Chapter 261

While I hadn’t won the tournament, it had definitely resulted in a boost in confidence and it had been a good experience. That being said, it was now very difficult to live within the imperial city. I never did like to draw attention to myself. I didn’t even like my alias. Still, a part of me must have been getting carried away by fame, even though I wasn’t aware of it. This was a good reminder.

“We should hurry up and leave…”

I couldn’t help but mutter to myself as I felt the stares. My mind was in a very negative space now… Nope. Nope. It was best to stay positive if you wanted to enjoy life.

And so I sighed and switched gears before continuing my shopping.

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It didn’t take long to arrive at the closest store that sold magic tools.

“The ‘Rabbit Magic Tool Store.’ …Rabbit.”

Maybe I was still in a negative mood. Still, a kindly old woman I had asked on the streets had recommended this place to me.

There was a sign over the door that had a painting of a pink rabbit on it. Alright, it was sort of cute.

“Well, no point in standing here.”

I muttered as I opened the door. The bell of the door rang, announcing my arrival. The place was packed with all kinds of things. There was something fancy about the designs too. The kind of stuff girls would like.

As I wandered around, I heard the sounds of footsteps from the back of the store. It was probably the clerk.

“Welcome.”

A young girl popped out. She had twin ponytails that were tied up with ribbons.

“Hello. Do you help around here?”

“That is so. I’m Miruru. I am the manager.”

“Ah…are you now?”

She seemed to be very proud of her position as well. I had met a lot of people in my life. Sometimes they were just as they seemed. Sometimes they weren’t. This person seemed like the later. My Adventurer’s intuition was telling me this.

“Hey, you! I told you not to go out there without permission!”

Just as I was about to trust my instincts and ask for advice on what to buy, someone else stormed out from the back. This time it was a woman with a single ponytail. There was definitely a resemblance…

“Bu…but, I am the manager. So I have to help the customer…”

“I’m the manager! You are too young to be a manager!”

“But…bu…!”

Her mother scolded her with the kind of authority that proved she was correct. Miruru stomped her foot in angry defeat.

“Hey, stop doing that! We’re in front of a customer! Oh, I am terribly sorry about this. She just…”

“Ah, please don’t mind me.”

“This customer is a nice man.”

Miruru stopped stomping her feet and ran to stand behind me. Perhaps she thought I’d protect her from her mother.

“Hey! Come back here!”

“No!”

“Ah, this child…”

“Hmph.”

The girl was quite bent out of shape now. She would not listen. Well, it seemed common enough at that age. Not that I had any kids of my own.

“Ahaha… I really don’t mind.”

“I’m so very sorry… I am the real manager here. Maruru. Can I help you with anything?”

And so I asked the one true manager if she could recommend anything for our trip. As for me, I was thinking of something that was much more powerful than our current barrier tools. If there was something that had the power to keep monsters away… We could sleep so much easier…

“Those things are over there.”

“Hey, be quiet!”

As the manager pondered over where she had put them, Miruru quickly pulled me by the hand and guided me through the store. Surprisingly, she seemed to know her way around it better…

Miss Maruru sighed with annoyance but followed after us until we arrived at the shelf. Here, there were some square-shaped magic tools. They had rabbits painted on them. I generally preferred more minimalist designs… Still, what were they?

“This is a tool that stops monsters from getting inside.”

“Getting inside?”

“Yes. It is much stronger than your average barrier tool. Thunder magic will activate and stop any monster that tries to invade.”

“Ah. That is exactly what I wanted.”

“You can place four of them around the area that you want to protect, like this. Well, the minimum is three, but four is advisable.”

“So four is enough. Anything else I should be careful about?”

“You will want to be careful that there aren’t any obstacles between the devices. For instance, it will not work within a forest. Grass and small bushes should be fine, but not trees.”

“I see…”

“Additionally, most barriers emit magical energy that makes monsters avoid them. So while they may have the same use, the result is a little different.”

Hmm. I hadn’t known that. Still, I liked the more obvious way that this barrier was activated. It seemed like it would be very useful.

“Right. I’ll take four then. …Uh, no. Plus two as backups.”

“Thank you so much!”

Miruru shook my hand in triumphant joy. Kids really did get excited over the smallest things. It was cute.

“Thank you. Each device costs fifty pieces of gold and thirty in silver. A set of three costs one-hundred and sixty in gold. As you are buying two sets, that will be three-hundred pieces of gold in all.”

“Th-that’s quite expensive…”

I had thought there was something suspiciously fancy about the design. And it turned out that the price was pretty severe. The kind to make you sweat.

We had money, but we didn’t want to waste it. But these really did seem good…

No, there was no point in worrying over it. This was the time to make the purchase! Yes, I would do it. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you’re uncertain, just buy it!

“…Any chance of a discount?”

However, Asagi had less backbone than he’d like to thing. And he decided to negotiate first.

The result? Three-hundred. Wonderful…

□ □ □ □

Aside from the barrier tools, I bought some better magic tools for making fires, which replaced my old ones. Also, a water bottle. It was a water bottle that had a lid made of water ore. This meant that it could draw out the moisture from the air and store it inside the bottle. So, if ever I was in a situation where I couldn’t use magic, I would still have drinking water. I bought an ignition tool and water bottle for Daniela as well. By the time I left the store, it was just before sundown. Things had taken longer than expected.

“Better go back then…”

And so I headed down the west road in order to return to the inn we had just rented and would be leaving soon. As I walked, I could hear the bustling of the city. You could feel the approach of the night not just with your eyes, but with your ears. I had been in this city for a month now… Was that long or short? It had sure been an eventful month.

I thought back on this city that we’d be leaving. The tournament had ended. And things had gone back to normal. Of course, normal here was still incredibly lively.