'Is that stall I went to last time gone?'
On the off chance, I went to the place where I’d bought the brigandine, but in its spot was a stall piled high with nothing but odds and ends.
Whether the owner had closed up shop or moved somewhere else, there was no way to know.
Feeling as if I’d come all this way for nothing, I let out a sigh and turned my head.
If I was going to buy something new anyway, I’d have to look for another shop.
'Where would be good?'
I walked along, scanning the shops lined up on both sides of the street one by one.
The gleaming armor meant for nobles felt burdensome just to look at.
That wasn’t what I needed. Something practical, sturdy, and reasonably priced would do.
Then, deeper inside an alley, a small shop with an old sign caught my eye.
The armor visible through the little glass window was faded and covered in scratches, but strangely, it drew me in.
'Do they only deal in used goods? This place should be good.'
When I opened the door and stepped inside, the interior was unexpectedly cozy.
A faint smell of metal brushed the tip of my nose.
“Wow…”
A small exclamation slipped out from Aileen beside me.
There was no one in sight inside. Had the owner stepped out for a moment?
I stood in the middle of the shop and looked around.
Well, there was no rush anyway.
What I was looking for this time was armor to reinforce my shins and elbows, and a helmet.
Especially the helmet—it was something I’d always kept in the back of my mind.
After all, the head was the biggest weak point in a fight.
'If your skull gets cracked, it’s over.'
The shins and elbows were important too.
Still, the helmet was my first priority, and the rest came after that.
Not that I could spend my entire fortune on a helmet.
The money I had on hand right now was roughly ten silver coins.
Thanks to the transport request, the fiend subjugation, and the goblin hunt all coming one after another, I’d managed to save up a fair bit.
I couldn’t say it was a lot considering all the trouble I’d gone through, but what could I do? The last two requests had just been bad luck.
“Looking for something?”
A low, heavy voice suddenly rang out.
A large middle-aged man appeared from the back.
The man’s head was half-bald, and there were several scars on his coppery skin.
So there had been someone here.
I looked toward the display cases and said,
“I’m looking for a helmet. And if you have anything to reinforce the shins and elbows, I’d like to see that too. I can’t afford anything too expensive. I need to keep it within ten silver coins.”
The man snorted, then slowly walked behind the display case.
“Youngsters these days only ever look for cheap stuff. Well, even cheap stuff is better than nothing.”
All sorts of helmets were laid out on the display stand.
I didn’t even spare a glance for the flashy ones from the start.
What I needed was something I could use in actual combat.
Among them, one simple iron helmet caught my eye.
It had a rounded shape, with a brim that jutted out slightly at the edge, making it look like a pot.
When I picked it up, it was lighter than I’d expected, and the thickness wasn’t bad either.
“How about this?”
When I tilted my head at the helmet the man handed me, he nodded and explained.
“Kettle hat. There’s nothing better for protecting your head. Gives you a wide field of view too.”
Kettle hat. It was the first time I’d heard the name, but I liked it.
“These greaves should be decent, and with that money, elbows are going to be difficult… Take this one here.”
He took out greaves and vambraces and piled them all in front of me.
One was old and had scratches on the leather, and another had slight traces of rust, but they all looked usable.
“All right, six coins for everything.”
I rummaged through my pouch, counted out the silver coins one by one, and handed them over.
Clink, clink.
All that remained in my hand was my new gear and a much thinner pouch.
'Good. At least I can protect my head now.'
I muttered inwardly as I picked up the helmet.
Beside me, Aileen was staring intently into the display case.
Seeing how her sharp eyes had widened slightly, it seemed she wanted something.
Wanting to buy armor—what an unusual woman.
'She looks like a kid staring at toys in the toy aisle.'
I suddenly turned my head and followed Aileen’s gaze.
“Excuse me, how much is that?”
“Hm?”
The shopkeeper slowly raised his head and followed the direction of her finger.
What Aileen was looking at was a small dagger.
It looked old, but there were traces of decent craftsmanship on the handle.
The man scratched his chin and said,
“That… hmm, one silver coin.”
I took out the money left in my pouch.
I could buy it. It was just an expense I hadn’t planned for.
As I hesitated for a moment, the man smiled, picked up the dagger, and handed it over.
“Take it. She’s staring at it like that, so it’s on the house.”
I accepted the dagger with a surprised look.
“Really?”
“Come back when you’re doing well next time, and buy something then.”
Beside me, Aileen looked at me with round eyes, then smiled brightly in delight.
“Thank you!”
“Miss Aileen, I guess it was worth coming along.”
After leaving the shop, Aileen fiddled with the dagger she’d just received, a smile on her face.
I watched her for a moment, then carefully pulled on the helmet I’d just bought.
***
After leaving the shop, we headed straight for the back alley.
No matter how unhurried we were, we still had to at least scout the place.
'Don’t tell me there’ll be thugs again this time.'
The memory from last time came back to me vaguely.
The thugs trying to extort money from me, and the red-haired woman who appeared.
Her name was… Kalsia, probably.
“Isn’t this place too dangerous?”
Looking at the deserted path, Aileen asked with a slightly frightened expression.
She usually seemed so bold, but in situations like this, she was like a child again.
“It can’t be helped. Guys like that only operate in dangerous places like this.”
At those words, Aileen closed her mouth for a moment, then asked again.
“…Have you come to places like this often?”
“No, this is pretty much my first time too.”
Aileen’s expression stiffened a little more.
Oops. Should I have said I’d been here a lot?
No, that would have sounded even more suspicious.
“Let’s go in.”
When I spoke first, Aileen answered with a slightly tense expression.
“Yes…”
And so, we stepped into the back alley.
Last time, I’d rushed in so frantically that I hadn’t properly noticed, but looking now, there was a clear boundary.
At the entrance, the noise of the market street still mixed in, making it somewhat bright and lively, but the moment we went a few steps deeper, the atmosphere changed completely.
Torn pieces of cloth messily covered the upper part of the alley, casting an artificial darkness over it, and the dirt ground, which looked like it would turn muddy on rainy days, gave off a damp, moldy smell.
The brick walls were dotted with old graffiti and blackened scorch marks, and broken wooden crates and empty liquor bottles rolled about in every narrow gap.
From somewhere, a cat sprang out from between piles of trash and vanished without a sound.
Aileen flinched for a moment in surprise, then glanced at me and smiled awkwardly.
For some reason, it reminded me of being dragged through a courage test course during a high school field trip.
'Back then, I definitely… No, let’s not bring up dark history.'
I swallowed a bitter smile inwardly and surveyed my surroundings.
From far away came low, rough laughter and sounds like the mumbling of drunks, while an old awning at the end of the alley fluttered and shook in the wind.
It wasn’t as if someone like Kalsia would suddenly appear and save me like last time.
I had no choice but to be careful myself.
As we went a little deeper, the tension slowly rose.
I could feel gazes watching us from between the alleys, and the faint noise of the market had disappeared before I knew it.
A silence where even the sound of breathing felt loud.
It was as if the inside of this alley was another space, separated from the city.
That was when it happened.
I saw a man walking toward us from the opposite side.
The alley was narrow, so I was wondering whether I should step aside, when the man spoke first.
“Hey, brats. Looks like you took a wrong turn.”
A rough-looking face, deeply wrinkled eyes, and crude tattoos engraved on his forearms.
He was definitely someone who reeked of the underworld.
If someone with that face were an ordinary merchant, that would be more unfair.
I wondered if he was someone like the gatekeeper I’d seen at the harbor.
“We’re looking for a tavern.”
“A tavern? More importantly, you’ve got a short tongue for a little brat.”
When the man rebuked me in a voice mixed with laughter, I replied indifferently too.
“You’re the one who spoke casually first.”
The tension instantly shot up.
I wondered what I’d do if a fist came flying or a sword hilt popped out at those words, but surprisingly, the man just chuckled and said,
“So you didn’t come in here by mistake. Go straight in, and at the fork, take the right.”
I quietly nodded.
As I slipped past the man, I lightly tugged Aileen’s hand.
The gaze I felt on my back was prickling.
In particular, the unpleasant look the man sent toward Aileen grated on my nerves.
I quickened my steps for no real reason. I wanted to get deeper into the alley and out of there quickly.
With her wrapped up tightly in that robe, he shouldn’t even have been able to see her face or figure properly, yet he still looked at her like that.
If Aileen had come here alone, without even that robe?
It was obvious what would have happened to her.
We passed the fork and moved further inside.
Then a small building appeared before us.
There was no sign, and the walls were old and cracked, but the yellow light leaking out through the windows told us the place was open for business.
'Is that the tavern?'
As we approached, loud noise came from inside.
The clinking of cups, the sound of chairs toppling over, and people shouting.
A sense of immediacy, as if someone was in the middle of a fight, leaked out through the cracks in the door.
I caught my breath for a moment and looked toward Aileen.
She too seemed tense, her lips pressed tightly together.
“Ready?”
“Yes…”
I gave a small nod,
and placed my hand on the handle of the old wooden door.
Bang.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, a wave of hot air rushed over me.
Inside the tavern, the smell of alcohol, sweat, and a faint scent of blood were mixed together.
Had a fight really broken out?
Several men with bloody noses, broken chairs, and shards of shattered liquor bottles were strewn here and there.
“—What?”
“Never seen them before.”
In an instant, the gazes of the people inside fixed on us.
In the hot air, cold sweat ran down my back.
Ah, I should have come in after the fight was over.
Aileen lightly grabbed the hem of my clothes.
She was clearly tense too.
I took a deep breath and swept my gaze over the inside with a smileless face.
'It’s too late to regret it, and now that we’re in, I have to do what I came to do.'
I slowly opened my mouth.
“Can we have a drink?”
At that moment, someone in the inner corner chuckled.
He was sitting at a table, sipping his drink.
“Interesting friends.”
He raised his hand and said,
“Give these friends a drink each.”
Only then did the gazes around us gradually ease.
I let out a light sigh inwardly.
'Is that man the one in charge?'
I wasn’t certain, but at the very least, he wasn’t someone who looked easy to deal with.
We found a table that was relatively intact and sat down.
Soon, a tavern employee came over, set down mugs of beer, and left.
I looked down at the sloshing mug and sank into thought for a moment.
'Asking directly is too risky…'
Someone here might be in league with that guy.
If that happened, a fight would definitely break out.
In the worst-case scenario, I’d end up fighting everyone in here.
Of course, if it came down to it, it would be a chance to test out the magic I’d just learned… but I wasn’t in the mood for that right now.
For now, I should sit and observe carefully.
Since the guy who attacked me had covered his face, I had to judge by build alone.
Still, I had one definite clue.
Back then, my water bullet had struck the guy squarely in the shoulder.
Since he’d taken it without armor, there should definitely be marks of the impact left on his shoulder.
As I was lost in thought, a sudden thud sounded from in front of me.
“Kyaa—!”
It was the sound of Aileen setting down her beer mug.
Seeing Aileen wipe her lips and let out that refreshing sound, I was momentarily at a loss for words.
'Is she unexpectedly a heavy drinker…?'
Since she looked similar in age to me, I wondered if she was allowed to drink, but by the standards of this world, someone her age was probably an adult.
Having emptied her beer mug in an instant, Aileen whispered quietly,
“It’s my first time drinking this, but it’s good.”
“What? Miss Aileen, how old are you…?”
“I’m nineteen this year.”
Aha. Should I take it away?
As I hesitated for a moment, I heard footsteps trudging toward us.
It was the man who had told them to bring us drinks earlier.
With his thin body and mustache, he looked less like someone from the underworld and more like a butler from some noble house.
“Did you enjoy the drinks?”
As if she really had enjoyed it, Aileen quietly nodded.
She really does like eating and drinking.
“May I ask what brings you here?”
At that question, Aileen looked at me as if troubled.
I smiled shamelessly and answered,
“What else would we come to a tavern for but to drink?”
The man seemed displeased with my answer and fiddled with his mustache.
Then, as if talking to himself, he muttered,
“Dail came in with an injured shoulder too… There sure have been a lot of interesting things lately.”
My ears instantly perked up.
“Could I hear a little more about that?”