True to her word, Mutsuki was waiting for me outside the palace after I finished my chat with the Duke's minister and received a pamphlet detailing the ducal sponsorship examination. But I hadn't expected Kisaragi to tag along with her. "Felt like a walk?" I asked the hunter.
She shrugged. "It's dull sitting around with just those two. I mean, Yayoi's easy to mess with, but... it's just too easy to be any fun. And since all of us need new weapons, I thought maybe we could do a little shopping on the way back."
"We spent the last of our money on the inn," Mutsuki reminded her.
Kisaragi grinned, and pointed at me. "But she's got money, doesn't she?" she said confidently.
"If you had asked me that an hour ago, I would have been able to say no," I replied. "Unfortunately, the Duke's minister gave us an allowance, in anticipation of the successful completion of our first mission."
Mutsuki blinked. "How much?"
"Five hundred crowns. Or whatever they call the currency here." I did some arithmetic in my head. "Where I hail from, I think that much in local currency would buy you one serviceable sword or gun. Maybe."
"Don't worry, this is the big city!" Kisaragi declared, clapping me on the back and causing me to cough. "Things are cheaper here!"
"In a manner, anyway. Price correlates quite strongly with quality," said Mutsuki, frowning. "I don't know what kind of weapons we'll get for a hundred and fifty en each."
"Don't you mean a hundred?" I asked the ronin.
She shook her head. "Uzuki doesn't really need a weapon- we can give her one of these daggers. And if Yayoi wants a bigger stick then she has now, she can find it in the Labyrinth."
I shrugged. "Well, let's see what we can find. Where can we buy weapons that cheap?"
Kisaragi grinned again and pointed to a storefront, quite possibly at random. "Somewhere like that," she said.
The store she indicated was conspicuous, in a way, if only because it was much more ramshackle then any of its neighbors; it looked as if it might have been built in an alley from scraps of wood gathered from the gutters, or perhaps it was just old and decrepit. Either way, it was a shack. "Sitoth Trading," stated the red paint of a rather messily hand-lettered sign hanging above the threshold. The inside of the shop was dark, and none of the items visible in the windows were discernible as anything an adventurer might use.
"Isn't that a dry goods store?" asked Mutsuki. "Would they sell weapons?"
"Are they even open?" I wondered.
"Only one way to find out," said Kisaragi. She walked over to the store, tried the door, and found it unlocked. The hunter disappeared inside, and Mutsuki followed after her. With a sigh, I headed into the dubious shop as well.
Sitoth Trading was, quite simply, full of junk. Some of it might have been adventurer's supplies- I heard the clank of metal as I navigated among the piles, towards the counter in the back- but I could hardly see a thing. "It really is dark in here," I heard Mutsuki's voice comment. "Is anyone minding the shop?"
"C-customers?"
That surprised voice sounded from the depths of the store as I finished making my way to where Mutsuki and Kisaragi stood. My eyes began to adjust in time to see a small girl, not more than ten or twelve, rush towards the counter opposite us. She had brown hair in a pair of braids, best as I could tell, and a flower pinned to her hair much like Mutsuki. "Welcome to Sitoth Trading," she said, brushing at her clothes self-consciously. "May I help you with-"
"How cute!"
That last exclamation came from Kisaragi. Unexpectedly, the hunter reached over the counter and seized the girl's hands. "What's your name? Are you minding the store while your parents are away?" she demanded of the girl, her expression one of pure adoration.
"U-um..." The girl seemed quite intimidated by Kisaragi; I couldn't blame her. But she reacted well, as befit a merchant-to-be. "I'm Abigail... and my father's in the back," she replied. "He makes the goods, and I talk to the customers, if there are any... um..."
The hunter's expression changed, as she continued to clasp Abigail's hands. She looked... upset. Even angry. "Wh-what is it?" asked the little girl, visibly becoming even more nervous. "I, I can try to fetch him, but-"
"Please do," said Kisaragi. Her icy voice wasn't quite the equal of Mutsuki's, but was doubtless sufficient to terrify poor Abigail out of her wits. "Keeping a girl like you cooped up in this dark shop, on a lovely day like this... I'm going to teach him a lesson he won't-"
A hand reached out and grabbed the back of Kisaragi's bustier, yanking her away from the counter- and nearly dragging Abigail over it as well, for the hunter let go of her hands only reluctantly. "Kisaragi, you're scaring her," said Mutsuki.
"Am I?" the hunter asked. The hint of sauciness in her reply was enough for the ronin to cast a glance at me before dragging Kisaragi off. I assumed the situation was in my hands, and stepped forward to the counter, a chorus of sundry items being dislodged from their burial places sounding behind me as my companions retreated.
"Ah, um," the girl named Abigail said, looking somewhat as if she'd like to run and hide in the back room until we left. I gave her my best smile. "I'm sorry about that," I said, casting a glance behind me. "She's a handful, even for us."
"I-it's okay... I just wasn't expecting it," Abigail replied. She cast her eyes downward, and although one couldn't discern color very well in the darkness of the shop, I thought I saw a hint of pinkness on the girl's cheeks. "...That's the first time a customer asked my name," she said.
I scratched my head. "Well, I don't know if we're customers yet," I replied. "Is there perchance a light in here, or a window that you can open? None of us can see what you're selling."
"Oh!" said Abigail. "Father said not to leave the window open unless there's customers, because the sunlight is bad for the medicines. But I guess if you might be customers, that's okay." She smiled brightly. "I'll be just a moment," she promised, and hurried into the back. Soon enough, a window opened, light flooded into the shop, and the place transformed.
Not a lot, mind you. It was still a chaotic mess, but at least now you could tell what was for sale. And the answer was still 'junk.' I looked around, and saw the other two browsing near the front of the shop.
"I suppose I should have asked first whether you sell what we're looking for," I said to Abigail when she returned to the counter. "Do you have any weapons? You know, for adventurers?"
"Right over there," the girl replied, still smiling brightly. She pointed to where my companions were browsing; they'd found it in the dark, apparently. Impressive. "Thank you," I told Abigail, and gave her a small bow- I figured she'd had her hands grabbed enough for one day. Then I went to join Mutsuki and Kisaragi in inspecting the merchandise.
It wasn't much of a task on my part; the shop had only one pistol. I looked over the dubious firearm briefly, then turned and showed it to Kisaragi. "Look at this," I said in a low voice, not particularly wanting the girl at the counter to overhear. "It comes pre-jammed for your convenience. No need to wait for it to fail in the midst of a tense battle."
Kisaragi grinned and whistled in mock appreciation, as I thought she might, even if she didn't know the first thing about firearms. "A whip is a whip for the most part, but if these ones were a little less flexible, Yayoi could use one as a staff," she said to me.
I turned to the ronin, who was holding a sword before her and eyeing it critically. "How is it?" I inquired.
"Looks like someone took a bar of pig iron, bent it, and sharpened it to have an edge," she replied, then peered at it closer. "...No, it's actually forged. Amazing. Not the blade, the fact that anyone would waste their time working metal of this quality." Mutsuki frowned in disapproval. "It would be better suited to shoe a horse with."
"Shall we go elsewhere, then?" I asked, setting the gun down on a pile of junk.
"No," declared Kisaragi.
I blinked at her. "Didn't you say the whips were no good, too? Do you really want to spend all the money we have on weapons like these?"
"I'm sure Abigail and her father wouldn't sell merchandise of this quality without a good reason," said the hunter firmly. "I'm going to ask her why."
"Kisaragi-" I began, but she was already marching toward the counter. The ronin eyed me, and shook her head.
"What is it?" I asked her, my mood fraying.
"Don't try to intervene," Mutsuki said. "I know Kisaragi better than you. She won't let us leave this shop without our entire purse ending up in the hands of that little girl somehow or other." She picked up the pistol I'd set aside and offered it back to me. "You may as well take this."
With a sigh, I took the pistol and headed towards the counter as well. Kisaragi had struck up another conversation with Abigail, who seemed to have recovered from her earlier trauma; the hunter, in turn, wasn't acting quite so familiar. "So your shop doesn't get many customers, Abigail?" I heard as I came within earshot.
Abigail shook her head, seeming disappointed. "We weren't doing badly in Cobourg, where I was born," she said. "Father was so sure we'd have even more customers in a big city like this. And..." Her gaze traveled downward again. "We've been open a week, but... you're the only people who have even come in," she admitted.
"It's because this place is so dark and run-down, people can't tell that you're open, or even in business," said the ronin, who had followed me to the counter. "Put the medicines in a cabinet and keep the window open. And redo the front."
"I'm not sure 'Sitoth Trading' is the best name for your store," said Kisaragi. "Why don't you call yourself 'Sitoth's Fine Adventuring Supplies' or something like that?"
"And frankly, your merchandise is junk," I told Abigail. "At least your weapons are." This earned me a venomous glare from Kisaragi, but someone had to say it. And it didn't seem to upset the girl any more then she already was.
"It's because of the rent," Abigail muttered.
"What's that, Abigail?" The hunter turned her attention from me back to her.
Abigail looked up at us, her expression stolid. "Father and I... we saved up and even after the journey here, we had plenty of money, so we thought we'd be able to start a nice shop," she said. "But the rent is really terrible. This is the only shop we could get, and the... down payment, I think it's called... cost almost everything we had. We couldn't afford to remodel, or buy any good materials."
"Wow!" exclaimed Kisaragi, smiling at the melancholy girl. "You know a lot about business for a girl your age, Abigail." I wondered if she'd even followed what Abigail had said. Regardless, the hunter's words didn't cheer the girl before us up any.
"Father said that craftsmanship is all that matters," said the little girl. "But that isn't true, is it?" She turned to the side, averting her eyes from us. "...I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."
Nor did anyone else, it seems, even Kisaragi. An awkward silence transpired... until Abigail blinked. Quite unexpectedly, she turned back to us, a bright smile on her face. "I... I have an idea," the girl said, a little hesitantly. "You're going into the Labyrinth, aren't you? The big forest inside the giant tree?"
"If we can find any decent weapons, we are," I said. "We don't have much money, though."
"I want to ask a big favor of you," said Abigail, clasping her hands together before herself nervously. "If you kill any monsters, and they leave something that might be useful to a craftsman- bone, hide, feathers, anything like that- could you bring it back here? I'll pay you, best as I can," she promised. "And Father will use whatever you bring to make better goods. Even though the weapons you're holding now are awful... he's really talented." She looked plaintively at us. "Please believe me."
"We did the same thing in Etria," Kisaragi said. "There, it was because the place was so remote they couldn't get supplies from elsewhere." She reached over the counter and took the girl's hands in hers again. "But we'll be delighted to do the same for you, Abigail!"
With a quiet sigh, I exchanged a glance with Mutsuki. Abigail seemed sincere enough, but I couldn't help but feel that we were being played for fools.
"Craftsmanship, huh," said the ronin. She unsheathed the blade she held and looked at it again. "To tell the truth, I'm impressed that anyone could even get metal like this to hold an edge... I doubt it will last long, but I suppose I can fight with a club with a while." She smiled one of her thin smiles. "And I'd like to see what your father can do with proper steel, Abigail."
"Why's this gun jammed?" I asked the girl, showing her the pistol in my hand.
"Oh." Abigail blushed. "That's probably because I fired it. Father wanted me to test it, but I didn't really know what I was doing." She pointed at an empty wooden frame further back in the shop. "I broke a mirror, too. But Father's making some wonderful daggers out of the shards, so it turned out okay." The girl looked thoughtful. "Maybe I should break another one nearer the bottom, and he can make a sword."
"I would not," advised Mutsuki. "Glass is too brittle to make a lasting blade with. For daggers it might be suitable, but nothing larger."
"And don't try to shoot any more guns," I told Abigail. "Especially not indoors. Ask me if you want someone to test a firearm, okay?" I sensed a smile rising to my face, unbidden; it seemed the girl had finally won me over. If she was faking her and her father's dire straits, she was good at it. I didn't mind being taken advantage of by her.
"I will!" said the girl. "Would you like to buy those weapons? I'll give you a discount. How much money do you have?" she asked, almost too eagerly. I almost reconsidered my judgement.
"Five hundred en," replied Kisaragi immediately. Figures, this is the one time she's honest, I thought.
"I'll sell them all to you for four hundred... along with, umm..." Abigail turned and rushed to the back of the shop, hastily gathering some up items. "These medicines that were lying in the sun," she said upon her return. "No guarantees that they'll work. But you look strong, so I'm sure you'll not even need them on your journey into the Labyrinth!"
I grinned. That girl will make a fine merchant one day. I drew the coin purse I'd received from the Duke's minister from my coat pocket, and looked at Mutsuki; at the ronin's nod, I tossed it on the counter. Abigail cheerfully began counting our change.
"Why not call yourself 'Sitoth's Fine Adventuring Supplies', by the way?" recalled the hunter. "You didn't answer that."
"Oh," said the girl. "I don't think I could write that small. I wrote the sign out there myself, you see!" She seemed proud, so none of us had the heart to tell her it was obviously a child's handwriting. Precocious as Abigail might be in some ways, she was a child, after all.
Well... maybe that sign would lure in a few customers like-minded to Kisaragi.
Four hundred en poorer, and in possession of three weapons of fine craftsmanship but dubious quality and a number of potentially spoiled medicines, we departed Sitoth Trading. The girl waved as we left. "Don't forget to bring back lots of monster guts to sell me!" she called after us.
"Monster guts." I made a face. "That's your job, Kisaragi."
"It was my job back in Etria, too," the hunter replied, grinning. "You don't have to watch if you don't want to."
"Since you're the city expert, know where we can find some armor for twenty en apiece?"
"I'll show you the best armor in the world. It's free, and it's called 'hitting them before they hit you.'"
