The weapon shop was exactly the same as when Gabriel came here with Master before—the bald uncle stood alone behind the counter, waiting.
Gabriel recalled Master once saying these NPCs rarely left their counters. They'd always be there, forever awaiting the arrival of players.
What was an NPC, and what was a player? Gabriel didn't know.
But Master could casually use such profound-sounding words—truly befitting Master.
"Welcome—eh? Aren't you Kiriko-san's companion? You're here alone?"
The weapon-shop owner had been busy with accounts. Hearing the door, he greeted her instinctively.
"Mm, Master sent me to buy materials."
Gabriel stood on tiptoe, resting her chin on the counter, then passed over the paper Master had given her along with a coin pouch filled with silver.
"That's quite a bit of money."
The owner took the bag, feeling its weight briefly before opening it to find it brimming with silver coins.
"Let's see, what exactly do you need?"
He put a monocle over his nose and began reading from the paper:
"Vicious Jackal Blade, Mudstone Sword, Hard Bone Spear, Sand-Drake Axe, Mudflow Shield-Axe, Scratchbird Bow… Hoh, quite a list here… These are pretty heavy though. Can a little girl like you really carry them?"
Gabriel proudly puffed out her chest.
"No problem! Leave it to Gabriel."
"So young and already helping out adults, that's very reliable… Come to think of it, Kiriko-san herself isn't an adult either, is she?"
The shop owner disappeared into the back room. After waiting a while, Gabriel saw him return carrying a large bundle.
"Everything's inside. Here's the leftover money; feel free to check."
Gabriel grabbed the coin pouch and reached for the large bundle containing the weapons.
"No need to check. Master said the weapon-shop uncle is a good person."
The shopkeeper laughed, awkwardly rubbing his shiny bald head.
"When you say it like that, it's a bit embarrassing. Oh right, little miss, want me to help carry this back for you?"
Gabriel waved dismissively.
"No problem at all—I'm strong!"
"Even if you say that—"
Before the shopkeeper could finish, his jaw dropped as Gabriel effortlessly lifted the large package with a single hand, showing no signs of strain.
"I never thought a little miss like you would be this strong. No wonder Kiriko-san let you come alone. Well then, take care."
"Mm, goodbye."
Thus Gabriel carried the heavy bundle easily out of the shop, heading toward the inn.
Gabriel was happy to be able to help Master.
Master would surely be delighted seeing Gabriel's growth.
From now on, Gabriel wanted to help Master more and more, until Master felt proud of Gabriel.
Feeling joyous, Gabriel practically glided along the street. After a while, a tempting scent drifted over.
"Takoyaki, delicious takoyaki for sale!"
At a roadside food stall, a middle-aged vendor wearing a headscarf enthusiastically hawked his snacks.
Grumble~
Gabriel's stomach loudly protested.
She couldn't help staring at the food.
The thing called takoyaki smelled incredible. It looked delicious too.
But Master only gave her money to buy weapons.
Even though the weapon-shop uncle had returned some leftover money, Gabriel couldn't spend it without Master's permission.
"Gabriel isn't hungry, Gabriel doesn't need to eat. Gabriel isn't hungry, Gabriel doesn't need to eat. Gabriel isn't hungry, Gabriel doesn't need to eat…"
She muttered this like a spell, yet her feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to move an inch.
She stared unblinkingly, drooling slightly as she watched the sizzling takoyaki on the stall.
Seeing a small girl drooling and standing frozen with a large bundle at his stall, neither buying nor leaving, the vendor felt somewhat helpless.
"Little girl, do you want some?"
Gabriel first nodded, then shook her head.
"I don't have any money."
The stall vendor picked up a skewer of takoyaki.
"This skewer didn't come out perfect, so it's special. You can have it for free."
Gabriel shook her head vigorously and stepped back.
"Master said not to accept things for free without paying."
"It really didn't cook quite right, so I'm giving it away. This one's special, you know?"
"Really…? Thank you, uncle!"
Gabriel accepted the takoyaki skewer. She took a bite: it was soft, with sauce that tasted sweet and a little tangy.
"Huh?"
As Gabriel was about to leave, she caught sight of someone rushing hastily into a nearby alley.
Gabriel recognized him immediately. He was the man who'd dueled Lute at last night's banquet.
But for some reason, instead of his previous shiny gear, he was now only wearing a pair of shorts.
He looked utterly miserable.
Gabriel still had a mission to complete. She should immediately return to Master's side and finish her task…
Despite thinking this, Gabriel didn't know why her feet moved toward that alley instead.
The alley was filthy, with wastewater everywhere. Why would the spear-wielding guy run in here?
Before long, Gabriel found him at the far end of the alley.
What surprised Gabriel most was how much he'd changed since the banquet last night.
The ground was disgustingly dirty, yet he didn't seem to care at all, simply sitting there. Despite clearly being an adult, he hugged his knees as if afraid of getting hurt—or perhaps licking his wounds.
Even the Legendary Weapon on his back seemed to have lost its former brilliance.
A faint realization dawned on Gabriel.
Is this person… hungry?
Just by looking, she could tell, right?
Master often said "enhancing ruins lives." This man must have tried enhancing his equipment until it broke, which was probably why he looked so sad now.
If he was hungry too, that would be even more miserable…
Hmm…
Gabriel lowered her eyes, looking down at the takoyaki skewer she'd only taken one bite from.
It was slightly cold now, but should still taste good enough.
This was actually quite painful…
Even so, Gabriel extended the takoyaki skewer toward the man sitting there.
"Hey, wanna eat?"
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, last week it was 7dtd this week it was tomodachi life........ teehee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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