CH 38

“Hmm… So there are a lot of items in the dungeon. Some of them are armors, some of them are materials, some of them are grimoires, some of them are daily necessities. Some of them are good, but some of them are useless, and I don’t even know what to do with them.”

Immediately after that, I paid a gold coin, hurriedly packed the items in my backpack, and escaped from the gloomy zombie peddler. He was closing his store immediately, so he should have left the place right away. Since there was no merchandise left.

And now, as I walk, Mel teaches me about dungeon items.

“Most of the items are brought back from dungeons because adventurers can’t identify them, but most of them are of low value or have no known purpose, so they are either disposed of or taken back at a low price. But things that look solid and look like real grimoires, like the book you just bought, are sometimes used in scams.” (Mel)

Then Mel looked at me.

I’m sorry I almost fell for that… No, the peddler may have been trying to rip you off, but the grimoire itself is real! So I wasn’t about to be scammed?

“In the first place, it is unlikely that an advanced magic grimoire will flow to street vendors, regardless of whether they are a lower class. The grimoires sold in such places are usually confirmed as useless.” (Mel)

Mel confidently stated.

Well, that may be true. I don’t know how much advanced magic is, or how much the advanced magic grimoire is worth, but if it’s a rare or useful item, a big merchant will buy it, and eventually, it will be in the hands of others, powerful people.

“But I heard that there are some collectors and researchers who buy books, round stones, and other items that seem to have some significance at first glance, so if you take it to the right place, you might be able to get a good price for it.” (Mel)

I see. There are always people who want to collect strange things, and there are always people who want to study strange things. But the research of such eccentric people can lead to extraordinary discoveries. There is even a person who won the Nobel Prize for continuing to work in a field that everyone else had given up on, despite the lack of understanding. [T/N: Which Nobel Prize is this he talking about? Hmmm… Apparently, there have been a lot of these cases according to the internet, especially with the Sciences. So he could be talking about anything really.]

In the end, can I conclude that this purification grimoire and other grimoires of the same series are not advanced grimoires, but grimoires of a completely different lineage, and are generally considered worthless by the public? Is it okay to conclude with this?

If this grimoire is considered worthless, then it must mean that there is no one who can use it or very few people who can use it. If there are people who can use this grimoire, like me, they can understand it by touching it like any other grimoire, and they can prove it by actually using it. It would become more widespread.

If there are people who can use it, it should be more widespread. If I think about it, there are almost no people who can identify this grimoire as a grimoire. If there is an item or an ability to look at the details of an item, such as a so-called [Appraisal] skill, then someone will appraise this grimoire and it will spread.

If that is not the case, it means that such abilities or items do not exist, or even if they do exist, they are quite rare.

Hmm… Anyway, as originally expected, there is no doubt that this magic is quite rare. So, I have to choose carefully when and where I use it.

That’s what I thought, and I pulled myself together.

However, I was surprised at how much Mel knew about it. I don’t think it’s something that the average person would generally consider common knowledge.

She’s a little different from what I had imagined in the beginning.

So I asked her, “You know a lot, don’t you, Mel?”

Then Mel looked back at me and said, “Well, yes, I do.”

“That’s right, I’m still a merchant’s daughter.” (Mel)

Then she wagged her tail and smiled.

“This is it.” (Dan)

The store was located on a back street, two streets south of the main street.

It’s smaller than the store on the main street, but it’s well-made and clean. When I looked inside through the open wooden window, I saw weapons lined up.

Shifting my gaze to the side, I looked at the sign next to the door and saw that it said [Gildan’s Blacksmith Shop].

Dan opens the door and goes inside. After that, I saw everyone coming in and hurriedly entered the store.

“Welcome! …Oh, it is you guys.” (Gildan)

The man who called out to me from inside the counter was a large man of about forty years of age, who looked a lot like Dan. In this case, I should say that Dan resembled this man.

Mel was standing beside me saying, “Long time no see, Uncle!” I guess he’s Dan’s father.

“I’m here to introduce you to Rook, who has just joined our party. And I want you to fix this armor.” (Dan)

With that said, Dan takes out his armor from his backpack.

Oh, by the way, his armor was broken when he was badly injured by a monster. There is nothing he can do about it while he is on an escort mission. So he kept it on, but now that he is back in town, he needs to have it fixed.

But now that he’s back in town, he might as well fix it… Also, say hello.

“I’m Rook, and I’m going to be in their party. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh, I’m Gildan, the blacksmith. Nice to meet you.” (Gildan)

With that said, Gildan-san extended his hand.

In a hurry, grab it and shake hands.

While doing so, Dan finishes taking out his armor from his backpack.

Gildan-san squinted and looked at it.

“Hey… this is a fatal injury!” (Gildan)

Gildan-san grabs Dan’s chest.

“Hey, why don’t you explain yourself?!” (Gildan)

That said, Gildan-san shouted.

“I understand. If that’s the case, You can’t help it. I’ve told you before, no matter how many times you say that there are no strong monsters around here, there’s no way to be sure. And did you say, Rook? Thank you for saving my son. Thank you.” (Gildan)

After that, everyone decided to explain the situation at that time to Gildan-san starting from the beginning.

That said, I only knew from the guild turmoil and didn’t say much.

However, I finally understood why Dan was so sensitive about the store, or maybe it was just natural without thinking about it.

It’s a blacksmith shop, so if you want to fix your broken armor, this is the place to go. However, if he’s injured, they’ll be worried because they’re his parent, and he’ll be annoyed, and it will be awkward.

“Right…… You’re here to buy weapons, right? Okay! Then take one of whatever you want! Consider it as my thanks.” (Gildan)

Gildan-san said so and looked at me.

Is it alright? When I looked at Dan, he nodded and said, “Take it as a favor from me.” From behind, I can hear Mel’s voice saying, “It’s free, so take it. It’s free.”

“… then, I’ll take your words for it.”

With that said, I slowly look inside the store.

Broad swords and short swords hung on the wall. A small knife on the shelf. A spear leaning against the corner. A slender sword like an Estoc.

I stop and think.

I wanted to buy a weapon, but I couldn’t afford it anyway, so I was planning to choose from the cheapest weapons. However, I get lost when I am told that I can choose anything.

What kind of weapon should I choose? I’ve done a bit of work with swords and spears, so I guess it’ll be one of those. Well, there is a difference between a katana and a western sword, so I guess I’ll just go with a spear.

With that in mind, I go to the place where the spears are placed.

At a quick glance, I saw that some of the spears were over two meters long, while others were about one meter long. I guess each of them has its own purpose, but for normal use, a spear that was too long would be inconvenient to carry, and a spear that was too short would be meaningless.

After much deliberation, I decided to go with a simple, straight, iron spear, about the same height as I was.

I don’t know why, but I felt like I had to have an iron spear. I felt like this was my strongest equipment.

And so I got the iron spear.