IV

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Arc IV Chapter 15

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12th Ignis Solar 753 AAC

After successfully annoying Lambert with her open display of stupidity, they further explored through the interior of the shop, wandering around with her in tow trailing behind Lambert like a faithful kitten. They were searching for far cheaper and more affordable alternatives, for more fitting weapons for the purpose of personal defence.

After passing various longsword, too difficult, spears, too unwieldy, axes, clubs, and even war hammers, all of them inappropriate, they arrived at a small selection of far more modest and, most importantly, cheaper steel weapons, weapons that according to her companion she was actually able to wield. Aurora didn't object for the sake of productive cooperation. Lambert scrutinised the selection before consulting her for her opinion. “Does any of them appeal to you, Edelgart? Any preferences?”

“Hmm.” Aurora and her doll tilted their heads, thinking. “Not that I would know of.”

“Look, I have an idea. I know the perfect weapon of choice for you.” Lambert started to rummage through the assortment of weapons before producing a blade of conspicuously suspiciously short length“Tada, a dagger! Why not go with a dagger? It's short and nimble, light and practical, and not to mention easy to use! One stab here. One stab there. Every child can do that. In short, it’s perfect for you! You should give it a try!”

Lambert handed her the dagger in question, depositing it in her little hands. Aurora didn't even bother to hide her scepticism. “Hmm, are you sure about this, Uncle Lambert? A dagger is quite an ... underwhelming choice. Shouldn't we opt for a short sword instead?” Or even a massive Zweihänder! They would even get a discount, as they were on offer! That sounded like a true bargain!

“Edelgart, you can trust me and my experienced judgement, a dagger is the right choice at your stage. I know the right weapon when I see it. And if you truly want a short sword, just use a bit of your precious imagination. You have plenty of it anyway. Use your imagination and imagine your dagger being a ‘short sword’. Simple, right?” His lips smirked with confidence, yet little Aurora ended up with vastly more questions than answers.

Her eyes studied her ‘short sword’, which was decidedly on the shorter end of available blades. “And yet it's quite short. Uncle Lambert, I think that you are stretching here the definition of short sword to the extreme.”

“How so?”

Aurora motioned at the blade. “Well, the blade is short. Quite short. Perhaps too short.”

“Of course, it's short. After all, it's a SHORT sword, got it? Doesn't that make sense to you?” Lambert offered his explanation in a moment of lucid brilliance.

“... ” Aurora offered a blank stare of patent dissatisfaction. “That might be true, but my sword is still quite short. That fact remains unchanged.”

Lambert raised his index finger to lecture her, dismissed her concerns with his repertoire of sophistry. “And that makes it's a SHORT short sword. After all, what is a short sword if not short? That's what their name says.”

“What impeccable logic ...” Aurora and her doll refrained from objecting, not particularly convinced by his argumentation. “Well, I admit that the blade is at least light and nimble. I guess that's something.”

“Obviously, as said, this dagger is what you need. The optimal weapon for a girl of your stature.”

“... ”Aurora chose to pretend that she didn't hear the last part. Her height., or rather lack thereof, was a delicate matter.

Lambert continued his monologue, “A weapon more than adequate for your current skill level. Sturdy, useful, easy to conceal, the dagger will serve you well, although you won’t be doing anything too dangerous for quite some time. I doubt that the guild will place a newbie in any danger.

“... ” Aurora stared at her dagger with a number of last doubts remaining. “.... But what if ... What if I am attacked by another demon, or even a mighty dragon? What then? I can't fight them with a dagger!”

Lambert rolled his eyes in open dismissal. “Edelgart, firstly, that is a highly unlikely scenario. And secondly, believe me, if you happen to meet another demonkin, or a dragon, then your dagger providing inadequate protection will most certainly be the least of your worries.”

Aurora and her doll didn't argue his point after her attempted extortion failing miserably. His statement was one of the more persuasive kind. “I guess you are right.”

“Of course, I am.” Lambert rolled his eyes in derision. “Anyway, I guess that settles our debate. We will get you a dagger, or do you have any other wishes?”

Her eyes wandered towards a selection of vastly more elegant models, works of superior craftsmanship appealing to her refined tastes and befitting a girl of her status. They made her dagger look plain, unrefined, unsophisticated, uninspired. “To be honest, I don't like this dagger.”

“How so?”

“The grip doesn't feel right in my hands. If it's possible, can we maybe get another dagger?”

“...” Lambert raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious of her words. For good reasons. “I guess that is a compromise that we can make. Tell me, which one do you want?”

Aurora motioned at a certain fine specimen. A sleek, elongated blade protruded forwards from the hilt, the latter shielded by a simple cross guard. It was an elegant weapon for a civilised girl. “Uncle Lambert~, can I get this one~?

A sigh escaped his lips. “And of course, it must be the most expensive one. Seriously, how are doing this, Edelgart? How are you managing to always pick expensive stuff ?”

The same way that he always knew that she was picking expensive stuff! Through intuition and good instincts!

Aurora tilted her head. “How much does it cost then?”

“Around five Taler, I would say.”

“Oh, isn't that cheap?” Aurora asked. Five Taler were fifty Kreuzer. Fifty Kreuzer were twenty five hot chocolates.

“... For sword, yes. For a dagger, no. Certainly on the more expensive side, although you made a good choice. A bit pricey, but an excellent dagger regardless, a Vittorian stiletto in fact, unless I am wrong. I guess you must love to stab people in more ways than one.”

“Oh, a stiletto.” Her purple eyes marvelled at her personal stiletto. Sneaky, stealthy, deadly.

And thus, Aurora and her doll acquired a ‘proper’ weapon. Not what she considered even remotely as being well armed, but it was a first step in the right direction. After all, everything begins small. Her enemies would come to learn to fear the wrath of her stiletto!

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