Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

Chapter 17: Armor of the Savage Tribe

“Oh well, if it isn’t the shield lad. It\'s already been over a week now.”

After returning to the castle town, we had gone straight to the shopping district.

Yet for some reason, Oyaji had his mouth wide open when he looked over at Raphtalia.

“We\'re only meeting again after a short while... and look at how much of a beauty you\'ve become.”

“Haah?”

Just what was he saying? Why was Oyaji mumbling incoherently like this?

“You\'ve developed so nicely... this is far too different from your previous, famished complexion.”

“Please don’t phrase it as if I’m getting fat.”

Seemingly bothered by his statement, Raphtalia fidgeted while fiddling with her fingers.

That reaction of hers was repulsive!

She reminded me of that bitch of a woman.

“Gahaha, you grew up into such an adorable mink.”[1]

“Grew up? Well, her level certainly rose.”

A week ago she was at Lvl 10, and now she was at Lvl 25. But did her physical appearance really change that much?

“Fuumu... you’re quite cynical, you know that?”

“I have no idea what nonsense you\'re talking about.”

It was true that anyone would find a little 10 years old girl cute[2]. But since she had only been eating meat, meat, and more meat all day long, it might have made her a bit chubby.

Every time her stomach grumbled, we would immediately cook up the meat from the monsters we had encountered.

I was afraid she might turn into one of those beriberi people[3] due to her unbalanced diet. So I started adding medical herbs into her meals, even though it broke my heart and wallet by doing so.

She hadn’t been coughing recently, probably thanks to the recovery potions finally taking effect.

“What were you up to this past week? Hunting?”

“The village inn staff had taught me some table manners. Since I wanted to be able to dine as elegantly as Naofumi-sama someday.”

“Looks like you’re well on your way.”

Unexpectedly, Oyaji was in a real good mood. At this rate he\'ll probably sell us some high quality wares.

So keep on flattering him, Raphtalia!

“So, what’s your business with me today?”

“Haha, I plan on purchasing some equipment.”

I said while pointing at Raphtalia. In response, she firmly gripped my finger with an eerie smile on her face.

“Please consider Naofumi-sama and his protective gear this time around.”

“Gotcha. But for what reason?”

“I\'d like to ask that you take a moment to ponder it over yourself.”

“Mmm... Well, to prepare for the incoming wave, I guess?”

“Just what are you two getting at? I seriously don\'t have the slightest idea of what this Jou-chan is saying here...”[4]

Just what in the world were these guys even talking about?

Both Raphtalia and I had already decided that we\'ll be buying my equipment, right?

“So, seems like we’ll be getting you some armor. Around how much are you looking to spend?”

“Within the range of 180 silver coins, if you would.”

Raphtalia rattled off our budget range without my consent.

Now, that had ticked me off some.

If we settled for that price, then we couldn\'t buy a new weapon for her!

“Let’s see... well, my best balanced armor for that amount would be this chain mail here.”

“That chain mail... BAAH!”

Dark emotions began creeping up from deep within my gut.

It\'d be utterly humiliating for me to re-buy a piece of equipment which had originally been mine.

“Well... if the shield lad hates this so much, I suppose we should go with something else.”

Oyaji replied while scratching his head, understanding my reaction, as he turned to his other armory in stock.

“To be honest, it\'s kind of hard to find an appropriate gear within this price range. How does an iron plated mail sound to you?”

He asked while pointing at the armor in question.

It was a huge sheet of iron morphed into... a full guarded plate. The armor was decorated with the castle town\'s symbol.

I knew about this! Back in my old world, this was what people called a ‘full plate mail’ or something like that. This type of armor was said to be extremely tedious to move in; the wearer couldn’t even stand by themselves; and finally, they were the fastest to sink in a swamp.

“Some physical stamina will be needed in order to wear this. Its only fault is that the ‘Air Walk\' feature isn\'t applied to it.”

“Air Walk feature?”

“A function which allows the wearer to lighten their weight by consuming their own magic power. A truly magnificent ability.”

“I agree.”

Basically in this world, if a full body armor didn\'t have the Air Walk function then it was nothing more than an immobile sandbag.

That\'s not quite right. If the wearer was physically capable then they should be able to move around somewhat.

However, I don’t have much stamina at this point in time.

“Seems like we can make it lighter and cheaper by removing the bulkier looking parts...”

“So lad, you were thinking along those lines after all.”

“Isn’t that a given?”

“Iron breastplates are indeed cheaper to buy. But their protective coverage is very limited.”

“Fumu... While high defense is a must, losing your mobility in exchange would make it meaningless.”

It was good and all to become as solid as a wall, but it would be a huge problem if I could barely move at all.

I\'d like to refrain from equipping gear which decreased mobility as much as possible.

The Air Walk feature, huh? I wonder how much it would cost to add that function on.

“With that said... I might be able to craft a custom made armor if you can bring me the materials...”

“Sounds good, I enjoy doing these sort of things.”

“You have a satisfied expression there, lad... Guess we\'ll go with this plan.”

Oyaji spread out a parchment with the names of various materials written on it.

“I can’t read this.”

While it was possible to communicate directly thanks to the shield’s translation feature, I still couldn\'t read the writings of this world.

Oyaji looked troubled, so he went ahead and explained everything to me.

“You can buy some cheap copper and iron from the atelier over there. After that, bring me some Usapiru and Porcupine hides, and then a few Pikyupikyuu feathers.”

“Here are the hides and feathers.”

With a smile, Raphtalia happily took out the hides and feathers from inside our luggage sack.

Those were used as our blankets and bedding since they were warm and fluffy. But... well, I suppose it\'s fine either way.

“The quality of the armor will be a bit bad. But it\'s still good for practical use.”

“Then what’s the reason for making it?”

“This is the Barbarian Armor. Its performance is on par with the Chain Mail and covers the majority of the body. It may be a bit cold to wear but it\'s very strong.”

“Oh...”

Barbarian Armor... Somehow the phrase sounds a bit unpleasant.

“There’s a trick to add some magical options as a bonus, but this step can be done later when you’ve finished with gathering the other materials.”

“That’s reassuring. Well then, let’s go and buy some iron and copper.”

“Let’s go! Let’s go right away!”

Raphtalia energetically pulled my hand along while rushing me outside.

“What’s the big deal?”

“Naofumi-sama is going to look like a real adventurer. I can’t wait to see it.”

“W-well... I guess so.”

She did say that I looked exactly like a villager.

Although the equipment would be a bit barbarous, it wasn\'t like I had much choice.

We then headed towards the metal atelier and bought the required amount of iron and copper.

They seemed to have heard about us from Oyaji, so they sold us the goods at a surprisingly cheap price.

They also said that Raphtalia was cute and gave us a little extra.

The ossan[5] from the metal atelier was grinning widely while looking at her. Raphtalia graciously waved back at him in return.

I didn’t even want to start preaching about the pedophilia morality to this world. [6]

“That was some quick material gathering.”

“It’s all thanks to your own efforts, isn\'t that right, lad?”

“Well, yeah. Since a lot of Oyaji’s acquaintances are lolicons. I can already point out two or three of them."

“Lolicon? What on Melromarc are you saying?”

“You don’t understand what lolicons are? I thought you would understand this word through the shield’s translating feature.”

“Not that, I just don\'t get why you think my co-workers’ preferences are for young girls...”

“They said that Raphtalia was cute so they sold the goods even cheaper to us.”

“Lad... could it be that you seriously don\'t know?”

“Don\'t know what?”

“Oyaji, it\'s fine for now.”

Raphtalia said that while shaking her head.

Oyaji somehow understood. Resigned, he slumped his shoulders and threw me a glance.

“It\'ll be done by tomorrow, so please wait until then.”

“That’s fast, I thought it would take at least two days minimum for you to finish.”

“Hmm, that might be the case for some stranger. But it\'s different for you, lad.”

“For once, you have my gratitude.”

“Wahaha, that sure was a butt-scratcher[7] of a reply."

He sure was making fun of me just because I showed him a little appreciation.

“So, what’s the price of this custom made armor?”

“Including the fee for copper and iron... about 130 silver coins. In addition, you can add some optional enhancements.”

“Is that the base cost? I thought it would be fine so long as I got the required materials.”

“Waha, those were already taken into account at the 130 coins price tag, I can\'t go any lower than that.”

“I understand. Then it\'s good enough for me.”

I took out 130 silver coins and handed them over to Oyaji.

“Thanks for your patronage.”

“Ah, that\'s right. Oyaji, I want to buy a weapon within the range of 90 silver coins.”

“I guessing it’s for this Jou-chan here?”

“Haha...”

That\'s right. The ordinary sword which we bought last week was newly polished now. So we should ask for a trade-in?

“Raphtalia."

“Hai.”

Raphtalia pulled out the sword from her waist and put it on the counter.

“I want to ask for a resale. So here, include this sword into the payment amount.”

“Fumu... looks like you\'ve properly maintained it this time around.”

“All thanks to my shield.”

The polishing maintenance would end by the next morning if we inserted the weapon inside the whetstone shield before going to sleep.

It also kept the blade nice and sharp for ease of cutting.

“That’s a convenient shield... I want one too.”

“You won’t be able to equip any other weapon, you know.”

I\'m just a moving wall without any attack power.

I would gladly hand this over to anyone who wanted it. If only that was possible.

“That part is quite bothersome.”

I waited for the trade-in to commence while enduring Oyaji’s obnoxious laughter.

“There’s not a speck of rust on the blade. As expected of the legendary shield, its performance is superb.”

Oyaji stated his open admiration while inspecting the sword\'s durability.

“Let me see... with this much left over, I can sell you a magic iron sword.”

Magic iron sword was definitely higher than an iron sword in terms of weapon ranking.

“It should be a given that blood-clean coating is included, right?”

“Urg, I’ll add that as a bonus. I know full well that you\'re working hard, lad!”

Oyaji sure was a great guy. If you think about, he had been giving me various extras ever since the day I had been robbed and was left with absolutely nothing.

“Thank you...”

From the bottom of my heart, I expressed those sincere words of gratitude to Oyaji.

“Lad. It\'s good to see that same glint in your eyes just like the first time we met. You\'ve shown me some fine stuff today.”

Oyaji somehow seemed satisfied as he handed the magic iron sword to Raphtalia.

“Good weapons will only become powerful in capable hands, while they\'ll only turn into worthless junk in the hands of the talentless. However, I believe that you\'ll be able to fully master their strength. Give it your best shot, Jou-chan.”

“Hai!”

Raphtalia sheathed the sword on her waist with sparkling, motivated eyes.

“Now then, please come again around this time tomorrow.”

“Aarg.”[8]

“Thank you very much!”[9]

“Until then.”[10]

And thus, we left the weapon shop.

With our business there done, we headed off thinking about what to eat and what we should do for the remaining day.

Even though I couldn\'t taste anything, I still needed to eat since I got hungry like everyone else.

In my hands were 10 silver coins. What we managed to save up in one full week had vanished instantly.

Oh well. This was well within expectations, and these coins should be good enough to make our future investments.

Fortunately, there were plenty of ways to earn money.

“Ah, that\'s right. Do you want to eat at the shop that we went to a while ago?”

“Are you sure it\'s alright?”

“I\'m looking forward to seeing Raphtalia’s gluttonous manners as she devours the food off her plate again.”

“Please stop that! Mou[11], I\'m not a child anymore!”

The previously cheerful Raphtalia was now getting angry as she puffed her cheeks.

Why would you suddenly try to be an adult when you were acting like a kid only a week ago?

It looked like our little girl had just hit puberty.

“Yeah, yeah. You honestly want to eat. I understand that, I truly do.”

“Naofumi-sama isn\'t even listening to a word I\'m saying.”

“It’s okay. You\'re totally an adult. With that being said... you really want to chow down, don’t you?”

“You think I can’t see through your true thoughts behind those kind eyes used to patronize children?! I don’t need that kind of sympathy!”

Good grief, she sure was at a difficult age.

Should we still get a Kid\'s Lunch for her? We entered the same shop which served those.

“Welcome!”

Oh? Our server courteously guided us to our table this time.

Was this the effect of changing Raphtalia\'s hairstyle? People sure were cruel over the smallest things back then.

“I\'ll be ordering the cheapest meal set you have, while this girl will get the lunch for kids, the one with the little flag on it.”

“Naofumi-sama!”

The employee confirmed our orders with a perplexed expression while alternating between me and Raphtalia.

“Err, please give me the cheapest table course meal as well.”

“Y-yes.”

Our server nodded at Raphtalia and returned to the kitchen.

“What was that for? Do you really dislike the kid\'s lunch that much?”

“As I said before, I\'ve already grown up.”

“Um... okay?”

Guess it couldn’t be helped. I\'ll let Raphtalia indulge in her selfishness for now.

I suppose my only current obligation is to let her eat what she wants to eat.