An owner of an equipment shop was working hard to repair the goods he had just purchased.
After a while, he let go of the maintenance tools to the desk and sat down in a cozy chair to soothe his exhausted spirit.
“You seem unusually tired, what’s wrong? Did the customer just now do something?”
“No, that’s not the case. The materials used were all of the good quality. I was allowed to make a deal that wasn’t bad.”
“In spite of that, you look so exhausted….. but, that mercenary, he even had a magic bag, right? Did he take it from some noble or something? Ah… Owner, perhaps, those are all stolen goods?”
The employee clapped his hands as he said so in a joking tone. It was as if he wanted to say that ripping off a bloody mercenary would of course lead to exhaustion.
The shop owner denied the employee’s words while pressing his temples.
“Your customer service isn’t bad. You are also very attentive. That’s why I employed you, but that light mouth of yours is really a bad habit. You’re constantly inviting disaster you know.”
“Hehe, I’m sorry, I’ll try.”
Normally, the shop owner would preach politely, but the information he received from the items in front of him raised his temper and made his mouth speak harsher words than usual. After all, there were traces in a lot of products that said they had been engulfed in a raging fire. There were faint traces of burnt gloves and scorched skin oils, even though it was just on the sword.
The remaining weapons also looked well maintained, but the eyes of someone who had been dealing with weapons for many years, couldn’t be fooled. Wiped the leather grip and handle with a cloth soaked in chemicals, and burnt blood and grease, could be seen on them.
If they were collected from the ruins of a battlefield, the shop owner’s heart wouldn’t be so cloudy. But if they were collected after the mercenary himself had done the deal, just as the shop owner had imagined ―― more so, to pick out only the high-quality items. How many people had the mercenary burned to death in the whole world? The shop owner couldn’t guess.
In the quarter-century of opening the equipment shop, he had dealt with a number of blood-stained post-war weapons and things left by the deceased. His pride didn’t allow him to feel fear of a mere mercenary. Even so, that was why the experience he had cultivated made him feel the abnormalities of the mercenary even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“…Did they buy anything?”
Thinking that this matter shouldn’t be dragged on forever, the shop owner was trying to shift his mind by asking a question to the employee.
“Thin leather gloves. But, to dare diving into the labyrinth with a weapon made with orc’s bone… how to say it, those young adventurers are really brave. No, I guess, it just shows how promising they are.”
The employee’s voice was mixed with amazement and envy. Nothing strange. After all, anyone in this city seriously thought about challenging the labyrinth at least once in their life.
“There were a lot of people who die because they were forcing themselves. However, among those guys, there were some who can come back and immediately buy full-order armor, armor that would even make the guards outside feel envious. And those black-colored bones, are called investment. There are quite a lot of people who buy things at the shop where they got their first weapon.”
It was the reason why the shop owner sold bone weapons coated with dark slime with little profit. Not only good frequent customers could be cultivated, but the shop would be regarded as an excellent supplier.
“No way, even those “Trimagitack”?” [TN: It’s the best name I can come up with]
“Yeah… Hear me, I know it’s hard to believe, but that young adventure bought one of the black bones there, dived into the labyrinth, and came back. He’s definitely a special one. He’s still young. He may be able to be a conqueror of the labyrinth in the future… Hopefully, he’ll be able to reach that position.”
The one who conquered the labyrinth. It had a special meaning not only for the shop owner, but also for the residents of Belgana. It was a symbol of valor and wealth, and even among the “Three Big Countries”, no one dare to underestimate its fame. Unfortunately, in the past few decades, there had been no conquerors born from Belgana itself. Speaking of the most recent conquerors, they were the mainlander from the capital of the Galmud Archipelago, the blockhead from the Republic of Maylis who claimed to be the descendant of a demi-god, the lengthy (ear) from the Aleinard Forest Alliance, and the adventurer directly under the guild. That was why, Marquis Borgia had been pouring his heart and soul into creating a new conqueror from the citizens of the labyrinth city.
“As expected, he’s different from us. But, the “Conqueror’s Purveyor“ sure has a nice ring to it.”
“Hmmp… well, you’re right. It doesn’t sound bad. More importantly, go to the brothel in moderation, can’t you? You reek of perfume.”
The sweet smell had been tingling the shop owner’s nose since a while ago. And for the shop owner who was dealing with weapons and armor every day, it was an unpleasant smell.
“Hehe, I’m sorry, I’ll try.”
◆
The closer it was to the center of the labyrinth city, the higher the prestige of the building materials used in the buildings. Occasionally, there were houses that were different in style from the surroundings and that gave a sense of gap in the era, but they were well maintained and the exterior walls were painted with brand new paint. In addition to equipment shops, restaurants, and inns, there were even blacksmiths and public baths. In short, it was crammed with all sorts of shops.
“Hmm… what a unique city.”
On the other hand, the people who were walking around looked so diverse. There was just no end in terms of occupation here.
The adventurer, which seemed to be the high-rank ones, were armed with equipment comparable to a knight and soldier. As for the low-rank ones, they were armed with clothes used by common people and farming tools. In terms of appearance, they were very different from the adventurers Walm had met in the past.
“Equipment isn’t everything, but…”
The adventurers, who jumped into the war between nations because of their love for their homeland and strong patriotism, who even after losing the war, tried to protect the residents from the different homeland, even if it meant throwing away their pride and lives, were strongly left an impact and stayed in Walm’s mind ever since.
At first, Walm met them on a different path and tried to kill each other, but their way of life was so dazzling for him, that he couldn’t help but respect some part of them, even though he was unwilling to admit it.
What about the adventurers Walm had been passed since a while ago?
For the greenhorn adventurers, no matter how they might look, Walm could understand them. Probably they emptied their wallet and used it all into buying anything they could to challenge the labyrinth. However, most of the mid-rank adventurers and above had red, yellow, and blue colors that hurt Walm’s eyes.
Sure, it might be for a practical reason, but, did you need to make it that flashy?
Even Walm couldn’t help but wonder about the necessity of it. More so when he could even smell perfume.
“……Right, sometimes, looks and pretentiousness are important. Sometimes, you could win with a bluff.”
That might be one of the reasons for the strange appearance.
One thing for sure, was that because they had achieved a certain amount of success that they could be roaming the streets like this.
And in a way, Walm might be seen as a terribly dirty and uninteresting human being.
“Well, either way, that’s not my style.”
Walm, who abandoned his thoughts just to escape from reality, pursued the adventurer’s back.
A scene of people gathered from all over the city, who made a living from fighting, could be seen. For Walm it was a familiar sight. It reminded him of military life.
At the end of the crowd, was the place Walm aiming for.
“This is huge”
Unlike the buildings that had been lined up, no useless gaps allowed, and the open space could even line a thousand soldiers. Stone pavement stretched straight in the center of such a place, and stone pillars with beautiful carvings lined up as if they ran parallel to each other. A huge building stood further behind. While maintaining its beauty with white as the base color, the building had a profound feeling and presence that would overwhelm visitors due to its size.
Based on its size, Walm tried to guess.
Must be the residence of Marquis Borgia…
However, as if ridiculing Walm who thought so, people, regardless of their appearance, gender, or age, proceeded without hesitation.
The decisive blow that made Walm feel completely ridiculed was the stone next to the open gate.
「THE GREAT LABYRINTH OF BELGANA」
Such was engraved on the stone. And on the other stone,
「ADVENTURER’S GUILD BELGANA BRANCH」
Was engraved on it.
Surely, it was enough to affirm Walm that he didn’t go to the wrong place.
“Well… whatever happens, happens.”
And so, Walm stepped forward.
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