“What’s up, old man!”
“It’s none of your business, old man!”
“Go away, old man!”
The boys, seeing a figure who looked strong like Feld, brandished their iron knives with bravado, perhaps because they outnumbered him.
…That’s Feld, right? It’s been a year, so I can’t be absolutely sure, but I haven’t forgotten him.
The figure who seemed to be Feld heard the boys’ words and grinned menacingly, a silhouette even against the backlight.
“I’m not an ‘old man’!”
Ah, it’s Feld.
Feld started punching the boys with his bare hands. The boys’ combat strength is around 40-50, so they might have [Martial Arts] level 1, but for Feld, who has a combat strength of 1500, weapons don’t make a difference.
He claims to be twenty years old… he’s twenty-one now, but is age and appearance something to worry about so much?
Without any particular highlight, he beat up the delinquent boys with his bare hands, and, feeling refreshed, noticed me watching him intently and raised a hand with a nice smile.
“Hey, kid. Are you alright?”
“Yeah…”
I really should have left this place before getting caught up in trouble.
Still, I felt a little reluctant to leave because I had reunited with him, who had been kind to a Street Urchin he had just met and taught me the first trick to survive.
What did he sense from my weak reaction? He grinned, baring his fangs.
“As I thought, you’re quite strong for your age. I thought you’d be fine even if you got tangled up with these guys, but ‘they’ told me to help you.”
“…………”
I guess he doesn’t remember a Street Urchin he only taught for a day.
My appearance has grown to about 11 years old, but if he doesn’t remember, there’s no need to force him to remember.
It’s enough that the child who couldn’t do anything at that time is now said to be strong by him. It’s enough if only I remember his kindness, and there’s no need to show it in my attitude.
“They?”
“Those boys.”
When I turned my eyes in the direction Feld was looking, two boys who looked to be in their early teens were standing at the entrance of the back alley.
There was also a woman-like figure wearing a hood behind them, but since Feld said “boys,” that person must be in a position like their bodyguard.
I could sense their good upbringing from them. I don’t know what kind of people they are, but even if they are wearing clothes to blend in with the common people, it’s better not to get too involved with them.
“Hey, are you okay?”
One of the boys, a boy with reddish, glossy blonde hair, approached with an excessively sweet smile.
“…No problem.”
“If possible, could you thank him? He seemed very worried.”
When I turned my gaze to that word, this boy also had well-defined features, but the boy with a soft smile that seemed to be popular with everyone slowly approached.
“…Thank you.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s my job to help the citizens.”
As I thought, he’s a noble’s child… I stayed here because of Feld, but I should leave immediately.
“No. Thank you very much.”
When I said thank you once more with innocuous words and tried to leave the place, the first red-haired boy secretly called out to me as we passed each other.
“You. You’re a girl, aren’t you, even though you’re dressed like that?”
“…………”
I stopped for just a moment at the unexpected words, and he blocked my way and peered into my face, which was hidden by the shawl.
“According to him, who directly helped you, you’re strong enough not to need help, right? What’s the reason for a child like that to dress like a boy and enter this back alley?”
The blonde boy seemed to be trying to help me purely, but this boy seemed to be suspicious of me and approached me.
“What’s wrong? Mikhail.”
“It’s nothing, El. I just can’t help but feel like I know this child.”
“Hee… now that you mention it, I don’t know the color of his hair, but I feel like he has a similar atmosphere to Mikhail.”
Hearing those words from the blonde boy—El—Feld and the indifferent hooded woman approached, perhaps intrigued.
This is troublesome… But I can’t cause a commotion in the Royal Capital now. Even if I were to break through by force, I felt the same level of power from Feld and the hooded woman as I did from Sera and Viro.
I owe Feld a debt. I don’t intend to become Feld’s enemy, but I don’t intend to trust everyone around him.
While I was searching for a way to leave here peacefully, Feld spoke to me again in a casual manner, unaware of my feelings.
“You’re an Adventurer, right? Your clothes and equipment are damaged. Shouldn’t you fix them?”
“…Yeah. I’m looking for the Dwarven Armory in the Royal Capital.”
The Adventurer tag is one thing, but the armor is the same hundred-year-old one that my master used, so the fabric parts, not to mention the leather and metal parts, were at their limit.
It wasn’t so bad that I had to do something about it right away, but I used it as a way to get away from them. Galbas’s younger brother, who gave me the Black Knife, should be in the Royal Capital, so I’ll use that as a reason too.
I don’t know the details about the Dwarven Armory in the Royal Capital. But even though Dwarven blacksmiths are famous, armor specialty stores should be rare. So, I tried to separate from them by using the reason that I was looking for it, but the hooded figure, who had been silent until then, opened her mouth.
“If it’s the Dwarven Armory, I know it.”
Saying that, she took off her hood and showed her face. She was a Forest Elf woman with soft chestnut hair, who are said to be on bad terms with the dwarves.
Judging from their conversation, Feld and the Forest Elf woman seem to be acting as bodyguards for the boys to see the city in disguise.
Well, I thought it would be like that from the looks of it, but for some reason, I ended up going to the Dwarven Armory with everyone, including the two noble-like boys, Feld, and the Elf.
I really don’t understand why it turned out like this.
I thought I could just say something appropriate and leave, but that red-haired boy—Mikhail—is strangely clinging to me.
Perhaps because of that, the other boy, El, also became interested in me, and I ended up walking through the city sandwiched between the two boys.
I don’t know why, but the two of them have good looks. I don’t want to stand out by being sandwiched between such two people, but I end up standing out.
“You’re taciturn. What are you wary of?”
“…With this many ‘people’ around.”
“Hee… you ‘understand’?”
The reason why I can’t run away from them by force is not only because of them, but also because there are several guards protecting them, hiding in the crowd.
If they are nobles, I was wary because I thought that the people who would be their guards would be like Sera’s organization, but their guards were people who fought with heavy armor and weapons that couldn’t even silence their footsteps.
I wonder if there’s a reason for that? Perhaps that’s why people like Feld are acting as the public-facing guards.
Anyway, the act of forcibly running away from such boys would be like saying that I’m suspicious.
“Mikhail, what are you talking about with him? It’s rare for you to be so interested in others.”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? I just can’t help but feel like I know him.”
“…………”
I don’t know what Mikhail is thinking, but El said earlier that I look like him. Impressions change depending on the feeling at the time, so it’s unreliable, but I could understand a little why Mikhail said he couldn’t help but feel like he knew me.
Mikhail and El seem to be friends, but I felt a “distance” that draws a line in their relationship with others. I felt that such a sense of distance was somewhat similar to me.
El doesn’t seem to have noticed that I’m a woman, but Mikhail, who noticed it, is wary of me and seems to be searching for my identity.
Feld probably doesn’t care about the two people following us right behind us, but the Elf woman is staring at me as if she’s observing me, so she may have noticed that I’m a woman too.
“Hey, what kind of things do you do as an Adventurer when you’re young like you?”
El smiles and talks to me without caring about the awkward atmosphere. I don’t have any obligation to answer, but I’m bothered by Mikhail’s amused gaze, so I reluctantly opened my mouth.
“Goblin hunting and wild grass gathering.”
“Goblins… I want to fight too, but is it impossible?”
Perhaps he’s not talking about his ability, but about his position. But I pretended not to notice that and simply summarized it as a story about combat.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. If you have the will to kill, you can kill.”
Combat is, after all, about whether or not you can kill without hesitation.
No matter how strong you are, no matter how much you overwhelm others with power, if you can’t kill your opponent, that becomes your weakness. Not killing the enemy in battle is, from my point of view, just “arrogance.”
“Hee…”
Mikhail’s amused voice reached my ears, and when I turned to look, not only he and El, but even Feld and the elven woman were staring at me with curious expressions.
What’s wrong…? I just said something obvious.
The atmosphere became awkward again, but fortunately, it didn’t take long before we arrived at our destination: the Dwarven Armory.
The shop was located away from the main street, on a street lined with clothing stores and general stores for the common folk. It looked like an ordinary house made of white stone and plaster, with only a sign attached to the door. If you passed by without knowing, you might not even realize it was a shop.
So, this is the shop run by Galbas’s younger brother… Galbas, who’s known as eccentric, even called him a weirdo, so he must be a craftsman with more than a few quirks.
Perhaps it was their first time in a shop like this, as the young masters El and Mikhail were curiously observing the small shop’s exterior. In contrast, the elf with the distant look in her eyes was strangely striking.
The elf woman, familiar with the shop, opened the door, and we followed her inside. The shop was lined with rather light armor, almost like clothing.
But it wasn’t ordinary armor. Whether it was metal or leather, many pieces seemed to possess mana, perhaps made from rare metals or monster hides. I couldn’t help but worry about security, even though it wasn’t my problem.
“Gelf, are you here?”
The elven woman called out to the back of the shop. After a few seconds, a powerful, rough voice that sounded like it belonged to a middle-aged dwarf echoed from the back.
“Oh, my, isn’t it Mira-chan? What brings you here with such a cute girl?”
Galbas’s… brother?
A weirdo…?
Next time: The Weirdo’s Armory. The next update is scheduled for Sunday.