Before Departure: Fana & Fon
“Lady Fana.”
“What is it?”
“You seem to be buying quite a lot, but will you really use all of this? I’m not sure if I should say this, but with this much, it seems like you wouldn’t need to buy new ones for over a decade.”
“Ah, normally that would be the case.”
Royal Capital Commercial District, Smithy Area.
Instead of having shops that specialize in selling weapons, there are places directly connected to smithies that sell weapons, making it a suitable place to stock up on supplies.
Fana and Fon were walking through this area, each carrying bags filled with a large number of swords and hidden weapons.
Generally speaking, the quality of the weapons here is decent, and even if they were treated roughly, one wouldn’t need to buy more for over a decade. Despite already buying such a large quantity, Fon hesitated before asking Fana, who was about to buy even more.
The reason Fon couldn’t outright say that it was unnecessary was because he had also received a large number of daggers and other hidden weapons, which he used frequently in his fighting style. However, even considering that, the question of whether they needed even more weapons was nagging at Fon’s mind.
“Alright, Fon, let me explain.”
“W-What is it, exactly?”
“The more weapons you have, the better.”
“…Huh?”
A voice filled with astonishment, as if saying, “What are you talking about?” escaped Fon’s lips.
Ignoring that, Fana continued with an upbeat tone.
“Naturally, both Ferno and I consume weapons at a rapid pace. If Ferno were to go all out and needed to use weapons, he would consume over a dozen weapons in a single battle.
If I try to imitate Ferno’s fighting style, the weapons will break, and even if I don’t, I have to use my sword to block attacks since I can’t use a shield. If I do that, of course, the sword will shatter.”
“…That’s true, but…”
“Right? Besides, something has happened that made Ferno change his plans. Considering that, it’s only reasonable to prepare for anything that might happen.”
“I see… but isn’t this a bit too much?”
“Is it? It’s only about two hundred and some odd pieces, right? I haven’t even touched the money I was given for preparations, and I’m buying this with my own personal funds, so there’s no problem.”
A logical response. Fon had seen Ferno’s fighting style and how his weapons broke in an instant, so he was convinced by Fana’s explanation.
Also, it was true that she hadn’t touched the preparation funds given to Fon, not Fana, so Fon decided not to delve any deeper.
Well, the truth was that this purchase was mostly to satisfy Fana’s personal desires, and the reasons she gave were only about a third of the truth.
A collecting habit without hesitation to consume.
A problem that Fana had that Ferno couldn’t correct.
A kind of uncontrollable urge to immediately buy any weapon she could handle if she found it in a weapon shop.
In the beginning, she would use shared funds and even take out loans to buy weapons, but she was eventually restrained to only using her own personal funds for unnecessary purchases. Furthermore, since Ferno was the one who basically held the purse strings, this collecting habit hadn’t been apparent.
The fact that she had been limited and that she didn’t hesitate to use the collected weapons was a saving grace, but other than that, Ferno had given up on trying to fix it.
Now that the person holding the reins (Ferno) was gone, she had gained freedom and was going from weapon shop to weapon shop, buying swords and hidden weapons indiscriminately.
Although Ferno had warned her not to buy too much beforehand, unfortunately, those words had not remained in her mind.
“…Come to think of it, the leader told you not to buy too much.”
“He wouldn’t know if I didn’t tell him, so it’s fine. I can just say that I bought more hidden weapons because I don’t know how much they’ll wear out with the changes in my fighting style due to getting stronger.”
“………Well, I won’t say anything, but don’t blame me if you get caught, okay?”
“Ah, if I get caught, I’ll just deal with it then.”
Fana, responding with an optimistic mindset to Fon’s words, who had remembered Ferno’s warning, headed towards the next weapon shop.
It seemed that she had some sense of reason, as she wasn’t buying up everything in sight and was checking her wallet each time, showing some rational behavior.
That being said, if she were caught, Ferno would punish her, and Fana’s wallet, which had gained freedom, would once again be restrained in Ferno’s hands.
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“Lady Fana, may I ask one more question?”
“What is it?”
After asking why she was buying so many weapons and being convinced by her answer, Fon asked another question after they had visited a few more shops.
A question had come to mind about the criteria for choosing the weapons she decided to buy, so Fon posed it to Fana.
“Why are you choosing swords that aren’t of such high quality?”
“Huh? Is that so? I’m choosing ones that can easily cut off a Dragon’s head without needing to be sharpened.”
“That’s true, but… you haven’t bought any Unique Weapons or Magic Swords, have you? I was wondering why.”
“Ah, that.”
Unique Weapons are weapons with special abilities, such as being unbreakable or having blades that can extend. Magic Swords are swords that have magic embedded within them, allowing the user to wield magic by channeling it through the sword.
Naturally, weapons with such abilities are quite expensive. However, considering that she had bought over two hundred and fifty pieces, it wasn’t an amount that she would hesitate to spend.
That’s why Fon wondered why she wasn’t buying them. At the very least, they were superior to ordinary swords and would probably last longer.
“It’s simple, those things are useless.”
“…Eh? But if they’re being sold around here, they should be usable, right?”
“Ah, they can certainly demonstrate their abilities. However, I can say with certainty that those things are completely useless in battle.
Well, they might look good enough to be displayed as decorations, but if you have time to use those abilities, you’d be stronger if you just punched first.”
“…Then, what about Unique Weapons? If they have abilities like being unbreakable, you wouldn’t need to activate them, and they should last longer than ordinary Iron Swords, right?”
“Ah, those are only unbreakable by normal standards. If Ferno uses his power, they’ll shatter in an instant and become unrepairable, and even if I use them, they’d be lucky to last a week.”
“…?”
“It’s exactly as I said. Think about it, if you just set a sword on fire and swing it around, would you be able to damage Will or Zem? If you make yourself invisible, would you be able to hit Crew or Jero?”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
“You understand, don’t you? That’s the point. There’s no way we can fight in the world we’re in using such toys. It’s more effective to just grab an ordinary Iron Sword and punch them head-on, as that would do more damage and actually hit them.”
“Well, you’re the only ones who can do that… but you’re right, now that I think about it.”
“Right?”
The answer to Fon’s question was simple if you thought about it calmly.
The world that Fana and the others were fighting in was a Transcendent World where the abilities of Unique Weapons and Magic Swords were useless.
If they wanted to make them work, they would need abilities that could reliably hit with each swing, instantly causing necrosis in the affected area, or the ability to open holes in space and freely move between sub-dimensions and reality.
The only exception would be the Holy Sword wielded by the Hero. The full extent of its power is unknown, but it is a unique weapon that is stronger than any other weapon in this world, and it is guaranteed to be able to interfere with causality.
However, Ferno and Fana see it as nothing more than a light source.
“Do you want to try using one?”
“No, it’s fine. I just thought they were superior and more durable than ordinary weapons. I thought that using them would reduce consumption.”
“Ah, I see. They are indeed durable, but if Ferno goes all out, any weapon, no matter what it’s made of, will be destroyed.
I try not to waste weapons unnecessarily and try to control my power, but… basically, if I swing with all my might, even orichalcum, adamantite, or scarlet metal will be destroyed or shattered in less than five attacks.”
“…That’s insane.”
“He’s the strongest human I know. If Ferno were to lose in a head-on fight… that would be the end of humanity.”
“Well, it’s fine. Let’s go to a few more shops.”
“Understood. What about after that?”
“I’ll look for sharpening stones and other maintenance tools at the merchant guild. I might also look for small containers to store the hidden weapons.”
“You don’t have to go out of your way to look for those… Understood.”
“Indulge yourself. Either way, once the request is fulfilled, the money you used will be paid by the country, so you might as well use it to your heart’s content.”
“I can’t do that, obviously.”
“Is that so? Well, I can’t use it either.”