Armor, Spare Weapons, and Adjustment of the Butcher

In the courtyard of the volunteer soldiers' lodging house.

"...That sure is a lot of gold coins," Chiaki laughed, seemingly out of it. She stared at me. "What would you use them for?"

The other members were naturally together as well. I responded frankly. "They'd be for a full suit of armor, spare weapons, and an adjustment of the massive butcher knife, I guess. I suspect they will take less than five gold coins. You guys can use some of them to learn skills and upgrade your equipment as well. The rest is for improving the quality of our lives."

"But you're the one who killed it, right?" Kikyou pointed out.

"If I alone had a wider range of equipment and combat preferences, it defeats the purpose of us as a party. Everyone gets a share. It's a different case if I work alone, of course."

Ken snorted. "You can already do that, can't you?"

"Yep."

Suzune gave a sigh. "If you truly don't mind, then we can use 12 days to learn as many skills as we can. Combined with equipment improvements and the like, it shouldn't be able to reach up to two or even one gold for each member. The rest we will use to improve the quality of our lives in the lodging house such as bed sheets and so on, just like Kiyotaka said."

"Should we do that now?" Yousuke asked. "Since we're still not tired at all, I mean."

"Very well," Suzune nodded. "I'll see you all on Sunday of next week here. Dismissed."

My comrades took two gold coins each. They could take an extra one if needed, specifically from Yorozu Bank. I personally thought Ken and Suzune would more likely require them. I could also give Kikyou more to expand her magic options. Or the two priests Yousuke and Kei. Or Chiaki to dive deeper into her role. Or even Kanji. Well, it's pretty much all of them.

Even with that said, I had absolutely no intention of learning skills in the guild. There was nothing of value for me to acquire. 'What should I do during these twelve days...?' That was my main assignment to figure out.

I went to Craftsman Town to get the things I had been aiming for until now. The armor I'm using now is a type of gambeson, which is made from layers of thick cloth or wool alone. They are used as a layer under the main armor, which does not offer high protection against sharp weapons.

Originally, I had intended to buy chainmail armor made of metal rings that are fused together and can be worn over gambeson. That, or brigandine made of small iron plates fused together over cloth or leather which are of higher quality and also lightweight. Now that I have the money, though, I intend to buy a set of thick full-plate armor. 

Their weight won't be a bother. It's a different matter with their body size. Hence, I decided to buy directly from the forge instead of the store. They are more expensive but much better as a result.

I had done my own research on great forges for armor and weapons. I visited one, and unsurprisingly, a full plate of armor cost 2 gold and 27 silvers. 

That would be a few days' worth of work. I moved on to look for spare weapons and tools to keep them stored before customizing the Death Spots weapon to my personal preference. The name's too long, so I shortened it as the Butcher.

I bought a rapier for 74 silvers, a short sword for 52 silvers, and a dagger for 30 silvers. I also bought custom-sized tools to comfortably carry them on my body. And also their grooming, all costing 20 silvers.

The rapier is a thin, sharp-edged sword that is almost entirely used for offense. The size, weight, and double-edged are the main reasons for that. The short sword was just a sword with a short size. The dagger I bought was specialized for extremely close-range combat.

All of that had already fetched the price of four gold coins. The adjustment of the Butcher won't be up to half a gold coin. I'd looked into that.

After doing all those things, I made my way to the Sherry Tavern. 

It was already nearing evening by the time I had done everything. 

Coincidentally, I walked past a nightclub or something in the entertainment district. It was a two-story building with a terrace. On the terrace were the ladies trying to tempt passersby into customers. Since I passed by the building frequently to reach the Sherry Tavern, I naturally became one of the pedestrians they tried to attract. However in my case, somehow, they were rather extreme in their attempts.

The moment I entered the tavern, I immediately noticed the strange atmosphere hanging over there. Quite a few of the customers' gazes were drawn toward me with clear feelings. 'Did they know?' About Death Spots and who killed it. 'The information sure spread fast.' Still, that couldn't be the primary reason for the strange atmosphere inside the tavern.

I took a look at the group of people in the center of the room. They stood out with their bright and advanced equipment. A warrior, two paladins, two mages, and a priest. The bespectacled warrior looked like the leader of the party, with the male paladin as his vice. The paladin and the female mage appeared carefree, while the male mage and the female priest were stoic. Well, the latter just tried and clearly couldn't do it well. Either way, I have a firm guess as to who they are.

'They're the Spearhead clan's leading figures, aren't they?'

I have heard that they operate north of the Shadow Forest, where the elves live. The Shadow Forest is north of the Quickwind Plains, north of Alterna as well. The Spearheads are primarily working in the former Kingdom of Arabakia. I'm still not very knowledgeable about the cause of its downfall, but they were clearly forced back by something.

The former Kingdom of Arabakia is populated by orcs. Spearhead was one of the famous clans besides Orion, Iron Knuckles, Berserkers, Wild Angels, and of course, Daybreaker. I guess it's only natural for the customers to have such a reaction.

I intend to take a seat in a less conspicuous place. The assumed leader, or well, the actual leader, Manabu, kind of stopped my attempt. As soon as I stepped into the tavern, he already saw me and stood up at once.

He walked towards me. His fellow patrons followed his lead. I could feel the atmosphere from the customers becoming increasingly intense. I didn't feel so exceptional, though. '...Well, what could it be, I wonder?'