Meeting Esri Again (2)

Esri and I walked down the busy street together. I'm hoping there won't be any trouble, as Nina predicted, or else there'll be quite a scene in this bustling guild district. It wasn't that I was afraid of them. It's just that it was inconvenient. I'd rather spend my time flirting with Esri than dealing with them.

Fortunately, they were too preoccupied with their work to notice us as we walked through the streets.

"Esri, how about our shopping? If Mr. Kevin doesn't have some of the ingredients, we can add those to our shopping date"

"Hmm... I will ask Arnold to tell you if I ever have some free time to have our shopping date," Esri said,

Esri came to a halt and looked at me intently. "What is it? Why are you staring at me? Do you have a question for me?"

"My apologies, it was nothing."

Esri resumed walking at a faster pace.

'She's behaving oddly.'

Esri piqued my interest, but I decided not to pursue it further. Maybe it was a girl's secret, or did she fall for my good looks already? Who knows.

I shook my head, pushed the thought to the back of my mind, and followed her. We arrived at the blacksmith guild quickly. I looked up at the hammer and anvil symbol on the building's spire.

"Do you need anything from the blacksmith guild? Do you have any armor?"

"I don't have one, but wearing armor looks uncool, so maybe I'll skip it."

I can always use my qi to protect my body instead of flimsy armor.

"Really? I think it would look cool on you and it will help you in case something unexpected happens. There are a lot of possibilities in the middle of a battle, so wearing armor or, at the very least, an armguard can help you block unexpected attacks."

"Hm, armguard, huh?"

[I recommend that Master purchase one so that your hands do not become encrusted with gore as they did during your quest. In case something similar happens again in the future]

'You have a point. This isn't my previous world, so wearing an arm guard or gauntlet in the middle of the street is normal here, Thank you, Hestia'

I need to adapt to this world because some of the common sense I had in my previous world is no longer applicable here.

"I believe I'll purchase one."

Esri smiled as he heard my words, "Good, your life must be your priority, adventurers always risk their lives in their quest, having protective items can avoid fatal damage."

I then followed Esri into the blacksmith shop.

"Welcome to our Blacksmith Shop; how may I assist you?" a wolf-eared woman says, a charming smile on her pretty face. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she was dressed in a brown shop apron.

"I want a gauntlet that can be used for both brawling and offense."

"All right, please hold on for a moment."

The woman then came in through the back door. I looked around and saw a variety of weapons neatly arranged, some of which were hanging on the wall.

Soon after, the cashier returned with a wooden box containing a plethora of gauntlets.

"Here are our finely crafted gauntlets by Master Williams, the blacksmith."

"Hmm, they all looked the same to me... hmmm?"

I picked it up after noticing a color white-glove mixed in.

"That is a glove, not a gauntlet, sir."

"What is this circle mark on this glove?" I inquired.

"It was a magic circle that can double your fire magic power when you wear it," the woman explained. "However, no one buys this glove because almost all mages use staff and prefer to wear a gauntlet. Also, this glove is kind of special, it can block attacks like the gauntlet and it can automatically remove dirt or blood tainted it."

"Oh, this is perfect, I'll buy it."

"Are you certain, Kazuya? You said you couldn't use magic."

"Yes, but don't worry about it; I'll learn how to use magic soon, and I'm not going to give up," I said, my eyes blazing with determination.

"That's the spirit," Esri slapped my back and said, "You need guts and determination to get whatever you want."

"If you're talking about guts, I've got a big one," I boasted.

Even that obstinate old man yielded to my willpower, though he ended up teaching me Qi rather than Magic.

"I was also determined to become your lover, so why not surrender to my embrace. stop struggling and become mine already, because I won't give up until I get you"

"Hmph! You didn't waste any time using that glib tongue of yours if a good chance came your way, did you?"

"Of course! Even though you have rejected me numerous times, I will take any opportunity I can to court you... with zeal. hehe"

"Well, if you're dead set on getting me, I'll give you one piece of advice... Work hard and become powerful because I want my man to be stronger than me."

"I'm already stronger than you thought?"

Was she under the impression that I was less powerful than her since I didn't utilize magic?

"... Excuse me, ma'am sir, there are still other customers waiting,"

"Oh, I'm sorry; I'll take these gloves."

"All right, it'll be three gold coins."

I presented her with three gold coins.

"Here are your gloves, sir; thank you for purchasing. do you require anything else?"

"This should be sufficient, I'll return if I require anything else."

I wore gloves as I walked to the side with Esri. "I didn't feel like I was wearing a glove, what a strange item," I said as I nodded in satisfaction.

"Kazuya, what are you going to do now?"

"I think I'll go on another quest before returning to the inn; how about you?"

"Hmm, I'm still waiting for my order here,"

"All right, I'll leave now..."

"Wait a minute, how about we postpone our dinner date until the end of the week? and instead, we do our shopping date at that time so that we have the entire day to ourselves since it was my rest day."

"What about our dinner date?"

"Let's move it on the next weekend"

"All right then, that sounds like a good plan."

I'd also rather have her all to myself than be interrupted by her duty.

After saying my goodbyes to Esri, I went straight to the adventuring guild and accepted a quest. This time, I chose the quest picking herbs to pass the time until my appointment with Mr. Kevin.

After gathering enough herbs until the sun went down. I returned to the guild and completed my quest. After that, I went straight to the Starlight Inn to meet Mr. Kevin.