Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master

Chapter 255 – Impressions

When I was a kid, we played make-believe as the Hero’s Party.

It was only in the Imperial City, but for me, Phianse, Rebal and Fu, it was an adventure.

In the house, we used the mud dumplings made in the sandbox as food rations, equipped with the fallen leaves as medicinal herbs and the water in canteens as potions.

So while I had some knowledge of the items we used for pretend play and as part of the Academy’s classes, this was the first time I’ve ever bought them as equipment for an adventure.

I was a little nervous about the idea of preparing for an adventure.

“I’m finally here, the purveyor of Adventurers and Hunters… the Equipment Shop!”

Ghenkan is a thriving fishing port, but naturally there were many visitors and adventurers from foreign countries, and there were guilds and equipment shops that cater to registered Hunters in the town.

Moreover, since it is a large town with a large population, the equipment shops seem to have all kinds of miscellaneous goods, so they’re pretty big.

“Leader, I bought 20 potions, 5 mana water to restore magic power, and some rations.”

“Alright, all that’s left is weapons. I want to buy a higher-grade sword with the reward money from last time.”

“Hey, Leader, I want a new staff too~”

The crowd was full of young people who looked like they were just starting out as adventurers, as well as those who appeared to be seasoned veterans.

Until now, I had only been involved with fishermen, inns, and diners, so I was finally able to see the others.

And the conversations I could hear were just what you would expect from adventurers, which made me even more excited.

Moreover, I had earned the money for today’s shopping by working on my own.

It’s not much, but it’s not the allowance I received before I left home, nor the money I got from Tre’ainar’s Go games.

“Oh… so many weapons… hmm~……”

When I entered the store, the first thing I saw was the weapons section.

Swords of various shapes, spears, axes, bows and arrows… but……

“…… somehow… there doesn’t seem to be much that’s worth buying.”

Weapons were exciting to look at, and I was excited to head to the weapons section, but upon closer inspection, I could tell that the steel didn’t look that good or well forged, even to me.

If anything, it’s…

“There are usually a lot better stuff in the armory of my house…”

The weapons collected by my father and mother in the mansion were more diverse, and I could tell just by looking at them that many were powerful weapons.

Compared to that, at a glance, there’s nothing that great…

『Of course not.』

「Tre’ainar?」

『Your father and mother are among the Seven Heroes. Surely, they possess renowned swords and legendary weapons that will be heard of in all corners of the Surface World and even in the Demon Realm… temper your expectations from a equipment shop frequented by the riff-raff hunters in these parts.』

「Ah~…… is that so?」

What…… I guess that’s right, if you say so.

「That’s right… I thought they might have Excalibur, Gungnir, Balmung, or something like that…」

『Impossible!』

「Haha, just kidding. No matter how ignorant I am, I know that there’s no way legendary weapons that you’ve only heard about in fairy tales are here.」

『Certainly, In the first place, I broke Excalibur in a battle hundreds of years ago, and Gungnir is currently held by Solja of the Seven Heroes… the father of that imperial princess has it. Ah, but as for Balmung, tis a part of my collection, so… unless the private room I used when I sought solitude was discovered, it should still be there!』

…… hmm~? I had to look at Tre’ainar twice because he just said something amazing.

Eh? Were they all real weapons?! Oh, come to think of it, this guy claimed that he also broke the legendary sword, Kotetsu, when we were in Cantidan…

『Well, never mind the weapons. Your fighting style does not require weapons in the first place. The recent fight against Paripi was merely a special case.』

「Well, yes, but… it has a kind of romance to it…」

『Rather than a weapon for you… hmm…… oh, that!』

Tre’ainar glanced around the weapons section, and suddenly stared at one place, his eyes shining.

『Is this not something good? Tis so nostalgic… child, be sure to procure that ‘multi-tool knife’ there.』

What the excited Tre’ainar recommended to me was a knife.

I followed his gaze to see what it was all about… there wasn’t much of a crowd, and there was a box there, and when I looked inside, I saw a large number of small handle-like things in it.

Were they unpopular and unsold? Things that no one buys?

「Huh? Knife…… this? Isn’t it just a handle?」

『Tis foldable. Try pulling on the groove.』

「Oh, oh, it’s out… tiny…」

I was told that it was a foldable type, so I tried to pull out the blade, but it was the kind of knife that hunters use as a weapon… just much smaller.

Even smaller than Shinobu’s kunai.

It would only do a little damage in a fight with a monster or something, right?

I mean, I can only imagine the scene of the knife breaking if I stabbed it into Machio’s abs.

But Tre’ainar’s smile didn’t change.

『Hmph. So ignorant. Tis not for combat, tis equipped with various functions that are ideal for outdoor life.』

「…… What?」

『Try pulling something other than the knife.』

「Other… oh, huh? It’s a file, a spoon and a fork… even scissors! Wow, isn’t this handy!」

I thought it was a knife, but that wasn’t the only function that was folded up.

When I was surprised at the item I had never seen before, Tre’ainar gave me a smug face…

『Fufufufu, tis something I devised in the past… I had the soldiers of the Demon King’s army always carry it with them as a necessity. A Multi-tool knife…… otherwise known as the ‘Magical Survival Knife.』

「Heh~…… wait, you came up with this!?」

『With the war is over, I suppose they are trying to incorporate the culture of the Demon Realm into the Surface World… but…』

So you’re the inventor!? But it’s certainly convenient enough for him to be smug.

It’s not heavy at all, fits in your pocket, and yet it has many uses.

I mean, isn’t this a must-have for sure?

And Tre’ainar also wondered a little about it …

『But why is there such a surplus? I do not think it would be strange if they sold out, but… tis also written as a great bargain!』

Yes, that’s what I thought too.

With such a convenient item, as a swordsman, a spear user, a mage, or whatever your occupation is, if you’re going on an adventure, you can have one for each person and you won’t lose it at all.

And yet, why…

“Oh, we have a young adventurer here~”

“Oh, how cute. Ufufufu, are you an apprentice?”

“Oh? That knife… is ah~……”

From behind me, a group of people who appeared to be from some adventurer’s party started talking to me.

Even though there are some other young guys out here, it may be rare to have someone as young as 15 years old like me.

Then, when they saw the knife I was holding in my hands, they smiled wryly…

“You probably don’t know this because you’re young, but if you carry that knife too much… it won’t be good for you, okay? Well, not everyone uses one.”

“…… Huh?”

“That’s ~, what the Demon King Army once used… erm… for those who know more or less the old days… it’s not a good image to have? Well, maybe the younger generation that doesn’t know about the war will use it without knowing it, but not yet, right?”

With just that look and the words that had been spoken up to that point, both Tre’ainar and I understood everything.

In short, using the same item that the Demon King Army used would somehow be bad for one’s image.

For me who wasn’t even born at the time, it would have been fine, but those who were born at that time, let alone veterans, might have fought in the war.

From their point of view, even if the war is over, the items used by the Demon King Army were… ah~, it’s like that…

“Keh, adventurers and hunters who are said to be synonymous with freedom shouldn’t be bound by strange things… such a shame.”

I just said what I thought.

“Hey, you?”

“I don’t care, I’m buying it.”

“Oh, hey!”

“Even if the image is the worst to humanity, my impression is it’s the best in the world ♪.”

Such a convenient and cheap all-purpose item…… it’s a waste not to have it just because you’re worried about what those around you would think.

Well, of course, I don’t know how these guys feel.

Some of them may have had family who were killed by the Demon King Army who had this, or they may have had unfortunate encounters.

That’s why I don’t understand the feelings of those people who say, “I don’t want to use it” and “people around them may not think well of it”.

But from my point of view, it’s such a small matter.

I mean, it’s too late for that.

「Well… Tre’ainar, what else do you recommend?」

『…………… fu…』

「Tre’ainar?」

『Hmm… well, then, portable food and herbs should come next!』

I thought I saw Tre’ainar smiling happily at me… well, let’s not mention that.

Having decided that, I headed to the next section.