After leaving the castle and walking down the main road, people looked and pointed at me, making hushed gossip as I passed.
Word traveled fast, huh? It was already set up ahead of time, it seemed.
But it didn’t matter. Food, items, a place to sleep… I didn’t need any of that.
People went out of their way to avoid me when I passed them. That continued until I passed in front of Oyaji’s shop. When I did, he called out to me.
“Oi, lad.” Oyaji stepped outside and approached me. “I’ve heard. You raped that companion of yours, didn’t you?” He grabbed my shirt. “Mind letting me get a punch in?”
I scoffed and shoved him. My strength sent him staggering back, and he looked surprised.
“You should think with your head more than believing propaganda, Oyaji. Tch.” I shook my head. “I thought you’d at least be half-way decent, but I guess this country’s already a lost cause.”
Whether it was my words or my tone of voice, Oyaji hesitated. “You…”
“What? I’m a criminal aren’t I? The demon Shield Hero, the pariah that’s excluded from the church of the three heroes. Go on! Hate me! Scorn me!” I laughed. “Go ahead! It’s not like I won’t just let this world burn to the ground and join the waves so I can go home.”
Oyaji’s eyes widened. “…Lad- no, Naofumi. You…” He glanced around and then gestured to follow him.
I scoffed, but decided to follow.
Once I entered his shop, Oyaji closed the door and then locked it. After that, he turned to me and said, “…You know?”
“Know what? That this country’s ruled by a Queen and that the trash sitting on the throne is a senile old man who grew power hungry? That the church has been marginalizing the Shield Hero and imprisoning anyone dissenting against their opinions? That all the good people have been locked up while the Queen is running damage control in other countries?”
Oyaji stared at me and then shook his head. “…You’re definitely something Naofumi. I don’t know how you got all of that information, but you’ve hit the nail on the head. And if you know that… hah, so this is another ploy by that king, huh?”
I stared back at him. After a while, I said, “I see. So you’re waiting too, huh?”
Oyaji nodded.
I shrugged and then turned around to leave. “I’ll be seeing you. It’s better to let this die down a few days.”
“…Naofumi.”
I paused at the door. “What is it?”
He tossed a bag at me. I grabbed it and glanced inside. Like in the story, it was some clothes and a worn-out mantle.
“A parting gift.”
I nodded and then tossed a silver coin his way. “A down-payment. I’ll be back later to upgrade.”
Oyaji caught the coin, surprised. Before anything else could happen, I left the store.
===
Out in the fields, I went around defeating balloons, practicing my dodging and martial arts skills. At the same time, I took advantage of my homeostasis shield to train my body.
After a couple of hours and clearing up the field, I paused to take a rest and evaluate myself.
“So training can increase stats as well, huh?”
I didn’t remember that being the case in the story, but it looked like that might be the case for me. My HP, strength, and agility had increased from my training. Defense didn’t, but then again even in real life that was hard to increase.
I had leveled up again as well from killing the balloons. It took a while without dumping my stats into attack, but that would have been suspicious. I was being alerted that I was under surveillance by at least five different individuals, four hostile and one neutral.
Probably the king’s spies and then the queen’s shadow.
It would be different at night when I could fight at my leisure, but for now it was time to play the fool.
I picked up the spare balloon skins I had and then began heading back into town. Inside, I headed straight to the Merchant’s Shop that bought monster drops.
The merchant was an overweight man. When he saw me, he let out an unplasant laugh.
A customer was ahead of me in line to trade his goods. He was selling balloon skins as well and managed to get a copper for two pieces.
When I arrived, I dumped the skins on the counter. “Orange Balloon skins, five for a copper. What do you think?”
The merchant rubbed his chin and said, “No can do. How about ten for a copper?”
I narrowed my eyes. “…Look, bud. I’m already giving you free profit. The going rate is two for one copper, and I’m already giving you over double that. Being too greedy… I could bring this up with other adventurers, you know? What would they think about a merchant who overcharged so much on just some common balloon skin?”
“H-hmph. As if they would believe you!”
“Why wouldn’t they? Overcharging me just for my reputation… what about when someone gets on your bad side? Would they be overcharged as well? What about travelers who don’t know the local price?”
I grinned. “That’d be pretty bad for your reputation, wouldn’t it?”
“Y-you…!” The merchant glared at me and then resentfully sighed. “…Fine.”
I laughed. “Next time, try not to be so obvious when overcharging people in the future. And don’t worry, it’s not like I care much about a few copper coins anyway.” I pulled the man close and then glanced around. “To tell the truth, I don’t need any of this, but I have to put on a show for my minders, you see? We both win here, so there’s no need for bad blood.”
After saying that, I let him go.
The merchant paled and looked around. It seemed he caught on quick.
To outsiders, it would have seemed like I threatened him. The truth was anything but, however.
I smiled and said, “I’ll be looking forward to working with you.”
The merchant sighed. “I’d like to refuse, but I suppose money holds no sin. I’ll look forward to your business.”
Just for emphasis, I shifted my mantle to reveal a few balloons I kept around for intimidation.
Seeing that, the merchant’s eyes widened.
I smiled and covered them up again. “Do remind your peers of the consequences for annoying me. It’ll save everyone time.”
“You are one hell of a customer, dear sir.”
I shrugged and headed back to Oyaji’s store.
When the bell rang after I walked in, he turned to greet me. “Back already, lad? No luck hunting?”
“Plenty of luck. Just wanted to stop by for some materials.”
Oyaji frowned. “You know I’m not the shop to take care of that.”
I shook my head and walked to the counter. “No, not monster drops. I just wanted to know if you have any ores or raw mineral lying around. Even scrap metal would do.”
“Scrap metal?” Oyaji rubbed his beard. “I guess I do. Is there a reason why you need them?”
“Experiments. I might not be able to use anything other than a shield, but that doesn’t mean that I have to be stuck without a proper attack weapon, do I?”
“Hoh?” Oyaji looked intrigued. “Planning to craft something with your otherworldly knowledge?”
“Something like that.”
“Hm… well you gave me a silver coin earlier, so the least I can do is give you some scraps.” Oyaji walked into the back room and then came out with a pile of rusted knives and swords. “Here. These are some scrap weapons I was planning to melt down. The raw material should come up to around a silver coin.”
I nodded and held up my shield, shoving them all in. The moment I did, a message popped up.
[GET: Iron Shield, Rusted Shield, Silver Shield, Steel Shield]
(The synthesis function is unlocked. By expending ‘experience’, it becomes possible to create items according to the user’s vision. Greater detail and base material decreases the cost, although additional attributes will increase it.)
“Ooh, that’s neat.”
“What is it?” Oyaji said. “Something interesting?”
I nodded. “It might be better to show you.”
I opened the synthesis function. It was basically CAD software, with places to jot down notes and designs. A small play button was there along with a cost next to it. At the moment, it said 0.
Since I was doing something simple, I decided to sketch a plain blade out of pure iron. The entire thing from hilt to blade would be metal. After doing so, I glanced at the cost meter.
It said 100 exp, but that was crossed out with an image of a rusted dagger sitting next to it. Tapping on the icon showed that I could use the rusted swords to make the weapon.
I hit play and then a light shot out from my shield.
“What the-?” Oyaji took a step back, surprised.
Like a 3D printer, the sword began forming in mid-air, line by line. In a few seconds, it was finished and stayed hovering in the air.
I grabbed it and tested it out.
It was light, just like my shield. Almost a natural extension of my body. But it wasn’t a proper weapon. Just looking at it, I could tell that the balance was wrong and the edge was bad. Still, it was a good disposable item.
After a few practice swings, I placed it on the counter. “Take a look, Oyaji.”
He did. Picking it up, he turned it around and examined it with a critical eye. “…Strange. It’s a crappy weapon, but the craftsmanship is top-notch. It’d be impossible to get such a keen edge with a forge. Of course, that edge wouldn’t keep, but then there are ways around that. The balance is all wrong too, perfectly distributed rather than shifted to suit a sword… but overall, it’s not bad.”
He handed it back to me and said, “It seems like you can use it though, can’t you?”
I shrugged and sent it back into my shield. “It’s not much, but it’s something.”
Oyaji nodded. “Well… was that all you wanted from me?”
“Pretty much.” I waved at Oyaji and walked out. “Have a good night.”
“Heh. Take care, lad.”