"Oh? If it isn't the Zero Hero missy and the young Shield Hero?"
The bald weaponsmith—who looked suspiciously like Agil—paused in surprise upon seeing Naofumi trailing behind Kiriko, clutching a heap of gear.
"You two switching gear already? Speaking of which, where's that lady adventurer who was tagging along with you yesterday, young Shield Hero?"
Naofumi's face darkened instantly.
"Ah, did I just say something I shouldn't have?"
The weaponsmith quickly realized his slip.
Seeing the weaponsmith's normal reaction, Kiriko confirmed that Trash King had obediently kept quiet about what happened in the audience hall.
After all, if word got out about Kiriko beating up the king and all three Cardinal Heroes, it would stir up massive trouble.
"Well, something unexpected happened. But let's not talk about that now."
Kiriko pointed at the equipment in Naofumi's arms.
"How much can we get for reselling these?"
There was a clear difference between gear for male and female adventurers—this wasn't Skyrim, after all.
In Skyrim, forget gender; even completely different races somehow managed to wear the exact same gear perfectly.
But in reality, male adventurers required a bit of extra room down below, whereas female adventurers needed more space up top.
Kiriko had actually sized Naofumi up visually earlier.
If Naofumi wore this set, he probably wouldn't feel too cramped down there. And the extra space up top...
Well, don't tanks also use sloped armor?
Sadly, when Kiriko mentioned it earlier, Naofumi refused vehemently, as if his life depended on it.
Tsk, it's just women's armor. You won't get pregnant from wearing it. Sheesh…
Huh?
Come to think of it, wasn't there someone else who also strongly resisted wearing female clothes?
Who was it again? Why can't I remember…
Yesterday, Naofumi had spent 480 silver coins buying the sword and armor for Myne. After some bargaining, the weaponsmith offered a resale price of 450 silver coins.
Even though it had only been used for a day and was practically brand-new, second-hand gear was still second-hand.
Actually, Naofumi got off relatively lightly—he lost only a bit of money.
Compared to wristwatches—especially luxury ones, whose resale prices could make you vomit blood—this wasn't bad at all.
Naofumi didn't buy any new gear afterward.
He was already wearing his original chainmail, which Myne had stolen to give to Motoyasu Kitamura, before Kiriko's audience hall rampage allowed Naofumi to reclaim it.
The chainmail he currently wore had lower defense than the gear he just sold.
Kiriko, on the other hand, bought herself a high-grade magical silver sword, superior to yesterday's purchase. The price alone was proof enough—it cost a whopping 10 gold coins, double Naofumi's entire fortune.
After saying goodbye to the weaponsmith, Kiriko and Naofumi headed to the tavern.
In such a large town, there was obviously more than just one tavern.
But unfortunately—just as the king had mentioned—the country was deeply influenced by the Three Hero Church. The moment tavern adventurers heard Kiriko and Naofumi were recruiting, they all fell silent.
Even after trying several different taverns, the result remained the same.
Just as Kiriko and Naofumi were heading toward an alley leading to the final tavern, a voice suddenly rang out from behind.
"Please wait, Heroes-sama!"
Kiriko turned around, spotting three guys with clearly suspicious, mob-character faces running toward them.
"We heard… the two Heroes-sama… were... recruiting adventurers, right?"
The trio arrived breathlessly, panting heavily.
"You three want to join our party?"
After finally catching his breath, one of them plastered on a flattering smile.
"O-of course! We're famous adventurers around these parts. We'll definitely be of great help to the Heroes-sama!"
Kiriko glanced over their so-called "armor," which hardly qualified as actual protection.
Famous adventurers who couldn't even afford proper gear?
"Scram!"
All three immediately looked offended.
"What did you just say?"
Kiriko didn't answer verbally. Instead, she gently ran her fingers over the nearby alley wall, caressing it softly as one might a lover.
Yet those three mob-like adventurers went wide-eyed with horror at what they saw.
Where Kiriko had touched, several deep gouges were carved right into the solid stone wall.
If they hadn't seen it happen with their own eyes, they'd have assumed some powerful monster had clawed it.
"O-our apologies..."
The trio swiftly turned tail and fled, wishing their parents had given them more legs to run faster.
Kiriko barely gave these nobodies another thought. But just then, Naofumi—whose expression had been gloomy ever since leaving the first tavern—spoke up.
"Kiriko-san, maybe we shouldn't bother anymore."
Kiriko turned toward him.
"What's wrong?"
Naofumi leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the ground.
"Kiriko-san, you already know, don't you? Even if we go to another tavern, it'll still end up exactly the same."
"…I know you're feeling pretty down right now."
Kiriko sat down next to him.
"But I know a way to help cheer you up again."
"What way?"
"Have you ever heard of Lamaze breathing?"
"Lamaze breathing?"
"Yep. It's internationally renowned for managing pain, moderately relaxing muscles, and helping one confidently remain calm during childbirth, accelerating the process and facilitating a smooth birth."
Naofumi felt a torrent of sarcastic comments clogging his throat, making him extremely uncomfortable.
"...But I'm not pregnant."
"It's fine. You just need to treat your depression and frustration like giving birth—no wait, I should say you need to 'push' it out."
But Kiriko's joking didn't seem to cheer him up.
"Can you please stop joking at a time like this?"
"Alright then, if you're still feeling down..."
Kiriko stood up.
"Then let's head to the tavern."
"But didn't I just say that no matter what, it'll still—"
"Who said we're going to recruit adventurers?"
"Huh?"
Kiriko's previous playful expression vanished.
"You're unhappy, right? Then let's go drink. Just get drunk and forget it all."
Men are just like that, aren't they?
Bearing burdens for women, silently enduring bitterness and pain. And when it's too much to bear, you just drink your troubles away for a night. Then, the next morning, you get up and continue on with life.
But just as they stood up, a cunning voice interrupted from nearby.
"The two Heroes-sama seem troubled, hmm?"
---
T/N: already forgotten about not crossdressing heh
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