After saying goodbye to Syr-san, I continued on my way to the tower of babel. I currently have 40,000 mora left on me after leaving some home for emergency funds.

This much should be enough for me to get some good weapons, but I don't know if I will have enough left for a giod set of armor... Oh well, first I should head to the Hephaistos Familia's store Eina-san told me about.

I can decide on what I can get after I see the prices. So I got up to the fourth floor of the tower of babel as directed by Eina-san...

The short sword in the window…is worth 8 million vals. That's enough to buy several houses.

Stepping up to the display window of the closest shop, a crimson sword enshrined there catches my eye. I go up to take a look at the price.

…Thirty million vals?!

All the blood leaves my face. I lift my hand to my forehead, trying to steady myself.

Eina-san, I know I said I wanted some good equipment, but it's not like I can afford these!

Oh well, I can't really lose anything from browsig the upper floors as well, Eina-san did tell me that Hephaistos familia owns several floors after all.

I board the "elevator" (as the magical lift turns out to be called) and arrive on an upper floor soon after.

After the elevator comes to a stop, I push open the glass to reveal another level inundated with shops just like the fourth floor.

Swords, spears, axes, war hammers, blades, bows and arrows, shields, armor, and many other pieces of equipment are on display at all the shops on this wide floor. The only difference is that there are more customers—more adventurers—here.

That thought makes me flinch for a moment.

All of the combat-ready spears stand on end, blades facing the ceiling.

Just as I start thinking Ah, I don't belong here, my eyes catch the price tag: 12,000 vals.

"H-huh…?"

I might be able to afford this…

Catching on to my confusion, a clerk comes by and explains to me thatvthese weapons were all produced by the inexperienced members of their familia, and aren't worth carying the Hephaistos name.

"Is that…okay? I mean, compared to the masters…"

The clerk smiles and explains that this way the new smiths get valuable business experience and they can sell their work directly to adventurers. It's also apparently a real plus for the younger smiths to get feedback—both the good and the really harsh. This somehow all helps motivate them to make better and better weapons.

I'm a bit surprised, but then again I guess it makes perfect sense. Rather than being restricted to experimenting or practicing, getting comments and criticism from people in the real world would be a lot more motivating.

The clerk then asks me if I need any help with picking out items, but I decline for now. As I am not sure of what kind of equipment I would want, I don't want to waste the clerk's time... So I step into the store by myself.

The view from my first step inside the establishment is that it's like nothing I've ever seen before.

Just look at these! Were they really all made by lower-level smiths? Everything looks amazing!

Looking into the forest of armor is the highlight of the day so far.

Pure white mannequin chests wear many different shapes and kinds of armor. It doesn't matter that the head and arms are missing, the chest looks very dignified. A few full-bodied mannequins are equipped with the works. I can clearly see myself wearing those armored plates in battle.

Shield and battle helmets on shelves line the walls. Some look impenetrable, some are simply gorgeous—there's something for everyone.

Male and female customers fill the shop, all looking for a piece of armor that suits them. It looks like you can try on the armor, too.

I think…I'm starting to get a little excited…! What do I do now?…Huh?

As I take in the sights and sounds, my eyes are drawn to a spot at the back of the shop.

It's the most ordinary-looking corner of the store. There's a box filled with equipment pieces just sitting there.

Are they…armor pieces?

The rest of the store's stock is equipped on the mannequins, so are these junk boxes? They're just lying here like a pile of trash. Wait, there is another box next to it, and a few more after that. I guess these must be the items that the Familia deemed not worth putting on display.

I'm sure they wouldn't sell them if they were faulty, but maybe there are some imperfections or something like that.

"Ah, yep, they're for sale…"

There is a price tag on the bottom of each box: 5,700 vals, 6,800 vals, 3,900 vals…All the prices are written in red ink by different people, but all of them are quite cheap.

The full set of armor that I saw toward the front of the store is 15,000 vals, and my current light armor from the Guild is 5,000…Yep, I've probably got the right idea. These are in my price range.

Then again, Eina-san would say that this is something that's going to save my life, so I shouldn't be stingy.

"…?"

I suddenly stop in front of a box in the middle of the row.

This armor—its spirit is calling to me from within the line of boxes.

Silver. Rather than having a reddish tint or darker black hues, this one shines like pure white metal.

No flashy colors or fancy decorations, it looks like it just finished cooling from the forge. It's tugging at my heartstrings.

I bend down to get a closer look; it's light armor.

There are knee guards and a small breastplate designed to fit snugly against the chest. Under those pieces I find wrist and elbow guards, along with a plate that covers the lower back. It's built to protect the bare minimum of the body to allow for maximum mobility. Kind of a patchwork armor.

Lifting up the breastplate, I discover it's very light—much lighter than my provision armor from the Guild. Just hitting it a few times doesn't tell me much, but I think it's sturdier than my Guild armor, too. At least it feels like it.

It's just my size…This is almost scary.

I think I'm in love.

It might be because this is the first one I've picked up.

But suddenly all I can see is myself wearing this armor.

I hold the breastplate up to the light for a closer look. Flipping it around, there it is: the maker's signature is on the inside. "Welf Krozzo."

Looks like this wasn't worthy of the "Hephaistos" name.

Welf Krozzo…

I'll remember that.

My brain snatches the name from the armor like a hawk snatches a fish out of water. It's a smith's name I'll be looking for from here on out.

Eina-san did tell me before about the bond between adventurers and smiths. So this is what it feels like.

I'm already set on this light armor. I want to buy it, right now.

Let's just look and see how much it is…Gasp! 9,900 valis!

It's an amount that would be compared to my entire net worth if I were to not count the compensation from the Loki Familia!

But I just can't let my hands go off this set of armor, as if I'm somehow fated with it.

It makes of 1/4th of my budget, so I guess it is fine... and I am also used to wearing light armor as well, there is no reason why I shouldn't get this armor.

Now as for a weapon, Eina-san did always say shields were a good way to increase my defense stat, and if I can find a good shield, I can still keep being mobile as well.

So I look for a good shield. However, there are many shield types in this store and they come in many shapes as well... This will be very time consuming, it is good that I have left home early today.

After an hour of browsing, I was finally able to pick a shield for myself. It is a circular shield made of a special kind of wood that makes it a lot stronger than regular wood, but still a light as one.

Using this shield will allow me increase my defense while not lowering my agility stat, so I am very content with it. Not to mention that it actually was more expensive than the set of armor and costed 15800 valis, I am very happy with it.

But now comes the time to make another choice... Should I just purchase a new knife, or go for a short sword instead? I am more used to knives but Eina-san did always say having longer reach is very important in the dungeon, especially in the lower levels. Or maybe I could spice things up and pick up a lance or an axe as well...

Just as I was thinking about what weapon I should pick, a weapon burried in a pile of one-handed swords catches my sight. I reach my hand into the pile and grabbed it.

It was a single-edged one-handed sword with relatively short blade length, around 40 inches (~1m) maybe. It was pretty light as well, it could at most weigh a pound or two (~0.9kg).

The blade of the sword looked somewhat rusted, as if it was a weapon that had been used for a long time before. There was a name etched into the blade as well. It read "falx", and I saw that it was being sold for a measly 1,000 valis.

I held up the weapon in my empty hand and swung it around.

This sword was definitely worth way more than 1000 valis, maybe there was a mistake with the pricing? Although I know that this isn't a good idea to ask if the price is too low, I should still go ahead and ask the cashier. I don't really have anything else to do since I already have already picked up everything else I needed.

When I brought "falx" to the cashier however, they just gave me weird look and said that a weapon of that caliber was worth only that much, though they would accept if I really wanted to pay them extra for it. Then I of course just paid the regular amount, and left quickly with all the gear I purchased.

Everything roughly costed about 30,200 valis as I picked up a new pouch and firm under-armor clothes as well. Thankfully, the cashier rounded everything up to 30,000 valis so I was able to save another 10,000 valis for future use.

Ah, I guess I will be able to eat very good at Syr-san's restaurant this evening, not to mention that kami-sama is off for a gods' party as well...

Oh well, I should first head to the dungeon to test my new equipment!

(A/N: Since this is a consecutive release, I am only adding one author's note, well not much to talk about on the other chaper in any case, it's still pretty much the original scenario. BUT, as you can see from the chapter title, the second part of the chapter will perhaps show some differences? I don't know ( I have few different plans, didn't decide on which one to follow yet.)

PS: Expect the second part to come out sometime within this week, no promises tho as it may get delayed to the weekend too. I am also a fully functioning human being with other responsibilities, so I can't just pledge myself to this hobby of mine.

PS#2: Due to the only one vote being for shield and sword, we will be going with that choice. (I rigged the vote -inser devil emoji-)

PS#3: Not much Bell, Airmid interactions as of now, but that's how it was with Aiz and Bell too. I will, however, try to pair up Bell and Airmid relatively early on as compared to the main story, let's say maybe around... haha I have it all planned out but won't spoil it to you. lol.

PS#4: As you advanced Airmid simps would know, she has some interactions with Miach as well. I am planning to adress the connection between them as well, and WILL pair Miach with Nahza. After all, Interludes exist for a reason; romantic development.