Spears had the longest reach of any melee weapon, and this one could extend even further. And it was A-Grade too. Mira was so awesome to give me such a valuable item. Converting it would get me…9,200 LP?!
“M-Mira, this is worth a lot. Are you sure you wanna give it to me?”
“Come on! Go ahead and blow it up already!”
It really wasn’t that flashy, but I went ahead and converted it. The weapon disappeared into thin air.
“You didn’t just put it in a Pocket Dimension?” she asked.
“Nope. It’s gone. I don’t even know where they go when I convert them.”
“Huh. I was expecting something more explosive.”
“Ha ha… Well, not much I can do about that.”
She seemed a little disappointed, but it didn’t take long for her mood to improve. It was one of the things I really liked about her.
“Here it is,” she said.
“Wow, it’s so big.”
The store was almost twice as big as I’d imagined, and probably three times the size of a regular weapons shop. It had a strange feel for a weapons shop though: sort of regal and antique.
“A wealthy elderly couple built it to live in,” Mira explained. “But their son decided to sell when they passed. Come on in.”
We stepped inside. They were still remodeling the place, but there were already a few weapons on display. Whoever decorated this place had good taste.
“We’re not quite ready to open yet,” Mira said. “Daddy, Noir’s here.”
“Oh, you came!” Mr. Stoke came from behind the counter with a big smile on his face. “Thank you for helping us find this wonderful property. We’re already preparing to open.”
“And I hope to be one of your first customers,” I said.
“I hope you will be! As a token of my thanks, I wanted to sell you some of the weapons we can’t use. Mira said you were looking for anything, even defective ones. Is that right?”
“Yes, if you can part with them for cheap, I’d be happy to take them.”
Mr. Stoke took me to an open wooden box in a corner of the shop. Inside was a pile of swords, axes, and all sorts of weapons.
“These are all damaged or poorly made, so we can’t sell them. You’d be doing me a favor if you took them.”
“Thank you very much!”
The front door creaked open, attracting our attention. A fair-skinned man in a black cape walked in. He was quite handsome and gave a little bow before addressing Mr. Stoke.
“My apologies for intruding upon you so late this evening, Mr. Stoke.”
“Did something happen, Mr. Nord?”
While Mr. Stoke spoke to the man, Mira leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“He’s the vice-guildmaster of Shiva.”
“Shiva?!”
Crap… I’d said it out loud, and now he was looking at me.
“Who is that boy over there?” Mr. Nord asked.
“That’s Noir, my daughter’s friend.”
Mr. Stoke introduced me, and Mr. Nord approached with a faint smile.
“Are you a student?” he asked. “Where do you go to school?”
“Um, the Hero Academy.”
The look in his eyes changed. “How wonderful! What class are you in?”
“S-Class.”
“Ahh! What a glorious night! A chance meeting with such a bright young mind! I’m the vice-guildmaster of Shiva!”
It didn’t get any less shocking. I mean, this guy didn’t look older than his late twenties, at most. He had to be incredibly talented to be a vice-guildmaster already. Either that, or he had some great connections.
Mr. Nord swept his arms open dramatically. “I want to scout you. Why don’t you join my guild? Of course, we don’t mind you prioritizing your studies.”
“I’m sorry, as much as I’d love to, I can’t. The thing is…I already belong to Odin.”
An awful feeling washed over me. Moving instinctively, I leapt out of the way and drew my sword. The air was thick with an almost homicidal rage. I could see the hostility in Mr. Nord’s face. I had no idea what was going on, but one thing was certain: this man was extremely dangerous.
“Oh, so you’re one of Odin’s adventurers, huh? Stolen right out from under me. Hmmm, yes, Odin…”
He had a sword at his hip, but he made no attempt to draw it. I tried using my Discerning Eye, but his skills were hidden. Still, I didn’t need to see them to know he was immensely powerful.
“All right, now,” said Mr. Stoke, interrupting the strange atmosphere. “I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s keep this peaceful.”
“Yeah,” said Mira. “Come on, Noir, put that away, will you?”
I sheathed my sword, and Mr. Nord flashed a suspicious smile. There was something terrifying about his pale face and false cheer.
“I’ll take my leave for today. Do take care of the item we discussed. You won’t regret it.”
He raised one hand and headed for the door, then turned around to face me.
“Noir, tell me, did they teach you to draw your sword in the middle of a polite conversation at Odin?”
“Is it Shiva’s custom to direct homicidal rage at someone in the middle of a ‘polite’ conversation?” I asked back.
He looked puzzled for a moment.
“Ah ha ha! I’ve memorized your face and name!” he announced loudly, after which he left the shop.
I was drenched in sweat.
“Noir,” Mira said. “Are you okay? You don’t look well…”
“I guess you don’t get along very well,” said Mr. Stoke.
They both seemed worried.
“We belong to rival guilds,” I said.
“I heard there were several guilds here,” said Mr. Stoke. “I’m sorry, I didn’t really understand the intricacies of that.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “You just got here. Don’t worry about it. Let me take those weapons off your hands.”
I stowed them away in my Pocket Dimension and bid them farewell. I was a little exhausted from that encounter.
“Come by again to hang out, okay, Noir?!” Mira said.
“Will do.”
We waved and said our goodbyes.
As I walked home, I was a little scared that I might have attracted another stalker, but thankfully nothing unusual happened.