Chapter 1-13 : Girls Going Shopping (part 2)
While heading to the main street, Rin and Leone were holding my arms on both sides while Kururu was following us from behind.
It seemed that they were afraid that I would run away…
「We’re here!」(Rin)
「This is…」(Alice)
「It’s an armor shop run by a player I know. Let’s get inside.」(Rin)
So, the owner of this shop is a player? And Rin knows them?
Rin let go of my arm and opened the door. The four of us then entered the shop.
「Wow~ It looks more like a fashion shop than an armor shop~」(Leone)
「Yeah, look at all those fancy clothes!」(Kururu)
「The owner mostly sells stylish light armor after all. Lynette-chan~ Are you there~?」(Rin)
「Yes, yes, coming-nya!」(Lynette)
Right after Rin called, a girl with cat ears who seemed to be the store owner came out from the back room.
「Ah, Rin-chan, welcoー Hmm!? There’s a super cute girl in a beginner outfit! Rin-chan, who is she!?」(Lynette)
「Calm down. You forget to say “nya”.」(Rin)
「Aa! I was so surprised that I forgot about that! ーAhem! Welcome to my shop-nya~」(Lynette)
Saying that, the girl struck a cute cat-girl pose as she greeted us.
「Do you remember my childhood friend I told you about? It’s her.」(Rin)
「I see-nya. I’m Lynette. Nice to meet you-nya!」(Lynette)
「I’m Alice. Nice to meet you too.」(Alice)
「Alice-chan. That’s a nice name-nya. And who are the two beautiful girls behind you-nya?」(Lynette)
「We temporarily formed a party with them.」(Rin)
「I’m Kururu.」(Kururu)
「Ara~ You look cute with those cat ears~ You can call me Leone onee-sama~」(Leone)
「Hehe~ Thank you-nya.」(Lynette)
「Umm, Lynette-san, can I ask you something?」(Alice)
There’s something I’m curious about.
I could understand if she were an NPC, but I was surprised when Rin said that the owner of this store was a player.
「It’s only been four days since this game released, but how could you manage to own a shop?」(Alice)
「I’m wondering about that too. Owning this kind of shop requires a lot of money, right?」(Kururu)
「Indeed you need a large amount of money-nya, and it’s impossible to make enough money to buy a shop in only four days-nya. As you might have guessed, I didn’t actually buy this shop. I’m renting it-nya.」(Lynette)
「Renting it? I see.」(Alice)
「Yup. It costs 1000G a month in-game time. Ten days IRL time-nya.」(Lynette)
It’s not cheap, but 1000G for ten days is pretty manageable, I think.
「People who focus on Production Skills won’t be able to make anything decent without equipment and a place to work, especially blacksmiths like me-nya. That’s why we rent shops so that we can work comfortably. Of course, the number of shops that can be rented in this town is limited-nya. I was lucky because I befriended the NPC who owns this buildingー No, not NPC, I mean the resident-nya.」(Lynette)
「Resident, huh? Last time, you still called them NPC. Have you read the news that has gone viral on the forum?」(Rin)
「Yeah. After I read that, my perspective toward NPCs totally changed-nya. I started thinking that they were no different from human beings who have feelings-nya.」(Lynette)
After she said that, the four of us looked at each other and smiled.
It seems that our plan has been going smoothly so far.
「I see. I’m glad you said that. Anyway, we came here because we need some new equipment for Alice.」(Rin)
「Then you came to the right place-nya!」(Lynette)
「Alice, can you give all the monster pelts you have to her?」(Rin)
「All of them?」(Alice)
「Yup.」(Rin)
「Umm, alright.」(Alice)
I’m not sure if we will need all those pelts, but I took all the monster pelts I had from my【Storage】.
「…Eh?」(Lynette)
Lynette opened her eyes wide when she saw all the monster pelts on the floor.
「Lynette-chan, I want you to use them to make equipment for Alice.」(Rin)
「Wha… What the hell is this amount!? Erst giant rabbit pelts, erst wild sheep pelts, erst wolf pelts, and erst bear pelts!? This many!? Moreover, they’re bigger than they normally are! Usually, pelts dropped by monsters are half or even less the size of the bodies, but these ones are as big as the bodies as if they were taken manually! How!? Monsters will disappear after we kill them, right? And how all of these pelts are of high quality!?」(Lynette)
For some reason, Lynette was so shocked that she forgot to say ‘nya’ at the end of her sentences… again…
「Fufu. That’s how people would normally react when they witness how extraordinary Alice-chan is~」(Leone)
「Yup. And that’s what our faces looked like when we saw her killing those wolves in a blink of an eye in the forest.」(Kururu)
「Hmm…?」(Alice)
Leone and Kururu were muttering in low voices, so I couldn’t hear them well, but I think they were talking about me.
「Lynette-chan, first, you should calm down and breathe properly.」(Rin)
「Aa! …Suuuu haaaa~ *taking a deep breath* ーAhem! Rin-chan, I accept your order, but this is too many-nya. We don’t need this many pelts-nya.」(Lynette)
I know, right?
「Of course, I know that. The thing is… Say, Alice, what do you plan to do with the remaining pelts?」(Rin)
「Umm… Selling them, I guess?」(Alice)
「Right. But, where are you going to sell them?」(Rin)
「That’s… I have no idea…」(Alice)
「Just as I guessed. You’re still not familiar with the market price of drop items in this world, right? I thought it would be better if you sell your items to someone you can trust.」(Rin)
「Ah, I see!」(Alice)
「Alright, I see your point-nya. So, you want me to buy the remaining pelts-nya?」(Lynette)
「Yup. It’s not a bad deal, is it? They’re all good pelts. You said it yourself.」(Rin)
「I did say that-nya… Hmm… Let me think-nya… The erst bear pelts and the erst wild sheep pelts are in high demand, so I will pay for them at a relatively high price, but the erst wolf pelts and the erst giant rabbit pelts are mostly used to make cold weather gear-nya, and as you know, it’s still a long time until winter, so I’ll buy them at a lower price if you don’t mind-nya. What do think, Alice-chan?」(Lynette)
「Un. I don’t mind.」(Alice)
「Then, it’s a deal-nya! So, what kind of equipment should I make for you-nya?」(Lynette)
「Umm…」(Alice)
I looked down at my body and started thinking.
「I think I need arm guards, a breastplate, and a belt to carry my weapon.」(Alice)
「That’s it-nya? You have more than enough materials to make a new full-body light armor, you know?」(Lynette)
「Hmm, maybe next time. I still like these beginner clothes. It’s easy to move fast in them.」(Alice)
「If you say so-nya. Please wait a minute while I’m doing the counting-nya.」(Lynette)
She took out a notebook and a pen and then started making a list and counting the price.
「I will buy all the pelts for 4000G-nya, and the equipment you ordered costs 3000G in total-nya. That means, I have to return 1000G to you-nya.」(Lynette)
「Alright. Sounds good.」(Alice)
「H, Huh!? Wait! 3000G, you say!? It’s not even full-body armor! That pricing is weird! Lynette-chan, I know the equipment you made is not cheap, but I think that’s too expensive!」(Rin)
「Yeah, I think so too. Lynette-chan, you’re cute but you’re too greedy.」(Leone)
「Khu khu. I can be greedy most of the time, but I never play with prices-nya. Look. The materials Alice-chan brought are all of high quality. I have to put in a great amount of effort so as not to waste them-nya, and my skills as a professional blacksmith are not cheap-nya, especially when I use a hundred percent of my abilities-nya. In exchange, I promise you I will make the best equipment for Alice-chan-nya.」(Lynette)
「Reaaaally…? I took Alice here because I trust you. Don’t let me down.」(Rin)
「I, I won’t! Don’t worry-nya!」(Lynette)
「I still think it’s a bit too expensive. Lynette-chan, can’t you make it a bit cheaper~?」(Leone)
「Eeehh…」(Lynette)
「Rin, Leone-san, it’s alright. I’m fine with the price. Please stop bothering Lynette-san.」(Alice)
「「Ughh…」」(Rin & Leone)
「Both of you should listen to Alice-san. Don’t worry, I can tell people with bad intentions. She’s not trying to rip Alice-san off… If she dared to, I will join you guys teaching her a good lesson.」(Kururu)
「Hiiiiiiiiiiyy!!」(Lynette)
Kururu glared at Lynette with sharp eyes.
She has a cute face, but… Is Kururu actually pretty scary…?
I have to make sure I don’t make her angry…
「A, Anyway, I’ll get right into it now. You can go back tomorrow to pick it-nya.」(Lynette)
「Okay. Thank you, Lynette-san.」(Alice)
「Oh, right. Almost forgot-nya. Which stat upgrade do you want me to put into the equipment-nya?」(Lynette)
「Stat upgrade?」(Alice)
「Yes. Rare and high-quality equipment has the effect of improving players’ stats-nya.」(Lynette)
「I see. I think I want some more DEX.」(Alice)
「DEX. Got it-nya. Wait a sec, I’ll return the 1000G to you-nya.」(Lynette)
She took the money from her item box and handed it to me.
「Before you go, let me send a friend request to you so we can contact each other-nya.」(Lynette)
「Alright.」(Alice)
After a notification mark appeared on the Friend List tab, I accepted Lynette’s request and closed the half-translucent window.
「Well then, see you tomorrow, Lynette-san.」(Alice)
「See you tomorrow-nya~」(Lynette)
「Don’t slack off, okay?」(Rin)
「I won’t-nya!」(Lynette)
「Fufu. Alright then, see ya~」(Rin)
We waved our hands to Lynette and left her shop.
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