I Was in Charge of Scouting for the Hero’s Party

29. Slowly but surely

As I was looking at the equipment while crossing the display case without hesitation, Robin came up to me again with a dagger in each hand and his eyes lit up.

“Umm… This one is fine, this one is fine too… Senior! Which of these two do you like better?”

“Just pack both. The quality is also second to none.”

After Robin’s dagger fair, which I don’t know how many times, this time, Luna came closer to me, holding onto one of her spears.

“Austin. Uh… how is it?”

“Yes. The blade is sharp, I can hear it very well. The weight is also moderately light. Let’s do this.”

“But… Uhm… I’ll see you a little more!”

“…Ah.”

Anyway, it seems I underestimated women’s shopping.

Looking at the clock, it was already close to dawn, but Luna and Robin were rushing around, including Princess Alexis.

In the meantime, I also replenished the Bellion steel bolts and Orichalcum bolts, and I went around the display case to find a spare weapon that fits my hand, but somehow there was no weapon that fits my hand, so I only filled the bolts.

So the shopping ended early.

“I am. They say it’s the best workshop in Bellion, how come there’s no weapon that fits my hand?”

As I struggled to stand with my eyelids so heavy, Mogdan, who had been restless behind me, called out to me, pulling at the hem of my clothes.

“Ummm… Over there…”

“Huh? Why.”

“It’s a bit hard to say this, but… you’re not going to take all of that, are you?”

As I turned my gaze to where Mogdan’s blunt finger was pointing, the heavily piled equipment caught my eye.

It seems that Robin and Luna have taken out the things they like separately, but at a quick glance, there are more than ten daggers.

“Why. Can’t I take it?”

I quietly raised the corner of his mouth, and Mog’dan opened his mouth in a creeping voice as his shoulders twitched.

“Ah… No… You can take it… After all, when the time comes to open the store, everything will be sold for a bargain…”

“Yes. That’s the mindset. Mogdan.”

Oh my god… Is this bastard really the unapologetic Mogdan?

Being rude and disrespectful is like mental illness.

And then, I cured (physicalized) Mogdan’s psychosis a while ago.

“You have finally cast off the animal life…!”

“Uh… Um… Beast…”

– Thrash!

As I was proud of the fact that Mogdan had finally made it possible for me to function as a human, I heard a loud sound of something rolling on the floor.

“What… What is it?”

I hurriedly turned my head in the direction of the sound and saw Royman, who had been sitting alone in a chair watching us, sprawled on the floor.

“…Royman. You shouldn’t have talked if you were sleepy.”

“Kuhmm… No, brother. I don’t mind… Don’t…”

Ah. I can’t. The kid is just trying to lie down somewhere.

I moved on, supporting Royman, who kept trying to lean.

“Hey, Mogdan. We’ll just have to go and see. Robin! Luna! Let’s go back soon with the princess!”

The girls, who were still clattering around between the display cases, heard my cry and sprinted to me, presenting me with the weapons they had chosen.

“Austin! Look at this! This spear fits like it was made for me!”

The spear that Luna chose had a blade that undulated in a curve and made the blade reminiscent of a wave.

The expression of Luna holding a spear that seemed suitable for both attack styles, stabbing and slashing, was also very satisfactory.

“Oh… Deep down, it was because I couldn’t buy a weapon in Cologne.

Perhaps it was because Robin complained that buying throwing daggers was a little burdensome on a regular basis, he had a bunch of throwing daggers in a sturdy-looking dagger holder.

I took my gaze away from Robin and turned to Princess Alexis, who only stood there huddled with her hands hidden behind her back.

“What did the princess not choose?”

“Ah… That… That’s…”

“Uh… If you haven’t chosen yet, just wait a little longer…”

“That… It’s not that…! Excuse me…”

Princess Alexis, who had stuttered her words like someone who had just eaten a baby salamander, eventually swallowed her saliva and pulled out her hand behind her back.

“This… This! I think it would suit Austin… I think…”

“…Yes?”

It wasn’t long before I made a dumbfounded noise at Princess Alexis’s words, and when I looked down at her, I saw that a sword the same size as my shortsword was placed in her hand.

She gripped her scabbard as if possessed, and as she pulled on the handle, a shrieking sound and the mysteriously colored blade of the sword illuminated her blank face.

“…No… Huh?”

The feeling of grip that fits her hand and the pretty sleek appearance captivated my heart.

I immediately took her sword out of its scabbard and saw it.

The blade is sharp… And level. It is also suitable for swinging weights.

The casting method as well as the pommel and cross guard were also short swords made in the Western Continental style, which I prefer.

“This… This is…”

I was overcome with joy and thrill, as if I had finally found the life partner I was looking for.

The shortsword I’m using right now didn’t actually fit perfectly in my hand, but it was the Western Continental Shortsword I’d been looking for, so I was using it to eat grilled duck in flames while crying.

“This is fate…! No, how does it fit on your hand like this?!”

“hehehe… Austin likes it this much, so it’s worth the hard work.”

I immediately raised her head and looked at Princess Alexis, and she was smiling broadly as she saw me so happy.

No, f*ck.

I can’t stand this hug.

“Princess!!! After all, there is only the princess!”

“Kyaaagh…?! Oh… Austin…! Wait… So sudden…”

“Hey! How did you bring such a well-fitting knife like a ghost? After all, noble people have different eyes!”

As I hugged Princess Alexis tightly and let her hand shake, someone suddenly grabbed my arm.

When I looked back, Luna was glaring at me with open snake eyes, clutching my arm tightly.

“…What is it, Luna? Can you hug me too?”

“What a fool…! That… It’s not like that… We have to go back now! Stop being silly, let’s go back!”

As I was about to return to the inn with such a fuss, Mogdan, who was arranging the weapons that Robin and Luna had strewn about, ran out in a huff with his face pale.

“Now… Wait wait wait! Not to sleep!!! Sudop!!!!!!”

“f*ck, kid. Your ears will fall off.”

As I said it, clearing his ears, Mogdan struggled to get hold of the knife in my hand, his eyes widening.

“That… Not only that knife! That’s something they don’t sell!!!”

“…Uh… You don’t sell this knife?”

“Yes! It’s a sword that I sealed in a corner to show my master later, but how did you find it and bring it out!!! Come on, come here!”

Ah. Somehow, compared to other swords, the quality was strangely good.

With extreme regret, I had no choice but to return the sword to Mogdan…

I have to give it back…

“…Hmm.”

Should I give it back… One?

“…? This… Hey. Give it up quickly. I’m sorry, but I can’t give you that.”

“……”

“……”

Awkward glances passed between me and my party, and somehow the tension began to sink.

“Bounce!!!!!!”

“No!!!”

I immediately kicked in the door and ran out.

“Hey! We’ll pay you back later! Let’s borrow some!!!”

This sh*t, you said you could take it all with you anytime.

I don’t know.

* * *

“Mah… Maya. Haven’t you found it yet?”

“Sigh… Quiet… I need to focus…”

“Ugh… Yeah…”

Maya stretched out both hands on the backs of Adrien and Isabel, answered bluntly and closed her eyes again.

You might ask what he was doing in the middle of the night, but Maya was struggling to find the cause of Adrien and Isabel’s symptoms right now.

Adrien and Isabel’s palms were pressed against their backs while Maya was sweating profusely. The mana injected into the two bodies was injected deeper into the body.

The mana stems of Maya, which spread rapidly along the blood vessels and mana channels, eventually came into contact with the black object that settled in the deepest part of the mana core.

“……I found it.”

“Did you find the car…?!”

“Maya…! You finally found…”

“Shh. Stay still. It’s not over yet.”

“Uh… Uh…”

At Maya’s answer, which became sensitive due to her extremely concentrated state, Adrien puffed out her cheeks slightly and looked back at her with a pouty expression.

– Gulp.

With the exception of Maya, including Isabel and Adrien, the salivating sounds of the others echoed loudly in the deadly quiet room.

How long has it been?

Maya, who was sweating profusely and shaking her arms, finally let out her breath and lowered her raised arms.

“What… What… Did you find out…?”

“…This is… No, wait… This can’t be…”

Maya managed to lift her hazy eyes and opened her mouth to the others who looked at her anxiously.

“This… It’s not just a disease…”

“…What.”

A word from Maya that followed was enough to make them shut their mouths.

“I don’t know what caused either of them… but the mana core is getting corrupted…!”

– Prickly…

Only the sound of insects broke the silence between them.

It was a night I missed Austin.