Prop Gathering (2)

I was confused.

Confuzzled.

Bewildered.

And Stupefied.

Why?

Well, it was because of the person standing across from me.

Five minutes ago, following the instructions the pawn shop owner left me, I arrived at a relatively modern brick and mortar building. Or at least, I thought it was brick and mortar. It was hard to tell with the dense smog enveloping the shop. The only thing that revealed its stature was a protruding wooden shop sign with the picture of a sword and bow. There wasn’t much else I could do, so holding my breath, I braved through, grasping for anything I could open. Luckily, it didn’t take too long to find the entrance.

Ding-a-ling.

The soft chime of a bell rang as I quickly entered, shutting the door before the fog could get in. Compared to outside, hidden behind a gray cloud, the interior had a much more professional feel. All sorts of weapons from battle axes to greatswords to greatshields lined the walls and display tables, locked behind iron bars. A set of stairs led upwards on the left side, while a relatively largeish countertop lined the back. Behind that was a doorway covered by black curtain, from which I heard two people yelling at each other.

“Hello?” I called out in case they didn’t hear the bell ring.

“One second, if you wouldn’t mind,” a woman called as the sounds of clomping feet grew closer.

And that led me to now.

“Welcome to Smith’s Armory, how can I help you today?” A young woman, somewhere in her midteens, appeared from the doorway, pushing the curtains aside. Compared to her polite yet exaggerated tone, her clothes were a mix of trendy and industrial. A gray crop top exposed her midriff while welding gloves covered her hands. Skin-tight black jeans were terminated with brown steal-toe boots. While she carried a hammer in one hand, there wasn’t the tiniest bit of soot or dust on her body. She was a paradox, one I unfortunately recognized.

“Elvira?” I asked, hoping I was wrong.

“Wow! You got it immediately for once! I’m so proud.” Her professional demeanor was replaced by an obnoxiously smug smile as she hopped over the counter and slid, somehow with a hint of grace.

“Okay. Hold on a second. How… why are you here?”

“Hm? Isn’t it obvious? I work part time as a sales clerk slash blacksmith. The old man in the back doesn’t like to deal with people, so he sends me out, even if I’m in the middle of something!” Her cheeks puffed out, which looked annoyingly cute for her teenage body. “Well, it works out anyway.”

“Uh…” Nope, that still doesn’t make sense. First, she – or he – was the owner of a popular clothing brand. Then, he worked part time at a hotel restaurant in the evening. And between all that, she was working as a sales clerk and blacksmith? Just… what? None of those skills overlapped in the slightest. In fact, I would go so far to say they were mutually exclusive. And yet, here Elvira was, an enigma even greater than the universe. Well, that’s not true, but still…

“Who are you again?” I blurted out unintentionally.

And, as expected, she laughed off my question, countering with one of her own. “So, what are you here for? Don’t tell me… you’re actually looking for a weapon?”

“...that’s exactly why I’m here,” I answered with a deadpanned expression.

“Really?!? Pfft. How… cute!” she giggled in the most irritating way imaginable.

Does everyone think I can’t handle a weapon? That little… whew. Calm down. I can’t let her get to me. I kept my mouth shut until she finished, mainly to stop my unknown temper from exploding.

“Haah… okay. What type of weapon are you looking for?”

“A dagger.”

“Hmm… makes sense. That’s probably as much as you can handle right now,” she nodded, as if coming to some kind of understanding. She glanced at me inquisitively, mainly focusing on my hands, before thinking for a brief moment. “Follow me.”

Elvira led me up the flight of stairs to the second floor. Compared to the first, the second had a plethora of one-handed, medium-sized weapons like swords, bows, and shields. I didn’t see any daggers, but they were apparently on the next floor up, along with numerous knives and bracers.

“Honestly, I have no idea if any of these will work for you, so just pick one and try it out. We’ll work from there,” Elvira bluntly stated, leaning against one of the displays as though there was nothing left to do.

Ignoring her lack of an explanation, I focused on the different weapons available. Surprisingly, there was a massive amount of variation between each individual piece. Some were almost as long as a short sword while others were about the size of a razor blade. I even saw a few kris and sickles too. Of course, I knew I couldn’t use them right now. With their unique designs, I didn’t trust myself to hold it correctly when I stabbed something. So, I focused my attention on the daggers. As for which, well…

“Let’s try this one.” I pointed to one at random. How am I supposed to know whether it's good or not? Elvira explained nothing!

She looked at the dagger I chose and… shrugged her shoulders before unlocking the cage and handing it over.

The blade was slightly larger than the size of my palm, with its hilt just large enough to hold in my hand. I slashed it around a few times, acting like a chef waving his knife in anger. Then, I tried a reverse grip, bringing my arm straight across like a ninja. While I could feel the tension in my arm, none of my movements felt unnatural. In fact, the more I swung, the better it felt.

“This seems pretty…” I was about to let Elvira know, but when I turned around, she had a rather strained grin. “...what?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure you’ll want to hear this.”

“Just tell me already.”

“If you say so…” she paused for what I could only assume was dramatic effect.

“You really have no idea how to wield a weapon.”