Chapter 4

Dinner was... Interesting. A strange soup made of fruit, bread with little bits of dried fruit on it, and at this point it wasn't surprising, fruit juice. This told me one of two things.

Either they were trying to make the heroes all die on a toilet with the excess fibre. Or their lands were extremely fertile and grew an incredible amount of fruit and grain. Well, at least I wouldn't have to worry about the people starving while I was out killing monsters... or something...

This world, and the apparent system around it, was so much like a game I was starting to wonder. I mean, sure, back in Orario, I had my status on my back, and it gave a general outline of my abilities. But if that was all you knew about me, or any adventurer, you'd be in for a nasty shock if you thought that was all they could do.

But here? No... It was numbers. Lots of numbers. Actual numbers for 'experience points', numbers on equipment (my clothing gave me +2 physical and magical defence along with its other two abilities), and even elemental affinity(with the -100 fire affinity proving I at least kept something of my old self). My shield (Small shield, Legendary Weapon) gave me +6 physical and +4 magical defence, but apparently there was a 'mastery' system too? I had no idea how it worked, but there was a little tag under all the info that said 'mastery +3 physical defence'.

After we'd cleared our plates, we set our utensils down and started to stand. Almost as soon as we'd gotten to our feet, the two women from the kitchen appeared and took away our dirty dishes.

The other three were silent, but I looked up at the two as they worked, "Thank you for the meal."

Oddly, and half expected, one looked at me with a hint of distaste, but the other gave me a polite nod. The other three gave me a bit of a smirk, like they were in on a joke, but Itsuki opened the door for us and stepped out.

The lady from before was still there, and actually seemed relieved that we weren't waving our weapons around anymore. "This way please, your room has been prepared."

She led us back into the 'well decorated' area of the castle, then up a couple flights of stairs. All the while, I was thinking about how to proceed. Aside from having been shrunken to my biological age, I was in a world with a known threat on the horizon, and a limited ability to make myself stronger. Unless I found some way around my almost nonexistent attack stat...

Then there was the other problem. Either this world didn't have 'beast folk' or what ever you called non-humans like me and I was being treated like a Xenos. Or they DID have them, and they were incredibly racist. The King openly snubbing me after summoning me? Most of the staff looking at me in disgust? I mean, sure, I was a literal eight year old... But still!

Then there was the last bit... I had no access to falna. I had no idea how strong the monsters of this world were, but if I had any of my adventurer abilities... But being cut off from my adventurer abilities meant only one thing.

There were no Gods here. There was no rule in place for that kind of ability, and thus, the ability could not exist. Some of my Kitsune abilites worked, but they were closer to 'monster' abilities, and this world had monsters.

The not-maid interrupted my thoughts, stopping at a room with a 'here's your prize' motion with her hands, "Your room, noble heroes."

We entered, and it was in all respects, a very nice room. Not a royal suite, but something you'd expect for say, the 'visiting diplomats' or something. Four big four post beds with dark curtains in each corner, a little 'common area' in the middle with a nice couch several padded chairs, a little table with a bowl of fresh fruit silver cups and a water pitcher, floor to ceiling windows on one wall, and a little door that led to a balcony. Everything smelled clean, the room was warmed by a little fireplace (lit and well ventilated) and the carpet under the 'common area' was ornate.

"Huh, not bad." Motoyasu said, stepping in and skipping the chairs to plunk his rear at the foot of a bed. "Guess being a hero gets you special treatment. And that lady who showed us here was pretty cute too."

He grinned at us, even though we were all giving him a similar look. I suppose he did have the 'tall handsome' thing going for him.

"Dinner was good, though the tastes were strange." Itsuki said, sitting in a nice chair.

"You've been looking into the distance." Ren looked at me, "Have you never seen a status screen before?"

I 'looked away' from the status screen to minimize it, "I'm used to seeing it on paper." I said, still not used to hearing my own voice, "Seeing it like this is... odd."

"You've probably never played a VR game before." Itsuki said gently.

"Or even a video game before." Motoyasu chuckled, "This is almost exactly like Emerald Online." I gave him a puzzled look, "It's a super famous game where we're from."

The other two gave him a similar look, "What are you talking about?" Itsuki asked, "It's a world out of a console game, Dimension Web."

"You're wrong. It's a VRMMO." Ren said, having forgone comfort and standing, arms crossed, "It's pretty much the exact same as Brave Star Online."

We all paused, then Motoyasu stood up, "Let's sort out the information we have. Ren? Can we take VRMMO literally?"

"Yeah."

"You... well I suppose you wouldn't know, would you?" He looked at me.

I decided to meet him half way in his expectations of my intelligence, "Some style of game?"

It was actually kind of amusing to watch the three of them try and come up with a simple way to explain it to me. Ren beat the other two to the punch, "It's a game that feels almost like reality."

"And this magic system makes you think its one of those games?" I motioned with a hand where the 'status screen' would appear for any of us.

"You're getting it." Motoyasu grinned, "Hmm, well aside from you I guess, who's the face on the 1000 yen bill? One, two..."

"Yawara Gotaro." "Yuda Masato." "Kodaka Enichi." They said at the same time. I was super tempted to say 'Yamato Takeru', the face on the very first 1000 yen bill (thanks to helping Maki with her history I actually had an answer here), but no, I kept silent.

"Who?" They all asked together, confused.

I had a sudden sinking feeling in my gut.

That feeling only festered as they started throwing questions at each other. Famous actors? Who won world war two? Who's the prime minister? And all three of them had different answers.

I came to the conclusion long before they did, and distracted myself by eating a weird peach shaped fruit and drinking a bit of water.

"It seems we're all from different versions of Japan." Itsuki said, plunking his rear back into a chair.

"Looks like it... They sound nothing alike." Ren said.

"Different books with the same title." I said.

"Heh, not a bad analogy." I moved my head away from Motoyasu's hand as it started to towards me, "My bad." He chuckled, "But yeah, it sounds more like parallel worlds, not just different era. I mean, aside from the runt here, we're all from Japan, but they're too different to be the same world."

"One day, I'll be taller than you." I said, squinting at him.

"Keep thinking that Kid."

"It's odd how we seemed to have played different games, that are almost the same as this world." Ren said, picking up one of the fruits as well.

"Even so, at least we aren't here blind." Itsuki said.

"With what I know of Emerald Online, this will be simple." Motoyasu grinned, doing another silly spear flourish that nearly knocked over a chair.

The three of them looked at me again, and I could see the... It wasn't pity. Not quite. More like... looking at the last person to be picked for a school team or something.

But instead of getting angry or flinching or shying away, or any number of things, I looked at Motoyasu, "If you're that confident, you should at least know how to hold that spear properly."

The other two blinked, then laughed (Itsuki more than Ren), while Motoyasu frowned, insulted. "Oh? What would you know then?"

He then pointed the spear at me. The point was still about an arm's length away from me, but he was holding it one handed someplace just behind the centre of the shaft.

The other two seemed surprised at how fast that escalated, but even at my current height and apparent strength, I felt about as threatened as someone looking at a sleeping cat (aware the cat had claws, but not stupid enough to startle the cat into using them).

"With a grip like that, you'd hurt yourself if you didn't pierce what ever you were trying to stab." Then, just to be super cheeky, "I know you're used to using one hand, but when you have enough length you need both hands."

That made even the sullen seeming Ren laugh, while Itsuki started to really shake, almost giggling.

Motoyasu growled, but then seemed to snap out of it and relaxed, standing tall and shrugging, "Well, the Shield has to fight somehow." And he joined in on the laughter for a moment.

When they settled, they looked at me again, "Yes. The shield is the worst class. The most unpopular, the hardest to level, and no high level players use it." Ren said.

Ah, there was the pity.

Again, I shrugged, "You'd be surprised how useful a shield can be." I paused, then yawned.

"Past your bed time huh?" Motoyasu teased. "If there was a top bunk, I'd let you have it. If you aren't afraid of heights that is."

"I wonder if my lack of attack power means I can kick you in the shin?" I wondered out loud.

"Can you even reach that high?" He replied, standing with his spear over his shoulder and making a 'come here' gesture with his other hand.

I waved him away, "Too much effort."

We spent another moment or two being amused, then we all got serious again. "We should get some rest." Ren said, "We'll have to split up and find our own hunting grounds."

"I hope the King finds decent people for us to party with." Itsuki said.

"Heh, so long as they can keep up! Hopefully there'll be some cute girls... like a mage in a little robe or something!" Motoyasu laughed, "Or a curvy Amazon! Do they even exist here?"

I sighed, thinking of my own curvy Amazon, then my even more curvy wife (with her hidden girly abs) then our children, Familia, friends...

I stood up and headed towards the balcony door, the sudden motion making the others go silent.

"Dude, he's just a kid." I heard Ren mutter.

"Gotta learn someday right?"

I sighed and looked up at the stars. I was hardly tall enough to look over the stone crenellations around the balcony! Looking up at the little twinkling points in the sky, I tried to extend my thoughts, reach out and pray to Hestia, as I did when I was sent to Kuoh. I had to let them know I was alive, that I was okay...

But... I felt nothing. No hand on my back. No warmth. Nothing. There were no Gods here, and thus my prayers were nothing but thoughts. I sighed, looking down at my little slipper covered feet, then started to pat my pouches. Reaching into the one that held 'delicate items', I took out my wedding ring.

Again, the minimized status window icon flashed. This time, I focused on the icon and called up the status window.

Ring of Memory

A ring made from unknown metal and treated with unknown magic. Incompatible with (error). Indestructible due to (error).

I looked away from the angry status window and it closed, leaving behind the two flashing 'error' messages. But since I had the ring out, I held it between my palms and closed my eyes. Yes, everything was still there. Haruhime's smile, her eyes, her hair, the feel of her skin, the scent on her neck the warmth of her embrace...

From behind me, I heard them laughing. It was sudden enough to bring me back from getting lost in Haruhime's... or rather, the memory of her inside the ring. This made me think of something else. If holding an object was all it took...

I went through my pouches, tucking the ring back into the 'delicate items' pouch, and started doing an equipment check.

Bottle of Healing Pills: Small pills that can restore HP and recover minor physical afflictions.

Bottle of Mana Pills: Small pills that can resore MP and recover minor mental afflictions.

Scrap of high quality metal: A shard of metal of otherworldly manufacture.

Square of Monster Wool fabric: A handkerchief made from the wool of a monster.

Multipurpose pouches: Sturdy pouches that include special compartments for delicate items.

Cookie: A little confection wrapped in paper. Will restore a small amount of SP.

Something caught my eye while I was scanning my 'inventory'. The wall behind me, seemed to be reflecting a bit of a green glow. A slow, dim pulsing light that I would have missed if my vision weren't more for greens (hence my mild red colourblindness). Taking my shield off my back and letting it 'magnetize' to my arm, I wondered what it was doing, and why it just suddenly stopped.

So, I applied a bit of scientific method, and repeated what I'd just been doing. I took out my healing and mana pill bottles, and yes, the glow started again. "Ah crap." I exclaimed as the two vials vanished. They weren't pulled from my grip so much as 'absorbed' out of it.

"Whoa..." I couldn't help myself as my status window changed to... something else.

It started in the middle of a huge honeycomb of (?) icons, with a single icon that looked much like the 'small shield' on my arm. As the glow from the gem faded, that network of connected (?)'s scrolled around until it got to one a long way from the centre shield, and a little message popped up as the icon changed from a (?) to a (!)

Level too low.

Was this how the legendary weapons grew then? The book said something about this, but I had assumed it involved monster slaying, not monster items... Though, for me they were the same thing. Sadly, the potion vials were just... gone. But was that all?

I took out the bookmark. There was basically no way I could do anything with this, even if I tossed it into a forge and melted it down. At best, I could have made a nail file with the material. But maybe the shield wanted it?

Again, the item in my hand vanished, and the lattice of (?) icons zipped around. Back to the centre, then past it in the opposite direction, it stopped again, the (?) changing to a (!).

Level too low. Insufficient material.

Huh... I'd have to make more of the stuff. I'd seen enough so far to know that metals were well known here, so that shouldn't be a problem. I'd need a workshop though...

A sudden yawn completely derailed my thoughts, and I had to steady myself on the wall for a moment. When was the last time I was this tired?

Oh right, before I'd been given falna.

I stepped back into the room, the other three still chatting. They fell silent, "Done stargazing?" Motoyasu chuckled.

"Was hoping to see something familiar." I replied, pointing to the bed nearest the balcony door, "I'm taking this one."

"You better not snore, Kodori-chan." Itsuki said with a bit of a smile.

"If that much keeps you awake, you'll have a rough time out there." I replied, waving my hand towards the balcony and the kingdom in general, "But I'll try not to."

The shield on my arm made it a bit awkward to sleep, and my lack of falna and most importantly 'the good sleep' it allowed all adventurers, meant I woke up a bit stiff on the side I had to sleep on. But I was still up and on my feet before even the maid had almost silently entered the room to do things like set down fresh water and the like for the wash basin.

I made sure to pause my morning stretches to bow a silent thank you, even if she looked at me as if I needed sweeping off the floor.

Her leaving however seemed to wake up the others, and they were all surprised to see me already up and going through my usual stretching routine. Sadly, my new body seemed to need a little reconditioning, and my lack of adventurer endurance meant I needed a moment of rest between push ups, squats and jumping jacks. But looking at the other three, who were just yawning, stretching and watching me with amusement...

Another thing that I'd lost, was the 'common strength' of just being a grown up. I had to use both hands to hold the water pitcher. Both hands to hold the cup I'd poured water in. Hop up into a chair so I could sit properly. Adjust my grip so I didn't drop things... Yes, my 'Weapon's Bane' curse was gone, as was my 'Titan's Grip' and 'Titan's stance'. Those were part of me being an adventurer, and... Well... No Gods, no falna.

After another meal (some kind of oat meal with dried fruit) a bit of cleaning up (no, they didn't have running water, but they did have several water pumps in the castle), we were brought before the King again.

This time, there were more people. LOTS more people. On the window side were castle guards and some 'armed nobles', visiting from other kingdoms? And in front of the King were an assortment of 'adventurer' types. Nonstandard armour, weapons ranging from a battle axe to a wizard staff, fitness levels ranging from 'willowy' to 'may be a half giant'... And on the windowless side, the side that went inward towards the rest of the castle were more obvious nobility. Nice clothes, a bit of makeup, styled hair, that kind of thing.

But one thing, something that hadn't escaped my notice (this time, as I'd missed it before) were that there was only one 'non-human' in the room. Even with the adventurers here.

Me. I was the only one with anything other than normal ears, the only one with a tail, and the only one with predator eyes. As the four of us lined up in front of the King again, I could almost feel the looks I was getting. I wasn't just an outsider here.

"Heroes." The King greeted as, "We have gathered brave warriors who will fight the waves with you legendary heroes."

Polite clapping from the nobility lined up on the 'wall' side of the throne room, as well as the upper balcony I hadn't noticed yesterday because I was too short.

"Now, future Champions. It is time for you to begin your journey!" The King said.

And to my surprise, and that of the other three, the adventurers in front of the king stepped forward towards us. They were choosing who to follow, not the other way around.

Of course, it was no surprise what so ever when no one stood behind me. Itsuki the Bow had three, a mage, a lady with a spear and a brute of a man. Ren the Sword had two magic users, a huge man with full plate armour, an archer and a martial artist. And Motoyasu the Spear had three women, a mage and two sword users.

After looking behind me, I turned around and faced the King. I didn't complain, I had suspected this might happen already after all the looks I'd been getting, and the fact I looked my literal age.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this." The King said, his face telling me that he bloody well did expect it.

The advisor played a bit of devils advocate, "A heroic weapon in the hands of a child isn't very inspiring."

A tall man, dressed like the wizards who'd greeted us after the summoning leaned down and whispered into the King's ear. He didn't turn his head, but glanced sideways at him, smiled so slightly it might have been imagined, then looked forward again.

"Well, rumours that the Shield Hero is unfamiliar with the world have already spread around town." He paused, but when I didn't try and defend myself he continued, "Our legends say the Heroes arrive with firm understanding of our lands, and it seems you do not meet that expectation."

Had I been at full strength, I'd have noticed that. But I did see the maid who'd led us to our rooms, and looked away from the king to focus on her for a moment, making her 'eep' just loud enough to be heard. Past that, my lack of 'reaction' seemed to puzzle the rest of the room.

Even the other three Heroes seemed at a loss for my lack of reaction.

"Is there no one who will join the Shield Hero?" The advisor on the King's left (the English version of Jafar) asked the room.

"I will." I heard from behind me.

I turned towards the voice and looked up at one of the women who had stood behind Motoyasu. Dressed in a set of leather armour and a skirt, with a long sword at her side and her (not quite Rias) red hair tied up in a high pony tail, she had all the markers for a 'noble woman playing dress up'. The sword was hanging off a belt that let it sway on her hip. Her skirt was a long stride from exposing her underwear (if people even wore underwear in this world), and her leather armour and boots were in absolutely perfect condition. So I gave her the most polite denial I could.

"Thank you, kind lady, but no thank you." I replied with a bow, fist in palm as I would to another warrior.

My reply to her offer stunned her, while the rest of the room started to mumble to the person next to them about how 'rude' and 'ungracious' and 'uncivilized' I was being.

Oddly enough, I actually got a look close to envy from Ren, while the other two heroes went wide eyed at me. The lady had a few false starts before replying, "A... Are you sure? Wouldn't you, of all the heroes need a companion?"

"Forgive me." I replied, "But I need a warrior, not a companion." I bowed again, then straightened and turned to face the King again.

Again, my words shocked the people in the room, and my ears twitched as they caught the sound of what might have been grinding teeth, but the King raised his head a little and the room simmered down.

"It seems we will have to take other measures then. Sir Kodori, you will have to recruit your own party."

"Yes Lord." I nodded.

"Each month, we will provide each hero with the funds they require, so they may improve their more mundane equipment, and that of their party. Because of the Shield Hero's unfortunate start, we will give him a little more to start."

The advisor took over, and four of the 'castle employees' walked out of the crowd along the wall. "Here are your initial war chests. Please accept it. Sir Kodori will receive 800 silver coins, while the others will be given 600."

It was a little embarrassing when the lady had to lean down and support my hand while she placed the heavy sack of coin into it. All the same, I bowed, then used both hands to hold the sack so I didn't drop it. I would have to learn about money, and quickly.

The king picked up again, "Use this to procure all the equipment you might need as you set forth on your journey."

"Yes Sir." The four of us said.

It had been forever since I had to avoid getting stepped on in a crowd.

Actually, no, there were a couple of times in the dungeon where I was fighting some overlarge monsters and giant feet were a real danger. But I was among civilized people right now, more or less, and following the other three heroes and their new parties out almost got me stepped on a few times.

"You going to be okay squirt?" Motoyasu asked, "Gonna be rough when all you'll have is the B-rank talent on the streets."

"It's a shame we can't really help you either." Itsuki said, "Since we can't even carry you up a couple of levels."

"A sword is more suited to a loaner play style." Ren said, "But if I leave any of my party behind I'll send them to find you."

Even if it was a little arrogant, overly cheerful or gloomy, I tried to give them my best smile as I replied, "I'm sure I'll be fine. Rough starts are common where I'm from. All I'll need is a tiny bit of luck."

"Open the Portcullis!" Someone called out, the main gate of the castle rumbling open as heavy chains lifted it up.

Then, just because I could, I stopped speaking Kione, Orario's language, and switched to Japanese. "Ganbatte, Ken, Yari, Yumi." And with the castle's portcullis open, I slipped away from the press of bodies, and started jogging towards town.

It wasn't like I was running just to get ahead of them. I mean, I was. But I also needed to figure out the limits of my body. This 'system' I was now under didn't have an Endurance stat or strength stat, so I suspected that was up to the person's actual body. Thankfully, my rigorous training from before I got here had translated somewhat, and running to the end of the long bridge from the castle to the town hardly winded me.

Speaking of... The Castle of Melromarc was pretty incredible. Built on top of its own little solid rock island in the middle of a super dense forest that had its own tall wall around it, it was clear this world knew war. At the very least, war against monsters. High walls, multiple tall lookout towers, a foundation of granite, and enough distance between the forest curtain wall and the 'island' the castle was on to give advanced warning of any potential invasion. It even had multiple 'wizard tower' styled towers overlooking the forest. To be fair, they looked a bit impractical, but then you just had to imagine an actual wizard in it. A commanding view and mastery over some kind of elemental attack magic...

But, it also looked nice. Knowing war, and looking war-torn were two different things, and this castle was well maintained.

Having caught my breath, I turned around walked towards the town. No surprise, the castle was overlooking the town itself, and yes, there was more evidence of 'war architecture'. In the distance, a surprising distance actually, was an outer wall for the city itself. Moving inward, you had lots of sensible stone walled and clay roofed buildings. A wide water canal that looked deep enough not just to supply water, but also move boats through. Then between there and the castle's personal forest wall, was more town.

Taking a deep breath, I could smell a vibrant, but not unclean city. Oh, and food... It had been an entire two hours since breakfast, and I could feel my nose telling my stomach where the smell was coming from. At least, that's what it felt like. But, food meant a market, and that's what I needed next.

This city was indeed lively, and reasonably advanced too. It almost felt like Orario honestly. The market, when I got to it, was full of energy. Merchants chanting about their wares. People bartering. Parents leading children around while they considered what to make for dinner. Visible differences between 'classes' of citizen, though even the poorest weren't dirty, just not wearing bright colours or shiny buttons. Actual demi-humans (it felt good to see cat ears again after that stuffy castle). Carts of goods being pulled by... Huh. Not horses.

No, there seemed to be two kinds of 'beasts of burden' in town. One, was a slender kind of 'land dragon'. They walked on four legs, but had more of a horse 'profile' so that even a normal human could ride it without sitting side saddle. Their skin was scaly, but more leathery than serpentine. They still had back facing horns and mean looking maws that had a bony snoot and a row of sharp teeth. Ranging in colour from brown to green, they seemed quite docile, but the claws on their feet were meant for hunting live prey.

The second were robust ostrich-like birds that had bright intelligent eyes and sturdy builds. Unlike ostrich, they had none of the 'slender' features. Their necks were a bit shorter, but thick like a horse. Their legs were still made for running, but you could see the muscles under the fluffy feathers as they walked. Unlike the dragons, they seemed to like looking around, and were more responsive to their owner's touch.

They also didn't like each other. Just before getting to the market street, I had been walking behind and to the left of a dragon, watching it as it just... did its job... in that 'bored horse' kind of way. Ahead, there was one of those birds leaving the market on the opposite side of the street. When they spotted each other, the dragon's long tail started to twitch, and its clawed feet started clicking on the cobblestone as it flexed its toes with each step, making ready to pounce. The bird on the other hand, started to puff up and lower its head, swaying it from side to side as if it were thinking of a good angle to strike.

But a tug on the reins of the bird, and a firm word to the dragon had them ignoring each other again... mostly. Kind of like the animal kingdom's version of a 'harrumph' before looking away and pretending to ignore the other.

Sadly, before lunch, I had to do some information gathering. Since I left the castle without a companion, and I was sure none of the castle staff would have bothered answering any questions, I knew basically nothing about money. The bag of coin I'd been given was pretty heavy for me, but between the castle's bridge and the market, I'd transferred much of it to my pouches. My belt of pouches was too big for me to wear around my (nonexistent) hips, so it was slung across my chest. This still left me with a bag of coin at the bottom of my 'belt' but the weight of the coin was must easier to handle now.

Another thing the shield was doing, was translating. So all I needed to do to gather information, was to stand near a stall (that was selling some kind of baked potato on a stick that smelled like exactly what my stomach wanted), and listen.

A few minutes later, I had an idea of the price, and a minute after that, I had traded a silver coin for one, and gotten nine bronze (not copper, but actual bronze) back. Average price of food for a day? Five bronze.

Simple goods like pouches, boxes, bits of fabric, fresh fish, and bread? One copper to about a silver.

Anything past 'single material' stuff started getting into the 'silver' territory. Glass bottles, candles, candle holders, 'fancy' cooked foods (like a meat and vegetable skewer... that I had three of...), spices, donations to a magic show (this told me that yes, 'casual' magic and illusion were a thing and well known in this world and also looked very pretty), that kind of thing.

Jewellery without any adornment looked was around ten silver, with a gem or multiple metals (copper was very popular, as was gold obviously, silver too but also steel). Gold coins also circulated in the kingdom, and they were valued at 100 silver.

So by the time I stopped thinking with my stomach, asked a few people about an armourer's shop, introduced myself as the Shield Hero a few times, assured them I really WAS the hero and not a kid playing dress up (even though I had to back up from the stall so the stall owner could see me... I felt super sympathetic to Lilly now...), I managed to find what I was looking for.

Located just within earshot of the busy market street, I spotted what was basically the universal sign for 'the weapon shop' in every RPG game I'd ever played. A sword over a shield. It was a sensible sturdy brick building, and yes, I could smell the tell tale scent of a coal forge. Thankfully, I was tall enough to reach the handle on the thick wooden door, but not strong enough to pull it open without a grunt of effort and a little ringing of bells from above me as the door opened.

Once inside and after pulling the door closed (making the bells ring again) I took a good look at the place. With a fairly wide floor, the walls were lined with weapons and armour of all kinds, and much of the floor was lined with cabinets and shelves with more things on display. Swords of various lengths, though all of them straight bladed. Spears. Shields. Helmets. A couple of full suits of plate on stands. And yes, the same scent of a 'hot workshop' in the air.

But the workshop was out of sight, and none of the dirt common to having a coal forge was present on the nice wood floor. This, I could tell, was a respectable place that saw good business.

From behind a counter way at the back (that also blocked off entry to the back third of the shop itself) another heavy door opened up. From it, a tall (taller than my former height at least) bald man with a short beard and muscular body stepped out. Wearing a sensible leather apron, a formerly white undershirt, tough looking pants and a belt of pouches and tools, he looked every bit the traditional blacksmith.

However, he also had heavy scars on his bare arms, clearly caused by monster claws and teeth. This man knew both sides of the weapons he made for certain.

Of course, being a child wearing bits of adventurer's equipment, he repeated the same thing most of the other shop keepers had when they saw me.

"Aren't you a bit young to be dressed up like that?" His voice suited his size, and I could easily imagine him shouting orders on the field. But, even with the question, he didn't sound mean, just kind of confused.

"You're not the only one who thinks that, master Smith. But no, I'm here for equipment." I lifted my left arm to show my shield to him. "I don't suppose you've heard, but yes, I'm the Shield Hero."

He paused, his head looking lower and lower until I stood in front of the counter opposite him. "Huh... The shield, and a child. Times are rough..."

"Just a moment." I said with a sigh.

I ignored his gaze as I went to a shelf filled with nice leather boots. Being a 'shoe stand' meant of course there would be a place to sit while you tried them on. So, with the heavy wood stool dragging along the floor, I pulled it over to in front of the counter, then hopped up onto it. Now that I didn't have to look up so high my neck hurt, I looked him right in the face.

"I'm not very happy about it either. But, I know what I'm doing." I extended my free hand, "Kodori. Shield Hero."

"Erhard." He replied extending his leather gloved hand (also sensible smith equipment for those not immune to fire), and made to shake my hand. He hesitated, since his huge paw dwarfed my own, so I instead reached just a bit further to grip his forearm. He grinned in response, "Well, we'll see about that. I don't really have anything that will fit you, if I'm honest. But if you're going to be a regular, I'm sure I can resize a few things."

"That'd be nice of you." I nodded, "But, if I'm going to adventure at all, I'm going to need some tools. The summoning spell basically took me out of my library back home, and all I had was what I'm wearing now."

"Well, take a look around. I'll see if I have something in the back you can use. Want me to put a hole or two in that sling of yours? Hang it off your belt properly?"

I looked down at my 'belt', then past it to my lack of hips, "Nah, it's useful this way."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged, "Don't hurt yourself. Stuff here is sharp."

While he went searching in the back room, I did a little tour of the shop. Of course, the first thing I thought of was 'what happens if I try and use a real weapon'. The answer? The weapon shocked me, and then fell out of my grip.

Then a little triangle warning sign appeared in that middle 'field' where my status window appeared, and a little message popped up. "Legendary Weapon Rule Violation: Holding non-assigned weapon. The hero may not hold with intent to fight, any weapon other than their assigned legendary weapon."

"Eh? You drop something?" Erhard popped his head out, from the back room.

"Seems the Shield won't let me use other things as a weapon." I said. "I wonder..." I picked up the fallen sword with one hand, but kept the 'intent' of using it as a weapon out of my mind, like I would a dinner knife or something. "Ha." And without issue, I put the sword back in place on the rack I'd gotten it from.

Well, even in another world, my inability to use weapons persisted. If there were Gods here, I'd have to kick them in the shin or something.

"That's way to big for you anyhow." He said, setting something down on the counter and coming over.

"I was just testing a theory. Though on the topic of 'sharp'. Have a good skinning knife?"

While we worked together to figure out what I could use without looking like a child playing dress up any more than I already did, I found out and noticed a few other things.

First, was every item I could 'use' gave me a little item description. For example, when I handled a breastplate (far too large for me, but I was checking for quality) a little popup appeared in my status window with the descriptor.

Iron Breastplate

ATT: 0

MAG: 0

PDEF: 25

MDEF: 15

DEX: -1

Slash, Pierce, Bludgeon resistance (Small)

Fire: 0

Water: 0

Ice: 0

Wind: 0

Earth: 0

Lightning: 0

Light: 0

Dark: 0

Weight: 13

Quality: Xxx

Unlock requirements: Humanoid Lv. 1

Other items gave me a similar popup, from boots to helms. A rather handy system, and so long as I actually gave things a look, I could tell if a bit of equipment was flawed or not.

The next, were some of the metals Erhard used. Iron, magic iron, magic steel, and silver iron, in order of cost. Most weapons also had an 'anti blood' enchantment at (what he claimed) no extra cost since the enchantment was so simple.

Another thing I noticed, was when ever I 'appraised' an item, like that breastplate for example, the simple little 'icon' for my status window had more to it. Just like a good RPG, there were sub menus. "Status. Item. Magic. Skill. Recipe. Party. Contract. Help." Speaking of, when the warning popped up, the Help icon was the one that started flashing.

I filed it away for later. I didn't want to spend time 'looking at nothing' while the nice shopkeeper was helping me get set for my trip.

NOTES!

Yes, almost instantly, we see more and more differences between that other guy and Kodori. See you next time.

Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!

aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!

And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.

And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!