Chapter 310: Weapon Management (2)

“S-sorry, Unnie…. I really didn’t know it was the one you used….”

“It’s okay, because it was my fault to begin with. I should have just honestly said I was buying it for my own use from the start.”

“B-but still…. I said quite a lot of harsh words to you, Unnie….”

“In the first place, the reason you got angry, Areum, wasn’t about me using the weapon roughly, but about you not bringing your own weapon for repairs yourself, wasn’t it? I don’t feel guilty about that part, so what you said doesn’t concern me, Areum.”

“C-can it be like that?”

“And besides, I don’t want to become awkward with you, Areum, over something trivial like this, so let’s not argue about it any further.”

“Ah, okay, Unnie! As expected, you have such a big heart, Ahahat!”

It wasn’t really because my heart was wide, but more because delving into this topic was burdensome for me, so I just quickly changed the subject.

If we started talking deeply about this topic, it would eventually lead to the fundamental question, ‘Why did you break the spear like this?’

If that happened, I would have to continue explaining about the explosive magic created by my fire magic and Cha Yuri’s wind magic.

If I had to confess my magic abilities in addition to being able to use both swordsmanship and spear techniques, that too would become complicated in various ways.

While there were many hunters besides me who used multiple awakened abilities of the same category, a hunter who handled awakened abilities of completely different tendencies, melee and magic, was itself unusual.

If asked, I would have honestly answered Areum, but still, if possible, it was preferable to just move past it smoothly without questioning closely.

Having managed to steer the conversation past even the fire magic without further probing, I returned to the topic I mentioned earlier.

“Anyway, so I’m sorry, but this time too, I want to ask you for a repair, Areum.”

“Ah, okay. Since it’s something Unnie is entrusting me with, of course! I’ll neatly attach it and give it back like it’s brand new!”

“Thank you, Areum.”

“…Huh, Huh?!”

Areum, who had immediately returned to her innocent expression and was speaking confidently, momentarily seemed cute, so I unintentionally stroked her head with my right hand.

Only after seeing her blush and hearing her flustered voice did I realize I had made a mistake.

“Ah, sorry… It was unintentional, regarding where my hand reached…”

“Ah, no, it’s fine… Unnie can pat her younger sibling’s head sometimes…”

“…That’s true.”

Strictly speaking, I wasn’t an older sister, and Areum wasn’t a younger sibling, but I didn’t mention that.

“But Unnie, your hand movement was really natural. Do you perhaps have a younger sibling?”

“I don’t have a biological younger sibling, but I’ve known the younger siblings of my close friends for quite a long time.”

“A boy?”

“No, there are two, and both of them are girls.”

“If it were a boy, I was going to tease you saying you weren’t in a ‘something something’ relationship with Unnie, so it’s kinda disappointing.”

Actually, it is a ‘something something’ relationship with the older sister of those kids.

Moreover, although it wasn’t intentional, I had shown them that scene before.

The incident that happened then probably became an unforgettable memory for life, not only for Min-ah and me, but also for Jin-ah and Seon-ah.

Han Min-ah experienced that disaster last time, so she’ll surely suggest meeting outside this time, won’t she?

Since we’re going to meet outside anyway, maybe I should suggest we go on a date together for once.

Although we’re not dating and the relationship itself is closer to friendship than love, going out to play together is something friends can do anytime anyway.

While I was thinking about looking for a list of movies worth watching with her after this schedule ends, Areum’s question followed again.

“Unnie, come to think of it, seeing you mention ‘multiple awakener’ or something just now, besides swordsmanship and spear techniques, isn’t there something else you can use?”

“…Hm?”

“I’ve asked around a few times with customers and hunters, and usually, people with two awakened abilities are called dual awakeners, not multiple awakeners. They say people who can handle three or more are called multiple awakeners.”

“…”

“Oops, I guess I guessed right again. Unnie, what’s your other ability? Tell me just a little, just between us.”

Seeing her pinpoint the loophole in my habitually slipped words, which could have easily been overlooked, was definitely the meticulous observation of a craftsman who had handled weapons for a long time.

I could have vaguely brushed it off by saying I misspoke, but somehow, I felt she wouldn’t believe me outright.

Because I didn’t want to unnecessarily lose trust with Areum in this aspect, I additionally confessed one of my melee abilities to her.

“Shield techniques.”

“Shield techniques? Like, holding a shield, blocking like this, and swinging it, is that what you mean?”

“Probably, that’s right. Though I’ve never properly used it even once myself.”

“Eek, really?”

“Time was tight just to learn swordsmanship and spear techniques. I haven’t properly used it even once since awakening.”

To be precise, learning swordsmanship, spear techniques, fire magic, ice magic, recovery, and blessings all at once is what caused this mess. If I were to receive tutoring now to properly handle shield techniques and archery too, I would probably need about three or four more bodies.

If that happened, I might truly become as busy as Sihee, the chaebol heiress, and I wouldn’t be exaggerating.

“Well, that makes sense. You’d hate to waste time learning something else instead of your familiar weapon, right?”

“…Well, something like that.”

“Still, since you don’t know when you’ll use it, wouldn’t it be good to have at least one shield prepared? Huh?”

“…That’s not a bad idea.”

“Perfect timing! Then Unnie, wait just a moment!”

“Wait, Areum. I still need to think a little more…”

Before even hearing my words, Soo Areum disappeared, heading back towards the workshop behind. Among the people I know, there wasn’t anyone quite as ‘my pace’ as her.

Well, I would naturally accept the chance to buy a shield personally worked on by a dwarf craftsman, but the problem is whether I can afford the price of the shield Areum made with my current financial situation.

As much as I worked hard over the past half-year, I did save up quite a bit of money, but the expenses consumed by spending were not that small either. Not to mention the most basic food and living expenses, income tax, property tax-when trying to manage expenditures in all sorts of directions, money always ends up being insufficient.

Until just half a year ago, I didn’t even have a job, but just because I own a house in Seoul, the health insurance premiums coming out to tens of thousands of won each month-is that really making any sense?

In addition to that, not long ago, there was also the additional cost of purchasing and repairing a dwarf-made spear at this workshop.

Whether she knew I was having these worries or not, Areum came out from the back of the workshop holding a slightly large, rectangular shield with a bright expression.

As expected, resting prominently on the wide shield held horizontally this time too were her large breasts.

“Unnie, take this!”

“Ah, yes…”

At her words to take it, I suppressed the urge to habitually reach towards her chest and instead accepted the iron shield held in Areum’s hands.

Seeing it wasn’t large enough to require two hands, it was probably a one-handed rectangular shield called a scutum.

Compared to the tower shield Hye-eun usually uses during group expeditions, it was roughly less than half the size.

Probably, that size was chosen considering my attack style.

So I could engage in combat holding the shield with one hand and a sword or spear with the other.

Even though I’ve only thought about and learned swordsmanship since childhood, the reason I have so much knowledge about shields is indeed due to the great influence of my childhood friend Hye-eun.

Fitting for Hye-eun, who fights by making shields first with her awakened ability, she handled all kinds of shields freely and engaged in combat.

Currently, she mainly wields a tower shield for team coordination, but previously, her main combat style was fighting in a style almost similar to a brawler, holding a heater shield or scutum in one hand and swinging a buckler like knuckles in the other.

I had seen Hye-eun, during our practical combat training at school, slaughtering monsters ruthlessly with her buckler after equipping herself with the same gear as then, a few times.

With that strong impression remaining, of course, I couldn’t help but remember this shield that Hye-eun used in combat.

“It’s a scutum. Can I try using it for a bit?”

“Oh~. You said you don’t use shields, but you seem to know about them? Of course, you can try it.”

Taking the shield I received from Areum, I practiced several times, partially mimicking Hye-eun’s fighting style by swinging it or pushing with weight.

Fighting while holding a shield wasn’t really my preference, but putting that aside, this scutum itself was definitely a high-quality item.

Even for swinging, the weight was appropriate so my body wasn’t pulled along, the size was just right not to interfere with body movements, and the material seemed hard yet made of good material that absorbed shock well.

As expected, being an item touched by a dwarf craftsman’s hands, the impression that the quality was indeed different came naturally at that moment.

“My knowledge about shields isn’t that deep, but still, I can definitely tell that this is a good item.”

“Right? As expected, Unnie has a good eye.”

“…So, how much is it?”

With this level of quality, even at the lowest estimate, around 5 million won seems plausible.

On top of that, with the price of the material and the premium for the dwarf craftsman’s direct touch added, I had to be prepared for an additional digit.

It seemed burdensome to pay that much money in a lump sum at once, so while I was quietly preparing words of refusal, an unexpected statement came directly from Areum’s mouth again.

“M-make it. Just take it and go, Unnie.”

“…What?”

No, this kid really…

No matter how much she doesn’t know about the ways of the world, there’s a limit.