After coming to an agreement, Theo tried to move around the store while testing his new equipment before telling Nart everything was good.
Suddenly, a white spear grabbed his attention. It had this white metal handle with some flower patterns that could put him in a trance. The blade was similar to what he had right now, so he thought he would be able to get this spear for his clone to use.
Taking the spear out of the shelf, Theo went to the counter and handed the spear to Nart. "I would like to buy this spear."
"Now that you are here, you also need the night vision glasses, right?" Nart asked while grabbing the glasses from the drawer next to him.
He presented it on the table, which seemed to have the same appearance as Alea's.
'It must be the same model,' Theo thought and nodded. "Yes. How much is it?"
"Ehm… Are you sure?" Nart tilted his head in confusion with a hesitant face.
"Why do you ask?" Theo didn't understand it at first, but when he saw Alea's awkward expression, he realized the price might be beyond his expectation. "Before that, can I know the price first?"
"It's 250,000 Zils."
"…" Theo was speechless when he heard the ridiculous price.
"These glasses are the newest model with innovative technology. It can enhance the light reflected by the moonlight by twenty times, allowing you to see the world like during the day. That's why it's so expensive. You can also use the basic function if you go somewhere that doesn't have access to sunlight." He explained where the ridiculous price came from.
Theo scratched the back of his head, asking, "Can I rent it instead?"
"Ahaha…" Nart chuckled and said, "No, no. You don't need to give me anything. Since you said you are going to take care of my granddaughter, you can consider these glasses as your payment. If you think you can't accept it, then you can return it to me after completing the task. How about it?"
Theo widened his eyes, staring at Nart for a while. He wanted to know whether Nart had a hidden intention or not, but he seemed to be pretty genuine.
After considering a few pros and cons, he nodded. "I understand."
"Ah, by the way, you still need to pay for the spear, okay?" Nart chuckled and continued, "It's 38,000 Zils."
Theo nodded and transferred the money to him.
It took them one hour to settle everything, including Alea's equipment. But they got so much from Nart, so Theo didn't mind spending that much time.
Theo took a chance to wave his hand to Nart to say goodbye as well as tell him he was grateful for his gifts.
Outside the store, Alea tapped his shoulder.
Halting his step, Theo turned around and asked, "Do you need anything?"
"Actually, I have something to tell you. I don't know much, but I am afraid our journey won't be that smooth. There is a few disturbing news in this area. As you know, our country has two portals, right?"
Theo nodded. "This one is a low-level one. The monsters here are only Hero Rank or below. That's why it's perfect for building the school here."
"Exactly, but when you take the monster we faced when the earthquake happened…" She let out a long sigh. "It's going to be complicated."
"Do you mean there are a few more monsters like that lurking in this place?" Theo asked.
"I'm not sure myself, but I heard the military will be moving soon to scout the area. They are here to check the entire situation to make sure no powerful monster like that ever hits the citizens again."
"You're mentioning it to me at this particular time… Ugh, it feels like a curse…" Theo shuddered and said, "Anyway, I will be searching for the rumors and information in the Skynet later."
"Yeah."
"That's good. Then… This is for you." Theo opened his Skylink and presented a number to her.
25
"Ehm? What is this number?" Alea tilted her head in confusion.
"You forgot about it?" Theo opened his eyes in surprise before subtracting the number with five, turning the number to twenty. "That's for you trying to scare me with your information. I feel like we will have a mishap soon because of that story."
"Wait, don't tell me, that's the number you showed me back when we first went out?" Alea dropped her jaw to the ground and looked at how the number turned twenty.
"I am still keeping a tab on it." Theo shrugged.
"But you never mentioned it again after that, I thought you were joking."
"It was never a joke."
"…" Alea was taken aback as she stepped back while asking, "By the way, what are my common mistakes?"
"You talked too many useless things."
"!!!" She remembered when he first introduced the point. She said she wouldn't say anything useless just to keep up the conversation and realized Theo had been deducting the number.
"Anyway, we have finished our jobs, so I will be leaving soon."
"Wait a minute. Don't tell me the reason you've been avoiding me is due to this number?"
"Half of it." Theo stuck his tongue out. But seeing Alea's empty stare, Theo added while walking away. "Well, that's a lie."
With how he kept changing his tone, she didn't know whether Theo told the truth or not. Little did she know, Theo just managed to copy how his master kept tricking Theo by changing her tones once in a while.
However, what she paid attention to was the fact that Theo had become a bit more cheerful than in the past when he could only talk with a cold tone. "At least, you've been improving. Though, it truly becomes harder to understand you."
…
The next day, they gathered in front of the Teleportation Circle. Theo brought two spears with him, one on his hand while the other was on his back. Ellen had a durable leather robe she usually used to hunt, while Sihan had full body armor along with the helmet. He would be taking all the hits, so protection was necessary for him.
Laust had some leather jacket and other protective equipment to increase his defense without restricting his movement. Phyrill had a similar gear but with the addition of a mask to conceal his breathing.
Alea was wearing metal gloves and greaves that seemed to have the same functionality as his arm guards but for both hands and feet. As she said a few months ago, since they were going on the expedition, she wore long pants instead of a skirt. It was never a good thing to underestimate the dangerous world anyway.
Seeing everyone gathered, Alea said with a smile. "Let's go then."