Item Synthesis 2-1 part 1

 

Chapter 2-1 : Apprentice-Made Equipment

 

A few days after we left Tranto Town, we arrived at a small village.

「Whoa… What is this village…?」(Kako)

This village is kinda unique because every house has smoke rising from their chimneys and I could hear the sound of people hammering iron from every direction.

ーKANG! KANG! KANG!

Most of the buildings in this village have signboards at the front.

The pictures on the signboards are different from each other. There are pictures of swords, shields, armor, and other things.

「Are they weapon shops and armor shops?」(Kako)

From the look of it, they seem to be shops selling equipment for adventurers but… There are so many of them!

「Look at the signboards closely-nya. Aside from the pictures of swords and armor, some of the signboards have small hammer logos on them, right?」(Nyat)

Now that he mentions it, I could see small hammer logos on the signboards.

「Ah, you’re right. What does it mean?」(Kako)

「Buildings that have hammer logos are not shops, but workshops-nya. The picture of swords, shields, armors, and other stuff symbolize what kind of products they make-nya.」(Nyat)

「I see. But there are also signboards that don’t have hammer logos.」(Kako)

「That means they are shops-nya.」(Nyat)

So the ones that have small hammer logos are workshops specializing in making the products, and the ones that don’t have them are shops that sell the products. I see.

Now my question is… Why are there so many workshops and shops selling adventurer equipment here?

It wouldn’t be so surprising if this were a huge town, but this is just a small village with a much smaller population than a town.

There are obviously more shops and workshops than private houses here.

「Hmm… Anyway, let’s enter a shop and ask someone there.」(Kako)

「I’m following you-nya.」(Nyat)

Standing still by the village gate wouldn’t get me anywhere, so I decided to enter the nearest building that had a picture of a sword but didn’t have a hammer logo on its signboard.

 

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「Whoaa…! There are so many weapons!」(Kako)

Judging from the signboard in the front, I could tell that this shop sold weapons, but I didn’t think it would be this many.

There were weapons everywhere. Swords, great axes, claymores, bows, daggers, and many more. Some of them were hanging on walls, some on the shelves, and some others were messily piled in the barrels.

I think they have a much better selection of weapons than the weapon corner at Keema Shop.

While I was looking around the shop, Nyat put his paw on his chin, thinking.

「Hmm… I see-nya. I think this is a mining village-nya.」(Nyat)

「Mining village?」(Kako)

「A village that has a mine nearby-nya.」(Nyat)

I see. So there’s a mine somewhere nearby. That’s why there are so many workshops here.

「Blacksmiths and craftsmen usually settle in areas near a mine in search of good ores-nya. The number of people gathered would gradually increase and eventually, a mining village like this was built-nya.」(Nyat)

「I see. So that’s the origin of this village.」(Kako)

「Welcome to my shop. Mr. Catto, seems like you know a lot of things.」(clerk)

While we were talking, a man who seemed to be the clerk approached us.

「I just happened to have that knowledge-nya.」(Nyat)

「Haha. You’re such a humble catto.」(clerk)

「Um, Sir, can I ask you a question?」(Kako)

「Of course. What is it, young lady?」(clerk)

「I can understand why there are so many workshops here since this is a mining village, but I can’t understand why there are also so many shops here. There are not many people living in this village, and judging from the size of this village, I think there are too many shops here. Also, I think it would be cheaper if you buy equipment directly from the workshops instead of buying them through the shops.」(Kako)

「Hee~ For a young girl, you have an acute sense of observation.」(clerk)

「Ehehe~」(Kako)

Yaay~ I’m being praised~!

Wait… Why do I feel so happy like a little child!?

「Well, the answer to your question is simple. The blacksmiths and craftsmen in this village are mostly not good at business and communicating with people. Therefore, they need merchants like me to help them sell their products. Capable people who love to make products don’t always have the skills to sell their products.」(clerk)

「Ah, I see.」(Kako)

「Most of the craftsmen in this village have difficult personalities. They would usually chase away the customers they don’t like with a hammer or chisel.」(clerk)

「Really? That’s scary!」(Kako)

It reminds me of stubborn blacksmith characters in anime and games.

I would run as fast as I could if someone suddenly brandished a hammer at me just because they didn’t like me.

「That’s why you don’t order equipment from them, but from us, the sellers.」(clerk)

「I see. But, this is just a small village, and you have so many weapons to sell. How can you sell all these weapons? Do you even have customers here?」(Kako)

「As you guessed, I don’t have many customers from this village, but I do have a lot from outside. This village is quite famous among adventurers because it has so many talented blacksmiths and craftsmen, so they often visit us from other towns, even from other regions. Besides, I also sell my products to other towns through traveling merchants who regularly visit this village.」(clerk)

「So that’s how you make a living, I see. But why do you only sell weapons?」(Kako)

「Because we’re living in a small village, we do everything we can to avoid disputes between us, the residents. Because of that, we made the rules where one shop can only sell products from one workshop. My shop, for example, can only sell products from the workshop located behind this building, and the blacksmith working there only makes weapons.」(clerk)

I see, so that’s why all the shops here only sell one kind of product either weapons, armor, or other equipment.

「Thank you for the information. May I look around your shop? I didn’t plan to buy anything, but I might later.」(Kako)

「Of course. Please take your time.」(clerk)

Alright. It’s time for window shopping!

Let’s see what they have here~

I don’t need weapons but I might buy some to playー No. To experiment with my Synthesis Skill.

 

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