Chapter 5:
Hunting for Items
THE NEXT MORNING, I FOUND MYSELF at the inn where Mira was staying. It was time to take her to meet the real estate agent, Mr. Domado. When I asked the front desk where to find her, they told me she was in the backyard with her father.
I slipped through the lobby and opened the door. Mira was outside, holding a burlap bag open and pointing it at a boulder. It was perplexing, but before I could even formulate a question, water sprayed from the mouth of the bag. It had a lot of force, but it wasn’t particularly destructive. Once the water ran out, the boulder was wet but unharmed.
“Huh? That’s it?”
Mira frowned. On the other hand, the dapper fellow standing next to her was all smiles. His thick red hair was parted in the center, and he looked to be in his late thirties, his aura thoroughly that of a mature man. His skin was flawless and his features elegant. He kind of looked like Mira.
“I’m impressed,” he said. “That was quite a bit of water pressure.”
“Daddy, are you stupid? It only works thirty times. You’re seriously going to shell out three hundred grand for this?”
“Oh, Mira, you’re still so young. You see, men are always pursuing their dreams. If a man forgets his adventurous spirit, he’ll shrivel up into nothing.”
I had to agree, but Mira seemed tired of it. Given their conversation, he had to be her father. Come to think of it, he kinda reminded me of my father. I surreptitiously used Discerning Eye on him. His name was Stoke Santage. He was only Level 30, but he had an Enchanted Item Perception skill.
“Oh, Noir, is that you?” Mira asked. “Are you here to see me?”
“Hello. About the real estate agent, remember?”
“Oh! Right! We did talk about that.”
“He’d like to meet you,” I said. “So I thought I’d take you to see him. That’s your dad, right? Pleased to meet you, sir.”
I introduced myself, and Mr. Stoke responded with cheer. He seemed interested in the real estate agent too.
“Noir, is this the agent helping us find somewhere for our weapons shop?”
“Yeah, apparently he’s got a few vacant lots that would be a good fit.”
“That’s just perfect! I would love to join you.”
And I was happy to have him. The three of us left the inn and walked to meet Mr. Domado. Mr. Stoke didn’t ask many questions, but he told me all about his dreams of expanding the store. He boasted about how the Santage Weapons shop was the biggest in his country. They dealt primarily in offensive weapons, but they also carried armor and items—although they couldn’t really compete with specialty shops in that respect. Business was going well, but he wanted to expand their reach to other lands.
“Weapons and armor shops have a variety of policies,” he said. “Efficiency is a big priority in our kingdom. It ensures high profits from each weapon. But it means that it’s common to take low-cost items and add a little decoration to boost the price.”
I supposed that made a good first impression on buyers, but it was all just for show. The ornamentation didn’t affect the item’s functionality, and the base product was probably of inferior quality.
“A soldier wouldn’t be happy if their sword broke in combat,” Mr. Stoke said. “Though being unhappy would be the least of their worries. Once you’ve lost your life, you can never get it back. That’s why the Santage family decided to prioritize high-quality items.”
Mr. Stoke’s grandfather had founded the shop, and he’d decided to do things differently back when they only had one storefront. A single good experience with their products meant repeat customers, and eventually more and more people started buying from them. Their strategy netted them small but consistent profits. This seemed like it could be useful for my own business.
“Before long, we were the top weapons supplier in the kingdom. As I always say: your weapon is half your soul!”
That sure was passionate, and kinda cool too. Or rather, it would have been if we weren’t in the middle of the street.
“Daddy, stop it! You’re embarrassing me. You’re almost forty, for goodness’ sake.”
“Dreams have no expiration date! That kind of thinking only inhibits you. There’s no point thinking about how you should act or what you should do at your age. That kind of ‘common sense’ crushes innovation! You’re punching over your weight class when you’re barely out of diapers, little girl!”
“All right, already, I’m in the wrong.”
Mira’s father was quite the character. She seemed used to managing him, so maybe she was trying to keep him from going overboard. Still, I decided to take note of his little speech.
Once we met up with Mr. Domado, Mira and I weren’t really needed. Mr. Stoke was the one buying, after all. It was probably better to let the adults handle things.
“Let’s go hang out somewhere.”
So Mira and I wandered around town. As we went, I asked her about that water bag thing from earlier.
“Oh, that. Daddy bought it from some weird merchant. Not only does it have a hard cap on uses, it’s extremely weaksauce.”
“I bet you guys have a lot of connections,” I said. “I’ve actually been trying to accumulate weapons lately.”
“Well, I’m not gonna say I can’t help you, but I have some conditions. I wanna know why you’re collecting and what your powers are.”
It must have seemed unfair that I knew her secrets when she didn’t know mine. It felt risky telling someone I’d only known for a few days, but the potential advantages outweighed the risks. Getting close to the Santage family meant more opportunities to earn LP.
“My abilities are unique…”
I gave her a rough outline, and Mira’s eyes went wide.
“It’s a little hard to believe,” she said. “No offense, but can I test you?”
“Sure, what kind of test?”
“Look at this item.”
A green stone appeared in her hand. “It’s an enchanted stone that lets you use Wind Strike,” she explained. “But it has a fixed number of uses, just like that bag.”