Equipment Farming (2)
When playing an RPG, when should you swap out your gear? The correct answer is, "The moment you can." In a live-service MMORPG you might delay it a bit for efficiency, but if we're only talking pure effectiveness, swapping gear the instant you can get something better is obviously the right move.
The three of us decided to change our equipment the second the thought crossed our minds, so we immediately set up a meeting at the general store.
"Luna! Over here, over here!"
"Hey, Faye! Hi!"
On the day of our appointment, I headed to the academy's main gate right on time and found Faye already waiting. She waved both arms wildly in greeting. Since Senos General Store was a little off the main road, it made more sense for me to guide them there myself rather than meeting at the shop.
Beside the vigorously waving Faye stood Theo as well.
"We've been waiting. Why are you so late?"
"Late? I'm not late at all. I showed up exactly when we agreed, didn't I?"
It was precisely the appointed time. I knew that when meeting other people it was polite to arrive a little early. I knew it perfectly well, yet I'd deliberately shown up right on the dot. The longer I took, the more time Faye and Theo would have alone together.
In an era without smartphones, what else would the two people who arrived first do while waiting for me? Just chat about random stuff, right? Little moments like that add up and build affection. I'd learned that from dating sims.
"Alright. Everyone's here."
Theo, Faye, and me. Those were the three people heading to the general store today. Claire wasn't coming. Lately Claire had been skipping out on us quite often. It wasn't like we were deliberately leaving her behind or anything. In fact, I'd asked her several times if she wanted to join us. She was the one who said she had important church duties and bowed out. Come to think of it, she'd also missed last time because of church work... Was being a Holy Knight Candidate really such a busy job? I wasn't sure. The game never gave you the heroines' personal schedules. I'd have to look into it later.
For now, let's focus on today's goal.
......
"What kind of weapon do you like, Faye?"
"Me? Something sturdy and sharp!"
"Ah. Yeah, that makes sense. I was asking about the enchantment, though. What kind of effect do you want?"
"Enchantment? Umm... If it's an enchantment, maybe something that increases weight? Ever since I got my ability, normal swords just feel way too light."
"In that case, wouldn't changing the material work?"
"It's already steel. Any metal heavier and harder than steel is insanely expensive. Engraving an enchantment is way cheaper."
"Oh. I see."
"What about you, Luna? There probably aren't many shoes for martial artists, right?"
"Yeah. When I first went to the blacksmith, they didn't even sell shoes. There were a few gauntlets, but that's about it."
"They didn't have any at all? Then what are you using right now?"
"I asked the blacksmith to cut iron plates to my size, then took them to a shoemaker and had them sewn inside. They looked at me like I was crazy."
"Ahahaha. What the heck is that!"
Faye burst into bright laughter. It was funny now, but back then I'd been sweating bullets. Normal leather boots had obvious limits. I didn't have enough money to buy proper knight's greaves either. Yeah. It had been rough.
"Then what about you, Theo? What kind of weapon are you going to buy?"
"Huh. You're asking me too?"
"Why? What's with that reaction?"
"First, I look at magic conductivity. The higher it is, the faster I can cast spells. The downside is that the magic's power might be slightly reduced, but with high-end gear that can be minimized. After that, the material matters. Regular crystal isn't bad, but if I want to splurge I'd go for manatite processed from C-rank or higher magic stones..."
"Okay, okay! I get it! Stop!"
"You said you got it?"
"No, I seriously don't understand any of it! So just stop talking!"
"See? That's why I wasn't going to explain it. I knew you wouldn't understand."
"Isn't it just that your explanation sucks? Use normal words instead of only terms you know."
"I want a staff that has fast casting speed and can also be used decently as a melee weapon."
"There we go. Good job."
Chatting with the two of them made the walk feel short, and we soon arrived. The location was a bit awkward, but the goods were excellent. This was Senos General Store.
"This is the place I told you about!"
"Huh? The place you mentioned was Senos?"
"Yeah? Theo, do you know it?"
"I do. I owed the owner a favor once before."
"Heh. So Sepia, huh."
I see.
"Let's go in already!"
Faye took the lead and opened the door. Sepia, who had been resting her chin on her hand looking bored behind the counter, quickly stood up to greet us.
"Welcome! ...Oh ho? Now this is an interesting combination."
"Hey, Sepia. It's been a while."
"Yeah, long time no see, Theo. Luna was here just the other day, right?"
"Yeah. I was."
What if Sepia spilled what I bought that day...? The worry flashed through my mind for a second before vanishing. She might be quite playful and overly nosy about other people's love lives, but she was serious about business. I trusted that she wouldn't sell a customer's information so easily.
"And who is this cute student over here?"
"Hi! I'm Faye Ronand! Just call me Faye!"
"Oh my, a noble lady? I apologize for my rudeness. Could you possibly forgive my discourtesy?"
"Eh? It's fine! If you're friends with Luna then you're friends with me too! Just talk normally!"
"Really? That's a relief. Then I'll speak casually. ...Luna. What's with that look?"
Oops. She noticed.
"Nothing. I was just surprised you could talk so formally, Sepia."
"Of course I can. Business isn't a joke. You never know when a noble customer might show up, so I need to be able to handle that much."
"Alright, alright. I wasn't making fun of you. Anyway, the reason we came today..."
I explained why we'd come all the way here. We wanted to change our equipment but didn't have any money. Could she tell us some ways to make money? After hearing the whole story, Sepia let out an incredulous laugh.
"Wow. You're asking a merchant how to make money?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?"
"You really just said that? It's trade secrets."
"No no, I'm not asking you to teach me how to run a business. Just ways to earn money. Like, the materials from which monster sell for a lot, stuff like that."
"Ah. That kind of thing? Ways an academy student can earn money... Hmm? Wait a second."
Sepia thought for a moment before speaking again.
"Luna. Are you guys strong?"
"Us? We're strong. Especially now that Faye has officially joined, we've gotten even stronger."
"Don't be so vague. Right, the academy midterms just ended, didn't they? How did you do on the dungeon exam?"
"Second in the class. Without Faye. Wait, you know about the dungeon exam too?"
"I'm running a shop right in front of the academy. How could I not know? Anyway, second place. That should be enough."
"What are you talking about?"
Instead of answering, Sepia said she'd go grab something and disappeared into the staff room. With nothing else to do, we wandered around the store and browsed.
"Whoa! Luna, look at this! It's amazing!"
"What is it? Why are you so excited?"
"It's a glowing lizardman!"
"Wow. That really is cool."
We got excited together whenever we found interesting items.
"How many of those potions we used last time are left? Health, mana potions..."
"Should we buy some antidote potions while we're at it?"
"That's a good idea. There might be days like today when Claire can't come, so let's stock up."
We also replenished our consumables with Theo. After a while, Sepia returned with several sheets of paper.
"Alright, gather up again. You want me to ring you up? I'll do all the calculations at once after we're done talking. First, come here."
"What's going on?"
"You said you were looking for ways to make money, right? I'll be direct. How would you feel about signing a mercenary contract with our general store?"
"Mercenary contract? Isn't that something guilds do?"
"Not the guild kind. Theo, you know about this, right? You've done it a few times."
"I do."
Theo gave a quick explanation. Mercenary contracts were usually handled through guilds, but the guild's role was ultimately just matching mercenaries with clients. Things like mercenary ranks or request difficulty classifications were merely services to facilitate smooth matching. At its core, it was all about connecting the two parties. Contracts made without going through the guild weren't particularly illegal.
"Going through the guild means paying a commission. Mercenary groups of a certain size often find clients directly."
"You heard Theo's explanation. Also, with personal contracts, if one side runs off with the money there's nowhere to complain, so you have to be careful. The fact that I'm offering this to you means I trust you that much."
"Ooh. Being trusted like that makes me feel shy."
"Don't react so strongly. You're making me embarrassed too. So, are you interested?"
We looked at each other. No one was against it.
"We're interested. But we'd like to hear the details before making a final decision. Is that okay?"
"Of course. That's only natural."
When we said we'd hear her out, Sepia spread the papers she'd brought onto the counter. Looking at the drawing on the paper...
"A map?"
Sepia nodded.
"That's right. A dungeon was discovered near here not long ago. We barely managed to secure the first exploration rights, but we don't have anyone reliable to entrust it to, so we've been worrying about it."
"Dungeons are kind of our specialty. So? What's the exact request?"
"Information on the monsters appearing in the dungeon and the final reward. Any byproducts obtained during the strategy are all yours, and if you want, our general store can buy them from you immediately. How about it?"
"Should we discuss this in more detail?"
We accepted right away.