“What else would we come to a weapon shop for besides looking at weapons?”
“Your staff… I guess not.”
“Of course not. I’ll make what I use myself.”
“Then, is it for that magic doll and the kid over there?”
Franka stared at the Tin Knight for a moment, then handed over a shield that was displayed on the wall.
“Why don’t you use this?”
The gazes of the Tin Knight, Dorothea, and Adelaide turned to that shield.
The shield was… flashy.
First of all, its color wasn’t that of ordinary metal but gold, and the shield’s surface was covered with incredibly detailed embossed patterns, with jewels embedded here and there.
Seeing its appearance that looked more like it should be hung on a wall for decoration rather than used in actual combat, Dorothea frowned, “Are you openly trying to mock us or something?”
“Hmph, I just recommended what I thought was most suitable. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.”
Just as Dorothea was about to snap back, the Tin Knight took the shield.
The Tin Knight thumped the surface of the shield with his fist.
Unlike its appearance, which looked like it would easily dent, the shield didn’t change shape at all, not even getting a small scratch.
The Tin Knight equipped it on his arm and drew up his mana.
As the Tin Knight’s mana settled in, the jewels embedded in the shield greedily sucked it in.
When the Tin Knight pulled out the mana that had burrowed into the jewels, it burst out with a bang even in mid-air, making the air tremble.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ marvels that while this shield’s defense itself is just so-so, it has an external hard drive function!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ rejoices that if he fills it with lots of mana and bursts it all at once, it seems like something interesting might be possible!]
“Hmm?”
Dorothea’s eyes lit up.
She noticed that despite only filling one of the three large jewels embedded in the shield with mana, a considerable amount of the Tin Knight’s mana had been drained.
Assuming the shield was filled with mana to its limit, it seemed like it could store and hold almost as much mana as the Tin Knight’s main body.
“Looks like you recommended something proper, unlike its appearance. What about swords?”
“Take any of those lying around there. As long as it’s the size of a one-handed sword, he’ll use whatever well. There’s no point in recommending anything.”
At Franka’s words, the Tin Knight began to carefully examine the displayed swords.
Adelaide was also about to look at the swords beside him when…
“Those aren’t suitable for you.”
“Huh?”
Adelaide tilted her head.
Franka pointed to the opposite side of the shop.
It was where two-handed swords were displayed—quite large and heavy ones at that.
“Choose from over there.”
“Uh, I’ve never handled anything other than one-handed swords…”
“Well, those aren’t for you. This is right. My aesthetic sense tells me so.”
Adelaide’s expression turned bewildered.
If a skilled martial artist had said this, it might have been understandable, but the Franka that Adelaide knew was a mage—an alchemist at that.
It was hard not to be perplexed when someone who seemed like they had never touched a sword in their life suddenly claimed to know what weapon was right for her, even for someone as good-natured as Adelaide.
“Um, Sir Knight.”
She looked at the Tin Knight with eyes seeking advice, but the Tin Knight gave an unexpected answer.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that since Adel is quite strong for her build, that might not be bad in its own way!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that since he’s close to a damage-tank, having a damage dealer focused on attack power isn’t bad for party balance!]
“Is that so…?” Adelaide hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded.
At least when it came to combat-related matters, the Tin Knight didn’t tell lies.
Let’s just ignore the fact that he occasionally said crazy things.
Adelaide picked up one of the displayed two-handed swords that looked relatively small and easy to handle.
The sword, slightly shorter than Adelaide’s height, was quite heavy, but when she actually swung it, it wasn’t as difficult as she thought.
Dorothea, seeing the sword Adelaide had chosen, asked, “Does that one have some special function, too?”
“There’s no particular magical gimmick to the sword itself. If I had to say, it’s that the weight balance is good. Ah, the scabbard is enchanted, though.”
What Franka handed over as a scabbard was something like a small badge.
After attaching two badges diagonally to Adelaide’s shoulder and waist, when she brought the greatsword close, it maintained a certain distance from the badges as if held by an invisible hand. From the side, it looked like the greatsword was floating behind Adelaide’s back.
Dorothea muttered as if dumbfounded, “That’s not alchemy, it’s in the realm of rune characters. Aren’t you being too unprincipled?”
“Shut up. If you try to put a greatsword in a normal scabbard, it either doesn’t look good, or the usability hits rock bottom. Besides, most of the items here aren’t made by me, I’m just mediating. I can’t repair worn armor, so look elsewhere for that.”
“You’re quite bold in your talk about what’s right and what’s not, even for things you didn’t make yourself.”
“I’m just stating facts as they are, is there a problem with that?”
After a brief battle of wills…
Once the Tin Knight, who had finished looking around, chose a few new swords as well, Dorothea asked about the prices of the equipment.
Franka handed over a bill with a sardonic smile.
“It’s about this much.”
The price written there was, no joke, enough to build a building in the city center.
Only then did the party understand why Franka had shown a sharp reaction, yet introduced the equipment in a strangely kind manner.
It was a petty—no, terrifying strategy to make them drink empty water to their heart’s content, expecting that they wouldn’t be able to buy, anyway.
Franka made a light nasal sound and continued, “Hmph, if you’re really in a hurry, I could cut you some slack. In return, if you could do something for the children—“
“Here. The payment.”
“…Huh?”
Interrupting Franka mid-sentence, Dorothea placed the amount written on the bill on the table.
And with that, she turned her back and left the shop.
With a dumbfounded face, as if unable to understand what had happened, Franka remained frozen for a long time.
***
“Is it okay to just leave like that? She looked like she had something to ask.”
“It’s fine. We’re not in a position to do favors for each other, anyway,” Dorothea cut off Adelaide’s words sharply. “The reason I didn’t kill that one and left her alive was because at the time, it was more beneficial. If she hadn’t turned herself in, we would have taken the blame for everything that happened in that city. That’s all. There’s no need to blush more than necessary, but I don’t intend to get along laughing and joking either.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders if we didn’t get along well with Gale!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that becoming friends with a rival you’ve fought once is an industry standard!]
“Not needed.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses his view that even if you struggle not to get involved in these things, you’ll end up entangled somehow anyway, so it’s better to proactively dive in!]
Just as Dorothea was about to get irritated at the Tin Knight’s repeated suggestions…
“B-Big Sis! You were here! I’ve been looking for you!”
A man rushed out urgently and collapsed in front of the party.
Aside from the man’s face or name, it wasn’t hard to guess his identity just from the way he addressed Dorothea as “Big Sis”.
There was no one else in this city who would call Dorothea by that title except the Iron Stake Mercenary Company.
The man shouted, “S-Sophia is in danger! Some strange man in green clothes picked a fight, and his skills are incredible…! I think you need to come quickly!”
“Wait a moment, picked a fight? For what reason?”
“I-I don’t know! Something about a promise, something about an adventure, I couldn’t understand at all!”
The gazes of the three companions met in mid-air.
Dorothea put her hand to her forehead and sighed.
Somehow, she felt like she knew the identity of that man who was said to have picked a fight.
The Tin Knight exclaimed with an excited look.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ laments that while he dislikes fighting, he has no choice for the sake of his companions!]
***
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