Dream Life

November 7th.

Three days ago, I was wounded in a battle with Ghoul.

At that time, I hit him in the head so hard that the next day I hit him on a full rest day. Fortunately, I haven't had any particular sequelae since, and it just seemed like a concussion.

Yesterday's sixth day was Professor Raspade's lecture day, and he's going to the college.

Originally today is the day to go into the woods, but I decided to go to the armor store near Adventurer's Guild in New Town.

Until now, I was wearing a leather jacket and leather trousers because I would not be injured by pointy tree branches, rocks, etc., but I was reminded that this injury was not enough.

With Beatrice's destination, the four of us are headed to the armor store.

Adventurers often wear basically leather protective equipment. This is because in metal protective equipment that makes noise, you are more likely to be spotted and ambushed by demons first. Both Beatrice and Liddy wear hard-leather (hard leather) armor.

Beatrice, the magician, is heavier than Liddy, the archer, and he also wears the clasp "ChainMail" under his leather armor. She showed it to me, but even though it seems to weigh a lot, her movements don't make me feel it. When I tell her about it, she laughs, "I work out differently," but Liddy says, "It's a difference in stature," and she laughs bitterly.

The armor store is in a painting lined up with armor stores, and I used to come around here sometimes, so I had seen it. Because he was coming to a Dwarf arms maker's shop called Zergius to take care of the sword of Beltram - the Dwarf blacksmith in the village of Lasmore.

Zergius and I met for the first time around the end of August, but we are quickly cracking it down with the introduction of Periclitle's blacksmith, Geiselhael. Of course, I don't doubt that a souvenir Scotch could have helped.

The armorer's table said “Rufus Lavagne's shop”.

When I opened the door, there was a subtle smell of pre-processing skin and the raw smell of glue "Kawawa".

Inside, many parts of leather armor are arranged, and the hard leather "hard leather" shines like candy or menow.

Beatrice said, "Where's Rufus?!," a young woman came out of the back. The woman is like an elf and quite beautiful, but not sure how old she is. But he thinks he must be quite old, from a soft waist.

Beatrice said, "Rachel? Isn't Rufus there?" said the woman named Rachel, smiling.

"I can't get my hands off you right now. If you wait about twenty minutes, they'll come out. What can I do for you today? Looks like he's got his first customer."

"He's one of us partying with me right now. Lydiane, Zach, Sharon. I came to check on Zach's gear today."

Rachel stood in front of me, and after looking from top to bottom,

"Hmm, this kid also uses magic...... Beatrice, what's his budget?

You haven't said anything, but you realize I use magic. Liddy also sees a stream of spiritual power, so maybe it looks like Rachel too.

But I still have about 20,000 C (Krona) (= 20 million yen) in cash. But for one reason, I didn't set a budget.

For one thing, I'm not sure what the market is for leather armor.

For once, I was hearing some quotes from Beatrice and Liddy, but the price varies greatly depending on the size, as the protective gear is close to being made to order. If it's a size in demand, they can lower the price by sharing parts, but if it's a special order like Beatrice's (...), it's pretty expensive. Speaking from the size of my body, it's pretty much the same as a female adventurer in a small beast tribe, such as a cat tribe, but it's off the human male size with a lot of demand. I have no idea how this neighborhood affects prices.

Another reason is that I don't know how long I can spend growing up. I guess there are adjustments to the protective equipment as well, but I don't know how much scope can be covered by that adjustment. I would buy them too often because they are not cost worthy, they are more expensive than I think and if I needed a replacement soon I would have bought the cheapest stuff.

I said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Zach," and I smiled and said to Rachel,

"I don't know the budget without looking at things. For once, we believe that the ceiling is up to 5,000 C (= 5 million yen)."

"Five thousand C. Should I ask Beatrice about the style of battle and the demands? Or should I ask your elf lady?

Looks like he's spotting Liddy as a veteran adventurer at a glance. I thought that was just the adventurer opponent's business, but since he's an elf, I reconsidered that maybe he's been doing it for quite a while.

Beatrice said, "Ask him in person. That'll be fine, Lydiane," he says, taking confirmation with Lydie. Liddy nodded, "Right," and Rachel glanced back at me.

"Okay. And that's amazing. I can't believe Beatrice trusts me. I've decided on Beatrice's opinion from the first to the tenth."

When Beatrice said, "That won't be there. You just gave me some advice," he protests, but Rachel doesn't care, "So can you tell me how to fight?" and move on.

I laughed bitterly and thought of someone.

(You look somewhat like Dr. Raspade. My pace...)

I'm worried about how to explain my style of combat, but she's listened to specifics like, "How about when you fight a wolf," “What about a man-shaped demon?”

I answered her questions one by one.

In about twenty minutes, she was satisfied too, stopped asking questions and said, "I think I got it. Because I'll also tell Rufus," he said, returning to the workshop.

I said, "You know what I mean by that?," she asks Beatrice, laughing,

"That's what I think at first. But don't worry, Rachel and Rufus are top notch craftsmen."

"Isn't it expensive to be top notch? I said five grand, but I'm not gonna let you get that far."

The standard leather armor here in Doctus is approximately 1,000 C (= million yen) in a set from helmet to shin. Then the newbie (Rookie) can't help it, so they say it starts at about 200 C in a set with cheap used goods - things that are close to disposal. Exactly. I'm not going to lose that much quality, but if I can use it for a year or so, I'm thinking up to about 3,000.

Income from monster hunting over the past month, but my share alone is slightly over 500C (= 500,000 yen). Of course, it's not even divided between the four of us, it's the take after we give more to Beatrice and Liddy. My expenses are about as good as taking care of my sword, and I barely need Sharon. That's why I'm giving more to both of you, but still mostly in a state where you're turning to saving.

I guess my character is impoverished. They don't want to spend much money on things they can only use for a short period of time. Normally, even if I multiply my current income by more than 5,000 C, it would fit me well enough, but I don't feel like I have any body. I'm sure, if I had children, I would have been a parent who didn't want to spend money on children's clothes.

My concern elsewhere. Beatrice said, "It's something I'm saving my life for, so don't be a jerk. If it's not enough, I'll get it out," he said.

"I'm growing up. There will be no body to hang money on something that won't last long. Besides, protective equipment is like insurance. Basically, I'm not going to change the way I move around and dodge it."

When I said that, I heard a young man from the back.

"I'll take it down when I buy it again. If you're right about the style, I think you can afford it."

With that said, a handsome elf with a big apron came out of the workshop. He looks like Rufus, the shopkeeper.

With a pleasant soft atmosphere for everyone, he seemed more suited to a man like the owner of a rich opponent's ornament store than the owner of a protective equipment store where the rough guy would come.

"You're the customer. [M] What should I do with the material? An exterior shell of an insect-based demon, reptile-based, or normally animal-based leather? This city gets a lot of material, so I think we can make most of it."

I don't know the characteristics and price of the material. When I said that, I started explaining it like a machine gun.

"Right. It's only natural that you don't know because you're new here to buy it. Yeah, yeah, I'll explain. First of all, it's insect based, but the best characteristic is that it's hard. It's tougher than bad metal stuff. It's a drawback, but it's expensive. Because it's difficult to process, we can only do things that are in the form of materials. For that matter, there's really no use..."

Then the description of the material continued about enough. Apparently, he got caught by a hell of a talker.

To organize the story, the insect system is characterized by hardness and difficult to process, which makes its split height. The reptile system is characterised by low water resistance and material degeneration, but the price increases because it requires the top demonic materials when it comes to hardness. It is also characteristic of this material that there are variations from cheap materials such as Lizardman's skin to super-premium materials of the dragon species. By the way, they don't have enough material to recommend right now.

Animal systems range from familiar cow and horse objects to demonic objects such as four-handed bears, and the price is pinned down. The skin is processed and stiffened, which causes the performance to deteriorate as soon as it is immersed in water for long periods of time or neglected to take care of it. They say the cheap leather armor material is mostly cows or horses.

I knew too much about the material, so I decided to check the type of protective gear I needed next, but it was going to be just as long when I asked Rufus, so I decided to ask Liddy and Beatrice for their opinion. We both agreed that we should try to align the full set once, so I told them to stay put.

"From helmet to shin in full set. Materials should be general."

The reason I chose normal animal skins is simple. Sometimes the price isn't that high, but basically we only go into the woods on sunny days. For that matter, it will also be difficult to degrade. If you get used to more common leather armor, you can also learn how to take care of it, and it is useful when you are independent.

And most importantly, the evil is inconspicuous.

Even though, I stand out. In the Old Town, he's the head of the college, and that's Professor Raspade's favorite. Even in the new town, Beatrice, who never partied before, is talking about partying with me. It is also quite remarkable because of the constant presence of an immortal beauty named Liddy.

"That would be between five hundred and two thousand C's, but how much do you want it to be?

I got excited and made it 2,000 C.

"Copy that. Just take a measurement and combine the parts, so we'll be done in about three days. What about the colors? It won't take long if it's what we have now, but it'll take about ten days to re-dye."

I replied without thinking too much about "something, please" because there is no particular color constraint, and most of the candy stuff is there even when I look around.

I was taken to the workshop and measured. In addition, he finally releases himself after fine-grained questioning about what to do with the range of motion of his arms and what to do behind his knees and ankles.

Meanwhile, it looks like Liddy and the others were watching Sharon's protective gear in the store. Even when it comes to protective gear, it's what magicians like cloaks and robes use. That was just the knee of the Sorcerer's Guild, and it was quite an assortment.

Even more surprisingly, capes and robes have magic added to them, and good objects have a little leather armor defense.

I tried to buy one for Sharon's safety. But she sees the price, and her face turns pale.

Two thousand C (= two million yen) even for cheap items. A hundred thousand C (= 100 million yen) if it was expensive. Even if the cloak of normal skin is high, it's about 200 C, so there's no reason for Sharon to be surprised.

Exactly 100 million yen can't be reached, but the cheap 2 million yen can be reached.

"Shall I buy this? It says here that the magic of the wooden attribute is added and the blade resistance is increased."

Sharon says, "You can't buy such expensive stuff," he says in a crying voice no, but decides to buy it forcefully by saying, "Because I'll give it to you.

Beatrice, who was watching it, said, "Even though my stuff is a pain in the ass."

"It would be obvious. I'm good because I'm a man, but Sharon's a girl. What will you do if you get a scratch on your body?"

When I heard that, Liddy made fun of me. "Then I want you to give it to me, too."

I didn't deal with "Liddy's wearing leather armor, that's fine". Then he cries and imitates, "Oh, you can scratch me".

I'm playing. I'm gonna leave Liddy alone and pick Sharon's cloak.

I'm going to ask Rachel a question when she comes back to replace Rufus.

"Is the color just here? Any sizing? Something else that works for about the same price…"

Beatrice says, "It's more serious than when you pick your own."

Eventually, I bought a dark moss green cloak that didn't stand out in the woods for two thousand five hundred C.

The length of the cape can also be easily adjusted by folding it back, and the fact that it can be used for a long time was also a reason to “buy” it.

Sharon was teary-eyed and muttered, "I'm the only one with such a high..." So after forcefully handing it over, he whispers in his ear, "Next time I go back to the village, I'll buy Mel's and Dan's for a souvenir too," he said. Then he immediately smiled and said, "Yes! Thank you," he said and held happily.

Liddy said, "Oh, we don't have it?" I've said it with a serious face, "so next time I said I'd buy it, I put the spot away.

Sharon watched as many times as she got home to see if she liked the cape I gave her. I hope that's all, but I didn't try to wear it to the woods because it gets dirty. I managed to convince him to wear it in the woods, but it was still an act I thought was a girl.

Three days later on November 10th.

First thing in the morning I go to Rufus's store to pick up some leather armor.

So I bought a helmet, chest armor, torso armor, shoulder to shoulder, hips, armor, cage hands, leg armor, shin to shin, but when I saw the leather armor that came out, I lost my word.

What I asked for was a common leather armor that processed cow or horse skin, which was supposed to be brown candy stuff. But the leather armor in front of me was a disastrous object that was unified in black and the surface sparkled like obsidian.

(It's not the Demon King's armor, so this color won't be there. The color of the body of a black painted luxury car is close...... but is this hard feeling metal? The sound is plastic when tapped, yes, it feels close to acrylic. But how about armor that stands out...)

I was staring at it. I finally regained my mind and complained to Rufus, the armorer.

"It's not what I asked for. What I asked for was something made of common leather. It doesn't matter what you think."

Rufus laughed at Nico,

"No, no, I use common cow skins. The processing is a bit special, though. Of course I'm keeping it within my budget."

When asked in detail, he said that the skin itself was common cowhide leather, because the color was extra black, but that once Rachel had been magically water-repellent to the surface with the wood attribute, it was shinier than he thought, and he got on with it because it was funny, layering it with hardening and water-repellent to make it shinier.

"The extra magic is service, so don't worry about it."

I weakened with that word and said, "No, that's not what I'm talking about," in vegetarian terms.

"I can talk like that, too. You don't have to worry about this place, you just have to talk normally."

I only answer "ha," but looking at Rufus, I was thinking of something else.

(Hi, don't go crazy talking to this elf. I wonder how old you are, this guy...)

Rufus said, "Oh, I'll give you this too. Rachel said it was loud with me, too," and handed me black leather trousers of the same color as black wool underwear.

Liddy and Beatrice insist that I try it on as soon as I'm holding it.

When I say I don't know how to put on my armor, I'm going to have fun wearing it for two. I moved my hands and legs as I did, and put on enough armor.

The three of us, Liddy, Beatrice and Sharon, say they look good and look fun, but I don't know how they look to me because they don't have a mirror of appearance. But as far as helmets and shins were concerned, I felt like a knight who fell on the dark side of power.

(If you wore a face mask on a black cloak and even had a light sabel, you'd be a total dark lord of an empire. I'm glad it's not a black cloak......)

I was thinking about that, and Rufus' wife, Rachel, showed up from the back.

"You look great. Yeah, well, this is a gift too."

That's what I said, I've handed you a cloak dyed in pitch black.

Rachel wears it forcefully because I keep it in my hand and don't try it on.

"Yeah. Just like I thought. This is perfect."

I don't know what's perfect, but I snort satisfactorily over and over again.

There's nothing different about it than my order, whether it's as requested or not. Naturally, I couldn't return the product, but I couldn't explain it.

"The cape is also blade- and waterproof, and it's a pretty good one. You can always take care of it."

Later I heard that Rachel was interested in me and asked Beatrice a lot. And when you heard you were a magical swordsman who could also use dark attributes, you said you were inspired to be playful. For that matter, they say the performance is better than double the price.

When I moved to try it, it was very hard to move at first.

Since it has been an elastic leather jacket until now, there has been absolutely nothing like a catch, but the protective gear covering the shoulders, elbows and knees feels like it inhibits movement, and the torso armor gets in the way when trying to crouch when avoiding it.

But that also made it possible to move with little discomfort by training Beatrice opponents. After training at the Alliance's training ground on a rainy day, by the end of November, I was able to make the same move as before.

It does perform well. But there was a curse on this gear. Yes, every time you put on gear, you do damage to my spirit.

When I put on that gear and went to the training ground, I was sure to be noticed and I could hear him whispering.

After a while, I learned that I was called the Darkness Little Swordsman Wizard.

I remember clearly the first time I heard you say "What the hell, that..."

The “two names" of the cook did a lot of damage to my mind when I was over fifty years old. The night I first found out about it, I was stuffy and distressed in bed for hours.

■ ■ ■

What Zach doesn't know, but his “two names” weren't like this.

In a tavern with many adventurers, it was called by two different names.

He was called "The Rider of the Female Tiger (Tigress Ryder)" because he was serving three distinct beauties and beautiful girls, “The All-Range Prince of Harlem in all directions", and because he captivated Beatrice.

In addition, “Zacharias Rockharem (...)" and "Zacharias Cock (...) Heart - Cock is a masculine hidden word -" were used as drunken liquor dishes by the last name Lockhart.

Of course, it was forbidden in front of Beatrice. Once, there was a drunk who slipped his mouth, but was taken behind the liquor store after receiving a gaze like a chunk of Beatrice's killer. After Beatrice returned, when his buddies went to see him, he had a drunken figure with his lower body rounded out and stuck in the trash from his head.

She said, "It'll be about the trash can that guy can penetrate. He said the trash mistress (Trash Rubber) looked good on him."