Ch 5

For a moment, I found myself in an unfamiliar room and couldn't remember where I was. Then, still groggy, I remembered where I was and everything I had been doing over the past few days.

Let's see… I escaped the mansion, granted it was surprisingly easy, traveled here, which was way harder than expected, got attacked by monsters, went into town to register to become an adventurer, paid an inn for a room, and took a nap.

I didn't want to get up from the comfy bed, but I felt like I had to do something today.

Oh right, I was supposed to pick up my adventurer card for today.

Reluctantly, I got up, yawned, and looked out the window. It looks like I really did sleep through the entire day yesterday.

I muttered in a still groggy voice. “What should I do today?”

I should go to the adventurer guild in the afternoon because there will be fewer people around, so that leaves the morning free.

Going around town and looking at the shops seems like a good idea; maybe I’ll buy some gear with the extra money I got from selling the horned rabbits.

I noticed the bucket from yesterday, which had a few rags inside it. I figured this was probably what commoners used to wash themselves.

Before I leave, I'd better wash all the sweat and dirt I accumulated on the way here.

I left my room to fetch some water from the well I'd seen outside the window. After bringing it back to my room, I soaked the rags in the water and began washing myself.

After I was done, I went down to the first floor of the inn’s tavern, where most of the people staying there were already eating breakfast.

Grumble. I felt my stomach rumbling when I smelled the food being served. I was really hungry.

Spotting a wooden sign by the door, I saw what they were offering. After looking it over, I went to an empty table and sat down, where a waitress quickly came over and asked what I wanted.

I ordered the breakfast that came with bacon, eggs, and bread. Surprisingly, it only cost 3 copper coins with a 50% discount for adventurers.

When my food arrived, I was practically drooling. My stomach was already begging for food.

Taking my first bite, I ignored most of the table manners I had been taught as a noble and immediately started scarfing down everything on the plate. Surprisingly, I felt a little embarrassed about it. But after seeing how everyone else was eating, it didn't take me long to realize that I had nothing to be embarrassed about because I was hardly the worst offender.

Who knew it would taste this good after going so long without eating a proper meal? This was one of the best meals I had ever had, despite how simple it was.

After I was done eating, I left the inn and began roaming around, maybe looking for a proper weapon before I went to the Adventurers’ Guild.

Looking at the shops in this town, I saw many people entering and exiting them, but one caught my attention.

It was a shabby-looking shop in a back alley, with a wooden sign bearing an image of two hammers.

I guessed that was a blacksmith's shop. What caught my attention was that, despite its run-down appearance, it had some surprisingly decent-looking weapons on display. For some reason, though, no one seemed to be going inside.

Deciding to check the place out, I went inside. As soon as I entered, I heard the clanging of metal reverberating throughout the shop. Looking around, I saw that it was filled with weapons, though they were arranged rather messily.

As I did that, the clanging suddenly stopped as the door closed behind me. A moment later, I heard a deep, gruff voice coming from the back of the store.

“I’ll be with you shortly. Just give me a minute to finish up what I’m working on. I’m in the back, so feel free to look around to see if anything interests you.”

Looking at the weapons that were displayed all over the shop, they cost at least 2, 3, or even 5 silver coins. All of them are way out of my price range.

I looked around the shop some more and, luckily, found a barrel filled with swords. A label next to it said they were one silver coin each. I guess this was the bargain bin.

As I looked through the barrel, I found a wide variety of swords in different shapes and styles. There was even a katana in there for some reason, but that wasn't what I was looking for.

I was looking for a sword that was preferably straight and double-edged, but short enough for me to use since I'm still a kid. All the other swords were simply too big for me.

Eventually, I found something close to what I was looking for. I pulled out a sword that looked like a short sword meant for an adult, but it was the perfect size for me.

I partially unsheathed it and examined the blade. It was slightly narrower than I would have liked, but it would have to do.

As I held the sword, a sense of nostalgia washed over me, bringing back memories of my previous life. I had been trained to use a sword as our primary weapon alongside Norn when fighting Kaiju, specifically using a longsword as my main weapon.

It was common for Aiases to use melee weapons because transferring Ori energy into a weapon was much easier than using something like a gun. Guns also required specialized anti-Kaiju ammunition, which consumed a large amount of Ori energy with every shot, making it just not worth it overall.

“So you got something you like?”

I stopped reminiscing, replying "yes," turning around to the person I replied to, but I was suddenly surprised when I saw him.

“Hey, what are you looking at?” he asked with a scowl on his face.

I looked at him and saw that he was short, stocky, and stout, with a large beard.

A dwarf—aren't they extremely rare to see? Even when I was a noble, I only saw them a handful of times. They almost always focus on their work and usually never leave their villages inside the mountains. Why is one of them here in a place like this?

“Umm… sorry, but don’t dwarfs usually live in the mountains?”

“I have my reasons, and are you going to buy anything?”

Scowling even more as he said that, I tried to answer politely, trying to ease his mood.

“I need a sword, and ummm… this one looks good.”

The moment he heard me compliment the sword, his expression changed completely. His scowl disappeared, replaced by a wide grin.

“Good eye. I was experimenting with that one, and it turned out okay but didn’t sell, so I put it in that barrel over there. Names Kinwall, and I own this shop.”

“My name is Nyx.”

We went to the counter, and I paid for my sword, and he then asked me, now in a good mood.

“Is there anything else I could help you with?”

I thought for a moment. I’m guessing, since he knew the town better than I did, he might be able to recommend some decent shops for me to check out.

“Could you recommend any good shops?”

“Hmm…” He placed a hand on his beard and stroked it in thought.

“Don't know about the others, but there's a clothing shop down the street. The owner sells good-quality clothes at a good price.”

“Okay then”

After paying, I thanked Kinwall for the sword and for telling me about the shop before heading out to check it out for myself.

In a clothing shop, I should really buy some extra sets of clothes since I have no spares.

Walking down the street to the clothing shop Kinwall told me about, I found that it looked relatively inconspicuous. I entered the store, which was named Hutch's Clothing Store.

"Hello, my name is Hutch, and welcome to my store. How may I help you?”

The owner greeted me enthusiastically as I entered. He looked to be in his mid-20s, with brown hair and brown eyes.

“I want to buy some clothes; Kinwall told me to come to this shop.”

“So Kinwall told you about my shop.”

“Yes.”

Curious, I ask how they know each other.

“Oh, we’re good friends. I helped him move into his shop around a month ago. Anyway, is there anything specific you want to miss?”

The moment I heard him call me “miss,” I immediately went on guard. I placed my hand on the hilt of the sword I'd bought from Kinwall, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

How the heck does he know I'm a girl? In a threatening tone, I ask that.

He puts his hands slightly up in the air with a wry smile, like he is used to it and has done it one too many times.

“Sorry, sorry. Please calm down, miss, and don’t worry; I won’t pry or tell anyone.”

“Again, how do you know?” in an even more threatening tone.

He spoke calmly as I continued to glare at him.

“Well, this isn’t the first time. Let's just say this is a secret specialty shop, and I've got a knack for noticing, like from how you walk or the way you talk.”

“Specialty shop…?”

A realization suddenly came to me, and I felt equally shocked and disturbed internally, though none of it showed on my usually expressionless face.

“Heh?!”

Why are there other people in this town who are crossdressers? Just how many crossdressers in this town, other than me, would warrant such a shop like this?

Just what kind of shop did Kinwall send me to?

Wait, so does Kinwall know I'm a girl since he recommended this shop to me?

I decided to ask Hutch whether Kinwall knew what kind of shop this was.

“Does Kinwall know?”

I loosened my grip on my sword, though I still kept my guard up.

“No, he doesn't.”

“Good. That's a relief.”

I sighed in relief. Thankfully, Kinwall didn’t figure that out..

“Umm… right, ummm, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine; I’m used to it.”

That is not normal; this shop is strange.

“So you need some clothes that make you look like a boy, and I'm guessing you also like some female underwear as well?”

Well, he got it right on the mark. I refuse to wear men's underwear because that just feels wrong.

It also saved me the trouble of having to come up with some sort of excuse and getting weird looks from people if I tried to buy some.

Hutch led me to a mirror, and I went around the shop gathering some clothes. He then enthusiastically held them up in front of the mirror so I could see whether I liked them or not.

“How about this one, or why don’t you try this blue one?”

Seeing the clothes being shown to me, I thought to myself, why not? I do need some new clothes anyway.

In the end, I bought four sets of clothes and a few pairs of underwear. I had actually enjoyed myself while trying on some of the clothes.

After thanking Hutch, I left the store with my new clothes, which he had neatly wrapped in paper.

However, I soon noticed that my coin pouch was noticeably lighter than usual. I checked it and found out that I had spent most of the money inside.

Whoops, I ended up spending a bunch of coins in Hutch’s shop without noticing: 8 bronze coins, to be specific.

I think this is enough shopping for today. I should go back to the inn and then to the adventurer guild for my card.