Chapter 10 - New Equipment
When we went to Marcelo-san's shop to ask about the necessary preparations, he muttered, "The Northern Forest, huh?" as he began to explain.
"When it comes to things needed for monster hunting in the Northern Forest, first is equipment. Next is tools. Then, well... it might be a good idea to cut a lock of your hair."
"What would we need hair for?"
"As a memento for your family."
"A memento?"
"In case you fight a powerful monster in the Northern Forest and are unlucky enough to have your body lost, at least you'll have left some hair behind."
Ehh?! What's that? I didn't hear anything about monsters that strong appearing...
"If you're going to challenge the Demon Lord's army in the Northern Forest, you'll need that level of resolve."
We're not going there! We're not going to a place like that! There's no way we'd go! What are you thinking? That's terrifying! Sure, the direction is the same, but it's the forest right to the north of this town! It's not the 'Northern Forest' far to the north where the Demon Lord's army is!
Marcelo-san apologized to us as we made a fuss, then casually said that the forest nearby was easy.
Honestly, we might need to make a rule to punish this man...
"For now, it would be best to take a few potions with you."
"Potions?"
"Yes. Unlike the sewer rats, the monsters you'll encounter in the Northern Forest are aggressive and will pounce on you. It'll be hard to land attack magic, so in case you run out of mana for recovery magic when you're injured, it's good to have healing potions. The effect is smaller compared to magic, but it doesn't hurt to have them."
Healing potions are brewed by apothecaries or priests. Marcelo-san apparently has knowledge as an apothecary, so this shop stocks various medicines. After consulting with Beatrix, we bought one using the Class of 175 budget just in case. It cost one silver coin. There were others for neutralizing poison or curing status ailments, but they were expensive and we were told they wouldn't be necessary in the Northern Forest, so we didn't buy them.
Just to be sure, I asked about equipment, but he said a leather shield would be about it, so I passed. I already have the used one I got from Hans-san. According to what I've heard, new equipment is expensive and can't be bought without counting in gold coins. It's completely impossible for us. I wondered if this was the reason there were no aspiring monster hunters in the world, but since it made our future look bleak, I decided not to think about it.
I also had to hear what Hans-san had to say.
"So you're going to the Northern Forest starting next week?"
"Yeah. Adolf-san told us to prepare, but what should we bring?"
"Take the shield I gave you the other day. Also, are you going to wear that Black-Purple stuff?"
"If necessary."
"Wear it."
Oh, so it's actually rated quite highly. It was worth staying up late and working hard. Before I knew it, 'Black-Purple' had become our nickname.
"After that, the neck area," Hans-san said. Apparently, monsters that primarily attack by pouncing and biting aim for the neck.
Even so, I didn't know what to do. As Beatrix and I looked at each other, Hans-san offered a helping hand.
"Go to our workshop and get some scraps of chainmail. If you wrap them around your neck so they don't get in the way, it'll be better than nothing."
When we went to the workshop, there was a young man and an older man with graying hair. They looked exactly like a master running the place and his apprentice.
"We're here on Hans-san's recommendation!"
Beatrix shouted in a loud voice, completely undaunted. Since girls wearing a red robe and white priestess vestments were wandering around a rugged Town Guard facility, I thought we'd be looked at with suspicion, but that wasn't the case.
"Oh, so you're the ones from that Class of 175!"
The master called out energetically. "You know about us?" Beatrix asked, and the master laughed back, "Of course I do!" They became friends in an instant. It seems word about us has spread throughout the Town Guard. Honestly, I don't know what to say about this girl's high level of social skills.
When we explained the situation, the master and the apprentice consulted with each other for a bit. Once they reached a conclusion, they brought out a mass of chains from the back. Our neck measurements were taken, and we were told to wait a bit, so we decided to look around the workshop.
The workshop was more than twice as large as Marcelo-san's atelier, with leather armor and weapons leaning against the walls everywhere. Beatrix was opening the lid of a jar in the corner without permission.
"What's this?"
Honestly! Stop that, you're going to get yelled at.
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Hey, don't touch that! That's for blowing up enemy castle walls. If you're not careful, it'll explode and blow your body to pieces!"
Wait a minute, wait a minute, 'blow your body to pieces'? Beatrix, put that lid back right now!
I apologized in a panic and dragged Beatrix away from the jar, as she looked back regretfully. Seriously, let's just stay quiet. I asked the master for permission and dragged Beatrix to the breakroom to wait there.
After a while, the apprentice came to call us. And what he showed us was something so wonderful it didn't look like a piece of military equipment.
"W-wow, not bad."
Even the mage, who had left the word 'restraint' somewhere far behind, had a voice that was clearly trembling with excitement.
It was made of fine chains linked together like cloth to match the length of the neck, designed to be wrapped around and fastened with a clasp at the back. It was lined with soft fabric so the chains wouldn't touch the skin directly. I was told it had a four-layer structure: fine chain, leather, slightly thicker chain, and the lining. Apparently, that makes it harder for enemy attacks to penetrate. The surface chains were painted black, with silver chains used for the top and bottom edges. And two silver chains of different lengths, slightly thicker, were attached so they hung down toward the chest with a gap between them. Apparently, they had some leftover silver-plated chain. It's called a neck guard.
But, but, this is a necklace!
"Normally, it would be better to wear it over the head like chainmail, but that would make it heavy and I'd have to charge you money for it."
"If it's for free, this is about the best I can do," the master said.
Kyaa! This is the first time I've ever worn something like this! And to be given a present by a man. I'm a priestess, what should I do? Oh, Goddess. This is equipment.
Beatrix and I were squealing with joy.
"I didn't think you'd be that happy."
We showered the blushing pair with thanks.
Apparently, the apprentice was a former priest who used to be in the church's atelier, so he's good at fine work.
"This guy, even though he was a priest, seems to have fallen for a woman. He returned to secular life and came to us. Since he was in the church atelier, he can also brew medicine. He makes things I don't really understand, like that 'gunpowder' stuff, and even fancy things like this. He's a treasure to us, but if he opened a shop, he'd probably make a fortune."
As the apprentice grinned sheepishly, we squealed even more.
So, what happened? Did she become your girlfriend?
He nodded as if to say 'yes.'
Oh my goodness, what should we do? Who is she? What kind of girl? Hey, you! Tell us more details!
After making a fuss for a while and bombarding them with questions, we were given the kind words "Come back if you need anything" and left the workshop. Both of them looked somewhat exhausted, but I decided to pretend I didn't notice.
"So, you had that made for you?"
Hans-san spread his arms and shrugged his shoulders while shaking his head grandly. You don't have to sigh that much, do you?
Beowulf came in, so after the two of us showed off our necklaces—no, neck guards—we began the impeachment.
"Excuse me, there's something I'd like to ask."
Beatrix recounted the exchange with Adolf-san.
"So you noticed."
Hans-san admitted it easily. First, one testimony obtained. I looked at Beowulf, and she averted her eyes.
"I don't think the result would have changed even if we knew, though."
"Well, that's true."
That's two testimonies. I looked at Beowulf, and she had averted her eyes so much that only her head was facing her back. Quite skillful.
"Why did you keep quiet? Even Beowulf too."
"Because I told her to. If you knew, you might have just settled for killing a certain number. It was to make sure you took it seriously. Since I, the Acting Captain, forbade her from speaking, she cannot lightly discuss matters related to the mission. There is a duty of confidentiality."
Mission? Duty of confidentiality?
I looked at Beowulf; she was looking at me while rubbing her neck and nodding repeatedly.
"I heard about your 'code' from Beowulf. On top of that, I received a formal suggestion from her asking if she could speak. Since she went that far, I consider her duty to her code to be fulfilled. And since I ordered her to keep quiet, the responsibility lies with me. However, your code does not apply to me, and since I haven't broken any laws, I won't receive any penalties under Kingdom Law. Do you understand?"
Ugh, I hadn't accounted for orders from a superior officer.
I looked at Beatrix; she was biting her lip, but she muttered, "I guess it can't be helped." Beowulf looked at us with relief.
"That's all. Is that the end of it?"
I had no choice but to nod "Yes" to the pressuring Hans-san. He even made sure to say, "I've got your word on that."
"Besides, during these two weeks, the Town Guard was betting on how many rats you'd kill at most in one go. I couldn't very well talk."
Huh? A bet?
I looked at Beowulf; she was shaking her head vigorously. It seems she didn't know.
"I was the only one who hit the mark with fifteen rats and took the whole pot. It was good pocket money. My thanks."
Hans-san, who had a stern expression until then, said with a smirk.
What should I do with this old man...
In the end, we decided to make Beowulf treat us to dinner once at the Bird's Head Tavern. Since she was a party to it, she apparently wasn't told about the betting, but since she knew all about the investigation and kept quiet, that much is only natural. By the way, the average rat extermination before the investigation was about ten to thirteen per trip, with a weekly average of thirty to forty. It wasn't that different from us.
While eating the dinner that was Beowulf's treat, we enjoyed the wine that was also Beowulf's treat.
Hey, Beatrix. That's your third glass of wine. Show some restraint.
"More importantly, there's something I want you to hear."
Beatrix's face was red. She was already drunk.
"Remember Hans-san's story from the other day? About the room where the record was set?"
"I remember. Twenty-six rats, right?"
Even though she was drunk, she was maintaining enough self-control to speak so that others wouldn't understand.
"Yeah, yeah, I just can't accept that story no matter what."
"What can't you accept?"
"I mean, he was continuing his research just as he wanted, right? So why, why, WHY did he go on a rampage?"
"Maybe it was a failure or..."
"Everything up to then was a failure, wasn't it?"
"Maybe there was someone he hated?"
"Someone he hated? If people did that, humanity would go extinct!"
That's certainly true. If high-level mages attacked everyone they hated, there's no telling how much damage would be caused.
"There must be something else. It's definitely suspicious."
Beatrix slammed her fist onto the table.
"What do you want to do, Beatrix?"
Despite dealing with a selfish drunk, Beowulf asked gently.
"I want to investigate that room."
"Investigate it? But it's been walled up, hasn't it?"
"Hmph!" Beatrix snorted.
"We just have to break it down."