Growth — Equipment

I'd dropped a staggering twenty-four million gold on three skill stones, but my shopping—no, our shopping—was nowhere near finished.

I'd already told Aquaril and Oralisa to pick out whatever caught their eye. And since we'd come all this way, I figured I might as well grab something for Kanisia and Abraham while I was at it. Time to upgrade the whole party's kit.

As it stood, the best weapons we had were Kanisia's common-grade two-star spear and the shield I carried myself. For a party of our caliber, our arms and armor were embarrassingly behind.

A year's tribute in gems to Uroboros comes to thirty thousand gems. Convert that to gold and you're looking at three billion. Throw in another billion for a year's living expenses and that's four billion spoken for. So I can comfortably sink about two-point-seven billion into gear. Ah—better set aside a billion for my own resurrection fund. That leaves one-point-seven billion.

Gold could always be earned again.

I'd built this fortune by looting—excuse me, by accepting generous donations from—the vaults of the two kings who'd ruled Indigo and Chinnimoni. And there would be plenty more philanthropists like the Fire Dragon King and the Blood Axe King ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in my future. Whatever I spent, I'd recoup it and then some.

This world really is full of kind people.

Who in their right mind just hands over billions in assets? Even in my last life, you could count people like that on one hand. By that measure, this world was overflowing with generous souls.

It's not like I was running a turtle Terran. When you've got a chance to grow the party, you pour everything into it.

Gold only mattered if you spent it on getting stronger. Hoarding it did us no good at all. It wasn't as if the stuff collected interest.

Indigo and Chinnimoni had never offered much in the way of decent gear. You could find three-star weapons and armor in Chinnimoni, sure, but nothing worth getting excited about.

This place was different.

This was a city ruled by the Witch Queen herself, one of the strongest beings on the entire continent of Gaiarium—and even the arms sold in a general store here were in another league.

Oh, now that's what I'm talking about.

I'd come down to the first floor, and everything I saw around me drew a low whistle of appreciation. Items from one-star to four-star were laid out by type in neat, handsome displays, and the lowest grade on any of them was Superior. I could have scrubbed my eyes raw and still not found a single piece of Common-grade junk.

Gear you almost never saw in the last two cities was spread out here in glittering rows. Even if I didn't buy a thing, just window-shopping would have been time well spent.

"There you are."

"Ah, Master. Have you finished your business?"

"Master!"

I walked over to Aquaril and Oralisa, who'd been browsing the weapons. Aquaril greeted me without leaving her spot. Oralisa, on the other hand, came scampering over and threw herself into my arms.

If that girl had a tail, it would have been spinning like a propeller.

So what if she was a little spacey? She was this pretty, this cute—and her talent as an archer was outstanding besides. Factor all that in and you could write the four-dimensional personality off as charm.

"Find anything you like?"

"Pardon? Ah, I don't particularly…"

"Yep! This one! I want this one!"

Where Aquaril looked uncomfortable, Oralisa bounced with unfiltered glee, dashed off with a clatter of little footsteps, and came trotting back with a bow in her hands. It was a black thing, the tips of its limbs hooked like the business end of a war pick.

The bow Oralisa had been using before was nothing special—two-star, Common-grade. This was a clear step up. On top of that, it carried a restriction: only an archer with the Dark attribute could wield it. This thing had been made for her.

Most weapons didn't have use restrictions at all. People simply equipped whatever matched their class, because a mismatched weapon wouldn't grant its effects. And because this one did have conditions attached, it was cheaper than other weapons of the same grade.

"Our Litsha wants this one, huh?"

"Mhm! Orali—I mean, Litsha wants this. Please buy it, Master…"

"Kh—!"

She pulled a face like Puss in Boots, all wide-eyed and pitiful, and I had to clap a hand over my nose and mouth. Too cute. God damn it.

"Alright. I'll get it for you."

"Hehe! Thanks, Master! I'll let you lick my feet later!"

"…"

Why was she always offering to let me lick her feet? I genuinely could not figure this girl out.

"What about you? Why aren't you picking something? If you see anything you like, just say so. I told you I'd buy it."

"I don't particularly…"

"Master, this one! Aqua-chin was staring at it forever a minute ago!"

Oralisa pointed at a sword on Aquaril's behalf, cutting off the refusal before it could land. A rapier, its blade a striking, pure white.

"L-Litsha! When did I ever do that?"

Having her private longing dragged into the open left Aquaril flustered in a way I almost never saw from her.

Never mind that—Aqua-chin?

The two of them must have gotten close while I was gone. Or maybe Oralisa's social skills were just that good.

"Let's see…"

Either way, I pulled up the information on the rapier Aquaril had supposedly been eyeing.

That's expensive.

Leave it to Aquaril. The weapon she'd been quietly coveting was a four-star rapier—the highest star rating on display in the entire store. Hence the eye-watering price tag.

[Into the Abyss], huh…

Expensive or not, it was a damn good weapon. The attribute matched hers perfectly, and more importantly, the rapier came enchanted with a skill: Into the Abyss.

The effect slowed an enemy's movement speed and reaction time with every landed attack, stacking up to ten times for a maximum reduction of twenty percent. For someone like Aquaril, whose entire style was built on blistering speed, the synergy was almost unfair.

"Take it, Aquaril. It's yours."

"Pardon? B-but Master, it's far too expensive. The sword you bought me before is more than sufficient."

Fifty-two million gold gave me a brief pause, but only a brief one. I could afford this. Gold would come back the next time I ran into a sufficiently generous donor.

"Who knows when we'll find another weapon this good? Just take it."

"B-but even so…"

"Tsk. You really going to make me say it again?"

"…Thank you, Master. I don't know how I can ever repay this kindness…"

"You're already doing more than enough. Don't start killing yourself trying to do even more—just keep being who you are. You're already a Fairy I can be proud of."

"Master…"

Aquaril's eyes went bright and wet. She'd actually teared up. Was it really that big a deal?

"What about me, Master? Aren't I something to be proud of too?"

"Of course you are, Litsha."

"Hehe!"

I ruffled Oralisa's hair the way she wanted, and she lit up like a child who'd just been handed a prize.

"Grab your weapons and let's pick something out for Kanisia and Abraham. If we're buying, we might as well take care of them too."

"Yes, Master."

"Kanisia? Abraham? Who're they?"

"Teammates. I'll introduce you later."

"Okay, Master! But they have to lick my feet too!"

"…?"

What was with the foot thing? I genuinely did not understand this girl.

After spending a small fortune at William's General Store, we headed back to the inn where Kanisia was staying.

"Oh? Alan~"

"If you have not yet eaten, please join us, Lord Alan."

It was lunchtime, and Kanisia and Abraham were eating on the first floor. The inn doubled as a tavern, which was convenient.

"Hm? You two look… different. And who's the new kid?"

"Hi! I'm Orali—I mean Litsha! Litsha is smart! Nice to meet you!"

"Uh. Uh-huh…"

"Well met, Lady Litsha. I am Abraham, Fairy in service to Master Kanisia here."

Oralisa, social butterfly that she was, introduced herself to Kanisia and Abraham without a hint of hesitation.

She hadn't struck me as the outgoing type when I first met her. Maybe becoming my Fairy had shifted her personality a little. Or maybe this had been the real her all along.

"Wow~ You're so huge! Did you eat lots of broccoli to get that big?"

"That I cannot say. This body has been thus since the day I was first summoned."

"I wanna be big like you!"

"Fairies cannot grow, Lady Litsha."

"Aww…"

"Would you care to try some? The innkeeper here has a fair hand in the kitchen."

"Thanks! You're a nice Fairy! I'll even let you lick my feet as a special treat!"

"…?"

Oralisa plopped down beside Abraham and chattered at him without a pause. He must have taken a liking to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the brightly smiling girl who'd sat herself next to him, because the usually taciturn Fairy was talking more than I'd ever heard from him.

"Alan."

"Hm?"

"Who is she?"

Kanisia watched Oralisa with open curiosity and leaned in to whisper.

"My Fairy."

"Ah~ so she's your Fai— wait. Fairy? Did you just say Fairy?"

"Yeah. Not sure what changed, but as of yesterday I can summon them."

"Wow."

I'd stolen her, technically, but I could hardly say that out loud. So I glossed it over and left it at yesterday.

"We'll take another order over here!"

We needed food in us first. I flagged down a busy server and added enough to the table for the three of us. Come to think of it, we hadn't eaten breakfast either. We'd been on our feet all morning.

"So Alan—what's all that?"

"Hm? Ah. We were walking around and found a Master-exclusive shop called William's General Store. Cleaned out every coin I had and upgraded our gear."

"That must have cost a fortune… You had that kind of money?"

"I told you. I spent everything I had."

Kanisia looked at me, then at Aquaril, then at Oralisa, envy written plainly across her face. She was a Master who wanted to get stronger too. Of course she'd envy a party that had just been outfitted from head to toe.

"Aquaril?"

"Yes, Master. Lady Lora, Abraham—please accept these."

"H-huh? What is this? A spear?"

"Lady Aquaril?"

At my cue, Aquaril handed Kanisia a spear and Abraham a helmet.

"…What is this?"

"What does it look like? A gift. We bought you and Abraham something with what we had left after outfitting ourselves. We didn't have much, so it was just a spear and a helm. You can earn the rest of your gear yourself."

"…"

I said it like it was nothing, and Kanisia just stared at me. Then she shook her head and held the spear back out toward Aquaril.

"I can't take something this expensive. How am I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠supposed to accept this?"

"Why not? And if you try to resell it, you won't even get half. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Unless you feel like throwing money in a hole, just use it. I bought it for you. Besides—we all have to get stronger if we're going to reach our goal."

"But…"

"What are you, Aquaril?"

"Huh? What?"

"Stop refusing and just take it. If it really bothers you that much, earn the money and pay me back later."

"…Thanks, Alan. I'll work my ass off. I mean it."

"You have my thanks, Lord Alan. I shall repay the cost of the spear and helm with all due haste."

Invoking our goal finally did it. Kanisia and Abraham accepted the gifts. Their eyes were unsteady—they'd been moved more than they wanted to let on.

"More importantly—it's about time we got stronger again, don't you think?"

"Hm?"

"I picked up a job. You're both in, right?"