Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Gold Bar Deal and the Blacksmith's Street
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"Welcome."
As soon as I stepped inside, a crabby-looking old man shook his head at the sight of me.
"Tsk... No wonder business is slow..."
Only then did I notice the outfits of the other customers inside.
A man with rings on six of his ten fingers, a noble in fancy lace-trimmed clothes, and a knight decked out in armor that gleamed brighter than most jewels.
The place was filled with people in flashy attire, moving with elegant grace as they browsed the shop leisurely.
My own clothes didn't fit in with any of them.
I'd left my armor hanging in my room and just thrown on a neat tunic from my wardrobe—nothing more.
I could understand why the old man wasn't thrilled about me.
Understanding it didn't mean I liked his attitude, though.
Still, I held my tongue and approached the old man at the counter.
"Do you buy items here too, by any chance?"
"...We do, but if the quality's too low or it looks like a fake..."
Before he could finish, I placed the gold bar I'd already pulled from my Inventory on the counter.
He shot me an annoyed glance for interrupting him, but when he saw the gold bar, he popped on a monocle-like magnifying glass and began inspecting it calmly.
He started by roughly handling the gold with his bare hands, but his movements grew more careful over time.
Eventually, he pulled on some gloves from under the counter, laid out a soft velvet cloth, and placed the bar on it like a precious treasure.
"Wh-where did you get this?"
The old man shouted in a fluster, and a knight in shining armor who had been shopping nearby jumped in.
"I thought it was too big for gold. Is it fake?"
He flexed his shoulders, as if ready to give me a scolding if it turned out to be counterfeit.
"Fake?!"
If anything, the old man exploded in anger even more than I did.
It left me a bit taken aback.
"This is the real deal! The purity on this..."
The old man stared at the gold, even stumbling over his words.
The knight grumbled about butting in for nothing and slunk back after catching the old man's glare.
The old man, eyes glued to the gold, didn't spare the knight a single glance as he retreated.
The 24K purity had clearly moved him.
"How much?"
"Y-you're really selling this?"
"Yes."
"Don't go anywhere! I'll get the coins right now!"
The old man swallowed hard, then scurried off with surprisingly spry steps for his small frame—like he'd been rejuvenated into a child.
"Huh? You look familiar... Are you a knight by any chance?"
The knight in gleaming armor, who had backed away, eyed me slowly and suddenly spoke up.
I had no memory of the knight in front of me.
Since he'd asked if I was a knight, I nodded.
"I'm under Knight Captain Dana."
"Dana... You mean from the Black Knight Order...?"
At the mention of the Black Knight Order, I nodded in confirmation.
His face drained of color as he scanned me up and down, then inched backward.
He looked like he'd just spotted a monster.
"Ah... I-I see...?"
Muttering awkwardly, word by word, the knight backpedaled toward the door and bolted out.
I felt like some kind of monster for real.
Now I had a pretty good idea how the Black Knight Order was treated by regular knights.
Clink.
Just then, the old man returned with a welcome sound, heaving a sack onto the counter.
"Five hundred gold coins. You might think it's low, but no one around here will give you more."
Even as he said it, he looked worried I might turn it down.
I glanced at the sack of coins and replied.
"Sounds good."
I accepted the offer without a second thought.
The old man's jaw dropped at my straightforward answer.
There was no need for me to hesitate.
It was way more than I'd expected, and hardly anyone else would appreciate this gold bar's true value like he did.
Like the old man at first, plenty of people might just judge by my clothes and not even appraise it.
Maybe I should've worn my armor.
Eager to close the deal before I changed my mind, the old man shoved the sack my way. I took it and headed out.
With the sack full of gold coins in hand, I felt solid—body and soul.
My next destination was set.
The weapon shop I'd seen when I first entered the city, and the blacksmith street stretching behind it.
That was next.
Clang—
The moment I entered the street, the sound of metal rang out.
One clang led to a chorus of others, blending into a steady rhythm.
"Looks like I came to the right place."
Dozens of distinct metal sounds harmonized like a single piece of music.
A massive weapon shop led to rows of large and small workshops and stores behind it.
Unlike other streets, adventurers and knights dominated the crowd here.
I strolled along, checking out the weapons.
"...They all look pretty similar."
The problem was, even staring at the swords on display, I honestly couldn't tell which ones were well-made.
After some deliberation, I decided to go by price.
Expensive weapons must be worth it, right?
And I found the place selling the priciest one.
"This little dagger for 4 gold...?"
The midsize mithril sword I'd seen when I first arrived in the city had been 20 gold.
This tiny dagger, made of plain steel, was priced at 4 gold.
The other weapons in the shop were the same.
Everything cost at least double what you'd pay elsewhere, and the designs were plain.
"Even so, 4 gold is..."
"If you wanna complain, don't buy it."
A gruff voice made me turn, but no one was there.
Expanding my view, I spotted a man holding a hammer.
The reason he hadn't caught my eye at first was simple.
He was way shorter than I'd expected.
A dwarf.
That was the race of the shop owner—and the voice's owner.
"A dagger forged with dwarven craftsmanship? That price is only natural."
He crossed his arms proudly.
A dwarf, huh.
In all those fantasy novels and games, dwarves were always depicted as master craftsmen.
Given how faithfully the clichés held up so far, they were probably a top-tier race here too.
Seemed like a solid choice for a commission.
"Do you take custom orders?"
"...It'll cost you."
I shoved the sack at the dwarf without hesitation.
He took it suspiciously and peered inside.
His mouth fell open.
"What the..."
Seizing the moment while his eyes were on the gold coins, I pulled the jungle machete from my Inventory.
"Please remake this into a weapon using the best materials you have."
The dwarf's expression turned serious as he took the machete.
He examined it from every angle, muttering to himself.
"Steel? No, the weight and springiness are better than steel. Kinda like an axe... but also a sword..."
After inspecting it thoroughly, the dwarf nodded.
"Alright, I'll do it. Factoring in the materials, it shouldn't go over 100 gold."
The machete wasn't a huge blade, so the price was lower than I'd feared.
Not that 100 gold was cheap by any means.
Having just made a fortune, my sense of money was off.
He said it would take quite some time to finish.
"Where should I send it when it's done?"
"You do delivery?"
"For this much? You bet."
The dwarf chuckled heartily, fiddling with the coins.
I told him to deliver it to the Black Knight Order barracks.
"You're with the Black Knight Order?"
"Yes."
I worried he'd freak out like that earlier knight, but he didn't.
"Hm, gotta factor in monster-hunting too, then."
He just nodded calmly, scrutinizing the machete I'd given him.
"For orcs or big monsters, a sword this short might not cut it..."
I slipped out quietly without disturbing the dwarf, now deep in focus and mumbling to himself.
On my way back to the barracks, I picked up some small items too.
Several large towels, floral-scented perfume, body oil and cosmetics that nobles supposedly used.
Supplies to tackle Knight Captain Dana's Fetish: massages.
I planned to gradually transform my room with these.
Into something like a massage parlor from this world.
I'd need various things for that, so I bought them all while I was out.
The only issue left was luring the captain into it naturally.
That part wasn't clicking yet.
She had a Fetish for massages, sure, but Knight Captain Dana didn't seem like the type to indulge.
"Maybe spread some rumors organically?"
Places like knight orders always had weary bodies.
Knight who wanted massages? A dime a dozen.
Cecil came to mind first.
The female knight who'd always been friendly with me.
"Should I bring it up with her?"
Something told me Cecil would go for it.