My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 256: War Chest

Kace felt like he understood what Sophia's issue was. He guessed that she was worried that because he was set on paying as little as possible, the gift he owed her would also be cheap. There was a good chance that he was right in thinking this, he thought while nodding his head.

"What about you? Have you already decided on something?" Kace asked while glancing at her sour expression.

"I have a few ideas." Sophia's mood seemed to perk up when the conversation turned to her reward for helping him. "But we'll need to go to the upper market. That's where the good stuff is."

Kace wanted to slap himself. 'I guess I shouldn't have worried that it was about how much I would spend on her. Seems like she wasn't going to give me a choice anyway. Was it really just because it's made of cheap materials?' 

Kace inadvertently pegged her as more of a snob than he thought she was. For him, it was just one more reminder of why he should not be interested in her. Kace followed along behind Sophia, who was practically skipping down the street.

Kace finally unwrapped the ring from the silk. He felt the urge to wear it right away so that he could curb Sophia's choice if she took it too far. He removed the gauntlet on his right hand and placed the simple, silver band on his finger.

As soon as it was in place, Kace felt a tingling sensation run through his body. The noise that entered his ears sounded distorted, which threw his equilibrium off. His feet stumbled a bit, and he felt nauseous. The sensation only lasted a few seconds before it passed.

When the distortion in his ears disappeared, he was met with the sounds of people talking and bartering their wares. He grinned as he realised that the language matched his own now. 'At least now I know what's going on.'

He even overheard some of the natives talking about them. It mostly consisted of how strange they looked. Though, Kace wanted to slap one of them when they went into sufficient detail about how ugly he was.

Of course, he thought the same thing about them. Sure, if the women wore the leather wrappings around their face as his guide did, then they might have a chance. 'Not that I'd want to anyway.'

Kace was sure that the others were fine and that they would run into them sooner or later. So he was not too fussed about seeking them out for now. He would feel better if ye could keep Lilly and Sophia from meeting indefinitely!

Since that was not an option, all he could do was make sure Sophia was in a good mood with him. So he did not plan to skimp too much with her gift. 

As they entered the upper market, Kace noticed what seemed to be guards for the first time. They were carrying dual-curved short swords. They looked like they would be perfect at disembowelling opponents.

The guards wore leather armour that covered their entire bodies. A scarf like thing hung around their neck which Kace assumed could be pulled up to cover their head.

With the help of his new ring, Kace could finally read the strange glyphs. Their appearance did not change, but their fundamental meaning seemed to project directly into his brain. He noted that quite a few of them also read that they did not serve the lower classes.

Although it was demeaning in a way, Kace gathered there was a point to it after asking Sophia. If they did not put that on the front of their store, then they would end up with a large crowd. Most likely, they would just be gazing at things that they could not afford.

If their store were overrun with riffraff, then it would also discourage their more wealthy client's from shopping in their store. Kace grumbled a bit as he looked around, he had no doubt they would consider him one of the riffraff if it were not for how exquisite his armour was.

Of course, if they tried to refuse him, he could always make them buckle with his aura alone. No matter where they were, in the world of monsters, power mattered above all else. Kace was confident that his own strength would be somewhere near the top in this city.

The only thing that he had to be wary of was their ability to swim through the sand. He could always counteract that using the Shadow realm, though. So they barely had an advantage.

"This store! This is where I saw it!" Sophia practically squealed as she pointed towards a three-story building.

Kace had to jog to keep up when she practically sprinted into the building. Kace received another culture shock once he crossed the threshold. The entire store was too gaudy.

Every surface had been painted gold, with only a few blue lines to break up the monotonous colour. It was clearly meant to give the impression of wealth, but it just made Kace want to back up out the doorway as quickly as possible.

Before he could, Sophia grabbed his hand firmly. She was stopping him in his tracks, having guessed how he might react. With a strict gaze, she dragged him towards the rear of the bottom floor.

"This is what I want!" Sophia said with a voice full of determination. 

On an armour stand in front of them stood an expertly crafted armoured dress. The chest armour looked like it would be too generous in displaying Sophia's figure and cleavage. The armour had dainty pauldrons, but no protection for the arms bar a pair of bracers.

There was a silk skirt that had free-flowing plates of armour that would reach to just above her knees. The boots that went with it looked a little on the light side. It was obvious that they could not take much damage. 'At least they cover her shins.'

Kace reluctantly looked over the armour. It was a splendid piece if you were solely talking the intricately carved patterns on it. They did a fine job of multiplying the effect of the armour to make the wearer look attractive.

There was one downside for Kace, though. That was before he even asked the price! In the style of the race who made it, the whole armour was golden. Kace assumed that it was a sort of golden plating cast over the actual defensive metal.

Although it was gaudy in his eyes, when he considered it, then it might actually suit the princess. For one, it looked fit for royalty. The other reason was that Sophia's skin and hair colour would contrast against the gold in an almost extreme way. 

"Are you sure you want this?" Kace asked with a tone that sounded unsure. 

Sophia seemed disappointed with his reaction. Although she needed new armour, she had mainly chosen this set in the hopes that it would spark some desire in Kace's heart. It would give him a lot to look at, and she knew the colour would go well with how fair she was.

"Yes. This is what I want!" Sophia replied stubbornly. 'I guess he'll just have to see me wearing it before he can properly appreciate it!'

Kace eyed the armour again as he imagined Sophia wearing it. 'I can't let her see my prevented face! Otherwise, she might not get it! This is lucky! It's like I'm getting myself another gift!'

"Well, if you're sure. Then I guess it's fine. You better go let one of the shopkeepers know and get fitted for it. This is probably just a display piece." Kace laughed as Sophia rushed off with an ecstatic expression.

'She sure knows how to spoil a guy!' Now that she was gone Kace looked around the rest of the store. It seemed like he was right and that these were all display pieces. Ge could see people getting measured up for armour and weapons that would fit their stature.

As his eyes passed over the rest of the store, they eventually fell on Shadow beside him. Ge looked incredibly out of place. 'Come to think of it, most of the equipment that the tribe wears all looks outdated.'

Kace wondered when they last updated their own belongings. It would not do for them to die in the coming battles because they did not have the proper equipment! 'They gather all of this wealth, I should definitely spend it on preparing them!'

It could only benefit him in the long run. The more of them that survived then, the more hands there would be to grab the loot if they sacked any city! 'Yes! It's all for a good cause!'

"Shadow?" Kace turned to the goblin beside him.

"Yes my Lord?" The goblin replied with a cautious voice. He was kind of pissed since it seemed like he had been entirely forgotten about.

"Fetch the tribe, I'm sure you can find them easily. It's time to get you guys kitted out..."