Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Welcome!

A middle-aged man was manning the shop counter.

We want to purchase some armor, sir. Oh, and we were told to show you this as well.

I handed over the introduction letter. The shop clerk gave it a quick scan.

Well now, I guess I really have to give the best service to Masters saviors. What kind of armor are you looking for, by the way?

Well, we havent really decided yet. But Id like to get something that wouldnt restrict my movements much, if possible. So armor made of metals wont do, I guess.

Right, right. Metal armors are generally heavy and would limit your range of motion to certain extents. Well have to get you a set of leather armor then. We have some good quality ones right over there.

We were guided to the leather armor section.

Theres a lot of different kinds.

The prices ranged from 3000 to 30,000 guineas and up.

The designs didnt differ by much, but there was quite a difference in prices.

Whats different between them?

Its the materials they are made of. The cheap ones are made from orc hide. The more expensive ones are made out of wyvern hide.

So the more expensive ones are higher in quality?

Yes, that is the case. The properties of the materials used are quite different. The ones made out of orc hide are no different from your usual leather shaped into armor. But these ones made from wyvern hides serve as magic tools as well.

Our gazes were led to a black-colored leather armor placed at the back of the store.

A magic tool, huh? Interesting.

Yes. The common masses generally do not know this, but wyverns and dragons actually use magic in order to fly freely in the sky. I also do not know the exact details, but its a fact that wyverns are creatures that make use of magic to attain flight. It was also recently discovered that a wyverns hide would harden via magic whenever it receives a strong enough blow.

So they made use of that property to make this armor huh. This slot in the chest should be for equipping a magic stone, right? I guess the magic stone would supply the magic needed to harden the armor.

Yes. Do have a look. This part that covers the arm feels quite soft to the touch, right?

I tried touching it, and it was indeed soft.

But if you give it a blow like so

The shop clerk gave it a good whack using a wooden sword placed nearby. It did sound like the sword hit a hard surface.

Man, that was amazing! So the leather would automatically harden almost instantaneously huh! I tried touching it again, and it was back to being soft and pliable.

How long does it take for the armor to harden?

It would generally take about one or two seconds.

Thats amazing. But how tough is it?

It can easily take blows from a wooden sword. It can also defend from arrows. It also offers a certain amount of protection from spear thrusts. Gray Hound bites would similarly pose no problems. In other words, any attacks ineffective against wyverns would be similarly ineffective against the armor as well.

I havent seen a wyvern yet, but, judging from the description, it seems to be quite a high-level monster.

It seems perfect so far.

Well, not exactly. Its actually vulnerable to slashing attacks. Its certainly tougher than most leather armors, but it falls short compared to metal ones. Aside from slashes, it also cannot defend from ballista shots. But that should be expected. In short, any attacks effective against wyverns are effective against it as well.

I see. Does it have any other drawbacks?

It uses magic so magic stones are a must. It doesnt use up magic if its not hit with a sufficient amount of force, but once it does take an attack, it uses up quite a bit of magic. The amount of magic that gets used up depends on the strength of the impact. For example, what its equipped with right now is a magic stone taken from a Gray Hound. With this level of magic stone, it would run out of power after one hundred blows.

Thats quite the consumption rate.

So the armor would turn ineffective once it takes one hundred blows from a wooden sword huh.

Yes, thats correct. But this would improve if you supply it with better quality magic stones.

Can we swap out magic stones immediately once theyre used up?

Yes, you definitely can. You just need to slide the magic stone like so and you can easily remove it. You can slide a new one in the same way. There would generally be no problems swapping them out in the middle of battle.

How can you tell if the magic has run out?

You can only check by looking at the color of the magic stone.

The magic stone would turn transparent once the magic energy stored inside it has run out.

Cleria gave a timely follow-up.

So, how much is it?

According to the price tag, its 35,000 guineas.

Un, Ill give you a special twenty percent discount and sell it for 28,000 guineas then.

Great. Ill buy it.

We have a lot of money anyway. It would be best to buy some high-quality armor.

I want to put it on right away though. Would that be fine?

Oi, oi. We still have to make some fine adjustments to armor of this level. Itll take two days at most.

So its like that. Thats a bit of a problem though.

I wont be able to use it for the adventurers guild test, then.

Is there something wrong?

I was hoping to use it when I register at the adventurers guild later.

You! Youre telling me you actually arent an adventurer yet!?

Yeah. But Im quite confident in my skills, so you dont have to worry about me.

Well, I guess. But that was still quite a surprise. I see. So youll need armor for the ranking test, huh?

Ranking test?

Do you not know? It would not be appropriate for people with sufficient skills like you to be assigned a basic rank, so a test for determining the most proper starting rank according to your abilities is necessary. But, well, even if you get full marks, youll still need to start from C rank though.

I see. So thats what the test is for.

I can lend you some second-hand leather armor if you want. Ill lend it to you until we finish the adjustments to the armor you bought. But the qualitys not that good though.

Thats fine. How much is it?

Its alright. Ill lend it out for free. Consider it as extra service.

I see. Thanks a lot for doing this. Right then. Heres the gold.

I brought all the gold coins just in case. I took out two gold coins and eight large silvers from the bag and gave it to the shopkeep.

Oh, you sure are one wealthy fellow. Thank you for your patronage. That reminds me, I havent introduced myself yet. The names Zaluke.

My names Alan. This lady here is Ria.

Ive been curious since a while ago. Is it just me, or is the armor that lady is wearing really made of mythril?

Yes, this armor in fact is made of mythril.

Truly!?

The shopkeep became flustered and went up to Cleria in order to check out her armor. Cleria was surprised by his sudden actions.

Ah! Im truly sorry. I have a nasty habit of forgetting myself whenever I see some excellent equipment ysee. Its indeed made out of mythril. And from the looks of it, the forger is one heck of a master in the craft.

However Could you come this way first, dear customer.

The shopkeep grabbed my arm and dragged me to the side.

Oi, is that lady a **?

Theres that unknown word again. Well, I can already make a rough guess about what it means though.

She might be. Im not clear about her circumstances either though.

I see. So there seem to be some special circumstances. But walking around wearing that is kinda bad yknow. You can tell at first glance that her armors made of mythril. That wouldnt be a problem if she were in the company of a large number of guards. But youll most likely be targeted if it were just you folks and her walking about.

Is it really that valuable?

It sure is! Lets see. In this shop, selling it for 40,000 Guineas is still considered cheap.

It costs that much!?

Yeah. And that design is exquisite. It seems based on the armor ordinary knights and adventurers wear, but the design philosophy is completely different. The one that little lady is wearing is an armor fit for royal knights. In the eyes of others, its completely obvious that shes a **.

I checked out the metal armor sets being sold at the shop.

It doesnt look all that different to me though.

Its completely different!

Ria, can you come over here for a sec?

I moved my gaze back and forth between Clerias armor and the metal armor sets in the store, but I still couldnt spot the difference.

But they really look the same to me. Arent they?

Theyre absolutely, positively different, I tell ya!

Zaluke replied enthusiastically.

Just look at this line here. This doesnt appear in the other armor sets, correct? And take a gander at this section here. Its of a completely different design. This section too. Ah, and this one as well

Well, now that Ive taken a closer look, it does seem kinda different. Maybe. I think.

Uh, hey, is it possible to modify this armor so it wouldnt look like mythril?

Hm? Ah, well, if we darkened the color a bit, it should be able to fool the untrained eye.

Can you make it so the design would look like that of an ordinary adventurers armor?

I can do that. But it wouldnt be an exaggeration to call this armor a fine work of art. Are you sure you want to do something like that to it?

We dont really mind. Right, Ria?

Its fine with me.

Please modify it so people wouldnt be able to recognize it as mythril. The design should look like what normal adventurers use. Please be sure to modify it thoroughly. How much would it cost and how long would it take to modify the armor?

Ah, thats such a waste Well, Id need three days. Itll cost you 5,000 guineas.

Its unexpectedly cheap. I took out another five large silvers from the bag and handed them over.

Well then, well leave Rias armor to you once were done with our business at the adventurers guild. Ill pick up mine after three days as well.

Understood. Ill need to take your measurements. Please come over here for a bit.

The shopkeep proceeded with taking my measurements and adjusted the armor hes going to lend me accordingly. It took about one hour.

The adventurers guild is already open, right?

Yes, theyre usually already open by daybreak.

I, Cleria and Willie finally headed towards the adventurers guild.