It Was Cheap And Solid, But…

“I don’t really know, but… does it seem bad?”

“I’m not a specialist either, so I can’t say much, but if I had to put it in one word, it’s beat-up. And it wasn’t meant for combat in the first place.”

“Well, yeah…”

Since it was for splitting firewood, you could say it couldn’t be helped.

He was splitting goblins instead of firewood, but that wasn’t what it was made for.

On top of that, it had already been pretty worn out by the time Kikori received it.

Even so…

“But I don’t know what I should buy…”

“By the way, what’s your budget?”

“If I leave 1,000 for the inn, then 20,000.”

“Hm.”

Aria walked around nearby, then lifted up a single sword to show him.

“A sword… well, it probably doesn’t suit you, Kikori.”

“I’ve never used one.”

“It’s the most popular weapon, though.”

As she spoke, Aria drew the sword from its scabbard.

It was thick-bodied, with a slightly curved blade—shaped like it could deal serious damage.

“Well, things like this are for people with decent physical ability or skill.”

“No good,” she said, and slid it back into the scabbard.

“Then I guess it’s an axe after all.”

“That’s what I’m used to.”

“Hmmm.”

Even among axes, there were all kinds lined up.

Kikori looked over the axes beside Aria… one-handed axes, two-handed axes, big axes, small axes, all sorts.

The bigger axes looked stronger, but anything too large didn’t seem like something Kikori could handle.

“Yeah… the closest in feel would probably be a single-bladed battle axe.”

“It’s pretty heavy.”

“Well, it’s all iron.”

He tried swinging it. It was bigger and heavier than his current axe, but he instinctively felt he could use it.

It even had a proper grip, and it looked far easier to handle than the axe he had now.

“…How much is this?”

“It’s 7,000 yen.”

“I’ll take it.”

He bought it on the spot, and Kikori slung the axe onto his back. It meant he was now carrying two axes… and he found himself wondering if Mirgu would buy the old axe off him.

“So what are you doing after this, Kikori?”

“I’m going back to Mirgu-san’s place and seeing if he’ll take the old axe. And I want to ask about chain mail too, since I couldn’t buy it last time.”

“Chain mail, huh…”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s cheap and solid, but… it’s a pain to maintain, and it’s basically useless against thrusts.”

“Huh, really?”

“It is. Even a horned rabbit’s charge can pierce chain mail normally.”

And against an orc, chain mail was basically like paper.

Hearing Aria say that, Kikori found himself thinking, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t buy it…’