Chapter 16
He had completely stopped giving me the look he had when I first drew my sword.
The dismissive look was completely gone.
What remained was only admiration and respect for the opponent.
“I owe you an apology. What is your name? I'd like to remember the name of my little giant.”
“A little giant!?”
Aris whispered to me in surprise.
“Y-yes, the hero’s nickname...! It’s an expression used when showing a swordsman the utmost respect...!”
“You're serious!?”
The knight academy student who had been flirting with me said, flustered.
“Of course I am. It's been a long time since I've seen such a clean sword.”
“Drek. Cut it out. Should you be bullying a freshman? That was far better than your own sword strike.”
“What did you say?”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Drek bristled, but he seemed unable to find a rebuttal.
He disappeared among the students with a red face.
Even the other Knight Academy students had gathered around to watch.
‘...This has gotten a little bigger than I expected.’
Aris stood beside me, fidgeting nervously.
But she didn't look unhappy.
She seemed secretly pleased that I'd broken us out of this situation.
“That scarecrow isn't insanely tough!? And a freshman cut it down?”
“Wasn't that with aura? At this level, it's just a decent cut either way.”
“Idiot. You don't learn aura until your second year. Why wouldn't we know about someone that pretty? They're a freshman.”
It was already a foregone conclusion that I was a freshman at the Knight Academy.
“Still, there doesn't seem to be much mana we can feel. Doesn't look like they've manifested aura either...”
“Then they cut that down without even coating themselves in mana!?”
“What a monster of a freshman. Who knew there was such a dark horse?”
It had definitely been a clean cut.
By my standards, it was a little lacking,
and...
“I think the sword itself is just really good.”
The sword itself really did cut beautifully.
It seemed far better than most artifacts.
It even outperformed Isela's saber.
It was a little worse than Muramasa, but it made no sense for a sword you could buy in a market stall to be compared to an SR-grade artifact.
Back on Earth, an SR-grade artifact was priceless.
When I complimented the sword, he grinned happily and said,
“Hahahaha!! Then why don't you buy it? I'll give you a discount.”
“How much?”
When I heard the price, my eyes nearly popped out.
“Ten gold.”
One thousand silver.
It was more expensive than most elixirs.
Damn, that's expensive!
This is a market stall!?
“You said there wouldn't be any gouging! Liar!”
“What are you talking about? Did you really come from a magic school? Of course I know you don't have that kind of money.”
“Well, that's true. Give me a bit of a discount.”
I shamelessly pushed forward.
If I lost at bargaining, I wouldn't get anywhere.
That was my thinking.
‘If I can't afford it anyway, let's see how far I can talk him down.’
But the answer I got left me speechless.
“Hah. I was planning to do that anyway. Just give me 1 silver.”
“…Pardon?”
From 10 gold down to 1 silver?
From 1,000 silver to 1 silver???
An absurd discount rate.
“A celebration for meeting the little giant. Let me treat you.”
The people watching nearby seemed shocked too.
It was practically free.
If he'd overcharged me first and then lowered it, maybe I could understand, but...
I looked at the man.
“…Can you afford that?”
“That's my problem. Besides, most of the swords here are my own work.”
“Then fine.”
“Wouldn't you tell me your name?”
“What do you need my name for?”
“Well, it's good to know, isn't it?”
I told him my name.
“Then do that, and could you give me something else too?”
Since I was at it, I decided to buy something else here too.
I was in a good mood after all the praise.
“What do you need? Of course, the discount only applies to one sword.”
“Just one shield I can get for 20 silver or less.”
“A shield? What size and weight?”
“Make it come up to my waist. I don't care how heavy it is, as long as I can lift it.”
“Hmm... we only sell things like that as clearance items in this shop.”
“Then I'll take one of those.”
Actually, that was better.
I had no intention of using it normally in the first place.
“The apprentices have already messed with the balance, but... since things have come to this, I'll give you an experimental piece.”
“That's fine by me.”
I can't use defense magic.
I'd seen Karnarov cast defense magic before, but I hadn't learned it yet.
But?
Not being able to use defense magic doesn't mean I can't make it through the second floor.
I received a sword wrapped in a fancy case and a sturdy wooden shield.
It was a bit weird, but at least I could carry them around.
Then that was fine.
I looked at the sword.
On the case, “Tier 2” had been written in cursive.
***
A woman with red hair.
With a saber at her waist, Roel was an imperial knight and a professor at Lunaris Knight Academy.
She had reached the Master rank at a young age.
But the person in front of her was someone she was close enough to be on familiar terms with.
At the upscale inn in School Market.
They had rented out an entire reception hall.
The negotiations were taking place inside.
“Then we're agreed on the contract? Keep the supply coming. Raise the unit price by ten percent.”
“Right. Mithril prices have gone up, so that should be enough.”
One of the chief blacksmiths of the Swordmilia Merchant Guild.
Brian Grace grinned, baring his teeth.
His sharp beard stood out.
Swordmilia belonged to what you'd call a premium brand.
Needless to say, the performance and mana conductivity of top-tier weapons like the Dragon Slayer were second to none.
But.
“Their true value lies in the mass-market line.”
Swordmilia's Tier 3.
The sword Lunaris issues to students by default.
Its quality rivaled even the swords of noble houses, greatly narrowing the gap between students' equipment.
Then Brian suddenly brought something up as if it had just occurred to him.
“Ah, come to think of it.”
“Hm?”
“I found a pretty good prospect among the new students earlier.”
Was there such a student?
“A prospect? Didn't all the decent ones on our side already go look, under the guise of sponsoring promising students?”
“Yes. But there was another raw gem. You'd know it right away if you heard it, wouldn't you? Little mana, small body, overwhelming skill.”
“Who on earth are you talking about?”
He was praising someone nonstop.
He seemed to think she'd know once he said it, but Roel had no clue.
In fact, she'd been thinking this year's freshmen were all pretty average...
“Hah. Look at you. You can't even tell a gem like that apart. Yumia. Yu-mi-a.”
“I've never heard of her, though.”
“Come on. Look a little harder.”
She took out a notebook and flipped through the student registry.
Conveniently, she was in charge of the first-years too.
But there wasn't a trace of the name Yumia.
“No, she's not even in the student registry.”
“Huh?”
***
I went somewhere out of sight and put the shield and sword into my inventory.
“Why did you go so far away to put them away?”
“If they find out I'm a mage, they might take them away.”
I ducked off to a corner and hid the sword and shield.
“No way they'd do that. That's a brand even I know.”
“Is it famous?”
“Among knights, it's said to be a brand everyone passes through at least once.”
“Oh.”
“One of my older brothers is a knight, and he uses a sword from this brand.”
Aris's family was said to be quite famous too.
Looks like I bought well.
My wallet was a little lighter, though.
“By the way, Yumia. You can use a sword!?”
“For now, I guess.”
“Amazing... and from what I saw earlier, your level seems pretty high too. Why didn't you go to the Knight Academy?”
A lot of thoughts crossed my mind, but I answered simply.
“...I just liked Reinhart more.”
That bastard principal had thrown me into the dormitory exam in the first place.
I didn't enroll.
I was forced into it.
Honestly, if I had to choose between the two, I'd pick Reinhart.
I didn't want to be stuck among sweaty men.
Camp life had been fun and miserable, but that was one thing I definitely wanted to avoid.
“Mm. Just because, huh. I like Reinhart better too.”
We bought grilled skewers from a street stall.
They were similar to the chicken skewers sold in the market back on the other side.
The portions were a little bigger.
They cost 50 copper.
“Mmm.”
“This is pretty good!”
It was salty because they’d only salted it, but the meat itself was decent, so it was still edible.
It felt strangely like Earth and this world had been reversed.
Here, good meat makes up for the lack of spices.
Not by covering up the gamey smell with sauce.
Still, when I go back for real, I'm definitely bringing pepper with me.
I didn't notice while eating, but after having greasy meat with only salt, I could really feel how much I missed pepper.
“All that's left is to buy a robe and tie!”
“Mmm.”
We stopped by a clothing store.
“Wow! Yumia, you look really pretty!”
“Wait. Aris. Your eyes have gone wild.”
Along the way, I had to endure the humiliation of being made to try on all kinds of lady-like dresses and such.
But in the end, I was able to buy a robe and tie.
For extra money, they even embroidered the Reinhart emblem on it.
Aris said with a smile,
“As expected, Yumia, a robe suits you too!”
“...Get me out of here...”
Still, I somehow bought it, and I liked it because it was pretty.
After leaving the clothing store, we looked around other places too.
We also looked at more weapons and went to clothing and cosmetics shops.
By the time I'd started to feel like we'd been wandering around quite a bit,
“Ugh...”
“What's wrong?”
“No, I'm just getting restless.”
“Can't you go even one day without causing some kind of trouble?”
“No, that's not what I meant.”
I bought a sword and my mana increased, but I barely fought at all.
The last time I swung a sword was when I hit a scarecrow.
I'm bored to death...
I should probably sneak off and head to the tower soon.
“Using magic or going to the western forest was fun too, but I haven't fought even once lately.”
“Do you like fighting that much? Yumia, you're kind of like a little boy sometimes.”
“It's that fun.”
Men are all like that.
Except I'm a girl, though.
“Sigh. Then why don't you request sparring matches from the upperclassmen?”
“Huh? I can do that?”
I can challenge the seniors myself?
“Ah, but friendly sparring only becomes possible starting in the second semester. Of course, you'll need a witness too.”
“What...”
“I'm bored. So bored.”
Should I go back to the dorm and watch the movie I brought?
Just as I was thinking that,
—KWA-A-A-AANG!
From not too far away, a low, heavy boom struck my ears.
“Aaaah!! A magical beast has escaped!!”
“Any combat personnel available!?”
I narrowed my eyes and looked over the situation in the distance.
My gaze swept over the scene.
A wolf-like magical beast standing on two legs was bellowing viciously.
Thankfully, it seemed to be only one, and for now the remaining iron chains were keeping it bound to the cage.
But it didn't look like that would hold out much longer.
“Please hold on just a little longer! We'll bring a knight or mage right away!”
“We're non-combat personnel! We can't hold out much longer!! Hurry back!!”
“Yumia! Evacuate...”
“Aris. Sorry.”
“Huh?”
I looked Aris in the eyes.
I said it with an utterly serious expression,
so much so that Aris even held her breath for a moment and listened closely.
“I'm a Hunter. By my professional ethics, I can't run away and leave citizens in danger when a monster appears.”
“B-but that's dangerous...”
“There are times when you have to do something even when you know it's dangerous. Let me go. No one but me can stop that thing. You know that, right?”
“…Ngh.”
Aris barely managed to get the words out.
“Okay...”
I hadn't even let Aris finish speaking before I let out a cheer and sprinted toward the source of the sound.
“Yeehaw! It's been ages since my last fight!!!”
I didn't need a mirror to know there was a huge crescent smile on my face.
“What happened to all that professional ethics nonsense!!!”