Chapter 4: Shattered Pride

Summary: Asking for help is hard.

I awoke the next day to the tips of a pitchfork biting into my left ass cheek. My shrill scream, and the visage of something bolting out of one of his haystacks, gave the farmer a good scare.

"Hooligan!" He yelled after me, but I was long gone.

He didn't pursue me, but even so, I put some distance between us before I stopped to catch my breath. I'd gotten a good scare as well, and my heart was pounding wildly in my chest. Last night, I found this farm on the periphery of town, and I decided that one of the haystacks was as good a place as any for me to sleep. So I jumped the fence and hid myself under the hay, hoping to get away unnoticed when I woke up.

That didn't pan out for me, something that my sore ass confirmed. There wasn't any blood at least, the farmer didn't expect anyone to be in there because why would he, so he didn't put any force behind the pitchfork.

'Good thing he didn't poke out one of my eyes.'

The sun was pretty high up in the sky, so it was around noon. I'd slept for longer than usual, normally six or so hours were enough and I never needed an alarm to wake me up. But then again, I exerted myself to an inch of passing out yesterday, so it wasn't surprising that I needed more rest than I was used to.

First thing first, I went to grab lunch. Since I skipped breakfast by sleeping in and all that. I returned to the same tavern, and the same woman from last night was behind the counter. Did she not need sleep or something?

"Hey," I greeted as I neared her.

"Oh, it's you again," she said as her eyes lit up.

"I promised you a loyal customer, didn't I? And I always keep my word."

"I'm glad to hear. Sorry again for last night, I…"

"Don't worry about it, I'm serious. I'll have another cheap meal, and we can put that behind us."

"Coming right up," she said timidly. "And I assume you still don't want wine?"

"Water's fine."

She went away, and I was left alone to ponder my budget. I earned fifteen bronze pieces yesterday, which was enough for three meals, but it costed me dearly. I wasn't ready to fight again, it would take a while to heal these injuries. Fighting monsters wasn't a viable strategy for me, at least not without some proper armor and weapons. I needed to work and earn enough money for those, and only then I could adventure again.

'If slavery is legal though, what are my chances of finding paid grunt work?' I pondered. 'Hmm, I could try something else before that…'

The Innkeeper returned with my meal, and I stopped her for a moment.

"Do you happen to have some old fabric that you don't need anymore? It can be anything, bedding or pillowcases or whatever. I'll pay for it."

"What do you need it for?" She asked, looking me up and down.

I waved a hand through the air.

"Do you, or do you not?"

"Not really," she answered. "We reuse as much as possible. I do have some rags around, but if you want to use them for bandages, you shouldn't risk it."

"Bummer, that was my plan."

Not in its entirety, but she was correct. That was the jist of it. I wanted to change these bandages with new ones, and then tie the old ones around my left arm. I hoped they'd work as some sort of improvised falconry glove, then I could let the balloons bite down into it without hurting me. Although it took some time to kill them bare handed, my main problem was those sharp fangs of theirs.

"Tell you what, go to the medicinal shop and tell Hadmar to give you a discount as a favor for me. Tell him I said pretty please and he'll do it, he's a good man."

That just sounded like another handout, another bit of pity thrown my way, so I didn't even consider it. But I didn't blow up on her either, she didn't need to know. It was a good idea to visit the medicinal shop though, clean bandages were better than rags.

"I'll try," I lied. "Who should I say sent me though?"

"Oh, that's right, we skipped introductions. I'm Cloris."

"Kenji," I answered with my own name, deciding to test how she reacted.

By the change of her expression, I figured not well. But it couldn't be helped, I'd have to start giving out my name sooner or later.

"Is it…a strange name or something?" I asked.

"No, it just sounds so exotic. You really aren't from Melromarc."

We talked a bit more, and I made up some bullshit about my parents being eccentric people. Cloris bought it, and she even added more ideas for me to use later. She theorized that maybe my parents were fans of past heroes and otherworldly sounding names, and I agreed.

'Hmm, past heroes. So this isn't a first,' I thought. 'But then again, Helia mentioned something similar, and their reaction to summoning five instead of four also pointed towards them having done it before.'

Another thing I needed to learn more about.

I did some more rough estimations as I ate. It took me about half an hour yesterday to earn fifteen bronze. Scale that up, and I'd be able to earn a silver roughly every three hours of active fighting. Realistically it would take longer, maybe four or five hours since I had to find the balloons as well. With three meals and a room a day costing me forty five bronze, I'd save fifty five every day.

It all came down to two things: the price of bandages and medicine, and the price of equipment. I needed to find what those were so I could plan accordingly.

'That's just a short term goal though, what about the long term?'

In the long term, I decided I wanted to get stronger. To explore the world and discover more of it, to have adventures, and to have more thrills. Then one day when I'd become a renowned adventurer, I'd return and show the king what he missed out on by turning me away.

Yeah, I liked the sound of that, scummy as it might seem. I'd show them all that I wasn't useless.

"Did you hear about the fifth summon?"

My line of thought got cut short by the conversation I overheard. A couple of men entered after me and sat down at a nearby table, close enough so that their whispers reached me.

"I did," the second man said. "But I heard the fifth one didn't have a holy weapon."

"The royal mages really screwed up this time."

I raised an eyebrow. It had been a little more than twenty four hours since we got summoned, and gossip about me was already spreading. That was fast, a bit too fast. How long until more details floated around and people would be able to recognize me? Also, who even started the rumors? Helia?

'No, it wasn't her,' I decided. 'She didn't strike me as the type. Someone overheard us talking, one of the royal servants probably.'

At any rate, I could rest easy for the meantime. I didn't look like a hero, just another peasant, so I'd be safe at least for a little while. I paid for the meal, Cloris gave me directions to the medicinal shop, and off I went.

On the way there, I noticed a crowd gathering in the streets, so I decided to check it out as well. To observe some more from the background and hopefully gain more nuggets of knowledge.

"That's them."

"The heroes."

"They look strong."

"The Spear Hero is so cute."

I sighed as I heard the whispers of the masses. It was just the four heroes, so nothing new or useful to me. I was getting ready to turn and leave, but I caught sight of them and it gave me pause. Not all four were present, Shield wasn't with them.

'Hmmm…'

They waved at the crowd as they walked, so I pulled back, hoping to go unnoticed. The last thing I needed was them drawing attention to me. Spear and Bow were too busy basking in the spotlight, but Sword looked past everyone and made eye contact with me.

'Shit.'

I raised a finger to my lips, and he gave me a subtle head nod in acknowledgement. Then he looked away, and the three of them kept walking towards the capital's exit, followed from behind by parties of people. I let out a pent up breath and picked up the pace in the opposite direction.

A few minutes later, I reached the medicinal shop. It was the same one I'd seen yesterday, the one looking like an apothecary. The same old man was behind the counter, sorting through a bouquet of what looked like random weeds.

"Hello," I greeted as I entered.

He looked away from his work and pinned his eyes on me, and his focused scowl turned to a smile.

"What may I help you with?" He asked.

"I need clean bandages," I answered, approaching one of the racks to examine the potted plants. Although I wasn't an expert on such things, they looked strange and otherworldly.

"How many rolls?"

"About five bronze's worth," I answered.

Hadmar's smile died down hearing that.

"I'm sorry, but it's twenty bronze per roll," he answered.

At that, I frowned as well. I wasn't expecting them to be cheap, but I hoped I could afford them. Cloris's offer flashed through my mind, to tell Hadmar about it and haggle with him for a roll, but I didn't. Instead I bid him goodbye for now and left the shop. I didn't want their handouts.

Something else I didn't want was another surprise like that. I had to check out the blacksmith as well, to get the prices for equipment down so I could save up accordingly. So I got going towards it, sort of remembering how to still find it from yesterday.

On the way, I ran into another familiar face, though this one went around without much fanfare to accompany him. It was Shield, and he had a red haired woman following him. I raised an eyebrow, remembering how the others had about a handful of adventurers each.

"I'll take you to a shop I trust, then," she said with excitement before taking off.

Shield smiled and shook his head, but before he could take off after her, his eyes landed on me.

"Hey, Kenji!" He yelled, waving a hand in the air.

'Fuck.'

The woman stopped and turned on her heels, her smile faltering for just a moment. I was frustrated that Shield called me out so casually, but the deed was already done. At least no one paid attention to him.

"Sup, Shield Hero?" I greeted, walking up to him so he'd hopefully not yell anymore. If the volume of our conversation stayed low, we were less likely to draw attention.

"Oh yeah, I never introduced myself," he said, running a hand up and down the back of his head in embarrassment. "My name is Naofumi Iwatani."

We shook hands, and I couldn't stay mad at him. He wasn't malevolent in the slightest, just an average dude enjoying himself as best as he could under the circumstances. Kinda' sweet and goofy, bordering on naive.

"Do you know him, Sir Hero?" The woman asked, stopping next to Naofumi and wrapping her arms around his.

"Yes, we…"

"We met yesterday," I stepped in, stopping him from spilling the beans. "I was at the castle on business, and I saw the four heroes being led to the king, so I…I rushed over."

Everyone else was fawning over them, so I hoped that doing the same would sell the lie. Naofumi raised an eyebrow, but he caught on and joined me in the fabrication.

"He's a fan," he said with a grin.

She didn't seem convinced, but she didn't push the matter either.

"We'll have time for admirers later, Sir Hero," she said, tugging on Naofumi's arm to get him moving. "For now we should focus on our goal. Let's go buy those weapons and start leveling up."

There it was again, the mention of levels. I really needed to find out what it meant, and by the looks of it, Naofumi and his companion already knew. They likely got a crash course on the world back at the castle. Despite my better judgement, I decided to follow them around for a bit and hopefully suss out some information from them.

"Going to buy equipment?" I asked him.

"Yes," Naofumi answered, giving in to the woman's tugging as he got on the move.

"I was on my way to the blacksmith as well, I'll join you if you don't mind."

She seemed annoyed, but Naofumi beamed at the prospect. He was a good guy.

"Sure thing. Myne, lead the way."

The woman, who I now knew was named Myne, took off ahead with a spring in her step. Her spirits seemed soured ever so slightly, but she did her best not to let it show. Was she jealous I was stealing Naofumi's attention? Was she an actual fan?

'Whatever.'

"So, how is it?" Naofumi asked in a low tone when she was out of earshot. She merrily skipped ahead, so we could sneak in a quick conversation.

"It's meh," I answered. "I explored a bit, fought some balloons with teeth, earned a bit of money. Looks like your typical fantasy setting to me."

"Isn't it great? We'll have so much fun," Naofumi said.

"Did the King provide you guys with teams?" I asked. "Why'd you only get one? I saw the others with a handful of teammates each."

Naofumi's smile faltered slightly, but he answered.

"The King put out an announcement, but the party members chose us. I didn't get any at first, Myne only switched to me from Motoyasu when she saw I was alone."

"Who?"

"The Spear Hero," Naofumi clarified.

He told me the names of the other heroes as well. Spear was Motoyasu Kitamura, Bow was Itsuki Kawasumi, and Sword was Ren Amaki. All Japanese by the sounds of it, so I told Naofumi as much.

"Yeah, we noticed as well," he admitted. "But we're all from different worlds, different versions of Japan."

"Interesting," I mumbled. Wasn't hard to believe, we'd already gotten proof that other worlds exist. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure thing, go ahead."

"What are these levels everyone's mentioning?"

Naofumi was taken aback by the question, giving me a dumbfounded expression.

"How did you not notice it yet?"

"Notice what?" I defended myself.

"Look to the lower right corner of your vision. There's a marker there. Focus on it and it will bring up the menu, this world has a thing called Status Magic that works like a videogame."

I did as told, but couldn't find any icons like he described.

"Sorry pal, but I have nothing there."

"Weird. From what the King told us, everyone in this world has access to Status Magic," Naofumi explained.

I sighed with frustration. He sounded genuine, so I had no reason to doubt him. This was the nail in the coffin, I really was a normal dude brought here by accident. Status Magic was real and I just didn't get it.

An icon popped into view as soon as that thought finished playing in my head.

"What the fuck?!"

Naofumi jumped back.

"What?!"

"It…it appeared," I let him know, reminding myself to keep my voice down.

"That's great!" Naofumi burst out with excitement, his smile growing even wider than before.

The people around took notice of the commotion we were making, and even Myne up ahead stopped her carefree prancing.

"Yeah, it's great," I told Naofumi. "But let's keep it between us, okay? We'll talk more about it later, in private."

He gave me a knowing look and nodded his head, so we dropped the subject and continued walking.

"What was that about?" Myne asked when we caught up to her.

"I…uhhh…I touched the shield and it was awesome," I lied. "Always wanted to touch a Holy Weapon."

Naofumi snickered by my side, and Myne rolled her eyes before she resumed walking. The whole falling head over heels for the heroes bit drained me, it felt awkward as all hell, but it was the best cover story I could come up with so I had to roll with it.

We fell silent after that, following Myne to the blacksmith, and the lull in the conversation allowed me time to explore this Status Magic. I focused on the icon, and a whole menu appeared before my eyes. It was semi-transparent, and it overlaid my view of the world without blocking it entirely. The icons glitched out for a brief moment, stretching and contorting before they stabilized.

'This really is awesome.'

All of a sudden, a lot of things made sense. Why the currency went up in tiers, why people talked about levels and monsters, why the balloons had an average drop rate. This was a damn MMO, or at the very least a world working like one. I could make use of that, since I was familiar with MMOs.

Kenji Hiroto Lv ?

That was displayed in the upper left corner. Below it were a red health bar that was about half drained, an orange bar, and a green bar. I needed to find out what those other two were.

I also had some other icons scattered about, and a list of tabs in the lower left corner. From right to left, they read status, item, magic, skill, recipe, party, contract, and help. The thing that got me curious however was the lv ? right next to my name. I wouldn't expect to start out as a high level, but why was it unknown? Focusing on it didn't provide more details, so I decided to explore the tabs.

None of them would open, all they gave me was a notification:

Please imprint a weapon archetype to the naked Core to unlock full functionality.

'What the hell? What's that supposed to mean? Do I need to equip a weapon to access the stats? What kind of shitty MMO is this?'

"You okay?" Naofumi asked out of the blue, diverting my attention from the menu.

"Yeah, just a bit confused. This whole Status Magic thing will take some getting used to."

"It's a bit overwhelming," Naofumi admitted.

We reached the blacksmith a few minutes later.

"I wholeheartedly recommend this place," Myne said, opening the door for us and showing us inside.

The room was full of displays, showing off weapons, armor, and other pieces of equipment. I marveled at it, and by the sounds of it, so did Naofumi.

"So this is what a weapons shop looks like," he said, looking around with enthusiasm.

A burly man idled behind the counter, his head shaved bald and his face framed by a thick beard. He was big and muscular, wearing a brown apron over a simple gray shirt. He looked happy to see us judging by the kind smile he put on.

"Welcome," he greeted. "Is this your first time in a weapons shop? You sure know how to pick 'em!"

"Actually, she brought us here," Naofumi answered, bringing attention to Myne who scurried behind him.

"Have we met before, Miss? Why do you look so…familiar?"

"I've come shopping here before," she explained, hiding further behind Naofumi. "Your shop is quite famous, you know."

It was a bit fishy, but hey. She bought my lie and didn't question it, so I'd repay her in kind. No reason for me to stick my nose in other people's business.

"Ain't that nice of ya!" The man said with glee. "By the way, who's your companion with the funny outfit?"

Naofumi looked a bit self-conscious about the remark, and I was happy that I took Helia's offer to ditch my own earth clothes. Myne quickly came to his defense.

"Can't you tell?"

"You mean you're one of the heroes?" He asked, leaning closer to take a better look. His eyes landed on Naofumi's shield, and his warm smile up to that point turned ever so slightly malicious. "Ah, I see you've got a shield. You must be the dud."

Ouch. Naofumi gave an awkward laugh in answer, but even I felt that jab. Did people not like him for some reason? He took it in stride, but I would've jumped the counter and decked him for insulting me like that.

'Guess he's more of a hero than I am,' I thought, realizing how out of line my actions would've been.

"I'm Naofumi Itawani, the Shield Hero!" He introduced himself. "Pleased to meet you!"

"Naofumi, eh?" The man said. "Well, if you'll be a regular, I don't give two hoots if you wield a shield. Nice to meet ya, kid, I'm Erhard."

That lifted Naofumi's spirits right back up. The three of them kept talking, asking for equipment and prices and whatnot, but I faded in the background since their haggling didn't concern me. I browsed the displays, looking at swords and other weapons, only somewhat paying attention to what they said.

"...our budget is about, let's see, 250 silver," Myne said.

That made me perk up, it was quite the sum to throw around. But then again, they did have the King on their side, so it made sense they had money to spend.

'No matter, I'll earn my own,' I decided, running my finger across the spine of a blade.

The metal was cold and slick, and the edge felt very sharp. I'd have no problem killing monsters with a weapon like that. I couldn't afford it right off the bat, of course, but even a beginner weapon would be better than my bare hands.

Erhard went around the shop, gathering a few swords and bringing them to the counter. He laid them out, so I joined to listen.

"From left to right, that's iron, magic iron, magic steel, and silver iron, in ascending order of price," he explained. The sword I had touched was magic steel, so about half-way up the scale and likely quite expensive. "I guarantee they're all quality swords."

"Wow," Naofumi said, reaching for one of the swords. "With one of these, even I could…"

His hand closed around the handle of a sword and he tried to lift it, but bolts of electricity shot out of the blade. He dropped it and jumped back, as did the rest of us.

"What the…"

He went for another one, and I took another step back just to be safe. It also electrocuted him, and by the looks of it harder than the first sword. Naofumi threw it away, knocking all of the weapons off the counter, and one of them embedded in the floor at his feet tip first.

"Seriously, what's going on?" He asked.

"I don't get it either," Erhard answered, rushing out from behind the counter and getting by his side.

"It looked like it just flew out of your hand," Myne added.

I looked at the shield, then at the swords, and it clicked.

"You're probably the wrong class for those," I said. "If it's like an MMO, it makes sense you'd only be able to wield class specific items."

"Legendary Weapon rule violation," Naofumi said, likely reading a game prompt only he could see. "Holding non-assigned weapon. A hero may not hold, with intent to fight, any weapon other than their assigned legendary weapon. Guess you're right, Kenji…"

He seemed crushed by the revelation, and I could understand why. His assigned legendary weapon was a damn shield, how was he supposed to fight with that?

'He's not supposed to fight,' I realized. 'He's a tank class. Support. Damn, sucks for him.'

"Well, it looks like I can't use anything other than this shield," he said.

"How does that work?" Erhard asked, approaching Naofumi and leaning down to the level of his shield. He pulled out a magnifying glass and examined it. "It looks like any other small shield at a first glance. Doesn't it come off?"

He got his hands on it and tried to pry it off, but it didn't work.

"I can move it around," Naofumi answered, "but I can't remove it from my body."

'Huh,' I thought, remembering the weapon core embedded in my own chest.

They were all focused on Naofumi, so I snuck a hand in my tunic and tried to push the core. It moved, from my sternum to my left pectoral, morphing the flesh and bones in its way without effort or even an iota of pain. That was good, if I could move it around I could hide it more easily. For the meantime though, I pushed it back in the middle of my chest.

"That's so weird. I sense a great amount of power in this thing," Erhard said, tapping the shield's core. "But my appraisal magic isn't telling me much." He got back to his feet and put the magnifying glass away. "Well, thanks for showing me something interesting. Want to buy some armor instead?"

He got some armor for Naofumi, some nice looking chainmail, so he went into the changing booth to try it on. Myne idled by the drapes waiting for him, so I pulled Erhard aside.

"Say, do you have any cheaper weapons?"

"Sure, I'll add them to Naofumi's total."

Myne perked up, but I talked before she could.

"I'm not in his party, we're just…acquaintances. My budget is five bronze," I said, not expecting much, if anything, for that meager sum.

Erhard rubbed his beard, but the look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

"Cheapest weapons I have are daggers for about 3 silver."

"Not as bad as I expected, I can get that kind of money in a few days," I answered.

Still, not having access to most of the menu for a few more days really sucked. I needed to hurry up and farm as fast as I could. The idea of asking Naofumi for help did cross my mind, not for free of course but as part of his team. That way it wouldn't be a handout, I'd pay him back for it.

Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. I'd stick around him and ask to join once he'd be done here. Going solo sounded like more fun, but there was strength in numbers. If I messed up, I'd have people to back me up.

Naofumi left the changing room a few minutes later, and I have to admit, he looked good. Better than he did in his earthly clothes, anyway.

"You're starting to look the part now," Erhard said, making him blush.

"Thanks."

"How much is it?" Myne asked.

"I'll give it to you at a discount, 120 silver," Erhard answered.

"And the buyback price?" She asked.

That was smart of her. Beginner gear wouldn't be useful for long, so if they could sell it back even at a fraction of the price, it was a way to recuperate some of the loss. Naofumi was in good hands with her, despite her strange behavior at times.

"If it's mostly still new, 100 silver," Erhard answered.

Naofumi asked her about it, and she pretty much explained the same thing to him.

"Makes sense," he admitted.

"Alright, we'll take it."

"Thanks, I'll throw in some innerwear to show my gratitude," Erhard said with a satisfied smile and a thumbs up.

Naofumi counted the silver pieces and handed them over, and Myne got on the move.

"Shall we head off to battle now, sir Hero?" She asked with enthusiasm.

"Yeah," Naofumi answered.

He threw his bag over his shoulder, getting on the move with a glint in his eyes. I swallowed back my pride, feeling it scratching my throat on the way down, and reached out to grab Naofumi's arm. He was taken aback, but he stopped and looked at me with curiosity.

"Can I join your party, Naofumi?" I asked. "I want to become an adventurer too, to grow stronger."

Naofumi sighed, and by the door, Myne blew a gasket. Her smile turned strained in a heartbeat, and her eyes narrowed with pent up anger.

"Can we get a moment?" Naofumi asked. "I need to discuss something with Kenji in private."

"Sir Hero, you shouldn't…" Myne started.

"Please," Naofumi pressed. "It won't be long, and we'll go level up after."

She didn't seem to like it, but she left and shut the door with force.

"You too," Naofumi told Erhard.

"Kid, this is my own damn shop!" The man blew up.

"That how you treat loyal customers?" Naofumi pouted. "If that's the case, I might have to…"

"Fine, fine," Erhard gave up. "I have some stuff to do in the back of the shop, but make it quick."

He left as well, and a thousand thoughts raced through my head all at once. Was I wrong about Naofumi? Wrong to trust him or ask for his help? Why did he want to be alone with me, did he not want to hurt my feelings by turning me down in front of other people?

"Where's your weapon?" He asked.

"Don't have one. That's…that's why I want to join your party, so…so you'll buy me one. But I'll pull my weight and pay you back, I promise," I explained.

Groveling like that, hearing the words coming out of my own mouth, it felt wrong. So, so very wrong. Each and every syllable burned my tongue and seared my lips.

"You unlocked Status Magic," Naofumi continued. "Plus there are rumors going around about a fifth hero, and that can only be you. So show me your weapon."

I sighed.

"Promise you won't tell a soul about this," I demanded.

Naofumi raised an eyebrow, but he promised. I parted my tunic to reveal the weapon core in my chest, and he let out a loud gasp.

"What the…"

"I don't know, I don't understand it yet either," I admitted. "But it's asking me to imprint a weapon archetype to it before I can use it."

"Hmm…" Naofumi mumbled. "Here's the thing, I'd love to accept you in my party. I have to form my own since no one except for Myne joined me. But that…" he said, jabbing a finger at the core, "...makes you a hero. And we can't stick together, proximity to other heroes gives us a huge exp debuff for some stupid reason."

"Oh, for fucking real?" I groaned. I swallowed my pride and asked for help for the first time in my life, only to be cockblocked by some idiotic mechanic like that?

"Yeah, for real," Naofumi answered with disappointment. "So I'm very sorry, but I can't accept you. We'll have to go at it on our own. But if you want, I can lend you money for some basic equipment, with an interest of course," he added with a sly smile.

"No," I refused his offer. I wouldn't ask for help another time, my soul couldn't survive that.

"You sure?" Naofumi asked. "I won't make it big, only 10%."

"I'm sure. I'll earn my own money."

"Okay, well see you around then," he said and left the shop.

I waited for a few minutes, to make sure he'd get far enough away so we wouldn't run into each other again. Erhard returned, surprised when he still found me there.

"Let me guess, he turned you down?" He asked. I just nodded my head. "Yeah, the kid did strike me as the kind of guy that only wants cute girls in his party. Most of the heroes have been perverts like that, so don't take it too hard."

"It wasn't that," I answered, trying to figure out how to defend his character without exposing my secret. "It's just…"

"You don't have to tell me, don't worry about it."

"Thanks." I got ready to leave, but an idea crossed my mind. "Say, do you have any gloves for 5 bronze?"

Erhard pinched his eyebrows, muttering something under his breath as he reached beneath the counter. He pulled out a pair of fingerless orange gloves and tossed them at me.

"Orange balloon gloves," he said. "They're pretty worn, so I can part with them for 5 bronze. But they don't have any armor, they're meant for manual labor not fighting."

"I don't need them for fighting," I answered, giving him the last of my money before leaving.

A/N: And that's about it for this one. A few notes before I leave though:

-I'll give everyone names. People like the medicinal shop owner didn't get one in canon, but I don't like going "the old man" with everyone. So he's Hadmar. Will the names be good? Likely not.

-I'll probably mess up the timeframe of the original series here and there. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident. My focus is on keeping the events in the right order though, not necessarily worrying over the timespans between important events.

-Will everything make sense by the end? Hopefully, but it's unlikely. I've yet to finish reading the light novels, so I'm gonna break stuff without even realizing it. But eh, whatever, what's important in the end is that what's here is internally consistent.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and will keep enjoying this story, and I can't wait to hear from you in the comments :D