We relaxed a bit at the inn, but we’re not finished with shopping just yet.

『Hey, let’s go shopping before sunset, alright?』

「Buying?」

『Seasoning and cooking utensils. It’d be nice to eat delicious things when we’re camping out, right?』

「Nn.」

『Then we’ll need seasoning.』

「Important. Top priority.」

『Then let’s head out to a general store. If we ask someone from the inn, they’ll likely be able to tell us about one.』

「Understood.」

『Just in case, remember to lock up. We haven’t left anything, but…』

「Nn.」

We were recommended to a shop by one of the ladies at the inn. Its location was apparently just across the street.

『Here it is.』

The sign out front reads 「General Shop Saーber Tigeーr 」.

「Saーbeーr?」

『It doesn’t look like a general store at all.』

「No choice but here.」

As Fran said, this is the only general shop nearby. A bit reluctantly, we enter.

*curran curran* [1]

「Welcomeー!」

It’d be a fairly normal looking general store on the inside… If there wasn’t a macho man as the owner. He had only said 「Welcomeー」, but a transcendent throaty sound reverberated throughout the store. Without the consonant mark, his speech would have been a whole other level of manly.

「General store?」

「That’s right. Although it’s often misunderstood, this is indeed a general store.」

Of course it would be misunderstood. It’s called Saーber Tigeーr. Furthermore, a macho man who wouldn’t look out of place prowling a dungeon is the clerk. You can understand just through his movement that his appearance isn’t just for show, either. Shall I Appraise him?

That’s not the status of a Merchant. That’s the status of an intermediate Adventurer — one with the Skills and const.i.tution of a Vanguard, too! His Arithmetic and Commerce Skills are the ones that seem out of place instead!

「Adventurer?」

「Originally, yeah. I had always dreamed of opening up a store of my own, so I worked to acc.u.mulate the funds needed. I retired from the life of an Adventurer 3 years ago and finally fulfilled my dream.」

「Why the name? Not cute.」

Ms. Fran, please be a bit less direct!

「Haha, that’s asked often. I wonder why… To tell you the truth, when I was opening my shop I wanted something to attract attention. In the end, I decided to display that.」

The shopkeeper points the the wall at the back of the store, where a stuffed Saber head is displayed. It has a forceful expression that makes it seem like it could roar at any moment.

「Cool.」

「Right? It’s a bit unpopular around women, though. Even though it’s so cool.」

Is this store really alright? If it wasn’t referred to by the lady at the inn, I’d run away as quickly as possible.

However, while Fran was making conversation I had looked around the store. The selection is actually quite good. Not just seasonings, convenient goods are all over the place.

「Ah, but I’m getting in the way of your shopping. Please, take your time.」

『Well, let’s get what we came for then.』

「Nn.」

Naturally we’re buying salt and an a.s.sortment of herbs, but I’d also like expensive things like sugar and spices. We’ll also be buying dishes and utensils afterward.

But isn’t the security around here a bit careless? This world is different from j.a.pan; it’s a dangerous place. Undoubtedly robberies happen. And yet, this shop exhibits its products just like j.a.pan, making use of a system that allows the customer to choose their products directly. Couldn’t shoplifters act as much as they’d like……? No, maybe not. The owner’s a former Adventurer, so he wouldn’t overlook amateur shoplifting. It’s likely that he’s able to use this style of showing his products because he’s confident in his abilities.

In the end, we purchased about 3,000 Gorudos worth of items and left the shop. It seems that we were thought of as good customers. In addition to being told to come again, the shopkeeper pa.s.sionately saw us off personally.

『As for our remaining funds… There’s a little over 40,000 Gorudo, huh.』

「What next?」

『I’d like to buy Potions, but……』

We won’t be able to buy any expensive Potions.

「Recovery Magic.」

『At its level it’s only the degree of soothing.』

「Raise level?」

『I considered that.』

I have 18 Self-Evolution Points remaining. 2 Points are necessary to raise the Skill’s level, so I could increase its level 9 times. In other words, I have enough Points to get a Skill from Lv1 to the Max.

『There are still some Skills that I’d like to raise.』

「Which ones?」

Sword Techniques for example. After the examination at the Adventurer’s Guild, the Guild Master had called Dragon・Fang a medium-grade Sword Technique. A Sword Technique of Lv7 is medium-grade. And so, just like Magic Skills, if I get Sword Techniques to LvMax something’ll happen, right? That’s what I think, anyways.

「Un. I think, too.」

『Right?』

Also, because the power of Sword Techniques depends on the level of Sword Arts, in order to make full use of them Sword Arts needs to have its level raised as well.

After that would be Fission Creation. It’s pretty useless right now, but if I raise its level… Wouldn’t it be possible to use it in combat just like the Doppel Snake did? It would also save a lot of trouble if I could use a doppel body as Fran’s guardian when she goes out shopping.

「Good.」

『Right?』

After that would be Skills for the sake of life preservation, like Instant Recovery, Abnormal Status Resistance, and Physical Attack Resistance. They’re simple, but they’ll be overwhelmingly reliable in a predicament. Moreover, those three Skills seem to have severe acquisition conditions: the so-called Top Skills.

Fran’s still a low level, so taking a single attack from an a Demonic Beast above intermediate rank would be the end. It can’t hurt to be too careful until she becomes a high level.

「Forgot.」

『I’ll be keeping Instant Recovery active, so it shouldn’t be too bad for the time being.』

And then there’s Recovery Magic. Instant Recovery is a good skill, but it’d be great to be able to heal other people.

I want to raise its level intensively, rather than leave it incomplete.

『Well, any Skills are good enough.』

In the end, after more consultation at the inn, I ended up raising Recovery Magic to the counter stop. It now allows Abnormal State recovery, so it’s convenient. Even if Fran sustains a major injury it can be healed, too.

Furthermore, Healing Magic Lv1 was obtained. Just like how Flame Magic was obtained from Fire Magic, it was obtained after Recovery Magic reached its peak.

『With this, our means of recovery are secured.』

「Nn.」

『Now then, what shall we do tomorrow? Perhaps we should take a request from the Adventurer’s Guild? There’s still money left over, so we could relax for several days if you’d like.』

「Take request.」

『Is that alright? We’ll probably end up going out of the town.』

「Ready.」

『Then, let’s go to the Guild tomorrow.』

「Un. Looking forward to Adventurer work.」

『Ou. We’ll have to take some time to raise your level, too.』

「After that?」

『What would you like to do? We can do anything you’d like.』

「Anything……」

『Ou. Is there anything you’d like to do?』

「Un……?」

『Hahahaha! You should think long and hard about it. We have plenty of time.』

「Un. I will.」