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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The first to adapt was Pino, the spirited green-haired girl.
“Hmm, what’s your angle, Mr. Midas?”
“Call me Chrom. People can get me confused with Fiore.”
“Okay, Chrom. So, what’s the point of this gathering?”
“It’s just my small desire to foster camaraderie among friends who will be spending the next few years together. And since I dragged you all out here on your day off, I figured I’d foot the bill.”
That alone seemed to convey my intentions to Pino.
“I have a lot of things I want to buy. I hope you don’t mind.”
I silently handed her a small pouch.
Pino’s eyes widened after checking its contents.
“Whoa, you’re on a whole different level. Lavaul, can you carry my stuff? You can pick out something you want, too.”
Despite Pino’s words, Lavaul, the young man in scholar’s robes with gray, curly hair, looked uncomfortable.
“Hmm, my sage. Even so, accepting gifts from someone you barely know without offering anything in return is—”
“Isn’t it more rude to refuse a gift from a new friend? How embarrassing would that be?”
“W-well, you have a point. It’s true that ignoring someone’s goodwill isn’t a good thing.”
“Then let’s go.”
Pino started browsing the shops, pulling Lavaul along with her.
“They established a hierarchy pretty quickly.”
No one disagreed with Fiore’s comment.
“Well then, Miss Akasha, shall we go too?”
The woman called Akasha shrugged and replied,
“Sure, but are you really okay with this?”
“Of course! It’s a thank you for helping me during the exam. Oh, that looks delicious!”
“Ooh, not bad. Well then, I’ll gladly accept your gratitude, Fiore’s brother.”
“Just Chrom is fine.”
“Then, you can call me Akasha.”
With the ridiculously large greatsword on her back and her masculine gestures and speech, she too disappeared into the crowd of the shopping district.
Lotto spoke up,
“Um, Mr. Chrom? I’m really fine, so I’ll just—”
“Lotto.”
I looked him straight in the eye and spoke with a serious expression.
“Which do you think has a higher survival rate at this Academy, having good equipment or having no equipment at all?”
Lotto looked back at me, equally serious, and replied,
“I’ll be in your care, Mr. Chrom.”
Finally, Crow Vein grumbled,
“What is this, a nouveau riche’s showing-off party? Unfortunately, I—”
I ignored him and turned to Regret.
“Come to think of it, you need to replace the weapons you broke during the exam, right? Let’s find you some new ones.”
“Do they have any war hammers? Those are more effective than blades against hard surfaces.”
“I heard they poured as much money into the shopping district as they did into the educational buildings, so they should have them. They might even have swords imbued with special formulae. Oh, Crow, was it? I heard you’re a swordsman too. Want to come along?”
Crow Vein scoffed, as if to say, ‘Do you think I’d fall for such a simple trick?’
“I suppose I wouldn’t mind tagging along.”
Of course, his actions were honest.
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[Blitz Blacksmith]
As we passed beneath the shop sign, etched in a bold, dignified font, we entered the store.
Various gleaming silver weapons, armor, and shields were displayed, as if welcoming customers.
“Hmm, customers?”
The man sitting at the counter stood up.
Short hair, muscular build, reddish skin, and stern eyes.
With the typical appearance of a blacksmith, he asked,
“What are you looking for? If you’re looking for new weapons for the Academy’s classes, this display case is what you want.”
I replied,
“Do you have any magic tools?”
His eyebrows twitched.
“I do.”
The shopkeeper brought a silver sword from the innermost display case.
“This sword is imbued with a wind formula. It can unleash a gale-force slash twice a day.”
“Ooh.”
Lotto’s eyes sparkled.
Magic tools ranged from everyday items to those used for maintaining large facilities.
Weapons imbued with magic were particularly expensive.
They required sufficient durability and a high degree of craftsmanship both as a weapon and as a magic tool, resulting in high labor costs.
Crow didn’t seem that interested, and I understood why.
‘His family is quite well-off.’
Crow Vein.
One of the important characters in ‘Planetarium,’ he was the third son of the Vein family, a renowned swordsmanship family from the Grand Duchy of Nahart.
He seemed to have lost to Regret during the entrance exam, but as one of the top ten physical combat specialists among the dozens of potential companions, it was fortunate that I had this opportunity to get acquainted with him.
‘His family is strict, so he doesn’t have much personal spending money, right? Excellent.’
Having been exposed to high-quality goods since childhood, but lacking the funds to acquire them himself, he was the perfect target for recruitment.
I said to the shopkeeper,
“Do you have anything else? Swords or hammers. Show me the best you have.”
The shopkeeper, with his stubborn craftsman-like appearance, frowned and replied,
“Young man, it’s not good to rely on expensive weapons from the start. I recommend gradually upgrading as your skills improve.”
I silently took out a pouch and placed it on the counter.
He paused for a moment at the glint of gold, then smiled and said,
“You’ve already picked up some bad habits. Setting up shop in an Academy filled with rich noble students, you think I wouldn’t have anticipated this—”
Thud.
Thud.
I silently placed two more identical pouches on the counter.
The shopkeeper said,
“Acquiring a lifelong weapon early on and getting used to it is a very wise decision. You said swords or hammers, right? Are you not interested in shields?”
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“Come again! I’ll have new merchandise prepared by then!”
In the end, the shopkeeper, having sold us three magic tools and various other pieces of equipment, lamented his lack of preparedness for not having even better magic tools in stock and urged us to return.
“…Hey, are you sure it’s okay for me to accept this?”
Crow, holding the sword imbued with a burning formula, asked with a troubled expression.
“It’s fine. Regret’s using something else anyway, and it wasn’t that expensive.”
That was a lie, of course.
No matter how much I had saved, magic tools were extremely expensive, and the one I gave Crow, while not top-tier, was among the higher-quality mid-grade items.
But I had to act nonchalant so he would accept it without feeling burdened.
It was better to let him use it naturally and realize its value later, rather than emphasizing its price and making him refuse it.
Regret acquired a war hammer with an impact amplification effect and a shield enchanted with a shrinking formula, allowing her to restore it to its original size at any time.
Lotto, while refusing a magic tool, saying it was too much, was able to equip himself with various high-quality gear.
“Hmm, but I still feel bad about just accepting this.”
“Then pay me back later. Even half the price is okay. Judging by this Academy’s curriculum, I doubt we’ll just be sitting in classrooms, so you can help me out when things get dangerous.”
“Haha! I can definitely do that. Chrom, was it? Just leave it to me!”
Crow slapped me on the shoulder with a hearty laugh.
He was such a simple and good friend.
Pino returned with a mountain of daily necessities, consumables, and clothes, and Lavaul, who had been carrying her luggage, also seemed to have picked up a few new books, bowing his head in thanks.
“Here’s your change.”
“Hmm, thank you, bearer of the golden hand. One day, I’ll return the favor.”
“It was nothing.”
Pino whispered,
“A student named Nikolaus is spreading rumors about the Midas family. I’ll tell the others we’ve befriended not to listen to him. Anything more than that is difficult.”
“Don’t push yourself.”
She was aware of her own limitations and quick-witted, making her an excellent business partner.
Fiore purchased a piece of jewelry and some restorative potions, and Akasha seemed to have gotten herself a new pair of boots.
They both also picked up some kind of spray.
When I asked what it was, Fiore grinned and replied,
“It’s a perfume made with alchemy. The scent is lovely, but it has the side effect of making older people sneeze, so we got it at a discount.”
“There aren’t any elderly people in our classes, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“…Right.”
Seeing their mischievous grins, I almost offered a moment of silence for the shota grandpa’s future suffering, but I decided against it, figuring he brought it upon himself.
I continued to play the role of the generous benefactor, wandering around the shopping district.
My wallet became lighter, but the initially awkward atmosphere among the group was replaced with laughter.
At dinner, I raised my glass.
While this world had a vague concept of minors and no age restrictions on alcohol, I opted for a non-alcoholic beverage, judging that it would be dangerous to start the first day of classes drunk—especially with Professor Istal.
“Now then, to our future at the Academy!”
“””””To our Future!””””””
Smiling, I watched my companions enjoying the feast, boisterously chatting with people they would have never interacted with otherwise.
Even if someone called it wasteful spending, it was undeniably effective.
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