She Speaks With Sir Drago

After bringing Chelsea to the first aid tent, and leaving Sir Raymond to watch over her, Robin returned to Sir Drago.

"As for your first request, judging by your skills, you should be at a level where you can manage in the dungeon perfectly fine. Your last request, however..." Sir Drago sighed, in difficulty.

"While I can show you the map, our maps end at the feet of the surrounding mountains. All our more general maps were burned a few years ago in an accidental fire. With just the local area, I'm afraid that your desire to locate yourself in respect to your native country would be impossible."

"What? Then, is there any way out of the mountains?" Robin asked, in surprise.

"It is rumored that there is a way out at the end of this dungeon, but...so far, no one has been able to clear it." Sir Drago shook his head. "The further in you go, the more web slimes you will encounter."

"Excuse me, web slimes?" Robin asked.

"Are there none in your native lands?" Sir Drago asked. "Web slimes spread themselves out thinly into many tiny gossamer threads. The deeper you walk in, the more threads you accumulate, until finally, you are completely covered in a thin layer of webbing. then the digestion phase begins. It secretes a liquid that causes random burns to appear."

"Pardon me, but random?" Robin asked.

"Yes. It's uncertain why, but there will be random unaffected areas." Sir Drago shook his head, then pointed to a bound pile of wood.

"Bring torches with you. It's the only thing that can defeat the web slimes. Even if we can't see them, they'll retract and condense into their original form when they feel pain."

"I guess I'll take you up on that, then." Robin nodded in agreement. "I am assuming that, aside from the web slimes and the cave boars, it should be fine?"

"Mostly. But don't underestimate the dungeon. it's easy to get lost in there. I'll have one of the guardsmen give you a lifesaver whistle that you can blow if you get lost."

"Oh? How does it work?" Robin asked.

"The whistle has a small magic stone in it. when you blow the whistle, it activates the magic stone to send our guardsmen a signal asking for help." Sir Drago said.

"This is all very nice, I'm sure." Robin nodded, getting straight to the point. "But, what's the catch?" A person she just met being this nice all of a sudden: if there wasn't a catch, Robin would run the length of the Great Wall of China when she returned.

"So you noticed?" Sir Drago sighed.

"It's harder not to notice, unless you're a natural airhead." Robin replied. "Moreover, we just arrived today, and are complete strangers. If you weren't a bit wary of us, then you wouldn't be a very good general."

"Not much, really." Sir Drago shook his head with a laugh. "It's just that it has been a while since I last encountered anyone with a swordskill of a high rank like yours. If possible, after you've finished your errands, might I ask that you have a spar with me?"

"A spar?" Robin asked, thinking those words sounded familiar...ah, Christian had also wanted a spar. Well, it was a good chance to observe the sword play of another world, so why not?

"I don't see why not. But you'll have to supply me a good practice sword. I only draw this sword when necessary." She finally said, patting the hero's blade. It was too sharp. If Robin used the hero's blade in a spar, it'd probably slice right through Sir Drago's sword.

But, yes. A brief spar shouldn't take too long to finish up. Robin nodded as she tapped the pommel of the hero's sword in thought. Sir Drago, content that he had accomplished his goal, went back about his business.

"You know, for all that carnage, your clothes are pretty clean, now." Christian's knight, Sir Daniel said. By now, the surrounding areas had all been put back into order, and so the knights had returned to stand by Robin.

"Hmm...I think the person I bought it from said it has a self-cleaning function." Robin said, as she looked at her now-white sleeve.

"Wait, you have enchanted clothing!? So that's why you wear it all the time!" Sir Grey exclaimed.

"Is enchanted clothing not common?" Robin asked.

"What are you talking about? Enchanted clothing is highly uncommon, to the point where there is much demand, but little source." Sir Markham shook his head. "Firstly, one would need to find a thread capable of storing magic. The only kind of thread known to have such an effect is from that of high-ranked demons. Unless you managed to get one to be in your debt, or have something they really want, it is near impossible to acquire it."

"Second, you need to create the clothing before enchanting. cutting the cloth after enchantment will ruin the magic.

Third, you need to know a special magic technique to imbue the magic into the clothing. So far, only enchanters can assure that the magic will stably attach without ruining the durability of the clothes."

"So, how much money is enchanted clothing worth?" Robin asked, curious about how much of a discount she had gotten from that old taylor.

"At least one million gold coins per clothing set, and that doesn't cover auction prices, which get even higher."

'One million gold coins? In US currency that would be....' Robin calculated it out in her head.

"Hurgh!" Robin felt like she was punched in the gut. 'Too much! That's too much of a discount, Old Man! How can simply observing my clothes generate that much of a discount!'

To Robin, the clothes were normal. But, to the old taylor, who had an appraiser skill, the chance to observe otherworldly clothes was priceless. Though Robin did feel bad at getting the enchanted clothes for basically free, since she didn't have the capital, she couldn't pay him back the full price either.

On a side note, Christian was demoted to 2nd money waster, which was a good thing for him.

"Are you all right, Robin?" Sir Raymond asked.

"Nothing, really. I just realized that I am wearing a fortune." Robin replied sourly. "How would you feel if you discovered that sword at your side was actually a divine weapon in disguise?"

"My weapon?" He glanced at it thoughtfully, before his expression warped. "Oof. You're right. It does feel a bit like getting the wind knocked out of you. I can only imagine the chaos that would break out."

"It's decided." Robin said, resolutely. "We will never speak about these clothes again."

The knights all nodded. If it were anyone else, they might have thought something wasn't right. But, since it was Robin who was wearing the clothes, it felt a bit fitting to them. After all, why should the hero wear shabby clothes?

It was around this time that Chelsea woke up. Robin, noticing signs of movement, entered the tent.

"Ugh! Where am I?" Chelsea asked, sitting up slowly. "I get the feeling I just witnessed the worst dream ever!"

"We are in the pine grove near the dungeon's entrance." Robin replied. "You fainted after the battle, and Sir Drago let us use one of the tents here until you awoke."

"Ugh. So it was all a dream?" Chelsea asked. "That's right! It had to have been a dream! There's no way such a thing is possible, even with magic." She nodded to herself, before sighing a bit in relief.

"Thank goodness! I thought I'd never be able to eat meat again!"

Robin decided not to ask.

"Um..." Chelsea tapped her head in thought. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Not long. Only about 15 minutes or so." Robin replied. "Are you feeling well enough to explore the dungeon? Or shall I leave one of the knights with you, while we go ahead?"

"No, I'm fine now!" Chelsea shook her head. "I'm coming with you!"

"Okay, but don't force yourself. If you really aren't feeling well, I can have Sir Markham escort you back to town."

"I said I'm fine!" Chelsea's cheeks puffed out as she waved her hands around in annoyance. "Stop treating me like a spoiled little kid!"

"That, dear Chelsea, entirely depends upon whether you act like one or not." Robin teased with a chuckle as she ducked out of the tent.