Ch.16Chapter 16. HAH!!!

After that day when I met the Knight of Death, I began to live more passionately than before.

No matter how messed up this world and my life might be, I learned that someone exists who affirms even such a life.

Well, his reason for sparing me was probably thinking I might become his comrade later, but I don’t need to worry about that right now.

So I’ll stop being depressed and try to live earnestly as far as I can go…

“By the way, where would be a good place to get equipment?”

Thanks to Vivian, I’ve gathered more money than I had planned.

Feeling that the time had finally come to escape my life as a porter, I spent time exploring the craftsmen’s district to find necessary equipment before officially registering as an adventurer.

Being adjacent to where adventurers mainly reside, workshops filled the streets to capacity.

In such a chaotic world, there’s always demand for equipment, so I thought finding gear wouldn’t be difficult once I arrived.

That is, if I had a proper position determined as an adventurer.

“Of course, equipment isn’t just about getting one good weapon and calling it a day.”

If this were a game, I could just pick a weapon that matches my level and funds and be done with it, but where I am is clearly reality.

Unlike games where you can strike back and kill an enemy if you survive one hit, in reality, if you can’t withstand an enemy’s attack, you’ll fall before you can counterattack.

Even against a goblin, if it gets a mount position, even an adult male can die from one-sided beating, so if I need to get something, it would be armor rather than weapons.

Of course, since different positions require different types of armor, I’ll need to consider what kind to choose.

“Magic is obviously impossible, and bows require high skill that’s not easy to master right away…”

So what remains is the vanguard position, directly scuffling with enemies or taking attacks with my body.

But even with physical abilities trained as a porter, my physical aptitude is only upper C-rank, which falls short of the recommended B-rank for those performing main tank roles.

Not only would I run out of stamina moving in heavy armor, but holding a shield and taking enemy attacks head-on is impossible for me right now.

So a vanguard position focusing on light armor rather than heavy equipment would be most suitable for me now.

“…Having to buy light armor for the optimal position. This is going to cost quite a bit.”

Of course, lightweight materials that are both relatively light and durable are more expensive than heavy equipment that just needs to be made sturdy.

But if I neglect armor, I’m more likely to die from unexpected attacks.

In the end, this too might be the price for my excessive ambition of dreaming to be an adventurer while being a Foreign Laborer. I snorted at the thought.

-Crash!

Just then, I heard something being overturned on the road I was passing, and my gaze naturally moved toward the source.

The first thing I saw was some rough men who had knocked down a shop’s sign.

They were holding equipment in their hands and confronting the craftsman of the shop.

“Damn, you’re doing business terribly!”

“I heard you were a famous craftsman so I trusted you with this, but what’s this!? Why didn’t you properly fill in this dent?!”

The men were shouting, pointing at a dented part of the armor.

While from their perspective there seemed to be something unsatisfactory about the request, from my distant observation, it looked like a truly minor issue.

Of course, with cars even a scratch can cost hundreds, but for armor that’s meant to take hits, couldn’t that level of damage be ignored?

“T-that part was left alone because tampering with it might risk disrupting the balance of the entire equipment. I repaired it so there would be no functional problems even if used as is…”

“So you’re saying you can’t fix it!”

“Do you think equipment is fine as long as it’s usable!? It needs to look good too, whatever it is!”

“Please calm down. I did my best according to your requirements, but if you come at me like this, it’s difficult…”

“We’re the ones having difficulties, not you! Do you think it makes sense to charge full price when you can’t fix something like this?!”

“If you can’t properly fulfill a request, you should refund the money~!”

…I get it now.

Those guys are causing trouble to somehow recover their losses.

It’s quite unpleasant to watch, but ironically, I’m just a Foreign Laborer without any notable abilities to help.

If I intervene directly, I’ll just add to the victims, so the best I can do is call the guards.

“If you don’t want to refund the money, let’s take this to court!”

“Get ready to eat prison food after closing your business!!”

But it’s irritating how those guys keep escalating their troublemaking.

Usually even thugs know to fear public authority, but causing such a scene in the middle of the street suggests they have something they’re relying on?

“Hey there, what do you think you’re doing?!”

While I was conflicted about whether to report this, someone else rushed into where they were, replacing my inaction.

An old man with a completely bald head and a face full of wrinkles.

He looked precarious, supporting his trembling body with a cane, but his angry face clearly showed his fury toward them.

“You wet-behind-the-ears punks… Who do you think you are causing trouble here!? Why don’t you scram back to your homes right now!?”

“Ha, I thought someone important was butting in, but it’s just an old geezer.”

“Mind your own business and get out of here. Your breath stinks all the way over here when you open your mouth.”

The thugs responded with contempt despite the old man’s scolding.

“You insolent rascals. Not only causing a scene in the street but showing no respect…”

“Hehe, respect? You’re not my family, why should I respect you?”

“You think you’re special just because you’ve managed to stay alive this long, old man? Young people these days actually hate old folks who shout just because they’re old, you know?”

“I’m the young person with that temper who grew up, you fools!”

-Whoosh!

The old man swung his cane threateningly.

Surprised by the violent threat, the thugs stepped back, but soon they began to snicker, looking down on him.

“Oh, wow. A dying old man showing his temper?”

“Seriously, we try to be nice but this old geezer is annoying.”

-Shing

One of the thugs drew a sword from his waist in irritation.

The gleam from the blade and its menacing aura indicated that his weapon was no ordinary one.

“Hey, wait. Are you sure about this? If you draw a blade here, the guards will really come…”

“Haha! What’s there to be afraid of!? We have the Hero behind us, even if something big happens, he’ll take care of it!”

Ah, so that’s it. In the end, these guys are also causing trouble relying on the Hero’s backing.

That was annoying, but ironically, what’s more ironic is that it actually works in reality.

“Hey old man. Do you know what’s manifested on this blade? It’s aura, aura~”

Aura blade.

The old man still didn’t seem to consider it a threat, glaring while holding his cane, but knowing what it was, I couldn’t help but feel alarmed.

Aura is a technique where mana is concentrated to enhance a tool’s properties.

Even an ordinary sword with aura can exert power to cut steel and split rocks, but to handle it requires both the ability and skill to manipulate mana.

It can also be achieved through tools rather than personal mastery, but the cost of such “magic tools” is astronomical.

Just the sword in his hand would probably cost most of the money I have.

Yet using such an absurdly valuable weapon on the street? Even for the Hero’s associates, there should be limits to such thoughtlessness.

“…Is he generating aura with just the weapon, without magic power?”

“Haha! It’s too late to regret now! Since I’ve drawn my sword, I need to see blood!”

But I had no way to stop this.

While I was helplessly watching from a distance, the old man sighed deeply and slightly raised the cane in his hand.

And just as the sword was swung at him, he swung back.

Precisely, without a margin of error. So that his cane would touch the aura.

-CRASH!!!

And with that light strike, the aura blade shattered completely.

As the fragments showered down, my mouth reflexively gaped wide open watching the scene.

Holy shit, what was that?

An aura blade that can slice through steel, shattered so easily?

“Huh…?”

The thug himself was equally bewildered.

But the old man, seemingly unwilling to even give time for situation assessment, simply raised his cane again.

“These days, young punks think they’re something special just because they get equipment even by going into debt.”

“Ah, w-wait! Do you know how expensive this is…”

“HAH!!!”

-THWACK!

The thug took a direct hit to the head from the swinging cane.

Knocked to the ground by that strike, the thug rolled his eyes and began to tremble violently.

Foaming at the mouth as if experiencing rigor mortis.

“Ugh, geh, gack…”

“Hey, hey what’s wrong with you? Snap out of it!”

The other thug looked back and forth between the shattered aura blade and the old man.

Watching him at a loss, the old man clicked his tongue disapprovingly and pointed his cane at the armor on the ground.

“Empty vessels make the most noise, as they say. Nobodies always try to boost their egos by picking on those weaker than themselves.”

-CRASH!

The metal armor was thoroughly smashed by the swinging cane.

That armor probably cost a fortune like the aura blade, but to the old man, it seemed no more significant than a piece of paper.

“Expensive or not, do you think the world will accommodate you just because you have good equipment and act tough? Hero’s associates or whatever, get out of here now! There’s no craftsman in this district who will sell equipment to ill-mannered punks like you!”

“Y-you crazy old man… Damn it, just wait! We won’t let this go!”

Though feeling indignant, with his weapon shattered and his comrade fallen, the thug judged he couldn’t stay any longer.

The trouble in the street was concluded as he took his fallen comrade and left.

“Ah, thank you again, sir.”

“No need for thanks. At my age, this is all I can do anyway…”

The old man patted his shoulder as he received the craftsman’s gratitude.

Though he had chased away the thugs, his face remained grimly furrowed, still seemingly unsatisfied.

“Those useless guards are so lenient whenever the Hero’s name comes up, they don’t even use force against fools like that. I wonder where this world is heading… Hm?”

In the middle of his grumbling, his gaze turned toward me.

As I shrank back, recalling what he had just done, he raised his cane again and began to shout at me.

“What’s with you? Came for a show? Or are you looking to pick a fight too!?”

“N-no, not at all! I was just so impressed by your gallant actions that I was watching in awe. Haha!”

There’s no way I could pick a fight.

Having just seen that old man openly shatter an aura blade, who in their right mind would pick a fight?

“A-actually, I wanted to intervene too, but as a novice just about to start adventuring, I thought I might just get in the way… So I was thinking how fortunate it was that you stepped in to stop those guys.”

“…Hmm, is that so?”

Perhaps my sincere explanation got through to him?

Soon the old man lowered his cane and began stroking his beard.

“Well, alright. As long as you’re not causing trouble, I should be kind. Moreover, though you lacked strength, the fact that you didn’t think well of those guys speaks to your character. A commendable young person, rare these days.”

“Haha, thank you for your kind words.”

Good, as long as I don’t cause trouble, I won’t get my head bashed in.

Moreover, since his assessment of me is positive, it seemed I could engage in more bold conversation without issue.

“By the way, sir? Actually, I came here to get equipment, and I was wondering if you know this district well? If it’s alright, I’d like to ask for some advice…”

“Hoho! For that, there’s no one who knows better than me in this neighborhood! There’s a bench over there, why don’t you bring some tea and let’s have a chat!”

Of course. You can become friends with anyone if you can communicate well.

Reminded of this fact once again, I followed the old man to the bench with a lighter heart.