Is he a secret softie? I thought.
“And when he comes to check on the weapons the guild is keeping, he sharpens my knife because he ‘might as well.’”
Definitely a softie.
“This is it.” Fina stopped in front of a building with a painted sign of a sword hung by the door. Did they not sell any armor, then?
I heard clanging coming from inside as we approached and wondered if they were forging stuff right now. Fina entered first, and a short girl greeted her. ‘Weapons shops’ in a fantasy games tend to come part and parcel with dwarven shopkeepers, so I wondered if she was one. Or was she just a normal kid?
“Oh welcome, Fina! Did you come to get your knife sharpened?”
“No, I brought Yuna here today. Apparently, she wants a weapon, so I came here to introduce her to Mr. Gold.”
“Oh, so you’ve brought a customer. Thank you.”
“Yuna, this is Mr. Gold’s wife, Mrs. Nelt.”
Okay, dwarf confirmed! I thought, a little relieved. Otherwise he would have been a pedo.
“Did you just look at me funny?”
“No, actually, I was wondering whether you were a dwarf.”
“That I am indeed. Have you never seen a dwarf before, by any chance?”
“No, this is my first time.”
“Well, I suppose you can’t help it, then. You’ve got quite a peculiar look, miss.”
“My name is Yuna. Nice to meet you.”
“So, what kind of weapon do you want?”
“I haven’t decided, so could you show me what you have?”
“So, you’re a beginner! Of course I can. My husband has some work he needs to attend to, so he can’t speak with you at present, but you may look around at your leisure.”
I could hear Mr. Gold clanging away at something in the back. I supposed I didn’t need to meet him, since I was just going to buy a sword. Fina looked disappointed, though. She probably wanted to see him.
Since I’d gotten permission to browse, I inspected the weapons in the shop. I tried picking up a nearby sword. It…wasn’t heavy? I wondered if it was because of the bear gloves. To test it out, I took off a glove and tried lifting it again.
Okay! I thought. Definitely can’t hold this thing! I could pick it up, but that was all I could manage. I couldn’t even try swinging it, or anything.
I put the bear glove back on and held the sword. It was light…
I wasn’t going to be able to make it in this world without the bear gear, was I?
I tried out Bear Identification next.
Iron Sword
Skills: None
I tried checking the other swords in the same way.
Iron Sword
Skills: None
Iron Sword
Skills: None
Iron Sword
Skills: None
They were all the same, only varying in shape and length. Swords without magical abilities were probably just the norm. They weren’t selling anything subpar, but I didn’t see any hidden gems. If this were a game or light novel, they would’ve had a legendary sword stashed in the corner all rusted and unrecognized, or something.
After all the fuss I’d made to get it, my identification skill was useless. I decided to cut my losses and picked a sword that looked like it would be easy to carry one-handed.
Iron Sword
Skills: None
“I’d like to also look at the knives.”
“For skinning and butchering?”
“Sure, one of those, but I’d like throwing ones too.” I wanted to have something better than rocks to throw if the situation ever called for it. Nelt showed me a small knife.
“Do you have a hundred of them?”
“You want that many?”
“Yes, and if you don’t, I’d like all the ones you’ve got.”
“We have a hundred, but please give me a moment. They’re in the back, so I’ll bring them over. But are you really going to use a hundred of them?”
“They’re useful for defeating monsters.”
“I know throwing knives are cheap, but aren’t you going a little overboard?”
“They’re cheap?”
“They’re basically disposable. We make them with leftover iron scraps. Imagine it: you’re battling monsters in the woods. You might be able to hit your prey with a throwing knife, but it’s just as likely it’ll bounce off, or miss, or fall out after it wounds them. You don’t want to be spending real money on something you might not be able to retrieve, right? That was why I asked you whether it was for butchering earlier. Of course, we have knives for battle as well.”
As a newbie adventurer, I was grateful to have her explain the little details of the industry. “I’d also like a butchering knife,” I told her.
“Alright.” She brought out a knife that seemed sharper than the throwing knives. I might not have needed it, but it wasn’t like it’d cause trouble if I had it, so I’d buy it. I pulled out the money my white bear glove and Mrs. Nelt brought the knives from the back room in multiple trips.
“So, when will you come to get them?”
“I’ll take them home right now.”
I started putting away the hundred knives in the bear’s mouth. To finish it off, I put away the sword and butchering knife.
“Is that bear doll a bottomless bag?” She was looking at the bear in surprise.
“A bottomless bag?” I cocked my head at the unfamiliar term.
“A bottomless bag’s a bottomless bag,” she said. “They each have their own restrictions, but they’re useful bags that you can put items in to carry. They’re useful for merchants and blacksmiths like us, who have to handle heavy luggage.”
“Are bottomless bags rare?”
“You don’t even know that?”
“I got this from somebody I know. That’s why I don’t really know much about it.”
“There are some generous people out there. If you ask me, they’re not incredibly unusual. A bottomless bag’s value is dependent on how much stuff it can hold. You’ve got a range of types, but the more it can hold, the higher its value is. I was surprised because it was my first time seeing a bottomless bag that’s a bear like yours.”
I wondered whether this bear had an item limit. I supposed that if it
