Ch.4The Blonde Delinquent Appears!?

It took quite a while to shop for travel necessities with Jessica as we wandered through the marketplace.

Since there are no comprehensive shopping centers like the 21st century superstores where all necessary items are gathered in one place, we had to visit various shops like camping supply stores, general stores, clothing shops, pharmacies, and grocery stores to purchase everything. With no shopping carts, easy-to-assemble packaging boxes, or delivery services to transport purchases to our lodging, we had to carry all our luggage ourselves.

Apparently, the two most common mistakes novice adventurers make are “buying bags at general stores” and “shopping store by store.”

The bags sold at general stores are mainly handbags or pouches, and even backpacks are limited to the size of modern student backpacks at best. The despair one feels when, after stuffing various items into the largest backpack purchased at a store, they finally discover proper travel backpacks at a camping supply store is reportedly indescribable.

To prevent such problems, general stores ask customers looking to buy backpacks about their intended use and direct them to camping supply stores for large travel backpacks. However, most people who follow this advice and purchase travel backpacks at camping supply stores first make the mistake of buying all their camping supplies there to avoid visiting the same store twice, then moving on to the next shop.

While long-distance travel requires various items, those sold at camping supply stores—tents, blankets, metal tableware, canteens, lanterns, portable shovels—tend to be quite heavy. People end up stuffing these heavy items into their large backpacks or hanging them outside, then struggle under the weight as they visit other shops for clothes, miscellaneous goods, and groceries.

However, accompanied by Jessica, an experienced adventurer, I avoided such rookie mistakes and followed an efficient shopping route: first buying only a backpack at the camping supply store, then shopping for various clothing, miscellaneous items, and dried food, before finally returning to the camping supply store to purchase the heavier items.

“Phew, I think we’ve got everything we need… spent a bit over 140 gold.”

“So all that’s left is the gunsmith, right? It would be great if that gun could be repaired and used.”

“Come to think of it, the pharmacist earlier was quite elderly. Was it really okay to speak informally to her?”

I hadn’t been particularly concerned about Jessica or that employee David at the New Continent Development Headquarters, as they both appeared quite young, but the pharmacy owner was clearly a woman in her late forties. I had followed Jessica’s lead and spoken informally, but as someone from the “Land of Morning Calm,” I couldn’t shake off my discomfort.

“Oh, I see… Was using honorifics common in the country where you lived, Will?”

“Not so much where I lived recently, but in my hometown, speaking informally to an older person you’ve just met could start an argument or even a fistfight.”

“In Grantis, speaking informally isn’t considered rude. Of course, using honorifics won’t get you treated as strange either, and there are relationships where honorifics are the norm, like between parents and children. But among adventurers, using honorifics first can sometimes be seen as looking down on others, so most are in the habit of speaking informally.”

So the concept of honorifics exists and is used, but it hasn’t been established as a universal conversational etiquette toward elders—quite a unique culture.

“Besides, if we determined hierarchy by age, everyone would have to bow down to most elves, wouldn’t they? Humans live at most 60-70 years, dwarves about 100, but elves live over 300 years. It’s common to meet someone who looks your age but is actually over 100 years old.”

“Ah… I hadn’t considered that.”

In fantasy worlds, elves are famous for their longevity. If age determined social hierarchy, elves would easily dominate all other races, potentially leading to discontent and discrimination between races. From that perspective, perhaps it’s natural that the etiquette of using honorifics with elders never developed.

In a way, it might be similar to greeting an elder with “Good morning, John” in America, but as long as my ears perceive the language of Grantis as Korean, it will take some time to completely shake off the psychological discomfort.

“By the way, is the gunsmith far from here?”

“Not really. At this intersection, turn left and—ugh!”

As soon as we turned the corner at the intersection, Jessica let out a disgusted groan at the sight of a man.

“Well, well, who do we have here… the half-baked, outdated mage girl walking around with a man? Hmph.”

“Ugh, just my luck. Let’s go this way, Will.”

“Where are you trying to go?”

“Cut it out, Hector. I don’t have time to argue with you right now.”

Jessica was showing obvious dislike toward the scholarly-looking young man with slicked-back blonde hair and a somewhat short stature. The scholarly young man, ignoring Jessica’s attitude, slowly looked me up and down with his deep blue eyes and smirked.

“Hey, mister adventurer? If you hang around with a washed-up Codex Mage like her, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough!”

“Codex Mage?”

“Hm? Ah, you don’t know… you’re a newbie, aren’t you?”

Oh, the classic isekai line, “You don’t know? This is what we call…”—though isn’t that usually said by the protagonist who crossed over?

“A Codex Mage, you see, refers to those dimwits who can’t memorize magical formulas and instead write spells in grimoires—an outdated, obsolete method. Maybe for freshmen just learning magic arts, but those with even minimal intelligence worthy of being recognized as mages…”

The slick-haired young man pointed to the meter-long rod-shaped object strapped to his back.

“Use staffs like this and practice a more advanced form of magic as ‘Staff Wizards.’ Elite mages like myself are on a completely different level, from the number of formulas mastered to the power of our spells.”

“Ah, so let me get this straight—Jessica here uses an old, outdated system of magic and lacks talent, while you’re an elite mage who can use a wider variety of more modern spells. Is that right?”

“Exactly! And as a bonus, let me tell you that this Jessica is a drifter who never shows her face at the Academy all year round, just wandering around doing odd jobs for pocket change. She’s a third-rate eccentric magician who barely deserves the title of mage.”

Well, these types exist everywhere—people who belittle others’ choices while narcissistically believing their own talents and choices are superior. Jessica’s face was flushed red with anger as she tried to contain her fury, but tears were beginning to form in her eyes, suggesting she was approaching her limit of patience.

Don’t worry, Jessica, you’re not the only one who’s angry.

“Your name?”

“Hector Jones, genius mage of the Magic Academy. Remember it well.”

“Well, Mr. Hector, I’m completely ignorant about magic, so after hearing all this, I’m curious about something.”

“Yes, ask me anything.”

“This eccentric woman magician, whom you say barely deserves to be called a mage, has been traveling around with her outdated magic, rescued a young man in danger, protected him all the way here, and helped him stand on his own as an adventurer—quite a capable and admirable person, wouldn’t you say?”

As I patted Jessica’s shoulder while saying this, she looked at me with wide, surprised eyes. Did she really think I would take this unpleasant Hector’s words at face value and part ways with her? I’m not that kind of person.

“So, Mr. Self-proclaimed Genius Mage, with your supposedly diverse and impressive magic skills, what exactly are you doing holed up in the safest city in Grantis with all that amazing magic of yours?”

“What…!”

“Ah! I get it—magic shows! You must be a famous magical artist making tons of money with performances. No wonder you don’t have time to go outside the city and help people.”

“W-what… you…”

The slick-haired mage’s complexion changed from red to blue in real-time as his self-absorbed expression crumpled. This is too easy.

“Wow, how lucky to meet a famous entertainer! When’s your next show? Can I get tickets? A pair, please.”

“Y-you insolent rookie, how dare you insult me! I’ll turn you into charcoal, you bastard!”

Despite his rage and shouting, Hector couldn’t follow through on his threat to turn me into charcoal.

That’s because my revolver’s muzzle was now pressed against his chin. As a Gunslinger Championship winner, I’m confident no one can outdraw me.

“Eek!”

“Now then…”

Facing Hector, whose face had drained of all color in an instant, I deliberately lowered my voice and put on a cold expression as I slowly began to speak.

“Mr. Elite Mage, who, when confronting an armed gunslinger, at conversational distance, without any cover, only reaches for the staff on his back after finishing his verbal threats.”

“……”

“I’m going to pull the trigger now. Can you show me that special magic that will reverse this situation before the bullet pierces your chin?”

“W-wait a minute!”

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to turn me into charcoal? If you’re ready to kill others, you should be prepared to die yourself.”

“Urgh…”

“Or you can apologize to Jessica right now and disappear from our sight. I don’t care which you choose.”

Actually, I do care. My gun has no bullets in it, and without some repairs, I can’t even fire the “magic bullets” commonly used in Grantis. That’s precisely why I pressed it against his chin rather than his forehead—so he couldn’t see the empty cylinder.

Unaware of this fact, Hector slowly raised both hands. Then he slowly turned around…

“You’ll regret this! Watch your back at niiiight!”

He suddenly ducked low and ran away as fast as he could, disappearing into an alley beside a building. Well, I never expected him to apologize sincerely, but it’s no fun when his reaction is so predictable.

“What a waste of time… let’s ignore that guy and get your gun repaired.”

“Huh? Oh, right… aren’t you bothered by what Hector said?”

“Why would I listen to anything that guy says? Even if everything he said were true, a third-rate person who takes action is far more valuable than a first-rate person who only talks.”

I rolled up the left sleeve of my shirt to show Jessica my left arm, now without a single scar, and urged her to continue on our way.

I’m slightly worried that Hector might jump out again and start firing attack spells at us. I want to finish our business at the gunsmith as quickly as possible to secure a means of self-defense.