My second shopping trip with Aina went very well indeed. With so much gold it would be impossible to spend it all and time to spare, we visited every corner of the comercial district in each other's company, filling my spacious adventuring pack to the brim, even having to buy a completely new—and expensive—leather bag to carry the rest.

'What I wouldn't give for a bag of holding. Alas, such a handy-dandy magical object would never just randomly fall into my hands for some reason or another. That would just feel forced.'

The recent fight with the invisible chameleon—I'd already forgotten what the monster was called—had brought to light how truly underprepared we were in the item department, since a ward charm or even something as simple as a pouch of flour would've helped massively in defeating it, so we decided to err on the side of caution from now on.

Multiple types of healing potions for different kinds and severities of wounds (all in metal flasks to avoid shattering, naturally), a few for stamina and more than enough mana potions, a flask of acid (this one made of glass enchanted with durability—making the container cost tens more times than the acid itself—since it ate through practically every other material), poison to coat blades with or just throw into monsters' maws, a powder that lingered in the air and stuck to any surface, ruining a monster's invisibility, another powder akin to pepper, which irritated the eyes and nostrils if breathed in, and a few other poultices.

And that was just what we got from the first store we visited.

Other than my trusty sword and pack, and unfortunately Aina's armor since we failed to find any that fit her, pretty much all our equipment got an overhaul.

Boots were swapped for ones made from some kind of monster leather, the soles cut out from some giant frog's hide, providing a notable increase in both durability and all-terrain traction, without sacrificing comfort.

Aina didn't seem too happy with them though, for some reason even she didn't seem to know. Well, we had enough money to buy different ones if the future, if necessary.

My armor also received a considerable upgrade; the one I bought was still made of a thin yet tough leather as a base, its color a fiery red this time around, so it wouldn't hinder my movements or compromise my flexibility, but the chest, back, and other important areas (yes, down there, too) were covered in thick, black chitin (?) from some giant arachnid monster that dwelled within the C Rank section of the Eastern Forest.

'Nope. Nopenopenope. Invisible chameleons and creepy giant spiders? No way I'm going there any time soon.'

It was tough, so much so even I would have to put quite a bit of effort to break it with bare hands, and it was further reinforced with some simple durability enchantments. Enchanters were a rare breed of mage, their craft not requiring any particular affinity, or one at all even, but being extremely hard to grasp; infinitely harder than normal elemental spells.

That meant that even the most basic of enchantments could rise to mind-boggling prices, and naturally my armor hadn't come cheap.

'Oh well. Nika gave me money by the bucketload, and it won't do me any good just sitting there, especially if I'm dead. Better to spend it on means to protect myself and help me get more money. 

I even got a helmet, after chastising myself for not thinking of it earlier.

'Seriously, I should've though of it from day one. Still, in my defense, I didn't exactly have the best role models... I mean, what's with adventurers—well, with fantasy in general—and not wearing helmets? The head's a major weak spot goddamnit! The face too! Who cares about your pretty MC face?'

The helmet was fully made of grey-red hearthsteel—a material formed in volcanoes apparently—and boasted both impressive durability and practical immunity to both heat and cold, basically a perfect temperature insulator. Complete with a slideable faceplate with only a narrow slit for eyesight, it meant my head would be well-protected against any wayward Fireballs or Icebolts.

It also kind of matched the red leather of my armor, but that was just a bonus. I didn't pick it for such a vain reason.

I swear.

In any case, we bought a few more odds and ends after that, with me even sneaking away for a moment while she was distracted and stopping by a shop named "Dalek's bows and other trinkets", where I quickly picked up an object wrapped in cloth, which I had commissioned specifically a while ago, and returned to her side before she even realized I was gone. Quite an impressive feat, given she was looking at me near constantly.

Both of our bellies were rumbling by then, mine being much more vocal about its protests, so we tried a bunch of different kinds of street foods by visiting stall after stall, until we were both full to the point of bursting. As one could expect, I ate several times what Aina did, though she had begun to eat more than before too.

And so, smiling widely from our little adventure, we happily skipped back to the manor, where we immediately headed to my room and dumped all the things we'd bought.

Finally free of the weighty bag she'd been carrying, Aina happily jumped a few times before running to the bed and happily flopping into it, her body sinking into the sheets as she let out a contented "Haaaaah~"

I laughed at her cutesy display as I unbuckled my new armor, then sat on the edge of the bed myself and began patting her smooth, dark green hair.

"Mmmhhhh... I love you, Ray." Her low-energy, sleepy declaration immediately brought a smile to my face.

'It's seriously unfair. How can someone be this cute?'

"I love you too, Aina. My love for you keeps growing day after day." Aina smiled blushingly, wriggling her body a bit on the bed as I kept patting her.

"...today was really fun. I loved spending time with you like that, Ray."

"Yeah. It really was..." 'Now would be a good moment to tell her about the ten men you killed, Ray.'

No. The guardsmen might still be there tomorrow. She was my safety net.

"...oh, the sun is falling. I have to go to Nika's place. Will you be fine on your own, Aina?"

She nodded sleepily, then murmured, "Mhhh... yeah, your smell is really strong here. It feels safe."

I chuckled a bit. It was a sour laugh.

"I'm glad, Aina. You can smell the bed all you want. See you tonight, then." I kissed Aina in the forehead, before standing up and moving over to my wardrobe.

Aina giggled.

"See you," she said, as I put on some decent clothes, adequate for meeting a lady. She never saw my saddened eyes as I jumped out of the open window, without my sword for once, and headed back towards the city.

Towards Nika.