"A-anu! There's something I want to ask!" the person said while holding my hand.
The person who had been sitting with his face lowered onto the table, covered by something like a cloak, was now standing in front of me.
I didn't know what he was doing, but from his gaze, I could feel how eager he was to look at me up close.
When he stood up and approached me earlier, he removed the covering from his head, allowing me to see his face clearly.
He was a young man, perhaps only a few years older than me, with slightly ash-white hair. His blue eyes looked at me with a sparkle in them.
He didn't look like someone who lived a modest life; rather, he looked like a young man who had been raised in a very good environment.
Those distinctive physical traits made me think that he might be related to a noble family in this city.
Wait a moment, could it be… am I being approached by someone important right now?!
"W-would you like to sit down?" I asked.
—
He complied with my request, and the two of us sat side by side at the long table.
I thought he would start talking to me again right away, but instead, he picked up one of the stacked glasses.
Then, he opened a bottle filled with water and poured it into the glass.
At first, I thought he was going to drink it, but apparently, he handed the glass to me instead.
"Is this sake?" I asked.
I would never drink sake or anything like it until two years from now.
W-well… I just want to enjoy sake and similar drinks once I'm old enough. I don't really have any particular reason for it.
"Don't worry, it's just lemon water. If you don't believe me, I'll drink it first," the man said.
He took another glass and poured the liquid into the glass he had just taken.
Naturally, he drank it right away to prove to me that the drink was safe.
"See?" the man said after finishing the glass of lemon water.
Well, I suppose he wouldn't try to poison someone he had just met.
Besides, I didn't feel like a man with an appearance like his would commit such a crime.
Slurp.
I didn't finish the entire glass at once; instead, I drank it little by little. I didn't want my stomach to feel hot from drinking something too sour all at once.
"So, what do you need from me?" I asked the man.
"First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Vradned Marcen, and I'm interested in the blue sword you handed to Lerc-san earlier," the man replied.
Ehm… somehow, hearing that name feels familiar. But… what was it again…?
"Oh, is that sword really that interesting to you?" I asked him.
"That sword is made of Mithril, isn't it? One of the rarest metals in the world," Vradned-san said.
"I guess so," I replied.
"Do you know a place to find that metal around this city? If you do, please allow me to know it as well," he said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know of any place near this city where Mithril can be found. I obtained that Mithril myself from a dungeon not far from Necvalion," I answered.
I had no reason to lie or make excuses to him.
Besides, what would I gain from handing over the location of what is effectively our party's Mithril source?
"Could it be that you're from Necvalion?" Vradned-san asked.
"Yes, I'm from there. I only arrived in Vannis yesterday. Why do you ask?" I replied.
"You've surely heard that recently, many monsters have been appearing around Vannis and Denvis, right?" he asked.
"Of course. I've heard about it for quite some time now. Let me guess—you've also heard that Necvalion was attacked by a monster force not too long ago?" I asked back.
If he was asking about that and bringing up Necvalion, then perhaps he was also preparing for the possibility of monsters attacking this city.
"That's a pretty good guess. You're right. Were you in Necvalion at the time? If so, I'd like to ask you something," he said.
"Coincidentally, I was part of the force that fought those monsters. The group I was with managed to defeat them before they could enter the city," I replied.
"That's good to hear. Then, did you see any strange monsters among that group?" Vradned-san asked again.
"Not really—" before I could finish my sentence, the person who had taken my sword earlier came out of his room.
"Oh? You've gotten friendly already?" he said as he walked toward us and stopped right in front of us.
"I've checked it. Almost ninety percent of this sword contains Mithril," he said, handing my sword back to me.
"Lerc-san, is a Mithril sword really that impressive?" Vradned-san asked.
"That's true. The city's forces always use swords made of iron. Not a single person uses a sword containing a strong rare metal," Lerc-san replied.
I had thought that since the shop looked quite old from the outside, the name Lerc belonged to the owner from several decades ago.
Meanwhile, the man wearing a suit in front of me was actually Lerc's descendant, who had continued to inherit this weapon shop until now.
I never expected that Lerc himself was the man standing before me—it was a little surprising.
"Then, what about the enhancer I asked for earlier?" I said.
"Ah, wait a moment," he replied before turning around and checking the shelf behind him.
Now that I looked more closely, the shelves were filled with small bottles containing liquids of various colors.
Some of them were even clear, like plain water.
"Here it is," Lerc-san said as he placed a small bottle filled with yellow liquid right in front of me.
"If you drink this potion, your magical power—especially lightning and light-element magic—will increase quite significantly," he continued.
"How much is one bottle?" I asked.
"Five silver," he replied.
Five silver… for such a small bottle… but the contents are very good. Alright! I know what I should say.
"How about four silver?" I asked, holding up four fingers.
"Alright, we'll settle on four silver," Lerc-san replied.
"In that case, I'll buy two bottles," I said.
"I'll get you one more," Lerc-san said.
Vradned-san asked me again about the reason I was buying the enhancement potion.
"What is that potion for?" he asked.
"I have an adventurer party, and we've been tasked with guarding the city, which may be attacked by Abbys. Since my magical ability is weak, I thought about buying this enhancer," I said.
"Hm… you'll definitely become much stronger later," he said.
After Lerc-san handed me another bottle, I immediately put both bottles into the pocket of my cloak and gave him eight silver coins.
To be honest, I had borrowed fifteen silver coins from Hime earlier—thankfully, I managed to haggle.
"Thank you for your purchase," Lerc-san said.
I stood up from my chair and said something to them.
"I have to go now. See you," I said.
"We'll meet again later. See you," Vradned-san replied.
Without thinking too much, I left them and walked out of the shop.
Well, I have to tell Hime what I bought. Otherwise, she said she won't lend me money again.