Chapter 39: Weapons Chosen with Kindness
Being an adventurer really was tough, he thought.
Even though he himself was one of those adventurers.
"...Huh? Potions?"
Something caught at his mind.
It felt like he had heard about them somewhere, maybe he hadn’t... no, he definitely had.
As he questioned himself and traced his memories, the images of two Gods came to mind.
"Now that I think about it, I think they did mention something like that. ...Potions, please."
When he reached into his bag, a potion appeared as if it had been drawn out, clinging to his hand.
"......"
"......."
Seeing that, Leander and Elias were left speechless.
There were so many things to be exasperated about, like why does he have it, or if he had it, why did he forget about it, and so on.
"If we have this, then even if everyone gets hurt, I can heal you right away."
When Qiong Xing said it with a smile, neither Leander or Elias could say anything.
Even after having been told how expensive it was, Qiong Xing used it for them without hesitation, as if it were only natural.
That made Leander and Elias feel so happy that their faces ended up breaking into grins.
After that, they safely finished the gathering and received their reward at the guild.
Just as planned, they headed out to shop and somehow managed to find the store they were looking for.
"Excuse me. I’d like some weapons suitable for these two."
"Qiong Xing!?"
"Haaah!?"
"......."
The moment Qiong Xing said that upon entering the shop, even the craftsman who looks like an older man with a towel wrapped around his forehead looked over in surprise.
"...You’re giving weapons to those guys?"
"Yes."
Qiong Xing wondered why he was asking such a thing.
"Isn’t that dangerous?"
"Hm? You give them weapons because it’s dangerous, right?"
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
Apparently, their answers did not line up.
Ever since coming to this world, there had been many times when conversations didn’t quite connect.
It was probably because the common sense Qiong Xing held and the general common sense of this world were very different.
"Well, um, we’re working as adventurers right now, so without something to protect themselves, wouldn’t it be dangerous for them too?"
When Qiong Xing explained that and asked the man to choose some weapons for Leander and Elias, the old man stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing loudly.
"Gahahaha! Ha—haha! You really are a fool, aren’t you, lad. I was asking if it wasn’t dangerous to let slaves carry weapons. And you go and say you’re giving them weapons to protect themselves, what a ridiculous fool you are! Hahahahaha!"
It seemed the meaning of the question itself had been different.
For Qiong Xing, Leander and Elias were already family, so the idea that they themselves might be dangerous had never even crossed his mind.
He had only thought about giving them weapons so they wouldn’t be in danger.
"Haha—haaah, it’s been a long time since I laughed this hard. Fine, then. As thanks for giving me a good laugh, go on, bring me whatever you like."
"Eh, no, that would be too much. I’ll pay properly."
If he gave things away for free just because he laughed at a customer, he would end up drowning in losses.
As Qiong Xing tried to refuse out of courtesy, the old man only laughed and asked what kind of weapons they wanted.
"You’re slender, so how about a rapier like this one. Its raw power isn’t that high, but it’s light, so you can strike many times. If you focus on a single point, it can deal quite a lot of damage."
Elias swung the sword he was handed with ease and the old man nodded in satisfaction.
Once he got used to it, apparently it would also be good to carry a crossbow, a shield, or a dagger in his free hand.
"You’ve got quite the build. In that case, a greatsword will do just fine. It’ll take some time to get used to, but the power behind it is impressive."
The greatsword given to Leander was so thick it looked like it was as wide as several of Qiong Xing’s arms put together.
It was clearly heavy enough that only someone like Leander could wield it.
Once again, the old man looked happily at Leander holding the sword.
To be honest, Qiong Xing did not understand the quality of swords at all.
He was simply glad that the two of them found weapons they liked.
The old man who did not care whether they were beastmen or slaves as long as they wielded weapons suited to them was extremely kind and treated Leander and Elias normally.
Qiong Xing tried his best to pay, but the old man refused to accept the money and instead told him to bring some rare materials once he reached a higher rank and practically chasing—no, seeing them off.
What was more, when Qiong Xing mentioned they were going to visit an armor shop next, the man introduced them to a store run by his brother.
It was truly wonderful.
After that, when they safely arrived at the next shop, the man who turned out to be the old man’s younger brother and when he listened to the story, he burst out laughing, and made everything free as well.
Just how good hearted were these brothers?
Qiong Xing felt like he would never be able to lift his head in front of them for the rest of his life.
All of this was thanks to Qiong Xing’s kindness, but he himself was the only one unaware of that fact.
"Even among humans, there are some weird old guys like that, huh."
At Leander’s muttered words, Elias nodded in agreement.
They were probably confused by the two brothers’ attitude, something that would have been unimaginable in the past.
Knowing that there were humans like that made Qiong Xing happy as well.
New weapons, new armor.
If they could protect them even a little better, that alone made him glad.
Still, the fact that they needed such proper weapons made Qiong Xing feel a bit uneasy, he wondering just how dangerous higher-rank requests must be.